Any Given Tuesday Finds New Home

Beginning today, Any Given Tuesday has a new home at SENBaltimore.com! Both sides are very happy about the shift and are confident that readers will be the ones who benefit from regularly published content on a slick-looking website that offers content about all aspects of Baltimore's entertainment, music, and nightlife scenes.

You can check out the first post, a review of Avec's Lines, here.

So from now on, visit AGT at http://www.senbaltimore.com/blogs/agt/index.shtml. Or, just go to www.senbaltimore.com, click "blogs" on the top toolbar, then "any given tuesday."

**UPDATE 11/7/07: The RSS feed address below has been fixed and is fully subscribable in your browser or feedreader**

The RSS feed will remain http://feeds.feedburner.com/anygiventuesday so you can subscribe in your browser or feedreader.

Wax & Wane Dual Releases: Bay 7" and Desert 10"; Free MP3 - "Where Were You"

Combining fragments of Beach House (Baltimore locals, as are today's subject, originally), Wilco, and Neutral Milk Hotel, Wax & Wane may start out as droning, a bit bland and non-descript, but soon develop into a delicately magical folk collective with various singers playing various instruments. It's almost strange that a group of performers with an arsenal of stringed instruments can sound so bare and still sound so entertaining. Hear for yourself:

Free MP3 Download: Wax & Wane - "Where Were You"

Get A Dose of Old Time Relijun at The Talking Head; Stream Catharsis In Crisis

At the newly revived Talking Head Club in Baltimore on 10/29 (next Monday), Old Time Relijun (Arrington de Dionyso, Phil Elvrum, Germaine Baca, Benjamin Hartman) will be deconstructing music as you know it. With grating horns and disjointedly put together vocals ("Indestructible Life"), the spectacle will be worth the cost of admission. Some will scratch their heads while others will get down with an understanding grin.

Stream Old Time Relijun's latest, Catharsis In Crisis

Buy the album from K Records.

Tour Dates:

* w/ AIDS WOLF!
10/24 Asbury, NJ Asbury Lanes*
10/25 Poughkeepsie, NY Vassar College*
10/26 Jamaica Plane, MA The Milky Way*
10/27 Providence, RI as220*
10/28 Philadelphia, PA COPY Gallery*
10/29 Baltimore, MD The Talking Head Club*
10/30 Washington, DC Velvet Lounge*
10/31 Brooklyn, NY Todd P NYC*
11/01 Hudson Valley, NY WFMU Live Performance
11/02 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506
11/03 Charleston, SC Cumberlands
11/04 Athens, GA Secret Squirrel
11/06 Birmingham, AL Bottletree w/ Don Caballero
11/07 New Orleans, LA Circle Bar
11/08 Houston, TX Proletariat
11/09 Austin, TX Emo’s
11/10 Denton, TX Hailey's
11/11 Oklahoma City, OK Conservatory
11/13 Kansas City, MO Record Bar
11/15 Denver, CO Hi-Dive
11/16 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge
11/17 Boise, ID Neurolux

Baltimore's San Serac Goes Professional October 9; Free MP3 - "Professional"

On October 9, Baltimore native San Serac releases Professional. Reminiscent of David Bowie with even a smidgen of Nine Inch Nails, San Serac is breaking new ground with his electro-funk/dance music with brilliant vocals. Catch the sound on October 17 at Sonar.

Free MP3: San Serac - "Professional"

Dashboard Confessional: Ram's Head Live 9/28/07

Forgive me, but I'm skipping the opening acts from this show. Kristen had a birthday this past week, and we also had a death in my family, so we've had mixed emotions the last few days. It was nice to get out on Friday evening after dealing with our personal tragedy to enjoy a show.

Dashboard Confessional kicked off an anticipated solo tour last Friday at Ram's Head Live! in support of a new album, The Shade of Poison Trees, out tomorrow on Vagrant Records. After a first listen, the record definitely puts aside the full-on band style of Dusk and Summer, but lacks the emotion of Swiss Army Romance and other earlier DC albums.

