Posts tagged “Bandcamp”

This is the end of rainbows…

Trevor Peach is the world’s best worst emo musician ever. Relentlessly depressing and determinedly low-tech, his music swings around the low end of crappy and comes back as something with some semblance of brilliance. I have a complicated reaction to his music; It’s so overwhelmingly down that it makes me laugh, and so frustratingly perfect that it makes me what to punch holes in walls… in a happy way.

I went so far as to make a peppy, chiptune cover of one of his songs once many years ago. Here is the original:

And here is my cover:

A problem with Trevor Peach is that his music has never been released in any serious way. If you were lucky someone burned you a copy of a copy of a copy of a CD that someone convinced Trevor to burn at one point. But recently my lifelong friend and birthday buddy Geoff moved to Canada, where he has little to do. So he has embarked on an important musical curating project: the collection and releasing of the song stylings of Trevor Peach.

Let Geoff tell you in his own words:

I met someone in 2004. Strangely enough, I met him in a dumpster, but that’s a story for another time.

In the 11 years or so that I’ve known him, he’s been constantly making music on a shoestring budget and sending out mixed tapes to close friends, but never a mass audience. I wouldn’t say it’s my personal cup of tea, but many people seem to enjoy it.

To this end, I’ve been trying literally *for years* to help him promote his stuff. Honestly, it’s been so long in coming because he’s terribly hard to work with; moody, sad, morose, and not at all deadline oriented.

But… I have managed to curate quite a collection, and it’s all going to be shared with the world now, since I have his blessing to do so.
So, without further ado, I give you (my friends of Facebook), the one – the only – Trevor Peach:

https://trevorpeach.bandcamp.com/

So far, the 4 EP’s are up. Next week I hope to have the 2 LP’s newly remastered. After that, well, I have worked out a weekly visitation to see Trevor and get him to record new music that no one has heard yet. If all goes well, I’ll be able to get a song a week from him – heck, maybe I can get some guest artists to work with him, too!!

Anyway, I’m sure the people that love TP’s stuff will be excited, and I’m just happy to help the guy out!!!

So all of Trevor Peach’s (known) recordings are now up on Bandcamp for all to “enjoy.” And yesterday, the first new song since 2011 was released. It has a surprisingly well-produced sound to it (most likely due to Geoff’s influence in mixing and mastering). Partake:

Geoff promises to get one song every week out of Trevor. Let’s see if he can do it!

Also, you can now like Trevor Peach on the Faced Book (Geoff runs his page for him) and it looks like he’s also back to tweeting again!

Well, I came back, and I'm making music. Look, a new song a week starting now :( https://t.co/z6lWsexLfW

— TrevorPeach (@TrevorPeach) August 24, 2015

Short & Sweet.

Open Mike Eagle has just released a new video for his song “Apologies.” It’s a short and sweet little song (not even two minutes long) and a cool, rotating-head video. Watch it!

“Apologies” is from the compilation album Dorner vs Tookie by the Hellfyre Club record label/collective. The Hellfyre Club is made up of some of the best rappers in existence right now, including Mike, Busdriver, VerBS, Nocando, and many more. It’s a pretty fantastic album:

It’s okay, Mike; we forgive you!

Madeleine Easton: Golden-Voiced Goddess

At long last, one of my favorite guitarist/singers sat down and recorded some of her songs and put them on Bandcamp to enjoy. Madeleine Easton is a gorgeous, golden-voiced goddess. I was first hooked when I heard her sing her rendition of “Kiss the Girl” from The Little Mermaid at her dining room table. She is amazing to see live, and I’m very excited that she has released these two cover songs:

She’s planning on releasing more songs soon, but for now Partake and Enjoy!

For more info:
• Madeleine Easton’s facebook page

Baby bliss is going great! Avery is a bundle of joy, etc. Remember to go AveryFHarris.com for all the updates on her.

Anyway, there was a nice surprise at the beginning of this week: Julia Massey released an album! Surprise!

It’s a fascinating album: 30 songs, all of them under 94 seconds long, and all of them written & recorded in under 2 hours!

It’s called Songs From the Nook (which I assume refers to the nook in the house where it was recorded, not a Nook e-reader. It is available for download from Bandcamp right now!

It wasn’t a complete surprise, I must say. About a month ago Julia released a video on her YouTube channel. It was a strange, short, wordless little bit of happy:

http://youtu.be/KakV5MHlKYE

So I knew that something was up. Plus there had been some enigmatic tweets like these:

I'm really bad at keeping secrets, but I'm trying REALLY HARD with this one….. To be revealed this fall. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

— Julia Massey (@masseymusic) September 4, 2013

Sometimes all you gotta do is wait. #94Seconds #TeenyTinySongs

— Julia Massey (@masseymusic) September 6, 2013

Something in my heart told me that we've always been this free. #94Seconds #TeenyTinySongs

— Julia Massey (@masseymusic) September 23, 2013

Anyway, I love quirky projects like this. It’s like an album full of the musical equivalent of haiku poetry. I love short songs; you get one developed idea, get in, and get out before it outlives its welcome. They Might Be Giants reveled in the form with “Fingertips” (from Apollo 18), and short songs can be absolute masterpieces: “Spider” bt TMBG, “I Just Want My Pants Back” by The Crazy Boy Floyds, and “A Quiet Room” by Tangentbot are some of my all-time favorite songs. I wouldn’t be surprised if a gem or two from this album got added to my regular rotation!

Link of the Month:
Bandcamp Fan Pages
Bandcamp is already the best place for musicians to sell their music online. Now they have done something that is so unbelievably cool that it makes it the best place for you to buy music online as well. Now when you setup a Bandcamp Fan Page and then purchase any music on the site, that song/album gets added to the collection on your page. Not only that, but you get added to the pages of artists and albums that you’ve purchased as a supporter! You can follow your friends’ collections, and look at people who have similar collections to find new music that you might also like. It’s a fascinating philosophy that actually incentivises people to pay for music so they can show it off as part of their collection and be shown off as a supporter. You can read more on the Bandcamp Blog. And you can find me and my collection here: bandcamp.com/saucecore

Album of the Month:
The Glass Notes: As the Building Crumbles
The Glass Notes is the latest band to be fronted by Seattle music mainstay Robb Benson (of Dear John Letters, Dept. of Energy, and Nevada Bachelors). And this one rocks. The Glass Notes is a foursome that creates very earnest, fun, straight-ahead rock music. It’s catchy as hell and features things like vocal harmonies and actual, honest-to-god guitar solos. There’s something endearingly old-fashioned but at the same time refreshingly original about the sound. I dig it. So can you!

Streaming Radio of the Month:
Jet City Stream
This is a streaming radio station that plays only local music. From Bellingham down to Olympia and back up the other side of the Puget Sound. But they don’t just play current music; they play the whole recorded history of the area, and any and all genres, from The Sonics to Blue Scholars to Neko Case. It’s run by a former bigwig of “The End” and a former bigwig of “The Mountain.” Their website is slick and professional and easily-navigable, and their stream is robust and clean. It’s fun to hear all these songs that you know and realize just how much great music came out of the area, much more than just the grunge years (though they also of course are featured). And also to hear people I know pop up on the stream periodically! I highly encourage all of my musical friends to head to the station (it’s run out of the old Rainier Beer building in Seattle) and submit your musics! Dominate this stream! Also, here’s a news story about it by KOMO news, featuring The Glass Notes!