The Hot Half Life is Boy Crazy!

Oh, indie rock. Not only filled with so many talented musicians but also wrought with some of the prettiest guys I've ever seen. Alot of men are good looking but it's something else to be pretty. A pretty guy, to me, is the entire package - Incredibly good looking, talented, smart and charismatic, it takes alot to be pretty. It's been my long standing opinion that Will Sheff is the prettiest man in indie rock and after my last post, a round up of recent indie rock news items that culminated with Will Sheff still being incredibly good looking, I decided to compile a short list of the top 5 prettiest guys in indie rock, a list that will come as no surprise to readers of The Hot Half Life as these are all men I blog about on a semi-regular basis.

5. Kevin Devine.


Of course Kevin Devine kicks off the list. Not quite "pretty" in the classic sense, it's Kevin's talent, charm and way with words that puts him over the top. I've met few men in life that come close to the incredible sweetness of Kevin Devine, a guy who could put even the jitteriest, most nervous young interviewer at ease in an in depth one-on-one conversation. And with lyrics like "In the morning you are the daybreak and I am glad/ And at night, you are the dream I fall asleep to have", one would have to struggle not to fall for Kevin Devine. From songs about falling in love (the aforementioned You Are The Daybreak) to songs about falling out of love (No One Else's Problem) to songs about politics and wrestling with your personal demons, Kevin is well spoken and, at times, borders on prolific. He's certainly the archetypal indie guy most early to mid-twenties girls are banking on finding a version of - A scruffy boy with a quick wit, a beautiful voice, an acoustic guitar and great taste in music. Kevin's not only a big fan of all the great indie musicians of yore - Neutral Milk Hotel, Elliott Smith, Built To Spill, etc. - but just take a listen to his ace cover of David Bazan's Fewer Broken Pieces and hear what he has to say about David before the song.


Kevin Devine - Fewer Broken Pieces (David Bazan Cover)


4. Dallas Green.


It is my opinion that in ten years time, Dallas Green will look like a heavily tattooed version of David Bazan. Until then, we get Dallas at his prime, clad in glasses and cardigans. Dallas does double duty as the singer of the hardcore-ish band Alexisonfire but my preffered version of Mr. Green is the soft, acoustic whispers of his sideproject, City and Colour. I've played The Girl for quite a few girls in my time and every single one of them have had the same reaction - "I want to find a boy who wants this to be our song!" Take note, fellas - Sensative guys get ladies out of their pants. But take a tip from Dallas Green and be genuine about it being any indie girl worth her collection of Built To Spill discography will be able to see through your facade of faux sensativity.




2 & 3. Sebastien Schultz and Benjamin Davis.


Two pretty guys in one band? Be still my indie loving heart! Despite both being lanky, fair haired and extraordinarily good looking, Davis and Schultz of Bad Veins are not related as, apparently, many assume upon seeing Bad Veins. Recently I got to interview Bad Veins (an interview which will go live shortly on Radio Free Chicago) and the interview ended with a "question" from my roommate, Sara, which was "You're very pretty." After a brief spell of confusion as to how exactly "You're pretty" is a question, the guys accepted it, thanked Sara, asked if there was a question attached (There wasn't. That was the question.) and moved on. I might have you know that Sara isn't nearly as taken with Bad Veins as I am so the fact that Benjamin and Sebastian are both talented musicians (All those sounds of Bad Veins record? Benjamin Davis composes that. How's that for cool?) have nothing to do with her thinking they're pretty. It's simply the fact that they're attractive and she's shallow.


Bad Veins - Gold and Warm (Live at Daytrotter)


This version of their debut album's lead single is particularly wonderful. Recorded aproximately two weeks ago at Illinois' own Daytrotter studios, this version of Gold and Warm is, as Benjamin says in the Daytrotter interview, more slow and mopey than what you get on the album. While both versions are quite gorgeous, in this take on Gold and Warm, you get to really hear Benjamin's voice. Until David Bazan's second session gets posted over at Daytrotter, this might take the proverbial cake as my favorite session thus far.


1. Will Sheff.


There are two important points you must know about Okkervil River's Will Sheff. First off, pictures cannot capture the beauty of this man. You must see Will in person to fully understand how captivating he truly is. Second off, I've met some musicians in my day that I've been listening to alot longer than Okkervil River, who have affected my life in alot grander ways than Okkervil River but for some reason, meeting Will Sheff turned me into a small, whimpering fan who could barely string a sentence together. Calm, tall, composed and extraordinarily together, Will Sheff is the type of unattainable guy you admire from afar, always wondering what it would be like to know such an intruiging man all the while understanding he's far, far out of your league.

