Friday, January 26, 2018

Marcus William Striplin of Pleasant Grove memorializes his mother as Margaret Chavez with solo album “A Loupe.” Run of Texas dates starts today.

Produced by Erik Wofford (Explosions In The Sky), album adds “dirt devil of a sound” to artist’s “mark of excellence in modern Americana” (UNCUT)

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Margaret Chavez (Marcus William Striplin) as photographed by the artist.

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Hear “Call For Cull” by Margaret Chavez at nationally recognized public radio station KXT, 91.7 in Dallas or via the links below.

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Margaret Chavez – Live


1/26/2018: Fort Worth, TX @ Twilite Lounge
1/27/2018: Denton, TX @ Dan’s Silverleaf
1/28/2018: Deep Ellum, TX @ Twilite Lounge

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Marcus William Striplin of Margaret Chavez and Pleasant Grove – In The Press

 “Triumphant.” – Consequence of Sound

“Beautiful.” – D Magazine (Dallas)

“A mark of excellence in modern Americana.” – UNCUT

 “Songs of broken hearts and broken voices.” – The Dallas Observer

“Oozes the down and out ache of Texas country.” – MOJO

 “Breathtaking.” – Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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“Surrounding you in a dirt devil of a sound that lies somewhere on the spectrum between Americana and psychedelia.” – KUTX 98.9, Austin

“A Loupe,” the just-released solo debut of Pleasant Grove co-founder Marcus William Striplin (performing under the name Margaret Chavez in memorial tribute to his mother), is everything a fan of Striplin’s songwriting and arrangement ideas (here realized by producer, Erik Wofford [Explosions In The Sky, The Black Angels]) would expect and more.

Listen to “Call For Cull” by Margaret Chavez

Striplin’s name is familiar to anyone who has followed the indie rock scene that emerged out of Texas in the early 2000’s, specifically Dallas, where Striplin co-founded the band named after the suburb Pleasant Grove in 1999.

In its relatively brief half-decade-or-so initial run, Pleasant Grove earned praise for the “simmering psychedelia” (KUTX 98.9) of its “songs of broken hearts and broken voices” (Dallas Observer) that, according to MOJO, mixed the “down and out ache of Texas country as well as the sonic outbursts of Neil Young.” In a four-star review, UNCUT dubbed Pleasant Grove a “mark of excellence in modern Americana.”

Consequence of Sound called Pleasant Grove’s return “triumphant,” the glossy Dallas-based monthly D Magazine proclaimed The Heart Contortionists “beautiful,” describing songs with “an intensity that sneaks up on you and a heat that never goes away,” and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram summed things up with a nod to Striplin specifically, saying Pleasant Grove’s “melancholy folk-rock, blessed with shadows, brass and Striplin’s plaintive voice — are breathtaking.”

Striplin, now based in Austin, has made a record that surpasses his best work. “A Loupe” by Margaret Chavez (Marcus William Striplin) is out now via Goliad Media Group. Striplin will be supporting the release of “A Loupe” with a weekend run of dates in Texas starting this evening at the Twilite Lounge in Fort Worth. Striplin is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Margaret Chavez
“A Loupe”
(Goliad Media Group)
Out Now
  

Track Listing:

01. Boy Mumble
02. American Fashion
03. Gone Gone Gone
04. Call For Cull (YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3)
05. A Loupe
06. Grackles and Crows
07. Strange Buoy’s (YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3)
08. Black Ambulance
09. Two Talons
10. Missing People

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Margaret Chavez Links

ASSETS : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : BANDCAMP : GOLIAD MEDIA GROUP

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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : INSTAGRAM : SNAPCHAT : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL
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Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Happy birthday, Ralph Carney! J Hacha de Zola posts prophetic cover of “My Special Angel” on which his recently departed friend appears.

Track is an unreleased collaboration - now a poignant tribute - to the iconic sax sideman who played on all of Hacha de Zola’s albums to date.

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J Hacha de Zola as photographed by Miguel Peralta Jr.

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“My Special Angel” is J Hacha de Zola’s cover of the Bobby Vinton classic version and features legendary horn-player, Ralph Carney



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Today, on what would have been the 62nd birthday of his friend and legendary musician, Ralph Carney, Rahway, New Jersey-based artist J Hacha de Zola has posted a David Lynch-ian cover version of a song made famous by Bobby Vinton, “My Special Angel.”  It is a prophetic tune, as the song features Carney’s tenor saxophones and trumpet, and was recorded shortly before the musician’s untimely passing.

Carney is best-known for his collaborations and work with Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, They Might Be Giants, The B-52s, any many more, as well as for being the uncle of The Black Keys drummer, Patrick Carney.

Hacha de Zola reflects, “I never thought this would be among the last things we would work on together. It is truly bittersweet for me, given the title and Ralph’s untimely passing. His work will go on forever. Moving forward with my next record, I am truly at a loss as how to proceed without him. In a lot of ways, Ralph kind of led the way for a lot of band geeks in showing us that the horns can be more fun, free and wild. I am truly grateful to have worked with him and to have called him a friend.”

Hacha de Zola describes meeting Carney, saying, “I’d always been a big fan of Ralph’s playing, especially with Tom Waits. I had Big Time on cassette and I wore that thing out. I was recording in Portland, Oregon and I had heard that Ralph has recently moved there. I shot him a link to a track which opened with a bass sax that I thought might grab his ear, and sure enough, he responded with a single line, ‘Is that a bass sax?!’”

Hacha de Zola continues, “We hit it off and he most generously agreed to collaborate with me. We had such a blast, even though I was very nervous about having this accomplished musician play on my humble tunes! Ralph would go on to playing on every single song and providing me a lot of assurance and guidance along the way. Occasionally, he would randomly send me tunes he thought I should listen to, along with a note that said, ‘Listen to this, man! You need to know this!’ Literally the last thing Ralph said to me was ‘Keep working on your bad self. Remember that it takes a long time to get there my friend. Love you, brother.’”

​​Antipatico, the latest album from J Hacha de Zola, is out now. Hacha de Zola is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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J Hacha de Zola – In The Press

“A wild man.” – Paste

“The kind of alluring character found in old children’s books.” — UTNE

“Possibly the wildest record I’ve heard all year.” — BLURT

“Mutant blues rock.” — Treble Zine

“As enticing as it is distant and strange.” — MAGNET

“Straight from the mind of John Carpenter.” — Elmore

“Possessed and cacophonic.” — Atwood

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J Hacha de Zola’s “Lightning Rod Salesman” (taken from Antipatico, out now) is Paste’s “Daily Dose” here.

[YOUTUBE]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dk-HMXvCg4w

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J Hacha de Zola
Antipatico
(Caballo Negro Records)
Out Now


Track Listing:

01. Antipatico
02. March of the Hollowmen  (YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3)
03. Lightning Rod Salesman  (YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3)
04. No Situation  (YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3)
05. El Desgraciado
06. On a Sleepless Night
07. Eigengrau
08. That Same Thing
09. Amaranthine
10. A Fanciful Invention (YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3)

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J Hacha de Zola Links

ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : INSTAGRAM : BANDCAMP : TUMBLR

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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : INSTAGRAM : SNAPCHAT : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL


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Monday, January 22, 2018

“Perfectly crafted” record from MOTORCADE “feels less like new wave homage,” “more like an actual album of the era.” Self-titled debut out now.

Dallas-based band’s players have recorded, been in touring bands with St. Vincent, The War On Drugs, Daniel Johnston. Hear “Deliver” at MXDWN.

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MOTORCADE (L-R): James Henderson, Andrew Huffstetler, Jeff Ryan, John Dufilho. Photo credit: Jerome Brock.

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“Perfectly blends the best of the ’80s while offering up intriguing and impressively original songwriting.” – MXDWN

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MOTORCADE – In The Press

“‘Recover’ is an 80’s pop wonder. Brilliant.” — Somewherecold

“Doses of ‘80s-like brooding co-mingle with uplifting choruses.” — PopMatters

“A Britpop-flavored, love-at-first-listen.” — KXT, Dallas

“A charming piece of indie rock.” — MAGNET

 “Ready to whisk you away to the lands of dark, smoky bars.” – KUTX, Austin

 “Immensely melodic. As catchy as the band members are accomplished.” — The Dallas Morning News

“Mixing post-punk with ’60s psychedelia.” — Central Track

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MOTORCADE – Live

2/23/2018: Fort Worth, TX @ Main at South Side (w/ Mind Spiders & CLIFFFS)
3/31/2018: Dallas, TX @ Texas Theatre (w/ Cryptolog)

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“It’s all so perfectly crafted that it feels less like new wave homage and more like an actual album of the era.” — Soundblab

“I wrote the chorus for this first, months before I came back to it to finish it off,” says James Henderson of Dallas-based band MOTORCADE about “Deliver,” the latest single from the foursome’s debut album. MOTORCADE was released via Idol Records this past Friday, with the band playing a sold-out record release show the following evening.

Hear “Deliver” now via music discovery website MXDWN here. The track is the follow-up to the local hit “Recover,” which has been in steady rotation via Dallas’ nationally recognized community radio station KXT for nearly a year. KXT is now also spinning the second MOTORCADE single “Desertion.”

The members of MOTORCADE bring years of experience to the band. Andrew Huffstetler (Voice), Henderson (Guitar, Keyboards, Voice), John Dufilho (Bass, Voice), and Jeff Ryan (Drums) -- have previously recorded and/or been in touring bands with St. Vincent, The War on Drugs, Daniel Johnston, The Apples in Stereo, Pleasant Grove, and many more.

The fruit of these dues paid is a fine and fluid debut album that hits on every pressure point of late 80s-early 90s songcraft ala Depeche Mode, New Order, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and so on.

“When we first started actively playing together, we had a couple of my ideas and just played them to see if we could do it,” says Henderson, which ultimately led MOTORCADE to become an actual thing. “It worked out alright, but then I realized we’d need more songs,” he continues. “So that was the impetus to start writing.”

The rest of the album is no afterthought. Everything here is sent over the moon by serious production chops and musicianship, owing again to the substantial pedigree that these guys came to the studio with. It’s an aspect of record-making that is seemingly ignored by younger bands making music influenced by this era.

“For me, production and songwriting go hand-in-hand,” Henderson says. The sounds are every bit as important as the notes and chords being played.”

The self-titled debut album by Dallas-based MOTORCADE is out on Idol Records. Members of MOTORCADE are available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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MOTORCADE
MOTORCADE
(Idol Records)
Out Now
  

Track Listing:

01. Walk With Me
02. Deliver (YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3)
03. When The Hit Comes
04. Overthrown
05. Desertion (YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3)
06. Evaporate
07. Recover (YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3)
08. Long Telegram
09. CP80
10. Not Too Dark
11. Contact Light

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MOTORCADE Links

ASSETS : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : IDOL RECORDS

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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : INSTAGRAM : SNAPCHAT : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL
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