Judson Residency at The Central

I'm pleased to announce Judson's residency at The Central Social Aid and Drinking Club in Santa Monica beginning next Tuesday, August 2nd and continuing each Tuesday for free for the rest of the month. With supporting bands like Cody The Band, The Californian and The Lonely Wild, there's enough good music to lure you out to the West Side each and every week.

Watching Judson McKinney grow and mature as an artist over the last year has been one of the great gratifications of the recent music scene, as he has scooped up some of the best local musicians, who clammor to play with him. This residency is brought to you by the fine folks at Supergoodmusic and LA Underground.

Judson is also playing a free show tonight at Pershing Square on a bill with Aaron Kyle's new band, Geronimo Getty.

whrabbit

What I Listened To Through June 2011

O.K., I'm back. I've got to come to terms with the fact I'll never be able to write as much as I want to. At least not at this point in my life. Maybe later. If I could make myself sit down at the computer and just pound out something...anything, on a daily basis, then I might be satisfied.

First the future: In the immediate, I'm anxious for the Buzzbands sponsored ALSO I LIKE TO ROCK series finale at the Hammer Museum with The Henry Clay People and Lady Danville tomorrow night (Thursday, July 28). Then on Saturday I have to miss Alpine Decline's final L.A. performance at LA Eco Village to attend Seasons' video release party at Pehrspace. But I haven't been to Pehrspace for a while and I always have a great time there, so there I'll be.

I went to see Releasing the Sunbird play their first show last night (Tues, July 26) at Hotel Cafe, and this new band from Zach Rogue of Rogue Wave is nice, mellow offshoot of that band's style, with the vocals becoming a male/female duet between Zach and Kate Long, whose voices are beautifully in tune with each other.

I want to get my June listening up and I'll put up July next...

Week of June 24 - 30, 2011

1. Okkervil River - I Am Very Far (Jagjaguwar)

2. Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy (Jagjaguwar)

3. Chad VanGaalen - Diaper Island (Sub Pop)

4. Okkervil River - The Stage Names (Jagjaguwar)

5. Torches In Trees - Torches (self release)

6. Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys (Polydor)

7. Low - C'mon (Sub Pop)

8. Duniven - I Have To Try For Her (self release)

9. Torches In Trees - Torches EP (self release)

10. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs (Merge Records)

Week of June 17 -23, 2011:

1. Okkervil River - I Am Very Far (Jagjaguwar)

2. The Lonely Wild - Dead End 45 (self release)

3. Chad VanGaalen - Diaper Island (Sub Pop)

4. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)

5. Tommy Santee Klaws - Rakes (self release)

6. The Belle Brigade - The Belle Brigade (Reprise Records)

7. DeVotchKa - 100 Lovers (ANTI)

8. Seasons - 14 song compilation (self release)

9. Low - C'mon (Sub Pop)

10. Chad VanGaalen - Skelliconnection (Sub Pop)

Week of June 10 - 16, 2011:

1. Okkervil River - I Am Very Far (Jagjaguwar)

2. The Belle Brigade - The Belle Brigade (Reprise Records)

3. Chad VanGaalen - Diaper Island (Sub Pop)

4. Low - C'mon (Sub Pop)

5. Chad VanGaalen - Skelliconnection (Sub Pop)

6. Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane (Sub Pop)

7. Okkervil River - The Stage Names (Jagjaguwar)

8. Duniven - I Have To Try For Her (self release)

9. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)

10. Avi Zahner-Isenberg - Homemade EP (self release)

whrabbit

Upcoming Radio Free Silver Lake Show

Here comes one of the shows of the year.
A bunch of my favorite bands and Travis as DJ. What more could you ask for?

This also serves as a notice that I am still here. Having enjoyed a little hiatus from posting, I intend to get back at it, post haste (as they say).

whrabbit

What I Listened To June 3 - 9, 2011

1. Okkervil River - I Am Very Far (Jagjaguwar)

2. Chad VanGaalen - Diaper Island (Sub Pop)

3. Duniven - I Have To Try For Her (self release)

4. The Belle Brigade - The Belle Brigade (Reprise Records)

5. Low - C'mon (Sub Pop)

6. Chad VanGaalen - Skelliconnection (Sub Pop)

7. Okkervil River - The Stage Names (Jagjaguwar)

8. Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane (Sub Pop)

9. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)

10. Torches In Trees - Torches EP (self Release)

Okkervil River's I Am Very Far continues to be the leader of the pack because I love songs that grow more interesting the more you listen to them. And I wanted to have the songs burned into my brain by the time of their June 23rd concert at The Wiltern.

My obsession with Chad VanGaalen and his album Diaper Island has led me back through his earlier catalog, Soft Airplane and Skelliconnection. Interesting to hear his development as an artist, where he seems to go backwards by abandoning a lot of the technical aspects of his music, arriving at a place where the simplicity of the songwriting is matched by an elementary approach to recording. Sometimes it's just a guitar or banjo and two harmonizing voices. The result is is amazingly poignant and emotional.

Since this was the first week of the Duniven residency at Silver Lake Lounge, I spent time with his album, I Have To Try For Her, to compare the live renditions of his songs to their recorded counterparts. The comparison was highly favorable, even satisfying.

The Belle Brigade have definitely produced one of the brightest and cleanest sounding records of the year and now their off across country opening for K.D. Lang. Not bad. The rest of the list is more Low, Fleet Foxes and Torches In Trees.

whrabbit