Notable Occurances in Indie.

Today, my father text messaged me to inform me that, when he was a child, he wondered what if his name had changed into something more productive like... Roscoe. I was so thrilled that my father is hip enough to randomly text-quote Midlake lyrics to me that not only did I twitter about the occurrence but I immediately called him to tell him how incredibly cool he is.

I promptly revisited Midlake on my drive home this evening which was a refreshing change of pace from what I've been listening to the past months.

But that anecdote is neither here nor there because it's been another exciting July week in indie music.

- The Pitchfork Music Festival hit Union Park in Chicago! See what Chicagoist had to say about Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3. (Sadly lacking in this write up is the fact that Frightened Rabbit's drummer was wearing a Daytrotter shirt during their set.)

- The long awaited indie supergroup of My Morning Jacket's Jim James, excuse me, Yim Yames, M. Ward (of both M. Ward and She & Him fame), Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis finally released the first track off their Monsters of Folk project, Say Please, for all to hear! Check out my post over at Radio Free Chicago to snag the track, if you haven't already.

- Bad Veins finally release their album which just so happens to be my favorite album of the year thus far, usurping Hot Half favorite Kevin Devine's Brother Blood from the top spot. You can pick it up this very moment on iTunes or, if you prefer something more physical, go to your nearest indie record store as they dang well should have it.

- Additionally, Will Sheff of Okkervil River continues to be extraordinarily pretty despite not currently being blog-relevant.

Don't let it get to you.

The scariest part of growing up is leaving behind everything you love.

I'm 25. Does that mean I'm grown up? Well, almost, but not completely. The fact of the matter is that I'm in the process of moving. I'm not moving far but I'm moving nonetheless and not only am I moving but my best friend/roommate is also moving and we're traveling in opposite directions. I spent my day packing and as I stacked my belongings in the corner of my room to transport to my car tomorrow, the realization washed over me that the summer that only just begun was now, with these actions, coming to a close.

This is growing up.

No matter your age, adulthood is marred by making connections that, for the greater good, you have to loose. I'm moving to further my career and it's the best thing I can possibly do at this point in my life but that knowledge doesn't make it any less scary. A new location, new faces and the close friendships I've come to cherish over the past year are going to be replaced by momentary connections with the musicians I interview and that's great, it's amazing that I get this opportunity but it's lonely.

I know I'll be okay. I'll make friends and I'll probably even find a nice boy fellow who makes my heart beat fast but in the time between now and then, I am going to feel incredibly isolated.

Right now, the thing that's keeping my head the most sane is Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, a band that, to me, perfectly encapsulates the dissonance you're bound to feel in your mid-20's as you struggle with losing the fixtures of your life and starting over.

A song that I've been listening to ad nausea in particular is House Fire. A great bit of sad contrast to the incredibly upbeat optimism of the previous track, Oregon Girl, House Fire is understated and sad without being depressingly downtrodden, it's deft lyrics comparing the loss of a relationship to a crashing car and, yes, a burning house. (The most beautiful bit, in my opinion, is the layered "Oh"s circa 2:22, keep your ears open.)

Tomorrow, as I drive my belongings from my old house to my new one, I can imagine this song will stay on repeat until I've memorized every note, picked out every chord and dissected every verse.


Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - House Fire


Additionally, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin is just one of the awesome bands taking part in the Daytrotter Barnstormer tour. Taking place in Wisconsin and Iowa between July 25th and 29th, the Barnstormer tour is just another amazing Daytrotter project and, if you're in the area, it'll be more than worth your time to check out, if only to see a show in a barn. Personally, I will be headed to the July 28th date in Iowa City!

The Hot Half life Rocks Out To... Bad Veins in Indianapolis!

Call me crazy but after I received my copy of Bad Veins' album last month, my desire to see them was so overwhelming that I decided to check their tour schedule and trek from Chicago to their nearest show to me as soon as possible. That "nearest show" ended up being in the not-so-near-at-all metropolis of Indianapolis. Four hours away. This isn't completely out of the ordinary for me - I've driven from Chicago to Lansing, Michigan at four in the morning to interview Kevin Devine. But I suppose driving four hours to see an artist you've held dear for years is slightly different than driving an equal distance to see a band you've only just discovered. Nevertheless, on July 14th, I did just that and it was worth every moment.

