Root Down in the Shadow

Welcome to Season Two of Philly-centric video series, Cover Club. Cover Club is best conceptualized as “A special brand of Philly covers”, akin to The Onion’s AV Undercover series but with one caveat: the song being covered must originally be from a Philly artist.  Vita and the Woolf - photo by Lindsey Borgman Jennifer Pague- Photo by Dan McGurk It's an exciting time for the young band Vita and the Woolf !  Last fall they released their debut EP Fang Song, played a Sofar Sounds: Philadelphia , kicked ass at the Communion Club Night , recorded a Key Session , took part in Philly Sings Philly, played all over town, and were featured in an in-depth interview with WXPN's the Key . If that cross-section of their recent schedule wasn't enough, on-tap is an even crazier next month.  According to Jennifer Pague , the principal member of the band, "What's next is March Tour down to SXSW . We are hitting 10 states and playing a bunch of shows. Then we a...

Welcome to Season Two of Philly-centric video series, Cover Club. Cover Club is best conceptualized as “A special brand of Philly covers”, akin to The Onion’s AV Undercover series but with one caveat: the song being covered must originally be from a Philly artist. Vita and the Woolf joined by Tutlie for #CoverClub - photo by Lindsey Borgman We're ready to reveal the final band of Season Two of CoverClub. Wrapping up our second recording session at Cambridge Sound Studios in South Philly, young rising stars Vita and the Woolf tackled the exciting Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!  In the video, Jennifer Pague grabs the bass and leads her band and session-mates Tutlie as her chorus!  Cover Club: Vita and the Woolf "Satan Said Dance" (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) Last November for Philly Sings Philly Jennifer Pague covered Dr. Dog 's "Shadow People" to a positive response so it was a logical choice for Cover Club.  Until a few days before our second sess...

Welcome to Season Two of Philly-centric video series, Cover Club.  Cover Club is best conceptualized as “A special brand of Philly covers”, akin to The Onion’s AV Undercover series but with one caveat: the song being covered must originally be from a Philly artist.    Mark Cruttenden of Tutlie Rebecca Way of Tutlie Just two weeks ago, Tutlie came to Cambridge Sound Studios for their Cover Club session. All six members came ready to lay down an awesome session. It could have been chaotic, but the Tutlie team came ready to rock. Warming up with their original, "Frejya" the session started off great. Hailing from their debut LP Young Cries,  this amazing track shines in their video, directed by Bob Sweeney . Cover Club | Tutlie - "Frejya" Check out the Tutlie original "Frejya" via Bandcamp.com Young Cries by Tutlie Head over to the CoverClubPhilly.com audio page for more songs from this session/series Tutlie w...

Welcome to Season Two of Philly-centric video series, Cover Club.  Cover Club is best conceptualized as “A special brand of Philly covers”, akin to The Onion’s AV Undercover series but with one caveat: the song being covered must originally be from a Philly artist. Director Bob Sweeney in action filming Tutlie at Cambridge Sound Studio - Photo by Lindsey Borgman Tutlie is hands down one of the most exciting bands I've had the chance to work with in the last year.  In a year where I had to pick & chose which shows to go to, as I had a newborn at home; it was great to see Tutlie continually popping up on the radar.  First it was the Communion label "Club Night" at Underground Arts and later at Sofar Sounds: Philadelphia .  I was thrilled when we were able to sit down to talk about "who" they were.    As I got to know them, one thing was sure; they had to be a part of Cover Club .  When we started booking for Season Two , they were a mu...

Welcome to Season Two of Philly-centric video series, Cover Club.  Cover Club is best conceptualized as “A special brand of Philly covers”, akin to The Onion’s AV Undercover series but with one caveat: the song being covered must originally be from a Philly artist. Ali Wadsworth - Photo by Bob Sweeney Satellite Hearts - Photo by Bob Sweeney Ali Wadsworth + Satellite Hearts are two names that were all over the Philly map in recent years.  Ali Wadsworth most recently put out an album ( Ali Wadsworth ) of songs written by her friends and has contributed vocals for countless others including Kalob Griffin Band , Aaron & the Spell , Kuf Knotz , and Small House.  Satellite Hearts just dropped a new single to tease their upcoming album, but spent most of 2014 backing Kuf Knotz, Ali Wadsworth, Ron Gallo & others.  Meanwhile they're up for the Indie Rock Band of the Year and will be a featured performer for the 4th Annual TriState Indie Awards ....

