It's no secret I'm a HUGE fan of Two Gallants. In fact, I think I discovered them right around the same time I found Rocky Votolato's music and have been a fan ever since. I've been in touch with Tyson Vogel recently (trying to get a house/gallery show the week before SXSW if anyone has a space for his solo project, Devotionals. Park Gallery has not returned emails) and I'm also a huge fan of Adam H Stephens and the solo project he released last year. That's why when I saw the email below popup, I stopped what I was doing to open it. Though I'm in the midst of trying to figure out how the hell I'm getting to SXSW and how to afford it all, I have to say a road trip to San Francisco might be in order after reading this.
Dear dear old friends, fans, family. It has been too long. We are writing to announce that after over two years apart, we, two gallants, are once again one. Not that we were ever not one. But we have strayed quite a distance from the comforting light of the home fires. We have walked the dim lit alleys each with its requisite border of silhouetted doors. Watched the illusory trail of e-missives sent into the night. Necks in a permanent crick from askance browsings of online dating site profiles. But oh the hollow feeling to wake with the scent of a stranger upon the lips and the ineffable sense of longing for the way things used to be.
Two years ago we had become so caught up in the motions of it all that we no longer knew quite what we were doing and why we were doing it. Cogs in the machine. Dust in the wind. But there's nothing like a well earned absence to make the heart grow fond of itself once more. We hope that you can find it in your hearts to understand. We know that some of you have been asking when we'd be back at it again. If you didn't receive a reply from us its only because we didn't have one. Until now.
Please join us if you can in our dearly beloved hometown of San Francisco on April 23rd, 2011 at the Bottom of the Hill. You can get advance tickets starting Saturday Feb 26, 2011 here. Your presence will be extremely welcomed. For those of you who have been with us for a while and those of you who intend to, we appreciate your patience and your continued interest in the music we make.
If you're a regular reader of this site, you know that I frequently mention Adam Haworth Stephens and his former project, Two Gallants. Adam came through San Diego in the spring with another favorite of mine, Rocky Votolato, and then returned in late summer as a teaser for his debut solo record on Saddle Creek which came out, coincidently enough, on my birthday. When he was here, I had the good fortune of accompanying him for a quick interview with Tim Pyles at the FM 94/9 and because I don't drive, we met at the Casbah and he drove me in the tour van to the station. It was a quick interview and he played a quick song then we went back to the Casbah where he was his usual shy and quiet self and played another amazing set. I am always in awe of Adam's talent and I can honestly say that he is one musician whose music changed my life. A little over a week ago, Adam was heading back to San Francisco after playing his final date of his lengthy promotional tour when he and two bandmates hit a snowstorm in Wyoming and ended up rolling their van several times. You can read about it here and here. Adam sustained injuries including a possible broken shoulder and wasn't released from the hospital until just a couple days ago. His bandmate, Omar Cueller was also injured in the accident and had surgery on his broken hand and cracked a C5 vertebrae that should heal naturally, while a third bandmate was uninjured in the accident.
The guys are uninsured and along with medical expenses are not going to be able to work for several weeks at best. If you're a fan and want to help out the band, you can donate via Paypal here. This whole story breaks my heart and I wish the guys a speedy recovery.
One of my favorite musicians returns to the Casbah tonight. Adam Haworth Stephens is doing a short club run before the release of his debut solo record which drops on September 28. Don't miss your chance to see him! The show is only $8. Tune in to FTP on FM 94/9 between 7 and 8 pm; barring any catastrophes, Adam will play a couple songs live on air.
Best acoustic nominee Miss Erika Davies opens the show.
This is the video of Adam's studio performance on FTP with Tim Pyles.
I have had such an excellent weekend and I know I have three months of photos to post (not to mention those 200 emails that I haven't gotten to yet), but I need to burn off some energy and try to shut my brain down, so I thought I'd bust out a quick post about my day.
It started in typical fashion, with me firing up the laptop as soon as I woke up, only instead of working through e-mail, I was designing a setlist. On Saturday night I saw Tim Pyles at the Casbah and he told me that they didn't have a scheduled guest to do Sunday night's Coup D 'eTat on FM 94/9, and asked if I wanted to do it. I've never done the Coup before, and of course I love chatting on air with Pyles whenever I can, so naturally I agreed. I played with my iTunes (realizing how much of my music still isn't loaded) and put together a 42 minute set of music, with seven local songs and five under the radar songs, had a couple glasses of wine with my friend Christopher at Kensington Cafe, then headed down to the 94/9 studio.
Unfortunately, there was a mixup at the station and they did, in fact, have a guest scheduled. It was Matt Burke and he was the sweetest kid (and hopefully future sd:dialed in intern!!) and had a great setlist. What Tim decided to do was to have me play my non-local music during FTP and my local stuff (to promote North Park Music Thing) during The Local Pyle.
In case you missed it, here are the songs I played tonight:
FTP: Frightened Rabbit "Nothing Like You" - I played this song for my friend Natalie. We share a mutual love of this band. They're playing at the House of Blues (presented by the Casbah) on October 14. Find tickets here.
Adam Haworth Stephens "The Cities That You've Burned"- I was always a huge fan of Two Gallants and saw Adam earlier this year in Upland at a place called The Wire as well as at the Casbah. He was touring with my buddy Rocky Votolato so I loved those shows. He has his solo debut album being released on my birthday (!!) September 28, and is playing a short tour to promote. He'll be at the Casbah next Sunday, August 15. Tickets are available here.
Mumford & Sons "White Blank Page"-I've seen this band twice and absolutely love this band. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for another tour...maybe they should play this year's 94/9 Holiday Hootenanny. (Garett Michaels, can you hear me?)
The Kissaway Trail "Beat Your Heartbeat"- I saw this band open for The Temper Trap earlier this year at the Belly Up. In fact, it was the day before their CD was released, but they had copies available and I listen to it all the time. They're from Denmark, so I'm not sure when they'll be back around. This song was a dedication to my new friend Dave who told me he's been a fan of the blog for awhile but we barely met on Thursday. Funny how that happens, eh?
Not played: Jace Everett "Damned If I Do"- I didn't get to play this song, but I wanted to because it was one of my favorite recent shows and apparently this photo was quite controversial among some of my readers and some Jace fans. We didn't make out, it was all in fun, obviously we were just posing for the photo...I wanted to play this because it was in a recent True Blood episode (besides his singing the opening song for the show) and since it was Sunday, being on the radio meant I missed this week's True Blood episode.
We hit the local show and Tim let me hang around until all of my songs were played. I was there to promote my showcase and got a few other participating bands in, too.
The Moviegoers "Big High School"- playing Eleven, 8/13, 8pm d/wolves "(shock)"- playing Eleven, 8/13, 9pm Swim Party "Broke Ships Sink"- playing Eleven, 8/13, 11pm The Kabbs "Golden & Blue"- playing Eleven, 8/13, 12am Lord Howler "Down (Where You Belong)"- playing Kadan 8/14, 12:35am The Silent Comedy "Bartholomew"-- playing U-31, 8/13, 12:35am
I also snuck in a couple other bands: Zoo Seven "Lifesaver"- I've got a whole post to come devoted to Zoo Seven. Stay tuned. The Howls- I don't remember which track Pyles played, but you can download their EP. I'm booking Thursday nights at West Coast Tavern, so they'll be playing there on 8/12 around 9pm. The show is free. We had fun talking about the awesome food and drinks at West Coast Tavern and I belive I said "Donkey Punch" at least three times on-air...as a drink at West Coast Tavern, it's a double mule, but perhaps you know its other meaning?
Anyway, it was a really fun time and thanks to everyone for the kind tweets and the few people who called in, too. Thanks to Tim Pyles and FM 94/9. I will come back in any time you'll have me. As Tim says, "I'll see YOU at the show".
I have been a long time fan of Two Gallants, and though it's hard, I've accepted that Adam and Tyson needed to part. Tyson is doing amazing things on his own, and as I've mentioned before, I've loved seeing Adam H Stephens twice and hearing his new material. Now, instead of just counting on my videos, you can actually download the first single off of his forthcoming solo debut, We Live On Cliffs. The record drops on my birthday (!!!), September 28, on Saddle Creek (a terrific label full of incredible talent). On top of all that, Adam Haworth Stephens has an eight date tour to road-test the new material (some with new arrangements, I imagine). He'll be at the Casbah on August 15 and you can buy tickets now and they're only $8!
Last week, I wrote about going to Upland, CA to see Rocky Votolato and Adam H Stephens. Well, I know I'm a slacker, but I finally uploaded the videos from Adam at that show. I missed a couple songs...I made sure to capture Elderwood at Sunday's show, and I shot some photos when they covered Wilson Pickett, but here's most of their set. (use the arrows on the sides to skip around in the playlist) Enjoy! And make sure to keep an eye out. Adam recently finished recording his new record and will be releasing it sometime this summer.
Tonight I took a little mini-roadtrip with Jeff up to Upland, California to see Rocky Votolato and Adam Stephens. Yes, I'll be seeing them again on Sunday at the Casbah, but Jeff offered and I'm not one to turn down a Rocky show, ever, and the opportunity to see him in a super-small all ages venue seemed like a good idea. I love the Casbah, but as Rocky has gained popularity in San Diego, the crowds are bigger and sometimes more boisterous. There's definitely a difference with seeing a performer in an all-ages space versus one where the alcohol is consumed liberally.
The weather wasn't commuter friendly, with rains on and off as we made our way north on the 15, but we had snacks (shrimp cocktail and Humboldt Fog and crackers from Whole Foods) and good music (Musee Mecanique, Rocky's new CD True Devotion, and Dawes) and Jeff had planned on dinner at an Italian restaurant on the same block as the show, so we took off early in the afternoon and despite minor traffic through Ontario and Corona, we made it in pretty good time.
The show was at a venue in Upland called The Wire, which is a relatively new space judging by the congratulations to the owners by the performers, and might be compared to Lestat's, Hotel Cafe or Tin Can Ale House, because it is long and narrow, though it had a deeper stage than any of them, and no seating. This was a benefit in my eyes, as we were able to secure spots up in front without any problems. The sound was great and they had great lighting (though a bit trigger happy on the fading in and out of said lighting.)
There was a local opener and I'll just fast forward past that band because I like to keep it positive. Adam H Stephens took the stage with a band that consisted of him on guitar, a female on bass (and cello for one song), a keyboardist, and a drummer. I love Two Gallants, and Adam's new material is very different than his old band. It's really good, and his songwriting is still great, but with a summer release, it would've been nice to be a little more familiar with the new material since I'm so used to the epic sing-alongs that came with Two Gallants music. Still, if you're planning on coming to the Casbah show, don't miss Adam. Actually, don't miss Correatown, either, because you'll get to see buds Angela Correa and Joanie Mendenhall share the stage. Plus, there's that alcohol thing...
The videos for Adam will take a while, but here's the setlist (as written):
Cities SouthernLi.. Heights California Elder Wood New Song 2nd Mind I Found A Lov W/ Vengeance
No songs from Two Gallants as it seems Adam is distancing himself, perhaps? Or maybe it's an agreement with Tyson as they both pursue new projects not to go there? I don't know. Maybe I'll get the chance to ask him on Sunday, but he was particularly annoyed by the happy lighting finger so I didn't want to bug him. I hate admitting so, but I was pretty wasted last time I talked to him, so I'd rather pretend we've never met anyway.
Since Rocky performed solo, there wasn't a huge space of time for his setup, though he commented about how quiet the crowd got even for his soundcheck. Apparently the night before at the Troubadour was quite the opposite, so he appreciated the silence, though it could probably also be unnerving, too, especially since his latest release and subsequent interviews have been so deeply personal about depression and dramatic highs and lows that his life has seen in the last few years. I think the sing-alongs helped him to know that the crowd was on his side and just wanted to take in every note of every song.
I didn't get Rocky's setlist, as he's notorious for keeping it in a little pocket notepad that someone else had the brains to ask for, but I think I recorded every song he played, which would make the setlist something like this:
Sunlight (a new unrecorded song) Instrument (True Devotion) Alabaster (Suicide Medicine) What Waited For Me (True Devotion) Portland Is Leaving (Makers) Father And Son (Cat Stevens Cover) Sparklers (True Devotion) Tinfoil Hats (Makers) Lucky Clover Coin (True Devotion) Eyes Like Static (True Devotion) Fragments (True Devotion) Sun Devil (True Devotion) Goldfield (Makers) Suicide Medicine (Suicide Medicine) Montana (Suicide Medicine)
Note that there were no songs played from The Brag & Cuss or Burning My Travels Clean...so maybe he'll throw some in on Sunday's set. I should also mention that I had the chance to say hi to Rocky and his wife April before the show and they both are such sweet people, and genuinely grateful that we made the trip up from San Diego. Hopefully they get some sunshine while they're in town since it sounded like the rain has been chasing them around the state thus far.
If my gushing about Rocky here and on SoundDiego isn't enough, here are a few of the videos I shot of the show. I think we might be getting Rocky on Tim Pyles FTP show for a quick interview, too, so be sure to tune in and then catch him at the Casbah.
The rest are still uploading, so I'll insert them as a playlist later. See you at the 'Bah.
It's no secret I'm a HUGE fan of Two Gallants. In fact, I think I discovered them right around the same time I found Rocky Votolato's music and have been a fan ever since. I've been in touch with Tyson Vogel recently (trying to get a house/gallery show the week before SXSW if anyone has a space for his solo project, Devotionals. Park Gallery has not returned emails) and I'm also a huge fan of Adam H Stephens and the solo project he released last year. That's why when I saw the email below popup, I stopped what I was doing to open it. Though I'm in the midst of trying to figure out how the hell I'm getting to SXSW and how to afford it all, I have to say a road trip to San Francisco might be in order after reading this.
