Thursday, April 21, 2011

GIVERS announce debut album, "In Light"


GIVERS
"In Light"


GIVERS’ debut album – In Light – set for release on Glassnote Entertainment Group on June 7th – is the most rewarding and joyous album you’ll hear all year. The Lafayette, Louisiana-based five-piece are nothing short of ebullient, tying together ecstatic ribbons of melodies into songs that leave you no choice but to smile upon hearing them.

In understanding GIVERS, it’s helpful to think of a constellation, a configuration of points that, when placed in succession, led to the band’s brilliant debut. The metaphor proves particularly useful given the name of their album – In Light is a collection filled with uncontainable brightness, buoyed by constantly evolving rhythms, warmed by spangling guitars, and illuminated by the melodic altruism that is the band’s mission statement. Mixed by Ben Allen (Animal Collective, Deerhunter, Cee-Lo) as well as Chris Coady (Beach House, Grizzly Bear) and produced by members of the band along with friend and engineer Korey Richey, In Light is as complex as it is enjoyable. It is a record that is as unique as the sounds of the state in which the band lives, and GIVERS themselves.

GIVERS first came together when lead singer/guitarist Taylor Guarisco and lead singer/percussionist Tiffany Lamson both started attending University in New Orleans. Lamson, waiting for renovations to be complete in her new apartment, ended up crashing on Guarisco’s couch. They quickly bonded over a shared love of bands, and revealed they were both musicians. Guarisco's immersion in the sounds of New Orleans as a youth led him to play in handful of different funk, Cajun, and Zydeco groups. This influence on his playing was easily complemented by Lamson's strong upbringing and appreciation for classic rock, soul, and pop.

Hurricane Katrina forced the duo back to their hometown of Lafayette, where they began to play together regularly, eventually recruiting drummer Kirby Campbell, keyboardist Will Henderson, saxophonist/keyboardist Nick Stephan and bassist Josh LeBlanc to fill out their sound. The players spent most of their waking hours creating improvised jams and molding them into powerful songs, recording in drummer Campbell’s apartment as they went. After a handful of local gigs, it was an opening slot for The Dirty Projectors that solidified GIVERS’ fate in July 2009: realizing that music was their calling, the band made a pact to focus all of their attention to getting GIVERS off the ground. The Dirty Projectors liked them so much they asked them to open the east coast leg of their fall tour; soon after, Ra Ra Riot did the same. Stereogum called them a “Band to Watch” for 2010, and blog buzz began to reach a fever pitch. GIVERS played and played, bringing their dizzying live energy from coast to coast, eventually ending up in front of Glassnote Entertainment Group’s legendary musical guru, Daniel Glass at the Austin City Limits Festival. Glass was so taken by the band’s infectious sound and jubilant live show that he signed them immediately.

In listening to In Light, it’s easy to hear what propelled the band so quickly. Engineer Ben Allen, known for his work with everyone from Cee-Lo to Animal Collective, helped to provide sounds that expanded the band’s greatest assets – their innate knack for the catchiest of melodies, and the ever-evolving rhythms and sense of adventure that gave them their experimental edge.

Opener and first single “Up Up Up” is nothing short of anthemic, a rousing calling card for the band’s elated sound. “Ripe” is a kaleidoscope of sultry Afro-pop, while “Meantime” showcases the band’s instrumental and thematic investment in fluidity, capping off with a no-holds-barred group sing-along. “Words” fuses fist-pumping, heavy percussion with staccato vocal chants, and “In My Eyes” is lifted into the night sky by fluttering harmonies, steel drum chimes, swirling guitar solos and cricket hums. “Atlantic” laces Lamson’s textured drawl with Caribbean accents, ukulele plucks and keyboard sparkles. Refreshingly alive with melody, endless energy, and downright danceability, In Light is the perfect introduction to a band whose name you will be hearing throughout 2011 and beyond…

GIVERS will be touring the U.S. upon In Light’s release this June. Watch this space for more!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Mumford & Sons perform in NYC for their iheartradio show




Last week Mumford & Sons visited New York and played a small show Tuesday night for iheartradio. The P.C. Richard & Son Theater was packed, and they even played a few new songs including "Lover's Eyes" (tentatively titled), which you can watch above!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Sigh No More Best Buy Coupon



You can redeem this coupon at any Best Buy to get $2.00 off Mumford & Sons' "Sigh No More"!

Monday, April 18, 2011

Coachella 2011 Roundup

Kele, Two Door Cinema Club, and Mumford & Sons had an eventful few days at Coachella this past weekend. Here's our roundup of photos and videos!

Kele on Friday


Side stage at Mumford & Sons' performance



Side stage at Two Door's set on Saturday

Mumford & Sons at the KROQ Coachella House










Performing at the KROQ Coachella House











Interviews and more:



Two Door performing What You Know:



Mumford & Sons' The Cave:



What the Internet's saying about our bands:

"Kele totally cut loose onstage in a welcome way that he never had before, and his galvanizing single "Tenderoni" turned the entire Gobi Tent into a rave." --Yahoo! Music Blog

"[Two Door Cinema Club] have become very popular with the dorm-room set. Case in point: Their packed set at the Mojave Tent, where the band drew the same collegiate crowd that voted for them to win an mtvU Woodie award in March." --SPIN.com

"Irish indie-pop trio Two Door Cinema Club turned up the heat during its packed afternoon set. The group proved itself a festival-worthy act..." --Billboard.com

"[Mumford & Sons] still ended things with their most popular tune, 'The Cave,' that left no one standing, but dancing like mad people under the spell of the full moon." --Spinner

Friday, April 15, 2011

Glassnote in Rolling Stone!!


Glassnote is featured as the "Best Indie Label" in Rolling Stone's special Best of Rock issue (Apr 28)!!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Last Night

One of the greatest things about live music, is that anything can happen.

Last night Two Door Cinema Club played to a sold out crowd at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, MN. If you've seen Two Door live or perhaps on the mtvU Woodies, then you know how great their drummer Ben is...also, you've noticed that he hits those drums HARD. Welp, last night his kick went right through the head of his bass drum...Minneapolis, we have a problem.

While Two Door's great crew scrambled to fix Ben's drums...Two Door went off set list and treated the audience to an impromptu acoustic performance of Simon & Garfunkel's "Cecilia"

Moments like these are why we love live music, and why we love Two Door Cinema Club. Check it out below.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

GIVERS go without shoes!


Yesterday, GIVERS went without shoes for TOMS Shoes' One Day Without Shoes challenge!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Mumford & Sons Announce June Headline Tour!


Kicking off in Kansas City, Missouri on June 3rd, Mumford & Sons will continue on to play 12 shows across America including the Wakarusa Festival, Bonnaroo Music Festival and wrapping up at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival on June 19th in Telluride, Colorado.

The June tour comes on the heels of The Railroad Revival Tour in which Mumford & Sons, alongside Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show, will board vintage railcars and travel across the American Southwest playing concerts at six unique outdoor locations along the route, beginning April 21st in Oakland, California.

Check out the new dates below!


6/3/2011 Kansas City, MO The City Market
6/4/2011 Ozark, AR Wakarusa Festival
6/5/2011 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
6/7/2011 Asheville, NC Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
6/8/2011 Raleigh, NC Raleigh Amphitheatre
6/9/2011 Columbia, MD Merriweather Post Pavillion
6/11/2011 Manchester, TN Bonnaroo Music Festival
6/12/2011 Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre
6/14/2011 Council Bluffs, IA Harrah’s Council Bluffs
6/15/2011 Denver, CO The Fillmore Auditorium
6/16/2011 Denver, CO The Fillmore Auditorium
6/19/2011 Telluride, CO Telluride Bluegrass Festival

Royal Bangs' "Fireball" on Letterman




Watch Royal Bangs perform "Fireball" from Flux Outside on The Late Show with David Letterman!

(Thanks to The Audio Perv)