Juniper Tar - The Howl Street EP

I don’t know about you guys but I’m not the biggest fan of the “extended play” or, in short “EP.” As you know, EPs contain more music than a single but are too short to qualify as a full-length album. In my opinion, you typically get one standout out of the few tracks provided, and that’s it. And I’d be damned if I came across an EP to blow my skirt up. Fuck, was I wrong! Milwaukee, Wisconsin band, Juniper Tar couldn’t have slapped me in the face any harder. They are set to release their “The Howl Street EP,” on February 18th and holy smokes does this 4 song EP pack a punch. And before you start making your own conclusion on a “4 song” EP let it be known this EP peaks a little over 20 minutes of some of the most promising music for the FPM nation.

We have Jason Mohr on Vocal and Ax duties, Aaron Schlecher (guitar/ax), Tuc Krueger (drums), Ryan Schlecher (bass), and Chris Demay (Piano). Juniper Tar is a group of 5 buds playing folk-rock music they have all grown to love and they credit their influences to some our favorite acts (Neil Young, Uncle Tupelo, and Ryan Adams). Any time we hear a band is influenced by those troubadours we’re all ears. Yes, some succeed and some may fall by the wayside. Well, Junipar Tar not only sits nicely in the company of their influencers they also do a damn good job carrying their torch. The opening track, “Innerstates” could be one of the greatest songs Jay Farrar never wrote and one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard this year. Providing us with great song writing and great vocals but what I think really brings this band together are the guitar arrangements. The middle tracks “Bird and Trees” and “Old Mystery” provide a spacey interlude, which would make any Nels Cline or Crazy Horse fan happy. And they couldn’t have closed with a better track than with “Strings” a number that showcases their knack for multi-harmonies and the bands cohesiveness.

All in all, the EP exceeds expectation. Hell, it really hard to do it justice with a quick review. But trust me guys, dedicate 20 minutes of your time and I promise you will get lost in this one. Very well crafted and you’ll be yearning for more.

Side Note – Just heard Juniper Tar will be taking part at SXSW. They’re still working out a date and time, but we’ll get back to you when we hear more details. It will give you a good chance to check these guys out live and buy them a shot. Oh yeah, and to buy us shot as well because we'll be there.

(photo courtesy of Kat Berger)

-Keith

"Innerstates"


"Old Mystery"


Buy "The Howl Street EP"

Juniper Tar Myspace

American Aquarium - Dances for the Lonely

This record may not be brand new, but sometimes it takes a few months for me to get to all of the music that comes across my wire. One such record is the latest release from American Aquarium. The band's name, derived from the Wilco tune "I Am Trying to Break your Heart", is one of the most fitting band names I've come across. When Jeff Tweedy says "I am an American Aquarium drinker", he's suggesting that he can drink enough liquor to fill a shark tank, and that seems to be pretty much American Aquarium's Mission Statement. Hailing from Raleigh, North Carolina, these guys are the best band to come out of the region since a fabled Mr. Ryan Adams started a little country act named Whiskeytown there.

The group's 2009 release, Dances for the Lonely is a big, hook-laden rock and roll record about women and liquor, particularly about how men relate to each of these themes in their twenties. Frontman BJ Barham leads this Americana act by laying down some of the freshest lyrics about late-night barstool tales I've heard since early Lucero. And while the music is pure Bruce Springsteen, the lyrics have enough bite to make this sound something completely different. For instance, on the standout ballad "I Hope He Breaks Your Heart", BJ croons "You fuck like a woman, but you love like a little girl" behind a slow driving beat that reminds me a bit of The Hold Steady's "Lord, I'm Discouraged."

Yet, this isn't a total heartbreaker. Much of Dances for the Lonely plays like 11 P.M. at the bar downtown. You're a little drunk, shooting pool with your friends on a Saturday night and boom!, in walks some babe that knocks your socks off. From that moment on, you're just locked in. Yet, when BJ succeeds on tracks like "Katherine Bell" and "Mary, Mary", he goes full-in even when he knows he shouldn't. After all, it is hard to lock down a wild, 23-year old chick right out of college. (especially when you're a 27-year old marketing dork with a blog) Anyway, the dude gets burned more than once but he sings like he had a pretty good time doing it. That's a rare thing in any form of music today and because of that, I'm thinking that American Aquarium has a great chance to earn a whole lot of new fans this year.

Dances for the Lonely is an absolutely kick-ass record that should have landed near the very top of my "best of" list last year. They say "better late than never" and that's a statement that is ringing true over here at The Porch. They are total road warriors playing over 600 shows in 4 four years so be sure to check them out when they come to your town. I've got my fingers crossed for some SXSW dates.


