Kingdom of Rust By The Doves

Doves are an alternative rock band from Manchester, United Kingdom consisting of Jimi Goodwin (vocals, bass) and twin brothers Jez Williams (guitar) and Andy Williams (drums). They are joined on stage by Martin Rebelski (keys). They are known for their large, epic sound, which combines dovetailing guitar lines with driving percussion and a penchant for atmospherics. Unusually, both Williams brothers have also contributed lead vocals.
  
Originally formed in 1988 as Sub Sub, a dance act who coincided with the rise of the Hacienda and the rave scene from Manchester expanding outwards, they enjoyed moderate success for seven years including the hit single “Ain’t No Love (Ain’t No Use)” (#3 UK), before suffering the disaster of their studio burning down in 1996, taking all their current recordings with them. The experience, tragedy and pressure of that would inspire their name-change, in 1998, to Doves, and ultimately their first full-length album, Lost Souls released in April 2000. “Lost Souls” was a dark, atmospheric effort, full of brooding keyboards and claustrophobic light grooves, yet charted at number 13, mainly due to the top 40 singles, “The Cedar Room”, “Catch The Sun” and “The Man Who Told Everything”.

Two years later, Doves enjoyed their commercial and critical peak with their second album, The Last Broadcast, which charted at number 1 in the UK charts, spawning a hit single, “There Goes The Fear”, which reached number 3 in the chart.

 

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Where Happiness Lives By Magnet

Magnet, a.k.a Even Johansen (http://www.evenmagnet.net), hails from Askøy, Norway. His warm, melancholic songwriting draws on a range of influences from folk to country and the atmospheric electronica of Air. He has released four albums - Quiet and Still, On Your Side, The Tourniquet and The Simple Life - but is probably best known for his rendition of Bob Dylan’s Lay Lady Lay (with Gemma Hayes as guest vocalist), featured on the soundtrack of the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Before going solo, Even was the lead guitarist of Norwegian indie rock band Chocolate Overdose (for the albums Everybody Likes Chocolate and Sugar Baby), and later, the lead singer of Norwegian indie rock band Libido, releasing one album, Killing Some Dead Time.
  
According to him, his first solo album, Quiet and Still, was a collection of songs written during the Libido period, deemed unfitting for the band. He started using the alias Magnet before releasing his second album, On Your Side, in 2003.     Even is currently working on an album to be released in 2010.

  

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For No One By Azure Ray

Azure Ray is an American indie duo, consisting of musicians Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink. Azure Ray started in Athens, Georgia, in 2001 and later relocated to Omaha, Nebraska and joined the music scene there, leading to collaborations with Bright Eyes and Now It’s Overhead, among others. Their sound is sparse and understated, with intimate lyrics, elements of alt-country and folk Americana, and occasional forays into minimalist electronica.

Azure Ray disbanded in 2004 and Maria and Orenda have released solo albums on Saddle Creek Records.

Azure Ray reunited in 2009 after a hiatus of more than five years and began touring again with other Saddle Creek artists as supporting members, notably Andy LeMaster of Now It’s Overhead. They are currently (as of January 2010) working on a new album.

 

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Precious By Minipop

Minipop is a self-proclaimed “dream pop” band from San Francisco, California, formed by Tricia Kanne (vocals/guitar), Lauren Grubb (drums), Matthew Swanson (guitar/keyboard) and Nick Forte (bass) in 2004.

San Francisco coeds Minipop arrive on the scene with their debut record “A New Hope”, making music that recalls the Cardigans’ effortless pop perfected tunes. Vocalist Tricia Kanne’s delicate voice soars over the keyboard laden arrangements and layered guitars creating a lush brand of dream pop. The gorgeous reverie of sound present on the album is highlighted with with a dichotomy of crashing choruses and honeyed vocal arrangements resulting in a remarkably rich collection of songs. Already having toured with the likes of Midlake, Tokyo Police Club and Stellastarr, Minipop exploded onto the Bay Area music scene in 2005 and quickly caught the attention of peers, fans, and critics alike. S.F. tastemaker and Live 105 music director Aaron Axelson named their single “Like I Do” one of his favorite singles featured on his “Soundcheck” program and a band to watch in 2009.

