The 3-1-11 on new records from Slim & DeVotchKa

Great news for us all that two stalwarts of the Denver scene will be releasing albums this spring, and on the same day, to boot.

First, Slim Cessna's Auto Club will release Unentitled on Alternative Tentacles March 1, 2011, just ahead of another appearance at SXSW. First indications of the album came from this interview with Reverb, and since then, presale pages have begun to crop up for the record. Please catch one of this band's shows if you haven't already.





















For Denverites who aspire to perform with Munly, be advised of this recent announcement on his Facebook page:

It is time to introduce the next chapter of Lupercalia. The Lupercalians are looking for new band members (primarily percusionists) to present this new group of characters. Please let us know if you are interested by writing us here.

Another of Denver's more notable bands, DeVotchKa will be releasing their fifth studio album on the same day. Anti- Records has recently announced the release of 100 Lovers, which promises more of the DeVotchKa + WaveLab studios magic of previous releases.





















Finally, for the Denver music fans amongst you, Westword recently published a fantastic interview with David Eugene Edwards of Wovenhand.

Munly & The Lupercalians release date

After a tip from a good friend and some recent searching, finally some news about the release date of the latest record from Denver band Munly and the Lupercalians. Scheduled for release on Sept. 21, 2010, and entitled Petr & The Wulf, the record is the first in a series of albums detailing the fictional town of Lupercalia. Update: Now available on iTunes.

As I've found, the band is not often the first to make announcements about themselves. Rather, I almost always stumble upon updates accidentally. At one point the album was reported to be a double album, although the recent announcement suggests this record will be a single with continuation of the story in future releases.

While Munly's label Alternative Tentacles does not yet have the album for sale in the store, it is posted for presale here and at various other places on the web. It appears that the release will be available on CD and LP, as well as mp3 download.


















Below is an abbreviated description of the album pulled from this press release:

The first installment in a multi-album set describing The Kinnery of Lupercalia, Petr & The Wulf is the correct telling of a story about which most have been woefully misinformed. This truth is courtesy of Munly (known as both a solo artist and as the co-frontman of Slim Cessna's Auto Club) and his extremely talented backing band, The Lupercalians (which includes Daniel Granbois of Slim Cessna's Auto Club and Tarantella). [...]

The record begins with Petr, "the last of the Northrops," who tells how he will bring his people back to greatness by rescuing Grandfater from the Bedlam. The Three Wise Hunters let all know that they can be hired to rid the land of whatever menace is present. The Wulf tells of his love for the Northrops despite their continued refusal of his offerings.

Munly writes, "Hopefully you will accept the current Lupercalians offering with open heart and understanding mind."

Having caught the Lupercalians performance to a packed house at this year's UMS, I am very excited about this record. Not to mention the fact that it has been 6 years since the brilliant album from Munly & the Lee Lewis Harlots, with very few updates about new material during that span. The wait should soon be over.

UMS 2010 Preview

The time has come once again for Denver's best music festival, The UMS, taking place on South Broadway from July 22-25. It's like CMJ without the hassle, like SXSW but with less butt sweat. In short, it's well worth your time. I've put together a short list of the bands I most want to see. In my past experience, there will be someone good playing almost all the time, so this is but a sampling of what the UMS has to offer. You can still by a $30 pass that will get you through the entire weekend of music up through July 21st, so don't delay any longer!

While some of these set times are close together, the beauty of this festival is the proximity of all shows to one another. You can make it between the most distant venues in probably 10 minutes at the most, while it's less than 5 minutes between most.




















These United States - Friday, 11 PM @ the Hi-Dive
(Photo credit Sarah Law)

The UMS has been working the last few years to bring in national headliners, and These United States will be a fantastic act to headline Friday night. I've recently become quite a fan of this band on account of hearing their Daytrotter sessions, and have since bought their most recent LP Everything Touches Everything. The band should have a new record out for their performance at the UMS, which should result in the Hi-Dive being packed wall-to-wall for their
set.




























Munly & the Lupercalians - Saturday, 10 PM @ the Hi-Dive (Photo credit Gary Isaacs)

Munly shows have been quite rare around Denver as of late, and I believe his last two shows have been on New Years Eve with the Auto Club, so the chance to see him at the UMS should not be missed. Munly's double album continues to have no release date, but I expect that he'll be playing mostly material from that record at his showcase this year.























