Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Bird Call judged winner by Waits of Songwriter’s Competition; Tours with Johanna and The Dusty Floor.


Pair of Brooklyn singer-songwriters to hit both coasts next month; Call featured by iTunes, Floor by Filter.

+++


Chiara Angelicola (Credit: Gretchen Robinette), Johanna Cranitch (Credit: Jesse Sara English)

+++

PLAY, POST & SHARE

Bird Call’s cover of Beck’s “Lost Cause” is the first single from the “Other Creatures” EP 




+++

“Witch Shoes” is the first single and video from “Northern Lights” by Johanna and The Dusty Floor.



 



+++


Bird Call + Johanna and The Dusty Floor | On Tour

08/02 Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory w/ HolidayHoliday, Former Belle, 7PM
08/04 Philadelphia, PA @ Clubhouse 730PM
08/05 Philadelphia, PA @ The Fire w/ Former Belle, 7PM
08/06 Washington, DC @ Bella Cafe & Bar w/ Former Belle, 7PM
08/11 New Orleans, LA @ AllWays Theater 10PM
08/16 Austin, TX @ Hole In The Wall 9PM
08/24 San Diego, CA @ Tin Can w/ Addiquit, 7PM
08/25 Los Angeles, CA @ The Mint 8PM
08/27 San Francisco, CA @ Brick & Mortar w/ Pat Parra, 8PM
08/28 Berkeley, CA @ Rasputin Music In-Store, 1PM

+++

Chiara Angelicola of Bird Call and Johanna Cranitch of Johanna and The Dusty Floor are two of the most eclectic and engaging female voices in Brooklyn’s current singer-songwriter scene. Now fans on both coasts will have the opportunity to see Angelicola and Cranitch in concert when the pair launches a string of live dates together in August.

Currently, Angelicola is supporting the recent Bird Call release of an EP of cover songs entitled “Other Creatures” which includes her versions of Beck’s “Lost Cause” (STREAM | MP3) and the Kate Bush classic “The Man With The Child In His Eyes” among others. Earlier this year, Angelicola’s original song “Waltz In The Snow” bested over 15,000 entrants to win the Performance category of the International Songwriters Competition as judged by Tom Waits, Peter Gabriel and others. The attention led to the Bird Call EP being featured by iTunes for the last six weeks running.

Johanna and The Dusty Floor will also be supporting a new release on this tour as well.  “Northern Lights” is Johanna Cranitch’s new full-length album following a debut EP. The album is already earning notice for what NPR-affiliate WNYC calls “tender harmonies” and for the “astonishing range” of Cranitch’s voice as noted by PopMatters. The album’s first single and video “Witch Shoes” (STREAM | MP3 | VIDEO) was recently featured by Filter Magazine.

“When Johanna and I met around October of last year, we knew we were on the same sonic wavelength,” says Angelicola about the women’s shared love of artists such as Fleetwood Mac and Kate Bush and what led to this tour together. “It was really comforting to know there are other women in this overly saturated scene of singer-songwriters that are okay with being a little different.”

Both Chiara Angelicola of Bird Call and Johanna Cranitch of Johanna and The Dusty Floor are available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information or with guest list requests for any of the above listed performances.

+++

Bird Call Links


+++

Johanna and The Dusty Floor Links


+++

Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


Friday, July 1, 2011

Clara May unveils typography-obsessed retro video for title track from debut album “Hush.”


Band’s Indian, Malaysian, Mexican, Chilean, European blood helps form new American sound.

+++


Clara May (L-R): Nicole Sotelo and Tom Silva. Photograph by Andreé Narvaez.

+++

PLAY, POST & SHARE

“Hush” is the latest single and video from the debut album by Clara May

 





 
+++

“Rich and alluring... a mini-melting pot of new American music.” – Chicago Sun-Times

“One could hardly hope for two more unique and distinct voices...” – My Old Kentucky Blog

Hush’ is a melding of great lyricism and my obsession with typography,” says director Jason Robert Becker of the clip he created for the title song from Chicago duo Clara May’s debut album. “It was really the footage of the band performing that inspired it all. It felt like watching old film of The Velvet Underground.”

“We’re aping the style of 90’s designers like David Carson, who pioneered the use of type and fractured images in magazine ads,” explains Tom Silva, one half of Clara May. “It was Jason who brought the idea of putting the lyrics front and center.” Silva is no stranger to narrative, having already seen success as an auteur whose film “The Quiet” was named “Best Independent Film” by Chicago Screen Magazine. Silva’s songwriting partner in Clara May is Nicole Sotelo, a Harvard-trained theologian and author.

Together, with the help of some of Chicago’s most adept players, Silva and Sotelo have created the dark, romantic and socially conscious album, Hush. The album’s title track is a bitter breakup song that sounds like Beck’s “Lost Cause” filtered through Echo and The Bunnymen. “I started wanting to write a post-punk British new wave kind of track that sounded like The Thompson Twins and Queen's ‘A Kind of Magic.’Silva says.

Much of the rest of Hush explores themes rarely addressed by mainstream music.  Cultural identity is one and in addition to the subject matter, the musicians on Hush represent a melting pot of Chicago themselves.  “We wanted to use our combined Indian, Malaysian, Mexican, Chilean, and European backgrounds to create a new kind of American sound,” says the Malaysian-born Silva.

“I would be honored if Clara May were considered the first true Desi rock band in America,” he continues. “I am very interested in celebrating my Indian heritage and talking about the issues that affect South Asians through the medium of rock music.” Hush, the debut album by Clara May is out now.  Tom Silva and Nicole Sotelo are available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

+++

Clara May – Hush
(S/R – Out Now)


Track Listing:

01. Own That Feeling
02. Hush (STREAM | MP3 | VIDEO)
03. Location of Culture
04. Good Morning
05. The Chosen
06. Away
07. Scrawl
08.Lullaby
09.Hyderabad
10. Diaspora

+++

Clara May Links


+++

Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

Dan Hubbard and The Humadors sets attendance record at album release.


Bloomington band issues second single from “The Love Show,” Earns raves.

+++


L-R: Scott McRae, Dan Hubbard, Kevin Yarger, Kyle Yap. Photo by Nikki Parrish.

+++

PLAY, POST & SHARE

“This Is Your Life” is the latest single from The Love Show by Dan Hubbard and The Humadors




+++

All about Dan Hubbard and The Humadors!



+++

“Hubbard has a troubadour’s gift, creating songs that balance life’s tough times with hope and healing.”  - Chip Frazier, Twangville

Fans of Dan Hubbard and The Humadors filled the band’s hometown Bloomington, Illinois venue The Castle Theater last month for a CD release show that was the third-highest attendance the venue has seen. “And they have big time acts through there like Old 97’s and Steve Earle,” commented an exuberant Hubbard!  See the band perform “The Last Time You See Me” from this show here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpD5ksWpE6M.

Singer-songwriter Hubbard has been releasing music from his home base of Bloomington, Illinois for close to a decade, traveling the country and averaging over 125 performances a year. Now, Hubbard has issued The Love Show, his most accomplished effort to date.

Writing for roots music website, Twangville, journalist Chip Frazier puts it succinctly saying, “It wasn’t that long ago when someone asked me ‘Why doesn’t anyone make Rock n’ Roll’ anymore?” Like many folks, he quit looking for new music after he graduated college, and was now trying to search the radio for new Rock n’ Roll. If he asked that today, I would give him a copy of Dan Hubbard and The Humadors new release, The Love Show, and end his search.”

Following up the smokin’ guitars of “The Last Time You See Me,” the first single from The Love Show, is the heartfelt number, “This Is Your Life” (STREAM | MP3). When asked about what makes the tune a fan favorite, Hubbard said, “This song gave me a chance to tell my story. Life rarely goes as planned and that's what makes it hard, but also what makes it so great. I think people can relate to that.”

Dan Hubbard and The Humadors is currently touring the Midwest. The band’s latest album The Love Show is out now. Dan Hubbard is available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

+++

Dan Hubbard and The Humadors Live

07/15 Champaign, IL @ Memphis on Main 830PM
07/16 Lexington, IL @ Lexington Street Fest 7:00PM
07/23 Chicago, IL @ Martyrs
08/20 Davenport, IA @ River Roots Live Festival w/ Gin Blossoms, Blues Traveler, 4PM
08/27 Bloomington, IL @ Bloomington Center for Performing Arts w/ Amanda Shaw, 6PM
09/10 Edinburg, IL @ Gush Fest 7PM

+++

Dan Hubbard and The Humadors
The Love Show
(S/R – Out Now)


Track Listing:

01. Zoe Intro
02. Don’t Take Me Now
03. Stay Away
04. Darkness On The Loose
05. This Is Your Life (STREAM | MP3)
06. Heartbeat
07. We’ll Be Fine
08. Beautiful Bar
09. Half Vampires
10. All I Want Is You
11. The Last Time You See Me (STREAM | MP3)

+++

Dan Hubbard and The Humadors Links


+++

Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion