Tag Archives: great northern

Favorite Albums of 2009 by Chip Midnight

Posted on January 5, 2010 by Chip Midnight

Guess I’m not going to be looked at as a trendsetter this year. Believe me, I’m as surprised as anyone that my two favorite releases of the year were put out by bands that were active in the hair metal community in the late ’80s. But when I went back and scanned through iTunes to see what I listened to the most, these are the ones that were clear cut favorites.

1. Danger Danger – Revolve
The best CD of 1989 was released 20 years late! This b-list hair metal band brought original singer Ted Poley back for a reunion album filled with big hooks (“Hearts on the Highway”), bigger choruses (“That’s What I’m Talking About”), songs about girls (“Rocket to Your Heart”), guitar solos (“Ghost of Love”), and power ballads (“Fugitive”). Def Leppard and Bon Jovi’s recent efforts didn’t sound nearly this good.
Listen: Keep On Keepin’ On

2. Ray West – All Pointz West
Spread Eagle’s Ray West was my favorite singer from the sleaze-glam era (early ’90s). His solo debut may have been 15+ years in the making, but it was worth it as he updates Spread Eagle’s sound (which was similar to Skid Row, Guns N’ Roses, Motley Crue) by making it heavier and more aggressive (ala Godsmack, Disturbed, Killswitch Engage). I listened to this CD more than anything else this past summer.
Watch:Novacaine

3. The Damnwells – One Last Century
My fears that The Damnwells were done were unjustified and proven false when the band released this FREE album in February. The older carryovers (“55 Pictures”, “Bastards of Midnight”, “Down with the Ship”) were my favorites initially but I grew to love the collaborations Alex Dezen did with his wife, Angela (“Dandelion”, “Like it Is”), just as much as anything the band has previously done.
Download:One Last Century (full CD)

4. Jason Lytle – Yours Truly, The Commuter
Halfway through 2009, this album was my favorite. Though it’s billed under Lytle’s name, it’s really just an extension of the singer’s Grandaddy sound (spacey/dreamy indie-pop) and “Brand New Sun” may be one of the best, simplest pop songs released this year.
Watch: Brand New Sun

5. The Prairie Cartel – Where Did All My People Go?
Blake Smith and Mike Willison hinted at their electro-pop/sample fascination as members of the short-lived alt.rock band Caviar but bring that fascination to full fruition (along with Local H’s Scott Lucas) on The Prairie Cartel’s long overdue debut (most of these songs were on a demo CD the guys gave me at SXSW back in ’07). The versatility of the music allows The Prairie Cartel to perform it live as either a full band or in a DJ setting with Lucas singing over pre-recorded sounds loaded onto an iPod.
Download: Beautiful Shadow

6. Alberta Cross – Broken Side of Time
This swirling and noisy blend of dark, gothic southern-rock and psychedelic-tinged grunge evokes comparisons to artists such as Blind Melon, Dead Confederate, Mother Love Bone, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Kings of Leon.
Watch: ATX

7. Wye Oak – The Knot
Within the first 5 minutes of listening to The Knot, I emailed the band’s publicist and said something like, “Is it possible to fall in love with an entire CD before the second song has even ended? If so, I’ll drop to one knee and propose to Wye Oak on the spot.” With most songs going from soft to loud and then loud to soft, it’s little wonder that Wye Oak’s earned comparisons to Yo La Tengo, My Morning Jacket, and The Spinanes. The Knot is a beautiful sounding, and at time loud and chaotic, CD that knocked me out from the get-go.
Download: Take It In

8. Crippled Black Phoenix – The Resurrectionists / Night Raider
This collective of UK musicians was assembled by ex-Electric Wizard drummer Justin Greaves who was encouraged by Mogwai bassist (and CBP contributor) Dominic Aitchison to record the “endtime ballads” he’d been writing for years. Though you can pick up an abbreviated compilation of these 2 CDs boiled down into one package (200 Tons of Bad Luck), it’s worth spending a few extra bucks for both CDs that I’ve described as “Mogwai covering Pink Floyd for a movie soundtrack”.
Listen: Rise Up and Fight

9. Slayer – World Painted Blood
Tom Araya may feel like he’s closing in on retirement age but you couldn’t tell by the breakneck thrashing Araya, Kerry King, Jeff Hanneman and Dave Lombardo serve up on Slayer’s 10th studio album, their best since 1990′s Seasons in the Abyss. Typical subject matter is tackled throughout World Painted Blood (death, blood, war, evil) and Araya comes off as the creepy vocal counterpart to real-life villains like Ed Gein, Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy.
Listen: World Painted Blood

10. Great Northern – Remind Me Where the Light Is
At it’s songwriting core (Solon Bixler, Rachel Stolte), Great Northern is still the same band that topped my “Favorites of 2007″ list; however, the departure of the rhythm section during the construction of this sophomore release may be partially responsible for the darker turn Great Northern took in 2009. If 2007′s Trading Twilight for Daylight was the soundtrack to a late Friday afternoon, then Remind Me Where the Light Is is the soundtrack to driving home after a night of indulgence.
Watch: Fingers

Picks 11-25 can be found on AtomicNed.com.

