jukebox the ghost – Page 2

Jukebox the Ghost + Barenaked Ladies = A Perfect Fit

When Jukebox the Ghost first announced they would be opening for select dates on the Barenaked Ladies tour, naturally I was excited. Mostly I was thrilled for the band that they would be getting that kind of exposure (and be able to say they toured with another really cool band). I didn’t actually think about how well the two bands would work well though. Their styles were more alike than I imagined. I’m not just talking musically either – both bands also have a quirky/fun stage presence that makes their shows even more enjoyable. I’ve always been a passing BNL fan, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed their set (even though I didn’t necessarily know all the words to their songs). There were a lot of great moments during their set, but two that will stick out for me are 1) the closing number, where they mashed together a bunch of covers and danced around the stage like the crazies they apparently are, and 2) the first encore number when Ben from Jukebox came on stage to play piano with them.

Yes, it all comes back to Jukebox the Ghost, doesn’t it now?

I mean, obviously I would not have gone to this show if I did not enjoy me some Ladies, but the opening band did have some strong influence on my actually buying the tickets. For me, BNL have always been one of those bands I would only go see depending on the opener. I can’t think of a better excuse to finally check them out than my boys from Jukebox the Ghost. And let me tell you something, the band did not disappoint. They played a really solid set of their 8 best songs. There wasn’t as much banter as there would be at one of their headlining shows, but that was to be expected. Obviously they would want to squeeze in as much music as possible in the time allotted. There were a couple stories added to the mix though – just enough to give the potential new fans a taste of this bands unique and oh-so-interesting personality. (Ex: Ben describing his taped-up synth and declaring, “Duct tape does amazing things.” – Classic). It was much different seeing them play a venue like the Mayo Theatre, but it was also cool to see what their set looks like with the added lighting. Whoever was in charge of lights for the evening did a great job with both bands in timing the lights with the music. Kudos on your professionalism, Mayo tech crew.

Overall I would say the show was a huge success. The room was almost completely full during the opening set, which means lots more potential new fans for the band. Based on a casual glance of the room, I would say they won a few new hearts over with tonight’s set. And the crowd definitely enjoyed BNL’s set, myself included. Obviously I expected them to be good (or I wouldn’t have gone), but they blew my expectations out of the water. Where once I was a passing fan, now I am super in love. I could not have asked for a more perfect night.

Jukebox the Ghost set list:
Schizophrenia
The Sun
Hold It In
Half Crazy
Empire
Summer Sun
The Stars
Good Day

Side note – Just wanna take a minute to be slightly not professional and brag that I almost completely guessed the set list for tonight. Half Crazy was a maybe that depended on length of set, and Summer Sun was a very pleasant surprise. Other than that, I so called the rest of this list! I know it’s lame to be proud of this, but let me have my moment anyway. And sorry I don’t have BNL’s set list but I don’t know the names of all their songs well enough. There are very few bands actually that I know the names of every song they’ve done. Usually I just know a song when I hear it. Sorry if this makes you like the blog slightly less. I try to make up for it with a passion for music and lots of enthusiasm. Hopefully that is enough.

CMJ Day 4 – feat Brooklyn Vegan & Force Field showcses

Yesterday included a bit of borough hopping between Brooklyn and Manhattan. First up was the Brooklyn Vegan showcase at Public Assembly. This included two rooms of free music and free alcohol (if you like Blue Moon or Firefly). There was also a table selling BV shirts, proceeds of which go towards “Music Has Power” (The Institute for Music and Neurologic Function). Good music + a good cause = good party by the Vegan. There’s another one today that has a sick line-up. Gonna head there first thing today.

One other thing worth noting about that BV party is one of the bands: Shrag. This band was from the UK, which got me thinking about how many bands travel from all over the world (especially places like the UK and New Zealand) just to come to CMJ. I think it’s really cool how this festival gives people a chance to experience music from not just all over the country, but from different parts of the world as well. Because let’s face it, how many of us are going to be visiting New Zealand any time soon?

Next stop was the Impose showcase to catch the band Dark Dark Dark. They were really fun, and had lots of different instruments (including accordion, trumpet, and clarinet). I really enjoyed this band and would definitely want to check them out again.

Final stop for the evening was the Force Field showcase at Pianos. The line-up included Lord Huron, La Sera, Violens, Woven Bones, Wild Nothing, and The So So Glos. I really went to see Violens and So So Glos, but all the bands did a pretty good job (although I definitely enjoyed some more than others). Wild Nothing are playing that Brooklyn Vegan showcase today, in case anyone is interested in checking them out. If you’re looking for a recommendation, consider this it.

One more thought before I bring this one to a close.

