Root Down in the Shadow

All Photos by Lindsey Borgman Jonas Oesterle February 16th, 2014 at World Cafe Live , TRI STATE INDIE threw one hell of a party.  The day of the Third Annual Tri State Indie Awards day was filled with celebratory fun and killer music.  Jonas Oesterle hosted the event with The Living Sample as the house band, who by the way are a much better combo than Seth Myers and The 8G Band with Fred Armisen on Late Night .  The event showcased so much of what is awesome with the Philly music scene. The camaraderie in the building was impressive.  Tri State Indie really captured it well, when co-founders Rich McKie & Stephanie Seiple-McKie explained "the event is not solely Tri State Indie's award show.  It is the award show for the whole scene."  They are completely spot-on, as there were an impressive number of bands playing and being nominated, not to mention all the presenters representing a huge cross-section of the local industry.  To further their point, the n

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 by Paul Lo

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 bill.

The 40th Anniversary Innervisions #Revisited show "was initially inspired by a Facebook comment made by Robert Drake , on-air host and producer for WXPN , in which he said, “The #XPNfest has just started and I already have a new favorite band!! Philly's own Aaron & The Spell ... it's like listening to vintage 1970s Stevie Wonder .” After reading that comment, it struck lead singer and songwriter Aaron Brown that it would be great fun to actually cover a Stevie Wonder record. After looking into it further, Aaron realized that it was the 40th anniversary for one of his favorite albums, Innervisions, and the rest was easy after that. He enlisted some great friends to help play and promote the shows." The idea for the show was well conceived on so many levels.  It is a perfect reason to get familiar with a classic album, another reason to go see Aaron & The Spell, and all the proceeds of the event went to charity!  The show in Philadelphia took place at Wo

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." **Unless noted, ** All photos from Lindsey Borgman** Links to earlier SofarSounds: Philadelphia reviews November 15th University City - Philadelphia, PA Sofar Sounds: Philadelphia's November 2013 show marked the 2 year anniversary of the most special music series to hit the banks of the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers.  In anticipation of this momentous show, I had asked some friends what have been the surprises, favorites, and overall thoughts of the preceding shows. The best synopsis came from my pal, concert buddy, and site contributor Mariel Lorenz : " There is nothing quite like your first time.  The secrecy surrounding a show is a little thrilling in itself.  I didn't know where to go until a few days befor

From time to time, there comes a need to bring fans up to speed with all the goings on with a band.  Hence the "Catching Up With...." series here at Root Down In The Shadow 'Fold' Single Lots of big things are happening for Kwesi K.   First and foremost, a new Pronouns EP is weeks away from release.  Funded last fall in 37 days of crowd sourcing via a Kickstarter project , Pronouns EP has been a constant part of Kwesi's life since it was conceived.  There were many occasions, where he came straight from the studio to a gig, such as the June Sofar Sounds: Philadelphia show.  If Kwesi thinks life might slow down a little now that the album is done, he's dead wrong. After getting a sneak peak on the single 'Fold', it is clear Kwesi K will be a busy man.  Affectionately referred to as " Graceland 's cousin", 'Fold' is a vibrant tune that brings his talents emphatically to the forefront.   So many melodious sounds en

Finally, the 2013 XPoNential Festival is here! Arguably the best weekend of live music Philly has to offer, you need to be prepared. Rather than the typical blog post where one source tells you who to like for an upcoming fest, we at Root Down in the Shadow are going to take a different approach to giving you a listening guide to the artists at the upcoming fest.  I've asked my contributors and some of the festival artists for their views on who to see. Here's the results:  Aaron Brown of Aaron & the Spell (Wiggins Park- Friday 5:30)   Another band i'd like to see on the day I play : I'm actually pretty excited to see Michael Kiwanuka .  It's not because, he plays right after [Aaron & The Spell].  I saw him when he played at the Trocadero in the winter and I enjoyed the show.  I've been listening to Home Again , and really dig the title track Another band i'd like to see on Saturday or Sunday :  Wilco ! They play on Sunday and are on

#PhillyPresents: by Aaron Brown Your band name: Aaron & The Spell Style: Indie Soul Years on the Scene : With this band - 2 years; in general - 7 years Current Project:   Sing is available on iTunes ? No, album projects in the works for this year. I'm looking to get in the studio again this fall for my follow-up record. As far as the record being noticed - recently the song "A Beating Heart" off my record was nominated for an Independent Music Award in the adult contemporary song category. Members : Aaron Brown - Vocals, Guitar Mike Pietrusko - Drums Brian Schuman - Bass Imani Roach - Vocals, tambourine Allison Polans - Vocals, tambourine Adam Zielinski - Guitar Recent and/or most unique/exciting show : North Star Bar opening for Clairy Browne & The Bangin' Rackettes.  This show was so exciting to play because the crowd there was one of the best ones I've played in front of.  Also, the band was smokin' that night.  And, Clai