jukebox the ghost

Jukebox the Ghost – Cheers!

I have been a Jukebox the Ghost fan since I saw them OPEN for The Postelles (I think) at Knitting Factory’s Tap Room. They are one of the only bands I have been following for that long and have never missed a new album, each of which always seems to be almost speaking directly to me and where I am in my life at the time. I have watched them grow as musicians and people, and am so happy to see them grow and succeed.

One thing I have always loved about this band is that they make *albums*. Each song and the order they are placed seems purposeful. After 18 years it’s no surprise that this album seems to be about growth and change. Wasted hits particularly hard, especially the chorus:

 We were broke
 We were brave
 25 years in a hurricane 
 We were wild, we were wasted
 Up all night, we’d dream all day
 Almost let you slip away
 We were wild, we were wasted

It reminds me of the early days of my own relationship, broke and dreaming of the future. We’ve come so far and seen so much and made it to the other side.

Of course the songs are plenty catchy too, if you’re not looking for deeper themes. Ramona will probably be stuck in my head for weeks. And what Jukebox album would be complete without Tommy writing about the apocalypse? “Us Against the World” might be about the end times, but it also feels like it could be about the present day. It does it in a way that feels the listener with hope though, rather than fear.

One of my favorite things musically is a good transition, and this album delivers that too with “The Machine (Intro)” into “Everybody Panic”. I also love the mixed sense of comedy and urgency in the line “Everybody panic but one at a time”. This band has always had a way with words, and the new album is no exception.

We get more of the above with “Raise a Glass” into “How the World Began” as well as the fantastic line “Every heartbreak’s just another song in waiting”.

Our journey comes to an end with a “Cheers!” and what could be more fitting than that? “Here’s to more of the every day” and to more great music from this amazing trio. I’m glad this college kid a [redacted] number of years ago made many a terrible decision to write that paper later and go see a show. The only band that has meant as much to me as this one was World/Inferno, and that chapter of my life has sadly come to a close. But here’s to more sing-a-longs and music and facing whatever comes next. This album closes on a hopeful note, and so will I. Because without hope, what’s the point?

Presenting: Narc Twain

You may have heard me talk about a band called “Jukebox the Ghost” here a few times. They’re one of my favorite bands and some of my favorite people of the musical persuasion. One of their members, Tommy Siegal, has two other projects he’s involved with. One is “Drunken Sufis,” who are weird but fun. There’s not much else to say there; you just have to experience it for yourself. The other band he’s in (and what I’m here to talk to you about) is “Narc Twain.” When I talked to Tommy about Narc Twain, he seemed real excited about them. It’s a little something to direct his creative energy towards when what is coming out doesn’t fit the mold for JtG or Sufis. Hearing him talk about it got me excited for him, so of course I’m also excited I now get to review the album and share it with all of you.

If you like dystopian rock tunes, this self-titled album should make it to the top of your list. It has some of the more interesting lyrics I’ve heard in awhile (and this is coming from someone who practically breathes punk rock). It’s not just the lyrics though; the instrumentation also takes some fun leaps and turns at points in the music. I found myself sitting with anticipation at where the songs would go next. There’s only 6 songs to soak in so far, but that should be good for a short trip. While I liked the album as a whole, I think track 3 was my favorite. The chorus is super catchy. It’ll be a nice earworm to knock out the Gogol Bordello song that’s been stuck in my head for a week now.

If this short little album isn’t enough for your hungry ears and brains, then perhaps you want to see them live and in person! Well then you should join me tonight at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn for their show tonight. (While you’re there check out the pizzeria that’s across the street; it’s one of my favorites). Get there early though, because you don’t want to miss any of the show! Doors are at 7pm, and the show starts at 8pm. Knitting usually has good pre-show happy hour deals to enjoy as well, for those who care about such things. Eat, drink, and be merry, and rock your dystopian hearts out with Narc Twain.

A lot of great things have happened to my guys at Jukebox the Ghost in recent months, and I haven’t had time to mention any of it here. For shame! Let’s take a look:

They released a new album, went on a big tour, played on Conan (!!!), and released a new cover song with their tour mates Secret Someones. Wow, that’s a lot of stuff!

The big miss for me was not reviewing the album. It was released around CMJ crazy times, so I was super busy, then burnt out, then just lost track of time. I’m going by the motto, “better late than never” though because it was too good to ignore.

I feel like there was a lot more buzz with this self-titled album than past releases, which just goes to show that the universe is starting to notice what I realized the day I first saw them: that this band is something special. I honest to goodness cannot think of a single song that I do not like of theirs, and that continues to hold true with this new release.

The album starts with “Sound Of A Broken Heart,” an upbeat, dance-y tune right up their alley. Another great jam to get stuck in my head. Whatever will I do? My head may explode from all the songs stuck in it, but I seem to be doing ok so far, so let’s keep pushing on.

The album continues with about 35 minutes of pure happiness. It’s rare I don’t have at least a tiny criticism, one little thing I didn’t like, but I just can’t think of one here. The writing and music and general attitude of the whole album is superb. And with lots of catchy hooks to get stuck in my brain, I’m sure it will be added to the list of albums I play on repeat.

Not sure what else there is to say except tell you to go snatch this one up if you haven’t already. Also, sorry to the boys for taking so long to review this beauty. I really love it though and am now incredibly bummed I had to miss the NYC date of your tour. It’s been very satisfying watching you grow as a band, and I look forward to continuing that journey with you for many more years to come.

I’ll end this massive lovefest for Jukebox the Ghost by giving you some behind-the-scenes video footage of the Conan appearance and new cover song. Hope you enjoy all the Jukebox-y goodness, and have a great weekend!

Jukebox the Ghost @ Rough Trade – Live Review

First of all, this post should have gone up either Sunday night or yesterday but I am in the process of moving into my new apartment, so life is pretty chaotic right now. I couldn’t stay quiet about my experience going to see Jukebox the Ghost perform a free pre-release show at Rough Trade for their new self-titled album (which drops Oct 21) though. I jotted a bunch of thoughts down at the show, which I wanted to share with you now…

Sunday afternoon I was thrilled to attend the Rough Trade Jukebox the Ghost in store for two reasons: 1) It’s been ages since I’ve seen the band and was anxious to see them again, and 2) It was my first time at the venue and I was curious what it would be like. Consequently this review is just as much about Rough Trade as it is the show I saw there.

First let’s look at the venue. When you first walk in there’s a decently sized store with mostly records but also books and a small selection of cassette tapes. I loved the layout of the store and the general vibe. I even talked to one of the staff about any possible job opportunities and got a very helpful response.

Moving on to the actual venue (which can be found through a door in the back of the shop), the size of the place felt perfect to hold a good crowd without anyone having to feel removed from the stage too much. The sound was particularly impressive, not too loud to blow your eardrums but still being able to hear everything clearly. The only slight negative to the experience was it got a bit toasty at one point, but I believe that was because that particular day wasn’t sure what the temperature should be, which probably made it hard for the staff to affectively know how to heat or cool the space. (Side note: we’ve been having the same problem at the venue I work at, so I totally understand and don’t hold it against them at all. Fall needs to figure out what it wants to be already and stick with it).

Now onto the show itself… The band played quite a few selections from their new album, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. Of course there was the usual stage banter in between songs, which is one thing I have always loved about this band: their stage presence. The guys have the ability to charm and joke their way through any set. Take an example from this show: the drum broke during one song, so the crowd was treated to fun stories to keep us occupied, including a bit of self-deprecation about Ben messing up a song he’s played “once or twice” while performing live on the radio. Instead of being annoyed the set had been interrupted by technical difficulties, we all got to have a good laugh before continuing on with the show. This kind of thing has happened before at their shows, and I love that they just make a joke about it or something else and roll with the punches. It’s almost like they enjoy the little bumps in the road, which is really the ideal for a musician’s life or just in general when you think about it. Being able to go with the tides is what makes life enjoyable (or at least bearable). Personally the music that Jukebox the Ghost has given us over the years has been very helpful with that in my journey through life, and I look forward to adding another batch of songs to the collection.

Jukebox the Ghost – Safe Travels

It’s rare that I hold a memory of the first time I listened to an album (especially one I listen to often), but I remember exactly where I was when I first heard Everything Under the Sun, Jukebox the Ghost’s sophomore album, for the first time. I remember the feeling of excitement that came as I cycled through each new track. That might feel like a lot to live up to with the third album coming out now, but JtG did not disappoint.

To be fair, I already knew I was in for a treat after attending the band’s secret show at Rockwood Music Hall last month, but it’s still a different experience listening to an album in the order intended. A lot of people disregard this, especially with the introduction of the iPod shuffle and the like, but I always judge an album by its entire package. One of the things I have always loved about JtG is that they do not ignore this factor, even having some tracks flow directly into others. The example of that on Safe Travels is “Devils On Our Side/All For Love,” a beautiful and haunting song that will hit your insides in places you didn’t know existed.

While some elements of the band’s sound are similar to the older days, there have been some developments as well. There’s still fun piano pop, but with more electronic sounds added in some songs for a more eclectic sound. Other songs, such as “At Last,” are more like the pure piano driven songs you might remember from the first album Let Live and Let Ghosts. Then there’s their coda, “The Spiritual,” which is unlike anything they’ve done before. I could go on for pages, because the new album is really quite fantastic. I think my favorite, however, is going to be “Adulthood“. When played live, Ben introduces it as a song about how you can survive childhood and adolescence, but “from Adulthood, no one survives”. It’s a song about life that hit me like a ton of bricks when I first heard it because of how much I could relate. (Being 23 with no idea of where life is going to take you will do that). Really that’s what this band does with their music, though. It puts together a lot of really powerful and meaningful words and finds the music to match (when they’re not singing about the end of the world). That is what makes them special and has given them the edge to gain the level of success they have. It’s also why I’m sure this is just another step in a very long musical journey.

“Safe Travels” is available for iTunes pre-order today, and will be officially released June 12, 2012. The sold out album release is at Bowery Ballroom on June 22nd. A complete list of tour dates can be found on their website.

Jukebox rocks Rockwood during secret show

Jukebox the Ghost snuck into Rockwood Music Hall last night for an intimate secret show in anticipation of their upcoming new album, Safe Travels. They opened with an old favorite, Schizophrenia, before proceeding to play the entire new album (about 46 minutes in length) out of order, and finishing with their latest cover, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” originally done by Whitney Houston. Some of the songs from the new album were extremely poppy and upbeat, while others were dark and complex.

I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy to do a proper review. I couldn’t get as many recordings as the last time they did something like this, but I did manage to get one video on my iPhone. The song is called “Adulthood,” and I have a feeling it’s going to grow to become one of my favorites. It’s about how you can survive childhood and adolescence, but once you get to adulthood that’s it. “From adulthood, no one survives.” It’s a very powerful song that should hold strong for adults of all ages, but especially the 20 somethings who are just starting to slowly figure this out. Consider it a sample to hold you over until the album release on June 12th.

Jukebox the Ghost – Half Crazy Video

The guys from Jukebox the Ghost have been quite busy lately. They’re fresh off a tour from Europe and have another one coming soon in the U.S. In between all of that they added a new music video to the internet. This one is for the song “Half Crazy,” which is off of their last album, Everything Under the Sun. It has been posted below for your viewing pleasure.

Their December tour starts on the first in DC and continues the next day to Brooklyn Bowl in NY. Full list of dates are:

12/1 – Washington, DC – 930 Club %
12/2 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl (21+)%
12/3 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer &
12/4 – Pittsburgh, PA – Brillobox %
12/8 – Providence, RI – The Spot
12/9 – Hamden, CT – The Space

% = w/ Spinto Band, Deleted Scenes
& = w/ Spinto Band, White Birds

You can be sure I will be attending the Brooklyn Bowl gig and taking a gratuitous amount of photos.

Jukebox the Ghost/Wakey Wakey Tour

Last week I was lucky enough to make it to both the Brooklyn and NYC dates of Jukebox the Ghost tour with Wakey Wakey. The Brooklyn show was at Rock Shop, and the other was at Bowery Ballroom. This was my first time at Rock Shop, and it might be one of my new favorite venues. It was a nice space with good sound and just enough room to dance. Highlights from this tour included a very memorable fan at this venue and three new songs performed by the band (two new songs + a tasteless cover). The cover was of Huey Lewis’ “The Power of Love,” which fans seemed to respond well to. The two new songs sound great, and have me very excited for future new material and hopefully a new record. There’s eight videos from the Rock Shop on my YouTube page, but I will post the new stuff below.

Here are the two new songs:

and the tasteless cover:

Like I said, I love the new stuff, and I even caught myself singing them after two nights in a row of seeing them performed live. The complete set list was as follows:

Mistletoe
Half Crazy
Hold It In
Interlude/The Stars
Empire
Summer Sun
new song
Nobody
new song
Good Day
Static
Power of Love (Huey Lewis cover)
Schizophrenia

Be sure to check out the other videos I took, as well as a few pictures from the two shows.

Jukebox the Ghost Interview

During CMJ this past October I did an interview with Ben Thornewill of Jukebox the Ghost. Due to circumstances beyond my control I was not able to finish transcribing and posting it until now. I am very sorry for the delay. Here it is (finally) for your viewing pleasure.

News on Shuffle (NoS): interview with Ben of jukebox the Ghost. So, first question for you is about the album: How different was it working on the new one now that you’ve been kind of established and have a fan base?

Ben: The main difference w/ this record is the amount of time we got to spend on it, and how the time was spent. So instead of doing the first record, doing a record in 12 days, which is how we did the first record, we recorded and mixed, which is crazy in the recording world, we got to spend 40 days on it and really take our time. and it wasn’t 40 straight days, it was like we’d go in during the week and have the weekends off

NoS: it wasn’t biblical?

Ben: It wasn’t biblical no. Making a record it feels like a task of biblical proportions.

NoS: It came out good though. it came out very good.

Ben: I am very pleased with it, yeah.

NoS: Do you listen to your music at all?

Ben: I haven’t listened to the record in a long time actually. You listen to it so much when you record it and so many variations of the songs and the mixes that by the time the record’s out you’re plum sick of listening to it.

NoS: Do you have a favorite song off the album?

Ben: I think the interlude came out really well, and I think, I mean all the songs came out fairly well. I really love the build-up in Summer Sun. It’s only about 10 seconds of material but I think it came out incredibly well.

NoS: On both albums, actually, I really like how a lot of the songs kind of connect to each other and one goes right into another.

Ben: We’re all about that sort of thing.

NoS: A lot of bands right now, because you just mentioned how people don’t listen to CDs anymore, and a lot of bands keep that in mind and just make singles, and you’re one of the few bands I know that still makes albums.

Ben: Yep, absolutely.

NoS: I really, really appreciate that. On the song So Let Us Create, it might just be a total coincidence, but I thought I heard a little George Harrison in there.

Ben: It is total coincidence, and I had obviously heard that song but I don’t think I ever really listened to it until after the fact and then found out it was the same chord progression. It happens. And it’s a different statement of it, but the chords are the same, I hope the key’s not the same. I’m not sure there.

NoS: I don’t think it was. It was similar enough that you could hear it, but it wasn’t like “oh that’s the same song”.

Ben: It was not at all on purpose. It was only one of those after the fact, oh it happens to be the same chord progression.

NoS: Moving on to the tour – how was this one?

Ben: Really good. Full, all around the country and people were at every show and it was really encouraging.

NoS: Do you have a best moment? Worst moment?

Ben: Worst moment was Milwaukee. It was a late show on a Tuesday night. It was 21 up, and there were people there but it was just weird. Some shows are just strange. Highlights are two was in New York, in Chicago it was sold out.

NoS: New York was a great show too.

Ben: New York was a great show too, but there was a tornado and there was some stuff in the way. But Chicago was amazing, and San Fran was amazing. really all around. It was a great tour.

NoS: Obviously there’s a lot of traveling with a tour. What were some ways you guys kept entertained on the road?

Ben: On this stretch for the first time we had wireless internet in the van, which was completely life-changing. So we got to keep up with things. It’s crazy, internet in the van.

NoS: So some of the stuff like the Tumblr and all that you did –

Ben: Almost every single Tumblr or Gumblr review we did from the van.

NoS: I noticed a lot of “loves”

Ben: A lot of loves. It’s hard to hate something.

NoS: So you’re done with the main headlining tour now, right? And next is opening for Guster and Barenaked Ladies.

Ben: We do four shows with Guster coming up next week, and then hit the road for three weeks with Barenaked Ladies.

NoS: How exciting is that?

Ben: I can’t wait.

NoS: Any other bands in the future – if you could tour with a band, it would be…?

Ben: It will never happen but I would love to tour with Vampire Weekend.

NoS: Never say never. Because they will hear that and surprise you. And you will find out that they are huge fan of yours and will want to tour with you.

Ben: That would be really nice.

NoS: That would be really nice. I would totally go to that tour. I dig Vampire Weekend.

So after Barenaked Ladies, do you have any other plans? Or are you just taking a break?

Ben: We have about a week off for Thanksgiving and then we’re back on the road for another two weeks doing another headlining run in a bunch of cities we didn’t hit during this previous headlining tour.

NoS: Alright, so all of those people complaining “You didn’t hit my city”…

Ben: We’re coming back, yep.

NoS: Keep an eye out on the website, which came out really good.

Ben: Thank you

NoS: It was under construction for a long time, but it was worth the wait. Speaking of “online” – a lot of promoting with bands now is social networking – Twitter, Facebook, all that stuff. But then you find that it’s hard to keep a separation between the public band stuff and then the personal –

Ben: yeah, the line definitely blurs, especially with Facebook. I haven’t taken myself down yet, and I get friend requests pretty much every day from fans, and it just is what it is. But I keep my friends and my stuff in one place, and the band stuff is somewhere else.

NoS: And then, the people that are friends with you on Facebook – Do you find that a lot of times you’ll get comments on photos or something from people that you haven’t necessarily even met yet? Does that get kind of weird?

Ben: Not photos. I mean, when I do big postings about like, like when we did Letterman I got tons, and half were from close friends and family and half were from strangers. But that’s stuff meant for the public.

NoS: Last question – What’s your favorite music, artist, band, whatever that you like to listen to? And do you think that you are influenced at all by them?

Ben: Influence is such a funny thing. Yes, I do think, I would say – the last artist I really fell for was St Vincent. That’s close to a year and a half ago now that I really fell for this band. And it’s not like I emulate or try to write songs that sound like her, but I use – somewhere in my subconscious is the stuff that she does and knowing how she does it. And I use that sometimes as a reference point. But I think you’d be hard-pressed to dig into a song and find a quote-on-quote influence directly related to St Vincent.

NoS: Thanks a lot.

Ben: You’re welcome

Best of 2010

Instead of doing a list of my top albums for this year, I thought I would just mention some notable releases. I will say that my favorite album this year, without a doubt, was Jukebox the Ghost. April Smith and Kids of 88 probably come second and third respectively. (But then I look at Arcade Fire and feel like maybe they should be third instead). See, this is why I don’t do “top” lists. It gets tricky. As for the rest, I just really enjoyed them but couldn’t possibly rank them in any order. Josh Ritter was especially good for helping me get through quite a few papers and exams. A few I’ll admit I didn’t get a chance to hear in their entirety, but I heard enough to feel comfortable mentioning anyway.

Albums:
Jan 12 – Contra by Vampire Weekend
– Of the Blue Colour of the Sky – OK Go
Feb 23 – Songs for a Sinking Ship by April Smith and the Great Picture Show
March 2 – Smoke & Mirrors by Lifehouse
March 9 – The Monitor by Titus Andronicus
March 16 – Habits by Neon Trees
March 30 – Evelyn Evelyn by Evelyn Evelyn
April 13 – Congratulations by MGMT
Virtues by Amber Pacific
April 27 – Love It To Life by Jesse Malin
May 4 – So Runs the World Away by Josh Ritter
June 15 – American Slang by The Gaslight Anthem
June 29 – We’ve All Been There by Alex Band
Aug 2 – The Suburbs by Arcade Fire
Aug 3 – Hear Me Now by Secondhand Serenade
Aug 16 – Sugarpills by Kids of 88
Sept 4 – Everything Under the Sun by Jukebox the Ghost
Sept 14 – Hurley by Weezer
A Thousand Suns by Linkin Park
Sept 21 – Hands All Over by Maroon 5
Sept 28 – Lonely Avenue by Ben Folds & Nick Hornby
Oct 19 – Come Around Sundown by Kings of Leon
Words, Words, Words by Bo Burnham (comedian)
Nov 22 – Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys by My Chemical Romance
Dec 7 – Wonders of the Younger by Plain White T’s

Top Concerts:
Did a quick count and I have seen Jukebox the Ghost almost every month this year. That is really impressive (not only for me, but for them coming to NYC that often). Of course, being my favorite band, they are on my top concerts list, but I would hate to have to pick which time was the best (secret show at Pianos? cd release? opening for BNL?) so I’m just going to say for the bajillionth time that this band is AMAZING live and you should go check them out and experience their awesome for yourself.

Moving right along…

Other contenders this year include:
Alex Band Aug 6th @ Highline
Josh Ritter Aug 8th on Governor’s Island
Yula and the eXtended Family Sept 2nd @ Highline
Titus Andronicus & Free Energy Sept 25th @ Webster Hall
the first annual Tinderbox Festival Sept 26th @ Southpaw
The World/Inferno Friendship Society’s Hallowmas Oct 31st

That last one especially was a night to remember. The band went almost the entire year without playing, so it felt almost like a family reunion being there. The day was filled with great music, plus I met loads of new and awesome people that I still talk to thanks to the magic of the inter-webs. Also have to say CMJ this year was especially good. It was a crazy week that completely wore me out, but it was oh so very worth it. Also worth it was going to see Ben Folds Dec 14th at Beacon Theater despite just getting over being sick. He and Josh Groban rank in my list of people who are too talented for words. Speaking of which, I also saw Josh Groban do a short set at the Apple store in Soho. That should go on the list too. See, there were just way too many great shows to list them all. It’s just one of the many reasons I love New York so much.

Well, that about wraps up another year in music here. Did I skip over any of your favorite albums? See any shows that I was unable to attend? Feel free to add your 2 cents in the comments section below.