an interview w/ Trixie Whitley

Besides spending time workin' on the blog, I've had the chance to do some corresponding for Spin Magazine's new site, called Spin Earth.tv. I wanted to share one of the recent interviews I did for the site with the amazing young singer, Trixie Whitley. You may recognize the name from her father, Chris Whitley, who tragically passed in 2005, but at the young age of 21, Whitley has grown up fast, doing everything from acting, and DJ'ing, to touring Europe as a Dancer. She is currently working on a new trio project with famed producer Daniel Lanois and drummer Brian Blade, which should be out this Fall.
Check out the interview below to learn more about Trixie, and to hear some of her songs live.

Special thanks to Host Kevin Pearson for helping w/ the piece.
See full report...

Trixie Whitley on myspace.

Our new 'Liner Notes' interview w/ The War on Drugs

Coming out with one of the finest debuts in 2008, The War on Drugs album, Wagonwheel Blues gave a uniquely fresh take on some classic sounds, creating a killer blend of psychedelic Americana. We caught up with frontman and founder Adam Granduciel in Brussels recently, to chat about the recording of the new disc, hitchin' a train to Philly, and getting caught on technicalities.
'Wagonwheel Blues' is out now on Secretly Canadian.

Our new video interview w/ Horse Feathers

One of our favorite acts out of Portland, the Justin Ringle led project, Horse Feathers , came through Belgium recently. We had the chance to catch up with Justin on everything from playing open mic nights in the early days, to the differences in American and European crowds and the incredible Portland music scene. Check it out!

Listen to Horse Feathers on myspace.

Our new interview w/ Rachael Yamagata

I had the chance recently to sit down with Rachael Yamagata at a tour stop in Brussels, where we went over her new double LP, Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart, expectations for the new disc, and what caused the long 4 year break between albums. Check it out below.

Our new 'Liner Notes' interview w/ Wintersleep

2008 was a big break through year for Canadian band, Wintersleep. The band took home the prize for 'Best New Band' at the Juno Awards (Canada's Grammy's), and also saw their 2007 album, Welcome to the Night Sky get released in the US and overseas. We had the chance to sit down with the band while at a recent stop in Brussels to chat about their year, the Canadian music scene, and their latest LP.


Wintersleep on myspace.

Our 'Liner Notes' video interview w/Liam Finn

Here's the latest in our 'Liner Notes' interview series. This time we sit down with New Zealand's own Liam Finn. The son of Crowded House singer Neil Finn, Liam released his debut solo LP, I'll Be Lightning this year which featured the brilliant psych-rock tracks, "Second Chance" and "Better To Be." Liam chats about going solo from his band Betchapuda, recording the new disc, and his love of the drums.

Our new 'Liner Notes' video interview w/ Damien Jurado

One of my recent obsessions of late has been Damien Jurado and his new album, Caught In The Trees. Having been around since the mid 90's Jurado has put out an impressive and diverse catalouge of work, ranging in differing styles over the years. Usually known for his gift of fictional story telling, the new disc sees Jurado shift gears into much more personal territory, which results in what could be his finest work yet. We had the chance to catch up with Damien at a recent tour stop in Belgium, where he sat down with us to discuss the Seattle music scene in the 90's, his new album, and how the music business has changed over the years.

Our new video intvw w/ Martha Wainwright

With musical genes that run in the family, with her Mom, Dad and Brother all being in the business, Martha Wainwright has an abundance of wisdom to draw on. Wainwright released her latest LP, I Know Your Married But I've Got Feeling Too earlier in the year, which has been hailed by the critics as a more mature & confident sounding Martha. We had the chance to sit down with her on a recent tour stop, where we discussed topics ranging from the new album and using sex in her music, to getting together w/ family.

Our 'Liner Notes' interview w/ Johnny Berlin

The Belgian band Johnny Berlin came out w/ their debut LP Find What You Love And Let It Kill You this past May. The group immediately saw success with their first single "Four", which climbed up the alternative music charts in their home country. The band currently have a new single out, "Bender Parts" which has seen the group achieve even bigger success.

We sat down recently with brothers Paul & Laurens Renner from Johnny Berlin to discuss the Belgian music scene, their early influences and more.



Johnny Berlin myspace.

