One of the cool things about SXSW is seeing bands make their debut. My Jerusalem is led by solo artist Jeff Klein who recruited friends that he met on the road (Klein was a touring member of the Twilight Singers on the Powder Burns tour). Rounding out the band are guitarist Dave Rosser (of Twilight Singers), bassist Ashley Dzerigian (formally of Great Northern), drummer Cully Symington (formally of Bishop Allen) and multi-instrumentalist Rick Nelson (of The Polyphonic Spree and St. Vincent).
The band’s debut EP, Without Feathers, came out this week and can be found on iTunes. Their full length CD will be out this summer.
Jeff Klein answered some questions sent his way this week.
Showcase info:Deer Tick performs at 1 a.m. on Wednesday, March 18 @ Club de Ville (900 Red River St.) and 1 a.m., Friday, March 20 @ Habana Bar Backyard (708 E.6th St.)
Other appearances: Gigotron/Videothing Presents …, 11 p.m., Thursday, March 19 @ Club 1808 (1808 E.12th St.);Â Music by the Slice, 1:30 p.m., Saturday, March 21 @ Home Slice Pizza (1415 South Congress Ave.)
Deer Tick is performing at SXSW 2009 in Austin, Texas
Showcase info:Duquette Johnston performs at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18 @ The Tap Room on 6th (311 Colorado St)
Other appearances:Birmingham Goes to SXSW, 1:20 p.m. , Saturday, March 21 @ The Creekside Lounge (606 E.7th St.)
I still think of the first Verbena record – Souls for Sale – as one of the greatest raw, garage rock records of the ’90s. It swaggers like a Stones record that was recorded in Alabama. It was full of piss and sweat, of late night jams recorded after a night of drinking, brawling, and crying. Bassist Daniel Duquette Johnston ducked out of the band before they made the jump to Capitol Records and before singer Scott AA Bondy started dating rock stars (Juliana Hatfield) and hanging out with one of rock’s elite (Dave Grohl). Though he wasn’t out of the music biz for good, Johnston was a hard man to track down unless you lived in Alabama where he was fronting a band called Cutgrass. This was in the infancy of the Internet and to this day there are no traces of any Cutgrass songs that can be found by searching deep enough on Google (believe me, I’ve tried).
In 2006, Johnston released his debut solo album, Etowah, full of twangy, southern rock balladry which kind of reminds me of Neil Young’s stuff (though I own no Young records so maybe I’m way off in my comparison).
As a music fan, I can’t imagine anything greater than SXSW – 4 days of non-stop good music, nice weather, and beer drinking. Is it all it’s cracked up to be when you’re an artist playing it and having to compete with 30 other bands during your allotted time slot?
Sure it is. Who would not want to come play and hang out with so many bands. If a band views it as a competition maybe they should be playing some battle of the band thing back home. Yeah, the music industry is filled with competition, but I’ve adopted the mindset that we’re all trying to make our art. I’m not worried about the other 30 bands playing the same time slot as I am. Whether it’s three people or 300 that end up at my show, they’re all where they’re supposed to be in the moment. Maybe it helps that my wife and I are both huge music fans so we look forward to all the craziness that is SXSW. The great thing about SXSW is that you never know just what to expect.
Showcase info: Magnolia Summer performs at 10 p.m. on Thursday, March 19 @ Habana Calle 6 Patio (707 E.6th St) Other appearances:Twangfest Day Party, 2:30 p.m. Saturday, March 21@ Jovita’s (1619 South First St.)
I’ll refer you back to my “Favorites of 2008” list where I said of Magnolia Summer’sLines from the Frame, “continues on in the Magnolia Summer tradition of sounding like the perfect soundtrack to a riverfront summer concert, a cooler full of Anheuser-Busch products parked next to the lawn chair. Putting that into a musical equivalent – Magnolia Summer falls somewhere between the spawn of Uncle Tupelo – Son Volt and Wilco.”
Chris not only fronts Magnolia Summer, he also works for a really great record label – Undertow Records – that is putting on a great SXSW showcase on Thursday, March 19 at the Habana Calle and featuring artists like Steve Dawson, Ohtis, Theodore, Glossary, The Monahans, and Via Audio.
Magnolia Summer was kind enough to record a live performance of “To Better Days” in their studio and give it to me as an exclusive video. And, while this isn’t the live version, you can download the studio version of the song here.
Guess the title of this week’s Contrast Podcast pretty much sums up what it’s all about. My entry – The Swell Season’s cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” – can be heard at the 43 minute and 54 second mark.
Showcase info: Duquette Johnston performs at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18 @ The Tap Room on 6th (311 Colorado St)