Golden Bloom's Golden Rules

OMG! Another new weekly feature on the GLG blog? Yep, and we love it. Each Wednesday (well, you know how musicians are, so hopefully every Wednesday....) we will treat you to a Guest Blogger from our lovely group of artists. Each Guest Blogger will have a different name for their column. We start off with Shawn Fogel of Golden Bloom/Neutral Uke Hotel and his "Golden Bloom's Golden Rules." He likes to write, a lot. I mean a lot. But he's pretty excited about playing in Toronto this weekend, so we let him go crazy.

This week’s Golden Rule: Always have something to look forward to!

Whether it’s the Monday morning of another work week from hell, the beginning of a 10-hour drive through a torrential downpour, or the first 10 minutes of Green Day’s horrendous Broadway show, you can get through anything as long as you have something to look forward to. I know that the faithful readers of this here blog are far too sharp to miss the fact that I just said I saw Green Day’s American Idiot on Broadway. It’s true, I did. I won’t go into detail about how I ended up seeing the show, but I will tell you that I would give it the same two word review famously attributed to Spinal Tap’s 1980 release Shark Sandwich.

The reason I share what would normally be a secret too dark even during the most epic slumber party “Truth or Dare" sessions is that it’s a perfect example of this week’s Golden Rule. I made it through all 90 minutes of dreadful plotless-ness because I had something to look forward to, and that something is this year’s North By Northeast (NXNE) music festival in Toronto.

The Great White North’s equivalent of SXSW is five days, 650 bands with simultaneous film and interactive festivals to boot. Golden Bloom had the privilege of playing NXNE last year and when I got the invite to return I couldn’t have been happier. I’ve never had a bad experience in Toronto (unlike my friend Tom who got food poisoning from a Korean BBQ and got really sick the following day at a gig in North Bay, ON). The city is cleaner than New York (sorry New York), the people are friendly (sorry New York), and well, I just plain like it better than New York (sorry New York, I think you and I should start seeing other cities).

This year we’ll be in Toronto for three nights, playing three shows (one Golden Bloom show and two Neutral Uke Hotel shows). Two of the bands I’m most excited about seeing are both bands that I’ve enjoyed sharing the stage with over the past year. Coincidentally, BOTH of these bands are from Cincinnati, OH (also coincidentally, both bands feature those boy/girl vocals that we all know Green Light Go goes gaga for)!

First is The Seedy Seeds, who play at Rancho Relaxo at 10 pm on Thursday, June 17th. I love the fact that they are playing a venue named after the spa Marge Simpson visits in “Homer Alone” (15th episode of the 3rd season)! Margaret (vocals, guitar, accordion, keyboard), Mike (vocals, banjo) and Brian (drums) combined the oft far removed organic elements of country/folk and the electronic elements of dance music like a Reese’s Cup of pure musical joy (You got banjo in my electronica! You got electronica in my banjo!). The Seedy Seeds are a ton of fun and I can’t wait for NXNE fun-seekers to see and hear them on stage for the first time.

The other band I’m really looking forward to seeing is Wussy, who play The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern at 11pm on Friday, June 18th. Chuck (vocals, guitar) and Lisa (vocals, guitar) write amazing songs that are equal parts pretty and noisy. Matter of fact, I love Wussy’s songs so much I recently recorded a Golden Bloom cover of “Magic Words” (my favorite song off their most recent self-titled full length album). It’s still in the super top-secret song vault right now, but hopefully we’ll share Golden Bloom’s Wussy cover with the world pretty soon.

If you are attending this year’s NXNE festival, you’ve got a lot to look forward to. Those of you who aren’t Toronto bound shouldn’t feel blue, and shouldn’t forget this week’s Golden Rule. If you can’t think of anything to look forward to at the moment (other than the next edition of Golden Bloom’s Golden Rules), I hope you find solace in the fact that the not-so-distant future where robots play improvisational jazz is finally here! Click Here to Read More..

We can't help ourselves; watch a live performance of "September Gurls" by Grand Atlantic.

During their week at SXSW in Austin, our favorite Aussies Grand Atlantic played a live version of Alex Chilton's "September Gurls" during their set at Sonny's Vintage on March 18 (the day after Chilton passed away) and we've got it on video! Yeah! The video consists of the band performing the song live mixed in with random video footage of the group, turning it into a short film-style video. Enjoy!

Click Here to Read More..

Grand Atlantic is the new Oasis? The Devil Has the Best Tuna says YES!

The Devil Has The Best Tuna is stoked about both Grand Atlantic and Fan-Tan!

The blog made a big statement writing, "If you're looking for the new Oasis then you need look nor further than Aussie foursome Grand Atlantic." Read more of what they had to say about the quartet on the website. The blog also offers three mp3s including "She's a Dreamer," "Coast is Clear," and "Single Ladies." Yes, you heard us right. Grand Atlantic's video for "She's a Dreamer" is also at your fingertips. And if you haven't seen it before, check out their live video for their Beyonce cover.