Changing guitars like Christina Aguilera changes wardrobe, Carrabba blasted through songs from his entire catalogue, inspiring sing-along and screaming amongst members of the crowd on songs like "Screaming Infidelities" and the obvious "Vindicated" and "Hands Down" (admittedly my favorite Dashboard song). However this night's crowd was relatively clueless on lesser-knowns including "Carry This Picture".



Speaking of clueless, apparently $31.00 for a ticket isn't enough to cause a room full of Gen-Y kids to shut their mouths and listen to the music. As with the Regina Spektor show last week, it was a battle to hear the music over the chatter of the crowd. Only after forging our way into the middle of the floor were we able to hear reasonably. Note to Ram's Head Live! management, turn it up!

As with any Dashboard Confessional show, it was 50% Chris Carrabba, 50% crowd singing. One member of my party may have suffered a punctured eardrum from the screaming boy behind her. Partly because of easy-to-remember songs, part because of a rabid fanbase, there exists a sense of community among Dashboard fans as they belt out their favorite songs with their icon. The only downside? The burning screams of Chris Carrabba were turned over to the crowd instead of coming from the author himself.

Launching from "The Best Deceptions" to the new song "Thick As Thieves" around to "Again I Go Unnoticed" and "So Long, So Long", Carrabba shared songs in a much more intimate performance as a solo player than recent tours with his band. This comes as a real pleasure to my inner circle which has made many jokes about the rock star persona of Chris Carrabba and a certain violinist in the band.

A solid performance by Carrabba overall is undermined by a sense of complacency. New songs like "Where There's Gold . . ." (following that ellipses is the lyric "there's a gold-digger.") seem to reach for straws of anguish to spawn new material rather than the agony of the scathing "Turpentine Chaser" or, even better, "This Bitter Pill".

Sorry, Chris, but I liked you better when you were shy and put upon.

Brian Buta - False Colors; Free MP3s

On his first full-length solo album, Brian Buta expands on the sound of FasterFasterHarderHarder, the band he formed over two years ago, pushing post-punk to the rear while electronic experimentation drives forth with rhythmic bass, textured synths (try the title track, "False Colors"), and near-new wave vocals on False Colors.

"Black Ring" introduces itself with long synthesizer notes, keyboards, and a submariner bass line. The multiple layers throughout the album add depth to the shifting ambience throughout, as the songs move from the dark and ominous to the bright and shining ("Screens"). The straight, hardline beat of "Caloris Basin" meets well with the new-wave punk "Emergency".

False Colors is most intriguing as it is entirely a solo project, all instruments being played, vocals being sung, recorded/mixed/mastered by Brian Buta himself. Down to the artwork, this is handmade by a musical being. I'm led to wonder if he put each jewel-case together by hand in an effort to retain absolute quality control over his creation. An artist to the core, Brian Buta makes it clear with False Colors that he is an incredibly creative soul.

Listen to "Open" for the ascendancy and "Motion Action" which closes out a one-man show with fuzzy guitars and a vocal hook that will stay with you for hours.

Click the album art to purchase False Colors on CDBaby.

Free MP3s:

Brian Buta - "Open"
Brian Buta - "Motion Action"

Any Given Tuesday #8: Baltimore Music Conference Weekend

After spending a weekend at the Baltimore Music Conference, I culled together a bunch of the interviews to produce this latest episode of the podcast. Featuring a run-in with Salim & The Music Lovers' Salim and Topix, a young band called Funky Willie & The Git Down Boys, The Side Affects, U'll Neva No, and Sean K. Preston. And, of course, the artists provided songs for your listening pleasure.

Click To Play

Subscribe to the Any Given Tuesday podcast in iTunes or your RSS-based podreader.

Hampden Fest 2007: September 15; Free MP3s From Bands Playing The Festival

As always, hosted by Atomic Books, get ready for this year's Hampden Fest on September 15. The fest runs 11-7 on the Avenue. Tons of great Baltimore bands, many of which have been reviewed here at AGT!


