INTERVIEW: The Breeders (Part 4 of 5)

...we've been getting some good feedback from our interview with The Breeders, so thank you all very much for reading. We know there's a lot of information in here, so take all the time you need to digest it. It's not going anywhere. So, without, futher ado, we now present Part 4 of The Buddha Den Interview with The Breeders....

TBD: It’s one of those things. I saw you guys at Bogart’s in ’93 and it was the first shows I ever went to, because I didn’t know about big shows. I saw the show and I didn’t know anything about encores. I was going to International College of Broadcasting at the time and my teacher, Dennis Mutter [from the Alternative Edge video program], he asked me what I thought of “Happiness Is a Warm Gun”. I didn’t hear it because I had left.

Kim: That’s so cute you didn’t know. That sounds like me. Did you ever go to any of those shows at Hara Arena and see any of those bands? Maybe that was too far north for you guys…

TBD: The only thing I really saw there was Phish. I was really into jam bands for a while…

Kim: Really?

TBD: I got tickets the last minute, the day of the show…

Kim: What year is this?

TBD: Late 94. It had sold out but they opened floor tickets the day of the show. All my buddies had bleacher seats. We got there two hours early to hang out in the lot…

Kelly: You know, hang out in the lot…

TBD: Right. There’s nobody there, so we go in and we’re on the floor and we’re front row. They opened with “Helter Skelter”.

Kim: Oh wow! That’s weird.

TBD: They had just done the White Album for Halloween that year.

Kelly: That’s a lot of work.

Kim: It is, isn’t it?

TBD: It wasn’t like they just covered it, they rearranged…

Kelly: That’s neat.

TBD: So yeah, that’s the only show I saw at Hara Arena. I found out later, ‘What do mean The Breeders and Guided By Voices played at Hara Arena?’

Kim: Yeah yeah, and [The Afghan] Whigs and New Bomb Turks.

TBD: I have people that I know that that show. That’s a huge point of point of Dayton pride. That was something else I wanted to ask you guys about was your relationship with the Dayton music scene. As you were saying earlier, you’re from here and you would love to say [something]. How do you feel about your relationship with the Dayton music scene? Do you feel you’re part of it?

Kelly: I have real fond feeling about it. Like when we’re doing ATP, The Tasties are gonna be there. Heartless Bastards are gonna be there…

Kim: Times New Viking. But they’re Columbus…

Kelly: We saw Louie at the farmer’s market last Saturday.

Kim: Louie’s a superstar. Everybody knows Louie.

Kelly: So they’re gonna be there. It’s a big deal because Terry’s coming from Portland and Gale’s coming from Arizona and they gotta get together. I’m sure they’ve gotta relearn everything.

Kim: You know what? I’ll put a bet, Fifty bucks, that they can’t organize themselves overseas…Right now. Fifty bucks says they won’t make it overseas…

Kelly: Okay.

Kim: And I hope they do!

Kelly: We’re excited and we’re very hopeful that it’s gonna happen. You know, we did a cover of Guided By Voices’ “Shocker In Gloomtown”?

TBD: That was actually the first version I ever heard of the song. I had the Head to Toe EP. My teacher from ICB gave it to me. Somehow I lost it over the years…

Kelly: I don’t know if you ever saw the video, but you can YouTube it and there’s the GBV guys looking in the garage.

Kim: And we did a cover of a Tasties song. I can watch the TV and there’s this Pirate’s thrift store thing that comes on that has a Tasties song on the commercial. It’s so good. They’re a really good band. And they are not coming over to ATP…

Kelly: I have really warm feelings about Dayton.

TBD: Do you guys wear the Dayton badge with pride or is just sort of an incidental?

Kelly: I wear it. It means something to me. Does it mean something to the rest of the world? Hell no.

Kim: I like being from Dayton.

TBD: I think it’s a special place.

Kim: Yeah, me too.

TBD: It’s not flashy.

Kim: Not at all. They don’t care. They don’t not care, they’re not player haters, either.

TBD: It’s what you do.

Kim: Yeah, it is nice.

TBD: Speaking of All Tomorrow’s Parties, jumping around, you guys are curating. How did that come about to where you got to curate and how did you decide who to pick? I mean, Wire? Shellac? You guys picked some ace bands.

Kelly: There’s four of us, so we each get to pick some. We each sent in our wish list.

Kim: Yeah. There’s somebody that we told Barry Hoken to ixnay on one of Jose’s choices. Wouldn’t it be awful if we actually remembered their name? I know that Jose doesn’t know that we did this. Us talking about means that he’s gonna know that we interfered with his list. You can tell ‘em. You can tell ‘em that he’s not gonna have the Jazz Improv in 12/14 Time coming over that we’ve never heard of, instrumental craziness from Portland…

Kelly: But yeah, everybody just sent a wish list….

Kim: Mondo put in Gang of Four. I looked at that and just went, ‘You’ve got a lot of balls. They’re gonna do it?’ And they’re they’re like doin’ it! It’s incredible.

Kelly: And X?!? X?!?

Kim: I think I might’ve put that one in.


TBD: Now that’s in May? Mid-may?

Kim: May 15 through 16 and 17, yeah. Then we do…well, we do a festival in Spain on the 14th. Then we do after All Tomorrow’s Parties we go to Dublin, Ireland and play a show there. Then we go to Glasgow, Scotland and play two shows there. So that’s nice. Yeah. You don’t tend to see much…We’ve been there before and I’ve seen Dublin before, but this trip it sounds like we’re not gonna see much at all.

Kelly: No, because we get in Monday….

Kim: …and that’s a drag because the Scottish accent’s very attractive. I like that accent. Yes…

...see you all tomorrow for the exciting conclusion...

INTERVIEW: The Breeders (Part 3 of 5)

...well, it's midweek so here's the midpoint of The Buddha Den Interview with The Breeders. We hope yr enjoying this as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you. Enjoy Part 3...

TBD: I think with any technological wave, everyone’s trying to figure out, ‘So we’ve got the Internet, and now digital’s now replacing CDs.

Kim: Thank god, I hate CDs…

TBD: Now everyone’s trying to figure out what to do with it. Some people obviously like vinyl…

Kelly: They’re trying to figure out how to monetize it.

TBD: Exactly.

Kim: There’s no way to monetize it. It’s free, ‘cause it’s free. I mean, you can monetize M & M’s, but you can’t monetize virtual M & M’s….

Kelly: [laughs] It’s true. I read this thing: do you guys know about Sims? They have cafes, you know music cafes. They have avatars, that is your screen representation…

Kim: That would be so cool, to start a band…

Kelly: One girl, she made, she’s from Georgia, she made like $10,000 in tips…

Kim: Are you kidding me?

Kelly: In virtual tips. And like $100 of these virtual dollars equals a [real] dollar…

Kim: Are you kidding?

TBD: There’s your future….

Kelly: She actually cashed in and made like….it doesn’t support her, but it helps her be able to get strings, ‘cause we all think about that, getting things like strings…

Kim: …battery, a 9-volt battery for your tuner.

TBD: There’s an overhead to being a musician.

Kim: Yes, there is. Even the most virtual one.

TBD: OK, I’m gonna steer us back into focus here….

Kim: I don’t know if you can. I’m still on ‘Sims’?

