The Pistola Press

Download: Cap’n Jazz – “Oh, Messy Life“

Cap’n Jazz, a Chicago band who broke up 15 years ago, just announced yesterday they will play a few 2010 summer shows. One of the shows will be at The Starlight Ballroom on July 24th and it’s definitely going to be a sweaty show. Mid-summer shows at any venue tend to be really hot. Tickets for the show can be found HERE. According to R5 Productions’ Twitter, the show is already half way sold out. It will probably be sold out by the time you read this post. Maybe try Craigslist?

“Jade Tree is thrilled to announce that one of its most influential and popular titles, Cap’n Jazz‘s seminal discography Analphabetapolothology, will be released on vinyl for the very first time on June 29th. A little over ten years have passed since the original CD release and we are proud to give the record the proper proper full featured vinyl issue that it deserves. As Cap’n Jazz has grown in popularity, so has the demand for the anthology on vinyl and we are more than  happy to combine our efforts to put together a package well worth the wait….

..With only one full-length album to their name alongside a handful of singles and compilation tracks, Cap’n Jazz left a longstanding impression and irrefutable influence on the region’s bohemian punk scene and unwittingly spawned a breeding ground for future scene stars such as the Promise Ring and Joan Of Arc. Traces of their sonic fingerprint permeate hundreds of indie records released in their wake.”

Broken Bells, a collaboration between the Shins‘ frontman James Mercer and super producer Dangermouse aka Brian Burton, have just announced their first ever US tour. They will be touring in support of their self-titled debut record, which blends Mercer’s voice with Burton’s signature style of an assortment of sounds. The duo produced some very catchy hooks and melodies. Definitely give it a listen, if you haven’t already.

Their 16 date tour across America will start in San Diego, CA on May 18th and finish in Athens, GA on June 11th. In between those dates, the band will make a stop at the Electric Factory on Sunday, June 6th with The Morning Benders in support. More information about tickets to come, but they will be found HERE when they are on sale.

“Each a long-time fan of the other’s work, Burton and Mercer first met face-to-face backstage at the 2004 Roskilde Festival in Copenhagen. The pair immediately hit it off and kept in touch over the prevailing half decade and in May 2008 seized the opportunity to finally collaborate on original music together. Broken Bells was pared down from more than 20 pieces of new music written and recorded to the 10 songs that coalesced together the most seamlessly.” via Columbia Records

As we previously mentioned, Jónsi has a solo record, Go, coming out April 6th and kicks off a world tour the same night in Canada(the tour stops at the Electric Factory in May). Go will be his first solo release without his Sigur Ros bandmates and his partner, Alex Somers. The songs we have heard so far are very uplifting and happy. Quite different from most of his work with Sigur Ros. You can listen to the record in it’s entirety HERE via NPR.

The xx, who have been killing it ever since their album dropped in August, played a sold-out show last night in the Sanctuary of the First Unitarian Church with Nosaj Thing and jj. As expected, it was a fantastic show.

LA experimental DJ, Nosaj Thing, opened the show with a 30 minute set of crazy electronica beats and sounds, only addressing the crowd at the end. The church setting was not the ideal venue for his music, but it was still a great way to start off the night. His music screams dance party so hopefully next time he’ll play a more fitting venue. He’s definitely worth checking out.

jj‘s performance was like a drunken relative at a family gathering who makes everyone feel very awkward. Their set consisted of random appearances from some long haired blonde dude who may or may not be in the band, random video clips of Swedish footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic/other weird things, and the lead singer stood in the same spot the entire time. Needless to say, it was not the highlight of the night.

The highlight of the night was the xx‘s 11 song set. Everything about their performance was great; the lights, the sound, the atmosphere were all spot on. The Sanctuary was the perfect venue to experience the xx. At one point, it felt as if the venue had been traveling through time in a spaceship. Their music just engulfed the audience and made them forget about the world outside. Do yourself a favor and check this band out.  Photos and setlist below.

Nosaj Thing

jj

the xx

Setlist: Intro/ Crystalised/Islands/Heart Skipped A Beat/Fantasy/Shelter/VCR/Do You Mind(Kyla Cover)/Basic Space/Night Time/Infinity

The xx is comprised of three mates from London England, who have a combined age of 61. They put out an excellent self-titled debut last August that has a very minimalistic, crisp sound consisting of a guitar, bass, drum machine and vocals. The trio will play a sold out show tonight in the Sanctuary of the First Unitarian Church. Tickets have been sold out for months so consider yourself lucky if you do have one. The soft spoken lead singer/guitarist Romy Madley Croft dropped by last week for a quick phone interview, where we talked about SXSW, life as a rockstar and more. Check it out below.

Sidenote: There will be an official after party held by Making Time at the Voyuer Nightclub where Jamie Smith from the xx will play a DJ set. More information can be found HERE.

photo by Chris La Putt

The Pistola: What was it like for you growing up and playing music?

Romy Madley Croft: We started playing music together when we were 14 or 15. Just at school, in the music room and stuff. That sort of developed into a hobby and something we loved doing. So it continued on.

The Pistola: How did you guys start playing live shows?

RMC: We started off emailing and sending messages on Myspace to venues saying, “Can we play gigs?”. And then we got approached our record label Young Turks at a gig and they offered to get us some gigs and give us space to rehearse. After that, they sort of took over for us.

The Pistola: That’s pretty sweet. What was it like traveling outside of England to play a show? Was it scary at all?

RMC: It was kind of weird. They(Young Turks) eased us into it. It started off in Europe, not too far away from home. Then coming over to America for the first time was definitely a really big thing. Going somewhere else, much farther away from home. It was very exciting.

The Pistola: What did you think of America when you first came over here?

RMC: I thought it was great. I’ve visited New York before, not playing music. I really enjoy playing here. It’s such a big country, there’s so many different types of places and things. It’s very exciting.

The Pistola: Very cool. So from what I understand, Jamie(Smith) produced your record. What was that like having a band member act as producer?

RMC: It actually worked out quite well because we’d be so honest with eachother. If it was  a producer we weren’t familiar with or felt a bit intimidated, but we just said how we felt. If we didn’t like something, Oliver and I could just say, “I don’t think that’s right” and any ideas we had, we just told Jamie. He was able to help us with it.

The Pistola: You have been on the road for quite a while now. Does that ever get tiring?

RMC: Yeah(laughs). It definitely does get tiring. I think we’ve been touring pretty much non-stop since September last year. There’s times that you want to go home and you don’t really get much time on your own. We start to be creative separately and alone at first. So we don’t really get that separation we’d like to start writing songs. It’s not really the most creative situation.

The Pistola: Do ever get a chance to check out new bands?

RMC: It can be quite difficult because when you’re on your own tour there’s a lot bands you want to see but miss by a day. We pretty much just see the support bands and that’s it. I saw Beach House when we were on our English tour. They played the same day as us at a different venue so we managed to see them before our set, which I really enjoyed. We got to see some bands at SXSW; we saw Salem and jj, the band who’s support us. Holly Miranda who’s supported us before but we never seen her with a full band. It was actually really great.

The Pistola: Yeah, I saw her before with the Antlers. She has a great voice. How was SXSW?

RMC: It was intense. We did CMJ before and we learned from that, not to do as much as we had before. So we did four gigs and it was just you know.. we’re kind of perfectionists when it comes to our sound. It was hard to get a perfect sound because we were rushed in to do sound check. It can be sort of hit or miss. The bothered us a bit. It’s still fun though.

The Pistola: I understand. So I saw a tweet from Pitchfork the ideal venue to see the xx in was a church. Do you play in church venues often?

RMC: No, not really, but I really enjoyed it. We played the church in Texas and it was really beautiful. I’d like to play some more. We’re going to play a synagogue and another church on this tour.

The Pistola: Yeah, the (First Unitarian) church in Philadelphia, that’s where I am right now. It’s a really beautiful venue. Where’s the coolest place music has taken you so far?

RMC: Um.. we went to Australia and Singapore, and that was kind of crazy. Just to be on the whole other side of the world playing to people  who knew about us. It was great. Singapore was crazier because of the screaming. I never heard that high-pitched scream before(laughs).

The Pistola: What’s been the coolest part of being a rockstar?

RMC: (laughs) I guess just getting the opportunity to see all these places and it’s great to be able to go somewhere and feel welcomed and have a purpose. I think going on holiday and going somewhere could be quite scary. You have to watch out for what you doing and where you’re going. Coming with music, it’s really exciting.

The Pistola: When you were first writing the record, did you ever envision it turning into something this big and taking you around the world?

RMC: No, definitely not(laughs). When we started writing songs, they were just for us. Just because we loved music. I didn’t think anyone would ever hear them, really. It’s kind of crazy that so many people have. It’s great that people enjoy them, it’s a big surprise for us.

The Pistola: What are you plans for when you get done touring?

RMC: I think take some time off and get back to writing as well. Just sort of take a break and let it naturally happen. Sort of not force it, but see how it goes. I’m really looking forward to see what actually happens when it comes out.

The Pistola: Do you think you’ll do anything different from your last recording process to the next one?

RMC: I’m too sure, really. I know Jamie wants to start his own studio. Get like a flat and make a studio there. We recorded at the record company’s garage. It was like a tiny studio. I think we’ll have a little more privacy. You know, we were right in the center of the record company. So I think that will be good; but, yeah, I’m not too sure.

Philadelphia’s own Dr. Dog have a new record Shame, Shame that is set to be released April 6th. It will be their first record in nearly two years. Since that time, the band have established themselves as a household name in the world of indie-hipster music and there’s not sign of them slowing down either. They really have fine-tuned their raw Philly sound and made it their own. You can stream Shame, Shame HERE via NPR.

In related news, Dr. Dog will play the Electric Factory on Thursday, May 13th with Deer Tick.  Tickets for the show can be found HERE.

As we mentioned the other day, Tokyo Police Club will join Passion Pit at the Mann Center in June. They also have a record, Champ, coming out June 8th. You can stream a new song called “Breakneck Speed” HERE via their website. In exchange for your email, they’ll send it to you for FREE. Not a bad deal!

The National is playing two dates at the Electric Factory in June and have a new record, High Violet, coming May 4th via 4AD. The band just released a FREE MP3 off the album called “Bloodbuzz Ohio”. You can download/listen to it HERE.

“Opening with torch-wielding villagers and a wall bleeding oil, ODDSAC attaches vivid scenery and strange characters to the wonderful wonderful melodic wavelengths of the band Animal Collective, revitalizing the lost form of the “visual album.” Working on the project for three years with friend Danny Perez, Animal Collective pushes the boundaries of the music video and joins music visionaries like The Residents, Devo, and Daft Punk, who previously connected film imagery with their songs.” – via The International House

As we previously reported, Animal Collective collaborated with Philly resident/director Danny Perez to create a visual album. The trailer of the film indicates that it will be very, very strange. What else would you expect from Animal Collective though? The International House on 37th and Chestnut Streets is set to host two screenings on Friday, April 16th at 7pm and 9pm. Danny Perez and members of AC will be in attendance; hopefully for a Q&A after each screening. We’ll see.. Tickets for both shows can be found HERE.

Canadian band Stars are releasing a new record on June 22nd entitled The Five Ghosts. The album features a guest appearance from fellow Canadian/Broken Social Scene member, Andrew Whiteman. Prior to the release, the band will give their fans a little treat by playing a handful of dates where they’ll play their new record in it’s entirety. Aside from playing the album straight through, they will also play other songs from their catalog. You can vote for which songs you would like them to play HERE.

Star will play Philadelphia on Thursday, June 3rd in the Sanctuary of the First Unitarian Church. Tickets for the show can be found HERE.

In other Canadian music news, Broken Social Scene have a new record coming May 4th called Forgiveness Rock Record. They are streaming three new songs from the album, which you can find HERE. They’ve announced a bunch of tourdates but no Philly date yet. We’ll be sure to update you on when/if they do announce one.