Thrift Store Cowboys - Saturday, 11 PM @ the Skylark Lounge (Photo credit Logan Caldbeck)

Having recently celebrated their tenth year as a band, TSC theoretically could have played at the UMS every year of its existence, but since the festival started out with locals only, and TSC hail from Lubbock, Texas, it just wasn't meant to be. However, now that they're both 10, their parents arranged a play-date for the two. TSC will have lots of new material to play from their soon to be released LP Light Fighter.






















One Wolf - Saturday, 7 PM @ the Skylark Lounge

Another great Lubbock band, One Wolf plays their first UMS this year as well. With two great albums under their belt, and plenty of time honing their live show, this will be a set you don't want to miss.





























Paper Bird - Thursday, 11:55 PM @ the Hi-Dive; Friday, 7:30 PM @ CarToys Stage (Photo credit Gary Isaacs)

I have somehow gone four years in Colorado without getting to see Paper Bird, but I continue to hear great things about them. Hopefully their two appearances this year will finally give me the chance I need to catch their show.





























Amanda Shires - Saturday, 9 PM @ Walnut Room Pizzeria

As 1/6 of the aforementioned Thrift Store Cowboys, Amanda Shires has come into her own as a songwriter with her recent West Cross Timbers. She basically lives on the road, so when it comes to handling a live crowd, Amanda is among the best. Don't be surprised to see a member or two of TSC backing her up on this gig as well.

SXSW - Ramble Creek and Mile Hi Fidelity parties

Day Three - Friday

Friday morning we proved to be a bit less energetic than Thursday, and without any specific early plans, we took our time before heading to the Ramble Creek day party. We arrived just before 1 PM, with the primary intention of catching the set by One Wolf, who interestingly had played a party less than an hour before across town and still somehow managed to make it on time to the Ramble Creek show, held in a perfect backyard setting.

At that precise point, the random craziness of SXSW hit full force, as H. called to inform me that she and her friends had just gotten in a minor car accident. Thus, for obvious reasons, One Wolf did not happen for us, but most importantly, everyone involved in the accident was okay. While the cars received a good bit of damage, the accident wasn't our friend's fault, and after taking care of the necessities involved with that situation, we all returned to the Ramble Creek party for some much needed stress relief.

The first act we got to see was Collin Herring, an awesome artist currently based in Austin (formerly of Fort Worth) who I've been a fan of for a number of years now. Herring played a number of tracks off of his new release, Ocho, recorded of course at Ramble Creek, and produced by Will Johnson, and also mixed in some of his earlier songs. If I hadn't mentioned this before, Collin has about the coolest steel player around, Ben Roi Herring, his dad, and their duo performance (and banter) were a real pleasure to watch/hear.


















Did someone just say Will Johnson? Yes, that's right, THE Will Johnson of Centro-matic, South San Gabriel, and most recently, the drummer for the Monsters of Folk, graced the Ramble Creek party with a beautiful solo set. I hope I didn't embarrass myself as I sat roughly 10 feet from Will with my jaw resting on the ground, but hearing "Just to Know What You've Been Dreaming" in this particular setting was on par with the very best experiences of my entire SXSW, or maybe more accurately of the past few years. Whatever it took to get him to come play at this show, I can't thank the folks at Ramble Creek enough for making this happen.























I haven't described the exact locale of the Ramble Creek show yet, but it was by far the most enjoyable day party of SXSW by far. It was held in a backyard with the perfect set-up and perfect weather to accompany, and to boot, a big tub full of Lone Star was available for all in attendance.

The next act was one I have missed seeing live ever since we moved to Colorado. Doug Burr has written some of my favorite songs of the last decade, and in my book he has about as much integrity as any artist I listen to. He has recently recorded a new album, from which he played a number of songs. In short, I couldn't be more excited for these songs, as they are absolutely phenomenal. Doug has crafted a career in exactly the fashion that he wants, and this diligence has surely paid off as more and more people begin to take notice. He was backed at this show by his frequent collaborator Glen Farris, as well as members of Seryn and Monahans drummer Roberto Sanchez for some songs.



















































Next up was Austin band Monahans, who include Ramble Creek owner/engineer Britton Beisenherz on guitar. I had not seen this band before, although a number of years ago I saw a previous project of some of the musicians called Milton Mapes, and was a fan of all of that band's material. Monahans, however, is a new project, and as I think was the intention, the transition has infused a new energy into their music. The band is tighter than ever as a performing group, and their set at this day party was absolutely flawless and one of the best of the entire SXSW for me. The band has two albums to their name, although they are in the process of a project in which they will release one song a month for download for the rest of 2010. The first track is already available, and you can check out their Web site for details on how to get in on this opportunity. Monahans is a band on the rise and I fully hope they can ride the momentum to more widespread success and notoriety in the near future.



