Kelly: My avatar would be hot. So hot…

TBD: So you guys worked with Albini again. What keeps you going back going back to Albini?

Kelly: His sounds. Not that it matters apparently….

TBD: No. Pod matters. I have a conversation a week about the sound of Pod.

Kelly: It’s beautiful. And for like “Chances Are” just….or “Here No More” from Mountain Battles, the sound of that upright is just beautiful.

Kim: He’s a really great technician. He really is.

TBD: And then Mark Lanegan. How did that happen?

Kim: So I’m in the basement with the Pro Tools. I don’t know how to run it. I have a friend that knows how to run it. I’m playing the instruments, it’s not programmed, it’s just played and recorded. Recorded means sound values are captured. I had written this song. Whenever I thought of the song, I’d thought of a guy singing it. In my head I could hear a guy singing it. Then me and him started this conversation about Mark Lanegan, but he’s talking about something else. That stuck in my head, and eventually I said to him ‘You know, it’d be so great if a guy sang this. Do you know how to get a hold of Mark Lanegan?’ [in a deep male voice] ‘I sure do. I recorded his solo album and I know….’

[Kim and Kelly diverge into how distracting the speaker near us at the Starbucks is…]
Kim: So he called one of Mark Lanegan’s band members, I think it was maybe the Gutter Twins because you know that [Greg] Dulli moved from Cincinnati, I think he lives in Louisiana now, New Orleans. I think Dulli owns a bar in New Orleans and this guy happens to know him a little bit. [Dulli] knows somebody that’s in that Gutter Twins band, or who had recorded it, I don’t know, some New Orleans connection. The guy gave him Lanegan’s email or number and I emailed him or texted him, ‘Hey Lanegan, would you like to do something like that?’ You know what he said? He’s a fan, he’d love to. Isn’t that sweet?

Kelly: He seems like a serial killer. Doesn’t he sound like a serial killer?

TBD: It’s intense.

Kim: It is intense.

Kelly: Yeah, it is intense. That’s a good word for it.

Kim: He’s actually a good singer.

TBD: It was very unexpected.

Kelly: So you’ve [tracks] already?

TBD: Yeah, I asked you’re publicist for them. I wanted to be informed, if I’m gonna ask you about what you’re doing…

Kim: Now see, Kelly thought that maybe [The Last Time] would be a duet of some sort.

Kelly: I did. When you said, ‘with’, I don’t know for some reason…

Kim: OK, there was no harmony to do.

Kelly: That makes sense when you say it.

Kim: And, it wouldn’t be cute back and forth…[imitates a line of back and forth to illustrate the point…] That would be so bad.

Kelly: It makes sense. We have a friend who had heard it, and he goes, ‘What? Wait.’

Kim: Oh yeah, his name’s Kyle actually. [in heavily affected male voice] ‘What am I doing playing a Breeders record and Mark Lanegan’s singing?’ Yeah, get over it. I think it sounds really good.

Kelly: Is [Lanegan] going to ATP?

Kim: I don’t know Kelly.

Kelly: ‘Cause we’re doing that song and from Pod we’re doing that song “Oh”…

Kim: Carrie [Bradley] plays the violin on that. Michael Allen did the vocal back then…

Kelly: And then we can do the new song. See, it’s all working out…

TBD: I actually played Pod at my weekly event last week.

Kim: Really?

TBD: Yeah. at the end of the night I put on Pod. Everyone was like, ‘What is this?’ Seriously. I was like listen to this: you’re version of “Happiness is a Warm Gun” came on…

Kim: Yeah, that turned out really good.

Kelly: You guys always said it was because you didn’t know the song very well that it turned out so good. That you didn’t learn it verbatim.

Kim: I think we knew it, but we just didn’t pay attention. We just did the parts we liked.

Kelly: That’s great.

TBD: the ‘Mother Superior’ part is one of the greatest…

Kim: Yeah, that sounds good. Yeah.

TBD: The first time I heard that I thought, “Wow, somebody actually beat a Beatles version.

Kim: Yeah yeah

Kelly: It’s hard to do that live ‘cause [Breeders drummer] Jose can’t really hear her vocal and he’s playing really hard. He’s banging real hard…

Kim: You what’s unfortunate is that there’s a really cool Tanya [Donelly] bark.

Kelly: I thought it was Britt.

Kim: No, it’s her. It’s like [makes sound]. Something like that during it. I love that part.

Kelly: I can’t do it at the same time. I tried.

Fictionband Releases Smug Brothers-Fortune Rumors Vol. 3 EP

...when we first said that we had teamed up with Fictionband and the elusive Smug Brothers to bring you a 6-Part EP release series, you probably didn't believe us. Admit it, it's cool. We wouldn't have either if we didn't know better. Well, the good folks at Fictionband have hit the halfway mark in the release schedule and bring you arguably the best set yet from the Fortune Rumors EP series with Volume 3. We highly recommend you download this goody today!

MP3: Smug Brothers "Interior Magnets"

FREE DOWNLOAD: Smug Brothers Fortune Rumors Volume 3

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FREE DOWNLOAD: Smug Brothers Fortune Rumors Volume 2
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INTERVIEW: The Breeders (Part 2 of 5)

...picking up where we left off yesterday, here's the second part of The Buddha Den Interview with The Breeders...

TBD: That leads me to another question: I saw that when Mountain Battles came out, the whole All Wave recording thing…

Kim: You know, it was rough because it was completely All Wave, that means even the mastering, and the record itself.

TBD: So, I went back to refresh my memory, do me and my readers a supposed favor: What exactly is entailed in the All Wave process?

Kim: OK. Analog comes from the word analogous, so analog is analogous to a sound in the room. A natural sound of me pushing the airwaves and tickling your three bones in your ear. Vibrations. So analog music is analogous to that soundwave and vibration. So analog recording would be me speaking into a microphone or an amplifier hitting a diaphragm in a microphone, which is your ear bones, setting the diaphragm into a vibration and the electrical current going and being captured. Still, in the dimension of time… this is what I say, in the dimension of time, but analogous to the current, the ions, the magnetized oxide, and then capturing that electrical current onto a surface, so that when you play it, if you fast forward it, it speeds up. It’s based in, I think it’s based in the dimension of time. That’s what I think. But it’s even more than that. You’ve got it on a reel-to-reel, right? You’ve got this reel-to-reel. So then you take it to this mastering place and then you cut the lathe. Well, a lot of times nowadays, people will cut the lathe after it’s been transferred over to an analog-to-digital conversion. It’s easier to do it then. But it’s already being cut from a digital conversion. Honestly, I didn’t think it was gonna be that fucking big of a deal but it’s really hard to find people that will just take the tape and just make the record from the tape. There’s only like two or three places left in the world that can do it.

TBD: It’s getting better though.

Kim: Actually no.

TBD: Really? Is it getting worse? I’d heard there were starting to be more people getting into that.

Kim: More people are cutting records, only off of the digital music [source].

TBD: That’s unfortunate.

Kim: Is it? No. I don’t know. I mean, if it’s that hard…Honestly, if it’s that hard…I didn’t know it was that big a deal, man…But yeah, it is.

TBD: The other angle of [All Wave] from what I remember reading about it was that it was all about everyone playing together in a room. But there were overdubs, right?

