Paper Thick Walls: Chicago Indie-Folk band Play Spike Hill on Dec. 10th and Pianos on Dec. 11th

Paper Thick Walls presents an elegant mix of deep, reflective, and at times haunting music, which captures elements of sound similar to acts like Arcade Fire and Sufjan Stevens. The almost orchestral arrangement of piano, upright bass, guitars, drums, fiddle, mandolin, and other various instruments has a fascinating way of complimenting the profound fictional story lines that Paper Thick Walls portray through their lyrics.

The band was last in town for CMJ and are now coming back through New York with shows at Spike Hill (Dec. 10th) and Pianos (Dec. 11th). For the show at Spike Hill, Paper Thick Walls is playing with Herbert Bail Orchestra (11PM set time), SWF (10PM set time) and The Goodnoise (8PM set time). Paper Thick Walls is going on at 9PM and cover is $5.

For the show at Pianos, Paper Thick Walls is playing with Sink Tapes (8PM set time), Roy Orbit (10PM set time) and Athan & Trapped in Static (11PM set time). Cover is $8 and Paper Thick Walls takes the stage at 9PM.



Links:
Paper Thick Walls

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Paper Thick Walls: Chicago Indie-Folk band Plays Let's Get Messy's Free Day Party on Saturday, Oct. 22nd at Arlene's Grocery

Old Weathered Wooden Dock by paperthickwalls

Paper Thick Walls presents an elegant mix of deep, reflective, and at times haunting music, which captures elements of sound similar to acts like Arcade Fire and Sufjan Stevens. The almost orchestral arrangement of piano, upright bass, guitars, drums, fiddle, mandolin, and other various instruments has a fascinating way of complimenting the profound fictional story lines that Paper Thick Walls portray through their lyrics.

Their songs quickly caught the attention of sound engineer Mike Hagler (Neko Case, Wilco) who engineered Paper Thick Walls’ debut record entitled A Thousand Novels which was released on May 3, 2011 and promptly followed by a sold out record release show at “Hideout” in Chicago.

Here is what Rock NYC had to say about the band's debut album:
"My verdict, then, is that Paper Thick Walls’ “A Thousand Novels” is quite good. Not only are their compositions very nicely crafted, with the band displaying a penchant for a number of musical styles, their storytelling will keep you entertained and often contains elements of that darkness that lends a haunting quality to a song. Take a look."

Paper Think Walls are playing Let's Get Messy's unofficial CMJ day party on Saturday, Oct. 22nd. The show is free and the lineup is:

12:00PM: Hey Marseilles
12:45PM: The Damn Choir
1:30PM: Son of the Sun
2:15PM: Sandman Viper Command
3:00PM: Paper Thick Walls
3:45PM: Sydney Wayser
4:30PM: Kellen & Me
5:15PM: Archie Powell & the Exports



Links:
Paper Thick Walls

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Hull Plays CMJ Tee Pee Showcase at Union Pool on Friday, Oct. 21st

DOWNLOAD: Hull - "Beyond the Lightless Sky" (hosted on Pitchfork.com)

Brooklyn three-guitar led sludge rock collective Hull will play the Tee Pee Records CMJ showcase this Friday, October 21 at Union Pool in Brooklyn. Also appearing on the show will be Naam, The Fucking Wrath, ELKS, Mirror Queen and Unstoppable Death Machines. Tickets are $8.

Hull will kick off a long-awaited, near month-long U.S. tour on Wednesday in support of their monolithic Beyond The Lightless Sky full-length released via The End Records last week. The band will be joined by The F*cking Wrath on select dates. See updated tour schedule below.

