We are glad to add a little section to the blog (left) for upcoming ticket giveaways to help promote the national acts that come through our town. We have had many entries already for the Heartless Bastards who now have been sold out for over 2 weeks at Club Cafe. Congrats!
For all of our giveaways simply email us your name at pghmusicreport@gmail.com with the show you want to see. Or just say 'all of them'. You will be entered for a chance to win. Make sure to read the preview and checkout the music to see if it's a band you would like to see.
Heartless Bastards will be making a stop in Pittsburgh next Sunday, 2.19 at Club Cafe. The band is touring behind their new album, Arrows, that will be released on 2.14 (V-Day) via Partisan Records. To celebrate the release, the band is promoting by sending out 'Heartless Bastards Valentine's Day Cards' to local independent music stores. You can pick up these cards at local stores Eide's, Jerry's and the Exchanges around town. With each card comes a free song download to the new album.
We are happy to be giving away a pair of tickets to the show. As usual just email us your name to: pghmusicreport@gmail.com
From their press:
Brimming with confidence and creativity, Arrow sees Heartless Bastards pushing their distinctive sound forward with their most eclectic, energetic collection thus far. The album – the Austin, Texas-based band’s first release with Partisan Records – is marked as ever by singer/guitarist/songwriter Erika Wennerstrom’s remarkable voice, at turns primal and pleading, heartfelt and heroic. Songs like “Parted Ways” and the searing “Low Low Low” expertly capture the Bastards’ multi-dimensional rock in all its strength and spirit. Following upon the difficult introspection of 2009’s acclaimed third album, The Mountain, Arrow stands as a powerhouse new beginning for Heartless Bastards.
Arrow showcases the depth and breath of the band’s indelible sound, with songs like “Got To Have Rock and Roll” and “Down In The Canyon” lighting upon spaghetti western film scores, Seventies soul, psychedelia, funk, blues, glam, and mudhole-stomping hard rock. Two years of nearly non-stop touring resulted in an astonishing musical telepathy among Heartless Bastards, with all four players intuitively able to craft Wennerstrom’s songs into maximum form.
Doors are at 7p with the show beginning at 8p. It is also sponsored by 91.3 WYEP. You can find more information here.
Karl Denson's Tiny Universe will be performing this Saturday, 2.11 at Mr Smalls with Anders Osborne. It is a themed performance with the band playing The Rolling Stones album, Sticky Fingers, from start to finish. The former Lenny Kravitz band member has been on the funk, groove and jazz scene for over 20 years, based out of New Orleans. He is also a co-creator of The Greyboy Allstars and has recorded with the likes of The Blind Boys of Alabama, rockers Blackalicious and Switchfoot. We are happy to be giving away a pair of tickets to the show. As usual, to enter just email us your name to: pghmusicreport@gmail.com
From their press:
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe will perform a soulful rendering of the Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers in its entirety this fall with special guests Anders Osborne and more. New Orleans-based, songwriter and guitarist, Osborne has been a stalwart progenitor of rock and rhythm and blues, recording and touring over the past 20 years under his own name. In this new collaboration, Denson and Osborne will share the vocal duties backed by Denson’s Tiny Universe. Denson notes, “I was inspired to perform Sticky Fingers being that it’s my favorite Stones record because of the sheer number of great tunes in one place.”
Karl Denson has led a storied career as a multi-faceted recording and performing artist who first came to prominence as a member of Lenny Kravitz’ band debuting on his first release, Let Love Rule, and staying on for the next five years. While developing a following overseas, he joined Fred Wesley’s band, touring and recording with him on multiple releases. This led to five straight ahead jazz albums by Denson on Minor Music, the last of which was released to rave reviews and featured Karl in a trio setting with Miles Davis alumni Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette. In 1993, Denson joined DJ Greyboy in creating Greyboy Records and released the legendary acid jazz staple, Freestylin. Out of that collaboration, Denson formed The Greyboy Allstars, which became world renowned as the ultimate groove band, spreading their “West Coast Boogaloo” style worldwide.
The show begins at 8p with doors at 7p. Tickets are $22 and can be purchased here. For more information visit these sites:
Pet Clinic is our artist spotlight of the month. They are releasing their debut album The Dust That Made the Fire That Made the Light. They are getting a great deal of attention surrounding the release from better publications such as City Paper. The official release date for the album is Saturday, 2.11. To celebrate, the band is having a release party at The Shop with Pgh stalwarts the Harlan Twins along with dj TM Eye. The release show will begin at 7:30 and only costs $7. Plus, you can pick up a copy of their album on vinyl.
How did the band come together? Were you all friends that went to school? or?
Mike Arendt and I went to highschool together. I met Kenneth Nelson when he came to hangout during a Landline practice (the band I was playing drums in at the time). Ian Edwards and Kenny had been playing music through highschool and when he came back from college in Amsterdam, he joined up with us to play bass after Alec Mundy respectfully stepped down. John Henderson approached me after a Landline show to swap contacts so we could play music with each other. With all of these people at all of the right times, we decided to call ourselves Pet Clinic.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?
POWER-BALLAD
Are you all originally from the Pittsburgh area? Families here as well?
Yes, all except for John's roots coming from Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
Do you have day jobs?
Sometimes.
How do you create your music? What is the song writing process?
There are no limitations on how someone writes a song. Most of the time, it starts with somewhat of an emotion.
What are your goals for the band? What would you like to accomplish?
They say the sky is the limit so.. we'd like to see where that is.
What advice would you give to local acts trying to make it?
Mean what you say.
Have you all toured nationally? Or do you usually stay more regionally?
We have gone as far as Philadelphia but we've mostly stayed in Pittsburgh. We will be getting a van very soon which should allow us to see a few new faces.
Being in the Pgh area, do you find it more difficult to try and succeed?
No, our rent is cheaper than most peoples cell phone bills.
What are some of the obstacles you face trying to create some 'success' in Pgh?
We are always willing to meet more like-minded musicians.
What are the positive benefits of being in the area?
You get every season.
Is there a venue you have enjoyed playing more than others in the area?
Basement parties have always treated us right.
You can find more information about the band at these sites:
Member Burr S. of the band Delicious Pastries is coordinating the annual FAWM.ORG challenge. The goal is for each author to pen 14.5 new songs for the month of February. For Burr, the project started as a hobby and has become part of his research at CMU. From Burr, "After running the project for fun for several years, I am now beginning to use it as a laboratory to study theories of social motivation, and as a testbed for "computational creativity" software (see http://muse.fawm.org) --- with a few scientific publications on these subjects already."
From the press release:
In 2011, so-called “fawmers” collectively penned more than 10,000 new songs, instrumentals, and works of sound art during the year’s shortest month. By mid-January of this year, more than 6,000 musicians have registered to take up the challenge from six continents and 90 countries including Canada, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, and all fifty U.S. States. FAWM is the largest songwriting challenge of its kind.
Most fawmers are musical hobbyists, while many are professional musicians and recording industry professionals who use FAWM as a much-needed creative exercise. FAWM began when founder Burr Settles wrote a short novel as a graduate student for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in 2003. He and three friends then challenged each other to write a song every other day in February 2004, using an informal weblog where they posted demo recordings and constructive comments throughout the process. Due to the public interest that followed, Settles developed a website for the challenge in 2005, which has continued to grow every year since.