***STAGE SCHEDULE!***
CITYPAPER STAGE (36th & Roland Ave)
11AM - Private Eleanor (read a review of Sweethearting)
12PM - Payola Reserve (read a review of 200 Years)
1PM - Caleb Stine & The Brakemen
2PM - The Jennifers (read a review of Colors From The Future)
3PM - Impossible Hair
4PM - The Oranges Band
5PM - HAMPDEN IDOL

PATUXENT PUBLISHING STAGE (36th & Chestnut)
11AM - Stalking Horses
12PM - Water School
1PM - Frenemies
2PM - Television Hill
3PM - Arbouretum
4PM - Chelsea Graveyard & The Screams At Midnight
5PM - June Star
6PM - The Beltways

ATOMIC STAGE (36th & Falls Rd)
11AM - Baby Aspirin
12PM - Jason Dove
1PM - Secret Crush Society
2PM - Double Dagger
3PM - The Ubangis
4PM - Dirty Marmaduke Flute Squad (read a review of Brian Adam Ant's Separation Celebration)
5PM - The Barn Burners
6PM - Electric Junk Band

Free MP3s:
The Jennifers - "Lion In Winter"
The Payola Reserve - "Henrietta"
Private Eleanor - "Temporary Homes"

Monarch - If Children; Stream The Album, Download MP3 of "Warning"

The duo of Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner make up Monarch, making their mark on Baltimore's indie music scene in the year since their formation by layering catchy pop hooks with feedback to form a shoegaze that alternates between minimalistic sparseness and a cacophonic instrument salad.

Last week marked the release of Monarch's debut LP If Children (available now from Morphius Distribution). Monarch thrives on using feedback to seamlessly push songs like "Orchard Fair" through an electric chorus. Jenn Wasner wins when she starts breathily and almost incoherently melodizing over a loose piano hook on "Keeping Company".

While Monarch find themselves in a genre known for layering sound on sound, tracks like the just mentioned "Keeping Company" and its country-twinged follow-up, "A Lawn To Mow", are spare, unassuming, and magical. While Wasner leads on the former, Andy Stack takes the microphone on the latter, giving us a chance to hear the two separate and in their own space. Vocal harmonies have their place on the record, but it's a fresh breath to hear these multi-instrumentalists sing for their supper apart from one another.

About three minutes in, "If Children Were Wishes" takes off for the stratosphere, with Wasner's voice projecting strong and proud over the fast-picking guitar. A massively proportioned track, showing in full view one of the reasons Monarch is known for packing a lot of sound in their small footprint.

If Children mingles in a room full of shoegaze, alt-country, folk, and noise, shaking hands, kissing cheeks, and making friends with everyone. Perhaps friends of any of these genres should seek an introduction.

Stream the whole album or purchase Monarch's If Children

Free MP3: Monarch - "Warning" from If Children

Metal Monday (Post 666): Dillinger Escape Plan Tour Dates; Free Throwdown & 3 Inches of Blood MP3s; Concert Review: Hatebreed & Lamb of God

Dillinger Escape Plan tour dates begin to surface along with news of their forthcoming release, Ire Works, due November 13 on Relapse Records.

10/4 Cleveland, OH @ Peabody's Down Under
10/5 Pittsburgh, PA @ Rex Theatre
10/6 Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
10/7 St. Paul, MN @ Station 4
10/8 Papillion, NE @ The Rock
10/9 Denver, CO @ The Marquis Theare
10/14 Santa Ana, CA -Galaxy Concert Theatre
10/17 Spring, TX @ Java Jazz
10/20 Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Room
10/21 Orlando, FL @ Backbooth
10/22 Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
10/23 Baltimore, MD @ The Ottobar
10/25 Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East

So, in a somewhat unique milestone, this is the 666th post on Any Given Tuesday. Seems fitting that some metal would fall into this slot!



Some of you know that I'm really into hardcore. Throwdown are one of my newer favorite hardcore metal bands, with uplifting, positive lyrics a la Hatebreed (Read a review of Hatebreed's Supremacy). Check out "Holy Roller" and get blown away.

Free Metal Monday MP3: Throwdown - "Holy Roller"



And, in the final installment of the Metal Monday Post #666 extravaganza, my show buddy and I caught the Ozzfest off-date show of Lamb of God, Hatebreed, Canada's 3 Inches of Blood, and Poland's Behemoth at Ram's Head Live! last Thursday night. What a show!



