Little Anchor in Performer Magazine July 2012
Congrats to Little Anchor! Full page feature in Performer Magazine! You can get Yellow Lights here, and you can read the entire issue of Performer here.
Video Premiere: Jon Sandler’s Late Night Champ
Brooklyn-based indie pop artist Jon Sandler‘s soulful voice, honest lyrics and charismatic stage presence have taken him from small town fame to Billboard Magazine. Sandler will release his debut full length album Late Night Champ (6/12, super duper records) a disc that represents the “everyman’s” struggle with love, life, time and constantly learning — sometimes the hard way — about the world and ourselves.
With the release of Late Night Champ (mixed by Justin Gerrish, who also mixed Vampire Weekend’s Grammy Nominated Album Contra), Sandler successfully bridges genre, age, and cultural backgrounds by truly offering something for everyone –both musically and topically. The album title refers to ”a way of life and an anthem that a lot of people can relate to,” he said. ”I feel like I actually function better between the hours of 1am-4am, and I realized, after performing the song live, that people connect and relate to the song’s message. I often hear other people declare that “I am a Late Night Champ!”’
Swamp Cabbage to Release Drum Roll Please
Swamp Cabbage has self released three albums of original material: their debut Honk in 2006, Squeal (ZOHO Roots, 2008) and 2010′s Live From New York. Lyrically, the trio offers a comedic travelogue through Park’s North Florida upbringing, complimented by his electric guitar style — a mélange of Scott Joplin’s ragtime and Jerry Reed’s bayou pickin. DeVito’s bass, which barks like a tuba through a fuzz box, is backed by Jagoda’s New Orleans funeral parade style drummin’.
Swamp Cabbage can be heard on the Discovery reality show American Guns credits, and on My Big Redneck Wedding, Man Vs. Food, Emeril Green, Extreme Pig Outs, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, Roadtrip Nation (PBS), Samantha Brown Passport, Amazing Wedding Cakes and Chasing Classic Cars.
Drum Roll Please track listing:
1. Won’t Get Fooled Again
2. Pick Up The Pieces
3. Little Martha
4. Theme From Shaft
5. Black Mountain Side
6. Frankenstein/ Whipping Post
TOUR DATES:
June 1 – Ogden, UT @ Ogden Music Festival
June 2 – Idaho Falls, ID @ Vino Rosso
June 3 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Garage on Beck
June 19 – Winston-Salem, NC @ The Garage
June 20 – Tuscaloosa, AL @ Greensboro Room at Bama Theatre
June 22 – Chicago, IL @ Uncommon Ground (Devon Ave)
June 23 – Gladbrook, IA @ Corn Carnival
June 27 – St Louis, MO @ The Shanti
June 29 – Menominee, MI @ Wild Rice Concert
{additional dates through the fall, here}
For more information:
www.swampcabbage.com
Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Matt Cranstoun will hit the road in support of his recently released album The Last Drop of Color. Known for the commanding effect he has on an audience using only his words, voice and guitar, Cranstoun’s music is charged by the roots of folk and soul, in which every word— whether whispered or howled– expresses as much urgency as the next.
“A homespun poet with a gift for the kind of Americana that Springsteen
used to bring…” – The Deli Magazine
“…Cranstoun’s husky vocals and multi-instrumental talents create a genre-bending sound that speaks to the hard working rockers of yesteryear…”-Paste Magazine
TOUR DATES:
4/30 9pm at Pianos 158 Ludlow St, NYC (big band show!)
5/15 9:30 at Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St, NYC (big band show!)
5/30 at The Saint 601 Main St, Asbury Park NJ (solo acoustic)
5/31 at The Grape Room 105 Grape Street, Philadelphia PA 10p no cover (solo acoustic)
6/1 at The Independent Space 19 East Main St Kutztown, PA
6/15 8pm at Bowery Electric 327 Bowery NYC $10 cover (full band show)
6/21 8pm at Ebenezer’s Coffee House F Street NE Washington DC $8 (solo acoustic)
6/24 7-10p at Red Red Wine Bar 189 Main St Annapolis MD No Cover (solo acoustic)
Brooklyn based roots rocker Bryan Dunn will perform at Rockwood Music Hall in NYC on 5/4, in support of his new disc (which pays homage to the renowned venue), Sweetheart of the Music Hall. Dunn weaves tales of romance, murder mystery, ghost stories and late night drinking with catchy hooks and clever wordplay. A true storyteller, his mix of Texas Twang, Irish folk, and New York City grit can move audiences to tears with one song and get them dancing with the next.
Check out his new single “New Mercedes”
[bandcamp track=2140428338 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]
Get Sweetheart of the Music Hall on iTunes or on Bandcamp
And watch his recent performance on Balcony TV in NYC:
Nick Africano
Nick Africano has released the debut single “Bring Me Water” from The Butterfly Bull (due 5/1). Listen and share!
“…moments of somber beauty…” – The Onion, Minneapolis
“Africano’s tastefully adorned torch songs are worth keeping an eye on.” – Metromix Minneapolis
“Africano’s rustic singer-songwriter style is a place to start, but it doesn’t quite do justice to the layers he brings to the new songs. His gravely voice blends well with the multi-instrumental virtuosity, which isn’t often encountered in the ‘singer-songwriter’ category.” - The Star Tribune, Minneapolis
TOUR DATES:
Friday, May 4th 7pm @ The Living Room
154 Ludlow NYC
The Butterfly Bull CD Release Show w/ special guests! (Free)
Tuesday, May 8th 7pm@ The Kitty Cat Klub
313 14th Avenue SE Minneapolis MN 55414
The Butterfly Bull Minneapolis CD Release Show
Wednesday, May 9th 7pm @ The Blue Room at Fat Jacks
511 Main St. Bloomington IL 61701
The Butterfly Bull (and Nick Africano’s) Hometown CD Release Show
Friday, May 11th 8pm @ Uncommon Ground (Devon)
1401 West Devon Ave Chicago IL 60660
The Butterfly Bull Chicago CD Release Show! $10
Sunday, May 27th midnight @ Rockwood Music Hall Stage 1
196 Allen Street, NYC
Nick Africano Solo (Industry Show)
Friday, June 22nd 6pm @ American Folk Art Museum
45 West 53rd Street New York NY 10019 US
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The Butterfly Bull began over seven years ago; the direct result of ideas singer/songwriter Nick Africano developed while studying the poetry of Federico Garía Lorca, and later composing “The Poetics of Contradiction,” his college thesis paper. The ideas behind the album further materialized five years later, when, knowing Africano’s passion for all things Spanish, his friend Peter returned from a trip to Spain with the perfect gift: a journal with a drawing of “el toro mariposa” (the butterfly bull) by painter Francisco de Goya, on the cover. “That little gift resulted in my best work to date,” said Africano.
Led by Africano’s deep rustic voice, and featuring folk and blues sounds, The Butterfly Bull captures the intensity and ambition of an artist intent on making his mark – a drive and ambition first developed in his early days of baseball. Africano’s rough vocals are sometimes spoken as much as sung, in a Waits meets Dylan style, with lyrics inspired by some of the greats: Federico García Lorca, Faulkner, Joyce and Hemingway. And then there’s Sam Cooke. “I’m inspired by his seemingly effortless delivery in his singing and his annunciation. It’s perfect. I could listen to Sam Cooke all day every day.”
And so, two years ago, when Africano’s dear friend Peter gave him the butterfly bull journal, he saw the contradiction embodied in an image. The songs on The Butterfly Bull speak to this theme of mystery and contradiction and use the butterfly bull as its champion, as its’ lens through which to make sense of some of the ideas.
Connect:
nickafricano.net
facebook.com/nickafricanomusic
FeelingAnxious PR is excited to be part of this fantastic networking event on April 25th sponsored by Pyramid Recording Collective. Arien Rozelle (that’s me, pictured in the top left) will chat about music PR at 8pm, followed by performances from Denise Barbarita, and FeelingAnxious PR clients Nick Africano, Byran Dunn, Tatiana Kochkareva and Oh! My Blackbird. Join us! You’ll hear some amazing (new!!) music, meet some great folks and you might just learn something about PR, too. Hope to see you there. -AR
Introducing Boston based rock band Ruin/Renewal, who will release their Chess Club EP in May 2012, followed by their debut full-length Unknow You in October 2012.
Ruin/Renewal
Chess Club features some of the first material written by the band’s guitarist and founder, Joshua Pritchard, dating back to 2003. Two years later, along with his twin brother John and producer Tom Eaton, Pritchard formed Ruin/Renewal, and began working at Eaton’s Boston area studio, Universal Noise Storage. It wasn’t until 2009 that the band began performing live at venues in New York and Boston. “I grew up a little,” Joshua says, “and realized I had to give it away, get it out there. At a certain point, the prospect of taking action becomes less daunting than more deliberation.”
“Those earliest home recordings became classics to us before anyone else ever heard them.” says John. “People would say – ‘You keep talking about this band – but where is the music?’ There was always music – it was just – laying dormant.” Those early recordings would later become the basis for Chess Club.
Ruin/Renewal’s self-titled debut EP (June 2011, Burst and Bloom Records) spawned the first single “Proverbs,” which earned the number one spot on the Boston Emissions “Favorite New Local Song Poll” (WZLX-FM) for the week of December 3, 2011 – less than a month after its release. The tracks “One of the Four Humors” and “No Blues” also garnered attention – notably from WMBR’s “Pipeline!” hosted by Jeff Breeze. The radio program has served as Boston’s premier source for local music for decades. The band performed live on the show in November 2011.
Check out the recently released video for “One of the Four Humors”:
The band’s follow-up, Chess Club EP (due May 2012, Burst and Bloom Records), a collection of material from the band’s earlier, reticent years, explores similar mood swings with a more elaborate, orchestral feel and features Mike Gruen (bass), Eaton (lap steel, piano) and Megumi Sasaki (violin). “There’s more layering on this record,” said Joshua. “The songs are less driving. There’s a lot of piano, percussion elements, strings. It captures our chamber music phase – small, early ideas that were fleshed out with the help of colleagues.”
Currently at work on Unknow You, their debut full-length, Ruin/Renewal will, for the first time, explore a theme from the outset – identity. “We’re planning on doing some different things in terms of rhythms – Old World, ragtime, American folk kind of stuff,” said Joshua. “We’re also working with some new collaborators; growing the family so to speak.” The new project will also feature several songs co-written by the Pritchard brothers.
More information:
www.ruinrenewal.com
www.facebook.com/rrenewal
Twitter.com/ruin_renewal
Debbie Miller will celebrate the release of her new album Measures & Waits at 8pm on 4/15 at Columbia City Theater in Seattle.
Veteran blues guitarist Walter Parks has built an international career as the lead guitarist for Woodstock legend Richie Havens, half of the folk-duo the Nudes, a steady opener for folk legend Judy Collins, and leader of the southern swamp-blues group Swamp Cabbage. After thirty years in the music industry, he marked his debut as a solo artist with the release of his self-titled album in December 2011.
Inspired by the swampy gospel blues that wails from storefront churches and roadhouses in and around the southeast Georgia low country, Parks’ album is full of boot-stomping, guitar-strumming tunes that explore matters of the soul and spirit, built upon a foundation of jazz and folk.
“A listen to Parks’ soulful Americana rock is to be immersed in warm guitar melodies, smoky vocals and troubadour narratives that gather strength with age.” – WNYC
In addition to his recent solo effort, Parks remains the driving force behind Swamp Cabbage, the group he formed in 2001 as a means of exploring his southern musical influences. Parks, along with band mates Matt Lindsey (bass) and Jagoda (drums), have released two CDs, Honk (2006 independent) and Squeal (2008 on ZOHO Roots).
Walter Parks and Swamp Cabbage will hit the road for a spring/summer tour. (Dates below)
Walter Parks + Swamp Cabbage Announce Spring/Summer Tour Dates
TOUR DATES:
Saturday April 21st – Walter Parks @ European Street Cafe, Jacksonville FL
Monday May 14 – Swamp Cabbage @ Rockwood Music Hall, NYC
Tuesday May 15 – Swamp Cabbage @ Spike Hill, Brooklyn NY
Friday May 18 – Swamp Cabbage @ Montauk Music Festival, Montauk NY
Monday May 21- Swamp Cabbage @ The Brass Rail, Fort Wayne IN
Thursday May 24 – Swamp Cabbage @ The Silver Tongue Devil Saloon, Green Mnt Falls CO
Friday May 25, 2012 – Swamp Cabbage @ Steve’s Guitars, Carbondale CO
Saturday May 26, 2012 – Swamp Cabbage @ Dolores River Brewery, Dolores CO
Sunday May 27, 2012 – Swamp Cabbage @ Arcosanti, Mayer, AZ
Friday June 1, 2012 – Swamp Cabbage @ Ogden Music Festival 2012, Fort Buenaventura Ogden, UT
Saturday June 2, 2012 – Swamp Cabbage @ Vino Rosso, Idaho Falls, ID
Sunday June 3, 2012 – Swamp Cabbage @ The Garage on Beck, Salt Lake City, UT
Sunday June 10, 2012 – Walter Parks @ Rockwood Music Hall, NYC
More information:
www.walterparks.com
www.swampcabbage.com
Walter Parks Facebook
Walter Parks Twitter
