Been A While
Hey everyone. Surprise! I'm bringing this newsletter back from the dead. It's going to focus less on me writing about music and more on me sharing some music. Of course, I'll still let you know when I'm going to shows. And I'll throw you a bone and let you know about other upcoming shows that look cool (in NYC and LA).
I decided to make a mixtape a month in 2020. I love making mixtapes, and I've been making them for over a decade. I still revisit them all pretty often. It's a really cool way to bring back good memories, so I thought it'd be fun to document a whole ass year. Let's, uhhhhh, hope it's a good one.
The first mix I made is called Boot Cuts, and it's all 80s & 90s pop country (lol sorry). I promise they won't all be. In fact, February's mix is complete, and I'll send that one out next week. I think it's really fun, and I hope you'll stick around to check it out.
I'll be making a few physical copies of each mixtape on cassette (like...probably 3 copies?) to give out to folks, and y'all get first dibs (unless I desperately need someone to have a copy). Priority will go to folks who haven't received one yet, but I'm not against spoiling someone. I understand most people have no way of playing them, but it's fun to have something you can hold in your hands. Holler if you want one.
Boot Cuts
Created for summers.
I grew up listening to 99.5 WGAR, Cleveland's #1 for New Country, and that's because my parents were afraid they wouldn't fit in.
My dad had a job offer from a university in West Virginia, and my Rust Belt parents knew no one there. As the possibility that they'd have to relocate became realer, they decided to steep themselves in the culture in a way to help acclimate themselves: they listened to country radio. My dad was a big southern rock fan, and my mom loved the heartland pop and rock. It wasn't a big stretch for either of them to fall in love with it, and they did.
They didn't end up moving, because my dad didn't end up taking the job, but we all ended up listening to country radio for my entire childhood. Alan Jackson. Garth Brooks. Kathy Mattea. The Judds. Constantly.
I disowned it once I discovered my own music. I hated it in high school. I found bluegrass music in college, and that was actually pretty good. I allowed myself to love it again, once I moved to Brooklyn, over beers with a coworker from small town Pennsylvania.
To be honest, I thought of the title of this mixtape before anything else. I thought it was funny to call some good ol' country songs "Boot Cuts," and, sure enough, it is. It really is.
I recommend listening in summer or when you want it to be summer.
Join Me: John Moreland @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, Friday 3/27
John Moreland is one of the finest poets in music today. I saw him a couple years back, and it was truly a magical experience. His voice and lyrics cut right through you in a way that few artists are able to do, and seeing him live makes it all the more real.
He spent the past few years making music with a full rock band and then deciding that's not exactly what he wanted to do. So with his new album, he made the music he wanted to make (folk singer who loves hip-hop without trying to make folk singer hip-hop), and it's beautiful stuff.
Give his new songs a spin with "Harder Dreams" (Spotify / YouTube).
RIYL: Bruce Springsteen, Jason Isbell, Drive-By Truckers
Tickets available here.
Other Upcoming Shows
New York
Sun 3/01 - GZA @ Blue Note
Wed 3/04 - Wye Oak @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Fri 3/06 - Serge Gainsbourgh tribute feat. Jane Birkin @ Beacon Theatre
Sat 3/07 - Destroyer @ Brooklyn Steel
Mon 3/09 - Bonnie Prince Billy, Jonathan Richman @ Town Hall
Wed 3/11 - Wire @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Thur 3/12 - Sudan Archives @ Bowery Ballroom
Sun 3/15 - Oso Oso @ Warsaw
Los Angeles
Sat 2/29 - Raphael Saadiq @ The Wiltern
Sun 3/01 - Hot Snakes @ Alex's Bar
Wed 3/04 - KISS @ Staples Center
Thur 3/05 - Herbie Hancock @ Walt Disney Concert Hall
Sat 3/07 - Palehound, Adult Mom @ Junior High
Tue 3/10 - Tame Impala, Clairo @ The Forum
Thur 3/12 - Frances Quinlan (of Hop Along) @ Pico-Union Project
Sat 3/14 - The Strokes, Alvvays, King Princess @ The Forum