Chris Carrabba fronts Twin Forks, a Nashville-based Americana/Folk band that joins the Ryan Bingham/Lucero co-headlining tour as the opening act. Before this eponymous record, Carrabba fronted Dashboard Confessional and Further Seems Forever before that.
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Rattler is the newest creation of Elliott McPherson of the Dexateens. It’s a Magic City supergroup of sorts, featuring McPherson and Brian Gosdin of Dexateens, Wes McDonald of Vulture Whale, Mike Gaut of Model Citizen and Taylor Hollingsworth of Conor Oberst Mystic Valley Band. The project is loud. It’s punk. And it’s spiritual, a concept McPherson conceived after reading The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. Continue reading
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American Aquarium comes to Birmingham on the heels of their eighth studio release, Wolves. Raised on Ryan Adams and Whiskeytown and the sounds emerging from Raleigh, North Carolina, the band’s story of survival includes a period when they had considered hanging it up, but soldiered through to complete their biggest and most revealing record, Burn.Flicker.Die. Continue reading
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I was hit by a car. I got a book deal (unrelated). I got my first credit card. I visited L.A. and D.C. I became a member of Tigers Unlimited Foundation. I spent more time in my hometown than I have in a decade. I decided that I like tomatoes for the first time in life. 2014, man, it was popping.
I used to wax poetic about my year at the beginning of this annual post, and I’ve slowly done that less as photos can sort of do the talking. Things are good! The leg is fine! I can’t run and it feels weird before it rains, but I’m still kicking (well, not really kicking literally, that isn’t easy anymore either).
On Saturday, the Magic City’s proud native son returns for a 2:30 p.m. set on the Cask & Drum stage at the festival of the same name in Birmingham’s Lakeview District. He spoke to Weld about a whirlwind 2014, and the conversation served as an extension of that Bitter Southerner piece, focusing on his feelings about his hometown.
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A few words about an announcement?
I don’t know where to start with this. I’ve never shied from gloating about personal achievements, but then in my defense, I’ve never shied about sharing disastrous failures and shortcomings. I began radio at the age of 17, and by the age of 22, my life was playing out, daily, on 50,000 watts. At minimum, eight hours a day. I’d often joke with my ex, “If you ever wanted to cheat on me, you can turn on your radio and know exactly where I am one third of every day.” I didn’t expect her to use that to her advantage.
So I’ve never really known privacy as an adult and always kind of accepted that my life and its obstacles and successes were “warts and all.” And I think, at least, that that transparency is part of why people enjoy whatever it is that I do.
There. That was frank. So I want to share the first hurdle I have crossed in achieving a lifelong dream.
The Zombies‘ masterpiece, Odessey and Oracle, nearly never saw the light of day, and lead singer Colin Blunstone never wanted to record its biggest hit, “Time of the Season.” Both only surfaced at the urging of CBS Records executive Al Kooper, but by that time, the band had broken up.
The split lasted over 20 years, a period in which Blunstone did some work with Alan Parsons Project and enjoyed a long solo career. His partner, Rod Argent, enjoyed modest success throughout the ’70s with his own band, Argent. Continue reading
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Broments, 2013.
It was a year, man. I’m not sure that my annual postcard from the road, my “weather is here, wish you were beautiful” requires a lot of setup this time; I worked hard, I played harder and things are as good as they have ever been. Continue reading
Passion Pit comes to Iron City Live on Thursday, October 3. Doors open at 7 p.m., with the show beginning at 8 p.m. The Joy Formidable opens. A very limited number of tickets still remain for $32 and can be purchased online or at the venue.
I spoke to bassist Jeff Apruzzese about how the band chooses songs to remix, how they will scale down their set from Hangout and Bonnaroo to fit Iron City and frontman Michael Angelakos’s public battle with mental illness.
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Blake Ells 