Kim: Yeah, there were overdubs. It’s just the nature of playing. Remember in 93 right after that what did you hear about all the time? ADAT. Oh my god, the Hi-88s? Remember that?

TBD: They sucked.

Kim: They sucked so hard. But you know, all the engineers talked them up like they’re the best thing, and they’re not. They’re shit. They were then. And they were new.

TBD: Yep.

Kim: Anything new out of the box with the peanuts, the guys love. It doesn’t mean it’s good gear, they just love it, because it’s new.

TBD: It has nothing to do with real [unintelligible]….

Kim: It’s just them having something new to play with. So the digital and analog, again it’s just now it’s something even totally different from back then. Remember the engineers would say that it’s 66 times the sampling rate? They would try to draw it on the wall, as if digital recording is a better sound than analog recording? I had to deal with that. A lot people won’t even say that nowadays, it doesn’t even matter. It’s digital or analog. Nobody compares the sound anymore. It’s just what you’re used to and how you like the song or not, it doesn’t really matter. But what does matter, kind of, is the programming involved in digital music. There’s still something about sitting down with good friends and actually playing something. A lot of times, bands, even rock bands, can’t even do that because it’s all programmed. A lot of it is programmed with noises that don’t exist in real life. Which can be superfun…[imitates weird sounds]…it’s really to listen to. But, then are you gonna go see them play. I dunno, because it only exists on that spacebar, that hit, it can only exist right then on that file. It is an interesting thing and it’s not something that I’ve just had to come to terms with now. Back in 93 even, the minute you decide if you’re gonna have a second guitar come in the whole way to make a song sound better, it’s time to start thinking about what kind of live band, if you are gonna be a real band, that one wants to be. Because if you crunch the second guitar in because the song’s basically not good enough, honestly, and it needs that, then I would try to make the song better. An easy fix is something to add something for sugar or something, it super works easy and it really works a lot. But, ok, if you look in the room and you can tell that nobody on the stage is gonna be able to play that part, then you’re gonna be the band that plays that song without that part and you’re gonna be that band that’s playing that kind of sucky song because you didn’t fix the song, that moment on the record. So that happens every moment, and it’s not just because digital’s here. Think of the choices that bands are making nowadays. They actually have like 92 tracks up, but their fronting like they’re a rock band, which is fine. But am I gonna go see them play because I’m supposed to like them for who they are and it shouldn’t matter if I fell in love with their record, ‘Hey man, they’re artists, they don’t have to reproduce their record.’ Because they’re artists…I dunno, all of sudden they need 92 tracks to make a good record, but when I go see them play live I’m not supposed to hold their performance up to what they played, or didn’t play?

TBD: There’s a disconnect.

Kim: Exactly. For me, there’s no specific yes or no answer, I just take each individual case. I don’t know. It’s not just programming. Like I said, people with huge guitars, they better be able to repeat that huge guitar sound on stage. What’s weird is that even back in the old days in the 90s when Nine Inch Nails played Lollapalooza and they would destroy their gear, I never saw the show, but I would suggest to them, the guy who just rocked the Nine Inch Nails set, I would suggest to him if Trent Reznor or the keyboard player just destroyed their keyboard, what were you listening to? [It was] blowing their mind, thinking that actually that was a show and they were actually playing music, but the music was taped or looped or whatever the kids are calling it nowadays. It was a sample or such. So I don’t know, do you wanna be in a band where the drummer’s wearing headphones? It depends. Some people don’t have any problem with that at all. Do you wanna be in a band where one of the instruments onstage is a laptop? Not even pretend laptop, a synth, a keyboard, I’m talking about a real laptop, and you’re not a DJ, you’re gonna call yourself a rock band. Then, I dunno. I’m kinda weirded out by that. I dunno.

TBD: So you’re just purist is what you’re saying.

Kim: I don’t know. I kinda just like to know what it is. Maybe I shouldn’t like to know. I don’t know.

TBD: It’s a completely different thing. I hosted a show last Saturday night at South Park Tavern…it had two laptop guys.

Kelly: That could be really good….

TBD: …and I thought it’s….

Kim: …It is what it is…

TBD: Would I rather see a band get up there and kill it? Yes, but….

Kim: …it’s too expensive for a band to get up there and kill it.

TBD: They can’t rehearse.

Kim: They can’t rehearse. Now the two laptop guys can send files back and forth to each other and their lunch break from their real job.

TBD: And that’s what it is. No one has time to be a rock band anymore…

Kim: No, because their music is free and they can’t ever pay that back. It’s weird. It’s like it’s not the first time it’s like that. Animotion and all the MIDI stuff was programmed…Thompson Twins….

TBD: It goes way back.

Kim: Yeah, it does.

TBD: It’s just technology.

Kim: It is. I’m not saying it’s bad, I didn’t want be [that]...just because it’s trendy. Hell no.

TBD: So how much of that working model accounts for your schedule as far as releases and stuff like that? The fact that you work hard enough that to make sure that when you put it out, it’s exactly the way you want it to sound, so that when you play it…

Kim: That we can actually play it.

TBD: …How much of that All Wave working model do you think factors into it?

Kim: I don’t know. You know, a lot people don’t even work on their music, they just send it to producers. Even rock bands it to producers nowadays. They don’t have a drummer, these are just front people, they’re personalities, they’re entertainers. They have a team of people working on it. They’re taking the instrumentation from somebody else. They don’t have to worry about rehearsals and working on an album. The producer has the music, or an idea of some music. They schedule the studio. They’re just like, ‘Kyle, we’ll be ready for you day after tomorrow.’ Then they’ll sit down with and you will have gotten a file already of some of their ideas. You’re supposed to take your diary, your journal, from your last tour about how you felt. You’ll come in and talk about how lonesome it is being you or whatever. You only need to say a couple of lines and then ‘Thank you very much’, because I’ve got your voice and I can just put it wherever and I want and you’re done. It’s really not a question of how fast it takes you. And Kelly and I are ready to work with you at any time…

TBD: Nice to know. I was shopping for a producer…

Kim: That might have something to do with something…

Kelly: …and the fact that there isn’t really an impetus anymore. There’s not a music industry anymore. I’m not being like ‘Oh, the good old days…’. There just isn’t. The huge people like Madonna and U2 aren’t trying to be punk rock when they don’t sign with the record label. It signifies that it doesn’t exist anymore.

TBD: There’s no value to it.

Kim: Absolutely none at all.

TBD: Why wouldn’t I just put it out myself?

Kim: Exactly. And putting it out, why wouldn’t I just give it away myself? That’s all it is: promo. It seems. I don’t think it’s the coolest. Kelly said that she doesn’t know what the answer is, but free probably isn’t the answer.

TBD: It was a legitimate point. At the level you guys are at, you should be able to sell a record.

Kelly: Anymore when you think about it, it’s so interesting, like recording. Granted we did record at the big analog studio that is apparently no longer valid anymore. Do you know the guy who’s sitting there, it’s not like he came after his day job. That’s his job. He has child, a newborn by the way.

Kim: A wife

Kelly: He actually needs to pay his rent. So, if music is free, then how do we pay him? Then obviously you shouldn’t be in an analog studio, you should be downstairs. Then it just tells you what it can be.

