Recorded for Donewaiting/Each Note Secure’s A Very Ohio Christmas compilation, this Bicentennial Bear song was recorded in 2010, much before word of this reunion was ever discussed as a reality. Last night, the band Tweeted a link to the song, and that’s good enough reason for us to repost the song. I’ll be at their first show tomorrow night at The Bowery Ballroom and I am super excited. The Whigs will also be performing on Fallon tonight.
Tag Archives: Bicentennial Bear
Favorite Albums of 2011: Joel Oliphint
This year’s list of favorites is fairly sedate (even for me), with just a little ruckus here and there. Lots of morning-coffee music, which I guess says something about my 2011. But music’s strength is its pliability. It can be whatever you need it to be at the moment, especially when we have instant access to virtually any song ever recorded, often for free. Judging by this list, I needed music to be a salve more than a release valve this year.
I also never expected my favorite album to come from someone who held the spot previously, but the iTunes “most played” playlist doesn’t lie. It’s a divisive one, but people who like it really like it.
I picked 15 favorites and several honorable mentions, plus a Favorite Columbus Albums list below — separate but equal in enjoyment and quality. As usual, I limit my lists to albums, so some EPs and 7”s I liked (e.g. Envelope, Sundown, Malefactors of Great Wealth, Dolfish) aren’t listed.
That is all.
MP3: Grand Champion Steer
As Chip said about Wussy’s Chuck Cleaver, “One wouldn’t expect the heavily tattooed Cincinnati songwriter to produce his best collection of songs this late in his already highly-prolific career, but that’s exactly what he’s done.”
14. TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
TV On The Radio – “Will Do” by Interscope Records
13. The War on Drugs – Slave Ambient
MP3: Come to the City
12. Tom Waits – Bad As Me
Tom Waits – Bad As Me by antirecords
I’ve never been a Tom Waits fanboy, but this record grabbed me and didn’t let go. Continue reading
Posted in 2011 Favorites, Columbus, MP3
Tagged AA Bondy, Bicentennial Bear, Bill Callahan, Black Swans, blueprint, Bon Iver, Centro-Matic, Crooked Fingers, David Bazan, Fleet Foxes, Gillian Welch, Kurt Vile, lydia loveless, Psandwich, Psychedelic Horseshit, Saintseneca, Southeast Engine, The Lindsay, The Regionals, Times New Viking, Tom Waits, TV on the Radio, Wussy, Youth Lagoon
Wish Granted! Bicentennial Bear’s “All I Want for Christmas (is an Afghan Whigs Reunion)”
Bicentennial Bear wished for it last Christmas, and one year later dreams do come true. The Afghan Whigs are reuniting!
Celebrate by listening to their song:
On Sunday 27th May 2012 Alexandra Palace will host the first show in 13 years from Cincinnati’s rock legends THE AFGHAN WHIGS. Formed in 1986, the bands career from then until 2001 saw them release six acclaimed albums highlighted by the classic Gentlemen LP in 1993. Fusing classic rock with grunge-era distortion and a heavy soul influence, Afghan Whigs were one of the most renowned live bands of their time and this long awaited reformation will no doubt be a very special event.
ATP are also pleased to confirm their return to Asbury Park, New Jersey USA where they will follow last year’s debut in that city with a 2012 I’ll Be Your Mirror event, the Saturday night of which will be headlined by The Afghan Whigs and curated by the Whigs’ frontman Greg Dulli. Tickets & accommodation for the three day event running September 21st-23rd will go on sale in early January 2012 when the start of the fantastic line-up will also be announced – fans can sign up now to receive info about a pre-sale.
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Posted in Music
Tagged Bicentennial Bear, The Afghan Whigs
=Van Haken= “Everybody Wants Some” – live @ Kobo (10.28.11)
There were a lot of tributes going on Friday night in honor of Halloween at various clubs around town. I found myself at Kobo where Alert New London was performing at The Strokes, Speed Governor was performing as Nirvana, The Moving Parts were performing as Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, and members of Bicentennial Bear, Miranda Sound and Kopaz were performing as Van Haken.
In case you missed it, Sammy Hagar and Gary Cherone both were in attendance (Hagar holding a sign throughout Van Haken’s set that said, “Play Poundcake”) and in a surprise move, David Lee Roth invited the two to join the band for “Everybody Wants Some”. Here’s the result of the first time ever that all 3 singers shared the same stage.
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Tagged Alert New London, Bicentennial Bear, david lee roth, gary cherone, halloween, KOBO, kopaz, Miranda Sound, Nirvana, sammy hagar, speed governor, the strokes, tom petty and the heartbreakers, Van halen
MP3 Premiere: Warpspeed by Bicentennial Bear
MP3: Warpspeed
Bicentennial Bear was created in the ashes of Miranda Sound, my favorite band from Columbus and some of my bestie bros from the Buckeye state. Billy Peake soldiered on, bringing in Sean (also from MS), Scott (MS), Adam (Celebrity Pilots), and newcomer Leah. They’ve recorded their first full length and will be celebrating with a release show next Friday, June 10 @ Kobo in Columbus, OH.
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Tagged Bicentennial Bear
Listen: All I Want for Christmas (is an Afghan Whigs Reunion)
As part of the digital holiday compilation donewaiting.com has released with Each Note Secure, one song that hit a big chord of holiday cheer and nostalgia is Bicentennial Bear‘s All I Want for Christmas (is an Afghan Whigs Reunion). Give it a listen:
I asked Billy from the band to give us a little story about creating the song:
I’m excited about how well it was received. I seriously wrote the song while I was driving. I pulled my car into a parking lot, hummed the melody into my phone, scribbled a bunch of lyrics about Dulli and company and how the world would be better off without modern quasi folk rock. That night I sent a two track demo out to the band and we recorded it a few days later. So it’s super loose and fun and hardly over-thought.
At the same time, the idea behind the song is to make fun of myself for living in the past so much. Beyond the obvious things like the sleigh bells and the viola, Sean’s guitar lines really give the song a christmas-y feel.
Bicentennial Bear is releasing their debut album in March 2011.
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Posted in A Very Ohio Christmas
Tagged Bicentennial Bear
Bicentennial Bear (ex-Miranda Sound): New MP3s, Playing Comfest
Bicentennial Bear features Billy Peake, Scott Haynes and Sean Sefcik from Miranda Sound (RIP), my favorite band from Columbus, along with Adam Dowell (Celebrity Pilots) and Leah Wahlin. They’re currently working on their debut album to be released at some point this year. Wet your whistle by downloading these two recent recordings:
MP3: Cardinal Codes
MP3: Year of Our Ladybirds
You can catch them perform at the Offramp Stage Sunday during Comfest @ 1:30pm.
The Celebrity Pilots, Hawks of the Lesser Antilles
MP3:Celebrity Pilots – Lost a Limb
I’ll admit to not being the most observant dude in the world, but the mere existence of this record came as surprise to me. After a couple of previous albums and a live presence in town respectable for a band that splits roots between Columbus and Cleveland, I haven’t heard much from the The Celebrity Pilots in the last year or so. Then this… practically a sneak attack of a CD release with an added guitar player and new sixteen-song collection called Hawks of the Lesser Antilles. After a single trip through, this new record is my favorite CPs to date. While not a massive departure- the meat is still quirky and catch pop songs and Chris Sheehan still navigates somewhere between Bob Pollard and Jeff Buckley- where previous songs went for frenetic or weird, this collection tends to lean towards something more pastoral.
The Celebrity Pilots will launch this thing with a show at Rumba Cafe, Saturday June 5th. Lending a hand will be The Lindsay and Bicentennial Bear.
Friday at Carabar: Smug Brothers (Dayton), Sowashes, Ghost Shirt, Bicentennial Bear
MP3: Smug Brothers – Low Like Nothing
MP3: Smug Brothers – Build Your Collections
All three locals on this bill would be worth venturing out to see separately, so seeing the Kyle Sowashes, Ghost Shirt and Bicentennial Bear play a free show together at Carabar is a no-brainer (esp. if part 1 of Lost Weekend’s two-night anniversary extravaganza isn’t your thing).
Icing on the cake is Dayton’s Smug Brothers, fronted by Kyle Melton and featuring Don Thrasher (Guided By Voices, Swearing at Motorists) on drums. GBV fans will find plenty to like on the band’s new EP, Stock Romeo — 7 songs/15 minutes chock full of home-fi hooks. Sample for yourself above.
Posted in Columbus, Dayton, MP3
Tagged Bicentennial Bear, Carabar, Ghost Shirt, Kyle Sowashes, Smug Brothers