Soundcheck

Las Palabras is the plural-named solo project of Rafael Cohen, of the dance-punk band !!! (pronounced chk chk chk). Cohen, a Brooklyn-based musician by way of Washington DC (his band El Guapo was on Dischord Records), studied with Anthony Braxton in school, and lived in Mexico City until he was 10. In Las Palabras, (a Spanish phrase for “The Words”), he taps into his earliest musical memories of Guatemalan marimbas, Peruvian waltzes, Brazilian bossa nova, salsa, and reconciles these sonics with the musician he has become (Cohen’s statement, Brassland.org). He plays some of these charming and whimsical songs in his native language, remotely for the podcast.

Set list: "Condesa," "Juan Pared," "Pescador"

"Condesa":

"Juan Pared"

"Pescador"

Web Extra: "Cayendo"

Ohio-born, now Nashville-based Aaron Lee Tasjan makes up songs and plays guitar, mixing up folk, glam rock, psychedelia, and trenchant social commentary on his newest album, Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan! Which may or may not be “autobiographical to a fault.” He takes a deep dive into classic pop music and glam rock, deflects comparisons to Marc Bolan and Syd Barrett and Robbie Basho ("But not Elliott Smith?" - Producer's note), and tells tales of opening for American country and blues-rocker Ray Wylie Hubbard. Aaron Lee Tasjan speaks to the missed connections brought about by proximity at in-person shows, and plays some of his new songs remotely for the podcast.   -Caryn Havlik

Set list: "Up All Night," "Sunday Women," "Don’t Overthink It"

"Up All Night":

"Sunday Women":

"Don’t Overthink It":

After 15 years and 9 albums of roots-rockin’ goodness, the songs dried up for Langhorne Slim. But after dealing with addiction and an anxiety disorder, the music returned, and he captures it on the new LP Strawberry Mansion. He joins us to discuss the album and plays some of those songs for us.  

Set list: Panic Attack, Sugar Plum, Last One Standing, Morning Prayer

Panic Attack:

Sugar Plum:

Last One Standing:

Morning Prayer: 

The New York string quartet ETHEL has been championing new music from often surprising corners of the music world for years. For this edition of the podcast, ETHEL plays new works by Lebanese violinist and composer Layale Chaker, joyful and eyeball-singeing electronic music by composer Dan Friel, and a piece by and with rock star Todd Rundgren. Also, members of the quartet share an inside view of quartet life, and the challenges of making music and advancing creative projects while at a distance. The video performances and chat were part of a program presented by our ground floor performance studio, The Greene Space.Set list: Dan Friel: "Valedictorian," Layale Chaker: "Vigil IV," Todd Rundgren: "I Saw the Light" 

Watch the entire show:

Scottish singer, songwriter, and occasional novelist James Yorkston is a natural storyteller and a member of the Yorkston/Thorne/Khan group, a power trio of sarangi, double bass, and guitar. His latest album is a spontaneous collaborative record with The Second Hand Orchestra, a group led by Swedish music producer and bandleader, Karl-Jonas Winqvist. Yorkston joins us remotely, along with members of the orchestra, to play songs from "The Wide Wide River." 

In the time since Gary Clark Jr.'s 2012 major label debut, Blak And Blu, he's played with Mick Jagger and blues legend B.B. King for the President at the White House, opened for The Rolling Stones, and played with Alicia Keys and The Roots. He's since released both 2015's The Story of Sonny Boy Slim and the 2019 album, This Land, which ranges from Delta blues to dub reggae, Stax-style soul anthems and Prince-like epics. Gary Clark Jr. plays a scorching and gritty acoustic set in-studio, (Archives, 2013.)

Trumpeter, singer, and composer Keyon Harrold has played with Beyoncé, Common, Erykah Badu, Rihanna, Eminem, D’Angelo and the Vanguard, LL Cool J, and Maxwell, to name a few. On his 2017 album, The Mugician, (a play on musician & magician), the Ferguson, MO-raised, NYC-based Harrold returned to his own music, with the help of a few friends and past collaborators, including Gary Clark Jr, Bilal, & Robert Glasper, among others. The tunes range from laments and expressions of frustration to melodic pleas for understanding, justice and peace. Keyon Harrold and his band perform play these songs, in-studio. (From the Archives, 2017.) 

While writing the music for what would become Metric's 2015 record, Pagans in Vegas, front-woman Emily Haines traveled to Nicaragua and Spain, while guitarist Jimmy Shaw holed up at home in Toronto and fiddled with the knobs on synthesizers and pedals. The result of this mashed-up approach to songwriting is an album with tight, taut songwriting, but also the surface sheen of krautrock and 80s synth-rock idols. The band stops by the studio to play a few songs and talk about their latest approach to record-making.

Goth cabaret band Dust Bowl Faeries have kept making music through The 2020 Plague. On their latest record, The Plague Garden, the songs draw from New Orleans Voodoo rituals, Eastern European music, traditional Yiddish folk song, and vaudeville. The band members play all sorts of instruments from accordion to singing saw, lapsteel guitar to ukulele and the band's leader, Faerie Queen Ryder Cooley, may have a checkered past of using instruments as weapons, nay – machines, like Woody Guthrie. With conversation about childhood trombone traumas and full hip-wading fishing, Hudson Valley hauntings and exorcisms, and the demon cat, Hieronymous, Dust Bowl Faeries join us and play remotely for the podcast.

Set list: "Vampire Tango," "Dustbowl Caravan," "Candy Store"

"Vampire Tango,":

"Dustbowl Caravan":

"Candy Store":

Sax player and bandleader Donny McCaslin, who collaborated with David Bowie on Blackstar, freely mixes pop, jazz, electronica, and art-rock on his striking 2018 album, Blow., which sees the band moving into sonic terrain that shows even more of Bowie’s impact. It’s some daring sax-led badassery - a blast of concentrated, powerful, and wonderful pop that rocks, with jazz tendencies - with lyrics and guest vocalists. He and his band play some of the tunes in-studio. (From the Archives)