Kim: It’s actually telling us what we can do. And the only thing we can do is laptop it and give it away for free. Which is like, you know, it’s fine, we can do that. Whatever. If that’s what’s left, okay...

TBD: Well how disappointing is that to you guys as far as a working model?

Kim: You know it was more disappointing in 2002 [for Title TK] and stuff thinking, ‘It’s not gonna go there! No!’ And now that it’s there, eh, it’s like five years late.

Kelly: The idea of being a musician and the excitement of being on the road and setting up your gear and getting your guitar and that string, yeah it needs changed, but man, it sounds good like it is and all these little minor things, the smell of stale beer and all that, is so awesome. Rolling into a new city and seeing…what do the cool people wear in Stockholm? Ooh, I wonder if they’re considered or oh god, that’s eastern European fashion? All that really cool stuff. So what you’re telling me is instead of that whole thing, you’re telling me that I have to go back to when I was working at the defense contractor in a cubicle in front of a terminal, and that’s gonna be job? Sitting in Kim’s basement in front of Pro Tools? And that’s how I make music? I can’t do it….

Kim: It’s interesting actually that somebody said that they went into a studio, it was Sony or Universal…not a studio, a record label. Not me, I didn’t. Somebody on the coast in L.A. had gone back into the Universal record label building and all that was left was a line of interns sitting at these tables in front of laptops and all they were doing is they were blogging and what is it called…when you search engine shit to the top?....they’re doing promotions. They’re doing marketing. By marketing and promoting, what they’re doing is they’re saying…

Kelly: …the record’s out…

Kim: They’ll get in people’s blog and talk about it. You’ve seen people, I’ve seen people, say ‘Oh my god, get them out of here! I know what they’re doing: Oh, I was just wondering if you guys have heard the new….

Kelly: …Dresden Dolls…

Kim: …yeah, or something. [They say] ‘It’s really great!’, and that’s they’re job, and somebody said ‘If that’s the record business now, I don’t think I ever would’ve wanted to be a part of that.

TBD: It has nothing to do with music.

Kim: It doesn’t seem very exciting, does it? Sitting in the laptop to just sneak, not sneak, but to just drop the name over and over again.

Kelly: Do you think people that used to drive like that Sissy Spacek movie, Coal Miner’s Daughter, where dude got in the car and went from radio station to radio station…

Kim: That sounds cool.

Kelly: I mean, OK, the advent of the telephone…

Kim: There was the telephone back then…

Kelly: I know.

TBD: Maybe not in Appalachia…

Kim: No, but I tell you what the period of time reminds me of: it was in the 40s when Columbia [Records] had to rely on…

Kelly:…back in my day…

Kim: I read the book, it was about Hank Williams and back in like ’38 to ’40 the unions, the musician’s unions, went on strike because there’s [affected voice] new-fangled thing called the record [end affected voice] and it could capture musical performances and you’re saying that if you use that then that’s gonna be my job. And they probably went ‘You want this thing? You want this record?’ That’s not how the real thing sounds. This is totally different than the real thing. Anyway, they weren’t getting paid because of [these records], so they formed a union. And what happened? Columbia said ‘Fine. Go start a union. Fuck ya’ll. We got two years of records in the vaults and for two years the only records that were coming out…there were no musician work from Columbia and all they were doing was putting records out from the vault. That’s how the musician’s union started.

Kelly: Interesting…we need to start a union…

Kim: [laughs]

...as an added bonus, here's a clip of Kim and Kelly working on the handscreening for Fate to Fatal...

INTERVIEW: The Breeders (Part 1 of 5)

...last week, The Breeders dropped their second release in as many years, the Fate to Fatal EP. Now, for most bands, this would be a non-issue, but for The Breeders to issue two releases so quickly is notable. Somehow, we were able to arrange an in-person interview with Kim and Kelly Deal. For us, this was a very big deal as we're very much in love with their work over the years. So, on a grey Tuesday afternoon, we talked about, well, a lot of things. Some relating to The Breeders, music, and Dayton. Some things we have no idea how they came up. Rather than drop the whole thing on you at once, we thought we'd break it up into slightly more reasonable chunks. So, today we give you Part 1 of 5 of The Buddha Den Interview with The Breeders...

[ed. note: upon arrival we talked for about 15 minutes about being a musician growing up in Dayton, etc. Eventually, we started recording. This is where the tape rolled...]

Kelly: We’re doing All Tomorrow’s Parties in England in May. We’re having Carrie Bradley come over. So, since we’re having her come over, we’re gonna do “Drivin on 9”, but she violin on a couple other songs, so we’re starting to relearn those and get them up and going. “Do You Love Me Know” is a great song, she played violin on that. So we thought we’d play “Do You Love Me Know?” this Saturday [at Shake It Records for Record Store Day]. It’s hard because it’s not the whole band, so OK Kim, you’ve got play that one guitar part, you have to play that. I can play this part, that part we don’t really need that part, but what about the bass playing during the solo? So it’s interesting how to break it down to make it interesting acoustically without drums and bass.

Kim: It is weird, some songs lend themselves to just singer/songwriter playing on acoustic with harmony or something. Some songs like if you don’t have the bass line, the song doesn’t make sense anymore.

Kelly: “Do You Love Me Know?” sounds really good as a two-piece, soon-to-be-three-piece. So when we went on tour last year, we found on Craiglist, we found a utility player. She sings, she plays some guitar, she does some keyboard. Jose Medeles, our drummer, was living in L.A. at the time and he just went on Craigslist because we were looking for somebody. We talked to a couple people and one girl was interested, but she couldn’t really do it. We talked to Rachel Hayden. Do you know Rachel Hayden? She was in That Dog and her dad is Charlie Hayden, jazz guy. She was really nice, but her guitar wasn’t as good as her vocals, she’s more of a bass player. So Jose just went online, checked out Craigslist, and that’s how we found our person that we tour with, Cheryl [?]. So she’s gonna come out from L.A. and do some songs with us this Saturday, so we’re excited about that.

The Buddha Den: So how did you get in with Shake It? Did they just call you up and ask?

Kim: The studio where we did our hand-screening, for the [Fate to Fatal] EP covers, the guy who owns that works Fridays at Shake It Records. He said ‘You guys should do an in-store at Shake It Records.’ It was like, ‘OK, ask them if they’d want us to.’ Then he asked them, and I started to talking to Darren, he owns it with his brother, Jim. They’re real nice guys.

Kelley: I think we had to go down and check the artwork, because the hand-screening thing we’re doing. So, this guy works at Wire and Twine in Oxford. They’re kinda like a t-shirt place, kinda art think tank almost in a weird way. He did the Obama [poster], Chris Glass did. You read about that?

TBD: Yeah.

Kelly: He designed our record cover, too. They had done up a prototype and we had went down there to check it out, to Shake It Records.

Kim: They showed us where we could stand, if we can get three people in there. I’m worried that we can’t get too much equipment. We just worked on it today.

Kelly: I know.

Kim: I don’t wanna show up with just an acoustic.

Kelly: No no.

Kim: I think that they want us to go through a PA, which means we be a little louder.

Kelly: I don’t wanna go on a PA.

Kim: Well, that or we have to be through amps.

Kelly: Right.

Kim: We’re gonna need microphones for our voices.

TBD: That’s usually what they do down there.

Kim: I’ve asked about it, but I haven’t seen anything. We don’t have a drummer or a bass player or anything like that. Just me and Kelly and the Cheryl girl.

TBD: You guys will be fine. They have a minimal PA.

Kim: I always getting pretty particular about it. It’s so easy to suck.

Kelly: It is. It is.

Kim: If you just let somebody put it through all of a sudden your voice sound like this [pinches nose to emulate nasally sound]. It’s just all you can hear.

Kelly: What are you gonna do?

Kim: When me and Kelly were playing like at Mick’s and stuff, not so much there, but when we were playing around at Ground Round and Joe’s (?) Fish House, we had our own PA we would bring with us and we would sit it on our grandfather’s…..you know…old people can’t use the bathroom so they have to use the potty chair? We used that and took the toilet seat out, and we had the frame and we used to put the PA on the metal frame and that’s what was our PA system. Our grandfather’s potty chair.

Kelly: Oh wait! I’ll go grab it, it’s in the car…

[Ed. Note] At this point in the interview, Kelly returned to her car and retrieved a photo of the PA system Kim just described…

TBD: So you’re playing at Shake It support of the new EP, Fate to Fatal, right? So, which considering it’s release date, considering your usual release schedule, it’s very quick. It’s very exciting. Mountain Battles just came out last Spring. So, what has changed in the work schedule that has allowed this to come out so quickly?

Kim: Nothing really changed, I don’t think. It’s only four songs, so it’s easier. I don’t know. We started writing them last summer. Then…

Kelly:…started recording…

Kim: In the fall, we finished the song “Fate to Fatal” in London. In September. And then we just got the other ones together. We went up to Albini’s to do “Chances Are”, the 4-track version of the “Pinnacle Hollow”. Then Ben came up to the basement to do the “Last Time” one.

Kelly: I think too that we knew we were doing ATP, so we thought ‘Oh, we should put a single together,’ since we had “Fate to Fatal” already tracked. It was like, ‘Ooh, we could put a 7” out.’

Kim: Then it’s like, ‘Really, we should put out more than two songs…’”

Kelly: It became, ‘We’ve got three songs. Should we put em all out?’”

Kim: Actually, an EP’s better with four songs on it…

Kelly: The we thought, ‘Alright, we’ll do the cover then, too.’”

Kim: Right, and that’s like 15 minutes of music. At first we weren’t even gonna do that. We were just gonna give it away. But honestly, through a download just one song, but I…if I knew how to give it away I wouldn’t know how to sell it. By the time I’d write…I still don’t know how to actually give a song away, other than just upload it.

Kelly: iTunes

Kim: Right. But how would you even know anyone was there?

TBD: I’ll show you how to do that. So, two of the four songs you did at your place. One is obviously more lo-fi and one is a little cleaner.

Kim: Which one is the lo-fi one do you think?

TBD: The last one, “Pinnacle Hollow”.

Kim: So here’s the thing: So we’re thinking we’re gonna give em away. I was still thinking we’re giving this away and it’s only going to digital. So it’s like, well I’m definitely gonna just Pro Tool it since it would be ridiculous to pay real money to actually to an analog studio because I can’t afford it because it costs too much to record when music is free. To record analog. My hobby of analog recording can’t be paid for anymore, unless I do 4-track. We did drive up one day to do the cover of “Chances Are”. We had gone up in December we had done the benefit that Steve and Heather [Albini] do for the Santa’s Children, they do some sort of benefit. Steve Albini’s wife person, she runs Second City and they do a benefit. Second City has all their improve people stay up for 24 hours straight and they raise money by auctioning off things through this 24-hour benefit fundraiser. Me and Kelly went up there and we performed through the 24 hours, they get Jeff Tweedy to do stuff a lot. So we were there doing that, the drive up Chicago isn’t that bad. And if it’s only a day, it wasn’t anything that we’d wrote, it was only acoustic, so it didn’t take that long to do. I think we turned around and came home. So that was the analog recording…but you know what? We did do an analog recording on this, “Fate to Fatal” we went to a real studio in London, England, but we were on tour. It took like three days to record and mix it. But you know, I swear, after that it, you know, was still kinda pricey. For giving it away, that’s still a lot of money to be putting in there. So then when we were thinking about giving it away, then that’s when it started going, ‘You know what? We’re just gonna have to go to the basement. Start doing it on Pro Tools, because if it’s gonna be given away first of all, that’s one thing ‘cause I can’t even afford it. Another thing is if it’s gonna be given away through a digital medium, why spend all the time to go analog when it’s only gonna be given away through an MP3 file in the first place? My stance did not make any sense anymore.

TBD: As far as being like pure analog right?

Kelly: We did end up doing a vinyl on this though, so it’s kind of a strange thing.

Kim: Oh yeah.

Kelly: Two analog, two digital.

Kim: But the analog feels more like it’s not actually for a musical collector, it feels more like they’re a toy collectors or comic book collectors. It’s just in the collector genre. It doesn’t really feel like it’s a purist-of -analog guy wanting to take it and listen to it off his vinyl player, it’s more just to have it as a collector.

TBD: Some people.

Kim: I don’t know.

TBD: Not me. If I buy something, I’m so broke so I don’t buy anything, but if I buy anything, I buy vinyl. I don’t spend money on digital anymore.

Kelly: You’re not gonna buy the CD either.

Kim: You know, that’s another thing. It’s not like I hated digital and I didn’t want it to replace CDs. CDs suck. I just like vinyl better.

Kelly: I like CDs. Cause of my car. I like playing music in my car…

TBD: But see now they make the turntables that convert vinyl to MP3s, so best of both worlds…

Kelly: In the car though, the MP3 player that you use with the cassette thing…

TBD: Just burn a CD.

Kelly: That’s true…

TBD: Send it to your iTunes and burn a CD.

Kelly: That’s true.

Join us again tomorrow for Part 2...

MP3: The Breeders "Fate to Fatal"

Pretty Goody Human

...so, through no apparent corroboration, it seems as if April 25 was somehow nominated as a day filled with totally good shows. Here's a quick rundown to help you on yr way...


...over at South Park Tavern, we're very excited to be bringing a pair of great bands through town. With their tour sponsored by Paste Magazine, WOXY, and Imeem, The Deep Vibration (pictured) have been earning rave reviews with an incredible live show fueled by their passionate debut EP, Veracruz. Out on tour with them are Roman Candle (Raleigh, NC). They'll get local support tonight from none other than Andrew & the Pretty Punchers...

MP3: Andrew & the Pretty Punchers "Guns Raised"
MP3: The Deep Vibration "Oklahoma City Woman Blues (Veracruz)"


...over at Blind Bob's you've got an incredible 4-topper featuring The Human Reunion, Yea Big + Kid Static, Trunk Bound Regime, and The Motel Beds...

MP3: The Human Reunion "Red Ape"
MP3: Yea Big + Kid Static "Speak the Facts"
MP3: The Motel Beds "Love Hurts" (demo)


...the other big option for you tonight you'll find over at Aquarius with Rock n' Wrestling II, which will feature live performances from The Goody Two Shoes and Orange Willard, as well as some great indie wrestling provided by Cincinnati-based EGO Pro Wrestling...


...don't forget as well that Gem City Jam is taking place all day today over at Garden Station. Might be a good day to enjoy a festival...

