Root Down in the Shadow

Photo by Jeff Coon Photo by Jeff Coon Just over two years ago, Max García Conover in preparation for his first show in Philadelphia at The Grape Room , he reached out to Root Down In The Shadow to connect.  Could I review his new album Burrow?   A review wasn't possible, but the Grape Room was just down the hill from my house.  Since then we've collaborated many times for house shows and connections for other line-ups and sessions.  This last August was a very special day for both of us.  He was able to join make a Sofar Sounds: Philadelphia show and since we had made arrangements with the host, we had the ability to do more recording and pulled off a Cover Club Session. It isn't just the last two years that made Max García Conover's relationship with Philly special.  It's been going on for most of his life.   He explains, "My romanticization of philadelphia started way back in elementary school, dancing and singing in my bedroo...

There's always something exciting going on for the bands of Cover Club . This week's entry, Mason Porter , will finish the week with their own curated fest : The Midnight Mountain Music Show featuring friends galore such as Wallace Brothers , Ladybird , Kalob Griffin Band, and Hinton, Bower, Jones . Meanwhile they start the week celebrating other friends, American Babies , by choosing them as their Cover Club selection! This has to be the best value in town with$60 for two nights camping and show ticket. How's the response so far? "The response has been unbelievable. So much enthusiasm. So many people want to be a part of this and help out and see it succeed. We have an amazing community of fans and friends and family and this festival is really bringing everyone together in a really special and exciting way." For Midnight Mountain Music Festival tickets head to MasonPorter.com/MMMS Joe D'Amico of Mason Porter explains the choice of Ameri...

Kalob Griffin Band celebrating their Cover Club session at Cambridge Sound Stuidos The bands of Cover Club have done a great job of bringing out the best Philadelphia has to offer varying from contemporaries such as Strand Of Oaks , The Districts , Clap Your Hands Say Yeah , mewithoutYou , the Lawsuits , Cruisr , and Chris Kasper. The classics have been deep with Hall & Oates , Ween , Nina Simone , Boyz II Men , The Dead Milkmen , Joan Jett , all the way to Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles . No matter which end of the contemporary/classic spectrum bands choose from, there's always an "oh yeah, I can't believe he/she/they hasn't/haven't been covered yet. Oft overlooked, Jim Croce is an indisputable favorite no matter where you're from, and fits perfectly for Cover Club as he was born and raised in South Philadelphia and laid to rest nearby after spending most of his 30 years on the planet here.   With a bit of unintended irony, Kalob Grif...

This week for CoverClub we get to be extra excited. This week, Pine Barons are playing our favorite festival: XPoNential Festival and they have a great cover for us to share! Cover Club | Pine Barons "January 1979" (mewithoutYou) Now based in Philly, these New Jersey exports weaned on mewithoutYou in high school. It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright was out at the time, but it was Catch for Us the Foxes that the fellas gravitated to. For Pine Barons they all agreed "it's different from our band and so fun to play. It encompasses being a high school student and wanting to yell. Plus a song we can all agree on" During their #CoverClub session, when they recorded the amazing cover of mewithoutYou' s "January 1979" they also treated us to a studio version of "Clowns."  Expected to be part of a full length album, being recorded in Head Room Studios in Spring of '16, this ...

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.    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 . 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. 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-...

Hey There Ladybird album art A few weeks back, we tossed a curve ball at our followers, releasing a cover song on a Thursday when we put out the Ladybird cover of Jersey Corn Pickers ?  What gives, right?  For Cover Club, covers are Monday, originals are Thursday, right?  Well sometimes you just have to break the mold.  Since we only released one video that week, to make it up to our fans we have two more Ladybird videos from their Cover Club Session , live from Church of Kong . First, we present to you their original "Traveling Song" written by Cecilia Ferneborg.  This original is expected to be on an upcoming album that is in the works by the three hard working ladies of Ladybird.  Meanwhile, the trio put out an EP this spring to whet your Ladybird appetites.  Hey There Ladybird is available now on Bandcamp.com . Ladybird - "Traveling Song" As a special treat for our #CoverClub followers, we are also unveiling a second cover.  ...

It's ironic that a series featuring an extensive collection of Philly-centric covers has also become a sounding board for adventurous new material as well.  The bands invited in for R oot Down In The Shadow' s Cover Club series are given two requirements, one Philly-centric cover and one original.  Time after time the original is an exciting new unreleased track ready to be unveiled to audiences way ahead of upcoming albums. For Kate Faust , she introduces "21st Century Man" to her fans, getting them ready for new material in 2015.   According to Kate, "it's going to be a lot different than Crucial Companion . It's very raw and pure and very truthful. I think it'll resonate deeply with a lot of people." If we follow Kate's trajectory, it will be quite the success.  After parts in other bands ( Toy Soldiers , Perkasie) and leading previous projects ( Lady ) Kate has been gaining more and more traction as she continues to fine tune her ...

  Earlier this week we unveiled the gutsy cover of Hall & Oates "You Make My Dreams Come True" by Underwater Country Club .   Gutsy in the sense that Darryl Hall is hard to replicate and Hall & Oates songs are just way harder to play than most people recognize.  But really, for Underwater Country Club, it wasn't gutsy at all, it's just sort of what they do.  Brothers Andrew Robinson & Skip Robinson with cohorts Anthony Coppa and Jack Zaferes are gearing up to take the Philly scene over, show by show, song by song.  With somewhat of a reckless abandon, they play their style of rock 'n roll with a confidence that most bands wish they had. The foursome has a new batch of songs they are so very ready to put out to the world.  Add that to their road-tested back catalog including their 2013 EP and they have a killer showcase ready for new fans and old fans alike to hear.  Brand new song "Heat Seeking Missile", captured at ...

  Welcome back to Cover Club.  This week we premiered the popular Our Griffins cover of Strand of Oaks "Last To Swim" .  The emotional cover was spread about the internet by favorite sites, WXPN 's The Key , Philebrity , The Deli Magazine - Philadelphia , and Swollen Fox .  This type of publicity for Our Griffins is soon to be the norm.  This year has been a steady climb upwards, for the band.  Opening at Johnny Brenda's for Lost In The Trees , a trip to SXSW , opening for Kishi Bashi & Buried Beds at the TLA , and night-cap slot at the fun Communion Club Night at Underground Arts are just a few examples of Our Griffins' hot shows.  This Friday, they play the Former Belle release show at Bourbon & Branch with Maitland and Jeremiah Tall.  And for what quite possibly is their most exciting show yet, in late July they play the incredible XPoNential Festival .    Our Griffins at Johnny Brenda's - Photo Dan McGurk ...

For the final installment of Cover Club at the Sluice Box, Brad Hinton gives a tease of what's next for him with an unreleased track, "Middle Man".  Recorded in late March, the session featured three bands: Psalmships , Katie Frank & The Pheromones , and Brad Hinton.  Katie Frank sat in on the session and harmonizes with the Bucks County bluesman on yet another song of heartbreak. Cover Club / Brad Hinton "Middle Man" featuring Katie Frank Brad explains, "Most of my heartbreak songs are written as a way to deal with a relationship after it goes south, and "Middle Man" is no exception. It's basically a plea for consideration." But where does it fit for Brad Hinton?  When asked if it will be on his next album, Brad explained: "I've been writing material for my next album, which is tentatively titled Chickadee , and will complete a trio of bird-themed albums, Mourning Dove and Whippoorwill before it. It will be mo...