New Music Monday – 6/13/16

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So here’s our second New Music Monday post. We’ve tweaked a few things since our inaugural New Music Monday and now have short write-ups from our contributors.

If you’d like more information about any of these acts or want to pick the brains of our contributors, you can comment here on the site or — preferably — comment on the post that links here on the hissing lawns Facebook page.

We’ve embedded these 11 albums, songs, and videos in random order, with a few picks from Kayne Lanahan up first. Enjoy.

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Neko Case, K.D. Lang and Laura Veirs
“Best Kept Secret” from the forthcoming album Case/Lang/Veirs, out June 17th on Anti- Records, streaming now at NPR.

No one likes the label “supergroup” so let’s just go with “three bad ass women”. Veirs takes the lead on this catchy track but the whole album deserves to be your dinner party soundtrack for summer of ’16. – Kayne

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Kaleo
Iceland
Debut album A/B now available

Iceland’s Kaleo have trickled out several big singles over the past year but A/B is their first full length album. Side A is filled with soulful blues rock, Side B slows things down. You can catch them on Late Night with Seth Meyers Tuesday night (6/14/16) – Kayne

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Larry Jack’s Magical Music Tour 6/9/16 – 6/14/16

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Hey guys,
Looks like another big week ahead, starting with a good show at the Jinx and Barrelhouse tonight. Of course, Friday and Saturday have plenty of good music around too. I would like to point out the Midtown Pickers Benefit show on Saturday. There will be plenty of good vibes at that show. There will be a silent auction proceeds will benefit Hospice Savannah. You can read more about it in the Connect and Do this week. After the show at bar.food, be sure to head down to the Jinx for a night of cover bands. I can pretty much guarantee you that will be a fun night. If not, I’ll buy you a beer next time I see you.

Thursday 9th
Hooten Hallers (MO hillbilly rock), AM Rodriguez Band (Sav’h country punk) – Jinx ($5)
Heavy Pets (FL rock) – Barrelhouse South

Friday 10th
Waits & Co. (Sav’h Americana) – Wyld Dock Bar
Danielle Hicks & The Resistance (Sav’h rock) – Rail Pub (7-10p)
Xuluprophet (Sav’h rock) – Sentient Bean
Funk You (Augusta funk-rock) – Barrelhouse South
General Patton and the Heads of State (Sav’h rock) – Molly MacPherson’s
Reckless Abandon – Congress Street Social Club
Wave Slaves (Sav’h surf rock), Mermers (FL goth surf), Hypnotics (Sav’h garage rock) – Jinx ($5)
Love Cop (OR), Funeral Gold (OR), Perpetual Care (Sav’h) – Wormhole ($5)

Saturday 11th
Midtown Pickers Hospice Fundraiser – BarFood (7-11p)
Guns 4 Hire, Wild Wisteria – Coach’s Corner ($15/20)
Whaleboat (Sav’h rock) – Andaz Hotel (8p)
Ray Fulcher (Nashville), Lyn Avenue (Sav’h country) – Barrelhouse South
Thomas Claxton (Sav’h rock), Magic Rocks (Sav’h classic rock) – Bayou Cafe
Orange Constant (Statesboro jam band) – Molly MacPherson’s
Rock & Roll Cover Band Night – Jinx
Baby Baby (Atlanta party rock) – Congress Street Social Club
Broken Glow (Sav’h rock), Anchor Detail (NC post punk), Mercury Dimes (NC indie rock), Heyzeus Chrysler (NC post rock), Sawhorse (NC indie folk) – Wormhole

Monday 13th
Dead End Lane (MD punk), Dead Oak, DudeMan (FL), BroManDude – Jinx
Sunglow (Sav’h electronica), Jeff Zagers (Sav’h), Macula Dog (NY), Tender Cruncher – Sulfur Studios ($5, all ages)

Tuesday 14th
Ray Lundy (Bottles & Cans frontman) – Foxy Loxy Cafe (7-10p)

American Aquarium, Radio Birds, PeeWee Moore at The Jinx – more photos

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Caila did a great job covering this Jinx show, I don’t have a lot to add, really. Lots of new faces in the crowd, due to American Aquarium‘s growing popularity and the high quality of some of the newer, honest, country/Americana music being crafted currently (see also: Sturgill Simpson, Caleb Caudle, Parker Millsap). The band seemed in great spirits, as did the crowd, except for some fairly loud bitching that they didn’t play “Savannah Almost Killed Me”. I thought PeeWee Moore‘s set was fantastic, and the crowd seemed to dig Radio Birds. Fun (super late) night. I took some pictures, check them out.

