Author Archive for morion

Arrah and the Ferns - Evan is a Vegan (2006)


February 3, 2008
morion

Album Review

Arrah and the Ferns is a big small band.

But even after playing 130 shows last year it is still very possible you didn’t see them.

I didn’t.

But, I did find them somehow. Probably one of those late myspace sessions I’m trying to stay away from of late. I acquired their album via the internet (the illegal way) and was very taken with it. That was last summer.

I listened to it last night again and go figure it’s still good!
My first brush with them, “Apple for Evan”, is still a possible favourite, but there are plenty of other gems. Really…there isn’t a second wasted.

I love thirty minute records!

Currently, they are recording their second album for national release on May 6th through Standard Recording, from which you can buy their debut here.

Myspace

Website

Cara Del Gato - Green Fingers (2007)


January 27, 2008
morion

Album Review Collective Family

The band is Meg and Wayon Costello who, according to their myspace, live in both Gainesville, Florida and Richmond, Virginia.

Green Fingers is a 15 minute EP recorded in Waylon’s shed. It goes by fast which is fine because you will want to give a good few of the songs multiple listens.

The two that really stuck out at me on first listen were:

“Only Daughter”, a sort of Velvet Underground meets Animal Collective number which pretty much sold me on the release.

“This Town”, a great track beginning with some entertaining dialogues and some how reminiscent of The Unicorns for me. Maybe it’s the keyboards or the spooky childishness…

But, I keep on listening and I keep on liking more of these songs.”Ring Around the Rapture”, for instance, is a folkier number with some grand whistling and then this last song “You’re Aware”….“You’re aware, I’m a werewolf…”

This is brilliant stuff and perhaps a sampler for the many other releases they have available on 001 collective.

I for one am going to go find out!

Brother Bird, Regal Standard


January 20, 2008
morion

Live Music

In my experience, it’s been a rarity to find two musicians sharing a set. In fact, I don’t believe I had ever seen it done before the show on Thursday @ Luminous and Merry( in Decatur) where two acts from Lawrence, Kansas merged beautifully into one.

Brother Bird (aka JB) is the reason I was there. He invited me to play awhile back, with out really specifying that he had nothing to do with booking the show. This turned out to be perfectly alright as I got in touch with the venue’s curator, Wabash (who was the subject of my last blog), and all was well. The first song of his I heard was “Lunar Eclipse” and I was just floored by how amazing it was, I believe Regal Standard (Cody) is singing high in the background.

Really it was just incredible musicianship and vocals from both of them the whole way through. I look forward to listening to their albums which rumor has it are heading toward the collective. Keep your eyes peeled.

They are just finishing up their tour.

If you hurry you can still catch em’:

Jan 20 2008 7:00P
Cream City Collectives Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Jan 21 2008 7:00P
HUGE BAND SHOW AT A BAR Galesburg, Illinois

“Lunar Eclipse” is to be on the, as yet, unreleased Brother Bird full length.

http://www.myspace.com/brotherbird

http://www.myspace.com/regalstandard

Wabash


January 14, 2008
morion

Live Music

I’ve got 15 minutes before Sunday is over which is just enough time to make a nice and rambly post about my musical endeavors of late.

Firstly and most important is Wabash.

Wabash is a strapping young lad by the name of Griffin living in Decatur, Illinois and also you and all of your friends– or at least this is the case if you have the pleasure of attending one of his shows.

Quite a treat it was Saturday. The show began by the throwing of woodblocks, triangles, maracas, egg shakers, drums and noisemakers of all shapes and sizes into the crowd. As you can imagine, there was a large commotion and then as Griffin began to sing and play his portable Yamaha, on the floor, silence……..THEN an amazing web of pretty well coordinated percussion. I was on some clocker sticks myself I felt they were pretty integral. As, I imagine most people felt of their own craft and the room was full with a warmth the other acts couldn’t muster.

