Randomville

Win free Ben Kweller swag!

Mackenzie — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 13:23:21 +0000

UPDATE: CONGRATS TO OUR WINNER, JESPER THUSGAARD OF DENMARK!!!

Anyone interested in winning a free copy of Ben Kweller’s new album Go Fly A Kite and also win a signed poster by Ben himself? OF COURSE YOU DO!!

Here’s what you have to do: Either leave a comment to this story that says the words “Ben Win” or send an email to contests@randomville.com with the words “Ben Win” in the subject line. You have until 11:59pm on Sunday, February 12th, 2012 to enter. You can only enter once!

Good Luck!!

While you are waiting, enjoy a free download of his song “Mean to Me.”

Bio:

Children are often raised in musical families, but few receive the same introduction to music as singer/songwriter Ben Kweller. Before he was old enough to enter kindergarten, a young Kweller emulated Nils Lofgren (who, during his time with Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, would hang out with Kweller’s father) by playing his toy version of the guitar. He also played piano, and by the age of eight, Kweller had begun penning his own songs. The following year, he received a nod of encouragement from Billboard magazine when it conferred an honorable mention on the youth for his entry into Billboard’s yearly songwriting competition. By the time he hit his teenage years, Kweller was an accomplished guitarist and had begun playing drums as well. He pulled together his first band, Mirage, and followed up with groups like Green Eggs & Ham and Foxglove. All the while, he honed the skills that would later launch his respected solo career.

With help from bassist Bryan Blur and drummer John Kent, Kweller established Radish in 1993. The group made its mark on the local Dallas scene, not far from Kweller’s hometown of Greenville, TX. In 1994, the musical wunderkind and his teenaged outfit released the Hello EP through Practice Amp Records. That same year, the label released the full-length album Dizzy, which convinced producer Roger Greenawalt to partner with the group. Under his wing, Radish produced another demo and inked a contract with Mercury Records during the summer of 1996. Ben Kweller was still a teenager at the time, having turned 15 years old that June.

Mercury Records released Restraining Bolt the following spring, and led Radish through European and American tours (as well as several late-night TV appearances, including The Conan O’Brian Show and Late Night with David Letterman). Despite scoring a Top 40 hit in the U.K. with “Little Pink Stars,” Radish failed to enjoy significant success at home, and changing tides at their label (Polygram, Mercury’s parent company, was absorbed into Universal Music Group in 1998) prevented them from releasing another album. When the group disbanded in 1999, Kweller headed east to Guilford, CT, where he stayed only a short time before relocating to Brooklyn, NY. Not yet 20 years old, he signed with Island Records as a solo artist.

Ben Kweller launched his solo career with a series of EPs, some of which reprised the material that Radish had written but not released. His heartland hooks and folksy flourishes made fans out of several artists, and Kweller soon found himself touring with the likes of Juliana Hatfield, Guster, Kristin Hersh, and Evan Dando. He inked a deal with ATO Records in 2001 and released one final EP before issuing Sha Sha, his solo full-length debut, in 2002. More touring followed, as did a collaboration with Ben Folds and Ben Lee known asthe Bens. Kweller’s sophomore effort, the subdued On My Way, followed in spring 2004 and was supported by a co-headlining tour with Death Cab for Cutie. Two years later, he returned with his self-titled third album, on which he played all the instruments. Kweller furthered his experimentation with 2009′s Changing Horses, which saw the songwriter embracing country music and employing a pedal steel guitarist.

Music Loves You!

Mackenzie — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:24:08 +0000

Yes, Happy Fake Holiday to everyone!

Two great things happened in the world of music today:

1. Bonnaroo 2012 unleashed their lineup which includes Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Phish, and about a gagillion other amazing bands. Check out the full lineup here.

2. Next, Jack White releases the first video to his upcoming solo debut. Check out the video for Love Interruption:

LIVE REVIEW: FINAPALOOZA IV

LKnight — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 22:22:31 +0000

Cristina Bautista + Gold Parts at Finapalooza IV

My husband and I made the long haul to Snoqualmie, WA to experience Day Two of Finapalooza IV, a music festival organized by Finaghty’s Irish Pub. The pub is located in a very sterile block of strip malls atop the relatively new development of Snoqualmie Ridge, about a half hour east of Seattle. Suburgatory. We soon realized the pub is very much a neighborhood hangout, and we felt like outsiders. The locals seemed to know each other by name, and greeted and hugged each other as they moved through the growing crowd. The bar staff, though, were pleasant and friendly to us, and the food was decent.

