5GB With Midnight Spin; Playing The Red Palace, April 20

Brooklynites, Midnight Spin, are making pop-rock and aren’t afraid to not be hipsters. They were voted #1 Best Emerging Artist in 2009 in NYC’s Deli Magazine, and have been steadily building their tribe. They are playing The Red Palace tomorrow night, and joined us for our 5GB series.

What’s the first gig you ever attended?

Foo Fighter’s record release for “Colour and the Shape” at Congressional Plaza on Rockville Pike. Dave had a shiny green Grestch he just got, and I shook Pat Smear’s hand. Danny high-fived Taylor Hawkins, and we went home infected with an even deeper desire to be real musicians.

What is the best gig that you ever played/performed?

Staying with the theme, Midnight Spin’s record release for “Through the Mojo Wire” pops into my head every time I’m asked this. It was our fans, our friends, and our first show with Jeremy. I remember after we finished the first song I was a little frightened at how loud the applause was inside Mercury Lounge, a really great feeling. Here’s to hoping the upcoming record release can top it.

What is the best gig you have ever seen?

I couldn’t really ask for anything better than having my 2nd favorite band open up for my favorite band. Seeing Pearl Jam open up for the Rolling Stones in Pittsburgh in beautiful October weather was about as good as it gets. I almost fell over the outfield bleacher railing when they started playing “Get Off of My Cloud”, there was a lot of jumping around on my part. Eddie Vedder came out to sang Wild Horses with the Stones. I drove up from DC with my Dad to see the show, it was a great memory.

Gig you would most like to play?

Something about the Reading Festival tells me that we’d have a great time there.

What would be the lineup for your dream gig?

The radio DJ would probably say something like, “A third band has been added to Friday night’s bill at Madison Square Garden, where Midnight Spin will now be joining The Strokes and headliner Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.”

Catch Midnight Spin, April 20th at The Red Palace, Washington D.C.

5GB With The Jezabels; Playing The Red Palace, April 14th

Australia knows indie rock. Take for example, The Jezabels, whose debut album  was voted #6 in the well respected Australian  Triple J Album Poll for 2011. They joined us for our 5GB series before their show at The Red Palace this Saturday, April 14th.

What’s the first gig you’ve ever attended?

I saw the Gloria Record at a youth centre in San Diego. They had technical difficulties and only played a few songs, so my friend drove me up to LA to see them at the Knitting Factory the following night.

What is the best gig that you’ve ever played/performed?

We played quite early on the main stage at a a festival called Soundwave in Australia. an all time favourite band of mine, Sunny Day Real Estate, were watching from side of stage as they were on after us. It was nerve racking but equally exciting. After we finished up I got to watch SDRE from side of stage, quite a memorable day.

What is the best gig you have ever seen?

Seeing The National at Southbound in 2011 was absolutely incredible. Really opened my eyes to how much a good performance adds to good music.

Gig you would most like to play?

I’ve been told about an amazing festival in Iceland called Airwaves. Apparently the line up is always incredible and I’ve never been to Iceland.

What would be the lineup for your dream gig?

The National, Cursive & us with David Bazan doing a few acoustic songs during each change over. Would be magic.

Catch The Jezabels April 14th at The Red Palace

5GB With The Dirty Guv’nahs; Playing The Red Palace, April 5th

Knoxville’s The Dirty Guv’nuh’s have been consistently touring around the South gaining a steady following with their distinct roots, funk, blues and country-rock sound. Their latest album, Youth Is In Our Blood, was produced by two-time Grammy-winner Justin Guip (Levon Helm, The Black Crowes) at Helm’s renowned barn/studio in Woodstock, NY. They are voted Knoxville’s Best Band for the past three years, and joined us for our 5GB Series before their show tomorrow at The Red Palace.

What was the first gig you ever went to?

Our first show was a benefit concert in Knoxville for a non-profit called Invisible Children. We had never played in front of anybody and our set was 30 minutes long. 3 originals and 3 covers. I’d love to see some video footage of that… it was pretty rough.

What is the best gig that you ever played/performed at?

TIE. My favorite gigs ever were Bonnaroo, and opening for Levon Helm Band in Woodstock, NY. Levon asked us to take the stage with him for encore and asked me to sing the first verse of “The Weight.”

What is the best gig you have ever been to?

I saw My Morning Jacket at a small club in our hometown about 8 years ago. It was one of the most rock and roll moments of my life.

Gig you would most like to play?

Every video of Glastonbury looks incredible. My number one goal though is to headline Madison Square Garden one day.

What would be the lineup for your dream gig?

Opening for The Rolling Stones or Paul McCartney would be the most outrageous thing dream-able. Realistically, we’d love to tour with My Morning Jacket, The Avett Brothers or Dave Matthews Band.

Catch The Dirty Guv’nah’s tomorrow at The Red Palace, D.C..

Ten Dollar Tuesday!

Happy Ten Dollar Tuesday everyone! We’ve got lots of great events available for just $10 a ticket – so have a look and get yourself some entertainment!

The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band at Star Bar, April 4

Satori Trova at Rock and Roll Hotel, April 7

Peelander-Z at DC9, April 15

Bleu Edmondson at Stickyz Rock’n'Roll Chicken Shack, April 27

Retribution Gospel Choir (Low’s Alan Sparhawk) at The Red Palace, April 28

Get the whole list of shows HERE.

Q&A with Rich Robinson, Playing The Red Palace on March 17th

By Amanda Miles

Rich Robinson has lived a lifetime on the stage. The Georgia bred guitarist played alongside his brother in the soulful rock band The Black Crowes for over twenty years. Rich’s initial foray into a solo album began during a Crowes’ hiatus. When the Crowes announced their “Say Goodbye to the Band Guys Farewell Tour” in 2010, I knew Rich would not be left in the wings. This rocker lives and breathes the stage. His second solo effort “Through A Crooked Sun” is an masterful tale of turmoil and triumph. Rich welcomes fans into his life lived in song and invites them to stay a while. Rich graciously spoke with AMG before his  show at The Red Palace.

How does your second solo album differ from your first solo venture?

On the first record, some of the songs were written for a Black Crowes record and some of the songs were written for this new band I had put together. That band kind of fell apart and I had all these songs. I had to do something with it…I can’t stand wasting material. I really liked them but they were written for other singers. After the band I put together for a minute fell apart I thought “F*ck, I’m just going to do this myself.” I think the difference with the first record…I like it, it was a good stepping point to get to this place. It fell in my lap instead of writing for my voice and understanding where my voice fits best and understanding lyrically how to convey what sort of message I want to convey. I had never written lyrics and I had never sung before so I just said “f*ck it” and I winged it. To me it was more of a frantic album and with this new record I knew I was going to do it, I knew I would be singing it, I had much more of an understanding of where my voice sits, what will work and what won’t work.

Was it scary to take the lead? 

It’s cool, it’s different….I just really like to play. I like it when my band is good and I feel like I have a great band. It’s not something I am most comfortable with…being some sort of “front man.” But I just really like to play music. It’s a part of me. To be able to do it in this setting and also to play the music that I want to play is good. The Black Crowes are The Black Crowes, they are their own thing. This is definitely my thing. It is definitely cool to be able to step out and do that.

For me, and I’m sure other Crowes fans, it has been great to hear your sound and get to know you as an artist.

It has been great to see people in the crowd that I have seen for 20 years…a lot of the fans who have been coming to Crowes shows for 22 years! To be in these clubs and be close and talk to people and experience that has been really cool. We just back from Europe and it was great, we all had so much fun. It was us in a van driving for 6 or 7 hours a day, from Norway to Sweden to Germany. It was really cool, there was so much camaraderie there. It was positive, there isn’t any baggage. It just feels like a new thing. The last time we toured in the states the record hadn’t been out and the band was brand new. We were learning to be a band. This time around we’ve really stepped into a whole new level.

What song are you enjoying playing live right now?

I really like playing all the songs. I feel like we’re really hitting our stride on these songs and as you play a song live they kind of morph into something different…I can feel that is happening. We’re playing a lot of really cool covers as well.

Do you feel writing the songs for the new record was cathartic?

Yeah…the bio kind of talks about the record but it only really focuses on the negative like divorce. People tend to focus on the negative and it makes better press but what the record is really about is a positive thing. Finding a new love, finding a new wife and having babies, getting through all the sh*t and moving forward. It’s really coming from a more positive place and that’s where this record came from.

Catch Rich Robinson tomorrow night at The Red Palace

5GB With Jenny Owen Youngs; Playing The Red Palace, March 15

What was the first gig you ever went to?

The Beach Boys, when I was 11 or 12, at a state fair in Pennsylvania.

What is the best gig that you ever played/performed at?

Supporting Regina Spektor in at the Apollo in Manchester England, December 2009.

What is the best gig you have ever been to?

Hmmm it’s impossible to pick a best-ever… I’d say the best show I’ve seen in the last year was Bright Eyes at the Williamsburg Waterfront over the summer.

Gig you would most like to play?

Reading!! Or Leeds!!

You might not be totally familiar with Jenny Owen Youngs, but I bet you have heard her music. The NJ native had a song (“F*@K I Was”) from her debut album appear in Showtime’s Weeds. Since then, Ms. Youngs has toured with the likes of Vienna Teng and Glen Philips from Toad the Wet Sprocket. We chatted with Jenny as part of our 5GB series before her show Thurs. at The Red Palace.

What would be the lineup for your dream gig?

Radio City Music Hall with Tom Waits and the reunited White Stripes, please.

Catch Jenny Owen Youngs at The Red Palace, Washington, D.C…

Ten Dollar Tuesday!

Happy Ten Dollar Tuesday everyone! We’ve got lots of great events available for just $10 a ticket – so have a look and get yourself some entertainment!

Good Old War at Vinyl, March 9

Titus Andronicus w/ Screaming Females at The Basement at Graveyard Tavern, March 10

Polica at The Red Palace, March 23

Perfume Genius at The EARL, March 29

Natural Child at Black Cat, April 3

Get the whole list of shows HERE.

CD Review: Cloud Nothings — Attack on Memory; Playing The EARL, February 17 and The Red Palace on March 31

Cloud Nothings
Attack on Memory
Carpark

By Al Kaufman

Almost every band for the past five years has made the lead of song for their album, if not their best one, at least one that reaches out and grabs, that pulls the listener in. Dylan Baldi, the man behind Cleveland, Ohio’s Cloud Nothings, does just the opposite. “No Future/No Past” is a long, bass-driven droning number that seems to go on for much longer than its four-and-a-half minutes. But that’s sort of the point. On this Steve Albini-produced sophomore record, Baldi wants you to forget all about the Cloud Nothings more simplistic past. This is a new band with a new sound, even if that sound is Weezer on Quaaludes. … Continue Reading

5GB With Samantha Crain; Playing The Red Palace, Washington D.C. 1/31

By Eileen Tilson/ @tktalt_tn

Oklahoma’s daughter Samantha Crain has been the girl who builds her fans brick by brick. Touring with the emerging elite songstresses like Rachael Yamagata, Ingrid Michaelson, Meiko, Katie Herzig, and Jessica Lea Mayfield, Crain is bringing her eclectic sound to stages across the country. She joined us for our 5GB series before her show Tuesday at The Red Palace in Washington, D.C.

What was the first gig you ever went to?

I saw a ska band called Five Iron Frenzy  when I was 12.

What is the best gig that you ever played/performed at?

Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, part of a tour we were opening for the Avett Brothers, last show with the Midnight Shivers.

What is the best gig you have ever been to?

Sufjan Stevens in Denver at the Bluebird Theatre when I was 17 with my dad.

Gig you would most like to play?

I love playing Pickathon in Portland….and I’d love to keep playing there

What would be the lineup for your dream gig?

I would love to play with Dr. Dog at Union Chapel in London

Catch Samantha Crain Tuesday,   Saturday, Jan. 31 at the Red Palace Washington, D.C.

Ten Dollar Tuesday!

Happy Ten Dollar Tuesday everyone! If you’re in the need for an awesome cheap ticket, we have you covered. Here’s a few of the gigs you can go to for only $10:

Medications & Cloud Nothings at Black Cat, November 10

AA Bondy at Stickyz Rock’n'Roll Chicken Shack, November 11

Gringo Star at Black Cat, November 13

Youth Lagoon at The Red Palace, November 13

Those Darlins at The EARL, November 19

Get the whole list of shows HERE.