What NOIR is listening to (Halloween Edition)

LOCAL

If you haven't seen Caddywhompus live in New Orleans yet, you're a fool. Seriously. Get out there. They play like every week. This video is in the category of "Aggressively Photoshopped" and pretty awesome.



Absolutely beautiful video of Hurray for the Riff Raff performing a few songs at The Secret Garden, which appears to be someone's living room/kitchen. Gorgeous.



NON


The xx is a chilled out little band from London who win the 2009 prize for "Band That Looks Totally Lame In Their Video Which Makes It All The More Surprising That Their Music Is So Freaking Good"



Absolutely bizarre video from Run Toto Run, who do a folk-take on Passion Pit's "Sleepyhead" which is absolutely pitch-perfect. After hearing it, you'll have trouble remembering the little musical breakdown NOT being played by a fiddle (which is being played by a guy with a wildebeest helmet on.)

Interview with John Michael Rouchell

John Michael Rouchell, lead singer of the New Orleans outfit MyNameIsJohnMichael, took time out from the band's long drive north to the CMJ music festival to talk to us about New York, noodle bars, and being named one of Spin Magazine's Top 25 Artists to Hear at CMJ.



So you guys are on your way up to CMJ?

Yeah, me and the boys, you know, making our way up there in the van.

How’s the drive?

Slow and steady.

Of course. So the real crux of this interview is you guys being named one of Spin Magazine’s Top 25 Bands to see at CMJ. Any added pressure that comes along with that?

Sure, you know, of course there’s pressure. Well, not really pressure as in we get nervous, but more like we view the pressure as something we need to respond to and get better. Like tonight we’re going to stop in Virginia, and I think we’ll just spend the whole night with harmony rehearsals, getting the set down perfect. It’s not so much pressure as just a drive to get better.

I’ve read some stuff on your blog that suggests you guys are all fans of New York.

We’re all big fans of New York. I have a history with New York—my parents lived there before I was around, before I was conceived. I’ve visited there every year of my life, and I guess I’ve got that connection with the city. The boys all love it, too.

Anything different about playing in New York as opposed to New Orleans?

Yeah, definitely there’s a difference. Like between New Orleans and New York… well, let me pause. I’ll talk about New Orleans first. In New Orleans people are out for the party, you know? They want to have a good time, they want to dance, they want to get drunk. For them it’s about the time, you know? In New York people are there to watch the show. They’re a lot more perceptive, kind of more attentive to detail. I remember when we came offstage at the Mercury Lounge in Brooklyn, people came up to us and were like, “I love what you did with the trumpet” or “That was awesome with the trash can drumming.” In New Orleans people came up and say “I had an awesome time!” And there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just different. And it might have something to do with our sound being a little more foreign, a little more out there up north. Like in New Orleans our sound may seem more natural, but when we go up to New York and do our Big Easy thing it may just get noticed as different by a lot of people.

Any good food up there?

Oh, man yeah. Our favorite spot right now is Momofuku, a noodle house that’s just unreal. Then there’s the Minetta Tavern, just awesome Italian food. And Richard (Dubourg) is a huge fan of Cat’s Deli. Well, actually we’re all big fans of Cat’s Deli.

When Spin wrote about you guys they gave your sound-bite back-story, the songwriting project you undertook last year. Do you ever worry that when people talk about your guys’ band they’ll just mention your back-story and be done with it? Or do you think people are connecting with your music on different levels?

You know, I get asked this question a lot and it’s always a really hard one to answer. The whole reason Spin wrote about us was because of the performance we gave at Bonnaroo, and they didn’t learn about the songwriting project until they did more research. I mean, if people want to just pin us as that, that’s their perception and I can’t change that. I think our record is better than anything I recorded as part of the project, and our live show is the best live show for any band I’ve ever played in. You know, I want people to see us as more, but it’s out of my hands how people want to perceive us. All we can do is keep playing and keep making music, but other than that it’s out of my hands.

Best of luck up there.

Thanks, man.





MyNameIsJohnMichael plays

Thursday October 22nd
The Alphabet Lounge
10pm
104 Avenue C
(between 6th St & 7th St)
NY, NY 10009
(212) 780-0202

Saturday October 24th
The R Bar
4pm
218 Bowery
NY, NY 10012
(212) 334-0484

MNIJM and SPIN Magazine

So, our dear friends MyNameIsJohnMichael are getting some press. As in some big press. As in it won't be too long before we won't be the only ones who know about them anymore. Alas.

Apparently the boys turned a bunch of Spin heads at Bonnaroo, and the Spin guys have made MNIJM one of the 25 must-see bands of the CMJ music festival in New York later this month. Wow.

You can check out the story here.

And for those in the NYC area for the show can see them:

Thursday October 22nd
The Alphabet Lounge
10pm
104 Avenue C
(between 6th St & 7th St)
NY, NY 10009
(212) 780-0202

Saturday October 24th
The R Bar
4pm
218 Bowery
NY, NY 10012
(212) 334-0484

Daytrotter: Hurray For the Riff Raff

So somewhat embarrassingly, I have just discovered Daytrotter, a website that brings in artists to record live sessions and then posts those sessions on the web. (I can just here indie hounds across New Orleans right now saying, "I knew about Daytrotter 3 years ago! Ugh!" Well, sorry. You win.)

Anyway, it's new to me at least, and it's really fantastic. The folks at Daytrotter really take the time to find the right bands, and their sessions are staggering-- Deerhunter, Aimee Mann, Bon Iver, Of Montreal, Andrew Bird, and Fleet Foxes have all recorded sessions for them so far. The sound quality is absolutely perfect, most of the songs are available for download, and a lot of artists are using the forum to test out forthcoming material. The newest session is New Orleans' own Hurray For The Riff Raff, and we couldn't be prouder.

There's four songs up, three unreleased tunes and then a staggering rendition of "Amelia's Song" from It Don't Mean I Don't Love You. I don't know quite what to say about the vocals on this track, but there's something just so absolutely perfect about the song right now--it just seems to work with the dropping temperatures of autumn, the lovely sweater weather we're getting right now.

Anyway, get on there and check it out.

http://www.daytrotter.com/dt/hurray-for-the-riff-raff-concert/20030920-37382040.html

Let's take a moment to collect ourselves

So, after an outrageous string of shows capped off by last night's blast with Neon Indian and friends, we've got a week here to kind of catch our breath before the big push to Voodoo. My wallet and sleep cycle thanks the tour managers/venue owners out there for the break.

In this weird stasis, some stuff I've been listening to lately to tide you over:

Local








Non-local

BLK JKS, Neon Indian and One Man Machine

I am super stoked about Sunday night. Why is that you ask? It's cause there is one of the best shows coming through towns is happening.

If you haven't heard BLK JKS, check them the hell out. Seriously, do it now. HERE. or HERE.

Here are some awesome videos to check out from them.





In addition to BLK JKS, Neon Indian is playing the show. This show is going to kill.

Neon Indian



One Man Machine is a great local. Check it.

Phoenix & MNIJM

Wow.

Again.

Wow.

You know, this city was recently voted the greatest city in the United States to see live music. No joke. We won. On a weekly basis, I'll catch some of the best live acts in the country from a wide range of styles-- brass, R&B, zydeco, good ole' indie. Hell I'll go into Snug Harbor and catch some of the best jazz acts in the country on a Tuesday night. This city is known for its live music. We pride ourselves on it. We love it.

And then wouldn't you know these skinny dudes from Paris come over and just completely blow everyone's mind. I don't know whether to be humbled, surprised, awe-struck... I just don't know.

For those of you who didn't make it to last night's sold out show at Tipitina's, let's just say Phoenix has set the bar for the rest of 2009. All comers are welcome.

The show kicked off with local favorites MyNameIsJohnMichael, after the scheduled opener--Chairlift--dropped out. I only know Chairlift from the iPod commercial, so as far as I'm concerned, good riddance. It was awesome getting to see MNIJM come out and just kill it, especially in front of a large crowd of people who weren't all that familiar with them. I had two separate people come up to me and ask if I knew anything about the band, and how excited they were to find out they were from New Orleans.

Then, well, Phoenix. Their new album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, has been one of my top albums of the past year, and hearing the songs come to life live was a revelation. Highlights were the band's drummer (I'd never really noticed the drumming on the album, but seeing them live made me realize that the dude is the absolute backbone of this band), the lead singer's very-good-but-still-somewhat-broken English ("I, just want to thank you. Last time, there, were like a hundred...Now... look!"), them holding out on first single "1901" until the encore (leading to the following exchange with my buddy: "I don't think they're coming out for an encore." "They haven't played "1901" yet, dude. They have to. There'll be a riot if they don't." "Oh, God. You're right. This is going to be awesome.")

Arctic Monkeys tonight, Andrew Bird Saturday night, Blitzen Trapper Sunday night. I think I'm getting sick from lack of sleep. Whatever.