American Aquarium-8

Pee Wee Moore-4

Radio Birds-1

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Five Questions with Cold Heart Canyon – Interview with photos & video

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In continuing to document the Americana/Roots Music bridge between Savannah & Atlanta I recently asked Robert Green of Cold Heart Canyon to answer a few questions. Followers of ours may already be familiar with Robert from his role as sideman extraordinaire in Caleb & The Gents, and he stays about as busy gigging in various outfits as Savannah’s own Jay Rudd & Cory Chambers of City Hotel. That being said, he takes a bit more than a sideman role in CHC, and the result is a great combination of musicians writing & performing together as a band, as opposed to there being a single figurehead. Tongue-in-cheek I’ll admit that Robert’s bandmates are are a lot easier on the eyes, however they’re no less talented, and certainly not a gimmick-band…but I digress.

The following are five questions that I sent him via email with photos & video added for this post.

Cold Heart Canyon

Cold Heart Canyon

hissing lawns: Who is Cold Heart Canyon, and would you please give our readers a basic run-down on the band’s history….

Robert Green: Rachael Petit and myself started Cold Heart Canyon right around 2 years ago. It began as simply as playing in the living room and revisiting some of Rachael’s old tunes and making it our own. Shortly after we started co-writing with each other, our friend Jenna Mobley joined on and that is when we really started to dial in our sound!
 
CHC is a new take on an old tradition. Even though we have elements of Americana, Bluegrass, and Pop, we somehow came up with this eclectic sound that is of it’s own. Folks have described our music as being “theatrical” and “edgy”, but truthfully we are just writing and playing what comes naturally to us! Trying out new things has always been on the forefront of the process, but we still add in components of our previous experiences, both in our stories and musical influences, that help bring it all together. It’s been a hell of a thing being part of the progress thus far, and I can’t wait to see where this path is bringing us!

HL: How is the Atlanta Roots/Americana scene, and do you find Atlanta to be hot, warm, or cold to the type of music that you perform?

RG: The Americana/Roots/Bluegrass community is as strong as it could be! The supporters of the music are some of the best people around, and we’ve built friendships like no other because of it. The shows are always on point with some of the best songwriters and bands in and around the area! Everyone involved (listeners and players) has a strong sense of community when it comes to supporting each other. Whether it is coming to each other’s shows, collaborating, filling in with other groups, or even touring with one another, we all have each other’s backs. We couldn’t ask for a better musical family than what we have here!

HL: What does CHC have ‘in the works’ for this summer & are you planning on doing any touring?

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Album Review: The Anxiety Junkies – “Gentrified Homicide”

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The Anxiety Junkies – Gentrified Homicide

One of the great things about the music scene in Savannah isn’t just that great artists migrate this way, but also that Savannah cultivates unsuspecting dabblers into great artists. Not that other local scenes aren’t great, but the mixture of students and transplants trying to find themselves seems to react with the natural catalyst that is Savannah to create something unique. It could be the need to rebel against the homogeneity that seeps into nooks of the South, it could be the close knit network of artists who take care of each other like family, or it could just be something in the water. Regardless, every now and then, something special spawns from that fated combination of ambition and circumstance. Case in point: The Anxiety Junkies. In the two years plus years that they’ve been a band, they’ve grown in leaps and bounds and their newest album release certainly reflects that.

Gentrified Homicide is the sophomore release from The Anxiety Junkies, the now four-piece punk outfit who have come quite a long way since their humble beginnings as a trio playing covers of classic hardcore legends like Minor Threat and Black Flag. They’ve taken the Savannah music scene by storm not only with raucous, mosh pit laden house shows, but by also translating that same energy and enthusiasm into their shows at the larger venues around downtown. It comes as no surprise that Gentrified Homicide, released on Savannah’s own Bomb Shelter Records, translates that same fever into an unadulterated, 25-minute showcase of punk rock prowess.

