Psyko Steve & Luckyman Concerts Present:
BAD BOOKS
THE DROWNING MEN, HARRISON HUDSON
Fri, October 12, 2012
Doors: 7:30 pm / Show: 8:30 pm
Crescent Ballroom$14 Advance - $18 Day of Show
Tickets Available at the Door
This event is 16 and over
Bad Books (featuring Kevin Devine & Manchester Orchestra)
http://www.crescentphx.com/event/152157/Facebook comments:
BAD BOOKS
A true accident if there ever was one; Bad Books was never an intended nor calculated side project of Kevin Devine and Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull. Though the two musicians have collaborated and performed together on tour and within the Favorite Gentlemen community of artists for years now, the genesis of Bad Books came from a simple idea to fill space and time off the road by collaborating on a small batch of songs together at the top of the year. With no agenda and no expectations, what was birthed just one week later was Bad Books, a fully realized album encompassing five compositions each from both Devine and Hull, with the members of Manchester Orchestra filling out the sound and the band. The self-titled debut will be released October 19th, 2010 via Favorite Gentlemen Recordings, the record label that was founded and has been run by Manchester Orchestra since 2007.
As songwriters go, Hull and Devine could not be further apart in terms of creative approach. The methodical wordsmith Devine, an English major from Fordham, is known to pine away for great lengths of time just to accurately pin-point one word within a lyric. “I was doing a take of ‘You’re A Mirror I Cannot Avoid’ and stopped myself for fifteen minutes because I was having trouble justifying ending two lines in the same chorus with the word ‘back.’ Just sitting there, staring at the screen, writing different word choices. I asked Andy if he thought it mattered, and he said, ‘Of course it doesn’t.’ Somewhere in that exchange is I think what differentiates us as songwriters. I think Andy trusts his instincts to lead him to the right place in a song, and sometimes I want to outthink my instincts because I’m scared of repeating myself, of resting on my laurels. And I think together, those two approaches meshed really, really well,” Devine said.
Hull echoes that sentiment: “Kevin is very meticulous, where I came in with a few ideas and fleshed them out literally as we were recording. Kevin’s songs were awesome and he was cool enough for me to throw in some ideas to change a part or add a bridge here or there.”
In contrast to previous outputs from Manchester Orchestra and Devine, Bad Books cradles a much more noticeable pop aesthetic and energy than either artist has probably ever showcased before. Nowhere is this more evident than in songs like “You Wouldn’t Have To Ask” and “Holding Down the Laughter”.
Engineered by Robert McDowell (of Manchester Orchestra) with help from drummer Ben Homola, and mixed by Chris Bracco (of Devine’s ‘Goddamn Band’), Bad Books progressed in the most organic and natural way possible. Free from any boundaries or restrictions, Devine and Hull were able to craft a beautiful body of melodies, highlighting arcs of high and low throughout, and utilizing the stark imagery and storytelling for which both of them are known. “There was no governing framework,” Devine says: “No, ‘let’s write these kind of songs and say these kind of things’. We just wrote, arranged and played each song to its end, followed where it led, and I think it brought us both to some pretty unexpected places.”
For Devine, Hull, and the rest of Manchester Orchestra, choosing the direction of the road less travelled resulted in sonic harmonies and woven textures that meshed what these best friends do best. Some accidents were just meant to be.
As songwriters go, Hull and Devine could not be further apart in terms of creative approach. The methodical wordsmith Devine, an English major from Fordham, is known to pine away for great lengths of time just to accurately pin-point one word within a lyric. “I was doing a take of ‘You’re A Mirror I Cannot Avoid’ and stopped myself for fifteen minutes because I was having trouble justifying ending two lines in the same chorus with the word ‘back.’ Just sitting there, staring at the screen, writing different word choices. I asked Andy if he thought it mattered, and he said, ‘Of course it doesn’t.’ Somewhere in that exchange is I think what differentiates us as songwriters. I think Andy trusts his instincts to lead him to the right place in a song, and sometimes I want to outthink my instincts because I’m scared of repeating myself, of resting on my laurels. And I think together, those two approaches meshed really, really well,” Devine said.
Hull echoes that sentiment: “Kevin is very meticulous, where I came in with a few ideas and fleshed them out literally as we were recording. Kevin’s songs were awesome and he was cool enough for me to throw in some ideas to change a part or add a bridge here or there.”
In contrast to previous outputs from Manchester Orchestra and Devine, Bad Books cradles a much more noticeable pop aesthetic and energy than either artist has probably ever showcased before. Nowhere is this more evident than in songs like “You Wouldn’t Have To Ask” and “Holding Down the Laughter”.
Engineered by Robert McDowell (of Manchester Orchestra) with help from drummer Ben Homola, and mixed by Chris Bracco (of Devine’s ‘Goddamn Band’), Bad Books progressed in the most organic and natural way possible. Free from any boundaries or restrictions, Devine and Hull were able to craft a beautiful body of melodies, highlighting arcs of high and low throughout, and utilizing the stark imagery and storytelling for which both of them are known. “There was no governing framework,” Devine says: “No, ‘let’s write these kind of songs and say these kind of things’. We just wrote, arranged and played each song to its end, followed where it led, and I think it brought us both to some pretty unexpected places.”
For Devine, Hull, and the rest of Manchester Orchestra, choosing the direction of the road less travelled resulted in sonic harmonies and woven textures that meshed what these best friends do best. Some accidents were just meant to be.