Opening up for Dead Confederate at Radio Radio, Bad Veins took the stage with their flower box, telephone and reel to reel, Irene. I wasn't sure what to expect form the show, not having read up on Bad Veins' live performances beforehand, and, to be honest, I did not for a moment think they would successfully recreate their full, orchestrated sound live. I interviewed Sebastien Shultz and Benjamin Davis after the show and told them that I was expecting something in between the stripped down acoustics of their Daytrotter session and the lush noise of their album. That, however, was far off base.

Opening with the stellar first track on their album, Found, and closing out the The Lie, Bad Veins' half hour set was nothing less than magnificent. Bringing more energy than two people should, lead singer Benjamin Davis utilizes all of the Bad Veins gadgegts while remaining incredibly charismatic and Sebastien Shultz killed it on drums like I've seen few drummers do. Anyone who's read my entries on Bad Veins before knows that I've fallen head over heels in love with their album and hearing many of the tracks done so flawlessly in the nicest venue outside of Chicago I've ever got the chance to go to was thoroughly enjoyable.

There was something refreshingly intimate about the whole evening, a feeling brought on by the welcoming atmosphere Bad Veins produced for the "girl that came here all the way from Chicago" coupled with the anononymity of a bar where I was a one hundred pecent stranger and Radio Radio's striking resemblance to Schuba's.

Additionally, interviewing Bad Veins was great for a number of reasons - First off, my last interview went epically bad and recovering from that was professionally satisfying. Also, per Bad Veins management, I was allotted a 20 minute time frame for my interview and prepared accordingly. However, from start to finish, I ended up sticking around the band for 8 hours, making a trip to Steak and Shake and snagging a couple beers in the green room. And Benjamin Davis and Sebastien Schultz are the exact type of guys I'd wanna be friends with. As anyone who deals with the music industry knows, spend a month catering to musicians and you'll meet your fair share of douchebags. Benjamin and Sebastien, however, were promptly added to my list of "If only every guy in the music industry was this nice, my job would be easier" soon after meeting them. Smart, talented and possessing a dry wit, my evening with the Bad Veins gentleman is going to set the bar just that much higher for my next night on the job.

Bad Veins album comes out on Dangerbird Records this Tuesday and the band will be back in Chicago on July 31st at the Abbey with Now Now Every Children which means that, for at least the next few weeks, The Hot Half Life is indeed going to be Bad Veins central. As for my interview with the guys, that will be up soon before their July 31st show over on my new home, Radio Free Chicago!

Until all of that, check out their myspace and stream a few tracks from their amazing debut and enjoy a stripped down version of Found from their first Daytrotter session.

Bad Veins - Found (Live at Daytrotter)

The Hot Half Life is Movin' Up!

The Hot Half Life of Amber Valentine is... Well, I think it's going to be going in a different direction. Perhaps back to where it started. The Hot Half Life is just about to celebrate it's one year anniversary and as my friend Amber G. said while standing outside her work yesterday, smoking a cigarette "Did you ever think, when you started that, this would happen?"

Nope.

Not for a minute.

On a whim, I asked Kevin Devine if I could interview him. After that, interviewing became my specialty. Despite the fact that a mere two interviews have made their debuts on The Hot Half Life, I've got nearly one dozen confirmed for the next three weeks. But I don't believe a single one will appear here because, boys and girls, you are reading the blog of Radio Free Chicago's new contributor and interviewer!

You can read my first, introductory, post on Radio Free Chicago now - A quick hello and the top five acts I'm looking forward to at Pitchfork this year.

As for the Hot Half Life? Well, it's not dead. Everything that goes on in my brain that can't be housed at RFC will still have a home here - For instance, on Tuesday, I trekked from Chicago to Indianapolis to bond with recent Hot Half favorites Bad Veins at Radio Radio. It was a lovely experience and I certainly have a significant amount to say on seeing Bad Veins live - But as the show took place in Indianapolis (and I am the crazy type of girl who likes to drive 4 hours to drink bottles of locally brewed beer at venues I've never been to before with bands that'll be coming to my hometown in two weeks time), whatever I have to say can't be said on Radio Free Chicago. That's what the Hot Half Life is for!

And, honestly, I have novels to still say on the catalogs of Okkervil River, Kevin Devine and Elliott Smith.

