Lightspeed Champion

Lightspeed Champion is the brain child of Devonté Hynes and has been active since 2005. In 2007, he released Falling off the Lavender Bridge to critical acclaim. This record was recorded and produced in Omaha, Nebraska with the help of Saddle Creek producer Mike Mogis.   Mogis is most famous for his work with Connor Oberst and Bright Eyes. Falling off the Lavender Bridge has a star studded guest list, including Nate Walcott, pianist and trumpet player for Bright Eyes, and The Faint drummer Clark Baechle.

Now, in 2010, Hynes has finally released the followup to 2007’s Falling off the Lavender Bridge, titled Life is Sweet! Nice to Meet You and is a bit more complex than the initial Lightspeed Champion release. Where Falling off the Lavender Bridge is often simple and poppy, the new record is thick and speckled with new sounds. Now, it’s not to say that Life is Sweet! Nice to Meet You doesn’t feel like the same band that captured the indie folk scene’s heart back in 2007, but it is definitely a departure from the earlier release. Devonté’s voice is definitely stronger on this release. The 2007 release had a kind of sweet nervousness to the vocals, which have since been replaced with vocals soaring with confidence and intention.

You can currently purchase the both Lightspeed Champion albums at Domino Record’s website on vinyl for $12.99, CD for $8.99 and digital for $7.99. The band is currently touring the UK and western Europe.

The Cat From Hue, indie/psych-folk quintet from Camano Island, Washington, are an interesting listen. Clearly influenced by other indie bands from the northwest, Modest Mouse and Portugal. The Man, this young group uniquely portrays the Puget Sound in their lyrics alongside upbeat, folksy instrumentals. In “Welcome Back The Rain,” through well constructed folk guitar, slow drum beats, tambourine, and high keys, their music emulates the sound and feeling of a typical rainy day in the Puget Sound. Their lyrics in this song are delivered strong and sleepy, with the verse declaring “We watch the days run down to the hour change/We watch the green leaves turn around, and walk through the sleet and the rain…” and more cleverly sour lyrics regarding the Seattle music scene: “I hear the Puget Sound is Land of the Green/I reciprocate the meaning with the speech about the scene […] just a crow in my crow’s nest/tippin’ back my Seattle’s Best Coffee.”

The Cat From Hue — “Welcome Back The Rain,” from Shoreline
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The Cat From Hue — “Stumble On,” from Shoreline
[audio:http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/03-Stumble-On.mp3]

The Can From Hue are currently unsigned and have many shows lined up. To see more information about the band visit their myspace, myspace.com/catfromhue, or visit them on Facebook. See below for a video of them live, acoustic, as well as a look at their upcoming shows.

Members of The Cat From Hue

• Nikko Van Wyck – Guitar | Lead Vocals
• Wes Williams – Lead Guitar | Vocals | Audio Engineering
• Matt Olsen – Keys | Vocals
• Evan Downey – Bass | Vocals

Upcoming Shows

Feb 26 2010 8:00P
The Slab w/ Subtle Like A T-Rex, Animal Outfit and Special Guests
Seattle, Washington

Feb 27 2010 8:00P
Columbia City Theater w/ Still Time, Candysound, and Quilt
Seattle, Washington

Mar 13 2010 7:00P
Ground Zero w/ Town Called Machine, Lets Get Lost, Celebra, and To The Sea
Bellevue, Washington

Mar 19 2010 8:00P
Candysounds Tour Kick off @ The Hell House w/ The Oregon Donor
Bellingham, Washington

Apr 30 2010 8:30P
Zippy’s Late Night w/ Candysound and Astronomer Royal
Everett, Washington

May 28 2010 8:00P
Laughing Ladies w/ Emily Lewis
Seattle, Washington

Courtesy of Big Hassle Media

Kaki King, “2 O’Clock” from 2008’s Dreaming of Revenge | Download

[audio:http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/2oclock.mp3]

Junior, King’s release-in-waiting, is planned for release on April 13 and is her fifth record. It’s being released on Rounder Records, which has been home to a slew of solo releases from bluegrass and jazz musician Béla Fleck.

Read on for King’s tour dates; she launches her tour days after her album hits shelves.

King has been subject to some genuine critical acclaim during her still-short career — her first album hit in 2003, but within four years of its release, she was nominated for a Golden Globe award for her work on the score of the Sean Penn book adaptation project Into the Wild.

