October 2011

We'll Do It Live

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2011

09.30.11-10.02.11 | San Francisco, CA

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The 2011 edition of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, an annual free music festival in Golden Gate Park, drew an estimated 600,000-800,000 people. Most of them weren’t likely able to get as close to the action as lensman Scott Dudelson, who brings us this healthy sampling of the talent that gathered in 2011.

Mix Tape

Poundings LXIV

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The urge to smash and rail against things is strong these days. Nothing like anger and frustration to spark a fire, but ultimately, most of us just want to rise above the fear and upset to live with less strife, apprehension, and genuine want. Not that complicated really, but there sure seems a lot in the way of such a life.

The Clutch track here is dedicated to the rabblerousing cephalopod that’s protesting outside DI HQ (seen in this week’s mix cover). Oh, we’re not the target of its ire, but glad to offer non-policed space and handfuls of random shellfish to our comrade from the sea. This movement is spreading everywhere!

Our Why Pink Floyd? selection this week comes from Meddle, one of the group’s under-sung middle period classics. And we start off this mix with the title cut from Lou Reed’s 1982 album, which shows his upcoming collaboration with Metallica makes perfect sense.

If you experience playback problems, pop over to the 8tracks mix page and it should play fine.

track listing

We'll Do It Live

Tedeschi Trucks Band

11.22.11 | Newark, NJ

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Not since the early 70s heyday of Delaney and Bonnie (and their many gifted friends) have we seen anything like the Tedeschi Trucks Band. A powerful combination of superlative inducing musicianship and sheer numbers – TTB totals 11 members – the group has toured hard since the release of their debut, Revelator, this past June. Led by Derek Trucks (guitar, bandleader) and spouse Susan Tedeschi (lead vocals, guitar), they freely mingle rock, soul, blues and jazz with an increasing focus on original material on top of their stellar cover choices.

Our gal in the East, Suzy Perler caught the band at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center last week and brings us these photos. And you can read more about this band in Dennis’ 2011 interview with Susan and Derek over here.

In Your Eye

you gotta see this

Jason Isbell

Alabama Pines

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The AC hasn’t worked in 20 years/ Probably never made a single person cold/ I can’t say the same for me/ I’ve done it many times.

Jason Isbell is the kind of singer-songwriter that weaves the world we live in – some folks call it reality – with the world inside our heads, striking up a conversation between the personal and the common things we share. He’s rarely done so more gracefully than “Alabama Pines,” the lead-off tune from his latest album with his band The 400 Unit, Here We Rest. Isbell released a new video for the track today and we share it and a live audience recording of Isbell and Ryan Adams dueting on Alabama’s hit “Love In The First Degree” on their recent tour together for good measure.

And in case you missed it, here’s our recent chat with Jason here.

Dirty Impound Questionnaire

Red Fang

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Red Fang by Rexroad-Higgins

Put bluntly, Portland, Oregon’s Red Fang is the best thing to tackle hard rock in ages. While already making a name for themselves in the metal world, this band has the drive, ferocity, raw talent and potential reach of a group like Mastodon, who’ve tapped Red Fang to open for their current fall tour starting November 1st at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles (check out all the dates here). While one encounters elements in this band that bring to mind Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and their thrash children, there’s something scruffier and punkier to Red Fang, an untamed vibe that suits their name well. And while the guys show greater discipline and growing skill in the studio on this year’s sophomore album, Murder The Mountains (released April 12 on Relapse), they continue to generate music that feels like it could knock a tooth loose if you took your eye off of them for two seconds. Palpable danger like that isn’t easy to translate into musical terms yet Red Fang makes it seem simple, birthing an agitated beast that splinters your door and lifts you off the couch with an indelicate yank. That they infiltrate this intensity with bursts of melody and consciously articulated dynamics just shows how well they understand that brute force isn’t the only way to own things.

Here’s what Red Fang guitarist David Sullivan had to say to our inquiries.

read on for David’s answers

We'll Do It Live

Bon Iver / Other Lives

09.22.11 | Berkeley, CA

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Folk accented travelers Other Lives and Auto-tuned indie soulman and Kanye toucher Bon Iver played at Berkeley’s fabled Greek Theatre at the end of last month. Just seeing that combo in print makes us wanna smoke hash and cool our throats with fine Chablis. Our buddy John Margaretten was on-site to scoop up the mellow gold.

In Your Eye

you gotta see this

Manchester Orchestra

Will Do

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Manchester Orchestra‘s Andy Hull transforms this ace tune off TV On The Radio’s latest, Nine Types of Light, into a Bill Withers-esque love song. The cracks in Hull’s voice leave such room for a listener to inhabit. The Orchestra is currently out on a headlining tour with fellow DI favorites White Denim, and we’re stoked as stoked can be to be seeing this combo on Friday in San Francisco. Peep full tour info here

Mix Tape

Sunday Brunch I

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Once a month, the Impound will serve up a consciously gentle assortment to soundtrack the weekend waking of our readers. This inaugural edition includes two old songs that seem eerily timely from John Hartford and Gerry Rafferty, one of Elton John’s best moments, sweet covers of CSN (Cosmic Rough Riders) and Dolly Parton (Ida) and other tunes handpicked to ease you into the sunrise. Coffee’s on. It’s going to be a wonderful day…

If you experience playback problems, pop over to the 8tracks mix page and it should play fine.

track listing