Finapalooza showcased local acts over three nights. This was their fourth year hosting this event, and based on the capacity crowd, it was a success. Thursday night’s lineup included Petty Thief, a Tom Petty tribute band, and another band called The T-Bagging Bandits. We passed on that. Friday looked promising, though, with the all-girl band The Juliettes opening, then a three piece band called Cristina Bautista + Gold Parts. The headliner was Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs, our favorite local band. Saturday night included a bigger lineup with Massy Ferguson on the bill.

The Juliettes

The Juliettes were up first, around 8:30. There was quite a delay getting the stacked sound equipment to meet their needs on the miniscule stage. The sound check dragged on as each woman had her mic and instrument adjusted for sound quality. I wondered at the nature of this band as they set up, all in red, in outfits of lingerie or sexy dresses. Would they take themselves seriously? Would the audience? I’d have to say “no” to both questions.

This band seemed, at times, to want to be taken seriously. Liz Aday, the guitarist, played some grinding solos, including a nod to Jimi Hendrix near the end of the set. She had more of a rock voice when she did sing alone, and had good harmonies with the lead singer Julie Mains. Mains had more of a voice for Broadway, with lots of vibrato thrown in for dramatic effect, Meatloaf-style. Eva Dizon was competent on drums and kept a clean, fast rock pace, threw in some short solos, and it didn’t hurt that she was gorgeous. The bass player Lissa Ramaglia has been playing around Seattle for a couple of decades and has won a Best of Blues award on electric upright bass. Each had her moment of solid, quality rock.

BUT–they were intentionally campy, coy and the act felt more like a Saturday Night Live skit. I just couldn’t laugh with them, and instead I groaned at song titles such as “Inappropriate,” “I Want My Daddy,” and a song about Jaeger bombs. The lead singer hinted that one song was about lady parts, found not-so-subtly in the chorus: “Come over/I’ll show you my/Fine China…” I found myself writing “Super Corny” in my journal as they made innuendos, posed and gyrated through their set list. Bachelor or bachelorette parties would probably love to book this band, though.

On a more positive note, The Juliettes recently recorded a song called, “Hooray You’re Gay,” which is receiving international recognition for its inspiring message of equality for all. All song download proceeds will be donated to charity. Check out their website for more information.

Another long break and sound check followed before Cristina Bautista (formerly of Visqueen) + Gold Parts were ready to go. Ms. Bautista must be one of the tiniest females to ever play bass. The Gibson Thunderbird bass was almost as tall as she was, and I’m pretty sure it weighed as much. The three piece band includes Eric Howk (from The Lashes) on guitar and Jeff Gall on drums.

Cristina Bautista

The trio immediately blasted into a fast, high energy song called “Let Me Down” and hardly slowed down through their set. I was surprised that such a rich sound came from such a small band. I can see this band take off all over the Seattle scene and beyond. Their new Local 638 Records album is also entitled Gold Parts, and Bautista was a bit coy herself in her explanation of the title and her band mates. The band was so energetic, poppy and positive, even though many of the songs’ lyrics were full of scorn and heartbreak, such as in “I Don’t Want You Anymore”:

I let you get away, it’s so
and kept the parts that didn’t go:
the open sores, the gaping wounds
the hopes you never lived up to
So now I send them back
through Sovtek tubes and Marshall stacks
Let them serve as solid proof:
I never took more than I did deserve from you

Cristina Bautista, Jeff Gall and Eric Howk

Howk played a rousing guitar throughout the set, including nice riffs on “Long Divisions” and “About Love.” Jeff Gall also sang harmony on many songs and added fast, complex beats to the pop set. Bautista was a powerhouse on bass and vocals with just enough growl to make the songs edgy. Eventually, her voice broke down a bit and she screamed some of the lyrics.

Here is a video of “About Love” from The Sunset Tavern:

In her defense, not all the bar patrons were there to watch the bands, and the excessive chatter was caught on the mics and fed back through the speakers, which created an annoying amount of noise over which to sing and play. I started feeling that this band, and certainly Star Anna, were made for more appreciative audiences than the one at this suburban hangout. I guess they get gigs wherever they can, and the noise goes with the territory. For those of us who were there to see the bands, we found the chatter aggravating and so disrespectful.