 

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The Last High By The Dandy Warhols

   The Dandy Warhols is an American alternative rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1993. The band was founded by lead singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor, keyboardist Zia McCabe, guitarist Peter Holmström, and drummer Eric Hedford. Hedford left in 1998 to be replaced by Taylor-Taylor’s cousin Brent De Boer. The band’s name is a pun on the name of American pop artist Andy Warhol.

The Dandy Warhols are strongly influenced by The Velvet Underground, The Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkel, The Beatles, The Shadows, and The Rolling Stones. They also include implicit musical references to My Bloody Valentine in some songs. Front man Courtney Taylor-Taylor describes the band’s beginning as a group of friends who “needed music to drink to”.

 

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Flash-Back Friday (No school like the old school)

Whole Wide World By Wreckless Eric

Wreckless Eric (born Eric Goulden, 18 May 1954, Newhaven, East Sussex, England) is a rock and roll/new wave singer-songwriter best known for his 1977 single "(I'd Go The) Whole Wide World" on Stiff Records. More than two decades after its release, the song was included in Mojo magazine’s list of the best punk rock singles of all time. It was also acclaimed as one of the "top 40 singles of the alternative era 1975–2000". He currently lives in France with his wife, singer-songwriter Amy Rigby.
His debut album Wreckless Eric was a Top 50 hit in the UK Albums Chart. But, by the time his second album with Stiff Records The Wonderful World of Wreckless Eric came out, he was pushed by the punk record label to openly display the effect of his alcohol intake.  He attempted a more pop music style on his next album, entitled Big Smash!, his last with Stiff. Ironically Cliff Richard's cover of "Broken Doll", from Big Smash!, was the highest one of his songs that ever charted.

 

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 Autumn Beds By Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse is an American indie rock band. The band was formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, United States by guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green and bassist Eric Judy. Since being signed to Sony’s Epic Records in 2000, the band has attained significant popular success with songs such as “ Float On” and “Dashboard.”
       The band’s current configuration is Isaac Brock (vocals, guitar), Tom Peloso (strings, horns, bass, keyboards), Eric Judy (bass), Jeremiah Green (drums) and Joe Plummer (drums). Jim Fairchild has replaced Marr for their 2009 tour while Marr focuses on his other band, The Cribs. Marr is a former member of legendary alternative band The Smiths and Plummer has recently become the new drummer for The Shins.