Posted in 2009 Favorites, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Sunday: The Dears/Great Northern/Eulogies (Skully’s)

Posted on May 8, 2009 by Chip Midnight
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March 2004 – Saw The Dears at SXSW. My first year there, my first experience with the band. Somebody said, before we saw them, that they are like “The Smiths meet Pink Floyd”. We all leave Emo’s impressed.

March 2006 (I think) – Make it a point to see The Dears at SXSW again even though they are playing my least favorite club. They aren’t scheduled to go on until 1am but I figure I’ll tough it out. They start soundchecking about 5 ’til 1 and continue on for about 10 minutes. Then they proceed to open with an instrumental that felt like it lasted another 10 minutes. I left, totally disappointed.

Sunday, May 10, 2009 – I feel like The Dears owe me one. This is their chance to make it up and, truthfully, I’m not too worried. The new CD, Missles, is a good one even though it originally was supposed to be a Murray Lightburn solo CD from what I’ve read.

Great Northern (read my fresh-off-the-presses interview with them) and Eulogies (read my Dec.’08 interview) open the EARLY show at Skully’s (doors at 6:30, show done around 10pm).

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Eulogies/Dangerbird Records Super Prize Package + Tickets For Columbus Show

Posted on April 29, 2009 by Robert Duffy

neweulogiesphoto

This Fine Progression by Eulogies
Houses by Great Northern

This is the most things we’ve ever given away in one contest, it sort of looks like we robbed someone. But we didn’t.

Dangerbird bands Eulogies and The Dears are currently touring with Great Northern. They’ll be performing at Skully’s in Columbus on May 10. To celebrate, we’ve got a gigantic giveaway:

-(2) tickets to show (guest list at venue’s will call)
-(1) Eulogies “Tempted to Do Nothing” vinyldisc
-(1) Eulogies “Here Anonymous” on vinyl
-(1) The Dears “Money Babies” / “Threats” 7” Vinyl
-(1) The Dears “Missiles” CD
-(1) Eulogies shirt
-(1) Dangerbird hoodie

This contest is open only to the Columbus Ohio area. We want to make sure you can use the tickets. A winner will be randomly selected. To enter, send an e-mail to contest@donewaiting.com with the subject title “EULOGIESTHEDEARSGREATHNORTHERN.” In the body of the e-mail, include your name and mailing address.

I’m a fan of all three of these bands, so I’m super excited to see them all on one bill. I posted links to MP3s on the top of the post, but keep reading to hear more from Eulogies.

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My Jerusalem (ex-Twilight Singers, Great Northern, Polyphonic Spree) @ SXSW

Posted on March 12, 2009 by Chip Midnight

Showcase info: My Jerusalem will perform at 11:05 p.m. on Friday, March 20 @ Karma Lounge (119 W.8th).
Other shows: KGSR Live from the Four Seasons, 8 a.m. on Wednesday, March 18 (98 San Jacinto Blvd); Guitartown/Conqueroo present Kickoff 2009, noon on Wednesday, March 18 @ Fado
Click here to add events to your SCHED*

Download: Sweet Chariot

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.

Though you’ve got some dates leading up to SXSW, do you consider the music festival your true coming out party?

The shows leading up to SXSW are more like a dress rehearsal i suppose. SXSW will be more of our “opening night”

While it seems like a random series of connections, most of the people in the band know each other, right?

We all have about 1 degree of separation and have been good friends for a while. You’d be surprised how small the music community is.

Listening to the EP, I hear bits and pieces of The Twilight Singers, U2, and The Sheila Divine. Are there any bands you’d compare your music to?

Wow, the Sheila Divine…you from Boston? I remember seeing one of their first shows. I think they may have even had a different name for a sec. I don’t really know who we would be comparable to. Everyone involved has very diverse taste. The stereo in the van went from Nick Cave to some Wizard Prog Rock to Connie Francis in the span of 10 minutes. so….I’m not sure.

