Author Archives: Jon Meyers

Unless you’re at a political convention, it’s not often you find yourself in a packed room of like minds, but the Power Popalicious Festival in May of 2011 was just that. The festival, curated by our friend and the King of Power Pop, Paul Collins, brought together throngs of music fans of both the Power Pop and Garage Rock variety who wedged themselves into Asbury Park, NJ’s Asbury Lanes for 2 full days of rock and roll.

And Paul is doing it again.

Billed as a “power pop music celebration,” Power Popalicious II returns to Asbury Park and the Asbury Lanes this November 16 and 17 to ease the ass shakin’, hook laden, gritty guitar ache your sweet tooth has been pining for.

TVD is once again a proud sponsor of Power Popalicious (both I and II) and as we inch closer to the actual dates, we’ll have features on the bands and whatever else we can come up with to make sure you’re dancing right along with us at the Lanes.

Make sure you get your tickets now for the event before they are gone! Tickets for Friday, November 16 are here and tickets for Saturday, November 17 are here.

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“When I was a teenager I listened to this song hundreds and hundreds of times. I suggested it in passing as a song I’d like to cover and Julie ran with the idea and really pushed to make it happen. Since we’re a relatively new band, we figured a cover would be a great way for people to hear what we do.”

“We approached our friend Marvin Joseph about directing the video. We sat around brainstorming a direction one afternoon and wound up settling on the idea of the whole thing taking place in a tunnel. The tunnel is like an escape route from the “Heart Shaped Box” where we have been trapped. That’s the concept. Problem was how to shoot in a tunnel without putting us and the crew in danger.

Solution: we had to build our own tunnel. Julie wound up finding instructions online about building cave walls for sets and that set the process in motion. A few days and many trips to Lowes later we had a tunnel that stretched from one end of Julie’s apartment to the other.

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It’s our weekly Twitter #MusicMonday recap of the brand new tracks from last week that the folks in the press offices want you to be hearing. We post, you download.

Elephant 12 – Holidaycd
KJ Hines – Pop Off
Sophie Auster – Run Run Run
Royal Canoe – Show Me Your Eyes
Thomas Azier – Fire Arrow
Don Caballero – Fire Back About Your New Baby’s Sex
Reuben and the Dark – Shoulder Blade
Bright Little Field – We’re Comin’ Out (Replacements Cover)
The Ramona Flowers – Dismantle and Rebuild (Album Version)
Slam Dunk – Dying Breed

TVD SINGLE OF THE WEEK:
Andy Burrows – Company

Dan Friel – Exoskeleton
Apollo Gets The Girl – New Dawn
Algernon Doll – Spiral Sounds
Young Dreams – Fog Of War
Rubedo – As Though Love Were Burning His Body
Wild International – Creeks
Mmoss – Another Dream
Pearl & The Beard – 40K
Peelander-Z – Get Glasses
Boyfrndz – Surf’s Up

27 more FREE TRACKS after the jump!

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“I rarely listen to music, but when I do I like listening to a vinyl record album. It makes me feel healthy.

A while back, I inherited my grandfather’s record collection. It was terrible. Except for one. Greek Folk Songs and Dances by the Royal Greek Festival Company. It sounds like beautiful sun rises. I’ve woken up with this record for the last 2 years. Unfortunately, I had to throw away my record player because roaches turned it into a sex palace. But I do love records.”
—Majestico

It’s groovy, murky, goth, and garage tied in one neat danceable package. We’re pleased to debut Majestico’s single “Boom Boom”—just in time to rock your Halloween party. 

Majestico Facebook | Twitter

I had been at a point where if a university had come to me and said, “Hey Jon, please teach a class in all things Beatles,” I would have responded, “Why sure, unnamed university—I’m a veritable font of information on all things John, Paul, George, and Ringo. “

That is, until Sunday night when I screened director Seth Swirsky’s Beatles Stories. Records and facts from books are one thing, but experiences of and with the Fab Four bring insight and depth and humanity to the four lads who have been fixtures in some lives—my life—from birth. Sadly, my class in Beatology would have been much like the art history classes I took at school—all facts and dates, minus the breadth of the individual artists at work.

