As some of you might already know I was ask to be a photographer at the Pickathon Musical Festival in Portland, Oregon this weekend. Jody Orsborne was kind enough to invite me to be her sidekick for this indie folk festivus in forests just outside of Portland. In addition to being a photographer, we will also be interviewing many of the bands and making music videos of them in the woods. As part of our interview series Jody and I have decided that the questions should come from the fans directly, so we will be pinging people in the audience for inqueries but if you would like to ask a question please feel free to comment here. The bands at the festival include: Blitzen Trapper, Dr. Dog, John Doe and the Sadies, Vetiver, Alela Diane, Horsefeathers, Justin Townes Earle among others. Check back for videos and photos soon.

Peace and Love,
Capt AKAK

I enjoy a fresh new, exciting band as much as the next LA hipster, but it hard not to stay firmly rooted in the heritage through which our musical branches are so derived. Old faithful is back (with avengance apparently); none other than the white trio with a spanish name Yo La Tengo. Even though I did not grow up listening to their albums, I do feel that it is the music of my youth. A life filled with excitement, frustration, passion, and love (my real childhood did not really have any of these but it sounds better) during a time where we are free to explore our creativity without judgment. I have lost count as to how many albums YLT has produced but it is probably upwards of 12. So far Ride the Tiger is the only one which I have not enjoyed.

The forthcoming album is rumored to contain new sounds “that could be the bravest musical statement to date” with a “stylistic range that is startling”. That my friends are bold statements, but anyone who heard their last album, I am not afraid of you, and I will beat your ass, knows that as YLT has aged they have been more willing to experiment with new sounds/genres. This is somewhat counter intuitive, but who really give a fuck because the end result is typically greatness.

In honor of this announcement and the name of the new album itself, I say we all state our favorite album and song. Mine would be I can hear the heart beating as one and song would be  Sudden Organ.

This means they will be on tour soon as well……..screw the present moment, live in the future. Namaste.

Sample song off the new album: “Periodically Double or Triple”

+ = Sonic Embryo of Sound

As reported by Pitchfork

“After endless touring, semi-solo albums from leaders Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning, and a boatload of records from friends and associates, the amorphous indie rock entity known as Broken Social Scene are getting back to the business of being Broken Social Scene. They’re currently recording album number four at Soma Electronic Music Studio in Chicago with post-rock sonic mastermind John McEntire (Tortoise, the Sea and Cake), according to a message from Drew on the band’s site.”

Tortoise also has a new album due out soon….Beacons of Ancestorship. Plus many of you will be seeing Tortoise play at the Troubadour with me on July 11th…..

Exciting times.

I am a huge fan of Bon Iver’s, “For Emma Forever Ago”- particularly the song “re: stacks”.  I was curious about a line in the song, “This is my excavation, today is Kumran”. So- I decided to find out the meaning of “Kumran”. After searching around on a bit I found this little piece of wisdom. Thought I would share it with ya’ll: Kumran Uncovered. I particularly enjoyed (?) his mother’s comments, “To me, it is not about getting over things and moving forward, it is about going through the sadness, taking some of it with you and being made whole because of it”. Wow. Enough said.

Not sure how many here are familiar with Daytrotter.com, but it a great site with live sessions from many of my personal favorites. I have referenced them before when they had an Akron/Family bootleg (I know, shocking…). This chicago site is a great source for discovery of new music and also has original woodstock-esque artwork of all the musicians who pass through. Check it out.

Today I stumbled upon a couple of great downloads from the site, some of which I will share with you here now. FYI You will need to register with them if you have not done so yet.

Live – In Studio Downloads:

The Dodos – Its That Time Again
The Dodos – Jody
The Dodos – Paint the Rust
The Dodos – Undeclared

I have not seen The Dodos live in awhile and the last time was at the horrid Echoplex. I miss them.

Please check out her snapshot of the show and some of my pix. When you Awake –> Chris Darrow Review

(I am still working on the gallery for this site…)

Capt AKAK