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Christina Courtin – “Varisty”

This is such a great song, and such a smokin’ video.  Mega props to Christina for making all of this happen.

Bonk’s Adventure In Scotland

pHere’s one I did about a year ago — it’s some scottish fiddle tune Laura Cortese showed me. But here’s the catch: It’s totally 8-bit and with some crazy guitar (which is real guitar believe it or not) and dog barking samples!!!!!! Please listen with headphones for the maximum bass counterpoint experience. By the way, do any of you scottish fiddle types know what this song is called? Doesn’t really matter in the end, cause I think “Bonk’s Adventure in Scotland” is a perfectly fine name./p
p/p

Elite Syncopation

pSo…I arranged and recorded Scott Joplin’s “Elite Syncopation” for electric bass and 3 electric guitars.  All direct!  Check it out, if you please./p
p/p
p /p

Mike and Ruthy Take It To The Northwest

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I recently had the great pleasure of playing bass with Mike and Ruthy for two weeks in the greater Northwest.  Almost every show was great, like the St Francis School in Bend, or the Edgefield Winery just outside of Portland, or Robert Blake’s Subdued Stringband Jamboree.  But for me, the most special and memorable was Pick-A-Thon, which was held on a farm just outside of Portland.  There was so much incredible music at this festival, such as Mavis Staples, Lee Fields, Sonny & The Sunsets, Vetiver, Lonely Islands, Joy Kills Sorrow, and many, many more.  I actually left this festival with a very optimistic feeling about music.  It was alive here.

Playing with Mike and Ruthy is always SO fulfilling.  They’re great friends and beautiful people making real music.  Getting to spend time with their three-year old son Will is a pleasure for my soul. Can’t wait to do it again!  Oh, and look out for a Mike and Ruthy 7″ and EP on Media Blitz Record Co.!

 

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Media Blitz Record Co. 002. Jefferson Hamer – “This Ragged World We Spanned”

I’m pleased to announce the release of the second 7″ record on my label:  Jefferson Hamer, “This Ragged World We Spanned”.  This is a very intimate performance of Jefferson singing his original song, and the b-side is an Irish ballad called “Barbara Ellen”.  The record was recorded by yours truly, and was mixed and co-produced by Jefferson and I.  The artwork was beautifully created and letterpressed (is that a word?) by Carly James at Bison Bookbinding, and it sure looks beautiful!  I’m quite proud of this one.

If you’d like to purchase a 7″, please go to this link.  As always, your purchase includes a digital download, so you don’t even need to own a record player to enjoy this release!

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1st half of Shalants tour done. Bay area next weekend!

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The first three shows of this tour were great.  The Weed Brewery was pretty hilarious.  We pretty much played for Millers family and their friends, and a bunch of dudes that were celebrating after playing a frisbee golf tournament.
After that we drove up to Portland to play a wonderful show opened up by Ray Villalobos, who I’ve actually booked up Pete’s Candy Store.  It was nice to meet him, because I didn’t end up going to the show at Pete’s.  The venue was rad….The sound was awesome, and we were housed by a wonderful woman who Robin used to hang with back in SF, and her boyfriend.
And of course, Eureka, California.  Lil’ Red Lion.  Mr. Moonbeam.
Moonbeam was on fire.  He had a whole new rigged up suitcase that was designed for the road.  The loops were mindblowing.  I hope he comes out to NY.  

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These next four shows are going to be the best.
The first two will be on Friday, Nov 19.  Both will be in San Francisco.  The first is at the Make Out Room, and will be with Mike and Ruthy.  Robin and I will also be backing up my favorite folk duo!
Then we’ll be heading over to The Crescent Hotel and will be playing at a smile party.
November 20 will be in Santa Cruz at the Crepe Place and will also be with Mike and Ruthy.
And the final show will be on November 21 at Adam Zerbe’s Roost House!  I’m super excited about this show.  There will be two shows.  One at 4pm, and one at 8pm.

Portland

First of all, let me say that the wordpress app for iPhone sucks. I wrote a big long post with super detailed information about the start of our tour, and everything we ate on our way up to Portland, and it all got totally lost. Pissed. 

We just played at a super cool venue called the Ella Street Social Club. Supposedly this place used to be a mortuary. Spooky!  We ruled, as did Ray Villalobos, who opened the show. 

I think the reason we ruled was because we had Mexican food beforehand. I had a chicken burrito, Bret had the enchilada/chalupa combo, Rob had tortilla soup and a taco, and Miller had a combo plate. $2.50 pints of negro model on draft. Stoked. 
Next stop, Eureka. Looking forward to seeing Mr Moonbeam again.

Upcoming Shalants tour blog!

Howdy Folks,

I’m on an airplane right now, headed to California to begin the Shalants tour!  Check back for a daily tour update, with very entertaining and insightful commentary about music, life, and food.  Thank you.

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Bart Davenport at the Sled Island Festival

It’s always a pleasure to get to play with Bart Davenport.  However, last weekend was particularly great, because we got to play in Calgary at a killer festival called the Sled Island Festival.  The other extra bonus was that Sugar and Gold was also playing.  This festival had a pretty amazing bill.  Some of the bands playing were Dinosaur Jr., Deerhoof, !!!, The Posies, and The Melvins.  For me it was a real treat to play at a festival like this, because (not that I’m complaining), I normally play at folk festivals.  This was one of the only real “rock” festivals I’ve ever really played.  I actually felt a little out of place some of the time!  I sorta felt like the new kid at school…Needless to say, it was a wonderful time, and all of the new friends we made in Calgary made this festival truly special.

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BD!!!!

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…and band.

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Nick Dobbratz from Sugar and Gold.

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Pam, Jerome, and Robo.

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Robo, Nick, and He-Man 

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The Posies

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Deerhoof from what seems like 10 miles away.  One of the best bands I’ve seen in a long time.

Media Blitz Record Co. ——- Aoife O’Donovan ——– Limited edition 7″ vinyl with handmade silkscreened sleeves ——— AWESOME!!!!

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I can’t even explain how excited I am to announce the very first release on Media Blitz Record Co.  It’s been a long time coming for Media Blitz to actually start releasing records, and shortly we’ll have the vinyl in our hands.  SO STOKED.

The first release is by our dear friend Aoife O’Donovan.  The two songs on the 7″ were recorded over here at the studios at Media Blitz East in 2006, and just sat around in the vaults for a few years waiting to be released.  An incredible cast of musicians and friends were involved with the making of this 7″, including such Media Blitz regulars as Nico Georis, Ryan Scott, Rushad Eggleston, Aoife (of course), and (obv) Robin MacMillan and me, Jacob Silver.  A few relatively new friends were also involved with this record: Brittany Haas, who played violin, Alejandro Venguer, who mixed the record, Brian Turner from Cricket Press, who did the artwork, and Aaron Schultz, who runs a great record label called Bastard Jazz.  Aaron helped facilitate the actual production of the vinyl itself.  Each step in this long process was as crucial as the next, and each person’s incredible contribution is what has made this project turn out so great.

We will be having a record release party at the Rockwood Music Hall in NYC on Tuesday, June 22 at 8pm.  Click here for more info.

As of right now, the only way to get the record is to buy one at one of Aoife’s shows (click here to see if she’ll be coming through your town anytime soon), but that will soon change.  In a few weeks we will have online ordering set up, so you’ll be able to purchase a record from anywhere in the world.  Each record purchase also includes a free download!  Even if you don’t have a record player, it’s totally worth it to buy one of these records.  The artwork is absolutely stunning.  Pretty enough to frame and put on your wall.  Please check back soon if you’d like to order a record, or email me and I’ll let you know as soon as it’s available.

The concept of Media Blitz Record Co. is simple.  To release high quality music that was recorded at Media Blitz, and at least co-produced by me or Robin MacMillan.  All of our releases will be on vinyl, and will all be recorded on analog tape.  Stay tuned for upcoming releases.  We’ve got some INCREDIBLE stuff on the way.

Jacob