Root Down in the Shadow

It's January 31st.. hardly the time to look back at the year prior.  But ripe with the awards season, Grammy's, Golden Globes, Tri State Indie Awards, etc it seems like the perfect time to share some thoughts about the year before.   2013 was a pretty damn good year for new music.  When compiling the year end list, it was remarkable how many outstanding Philadelphia based releases there were each month.  As with all things here at Root Down In The Shadow, we're going to skip retelling what you've read every where else.  Here we are going to do a Philly only year-end review!  Sorry to those of you who may be expecting Bastille , Aoife O'Donovan , J. Roddy Walston & The Business , or Phosphorescent on a year end list, like most things here at Root Down In The Shadow, this list will be Philly-centric!   Finally, apologies to Dr. Dog and Amos Lee, but I think everyone is aware already of B Room and Mountans of Sorrow, Rivers of Song.  A...

Earlier this year here at the indie Philly blog, Root Down In The Shadow, we started the fun series #Philly Presents ...bands writing about other bands. The most common reaction from bands to this project: "Wait? Are we covering other bands?" And so #CoverClub was born!   The first sessions for #CoverClub were recorded in October, at the intimate Break Neck Studio under the sonic helm of Peter Joseph!   With the excitement over the series we couldn't contain ourselves, but couldn't continuously steal Peter.  Nomad Recording Studio graciously offered to be our alternate studio for the series and we quickly lined up more bands.  With Rob Swift and Tom Williamson of Nomad Recording Studio, the Session 1.0 includes Aaron Brown of Aaron & The Spell, Ron Gallo of Toy Soldiers, The Rivals and the Fleeting Ends!  The posts here at Root Down In The Shadow have been a blast to do, featuring the excellent videos by director Bob Sweeney assisted...

Earlier this week we released the incredible recreation of  Ween 's 'Tried and True' by the Fleeting Ends for #COVERCLUB !  The gritty version, done at Nomad Recording Studio, was a wonderful reminder that they are more than just alt-pop-rock wizards, but that they can seriously rock! Cover Club | The FleetingEnds "I Feel Cursed" To complete the #CoverClub session one of the many hits from Our Eyes Are Peeled , 'I Feel Cursed' was captured.  This Cover Club session recorded in December was the wrap of a really killer year for the band.  "2013 was a big year for us only because of Our Eyes Are Peeled . It landed us fantastic publications in Magent Magazine , Modern Drummer and many more.  Took us out on the road and got us into gear for future touring.  Local support has been fantastic.  Especially from WXPN .  We played this summers Xponential fest and it was by far the best day the band has ever had. Our Eyes Are Peeled   shot us i...

For those of you who don't know what Sofar Sounds is, here is their story: "We have created a movement which brings music lovers together in secret living room locations to hear some of the world's most cutting edge artists.  In order to create an intimate and spellbinding atmosphere, we ask that nobody talk during  performances.  January '14 Sofar - January 17, 2014  Photos by Lindsey Borgman, Video by Bob Sweeney The Sofar Sounds: Philadelphia team is: Carolyn Lederach, Ken Winneg & Davis Howley Written by contributer Mariel Lorenz Photo by Lindsey Borgman On a frightfully cold day in January, one would think the weather would keep a crowd in the comfort of their own home, but music fans are different.  They do not let snow or cold get in the way of seeing great music.  As Shakespeare said "The show must go on" so of course it was no surprise to me that the first Sofar Sounds Philadelphia show of 2014 packed a row home in the Fis...

Earlier this year here at the indie Philly blog, Root Down In The Shadow, we started the fun series #Philly Presents , ...bands writing about other bands. The most common reaction from bands to this project: "Wait? Are we covering other bands?" And so #CoverClub was born! The final Nomad Studios Session 1.0 band for the #CoverClub series are the hardworking fellas from West Philadelphia, none other than the Fleeting Ends !  When the series was in the planning stages, it was clear that these energetic dudes had to be involved.  Seeing them back in August, at the Sofar Sounds: Philadelphia show, I realized that if their live show was such a close reproduction to their album intensity, then they would also be incredible for a studio session.  Turns out, instincts were correct and these guys brought their A game.  Never even considering a stripped down session, the Fleeting Ends came to Nomad Recording Studio ready to rock out. The Fleeting Ends selection ...

Earlier this week we released the raw and intimate Ron Gallo version of the Lawsuits ' 'Anybody's Girl' for #COVERCLUB !  The softer rendition gave ample pause to the heartfelt Brian Strouse lyrics as Gallo sang them on a cold December day in West Philly. It was this type of reflective day that Ron had back in Chicago a recently while on tour with Toy Soldiers, when the lyrics for his original 'Expensive Hair' started forming in his head.  The brand new song, part of an upcoming project, a kind of a concept album of sorts focuses on the humor of the American lifestyle. Cover Club | Ron Gallo "Expensive Hair" This new project is not to be confused with a just finished solo record that should be released sometime this spring,  his previous solo work Live at Ortlieb's released last spring or the impressive Toy Soldiers album The Maybe Boys released last fall.  'Expensive Hair' is an example of the most recent songs Ron has been writi...

Earlier this year here at the indie Philly blog, Root Down In The Shadow, we started the fun series #Philly Presents , ...bands writing about other bands. The most common reaction from bands to this project: "Wait? Are we covering other bands?" And so #CoverClub was born! The newest session in the #CoverClub series finds us at Nomad Studios in West Philadelphia with Philly's hardest working front man, the Ron Gallo of Toy Soldiers !  The selection 'Anybody's Girl' is from the Lawsuits new album Cool Cool Cool , just released in October 2013. Cover Club | Ron Gallo "Anybody's Girl" (The Lawsuits)  Video by Bob Sweeney(director) and Paul Lorenz - Audio by Nomad Studio In the past five years, Ron Gallo and the Toy Soldiers have shared bills with all kinds of bands big and small, in and out of Philly, but the logical choice for Ron's Philly-centric cover was none other than The Lawsuits.   The Lawsuits first came onto hi...

Earlier this week we dusted off the holiday cobwebs for #COVERCLUB as Aaron Brown selected Allison Polans ' delightful country tune 'Kindest of Hearts' for his Nomad Recording Studio session.  It's yet another example of the emotion that Aaron Brown brings to his music. For his original selection for #CoverClub, Aaron reached deep into his catalog and called upon 'Leave the Light On', one of his earliest songs written.    Exhausted from playing the night before in New York City with Clairy Browne & The Bangin' Rackettes, he was still able to make his original as fresh and pure as the day he wrote it.  The post-break-up song sounded as if it was Clairy, who had broken up with him the night before. Cover Club | Aaron Brown "Leave the Light On" Aaron Brown is the lead singer of Aaron & The Spell , who can be found this Friday at World Cafe Live , along with West Philadelphia Orchestra and Black Horse Motel supporting A Fistful of S...

Earlier this year here at the indie Philly blog, Root Down In The Shadow, we started the fun series #Philly Presents , ...bands writing about other bands. The most common reaction from bands to this project: "Wait? Are we covering other bands?" And so #CoverClub was born! Before a brief winter break, we released a #CoverClub session with Philly newcomers The Rivals covering long time Philly artist Birdie Busch .  This week's new session, shares Aaron Brown covering his friend, band-mate, and scene hero Allison Polans .  Currently, Allison sings with Aaron Brown as a member of Aaron & The Spell and for the last two years they have been together in the York Street Hustle.   Aaron Brown had known of Allison Polans from her days as Paper Trees , but didn't really know her all that well.  Soon after Aaron and Allison each joined as members of York Street Hustle, he also had a solo gig at the Tin Angel with Murchant and they had an opening on the...

Earlier this year here at the indie Philly blog, Root Down In The Shadow, we started the fun series #Philly Presents ...bands writing about other bands. The most common reaction from bands to this project: "Wait? Are we covering other bands?" And so #CoverClub was born!   The first sessions for #CoverClub were recorded in October, at the intimate Break Neck Studios under the sonic helm of Peter Joseph!  The posts here at Root Down In The Shadow have featured the excellent videos by director Bob Sweeney with Paul Lorenz and Jeff Coon also behind the lens. Since the audio tracks are soooo good, it was decided they had to be shared!  Now at SoundCloud with permission from the bands we have switched the audio files to be a free download !!   Download them and share them.  Make sure all your friends hear them.  All we ask of you is to listen, watch, and share!  The Lawsuits members Brian Strouse & Vanessa Winters - photo by Jeff C...

Chris Kasper released Bagabones on October 1, 2013.  The self-produced, indie output is the 4th album from the Philadelphia mainstay. Bagabones was written in a small cabin owned by Chris’s late uncle in West Hurley, NY, just outside the town of Woodstock.  The energy of Woodstock danced its way into these songs, along with the calm of Byrdcliffe Mountain and a generous homage to Chris’s musical heroes.  While the album was engineered by Matt Muir of Kawari Studios and mastered by Philly soul producer Jim Salamone ( Teddy Pendergrass ), Chris Kasper stepped into the role of producer and arranger for this new work. Despite Bagabones being Chris Kasper's fourth album, this is my first album to listen to for Kasper as a relative new-comer to the Philadelphia scene.  I knew of Chris Kasper only by reputation from others in the scene.  In fact when going to his album release show in late September, I went without knowing any of his work, but it felt li...