Alas, as much as I hated to leave, I had to take off after Monahans because I wanted my Austin friend to see Denver's Slim Cessna's Auto Club, and knew this would be our best chance. While I missed Telegraph Canyon's set at Ramble Creek, I was able to make up for my exit by catching them on Saturday night.

After some frantic traffic navigation and hurried walking, we made it to the Mile Hi Fidelity party just in time to catch the latter half of Slim Cessna's set. Do I even have to mention that Slim did not disappoint? Munly was in top form, having just arrived from the year 1840, performing an extremely high energy set as co-frontman to Slim, just as we have all come to expect out of him and the Auto Club. Very few bands can claim to hold a foot firmly in the alt country legacy of the early 1990s while also remaining relevant for modern Americana/Southern Gothic music as well. In short, SCAC brought their tent revival to Sixth Street, and the end of the set no doubt saw a new group of converts leaving their first Slim show. Please see Slim if you get the chance. Sadly, even though they were the last band, Slim's energetic finale didn't lead into any encore, despite my desire to hear their epic "He, Roger Williams."

SXSW Axiom #4: No encores necessary at SXSW. There is simply too much music during the week for 99% of crowds to ask for another song. Few listeners even catch full sets, and no matter where you go you hear more music, so the encore is largely absent at SXSW, probably to everyone's benefit.

As you can see in the pictures below (click to enlarge), Slim and Munly's crowd involvement made for some of the best action pics of the festival, although "best" is a relative term with my crappy camera. You can't see it that well in the small version, but I love Slim's look in the background of the second picture below.

A (sort of) new Auto Club release

Just as I typically find out news about Slim Cessna's Auto Club, I happened to check their myspace to see if any new shows were on the books, and to my surprise, I found that they were releasing a new record. Well, a new-ish record.

Entitled Buried Behind the Barn, the new record is purported to contain "lost & rumoured out-takes, compilation tracks and alternate recordings" as per the band's myspace. A bit of research turns up this site, which has the album up for pre-order, although oddly nothing is mentioned on the band's label Alternative Tentacles' Web site yet. According to the former site, the album will be released on March 16th, 2010, available as a CD or 10" vinyl+download.

It's not exactly clear to me why the band hasn't linked to this pre-order site yet, so I can't vouch for it, but it seems to be legitimate as far as I can tell. The site, Midheaven, provides a bit more insight into the contents of the album:

Twisted twangsters Slim Cessna's Auto Club roar back with some raw, heart-shattering tracks from 2000 and 2001. Led by the vocals of Cessna and Munly, the Auto Club bares even more of their troubled souls than usual. Briefly released as a limited-to-200 CDR in 2004, these songs are basically unreleased, original versions of later album tracks and compilation songs. Whatever their destination, all eight are undeniably prime 'n' primal Auto Club--a rambunctious mix of joyful twang, acoustic folk, hillbilly picking, and old-time gospel backed with words of spiritual angst, roadhouse wisdom, and whiskey-drinking sin 'n' salvation.

Speculation on the band's Yahoo message board is that this is a proper release of the band's limited edition Crossbreeding Begins at Home, a 2004 CD-R release of rarities, although given that there is no track listing yet, it's tough to say for sure. Either way, it is nice to see the band putting out new material, and hopefully we'll see a new studio album from SCAC (and Munly) before 2010 is over.

Update: The track listing has been announced, and it would seem the speculation of this being a release of the songs from Crossbreeding is correct.

Munly, Slim Cessna & Denver Broncos UK updates

Though few and far between, every so often I run across some Munly updates that are of interest, although they are almost always completely random as his mode of operations is basically the antithesis of shameless self promotion.

I've just found that Munly and the Lupercalians are slotted to play the Vendetta Festival in Denver on Sept. 27th. Oddly, the festival appears to be listed as featuring Electronica and Industrial music. I don't know that Munly technically fits either of those categories, but . Ticket information can be found here. The Munly fans that make this show will really have to be die-hards, as I personally don't think I'm willing to buy the $40 day pass for Sunday just to see the Lupercalians show.






















(Photo credit Gary Isaacs via the Denver Bronco's UK myspace)

In non-Lupercalians news, the Denver Broncos UK recently played a show at the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh. This project is comprised of Slim Cessna, Munly, and Dwight Pentacost. The band posted some pictures from the show, and it would seem that they really put in some effort on adding a visual aesthetic to the show. Some excellent pictures from the show can be found at this Flickr page as well.

I ran across a review/account of the show on the Slim Cessna Yahoo group, and rather than plagiarize the author, I'll just link to it here. Highlight of the review is definitely the story that when someone got up to go to the bathroom during the show, Munly stopped the music and said he would wait until she got back, and then he did just that.

I don't know the history of this band well enough to say much more about them. They've been around on myspace for some time, but this is the only show I remember seeing listed. I am not aware of any past Denver shows, but my hope is that now that they've played a couple of shows, they'll want to play a few more in the foreseeable future. This band and all its affiliated artists do well to maintain quite a cult following, but at times its easy for one to miss out on what's going on with them because only Slim Cessna's Auto Club plays with any frequency. Speaking of, they'll be touring the west coast in late Sept. & early October.

And with that small gathering of information, that's about all I know.

Update 01/22/2010: SCAC releasing an album of rarities & outtakes.

Seven Signs that it's hard to find an entirely new perspective on the South

I hesitate to do much in the way of reviews on this site, just because I'm so indecisive in forming opinions on such things. However, I'd like to give a brief report on what I thought of the above Seven Signs movie.

The documentary is the brainchild/project of The Legendary Shack Shakers front man JD Wilkes. Format-wise, I didn't find it substantially different than Searching for the Wrong Eyed Jesus. I like both movies, and seeing one before the other probably influences how you perceive each.

By far, Seven Signs has it's strength in the stories told by the people that are interviewed. Similar to SFTWEJ, there are countless interesting "characters" and legends in the South and Wilkes does a good job of seeking out some interesting folks. Additionally, there is a strong focus on music, and the film includes performances from a number of musicians that claim some sort of Southern influence in their art.

One thing I was looking forward to was the inclusion of Slim Cessna's Auto Club in the film, as I'd known they were involved since I first saw the trailer. Oddly though, this turned out to be a portion of the film I didn't quite understand. The end of the film includes a live stripped down performance of "Children of the Lord," by Slim and Munly. The part that I didn't quite understand was the story that Munly tells in addition to the performance. While it was fairly characteristic of the Munly stories I've read, it just seemed an odd conclusion to the film, given that most of the earlier narratives were from folks from the South who were telling either personal stories or local folklore, and here is a Denver musician telling a story about "Döder made me do it."

It's almost an Andy Kaufman type of moment, where you don't know if the joke's on you or if you're just not getting it. I welcome interpretations from others.

The film is short, running at about 50 minutes, but covers a number of interesting subjects, has an intriguing theme running throughout, and is overall worth the watch. I think it is a good and honest portrayal of the South, although not a totally novel one. But then again, not many people can completely redefine the representation of a region or culture through art (unless you're Cormac McCarthy).

Where's Munly?

We are nearing five years since the last release from Slim Cessna's Auto Club member Munly Munly (a.k.a. Jay Munly), with his 2004 Alternative Tentacles label release Munly & the Lee Lewis Harlots. What makes this wait seem excruciatingly long is the fact that this most recent album, sonically, was head and shoulders above his previous releases. While De Dar He, Blurry, Galvanized Yankee, and Jimmy Carter Syndrome hold a place in the Denver sound, the Lee Lewis Harlots album really brought the sound to a new level.

In recent years, even Munly's live performances have dropped off substantially. In fact, the last two shows I'm aware of him playing are New Years 2008 and New Years 2007. That said, the Auto Club has been quite active over the past year, largely touring in support of their most recent album Cipher. While the Munly drought seems quite long, I think the die hard fans can recognize his increased presence in the Auto Club's recent work.

Yet the question remains, when can we expect a new release from Munly? Information on this remains limited, and I have no insider connections to the workings of the group. However, I am aware of various pieces of information that have made their way around various online communities.

First, it seems the Lee Lewis Harlots, as a backing band, have dissolved in their prior form. The past two shows on New Years Eve have been billed as Munly and the Lupercalians. Further, I understand that Munly's next album is to be a double album focusing on the fictional town of Lupercalia, and further, the stories within are said to be the true story of Peter and the Wolf. Recently, in fact, a "Pre-History of Lupercalia" was posted as a blog on Munly's myspace.

Moving further into the rumor mill, I've heard various reports that some of the aforementioned album was recorded, but later scrapped when line-up changes in the band occurred. Additional reports indicate that no new recordings have been done with the new lineup. What I heard from the most recent New Years show was that Munly & the Lupercalians consisted of two organs on either side of the stage, two drum/percussion set-ups, and Munly in the middle. Word was that the band sounded very solid live, so hopefully that means they'll be in the studio soon, although with upcoming U.S. and European tours for SCAC, this may be an impossibility.

Also highly anticipated, at least for my own interests, is the documentary being produced about the "Denver sound." Smooch Records initially mentioned this project, although I've heard little about its progress since. If it's anything like other projects of its sort, it may be some time circulating through film festivals, etc., before it is available to the public, and that is assuming that it is even finished. The last update on the film was in 2007, so it's anybody's guess.

Update: More recent Munly news posted here 08/22/09.

We have found Providence

With all the gushing over the Old 97s I've really neglected my "Denver sound" folks, namely the new releases by DeVotchKa and Slim Cessna's Auto Club.  

Slim's new album Cipher was released last month, and while they played a few SXSW shows and one hometowner, they've been relatively quiet since.  I guess that is the reality of having a band where a number of folks live in different cities. 

Nonetheless, the new album has a great progression, although their slower songs seem to have grown darker on this album.  Overall, however, this album definitely delivers with some great new songs.  Given that this is the band that brought us "He, Roger Williams," they could get away with just about anything in my book, but they don't rely on any formulas on this record.

For any of you who have seen recent live shows, you'll already know "Children of the Lord," quite the quintessential tent revival rocker with a redux of a familiar Vacation Bible School song.  "Scac 101" brings some great contrast, with what one might deem a bit reminiscent of older Slim.  The thematic tune of "An Introduction to the Power of Braces" appears throughout the album, the significance of which must be interpreted by the listener I suppose.

On top of the well arranged songs, the album artwork, especially the photos by Gary Isaacs, really give the album a great visual presentation.  Isaacs has become somewhat of an icon in the photography of a number of Denver musicians, and the inside photo is a great example.

Next up we have the new album by DeVotchKa, A Mad and Faithful Telling, released on the Anti- label, their first LP released on a label.  Honestly I hate to try and describe the sound because I know I've been heavily biased by reading various reviews of DeVotchKa over the recent years, and thus, I don't know that I have much different to say.  Needless to say they still have a pretty good corner on the market of gypsy indie mariachi cabaret music.  However, speaking of Gary Isaacs, here's a great new press photo he did for DeVotchKa:

An important recommendation I would make is to purchase the ITUNES bonus track of "Undone," featuring the Tom Hagerman Quartet.  While the regular cut of "Undone" is a great listen, I prefer this extra track.  We had the opportunity to see Tom play an instrumental show in Boulder a few months back, and while a completely different experience from DeVotchKa, it was an amazing night of instrumentation with his extremely talented colleagues.  If that's your thing, don't forget to pick up a copy of Tom's The Breakfast Playground.   Other good listens off the new record are "Along the Way" and "A New World."  Still haven't really warmed up to "Transliterator," but maybe with time.

While I'm on the subject of Denver music, a couple of other items of note.  Around this time last year, Smooch Records announced that there was a documentary in the works about the Denver sound.  I've not heard any updates on this, but hope to see something out soon.  One can argue there is no specific "sound," but there is an interesting element to the fact that the city has produced such distinct and notable acts as 16 Horsepower, Slim Cessna's Auto Club, Munly Munly, DeVotchKa, Woven Hand, and the Denver Gentlemen to name a few (in no particular order).  

Speaking of Munly, the only news I've been able to find on him is that he is working on a double album on the fictional town of Lupercalia, although the most that has been heard of him lately has been his appearance on New Years Eve with his new band Munly & the Lupercalians.  However, word is that the Lee Lewis Harlots are no longer playing, for reasons that I have only heard in rumor form.  And I don't want to be one to go spreading rumors...

And finally, one more Denver-related release on the horizon is the new Woven Hand record Ten Stones, slated for an August release.  Hopefully that means they'll play a hometown show by that time, although they seem to have a more adoring fan base in Europe than here in the U.S.  

i can't get a word in