       Brock came up with the name “Modest Mouse” when he read the Virginia Woolf stream of consciousness essay The Mark On the Wall in which the author described the working middle class as “modest mouse-coloured people”
       Brock frequently moved around with his mother when he was a child. Around this time, his mother left his father for his father’s brother (Brock’s uncle). Brock’s mother’s house flooded and forced them to move into his mother’s new husband’s trailer, but there was no room for Brock. Brock stayed behind, living in the second story of the flooded house, until he was eventually evicted by police. He then moved into a shed next to his mother’s house and it is said this is where Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green and bassist Eric Judy first began playing music.
        In 1994, the band recorded their debut EP, Blue Cadet-3, Do You Connect?, at Calvin Johnson’s Dub Narcotic Studios, which was then released on Calvin’s record label K Records. Then followed a single with Sub Pop that was recorded by Steve Wold at Moon Studios. After moving to Up Records Modest Mouse put out several releases recorded at Moon Studios, including 1996’s This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About. This double LP was produced and recorded by Steve Wold, (at this time Steve Wold was a member of the band as well.) The next offering on UP was Interstate 8; also produced by Steve Wold. 1997’s The Lonesome Crowded West, (also recorded at Moon Studios, by Scott Swayze) turned out to be the band’s breakthrough album. The Lonesome Crowded West gained the band a cult following and is now widely considered by many critics to be one of the defining albums of mid-90s indie rock.
       In 2000, Modest Mouse released The Moon And Antarctica, their first album on a major label (Epic Records). The band enjoyed some success on alternative radio with the singles “ 3rd Planet” and “Gravity Rides Everything.” Lead singer Isaac Brock has since put out an album with his side project Ugly Casanova on Sub Pop Records.
       In 2003, drummer Jeremiah Green quit the band; the official word was that he was quitting to work with his side project, Vells. He was replaced with two members, drummer Benjamin Weikel (who also drummed for The Helio Sequence) and guitarist Dann Gallucci (Murder City Devils). Weikel being new to the band and Gallucci returning to the band for the first time since This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About. On April 6, 2004, Modest Mouse released the platinum-selling Good News For People Who Love Bad News, which scored two hits with “Float On” and “Ocean Breathes Salty”. In 2004 Jeremiah Green returned to the band, and Benjamin Weikel now drums exclusively for The Helio Sequence. Dann Gallucci left the band in August, and they have been touring with Hutch Harris of The Thermals.
        In 2005, multi-instrumentalist Tom Peloso, who already played various instruments on Good News For People Who Love Bad News, officially joined the band. Latest addition is former Smiths songwriter and guitarist Johnny Marr, now an official member of the band and featured on their new album, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank. (James Mercer of The Shins fame is also featured on the album)
         In 2009, they released an odds and ends collection of unreleased songs from around the time Good News and We Were Dead were recorded, and two songs that had already been released, I’ve Got It All(Most) and King Rat. The video for King Rat was directed by the late Heath Ledger. 

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Heartbeats By Jose González

       González was born in a suburb near Gothenburg, Sweden. He commented; "It's a very small town. It has about a half-million people living there. It's a pretty good music city by the ocean. It rains a lot there, but it's beautiful in the summertime."  His parents moved from Argentina to Sweden in 1976. González grew up listening to Latin folk and pop music, and has named Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez as a favourite artist, though not Rodriguez's "squeaky voice". He said the first concert he went to was "The Wailers. I got their autographs and everything. I was about 12 or so. At the time my favourite music was Bob Marley and Michael Jackson."

        The first band he played in was Back Against the Wall, a Gothenburg hardcore punk band influenced by Black Flag, The Misfits and the Dead Kennedys. He later played bass guitar in another hardcore band, Renascence, between 1993–1998. Between 1997-1998 José played guitar with rock band Only if You Call Me Jonathan.

        In 2003, he released his debut album, Veneer, in Europe. The album was subsequently released in the UK on 25 April 2005, and in the United States on 6 September 2005. The album was made while González was studying for a PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Gothenburg, which he has not completed due to a lack of time since his musical career has taken off.

His trademark sound is solo classical guitar with soft vocal melody. His work, although mostly original, also includes acoustic covers of such hits as "Heartbeats" by his fellow Swedes The Knife, "Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Joy Division, "Born in the U.S.A." and "The Ghost of Tom Joad" by Bruce Springsteen, "Hand on Your Heart" by Kylie Minogue, "Smalltown Boy" by Bronski Beat, "Teardrop" by Massive Attack and "Last Snowstorm of the Year" by Low.

          His second album, In Our Nature, was released internationally on 22 September 2007. The album's lyrical content was in part influenced by his reading of books like The God Delusion by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and Practical Ethics by ethicist Peter Singer. 

  

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Learnalilgivinanlovin By Gotye

Born in Belgium but raised in Australia, Walter (real name Wouter) has been making music since his teens, first in moody local rock band Downstares, a fixture at underage shows in the North-East suburbs of Melbourne for a few years. When that band dissolved Wally started focusing on his solo project, cut’n’paste tunes that eventually would come under the moniker of ‘Gotye’.   He is also one-third of Melbourne indie-pop band The Basics.
 
As Gotye, his public exposure, like many alternative Australian musical acts, comes largely from youth radio station Triple J.  His first single, “Learnalilgivinanlovin” from Like Drawing Blood, was released in August, 2006.

Gotye’s second album Like Drawing Blood was featured by Triple J in May 2006  and was voted Number 1 in the listeners poll of the Best Album of 2006 [2]. The album was also nominated for a J Award that year . Two tracks from that album, “Learnalilgivinanlovin” and “Heart’s A Mess”, were ranked 94 and 8 respectively in Triple J’s Hottest 100 for 2006. “Like Drawing Blood” has been certified Platinum.

 

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Do You Realize By The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips are an American indie rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States in 1983. Currently the band consists of founding members Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, theremin, keyboards) and Michael Ivins (bass, keyboards), longtime member Steven Drozd (keyboards, guitar, drums, synths, vocals) and Kliph Scurlock (drums)
        Although grounded in an indie rock/alternative approach to rock music, The Flaming Lips are known for their lush, multi-layered arrangements, spacey lyrics and bizarre song titles. They are also acclaimed for their elaborate live shows, which typically feature animal suits, puppets, streamers, video projections and complex stage light configurations.
          In 2002, Q magazine named The Flaming Lips one of the “50 Bands to See Before You Die”. In 2006, Oklahoma City named a street Flaming Lips Alley in their honor.  The group recorded several albums and EPs on an indie label in the 1980s and early 1990s. After signing to Warner Brothers, they scored a top ten hit in 1994 with She Don’t Use Jelly. Although it would be their only hit single, the band has maintained critical respect and, to a lesser extent, commercial viability with sonically majestic albums such as 1999’s The Soft Bulletin and 2002’s Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots. The Flaming Lips’ 11th studio album, At War With The Mystics, was released by Warner Brothers on the 4th of April 2006. Embryonic was released in October of 2009. Their latest album, a complete cover of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of The Moon, was released in May 2010.

  

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Something True By Band of Annuals

           Band of Annuals is an Alt-Country band from Salt Lake City, Utah. Their first album “Repondez” was released under the name “The Annuals”, but due to the success of the Annuals of “Be He Me” fame, they were forced to become “Band of Annuals”.

             For nearly four years "perennial favorites from the Beehive state,"- Band of Annuals have been bringing "that devastating combo of heartbreaking alt-country earnestness and perfect pop-hook craftsmanship" to stages across America.

         Band of Annuals has done its work, releasing The Wharehouse EP (2006), Repondez (2005) and Let Me Live (2007) with producer Scott Wiley (Ryan Adams, Elliot Smith). The latter two having been recently re-released on independent Salt Lake City label Kilby Records. Booking and promoting themselves since 2005, BOA has played hundreds of shows in over two dozen states. Including backing-up Daniel Johnston. A recent six-week, 12,000 mile tour, spanned from Seattle to New York City. Band of Annuals are now working with Invisible City Booking, starting with a full U.S. 45+ show tour in the Fall of 2008 and an upcoming EP.

            The cry of a pedal-steel, vocal harmonies reminiscent of past classics, heartfelt lyrics, musical chemistry that can only come with time...sounding both familiar and new, polished and raw.

 

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Skinny Love By Bon Iver

      Bon Iver is an indie folk band, and one of Justin Vernon’s current and most notable music projects to date.

The band also consists of: Mike Noyce, Sean Carey and Matt MacCaughan.

The name ‘Bon Iver’ (pronounced “bon ee-VAIR”) is a play on the French phrase ‘bon hiver;’ for ‘good winter’.  Vernon independently released Bon Iver’s debut album: For Emma, Forever Ago in 2007; most of which was recorded during a four-month stay in a remote cabin in Wisconsin, USA.

While in high school and college Vernon founded the indie-rock bands MOUNT VERNON and DeYarmond Edison in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where he still resides.

Vernon’s self-released debut as Bon Iver garnered critical acclaim, and was picked up by the indie-rock label Jagjaguwar, which gave the album a proper release on February 19th, 2008. The album was released in the UK and Europe by iconic indie 4AD on May 12, 2008.

When released in the UK, For Emma, Forever Ago received 5/5 and “Album of the Month” reviews in both MOJO and Uncut magazines. It is currently the third highest rated album of 2008 on review-aggregator site Metacritic, with accolades from publications including The Village Voice, The Hartford Courant and The A.V. Club.

 

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Flash-Back Fridays ( No school like the old school)

Cannonball By The Breeders

The Breeders are an American rock band, formed in 1988 by Kim Deal of Pixies and Throwing Muses’ Tanya Donelly. After those original bands became less active, The Breeders became more important to both artists. A tape was sent of their original demos to Ivo Watts-Russell, who immediately signed the band to his 4AD label in 1989. Their debut album, “Pod”, was recorded by Steve Albini and released on 4AD in 1990. Deal’s influence is obvious, but bassist Josephine Wiggs and Slint drummer Britt Walford (credited here as Shannon Doughton) add to the ensemble sound.

By the release of the four-song EP “Safari” in 1992, Deal was done with Pixies and had enlisted her twin sister Kelley Deal to play guitar for the Breeders. Donelly exited the band to form Belly, and drummer Jim MacPherson joined in time for “Last Splash” in 1993. The album spawned the hit “Cannonball.”

In 1995, Kelley Deal was involved in a drug bust, so sister Kim formed the side project The Amps with MacPherson, bassist Luis Lerma (member of Dayton, Ohio band The Tasties) and guitarist Nate Farley, who later joined Guided by Voices. The Amps released the album “Pacer” in October of 1995. Following drug rehab, Kelley started the Kelley Deal 6000 and also formed the unlikely Last Hard Men with Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach, ex-Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, and Jimmy Flemion of The Frog

 
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Last Time Around  By Lay Low

Iceland’s bluesiest chanteuse Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir - aka Lay Low - is ready with a new album. After setting worlds ablaze and topping the Icelandic charts with her 2006 debut ‘Please Don’t Hate Me’, the unassuming starlet is back with a new record that continues her forays into traditional blues and country sounds. Recorded at Toe Rag Studios in London with producer Liam Watson (White Stripes & Pete Molinari), the new record is titled ‘Farewell Good Night’s Sleep’, and features musicians such as Carwyn Ellis, Ed Turner, Rupert Brown, Matt Radford, Jason Wilson and BJ Cole.

 

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For Today By Jessica Lea Mayfeild

        Jessica Lea Mayfield (b. August 27, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter, from Kent, Ohio. She is known for writing dark, sad songs, with a plaintive minimalist style that draws on both country and rock music. 

       A featured vocalist on The Black Keys’ Attack and Release, that band’s Dan Auerbach returned the favor by producing her first studio album, recorded over the course of two years in his home studio.

         Delving into country, folk and soul, With Blasphemy, So Heartfelt is a collaborative project on which Mayfield’s sultry voice adds flair to edgy lyrics and melodies. With the help of her brother, bassist David Mayfield, Jessica Lea Mayfield’s debut includes cameo appearances by Dr. Dog’s Scott McMicken and Frank McElroy on backing vocals. 

 

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On the Low By  Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions

      Hope Sandoval (born 1966) is an American singer-songwriter who was lead singer for Mazzy Star and later Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions.

      Hope formed The Warm Inventions with Colm Ó Cíosóig (formerly My Bloody Valentine) and they released their first album called “Bavarian Fruit Bread”, in 2001. This album sounds, again, little different in terms of theme, voice, and instrumentation than that of her work with Mazzy Star. However, with a larger band behind her, and more time under her creative belt, Hope’s voice has matured on these songs.

      Subsequently, The Warm Inventions released three EP’s but received very little commercial success, no video on MTV, and very little radio play. Nonetheless, the band’s efforts were appreciated by her solid fan base. In 2009, the band released the album “Through The Devil Softly.”