Feb 8 2010 10:00P
Parrish Baker’s Pub Oxford, Mississippi

Feb 9 2010 10:00P
The Princess Theatre Columbus, Mississippi

Feb 10 2010 10:00P
The Harvest Moon Albany, Georgia

Feb 11 2010 9:00P
The Garage Winston Salem, North Carolina

Feb 12 2010 9:00P
Pantana Bob’s w/ Corey Smith Greenville, North Carolina

Feb 13 2010 9:00P
The National w/ Corey Smith Richmond, Virginia

Feb 17 2010 9:00P
Local 506 Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Feb 18 2010 7:00P
Pisgah Brewery Black Mountain, North Carolina

Feb 19 2010 8:00P
Martin’s Roanoke, Virginia

Feb 20 2010 10:00P
The Green Lantern Lexington, Kentucky

Feb 21 2010 10:00P
Stanley’s Pub Cincinnatti, Ohio

Feb 22 2010 10:00P
The Rumba Cafe Columbus, Ohio

Feb 23 2010 11:00A
Daytrotter Session Davenport, Iowa

Feb 23 2010 10:00P
Cicero’s St. Louis, Missouri

Feb 24 2010 9:00P
Mojo’s Columbia, Missouri

Feb 25 2010 9:30P
The Riot Room Kansas City, Missouri

Feb 26 2010 9:00P
White Water Tavern Little Rock, Arkansas

Feb 27 2010 9:00P
George’s Majestic Fayetteville, Arkansas

Feb 28 2010 9:00P
Club Next Texarkana, Arkansas

Mar 1 2010 9:00P
The Hunt Club Tulsa, Oklahoma

Mar 2 2010 9:00P
Private Party Fayetteville, Arkansas

Mar 3 2010 9:00P
Landry’s Fort Smith, Arkansas

Mar 4 2010 9:00P
The Bottleneck Lawrence, Kansas

Mar 5 2010 10:00P
Quixotes Denver, Colorado

Mar 6 2010 10:00P
Triple Nickel Tavern Colorado Springs, Colorado

Mar 7 2010 10:00P
Goat Tavern Keystone, Colorado

Mar 8 2010 9:00P
Southern Sun Brewery Boulder, Colorado

Mar 10 2010 9:00P
Moe’s Englewood, Colorado

Mar 11 2010 10:00P
The Sandbar Vail, Colorado

Mar 12 2010 10:00P
Old Town Pub Steamboat, Colorado

Mar 13 2010 9:00P
Three20south w/ Outformation Breckenridge, Colorado

Mar 15 2010 9:00P
SKA Brewing Co Durango, Colorado

Mar 19 2010 9:00P
Woody’s Tavern Fort Worth, Texas

Mar 20 2010 9:00P
LaGrange Dallas, Texas

Mar 24 2010 10:00P
Chelsea’s Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Apr 30 2010 2:00P
French Broad River Festival Hot Springs, North Carolina

Jul 24 2010 8:00P
FloydFest Floyd, Virginia

Check out some muzzzak....

"Katherine Belle"

"Mary, Mary"

"PBR Promenade"

"I Hope He Breaks Your Heart"


Don't be a fool...check this out!

http://www.myspace.com/americanaquarium

VOTE State Champion TODAY!

Hey guys...wanted to get in touch with everyone today to let you all know about a contest State Champion is in over at The Deli Magazine in Chicago. If they win they get free studio time so it would behoove everyone to vote multiple times so we can hear more songs from them. Got it?

Now, go vote!

Skeet

The Michaels cover The Boss

Too hungover to write a lengthy post so I'll leave you guys with a sweet "Im on Fire" cover/video by site favorites, The Michaels. For a day like today this soothing version will help relieve some of the pain.

As Brain as always says, Muck Fondays!

Keith

I'm On Fire from The Michaels on Vimeo.

Good San Francisco Shows Tonight

Howdy Folks,

There are some great shows here in the city tonight that you should check out. We mentioned earlier that Leopold and His Fiction will be rocking with The Lonely H at Bottom of the Hill. We were planning on seeing that show, and are certain it will melt faces, but we recently found out that Dawes will be playing at The Rickshaw Stop with Cory Chisel and The Wandering Sons, and may have to check that one out instead. Expect a full-fledged post about Cory Chisel and The Wandering Sons next week, but for now check out the video below, they're super rad.