At the very least, the Hot Half Life will always be good for a little Will Sheff worship.

But the interviews, the reviews... Keep an eye out daily on RFC for that!

The Hot Half Life's Summer Soundtrack... Part V!

Despite the fact that more often than not this summer, new music has been what I've been playing most it isn't just new discoveries that been my preferred music of choice. Every summer since I discovered the glorious world outside of what radio had to offer has been peppered by a few of the same bands and, at 25, that's no exception.

From long time favorites Neutral Milk Hotel's King of Carrot Flowers to Okkervil River's Seas Too Far to Reach, there's alot of beauty to be found in the same old stuff peppering my summer playlists and I'm in no way ashamed to admit that few things in life are better than a drive orchestrated by Built To Spill's Car. Every time I'm in my trusty Ford Focus or, as I affectionately refer to it as, the "golf cart", with my ipod on shuffle and Car comes on, a feeling of being completely understood comes over me. Perhaps it's the fact that Car has been so ingrained in my life for the past ten plus years or perhaps it's the beautiful simplicity of the lyrics that gets to me. Regardless, I construct the perfect summer soundtrack every year and every year, without fail, Car is included.

And what would a week in the Hot Half Life of Amber Valentine be without oft-blogged about favorite Kevin Devine? 2009 has brought what might be his most cohesive release to date, Brother's Blood and one of the many fantastic tracks on Brother's Blood is a catchy gem called I Could Be With Anyone. Partly sarcastic, partly self-deprecating, I Could Be With Anyone can easily be the theme of anyone who find themselves single in their mid-20's after a string of failed relationships but instead of examining why these relationships failed and where things went wrong, I Could Be With Anyone offers a relateable bit of self-esteem for anyone who finds that they could, in fact, be with anyone, just for a little while. Featuring Kevin's well crafted lyrics and a tongue in cheek sense of humor, I Could Be With Anyone makes me, personally, feel less guilty after making out with someone there's no future with because this is just what I am for the summer, for the moment - It's not what I'll be. Well, not hopefully.



For the record, the official Hot Half Life Summer Soundtrack, perfect for driving to nowhere late at night, features all of the above songs and artists and quite a few others that were not mentioned. For the curious, the playlist is as follows :

The Hot Half Life's Summer Soundtrack Track List.

Miniature Tigers - Cannibal Queen / Wilco - Outtasite (Outta Mind) / Blind Pilot - Oviedo / Bad Veins - Falling Tide / Josh Ritter - Right Moves / Nightmare of You - Hey Sweetheart / Brian Bonz and the Dot Hongs - Judy and the Alpha Queen / Metric - Sick Muse / Plushgun - Just Impolite / Dear and the Headlights - I'm Not Crying, You're Not Crying, Are You? / Sea Wolf - Middle Distance Runner / Built To Spill - Car / The Thermals - Now We Can See / Kevin Devine - I Could Be With Anyone / Okkervil River - Seas Too Far To Reach

The Hot Half Life's Summer Soundtrack... Part III and IV.

The bands that have been orchestrating my Hot Half summer seem to all have a few things in common: They're all making sexy, hip, effortless, catchy and melodic music and both Bad Veins and Metric are no exception.

While both have been blogged about before, Bad Veins in depth with a comprehensive review of their forthcoming self titled album and Metric in brief, both have been getting an increasing amount of plays at the Hot Half Headquarters (also known as: My car and/or bedroom) and, like every new band on my summer soundtrack, I can't seem to get enough of either.

Bad Veins are quickly becoming staples on my blog, what with my recent album review of their wonderful self titled release and my forthcoming road trip to see the band at Indianapolis's Radio Radio because, let's face it, these guys are just too good for me to wait on. To keep my blog from being bogged down with Bad Veins, as great as they are, I'm going to keep my synopsis of Bad Veins to one paragraph and move on.

Bad Veins are the cool new band every hipster will be in love with in a matter of months. They're an indie version of all the pop bands indie kids secretly love but will never admit to keep their indie cred, namely The Killers and Franz Ferdinand only they're better. (For the record, I adore the incredibly stylish Alex Kapranos and his fellow Scots, despite the fact that Tonight has never grown on me but if I were to ever have a hipster dance-and-dinner party, Franz Ferdinand would be on the playlist.) Bad Veins debut is rife with songs that would be perfect for dancing to and seducing a member of the fairer gender or simply sitting in your room, listening to whilst surfing various blogs. Every time I listen to the album, another song leaps out as a new favorite with it's well crafted and symphonic sound and understated, smooth sexiness and, of course, the vocals of Benjamin Davis which I still feel i was completely on point in my past write up of Bad Veins as describing as 'lackadaisically seductive'. Could any straight girl resist the charms of this man? He certainly has a voice that makes you fall in lust.

