Root Down in the Shadow

*At Johnny Brenda's opening for Lost In The Trees* On a dreary Tuesday night in Philadelphia one of the best things you can do is go see some live music.  The amazing benefit of being in a city with such a huge population and an amazing depth of musical talent, is that you can easily find a "local" artist opening at most shows.  The promoter to band connection works extremely well in matching up Philly area bands with artists that are coming through town, a situation that would not happen in a majority of the cities across the country.  On this particular Tuesday, Our Griffins came down from the Lehigh Valley to support the tour of Lost In The Trees and  All Tiny Creatures.    On the day Lost In The Trees released their new album Past Life , they were also treated to some amazing Philly talent with Our Griffins starting off the night at Johnny Brenda's . Our Griffins played just six songs, but did a great job to impress the crowd.   New so...

On Monday we were thrilled to unveil the Dominic Angelella (DRGN King) solo cover of the Dead Milkmen hit "Punk Rock Girl".  Recorded on a treacherous winter day back in January, it was hard to keep the excitement of the session under wraps for the last month.  The song was recorded in one take and it was one of those thrilling recording moments, when you know you just saw/heard something incredible. DominicAngelella recording his #CoverClub session at Nomad Recording Studios Excitement and anticipation seem to be two key themes for DRGN King these days.  Just over a year since Paragraph Nights, the band filled up the year in between with solid touring, playing XPoNential Festival , and recording a Daytrotter Session . The anticipation is palpable as new music is never out of the plans future reality for DRGN King.  "Saint Toms'" is part of the new material that Dominic Angelella and Ritz Reynolds are working on.  This still untitled second a...

Band Name : Chris Kasper Style: Singer/Songwriter - Roots/ Blues/ Americana Years on the Scene : I moved here from West Virginia in 2004 and put out FlyingBoy in 2006. Current projects and/or members : In Sept 2013, I released the 4th Chris Kasper record entitled Bagabones The band included Kiley Ryan , Phil D'Agostino , and Daniel Bower . Kiley and I also released a collaborative record of original songs titled Foxhound in June 2013. This coming year we have a Daytrotter session in March as well as a film idea we're pursuing. Most unique show: Most unique show was probably Sunrise Set at The Frendly Gathering Festival in Windsor, VT.  It's a summer fest run by professional snowboarders Jack Matrini and Danny Davis . It's held at a defunct ski resort and they invited us to play at the top of the mountain during sunrise. At 4AM Jack and Danny met us at the bottom with an ATV Mule Gator thing. We held on for dear life and they gunned it straight u...

Welcome back to # CoverClub .  This week's video continues our 2nd session at Nomad Recording Studios .  We kicked things off two weeks ago, with Sean Hoots covering Boyz II Men 'It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday' and soon we have two more sessions to unveil while we alternate with videos from our 2nd session at Breakneck Studios. This week we unveil a session featuring Dominic Angelella of DRGN KING.  When the idea of #PhillyPresents and #CoverClub were being kicked around, Dominic was one of the first artists approached.  "What would you think about talking about other Philly bands you dig, for Root Down In The Shadow?"  Once Dominic lit up, totally stoked about the idea of sharing his enjoyment of his co-conspirators, it was a forgone conclusion that #PhillyPresents would happen.  Now that Philly Presents has branched out to include Cover Club, it had to involve DRGN KING.  The band formed by Dominic and Ritz Reynolds would certainly be ...

On Tuesday, the Menzingers released their new album Rented World !  While they are looking forward with their new release, we looked back to On the Impossible Past as we revealed the Mat Burke cover of the Menzingers favorite 'Mexican Guitars'.   The Menzingers who now call Philadelphia home are from Scranton, which just happens to be where Mat Burke grew up. Mat Burke is also working on new material.   His new album, Still Bleeding is in the final mixing stages working with Brian Strouse and Josh Friedman of the Lawsuits . To get familiar with Mat Burke and his upcoming work you can start with his Cover Club session original "Box Of Pine," recorded at Break Neck Studios in Newtown, Pa.  This new single was written about a tour with pals Levee Drivers.   Mat pours out his emotions on this solo track born of frustrations being out on the road. Cover Club | Mat Burke "Box Of Pine" Mat will also be gracing some local stages very soon.  Th...