GO SEE LIVE SHOWS,

Brain

F*ck You, It's Friday! - Playlist 28

Skeeter here, bringing you a whole new edition of our "F*ck You!" playlist. this week sure was a long one but I'll tell you what; we sure are excited for the weekend. We're going to see some shows, drink some liquor and watch a pretty rad Super Bowl. So this week we're not bringing you any theme or anything like that, but I think you'll like it anyway. We all just chose songs that we've been jamming a lot lately. I chose tracks by Black Sails, Western Shores, Dinosaur Jr., Exebelle and the Rusted Cavalcade and the mighty Thin Lizzy. Brain chose tunes by Jerry Jeff Walker, Johnny Paycheck, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson and Cory Morrow. Gay-mo rounded it out with Braid, Hot Water Music, Promise Ring and Nada Surf

F*ck You, It's Friday! - Playlist 28

1. Exebelle and the Rusted Cavalcade - I Won't Love You to Death
2. Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson - Pancho and Lefty
3. Black Sails, Western Shores - Hangover Radio
4. Dinosaur Jr. - I Want You to Know
5. Thin Lizzy - Running Back
6. Hot Water Music - Seein' Diamonds
7. Jerry Jeff Walker - Goodbye Easy Street
8. Braid - First Day Back
9. Nada Surf - End Credits
10. Johnny Paycheck - Don't Monkey with Another Monkey's Monkey
11. The Promise Ring - Things Just Getting Good
12. Cory Morrow - Texas Time Travelin'

In honor of the Super Bowl we're dedicating this week's playlist to the advertisements that keep hot girls interested during the game on Super Sunday. Let's get real, there isn't many things more annoying than a chick who knows too much about sports. I like my girls to tolerate my sporting addiction by reading a magazine while I watch the game. The Super Bowl ads are a good way to get the best of both worlds, right? I don't know, maybe I'm just an ass...

Tim Barry - 28th and Stonewall

This story begins in Bakersfield, California. In the 90's, Richmond, Virginia's Avail was one of the biggest underground punk bands in the nation. I first heard Avail at my friend Drew's house where his older brother would blast punk records at deafening levels every single day. And his brother seemed so cool. I mean, he was an older dude, you know? And even though I maybe spoke five words to the guy the entire time Drew and I were friends, he was the first guy to introduce me to punk rock. Avail was one of the first groups I heard about when I first explored the genre. I really enjoyed their cover of "Pink Houses" by John Melloncamp because I already knew the words and I could sing the song in front of Drew and seem cool. By now you're all realizing, I tried to be pretty goddamn "cool" when I was a kid. So what does this have to do with TIm Barry? Well, aside from fronting the forementioned band, Tim Barry has never tried to be cool. He does what he wants and doesn't give a damn if you like him or not. This of course, is why Tim Barry is one of the coolest mutherfuckers on the block, and I'm the one blogging about it on a Thursday night while "Fred Claus" plays in the background.

So yeah, I like Tim Barry. Whether rocking out at one of his hilarious live sets or blasting "Thing of the Past" in my car during my morning commute, I've always enjoyed his stuff. Classic songs like "Dog Bumped" and "South Hill" have been staples around The Porch, and naturally we were pretty geeked up when we got the download link for "28th and Stonewall" in our inbox.

"28th and Stonewall" comes on the heels of hearing Tim talk about how he was trying to live "more simple" and I thought it was a pretty sweet story. His devotion to his individualism is captivating while you're watching him during live sets and the best part is that this isn't a guy trying to "convert you", he's just telling a story. And storytelling is what Tim is all about when it comes to his music. On "28th and Stonewall" Tim's forte elevates to an impressive new level. "Downtown VCU" is one of the best stories from the dude since "South Hill" and the tune about moving to a new town is one that grabs you from the start. When Tim says that the girl of the tale is a "total fox", you just have to root for the guy. But, the best story of the record is by far "Prosser's Gabriel." The song about Gabriel Prosser, a literate enslaved blacksmith who tried to unite other slaves and revolt against their owners, does for me what Kasey Anderson's "Photograph" does for Brain. (Hint, it "knocks my dick in the dirt")

I think my favorite song is the rocking opener, "Thing of the Past." This romping tune is an upbeat, foot-stomper that makes me want to drink a whole lot of whiskey with the FPM gang and break some stuff over at the Mauna Loa. (Sorry Kurt)...Anyway, the song is one that I think is more than worthy of radio play on some of America's coolest stations. I mean, the damn thing has opening lines of "Two weeks without alcohol, it ain't hard if it weren't for these goddamn stars/ and memories and hell, it helps me sleep." How is that not one of the raddest openers you've seen? (I say "seen" 'cuz you're reading this, not listening to it. Doy...) I could go on and on about how great this song is, or that song, but the good people over at Suburban Home Records have given you a chance to listen to the whole thing right here. Trust me, the music is a helluva lot better than my review.



(It is roughly 40 minutes later I hope....)

So, pretty good album, right? Anyway, I hope you guys get a chance to catch Tim live over the next three months as he will be pretty much everywhere in the US and Australia. I'll be in Austin for SXSW when he pulls through San Francisco, but I'm not worried about not seeing him live again. I'm sure "28th and Stonewall" will be a record that ressonates with a lot of folks all over the country and allow Tim to come back West.