 

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It's a Hit By Rilo Kiley

 Jenny Lewis (vocals, guitar), Blake Sennett (vocals, guitar), Pierre de Reeder (bass, keyboards) and Jason Boesel (drums).
         Lewis and Sennett are former child actors and were introduced to each other by Tara Subkoff, a mutual friend, in 1993. In 2001, original drummer Dave Rock left the band and was replaced by Boesel.
              They began their career on Barsuk Records, releasing Take Offs and Landings in 2001. They moved to Omaha-based indie label Saddle Creek for their second album, 2002’s The Execution of All Things. But come time for their third release, More Adventurous in 2004, the band left Saddle Creek for Brute/Beaute, a Warner Bros. imprint. 

              On the syndicated radio show Loveline in August 2005, Sennett explained that he had a dream in which he was being chased by a sports almanac: "when it got me, I leafed through it...and I came upon an Australian-rules football player from the 19th century named Rilo Kiley. It's kind of embarrassing." When asked by co-host Drew Pinsky if he had ever seen this name in reality, Sennett said, "I don't think so, I don't think that character exists...If you Google 'Rilo Kiley' you just come back with a lot of pictures of us." On how this imaginary name became the name for the band: "I wrote it down on a blotter, an office desk when I woke up, and, I don't know, I came back to it when we were trying to think of a name and we thought we'd use that for one show then change it, 'cause who'd want that name? Who can remember that anyway?"

            In 2005, Sennett told Planet Sound Teletext Magazine that the name came from a Scottish athlete. On a 2005 episode of the MSNBC entertainment show MSNBC Entertainment Hot List, the female host stated that the name came from "old Scottish sports almanacs". In the interview segment that followed, Sennett stated, "We just looked in there and the name of one of the star players from the turn of the century was Rilo Kiley."

In an interview published in Q magazine in September 2007, Sennett offered this explanation: "Rilo Kiley is named after a character he'd met in a dream who had predicted the date of Jenny Lewis' death."

The group is also known for its charitable contributions, particularly to the Elliott Smith Memorial Fund, in honor of the late singer and friend of the band. Sennett and Lewis participated in a memorial concert for the singer shortly after his death in 2003. Sennett and Lewis also contributed to the 2005 UNICEF benefit song, "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?".

          The band's fourth album Under the Blacklight was released August 20, 2007 in the United Kingdom and the following day in the United States.^[3] Its first single is "The Moneymaker". For the video, the band cast "real-life porn stars", who Lewis says were told they were auditioning for "soft core porn". The second single is "Silver Lining".

          On September 6, 2007, the band began a North American tour in support of Under the Blacklight. On this tour, it was joined by Orenda Fink (of Azure Ray) and Kristin Gundred (of Grand Ole Party).

In April 2009 Blender named Portions for Foxes number 376 in their list of 500 greatest Songs Since You Were Born.

 

