Second Show of 2014: Have we got ‘news’

Second Show of 2014: Have we got 'news'

New songs that is — and just for you!

Join Mrs. Dr. J and Dr. J for our second full show of the new year. We have music from The NightBeast, Motel Beds, Turkish Delights, Smug Brothers, The New Old Fashioned, Kris N., some great alt-country from The Bottlerockets, new music from Brat Curse, Tales in Space, Good English, Molly Thomason, We Do This, Sweet Soubrette, Troubador Kings, and much more!

Some indie throw back with The Multi-Purpose Solution, Paul Westerberg, and Guided by Voices will also be played.

Remember to turn on the radio show either 99.5 or 98.1 fm in Dayton or streaming online – This Tuesday – 3-6pm on WUDR!

Imagine you are standing in front of the music board for the radio station.
Independent music for everyone!

Motel Beds ‘These are Days Gone By’ Vinyl Pre-Release show

Motel Beds 'These are Days Gone By' Vinyl Pre-Release show

The fantastic Motel Beds are presenting a rare opportunity for Dayton and Miami Valley music fans on January 18th (doors open at 7pm and show starts at 8pm sharp)!

In conjunction with We Care Arts and Misra Records, The Motel Beds invite you to join them as they review their musical career with friends, Smug Brothers and Good English at an All Ages show at the Yellow Cab building!

The ‘Beds are doing what we call a soft, limited release of “These are the Days Gone By” with 500 LP covers hand-painted by the artists at We Care Arts! A portion of the proceeds from the sale/show are to benefit We Care Arts!

“These are the Days Gone By” is a collection of Motel Beds singles, outtakes, and live favorites. Songs have been remastered by Carl Saff (Dinosaur Jr, GBV, etc), with added bass parts by Tod Weidner.

This is a soft, pre-release for the first 500 LPs; they’ve all been hand-painted by the artists at We Care Arts (“changing disabilities into possibilities”) you can learn more about WCA at their website – http://www.wecarearts.org/.  The album will be released internationally later in 2014 on Misra Records.

BIO FOR MOTEL BEDS “THESE ARE THE DAYS GONE BY”

Press Release (Courtesy of Motel Beds)

MOTEL BEDS are a rock & roll band from Dayton, Ohio – a delightfully detached underdog city nestled in the heart of The Heartland. Seasoned veterans, Beds have worked alongside local music advocates Kelley Deal (Deal duets on the lusciously hushed “Tropics of the Sand”) and Robert Pollard (guitarist Derl Robbins has recorded Guided By Voices). Allies aside, when it comes to rock & roll, The Motel Beds speak for themselves.

“These Are the Days Gone By” reveals the fruits of Beds’ labor these latter years. The album is an electrifying collection of “hits,” remastered by Carl Saff (GBV, Dinosaur Jr., etc.) and featuring added bass parts by new(est) member and local ace Tod Weidner. Over a 12-song cycle, the proficiency with which Tommy Cooper and P.J. Paslosky (Motel Beds’ core songwriting duo) augment a solid hook is clearly set on display.

While “Days” largely finds Ian Kaplan at work as one of the finest rock drummers around today (not an embellishment), Beds demonstrate their versatility with two never-before-released tracks: a poppier version of 2011’s “Sunfried Dreams” and a beautiful acoustic cover of Matthew Sweet’s “I’ve Been Waiting”; the latter proving Paslosky to be much more than a rock vocalist. In addition to recording Motel Beds in a visionary manner, guitarist Derl Robbins adds his own unmistakable style and sound.

True to Dayton (see GBV’s “Propeller”), the first 500 LPs are all one-of-a-kind. Each cover was individually hand-painted by the artists at We Care Arts: a non-profit dedicated to “changing disabilities into possibilities.” A portion of the proceeds from these first 500 will go to benefit WCA.

In his glowing review of “Dumb Gold” (2012), AllMusic Senior Editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted, “[This] is an album that deserves to break them out of the Rust Belt and onto the larger stage; it’s one of the best straight-ahead indie rock records of 2012.” “Days” takes all of “Dumb Gold”‘s assets song writing, hooks, musicianship, energy and ups them ad infinitum. It’s a remarkable rock record and one that finds Motel Beds carrying the torch for Dayton, Ohio’s independent music scene.

Track List:

1. These are the Days Gone By
2. Ocean Flows
3. Skymade Suit
4. Cactus Kiss
5. Surfjerk
6. Valentimes
7. Lights On
8. Western Son
9. Tropics Of The Sand
10. Sunfried Dreams (alternate version)
11. I’ve Been Waiting
12. Smoke Your Homework

Popthrillz---Alternative

Cool Show Alert Dayton!

Cool Show Alert Dayton!

Misra Records artist Crooks on Tape will be in Dayton on January 30th with Swim Diver, Bearer of Bad News, and Swarm at Rock Star Pro Arena.

CROOKS ON TAPE is John Schmersal (Enon, Brainiac), Rick Lee (Enon, Skeleton Key, Butter 08), and Joey Galvan (Mannheim Steamroller, Anthrax). The band was created out of a simple idea of discovery and musical creation – “convene, improvise, and record every moment.”  You can listen to their latest record at The A.V. Club website.

Swim Diver is an exciting new band featuring members of Brainiac, Captain of Industry, Oh Condor, Me & Mountains, Human Reunion, The Dirty Walk, and Vinyl Dies.

This is an opportunity to see some terrific bands!   PRESALE TICKETS!

Popthrillz---Alternative

New Smug Brothers – Strictly Triggers is out NOW!

New Smug Brothers - Strictly Triggers is out NOW!

Coming up later in the show – “They are Fluid” by Smug Brothers

And we wanted to let you know that the new Smug Brothers EP is now available! The song we have fallen in love with “They Are Fluid” is on this new EP. remember music lovers – Strictly Triggers is a Limited edition 50 purple cassettes with download codes.

Get Yours now here!

Join us during the show today and you will catch this and more great music!

Things to Explore!

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MUSIC

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks – “Wig Out At Jagbags” (producers: Malkmus, Remko Schouten; listen hereVinylMP3) (Matador)

The Style Council – “Our Favourite Shop [MP3]” (1985 album) (Polydor)

Broken Bells – “After the Disco,” (Columbia)

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The Nightbeast performs

“Paid & Rowdy,” by The Nightbeast (Modern Short Stories)

 

 

 

 

Peter Gabriel – “Scratch My Back & I’ll Scratch Yours” (his 2010 album of covers, paired with the 2013 all-star covers of Gabriel songs; Read about it hereVinylMP3) (Real World)

MUSIC BOOKS

The Beatles – “TIME – The Beatle Invasion: The inside story of the two-week tour that rocked America [Hardcover]” (author: Bob Spitz) (Time)

Howard Goodall – “The Story of Music: From Babylon to the Beatles: How Music Has Shaped Civilization [Hardcover]” (available on the Kindle) (Time)

Angélique Kidjo – “Spirit Rising: My Life, My Music [Hardcover]” (co-author: Rachel Wenrick; foreword by Desmond Tutu; available on the Kindle) (Harper Collins)

Resolutions: Our First Show of 2014!

Did you miss us? We hope you had a terrific holiday season!

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Calvin and Hobbes – copyright Bill Watterson

Come along on Tuesday afternoon and join us in listening to several new discoveries, local music and much more on WUDR from our usual time of 3-6pm (eastern). We will be discussing favorites from 2013 as well as great music we are excited about for 2014. If you would like to request some songs, just email us at drjwudr@gmail.com or tweet Dr. J at drjwudr on twitter.

We have music to get your toes a’tappin’ from The RidgesJoseph ArthurFire at Night, Lake Street Drive, SW/MM/NG, The Rebel Set, Luke Frazier, The Whiskey Gentry, and more.

We can promise several premiers! Including the new song from The Nightbeast – Paid & Rowdy! You will love this song. We would never steer you wrong, music lovers! You can watch — and you should watch — the terrific video for the song!

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Join us at wudr.udayton.edu

Show Alerts for Dayton this Saturday!

Popthrillz---Alternative

Have a Happy New Years

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Working hard to find new music in 2014

Have a Happy New Year Everyone!

Due to the holiday today/tonight there will be no YTAA today. We will be back next year. Yeah, we know it was a lame joke. But we think that will not be the first lame joke today. We will be back Tuesday, January 7th with an all new show!  You can see that we are burning the midnight oil to get ready for the show in the new year… Alright, sorry about that joke/visual metaphor too.  Oh, and we have to go see Wussy tonight!  Remember to always support your local music scene!  See you all next Tuesday on WUDR.

Popthrillz---Alternative

Song for a Sunday Morning

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Publicity shot of R.E.M. 1986

Time for a thoughtful song as we approach thoughtful times.  One of the overlooked songs from R.E.M. was the ninth track on Life’s Rich Pageant (1986, re-released in 1998).  This song asked the listener to pause and take a moment to reflect upon their actions and the effects of their actions on others.  A refrain heard on several other songs from Life’s Rich Pageant.  Without being preachy or overbearing, this song asked an important question about the kind of community that we all want to inhabit and in which we live our lives.

“What If We Give It Away?”

On the outside, underneath the wall
All the money couldn’t buy
You’re mistaken, no one’s standing there
For the record, no one triedOh, I try to
What if we give it away?Overlooking with a hollow eye
What’s pretending isn’t right
Eye for order, a hand for what’s in line
Couldn’t follow, couldn’t writeOh, I try to
What if we give it away?

And our life is fine here
Stitch it on your tie here

Here’s the trailer, Tom
A year has come and gone
We’re not moving, wasn’t right
Take the order, sew it on your tie
We couldn’t follow, couldn’t try

Oh, I try to
What if we give it away?
What if we give it away?

Dr-J-Machineb&w

The Exceptional Ridges

ImageThere are show that capture your attention and you have to talk about them.  You must share your experience as quickly as you can with as many fellow music lovers as you can find.  Tonight, we had such an experience.

Earlier this evening the Athens, Ohio group The Ridges finished off their current tour with a stop in Dayton – home base for Mrs. Dr. J and Dr. J.  We have seen this band perform a few additional times in Cincinnati and this was our first time seeing them on our home turf as we missed a show in February.  Tonight we got to the venue — South Park Tavern — in plenty of time to see the opening band – Method Air.  They were solid and reminded Dr. J of a more primal version of Japandroids.

The Ridges hit the stage ready and able to play.  The double Cello attack was driving throughout the set.  The fret work was nimble across an all too soon completed set. Talor Smith was captivating as she swayed and danced with her cello to the music that was being created before our eyes.  She danced, sang, and played with feeling for the entire set.  Chuck Poulsen contributed to the sound with a banjo that was played with precision and power. All too often the banjo becomes an overlooked instrument in far too many rock and roll bands.  Not since Sweethearts of the Rodeo-era Byrds has a banjo player held their own as a lead instrument in a series of rock and roll songs.

The stand-up bass was strong and steady throughout the set. Not since some Richard Thompson concerts, have we seen such a terrific command of the stand-up. The groove was centered when it needed to be and flexible and funky through the tempo changes of several Ridges’ songs.  Kudos to the bass player for following arrangements that asked him to be able to move in different directions that served the songs and the band incredibly well this night.

The backbone of the music this band made this night was the drummer.  With a modest yet propulsive drum kit, the drumming was a critical part of The Ridges success tonight.  Following key and tempo changes without sounding forced, wooden, or stodgy — the drummer was able to provide foundation for songs that veered from rock and roll to folk to orchestral arrangements.  This was part of what made The Ridges a must watch performance tonight, incredibly complex yet fun and rocking stylistic flourishes that kept the audience rapt.

Speaking of what held our attention – the center of the band’s aesthetic and performance tonight had to be the energetic guitar and vocals of Victor Rasgaitis. Rarely have we seen a lead singer and guitar player prance with such intensity and feeling without seeming propagandist.  Victor was in fine authentic voice and the enthusiasm that he captured grabbed the audience members by the ears and the heart — and then made you feel in some small way, what he was feeling.  It would be criminal not to note the terrific backing vocals of Talor Smith and Chuck Poulsen. They did more than simply fill open moments, they added additional heft and often very sweet harmonies to the vocal arrangements.  In fact, several songs depended on the vocal harmonies that Victor, Talor, Chuck and the other band members sewed together.

Victor was a consummate showman who never stayed still.  He moved about the small space with a purpose and an energy that drew the audience into the performance.  On more than one occasion, he found himself on his knees while continuing to sing.  I know, I know… you are about to say how forced that sounds; but in the moment of the performance, you agreed with the movement.  The song, the lyrics, the music required subservience in a way that only a moment of contrition can supply.  You believed that he needed to be on his knees – that the deference to the song required it.

There is much more that we could say about the feeling of excitement at seeing a band at the height of their ability, playing music that is as rock and roll if they had several electrical guitars and was instead the result of an acoustic guitar, stand-up bass, banjo, drums, and two cellos but honestly, you need to take some time to see The Ridges when the opportunity presents itself to you.

You will not be disappointed.

http://theridgesmusic.com
http://theridges.bandcamp.com
http://twitter.com/The_Ridges
http://youtube.com/RidgesBand

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Join us at wudr.udayton.edu