Gentrified Homicide is more than your average, homegrown punk album. Sure, it carries all of the elements you would expect from punk or hardcore album. It’s brimming with frustration and aggression which it heartily delivers via speedy riffs guitar riffs, but it also displays several other influences the band has picked up over their two years together. Songs like “Heaven And Hell” may start deceptively calm and controlled but quickly pick up to a frenzy during the verse as Mills begins to bark and snap over the chaos that Greenberg, Dirkx, and Benkert whip up. Meanwhile, other tracks like “Stompin’ Shit” juxtapose a trudging verse with a groove heavy, nearly surfy chorus. The entire experience lures you in with what you expect and then wallops you with something fun and unexpected.

Gentrified Homicide is about the closest thing that you can find right now to emulating that jolt of exhilaration and slight apprehension that one feels when getting caught in a mosh in a sweaty little venue just as a band begins to tear through a set. It’s fun, it’s loud, and, most importantly, it rips. Give it a spin or 3 and be sure to experience their full effect at their next show.

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American Aquarium, Radio Birds, PeeWee Moore at The Jinx – photos

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Savannah favorites American Aquarium returned to The Jinx last Friday at the start of their summer tour — and fresh off of opening for the legendary Willie Nelson at Sweetland Amphitheatre.

Opening was outlaw country singer PeeWee Moore and The Awful Dreadful Snakes, accompanied by the familiar face (and pedal steel guitar) of Igor Fiksman. Following their set was Radio Birds, whose southern rock set amped up the crowd for headliners American Aquarium.

A few songs in, BJ reminded the crowd of a conversation he had with club owner Susanne when they first started playing Savannah. In it, he promised her that they would always play at The Jinx when they were in Savannah — and even though they’ve played increasingly bigger venues over the years, they’ve kept that promise.

On a personal note, I’ve known BJ for almost a decade — going back to radio interviews with the original lineup(s) from around 2008 when they first started playing Savannah. I’m so proud of how far they’ve come, and that the success of Burn. Flicker. Die. and Wolves has propelled them to new heights. Look for his solo album, Rockingham, later this summer.

Check out some photos below, and more after the jump!

PeeWee Moore and the Awful Dreadful Snakes

PeeWee Moore and the Awful Dreadful Snakes

Radio Birds

Radio Birds

American Aquarium

American Aquarium

American Aquarium

American Aquarium

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introducing New Music Monday — 6/6/2016

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Welcome to our first New Music Monday. We’ve struggled here at hissing lawns to keep up with everything we’d like to cover, especially new releases by Savannah acts and by some of our out-of-town faves. Album reviews are time-consuming, and, as a blog totally staffed by volunteers, we just don’t have the resources to do it all.

So today we begin an experiment. Every Monday, similar to many other sites, we hope to have a post with embedded music that seems relevant to our readers. Down the road, we might include more mini-reviews and specify which of our contributors are listening to what, but for this first post, we’re just presenting an unsorted list of some top new releases from the Savannah area and beyond.

Many new records come out on Fridays, so Monday seems like a good day for this weekly post. For the first few weeks, we’re likely to include some “new-ish” music — records that have dropped in recent weeks — but as time goes on we hope to get rid of the backlog.

As you sample some of the music here, please take a moment to click on through to the linked sites — like the bands on Facebook, consider purchases via a website or Bandcamp, add artists to your Spotify playlists. In other words, show your support.

If you’ve got a suggestion for an album, song, or video that we should include in future posts, the best way to reach us is generally via message on the hissing lawns Facebook page.

So let’s get on with it:

The Casket Girls: The Night Machines
Savannah
Click here for info on the 6/8 Savannah show featuring The Casket Girls and other Graveface bands.

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Dirty Heads, Moon Taxi at SCAD’s 2016 New Alumni Graduation Concert – photos

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Forsyth Park was packed with new alumni, current students, and what seemed like a whole mess of Dirty Heads fans for the Savannah College of Art and Design’s New Alumni graduation concert with Dirty Heads and Moon Taxi.

Moon Taxi remarked on the oddness of the barricaded-off remnants of the fountain in front of the bandshell. In response, flower crown bedecked girls crowded the barricades as much as they could, adding to the already robust crowd.