Called "...a concept album for the ages" by Metal Army America, Beyond The Lightless Sky features guest appearances by vocalist Jarboe, keys/ambiance by Fade Kainer (Batillus/Jarboe/Inswarm ) and is raising the eye brows of fans and critics alike for its delicate balance of staggering heaviness and poetic grace. Exclaim hailed the band saying: "Hull have made something immense and nimble, ponderous and powerful," while CMJ noted
of the guitar sound in particular, "They're downright elegant at times, a fantastic contrast to the otherwise intense soundscape." The Obelisk called the band "crushingly heavy in a cerebral sense," adding that "Hull have come into their own and not only join the ranks of forward-thinking American metallers, but position themselves at the front of the pack with a few moments of unabashed, unashamed modern metal," and The Village Voice (NYC) commended the band's seamless versatility: "[Beyond The Lightless Sky] veers between motorcycle-revving D-beat, bog-trawling doom, sinister black metal, Neurosis drum-offs and hypnotic passages that gnash like a venom-dripping cousin to the final Isis album."



Hull Fall 2011 Tour:
10/19/2011 Valentines Downstairs – Albany, NY*
10/21/2011 Union Pool - Brooklyn, NY (HULL at 11:00pm!)
10/22/2011 Mojo 13 – Wilmington, DE
10/23/2011 Golden West Cafe – Baltimore, MD *
10/24/2011 Strange Matter – Richmond, VA *
10/25/2011 Milestone – Charlotte, NC *
10/26/2011 Drunken Unicorn – Atlanta, GA *
10/27/2011 Wormhole – Savannah, GA *
10/28/2011 The Snooze – West Palm Beach, FL *
11/01/2011 Siberia – New Orleans, LA *
11/02/2011 Brian Street Tavern – Dallas, TX *
11/03/2011 Red 7 FFF Kickoff Party – Austin, TX *
11/04/2011 Bash Riprocks – Lubbock, TX *
11/05/2011 The Open Source Project – Phoenix, AZ *
11/06/2011 Que Sara – Long Beach, CA *
11/07/2011 Vacation Vinyl (early show) – Los Angeles, CA
11/07/2011 Mountain Bar (late show) – Los Angeles, CA
11/08/2011 Hemlock Tavern – San Francisco, CA
11/10/2011 Highline – Seattle, WA
11/11/2011 Plan B – Portland, OR
11/14/2011 Bar Deluxe – Salt Lake City, UT
11/15/2011 Old Curtis Street – Denver, CO
11/17/2011 Downtown – Little Rock, AR
11/19/2011 Nightlight – Chapel Hill, NC
11/20/2011 Johhny Brendas – Philadelphia, PA
* w/ The F*cking Wrath

Links:
Hull

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Backwords: Brooklyn Psych-Folk Band Announces CMJ Shows at Bowery Electric and Bruar Falls

And Then Sigh by backwordsmusic

Brooklyn psyche-folk-pop band Backwords just announced that they have set up one of the last ever CMJ showcases at Bruar Falls on Thursday 10/20, under the umbrella of their basement diy recording studio "Campers' Rule Records".

Campers' Rule Records Presents a FREE daytime CMJ show:

Where: Bruar Falls, 245 Grand St., Brooklyn NY
Noon-1:00pm - FREE BBQ in Bruar Falls Backyard
$3 - Brooklyn Lagers!

1:30PM - Moonmen on the Moon, Man
2:00PM Yanqui
2:30PM Easter Vomit
3:00PM Beat People, (members of Girls at Dawn / Fergus & Geronimo)
4:00PM backwords
4:30PM Fort Lean
5:00PM Radical Dads

Also - Backwords will be touring immediately following CMJ and will be releasing a new album, By the Neck, in the Spring.

