Root Down in the Shadow

last week we found Jennine Hebb playing a quick NYC/Philly 2 night jaunt opening for Gillian Grassie.  Friday she was at the Ardmore, Pa MilkBoy Coffee   The setup was standard chill, non-Starkbucks coffeehouse set up with great surround sound like qualities.  It was first come first serve seating complete with the standard coffee house goodies and BYOB if you thought ahead. The Brooklyn based Jeannine Hebb came to town with Tokyo native, Yujin Amano , a fellow Berklee comrad.  Yujin played electric guitar, while Jeannie played her Yamaha CP and manned the vocals! Jeannine was making her Philly area inaugural performance of her own material.  She mainly played tracks from her recently released full length debut Whileaway , while adding in a selection from her EP, an unreleased track, and even a few covers.  It was a good move to have you interested in both all of her merch tabl e offerings, albeit unnecessary as there was a killer deal of both album & EP or $10!  Th

David Lamb & MorganEve Swain of Brown Bird - Photo by Dan McGurk Ahh, Brown Bird opening for the Devil Makes Three , it was to finally happen!  I was so, pumped for this show.  Having seen Brown Bird at Newport Folk Festival and World Cafe Live with both times being awesome, I was ready for more!  The Devil Makes Three was to headline whom I also saw for part of their set at Newport Folk Festival , and I couldn't wait for a full set!  Both bands I've listened to over and over again throughout the summer, fall and now winter.  In late fall, it almost came to be, when they were announced as tour partners, but it didn't happen, at least not for Philly.  But the Devil Makes Three was going back out on tour with Flogging Molly and filled in some dates with none other than Brown Bird.  Yeah, it was going to happen! But it gets better; I even had the chance, sickness permitting, to interview Peter Bernhard of the Devil Makes Three the day prior!  But there

DAYDREAM VACATION 'Clever's Not My Best Excuse' Kicking things off for Year TWO of Root Down in the Shadow, I'm bringing back the Song of the Week!  Last Spring, I featured two in-depth posts with a look back at some 2010  music and the best 2011 music so far (both just happened to be FREE songs).   I did mention other Songs Of the Week through out 2011, but it died out later in the year once I started hitting more concerts.  I kinda owe a review of the rest of the best music found in 2011 soon, but for now, I couldn't wait any longer to talk about some music found already this year!  Here's the first installment of SONG OF THE WEEK.    This week's track is from Daydream Vacation , which is an off-shoot of Head Like a Kite .  Stolen straight from the bio on daydreamvacationband.com, is a run-down of the previous collaborators new band: "After a performance together at this year's Sasquatch Festival, Dave Einmo, mastermind behind Head Lik

Michael Nau of Cotton Jones : photo by Jeff Coon Thursday night, Blind Pilot made their inaugural visit to Baltimore, coming to Rams Head Live!  Blind Pilot also had their first of several shows with Cumberland, Md. based Cotton Jones .   Having recently seeing them in November in Philadelphia @ Union Station, I was instantly ready to hop onto I-95 to head to Baltimore for their show. Kati Claborn ; photo by Jeff Coon Openers Cotton Jones clearly held their own.  They provided a light fun groove, which was the perfect opener for the soft spoken lead man Israel Nebeker.  While I wasn't familiar with the Cotton Jones tunes (if you aren't either.. well head to Daytrotter.com for some studio sessions), I had a fun time watching the band, chatting it up with my pal (yes I annoyed myself for talking during the set) watching the left handed bassist, and debating the pros and cons of the drummer's mustache! Ian Krist ; photo by Jeff Coon Both se

The Devil Makes Three give new meaning to the phrase "tour machine" after a fall tour with Brown Bird, they jump back out on the road for a run of dates with Flogging Molly.  They're supporting their newest LP, Stomp and Smash , a live release recorded over two sold out nights in Petaluma, Ca. The Devil Makes Three -  'Black Irish' from phishbeard's YouTube channel I had the opportunity to check in with Pete Bernhard of The Devil Makes Three to pick his brain on the band's music and background, and also a few questions about the scene.  I caught up with him en route to NYC for the first show at the famed Hammerstein Ballroom.  I'm relatively new to the Devil Makes Three phenomena, but I've been hooked like a fish with a barb through the gills.  After letting a brief fan-boy moment slip out, thanking the band for being awesome and also tweeting my review in December, we got down to business regarding all things Devil Makes Three and wh

As we celebrate 1 year of blogging @ Root Down in the Shadow , let's continue to take a look the Featured Artists posts! This has been my biggest request of style of posts to get back to. So if you agree vote and tell me which one(s) are your favorite(s)! FAVORITE FEATURED ARTIST @ ROOT DOWN IN THE SHADOW Buke and Gase Amy Correia Iron and Wine Jocie Adams Ted Leo and the Pharmacists Saul Williams    pollcode.com free polls   Photo credit: Dan McGurk

Hey Fans! In just 3 short days, a full year of blogging will have past. My insane little hobby has turned into quite an adventure. I hope you have enjoyed the ride and the writings along the way. I've taken some time recently to look back at some of the posts. I thought I would check in to see what you think have been the highlights. Please vote or comment on this post, or the individual posts! FAVORITE INTERVIEW @ ROOT DOWN IN THE SHADOW Daniel Lefkowitz of Futur Primitif Joy Clevenger of GreatStreet Pearl And The Beard Disco Bitch and the Funk Machine MorganEve Swain of Brown Bird    pollcode.com free polls  

