Writing Recap: New Athens Blur, O+S, Matt Boynton

 

 Issue 7 already? | Cover image courtesy Athens Blur

Hooray! Another new issue of Athens Blur! If you live out in the Athens area, be sure to pick up a copy while you're out and about. I wrote two music spotlights for this issue, one on Roxy Epoxy and one on pop group Tinted Windows.  Have you seen their lineup yet? Taylor Hanson (Hanson), James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins), Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne), and Bun E. Carlos (Cheap Trick) all in one band. It kind of hurts the brain, doesn't it? Schlesinger was a bit weary of talking about the bizarro lineup, but after talking to him it all makes sense. Pick up the new mag to find out how.

It was also great catching up with Roxy Epoxy. I caught her former band, The Epoxies, at the 40 Watt back in 2005 with Against Me! on the Fat Tour and, boy, did they know how to put on a show. She's a super awesome chick and was a blast to speak with. I was sicker than a dog when I did the interview, but she made it a fun experience nonetheless. The album with her new band, the rebound, entitled Band-aids On Bullet Holes is out now. 

 

Oh, and if you haven't seen it yet, Athens Blur has a new blog. Check it out! 

O+S | Photo courtesy Saddle Creek 

In other news, my interview with Orenda Fink of O+S is now live on Stereo Subversion.  I am near-obsessed with this album. When I was presented with this assignment, I wasn't sure what to expect but I was blown away. The premise is this: originally an art project, Fink collected massive amounts of field recordings from all over.  The field recordings were then sorted through and turned into loops that songs were constructed on top of. The results are fabulous. A lush, haunting effort, this album is definitely on my "Best of 2009" list so far. 

I also recently interviewed my first producer, and that was a really cool experience. I spoke with Matt Boynton from Vacation Island Studios (formerly of the Magic Shop) for the April editon of the Sound Bites Dog E-zine. His reputation is that he's both hilarious and knowledgable, and he definitely was. Ever wonder what it's like to hold the Rolling Stones' master tapes in your hand? This guy knows.

That's it for now, kids. I have some super-great things in the works, especially an in-depth piece on the U.S. Air Guitar Championships! Heck yes!

Oh, the smell of freshly printed magazines...

I'm a little late on this one, but wanted to give a shout out for the new issue of Athens Blur that made it's way to my mailbox two days ago. My cover story streak is over (haha) but you won't be dissapointed by DeMarco Williams's feature on Ludacris. My two-page story on the All-American Rejects and my spotlight on The Bird and The Bee are also within the periodical's pages.

Although I've never really claimed to be an All-American Rejects fan, their catchiness--and penchant for writing radio-ready pop tunes--can't really be denied. My favorite here, though, is my piece on nostalgic pop duo, The Bird and The Bee. If you're new to the group--comprised of chateuse Inara George and production mastermind Greg Kurstin--check out their latest disc entitled Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future. I won't be shocked if it turns up on my "Best of 2009" list come December. Yeah. It's that good.  The Bird and The Bee is the most musically knowledgable band I've interviewed to date, but also one of the funniest, and the article is one of my favorite I've written for Blur.

If you're in the Athens area, definitely pick up this latest copy. Now on it's fifth issue, Blur is looking better than ever. I am so proud of my editors Alec Wooden and Nicole Black for putting together such a great magazine in such a short amount of time.

A Spectacular Accident

The new issue of Athens Blur magazine hit stands last week, with my article on MGMT gracing the cover. Check it out:

 

The issue also features pieces I did on both the soft voiced Denison Witmer and long-lost pop punkers Sugarcult as well as a slurry of other awesomeness.  It's pretty, it's free and it's all over the Classic City. There's no excuse not to pick it up if you're in the area. 

I spoke with Ben Goldwasser for the article. He's a super fellow and much more down to earth than you might expect from one of the year's biggest buzzed bands (need proof? They topped Filter's Top 10 of 2008!).  It's rare to find musicians as shocked at success as Goldwasser and partner-in-crime Andrew Vanwyngarden. 