In 2008, King collaborated with John Darnielle’s The Mountain Goats to release Black Pear Tree EP, a veritable display of inventive songwriting prowess by one of the great modern lyricists and one of the rising stars of intricate guitar work.

Tour Dates

• April 15, Williamsbury Music Hall, New York, NY
• April 16, Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
• April 17, Middle East, Boston, MA
• April 19, Iron Horse, Northampton, MA
• April 20, Port City Music Hall, Portland, ME
• April 21, Higher Ground, Burlington, VT
• April 28, Theater of the Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA
• April 29, The 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C.
• April 30, Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NC
• May 1, The Variety, Atlanta, GA
• May 2, 3rd & Lindsley, Nashville, TN
• May 4, Beachland, Cleveland, OH
• May 5, The Ark, Ann Arbor, MI
• May 6, Park West, Chicago, IL
• May 7, High Noon, Madison, WI
• May 8, The Varsity, Minneapolis, MN
• May 9, The Waiting Room, Omaha, NE
• May 11, The Fox, Boulder, CO
• May 12, Belly Up, Aspen, CO
• May 14, Neumos, Seattle, WA
• May 15, Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR
• May 16, W.O.W. Hall, Eugene, OR
• May 19, Knitting Factory, Reno, NV
• May 20, Mystic Theater, Petaluma, CA
• May 21, The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
• May 22, El Rey Theater, Los Angeles, CA
• May 24, Belly Up, San Diego, CA
• May 25, Glasshouse, Ponoma, CA

So, whether you are feeling down and out or deeply in love, this playlist will help you make it through the day.

1. Radiohead – “Lucky”
A song I often listened to when lost and lonely. I now clearly see the very powerful and forward-looking message Thom Yorke passionately delivers.

2. Augustana – “Coffee and Cigarettes”
Escape and love: the clear message behind this song. Escape from ourselves for some, escape with love for others. Beautiful.

3. Nada Surf – “Weightless”
Not necessarily a love song but the meaning comes across as such whilst one is/becoming twitter-pated. Listen to the lyrics clearly, and you’ll see it’s rather sad.

4. Neutral Milk Hotel – “Three Peaches”
This song makes me cry. It is beautiful — draped with love and melancholy. This song gives you a deep sense of being alone but with great desire for love.

5. Weezer – “Only In Dreams”
A very Weezer take on a love song (they are Weezer, after all.) This is my favorite of their many love/love lost compositions.

6. Wilco – “I Got You (At the End of the Century)”
To be honest with myself, I can’t find a hint of sadness in this track. The lyrics are sung with great meaning and backed by an upbeat and powerful set. I often find myself singing this song at the top of my lungs to my girlfriend (in the safety of the car, at least — cheesy!)

7. The Flaming Lips – “Do You Realize?”
The entirety of this song is a question. “Do you realize…?” It asks us to view ourselves at face value — to view our love as something that will fade or die. It begs for us to enjoy our love or our life without love. “It’s hard to make the good things last…”

8. The Postal Service – “Such Great Heights”
A song about a distanced love, maybe a love that is unrecognized or de-prioritized. This song gives hope — or is it false hope?

9. Iron and Wine – “Naked As We Came”
Sam Beam’s delivery of this song mixes our emotions with thoughts love and death. We become one again with the earth while retaining great love.

10. The Decemberists – “Of Angels and Angles”
A beautiful song about falling in love. Pretty straightforward.

11. Elliott Smith – “Everything Reminds Me of Her”
This song is terribly sad and beautiful. Elliott’s words draw forward strong connection to who one loves — a connection that may be lost or is lost.

12. Tegan and Sara – “Take Me Anywhere”
A song of hope — or loss — for love. It begs for the opportunity to fall in love — begs for attention: “I’m full of love and longing… Take me by the hand…”

13. Muse – “Falling Away With You”
Again a song rife with love and love lost. Hope and destruction of hope. The beginning of a new life of love — the crumbling of the same love.

14. The Weepies – “World Spins Madly On”
The Weepies created a piece that encompasses the feeling of loss of control in life. Whether that loss of control is caused by a new love or a lack of motivation towards life itself. Another beautiful song with a wide variety of possible messages.

15. Rocky Votolato – “Streetlights”
Beautiful words by Rocky Votolato… Begging for a new chance or a new beginning — hoping for renewal or creation of a missing part of life.

16. Bon Iver – “Skinny Love”
Ending on a sad note… as love often does. A song of love that did not survive despite great effort — overcome by lack of effort to retain something great.

Snippets of the entire album are available on the iTunes, along with the entire first track, “The High Road.” At this time, we can only speculate the possibility of a tour; if tour dates are set, we will promptly update that information here. For more on Broken Bells, visit brokenbells.com.

As a side note, James Mercer will also be appearing in filmmaker Matt McCormick’s film, Some Days are Better Than Others. The film will be screening at South by Southwest Film Festival, which will take place from March 12–20 in Austin, Texas. More information may be found at somedaysthemovie.com as well as sxsw.com/film. Specific screening dates have not yet been announced.

Bells & Whistles

The last time I heard much of Chase Pagan, he was performing at The Electric Theater in St. George, Utah: That was somewhere around four years ago, before the birth of MusicGeek.org. It’s with some pleasure, then, that it is that I give Bells & Whistles, his latest, a listen.

“Life Garden” | download
[audio:http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/LifeGarden.mp3]

When I first heard Pagan, he performed some nice, stripped down indie music. It wasn’t much to get worked up about, but it showed what I thought then was some “good promise” — and, hearing this album, it seems to have come good. Bells & Whistles is a solid  record that places Chase Pagan’s pop sensibilities on display, with his falsetto-inflected melodies playing key roles alongside eclectic instrumentation — instrumentation that ranges from muted trumpet to honky-tonk piano without feeling forced or out of place.

“Gun and the Sword” | download
[audio:http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/GunandtheSword.mp3]

Pagan’s evolved into a respectable songwriter, it seems — and while I wouldn’t think he’d rank among the very top in the indie scene, he’s on the right path to finding some real musical success. Bells & Whistles, an album rich with sound and style, should be a good start to what’s looking more and more like a successful career creating music — even if he doesn’t get rich doing it.

If you can’t remember, high school was painfully awkward for most parties; it was rife with fighting and bickering, especially between differing social classes. At least, that’s the image put forward in A Better Place, a 1997 film directed by one-time director Vincent Pereira.

Produced in association with Kevin Smith’s View Askew, A Better Place isn’t always visually dazzling, but its simplicity allows more subtle elements to fall into place. The vibrancy of some of the colors used and the straightforward editing and cinematography combine to create memorable imagery that strongly supports the film’s most vital asset: dialogue.

Though Barret, the film’s protagonist, may visibly fit the awkward-nerd-in-high-school persona, dialogue reveals unusual amounts of character depth. Pereira has a style and sense of development that escapes many, and to find he’s directed only this sole film is unnerving, especially considering fellows like Uwe Boll and Michael Bay can’t seem to stop finding funding.

A Better Place feels sincere, honest, genuine — all those adjectives usually used to describe successful but unusual films, the ones that just don’t fit the usual molds.

Musically, the soundtrack is effective, if unconventional. The low, ambient tones effect tense moments, but it’s something more than just that: Maybe it’s the shaky camera movements, maybe it’s the dialogue that doesn’t always fit the situation, but there’s something consistently unnerving about the film.

Sure, this movie isn’t always happy, and it’s not really the type of movie that will attract the usual movie-goers, but it doesn’t pretend to be everything for everyone. With quality dialogue, interesting music, and a compelling plot, A Better Place is well worth the small investment it takes to watch attentively.

What role do politics play in your music?

Politics in modern music can very easily have the tendency to be preachy. I avoid this sort of statement as much as I can, unless I really want to put some balls behind something. I prefer subtlety, like “Ojala,” by Silvio Rodriguez, probably one of the most potent and subtle statments made in a song against Castro.

Mark Berube and the Patriotic Few – “Flowers on the Stones” | download
[audio:http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/08-flowers-on-the-stones.mp3]

What role do you think music should play in politics?

Music has always been a reference point for society to bounce itself against, or it has been pure escapism. Most of the time it fills an entertainment quota in politics … you only have to look as far as Palin’s use of “Barracuda”.

Would you ever allow a mainstream political candidate to use your music in campaigning? Why or why not?

I honestly don’t think any politician is going to be asking to use one of my songs.

Would you consider throwing your endorsement behind a candidate you were passionate about?

One thing that was amazing about Gandhi for example, was that he never actually became a politician, ie. leading a party, but his presence and advice were so heavy he was able to operate outside the political realm but still have enormous clout. I would endorse someone like that, but not a politician.

Why are the political opinions of popular musicians such a hot topic with their fans?

It would be hard for some people to continue loving some folk singers music if they found out he was a leader of a KKK group. I know I would. Is it possible to truly separate someone and their political beliefs? Not sure…there are the famous examples Wagner, a huge anti-Semitic … Dali more or less complete fascist. Their art is amazing … but …

Do you think there are major problems with the modern political system? Does celebrity involvement play a part in this?

Modern politics have definitely become more slanderous in the public realm, to the point where it’s almost pathetic, i.e., Canada’s political campaigns right now. Either the contestants belittle their audiences with tried homegrown folksy semantics, slander each other, or dance around poignant questions. I have yet to hear an interview so far in the current Canadian campaign where one of them came off truly confident in what they’re saying and not trying to say answers they think people want to hear. The shape of the voice can be extremely telling. Of course this is a bit idealist, but better to start with the ideals then move down I figure. What did Churchill say … Democracy is the worst sort of government but better than all the other options.

Celebrity involvement … it’s always been there, just different celebrities now, maybe more pop culture based, which would explain the trajectory of today’s campaigns.

Are you following the 2008 U.S. elections? Are there any thoughts you’d like to share on what you’ve seen?

Yeah, I’m following it a bit. I’m definitely pro Obama. It’s interesting that so many Republicans worry about him having no international experience when they elected Bush II, and he’d hardly ever been out of America, and very obviously failed geography class in elementary school. He actually seems a hell of a lot more proactive, whereas McCain fills the typical aged reactive approach. I think a lot of people are tired of that approach … and McCain dies and Palin is suddenly leading the US …

Share your perspectives on music and politics; comment below and get involved.

When I first heard Conor Oberst, I was an impressionable 14 year-old in grade nine. Following the recommendation of Bright Eyes by a friend whose musical interests I trusted (“Download ‘The City Has Sex With Itself,’ by Bright Eyes” he told me,) I engaged in musical exploration, learning of a great many styles, genres, and tepid over-classification, all of it new to me.

It wasn’t more than a year after my discovery that I ran into Conor Oberst’s first album he recorded and released: 1993’s cassette-only Water, an uncertain, less-confident release by the man that became, for all intents and purposes, Bright Eyes. He was a young 13 at the time of the release, and it was the first on Lumberjack, which later became the now-influential Saddle Creek Records.

So, here I am, listening to Mr. Oberst’s newest, a self-titled album, the man himself a decade-and-a-half older. I can still hear the high-pitched, trembling vocals of “You Should Be in Sweden” in his voice – he’s definitely still the same person – but a self-assuredness has replaced quavering vocals, and in place of strummed chords most beginners learn, there’s a skillful precision. Yes, this Conor Oberst is the same person he was 15 years ago, but he is, by no means, the same person. And for all my metaphorical imprecision, Mr. Bright Eyes himself hasn’t lost his.

This self-titled release is more in the vein of recent Bright Eyes, and considering he is the primary songwriter for the group, it isn’t surprising. The difference? Mike Mogis, his esteemed producer and bandmate, was too busy with other duties, so Oberst ventured to the creation of this solo album. So, while it may lack a little of the charm of Bright Eyes, there’s still an honesty to the album. More surprising, perhaps, is the album’s release on Merge Records, rather than Saddle Creek, the label Oberst co-founded. Despite whatever reason there may be for the label switch, Oberst told Filter Magazine in their Summer 2008 issue that there is “no bad blood” with his friends at Saddle Creek.

But none of that really affects the music: Conor Oberst maintains the perceived honesty the songwriter is known for, and, some of the prettier, flashier instrumentation aside – you know, the sort Mogis provided – this is a record that provides what is expected. The increasing maturity of Conor is apparent: He’s gone from the man responsible for the overtly emotional Fevers and Mirrors to somebody that, while not hiding his emotions, has stopped wearing them so blatantly on his sleeve.

Still, even without Mogis, some of the instrumentation is beautiful in its simplicity. Complete with that slight country bent Oberst picked up a few years ago, this self-titled album is typical fare for the musician, and that means it’s listenable – even addictively so – but it doesn’t mean it will hit the right chords with everybody. Oberst has had his share of detractors, and while their claims are not all valid, they certainly do make a point: You’re not going to get the best record ever from the man, nor will you get wild experimentation.

Still, Conor Oberst has grown from an immature kid to a competent singer-songwriter with no lack of vision. His latest self-titled release isn’t the best thing since sliced bread, but it’s a good set of well-thought tracks, and you can’t ask much more from a man who nearly turned the musical world upside-down with blatant honesty.

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