...chart a course and we'll see you out on the streets...

A Vinyl Lesson

...we're huge vinyl enthusiasts here at The Buddha Den, so when we came across this little video, we just had to share. It's a nice little introduction. Enjoy...

Records (full-length)! from Sharon Shattuck on Vimeo.

Gem City Jam Kicks Off Today @ Garden Station

...if the improvement in weather in the Gem City has you craving some outside time, the Gem City Jam is offering up a perfect opportunity. Sprawling out over the next two days at Garden Station (corner of Fourth and Wayne), the Gem City Jam is a benefit for the Glen Helen Nature Preserve in Yellow Springs, which is one of the area's most coveted natural treasures. In addition to the numerous bands and DJs, there will also be artists displaying and vendors on hand. Get on out....

Blank Dogs

...we're always intrigued by the lone gun in the wilderness, crafting some strain of pop music that we've all been waiting to hear. In the case of Blank Dogs, the highly elusive Mr. Blank Dog tends to revel in his anonymity, preferring instead to direct listeners to his music rather than his back story. Trust us, it's for the best. Yr best served to take refuge in his expansive discography. These tracks are clearly grounded in the new wave/post-punk realm, conjuring up the ghosts of Chrome and Joy Division, but the melodic hooks burst through the lo-fi murk, sinking in so quickly you barely have time to respond. Blank Dogs are soon to release Under and Under, the follow up to the highly touted On Two Sides album...

MP3: Blank Dogs "Ants"
MP3: Blank Dogs "Crystal Ladies"

Kris N. Release Party for "Lo-Fi Movement" w/Wil Cope/The 1984 NFL Draft-Tonight @ Canal Street Tavern

...we've been talking about this one for a while now, but tonight is finally the night that Kris N. gets to celebrate the release of his new album, Lo-Fi Movement. We'd highly recommend heading out to Canal Street Tavern to catch Kris live, as he will be joined by Poptek Records mainman, Andy Ingram, on drums. We had them at the NTRO/XPO back in February and it still ranks as one of our favorite sets that we've seen. Also on the bill tonight are a pair of our favorite Dayton songwriters: swinging back through town from his new base in Austin, we've got Wil Cope, who is soon to release his new album, 1977 Again, and The 1984 NFL Draft (aka Joe Anderl). We'll see you there....

MP3: Kris N. "Pollard's Old Drunk Drivers"
MP3: Wil Cope "Easy as Sleep" from Dead Moon Motel
MP3: Joe Anderl "Dayton, Ohio" from Joe Anderl and the Imaginary Friendship Choir

Yea Big + Kid Static

...in case you weren't paying attention, we've got a HUGE weekend coming up in the Gem City this weekend. Several great touring bands will be heading into Dayton this weekend, among them will be Chicago hip-hop duo, Yea Big + Kid Static. Although it's been almost a year since we last saw them, we have not forgotten the incredibly high-energy set these two deliver. With their self-titled debut out on Jib Door and their relentless touring schedule, better make plans to catch them at Blind Bob's this Saturday, or wherever they'll be close to you on their current tour...

MP3: Yea Big + Kid Static "We've Built A Time Machine That Runs On Beats. We Shall Only Use It For Good"
MP3: Yea Big + Kid Static "Speak the Facts"
MP3: Yea Big + Kid Static "Duck, Mother Fuckers!"

Apr 24 The State House w/ We Are Hex and DJ LVX Bloomington, IN
Apr 25 Blind Bob’s w/ Human Reunion/The Motel Beds/Trunk Bound Regime Dayton, OH
Apr 26 Monster House Columbus, OH
Apr 27 The B-Side Cleveland, OH
Apr 29 Death By Audio Brooklyn, NY
Apr 30 Bay State College Boston, MA
May 1 WTF Fest II @ Cape Playhouse Cape Cod, MA
May 2 Eclectic Wear w/ Brava Spectre and The Zookeepers New London, CT
May 3 COPY Gallery w/ Sweatheart, Juiceboxxx and Rahfee Malik Philadelphia, PA
May 6 Comet Ping Pong Washington, D.C.
May 7 Rumors w/ Diamond Black Hearted Boy Richmond, VA
May 8 529 w/ Airoes, and Thy Mighty Contract Atlanta, GA
May 9 Caledonia w/ The Buddy System Athens, GA
May 10 Pilot Light w/ Fistful Of Crows Knoxville, TN
May 12 The Firebird w/ Gentleman Auction House St. Louis, MO
May 13 1009 n clinton st. w/ Harder To Fall Bloomington, IL
May 14 Private Birthday Party Indianapolis, IN
May 15 The Hideout w/ The Hood Internet Chicago, IL
Jun 13 The Mill w/ Datagun Iowa City, IA

VIDEO: The Breeders @ Shake It Records

...this past weekend, independent record stores around the world celebrated their mere existence with Record Store Day. In addition to numerous special releases from high-profile artists, many stores hosted some great in-store performances. One of the best record stores in the region, Shake It Records in Cincinnati hosted The Breeders for a special set in support of their new Fate to Fatal EP (due out tomorrow exclusively through the band). Thanks to our friends and Each Note Secure, here's a couple of clips of the Deal sisters in case you missed it...

Pink Floyd Sues EMI For Royalties

...according to reports this morning from Rolling Stone, Pink Floyd are suing the monolithic EMI record label over "miscalculated royalty payments". Apparently, we're talking somewhere in the millions of dollars owed. Pink Floyd are not the first big act to run into trouble with EMI over the years: both Paul McCartney and The Rolling Stones fled after realizing that they'd be better served by another, more personable, label. And the shift continues...

The Deep Vibration

...when you think of Nashville, you can't help but think of all the drinking and carousing and whatever else it is that they do down there in Music City. Oh yeah, music. ALL THAT MUSIC. By our count, quite a bit of it. Maybe it's in the water. Whatever it is, The Deep Vibration have certainly tapped into it. On their latest EP, Veracruz, TDV tap into their hometown's storied legacy, throwing in flashes of New Orleans and Neil Young to taste. The band are currently out on an extended jaunt courtesy of the folks at Paste, WOXY, and Imeem. If they're in yr neighborhood, head on out...


MP3: The Deep Vibration "Oklahoma City Woman Blues (Veracruz)"
MP3: The Deep Vibration "Third Day Of July"


04/20/09 Rock Island, IL Rock Island Brewing Company
04/21/09 Grand Rapids, MI The Intersection
04/22/09 Detroit, MI Lager House
04/23/09 Akron, OH Musica
04/24/09 Athens, OH Bruce Manor
04/25/09 Dayton, OH South Park Tavern
04/27/09 Chicago, IL Schubas Tavern
04/28/09 Bloomington, IN Bear's Place
04/29/09 Southgate, OH Southgate House
04/30/09 Lexington, KY Al's Bar
05/01/09 Nashville, TN Dirty Eye Warehouse
05/02/09 Knoxville, TN Barley's Taproom
05/08/09 Winston-Salem, NC The Garage
05/09/09 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle
05/12/09 Nashville, TN The Mercy Lounge
05/15/09 New York, NY Pianos
05/16/09 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's
05/17/09 Allston, MA Harpers Ferry
05/18/09 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe Live - Upstairs
05/19/09 Washington, DC DC9
05/20/09 Richmond, VA TBA
05/21/09 Charlottesville, VA Is Venue
05/22/09 Charlotte, NC Evening Muse
05/23/09 Atlanta, GA Drunken Unicorn
05/24/09 Birmingham, AL WorkPlay Theatre
05/26/09 Columbus, OH The Summit
05/27/09 Pittsburgh, PA Club Cafe

VIDEO: Paul McCartney @ Coachella

...just saying it out loud it sounds ridiculous: Paul McCartney in the California desert for a 3-day indie music festival. Seriously, you can't make this stuff up. In all reality, this happened on Friday night. The massive Coachella festival somehow conjured the ex-Beatle to make his first ever festival performance in the US. Watching some of the earlier performances by the likes of Franz Ferdinand, Beirut and veterans like Morrisey and Leonard Cohen, which were very good, and then watching McCartney and his band run through his catalog really just set his legacy in a stunning contrast. Here's a few clips (with copious amounts of audience singing) to enjoy...





For those that relish such information, here's McCartney's complete Coachella setlist:

Jet
Drive My Car
Only Mama Knows
Flaming Pie
Got To Get You Into My Life
Let Me Roll It
Honey Hush
Highway
The Long And Winding Road
My Love
Blackbird
Here Today
Dance Tonight
Calico Skies
Mrs. Vanderbilt
Eleanor Rigby
Sing The Changes
Band On The Run
Back In The USSR
Something
I Got A Feeling
Paperback Writer
A Day In The Life/Give Peace A Chance
Let It Be
Live And Let Die
Hey Jude
Birthday
Can’t Buy Me Love
Lady Madonna
I Saw Her Standing There
Yesterday
Helter Skelter
Get Back
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
The End

Celebrate Record Store Day @ Gem City Records

...with the weather so beautiful today in Dayton, it's a perfect excuse for you to get out to Gem City Records today to show yr support for Record Store Day. Gem City Records will be giving away plenty of swag. If nothing else, there will be several local musicians performing today and tomorrow including Brandon Hawk, John Gassett, Jordan Hull, and Mascot. You can get the performance schedules here. If yr up for a road trip, Dayton's favorite sisters The Breeders will be doing a very special in-store performance at Shake It Records in Cincinnati at 8 pm this evening. The ladies will also have on hand their new EP, Fate to Fatal which they handscreened themselves before it's Tuesday, April 21 release date. You'll wanna grab those up before they're gone...

Pirate Bay Founders Jailed/Fined

...according to a report from Paste, the founders of file-sharing site Pirate Bay have been sentenced by a Swedish court to 1 year in prison and $3.6 million in fines to numerous companies, including Sony, Universal, 20th Century Fox, MGM, Warner Brothers and Columbia. Although its founders Peter Sunde and Gottfrid Svartholm Wargj felt that Pirate Bay had found itself in the middle of "theatre for the media", it seems likely that this is for real. While Pirate Bay didn't actually host content like its defunct predecessor Napster, the judge ruled that "it provided a forum that made it too easy for users to get access to copyrighted music, film and games files". If yr keeping score, you are likely acutely aware that the dinosaurs aren't likely to go down without a fight. Seems like they're gonna try and get every last dollar...

VIDEO: De Novo Dahl @ LaundroMatinee

...here's yet another great clip from the kids over at LaundroMatinee featuring a band that we've not seen in these parts for a while now, Nashville's De Novo Dahl. After hitting Dayton pretty regularly for most of 2006-2008, we haven't seen them in nearly a year. Guess this clip will have to suffice for now. While the band's spastic/funky power pop is great in recorded form, in the live showcase their unbridled enthusiasm and their homemade Nudie suits are off the charts. In case you missed it last year, we'd highly recommend checking out 2008's Move Every Muscle, Make Every Sound. Lots of fun...


DeNovo Dahl~Shout from LaundroMatinee on Vimeo.

MP3: De Novo Dahl "Make Some Sense"
MP3: De Novo Dahl "Shakedown"

My Girls R Lo-Fi

...with a flurry of activity as of late, Poptek Records is becoming quite the source of lo-fi pop in the Gem City. One of its most prodigious sources of lo-fi goodness, Kris N., picked up one of our favorite tracks of 09 so far, Animal Collective's "My Girls", from the highly-touted Merriweather Post Pavillion album and stripped it down from its dancefloor incarnation back to the AC we remember from the Sung Tongs days. The track is being offered as part of the Kris N. Song of the Month initiative and you can grab the track and lots more from Kris N. for FREE HERE. Kris N. is keeping busy these days as next week he'll be celebrating the release of his new album, Lo-Fi Movement, with a show at Canal Street Tavern on April 23. See you there...

MP3: Kris N. "My Girls" (Animal Collective cover)

Turkish Mascot

...we're continuing our April Residency at The Buddha Den NTRO/XPO tonight with The Turkish Delights. In case you haven't joined us over at the Oregon Express yet this month, the trio are catching a serious wave and have turned in two excellent performances. We'd highly encourage you to join us this evening, especially since it's totally FREE. Opening the evening will be Mascot. We'll see you there...

MP3: The Turkish Delights "Dig Yourself"
MP3: Mascot "Solar Party"

Fictionband Releases Smug Brothers-Fortune Rumors Vol. 2 EP

...as previously promised, we have teamed up with our friends over at Fictionband again to bring you the second of six installments of the fabled Smug Brothers Fortune Rumors EP series. Again, these are totally free downloads for yr listening pleasure. We highly recommend you grab these while you can, as they won't be available forever. Even better, this time around you get 4 tracks to enjoy. Dig in...

MP3: Smug Brothers "Fortune Rumors"

FREE DOWNLOAD: SMUG BROTHERS-FORTUNE RUMORS VOL. 2

Pretty & Nice/Minutes/Kuan/Hills @ Blind Bob's 4.13.09

...with the skies above Dayton filled with rainclouds on a rather dreary Monday evening, from the streetview it would have been easy to mistake the crowd in Blind Bob's for a Friday night. With the trifecta of instrumental bands filing up most of the evening, Hills, Minutes, and Kuan all brought a distinctly different blend to the table. Opening things up, the duo Hills dabbled heavily in spacey atmospherics that may have been better suited to an art gallery or lightshow than a Midwestern bar. Next up were Minutes, who seem to be gaining a full head of steam as of late with their slightly jazzier instrumental compositions. Still extremely muscular, the band's expansive melodies and driving-yet-disciplined rhythm section hold attention even without uttering a word. Closing out the non-vocal section of the evening, Kuan took the instrumental track in a decidedly more classic rock direction, hinting at the Allman's harmony guitar leads and Zep-like throttle. Kuan seems to just be hit a stride as of late, so keep an eye on them in the Dayton scene. Although original headliner Unwed Sailor canceled at the last minute, a rather serendipitous turn of events brought about a surprise visit from our old friends, Pretty & Nice. With this their seventh visit to the Gem City in the last 2 years, P&N served up one their best sets yet. We're looking for yet another visit this summer, so tune in...






For more photos from the evening, go here. If you live outside of Dayton, we highly recommend you make a point to check out Pretty & Nice somewhere along this tour they're on. Maybe you could even help them fill in some of those TBAs...

