WORK IT

Sick of the job hunt? Want a discount on Deep V's? AA's UPenn Community Store is holding open calls this Thursday from 12:30pm-4:30pm. Grab your tri blend and make sure to bring your resume with references to 3661 Walnut St. Can't make the call? Email AA's Beth Elsenheime for further employment info. Best of luck. Click here for the ad.

Vampire Weekend's Latest Track

Indie Ivy Leaguers Vampire Weekend unveil the first track off their forthcoming full length Contra. Not set to release until Jan. 2010, "Horchata" is available for download via the band's website. Click here to download or here for more deets.

LOVEQUEST 2000 COMING SOON

More deets tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy the vid.

I LOVE TO RIDE MY BIKE... NAKED

Footage of Philly's first Naked Bike Ride compliments of City Paper. Vid by Neal Santos.

GUILTY PLEASURE

INTRVW WITH BELLS BELLS BELLS

^ Bells Bells Bells, Romick in white.

Psych Folk Philly style. The Big Ugly chats with Bells Bells Bells leading lady Amandah Romick about the band's new record, summer reads, and pills. Click here for their myspace, see below for the intrvw.

the Big Ugly: Rumor has it you’ve been in the studio recording new tracks. How’s the recording process treating you so far?

Amandah Romick: Recording is a wonderful and grueling process that is my favorite part about being in a band. It's all about time, keeping in it and preserving it. It's a way of defying mortality-preserving these few moments that will be repeated in some distant context of another human being's CD player, maybe miles and years away. It's literally the past imposing on the future. On a less metaphysical level, it is going well. Isaac Betesh always does an amazing job and this will be a great record if i can get over myself long enough to be content with it.

BU: Since “Throw Down Your Anchor” hit the shelves, how has your artistic vision for the band evolved?

AR: this record takes some of the ideas from throw down and takes pushes them farther. It’s darker, more nuanced and also, more fun. we really just went with what seemed a logical progression of musical maturity.

BU: Tell us about some of your new songs. What are they about? Are there any literary nuances or memoir-esque lines?

AR: Ha! Yes, one song was inspired by Marilyn Robinson's housekeeping. It’s about the danger of becoming to attached to normalcy, or the resistance to moving on. Another song was inspired by Melville's descriptions of the horizon in Moby Dick. As far as memoir-esque, the personal aspects of my lyrics are confined to my perspective and that's about it. I observe, but that's a lot. It’s probably exposes me more than if I wrote a song about my own experience or emotions.

BU: How’s your summer been so far? Any memorable moments?

AR: I've had such a great summer so far. I just got back from Los Angeles which was very fun. I needed a new perspective, some time away from my life. Saw some old friends, went hiking in the canyon. It’s made writing fun again.

BU: With the current economy and unemployment rate, has getting your music out to the masses gotten easier or harder?

AR: Harder, definitely. People aren't as willing to part with their money to see shows or buy CDs and our funds to travel are severely limited. But the only thing I can do is my best and hope it gets better?

BU: As a vocalist, do you feel that your voice has gotten stronger since your band’s full length debut?
AR: Yes and no. I went to college to study opera and dropped out. It's taken me a while to realize that my training and obsession with 'the voice as instrument' was really holding me back from expressing myself.

BU: With indie starlets like Jenny Lewis, Feist, and Zooey Deschanel, do you feel that the indie music scene does a better or worse job than the mainstream music scene when it comes to objectifying female artists?

AR: It's a different sort of objectification cultivated for a different audience. indie fans like their front women to be both delicate and strong, emotionally exposed. Mainstream fans want blatant sexuality and entertainment. But they both want to see their own idea of desirability represented in their front woman. Playing dress up and performing can be fun but eventually we're not going to be cute anymore and unfortunately that affects a band's popularity. That’s sad because some of the best male musicians really hit their stride later in life (like Lou Reed, Leonard Cohen, Scott Walker, etc), not as many women are given that opportunity. Marianne Faithful and PJ Harvey both put out amazing records within the past few years that hardly sold at all but were great.

BU: As you already know, one of my hugest vices is procrastination. What’s one of yours?
AR: I like pills.

BU: From what I recall, you’re a bit of a bookworm. Any recent reads we should check out?

AR: I am reading some heavy Early American Gothic texts for a research grant I received for the fall. Lippard, Rebecca Rush and Bird. They’re all based in Philadelphia and its fun to imagine our city inspiring these writers in the mid-19th century.

BU: Any major plans for the fall? If so, spill.

AR: hopefully finish this record and begin promoting it. play some shows here in Philly and NYC. Come see us! You'll dig the new record!

CURSIVE AT FUC

Click through the pics /// Read the Review

Here's the setlist:

The Great Decay
Big Bang
Driftwood: A Fairy Tale
From the Hips
The Casualty
Butcher the Song
Dorothy At Forty
Mama, I’m Satan
The Recluse
Making Friends and Acquaintances
Mama, I’m Swollen
Art is Hard
Rise Up! Rise Up!
What Have I Done?
The Martyr
I Couldn’t Love You
The Love Cats (The Cure)
Some Red Handed Slight of Hand

STOP THE VIOLENCE

THE DEETS /// COMPLIMENTS OF FCBK

"On Saturday July 25, 2009 Dave Sale, 22 of Lansdale, PA attended a bachelor party at the Philadelphia Phillies VS St. Louis Cardinals baseball game. Later in the evening they attended McFadden's bar where a fight broke out which was then continued outside. Dave was "jumped" by three men until he was beat unconscious. He was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. This is only one of five murders that occurred that Saturday in the city, with a total of seven murders that weekend alone.

TONIGHT M.A.A.D. Management & Center Stage Promotions will be holding a benefit show at the Troc in memory of Dave Sale and those lost to the violence in the city of Brotherly Love. Show starts at 9pm with a $10 cover charge. All proceeds will be donated to Dave Sale's Family. The lineup features some of Philly's finest, including Sandman, Scholar, Deap, Adlib, Friascanb, Francis A.D., 2ew Gunn Ciz, Unique, Authentic, Young Reek, and more."

Zooey's Favorite Fabric

The touch, the feel, the fabric of her life? Indie darling and Gibbard's girlie has a passion for fashion and cotton. I'm sure you've seen this vid already, but I can't get enough. I seriously think my girl crush on Jenny might be over. This just in, I'm in love with Deschanel.

Deerhoof Redux

^ Deerhoof @ the Starlight Ballroom Oct. 25 2008

Old News, Still rad. Here's an interview I did for City Paper back in the Fall with Deerhoof's Greg Saunier. Enjoy.

CP: What differences where there in your approach toward creating your most recent release, Offend Maggie, that varied from your earlier releases?

Greg Saunier: It’s always different — we don’t have this music-making thing down pat yet. All of our records are just the timid first steps of complete beginners.

CP: What sort of emotives are you trying to convey through Deerhoof’s music? Have they changed as your career’s progressed?

GS: I’m not sure what [vocalist/bassist] Satomi [Matsuzaki] or [guitarist] John [Dieterich] or [guitarist] Ed [Rodriguez] would say, but personally there’s no emotion I’m trying to convey. There’s music I’m trying to convey and it sounds very emotional to me. But that’s not quite the same thing. The musical ideas that come into my head are what they are, and I’m not trying to force them into any pre-planned emotions, like “I want our album to be happy” or “I want our album to be sad.” I always think that one of the wonders of music is that the same piece of music can sound happy or sad — or both at once, depending on how you feel when you listen to it.

CP: What are some major themes, images, messages that appear throughout the songs on your new album?

GS: Maybe a sort of overbearing or unhealthy masculinity runs through a lot of the lyrics and the sound of the music. One that is a bit flawed, or bruised, but that is overcome eventually. That’s how I hear it, anyway.

CP: It’s been awhile since you last played in Philly. How do you think your live set has evolved since then?

GS: It’s funny, because actually I never get to see our live show. The best person to ask would be someone who came to our show the other day. The best I can do is talk about how our Philly audience has evolved. We had such a great time the other night, and it was all about the audience. Every time I looked up while we were playing, I saw grins and dancing, waving arms and mouths singing along. I saw people of all ages. I felt like everyone was there to listen, I mean, you could hear a pin drop in the quiet parts, and and that doesn’t always happen. It may have been the best audience we’ve seen on the whole tour.

CP: Favorite track on the new album?

GS: Ooh, not an easy question. Keith Richards always says it’s like choosing your favorite baby, but I think it’s worse than that even. More like a love-hate relationship. I can’t really listen to one of our songs and get a sense of what it actually sounds like unless I haven’t heard [it] in a LONG time. And obviously, our new record just came out a couple weeks ago and we’re playing the songs every night, so I’m in maximum confusion mode right now.

CP: Favorite things about being on tour?

GS: Being on tour is fun in all kinds of ways, but the one thing that consistently gives me a pleasant surprise is the audience while we’re playing. Their enthusiasm for Deerhoof is the reason we keep going.

CP: Anything crazy happen so far?

GS: Just last night, Jamie Stewart, singer of Xiu Xiu, came onstage for our last song (”Basket Ball Get Your Groove Back”) and sang along with Satomi. It sounded so amazing. But really there has been craziness/fun-ness on stage every single night. My bandmates always surprise me It has just been a wonderful tour.

DEVENDRA STRIKES AGAIN

Portman's ex boy toy, Devendra Banhart, splits from XL and signs to Warner. His follow up to '07's "Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon" is set to hit shelves in October. Recorded with the likes of Megapuss comrade Greg Rogove and more, Banhart's latest, "What We Will Be," most likely will cause listeners to swoon, sway, and blaze. For deets on the track listing, see below.

01 Can't Help but Smiling
02 Angelika
03 Baby
04 Goin' Back
05 First Song for B
06 Last Song for B
07 Chin Chin & Muck Muck
08 16th & Valencia Roxy Music
09 Rats
10 Maria Leonza
11 Brindo
12 Meet Me at the Lookout
13 Walilamzi
14 Foolin'

CRYSTAL CASTLES

Crystal Castles at All Points West. Jersey City, NJ.
Click here for more pics.

MAY ANGELS LEAD YOU IN

Last night while flipping through the channels, the channel 6 news actually caught my attention. 22-year-old Dave Sale and fellow Landale native lost his life Saturday night to the sheer violence of two Fishtown Philly fans. I wasn't close with Dave but I have terribly vivid memories of seeing him laughing at Diners, VFW halls and shows. He was one of the many kids who along with myself took the r5 to see Taking Back Sunday's first major tour date at the Electric Factory. No other word but tragedy comes to mind when I think of how Dave passed. A foundation has been set up by friends to help the Sale family with the cost of laying their loved one to rest. If you can, give, and at the least, keep the Sale family in your prayers.

DAVE SALE MEMORIAL FUND

BLACK MOTH Q&A

My intrvw with Tobacco for Phawker.com. Check it:

PHAWKER: For all the late bloomers out there, give us a quick recap of how the band got started. Especially the how Black Moth Super Rainbow became your moniker.

TOBACCO: The live band came together in 2003 as a way to play out with the stuff I had been making at home. I worked at a grocery store and the name came to me one day because I wanted a band name that would sound like a classic cereal name.

PHAWKER: Each member of your band seems to have a stage name. Are these on-stage personas meant to create an enigma around your performance or is it solely an attempt to keep your private lives private?

TOBACCO: For me, it’s just trying to keep my private life and music life separate. It’s not even another persona to me. It’s just a name that isn’t my real one.

PHAWKER: Upon first listen Eating Us plays out smoother/more chilled out than your last release. Would you say that the fluidity of Eating Us is discernibly different from previous albums?

TOBACCO: Yeah, I wanted to have one album under my belt that was easy to digest, one that might not scare people off. Fridmann smoothed the edges on the actual sound, but I had also just come off of my fucked up friends record and wanted to something that wasn’t so wild.

PHAWKER: How’d the recording process work out this time around?

TOBACCO: Instead of making it at home and putting it out like that, I made it at home and brought my finished version to Fridmann’s studio to polish. So all the drums are real, and a lot of the bass is guitar instead of synth. It wasn’t supposed to be a synth record, even though they’re still all over the place.

PHAWKER: Who’s your lyricist?

TOBACCO: Me

PHAWKER: Would you consider the album’s content thematic in any way? Why or why not?

TOBACCO: No, I really wanted to stay away from themes and concepts with this one because I feel like the story overshadowed everything else last time around.

PHAWKER: The album art is pretty awesome. Who’s the mastermind behind it?

TOBACCO: Thanks. That’s me too.

PHAWKER: When writing a song, is it more of a collaborative effort, or does each band member contribute separately?

TOBACCO: It’s usually just me playing around until I stumble onto something. the difference with this one was with a few of the songs, once I had them as finished as I felt like finishing them, I sent the drafts to Ryan Graveface to add a guitar or even bass.

PHAWKER: Hands down my fave track on the album is “Iron Lemonade.” What’s yours?

TOBACCO: “Twin of Myself.”

PHAWKER: Keeping with the tradition of accompanying your releases with awesome/bizarre packing, what was the inspiration for the fuzzy pouch that came with Eating Us? How do you think fans will put it to use?

TOBACCO: I think it’s important for us to incorporate more senses with our albums, because you can find the music for free anywhere. We had already done the scratch n’ sniff, so fur seemed like the next place to go.

PHAWKER: How do you feel about music reviewers constantly comparing your discography to acid and ’shroom trips?

TOBACCO: I think it’s getting pretty lazy. It’s become like the stock description for people who don’t want to take the time to understand it.

PHAWKER: Where were you/what were you doing when you found out Michael Jackson died? How did you react? Did you cry?

TOBACCO: I was working on a remix for Health. I stopped to watch the news for a second because I thought it was weird.

PHAWKER: Miley Cyrus vs. a werewolf. In your opinion, who would win?

TOBACCO: Somehow probably Pitchfork.

PHAWKER: Ever been to Eat ‘N Park? If so what’s your take?

TOBACCO: Yeah, I think Eat ‘N Park gets a bad rap with out-of-towners. I love it. I‘m there at least once a week.

PHAWKER: If applicable, what’s your favorite thing about being on tour?

TOBACCO: I don’t like being on tour, but it’s nice to kind of leave the worries at home.

PHAWKER: What will you miss most while on the road?

TOBACCO: MY TOTAL FREEDOM!

Orenda Fink // Ask the Night

Birmingham native and FT Saddle Creeker Orenda Fink finally sets a date for her second solo release. The official follow up to '05's "Invisible Ones," Fink's forthcoming full length "Ask the Night" drops Oct. 6th. In the eyes of the Big Ugly, Orenda can do no wrong. Let's just hope that her new album is accompanied by a tour.

"I'm bluffin' with my muffin"

Weezer's latest cover gives props to Lady Gaga and Prince wannabes MGMT. Both fondly familiar and most def. over played, the band's poptastic mash-up of "Poker Face" and "Kids" is unfortunately catchy, fun, and kind of weird. Liken to watching Rivers sing along to his iPod in the shower, Weezer's recent antics are (as always) aloof and hip.

A Bromance Bonanza

Release yesterday, Lynn Shelton's "Humpday" explores male bonding, marriage, and the disconnect between what we wish we were and what we actually are. Add in two BFFs (the happily married Ben and the Kerouacesque Andrew), a sexy event called Humpfest with a macho bet and you get this. Sorry kids, it looks like Philly show times for this flick are nil.

Facist Free Shopping Spree

Two days of LPs, band tees, and vintage everything. 50+ vendors selling their shit for cheap. Bike over to the Starlight Ballroom this weekend to support R5. Consider it philanthropy for Philly's music scene. Still in need of more motivation? Here's a quote from the horse's mouth. " All proceeds raised will go to the purchase of necessary equipment and supplies to ensure that all ages shows continue to remain a reality at The First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia," explains r5. "Do not let the name of the event lead you to believe that it's just punk records, clothes etc. - it's a full on flea market with everything from furniture to vegan treats." Sounds rad. Too bad I'm out of cash.

Shit's Bangin' Pt. 2

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BLOBFEST '09

Phoenixville pays homage to its claim to fame at the Colonial Theater.
Show your pride for low rate scifi and the Keystone State this weekend alongside friends and fans with a Tin Foil Hat contest and screenings of THE BLOB.