Things to Read:
• When you think about musicians that embody black history, do you think about the Rolling Stones? We don’t either, but apparently Mick Jagger– along with BB King, Buddy Guy, Keb Mo, Gary Clarke Jr., Trombone Shorty, and the Yardbirds’ Jeff Beck (seriously, what is up with this lineup?!)– will be performing at the White House to celebrate Black History Month, according to the NY Times. “Directed by Booker T. Jones of Booker T and the MGs, next week’s event will be taped and then broadcast by PBS on Feb. 27. The president will deliver remarks at the event. The ‘In Performance at the White House’ series goes back to 1978.”
• Fort Reno is now accepting demos for local bands interested in playing the venue this summer.
• We Love DC offers this Q & A with Justin Trawick about his solo work and the 9 Songwriter Series that he curates. The 9 is at the Hamilton tonight (2/15), and Trawick is at the Black Cat on February 24.
• Capital Bop has an interview with saxophonist Tim Berne, who’s playing with his new ensemble Snakeoil at Bohemian Caverns on Sunday night as part of Transparent Productions’ winter/spring season.
• DCist’s this week in hip-hop.
• Heavy Uber Alles brings you six heavy tunes every week. This week’s installment comes courtesy of Scott O’Dowd, guitarist of Massachusetts stoner rock bands Black Thai and Cortez.
• NPR’s Tom Moon on Dr. Dog. The band will be at the 9:30 Club on March 16.
• Photos: Erica Bruce captures Sharon van Etten at the Black Cat [Washington CityPaper]. Last Sunday’s DC Record Fair at the Riot Act Comedy Theater [the Vinyl District].
• Live Reviews: Allison Grossman on the Grey Area at Strathmore [the Vinyl District].
We’re not going to talk about the Grammys here, because either you watched them (and already know what happened), or you didn’t (and probably don’t care). Also, can someone explain to us why liveblogging is something that everyone is doing now– if you’re watching the show live, are you also reading your computers? And if you’re not watching, do you really care what [random blogger] thinks about what’s going on RIGHT.THIS.SECOND on the TV?
It’s been a week of these Music Notes. Are you liking the feature? Send me an email (showlistdc@gmail.com) and let me know what you think! Also remember that you can add this blog to your RSS feed with http://www.showlistdc.com/more/feed/ . Have a great weekend!
Things to read:
• The Vinyl District bids farewell to Gold Leaf Studios, the Chinatown space that closed at the beginning of February. TVD will be looking back at the bands that called this space home (and looking at other DIY spaces in the area).
• Bob Dylan’s “Judas!” moment will be preserved at the National Museum of American History– no, not with his controversial electric guitar, but with the black leather jacket he wore at that infamous 1965 Newport Folk Festival concert, writes the Washington Post.
• We told you that Sharon van Etten (and her new album Tramp) were gonna be all over the news this week: Express‘s Rudi Greenberg talks to van Etten, and she gives some insight behind two of the tracks on Tramp. We do still recommend that you attend her show on Saturday at the Black Cat, but note that it is now sold out.
• Stephen Deusner on Die Antwoord [Express]. Note: show at the 9:30 Club is sold out.
• If you’re looking for a show that’s not sold out, go no farther than Strathmore‘s Friday Night Eclectic. We Love DC brings us a nice interview with The Grey Area, who are headlining this week.
• Get to know Metal Chris, the guy behind DCHeavyMetal.com [Washington CityPaper]
• Got some extra cash burning a hole in your pocket? The Washington CityPaper summarizes three local Kickstarter campaigns (Listen Local First, HighBrau, and Ad Hoc).
• DC record label Crank Automotive is now available on SoundCloud (thanks to Crank brother TriggerCut for the tip!).
• This week in jazz [DCist].
• Not directly DC-related, but DC writer (and ShowlistDC curator) Catherine Lewis has made available an archive of Low articles, interviews, and record reviews from 1995 through 2002.
Things to listen to and/or watch:
• NPR brings us Lost in the Trees‘ new video, “Red” from its upcoming album Church That Fits Our Needs, due out March 20th. The band is performing at the Black Cat on April 14th.
Quiet news day, so we’ve included a few of today’s new releases below.
Things to read:
• JUST ANNOUNCED: Madonna at the Verizon Center on Sunday, September 23rd. Tickets go on sale Monday, February 13th at 10 AM.
• DCist’s Weekly Music Agenda.
• Newt Gingrich as president would boost the grindcore scene in DC! Well, maybe not directly, but apparently a grindcore band calle Traumatic Anal Devastation played at a Gingrich rally in Las Vegas.
Apparently the band showed up outside the rally, plugged their instruments in, and generated what Gingrich staffer Terry ‘The Stick’ Foley called “the sound of a tank driving through a minefield.” Police showed up and pulled the plug on the youthful thugs after about 5 minutes (the equivalent of 20 songs, according to estimates from our grindcore research staff). No reports of hearing loss or more than usual psychological damage from the Gingrich supporters who were present.
• DCist interviewed Theophilus London. (Yes, we know the show was last night, but this interview was published after our Music Notes ran yesterday.)
• RIP WAMU DJ Jerry Gray [Washington CityPaper]. The bluegrass DJ passed away last Thursday at the age of 78.
• Listen Local First (the folks who bring us DC Local Music Day) have started a Kickstarter campaign to bring DC music to SXSW [WLDC].
• Chris Porter on Alan Lomax [Express].
• Talking at shows: it’s not just for indie-rockers, although this patron’s interruption at a KenCen is a bit over the top.
