Call me crazy, but I listen to the bands I work. I’ve been lucky enough to work with some amazing bands over the years, ones I still listen to this day. So we'll call this staff infection a little retrospective of my years in the music industry.
Neil Nathan, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” Each Monday a different Green Light Go staff member will let you in on what songs have infected their ears for the week, while giving you the opportunity to share in the experience yourself.
This week: Janelle Rogers, Green Light Go Owner and Publicist ExtraordinaireClick Here to Read More..
Yes, it's Black Friday, the first denizen of Christmas consumerism. But before you rush out to battle the shopping hoards for whatever the current version of Tickle-Me-Elmo is, take a moment to enjoy a dose of real holiday cheer, a darkly comic video made for a good cause.
Neil Nathan likes to get into the spirit of Christmas, with a twist. His sweet, folky version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” is accompanied by a darkly comic video, written and directed by Zev Deans (The Yes Men Survivaball video),featuring a scary David Lynch style Santa Claus, who does not take kindly to little boys opening their presents early. It’s all in good fun and for a good cause. Nathan is using the video to spread the word about The Fred Gabler Helping Hand Camp Fund, which sends underprivileged youth to summer camp.
In this kitschy video for Neil Nathan's folky lullaby version of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”, Nathan plays a little boy in footed pajamas that opens his Christmas presents early and is busted and whisked away by a very scary Santa and his Elves, who show up in vehicle ominously marked with the letters, E.L.F. Nathan is using the video to raise money for The Fred Gabler Helping Hand Camp Fund, a charity started by the family of his lifelong friend who passed away in the World Trade Center on 9/11. The charity helps send underprivileged youth to summer camp. Nathan wrote a song in honor of Gabler, “Freddy’s Song” as well as put on a benefit for his friend at the Living Room which was featured on the New York Post’s Page Six. Visit FredGabler.org for donation info.
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As we launch ourselves into the biggest shopping day of the year, one can't help but think of the pop culture phenomena that have ended up under countless trees over the years. Cabbage Patch dolls, Furbies, Tamagotchi, and most recently, The Snuggie. Frankly, the Snuggie is the most useful of these trends, so why not celebrate it...in song! When you get home from your Black Friday shopping, prop up your feet, wrap up in your blanket (with sleeves!) and enjoy Brian Huber's infectiously fun "Snuggies" video.
Laugh all you want, but the Snuggie is a pop culture phenomenon that’s sure to land under some trees this Christmas. Brian Huber, Washington DC poppy songwriter, has tapped into the power of the Snuggie with his synth-powered, catchy ode to the “thermal revolution,” “Snuggies”. The infectiously fun song also has a Sesame-Street-inspired video to go with it. The combination of live animation, puppets, clever lyrics and sing-a-long chorus is likely to bring people back for just one more listen.
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It's Friday once again, and that means it's time to raise your hand and brace yourself for the red, stinging palm of The High Five!
Like many Americans, you probably awoke today from your tryptophan-induced slumber with a renewed feeling of lethargy. Maybe it was the stuffing from last night (noun or verb, you decide), or maybe it's the fact that it's dark out by 6pm. Either way, you're probably not looking for new additions to your daily routine. That's why my High Five! this week consists of five ways I try to make the world a better place within the confines of normal activities. That's right, you can make a difference just by paying your cell phone and credit card bills, listening to an hour of non-corporate-sponsored news every day, and using recycled school/office supplies. Enjoy!
To celebrate the end of the nine to five, a Green Light Go staff member or artist will leave you with their short list of favorite things, better known as the High Five!
This week's High Five! is brought to you by: Shawn Fogel
After graduating from Michigan State University with a bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications, Detroit native Fabian Halabou began to stitch together quite an impressive repertoire of career experience in the music industry. Once he had given publicity, promotion, booking, and journalism a whirl, Halabou set his sights on audio engineering. While working at various recording studios, he became an audio archivist and worked withDetroit Technoproducer Carl Craig. It didn’t take long for Halabou to recognize that his strengths lie in music production and composition, so after touring as the guitarist of The Silent Years and putting out a record with a couple friends under the moniker Sea of Japan, the idea to start a local music production company began to hatch. In 2008, with the help of Sea of Japan band mate Brian Berryman, Fancy Lad Music was born and the music house has been specializing in the planning, creation, and production of original music to supplement the creative endeavors of their clients ever since.
