Daytrotter

As many of you may know, but many of you may not, indie music has an awesome resource of a website called Daytrotter. This site offers free downloads of live recording sessions of so many bands and artists. It's a great way to discover new music or to simply find live recordings of some of your favorite artists.

The Daytrotter studio is unique, in that it is located in Rock Island, IL. This small midwestern town is basically in the middle of nothing, much less a thriving music scene of its own. But because of its location near the highway and Mississippi, many bands traveling through the area will make a stop at this small town simply for the sake of connecting and recording with Daytrotter.

There is actually an documentary in the works, called Welcome to Daytrotter, about their story and what has happened since their start in 2006. I recommend checking out their site.
And here is the trailer for the film:

 
If you want to know more, you can read what the folks at IndieMuse wrote or you can check out Daytrotter's About tab.

Horse Feathers: Beards and Folk

Before I start my post, I think you should know something about me: I love beards (on men). I'm fully supportive of facial hair in general, but man, beards really get me. Yes, I'm one of those weird hipster girls. I've come to embrace this fact.

Anyways, when it comes to music, I automatically associate beards with folk. I know this isn't always the case (Black Keys, Broken Social Scene, Electric Owls). But one case in which it is true is with Horse Feathers.

Horse Feathers, like Haley Bonar and Basia Bulat, is one of the musical groups that I keep coming back to time after time. When I'm asked who my favorite artists are, they come after my beloved Haley.

Horse Feathers started with just head man Justin Ringle, but has since been playing with a cello player and a violist/saw player.

I had the chance to see them perform at the Cedar Cultural Center last April. The richness and simplicity of the strings and the low key tones of Ringle's voice created what I can only describe as 3-D sound. I felt as though the music surrounded me, enveloping me into the essence of the music. And like I've mentioned with Local Natives, Horse Feathers is the type of group that is so much greater performing live, proving that they are in fact great musicians. Because of this fact, I strongly recommend you download both of their Daytrotter sessions. You can also snag some free finds from Kill Rock Stars Records.

Here they are performing a Tiny Desk Concert. It starts with my favorite song of theirs "Working Poor."

We Are the Willows

"Come back to us, in Minneapolis" and "Let's drink some beer on the kitchen floor"

Some great moments from We Are the Willow's song "A Funeral Dressed as a Birthday"
I will, at random, belt these lines out. And the moment I graduate, I fully intend to drink some beers on the kitchen floor. 

This man, Peter Miller, looks as though he should have a deep, manlike voice, but no...not at all. His childlike voice takes some getting used to (or at least it did for me), but once you've come to terms with it, it only adds to his music. He was even named the Minneapolis Best Male Vocalist in 2010 by City Pages with that unique voice of his! So, somebody other than me must have taken a liking to his voice as well.

If nothing else, you can download his Daytrotter session (for free!) and give him a try.

I also recommend that you read his tour blog on City Pages. I think this guy is hilarious. So much so, that when I found his tour blog, I spent an hour or more going through and reading all of them. Maybe not the best use of my time but definitely an entertaining use of my time.

For those of you in the Twin Cities, he will be performing at The Beat Coffeeshop on April 14th at 7pm ($10 recommended donation for a fundraiser) and at the 331 Club on April 21st at 10pm (no cover). Maybe see you at one of these shows?

Anywho, you should let me know what you think.

Caroline Smith and the Goodnight Sleeps

In the past few days, I cannot stop listening to Caroline Smith and the Goodnight Sleeps' Daytrotter session. "Closing the Doors" has been my favorite so far. Lyrics such as "holding your hand never helped me forget the truth" and "closing the doors never helped me close up the rooms" stick out and keep me pushing repeat. If you're not a fan of strange voices then she won't be your favorite...but then again, maybe you shouldn't be listening to indie rock period.

And just a shout out to Daytrotter: this site is fantastic! There are free downloads of live recording sessions of some well-known and not-so-well-known artists. It's definitely worth checking out. You will have to register with your e-mail address, but there are no gimmicks. Just an e-mail here and there. So rest assured.