Click Here to Read More..

Grand Atlantic covers Alex Chilton's "September Gurls," Just Months Before His Death

While many are or have, Grand Atlantic is certainly not jumping on any sort of bandwagon to tribute iconic pop singer/songwriter Alex Chilton. Eerily enough, roughly two months before Chilton's death, Grand Atlantic had recorded one of Big Star's most memorable "hit" songs "September Gurls."

When Chilton's sudden passing on March 17 came to press, many of his biggest fans and followers were at SXSW in Austin, Texas. If they weren't planning to attend the SXSW-scheduled show of Big Star on Saturday, March 20, it was only because the fans themselves were probably playing in their own band, influenced by this seminal power-pop group. It was a shock heard around the indie rock world, one that still stuns us today.

Grand Atlantic singer/guitarist Phil Usher was one of those people. An honor of Chilton's past work both in Big Star and The Box Tops, and eerily enough, just about two months before Chilton died, Grand Atlantic recorded a cover of Big Star's understated and powerful love song "September Gurls." We get chills as we tell you this.

After SXSW and Chilton's passing, we asked Usher to tell us about his personal experiences with the music of Alex Chilton.

"The music of The Box Tops and Big Star have resonated with me in a unique way. I am a sucker for great rock n roll with inspiring melodies and Alex had it pulsing through his veins. I actually discovered Big Star through the recommendation of friends, after they mentioned that they thought my music reminded me of the band. I have always been a big Teenage Fanclub fan and have now realized what a huge impact Alex had on their music as well. I had hoped to catch him perform at SXSW along with many others, but unfortunately it was not to be. As with many great artists, he may have been under-appreciated and under-rated during his time here, but his music will live on and continue to inspire and encourage others like myself. I feel so fortunate to have found his music and feel as if the musical landscape would not be the same without Mr. Chilton. Rest easy Alex."

Take a breath, close your eyes and listen to Grand Atlantic's stunning version of "September Gurls." Click Here to Read More..

Grand Atlantic Covers The Replacements "Left of the Dial"

We have to wait a few more days until we get to see Grand Atlantic live at SXSW and report the experience for ourselves, but in the meantime we've received some excellent recaps along the way. Tart from Love Shack Baby had a chance to see them last week at Martyr's in Chicago with Ireland's Autumn Owls and Gidgets Ga Ga.

So to recap straight from Love Shack Baby's mouth, or blog if you will,  "Grand Atlantic performed most of their new album, How We Survive, plus a few great ones from their previous record, This Is Grand Atlantic. And as I was promised in the car, they did an excellent cover of the Replacements’ “Left Of The Dial.” The live performance of songs like “She’s a Dreamer” and “Tripwire” were exactly as I imagined: heavy bass, driving rhythm (and oh lordy does Von Diehm hit that kick drum hard!) and Phil’s positively electrifying vocals...Talking to Morgan afterward about his guitar and effects pedals, I was struck by how guitar-driven this group is. Morgan’s way of weaving in and out of whatever it is that Phil is playing or singing helps create the signature GA sound, with Sean, all the while providing a steady but interesting bass line. You all know my weakness for bass players; Sean’s work that night did not disappoint. Folks, the bottom line is that Grand Atlantic is a solid rock and roll band. There’s no gimmicks, no pretense of rock stardom to distract from the basic draw of their music. The new song they premiered, “Carved From Stone” was a bit rawer, had more depth to it than what I found on How We Survive. I anticipate the new record will reflect their move in this direction as they mature as a band and gel more as four people, working together on one great project after the next."

If you're at SXSW this week, be sure to catch Grand Atlantic:
Thu Mar 18, 2010: Sonny's Vintage - 2928 Guadalupe St Austin, TX
Thu Mar 18, 2010: Official SXSW Showcase, Red 7 - 611 E 7th St Austin, TX
Fri Mar 19, 2010: Super Lisa Day Party (SXSW)
Dart Music International House @ Mi Casa - 503 E. 6th St. Austin, TX
Sat Mar 20, 2010: Maggie Mae's - 323 East 6th Street Austin, TX

More info on all their US dates can be found here. Click Here to Read More..

Spinner Asks Grand Atlantic: The Beatles or the Rolling Stones?

AOL Spinner asked Brisbane, Australia's Grand Atlantic a few questions in anticipation of their showcase at SXSW 10.  The most pressing:

Beatles or Stones? "Now that is a tough one. I think as a whole, we probably lean towards the Beatles, but with a few beers we're almost as likely to choose the Stones. Probably the Beatles, overall."

Read the full interview at AOL Spinner to find out their craziest experience on tour. Heading to SXSW? Make time to catch the power-pop prowess of Grand Atlantic while you're there. Click Here to Read More..