City Hotel launches Kickstarter to finish second album

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city hotel-3photo by Jon Waits

Savannah born and bred alt-bluegrass outfit City Hotel – who takes their name from a 19th-century hotel where Moon River Brewing Company is today – just finished recording their sophomore studio effort, and now are looking for backers to help get it out.

They launched a Kickstarter campaign this week to get the final bit of funds for the album’s release.

If you’ve been around Savannah in the last year or so, there’s a damn good chance you saw the boys (Cory Chambers, Jay Rudd, Anthony Teixeira and Aaron Paul Zimmer) of City Hotel. They play a constant stream of shows, and have rightfully earned a regular spot in the Savannah music scene, as well as a 2013 “Best of Savannah” accolade.

Dogged Days is an 11-track album with eight original tunes recorded at Savannah’s Elevated Basement Studios (Gregg Allman, Black Tusk, Cusses, Soap, Accomplices, Super Horse, Bear Fight!, Bela Fleck, Chris Thile, and many more!)

One of the non-original tracks on the new album is a song written by a friend of the band, Ernie Palmer.

“City Hotel has honored me greatly by recording one of my songs, ‘Gainesville Mill,’ on their new album, Dogged Days. When I first wrote the song, I thought it was pretty good. Then I heard City Hotel perform it and their version is fantastic. Check it out,” Palmer commented on the Kickstarter page.

They have set a goal of $3,500, and as of the evening of Jan. 18 they’ve received almost $400 in pledges from seven backers. The drive will end Feb. 15 with digital copies available in March and physical ones in April.

There are a lot of talented musicians in Savannah, but I rank these four in the top tier of that list. Melding traditional bluegrass music with solid modern songwriting and a contemporary sensibility concerning their music, City Hotel properly carries the traditions of an American art form into the future.

I have no doubt the new album will be a great listen. Check out their first album here: link

The packages available range from $10 – $1,000 and grow in intensity. Some of the higher levels feature some pretty unique rewards. Or, at least some that I am seeing for the first time. Some of these are an original tune written for the backer (your choice of theme), signed lyric sheets, and a live album recorded at Red Clay Theatre.

Soap Box: Support for local anything is support for Savannah. In this case, some really fine local musicians. End Soap Box transmission.

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city hotel-2photo by Jon Waits

River Whyless, Family and Friends, A.M. Rodriguez at Savannah Stopover lineup announcement at The Jinx – photos

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Savannah Stopover hosted the festival’s Sched Party on Friday night at The Jinx. We’ve already posted about the dozens more bands that were added for the 5th annual Stopover, and we’ll have lots more coverage and previews in the coming weeks.

There was an excellent crowd on Friday night for River Whyless, Family and Friends, and A.M. Rodriguez. Family and Friends from Athens and Savannah-based A.M. Rodriguez will both be performing at Stopover, while River Whyless has played the festival a couple of times before. River Whyless has a new EP coming out this week, and Family and Friends — who sold out the Georgia Theatre in Athens last week — will have a new EP coming out later this year.

The three bands’ styles fit together beautifully on Friday — the solo alt-country of A.M. Rodriguez, the high-energy folk-influenced passionate songs of Family and Friends, and the artful, subtle and beautiful sound of River Whyless. The sets were punctuated by Stopover founder and CEO Kayne Lanahan and The Jinx’s Gil Cruz taking the stage as Kayne announced bands and drew raffle tickets.

I had both my hardy Nikon D7000 and my new Fujifilm x100t with me, so maybe a few more pics than usual. Lots of red, as usual, in The Jinx lighting and background. A few here and lots more after the jump:

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Gregg Allman with Amanda Shires at Johnny Mercer Theatre – photos

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I’ve been hearing nothing but raves today about Gregg Allman’s show last night with opener Amanda Shires at the Johnny Mercer Theatre here in Savannah.

Thanks to Ann Sosbe of One Horse Photography for sharing these images with us. Lots more pics after the jump — big files, give ’em a second to load. Please share your thoughts on the show either in the comments here on the blog or on the hissing lawns Facebook page.

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Savannah Stopover announces 2015 lineup, over 100 acts playing March 5-7

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The 5th annual Savannah Stopover has announced the full lineup (well, almost all of it) for March 5-7, 2015. Over 100 bands — including 18 based in Savannah — will perform over Stopover V’s three days and nights.

As previously announced, the opening night event outside at Trustees Garden will feature Southern Culture On The Skids, and we had lots of other info about the initial lineup in our post from November with the first wave of 2015 Savannah Stopover bands. After SCOTS finishes up at Trustees Garden on 3/5, the music will begin in a variety of relatively tightly clustered venues in downtown Savannah. This year’s festival will have shows at Hang Fire, The Jinx, Club One, Congress Street Social Club, the Beer Garden at Moon River Brewing Company and — perhaps most interestingly — Trinity United Methodist Church. Another venue (or two?) will be confirmed soon.

