GO TEAM: Vegetables

MP3: Even Artichokes Have Hearts - If

The most frustrating thing about returning to Connecticut is that 98% of anyone who plays an instrument in this state chooses the wrong path, and that 99% of the listening population here could give a shit. That's fine. I gave up trying to change that a long time ago, but every now and then you get a glimmer of hope and today I present the new brightness: Even Artichokes Have Hearts.

Two pals just killing it sweetly, I don't know what their future is beyond a digital single on February Records (who themselves don't have a very promising lineup), but I'm really hoping for the best. Seriously guys, if there's anything we can do, let us know.

They play tomorrow at BAR in New Haven for FREE with friends of the blog Elizabeth and the Catapult and I'll be there for sure.

GO TEAM: Big Green, in moving pictures.


MP3: Quiet Life - Big Green

My good pals Quiet Life have a pretty wonderful new record in "Big Green", which is coming out at the end of this month. I miss them all terribly and they are living the dream in my former/future home in Portland, Oregon, killing it almost nightly I hear.

They are also partying with people who have nice film equipment because DAMN that video looks pretty pro. It also looks amazing and really is selling the wilderness right now (and slugs!).

Check them out on tour with the Moondoggies, and if you have any tips on where to help them in their eternal search for vegetable oil for their van, hit em up.

01.26.11 - Atlanta, GA @ the Earl
01.27.11 - Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
01.28.11 - Arlington, VA @ the Iota
01.29.11 - Philadelphia, PA @ M Room
01.30.11 - Brooklyn, NY @ Rock Shop
01.31.11 - Boston, MA @ T.T. the Bear's Place
02.01.11 - New London, CT @ the Oasis Pub
02.02.11 - Toronto, ON @ the Horseshoe
02.03.11 - Detroit, MI @ the Pike Room
02.04.11 - Chicago, IL @ the Hideout
02.05.11 - Minneapolis, MN @ 400 Bar

GO TEAM: Monitor and the Merrimac

MP3: Montior and the Merrimac - Lonesome House Blues

NOTE: Today's GO TEAM contribution comes from one of my favourite Connecticut artists: David Grazynski, who performs as Monitor and the Merrimac. He released "Grandma's Old Couch" at the end of last year and has been a consistent staple in my listening habits from then and well into this year. The record features contributions the CT all stars including members of Mates of State, Quiet Life and TITLES and is all hits, no misses.

David has been kind enough to give us some background on one of my favourite songs from the album, "Lonesome House Blues". Fuck yeah!

I have to preface my explanation of this song by telling you that I purchased a town home in the summer of 06 that I live in by myself... It has a pool and a nice back porch and I made the entire record down there. Ok... here goes...

I wrote this song sometime during the summer of 07 when I was feverishly writing and recording during some downtime at work. It started, as do most (if not all of my songs) with a line "I sing the big lonesome empty house blues" and the verse that begins "go tell your father..."I remember going to the pool and sitting there for a while right before a late afternoon heatwave storm rolled in and I just started jotting down lines for verses that could end with "I sing the big..." It was around this time, and it should be noted, that my girlfriend took an internship with Howard Stern in the city. Now living in the north end of Bridgeport isn't exactly "Country livin", but I just don't like the hustle and bustle of the city all the time, for me it all depends on my mood, sometimes I love it, sometimes it gets me down. So that's kinda what started those lines (about the city), as my friends all migrate towards New York I am still here and very content at being here...

The breakdown and the last verse were all written much later, the original lines were really just placeholders. those are very true to the situation that was happening with the recording of Grandma's Old Couch. I would be stealing time in the afternoons in the basement pounding on drums trying to learn how to play the drums, all hoping that my neighbors wouldn't get pissed off. I recorded everything in my basement except for the instruments at the end and the foot stomps and hand claps in the breakdown... Those were done at my friend Jason's house. We were stomping on an old suitcase and he played the piano and concertina at the end. I am happy with the way the recording sounds... I wanted it to sound like we could be on my back porch... I am trying to get that same sound and feeling throughout the rest of the record too... like.. you could hear these songs in a bar or you can hear them played by a bunch of friends on a porch. All in all the song is just about a dude living alone in a house. Being bored, doing far too much sitting on the porch and bbqing. Banjos and shuffle beats and foot stomps and hand claps and harmonica and hollering.

{purchase "grandma's old couch from monitor and the merrimac}

Diamond J & the Rough

MP3: Diamond J & the Rough - We Had It All
MP3: Diamond J & the Rough - Betty Ford

I loved Hot Rod Circuit for most of their career. However, after their unlistenable last album, I can't say I was surprised to hear Jay Russell exit himself from the band. He had been playing as Diamond J & the Rough for years but it was only recently that we finally got a taste of what sounded like. From demos to (what seem to be) final versions, I have listened to these songs with such excitement.

"We Had It All" is pure nostalgia, stating "we had it all at 17". Anyone who looks back at life fondly can surely relate. Meanwhile, on "Betty Ford" Russell sings of having a problem and leaving someone behind because of it. It's a really sad number and the female harmonies, violin and pedal steel (courtesy of HRC's Spacey Casey Prestwood) really amplify that. They also are some of my favourite musical sounds so it's a sure thing for me to love it.

I'm looking forward to a full length. I hope it is delivered quickly.