Spinner

Chappo Discuss the Success of 'Come Home,' Reveal 'Craigslist Success Story'

Ashley Iasimone — 2010-12-15T16:44:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Video, New Music, Exclusive

If you've seen an iPod Touch commercial on TV this fall, you've probably heard the tune 'Come Home,' a song off the 'Plastique Universe' EP by unsigned Brooklyn band Chappo. Recently, the guys stopped by Spinner's New York headquarters to perform an acoustic rendition of the track for the staff, talk all things Apple and explain how Craigslist brought them together.

"We were a Craigslist success story," Chappo's Chris Olson told Spinner. "I responded to Alex's Craigslist ad, which was five blocks away from where I was living."

The Internet not only brought the band -- fronted by Alex Chappo on vocals and guitar and Olson on vocals and keyboards -- together, in a way, but it was also how a representative from Apple found them -- 'Come Home' had been making its way around a few blogs -- and presented them with the pitch for the iPod Touch commercial. Of course, the guys of Chappo were cautious about whether that e-mail was for real: "We almost deleted it. We thought it was spam."

Matisyahu Plays 'Silence' for Spinner's Acoustic Festival of Light Set

Ashley Iasimone — 2010-12-08T18:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Video, Exclusive

Before Matisyahu kicked off his fifth annual Festival of Light this week, he brought the show to Spinner's New York studio, where he played eight acoustic tracks after taking fan suggestions. On Dec. 8, we present his performance of 'Silence.'

Matisyahu's Festival of Light concert series features four nights in Brooklyn, N.Y., followed by dates across the northeast US His new concert CD/DVD, 'Live at Stubb's Vol. II,' will be out on Feb. 2 and is available for preorder now. Watch him perform 'Silence' at Spinner's headquarters after the jump.

Matisyahu Plays 'Temple' for Spinner's Acoustic Festival of Light Set

Ashley Iasimone — 2010-12-07T19:37:00 00:00

Filed under: Video, Exclusive

Before Matisyahu kicked off his fifth annual Festival of Light this week, he brought the show to Spinner's New York studio, where he played eight acoustic tracks after taking fan suggestions. On Dec. 7, we present his performance of 'Temple.' We'll be rolling out one performance video per day through Dec. 8, so check back daily.

Matisyahu's Festival of Light concert series features four nights in Brooklyn, N.Y., followed by dates across the northeast US His new concert CD/DVD, 'Live at Stubb's Vol. II,' will be out on Feb. 2 and is available for preorder now. Watch him perform 'Temple' at Spinner's headquarters after the jump.

Matisyahu Plays 'Jerusalem' for Spinner's Acoustic Festival of Light Set

Ashley Iasimone — 2010-12-06T19:03:00 00:00

Filed under: Video, Exclusive

Before Matisyahu kicked off his fifth annual Festival of Light this week, he brought the show to Spinner's New York studio, where he played eight acoustic tracks after taking fan suggestions. On Dec. 6, we present his performance of ''Jerusalem.' We'll be rolling out one performance video per day through Dec. 8, so check back daily.

Matisyahu's Festival of Light concert series features four nights in Brooklyn, N.Y., followed by dates across the northeast US His new concert CD/DVD, 'Live at Stubb's Vol. II,' will be out on Feb. 2 and is available for preorder now. Watch him perform 'Jerusalem' at Spinner's headquarters after the jump.

Matisyahu Plays 'Sunshine' for Spinner's Acoustic Festival of Light Set -- Exclusive Video

Ashley Iasimone — 2010-12-03T19:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Video, Exclusive

Before Matisyahu kicked off his fifth annual Festival of Light this week, he brought the show to Spinner's New York studio, where he played eight acoustic tracks after taking fan suggestions. On Dec. 3, we present his performance of 'Sunshine.' We'll be rolling out one performance video per day through Dec. 8, so check back daily.

Matisyahu's Festival of Light concert series features four nights in Brooklyn, N.Y., followed by dates across the northeast US His new concert CD/DVD, 'Live at Stubb's Vol. II,' will be out on Feb. 2 and is available for preorder now. Watch him perform 'Sunshine' at Spinner's headquarters after the jump.