It wasn’t just turning the audience into the band that made it so good. Wabash’s songs are very captivating. I haven’t yet finished his album, but it is much more bare from what I have heard. Just vocal and pianos mostly. Great production, courtesy of PJ records. So, I guess I will say for now: see him when you can and check out his myspace. Also, keep your eyes peeled in the collective releases because I get the feeling he would be happy to contribute.

P.S. If you live close to Decatur come see Wabash, Brother Bird, Milly Geronimo, Regal Standard, Good Night and Good Morning and me, Morgan Orion (I’m opening)!!!

Thursday, January 17th 7 PM

3280 E. Garfield Ave.

It’s going to be delicious!

http://www.myspace.com/griffineugeneiswabash

P.P.S I was going to mention something else, but it’s already Monday here. Well at least this is finished by the west coast deadline. I’ll save it for next week.

Love,
Morgan

Honorable Mentions


January 6, 2008
morion

Album Review

Every once in awhile I come across an album that I must listen to incessantly for days or weeks at a time. I thought this week I would share a few with you.

The Milk Eyed Mender

by Joanna Newsom

2004

With the voice of an 8 year old and the vocabulary of Voltaire, Ms. Newsom weaves beautiful whimsy and insight from the poignant and pervasive strings of her harp.

Who Will Cut Our Hair When We Die?

by The Unicorns

2004

Probably the best Indie album ever conceived, it was written by Canadians and explores death, ghosts, luff, stardom and yes…unicorns.

New Skin for the Old Ceremony

by Leonard Cohen

1974

Another Canadian artist, Cohen is the Dylan of his country, but crazier and smarter. This album marks the last time he would sing in the sweeter voice that marks his earlier accomplishments. Excellent if you are going through a break-up.

The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane

by Jeffrey Lewis

2001

After I saw Jeff for the first time, opening for Adam Green in Chicago, I listened to his debut album on the train ride home and was transported to some small room in Brooklyn. It was there I learned that music has nothing to do with how well you play guitar or sing and that the line between crying and laughing is about the width of a cd.

The Beach Boys - SMiLE


December 30, 2007
morion

Album Review

Like most of the Myspace generation, I knew nothing of The Beach Boys except what I had gotten through sublimation through their amazingly bad beach movies and songs on oldies radio. For the longest time this didn’t bother me, but one day I grew curious. It might have been because I heard an interview with of Montreal front man, Kevin Barnes or just a realization that I had always known of this band and never really given them a listen before. When I finally got albums recommended by some of my more musicy friends I was quite surprised by how psychedelic and bizarre this beach music really is.

SMiLE was an album to be released in 1968 which had a great deal of hype surrounding it. It was supposed to be the greatest pop album ever conceived, proported grandeur probably coming from it’s fathers, Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks who worked together writing many tunes in Wilson’s in house sandbox. The concept: A teenage symphony to God.

The album never came out for a number of reasons, Wilson’s heavy drug use and mental illness being at the forefront. During the recording of the song, “Fire”, Wilson had the band wear fire fighter hats and halted further sessions suspecting that the song had caused several fires near the studio. The album has become the stuff of legend amongst Beach Boys fans.

So, suffisive to say the crowd was quite stunned when Brian Wilson played the entire album at a performance in 2004. A studio version was later released. This version was my first experience with it (and it is quite an experience!), but that is not the one that I was listening to on Thursday in my dimly lit room whilst doing thai-chi. I admit it was an odd listening tactic, but the material lends itself to surrendering the body to its heavenly rays. The album is a reconstruction of the original Beach Boys recordings from 1966/67 done by a fan with the alias of Purple Chick.

Based off of the newer arrangements (and maybe some old tracklistings) it’s a pretty intense trip. It was really evident at some points where Kevin Barnes got some ideas for tracks on of Montreal’s Coquelicot Alseep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse. What I really like about this version is the dual versions of vega-tables one of which Paul McCartney can be heard eating carrots on and also the wonderfully lush sound of old studio equipment handling insanely cool harmonies.

At 67 minutes it’s 20 minutes more than the new official release and probably a tad too much, but it still has it’s charm.

A FLAC download is available here and 160 kbps mp3 here.

You can find Brian Wilson’s SMiLE in stores.