During the set break the crowd had seemingly doubled; or, at least, the crowd in front of the stage. Weaving my way in and out of the Dirty Heads fans I was reminded of why a concert like this is such a gift — bringing together everyone from diehard fans to families to enjoy a beautiful night in Forsyth Park.

Check out some photos below, and more after the jump!

Moon Taxi

Moon Taxi

Moon Taxi

Moon Taxi

Dirty Heads

Dirty Heads

Dirty Heads

Dirty Heads

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Larry Jack’s Magical Music Tour – 6/3/16 – 6/8/16

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Hey guys,
It looks like another good week ahead. I noticed that there are several all-ages shows around town this weekend. Don’t forget that the SCAD Graduation Concert in Forsyth Park on Friday is at 7pm. The Blues, Jazz, and BBQ Festival is at River Street on Friday and Saturday. American Aquarium returns to the Jinx on Friday. Saturday night brings several interesting choices, including a few out of town shows in Bluffton and Springfield. And don’t forget the Graveface show at Southern Pines on Wednesday.  See ya’ll around somewhere.

Friday 3rd
Hitman (5-7p), Greg Williams (8-10p) – Blues, Jazz, BBQ on River Street  (4-10p)
Dirty Heads (CA reggae-rock), Moon Taxi (Nashville rock) – Forsyth Park SCAD Graduation (7p)
Anna Chandler, Pat Bunger, Brandon McCoy – Jinx Singer-songwriter Happy Hour (6-8p)
American Aquarium (NC alt-country), Radio Birds (Atl rock), Peewee Moore (outlaw country) – Jinx ($12)
Those Cats (Statesboro soul-funk) – Molly MacPherson’s
Wood and Steel (Sav’h rock), The Mustard (Sav’h funk) – Barrelhouse South

Saturday 4th
Cory Chambers Jazz Band (11-1p), Danielle Hicks & The Resistance (1-3p), Jacey Falk (5-7p), Bottles & Cans (7-10p) – Blues, Jazz, BBQ on River Street (10a-10p)
Markus Kuhlman, Craig Tanner, Isaac Smith, AM Rodriguez – Jinx Singer-songwriter Happy Hour (6-9p)
Demun Jones (country hip-hop) – Coach’s Corner  ($20/25)
Hip Abduction (FL afropop), Kota Mundi (Sav’h reggae-rock) – Barrelhouse South
Megan Jean & The KFB (SC Americana) – Abe’s on Lincoln
Nive & The Deer Children (Greenladic folk-pop) – Roasting Room (Bluffton)
KidSyc@Brandywine (Sav’h hip-hop) – Congress Street Social Club
Universal Sigh (Athens metamorphic rock) – Molly MacPherson’s
Tribute: A Celebration of the Allman Brothers Band – Mars Theater ($25)
Liquid Ginger (Sav’h rock covers) – Boomy’s

Sunday 5th
Hired Gun (TX punk), United Races (TX punk), Feeding Tube (Sav’h punk), Sherman’s Boot (Sav’h punk), Mainline Search Party – Sulfur Studios ($5, 7p)

Monday 6th
Main Street Trio (Sav’h jazz funk) – El-Rocko (6p)
Craig Tanner & Mr. Williams Open Mic – Abe’s On Lincoln

Tuesday 7th
Joe Nelson (Sav’h roots music) – Foxy Loxy Cafe (7p)
Nickel Bag Of Funk Purple Party (Sav’h R&B) – Barrelhouse South
Ben Keiser Band (Sav’h rock) – Bay St Blues
Eric Culberson Open Jam – Bayou Cafe

Wednesday 8th
Casket Girls, Stardeath and the White Dwarfs, Hospital Ships, Marshmallow Ghosts, Wet Socks – Southern Pines ($15, 7p, Graveface Roadshow Kickoff, all ages)
Anders Thomsen Band (Sav’h rock) – El-Rocko (7p)

Three singer-songwriter showcases coming up this weekend in Savannah

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Singer-songwriter A.M. Rodriguez tells us this week that he’s hoping to do more to support the broader community of songwriters in Savannah. After a big success with an early evening show recently at The Jinx , Rodriguez and The Jinx are teaming up to present happy hour songwriter showcases on both Friday, June 3rd and Saturday, June 4th.

If you know the musicians listed on the poster below, you already know that there will be plenty of talent on stage each night. And if you don’t know the artists, that’s all the more reason to check them out.

