And Now You Have...
Each week we try to enhance your, "Have you heard of this band?" knowledge. Get to know Two Gallants.
Two Gallants is a folk/blues duo from San Francisco. Comprised of Adam Stephens and Tyson Vogel, Two Gallants got their name from Dubliners, a James Joyce story I know I read in college; but don't remember what it's about. Two Gallants have released three full-length albums, all on Saddle Creek. The two have been making music together since they were twelve years old, but became an official band in 2002. The voice is raspy, the lyrics are about killing or prison and the guitar and drums sound dirty. Yet, it's all pretty beautiful.
In one of the more rock n' roll stories you'll ever hear, Two Gallants, their tour manager and a few spectators were tasered by a cop at a show in Houston, Texas after not stopping their set even though the cop had told them they were violating noise laws. Allegedly, the cop hopped up on stage and delivered the shock, then proceeded to arrest Vogel; along with a few other members of the opening band. Stephens avoided arrest by escaping, but did not avoid being tasered.
"Steady Rollin'" comes off their 2006 release, What the Toll Tells. Not always an easy listen, Two Gallants can be absolutely stunning when in the right mood.
Posted by Wes Soltis on Nov 20, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Missed Out Music
Sometimes an album gets lost in the shuffle. HEAVE reminds you that good music never goes away.
Ahh, who doesn't love those criminally unknown American power-pop bands? They're not unlike a desperate middle age balding male with a beer gut desperate for a teenage girl to listen to them. These bands have been scraping at the outer stratosphere of our musical tastes since the mid 1970's, all in an attempt to score. Cheap Trick, Big Star and even Matthew Sweet are the well known artists for sure, but just further outside of town lurk the remnants of bands like The Db's, Shoes and this week's band - who modern era "bubble gum fuzz" enthusiasts like to call Tsar.
Tsar formed in L.A. in 1998, and soon won an energetic following. Their songs are anthems for a small generation detached from the Limp Bizkits and diet Limp Bizkits of the time. The self-titled debut on Hollywood Records was released to little fanfare, and Tsar faded quickly into obscurity. Shame really, seldom do we see albums these days with such boyish and reckless energy. The band would release their follow-up, Bands-Girls-Money, in 2005; but by then had morphed into a poor man's Jimmy Eat World. For a brief moment in the early part of the century - Tsar had a little piece of the world on a platter.
Posted by Joe Roth on Nov 19, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Record Numbers
People still actually buy CDs. HEAVE breaks down the numbers.
This isn't exactly a shock, but Jay-Z commanded the charts this week, selling just shy of 425,000 copies of American Gangster. That moves him into a second-place tie with Elvis for the most number one charting albums with ten, nine shy of the Beatles?record of 19. Though it might seem odd to have Jay-Z and Elvis sharing categories, the truth is that they both represent the power of innovation and entrepreneurship in the music industry...
Posted by Ryan Peters on Nov 16, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Up Chucked
Up Chucked asks the question, "Can you believe what's going on with Amy Winehouse?"
People have a lot of different names for God: Yahweh, Elohim, Allah, Abba, Haile Selassie, Shangdi, Shen, Brahman, Bhagavan, Deus and so forth (I wanted to list some Sikh names for God, but there are literally hundreds of them, so no dice). And though theologians have debated since time immemorial about the nature and purpose of an almighty being, there is one thing that must now be unanimously agreed upon: God hates Amy Winehouse...
Posted by Ryan Peters on Nov 16, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Your Listening Pleasure
A small slice of new music. Fire Engines, Lightspeed Champion and Flying Lotus in this week's YLP.
Fire Engines - Big Gold Dream - Here's a history lesson for you. Early Scottish post-punk band, Fire Engines, only lasted for 18 months, but in their time they subsequently inspired everyone from Franz Ferdinand, to Primal Scream, to The Jesus And Mary Chain as well as countless other bands. The sparse recording of "Big Gold Dream" demonstrates the band's angular guitar riffs, funky bass lines and innovative drumming...
Posted by Jason Prechtel on Nov 16, 2007 @ 12:00 am