If you dig this too, I recommend heading over to TeamCoco for the full stream of the entire record. Be the Void officially drops on Feb 7th (on Anti Records).

Artist Website: DrDogMusic.com

Tycho’s sound hits on this perfect mellow but moody vibe, and I love the way that the core electronic beats and blips are mixed with more traditional analog guitars and bass.

Support Tycho directly–>TychoMusic.com.

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I am super picky about going to the gym when it is too crowded. I hate it. I like to keep my workouts quick and efficient…no waiting. barely any resting. heart-rate up. in and out. done.

But, of course, it’s January and everyone and their mother seems to have joined my local gym in some annual New Year’s resolution ritual. So, the gym has been pretty packed as of late. The other day, I got back from a particularly annoying crowded workout and I turned to Linds and said, “I wish the gym had a webcam up in the workout areas and put a feed on their website so I could check the crowd situation.” That’d be pretty rad, right?

Given some of the sour faces I see when people are waiting for machines, I know I can’t be the only one annoyed by the crowds at the gym. And why stop with the gym…what about grocery stores? Anyone who has spent time at Trader Joe’s in New York could probably relate. So why can’t I just log on to a website to see how crowded it is?

It seems like it wouldn’t be terribly difficult to get this up and running for most gyms and local businesses. Most of them have some kind of website, and most have some kind of cameras already up for security purposes. I think the key questions are 1) how to scale it 2) privacy issues of patrons and 3) whether or not the business actually WANTS potential customers to see how crowded it is. That last one is key, but I could see this being a crowd-pleaser (no pun intended) and, therefore, a business pleaser too.

I think I may be onto something here. Thoughts?

I put this post together a while back when my loop pedal was acting wonky and I had to pull off all the data before bringing it into the shop. In that process I had re-discovered some old loops that actually weren’t too bad. I made a quick attempt at improving the sound quality in an audio editor and then gave each of them a quick name — literally the first words that I thought of when I heard them again. I have no idea why I never posted this, so I figured…why not bust it out in the new year?

Like my previous audio posts, there are definitely some mellow, lullaby-like sounds going on here. But there are also a few other cool themes like a Western/desert thing and other more psychedelic sounds. It certainly ain’t hi-fi but it’s not bad considering the low-budget equipment and that all of these were recorded on-the-fly, completely as improv (the one exception being track #1, the “Drift Away Instrumental,” which was actually my attempt at capturing the groove from the original loop in track #2).

Take a listen…

Desert Flyway by whitperson

Drift Away Instrumental:
Drift Away instrumental 2.5.11 by whitperson

Drift Away – original loop w/ vocals
Drift Away original loop by whitperson

Looping Lullaby:
Looping Lullaby by whitperson

Dripping Icicles:
Dripping Icicles by whitperson

Fade into White:
Fade into White by whitperson

Drunken Cowboy:
Drunken Cowboy by whitperson

Tumbleweed:
Tumbling Weed by whitperson

It’s all pretty amateur and — as my buddy Justin says — I could definitely use some drum and percussion in the mix. That said, I like to think that I’ve hit on some cool sounds and themes. Who knows, maybe someday I can actually pull some of these together as actual songs?

I was lucky to see a lot of great live shows this year, and even luckier to be able to shoot most of them with my Nikon D5000. Although I am decidedly an amateur, I think I ended up with some pretty decent shots, so I decided to create a “best of” style compilation to wrap up a great 2011.

Artists pictured below include (in rough order): Soulive, Surprise Me Mr. Davis, The Dodos, Yellow Ostrich, White Denim, The New Deal, American Babies, Phish, Cut Copy, Fleet Foxes, Animal Collective, Deerhunter, Steve Kimock & Friends (with Marco Benevento, Marc Friedman, and Adam Deitch), The War on Drugs, Deerhunter, Battles, Guided By Voices, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and Steve Kimock & Friends (w/ Bobby Vega, Bernie Worrell, and Wally Ingram).

For more photos and — in most cases — reviews and videos, check out the links below:
Photos: Soulive’s “Bowlive II” @ Brooklyn Bowl, 3/11/11

Review: Steve Kimock & Friends @ Sullivan Hall, NYC, 3/30/11

Review, Photos, Videos: American Babies @ Mercury Lounge, 4/29/11

Photos/Videos: The New Deal @ Terminal 5, 5/7/11

Photos: White Denim @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC, 6.25.11

Phish in Camden, 6/10/11: Review, Photos, Videos, Downloads

Pitchfork Music Festival 2011: Final Photos, Thoughts

Photos, Video: Deerhunter @ Pitchfork Music Festival 2011

Photos: Fleet Foxes @ Pitchfork Music Festival 2011

Photos: Animal Collective @ Pitchfork Music Festival 2011

Photos: Battles @ Pitchfork Music Festival 2011

PHOTOS / VIDEOS / REVIEW: Steve Kimock & Friends @ Brooklyn Bowl, 11/5/11

PHOTOS/VIDEOS: The War on Drugs @ Bowery Ballroom, 12/11/11

I still like their Trust EP the best, but their full release Astro-Caster is also quite solid. It has been steadily growing on me since I grabbed it a few months back.

The Bobcats - Chugging Sriracha

For a bit more on why these cats are wearing ties and chugging Sriracha, read the full comic at The Oatmeal.com.

We had our first snowfall of the season here in NYC this past weekend. But even though the weather’s starting to chill out, the live shows are still keeping up the heat. Check out my preview of the week’s shows with some videos of my top picks…

Monday’s all about a Happy HalloWEEN, with Ween bringing their classic goof-rock stylings to the Hammerstein.

But if you want something with a bit more of a hip-hop and dance groove, then I’d recommend checking out SBTRKT with Araabmuzik at the Bowery Ballroom.

Tuesday, Battles will be dropping their glitchy, shape-shifting instrumentals at Webster Hall. So unique…always love these dudes.

For Wednesday night, I’m really digging these options: Charlie Hunter at the Sycamore, the Drums at Bowery Ballroom, or Yellowbirds at Union Hall (technically an opening slot). Take your pick…

Thursday, I’m tempted to check out St. Vincent at Webster Hall…Annie Clark not only has an amazing voice, but she can rip on guitar. But I’m also tempted to dig into the deep, horn-laden 70s funk of Orgone, who will be at Sullivan Hall that same night. That one’s sure to be a blast, but it’s bound to get a little steamy.

If you’re looking for something a bit more mellow and melodic, I suggest checking out Blind Pilot for some singer-songwriter-y goodness. They’re doing a two-night stand at the Bowery Ballroom.

But for the weekend nights, I think I’m most excited about Steve Kimock bringing his friends — Bobby Vega, Wally Ingram and Bernie Worrell — with him to Brooklyn Bowl for a two-night stand. I already hyped this one up a bit when it was announced, but I think it’s definitely worth mentioning again. Here’s a little sample of the Bobby Vega funk throwdown that will inevitably ensue:

As always, there’s plenty more to choose from, so head on over to LMB for my full list of NYC show recs: LMB NYC: This Week’s Concert Calendar – Oct 31–Nov 6.

James Brown – “Blind Man Can See It”

While the intro had a nice vamp, what really caught my ear was the groove that kicked in after a minute or two…a nice little jangly guitar riff combined with some soul-stirring keys. The sound literally brought my ears back to the early 90s to what was probably one of my 1st CDs…Das EFX’s Dead Serious. After a couple of measures, I was waiting for that unforgettable opening line to drop in….”bum skiggiddy bum skiggiddy bump!”

Check out the sample in use:

Das EFX – “They Want EFX”

Ha, awesome. I liggidy love the lawless early 90s of hip-hop samples.

Last week there were a ton of shows going on due to CMJ, but I think I’m actually more impressed with this week’s selection. Here’s the quick rundown.

Amon Tobin’s doing his ISAM live show at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple for three nights (Tues-Thurs). On Tuesday, the Field will bring their hypnotic loop-based electro at LPR and Chris Taylor (of Grizzly Bear) shows off his side project (CANT) at the Bowery. Wednesday, there’s Dawes w/ Blitzen Trapper at Webster Hall, G. Love & Special Sauce at Irving Plaza, and the North Mississippi All Stars are at Brooklyn Bowl. Thursday, there’s some great indie/eclectic rock with Fanfarlo hitting Mercury Lounge and Cymbals Eat Guitars hit the Bowery. You can also get your World Music on with Zongo Junction at the Knitting Factory or check out the mellow, electronic stylings of Justin’s new fav Brandt Brauer Frick at Glasslands. Friday, the North Mississippi Allstars are back at Brooklyn Bowl, and the Pixies are set to rock the Asbury Park Convention Hall w/ Surfer Blood as the opener. Saturday continues with the awesome options. My suggestion, either dig the patented funky jazz stylings of MMW at Terminal 5 (w/ help from Antibalas), or go get a healthy does of jammy bluegrass at the Best Buy Theatre with Yonder Mountain String Band and The Infamous Stringdusters. Oh, and Fanfarlo swings back into town on Sunday night for a second show at Glasslands.

Man, and those are just the high points. Head on over to LMB for my full list of NYC show recs: LMB NYC: This Week’s Concert Calendar – Oct 24-30