Oh Land Collaborating With John Legend and Pharrell -- Exclusive Video

Ashley Iasimone — 2010-12-03T15:25:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Video, Exclusive

In Oh Land's song 'White Nights,' the lyric "There's no silence/I'll keep following the sirens" can be taken quite literally. When the singer -- who moved to Brooklyn from Copenhagen earlier this year -- stopped by Spinner's headquarters to treat the staff to a private performance, she explained that the New York state of mind has left her in a creative frenzy.

"When I moved here in January, I just felt like I couldn't sleep because I didn't want to miss a second," Oh Land, aka Nanna Fabricius, told Spinner. "I stayed up all the time and worked all the time and was always inspired by sirens, the noise of New York. I found my stillness in the storm."

Matisyahu Plays 'Thunder' for Spinner's Acoustic Festival of Light Set -- Exclusive Video

Ashley Iasimone — 2010-12-02T16:22:00 00:00

Filed under: Video, Exclusive

Before Matisyahu kicked off his fifth annual Festival of Light this week, he brought the show to Spinner's New York studio, where he played eight acoustic tracks after taking fan suggestions. On Dec. 2, we present his performance of 'Thunder.' We'll be rolling out one performance video per day through Dec. 8, so check back daily.

Matisyahu's Festival of Light concert series features four nights in Brooklyn, N.Y., followed by dates across the northeast US His new concert CD/DVD, 'Live at Stubb's Vol. II,' will be out on Feb. 2 and is available for preorder now. Watch him perform 'Thunder' at Spinner's headquarters after the jump.

Matisyahu, 'Darkness Into Light' (Live From Spinner's Acoustic Festival of Light Set) -- Exclusive Video

Ashley Iasimone — 2010-12-01T19:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Video, Exclusive

Before Matisyahu kicked off his fifth annual Festival of Light this week, he brought the show to Spinner's studio, where he played eight acoustic tracks after taking fan suggestions. On Dec. 1, the first night of Hanukkah, we present his performance of 'Darkness Into Light.' We'll be rolling out one performance video per day through Dec. 8, so check back daily.

Matisyahu's Festival of Light concert series features four nights in Brooklyn, followed by dates across the northeast U.S. His new live CD/DVD, 'Live at Stubb's Vol. II,' will be out on Feb. 2 and is available for preorder now. Watch him perform 'Darkness Into Light' at Spinner's headquarters below.

Oh Land Gets Sucked Into the Florence and the Machine 'Universe' -- Exclusive Video

Ashley Iasimone — 2010-11-15T12:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Exclusive

Oh Land, aka Nanna Fabricius, is spending her time living in Brooklyn, N.Y. wisely. The sweet-voiced electropop singer relocated from Copenhagen, Denmark in January and has since been discovering inspiration in the sounds of the city, as well as playing concerts and checking out other acts when they're in town. Earlier this month, Oh Land found herself immersed and "really impressed" by a performance by Florence Welch, frontwoman of Florence and the Machine, at New York's Terminal 5.

"She's just such a brilliant performer. I just felt completely sucked into the universe and everything that was Florence and the Machine," Oh Land tells Spinner. "That's what affects me when I got to concerts -- when I can feel that person fully."

Arcade Fire Perform on 'SNL' and Join In on Andy Samberg Skit

Ashley Iasimone — 2010-11-15T10:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Video, Television

Arcade Fire visited 'Saturday Night Live' this weekend to perform two songs from their latest album, 'The Suburbs,' and the Canadian rockers also teamed up with Andy Samberg for a humorous 'SNL' digital short. The group performed 'We Used to Wait' and 'Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains),' but they also made a cameo in a skit titled "What Was That?" acting as a high school Model U.N. group that addressed the General Assembly with a number about dancing the world's troubles away.