The proximity of those venues is one of the most wonderful things about Savannah Stopover: you can grab a drink, listen to a band, and then walk around and check out other bands and venues. I’ve quoted hissing lawns’ contributor Tom Cartmel before; he thinks Stopover is all about “discovery”. Even if you haven’t heard of the bands — and there are always plenty that we haven’t heard of — you are certain to find some that you love, even if you don’t do any homework beforehand.

Of course,the Stopover team has done plenty of homework, and we’ll be doing a lot of homework beforehand, so keep checking hissing lawns for previews.

Here’s Savannah Stopover’s updated Soundcloud and Spotify playlists. The tracks here represent the vast majority of bands announced so far, but expect more to be added:

Stopover organizers had previously said that the total number of acts would be well under 100, but CEO Kayne Lanahan (an occasional contributor to this blog) told me a few days ago that they just had too many good submissions to cap the number so low. The final tally will be just over 100 after a few more stragglers are confirmed and after details are sorted out with bands selected via Sonicbids. That’s a heck of a lot of music in three days for not much money.

So here’s the almost-complete list of bands, with an * by those that were announced on 1/16 at The Jinx amidst a performance by Family and Friends (a Stopover selection), River Whyless (a Stopover alum), and A.M. Rodriguez (another Stopover V performer). Festivals in other cities might time their releases to coincide with a typical press cycle and the average work day, but Savannah Stopover — like the city itself — doesn’t follow conventions. This final announcement went live at midnight. So here you go, with some random notes in parentheses.

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Thursday Night Opry at Trinity | Singer-Songwriter Edition – photos

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This week marked the kick-off for Trinity Sanctuary Concerts‘ 2015 Thursday Night Opry season. Here are photos from performances by Nikko Raptoulis, Sarah Tollerson, Corey Hines, Isaac Smith, and Payne Bridges; several with talented accompanists. More photos after the jump.

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Corey Hines

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Sarah Tollerson

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Bane, Axis, Crazy Bag Lady, Without at The Guild Hall – Preview

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Bane, Axis, Crazy Bag Lady and Without are playing The Guild Hall, 615 Montgomery St, Savannah on Saturday, January 17th. That’s tomorrow. Here’s the Facebook event page. Careful, it’s an early show. 5 o’clock.

I fully admit to knowing very little about Boston hardcore band Bane, other than the fact that the songs I’ve heard in the past have caught my attention. They formed during a weird musical period in my life when I was out of an urban punk scene, but didn’t yet have internet. I don’t really like to think about it. Dark times.

I don’t really know much about The Guild Hall yet, either, but they are suddenly booking some very, very interesting acts, and I have high hopes for it.

Anyway, let’s not talk anymore about what I don’t know, check this out. Seriously. Crazy.

And here’s an actual music video.

Axis, a metalcore band out of Florida, sounds pretty heavy duty, too. Check them out here.

And, by the powers of Youtube…a video.

Crazy Bag Lady, too? Of course. If you’ve somehow not seen them yet (you need to go to more shows, obviously), now’s your chance. One of the Hostess City’s best. Listen.

I’m also looking forward to seeing Without for the first time. They sound good.

Larry Jack’s Magical Music Tour 1/15/15 – 1/20/15

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Hey guys,
The weather is supposed to be better this weekend, so it looks like a good weekend to make it out to see some music. There are several good shows going on, I hope some of you get to make it to a couple of them.

Thursday 1/15/15
Southern Maple – Barrelhouse South

Friday 16th – There are a few good shows tonight. I hope to make it down there early enough to catch a little bit of Danielle Hicks at Rail Pub, which has turned into a good place to stop if you make it out early enough. After that, I plan to catch a bit of Lovely Locks at Rocks on the Roof, not necessarily one of my favorite places to see bands. Then I hope to finish the evening up at the Jinx to see the Stopover Schedule Release. If you are on Tybee this weekend, I would recommend trying to see Showtime, they will be at Huc-A-Poo’s all weekend.
Danielle Hicks Band – Rail Pub (6-9p)
Lovely Locks – Rocks On The Roof (9p)
Family & Friends, River Whyless, A.M. Rodriguez – Jinx (Savannah Stopover Schedule Release Party, $10)
Showtime (Athens funk) – Huc-A-Poo’s
Orange Constant – Barrelhouse South
Reckless Abandon – Congress Street Social Club

Saturday 17th – This looks like a night to wander around and see what kind of music grabs you. There are plenty of choices.
Jubal Kane (Savannah jukebox blues) – Warehouse
Ben Keiser Band – Molly MacPherson’s
Niche (Savannah rock) – Congress Street Social Club
Charlie Fog Band (Savannah Grateful Dead covers) – Barrelhouse South
Dope Sandwich, Culture Vulture, DJ Basik Lee – Jinx

Sunday 18th – Looks like a Rockabilly lunch Sunday.
Lara Hope & The Ark-Tones (Rockabilly from NY) – Blowin’ Smoke (1:00-3:00)