In other news, the January issue of Blur is shaping up to be great as well.  Just finished up a Q&A with Mike Kennerty of the All-American Rejects and should be chatting up The Bird and The Bee later this week.

Until next time, stay classy, blogosphere.

Cover Man Witmer

I recently had the chance to interview Denison Witmer for a spotlight in the November issue of Athens Blur.  He is one of the most down-to-earth musicians I have ever had the pleasure of speaking with (and I think he may be one of the nicest guys out there, too).

His latest collection of well-penned, 70s-inspired folk tunes, entitled Carry the Weight (via The Militia Group), hits stores on November 11th. Being a total cover-song geek (and a big Witmer fan), I was ecstatic to find that Witmer had launched into a covers project with the aim of recording and releasing one cover song each week leading up to the new album's release. Cool, no? Songs can be downloaded on a per-week basis--for FREE--via Witmer's MySpace and for any weeks you may have missed (or if your computer hates the new MySpace music player like many others do), the entire project can be found at the Cover Lay Down blog on an ongoing basis. So far he's covered songs by Bonnie Raitt ("I Can't Make You Love Me"), Oasis ("Champagne Supernova"), Red House Painters ("Have You Forgotten"- which is one of my all-time favorite songs), Van Morrison ("Comfort You") and Band of Horses ("Is There a Ghost").

The neatest thing about Witmer's current covers project is that they aren't overdone. Recorded live in different rooms of his house featuring just vocals and guitar, the tracks have an incredible sense of intimacy and spontenaiety, working songs like "Champagne Supernova" and "Is There a Ghost" into entirely new forms. If they don't sound overly complicated, it's because they're not. Witmer explains: 

 "I just go from my record collection and whatever strikes me. If I find myself walking around the house humming something, I’ll go, “Oh, well I’ll see if I can figure that out.” That’s what I’ve been doing and it seems to be working."

Unlike Recovered, Witmer's  2003 influence-heavy covers album, the tunesmith says he chooses these songs just for fun, regardless of how well they turn out, more as an exercise to get him out of his own recording ruts and issues with semi-perfectionism.

 "I’m just trying to pick really random songs that I like and play them and see if they actually work. And I don’t really know if they do. I’m just putting them out there and if people like them, great. It’s just as well if they don’t. I don’t really mind, but it’s really fun for me to play other people’s melodies and think about why people make those different choices."

So, check out the covers and pick up Carry the Weight when it hits stores in November. For anyone out there unfamiliar with Witmer's previous work, get your paws on a copy of 2002's Philadelphia Songs as well. Not only was it the subject of the first CD review I ever had published, it's also an incredibly beautiful and heartfelt collection of songs. Get on it!

Back to back...

Haven't seen me in awhile?  I've been a busy bee..

 

Back-to-back cover stories on Katy Perry and Kings of Leon for Athens Blur magazine!  For those of you not living in Athens who can't get your hands on copies of the mag, these stories are up on my portfolio. Both were a lot of fun to write and were interesting stories to tell. I'll cop to Katy Perry being a guilty pleasure (have you not heard "Hot and Cold"? I can't get that song outta my head!) and, I gotta say, I'm impressed with how far Kings of Leon have come. I caught the band live years ago opening for The Stokes (with an as-yet-unheard of Regina Spektor!) and although their live show was spot-on, it's not until their most recent albums that the band has really hooked me. It's interesting what trading in strong southern rock roots (and coifs!) will get you. 

Anyway, if you live out in UGA country, do pick up a copy of the mag. It's free, it's pretty and it has a lot of fun articles (besides mine *shameless grin*). 

Also, for those that follow the publications I write for, the folks over at Stereo Subversion just pulled off a snazzy site redesign. Go check out the goodness over there and wish them a happy belated 1 year anniversary! The editor there is a super guy and he's done a wonderful job with the site in such a short time. 

Nat-attack out!