Green Light Go was able to catch up with Fancy Lad Music’s Fabian Halabou during a guest DJ set in Ferndale, Michigan to find out what it’s like to be on the other side:
What exactly is Fancy Lad and what is your role there?
Fancy Lad Music is an outlet for Brian and I to create original music compositions for the purpose of selling songs to advertising, TV and film companies. Fancy Lad was born from our strengths; Brian and I found that we were good at creating cool little chunks of songs and it seemed obvious that this was the route we needed to take [with our musical careers]. Our collective role is to write and record the music, as well as network and make connections with people who would benefit from our services.
Do you produce the Fancy Lad Music in an in-house studio or do you create your tracks elsewhere?
We record at home a lot, because Brian and I have recording setups in our houses, but we also have friends who have studios and we’ve been able to use those when we do a bigger production. So, we have a few places at our disposal.
Does Fancy Lad also work with local or independent musicians?
Our focus now is to build our client base and a little bit of savings, so we can eventually open our own studio and grow from there. Working with independent bands in some capacity is something that has been in the back of my mind since we started Fancy Lad. We’re definitely open to the idea of working with bands in the coming year, whether it’s to try and get them licensed, or do something else. Currently, we’re reevaluating what we’re doing and what we’re going to do [with the company].
What clients are you currently working with?
Recently, we composed the music for the trailer of a documentary film called Lemonade Detroit, which is being made by Eric Proulx. Eric used to be a copywriter who worked in advertising in Boston for a long time. After he was laid off from his job, he created a website called Please Feed the Animals, which is a blog and job posting site for displaced advertisers. Through that, Eric ended up meeting people who had really interesting stories. He decided to make a documentary called Lemonade, which is about people who used to work in advertising, but got laid off and had to reinvent themselves.Through screening Lemonade across the country, Eric came to Detroit and realized that the movie he made was sort of a microcosm of what was happening here in the city.So,Lemonade Detroit will be a sequel to Lemonade.
Fancy Lad will create the score for the film and provide music supervision. Eric Proulx wants all of the talent to come from Detroit, from the filmmakers and crew to post-production, so we’ll be working with Detroit bands to see where their music might fit into this project.
Another thing we just got tapped to do is a Detroit Auto Show TV spot, so we’ll be writing the music for that.
What does Fancy Lad have in the works for the future?
I have always wanted Fancy Lad to be more than a music house. We want to include anyone from around town who we feel is talented. So, whether I team up with a friend to co-write a song for a Macy’s commercial, find [independent] musicians to put music on a Fancy Lad imprint, or even work on remix projects, we can find ways to do more than write “jingles.”
What are you listening to these days?
Tonight I’m spinning a lot of 50’s and 60’s rock and some soul, since we decided to play 45s exclusively.As far as music that came out recently, I dig a bunch of stuff like the Local Natives record, but I’m really trying to reacquaint myself with older music that has passed me by. Sam Cooke will always be my favorite singer and I like a lot of old soul. I’ve been getting back into hip-hop a little bit too, so I’m listening to stuff I haven’t heard in a long time. I love everything that Rza produced in the mid-90’s, [he used] the dirtiest drum sounds I’ve ever heard. Nobody tries to do that anymore. I’ve also been listening to a lot of instrumental hip-hop too, like DJ Shadow and a lot of records that were put out on Ninja Tune.
The Other Side highlights the talented folks behind the scenes of the music we listen to. The Other Side features producers, engineers, booking agents, photographers, radio DJs, management teams, and label representatives.
This week’s The Other Side is brought to you by: Lauren Mercury Roberts
GLG to the rescue! We wanted to give all of you turkey stuffed early birds a treat, by introducing our newest band, The Morning Code, and reminding you of other great artists like Bridges & Powerlines.
The Morning Code explains, “We write music to try and achieve that perfect musical crescendo and climax that [we] also look for in the music [we] listen to."