The appearance was Arcade Fire's second visit to the 'SNL' set. The band first performed on the show on Feb. 24, 2007, when they played 'Intervention' and 'Keep the Car Running.' Watch the digital short, plus this weekend's performances of 'We Used to Wait' and 'Sprawl II,' below.

Bad Books Make Live Debut, Announce Plans for Future Albums at CMJ

Ashley Iasimone — 2010-10-21T13:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News

Their first album has only been out for a few days, but Bad Books -- the musical collective featuring Kevin Devine and Manchester Orchestra -- seem to be having so much fun working together that they're already plotting future releases. At their debut live performance at Bowery Ballroom on Oct. 20 during the CMJ Music Marathon, Manchester Orchestra's Andy Hull made it known that there's more to come from the band.

"We would like to make an announcement as a band," Hull said at the sold-out gig. "We are not a one-time thing, and since the beginning of deciding to be a band [we knew] we aren't gonna be just a band that has one record. Please stay tuned. We're gonna make more Bad Books records."

Bad Books performed nearly all of the tracks from their self-titled album, plus two Devine songs (crowd pleasers 'Just Stay' and 'Cotton Crush'), one Manchester Orchestra tune ('Now That You're Home') and a Built to Spill cover ('The Plan'). The Devine pieces that were played were picked by Manchester Orchestra, and vice versa.

Avett Brothers Speak of New Album's Themes and 'Vulnerable' Live Release

Ashley Iasimone — 2010-09-23T16:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Exclusive, New Music

The Avett Brothers have been on the road throughout the year, but they've also had the anticipated follow-up to 2009's 'I and Love and You' on their minds. When asked about what might be heard on the upcoming album, the band -- brothers Scott and Seth Avett, Bob Crawford and Joe Kwon -- paused for a moment before Scott carefully named themes in what they've been writing.

"Love, struggle, commitment, getting older, vanity, connection, forgiveness," Scott tells Spinner. "To be able to speak about that in a broad sense is really the only thing that you need to say. That's what's changed over the years. It's just less of a tunnel vision for us. It's much [more] of a bigger picture, so the things become bigger, broader."

Swell Season's Glen Hansard Owes His Career to Bob Dylan

Ashley Iasimone — 2010-09-01T08:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News, Video, Exclusive

From his busking days to his current success, Swell Season and Frames frontman Glen Hansard has had his fair share of connections to Bob Dylan. In recent years, the Swell Season has covered Dylan's 'You Ain't Goin' Nowhere' for the 'I'm Not There' film soundtrack, and the Frames had the opportunity to open for Dylan in 2007. But for Hansard, there is one discernible memory that comes to mind when it comes to Dylan: the moment the folk legend inspired him to be a musician.

"I was about 5 years old, and my mother, who was a big fan, gathered us all into the TV [room]. We had just gotten a TV," Hansard tells Spinner. "We watched the video for 'Homesick Subterranean Blues' in black and white. My mother was like, 'Here he is! He's the best!'"

A.A. Bondy Envisions 'Another World' on Next Album

Ashley Iasimone — 2010-08-24T16:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News, New Music, Exclusive

It's only been about a year since A.A. Bondy released the album 'When the Devil's Loose,' but the folk-leaning singer-songwriter is thinking about taking some musical risks on his next project.

"We started pushing towards this other place that hopefully we'll be able to accomplish," Bondy tells Spinner. "I think we will in some small way, but I don't want to do it in a small way. I kind of just want to get it all the way, get in up to your knees. Hopefully we'll get our heads underwater."

The Swell Season Take Time Off to Work on Separate Projects

Ashley Iasimone — 2010-08-23T12:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News, New Music, Exclusive

The Swell Season, fronted by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, have stayed busy touring since releasing their latest album, 'Strict Joy.' But the next chapter for the two musicians may take them in separate ways, at least for a brief period of time. The Frames, Hansard's original band, have recently announced a handful of upcoming concerts, and the notion of Irglova recording a solo album has surfaced, which Hansard revealed backstage at the Newport Folk Festival earlier this month.