Ron Gallo, AS​-​IS: Live at Kettle Pot Tracks is not at all what it seems. This new release recorded at Kettle Pot Tracks ’ Lafayette Hill studio in December 2013 is not a follow-up to Ron Gallo ’s 2013 solo release Live at Ortlieb's: an in-venue live recording. It is not the Toy Soldiers front-man’s solo project with producer Reed Kendall , coming later this spring with a full band.  AS​-​IS: Live at Kettle Pot Tracks is neither of those. A S​-​IS: Live at Kettle Pot Tracks is the must-share by-product of a solo On The Hill Session with the Kettle Pot Tracks. This stripped-down release marks the first physical release from the Kettle Pot Tracks after a year of stellar digital releases of their sessions. To the unaware listener, what we have is an incredible collection of 1940s standards. Turns out, only one of them is. “Early in the Morning” reigns from that era, but ironically Ron Gallo's inspiration is from the 1970s Harry Nilsson version, rather than 1940s jazz-m...

Mat Burke is all man; he is well inked, rides a Triumph, brews professionally, and knows his way around a cigar shop.  So, of course, his choice of local Philly bands to play for #CoverClub would be punk band the Menzingers .  In this cover, Mat does manly with style.  He tones down the popular 'Mexican Guitars' with his acoustic guitar at the intimate Break Neck Studios. With this new session, Mat Burke joins other notable front-men of Philly covering their geographically related favorites for the Philly-centric #CoverClub series such as Sean Hoots, Ron Gallo, Aaron Brown, and Brian Strouse  Be sure to check back this Wednesday for more info on Mat Burke's new album, an upcoming benefit show, and of course his original track for this weeks #CoverClub session.  Cover Club | Mat Burke "Mexican Guitars" (The Menzingers) Compare to the original - 'Mexican Guitars from  On the Impossible Past

This Tuesday, February 18th at 7pm at Underground Arts , Drexel University senior Sarah Glorioso is hosting a panel event about the up-and-coming Philadelphia music scene.   This panel is going to feature John Vettese of WXPN , Eric McLellan of Warner Bros/Sire Records , Marley McNamara manager of the Districts and Levee Drivers , and Khari Mateen producer for the Roots and Jill Scott  and others.  The event will be moderated by Fame House 's Nick Rizzuto. As someone who relies heavily on the constant support of the members of this incredible scene, it's very exciting to see this kind of panel.  Outside of discussions about the music scene in the Philadelphia area and its history, the panel will also focus on the panel members' beginnings.  Per Sarah, they will discuss "how each panelist found success, and also how each panel member uses social media in their field."  With the panel members sheer influence over Philadelphia's m...

Earlier this week we revealed the Sean Hoots solo cover of the BoyzIIMen hit 'It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday'.  In just a few days, the video has already crept near the top of our most played #CoverClub videos.  It was during a winter session three weeks ago at Nomad Recording Studio where Sean Hoots also recorded an original song with the working title 'Move Me.'  Even in the raw state that is presented via Cover Club; 'Move Me' has the rare quality of being a song you feel well acquainted with within seconds of hearing it. Cover Club | Sean Hoots "Move Me"  'Move Me' is amongst a collection of songs Hoots & Hellmouth are working on fine tuning in the next several weeks in preparation for an upcoming release.  It's possible it could be played in the annual Valentine's Day shows at Tin Angel .  For sure, you'll hear it during their residency in May at Boot & Saddle . Sean Hoots has been busy remove...

Our first release from the 2.0 Session of Cover Club at Nomad Recording Studio features the boundless Sean Hoots .  Sean Hoots had been on the Root Down In The Shadow radar since catching him for the first time at the March 2013 Sofar Sounds Philadelphia show !  Since a well-rounded knowledge of the Philadelaphia music scene is certainly incomplete with knowing Sean Hoots and/or Hoots and Hellmouth .  Sean was a natural choice to include on the series.  'It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday' was first made famous in the 70's by G. C. Camerson and it was later re-popularized by the legendary Philly R&B outfit Boyz II Men in the 90's.  When he first moved to Philly eight years ago, Sean moved across the street from the creative arts high school where Boyz II Men, the Roots and many others started years ago.  It's no surprise then how Sean feels about the aforementioned tune: "The a capella Boyz II Men version had always really struck me....