Welcome to Season Two of Philly-centric video series, Cover Club. Cover Club is best conceptualized as “A special brand of Philly covers”, akin to The Onion’s AV Undercover series but with one caveat: the song being covered must originally be from a Philly artist . Small Houses - video capture (Mike Batchelor/Kettle Pot Tracks)   Back in June 2013, the first time I met Small Houses was a Sofar Sounds: Philadelphia show in the Northern Liberties section of town.  The adopted Philadelphian felt like a friend from the minute you met him. From the J une 2013 Sofar Sounds Philadelphia review : "First on the bill, at the Northern Liberties new row home, was Small Houses: the Michigan-bred, Philadelphia-based, rambling one-man band.   The crowd settled in rather quickly, whether coming in after work or arriving from another #MakeMusicPhilly show.  For his set, Jeremy Quentin treated the crowd to raw cuts from his 2013 release Exactly Where You Wanted to Be and...

Welcome to Season Two of Philly-centric video series, Cover Club. Cover Club is best conceptualized as “A special brand of Philly covers”, akin to The Onion’s AV Undercover series but with one caveat: the song being covered must originally be from a Philly artist.   We started Cover Club as a means to share the diversity and strength of the Philadelphia scene.  So when we had a chance to collaborate with Kettle Pot Tracks for a Small Houses session of Cover Club, we jumped at the chance.  This session represents a culmination of so many things going right.  It goes back to the June 2013 Sofar Sounds: Philadelphia show when I met Small Houses.  He had recently done the local On The Hill Sessions for Kettle Pot Tracks, a site that is/was one of the places we would look to find more out about bands from Philly.  So when I got a call, last summer from Mike Batchelor of Kettle Pot Tracks, "hey Jeremy Quentin is here recording, do you want to do a...

#PhillyPresents started in 2013 as a way to honor our favorite bands and allow them to continue to share other new bands with their fans and Root Down In The Shadow fans. As a band, what could be better than an opportunity to write a little about what’s going on for you, maybe tell some stories and to share with fans about a band you love?    No Good Sister BAND NAME: No Good Sister Style: Rootsy Americana with Rockin' 3­part harmonies Years on the Scene: With No Good Sister: 2, however between the three of us, we've been collaborating with other Philly bands and artists for several years. Members: The core of the band is the three ladies on vocals: myself ( Meaghan Kyle ), Maren Sharrow , and Jess McDowell , who also holds down rhythm guitar. We are super fortunate to collaborate with some of our favorite local musicians. When we're at full band capacity, that includes: Phil D'Agostino on bass, Hoagy Wing on drums, Anam Owili­-Eger on keys, and Mike ...

Welcome to Season Two of Philly-centric video series, Cover Club. Cover Club is best conceptualized as “A special brand of Philly covers”, akin to The Onion’s AV Undercover series but with one caveat: the song being covered must originally be from a Philly artist. Photo by Bob Sweeney Cover Club | TJ Kong "Post Apocalypse Blues" The TJ Kong Cover Club session at Cambridge Sound Studios "living room" was complete, like most of our sessions, with the recording of an original tune.  Ironically, "Post Apocalypse Blues" was one of the very first songs ever written for TJ Kong & the Atomic Bomb , according to Dan Bruskewicz , front man of TJ Kong .  While this may be throwback original having been recorded on Idiots (2010) & Manufacturing Joy (2012), it was a fresh choice for the session.   According to Dan, "we love playing it in a stripped down setting, such a different blues feel." While enjoying this fresh take on an old-...

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Welcome to Season Two of Philly-centric video series, Cover Club. Cover Club is best conceptualized as “A special brand of Philly covers”, akin to The Onion’s AV Undercover series but with one caveat: the song being covered must originally be from a Philly artist. Photo by Bob Sweeney Photo by Bob Sweeney In late 2013 at the Philly Sings Philly event, I first met Dan B . of TJ Kong .  Truthfully, I hadn't yet figured out that he wasn't actually Mr. Kong.  While the "real" TJ Kong, was actually Major T. J. Kong, the B-52 bomber pilot from Dr. Strangelove . Philadelphia's TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb is a band full of Dans & Joshes dropping musical bombs (the band has two Dans and two Joshes in it). I've seen Dan B. cover "Standard Human" from Purples solo at Church of Kong (a brunch song-writer series at the former Nodding Heads Brewery ), but it was with Joshua Machiz on bass joining Dan B. that this cover, really takes on new li...