Last night I saw Big Troubles video for “Bite Yr Tongue” for the first time, and all I could do was smile.  These boys are adorable, and the video represents everything that is Big Troubles and New Jersey…car rides, food (PIZZA and HOT DOGs), soda, great pop music, and more.  One of my favorite music videos of 2010.

If you haven’t see this yet, watch it and have a great weekend.

Big Troubles also released the video for “Modern Intimacy” today! This one is all about skydiving…I’m not into adventure sports, but the LP version of this song is super rad.

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Big Troubles WFMU set has been rocking my world (since May!)…if you don’t already have it check it out the live mp3s of the songs above, and then snag the whole thing:

[mp3] Big Troubles- “Modern Intimacy (Live on WFMU)”

[mp3] Big Troubles- “Bite Your Tongue (Live on WFMU)”

[album download/stream] Big Troubles Live on WFMU’s Talk’s Cheap with Jason Sigal

then…..

Go Pre-order Big Troubles debut LP Worry!  Get it on iTunes here, or on LP here.

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Creative Common Copyright credits:

• more on Big Troubles here.
• more from the Free Music Archive here.

Back To the Future the Ride (BTTFtr) is the solo exploration of sound by the one and only Brian Miller.  One of the people responsible for Friends Forever (if you haven’t seen the Friends Forever documentary, it’s one of the best rock n roll docs ever), as well as  the unearthly power that is Foot Village.

BTTFtr is about ambient tones, sound exploration, and constructing massive soundscapes to consume the listener into dark and  land that even in the heat and sun of the summer can make you feel cold and alone (and I mean that in the best way possible). BTTFtr is a band that is perfect for those days of deep meditation, contemplative reading, and as the case was yesterday a long dark subway ride that never ended.

Brian recently sent over this expansive track that is set to be released on his upcoming cassette , Neutrino Based Lifeforms for 5nakefork Records. It’s titled “When Jupiter and Saturn Align” that is sure to bring you to a place in time and space that you have yet to experience.  Using Windows 95 MIDI and other electronics to a construct dark oscillating, yet minimally melodic desolate landscape…beautiful noise rising from deep dark space.

I’m extremely happy to premiere this track on the Great Pumpkin:

[mp3] Back To the Future The Ride- “When Jupiter and Saturn Align”

• buy it, eventually, here.

BTTFtr have another release set to come out titled Pronoia Sunsets.  This cassette overall carries a lighter vibe than the track above, and the initial track “Zero Ghosts” shows a slightly more melodic side of Miller showcasing warm tones to creating a soothing dissension into the darkness that is a monster of a second track, “Sanity,” which boasts a run time of over ten minutes.  Pronoia Sunsets has be the sound track to my philosophical meditations since it was sent to me, and I hope it can do the same for you.

[mp3] Back To The Future The Ride- “Zero Ghosts”

• out soon on Accidie Records.
  

“Black Bones Inside the Sun Pink Bones Encircling the Sun” is also from the upcoming Pronoia Sunsets tape, and the video for the song was directed by Angie Meng:

If these teasers aren’t enough BTTFtr for you Death Bomb Arc is offering a free EP for your consumption… you can snag that here:

[album download] Back to the Future the Ride’s BTTFtr

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BTTFtr is going on tour with Universal Studios Florida this October!  (get it? it’s awesome!)

• Fri Oct 1 – at Cairo in Seattle
• Sat Oct 2 (daytime) at The Chapel on Reed Campus in Portland w/ Ghost Animal
• Sat Oct 2 (nighttime) – at tba in Portland
• Sun Oct 3 – at Heco’s in Oakland
• Mon Oct 4 – at Pehrspace in Los Angeles w/ Kevin Blechdom
• Tue Oct 5 – at Origami Vinyl in Los Angeles
• Wed Oct 6 – at UCI in Irvine
• Thurs Oct 7 – at Pomona College in Pomona
• Fri Oct 8 – at The Smell in Los Angeles w/ The Urxed (member of High Places)
• Sat Oct 9 -  at tba in Oakland (USF only)
• Sun Oct 10 – at Hemlock in San Francisco (USF only)
• Mon Oct 11 – at tba in Portland (USF only)

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• BTTFtr’s Tumblr
• follow Brian Miller on Twitter.
• Buy the Friends Forever Documentary here.
• Also check out Foot Village and Death Bomb Arc!
• picture of Jupiter via here.

