I write about music for this site. I like music sure, but truth be told, when I’m riding alone in my car, stuck in traffic, for hours on end, all within the hell hole that is Los Angeles, I’m usually not listening to tunes. No sir. I’ve been a podcast guy since 2007. Talk just makes the commute go by faster. I dig the exchange of ideas maaaaan. One of my favorites podcasts is The Film Vault featuring Loveline engineer Anderson Cowan and The Adam Carolla Show sidekick “Bald” Bryan Bishop. I love that show. Every Friday I settle in and listen to two guys who, like me, are obsessed with movies. Their dynamic is great, Anderson digs the more artfully done stuff, while Bryan is more oriented toward the action pack monstrosities like Transformer series.
It just works. They touch briefly on new movies but mostly talk about unsung favorites. They introduce me to stuff I would have never heard of or ever thought to consider. They do that not only with movies, but music as well. Every week, they fade into their commercial breaks with a “featured artist” to expose the listeners to new tunes. This past week I was listening, and it happened to be a band where I had seen their name often, yet never heard the music. Then it hit me. Every time Deer Tick was back in Rhode Island, their name was popping up on Twitter. Seems these guys know each other and will occasionally play shows together. Anderson and Bryan shared them with me, so now I’m sharing them with you. This Week’s ARTIST OF THE WEEK: SMITH & WEEDEN.
Smith & Weeden formed up in 2007 after Jesse Emmanuel Smith and Seamus Weeden met while working at Whole Foods. The two played together for a while under the name King Falcon but then separated as Weeden moved to Austin and Smith to Rhode Island. After two years apart they reunited at the SXSW festival in 2011. There they met
up with fellow Rhode Island band MOGA. The two stayed with the group during the festival, in fact, they recorded their only EP in their rental house. Smith and Weeden were born.
The EP is fantastic. It’s Delta Spirit meets Old Crow Medicine Show. While the EP is only six songs, it covers a vast spectrum. Opening with somber tracks Drinking Through Some Problems and Angeline.
Closing withe more up beat tracks like Playin’ A Part and Take a Train which really capture the Americana sound of the early 60’s/ 70’s folk rock vibe. Hell you might even find a hint of CCR in there.
The final track Just Call encapsulates loneliness pretty perfectly.
This past December they put together a Kickstarter to aid in the release of their first full-length album. They are going MC5 style making their debut album in front of a live audience. On a personal note, I love this. Nothing sets the tone like a live record. You get the energy from the crowd, the band is giving it their all because they know it’s getting recorded. Gotta be on point. There’s really nothing like it. You can check out the trailer for the Kickstarter here.
http://www.kickstarter.com/
The album will be released in 2014 but it’s undetermined exactly when in 2014 that will be. Hopefully it’s sooner rather than later because I can’t wait to hear more from these fellas. They got a good vibe that I can get behind.
ALSO: check out the Film Vault. Great show. http://tfvpodcast.
Big Hugs,
KELLY
https://www.facebook.com/
http://www.kickstarter.com/
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