While the Bad Veins track getting the most spins as of late in my house is Falling Tide, this gorgeous, acoustic rooftop rendition of The Lie is more than worth four minutes of your time.



Emily Haines and Metric has been a mild staple in the Hot Half household since the release of Metric's 2003 album Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?, although, up until recently, I always found myself preferring Emily's solo album to her work with Metric. Metric's latest release, Fantasies, however, has more than changed my mind.

Keeping her angsty (but never emotionally overwraught) sensability, Emily Haines and her fellow Canadians have made the best record of their collective career with Fantasies, built upon the always sturdy foundation of Emily's lyrics - Sarcastic, jaded and realistic but never dark or depressing. It's a hard and fine line to walk and Metric do it beautifully with their smooth, glossy and alluring brand of indie pop.

Personally, I've found myself taking a particular shine to Sick Muse because not only are songs of the summer supposed to be all the things I've named ad nausea but I believe that lyrical relatability assists in a song transcending the boundaries of being a good song and becoming an anthem. And it never hurts when the anthem is question is sung by a beautiful woman.

The Hot Half Life's Summer Soundtrack... Part II.

Earlier in the week, I decided to start a blog experiment of sorts. Up until now, my blog has been stand alone posts - Interviews, concert reviews, posts about single songs, etc. This summer, however, I've been listening to too much awesome music to just lump it all in to one post featuring a few sentences on each artist and one song at the end of it all so I decided to make a three to four part summer soundtrack series. Part I was on Phoenix, Arizona's Miniature Tigers. Part II features Brooklyn natives Plushgun.

I had the pleasure of seeing Plushgun sandwiched in between Brian Bonz and Nightmare of You last month at Reggie's and took quite the liking to them. As any friend of a music blogger could tell you, when you're in the car with a music fanatic, they tend to take full control of the stereo and my friends, as of late, have been getting quite the earful of Plushgun. Thankfully, as Plushgun is not quite my usual musical fare as they have very little to do with being depressingly introspective over an acoustic guitar, my friends seem to have taken a liking to them as well and when their debut cd, Pins and Panzers, is put in the stereo, no one seems to mind.

As I said, Plushgun isn't what you'd expect me to listen to. I'm an indie kid and I find beauty in minimalism but... As much as I love Kevin Devine, his music is just the best when I feel a fit of dancing coming on. After years of dance classes, dancing is one of the things I do best and, as their recent twitter stated, not dancing to Plushgun is just unacceptable.

Featuring synth, smooth vocals, the occasional bout of handcalps (We all know how the Hot Half Life feels about handcalps...) and lyrics that are very well put, probably assisted by the fact that lead singer Dan Ingala is an NYU graduate, Plushgun is, above everything, charming, endearing and catchy. I don't venture into the world of electro-pop often but I imagine this is electro-pop at it's best - Infectious, melodic and well done. Dan Ingala is at his best when he's singing about girls and the albums standout tracks, Just Impolite and Let Me Kiss You Now (And I'll Fade Away) are both laden with hooks that will stick in your head long after your first listen.

While making our way to Chicago yesterday, the Hot Half roommate, Sara made the comment that Plushgun knows us so well as their song How We Roll describes exactly how Sara and I roll - Unpopular amongst our peers with black dye in our uncombed hair, driving around the suburbs all summer witht the stereo turned all the way up. And isn't relatability coupled with catchiness what makes the songs of summer just that?

Plushgun is currently midway through their tour with Brian Bonz and Nightmare of You. Currently they're doing time on the West Coast before heading south and up to New York so anyone outside of the midwest will have plenty of opportunities to see them so it'd probably be wise to check the ol' myspace for tour dates.

Plushgun, however, will soon be returning to Chicago. Why? Because I said so. But until Plushgun start listening to the demands of Amber Valentine, feel free to check out this fantastic summer song -


Plushgun - Just Impolite

The Hot Half Life's Summer Soundtrack... Part I.