Capturing some kind of hidden magic, front man, Ashwin Alexander has always remained the constant in their progressive rock sound and now years after his original debut as a solo artist, their latest EP, Tell Someone will be released March 01, 2011.
Also available for you, is Bridges & Powerlines- You were the first thing, because you just may have been first in line today to pick up that camcorder.
Although this Bridges & Powerlines song is from a previous track, they will be releasing their latest album, Eve, on January 25, 2011.
Bridges & Powerlines, From Bridges & Powerlines Release Date: September 26, 2006 “You Were the First Thing” Genre: Indie/Rock/Pop For fans of: Wolf Parade, Frightened Rabbit, Guided By Voices Bio/hi-res photos
"The song moved me emotionally, while being catchy enough to keep it on constant repeat. It’s rare to have the best of both worlds." --We All Want Someone To Shout For
You need free mp3s, we have free mp3s. Feel free to post any of the approved songs below on your blog or tweet to your friends. Not on our email list to receive these directly and want to be? Send an email over to info(at)glgpub.com
There aren't many places in this world I love more than the great city of Chicago, so when I had the opportunity to head into the Windy City to catch up with a few old friends, I didn't hesitate to pack my bags.
Besides, seeing the cover of one of my favorite albums in person is always worth the trip:
Spending four hours in the car allowed me to listen to a whole bunch of songs that were stockpiled in my iPod, including few of my favorite driving tunes:
Iggy Pop, "Lust for Life" from Lust for Life
Hurricane Bells, "This Year" from Tonight is the Ghost
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Cheated Hearts" from Show Your Bones
The Tallest Man on Earth,"Honey Won't You Let Me In" from Shallow Grave
Spoon, "The Underdog" from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
David Bowie, "Young Americans" from Young Americans
Every week a different Green Light Go staff member will write about what bands have infected their ears for the week and give you an opportunity to hear it for yourself.
When you’ve recorded eight studio albums over fifteen years, there’s bound to be songs that have been forgotten. The Handsome Family has revisited their past and gathered up these treasures; a smattering of covers, alternate takes, unreleased songs and bits of their history and put them together on the self-released Scattered: A Further Collection of Lost Demos, Orphaned Songs and Odd Covers which the band will support with a tour beginning in early January.
Fans of Rennie and Brett Sparks’ haunting and hauntingly beautiful stories in song will be delighted to know that they’re in for a double treat: The Handsome Family will be touring the west coast and they’ll have copies of Scattered with them. The CD is only available at tour dates and on their website, http://www.handsomefamily.com. The tour, which begins in Vancouver January 19th, will take them down the west coast to Santa Monica.
Scattered collects moments from The Handsome Family’s history and pre-history. A four-track demo of “One Way Up,” which appears on the album, was recorded in the Sparks’ tiny Chicago living room twenty years ago. Alternate takes, rehearsal tapes and orphaned songs keep company with covers the band has recorded for compilations over the years. “Little Buddy,” which Rennie describes as “one of our earliest attempts at songwriting,” was rescued from obscurity to be included. A cover of Bob Dylan’s “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues,” was which was originally recorded for the Uncut Magazine compilation, Highway 61 Revisited Revisited as well as The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby,” recorded for Mojo’s Revolver Reloaded, are both included on the album. Covers of Leonard Cohen, Leon Payne and Harlan Howard also appear. There’s also traditional songs, like “The Lost Soul” of which Rennie says, “Hard to imagine, but they sang this terrifying song in church.”
The Handsome Family have toured extensively throughout the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, their live performances sometimes consist of up to a six-piece band and other times just Brett and Rennie. Despite the dark mood often created by their music, A Handsome Family show is fun, with Rennie bantering and telling more stories between songs, and Brett collapsing the illusion of tradition by sometimes using a laptop for drums.