West Palm Beach’s Totem Pole make haunting 60′s influenced pop music.  Totem Pole is the music of Kevin Williams, and he is backed up by Sam Lang with additional vocals from Tess Bass.  Totem Pole played their first show about two years ago, and just last month the band released their first EP titled Caves and Tunnels, Mountains and Stairs, and once again I have Jheri at Get Off the Coast to thanks for posting it!

Caves and Tunnels, Mountains and Stairs is a 6 song EP that oozes psychedelic folk, conventional pop, 60′s nostalgia, and delicately layered vocal melodies.  Initially the stand out tracks for me were”Pointless/Love Gallery” and “The Rain Chasers.”  “Pointless/Love Gallery” is a delicately layered pop number that shows off Williams’ ability to craft perfect pop which is bridged by the lovely vocals of Tess Bass into an eerie  instrumental using found sounds and loops as underlying noise.  “The Rain Chasers” starts off with long tones, the subtle ring of tambourine zils, and then the cadence of Williams crystal clear vocals kicks in  as well as the occasional understated wail of the guitar.  Just as the song title suggests this track would be even more magical than it already is during a thunderstorm…the tape hiss and found sounds of rain and bird caws at the end of the track bring that even closer to home.

[mp3] Totem Pole- “Pointless/Love Gallery”

[mp3] Totem Pole- “The Rain Chasers”

With each listen of the EP all of the songs seem to mesh closer together, and flow more perfectly than the time before.  It’s  something that I’ve literally listened to at least once a day for the past month.  Check out the other hits like “Stained Glasses On” and “Voyeuristic Tradition” here:

[full album download] Totem Pole’s Caves and Tunnels, Mountains and Stairs

On that note I happy to announce that Totem Pole is working on a brand new EP for  Fight the Future Cassettes! This EP will be taking shape over the next couple months and we are looking forward to bringing it to you late this fall.  As the release takes shape there will be more information posted here, and on the Fight the Future blog.  It’s exciting times here at the Great Pumpkin and Fight the Future, and we couldn’t be happier to be sharing it with you!  More to come soon for sure!

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• more on Fight the Future Cassettes here!

I should have been on this months ago, but it took Bryant over at Part Time to bring it to my attention.

Family Trees are a Brooklyn based threesome that recently released a7″ on the quickly rising Father/Daughter Records. Ryan Trott, Amanda Finn, and Joe Pruitt make up the trio and as the title of this post/song suggests we get blissful dream filled pop. Gentle guitars and hazy vocals, complete with harmonies, comprise this short but sweet pop number. A song that is perfect for these thick humid end of summer days. Toward the end of the track the guitar takes the lead and rings out like a sudden thunder storm in the summer heat. Family Trees show restraint in this song using that catchy guitar riff only twice, when another band might use that single riff as the basis of an entire song. A sign of maturity and the ability to craft songs which is rare in a bands first release, and a promise of more great things to come.

[mp3] Family Trees- “Dream Talkin’”

Family Trees claim Phil Elverum’s Microphones and the Beach Boys as their influences, and hearing this track makes that apparent. A beautiful realization of two very different musical visionaries colliding.

On top of this wonderful single Amanda Finn, drummer of Family Trees, directed this video for one of the b-sides:

Buy Family Trees’ Dream Talkin from Father/Daughter Records here.

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Family Trees have been playing out around Brooklyn, but there is a prime chance to see this great new band tomorrow in Manhattan:

August 17th, 2010
Live at Pianos!
Julian Lynch (11pm)
Family Portrait (10pm)
Family Trees (9pm)
and
Guardian Alien (8pm)

If you couldn’t already tell by this line up… it’s filled with gprecs favorites…you might remember the countless times I’ve posted on Julian (who released one of my favorite records of 2009, and it’s looking the same way for 2010), and Family Portrait (great dudes who make great music)…there couldn’t be a better time to catch Family Trees than with these two acts.

If by chance you still don’t know Julian or Family Portrait here are some mp3s from the archives (all previously posted):

[mp3] Julian Lynch- “Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper Cover)“

[mp3] Julian Lynch- “Rancher”

• buy it here.

[mp3] Family Portrait- “Killer Statements”

• “Killer Statements”appeared on the Underwater Peoples Winter Review, with a ton of other great bands.
  • Buy it here.

[mp3] Family Portrait- “On The Floor”

• Buy their split 7″ with Andrew Cedermark here.

Keep up to date on Family Trees shows by following their blog!

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• more This Week In Mail Order here.
• more on Julian Lynch here.
• more on Family Portrait here.

On July 5th I tagged along with my friend Leah to see Unrest at the Bell House for the big Teen Beat party. I am still fairly new to their music (I know…how many years behind am I?), but have been catching up fast.

Above is a photo I shot at that show with my Diana Mini, and I’m pretty stoked about it (actually lots of band photos are going to be popping up on this site. I just got a bunch back, and I’m finally learning the ins and outs of double/extended exposure). Unrest really brought the hits back in July at the Bell House, and even though I didn’t know all the songs the crowd was friendly and all were in good spirits (and I was one of the youngest people at the show, and that is a rarity now that I’m 27)…actually one of the most chill crowds I’ve been around in a super long time.

While Unrest was in NY/NJ they played a live set on the Brian Turner Show on WFMU, and whether you are a super fan, or a novice like me I think it’s a great introduction…and it’s all available on the Free Music Archive!  Leah introduced me to “West Coast Love Affair,” and there was a really wonderful version of it performed on Brian Turner’s show.  I’d like to share that with you now as a soundtrack to the photo above:

[mp3] Unrest- “West Coast Love Affair (Live on WFMU)”

You can grab the whole set here:

[album download] Unrest Live on the Brian Turner Show 7/20/10 on WFMU

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Creative Common:

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• This photo is from the White Lodge. If you would like to use this photo please link back to the flickr page, and credit the White Lodge. More posts featuring photos from the White Lodge can be found here.
• more posts featuring music from WFMU’s Free Music Archive can be found here.

Hello All,

For those of you following this blog since the first post you know that the initial idea was to have the blog turn in a record label.  Last fall that dream was almost brought into fruition, but do to the actual finances involved in pressing records I had to back down from the idea…luckily the band I was working with has become close friends.

After a long time of thinking about it and gathering inspiration from a bunch of wonderful people (Mirror Universe, Patient Sounds, Deathbomb Arc, The Curatorial Club, and Bridgetown I’m looking at you) I’m proud to announce that The Great Pumpkin is launching a sister label called Fight the Future Cassettes.

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Fight the Future Cassettes is proud to bring to you releases by Blacksburg, VA’s Dream Cop and Denver, CO’s I Am The Dot.  These releases will be new recordings by both bands.

Dream Cop is the recording project of Tommy Davidson, and if you have been following the Great Pumpkin in 2010 several of his tracks have appeared on this site.  Dream Cop’s music has a vast range approaching many genres from psychedelic folk, upbeat rock, and even venturing into ambient R & B.

Dream Cop has been featured on Visitation Rites, Transparent, Get Off The Coast, and Pitchfork Media.

It’s been a while since Dream Cop has released any new songs, and I can’t wait to hear the new tracks…in the mean time check out “Marooned” and “Daily Mirage,” both of which have been previously posted here on the Great Pumpkin:

[mp3] Dream Cop- “Marooned”

[mp3] Dream Cop- “Daily Mirage”

• check out my previous write ups on Dream Cop here.

I Am The Dot is the recording project of Zachary Tipton.  Tipton started I Am The Dot during a time when the members of his other band, Young Coyotes, were out of town, and has since released six EPs (all of which are available on his bandcamp site).

I Am the Dot caught my attention when I saw him featured on Transparent, multiple times on Get Off The Coast, and countless times on the FMLY.

I Am the Dot has an emphasis on composition using electronics and keyboards (among other things) to craft intricate psychedelic pop songs as a vehicle for Tipton’s vocals and lyrics.  These days it’s rare to find a musician who lets their vocals come through so clearly, but with I Am The Dot it is deliberate, undistorted, and something that draws me to his music.   I Am the Dot first made it on my computer with his track “Love Song For Camus,” and later with “Mark Twain.”  These two songs got me over to his bandcamp where there is at least an album’s worth of tunes, and since I’ve fallen in love with his music and specifically the Minimal Love EP.

here are the two tracks that started me on I Am The Dot:

[mp3] I Am The Dot- “Mark Twain”

[mp3] I Am The Dot- “Love Song for Camus”

• you can purchase I Am The Dot’s music digitally here.

Again, all of the mp3s on this post are previously released tracks…track details for the Fight the Future release will be announced when the release gets closer.  I’m extremely excited to be working with I Am the Dot and Dream Cop!

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This is just the tip of the iceberg that will be Fight the Future.  We are looking at a release date of late September or early October for this split, and the second release will be announced shortly.

Keep an eye on the Great Pumpkin, and the Fight the Future blog for more details, mp3s, and additional news (Fight the Future also has a twitter)!  The second release will be announced probably next week as well.  Exciting things are happening, and I’m so happy to share them with you!

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• more on Dream Cop can be found here.
• listen/buy I Am the Dot recordings here.
• this Fight the Future logo was drawn by Leah Klein.
  • can you draw spaceships and cassettes?  want to contribute an image to the label(it will be used in some way, shape or form)?  Get in touch: fightthefuture (at) gprecs.com
• Follow the Fight the Future blog here!

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UPDATE 9/2/10: As is the case with split releases everyone works at different paces.  We are changing gears, and Fight The Future’s first release will not be a split between I Am The Dot and Dream Cop, but a new EP by I Am The Dot.  A release is still in the works with Dream Cop, and direction and details on that release are still in the works!

Tonight is a big day for music here in Brooklyn, and even though I haven’t had great internet access over the past couple weeks I still need to let you know what is going on!

Death By Audio has a killer show happening with two of my favorite up and coming acts.  First is Swimsuit, a new band that features the one and only Fred Thomas and friends, making sweet surf pop.  Their debut cassette was pressed in an edition of 100 copies and sold out within a month!  This tape featured this blissful track called evaporation where one of the ladies in the band added some vocals to what has been so far just excellent instrumental surf rock:

[mp3] Swimsuit- “Evaporation”

• buy their new tape here.

Opening this show will be Philly’s own Pet Milk playing their fourth live show ever, and their first in NYC!  Pet Milk’s demo has been on at least a couple times a week since I first heard it, and “Cherry Outline” is probably one of my favorite songs of the year.  These guys are quenching my thirst for twee in the best possible way.  I can’t wait to see them in the flesh I’m sure it will be stupendous!

Although these were previously posted here they are again:

[mp3] Pet Milk- “Cherry Outline”

[mp3] Pet Milk- “Always Knew It Couldn’t Stay”

People Get Ready and Bad Indians are also playing too.

SWIMSUIT is also playing at Pizza Forest in Brooklyn tomorrow Saturday July 31st.

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Right around the corner from Death By Audio is Glasslands where New Jersey’s finest will be there in the flesh.  Not only will Mathew Mondanile, better known as DUCKTAILS, be there, but another one of my favorites…the one and only Julian Lynch!  Along side these two headliners will be Bathetic/ Mexican Summer veterans’ Campfires, another one of my personal favorites Big Troubles, and the up and coming Brooklyn group La Big Vic….all of which is being presented by  Microphone Memory Emotion!

[mp3] Julian Lynch- “Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper Cover)“

• Buy Julian’s music here.
  • Cyndi Lauper cover via Friendship Bracelet

[mp3] Ducktails- “Mirror Image”

• buy the mirror image 7″ here.

No matter which side of South 2nd and Kent Ave you end up on you are in for a treat, and if you get there early you can probably jump back and forth between both shows (if you pay for both!).  I’ll see you there.  Cheers,

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• more on Swimsuit here.
• more on Pet Milk here.
• more on Ducktails here.
• more on Julian Lynch here.
• more on Big Troubles here.

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I normally don’t write about two shows happening on the same night, but I love so many of these bands I had too…both shows will be amazing.  The heat broke so both of these venues should be pretty comfortable tonight.  No more 90 degree heat!

Hey, Ya’ll I’m on vacation!

But that isn’t going to stop me from letting you know that one of my favorite bands is playing two shows in New York City this weekend!

Ireland’s best…SO COW is back in the US, and their final stop is here in NYC!

It just so happens they are playing my favorite out door music series…and it can’t get any better because they are playing with THE OH SEES!

• TONIGHT July 16th: SEAPORT MUSIC FESTIVAL!
  • w/ THE OH SEES and Golden Triangle
• Tomorrow Saturday July 17th @ Death By Audio

If you are unfamiliar with these Irishmen you should take a listen.  They make some of the catchiest guitar pop out there right now, and have been my favorite band for about the past two years.  Today I’ll share with you one of the first tracks that I heard by these popsmiths.  It’s a cover of Television Personalities “This Angry Silence”:

[mp3] So Cow- “This Angry Silence (Television Personalities)”

and one of my favorites of the self titled:

Buy So Cow releases here.

Read all of my reviews, see all the videos, and a whole slew of So Cow mp3s right here.

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Next week I hope to catch up on lots of video posting.  I’ve had some gems building up on my vimeo and it’s time to unload them on you nice people…I also hope to finally get my wrap up of Northside Fest posted too…we will see this is vacation.

Until the next post….cheers.

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• more on So Cow here.
• This photo is from the White Lodge. If you would like to use this photo please link back to the flickr page, and credit the White Lodge. More posts featuring photos from the White Lodge can be found here.