In advance of tonight’s Sons of Bill / Wrinkle Neck Mules co-bill at Toad’s Place in Richmond, WNRN 91.9FM invited two of Bill’s sons into the studio for a live interview and performance on Friday.  Anne Williams interviews James and Sam Wilson of Sons of Bill on WNRN’s Acoustic Sunrise below.  By the way, WNRN is presenting this show.  [And if you haven’t yet taken the time to do so, also check out my interviews with S.O.B.’s James Wilson and Andy Stepanian of the Wrinkle Neck Mules]

Listen:
WNRN interviews James and Sam Wilson 10.10.08

I have to admit that I’ve been listening to a ton of Ryan Adams music lately.  This is partly inspired by the fact that Adams and his band The Cardinals have a new record on the way.  Cardinology is due in stores on October 28 on Lost Highway Records and if you’re like me and plan on buying the thing on vinyl, know that it will include a 7″ bonus album, a comic book, and a digital download code (I love the fact that more and more vinyl records are including the DDC so that I can not only listen to the music in its purest recorded form on my turntable, but I can also load it up on my iPod and take it with me wherever I go).

Most of my recent listening has been in the form of the two late 90’s albums Ryan recorded with his old mates in Whiskeytown (Strangers Almanac and Faithless Street) as well as a couple of repeat listenings of both Heartbreaker (his solo debut) and the most recent Follow the Lights EP with The Cardinals (which I own on vinyl).  Just in the last day or so, I’ve also been listening to a super-sweet, solo-acoustic, live bootleg recorded in Seattle, WA back in 2000.  [the sound quality is A+ and can be downloaded for free at Aquarium Drunkard.  Click here.]

The video above is taken from a live in-studio performance on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic and nicely bookends Ryan Adams’ post-Whiskeytown career.  It includes two performances:  “Come Pick Me Up” from the Heartbreaker album as well as the Cardinals’ cover of Alice In Chains’ “Down in a Hole” from Follow the Lights.  Enjoy.

Richmond, Virginia’s The Great White Jenkins (pictured above) return to Charlottesville on Sunday, October 12 performing alongside Woven Hand (led by David Eugene Edwards,of 16 Horsepower fame) at Gravity Lounge.  Presented by Starr Hill Presents.  Showtime is at 8pm.  $10.

The Great White Jenkins’ most recent release, the five-song EP Mussel Souls, was released earlier this year and finds the band once again mining the rustic side of rock with horns and harmonies both vibrant and sepia-stained. [Listen to “Wind” from Mussel Souls below]

Listen:
MP3:  The Great White Jenkins–”Wind”

The band’s seminal album, its 1976 self-titled debut, was recorded in 1973 but was released after the original line-up had already went their separate ways. Produced in part by John Cale of the Velvet Underground, The Modern Lovers LP included some of the band’s best known songs including “Pablo Picasso” and “Roadrunner” and it would go on to become a touchstone for many of the artists in the the punk/new wave movement (Iggy Pop, David Bowie, and the Sex Pistols all recorded covers of Richman’s songs from this album).  Journalist Chris Colin, who wrote about Jonathan Richman in a 2001 article in Salon even went so far as to label Richman the “Godfather of Punk” due in large part to the three chord simplicity found in many of The Modern Lovers’ early tracks.

Following the break-up of the original Modern Lovers in 1974, Richman put together a new band that performed as Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers through the late 80’s.  Since 1989, Richman has been recording and touring primarily as a solo act, accompanied only by drummer Tommy Larkins.  He has performed on Late Night with Conan O’Brien on a number of occasions (Conan is a big fan) and his songs, known for their wide-eyed, childlike sense of humor, have been included on PBS’s Sesame Street.  In 1998 Richman appeared in and wrote the title song for the Farrelly Brothers film, There’s Something About Mary.

Jonathan Richman and Tommy Larkins perform at the Gravity Lounge on Saturday, October 11 at 7:30pm.  $15.  And one last thing, if you go to see his live show don’t be surprised if you hear some songs sung in Hebrew, Italian, Spanish, or French. [I’ve collected a trio of videos featuring the music of Jonathan Richman after the break] (more…)

I think the initiative deserves all the support and praise it can get, for their festival is entirely self organized and self financed and still manages to get a number of nationally and internationally known acts from all over the world along with local artists. It runs all day (well from 3 pm to 11 pm) on both days and if you want to stop by for only an act or two it will be greatly apreciated.

After the break I’ve posted the info from their website, which lists the individual acts. If you actually go to their website you can find music samples from almost all of them, or at least their myspace pages: (more…)

First up: “Opposing Forces” by Hanna Jubran, on 250 near Hydraulic.

Drive down the bypass and you’ll see a towering steel figure- a big red painted red O perched on red and blue legs. (Sorry for the low-res pic, you’ll know it when you see it). (more…)

I usually don’t think too much about political endorsements from glamorous Hollywood stars or big-time musicians.  So when Chuck Norris aka “Walker Texas Ranger” threw his support behind Mike Huckabee or when any number of musical acts came out for Barack Obama, I barely gave it a second thought (although calling Chuck Norris a Hollywood star is a somewhat questionable statement I guess, calling him glamorous is just downright foolish).   But when Ralph Stanley recently recorded a radio spot in support of Barack Obama (the ad is currently airing in southwest Virginia) I actually stopped and said “Hmmmm, this might actually have an impact”.

What that impact may be I couldn’t tell you.  For all I know, I’ve been dipping into the “magic water” again.  I guess in some cases you might see a few more Obama stickers appearing next to those declaring “Ralph for Prez”.  Or you might find a few folks grabbing a bucket of warm water and putty knife and heading out to their vehicle to voice their own need for “change”.  Either way, I’m somewhat intrigued and this story has received a great deal of attention.  Just type in “Ralph Stanley for President” in a Google search and you’ll find page after page of news stories on this recent political endorsement.

Ralph Stanley may have made a name for himself by picking the banjo, but these days he’s making news for picking a President.  [you can listen to the Barack Obama radio ad featuring Dr. Ralph Stanley after the break] Thoughts? (more…)

The brother-and-sister team of Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger have graced our fair hamlet twice in the past few years under the guise of their touring and recording outfit The Fiery Furnaces. Perhaps you’ll recall their first visit — it came the same day as an onslaught of snow blanketed the University, sending waves of worry through the minds of intrepid concert-goers, though truth be told it really wasn’t that much precipitation and by the time the show started it had abated. Regardless, the Friedbergers spit out an interesting performance, albeit one that leaned a bit too heavily on their twin-guitar attack; after a few minutes it became apparent that the versatility offered by Matthew’s keyboard would be missed, and it was. When they returned earlier this year, he was back tickling the ivories and the evening morphed from just another night at the concert hall (R.I.P.) to a truly outstanding gathering of entertainers and entertainees. The audience was invited to partake in a democratic process for encore selections as well as to contribute lyrics and/or song titles for future Furnaces projects. I truly hope it was not their last visit to Charlottesville.

Which brings us to Remember, the first official live document of the Furnaces, and it proceeds as strangely as most of their shows. For those not in the know, a Furnaces concert typically feels like they’ve taken all their music and lyrics and thrown them into a blender — you’ll hear songs chopped up, re-imagined, and transformed, while often strung together in medley form. They seem to have gotten away from this practice a bit with their most recent album, Widow City, but the tendencies still persist. How to capture and reproduce all this head-scratching concert goodness on a compact disc or vinyl platter? Simple: take a handful of live recordings of varying quality and subject them to the same treatment. The result is a sprawling, delightful mess, covering life on the road and touching down on nearly every song in the Furnaces’ massive oeuvre.

Remember covers four different tours by the Furances over the past three years, featuring mostly the same players, but with slight changes in instrumentation. The recordings have come from fans and (presumably) the band, and while they are generally all quite listenable, it will certainly vex some ears to hear sudden not-so-subtle sonic variations across the same song or group of songs. The 2-disc set comes with a disclaimer: “Please do not attempt to listen to all at once,” and I actually agree with that assessment. It’s a lot to take in, but for fans of the Friedbergers’ verbose high-wire act, it is almost an embarrassment of riches with some 51 tracks to explore and relish. If I could harbor one complaint, it would be the lack of material featuring former drummer Andy Knowles, whose playful restfulness and technical savvy make him a far better fit for the band than the competent but pedestrian thrashings of current stickman Robert D’Amico.

You can check out the hand-written tracklist to Remember here and Thrill Jockey’s page with audio samples here.

DJ Baconfat hosts Nowhere Near, Wednesdays from 2 -4pm on WTJU 91.1FM or at wtju.net

Piedmont Council of the Arts presents its monthly arts gathering tomorrow (Wednesday 10.8.08) at Zinc.

Meet up with ‘fellow arts lovers’ from 5:30 - 7:30pm for drinks specials, conversation and a few raffles. A glass piece by McGuffey’s Chip Hall will be raffled off  - he has been blowing glass for 18 years and makes fantastic use of both color and form. See you there!

For more info on this monthly series, call the PCA office at 434.971.ARTS. I also encourage you to sign up for their email alerts - very relevant and not too wordy, I promise.

One more thing: check out Americans for the Arts Action Fund’s side-by-side comparison of where the presidential candidates stand on arts-related policy issues.

Yesterday I brought you Part 1 of our Sons of Bill / Wrinkle Neck Mules post which featured an interview with the Mules’ front man Andy Stepanian.  Today I present you with Part 2 and this time around we’re talking with the lead singer of Sons of Bill, James Wilson [pictured above, standing in the center].   James, along with his brothers Sam on guitar and Abe on keys, and fellow band mates Seth Green on bass and Brian Caputo on drums, have in a short time established themselves as one of Charlottesville’s hottest acts, based in large part on the band’s hard-drivin’ country-rock sound that is equal parts Steve Earle & the Dukes and straight ahead rock n roll.

The Sons of Bill will once again team up with their good buddies the Wrinkle Neck Mules for a long overdue reunion show this Saturday at Toad’s Place in Richmond.  [ticket info].  In addition to our interviews with both lead singers, we’ve got a pair of tickets to giveaway to this Saturday’s show.  To enter to win, just drop a mighty “Yee-Haw!” in the comments section to this post or into yesterday’s Wrinkle Neck Mule feature.  I’ll announce the winner on Friday at noon.  Winner will be drawn at random and will be notified via email.

James Wilson responds to my questions after the break.  Plus we’ve got an exclusive live version of the unreleased song “Goin’ Home”, recorded live at Satellite Ballroom this past March, for your listening pleasure.  The track also features an appearance by guest guitarist Brian Chenault.  Enjoy. (more…)