show 66: Giant Bear, five-piece orchestral funkabilly band, spawns from Memphis, TN and its tradition of honest, heartfelt music. But they're never home for long, touring continuously and playing almost a year's worth of shows during their adolescent tenure. Giant Bear celebrates a two year anniversary with a month long west coast tour in May, 2007. The tour is in support of their self-titled second LP, which will be available mid-June 2007. The album is enormous musically, showcasing a variety of established guest musicians all well loved in Memphis, adding accordion, pedal steel, Hammond B3 and slide guitar. Despite how big their music is sonically, the songs originate with the theory that music is best when it's simple and the stories are straightforward :
Found at Bumbershoot.org: In an effort to cut rising production costs, a prominent music magazine recently hired a team of super-scientists to accomplish one goal and one goal alone: design a tool that would replace music critics for good. For eight weeks the scientists slaved away in an underground bunker living off nothing but toaster strudels and string cheese. Finally, they had it – The Band Bio Generator
Heres what came up for me:
A history of indie rock icons: HumCity
After starting out in downtown Eureka, CA, HumCity found themselves at the top of the the indie rock scene in 2003 with their debut album, HumCity. The band's latest album, HumCity Podcast, melds Indie Grandpa's impeccable melodies with road-seasoned instrumentation to create another collection of retro-inspired crowd pleasers. With standout tracks like "keep clubing Humboldt," don't be surprised if you find HumCity at the top of the indie rock charts and beyond
*The above bio is a fictional account of a band that doesn't exist (at least not yet), and is meant solely to make you laugh and procrastinate doing any real work today. Any similarity to a real band, living or dead, is purely coincidental. And very weird.
A Schwimmer & Swick Production
fun stuff. check it out
iTunes Beaten On McCartney Releases. Paul McCartney’s music is still coming to iTunes - but not as quickly as it is to Apple’s rivals. Napster, Rhapsody, Urge and Zune Marketplace began stocking the back-catalog yesterday, iTunes Store has so far not made the additions...more
HumCity Podcast #62: Creating a sonic wasteland of instruments, they barrage you with a sound reminiscent to Led Zeppelin on acid. Defining that rock and roll is still a forced to be reckoned with, DMBQ stretches the limitations of the human physique as well as the livelihood of their musical equipment with their deranged finales at the end of each show.
We also listen to Akimbo, based in Seattle, features former members of Tight Bros From Way Back When and Homo Eradicus. Their pedigree of straight-up rock colliding with virile hardcore adds up to an exciting hybrid :
who: DMBQ and Akimbo
when: May 17, 2007
were: Alibi: 744 Ninth St, Arcata, CA 95521 :
links: http://www.dmbq.net : http://www.myspace.com/akimbo : http://www.thealibi.com :
Intro by Tony Steidler Dennison at the The Roadhouse podcast : Bands can submit music to humcitypodcast@gmail.com : visit us at humcity.libsyn.com :
What: Swallows and Kusikia
When: May 16, 2007, 8:00 PM
Where: Sacred Grounds, 686 F St, Arcata CA
Cost: donation
Description: Swallows, artrock duo from Portland, Oregon comes to play their fav California town, Arcata. Also playing is Kusikia from Tacoma, Wa
Swallows are Em Brownlowe (vocals, guitar, keys) and Jon Miller (drums, melodica). They formed in the Summer of 2004 when they converged in Portland - Jon from the East Coast - and Em from San Diego. Originally playing under the moniker of Dirty Shirley, their foot stomping rock and roll sound quickly morphed into new sonic territory. They changed their name to Swallows and began writing new music. The duo use unexpected methods, non-traditional techniques and a queer aesthetic to form their songs. Swallows songs are informed by blues, indie-rock, surf-rock and the rejection of pre-conception.
Me With Trees Towering showcases the band's progressive pop structures and restructured rock landscapes. The frantic explosions and dark undertones explore themes of self-enforced solitude, life changes and creative interpretation. The release shows a strong spirit and early maturity; Em and Jon are in their early 20's.
links: myspace.com/theswallows : churchofgirl.com/gt/swallows.html : geocities.com/theswallowspdx : myspace.com/kusikia : sonicbids.com/epk/epk.asp?epk_id=93744 :
Laden Swallow CD Release Party
When: Friday, May 18, 2007 8:00pm
Where: Azalea Hall, 1620 Pickett Road, McKinleyville, California 95519
Laden Swallow: Pop/Rock/Alternative. From the land of jam bands, Humboldt County, comes a power trio willing to rock and swoon you with tales of drunk driving, kinky sex and some broken hearts mixed in for good measure. Mark and Ed first joined forces in late 2002 when they got together over Thanksgiving break. Having not much to do with their time besides playing music they recorded three songs in the garage that would set the stage for Laden Swallow. Ed in the mean time spent several months playing with other musicians, one of them just so happened to be Justin. Flash forward to 2005 when Mark and Ed decided to take their musical talents and make a name for themselves, but they still required a bassist. Ed remembered Justin from two years ago and by chance ran into Justin as he was manning the register at the schools cafeteria. With the words Hey you wanna audition for my band Laden Swallow was now a power trio. The earth may quake, but Laden Swallow will be there to pick you up.
HumCity Podcast #59: The boundary crossing works and collaborations of The Legendary Dr. Israel cry out like a call to revolution, embracing styles from reggae to drum 'n' bass to hard-core metal. Like Eddy Grant on a counter-cultural warpath, Dr. Israel's politically charged lyrics and diverse musical foundations deliver a refreshing blast of thought-provoking tracks that will make music fans from all walks stop and tune in. :
what: Dr. Israel :
when: May 10, 2007, 10:00 PM :
where: Red Fox Tavern, 415 5th St, Eureka CA :
links: revolutionsound.net : myspace.com/dreadtoneinternational : myspace.com/theredfoxtavern :
Intro by Tony Steidler Dennison at the The Roadhouse podcast : Bands can submit music to humcitypodcast@gmail.com : visit us at humcity.libsyn.com :
eMusic's prices to low?
Billboard recently ran a piece discussing a label revolt at eMusic, the number two US retailer of downloadable music. According to the article, at least six independent labels are dissatisfied with their eMusic contracts and are considering pulling their catalogs from the service if they don't get more money per track sold...more
The Yep Roc Web Shop features Digital Now! Buy a CD or LP and get the digital album free!
Buy a current release from the Yep Roc Web Shop and the digital album appears in your Stash for instant download! You can listen to the MP3s while your CD or LP is on its way. And if you pre-order a CD or LP before release date, the digital album will appear in your Stash on release date!
And as always, digital music from the Yep Roc Web Shop is delivered to your Stash in MP3 format, with no pesky digital rights management (DRM) copyright protection. That means it will play on most every computer and digital music player, including iPods!
Just look for the 
icon on the album detail page!
HumCity Podcast #34: The DT's
We listen to April Holeso by The DT's. Its off their new cd, Filthy Habits, on Get Hip Records. You can buy it here. I had podcast , the Bellingham Washington band, The DT's back in July 2005. In the podcast are some sound bites I got that night at The Alibi in Arcata. Plan on seeing the DT's live? All I can say is you better be ready to party. Please visit The DT's at myspace.com/thedts
Photo by Amy Marchegiani. Show intro by Diana Young-Blanchard of The DT's. Background music by The Ravens. Don't forget to visit us at HumCity.com