The Handsome Family are known for Rennie’s evocative, descriptive lyrics, Brett’s deadpan baritone and their sparse, traditional bluegrass instrumentation. Their work has garnered praise from Pitchfork, Billboard, Spin, The BBC, Mojo and more. Their songs have been covered by many artists, most notably: Andrew Bird, Christy Moore, Cerys Matthews, The Sadies and Sally Timms. Honey Moon, the Sparks’ eighth studio album was released in 2009 to celebrate their 20th year of marriage. The Handsome Family Tour Dates
David Gergen, From The Nearer It Was... The Farther It Became Release Date: February 18, 2011 “Love Blues” Genre: Alternative/Electroacoustic/Indie For fans of: Nick Cave, Nick Drake, Leonard Cohen Bio/hi-res photos
You need free mp3s, we have free mp3s. Feel free to post any of the approved songs below on your blog or tweet to your friends. Not on our email list to receive these directly and want to be? Send an email over to info(at)glgpub.com
Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, my duo with Sophia Cacciola, is a band inspired by our favorite TV series, The Prisoner. We are in the process of recording and releasing 17 songs, each based on and named after an episode of the show (five of these musical episodes appear on our debut EP, The New Number 2). Number 6, the The Prisoner's unnamed main character, has few elements of his background revealed in the show's opening credits;not much more information about Number 6's life is provided throughout the series. The Prisoner's introduction included so many compelling images, that Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling decided to take on the absurd task of filming a shot-for-shot recreation of the opening credits as a music video for our first song episode. After more than a year of planning, we have completed 9 of the 10 days of shooting necessary to finish this daunting project. A behind-the-scenes video from these shoots can be viewed on the Michael J. Epstein and Sophia Cacciola blog. While there are dozens of great shots in this sequence, here are my 5 favorite moments from the opening credits sequence of The Prisoner, coupled with a behind-the-scenes look at our recreation of each shot:
1. The Hearse Driver
2. The Office
3. Running from the Ball
4. Smoke
5. The Car
To celebrate the end of the nine to five, a Green Light Go staff member or artist will leave you with their short list of favorite things, better known as the High Five!
This week's High Five! is brought to you by: Michael J. Epstein
Gwyneth and Monko are evolving. Their new record, Gwyneth & Monko, which was recorded at Old School Studio in Caspar, CA, will more accurately reflect what the duo sounds like live, which is somewhere between folky acoustic and indie rock. And it’s no wonder their new work sounds this way, as they’ve been on the road for most of 2010, taking weekends here and there to record. Guest artists Scott Southard on bass, Jimmy Gallagher on drums and Matt Cooper Borkenhagen on pedal steel and dobro, join Gwyneth and Monko on their self-titled album which will be released on February 15th, 2011.
This record exists in part because of a month of creative exploration. In July, Gwyneth Moreland and Michael Monko spent time honing new songs in a home recording studio. Those sketches came to life in Old School Studio and are filled with new elements: Moreland on banjo, Monko on fiddle and guest artists adding drums and bass. These additions allow Gwyneth and Monko to explore a different dynamic while still keeping the old-timey and Americana influences, songwriting style, Moreland’s vocal style and Monko’s intricate instrumentation.
In July, Gwyneth and Monko released their EP, Good Old Horse, which evokes a feeling of nostalgia rooted deep in classic country fundamentals. Their first release as a duo, it breathes gently with down-home roots and indie folk sensibilities. Lead singer Gwyneth Moreland and multi-instrumentalist Michael Monko create intimate, pure and heartfelt songs infused with sentimental lyrics.Click Here to Read More..
After many weekend trips from Essexville, Michigan toDetroit to visit record shops and see live music, it was only a matter of time before Scotty Hagen made the Motor City his new home.Hagen crash landed in Ferndale in the late 90’s. By 2002, he tuned up his bass, teamed up with Stevie Michael on vocals, and put together the Grande Nationals, who after a few line-up changes are back in the studio to finish their latest album, which is set to be released on Hagen's own record label, Bellyache Records, in January 2011.As an avid record collector, Scotty Hagen spent much of his free time in record stores, which eventually lead to a management position at Rock-a-Billy’s in Utica. After spending five years as an independent record store manager, he moved up to the corporate world to work for Borders’ music department in 2004.Last winter, when Lost and Found Vintage’s Tommy Dorr and former record store owner Jeff Bubeck approached Hagen with the idea to open an all-vinyl independent record store in Royal Oak, Michigan, he jumped at the opportunity to become the UHF general manager. On September 11, 2010, the doors of UHFopened for business next to Lost and Found Vintage on Washington Street and the local vinyl shop has been thriving ever since.
Green Light Go was able to catch up with UHF’s Scotty Hagen (who is pictured to the right of UHF owners Jeff Bubeck and Tommy Dorr) in between helping customers and pricing records to find out what it’s like to be on the other side:
Green Light Go: UHF has a ton of used vinyl, where do you get the inventory?
Scotty Hagen: The records mainly come from a number of connections around town. Jeff (Bubeck) has been hunting for people selling record collections for years, so a lot of the UHF records were stockpiled in storage units before the store opened.When Jeff was trying to persuade me to work for him, he took me over to the storage units in Fraser, MI.I took one look and thought, “Oh my God!” I spent hours looking through crates of crazy records that I had heard of, but had never seen in person before. UHF carries many new releases by independent bands and labels, but we have repressed vinyl as well.[Our customers] are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of rare and "hard to find" records we have.
GLG: Are UHF customers able to buy records online as well?
SH: We have an eBay store, but that is temporary until we have our website up.Right now, we only have a domain, which is uhfmusic.com. Soon, customers will be able to buy records from our website as well as in the store. Every day we are chipping away at something else.
GLG: With so many record stores closing in Detroit, what made you take the plunge and open a new record store?
SH: Well, opening a record store is always a gamble, but location is key. Royal Oak has always been one of the only window shopping cities in the Metro Detroit area. We get so many people coming into the store that are just walking by, because we’re in an ideal location and we’re next door to Lost and Found. The businesses go hand in hand.
GLG: We’ve heard you also get a number of celebrity window shoppers, like Glenn Danzig?
SH: Yeah, he just popped in! Danzig was playing at the Royal Oak Music Theater, so Steve Zing (Danzig’s bassist) was in here first.Steve was looking around the store, he saw our Elvis records and said, “I have to call Glenn and let him know there are tons of Elvis Presley records here.” I am sitting in UHF thinking, “Is he calling Danzig?!” Sure enough, 20 minutes later, Glenn Danzig walked through the door.It was crazy, he was super cool.Danzig posed for pictures with us, bought some records, and took a few of our business cards.
A few weeks before that, Paul Simonon and Mick Jones from The Clash dropped in. We have only been open for two months and we’ve had all of these punk rock gods in the store…it’s really cool.We’re hoping that UHF will become a destination, because [touring bands] are always telling us that when they’re on the road, it's difficult to find record stores to shop at.
GLG: I know you’ve started to host in-store performances recently, so when are those scheduled and how might an independent artist go about booking a show at UHF?
SH: So far we are doing an in-store every Saturday at 4pm through the winter. We’ve been scheduling the in-stores at 4pm because it has been a peak shopping time for us. We had The Wall Clocks in last weekend and right before the band started playing, we had [a surge of] people pour into the store and start shopping.If a band would like to do an in-store at UHF, they can contact me at the store by calling (248) 545-5955.We’d prefer that the band has an album to promote, so when people come in to see the band, they have something to take home with them.
GLG: Can local or independent bands sell their records in the store?
SH: Absolutely, we have a consignment program.We let the band pick the price and we’ll set up an 80/20 split.Since I play in bands, I know how tough it is to make the money back [that is spent on recording]. Many record stores offer a 70/30 split, but we want to be fair and do a good thing for [local and independent] bands, so we stick with 80/20.
GLG: Since you work in a record store, I’m sure you get this question all of the time, but what have you been listening to lately?
SH: Everything! I really like the new stuff on Jack White’s label, Third Man Records, especially the new Greenhorns album, Four Stars.I am really into the 5,6,7,8’s reissue, re-press stuff like Blues Magoos andThe Lollipop Shoppe, and I'm forever listening to The Monkees and Alice Cooper.I always look for weird records to put on in the store, like the Dick Hyman album, The Age of Electronicus, which is a compilation of Beatles’ songs and other covers played on a Moog synth.
The Other Side highlights the talented folks behind the scenes of the music we listen to. The Other Side features producers, engineers, booking agents, photographers, radio DJs, management teams, and label representatives.
This week’s The Other Side is brought to you by: Lauren Roberts
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