Star Anna

Star Anna and The Laughing Dogs took the stage around midnight. We were determined to stay through their entire set, as we knew we wouldn’t be disappointed. Star and the boys traveled all over the country this summer and fall, including PJ20 Destination Weekend in Wisconsin over Labor Day. I felt sorry that the audience didn’t seem as enthusiastic as we were, knowing this band is on the verge of breaking into the big time. The crowd thinned out as time ran on. Star played a tremendous set of original songs, new ones from her latest album Alone In This Together, ones I hadn’t heard her sing before, and closed with an oldie sung by Otis Redding, “That’s How Strong My Love Is” which seems to be a crowd-pleaser at every show. See a previous review of Star Anna’s show here.

Star Anna and Justin Davis

Although we got great entertainment value from the $12 ticket price, we left feeling there was a negative vibe at the pub. Maybe we were too far away from our own zip code. The neighborhood cliques, the rude people, and their lack of respect for the bands made me not care if we ever went back. We’ll see the bands again–in Seattle.

RHCP Interactive video

Mackenzie — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 02:01:42 +0000

Has anyone else toyed around with this new interactive video by The Red Hot Chili Peppers and become infatuated like we have? You move the video around, from room to room, zoom in and out, when YOU want. It’s crazy. Check it out:

Are there other interactive videos out there we need to know about? Post some links if so!

Barsuk Records Band of the Month: Nada Surf

Mackenzie — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:12:20 +0000

Each month, Randomville profiles an artist that Barsuk Records provides us. For February, we’re profiling Nada Surf.

Nada Surf has just recently released the album The Stars are Indifferent to Astronomy, so they are hitting the road to show off this new material. This month we let the pictures do the talking as we sent photographer Arielle Lee out to The Tractor Tavern in Seattle on February 2nd to snap shots of Nada Surf. Check out the great work she came back with!

Randomville Message Board Best Albums of 2011: Finale

Ella — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:55:38 +0000

Part 5

And the grand finale:

#5 Radiohead – The King of Limbs

485 Points (1 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 12 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: JohnnyRoyale at #1

#4 Cut Copy – Zonoscope

492 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 13 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: euro60 at #2

#3 Yuck – s/t

598 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 17 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: Rafe at #2

Randomville Discussion

#2 Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

612 Points (2 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 19 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: velouria, WonderBoy at #1

#1 The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar

704 Points (1 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 17 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: Fourthisto at #1

Thanks again to everyone who participated! I’m off to listen to several albums that I missed this year!

Randomville Message Board Best Albums of 2011: Part 5

Ella — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:22:01 +0000

Part 4

Almost there!

#15 Wild Flag – s/t

391 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 11 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: The Sheck at #2

#14 Bon Iver – s/t

413 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 10 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: WonderBoy at #3

#13 The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Belong

416 Points (1 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 11 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: foolsgold at #1
Randomville Discussion

#12 PJ Harvey – Let England Shake

419 Points (2 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 9 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: butter, underwhelmed at #1
Randomville Discussion

#11 The Decemberists – The King Is Dead

429 Points (1 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 12 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: crewbilly at #1

#10 The War on Drugs – Slave Ambient

434 Points (1 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 12 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: mik at #1
Randomville Discussion

#9 M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

437 Points (1 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 12 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: iconoclast420 at #1

#8 Elbow – Build a Rocket Boys!

438 Points (1 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 12 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: rbarchetta at #1

#7 Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for My Halo

448 Points (2 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 11 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: Cyclone, WalterSobchak at #1

#6 Cults – s/t

473 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 12 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: luisterpaul at #2
Randomville Discussion

Charity of the Month: February 2012

Mackenzie — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:54:20 +0000

Each month we feature a new charity to share with our readers in hopes that they might donate to or at least spread the word to others for awareness. For February, we are profiling FareStart.

THE FARESTART MISSION:

FareStart provides a community that transforms lives by empowering homeless and disadvantaged men, women, and families to achieve self-sufficiency through life skills, job training and employment in the food service industry.

For twenty years, FareStart has been helping to transform the lives of poverty stricken people around the Seattle area. This non-profit job training program teaches homeless and struggling people culinary skills. For instance, the job training adult program includes culinary training, life-skills classes, housing, food, clothing, counseling, and other support services to assist FareStart students as they change their lives.

This is a free program to students, but they do give back in the way of preparing food, starting from the first day. FareStart prepared 589,463 meals for homeless shelters and low-income daycare centers in 2011.

They aren’t the only people who get to eat good food either. For just about $30, you can visit the FareStart restaurant on a Thursday and receive a gourmet three-course meal. These meals are curated by some of the top chefs in the city as each week a new guest chef takes the reigns.

Their FareStart Café @ 2100 is open daily and FareStart also offers catering for events.