• Live reviews: Mark Jenkins on Red Baraat at U St Music Hall [Washington Post]. Erica Bruce on the Kills and JEFF the Brotherhood at the 9:30 Club [the Vinyl District].
We here at ShowlistDC have an ArtsBook-shaped hole in our hearts and inboxes this morning, as TBD’s Arts Editor (and daily ArtsBook scribe) Andrew Beaujon has joined Pointer as Senior Online Reporter. We’ll miss Beaujon’s thorough compilation of the DC area’s arts news– and his snarky commentary along the way. In his absence, here are a few DC-area music news worth sharing today:
Things to read:
• Sharon van Etten is the name that’s going to be all over the indie-rock news this week, as her new album Tramp comes out this week, and she’s playing the Black Cat on Saturday (as recommended by ShowlistDC!). Lots to read here– Marc Masters has a lengthy chat with SVE in the Washington Post, and NPR has a piece on the indie-folkster as well.
• Miss the Super Bowl’s Halftime show (with Madonna, LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, MIA, and Cee-Lo)? Jon Pareles over at the New York Timesgives a summary. (The only quasi-scandalous thing that happened: MIA flipped the bird. Pitchfork has some video.)
• Maura Judkis on Apple’s Siri joinig Erykah Badu and Biz Markie as a guest vocalist for the Flaming Lips [Washington Post].
• Empire Jazz Clubtries again [Washington CityPaper], reports Michael J. West. They will have a weekly calendar starting this week that will include karaoke (Wednesdays), film discussions (Sundays), and live radio broadcasts.
• Do you get confused between the bands U.S. Royalty and American Royalty? Joe Warminsky sets up a handy chart to help you tell the difference. [Washington CityPaper]
• DC’s Marc Masters and NC’s Grayson Currin’s latest the Out Door [Pitchfork] “explore[s] the instrumental methods of lute-player Jozef Van Wissem, cross formats with Austin multi-media factory Monofonus Press, and meet Bay Area black metal experimentalists Sutekh Hexen“– and is, as always, a good one-stop shop for catching up with the latest noise news.
• DC’s Aaron Leitko reviews the new Royal Baths album Better Luck Next Life over on Pitchfork.
• Live reviews: Anthony Pirog at Twins Jazz by Michael J. West [Washington Post]. Crystal Heidemann on Night Beds at the End [the Vinyl District].
Things to listen to and/or watch:
• Listen: NPR is streaming Shearwater‘s Animal Joy, which comes out on 2/14. They’re opening for Sharon van Etten at the Black Cat on Saturday.
• Listen: NPR brings us the 9:30 club sets from JEFF the Brotherhood and the Kills.
• Listen: NPR and WXPN’s World Café bring us Girls.
• Listen: Here are 9 new Latin metal bands recommended by Jasmine Garsd [NPR]: Mexico’s Split Heaven, Arcania, Goatzilla, The Arkitecht, and Majestic Downfall; the Dominican Republic’s Archaios; Brazil’s Krisiun; and two US bands– Miami’s Inferion and Los Angeles’s Tukaaria. The link has soundclips if you need some tunes to wake you up this Monday morning.
• Watch: DCHeavyMetal.com shares three new local metal music videos, from the bands Fierce Allegiance, King Giant, and Auroboros.
• Watch: Bill Frisell did some John Lennon stuff at a NPR Tiny Desk Concert.
• Watch: Bon Iver‘s “Holocene” and “Beth/Rest” plus Kristin Wiig’s Lana Del Rey impersonation/apology on “Weekend Update” on this week’s SNL, courtesy of Stereogum.
Mos Def (who now goes by the name Yasiin Bey) is headlining the 9:30 Club on Monday, February 20th, and ShowlistDC is giving away a pair of tickets! All you have to do to win is leave a comment on this post telling me a song you’d like to hear him perform– either from his solo career or from Black Star– and I’ll pick a winner at random on Friday, 10 February at 5 PM Eastern. Be sure to use a valid email address when you enter, so I can contact you if you win (and don’t worry: your email address won’t be posted publicly when you comment on this entry).
The cool thing about this show is that even though it’s on a Monday night, it’s the Monday of President’s Day weekend, so your Monday night is really more like a Sunday night, and you have no real excuse to stay home. Right? Right! If you’d like to check out some of Mos Def’s music, check out some of his videos: “Casa Bay“, “History” (featuring Talib Kweli), and “Sex, Love, & Money“.
Again, all you have to do to win this pair of tickets is tell me the name of the song you’d most like to see him perform– and if you need a song title refresher, check out his discography, and remember that Black Star just released its new single “Fix Up” in anticipation of an as-yet-untitled album rumored to be released later this year. I’ll select a winner from the entries posted at random (via random.org) at 5 PM Eastern on Friday, 10 February for this pair of tickets. I’ll contact you via email if you win, so be sure to use an email address you check regularly! (and again: it won’t be posted publicly when you comment below.)
If you just can’t wait until then, note that tickets are available via ticketfly.com for $35 plus a $6 service fee and a $4 order processing fee, for a total of $45. Tickets can also be purchased at the 9:30 Club box office for a total of $36 (the club charges a $1 fee, even when purchasing with cash at the box office), any time the box office is open (12-7 PM M-F OR on show nights: 12-11 PM M-F, 6-11 PM Sat, and 6-10:30 PM Sunday).
Contest is now closed and the winner has been notified. You can still purchase tickets on ticketfly.com. Thanks so much for entering!
