Black Prairie with Tiburones - Tractor Tavern - Seattle, WA

 Black Prairie

We were introduced to Black Prairie in 2013 at the Newport folk festival in Newport, RI. Almost a year later we were able to catch them at the beginning of their tour promoting their latest album Fortune. Black Prairie was kind enough to play some songs from Fortune for us behind the venue.

Please be sure to check them out on tour and by streaming their music.

Fortune proves the band has outgrown its roots as a casual side-project of indie folk band The Decemberists, solidifying into a primary, creative focus for its members—a band with its own internal momentum, genuine character and style.  “Making this record was the most collaborative and magical thing,” says founder Chris Funk.  “I’m excited to play these songs live.”

Black Prairie may look like a bluegrass or folk band, but their tastes and repertoire are much more expansive. There is a fierce emphasis on musicianship, Powell says, but otherwise: “They’re genre-less. They’re not afraid of anything. 

The band’s story started in 2007, when Chris Funk gathered local musicians he admired for a chance to write music and play instruments he wasn’t utilizing in his role as guitarist in The Decemberists.  He pulled in fellow Decemberists Nate Query and Jenny Conlee, on bass and accordion, Annalissa Tornfelt on fiddle and vocals and Jon Neufeld (Jackstraw, Doloreon) on guitar, followed later by Decemberists’ John Moen on drums.  Their only ambition was to have fun, but ideas started sparking immediately—they were pushing their own musicianship.

Tiburones was a hidden gem for us! After our session with Black Prairie Chris Funk said “ You’ve got to get this band Tiburones out here and do one of these.” When Chris Funk tells you a band is awesome then you don’t second guess it! Tiburones (Shark) is one of those bands that you hear and you immediately know they have something that most bands don’t. They have a sweet and soulful sound with a charming Latin element to the vocal stylings of Luz Elena Mendoza. Tiburones is on my list of the top bands to look out for in the very near future. 

Daniel G Harmann - Showbox - April 17 (Preview)

Fastback Sessions

 

Thursday April 17th

@ the Showbox market

$15 in advance / $20 at the door

BUY TIC FROM DANIEL G HARMANN:

http://www.rawartists.org/seattle/spectrum/?artist=207125

Spectrum, the Seattle RAW event, is a craft fare, fashion show, art exhibit, rock show all wrapped up into one. Live music, DJs, dancers, and so much more will fill Seattle Showbox for one night highlighting the best Seattle's art community has to offer.

One of those featured artist is singer/songwriter Daniel G Harmann. Harmann is a master craftsman of working class art. With the lyrical depth of Low or the Red House Painters, Harmann constructs “iceberg rock” as powerful as late 90s post punk, & as emotionally honest & deep as melancholy rockers Jimmy Eat World, Idlewild, or even Fugazi. Harmann's songs draw the listener in with their dark & smoky feel, while escorting you through life's landscape of pain & redemption in a way only a trusted friend can.

Fastback Sessions #3 - "& Yet"

The Fastback Sessions is impressively (yet not surprisingly) maintaining their momentum. It's refreshing to watch this grassroots force give a multi-dimentional platform that has no agenda but to support fresh music. Although Seattle holds it's place in the world of music there is a lack of warmth and romanticization within the community. The Fastback Sessions is attempting to take back what the hipsters have stolen.

The band "& Yet" gracefully performed for the 3rd round of the Fastback Sessions. Every song sounds like it could be the soundtrack for a dark indie film that leaves you questioning aspects of life but never gives an answer. Their refined sound evokes thought and emotions with true substance from heart. 

Enjoy an interview and video of "& Yet" by the Fastback Sessions below!

Photos//Words by Visible Voice

Video by the Fastback Sessions

Yucca Mountain on The Mixtape w/ Sean DeTore

Seattle's Yucca Mountain recently released a brand new self titled album that is absolutely superb. It's on constant rotation in my CD player and will be for the foreseeable future. The album is gritty and dark and sad and something that you really need to listen to, like, right now.

Jeremy Burk and the boys dropped by the mixtape a short time ago to chat music, face transplants and to play some tunes in studio. One of the tunes played was a song called "Isabelle Dinoire", which is a song about a woman who was the first person to undergo a partial face transplant, after her Labrador retriever mauled her. See the connection to face translplant talk? The other song was a cover of a tune from the show Fraggle Rock, the total opposite of face transplant material. Depending on who you ask, I guess.

Make sure to see Yucca Mountain when they play Conor Byne Pub and Green Frog very soon!

Words by Sean DeTore

Photos // Video by Visible Voice

Langhorne Slim - Sunset Tavern - Seattle, WA

An intimate solo performance by Langhorne Slim couldn't have been a more accurate description of his show at the Sunset Tavern on Tuesday night. About 200 fans packed the tiny bar, and were treated to two full hours of story-telling, anecdotes, and plenty of songs about plenty of women. And somehow he managed to hypnotize us with just a stool, a notebook, and an acoustic guitar. 

A Law-less Slim joked around and interacted with the crowd, and also took it down to silence while performing Song for Sid in memory of his grandfathers and a friend's mom. He encouraged the us all to dance if it was our time to dance, and stomped through some of his greatest hits with serious passion. Being without his band allowed his voice to stand out like never before. 

The night ended with Slim on top of the bar, leading the crowd in a singalong of You Are My Sunshine per audience request. After

the show he invited everyone to come chat with him, as he always does. Only this time we felt like we knew him on a whole different level. 