3 Inches of Blood are Iron Maiden-influenced Canucks, blending New Wave of British Heavy Metal high-pitched vocals with fantasy-themed lyrics combined with growling backing vocals (often co-vocals as both styles share the spotlight) and a thrash/power metal musical run. The brief set by this band was efficient and fun, bringing some of the old school back and blending it with modern extreme metal trappings.

Free MP3: 3 Inches of Blood - "Goatrider's Horde"



Following up, Poland's Behemoth entered the stage in full death metal regalia, and commenced to unleash their furious black/death sound on this crowd full of hardcore and southern metal fans. The language barrier was minimal as Nergal's between-song commentary was in a moderately-accented English that only once left fans scratching their heads trying to find out just what he was saying. Musically, relentless and theatrical, Behemoth rocked their set with fast thrashed-out death metal in support of their latest album, The Apostasy.

By the time New England hardcore powerhouses Hatebreed took the stage, the whole place was whipped into a frenzy. Hatebreed is one of the hardest-working bands in showbiz, always touring, supporting and promoting their music and the music in their community (singer Jamey Jasta hosts MTV's Headbanger's Ball), and putting out quality music. Still out supporting the awesome 2006 release Supremacy (1 year old tomorrow), Hatebreed never fail to impress, both on record and on stage.

Unleashing "Empty Promises", the opening track from Satisfaction Is The Death of Desire (ten years old as of Veteran's Day this year) early in the set, the band sends a message of respect and appreciation to its older fans and a voracious hunger for new ones by destroying Ram's Head Live! with "Destroy Everything", "Never Let It Die", and the closing "Perseverance". Sweating with positive aggression, every member of this band makes a point to interact with their crowd, mouthing thanks to the adoring masses.

Read Any Given Tuesday's review of Hatebreed's last appearance at Ram's Head Live!



After Hatebreed left the venue in a ball of dust and positively sweltering with the body heat from a packed house of aggro pit people, Lamb of God made their rock star entrance and lived up to their title as Revolver Magazine's Best Live Band of the year. Blasting out the technical guitar riffs, Mark Morton and Willie Adler were blowing minds like shooting tin cans off a fence post, backed by Chris Adler's pounding double bass and echoing rimshots, with John Campbell laying down the groove for Randy Blythe's demon-summoning, menacing screaming and growling. Pacing the stage like a caged animal, Blythe stagedives into the crowd about a third of the way into the set, causing a crowd frenzy soundtracked by melting guitar breakdowns. Another set that runs the gamut, from Sacrament's "Redneck", "Pathetic", and the blistering "Walk With Me In Hell", to "Ashes of the Wake" and original Burn The Priest (Lamb of God's former moniker) material. As usual, closing the set with "Black Label" and the signature wall of death crowd antics, Lamb of God rocked the (almost) hometown show and left Baltimore regretting having to wake up on Friday morning.

Tonight at Sonar: DJ Baby Anne (Plus A Special Q&A)

Tonight at Sonar, DJ Baby Anne will be spinning the Florida breakbeats along with the club sound of Small Town DJs. You can get in for as cheap as five bucks.

Baby Anne was gracious enough to answer some questions for Any Given Tuesday:

1) What/who did you listen to growing up? Who's been your biggest influence?
Everything. Southern rock, disco, alternative, the 80's will always be my favorite. My biggest all around influence is Icey, but my sound influences come from everywhere. Information Society, Joe Walsh, White Zombie, dynamix II, Jackyl & Hyde, other genres of dance music.

2) The Baby Anne/Jen Lasher album, Assault & Battery, was stellar. Any plans for a future collaboration between the two of you?
I hope so. I would love to do another project with Jen but it would be different. Maybe just a bunch of singles. It's not easy to plan when we live in different cities.

3) The original tracks that make their way onto your albums are always great. Do you have any plans to make a whole album of your own productions?
It's always a possibility. I've been thinking of putting something together that includes some of my older tracks as well as new stuff. It might be next after my Past Present Future tour.

4) How do you spend your time when you're not on tour/in the studio?
I do quiet things. I get homesick easily so when I'm home I am at my house a lot with my dogs. I practice yoga, do a lot of gardening and remodeling on my house, I read a lot and watch a lot of Science and History channel. Pretty boring for most!

5) What's in your CD player/on your iPod right now? Do you like to listen to your own music?
I absolutely never listen to my own music or what I play in my live set. My iPod has a ton of chill out music and also stuff like Goldfrapp, Imogen Heap, and Tracey Thorne. When I listen to music that sounds nothing like mine, it makes me enjoy djing more.

New Releases for Tuesday, August 21, 2007: Rilo Kiley, M.I.A.

Head on over to Rilo Kiley's MySpace to stream the new album, Under the Blacklight, out today, August 21.



I think RK is OK, but I've never been a huge fan. But listening to this album, I'm pretty sure this record fulfills a contractual obligation, not an artistic endeavor.







M.I.A.'s Kala is out today, too. Featuring beats from Baltimore's Blaqstarr. Fortunately for M.I.A., her visa problems kept her from working with Timbaland and making obvious, superficial tracks.

The Sky Drops in Baltimore: Metro Gallery Show August 17

The Sky Drops are the Delaware duo of Rob Montejo and Monika Bullette. Yeah, you're thinking "Oh, just like The White Stripes!" And you might be kind of right, except this band is from my home state of Delaware and are thus cooler than that co-ed duo. Sky Drops will be playing Metro Gallery on Friday, August 17 at 8PM, joined by A Place To Bury Strangers (NY), Airiel (Chicago), and Monarch (Baltimore).

Any Given Tuesday Episode 6 - Wendel Patrick

Click To Play

Wendel Patrick and I sat down a few weeks ago for an interview, and I finally got around to editing the result. Listen to a few tracks from Wendel's album, Sound: (read a review of Sound: here), and enjoy! Just click the logo above to listen, or right click to download the MP3. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed in your podreader or in iTunes.

Wendel Patrick (www.wendelpatrick.com) is a trained pianist from Baltimore who just so happens to make insanely exciting music influenced by classical, jazz, hip hop, and electronica. Barrett King sits with Wendel at the City Cafe in Mount Vernon to discuss Wendel's album, Sound:, the creative process, gear, and more. This episode also features three tracks from the album: "Man Vs.", "Traffic", and "My CD Has A Scratch II (feat. Salim)".

Q&A With J Roddy Walston & The Business; Free MP3

Steve from J Roddy Walston & The Business (read a review of their latest, Hail Mega Boys, here) was kind enough to answer some questions for me at the end of their recent tour:

1) You guys are currently out on tour. What's the best/worst thing about road-dogging as a band?

We're fairly new to extended touring, so these may just end up being first impressions. I'm not the kind that gets homesick too easily, so I ended up missing privacy more than anything. You end up trying to grab snatches of quiet when you can. I'll take a walk whenever we have the time - I really like checking out new towns like that, and it gives me time to think or make phone calls or talk to myself or whatever. You'll never miss the ability to sit on your toilet and read a book like after you've been crapping in gas station bathrooms for a month.

But from watching the guys with girlfriends, keeping everything together back home when you're gone for weeks has gotta be one of the hardest thing for a touring musician. It'll put a strain on any relationship and once you're out on the road and hours away from home, all you can do is talk about it - endlessly.

2) It's clear from the new album [Hail Mega Boys, available now] that there is a lot of roots rock and rockabilly influence in the music. How does each of your personalities/creative influence manage to come out on record?