The song of last summer for me was inarguably Momentary Drowning by Denver's wonderful Young Coyotes. With Summer well under way, it appears that the song getting the most spins at my house, or Casa De Amber and Sara as I affectionally refer to it as, is Cannibal Queen by Miniature Tigers with the Tigers themselves becoming my default good mood music - From the incredibly catchy and lyrically sadisctic Tell It To The Volcano to the flirtatious Like or Like Like, since seeing them perform with Kevin Devine in May, I haven't been able to resist spinning their fist album, released earlier this year, ad nauseum to the point that whenever my friends find me singing something to myself or dancing to the music my earbuds are feeding me, their automiatc response is "Miniature Tigers?" The answer, usually, is a predictable "Yep."

It always interests me to be introduced and take a liking to a band via their live show and then hear how they sound recorded. Usually, for me, it is the other way around as I collect records like a magpie collects shiny objects. The Miniature Tigers easily sound just as good on record as they do live and their songs are simple but clever, suggestive but charming and, above all, incredibly dancetastic. Like I said when I reviewed them opening for K. Dev., they make music for pretty girls to dance to. and as a pretty girl who likes to dance, the Minitaure Tigers appealed to my better nature.

Featuring lead Tiger Charles Brand's effortlessly cool vocals and lyrics heavily relying on the complications of relationships and unrequited love, Tell It To The Volcano (the album) is unarguably warm-weather friendly, doubtlessly thanks in part to the fact that the Tigers hail from Phoenix, Arizona. Almost every song on the album can be the perfect soundtrack for good times with your friends in a gorgeous climate - The cleverly titled Giraffe with it's chorus of "That's what you get for your stickin' out your neck." and Annie Oakley, examining the quandary of when's the right to time to make a move only catchier than you've probably experienced before as it has handclaps. Handclaps! What summer is complete without handcalps?

This summer on a whole is sort of bittersweet to me - It's been the best summer of my life but the fact is that everything's changing. Both my roommate and I are moving within the next month and a half. But in the coming months, whenever my iPod is on shuffle and Miniature Tigers come on, I'll doubtlessly smile as I'm reminded of Sara and I driving around Illinois with the windows of my Focus rolled down, smoking cigarettes with big sunglasses on, both of us singing along to the refrain of "I la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-love you, cannbal queen" and, of course, pointing at one another as soon as the word 'you' is spoken.

Currently, the Tigers are doing time on the West Coast but here's hoping they soon venture back to the Midwest. Here's also hoping that someone takes my suggestion of a Miniature Tigers-Young Coyotes-Sea Wolf-Dear and the Headlights tour, called, fittingly, the Zoo Tour 2009.

Miniature Tigers - Cannibal Queen

Check out Miniature Tigers on myspace for more catchy songs, tour dates and plenty of other stuff and, while your at it, head on over to the ever-wonderful Daytrotter for a Tigers session that includes not only two great Tell It To The Volcano tracks but also two new songs as well and a particularly great write up on the Tigers.

An additional interesting side note is that the above photo of the band was taken at the restaurant across from Mac's Bar in Lansing, Michigan where I saw the Tigers open for Kevin Devine. That's also the cafe outside which I interviewed Kevin. Good times!

The Hot Half Life Visits... The Daytrotter Studios and David Bazan!

Today I got to visit the Daytrotter studios, an event that would have been remarkable in itself as (like I've said before) Daytrotter is an amazing thing and to see how such a remarkable blog works would be great but at the studios, I got to see David Bazan track four songs for a forthcoming session, making it even more of an experience.

David Bazan is a musician who I've been listening to for quite some time. 1997 and 1998 were formative years for indie music and those were not only the years I discovered this wonderful genre of music that existed outside of the popular realm but also the years that David's first project, Pedro the Lion, came into the stream of the underground public's consciousness.

Weaving morality, religion and struggling to be yourself and coexist with others into darkly melodic songs, Pedro the Lion is one of the bands that always comes up when I talk formative indie music, be it amongst friends or musicians, and David's influence is still heavy in the world of indie music. From Pedro the Lion's debut album to Headphones to David Bazan's amazing solo release, Fewer Broken Pieces, featuring five songs performed by a full band lead by David and then the same five songs acoustic, David Bazan's career has been nothing short of prolific.

This fall, he is going be releasing a long awaiting full length solo album called Curse Your Branches on Barsuk records and today, he stopped by the Daytrotter studios after playing Illinois's Cornerstone festival to lay down 4 tracks.