"I'll go back to the Frames, and Mar will make her own record at some point," Hansard tells Spinner. "This band will eventually naturally end. But right now, all of us are just so grateful."

Brandi Carlile Devastated by Canceled Lilith Fair Dates

Ashley Iasimone — 2010-08-20T14:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News, Exclusive

When news got around about Lilith Fair canceling many of its dates due to slow ticket sales, there was certainly disappointment in the air for fans who were going to be missing out on the festival. But perhaps even more frustration hit the artists slotted to take the stage, especially Brandi Carlile.

"It was a huge bummer," Carlile tells Spinner. "It was so sad. It was devastating."

Kevin Devine 'Feels Good' About Bad Books

Ashley Iasimone — 2010-08-18T16:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News, New Music, Exclusive

After years of playing shows together, Kevin Devine and Manchester Orchestra's Andy Hull have found friendship and respect for one another's music -- Devine's even covered Manchester's 'The Only One' while Hull took on Devine's 'I Could Be With Anyone,' both of which Spinner premiered in January. Come this fall, the two are taking their rapport a step further and releasing a collaborative LP, alongside members of Manchester Orchestra.

"It's done," Devine, who additionally just released a solo EP called 'She Stayed as Steam,' tells Spinner. "It's mixed, it's mastered, the artwork's coming along. It's a record. I love it. I'm really, really happy with the way it turned out."

Kevin Devine's 'Goddamn Band' T-Shirts Banned by Disney

Ashley Iasimone — 2010-08-10T16:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News, Exclusive, Holy Hell

When Kevin Devine got a call on July 1 informing him that the staff of Walt Disney World's House of Blues in Orlando, Fla. wouldn't let him sell his band's T-shirt at the concert he was playing that night, he thought he was being pranked. A month into a tour with Thrice, he was sure that the group's merch guy was just messing with him. In reality, the apparel in question -- a T-shirt that says "Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band" in a non-linear fashion, with the word "Goddamn" broken up -- was perceived to be too profane to display and vend on Disney property.

Devine was told that the T-shirt, designed by Jordan Noel of GingerGroupDesigns, violated the company's profanity clause. In fact, they went so far as to suggest the Brooklyn singer-songwriter tell two of his fans -- who both bought the item at the venue before the selling of it was shut down -- that if they were to wear them while visiting Disney's theme parks, they might be asked to take them off on grounds of the clause.

Kevin Devine, 'She Stayed as Steam' -- Free MP3 Download

Ashley Iasimone — 2010-08-03T12:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Songs, Exclusive, New Music

Andreas Hornoff

Kevin Devine has been talking about putting out his new EP, 'She Stayed as Steam,' since the day he determined that its previously unreleased songs -- 'She Stayed as Steam' and 'Big Bad Man' -- weren't going to make it onto his latest full-length album, 'Brother's Blood.' To this day, his decision still somewhat surprises him.

"I haven't heard the EP all the way through yet," Devine tells Spinner. "I got it onto my iPod over the last week of the tour, and after I dropped the band off at the airport and I was driving to return the van in Southern California, 'Big Bad Man' came on, and I was like, 'Holy s---. This sounds amazing. Why the hell didn't I put this on the record?'"

Newport Folk Festival Brings a Multi-Genre Musical 'Family' Together

Ashley Iasimone — 2010-08-02T15:54:00 00:00

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News, Exclusive

At this weekend's 51st Newport Folk Festival, situated around 18th-century Rhode Island military base Fort Adams in such a way that made it easy to hear Andrew Bird opening with 'Thinking the Sky Is Falling' yet float over to another stage in time to catch Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith's dad invited on stage for the California band's encore, it was difficult to stay in one place for too long -- even for the performers.

It was never a surprise, for instance, to find My Morning Jacket's Jim James -- who was initially only billed to perform solo as Yim Yames -- also sitting in on sets with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore and even John Prine. As festival producer Jay Sweet told Spinner, "I think there's about one or two degrees of separation between every band that's playing. They've either opened for, know, shared a bass player, shared a tour manager -- it's incestuous."