04.14.09 - Detroit, MI - Trowbridge House of Coffee
04.15.09 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
04.16.09 - Springfield, MO - Nathan P. Murphy's
04.17.09 - St. Louis, MO - The Firebird #
04.18.09 - Lawrence, KS - Jackpot Saloon #
04.19.09 - Denver, CO - Hi-Dive
04.20.09 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
04.23.09 - Seattle, WA - Holy Mountain
04.24.09 - Sacramento, CA - Blue Lamp
04.25.09 - Santa Cruz, CA - Zami Co-op !
04.26.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Knitting Factory
04.28.09 - Phoenix, AZ - Modified
04.30.09 - Austin, TX - Emo's
05.01.09 - Houston, TX - Super Happy Fun Land
05.02.09 - Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon
05.04.09 - Birmingham, AL - TBA
05.05.09 - Florida TBA
05.06.09 - Florida TBA
05.07.09 - Florida TBA
05.08.09 - Florida TBA
05.09.09 - Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn *
05.10.09 - Charlotte, NC - Milestone
05.11.09 - Columbia, SC - New Brookland
05.12.09 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
05.13.09 - Wilmington, NC - Soapbox Laundro Lounge
05.14.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall
05.15.09 - Philadelphia, PA - TBA
05.16.09 - Washington, DC - Rock N Roll Hotel
06.05.09 - Boston, MA - TT the Bears $

# - w/ Radical Sons
! - w/ Color of Love, Tempo No Tempo, James Rabbit / Antarctica Takes it! (split set)
* - w/ Wye Oak, The Pomegranites
$ - w/ Middle Distance Runner, Reports, Big Big Bucks

Pretty & Nice/Minutes/Kuan/Hills-Tonight @ Blind Bob's

...we're taking it as a good sign that a bill as good as the one at Blind Bob's can happen on a Monday in Dayton. Headlining tonight you've got Unwed Sailor [pictured] who are currently out on a US tour. In for local support will be Minutes, Kuan, and Hills. We've had both Minutes and Kuan in for The Buddha Den NTRO/XPO over the past few months and we highly recommend you check them out. We'll see you there...

MP3: Unwed Sailor "Aurora"

UPDATE: We just received word that Unwed Sailor has canceled their appearance tonight due to an injury. The remaining locals will still be on, so head on down...

UPDATE: We just got notice from one of our favorite bands, Pretty & Nice had their show in Columbus for tonight canceled, so we've arranged to bring them down tonight to play at Blind Bob's. We know it's very last minute, but trust us, the rest of yr week will thank you. See you there...

Toads and Mice/Beep Beep/The Show Is The Rainbow/The Happy Planets @ South Park Tavern 4.11.09

...we've been very fortunate over the last few months to come in contact with some great touring bands through The Buddha Den. In many cases, we've been able to arrange tour stops in Dayton. Last night at South Park Tavern was another great example. Opening the evening, The Happy Planets and his unwavering belief in the possibilities of making it happen in Dayton got the party off on a supergood foot, despite some early jabs at fellow Daytonian bands. Next up, The Show Is The Rainbow kicked off an Omaha-to-Dayton double dose and delivered an utterly uncompromising multimedia set that found him dancing and jumping through the audience, standing on tables, and ultimately giving a performance that, whether people liked it or not, they will never forget. Next up was the Omaha quartet Beep Beep who, along with The Show Is The Rainbow, are out on an extended tour in support of their Enchanted Islands album. Despite issues with PA feedback, the band overcame a typically difficult Dayton audience with a set filled with wicked humor, twisted guitar work, and an undeniably danceable rhythm section. Closing out the evening, Toads and Mice offered up incontrovertible evidence to the claim we've been making for quite some time now that they are one of the best bands currently working out of the Gem City. Armed with several new songs that are slated for their next release, T&M are moving in a decidedly more aggro direction, more fully cultivating their obvious love of Chicago punk in the vein of Touch & Go Records' heyday. We couldn't be more pleased...

Toads and Mice/Beep Beep/The Show Is The Rainbow/The Happy Planets-Tonight @ South Park Tavern

...we apologize for the lack of activity around these parts as of late, but we're still here and kicking. Mostly. Anyway, you've a great show over at South Park Tavern tonight we highly recommend checking out. Out on tour in support of their new album, Enchanted Islands (out on Saddle Creek), Omaha's Beep Beep will be making a stop in Dayton tonight. One member of the band will also be doing a solo set under the moniker of The Show Is the Rainbow. You'll get local support from a pair of Squids Eye Records' finest :Toads and Mice (on last) and The Happy Planets (on first). We'll see you there...


MP3: Toads and Mice "Ghengis Kahn"
MP3: The Happy Planets "The Summer Slime"
MP3: Beep Beep "The Whispering Waves"

Frontier Folk Nebraska

...a couple months ago we invited Cincinnati's Frontier Folk Nebraska up to the Oregon Express to play The Buddha Den NTRO/XPO. Their impassioned set of hard-drinking Americana made a strong impression on those in attendance and, as a result, they've been asked to return to Dayton tonight to play at Pearl/Vexx. The quartet's most recent album, Pearls, is the kind of album you just sink into and live in for several months at a stretch. The band is making a buzz in their hometown as well, evidenced by the invite to do a WOXY Lounge Acts set today at 4 pm. Catch them on the air this afternoon and then head down to Pearl/Vexx tonight to catch them with The Scarring Party (Milwaukee), The Henrique and Jeffro Show, and Yeti Master. Tell 'em The Buddha Den sent ya...

MP3: Frontier Folk Nebraska "City Lights"
MP3: Frontier Folk Nebraska "Restless Hearts"

The Dirty Walk

...we're gonna hop in the time machine for a hot minute on the instigation from our friends over at Fictionband. If you were in Dayton in the early years of this nascent century, odds are you remember a little outfit called The Dirty Walk. Featuring Jeremy Fredricks (Cigarhead/Let's Crash/Human Reunion) on bass/vocals, Tyler Trent (Brainiac) on drums, and Darryl Robbins (The Keynote Speaker/Montgomery Greene) on guitar/vocals, this trio was some serious mess. Although short-lived, this trio, and later a reformatted quartet, harnessed that quintessential Dayton thread and made it all their own. You can grab the whole 5-song demo over at Fictionband for FREE which is the only document of the band...

MP3: The Dirty Walk "Toilet Knife"

Northwest Cannonball Delight States

...for a Wednesday night in Dayton, you've got some pretty good options tonight. As we mentioned a while back, Lexington's These United States will be rolling into Canal Street Tavern tonight in support of their most recent effort, A Picture of the Three of Us at the Gates to the Garden of Eden. Opening up the evening will be a pair of great local songwriters that we highly recommend you check out: Jesse Remnant & the Trainwrecks and Wes Tirey...


...in case yr a little light in the wallet, you can join us for FREE over at Oregon Express for The Buddha Den NTRO/XPO. Every Wednesday in April we're featuring The Turkish Delights and tonight they'll be joined by another of our local faves, The Northwest Ordinance. We'll see you there...

MP3: These United States "First Sight"
MP3: Jesse Remnant "The Human Cannonball"
MP3: The Turkish Delights "Lite Brite"
MP3: The Northwest Ordinance "Found Love"