BACKWORDS TOUR DATES: - - - - - - -
10.19 - WED - Tijuana Gift Shop CMJ Showcase, Bowery Electric: Robbers on High Street, Madison Square Gardners
10.20 - THU - Campers' Rule FREE Daytime Showcase at Bruar Falls: w/ Moonmen on the Moon Man, Yanqui, Easter Vomit, Beat People, Fort Lean, Radical Dads - 1:00pm-6:00pm
10.22 - SAT - Fundraiser for the "Bushwick Community Darkroom" - Below Shea Stadium, Brooklyn, NY: The Furies, Broken Glow
10.23 - SUN - The Bug Jar, Rochester, NY
10.24 - MON - Soundlab, Buffalo, NY
10.25 - TUE - The Smiling Moose, Pittsburgh, PA
10.26 - WED - Bela Dubby, Cleveland, OH
10.27 - THU - South Park Tavern, Dayton, OH
10.28 - FRI - Green Lantern, Lexington, KY
10.29 - SAT - Rhino's, Bloomington IN
10.30 - SUN - Transistor in-store, Chicago, IL
10.31 - MON - Swing State, Lake Villa, IL
11.02 - WED - Rudyard Kipling, Louisville, KY
11.03 - THU - The Walnut House, Murphreesboro, TN
11.04 - FRI - The 5 Spot, Nashville, TN
11.06 - SUN - Acoustic Coffeehouse - Johnson City, TN
11.07 - MON - Knox ivi - TV appearance, in early morning - Preservation Pub Evening: Knoxville, TN
11.09 - WED - Strange Matter - Richmond, VA
11.11 - FRI - Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar, Charlottesville, VA
11.12 - SAT - Gillies, Blacksburg VA

Links:
Backwords

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The Grates Play Seven CMJ Shows Next Week

I guess I've been out of touch with what The Grates have been doing as I didn't realize that the Brisbane, Australia trio is now a duo and had relocated to Brooklyn. I got a kick out of the band's new bio (snippet below) where they talk about how they expected NYC to give them immediate inspiration for their third disc, Secret Rituals (which came out this past June). "They rode their bikes through New York blizzards, ate too much Mexican, joined a food co-op to stalk Entourage star Adrian Greiner and longed for New York to give them an album." Hopefully, they didn't join the Park Slope Food Co-Op as that place will suck the creativity and inspiration out of anyone.

Secret Rituals’ is a giant step forward for The Grates. There are still the infectious choruses, cheeky singalongs, and artfully addictive arrangements that characterised the band’s first two albums, but nobody could accuse The Grates of being ‘cute’ any longer. The band’s latest effort is broader and tougher in scope, more stripped back and bold. While a common thread links the record together, marking an album that is unmistakably The Grates, the individual tracks explore new depths. Without the luxury of having six weeks to finetune her lyrics while Alana and John figured out the songs, Patience was forced to take a more direct approach to her lyric writing.

“Everything had been hidden in metaphors on the previous two albums,” she says. “I don’t exactly know how I started feeling confident but it was probably to do with being in New York and being out of my comfort zone and how scary that is in the beginning, but then when you conquer it you’re left with so many more resources because you’ve got so much more to draw from.”

Patience wrote the lyrics to ‘The Night Won’t Start Without Us’’ in the middle of winter in a crazy, crazy blizzard, on one of the days the band was trapped in the band room for hours. But the only storm you’ll hear in this homage to the beaches of Australia are the whirling guitars and tumbling drums. ‘Welcome to the Middle’ is what Patience refers to as a “death lullaby.” No-nonsense drums punch through swirling guitars as she sweetly sings about life being a circle parade. “That’s the sort of song you’re not really going to want to sing to your kid, but that’s what I would sing to explain how life works,” she explains.

The Grates' CMJ Schedule:
- Oct. 16: The Delancey, NYC, 11PM (FREE)
- Oct. 17: Public Assembly, Brooklyn, 9PM
- Oct. 18: Cake Shop, NYC, 9PM
- Oct. 20: Rosenthal Pavilion, NYU Kimmel Centre, 1:55PM
- Oct. 20: Pianos, NYC, 10:30PM (FREE)
- Oct. 21: Pianos, NYC 5:20PM
- Oct. 22: The Delancey, NYC, 4:40PM

Links:
The Grates

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French Horn Rebellion and AVAN LAVA Play MOSCOT's Unofficial CMJ Party on Oct. 19th

Lemons by AVAN LAVA

MOSCOT Music is presenting an unofficial CMJ Party on Wednesday, October 19th with French Horn Rebellion and Avan Lava. This is a free show that starts at 7PM.

French Horn Rebellion (Robert and David Perlick-Molinari) kicked off 2011 by announcing the US self-release of their debut album, The Infinite Music of French Horn Rebellion. Written, produced and mixed by Robert and David, the album warps together the fabric of dance, electro, rock and funk. Previous to this release, the Brooklyn-based duo has had an illustrious pedigree; David produced MGMT's indie release "Time to Pretend" EP for Cantora Records, and French Horn Rebellion’s previous single “Up All Night” scored Record of the Week on BBC Radio 1 and a slot on the influential Kitsuné Maison compilation series. Pitchfork praised the track as, “irresistible, panting synth-pop, with fat new wave key tones and ecstatic vocals.” The band has also toured with Yelle across the US, and remixed tracks from the likes of MEN, Two Door Cinema Club, OMD and Alex Winston.

Born in 2010 in New York City, AVAN LAVA is the union of singer T.C. (Tom Hennes), musician/producer Le Chev (Michael Laine Cheever), and drummer Ian Pai. After touring playing bass and DJ’ing with Fischerspooner on their “Entertainment” tour, Le Chev began collaborating with T.C., a singer with a performance background in NYC, to create the debut release by AVAN LAVA, an EP entitled “Vapors”. Prior to the first EP’s completion, the record was picked up by Faux Pyre Records, and the duo was flown to Los Angeles for mixing and mastering sessions at the prestigious Infrasonic Sound Studio with audio wizard Pete Lyman (The Mars Volta, Bloc Party). During the initial pre-production sessions for AVAN LAVA’s second release, tentatively titled “Fantasy”, the duo called on Ian Pai, also of Fischerspooner, and to collaborate on the upcoming album and he soon became a fixture in the group. AVAN LAVA is planning its second release in January 2012.

The MOSCOT Gallery and Music Space is located at 118 Orchard Street, NYC (NE corner of Orchard & Delancey Streets). Attendees will receive 20% off purchases of MOSCOT branded glasses the night of show.

Links:
MOSCOT

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Keegan DeWitt Premiers Video for "Colors" / CMJ Show at Canal Room on Oct. 19th

DOWNLOAD: Keegan DeWitt - "Colour"

Nashville-based Keegan DeWitt is preparing to head out with Madi Diaz for a handful of southeastern shows beginning September 21st at the Workplay Theater in Birmingham, AL and he'll also perform at the ASCAP showcase during the CMJ Music Marathon on October 19th in New York.

Over the past year DeWitt has caught the attention of Paste ('10 Best New Solo Artists of 2010'), American Songwriter, AOL Music's Spinner, Popmatters, My Old Kentucky Blog, and the Nashville Scene, among others, while his "Nothing Shows" EP track "Say La La" will be featured in the pilot of ABC's new drama Revenge on September 21st (10pm ET/9pm CT). He and his band also filmed a stripped-down Sleepover Shows live session in Boston in June.



DeWitt has gained additional recognition for his film score compositions, and his work was seen theatrically earlier this year in Aaron Katz's New York Times 'Critic's Pick' Cold Weather. He recently collaborated with the cycling gear company Rapha as well, composing a suite for their coverage of the Amgen Tour of California.

Keegan DeWitt Tour Dates:

SEPT. 21 -- BIRMINGHAM, AL -- WORKPLAY THEATER*
SEPT. 22 -- ATLANTA, GA -- DRUNKEN UNICORN*
SEPT. 23 -- NASHVILLE, TN -- MERCY LOUNGE (Soundland Festival)*
SEPT. 24 -- CHAPEL HILL, NC -- LOCAL 506*
OCT. 19 -- NEW YORK, NY -- THE CANAL ROOM (ASCAP CMJ showcase)
* with Madi Diaz

Links:
Keegan DeWitt

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