In their own words, some recent facts:

Over the past 20 years, FareStart has provided opportunities for nearly 5,500 people to transform their lives, while also serving over five million meals to disadvantaged men, women, and children. In 2011 alone, FareStart students prepared 589,463 meals for area shelters.

In 2011, FareStart provided referral services to 749 homeless or otherwise disadvantaged individuals and provided training opportunities to 250. The adult training program also graduated 111 individuals, with 52 youth graduating from the Barista Training & Education program (in partnership with YouthCare).

More importantly, our graduates are getting jobs and continuing their education. In 2011, 82% of our adult graduates secured employment, and 90% of our youth graduates gained employment or went back to school.

Do you think you know someone who would qualify as a student? Contact FareStart here.

Be sure to visit their website as the company does accept donations. If you would like to visit their restaurant for a dinner, they are located at 700 Virginia Street, Seattle, WA 98101

If you have an idea for a charity that you would like to have profiled on Randomville, then please contact us at randomville@randomville.com

Randomville Message Board Best Albums of 2011: Part 4

Ella — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:24:58 +0000

Part 3

Moving into the top 25…

#25 Dum Dum Girls – Only in Dreams

320 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 11 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: settingsun at #9

#24 Washed Out – Within and Without

326 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 9 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: iconoclast420 at #2
Randomville Discussion

#23 Beirut – The Rip Tide

331 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 12 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: crewbilly at #4

#22 TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light

336 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 11 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: rbarchetta at #10

#21 Wilco – The Whole Love

336 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 11 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: ajax at #5

#20 Ringo Deathstarr – Colour Trip

342 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 10 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: Legalize at #7
Randomville Discussion

#19 Parts & Labor – Constant Future

346 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 9 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: Legalize at #5

#18 Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost

353 Points (1 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 8 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: SheepNutz at #1
Randomville Review

#17 Wye Oak – Civilian

367 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 10 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: crewbilly at #2
Randomville Discussion

#16 Wooden Shjips – West

381 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 11 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: Miss Kitty at #2
Randomville Discussion

Randomville Message Board Best Albums of 2011: Part 3

Ella — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:20:38 +0000

Part 2

We continue the countdown; this entry takes us to #25.

#50 Destroyer – Kaputt

194 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 5 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: mik at #3

#49 I Break Horses – Hearts

197 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 7 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: notoriouspbake at #2

#48 Bass Drum of Death – GB City

200 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 7 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: luisterpaul at #9

#47 Thee Oh Sees – Castlemania

203 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 5 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: luisterpaul at #4

#46 R.E.M. – Collapse Into Now

204 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 6 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: Wolverine at #5

#45 The Black Keys – El Camino

207 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 6 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: The Sheck at #7

#44 Hooray for Earth – True Loves

211 Points (1 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 6 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: Listen_Thinker at #1

#43 We Are Augustines – Rise Ye Sunken Ships

215 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 7 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: velouria at #3

#42 The Strokes – Angles

216 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 6 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: butter, crewbilly at #7

#41 My Morning Jacket – Circuital

221 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 6 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: WonderBoy at #4

#40 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – It’s a Corporate World

226 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 6 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: ajax at #2

#39 Thee Oh Sees – Carrion Crawler/The Dream EP

232 Points (3 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 6 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: twentyshots, virgil p colon, luisterpaul at #1

#38 The Vaccines – What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?

235 Points (1 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 7 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: settingsun at #1

#37 EMA – Past Life Martyred Saints

236 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 6 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: underwhelmed at #7

#36 Veronica Falls – s/t

237 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 7 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: Fourthisto at #3

#35 The Antlers – Burst Apart

237 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 7 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: velouria at #2

#34 The Horrors – Skying

242 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 7 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: Rafe at #5

#33 tUnE-yArDs – W H O K I L L

244 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 7 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: ajax at #3

#32 Peter Bjorn and John – Gimme Some

269 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 8 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: Buzzstein at #2

#31 Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes

273 Points (1 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 9 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: Dan at #1

#30 Smith Westerns – Dye it Blonde

289 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 8 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: Legalize at #9

#29 The Head and the Heart – s/t

296 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 7 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: SheepNutz, JohnnyRoyale at #4

#28 Unknown Mortal Orchestra – s/t

299 Points (1 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 7 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: QB Eagles at #1

#27 Phantogram – Nightlife

301 Points (0 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 9 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: twentyshots at #5

#26 Handsome Furs – Sound Kapital

317.5 Points (1 1st Place Votes), Appearing on 9 Ballots

Who Voted It the Highest: Buzzstein at #1