Love is Elusive.

Unwed Sailor In-Studio, Kind Of.

Published on June 13, 2008 in Music, RainyDawg Radio and Seattle. 1 Comment

Let me preface this by apologizing to the masses. The server which held the Unwed Sailor In-Studio on it crashed, and I’m unable to retrieve those files. I feel awful. Not only do I feel I have done a disservice to the band, but also to you readers who wanted to hear the performance. I was able to recover a snippit of the band doing a live performance of The Garden off of their latest album, Little Wars (which you can purchase here). Anyways, hopefully this post will make up for that fault.

Few bands make music that can be applicable to any moment in one’s lifetime. Whether it be happiness or grief, people often switch between a multitude of artists to match their current state of being. So all people, subconsciously, create a soundtrack to their lives. Unwed Sailor has seamlessly made the soundtrack to my life. There is no need to turn to another artist to match my current mood. Any state I’m in, whether it be the pinnacle or nadir of my life, can go hand in hand with a track that Unwed Sailor has created. And the most amazing fact: Unwed Sailor rarely ever uses lyrics.

Unwed Sailor is a post-rock band led by bassist Johnathan Ford; “Born in Seattle in 1998 at the tender age of intent.” The most amazing thing about their music is its’ versatility. Johnathan told me that the best praise he can recieve about the band’s music is “I often fall asleep to The Marionette and The Music Box”, or “Your music is a great soundtrack for a roadtrip”.

Unwed Sailor’s music is just that, applicable. Not only is it applicable, but it is visual. Johnathan talked about how, for him, the cover art, packaging, and delivery of the music are just as important as the music itself. This audio/visual combination that Unwed Sailor delivers is something that is a rarity in a music industry that is cluttered with new acts springing about every day.

My excessive gratitude goes out to Unwed Sailor, Johnathan, and the gang for coming to our studio. Thank You so much for your cooperation, generosity, and hospitality. You guys are welcome back any time, consider it your home.

You can catch Unwed Sailor on tour with Sybris now. Be sure to check out Little Wars as well as their many other releases. I leave you with photos of the In-Studio, as well as the original versions of songs they performed live, and an audio clip of the band performing The Garden live during the In-Studio (What I could retrieve of it).

Last Goodbyes
Ruby’s Wishes
Firecracker
The Garden

The Garden (Live Clip)

Finally, I conclude with my favorite track by Unwed Sailor,
Numbers.

New Sigur Ros Album Available to Stream for the Masses.

Published on June 8, 2008 in Music. 1 Comment

The new Sigur Ros album entitled Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (Something I will never attempt to pronounce out loud) is available to stream here. It’s good. Really really really really good. Did I mention it’s good? You should probably listen to it. Post Rock is quickly becoming my favorite genre of music, although Sigur Ros is loosely considered a part of this genre. There’s so much you can do with instrumentation sans lyrics (See: Godspeed, Mogwai, This Will Destroy You, Tristeza, & Unwed Sailor for starters).

The album is expected to be released June 23. Pick up Heima while you’re at it. You won’t be disappointed.

P.S. I finally got around to posting new photos to my flickr. Unwed Sailor In-Studio to be posted on Wednesday after I get raped by finals. Take care, everyone.

Archie - Archie = Gold.

Published on June 6, 2008 in Daily Life. 0 Comments

My friend Zach and I are a bit weird. We often brainstorm ridiculous ideas that never come to fruition. I’m sure anyone on the internets has seen garfield minus garfield.

One afternoon Zach and I were at the checkout line of a grocery store. We came across a copy of Archie, that comic that just won’t die. I proposed to him the concept of Archie Minus Archie, which was followed by about one hour of giggling madness.

Well, after a lot of work on his part, here it is: Archie Minus Archie Vol. I

Enjoy!

Obligatory Song: The Archies — Sugar Sugar

Music Binge.

Published on June 4, 2008 in Music. 0 Comments

I think it’s a bit sad when I look so forward to seeing my last.fm results for the week. Oh well. This just in: I really love Unwed Sailor. 83 listens, not including my iPod count. This could be possibly due to their amazing in-studio and getting to know the nicest man I have ever met in the music industry, Johnathan Ford. Once I get settled into this week, I will post the in-studio as well as the photos I shot during the whole ordeal.

On another musical tangent, my condolences go out to Bradford Cox and all of the Deerhunter crew. Their upcoming album, Microcastle, leaked. Now this wouldn’t be such a big deal if the album wasn’t slated to come out until another six months. Seriously, I feel so bad for them. It’s super discouraging when something like this happens, but I hope they can all just soldier on.For your information, I did download it. For your information, it is one of the greatest albums of the year. No question, no debate. It’s gold and does so much more for me than Cryptograms ever did. I will be purchasing it on vinyl as soon as it is pressed.

P.S.
I’ve been digging new tracks by Dr. Dog and The Virgins and lot.
Also, the new Coldplay just leaked and apparently one track is heavily influenced by MBV. Time to give it a listen.

Spotlight On: Local Artist Get Dressed.

Published on May 28, 2008 in Music, RainyDawg Radio and Seattle. 0 Comments

If there was one local band I wish I had known about sooner, it would be Get Dressed. I first heard the band’s material the morning of their final Seattle show. To say that timing was not on my side would be a bit of an understatement. Yet, that is the bittersweet truth.