You’ve got 45 minutes or so to fill at SXSW (and probably equally as long, if not longer, on the dates you’re currently doing). Do you have additional songs that aren’t on the EP or are you dipping back into material from the other bands you’ve been in?

We have about 30 songs recorded. 12 will be on the forthcoming LP. So we are gonna focus on the LP and EP songs. We are only doing our own material. We aren’t a cover band.

I don’t know the circumstances behind Ashley’s departure from Great Northern but because the band didn’t make a public announcement on their website or MySpace page, I got the impression that it may not have been a friendly one. Was it a mutual breakup? And, will there be any weird vibes considering Great Northern is playing on the same showcase bill as My Jerusalem?

Ill let Ashley handle that one:
Ashley: That’s a tricky question to answer. As much as I’d rather not focus on the split, I’d hate for people to think that i left because I chose to. I was fired and it was completely unexpected. Even though I’ve moved on and forgiven my former band mates, it’s a strange subject for me because I was never given a clear/honest reason. But I suppose that’s the way it goes sometimes. Bands are like relationships or marriages. If there’s a lack of communication then something’s eventually going to give. The last thing I’d want is for things to be awkward. I believe everything happens for a reason. If the fallout never happened, I never would have met Jeff Klein or Ed Harcourt. I’m grateful for the time I spent with Great Northern and I genuinely wish them the best in the future.

Every year there are tons of rumors about secret shows that are going to happen. This year, the rumor is that Metallica is playing at Stubb’s on Friday night (guess that’s your competition, if it’s true). Have you heard any good rumors or do you want to start any? :)

I heard Hanna Montana, M Ward, and President Obama are playing together on Friday night under the name My Jerusalem.

While in Austin, are there any restaurants/bars that you like to frequent?

You gotta get breakfast tacos at El Chilito or migas at Ciscos. For the latenight i usually end up at The Longbranch or The Mohawk.

I noticed only a showcase SXSW gig on your MySpace page. Will you be performing at any parties? Will you be hanging out in Austin for a few days and, if so, any bands that you’re interested in checking out?

We are doing a live KGSR thing on Wed morning and then playing the Guitartown/Conqueroo party at noon that day. Most of us will also be playing in Ed Harcourt’s band as well during his show when he comes over. We’ll be there for a few days hangin with a bunch of friends. I wanna see Echo and the Bunnymen.

Posted in SXSW Blog | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Donewaiting.com Staff Favorites of 2007: Chip Midnight

Posted on January 11, 2008 by Chip Midnight

Better late than never, right?

I started with a list of 45 favorites. Over the course of December I tried to give each one another listen to decide a) where it would land on the list and b) whether or not it would make the cut. I ended up with a list of 24 and, not much to my surprise, many are female-fronted or British bands. I am surprised more alt.country didn’t make my list (I guess Wilco is the token alt.country band) and a complete lack of hard rock is unheard of (oh, how I wanted to love the new Down CD but it just didn’t happen).

From the first 30 seconds of listening to Great Northern’s ‘Trading Twilight for Daylight’, I knew it was going to be my top pick. But along came The Dollyrots a few months later and nearly stole the top spot. Actually, in my mind, they tied for my favorite of the year, I’m sure I listened to both of them an equal amount of times. The rest of the top 10 is pretty interchangeable but I figured I had to put them in some sort of order.

So, here’s my list of Favorite CDs of 2007:

1. Great Northern – Trading Twilight for Daylight (Eenie Meenie Records)
Watch/Listen/MySpace/Buy
Part of the Silverlake scene (Sea Wolf, Earlimart, Silversun Pickups), Great Northern provides the soundtrack to a lazy/hazy Friday afternoon. Though Rachel Stolte is the lead singer, her vocal interplay with guitarist Solon Bixler adds depth to the songs.


2. The Dollyrots – Because I’m Awesome (Blackheart Records)
Watch/MySpace/Buy
Signed to Joan Jett’s label (Blackheart Records), The Dollyrots embody a punk rock spirit and, to a degree, a punk rock sound though the band’s single “Because I’m Awesome” (as featured in a Kohl’s commercial) is gaining steam on pop radio stations such as WNCI in Columbus, Ohio. Based on comments left on The Dollyrots MySpace page, the trio is appealing to a wide age range including pre-teen girls whose iPod Shuffles are loaded with songs by Kelly Clarkson, Hannah Montana, and Avril Lavigne.

3. The Twilight Sad – Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters (Fat Cat)
Watch/MySpace/Buy
From the thick Scottish accented vocals to the wall of guitar sounds, The Twilight Sad sound like Snow Patrol if Snow Patrol had started just a few years ago and was influenced by Mogwai, Aereogramme, My Bloody Valentine, and Dinosaur Jr. The band’s SXSW performance in a tent outside of Emo’s left my ears ringing for days … and I liked it!


4. Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer – Schematics (Le Pamplemousse)
Watch/MySpace/Buy
As long as Zolof keeps putting out records, there will be a place for them on my year-end list. The synth-driven pop-punk with an edge is infectious and I can’t get enough of Rachel Minton’s spunky vocals. This band could sell a ton of records if they catch the right break.


5. The Frames – The Cost (Anti)
Watch/MySpace/Buy
The Once soundtrack made a lot of year-end lists, as well it should and it would have made mine had Glen Hansard’s band, The Frames, not put out a record of their own this year. Fully fleshed-out versions of Once’s best tracks (“Falling Slowly” and “When Your Mind is Made Up”) appear on The Frames’ tenth studio album and are just as passionate and emotional as the stripped-down soundtrack versions. My hope is that everybody who loved the music in Once will explore The Frames’ back catalog.
6. Via Audio – Say Something (SideCho)
Watch/Listen/MySpace/Buy
Early fans of the New York/Boston band included Chris Walla (Death Cab for Cutie) and Jim Eno (Spoon), associations which paid off for Via Audio in 2007. Jessica Martin’s pretty vocals undoubtedly broke a million blogger boy hearts this year while the boys in the band (Danny Molad, Tom Deis, David Lizmi) laid down some smart and sophisticated pop ala DCFC, The Postal Service, etc. Martin’s solo side project, The Stenographer’s Alibi, is also worth checking out.

7. Idlewild – Make Another World (Sanctuary)
Watch/MySpace/Buy
I once said that if I could only listen to the recorded (past, past, and future) output of one band for the rest of my life, I would choose Idlewild to be that band. Despite some ups and downs (continuous critical praise but poor concert attendance and CD sales in the US), Idlewild soldiers on and delivers yet another consistent release. In a recent blog entry, frontman Roddy Woomble shot done rumors of the band’s demise saying the band will get to work on a new CD.

8. Wilco – Sky Blue Sky (Nonesuch)
Watch/MySpace/Buy
I consider myself a casual Wilco fan. I own all of their CD (including the live one) but I don’t listen to them as often as I should. Something about Sky Blue Sky, however, struck me from the moment I heard it and of all Wilco’s catalog, this one has definitely gotten the most play on my iPod. Wilco seems to be inching closer and closer to becoming the Eagles of our generation (though Tweedy still definitely is the ringleader), this became apparent to me as I saw the band live for the first time since the Summerteeth tour in 2007. And while it maybe doesn’t have commercial radio appeal, “Impossible Germany” is, without a doubt, the song I listened to the most in 2007.

9. St. Vincent – Marry Me (Beggars Banquet)
Watch/MySpace/Buy
My first encounter with Annie Clark came while watching her play guitar with The Polyphonic Spree at SXSW this year. When I got home and Googled “cute Polyphonic Spree guitar player”, I discovered St.Vincent (Clark’s nom de plume) and was instantly mesmerized by the songs on her MySpace page (“Paris is Burning”, “Marry Me”, “Your Lips are Red”). If I could buy stock in musicians, I’d dump a load of money on St.Vincent stock as this is just a start to what I’m sure will be a very promising career.


10. Tigers Can Bite You – Tigers Can Bite You (Tune Core)
MySpace/Buy
Dave Woody started Fiver around the same time Death Cab for Cutie and Granddaddy were getting off the ground. While those bands saw some success over time, Fiver missed out. Woody is back with a like-minded band, Tigers Can Bite You, and fans of DCFC and Granddaddy should pay heed and give TCBY’s spacey pop sound a listen. This was my favorite random discovery of the year (thanks to Alex of Sea Wolf for introducing me to their music).

Other CDs that got lots of play on the iPod this year include:

Adam Franklin – Bolts of Melody
Bracken – We Know About the Need
Editors – An End Has a Start
Film School – Hideout
Jill Cunniff – City Beach
Minmae – 835
Radical Face – Ghost
Sea Wolf – Leaves in the River
Sebastian Bach – Angel Down
Silver Needle – Halo
Soulsavers – It’s Not How Hard You Fall, It’s the Way You Land
The Comas – Spells
The Donnas – Bitchin’
Wolf and Cub – Vessels

Posted in 2007 Favorites, Music | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment