Wake Up Mordecai CD Release/Towhee/Jesse Remnant and the Trainwrecks/XL427-Tonight @ Dayton Dirt Collective

...as we mentioned earlier this week, Wake Up Mordecai will celebrate the release of his new album, Too Young for the Disco, tonight at Dayton Dirt Collective. Let us reiterate that we highly recommend to check out this new release. Along for the ride this evening will be some of Dayton's finest practitioners of indie pop, Towhee, Jesse Remnant and the Trainwrecks, and XL427. Things get started around 7 pm, so don't be late...

MP3: Wake Up Mordecai "Cowboys and Indians"
MP3: Towhee "Calm Down"
MP3: Jesse Remnant "Better Than You"
MP3: XL427 "It's Not Just Pink, It's New Wave Pink"

Poptek Records Announces 2009 Releases

...local purveyors of indie pop, Poptek Records have announced a slew of upcoming releases for the upcoming calendar year. Needless to say, we're pretty excited....

One of Dayton's most prolific songwriters, Kris N. has two albums slated for 2009 release: Lo-Fi Movement will see an April release and Supine Sailor will follow that. Poptek is also generous enough to post a new song by Kris N. every Tuesday as a FREE DOWNLOAD.

...Even though still in high school, John Callon, aka Wake Up, Mordecai, will release his second album, Too Young for the Disco, in May.

...Additionally, Reutschle is heading back into the studio to finish their Color Theory album, slated for a fall release.

...On the strength of their stellar debut, Yesterdays Forever, XL427 plan to take the goods to the people in live performance over the coming months. We highly recommend you check them out...

...what's more, you can grab full album downloads from Wake Up, Mordecai, Reutschle, and XL427 for free HERE...

...we highly recommend you head over to Poptek Records and grab these goodies up. You can thank us later...

REVIEW: XL427 "Yesterdays Forever" EP

...as founder of upstart Dayton label Poptek Records, Andy Ingram seems acutely aware that his passion for pop music is not always in vogue. Although primarily serving as drummer for perennial indie pop faves Reutschle, the elusive pop talent Kris N., or the teenage Wake Up, Mordecai, Ingram has finally stepped out to front his own outfit, XL427, on the Yesterdays Forever EP...

...throughout the disc, XL427 revels in a wide rang of unapologetic pop flavors. On opener "Killers No More", the stark shoegaze and barely-there vocal delivery ebb and flow around the elegant fizz of a loping guitar. It's Ingram's economical application of sumptuous pop hooks that propel Yesterdays Forever. From the haunting, reverb-drenched piano line on "Lover's Leap" to the Anglophilic melodic descent on "The Privileged", XL427 display an amazing command over the pop textbook. With an acoustic windmill call-to-arms, the bedroom anthem "It's Not Just Pink, It's New Wave Pink" finds Ingram at his most infectious. Blending bubblegum and Britpop into a potent pastiche, the track serves as an unabashed pop manifesto with the lyrical payoff: "These are the best days of all time". On "I Like the Quiet in You", the band cash in some of their goodwill for introspective drone. As the longest track on the album, it's bulk sags the disc near the end. Fortunately, the bounce of "The Privileged" rebounds and exits before wearing out its sunny charms. With it's chorus of "On our most perfect days/All your ways are pure", XL427 strike a perfect assessment of what is best in perfect pop music...

Queen City Invasion

...that's right kids! You've got two great Cincinnati bands in town tonight with some of our great local flavor, so head on out...


...over at Blind Bob's, you've got a few great local talents that don't make too many appearances: XL427 and Kris N. are both getting ready to release new albums on local label Poptek Records and are hitting the stage tonight. Also along for the ride are Towhee and The Lions Rampant (from Cincy)...


...over at the Oregon Express there's a great bill of rock n' roll tonight. Hosting this evening is one of our faves, The Northwest Ordinance. These guys are bringing in some great out of town talent in White Girls (Cincinnati) and Hans Condor (Nashville). Wanna see something different? Here's yr chance...

National Record Store Day in Dayton

...yes, there are still independent record stores in Dayton. Today is National Record Store Day, in which more than 30 independent record outlets across the country celebrate the culture of independent record stores. Two of the country's most renowned indie record stores, Dingleberry's (who was the first record outlet in the country to EVER play in-store music video promos. Seriously. Look it up.) and Gem City Records will both host special events and have incredibly stupid good deals for patrons...

...starting at 4 today, Dingleberry's will have DJ Jay Madewell (pictured above) spin vintage rock, soul, funk, and new wave. Over at Gem City Records, there will be special in-store performances by Nick Kizirnis, XL427, and many more all afternoon. Wanna show yr love for independent music? Wave that flag....

Kris N./XL427-Tonight on WYSO's "Around the Fringe" show

...as the longest running local radio program, Rev. Cool Jim Carter's Around the Fringe has always been a stable outlet for local musicians to get on air. Well, tonight two of Dayton's most underrated songwriters, Kris N. and Andy Ingram of XL427, will be performing on air in promotion of their show tomorrow night in Springfield. If you're staying in this evening tune in at 91.3 FM or online to catch a sublime wave of indie songwriting...

Dayton Music Fest/Saturday Night Recap

Walking into the Oregon District on Saturday evening, the electricity in the air was apparent. People were genuinely buzzed about the Dayton Music Fest....

Obviously, blanket coverage of the event is impossible. You go with your gut and try to see as much as you can. The following is by no means intended to be a fair representation of the event, only my experience....

first stop was Jasper Wall Cafe to see XL427 and Joe Anderl. Having never been to this venue, I found it extremely subdued and cozy. It was exciting to see so many people out so early in the evening...

XL427


Joe Anderl


we then proceeded over to the incredibly underutilized Tumbleweed Connection to catch Kentucky Overflow. On the first song that we caught, the power went out on stage and the guys were scrambling to come up with something entertaining to fill the void. Once electricity returned, Kentucky Overflow dished out a good set filled with plenty of southern-fried goodness and take-no-prisoners guitar shredding...

we made a quick stop in Nite Owl and caught the tail end of The Goody Two Shoes set. They were characteristically dressed to the nines and desperately in need of some tuning. People seemed to dig it though...

next up, we ventured down to Oregon Express to catch Fairmount Girls from Cincinnati. This was one of the best sets I saw. Their vintage indie pop was perfectly delivered and they were quite obviously having a good time. The OE was really crowded right around this time, making it difficult to find anywhere to be with all the tables and chairs taking up all the floor space....

next up, we headed down to the other end of the district tothe Trolley Stop to try and catch Mellonballer, who the organizers were touting as this year's great find. I'm going to have to disagree with this one. Was not a fan...

we then hustled back to the Tumbleweed to catch Human Reunion turn in one of the best sets of the night. Even with bassist Alan confined to a stool after a recent surgery, the energy was still at near-lethal levels. Any band that starts their set by throwing out a blow-up doll certainly has my attention...


after the Human Reunion set, we decided to make the long walk up to Canal Street Tavern to catch Enon. It was a tough call, as we knew we'd miss some other really good stuff in the Oregon District. Upon arriving at CST, we discovered we had just missed the American Static. The venue quickly reached capacity in anticipation of the festival headliner. After what seemed like an interminable wait in sweltering conditions while Enon set up, the band finally kicked in and gave the hordes what they came for. While the performance seemed somewhat subdued, the music was anything but. With their new album coming out Tuesday, we were curious to see what they would pull out. Focusing on the more guitar-driven material in their catalog, Enon turned in rock set that reminded everyone in the room why Dayton music is such a unique phenomenon....




for more of my photos from the event, go here.
how did your night go? what did you see? what did you love?