Monday 19th – Monday metal at the Jinx.
Bear Fight (Savannah heavy rock), Set And Setting (St. Petersburg heavy post-rock) – Jinx

Tuesday 20th – There are a few choices tonight. Rumor has it that the Hang Fire show may sell out. I hope to catch a show at the Guild Hall soon.
King Tuff (Rock n Roll from the Sub Pop label), Ex Hex (Washington DC rock), Creepoid (Philly dreamy distortian) – Hang Fire ($10-12)
Greg Williams – Foxy Loxy Cafe
The Independents, Black Cat Attack, The Anxiety Junkies, Jeff 2 Names and the Born Agains – Guild Hall (615 Montgomery St, 7p, $10, all ages)

Savannah Stopover will announce rest of 2015 lineup with Family and Friends, River Whyless, A.M. Rodriguez at The Jinx

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Savannah Stopover has already released much of its 2015 lineup, but dozens more acts (including the local bands) as well as the venues will be confirmed on Friday night at The Jinx sometime before or between performances by two excellent bands: Family and Friends, which is booked for this year’s Stopover, and River Whyless, which has played the festival twice before. (Click here for the Facebook event; click here to buy tix.)

UPDATE: Click here for details on the full Savannah Stopover lineup.

For a full preview of the show, check this excellent article by Dash Coleman for Do Savannah.

Here’s Asheville-based River Whyless with “Life Crisis” in a video shot by Little Tybee’s Brock Scott and submitted to a contest at NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts:

Friday’s show at The Jinx will probably sound a little more like this — here’s studio footage and sound from La La Land in Louisville of “Airline to Heaven”:

Family and Friends has taken the Athens, Ga. area by storm in recent months. They were selected both Artist of the Year ’14 and Upstart Band ’14 in the Flagpole Athens Music Awards. F&F vaulted to our attention at Bragg Jam last summer in Macon, played a thrilling set at Savannah’s Revival Fest last October, and they sold out Athens’ Georgia Theatre last week.

Here’s a live version of “Wyoming”:

With so much else going on, Mike’s vocals can get a little lost in the sound, so I really like this version of “My Life, My Love” from Glow in the Dark Studios in Atlanta:

We took a bunch of photos of Family and Friends at Bragg Jam and at Revival Fest. A handful:

stellar Athens band Family and Friends will be making their Savannah debut at Revival Fest

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Family and Friends at Revival Fest 2014

Family and Friend at Revival Fest 2014

And I still haven’t had a chance to hear A.m. Rodriguez live. Check out “Latona Basement Sessions” — it’s awesome:

every David Bowie hairstyle from 1964 to 2014 in 1 gif

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Thanks to Slate for posting this amazingness by illustrator Helen Green:

There are actually 29 images here.

Furious Hooves celebrates first release of 2015 — Sunglow’s “Jalopy” — at Hang Fire

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Furious Hooves — the indie label based in Virginia and Savannah — is celebrating its first release of 2015 with a show at Hang Fire tonight (1/14).

Sunglow’s LP Jalopy is being released on a limited edition deluxe cassette through the label’s Furhoof: Sixth Man division. COEDS, Jumpcuts, and Faeryteeth are also on tonight’s bill.

Shaky Knees announces stellar 2015 lineup. seriously.

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If you like the types of indie and alternative acts that frequently are covered by this blog and others like it, you are very likely to be impressed by the lineup announced today for the 3rd annual Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta:

Post by Shaky Knees Music Festival.

Seriously, The Strokes, Wilco, Pixies, Ryan Adams, Tame Impala, Mastodon, Neutral Milk Hotel, James Blake? That’s great stuff — and just a portion of the great stuff — near the top of the poster, but there are some excellent acts down there at the bottom: Blank Range, Matthew E. White, Field Report, Haerts, Surfer Blood, Speedy Ortiz, Od 97s, Mac DeMarco, and so on.

Petee and Anna teamed up for some really good Shaky Knees coverage here at hissing lawns in 2014. Anna is now the entertainment editor at Connect Savannah (awesome), but I sure hope we’ll have a couple of folks attend the Atlanta festival again this year.

For 2015, Shaky Knees has moved to Atlanta’s Central Park. I don’t know much about the venue, but let’s hope it lives up to the lineup. Tickets go on sale on 1/16 — and they are bound to sell fast.

Btw, the fan reaction on social media has been overwhelmingly positive — quite different from the reaction yesterday to Bonnaroo’s 2015 lineup . . .

two more Savannah bands added to SXSW lineup

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Today’s 2015 SXSW Music Festival Artist Announcement – Round Three included bands from Savannah: The Casket Girls and Triathalon.

Those bands will join Velvet Caravan, which had previously been announced, in Austin’s sprawling festival.

For a city known for metal and Americana, it’s pretty interesting that the three Savannah acts are gypsy jazz, dream (i.e., nightmare) pop, and rock/surf/soul. Congrats to all.

Free Electronic Press Kits from ReverbNation.com

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