Enter Seth Swirsky: “Director/Producer Seth Swirsky, an accomplished singer-songwriter and best selling author, grew up in the 60s and fell in love with The Beatles…Over a period of eight years, Swirsky traveled around the world filming an exceptional array of people – many themselves celebrities – who wanted to share their stories.”

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“Cleveland Rocks,” “All The Way From Memphis,” “All of The Good Ones Are Taken,” “Once Bitten Twice Shy,” “When The Daylight Comes,” “Momma’s Little Jewel,” “Rock And Roll Queen,” “Honaloochie Boogie,” “One Of The Boys,” “I Wish I Was Your Mother,” “Roll Away The Stone,” “The Golden Age Of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” “Crash Street Kidds,” “Saturday Gigs,” “Hymn For The Dudes.” Oh, and yes…”All The Young Dudes.”

Rarely can one rattle off a canon of rock and roll classics with such ease, yet Ian Hunter’s work, either solo or with Mott the Hoople, is in one word legendary.

And there’s a shared thread that runs between (legendary) performer and fan—and it’s that at the core of any inspired songwriter exists the common fan—a fan of the art, the inspiration, and the energy captured both live and on record.

Captured on record is Ian Hunter’s latest, When I’m President, and in support of its release a world tour which stopped in Washington, DC in September. We ferreted Ian away from soundcheck for an hour to visit Som Records for a record rummage and a chat with DC’s own local legend, Kid Congo Powers.

Ian proved to be an insightful raconteur and revealed himself to be, as both you and I are, a common fan.

It’s our weekly Twitter #MusicMonday recap of the brand new tracks from last week that the folks in the press offices want you to be hearing. We post, you download.

Sóley – I’ll Drown
Jets Overhead – Boredom and Joy
Rainy Milo – The Other Way
Jason Lytle – Won’t Be Long
Philistines – Woo Hoo Hoo!
Johnny And The Giros – I Don’t Need A Lover
Mystical Weapons – Mechanical Mammoth
Immigrant Union – My Heart’s A Joke
APTEKA – Striking Violet
David Bronson – 2 Times

TVD SINGLE OF THE WEEK:
Laura Welsh – Hollow Drum

Mister Lies – Waveny
Analog Players Society – Hurricane Season In Brooklyn
Pretty & Nice – Capsules
Alexander & The Grapes – Conversation
Wild International – Creeks
BRAINSTORM – Maybe A Memory
Letting Up Despite Great Faults – Bulletproof Girl
Gabriel and the Hounds – The World Unfolds
Wooden Wand – Southern Colorado Song
JAN – How To Beast

26 more FREE TRACKS after the jump!

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…is digging on vinyl:

Swans, Cop | The whole band has been obsessing over these guys again as of late. I bought this record along with Greed when I was in high school. I was super into the Touch and Go bands of the 80s-90s like Big Black, Scratch Acid etc., so when I heard this record it completely melted my brain!

I’m so glad we recently rediscovered this slab of brutality. Lemme say that this record might possibly be the heaviest, most skull bashing album of all time. Title track sells this thing alone “Nobody beats your head in, like a Cop. IN JAIL!!! If you love NY hardcore, industrial, or just mind numbing heavy ass shit in general—this one is for you!

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Diego Garcia came onto our radar courtesy of Idelic Hour host Jon Sidel well over a year ago, and his debut solo release Laura soon became a favorite – so much so that Diego spent a week with us rummaging through his personal record collection and sharing his set of musical influences.

Diego is on a tour through the States at the moment as opener for Jovanatti—a tour which stops at Washington, DC’s 9:30 Club this evening, 10/1. As such, we thought we’d reacquaint you with Mr. Garcia and the wonderful Laura with an opportunity to win a vinyl copy of the LP—and with some recollections from Diego himself from our week together in 2011.

“My Plastic Jesus” – The Education of Diego | “The following is my take on a quote from Tarkovsky: “The purpose of music should be to help people live, even if it sometimes causes unhappiness.”

Peel Slowly and See, the box set by the Velvet Underground released in September of 1995, months before my 19th birthday, should have come with the following warning: These 5 records listened to all at once will mess your brain up and you will sound like the Velvet Underground when you make your first record.

Add a little Bowie, the Ramones, Stooges, some Beatles, The Smiths, Stones and you pretty much start getting it. Any relevant artist today had to have gone through at least one of these bands. And then there are the records with songs made just for me. Records that I owned the only copy of.

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It’s our weekly Twitter #MusicMonday recap of the brand new tracks from last week that the folks in the press offices want you to be hearing. We post, you download.

The Chevin – Champion
Mark Mallman – Double Silhouette
K.Flay feat. Michna – LA Again (Radio Edit)
One Finger Riot – Miles
NEØV – Windvane
hitRECord – Move On The Sun
Dana Falconberry – Lake Charlievoix
Jason Karaban – Devil That I Know
Idea the Artist – Sheep Jumping Fences
Prince Rama – Those Who Live For Love Will Live Forever

TVD SINGLE OF THE WEEK:
Cara Mitchell – Passing Sun

Naytronix – In the Summer
Me And My Drummer – La Boum (Fatale’s Euphobia Remix)
T.H. White – Scene & Modify
Michael Andrews – Bubbles In Space
Mean Creek – Young And Wild
Golden Void – The Curve
Alameda – Oaxaca
WEINLAND – Another Dollar Rainy Day
Daft Punk – Superheroes (Solidisco Remix)
Damon Moon and The Whispering Drifters – We Make Our Own Traditions, Homesick Blues

34 more FREE TRACKS after the jump!

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“Growing up, our first exposure to music was through the vinyl format: mostly old, warped and scratched 45s from our mom’s collection. It might just be nostalgia, but there’s something charming about the listening process when one has to be an active participant. Even the simple act of turning over the record requires a type of attentiveness and devotion to the expeirence that’s lost in the age of digital, 100-song playlists.”
—Gibb Cockrum

Red Clover Ghost is Gibb and Clint Cockrum, identical twin brothers from the mountains of Western Maryland, transplanted to Virginia Beach, VA. The duo is set to release their self titled debut LP on October 23rd via Good Soil Records.

We were instantly taken with RCG’s Posies meets Turin Breaks vocals and airy, ethereal songcraft, both heady and organic at once. We’re delighted to debut the first track from the LP, “Cowboy Killer (Days Fade Away).”

It’s our weekly Twitter #MusicMonday recap of the brand new tracks from last week that the folks in the press offices want you to be hearing. We post, you download.

Ruarri Joseph – Anyway
The Pharmacy – Dig Your Grave
The Leg – Eagle To Saturn
Escort – Starlight (RAC Remix)
Fine Times – Hey Judas
Immigrant Union – My Heart’s A Joke
WHY? – Strawberries
Giant Giant Sand – Detained
The State Broadcasters – 3 Kittiwake
Mac DeMarco – Freaking Out The Neighborhood

TVD SINGLE OF THE WEEK:
Ending People – Beat of My Heart

Pati Yang – Hold Your Horses
Cold Showers – Violent Cries
Chris McFarland – Simple Selfish Plan
The New Trust – Wretched and Unwanted
Triad God – Remand
Books on Tape – Super Dr.
AbdeCaf – Never Know ft. Soft Lighting
Benbrick – They All Say
Blonde Summer – Slow Days Fast Company
Chamberlin – Thief (Rubblebucket Remix feat. Kalmia)

30 more FREE TRACKS after the jump!

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