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Shelter by Ray LaMontagne  

        Folk singer-songwriter currently living in Wilton, Maine. After hearing a Stephen Stills song, Treetop Flyer, he decided to quit his job and pursue a career in music. He has since released three records, Trouble, Till The Sun Turns Black, and Gossip in the Grain. A soft-spoken person who is known for his raspy voice, LaMontagne has won a number of awards for his music and has performed at several charity events. On October 14, 2008, LaMontagne released his third studio album, Gossip in the Grain. 
       Early life: Ray LaMontagne was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, in 1974 to a constantly travelling mother. When LaMontagne was a child, his mother left his musician father, while his father was on tour, and moved him and his siblings up North. His father had no contact with LaMontagne and for years had no knowledge of his whereabouts. Because of the stories told to LaMontagne about his father, LaMontagne refrained from most musical activity, instead spending much of his time reading fantasy novels in the forest.  His mother moved him and his five siblings to wherever she could find work, so it was difficult for LaMontagne to become friends with other children. LaMontagne attended high school at Morgan High School in Morgan, Utah, but frequently ditched class, wrote stories, or got into fights with other students. This caused him to get poor grades and LaMontagne barely graduated.  After graduation, LaMontagne moved away from his family to Lewiston, Maine in order to find a full-time job.
           LaMontagne found a job at a shoe factory in Lewiston where he worked 65 hours a week. One morning at 4 a.m., LaMontagne heard Stephen Stills’ song “Treetop Flyer” on the radio as it awoke him for an early work shift. After purchasing the Stills Alone album, LaMontagne decided that he wanted to quit his job at the shoe factory and start a career as a singer-songwriter.  LaMontagne began touring in 1999, although he maintained a side job as a carpenter.  In the summer of 1999, LaMontagne amassed 10 songs for a demo that he sent to various local music venues. The owner of a local theater heard the demo and invited LaMontagne to open for folk acts such as John Gorka and Jonathan Edwards. A business executive heard LaMontagne’s recordings and introduced him to Jamie Ceretta of Chrysalis Music Publishing. CMP recorded his first album, and sold it to RCA Records in the US and Echo Records in the UK.
         Ray LaMontagne performing at the Sasquatch Music Festival.   In a period of two weeks, LaMontagne re-recorded Trouble at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, California with producer Ethan Johns. RCA Records released the album on September 14, 2004. The album featured performances by Nickel Creek violinist Sara Watkins on two tracks, and Stephen Stills’s daughter Jennifer Stills on another.  In the US, the album reached a low peak of #189 on the Billboard 200, but sold over 250,000 copies. Trouble has sold over 400,000 copies worldwide.
            During a tour to promote the album, LaMontagne played six songs for an episode of Austin City Limits, which first aired on October 29, 2005.  On the third week of finals in the fifth season of American Idol, eventual winner Taylor Hicks performed “Trouble”. Chris Sligh, an American Idol Season 6 Top-12 finalist, also performed the tune to rave reviews from the judges. 
           Till the Sun Turns Black. LaMontagne’s second album, Till the Sun Turns Black, was released August 29, 2006 in the US. Also produced by Ethan Johns, the album featured more instrumentation than Trouble, including the use of a horn section and string section on several of the songs. Singer-songwriter Rachael Yamagata provided background vocals on the song “Barfly.” The album peaked at #28 on the Billboard 200 album chart, selling 28,000 copies in its first week of release.  The album also sold enough copies to be a top three heatseeker album in New Zealand. According to his website, the first single from the album is “Three More Days”. LaMontagne performed on The Tonight Show on October 6, 2006 to promote the album. 
          Ray LaMontagne is particularly known for his raspy voice, which he claims to have learned by singing through his gut and not his nose.  LaMontagne claims that he is highly influenced by Stephen Stills, and critics have compared LaMontagne’s music to that of Van Morrison, Nick Drake, and Tim Buckley. LaMontagne refers to himself as a “very private person”, and infrequently gives interviews. He also usually does not interact with the audience between songs during his live shows. LaMontagne has been known to perform live shows in the dark in order to separate himself from the audience.

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White Headphones By The Mother Hips

Formed nearly 15 years ago at Chico State in Northern California, The Mother Hips have seen it all, and there are already two documentaries about them-Stories We Could Tell and This Is The Sound-to prove it. They’ve gone from dorm band to buzz band to cult favorite; they’ve taken a truckload of drugs and then kicked their habits; they’ve played with everyone from Wilco to Johnny Cash; they’ve worked with countless labels (including two albums on Rick Rubin’s American Recordings); and they’ve dealt with more industry bullshit than the average band could handle. And when singer/guitarist Greg Loiacono told his bandmates he wanted to take a break following the release of 2001’s critically acclaimed Green Hills Of The Earth, it seemed as though the Hips were on their way to getting thrown into the coulda-woulda-shoulda pile.

But with the release of the band’s new seven-inch and EP on New York City upstart Camera Records, it’s clear that The Mother Hips (Bluhm, Loiacono, drummer John Hofer and bassist Paul Hoaglin) aren’t just back-they’re back with a purpose.

 

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