Indie Sounds NY & Austin

Five Minutes with Jared from The Sour Notes

Ringing in the New Year with an album release on January 1st are Austin's The Sour Notes. Lead singer Jared Boulanger dropped me an email to let me know, and I liked the music enough to chat to him some more ...


Photo by Eric Morales

Indie Sounds: You are about to release your third album, It's Not Gonna Be Pretty ... what can your fans expect?

Jared Boulanger: In all honesty, It's Not Gonna Be Pretty is the best album we'll ever release.  Being only our third album, I know that sounds pessimistic, but we've really put everything we've got into this album and it contains the finest moments of music and songwriting we'll ever achieve.

Massive Update to Violin Femmes Posted ...

Check out the update to Violin Femmes, now featuring nearly 60 rocking goddesses, including new addition Alison Zotlow.

Christmas Day Bonus - Suzanna Choffel Performs Gee Whiz It's Christmas

Pete's A-Z Of 2009 ... Part 4 ...

And for Christmas Eve, we conclude ...

U is for Uiscedwr. Pronunciation: ish-ca-door. It was pure web serendipity that led me to this Welsh/Irish/Anglo folk/rock duo, who I have yet to see live. They just released their superb third album - Fish Cat Door - recorded against a backdrop of personal medical challenges for violinist Anna Esslemont. So it's in inspiration in ways, as well as being great music.

Pete's A-Z Of 2009 ... Part 3 ...

I just cannot stop ... here is N to T ...

N is for Noelle Hampton. Noelle is pretty new to me - I've only seen her perform a couple of times but I'll definitely be checking her out some more in 2010. She's done the Lilith Fair thing, opened for Dylan and Wilco, had her struggles with the music business, and is now in Austin, with a splendid new record Thin Line.

Pete's A-Z Of 2009 ... Part 2 ...

Continuing my highlights of 2009 ... with G to M ...

G is for Genius.  And Austin's Danny Malone certainly qualifies for that characterization. Take a singer/songwriter with a requisite awesome album - Cuddlebug - and add in a live show including dance moves and sometimes a full modern dance routine, and the result is 'WTF' mesmerizing. More on Danny here.

Pete's A-Z Of 2009 ... Part 1 ...

Indie Sounds is taking a little break from its usual coverage this Christmas week.  Instead, I am looking back at 2009 and highlighting what made it musically memorable for me ... with a bent towards many acts I've discovered since moving to Austin in the summer ...

A is for Alejandro Escovedo. I became a bit of an Alejandro stalker this year, catching shows in London, Northampton (Mass.) and many in Austin.  Whether they were duos with ace guitarist David Pulkingham, trios including Susan Voelz on violin, his four- or six-piece rock combos, or even his 15-strong orchestra, they were all truly enjoyable and memorable case studies in how to put on an awesome show.  In particular, the orchestra show at this year's SXSW was the standout of the week.  And more recently, his 'sessions' series at The Continental have been incredible nights.


  
As a friend stated on his Facebook page ... "If there's a better rock band in Austin than Alejandro please tell me about it - actually, don't bother, because there isn't." I like this.

Weekend Bonus ... Jason Poe @ The Sessions

Jason Poe performs You and Me at The Sessions in November.  Video by Jose Jones Films.

Pete's Weekend Picks: Drew, Suzanna and Ian

For Austin:



Drew Smith's Lonely Choir @ 10pm, Suzanna Choffel at midnight.  Saturday at Momo's.

For NYC:



Ian Axel plays The Canal Room tonight.  Doors at 7pm.  Ian is preceded by Honey Larochelle and Greg Holden.  Look out for Ian's debut album on January 5th.

Spinning On Harris Radio: The Blue Hit

The Harris Radio podcast #7 includes the song Five-Cent Fare from Austin's The Blue Hit, taken from their Move In album.



Buy the album at CD Baby or download it from iTunes.