If you'd ever heard the band before Billy and I and joined, it was much quirkier and poppier - kind of like The Band on acid, or maybe Supertramp fronted by Harry Nilsson. Zach's been with Rod longer than anyone, so by now they can practically read each other's mind about where to place harmonies and how they should be sung. Surprisingly (unsurprisingly if you look at him) he's a total metalhead, though he still keeps a soft spot for shit like Imogen Heap. Billy tends to push the songs the hardest - he's the hardest to please, but his instincts are tried and true. He's a pretty hard rocker - lots of Guns and Roses and Motley Crue, but also tons of classic rock, especially Queen. I'm a pretty meat and potatoes guy - I just try to drive the songs as hard as they need to be driven, and keep everything solid and hanging together. I'm definitely from the Grohl school of playing drums, but I'm a huge Ringo fan along with all the drummers on Dylan's mid-60s records. Rod is kind of the ring-leader - he normally has some kind of vision for the song before we all sit down and he keeps everyone on task and optimistic. He's a huge fan of quirky songwriters like Nilsson, McCartney and Newman, but he's a big Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Buddy Holly fan, too. If the end result sounds like Bonham backing The Band - or Jerry Lee Lewis fronting The Band - then we're on the right path.

3) While the music is bright and generally raucous, the lyrics are sometimes quite melancholy. Do you guys try to make happy, danceable songs, or is there less a formula than a see-if-it-works mentality?

We just like writing stuff that's fun for us to work on and fun for us to play, and usually if you get that, it lends itself to being fun for the audience. The songs are definitely written with a "let's feel this out and see where it goes" approach. As for Rod's lyrics, I'm not sure what he's aiming for; though I will say that one of the underlying themes of the record is Rod's disillusionment with Baltimore and the rude shock to the system that it hit him with.

4) Hypothetical: You're down to your last twenty bucks amongst you on the road. You've got 1/8 of a tank of gas in the road wagon and 150 miles to the next show, and you're down to your last [insert favorite vice here]. Do you go the responsible route and gas up, or ride on fumes and restock the goodies?

Neither - we're converting our van to be able to run on vegetable oil this Fall, so we'd keep the twenty and put it towards a hotel room so we can avoid sleeping at so many dude crash pads. We're an incredibly boring band when it comes to vices.

----

J Roddy Walston & The Business will be playing at Ottobar here in Baltimore on August 17th.

Download "Rock and Roll The Second" from Hail Mega Boys

Album Review & Free MP3: The Payola Reserve - 200 Years

The Payola Reserve are going to have to indulge me a bit as I waver a bit from standard record review format. I met the Payola Reserve at their practice space/studio (listen to Episode 5 of Any Given Tuesday to share in the fun) and these cats were just plain cool. I felt like I was hanging out with the rock star heroes I looked up to when I was a kid, except those heroes stayed the same age while I grew up. These guys are just the fruit of a different era (kind of how I view myself). We were all born thirty years too late.

The Payola Reserve just recorded and released (all by themselves . . . take that, hipsters. If I have to listen to one more Clap Your Hands Say Yeah reference, I'll lose it) their second album, 200 Years. This album breaks away from the New Wave-y One Long Apology and moves into the beyond cool sound of the early '70s. Again, indulging myself fully, I'm going to make a Tim Renwick reference. I have talked about this guitar demigod in the past, who has been a session player for Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, Al Stewart (Tim played on the LP Year of the Cat), and so many other powerful artists. When I hear Al (Pacheco, not Stewart) play guitar on this record, I feel like he's reproducing the tone of '70s guitar icons. On "Henrietta" I am reminded of another band Renwick worked with, Sutherland Brothers & Quiver. Renwick played with Quiver, who along with the Sutherland Brothers, recorded five albums, my personal favorite of which was Slipstream. My father's prize possession is his 8-track of this album which, to me, is beyond rad. The guitar chops on "Henrietta" are among my favorite of any record I've listened to this year. The Payola Reserve just jam it out on the track, and the rolling toms from drummer Ken Fisher texture this track, with Bryson Dudley keeping down the low end on bass. Ben Pranger's wails on the track have me squeaking out my own singalong with the air guitar, making "Henrietta" a highlight for those who pick up the record.

What I find most compelling about Payola Reserve is that their albums conceptually invoke an era. 200 Years is a record that compels references to other artists, because the album is a virtual history lesson in rock and roll. Where Apology delved into the 80s, 200 Years moves to the awesomeness of the late '60s and early '70s, digging up a lost Neil Young. Maybe even some Neil & Crazy Horse Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere material. Perhaps an indication of what's to come, but you'll detect a fleck of Delta Blues in this record, too. You know what I want to hear? Some Mississippi John Hurt. But I'll take the extra jam on "Portrait Society" until then, as well as the conjuring of Tom Petty in the vocals for "Going Army", a tongue-in-cheek shout about joining the military that begins with a military-type processional.