15 days remain on my most watched fundraiser, helping indie artists Annie & the Beekeepers fund the recording of their new album    I wrote about the Beekeepers just a few short days ago , but I keep thinking about what the new album is going to sound like and whether the funding will be successful so we can hear it soon.  While I wait with anticipation of fans sharing some of their music funds, I caught up with Annie Lynch to for some quick insight into what we might expect! ROOT DOWN IN THE SHADOW : What insight can you give about the new album?    Will it lean toward any mood our sound more so than the previous? ANNIE LYNCH: The new album captures an evolved spirit behind the Beekeepers; the grounded influence of the old outfit with the freshness of the new. Because this album is a selection of songs that have been written over the past 5 years, there is a great deal of variety. It's a bit of a sampling of the various writing styles I have been expl

One of my favorite series here @ Root Down in the Shadow is the Cover Song of the Week .  The cover songs range from imitation to divergent.  Some keep the original mood.  Some are dramatically changed.  This week's entry as reminded by the original artist Gotye "[is] just like the ’60s when local artists would sometimes pick the original artist at the post by doing a cover and getting it out to an audience before the original artist was in the market." EDITOR NOTE: This quote was taken from a great interview by CMJ By Christine Werthman. Seeing as how I couldn't find that article when searching in Google, I thought it would be great to share it with you, as well as these videos! Aussie Gotye released Making Mirrors last fall.  I received the hit single 'Somebody That I Used to Know' via the KCRW Today's Top Tune in early October.  I lost track of it in the following weeks as I was focused on a lot of concerts in October.  I was reminded of it

The best thing about living along the megalopolis of I-95 cities is the close proximity and ease of travel to each other!  Here are the best upcoming shows that I have spotted for your viewing pleasure!  If you go, please let me know how the shows were.  I'll review as many as I make it to! FEBRUARY 13th PITTSBURGH Allen Stone @ Stage AE  Young White guy with Soul... Are you sure? Check out his awesome single ' Sleep ' or ' Another Break Up Song' and decide for yourself!  For more info check out this article by the Pittsburgh City Paper FEBRUARY 16th  BALTIMORE Blind Pilot with Cotton Jones @Ram's Head Live.   Although it is going to require me to take a day off, I'm going to head down to Baltimore. Two reasons: I saw them in November at Union Transfer and it was awesome, so I must go again.  The second reason is a boneheaded one.  I picked up their fantastic poster by drummer Ryan Dobrowski , and the band was hanging out afterwards and signing m

One of my favorite series here @ Root Down in the Shadow by McGurkMusic is the Cover Song of the Week. Most of the posts recently have been recent covers, with a rare archive look.  In this week's installment, we're going to take a quick look at covers of a contemporary, with an obscure and obvious selection. At least in my opinion the first selection is obscure. In 1995, the year I graduated high school. I was musically very far a way from an adult contemporary solo guitar album by Bruce Springsteen , instead listening to Punk, Alternative, Metal, Ska and some Pop! RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE cover of 'Ghost of Tom Joad' original by Bruce Springsteen EDITOR NOTE: I know this video didn't link properly, go watch it on YouTube, it's a pretty sweet unoffical video.. The song begins just after the minute mark When "It Band" Rage Against The Machine  covered 'Ghost of Tom Joad' I had never heard the original. In fact, I wouldn't hav

Part of the ongoing series of 'Molly Songs': a weekly look featuring songs that our children will love, but more importantly parents can enjoy as well. I've discussed in the past what the key ingredients are for the Molly songs are, whether it is simple lyrics or fun beats.  This week's installment is a fun song, but visually appealing video aspects are what caught Molly's attention!  Lisa Hannigan's 'Knots' is the lead single from her late 2011 album Passenger.   Lisa Hannigan 'Knots' from Passenger The 'Knots' video is so much fun!  Visually, it captivates you while listening to the song.  If you see the making of 'Knots'  you'll find that it was done in one amazing take!   The 'Knots' video was uploaded September 19th, 2011 the day before the US release of Passenger.   Since then, three other of the album singles have had videos released.   'Little Bird'  on October 19th, 'Safe Travels ' Novem

The modern music world is a fascinating one.   Sites and apps are available everywhere to check out new music.  But where are all of these artists coming from?  How are they paying for these records in this down economy?  Certainly it's not big labels paying the bill for all of this.   Many bands these days are turning to non-traditional means to raise funds.  Two ventures have caught my attention to start off 2012, who I am 100% supporting are album production fundraisers by  Annie and The Beekeepers  and the  David Wax Museum !  Today's post will focus on Annie & The Beekeepers. Annie & The Beekeepers have been featured on Root Down in the Shadow in the past as part of the Molly Song of the Week Feature, with their song  'Charlotte's Web' .   Annie & The Beekeepers are an entirely self-funded operation.  Turning to a non-traditional venue is a must!  No funds raised means no record.  This also means that I won't get to do a review of the album o