Check 'em out: Prison Book Club

I love the dude in the red shirt

The band: Prison Book Club

Hometown: Shepherdstown, West Virginia

The sound: "sloppy twang rock executed with punk-rock precision"

The link: http://www.myspace.com/prisonbookclub

I think the band's self-description above makes them sound sloppier than they actually are, but it conveys the general gist of this band: guitar-driven rock from rural America from dudes who listened to punk in high school. The upbeat rocking tracks was what grabbed me about these guys, but the slower songs are also really good and they all fit well together on their debut album ($8 for 8 songs, postage included. Worth every goddamn penny). This is another band that would benefit tremendously from ramped up production values* as this record is a bit lacking in that category. I'd really like to hear this band after 100 more shows under their belt...

* with all I hear about fucking Pro Tools and all that other software shit, I'd figure that even the poorest band could record an excellent sounding album with 3 mics, a laptop and 2 gum wrappers these days...

note: a shout out to the guys at ninebullets.net for turning me onto this band.

Tour Dates: Two Cow Garage

From a conversation I had with Micah last month I was under the impression Two Cow was off the road until this summer. But then these shows popped up today.

Sun 03/07/10 Urban Lounge Salt Lake City, UT

Mon 03/08/10 Road 34 Bike Bar Fort Collins, CO

Tue 03/09/10 Larimer Lounge Denver, CO

Wed 03/10/10 Triple Nickel Tavern Colorado Springs, CO

Fri 03/12/10 The Conservatory Oklahoma City, OK

Sat 03/13/10 The Riot Room Kansas City, MO

Sun 03/14/10 George's Majestic Lounge Fayetteville, AR

Thu 03/18/10 Double Wide Dallas, TX

Sun 03/21/10 The Korova San Antonio, TX

http://www.myspace.com/twocowgarage

Micah Schnabel solo: "When the Stage Lights Go Dim"

Last week I posted 2 videos I shot of Micah playing some Two Cow Garage songs solo at Valentines here in Albany. At that show I bought his solo CD When the Stage Lights Go Dim. Acoustic/singer-songwriter stuff isn't usually my thing - it's not that I don't like it or that I don't think it's good, it's that my general M.O. involves rocking hard, and such music does not usually do so. When buying it I assumed I'd like it good enough because (1) Micah's a really good songwriter and (2) I like/am accustomed to his style. However, I didn't think I'd like it this much. Holy crap, this is a really great record. Now you've always got to be careful with such proclamations - not me in making them, but you in reading them. When someone is a big fan of a band (as I am with Two Cow), they may have a tendency to go ga-ga over anything that artist does (Micah drops silverware in the sink..."That silverware dropping was the best I've ever heard - check out the resonance when the spoon collies with the tines of the fork. That "ka-pling" was the coolest sound on earth. It's my new ringtone!"). I don't think I'm doing that here (but I can never know if I'm free from any bias - no one can). This record is that good.

This recording of this album is very sparse. There's just some small accompanyments - mixed in here and there there's some cello, a female singer, some piano. And they fit perfectly. You can clearly tell this was recorded very raw and simply and without much forethought and it gives the album a lot of weight and really draws you in. In this day and age where everyone's got some sort of angle, a well defined marketing plan and Pro-Tools the shit out of everything, some straight-from-the-heart, no pretention, no bullshit music really strikes a chord with me.

Apparently Two Cow's label Suburban Home has picked up the album and are going to release it within the next month or two. And it's going to come with a free live Two Cow Garage recording (live in Colorado at the Suburban Home anniversary bash, I guess. I haven't heard any of this, but I've been interested in a good quality live Two Cow CD for a while now (actually, I'm really interested in a super quality, shot-to-film (or at least with film-like depth) with crisp audio DVD of Two Cow playing a show straight through in front of an apeshit crowd. Get Scorcese on the horn...))

http://www.suburbanhomerecords.com/releases/micah-schanbel-when-the-stage-lights-go-dim/

Listen to some tracks on Micah's myspace (why the hell it's rivervalleycancerscare and not micahschnabel I have no fucking clue). http://www.myspace.com/rivervalleycancerscare

Anyway, here's a cool video of a track from the album, "American Static". Let me know what you think.

Video: Slobberbone "Lazy Guy" SXSW 1999

Slobberbone fans may be interested in this older video of "Lazy Guy". Pretty good video and audio quality, which is nice for a change. It's a safe bet this was filmed onto VHS tape - in this day and age I guess that's considered fucking old school. I definitely dig the black and white.

video: Micah Schnabel of Two Cow Garage

I caught Micah Schnabel of Two Cow Garage the other night. Never have I seen so much raw energy from just one guy and an acoustic guitar (OK, Hamell On Trial comes close. Let's call it a tie between Micah and Hammell). I do love how he uses the foot-stomp on the wooden stage as his own form of percussion. I guess Shane (Two Cow's bass player) just had a baby* and the band is laying a bit low for now, but Micah said they plan to record a new record this spring in Buffalo with a July release and tour. We here in Albany have been lucky over the years with bi-monthlyish Two Cow shows at Valentines, so waiting till summer is kinda long. Damn!

Hey Two Cow you could make a weekend trek out to Albany before/during/after recording you know (hint, hint).

* congratulations Shane. Really. But....the bass player of the band you dig having a kid is never a good thing if you're jonesing for some heavy touring from said band...


No Shame





Skinny Legged Girl