I filled in for Gumdrops and Lollipops this week as Andrea could not make it. Being an indie-pop show, I tried to play some indie-pop in the hour. Usually when I fill in for Andrea I end up playing a Beat Happening song, a Belle & Sebastian song, a Tullycraft song and a Magnetic Fields song. I like doing that. I feel like I can diverge a little from my usual program where I try to play "newer" stuff and just play some tried and true hits. Smash hits.
In the hour we talked a bit about the Sub Pop 20th anniversary. The Vaselines are reuniting to play this event, after over 15 years of inactivity. This will also be their first ever American gig. The festival takes place just outside Seattle on July 12th and 13th. Wolf Parade, No Age and Eric's Trip are also playing, amongst many others. More info can be found here.
I also talked about a festival happening the following weekend in Anacortes, called What the Heck Fest. From their site: "What The Heck Fest will be an assortment of musical performances, meals, movies, accidental happenings, lake swimmings, friend makings, and etc." Some acts playing are Ô Paon (Genevieve Castre / Wolev), Mount Eerie, Calvin Johnson, the Blow, D+, Karl Blau, and a bunch of other names I don't recognize, but I'm sure are fantastic. I think this will be my festival visit for the summer. The whole go outside in a big hot field with thousands of people to watch hundreds of bands on multiple stages play twenty-minute sets kind of festival doesn't really appeal to me. I think the organizers of festivals like Track & Field in Guelph, Over the Top in Toronto and What the Heck have a good thing going by focusing on smaller scale events. This is what I envision for Victoria one day. Maybe next summer's project...
Gumdrops and Lollipops Playlist:
Artist - Album - Song
Think About Life - s/t - Fireworks
The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs - The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side
The Vaselines - The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History - Molly's Lips
Saturday Looks Good to Me - Fill Up the Room - Even if you Die on the Ocean
Beat Happening - You Turn Me On - Noise
Tullycraft - Every Scene Needs a Centre - Georgette Plays a Goth
Belle & Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress - I'm a Cuckoo
Greenbelt Collective - Our Homes - Car Planet
Ok Vancouver Ok - I Get So Drunk About Songs About Love - Canchor Anchor
The Weird Weeds - I Miss This - Red
Shapes and Sizes - Split Lips, Winning Hips, A Shiner - Victory in War
Vincat - Inner Space EP - Rocketship Construction
...
I think I broke my record for most songs played in one hour on Carload of Whatever this week. This was partially from me feeling talked-out after the first hour, but the second half of the show was made up of quick 2-minute songs which also helped.
dd/mm/yyyy are playing in Victoria on June 5 opening for Crystal Castles. That will be crazy.
The second half of the show probably would have worked better as a whole hour. I ran out of time at the end, but the idea was to play two songs each from bands with two members who make similar sounding noisy songs. With the exception of Speical Noise, all these bands know each other and have played and toured together. Some of these artists frequently find spots on Carload of Whatever playlists, but playing a whole bunch of these songs in a row was really fun and I think made for a good show. Plus, the new No Age record is really, really good. Two-person bands!
Carload of Whatever Playlist:
Artist - Album - Song
Lake Country - Second Old Life Records Compilation - Hard Days Hard Nights
The Macadamia Brothers - Second Old Life Records Compilation - Kingdom 5KR
Deerhunter - Fluorescent Grey EP - Fluorescent Grey
Animal Collective - Water Curses - Water Curses
dd/mm/yyyy - Are They Masks? - White Lines
Two-person-bands-making-similar-noise-set:
High Places - Ancient Almanac 7" - Head Spins
High Places - Demo - Golden
Japanther - s/t 7" - 1 to 10
Japanther - Skuffed up my Huffy - River Phoenix
No Age - Nouns - Miner
No Age - Nouns - Eraser
Video Hippos - Unbeast the Leash - Narwhals
Video Hippos - Unbeast the Leash - Downfall
Special Noise - The Year EP - Fun Died
...also, I won't be here next week. Andrea will be there in my place.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
I haven't been all that busy lately, but for some reason I have been having a hard time updating this page. I've been trying to learn some Italian. I've been making pasta salad. I've been sitting in Beacon Hill Park. I'll try to update this more frequently, but I have a feeling that the summertime makes people less inclined to read blogs, as I become less inclined to update mine. However...the summertime seems like a good time to listen to the radio!
This week's show was really great. Laura Barrett stopped by the studio and we spent the entire hour talking about her kalimba project, among other things. She played a bunch of songs for us as well. I have it recorded and I will post it soon (hopefully). Laura told me that it is fine to post the songs, so you will be able to download the interview as well as the session recordings.
Hopefully you made it out to Laura's show on Sunday night at Camas. I believe her music needs to be seen to understand really how talented she is. The Macadamia Brothers' debut performance was equally spectacular and No Gold really blew me away as I had no idea what they sounded like before the show. They make you dance. I hope they can come back soon.
I'm filling in for Andrea this week so Carload of Whatever will be a special 2-hour show from 3-5 PM. Call in and make requests. I'll try to fit in some indie-pop for the G&L fans.
Next fun event:
Friday, June 6th:
OK VANCOUVER OK
Aleks and the Ramps (all the way from Australia)
Stefana Fratila
at Con Brio Music (May and Moss) at 8 PM.
There are some other fun ideas in the works for that night, mostly involving a park and a kitchen, but also maybe bikes.
Does anyone have any pictures from the Laura Barrett show on Sunday night?
I went away....
...but now I am back. Thanks a lot to Troy of the Action Index and Blake & Simon of Beating Around the Bush for filling in for me once again on such short notice.
This Sunday Laura Barrett will be joining me on the show for an interview and live studio performance. Laura Barrett is a classically trained musician, currently focusing on a solo kalimba project. I have seen her play several times in Toronto and have always been blown away by her performance. Laura is also a member of the Hidden Cameras and Henri Faberge & the Adorables. Her debut recording, the Earth Sciences EP was recently re-released by Paper Bag records and she has just finished up a brand new full length. Tune in! It will be lots of fun!
Laura Barrett will be playing an all ages show on Sunday night after she stops by CFUV. The show is taking place at Camas Book and Info Shop at Quadra and Kings and is a part of Laura's cross-Canada tour. Also performing will be No Gold who are visiting from Vancouver, as well as a debut performance from Victoria's the Macadamia Brothers. You don't want to miss it! Doors are at 7:30 and the show will start at 8:30 sharp. Bring your friends!
Just to reiterate:
LAURA BARRETT, No Gold and The Macadamia Brothers - Sunday, May 18 at Camas Book and Info Shop (at Quadra & Kings), doors at 7:30, show at 8:30!
Also...on the right there is a link to some old interviews I have done on the show.