THE DROWNING MEN
When The Drowning Men formed back in 2006, the product of a childhood friendship between Bardeen, Dolan and Eisenkerch, the idea wasn't to make a career, but to make music. The band, who added Messer and Smith into the mix, musicians who were equally instrumental to the formation of the group, practiced at least three days a week and a self-released an EP, Kill the Matador, in 2007. The group's debut album, The Beheading of the Songbird, followed in 2009, again released on their own. Bardeen, a prolific songwriter who is always penning new tunes, was ready again with new music by 2010, encouraging the band to begin work on what would eventually become their second full-length, All of the Unknown.
Initially intending to record an EP, the group headed into Hurley Studios in Costa Mesa, CA in January of 2011 where they recorded five new tracks with producer Billy Mohler (Macy Gray, Jimmy Chamberlin Complex). In the studio Mohler became like the sixth band member, helping the musicians expand upon the tracks they'd been working on. "He brought a lot to the table," Smith says. "Billy is an amazing communicator. He thinks really fast musically and he's great at hooks and choruses. He would just do really simple things to make a good song great. He could give the song exactly what it needed all along."
In the studio it became clear that The Drowning Men were actually crafting tracks for their second full-length, but before they had time to write and record additional songs touring opportunities poured in. The group spent the rest of 2011 on the road, opening for Alkaline Trio, Airborne Toxic Event and, most notably, Flogging Molly, who liked the band's music so much they signed the group to their brand new label Borstal Beat Records. The label re- released The Beheading of the Songbird and sent them back into the studio in early 2012 to finish its follow-up.
The second session for All of the Unknown took place Main + Market in Venice, CA on and off during January and February 2012, again with Mohler at the helm. Here the disc began to take a more complete shape, driven by Bardeen's clear-minded songwriting intent. "I had visions for each song individually," Bardeen says. "For the whole album I wanted to set a mood that's constant throughout the whole thing. I wanted to capture unique moments of feeling."
The resulting album, which was completed in April, embraces this sensibility, but also juxtaposes that feeling with a spirited musicality that offers temporary respite from the loneliness. From the visceral introspection of "I Am the Beggar Man," which Bardeen says "captures us as a whole, musically and lyrically," to "Lost In a Lullaby," the disc's first single, which Smith describes as a "solid song that's us," All of the Unknown pulls in a vast range of influences and stylistic tendencies. Bardeen's love for songwriters like Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave culls together with the wide-reaching musical backgrounds of his bandmates, allowing the songs to become expansive and indefinable.
Now it's clear that by making music The Drowning Men actually did make a career. Their gritty, thoughtful tracks revel in originality, something that is simply the product of five musicians creating something as one. All of the Unknown inflates this further, evolving the music from the group's past releases to embody grander choruses and involve bigger musical payoffs. But as the band prepares to tour extensively on the new disc, the music is still the underlying motivation. "I just want to write songs and play them," Bardeen says. "Hopefully people like them. But if they don't, I'll still write them and we'll still play them."
Initially intending to record an EP, the group headed into Hurley Studios in Costa Mesa, CA in January of 2011 where they recorded five new tracks with producer Billy Mohler (Macy Gray, Jimmy Chamberlin Complex). In the studio Mohler became like the sixth band member, helping the musicians expand upon the tracks they'd been working on. "He brought a lot to the table," Smith says. "Billy is an amazing communicator. He thinks really fast musically and he's great at hooks and choruses. He would just do really simple things to make a good song great. He could give the song exactly what it needed all along."
In the studio it became clear that The Drowning Men were actually crafting tracks for their second full-length, but before they had time to write and record additional songs touring opportunities poured in. The group spent the rest of 2011 on the road, opening for Alkaline Trio, Airborne Toxic Event and, most notably, Flogging Molly, who liked the band's music so much they signed the group to their brand new label Borstal Beat Records. The label re- released The Beheading of the Songbird and sent them back into the studio in early 2012 to finish its follow-up.
The second session for All of the Unknown took place Main + Market in Venice, CA on and off during January and February 2012, again with Mohler at the helm. Here the disc began to take a more complete shape, driven by Bardeen's clear-minded songwriting intent. "I had visions for each song individually," Bardeen says. "For the whole album I wanted to set a mood that's constant throughout the whole thing. I wanted to capture unique moments of feeling."
The resulting album, which was completed in April, embraces this sensibility, but also juxtaposes that feeling with a spirited musicality that offers temporary respite from the loneliness. From the visceral introspection of "I Am the Beggar Man," which Bardeen says "captures us as a whole, musically and lyrically," to "Lost In a Lullaby," the disc's first single, which Smith describes as a "solid song that's us," All of the Unknown pulls in a vast range of influences and stylistic tendencies. Bardeen's love for songwriters like Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave culls together with the wide-reaching musical backgrounds of his bandmates, allowing the songs to become expansive and indefinable.
Now it's clear that by making music The Drowning Men actually did make a career. Their gritty, thoughtful tracks revel in originality, something that is simply the product of five musicians creating something as one. All of the Unknown inflates this further, evolving the music from the group's past releases to embody grander choruses and involve bigger musical payoffs. But as the band prepares to tour extensively on the new disc, the music is still the underlying motivation. "I just want to write songs and play them," Bardeen says. "Hopefully people like them. But if they don't, I'll still write them and we'll still play them."
HARRISON HUDSON
The American rock n' roll of the '50s and '60s ran on raw, unfiltered emotion, and was driven by ardent soul. The muscle cars, steel mechanics, and never ending highways were the image, but the spirit was inherit in the far reaching melodies and layered vocals -- the ideal at the heart of American Thunder, Harrison Hudson's third full-length album. Behind the languishing spacious guitars and the overall smooth vibe there is Hudson himself, sharing the best moments of the American rock radio that lavished his childhood.