Click here for more details on Friday’s show and here for more on Saturday’s songwriters in the round.

JinxSongwriters

On Sunday, June 5th, the longstanding Savannah Songwriters Series will hold the June show at their newish home at the Tybee Post Theater. Megan McMillan, Greg Williams, Phillip Wise, and Robert Cooper are scheduled to perform.

Again, that’s an impressive and varied list of artists. Click here for more information.

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COEDS will release debut album “Thrill Me!” on New Granada Records

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We love us some COEDS here at hissing lawns, and we’re thrilled to announce that the foursome has teamed up with New Granada Records for the release of their debut album Thrill Me! on Sept. 2nd.

Savannah-based COEDS will play a release show at The Jinx on Sept. 10th at The Jinx, with Starbenders from Atlanta and another band TBD.

Check out the new track “Too Cool for School” which was released at a show this past Saturday at The Jinx:

When you start listening to COEDS, you want more and more. Check out the video released late last year for “Do the Beast Stomp,” which will also be on the upcoming 13-track album:

We caught up with COEDS — Anna Chandler on guitar and vocals, Phillip Price on guitar and vocals, Jeremiah Stuard on bass, and Donald Moats on drums — for a q+a about their signature sound and about working with the well-established New Granada Records.

hissing lawns: Hey COEDS, congrats on the affiliation with New Granada Records! Can you share a little background on the affiliation?

Anna Chandler: Thanks! We got to know New Granada’s Keith Ulrey when he was booking some Savannah dates for New Granada bands. He invited us to come play in Tampa, where New Granada is based, and we had a fantastic time, kept in touch, and made our way back down there several times.

I know we were really struck by the dedication he and his wife and NG teammate, Susie, have to making a positive impact on not only their hometown scene but the regional and East Coast indie scene. They’ve been running New Granada for 20 years, putting out music that speaks to them and keeping a real community feel to the whole operation. We’re proud to be affiliated with their efforts.

hl: The four of you have some impressive resumes, but you come from some really varied backgrounds — folk rock, punk, heavier stuff. How have these different genres contributed to the COEDS sound?

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Black Tusk, Cray Bags, and Lies in Stone at Sulfur Studios – photos

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Black Tusk only plays hometown shows a couple of times a year, and you never know what’s going to happen — or who’s going to show up.

Actually, there’s one thing you know will happen: Andrew, James, and Corey will slay the room with their increasingly tight, sometimes-manic melding of sludge metal and punk.

Black Tusk is headed for Australia and New Zealand in early August, and then they’ll be headed out on an extended fall tour later in the year. They’ll play Damnation Festival in the UK in November. So Saturday’s show at Sulfur Studios wasn’t exactly your usual Black Tusk gig or venue. The all-ages space doesn’t have a stage or appropriate lighting — it’s a freaking art gallery after all — but Black Tusk sounded as powerful as ever and the guys seemed to relish the feeling of playing in a cheaply finished basement (acoustic tile and all). I’m sure it was a night to remember for the teenagers who showed up.

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Cray Bags — “the artist formerly known as Crazy Bag Lady,” Josh Sterno said between songs — brought their usual stuff, and their usual stuff is pretty great. The band has stretched out a little from the in-your-face retro punk that first grabbed the city’s attention, and I sure hope their second album gets out into the world soon. Our own Petee Worrell has already written a review of an advance copy of Beauty Love.

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It would have been a great night with just Black Tusk and Cray Bags, but Saturday’s show also marked the debut of Lies in Stone. The four-piece might be new to the scene, but its members sure aren’t.

Victoria Scalisi, of the legendary and influential Damad (several of whose members founded Kylesa), fronts Lies in Stone, and her heavy, growling vocals were probably the loudest sounds of the night. Astonishing. Victoria didn’t drop completely out of the scene — she was also a member of Karst in the mid-2000s — but I could feel some what ifs lingering in the crowded gallery. Lies in Stone also includes drummer Scott Cooper (also from Damad), bassist Ben Maher (Dead Yet?), and guitarist Burke Stewart, who seems to live life in a perpetual spotlight. You will be hearing from them again.

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Given the lousy lighting, the limited venue, and my occasional resorting to flash, these photos aren’t quite what I usually do. Click on through for lots more:

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