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Ivana XL – “Always Tell The Truth” from Get Right With Santa

Keep and eye out on her Bandcamp page for more as she may be feeling in the mood to share again…

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Land of Leland – “I Saw Three Ships”

Visit LoL on his new website for both the above track and last year’s “Still, Still, Still” that is also highly recommended.

~Smansmith

In our other Slowcoustic life over at Yer Bird Records things are happening, I mean really happening.  Being a small music label, we thought we might enjoy a slower “holiday” season to relax but apparently we like to start making arrangements for album releases over one of the busiest times of the year for shipping, vacations and the like.  Well oiled machine I tell ya.

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I want to start off with our next release coming up in January; Greater Pacific will be releasing a 6 track digital EP entitled “Rainfall“!  You might be familiar but if you are not, Greater Pacific are a “side project” of Kyle Kersten and John Phinney from the band Travel By Sea.  It was recorded with fellow TBS’er Mike Cusick on drums and they were lucky enough to have the lovely Angela Correa sing on a couple of tracks.  If you are looking for laid back country infused folk tunes with massive amounts of pedal steel, then this will be for you.  You can see the initial artist page on Yer Bird Records here, and it will grow in the coming weeks before the January 25th release date.  To give you a taste of Greater Pacific in festive form, listen to “Let it Snow” below:

“Let It Snow” – Greater Pacific

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There will also be two more releases in the first quarter of 2011 (both are looking to be in February) from Hezekiah Jones and Ghosts I’ve Met.  The new albums will both be pressed on vinyl (!!) so get ready for Yer Bird’s first vinyl releases folks – they will not disappoint.

Hezekiah Jones’ new album “Have You Seen Our New Fort?” grows on the talents of the Philly folk staple with more of their signature upbeat barn burners along with some of the most poignant ballads I have heard in a while.  The album really allows the talents of lead man Raphael Cutrufello to shine.  There is even a Chris Bathgate cover that is a show stopper (if I had to say, and I do have to).  Look for a mid February release alongside a release show in Philly at the same time).  In the mean time, listen to a song from Hezekiah Jones’ most recent EP “Bread of Teeth” (a song that gets a re-worked version on the upcoming album), listen to Traffic to the Sea below:

“Traffic to the Sea” – Hezekiah Jones

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Ghosts I’ve Met who also has released with Yer Bird already in the 5 track digital EP “Payphone Patience” is seeing his first full length release also making a vinyl release.  The new album “From A Spark” will also continue on this Seattle singer songwriter’s penchant for creating moody acoustic gems.  Almost perfect for a warm rainy day along the coast.  This will also see a February release, so keep an eye out here and on his artist page on Yer Bird Records.  While we are waiting, listen to one of track from his EP below:

“Payphone Patience” – Ghosts I’ve Met

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There you have our record label update.  Y’all up to speed now?  Good.  See every last one of you in 2011!

~Smansmith

]]> http://slowcoustic.com/2010/12/05/yer-bird-records-update-greater-pacific-xmas-trackupcoming-ep-in-january-hezekiah-jones-ghosts-ive-met/feed/ 1 http://slowcoustic.com/2009/12/24/my-holidays-are-a-breeze-yes-you-read-that-right/ http://slowcoustic.com/2009/12/24/my-holidays-are-a-breeze-yes-you-read-that-right/#comments Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:04:32 +0000 slowcoustic http://slowcoustic.com/?p=3782 So this time of year (yes, its one of those posts, but come on…) and it is usually either stressful, taxing, exhausting or simply wears you out.  Or it just might be a combination of any of those ;-)

For me, its usually not too bad as I don’t really take the “holidays” too seriously and now that I am getting a bit older (I said “a bit older” folks) it is less about opening gifts and frolicking in the snow but more about time away from work, drinks and some alone time.  Alone time?  Yes, I am in fact an only child and from a single parent family and I have no children of my own.  Poor me, right?  I don’t know.  Maybe because I was brought up in this scenario that crowds and huge family get togethers seem out of place for me.  If it gives you an idea, my December 25th morning will be me, my wife and my mom who has flown into Calgary for the holidays and my two dogs.  That’s it.  Sure we are heading out to the wifey’s family in the afternoon as there is actually family on her side, but I think maybe it is the quiet times of the holidays that I really like and look forward to.  That and making excuses to buy something excessive for myself because honestly the holidays are not too difficult for me – but one still needs to be rewarded for making it through this time of year!  Yeah, I like that last part about the excessive purchases…yeah…

QUESTION(s):  So, anyone with horror stories or is it all okay for you all?  Did you want to post it in the comments?  Is this a family time of year for you all?  Is this just time away from school/work/hometown and if not is it still something that you look forward to?

Well, for some of you it might not seem as easy as I have made my holidays sound, so my advice is to breathe deeply, slip away every now and then and just think that it will all be over soon.
For you: “The End’s Not Near (New Year Cover)” from Band of Horses.

And if you are into this time of year, I applaud you as you just may be a better person than I.  So for you, how about something a bit more in the season – try a nice little original from previous Slowcoustical
For you:  “Still, Still, Still” from “Land of Leland” (see a previous mention).

Happy “whatever it is you want it to be this time of year” to you all from Slowcoustic.

~Smansmith

p.s.  Maybe the breeze I am thinking of is the breeze of the ocean off the coast of Mexico that I will be seeing in a week…  I said my holidays are not stressful, right?

As you can see by the title of this blog post that I am jumping on board with the whole “theme” playlist due to the time of year. Well as corny as it sounds (and it does sound corny) without at some point embracing this time of year you can’t really sit and judge those that are actually in the spirit.  I am not necessarily saying that I am IN the spirit now, but what I am saying is without being “into the season” how can you assume that it is all a load of malarkey and start quoting verbatim about the whole creation of holidays by greeting card companies, Wal-Mart, etc?  We can always try not to be too cynical this year, can’t we?

I always want to get into the season without having to endure too many cliches but still be involved to some extent.  This means not heading out with a cup of apple cider and walk around the neighbourhood singing carols but I can handle indie bands doing seasonal tunes.  Whether it be a classic holiday song or a newly created track in light of the season, its all good.  So the below listening list is essentially based on the Christian holiday of Christmas and I am not going to get into the fact that Christmas is only one of multiple holidays this time of year, that is for another forum…

Slowcoustic “Festive” listening list

Do You Hear What I Hear / Merry Ellen Kirk {Visit Her}

Santa must be Daddy / That Band From Holland / Forget The Past With A Present {Visit Them}

The Ballad of Jack Pine / T. Nile {Visit Her}

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas / Paper Moon {Visit Them}

Santa Claus is Coming To Town / Neil Nathan {Visit Him}

Listen to the Choir Sing / Ian McGlynn {Visit Him}

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2 tracks from the great Indiecater Christmas album – purchase HERE (check out last years version as well HERE)

Snow Angels / Boca Chica  {Visit Them}

Tinsel Politics / Standard Fare  {Visit Them}

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~Smansmith

What’s new in my world?  Well, I think it officially became winter yesterday here in Calgary.  Snow, harsh winds and even harsher traffic.  We did have a bad traffic day due to inclement weather last Friday (Nov. 27th) which resulted in horrific 5 hour one way commutes home after work, but this was only the first sign as the weather did turn back a bit.  Now we here in Calgary have resumed our inevitable course to Father Winter territory.  Above is a photo of winter in Calgary, except it tends to often be overcast but overall we are fairly sunny with average to less snow than some Canadian centers.  I am not totally depressed by all this weather crap as I recently confirmed two trips to sunny destinations (Mexico in a little less than a month and St. Lucia in August for my anniversary – 5 years!).  Well enough about me, what is happening in music blogger world??

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• Daytrotter has been supplying some great sessions lately (and via their new iPhone app) I have discovered two sessions that jumped up at me – Robert Francis and that JBM.  So head over and listen to some great music and if you have an iPhone – try out the app, it is really slick.
• Tis the season for lists, so if you missed it – check my brethren over at Knox Road for their best of the decade post – Anyone who knows anything will either agree, disagree or at least have an opinion.  Check it HERE.
• Matador Records debuted the new Shearwater track on their Matablog – looking forward to it very much.  Thanks to Frank at Chromewaves for the tweet that gave me the heads up!  Listen:  “Castaways” from The Golden Archipelago album (Feb. 2010).
• Also found via a Tweet heads up from The Music Slut – Jonsi from Sigur Rós has a solo project coming up.  The song is an average to okay track but I just like listening to an English version of Jonsi (and like I said on twitter, it is more a Sigur Rós lite, for you die-hards but definitely worth a spin or two).   Listen: “Boy Lilikoi” from “Go” (Mar. 2010)
• The good folks over at We Listen For You named Slowcoustic as their #6 Music Blog of 2009!  I guess we’re doing something right, check out the rest of the list HERE.  Don’t forget to visit next week as we will have a post from WLFY here on Slowcoustic with a list of more “Best of 2009″!
• Tsururadio also put a mixtape and best of list for part 1 and 2 for his 35 best albums of 2009 (and a great post in the first place, love Tsuru posts) – you can’t miss it, so go HERE to discover the top list and listen along.  And for heaven’s sake, play gapless!!
• HearYa also put a J. Tillman interview up yesterday – learn why Tillman doesn’t like to shave by clicking HERE.

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Oh, and because it is December, the best of list and Xmas posts will be starting, so I wanted to officially put my first “Festive” track of 2010 on the blog.  And as usual I will not dissapoint – I have a uber melancholic show stopper from Scott Matthew – such a beautiful and tragic song…so…MERRY Xmas?

“Silent Nights (with Sia)” – Scott Matthew

Check out the video as well:

And I have a few more seasonal tracks that will surface over the next couple of weeks, so don’t be greedy.  If needed Craig over at Songs:Illinois always has a MASSIVE list of festive songs to dig into.

~Smansmith