  Tri State Indie , your regional source for big announcements, contests, interviews, reviews, and upcoming shows and festivals is ready to kick off the official start of the 2014 music year.  With year-end reviews behind us, the calendar page turns in grand fashion with the "it" function of the year: the fabulous Tri State Indie Awards .  Tri State Indie brings all the bands together to celebrate everything from the previous year, focusing on Philadelphia and the vibrant regional music scene. This is the third presentation of arguably the best local/regional annual awards show anywhere.  It's a must-attend event.  Unlike the Grammy Awards or other television awards show where people feel a part of the party following along with Twitter or Facebook from your couch.  You must be in attendance to soak in everything great about the Philadelphia music scene. The main event starts at 6pm with fabulous artists taking the stage between awards.  ...

Earlier this week for #CoverClub we released a stunning cover of Chris Kasper 's 'Walking on Water'.  To complete the session, August John Lutz II , reached deep into the vault for the original Levee Drivers selection to recover 'Going Nowhere'. Photo by Bob Sweeney Lutz explained " 'Going Nowhere' is a very, very old Levee Drivers song.  I think it might be the first slow song I ever wrote for Levee Drivers.  It used to be a regular in our live shows, but for some reason we shelved it a few years ago.  With this particular lineup of my band and how we all play off of each other, it made a lot of sense to resurrect this song." Cover Club | Levee Drivers "Going Nowhere" Where to see Levee Drivers next?: 2/09 - Tellus360 in Lancaster (with T. Hardy Morris ) 2/21 - Live @ 5 Radio Show on 104.5 2/27 - MOM's in Doylestown 2/28 - Ortliebs in Philadephia (with The Rivals ) 3/12 - World Cafe Live in Philadelp...

With just days to go before the next robust Communion event here in Philadelphia, let's take a look back at the insanity that took place at Underground Arts a few weeks back:  Philadelphia Communion Show – January '14 By Michael Southerton and Emily Southerton Rosu Lup Michael: SXSW -bound Philly songsters Rosu Lup set a beautiful precedent by kicking off Communion on the Underground Arts Black Box Stage . The songs of Rosu Lup are tenderly crafted melodies that weave elements of Appalachian roots with modern sonic aesthetics. The steel resonance of acoustic guitars and banjos are folded into a reverb-soaked backdrop provided by rich California tones from the electric guitar. The backbeat drives the rich rhythm section, and the core of the four-piece band is uplifted by the lovely addition of strings (two violins) and brass (trumpet and trombone.) And “uplifting” is perhaps the most appropriate term to describe Rosu Lup. While all songs carry the burden of reality...

New venue Boot and Saddle has been doing a solid job of attracting some hot new acts such as Those Darlins and Cibo Matto to town.  The venue is set up for long-term success with a good menu and separate areas for the bar and shows.  If they keep bringing stacked local line-ups such as last Thursday, it will quickly be a new favorite for many.  Toy Soldiers front man Ron Gallo had the headline slot for the night and brought friends Lucy Stone and Jay Purdy to fill out his bill.  Fresh off of a release of his solo work Live At Kettle Pot Tracks, Ron Gallo was backed by local boys Satellite Hearts and Levee Drivers multi-instrumentalist Kyle Perella on lap steel. Jay Purdy started off the night with a captivating solo set, allowing his playful melodies and unexpected lyrics to display a very unique brand of songwriting.  Normally front-man of The Extraordinaires , Jay seemed at ease on his own while switching back and forth between whimsical tunes o...

In mid-January the Root Down In The Shadow Cover Club film crew of Bob Sweeney & Paul Lorenz were back in action with our friends at Break Neck Studio .  After a successful first round with Kevin Killen, Christopher Davis-Shannon, Chelsea Mitchell of Dirty Dollhouse and Brian Strouse & Vanessa Winters of The Lawsuits we followed our model of getting four bands into the studio for a Philly centric cover and an original track. Our first release from the 2.0 session of Cover Club at Break Neck Studio features Root Down In The Shadow favorites, Levee Drivers .  Front-man August John Lutz II has been heavily involved in the series as a co-producer, handpicking our Bucks Co. studio partner himself.  His band was a more than obvious choice to include in the series, as Levee Drivers are one of the most captivating bands gracing Philadelphia stages today.  It seems somewhat easy to figure out some of August Lutz' stylistic influences such as Johnny Cas...