Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band Ready Debut

It was a few weeks ago that a co-worker told me I should check out Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band. From the opening ooh's and harmonies of "Who's Asking" I was sold - the band, who hails from Seattle, is totally engulfed in what I call the northwest sound. Those harmonies are totally reminiscent of The Joggers, while the production reminds me somewhat of Blitzen Trapper. They bring something new to the table, something original, with outrageous dynamic shifts in their songs. "Little Red Shoes" is all over the place that by the time it's over, you think you just went through several movements of some prog-rock mini-suite when really, it has only been not even two and a half minutes.

What's even better is the story of the band. When he was 10, drummer Marshall Verdoes had made a pact with his brother Benjamin that if he learned to play the drums they could start a band and they'd call it Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band. And so he learned and here we are today. Marshall is now 14 and getting ready to hit the road with Bishop Allen. Holy crap. Their self-titled debut hits stores via Dead Oceans on March 10th. Check the dates on their MySpace.

Download: "Anchors Dropped" [mp3]

Here's a funny video they made last summer to promote their show at Nuemos:

A Paschal Circus "Siegfried And Susyanna"

The song made me feel physically ill on the first listen. I feel a little unhinged even now. It begins as a waltz with a happy little "Strawberry Fields Forever" mellotron on the 1-2-3. Then they proceed to defile that feeling. The guitar distortion builds, the raw throat vocals that would have made John Lennon cry. The eerie children's xylophone starts 40 seconds in and induces nausea. At the one minute mark comes the queasy dissonant chords the rutting bear calls... they heap ruin and death at the feet of your speakers. They own you. Pull over the car to the side of the road and try not to puke on the upholstry.

DOWNLOAD "Siegfried And Susyanna" [mp3]
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The Stranded Q&A: Big Dipper

Photo by Tim Bugbee

Formed in 1985 in the Boston music scene, Big Dipper has been around the block. As 1992 rolled around, Big Dipper was no more, until recently. On March 18th, 2008, Merge Records released Supercluster: The Big Dipper Anthology. This "supercluster" includes Big Dipper's debut album, as well as their 2 following LP's. Along with a few other bonus items, the set includes a previously unreleased CD, better known as the "lost" album. They might be from the mid 80's, but their fan-base continues to grow

1. Hailing from Boston makes us better than all those non-Boston bands because:

"I don't think being from Boston makes a band better than bands from other places. But I do think that the club and radio scenes were so strong back in Big Dipper's heyday (1986-1992), and there were so many bands competing for gigs and airplay and practice spaces that it made the good bands better than they would have been otherwise. I do, however, think that all bands from Dayton, Ohio are better than bands from everywhere else."

2. Name at least three bands that are still around and touring that you'd love to be on a bill with, and think fit well:

"Great plains (our spiritual brothers and former label mates from Columbus, Ohio). Paul McCartney (I think our good song-writing might rub off on him if he were able to hear our songs over the course of an extended tour). Camper Van Beethoven (our spiritual brothers from Redwood, CA)."

3. Your favorite Boston venue to perform in is:

"TT the Bear's... although perhaps the question should be changed to "Your favorite Boston venue to perform in WAS," since we haven't played there in about 17 years. This is a tricky question for a "reunion" band."

4. Are there any genres that influence your music conceptually, rather than sonically? (In that you can't hear from simply listening to the music, but from getting into the structure or mathematics of song-writing, etc.)

"This is a weird question. I guess the only real way to answer it is to say that everything we hear influences us as songwriters, in one way or another. When Dipper began, I tried to write songs that picked up where the Soft Boys left off. That didn't work out so well, but I liked the concept."

5. Your favorite local bar to hit up when not doing the whole band deal is:

"The "bar" in my kitchen, which is well-stocked with many spirits that make good fruit juice GREAT fruit juice."

Swan Lake Ready Enemy

When I was near the end of my run as a college radio DJ, I added a new feature on my show called MP3 of the Week. I was an ambitious radio host, trying to invite new fangled technology and blog stuff in to my show, highlighting a song I found on the internet from an upcoming album. The band to take the maiden voyage was the Canadian indie-supergroup Swan Lake. They really are that, Canadian, indie and a group to the super degree. The trio, Dan Bejar of Destroyer/New Pornographers fame, Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade/Sunset Rubdown goodness and Carey Mercer of Frog Eyes banded together to make this album Beast Moans that was all over the place. The song "All Fires", sung by Krug, just blew me away.

The band never toured or anything outside of release the album, but in early 2008 they retreated in the Great White North to record their second album, Enemy Mine, which Jagjaguwar will release on March 24th. The Lake, they don't stray much from the formula of Moans, swapping lead vocals and instruments and meshing it all together like an intricately on purpose woven blanket. It's perfect. Songs like lead off "Spanish Gold, 2044" and "Battle of a Swan Lake, or, Daniel's Song" showcase the finer moments that can't seem to be refined by their alpha projects. On the flipside, songs like "Paper Lace" and "A Hand at Dusk" show a band trying to find an original sound, kind of like they honed in on Moans track "City Calls".

They really should tour. I know other their other bands take up most their time, but if Dio and the members of Sabbath can band up to do Heaven & Hell tours, while can't these guys leave their A team to go on tour as the B team?

Download: "Spanish Gold, 2044" [mp3] // [Buy Here]

Band of the Week: Cymbals Eat Guitars

It's highly probable at the beginning of the year you saw me go nuts for New York's Cymbals Eat Guitars. I was just minding my own business, checking in with the message boards I frequent and someone had started a thread about them, saying how they would be big in '09. I heard their album, Why There Are Mountains, and was immediately on the bandwagon. I've already said it: if they aren't big by year's end, take my blogging license away. But with Pitchfork now on board featuring the band in the On Repeat section of the Forkcast, going nuts over their Modest Pavement to Spill-ness, it's only a matter of time until they are the only band that matters.


Download: "And The Hazy Sea" [mp3]

Monday Morning Newsletter (2-23-09)

Next week the three-day Harvest Of Hope festival will take place in St. Augustine at the St. John's County Fairgrounds. It’s proceed benefit Harvest of Hope, a non-profit bringing aid to migrant workers. Bands on the bill include Paint It Black, Against Me!, The National, Deerhunter, Propagandhi, Bad Brains, and over 100 others.

R&B singer Solange Knowles managed to overdose in Nyquil this week. The singer popped a number of Nyquil flu tablets while on an air flight. She blacked out and woke up in the baggage claim then was taken to the hospital. …But isn’t that what Nyquil is supposed to do?

The Michigan Brewing Company is working with the Bull-god himself, Kid Rock on a new line of beer, which should be in stores this spring. The Michigan Economic Growth Authority has wisely granted them a $700k tax break towards the booze-project. Christian rocker Gavin DeGraw will be releasing a new record Free, on March 31. It was produced by Camus Celli. To promote the 10-song release, DeGraw will be doing a stretch of small-venue dates across the U.S. called the bore-us-to-death tour.

In an unnatural use of the term “super group” band Tinted Windows is composed of Ex-Smashing Pumpkin guitarist James Iha, Fountains of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger, Taylor Hanson of Hanson and Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos. It’s kind of a celebrity B-list definition of “super.” Their debut album is set for a spring release and their debut performance at Billboard’s South by Southwest showcase on March 20.

Henry Rollins lost his gig at KDLD in L.A. when the station flipped formats last month. KCRW took the opportunity to snatch up the aging punk icon. His program there will run Saturday nights from 6-8 p.m., starting March 7. Welcome back Henry.

ELO Bassist Kelly Groucutt died this week. He performed on most of ELOs hits throughout the 1970s including “Mr. Blue Sky” and “Livin' Thing.” He left over a royalty payment disagreement in the early 1980s but remained active enough to cut a solo album that same decade. He died Thursday of a heart attack. He was 63.

Somebody hacked the twitter account of Miley Cyrus this week. Apart from being hysterically funny on its own, the hacker twittered such Shakespearean quips as “IM NOT A FUCKIN ROLE MODEL I HATE LITTLE KIDS I ONLY DO HANNAH MONTANNA FOR DA $$$$$$$$” and my favorite “ME AND MANDY HAD SEX IN HANNAH MONTANNA WIGS.”

Sleepwalking Through The Mekong chronicles the journey taken by Los Angeles based band Dengue Fever as they head to lead singer Chhom Nimol's native Camobdia for the Water Festival. The band's performance marked the first time a Western band has ever performed '60s Cambodian rock in the country where it was was created. The DVD won't be out until April 14th, but we're giving three copies away way early!

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