You all know how much I enjoy talking about my favorite band, Jukebox the Ghost. Well, I found a great conversations starter for this topic has been the tote bag I bought from their Music Hall show last month. It was because of this bag that I met someone from The Wild Honey Pie and got a great conversation about blogging and the band and music in general. Later that same night I got another comment from someone who knows the guitarist’s sister. So there are two lessons we can take from this: 1) a band’s merch makes for really good promotion and conversation starters, and 2) it is a small little world that Jukebox the Ghost is slowly taking over.

Speaking of promotion – let me take this final opportunity to invite you to Bar Matchless tonight for the TJO Presents showcase, featuring Matt Koziol, Sydney Wayser, F. Stokes, Stuedabakerbrow, Incadeo, Like Trains & Taxis, Alyson Greenfield, and Hank & Cupcakes. It’s going to be a great night, and it’s FREE. Two reasons you should come out and party with us.

CMJ Day 3 – feat. Yep Roc Records showcase @ Bowery Electric

Last night was a late start for me, since I had to wait till after class to get to the city. Once I got in I met up with a friend and we walked over to The Living Room to check out McAlister Drive. Got the tail end of their set, but liked what I heard. It was after 11pm at this point, so I headed over to Bowery Electric for the final two bands on the Yep Roc Records showcase: Drink Up Buttercup and Jukebox the Ghost. I knew I dug Drink Up Buttercup from seeing them before, but I had forgotten just how much I love them. They have a ton of energy when they play and are incredibly fun to watch. I had been feeling sick with the allergies all day, but I totally forgot about that once they got into their set. Funniest moments included the addition of a trash can as an instrument for one of their songs (which immediately reminded me of Stomp and how they use lots of things like that to make music), and the drummer’s obvious enthusiasm through most of the night (especially the last song). I think I mentioned this from the last time I wrote about this band, but dude gets really into his playing. You can say that about all of the members, but it’s especially true for him.

Speaking of drummers I enjoy – nice segue – Jesse from Jukebox the Ghost is possibly one of my favorite drummers ever. I have had a couple conversations with different people this week about how he really adds something to the band and isn’t just a beat in the background. It’s more like he adds the heartbeat to them, and he deserves a little shout-out for that.

Moving right along… I thought Jukebox had a much better set here than they did the night before. That’s not to say the previous show was bad, it just wasn’t as good. For one thing, last night’s set was a lot longer. For another, I like the sound at Bowery Electric much better than at The Delancey. There also seemed to be a lot more energy from both the band and crowd at this place. The band played mostly songs off the new album, but upon request ended with a few older one’s, including “Beady Eyes” and the fan favorite “Good Day,” which had a little something special about it this time around (again, I mean more so than usual). They also called Drink Up Buttercup on stage for a cover of one fo their songs. Afterwards I made my usual rounds to catch up with people. I mentioned on Twitter last night that Shervin asked me if I was their biggest fan. Said person would be their tour manager/go-to-for-just-about-everything person. He was the first person I met who was connected to the band, and I always enjoy seeing him at shows.

That about wraps up my coverage of CMJ Day 3. All that’s left is a few thousand words in pictures.

Drink Up Buttercup

Jukebox the Ghost

Jukebox the Ghost Set List:
Schizophrenia
Interlude/The Stars
Nobody
The Sun
Popular Things
Summer Sun
Empire
Half Crazy
Hold It In
Drink Up Buttercup cover
Beady Eyes
Good Day

CMJ Day 2

Day 2 of CMJ was packed with enough cool things for two people to go too… and then some. I chose to spend my afternoon at the Sneak Attack Media showcase at The Delancey. The line-up included Kitten, PVT, Kids of 88, Cassette Kids, and Jukebox the Ghost. Unfortunately I was running errands in midtown that took longer than I thought they would, so I missed the opening act. A friend told me they were good though. Not surprised, the whole line-up for this show was exceptional. I especially dug Kids of 88. They have a ton of energy. I got my hands on a copy of their cd and hopefully will get a chance to review it soon. Of course it goes without saying that I enjoyed seeing Jukebox again. They didn’t play for that long, but it was still a fun little set. The real news with them though is I got a chance to interview Ben, so look for that to be posted sometime next week. The only reason it has to wait that long is because I’ll be too busy giving you the latest CMJ news (and helping on one showcase Saturday).

PVT

Kids of 88

Cassette Kids

Jukebox the Ghost

After the Sneak Attack showcase finished we got dumpling from Vanessa’s (highly recommend – cheap but good eats) and moved on to Fontana’s to catch a few minutes of Fort Wilson Riot. From there I was lucky enough to get into the sold out Bad Books show at Bowery Ballroom. The band was dressed to impress, and boy did they impress me. It’s worth noting here that I have not had a chance to listen to their recently released album yet (although it is on my laptop waiting for me to do so). This meant I was experiencing the band in much the same way as my first experience with Kevin Devine – not really knowing what to expect but being really impressed within the first few songs. It is also worth noting that there was much more banter at this show than there was for Kevin’s show at Music Hall last night. They announced they “are not a one time band” and will be releasing another record at some point. That was one announcement that was music to my ears. The set ended with most of the band filing off stage, leaving Devine and Andy Hull. Things I learned on this night: Kevin Devine knows how to play the drums. They performed one last song before ending their main set. The encore was a combination of Kevin Devine and Manchester Orchestra songs, Hull picked the KD songs and Devine picked the Manchester material. Another thing I learned on this night – “Just Stay” is equally good the second day in a row. Same goes for “Cotton Crush”.