Our 'Liner Notes' video intvw w/ Frightened Rabbit

Scotland's Frightened Rabbit has been building a slow and steady buzz ever since their sophomore CD The Midnight Organ Fight hit the scene earlier in the year. Garnering attention the old fashioned way, the band has built their following through first and foremost a more than solid album, a reputation for their electric live performances, word of mouth from die hard fans and even a wave of nearly flawless reviews.

We sat down with frontman Scott Hutchinson from Frightened Rabbit recently while he was at a stop in Brussels to tackle topics such as the bands intimate lyrics, pressure for a follow up album and the Scottish music scene.

our 'Liner Notes' interview w/ Frightened Rabbit:

our 'Liner Notes' interview w/ Yeasayer

We recently had the opportunity to sit down with the guys Chris, Ira, Anand & Luke, from the Brooklyn band Yeasayer. The band first started to gain attention when they released their double A sided single in mid 2007 for "2080" & "Sunrise", which was hailed by the music blogging community and created a buzz about the band. Shortly thereafter the group released their full length debut All Hour Cymbals, which furthered the groups ecclectic and diverse world sounds. That early hype & momentum has carried into 2008, seeing the band co-headline with fellow Brooklynites MGMT, as well as having the band about to embark on a headlining tour of their own across the US starting this fall.

our 'Liner Notes' interview w/ Yeasayer:

our 'Liner Notes' interview w/ Motek

The Belgian band Motek is an audiovisual collective known for it's live music, video art and sampling. Often cinematic in it's approach, Motek came out with their latest album this past May, Port Sunshine, which saw the band breakout with their hit single "Tryer", which has brought the band a wider fan base and mass exposure across radio and tv. We sat down with the band to discuss the new album, their audiovisual work, newfound success and more. To see the full interview you can click below.

Our "Liner Notes" interview w/ Thao Nguyen

One of the most buzzed about albums so far this year has been We Brave Bee Stings by Thao Nguyen. Labeled as a singer-songwriter but much more than that, Thao brings an ecclectic mix of folk, country, blues and other styles to the mix with first rate guitar playing and off beat tempo's. We had the chance to sit down with her recently to discuss her sound, her musical growth and how she got her big break by sending a demo to singer Laura Veirs.

Our "Liner Notes" Intvw w/ Syd Matters

The French group Syd Matters is a band that we first discovered on a Paste Magazine CD sampler a few years back with their beautiful song "Obstacles". Since then, the band that has been compared to such acts as Radiohead, Nick Drake and Pink Floyd have put out their stellar 3rd album Ghost Days, which came out back in early 2008. It could be the band's best work to date, with standout tracks such as the tender "Cloudflakes" & "Everything Else", also "Anytime Now" and the fantastic climactic "Me And My Horses". Frontman Jonathan Morali recently sat down w/ us while in Brussels and chatted about the new album, his shyness, his start in the business and more.

Our "Liner Notes" interview w/ Cary Brothers

Recently we got the chance to sit down with indie singer/songwriter Cary Brothers. Brothers is the founder of the widely popular travelling singer/songwriter showcase called the Hotel Cafe Tour. The tour over the years has had a rotating cast of talented artists such as Ingrid Michaelson, William Fitzsimmons, Sara Barielles and more, many of whom have broken onto the scene with the help of the tour. Cary himself first gained wider spread notoriety after his song "Blue Eyes" appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Garden State. And in 2007 he released his first full length LP titled Who You Are , which includes his hit single "Ride".
We sat down with Cary and touched on how the Hotel Cafe tour got started, his early beginnings in film, songwriting, the music business, how he met Zach Braff and more.

"Liner Notes" interview w/ Cary Brothers

our "Liner Notes" interview w/ Alaska In Winter

The indie/electronic project Alaska In Winter was nice enough to give us a sit down for our new interview series "Liner Notes". Alaska In Winter is the project of Brandon Bethancourt, who actually did retreat up to the frozen north of Alaska one winter and ended up creating the material that is on his album Dance Party in the Balkans . The album has actually been out for some time in Europe but just gained distribution on Milan records in the States. Dance Party features guest appearances buy Zach Condon of Beirut and Heather Trost of A Hawk & a Hacksaw.

Here's our interview w/ Alaska In Winter: