On March 30 neo-soul singer Erykah Badu will release her fifth studio album New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh. The album is said to be more organic and
Ashes of American Flags, Wilco’s visually and musically stunning first-ever concert film will air on Monday at 10AM on Sundance. The film follows Jeff Tweedy and company from Tulsa to
Volume 3 Number 2 is one of the best of the Grateful Dead's Road Trips and augurs well for the redefinition of this archival project. Originally conceived to highlight particular phases of the band's career, this series has more recently come to reflect its esteemed precursor, Dick ‘s Picks, in offering complete performances from the group's history.
When I am putting together each posting, I usually look for what’s opening soon, what’s new, what is there to do. Every now and again I read something that is the polar opposite, a well-known and well-loved restaurant closing. This week, Grub Street posted a story about the possible closing of Café Colonial on the corner of Houston & Elizabeth Streets here in NYC.
It is worth reading the whole article to get an understanding from an owner’s perspective of how the economy is affecting small businesses, especially restaurants. Here is one excerpt from the Grub Street story that really hit home with me (Gilian is Luciane Gilan, the owner):
When Gilan spoke to Grub Street just now, she sounded like she had all but given up: “Our city is giving us more laws and regulations,” she stammered. “Everything’s harder. People are more mean. It’s just not fun anymore.” Gilan believes her rent tripled thanks in part to new neighbor Keith McNally, and she may just retire when her lease expires May 31. [Grub Street]
This closing reminded me of when the 9th Street Market suddenly closed in May of 2008 after 14 years in business. At the time, someone asked the owner why he closed after 14 years and his response was “he just got tired , did it quietly (not a rent raise situation?), doesn’t know what’s coming next.” (as per the Eater article from May 27, 2008)
Even in a bad economy, if we are not going to our favorite small, local places every now and again, don’t be surprised if one day you decide to go and it’s closed. One of my first mentors in the restaurant business asked me once what the most expensive thing was in a restaurant. The correct answer was, an empty chair. READ ON for a list of this week’s openings…
Today, we’re kicking off a new column of occasional periodicity here at Hidden Track called Tracks of the Trade, whereby we swap stories with some of the more interesting folks in the music industry, the producers. These folks are the sonic equivalent of surgeons; charged not only with the careful dissection of dozens of tiny interactive pieces and ensuring their cohesive functionality, but also developing strong emotional bonds with their patients (often mental), offering varying degrees of bedside manner, and even sharing potentially critical advice.
To kick off the series in style, we invited one of the most prolific producers/mixers in music today, Peter Katis, to drop by to chew the fat. Peter Katis has collaborated on countless modern classics by the likes of the National, Frightened Rabbit, Interpol, Fanfarlo, Tokyo Police Club, Jonsi (Sigur Ros), and The Get Up Kids.
The “Sound” of “Music”
In thinking about our little surgeon analogy, in a likeness to the way we all go about choosing a doctor, it’s important to understand the mannerisms of a producer. After all, you have to like the person as much as the work. Specific to music, different producers take different positions as to where their role fits in with the musicians.
“I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum than say someone like a Rick Rubin. He really focuses on the songwriting aspect, the arrangements, the words, whereas to me, those things like lyrics for a band, that’s their own thing. I really don’t feel comfortable messing with that.” READ ON…
Welcome to back to Strange Brew our monthly column dedicated to – as you probably have already guessed – beer. Each month, we’ll take a close look at a new
While the city of Ann Arbor is best known as the home to the University Of Michigan, you can now add throw the name Mayer Hawthorne into the mix as
IFC will show Grant Gee’s 1998 Radiohead documentary Meeting People Is Easy on Sunday at 2PM. Gee’s film gives us a behind the scenes look at the band as they
RJD2 at The Magic Stick, Detroit, MI on March 12th, 2010.
Beck’s Record Club rolls on to album #4 with the release of Guns In The Sky off of INXS’ massively successful Kick LP. For his covers of the songs from
