Root Down in the Shadow

Brown Bird - James Joiner Today marks the release of the final Brown Bird album Axis Mundi.  The powerful album carries a full band sound filled with songs grappling with the concept of mortality.  While it would be easy to explain why the album is a quality one, it begs to have explained what preceded the album.  So let's go back a few years through the rise of Brown Bird. 2011 Newport Folk Fest Sunday schedule Brown Bird , is an amazing band from Providence, RI.  For many, 2011 was the first notice of this "folk-duo" as they ascended to NPR darlings.  It was an incredible year for David Lamb and MorganEve Swain starting with the release of The Sounds of Ghost ep, peaking with a spot on the widely-known Newport Folk Festival , and wrapping up with expansive touring to support their most impressive album Salt for Salt .   2012 meant more touring, along side fellow Newport Folk Fest newcomers The Devil Makes Three .   2013 was meant to be a great year

Joe Fletcher live @Fergie's Pub   Recently I came across perfect synergy as a fan.  A national indie act that I've been following joined forces with a local indie act that is ready to hit the national stage! Rhode Island based Joe Fletcher is on tour now with the Toy Soldiers , and just played two gigs in Philadelphia with them over the 4th of July!  I had the pleasure of catching both sets, at Fergie's Pub and the Jamaican Jerk Hut, and sat down with Joe betwen sets to catch up on the world of Joe Fletcher! The new album, You’ve Got the Wrong Man, what’s the current status?  The album started out as an EP last year, and has evolved into a full album .  We're preparing for release in late October! The new tracks haven't really been getting much play on tour?  Is it a fear of a crappy cellphone-video early-release on the internet?  That does play a part, but I've either been playing with bands such as Brown Bird or Toy Soldiers along the way. 

With the music "season" starting with South by SouthWest in March, April has been such a great time for tours and new albums.  2013 is starting off the just as expected.  Here's some must see shows coming to towns near you. Purling Hiss are touring for their March release Water On Mars.  Their low-fi, indie-hard-rock sound is reminiscent of early Nirvana.  Regardless of who they remind you of, do yourself a favor and check out the fuzzy 'Lolita' 04 Apr 2013 Williamsburg, NY 05 Apr 2013 Johnny Brenda's Philadelphia, PA 06 Apr 2013 Metro Gallery Baltimore, MD 07 Apr 2013 Maxwell's Hoboken, NJ 09 Apr 2013 O'Brien's Pub Allston, MA  10 Apr 2013 BAR Nightclub New Haven, CT   12 Apr 2013 Brillobox Pittsburgh, PA   13 Apr 2013 Ace of Cups Columbus, OH 14 Apr 2013 The Garden Bowl Detroit, MI 15 Apr 2013 The Empty Bottle Chicago, I 16 Apr 2013 7th St. Entry Minneapolis, MN 18 Apr 2013 Linneman's Riverwest Inn Milwaukee, WI 19 Apr

Hey friends and fellow fans of Brown Bird, if you've been following the blog here @ Root Down In The Shadow for any length of time, you may come to realize that we're big fans of Providence, RI duo Brown Bird. The newest Brown Bird album, Fits of Reason( see the review here ), is inspired by the writings of Omar Khayyam, Christopher Hitchens, and Plato, among others, and grapples with the human condition in a smooth but unapologetic departure from the band’s previous release" While still featuring the same drum heavy, two part music; Fits of Reason is more complex.  David Lamb left behind the banjo on the album, "writing above my ability and doing my best to play up to the new songs" with the electric guitar.  MorganEve also expanded her skills, incorporating the new weapon in her arsenal, the electric bass.   Long intros and interludes are featured on the instrumental heavy (two complete instrumentals and two majority instrumental tracks) album,

Who is Brown Bird? Well, besides the most played band on my iPod behind Pearl Jam, Beastie Boys, and Iron &Wine, Brown Bird is a Rhode Island based duo featuring David Lamb and MorganEve Swain.   David Lamb has been synonymous with Brown Bird since its inception so many years ago.  Dave was touring solo in 2008 when MorganEve Swain joined the band.  A few people have come and gone since, but the current 2.0 version as they record and tour is David Lamb and MorganEve Swain. For this version 2.0, the third Brown Bird album is the April 2nd release, Fits of Reason . At first enigmatic, Fits of Reason , via Supply & Demand music , picks up where Salt for Salt left off with a faster pace than previous Brown Bird works.  Salt for Salt  lyrically had more gore, darkness, and damnation than before.  While "we didn't want to write the same songs that we had already written" Fits of Reason dives deeper than previous works.  The album was "inspired by the writi

the marquee @ Tower Theatre Time for an update on the ol' concert calendar.   As always I look at who's coming from Boston to DC.  I've managed to hit Baltimore and Philly so far this season, adding Lancaster tonight & Boston this Sunday.  But as always I wanted to share my finds!  Hopefully you can find your town on the list as well. I've taken the liberty of highlighting shows I'd go see if I had the freedom and time to travel more!!   CLUTCH - Tonight I head to Lancaster to catch one of my all time favorite bands back in action.  I haven't see Clutch in over 10 years.  But I don't anticipate their intensity diminishing in anyway. Take a look at these tour dates for Clutch and many other bands coming through Philly in the 2nd half of April.  It is a really, really great time to see a band right now.  If you aren't going to a show in April or May this year, something is wrong!!!  Bands are everywhere right now!! Let's start of