Words//photos by Ashley Couey

The Head and the Heart w/ Rose Windows at the Paramount Theater Seattle, WA

This past weekend's line up at the Paramount was not only a tip of the cap to the Seattle music scene but also a showcase for what Sub Pop has to offer to an ever changing world of music.

Preluding The Head and the Heart's first night at the Paramount, Rose Windows broke out with a robust and soulful presence. Rose Windows is no longer a band only for the "cool kids". Their unique sound, hard work, and energy has set them far apart from the rest of the herd.

The Head and the Heart is never surprising yet always wildly impressive. Their catchy songs and on-stage disposition makes you feel like you are watching a band that has been together for 10+ years. The H&H have been on tour pushing their sophomore album "Let's be Still" like a drug and everybody is an addict. 

Coming full circle, and back in their home town, they were warmly welcomed by their biggest fans in one of Seattle's most beautiful venues. 

*READ PAST REVIEW OF "LET'S BE STILL"*

Rose Windows

The Head and the Heart

Vikesh Kapoor - Tractor Tavern - Seattle, WA

After a long and lonely tour Vikesh Kapoor made his way back to the West Coast and the Tractor Tavern. Vikesh Kapoor is an incredible talent who carries shock value in his back pocket.  Normally performing without a backing band Vikesh's bright and empowering vocals command the attention of the crowd in a completely unexpected way. Vikesh maintains a lyrical honesty without fluff or filler but rather instills in his words a level of depth and meaning that lacks in most music these days. 

Tour Dates

Feb 23 Sweetwater Music Hall w/ Eleni Mandell Mill Valley, CA Tickets RSVP 

Feb 27 Noise Pop Festival w/ Mark Mulcahy San Francisco, CA Tickets RSVP 

Feb 28 McCabe's Guitar Shop w/ Eleni Mandell Santa Monica, CA Tickets RSVP 

Mar 03 Bootleg Theatre w/ Moses Sumney Los Angeles, CA Tickets RSVP 

Mar 20 Treefort Music Festival w/ The Joy Formidable, Boise, ID Tickets RSVP

Fastback Sessions #2 - Kye Alfred Hillig

Visible Voice was graciously invited by the Fastback Sessions to check out this great new outlet for up-and-coming musicians in the Northwest. The Fastback Sessions is part intimate living room show, part studio session, part documentary. Hosted by Fastback Studios in Seattle, Washington and partnered with BB Wheeler Creative, the Fastback Sessions is an invite-only in-studio showcasing a new up-and-coming artist every month. With each showcase the Fastback Sessions releases filmed performances, interviews and tech talks online, as well as live recorded audio tracks (Download here for FREE).

We are proud to introduce the 2nd offering from the Fastback Sessions featuring Kye Alfred Hillig.

Listen to live recording of "Which Way is West"

Damien Jurado - “Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Sun” *Album Release*

Album release show on Friday 17 January 2014 at the Neptune Theater In Seattle, WA

Damien Jurado’s latest album, “Brothers and Sister of the Eternal Son,” finds the singer songwriter still ruminating in the despairing way listeners have come to know him best. “Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son” is a melancholic folk rock album that at times is ethereal employing 60’s inspired arrangements a la the Zombies, or the moody calling of Echo & the Bunnymen. The songs are also psychedelic, worldly and a little cinematic if that film were an early 1970s sci-fi film. That’s not to discredit Jurado’s work. Jurado himself has never made the same record twice, which is what keeps his songwriting so interesting. On “Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son,” Jurado still gives listeners something new while recognizing his work in the past.

Tracks like “Metallic Taste” and “Suns in Our Mind” are the poppiest Jurado allows himself to get musically. Though even at its bleakest moments the album’s songs still sink their hooks into you. “Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son” comes across more like a soundtrack than a strict album. Jurado’s narrative follows the singer/songwriter as he continues to seek out an identity and finds himself at a crossroads. We never really know what it is Jurado is searching for, though perhaps Jurado himself doesn’t know either. “I don’t think I could choose a side / sunlights, they’re not meant to shine” he sings on “Suns in Our Mind.” What we do know is that the raw emotions at play on this album pull on our narrator influencing each word he gives us and paints a shadowy portrait of his world.

As an artist, Jurado has kept his music interesting by approaching his songwriting on each album differently. On “Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Sun” Jurado once again teams with producer Richard Swift whom he last worked with on 2012’s “Maraqopa.” Jurado’s calls his latest effort a somewhat sequel to “Maraqopa” (look no further than the track “Return to Maraqopa”), but “Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son” is more than just part two of a great album. Jurado seems to finally be getting comfortable in his own skin, or, at least, he’s found a skin that fits well for now.

The album’s production is atmospheric and beautiful. The lyrics: honest. Swift accurately helps Jurado capture his dreamscapes in sound and renders them gorgeously bleak. It’s a sound that comes across, at times, cleverly nostalgic and contemporary (so accurately rendered is the world created on this record, it has Father John Misty gushing about it on SPIN). If this album is Jurado getting comfortable, then let’s settle in with him.

Words by Craig Robert Brown

Photos by Adam Richert

Album release show on Friday 17 January 2014 at the Neptune Theater In Seattle, WA

• 01/21/14              Burlington, VT                   ArtsRiot                find tickets

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