The lyrics on 200 Years are a treat for anyone who considers themself a poet/lyricist because these lyrics are so clever. When "Grade A Television" develops an almost meaningful relationship between a person and her TV and avoids being awkward, that displays a lyrical finesse that I love almost as much as I do the Rhodes piano (which this album employs). If you ever debate the lyricism and songwriting of the Beatles, TPR's Ben Pranger is much more Lennon than McCartney. Listen to "Money For Old Rope" and I challenge you to disagree.

The Payola Reserve, with all their ability and vision, seem to be holding back a bit and restricting themselves to an extent, whether to categorically maintain an "indie" sound or as part of a long-term vision for their plans to let their sound develop over time as they reinterpret and pay homage to sound eras of the past. The album inoffensively and deftly moves from knee-slapping bluegrass ("Jugband Joan") to harmonica-infused ballad ("200 Years") and country twang ("Lost Wind Craze"). The Payola Reserve has a lot of potential for experimenting with their unique influences. They have a sound all their own, comparisons and name-checks aside, and on 200 Years that sound is starting to steal the spotlight.

Free MP3: The Payola Reserve - "Henrietta"

Neighbors' Night Out Benefit for Zach Sowers

Courtesy of my friends over at Ell Records in Frederick, Maryland:

As many of you already know, Zach Sowers -- a Frederick native -- was the victim of a horrible crime on the evening of June 1st, close to his home in Baltimore, MD. To raise awareness of the growing crime rate in Baltimore and to give support to Zach and his family during his recovery, please participate in the Neighbor's Night Out event happening this Sunday from 2-8PM.

--------------------
Neighbors' Night Out

Sunday August 5th, 2 - 8pm

What happened to Zach could happen to any one of us. But we live and work here because we love our neighborhoods— Canton, Patterson Park, Fells Point, Locust Point, Federal Hill, Inner Harbor— and we have the right to feel safe. Neighbors' Night Out is a bold statement against crime. On Sunday, August 5, 2007 from 2 - 8 p.m., in honor of Zach, neighbors across Baltimore will meet at select bars and restaurants to drink, dine and send the message that we stand together against violence.

We're asking you to stand with us by joining the list of bars and restaurants that have agreed to donate up to 20% of that evening's profits toward the cost of Zach's lengthy hospitalization. Please help us stop the violence.

Visit ZachSowers.com for a full list of participating locations and updates on Zach.

Of special note, there is a location in Frederick now participating. Please come out and show your support for Zach and Anna.

Firestones
105 N Market St
Frederick, MD 21701
(301) 663-0330
2-8PM

Sheila Dixon Adds Her Love For Jazz To Her Campaign Platform

Mayor of Baltimore Sheila Dixon loves jazz. Get the scoop at NPR.

Special Virgin Fest Edition of Any Given Tuesday: Interview with Ben Kenney of Incubus!

You all know that Virgin Festival is this weekend (Saturday and Sunday). Now, I have a special surprise for all my loyal readers and listeners: a special interview with Ben Kenney of Incubus! And the fun doesn't stop there. Stay tuned after the fest, but for now . . .

Download the Virgin Festival edition of Any Given Tuesday with Ben Kenney of Incubus

And if you want to stay up on the show, subscribe to the Any Given Tuesday podcast RSS feed to automatically download new episodes in iTunes.

Virgin Festival Stage-by-Stage Schedule

For those who have those uber-expensive tickets to Virgin Festival (anyone? anyone?), the stage-by-stage timetable and lineup is available.

I wasn't planning on going to Virgin Fest at all, not because I was turned off by the lineup but the price, but I will be there for at least one day and will have a special report coming up for you, dear readers. Stay tuned!

Has anyone else noticed that billboards and ads abound for the fest? Looks like ticket sales are a bit lackluster. Hint to organizers: it's too expensive!