Category Archives: interviews

Poetic Memory: The Prids (List)

Over the course of their career, The Prids have released a slew of excellent records. But it wasn’t until this year — when the rural Missourians released Chronosynclastic — that things really got going.

Chronosynclastic is about experience, and Prids primaries David Frederickson and Mistina La Fave have plenty of it. Their tumultuous relationship has taken them from love to marriage to divorce but, all the while, they’ve kept the band alive. That hard-won balance between harmony and conflict is reflected in their songwriting.

Sometimes dark, other times steeped in joy, but always surprising, Chronosynclastic‘s melodies, boy/girl vocals, and addictive hooks make this band an underrated gem of 2010.

In the midst of their current U.S. tour, La Fave sent us a list of ten songs that comprise her Poetic Memory. The band doesn’t have any San Diego dates on the schedule, but we hope they’ll come back soon. Mistina’s Poetic Memory, a video for The Prids’ song “Break,” and a full list of tour dates are below. Continue reading…

Poetic Memory: Tu Fawning (List)

Photo credit: Sara Meadows

Watching opening bands can be a bit of a gamble, but you’ll definitely want to arrive early at the Casbah on Friday, September 17. Before the feisty trio known as Menomena blows the crowd away with its sometimes bloody, always amazing act, Tu Fawning will take the stage, and you won’t want to miss it.

The Portland four-piece employs driving rhythms and delicate cacophony to create evocative, sinister moods that lie somewhere between the realms of Beach House and Portishead. It’s a smokey, intriguing combination of sounds, all tied together by Corrina Repp’s sultry vocals.

Repp was kind enough to share her Poetic Memory with us, a “smattering of records and songs” that form a cross-section of her musical influences. While you’re reading the list, you can download the free single of Tu Fawning’s “The Felt Sense” (MP3), which should whet your appetite for Friday’s show quite nicely. Click here for the Poetic Memory.

Poetic Memory: Parlour Steps (List)

Parlour Steps are a self-described electro-pop/motown band hailing from Vancouver. The group’s engaging sound would fit nicely between The Decemberists and The New Pornographers in your record collection.

In 2009, Parlour Steps released a catchy gem of an album, The Hidden Names!, and have been touring in support of it ever since. In a rare offstage moment, front man Caleb Stull recently compiled a list of his favorite music-related movies for us. His Poetic Memory is below. Continue reading…

Interview: Cloud Cult

Cloud Cult are nothing if not prolific. The Minnesota band just finished up their eighth studio album, Light Chasers, which is set to hit stores on September 14th.

Light Chasers picks up right where Owl and Bear favorite Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes) left off, exploring the relationship between the human experience and the unknown. Frontman Craig Minowa took some time out from tea-partying through tornadoes to talk to us about loss, the environment, and what the band has in store for us in the future. Continue reading…

Poetic Memory: JBM (List)

Jesse B. Marchant, also known as JBM, is a singer/songwriter from Montreal. A classically trained guitarist, he only recently began to write lyrics, sing, and record. His debut album, Not Even in July, was written in Los Angeles but recorded in New York’s Adirondack mountains, and it proves that he’s capable of sitting with other indie favorites like Bon Iver and AA Bondy.

JBM will open for AA Bondy at the Casbah on September 1. His Poetic Memory is below.