Get Dressed is a four piece band based out of Seattle, Washington. I can honestly say that no local band has impressed me more in my first year out here than this one. When they performed the first song in their live set at Rainydawg Radio, nostalgia hit me square in the face. The years upon years that I’ve spent listening to American Football came back to me. The sweet guitar melodies of Dutch and Stephen, who have been playing together since childhood, seem like they could easily be substituted in for Mike Kinsella’s calculated riffs in American Footballs Self Titled LP. The guitars can be described as a hybrid between American Football and Minus the Bear. If that’s not an appealing description, I do not know what is. During the entire set, I stood wide eyed and beyond impressed, witnessing such a fresh and rejuvinating sound in the Seattle music scene. Then came the kicker.

Get Dressed will play their final show in July at the Fire House in Redmond, Washington. And if you are in the area, you owe it to yourself to check out this amazing local talent. Hell, I’m contemplating flying back across the country around this time to check it out. By then, they’ll have their CD ready to go. To tide you all over until then, here’s the live recording of their set at Rainydawg Radio. Simply blissful.

Get Dressed — Flintstones

Get Dressed — Untitled (Song 2)

Get Dressed — See the Cake

Get Dressed — Untitled (Song 4)

Get Dressed — Oh No

Unwed Sailor Play Tonight at the Sunset Tavern.

Published on May 26, 2008 in Music, RainyDawg Radio and Seattle. 1 Comment

Sorry for the Delay… Again.

Published on May 22, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Let me just let you all know I apologize for the lack of updates on this blog recently, life has been a bit hectic. Expect a few updates.

One of which is a post regarding the local band, Get Dressed, and their in-studio at Rainydawg Radio. They blew me away.

In addition, I’ll post some of my photos from the Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin show (now on my flickr).

Finally, I’m having Unwed Sailor come in to the studio on Tuesday for a performance/interview session. That will be at noon. Check out their show at the Sunset Tavern this coming Monday at 8PM.

Hmmm, maybe I’ll see Pelican tomorrow night? I’ve always wanted to see them live. Who knows.

The Muslims In-Studio (04/30/2008) on Rainydawg Radio

Published on May 7, 2008 in Music, RainyDawg Radio, Seattle and The Big O. 4 Comments

When emailing Matty of The Muslims, I asked him how many microphones the band would need for a potential in-studio here at Rainydawg Radio. Matty gave me a speedy reply: A request for 10 microphones: Three for the amps, Three for Vocals, and Four on the drum kit (a very reasonable request). However, being the college radio station that we are, we did not have that amount of equipment to provide. Unfortunately, I had to email Matty back, saying that our studio would fall four microphones short of his request. I was certain that this would be at the very least, slightly annoying to the band. Then I got this shocking reply from Matty:

“Omar,

That’s no problem at all. We can make it work with the mics you have. Seriously, don’t worry about it. We like it like that anyway.”

In a sense, this quote is a microcosm for what The Muslims are: A laid back group of guys who love to have a good time. When I met them for the first time outside of the studio, they were taking in the fresh Seattle air and throwing around a football. I simply stood back and admired this scene for a few minutes before formally introducing myself.

The Muslims seem like they know how to have fun. This laid-back leisurely perspective on life is clearly translated into their music. And their music instills in the listener that same sense of perspective. It’s a breath of fresh air. In an age where looping, pedal work, and sampling is sometimes necessary to separate a band from the masses, The Muslims stick to simplistic rock riffs and vocals to form the foundation of their sound. And what a great sound it is.

Without keeping you any longer, I leave you with the recordings of The Muslims’ live set at Rainydawg Radio.

The Muslims — American (Live on Rainydawg Radio)
The Muslims — Beside Myself (Live on Rainydawg Radio)
The Muslims — Bright Side (Live on Rainydawg Radio)
The Muslims — Extinction (Live on Rainydawg Radio)
The Muslims — Nightlife (Live on Rainydawg Radio)
The Muslims — On My Time (Live on Rainydawg Radio)

My excessive gratitude goes out to The Muslims for joining me in the studio. You can pick up their record, which will surely be in my top 10 come the year’s end, here. Catch them on tour this summer, they’ll be hitting up the east coast.

The Muslims, in short, are worth the time and hype.

The Terrordactyls Interview on Rainydawg Radio

Published on May 6, 2008 in Music, RainyDawg Radio and Seattle. 0 Comments

A few weekends ago, The Terrordactyls were kind enough to join us at Rainydawg for an in-studio before their show at the Vera later that night. Here’s a recording of the individual songs followed by a link to the whole interview. Enjoy!

The Terrordactyls — Decoration Daniel (Live on Rainydawg Radio)
The Terrordactyls — Overcast Summer (Live on Rainydawg Radio)
The Terrordactyls — Swimming (Live on Rainydawg Radio)
The Terrordactyls — Shipping (Live on Rainydawg Radio)

The Terrordactyls Interview on Rainydawg Radio

Cut Copy Live DJ Set at Easy Street (Seattle)

Published on May 6, 2008 in Music, Record Stores and Seattle. 2 Comments

Last week, Cut Copy had a show in Seattle. Much to my dismay (and many other’s), it was a 21+ show. Luckily, Easy Street provided the goods and held an in-store for this Australian based band. I had other obligations that afternoon (my soon-to-be-posted interview/in-studio with the Muslims), but my friend Tim Willis managed to make it out to the event. He even recorded the set.

The live set wasn’t what we were expecting from Cut Copy. It was basically the two of them hovering over their Pioneer CDJs and mixing other people’s work. Still, it’s worth a listen. As is their fabriclive DJ set.

Here’s the live set:

Cut Copy Live DJ Set @ Easy Street, Seattle

In Ghost Colours, Cut Copy’s new album is out now. Buy it here. I highly recommend it. Cut Copy does New Order justice.

Photo courtesy of Tim Willis’ flickr.