Bad Books Set List:
Highway of Death
Baby Shoes
Holding Down the Laughter
How This All Ends
Wouldn’t Have To Ask
Please Move
The Plan
Mesa, AZ
I Begged You Everything
Texas

Encore:
Just Stay
Now That You’re Home
Cotton Crush
Your A Mirror

I’m not sure which part of this night was cooler – seeing Kevin Devine two nights in a row, or seeing him and Jukebox the Ghost on the same day. All I know is CMJ has been a blast so far, and it is just getting warmed up. Tonight is the Yep Roc Records showcase, where I will see Jukebox again as well as Drinkup Buttercup.

Jukebox the Ghost video + CMJ news

Sorry I’ve been absent lately. A few things I should have mentioned by now but haven’t for one reason or another.

First off, I meant to post this video Jukebox the Ghost uploaded from their “Free Pianos” shows this summer. Your humble blogger makes a special guest appearance as “overly excited fan”.

Also, CMJ starts today (in case you didn’t know). Tonight is Kevin Devine’s show at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Tomorrow he premieres his new band “Bad Books,” which features members of Manchester Orchestra. Also tomorrow is the Sneak Attack Media showcase, where I will be saying hello to the blog’s favorite band, Jukebox the Ghost. There are lots of other great shows happening all week. I will be talking more about the different shows each day, including a review of KD’s set, which should be up either tonight or tomorrow morning.

Do you have any shows you want promoted this week? Either comment below or shoot me an email at munchkin275@hotmail.com

Two New Videos

Hey there, music lovers! A couple new music videos have come out recently that I felt like sharing. One is Jukebox the Ghost video for the first track off their new album.

The other is from Jesse Malin’s album “Love It To Life”

Jess Malin was just at Union County Music Fest, which I owe you a blog post on. As for Jukebox, they can be seen in Brooklyn, NY at Music Hall of Williamsburg this Thursday September 16th. This is their first show in the area since the new album came out, so you’re not going to want to miss this.

Jukebox the Ghost – Everything Under the Sun (A Review)

I have been a fan of Jukebox the Ghost for some time now (about 2 years actually), and have listened to their debut album a couple dozen times. I never thought I would hear a more complete and fun-loving album ever again – I should have anticipated them outdoing themselves in their next try. Their sophomore album Everything Under the Sun is everything I could ask for and then some. Just when I thought I couldn’t love this band anymore – it’s as if this album is their answer to that.

The first track is Schizophrenic, which starts off racing and lets you know you’re listening to a band that likes to have fun with their music. I defy you to not dance around your room right along with this opening number. I could almost feel the energy fill the room as the song progressed.

After a few fun dance numbers, they slow it down a bit with Summer Sun. Even still, there is a quiet energy still present. It is like a breath of fresh air after you’ve been dancing in the rain. It picks right back up and rushes into the next track, Mistletoe. One of the things I have always loved about this band is how well their first album blended together. Each track seemed to have some connection to the ones surrounding it. Even some of my favorite artists have one or two songs in their albums I can usually skip, but that is not true with Jukebox. Every song adds something special and would be missed in the overall listening experience of the album as a whole. Some artists give you singles – this band gives you albums. You can tell a lot of care and attention has gone into choosing each song to make it fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. That level of attention is part of what makes their music special. It also makes it very hard for me to choose a favorite song. You know that feeling when your favorite song come on and you say, “Oh, I love that song!”? Well I should probably just say, “I love that band!” because I do. I love them a lot. Does that make me biased in writing this review? Possibly. So here’s the challenge for you – listen for yourself and tell me I’m wrong, that my excitement over this new album coming out is misplaced. If you make it through the whole album without smiling once, well then I will consider myself corrected.

Everything Under the Sun is currently available for pre-order & will be released Sept 7th. The band just announced this morning they will be on Dave Letterman tonight, so take advantage of this chance to get a free preview. Their next New York date will be Sept 16th at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Your humble blogger will be the one in the front taking a million pictures, dancing like there’s no tomorrow, and congratulating the band after on continuing to be awesome.

Thinking Back: The Anniversary Post

The blog’s 1st birthday came and went with not much more than a mention on Twitter about it. I meant to do this whole post on the music world and things I love about it, but I think that’s something that will actually sound better when I’m fresh from rambling about it with someone else (although if I warm up now it might just happen later in this post). When this blog was first created, it was honestly something done out of boredom and a passing interest in writing. I wasn’t sure how long I would be able to stick with it, but I figured it would probably be a summer thing. It’s now a year later and the blog is still alive and kickin’ – which I am absolutely thrilled about. A lot of my posts don’t get much notice, but the ones that do are about the things I care most about. It makes me really happy to see people respond to the same things that I get excited over. I try to keep track of the traffic to the site, and was very proud to see the number of views for the Alex Band CD review and some of the entries on Jukebox the Ghost. The CD review was both fun and scary to write at the same time. I was a little intimidated by that one, so it was great to get all the positive feedback after it was posted. The best part though was hearing Alex say he liked it. It’s great hearing from artists and getting to talk to them (both via the Internets and in person). It’s one of the things I wanted to talk about in the “reasons why I love the music world” post that looks like it’s starting to blend into this one. I love getting to meet artists and seeing how they interact with their fan base. My favorite examples right now are, again, Alex Band and Jukebox the Ghost. I’ve been to a lot of Jukebox shows and have been able to talk at least briefly with them every time. It’s gotten to the point where when we see each other we’re usually catching up on life since the last time we saw each other.

Another really cool example of interacting with artists is actually a comedian: Chris Hardwick. I already did a whole post on him so I won’t repeat too much, but Chris met up with everyone after his set finished, and I had a really good conversation with him. It was definitely one of those “my life is awesome” moments.

This has probably been the most personal blog post I have ever done, but I always get sentimental during anniversaries. It’s time to get back to work now, but I’ll leave you with a fun little thing as a birthday present to the blog and it’s readers. It’s something that was posted on w00tstock.net – it’s a spoof on a previous meme that was absolutely hysterical (once you realized it was a joke). And since I feel like adding a video to the end of this thing too, here’s one of the most featured artists on the blog doing a very fun cover of Donna Lewis’ “I Love You Always Forever”

I’m working on a little project of my own that involves this song, but it’s just in the planning stages right now. Hopefully I’ll have something to show you guys soon. For now, enjoy and have a great day.

Jukebox the Ghost pre-order + tour

Lots of exciting things happening in the world of Jukebox the Ghost. First of all, they are going to be at Lollapalooza this weekend. (Knock ’em dead, boys!) This is just the start of what will be their “Yay our album has finally been released” tour. They’re probably calling it the “Everything Under the Sun” tour, but my title is what all the fans are likely saying. Full list of dates follows:

AUGUST
6 – Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza BMI Stage
7 – Chicago, IL – Official Lollapalooza After-Party at Bottom Lounge (12:30am)

SEPTEMBER
15 – Boston, MA – Great Scott *
16 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg *
17 – Baltimore, MD – Sonar *
18 – Charlottesville, VA- The Southern Cafe & Music Hall *
20 – Louisville, KY – The Vernon Club *#
21 – St Louis, MO – Cicero’s *#
22 – Little Rock, AR – Juanita’s Cantina Ballroom *#
23 – Houston, TX – House of Blues *#
24 – Austin, TX – The ND at 501 Studios *#
25 – Frisco, TX – Oysterfest *#^
28 – San Diego, CA – The Loft UCSD #&
30 – Los Angeles, CA – The Echo #&

OCTOBER
2 – San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill #&
4 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios #&
5 – Seattle, WA – High Dive #&
7 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court #&
8 – Denver, CO – Hi Dive #&
9 – Omaha, NE – Slowdown Jr #
11 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry %
12 – Milwaukee, WI – The Cactus Club %
14 – Indianapolis, IN – MOKB Presents @ Radio Radio %
15 – Pittsburgh, PA – The Brillobox %
16 – Washington, DC – The Black Cat %

* = w/ Via Audio
# = w/ Hooray for Earth
& = w/ AB & the Sea
% = w/ Elizabeth & the Catapult
^ = w/ Rhett Miller, Ekterklang, Bowerbirds, and more

Also, don’t forget to pre-order your copy of “Everything Under the Sun” while there’s still time. The album will be available to the public on Sept 7.

Jukebox Rocks 92Y Tribeca

Jukebox the Ghost held a preview show for their upcoming album “Everything Under the Sun on July 13th at 92Y Tribeca. The band is no stranger to the city, and it showed in another enthusiastic crowd. The night was filled with mostly songs from the new album, but there were a few fan favorites selected for the second half of the show. First the crowd got to hear the new album in its entirety. The band thanked it’s audience for sitting through songs they were not familiar with, but there was really no need. Many of the songs had been played at previous shows (to the point where many in the audience knew some of the words), and the whole album sounds like it will be well worth the wait fans have had to endure. The album will be available to the general public on September 7th, but the single “Empire” is available for download now on their website (linked to above) or the widget at the top of the main page of this blog.