I arrived at Daytrotter shortly after David and his posse did - Unlike Eminem or T-Pain, David's posse consisted not of large black men and strippers but of his manager and their journalist friend Jessica who was covering his performance at Cornerstone. I was en route to arrive early except that google maps failed to let me know the exit I was to take was closed. Luckily for me, the streets in Rock Island, Illinois are numbers and it was fairly easy, after a small detour, to find 18th street and I wasn't so late after all.

The Daytrotter studios were everything I thought, only much more spacious - Covered in band posters with guitar stands and computers everywhere, I can see why Daytrotter gets the rep amongst indie musicians that it does. It's not only a cool place to hang out and make amazing music but it's also run by an extremely awesome guy, Sean, who genuinely loves what he does and was nice enough to invite me by to see it all take place.

Mostly playing new material, including the heartwrenchingly affecting opening track from Curse Your Branches, Hard To Be, David's set was everything I'd hoped it would be and then far, far more. One of the things I've always loved about his music is that it makes me examine myself and it makes me feel understood. The older I get, the more depth I find in David's music and, more than ten years after first discovering him, he's just as affecting as ever. Sitting in the Daytrotter studios, hearing a musician whose back catalog I know by heart sing the refrain "It's hard to be a decent human being." was one of the most prolific experiences I've ever been through and most important of all, I got to meet David and realize that just like every other musician I've interviewed, he is just a person. Albeit, a person who has greatly affected my life for a very long time via his words and music but getting to physically meet him and talk to him will make interviewing him in August much, much easier. Any trepidation I had about that has gone right out the window.

In addition to three of his own compositions, David performed the oft-covered Hallelujah and... Well, there's really nothing I can say about it that Soundsuck didn't say already because I agree with their point wholeheartedly: Out of every version of Hallelujah, David Bazan's is the best. I am prepared to be challenged on that, as I often was when I used to say Jeff Buckley's version was the best, but Jeff has got nothing on this. David Bazan has never lacked passion in his music and this song is certainly proof of just how much passion for art he has.

David doing Hallelujah.



"Hard to Be" live at TBTL.

David Bazan and myself are clearly hilarious.

David Bazan's Curse Your Branches is due out later this summer and a 7" of American Flags and Please, Baby, Please is out now via Barsuk records. David will be toruing starting in September and it looks like he's due to hit Chicago around October so be sure to check his myspace for the dates as soon as their announced and, of course, keep an eye on The Hot Half Life for my forthcoming interview with Mr. Bazan.

The Hot Half Life Interviews... Blind Pilot!

Readers of my blog is no stranger to former Everybody Cares blogger, current Some Songs Matter showrunner Chad. The man has amazing taste in music and writes about how it affects his life with great fluidity and poise - For proof, just check out his latest post over at Some Songs Matter on the Zombies.

A month or so ago, Chad and I were talking about music and he asked me if I had ever heard of Blind Pilot. I hadn't but based upon his description of them (coupled with the fact that his recommendations are always so spot on), I immediately checked them out. And upon first hearing Oviedo, the first track on their debut album, 3 Rounds and a Sound, I knew that, once again, Chad was right. Blind Pilot was great.

Mixing indie with folk, originality with their influences and understated melodicism with catchiness, I recently got the chance to conduct an e-mail interview with Israel Nebeker, Blind Pilot's singer, songwriter and guitarist, about his music, influences and growing up on Portland, as well as the band's forthcoming show at Chicago's own summer centerpiece Lollapalooza.

Amber Valentine : So I'm actually fairly new listening to you guys. My fellow music blogger friend Chad turned me on to you and I'm so glad he did because I've taken quite a shine to your stuff. To me, it certainly doesn't sound like alot of other contemporary musicians today and I appreciate that quite a bit. Could you tell me a little bit about what music has influenced you to become who you are, from formative influences up through more modern artists?

Israel Nebeker : I remember the year internet became available to me because I immediately started printing out pages upon pages of guitar tabs by Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Bob Dylan, Nirvana, Elliott Smith... I don't know if you can hear it in my songs now, but that's who I started copying/learning from. It's a funny thing though- I always tried to copy them and ended up missing the mark because I'd put too much of myself in there... as I look back, I'm thankful I wasn't able to fully succeed. Right now, two artists off the top of my head that get to me in the best way is The Helio Sequence and Joanna Newsom.

AV : I did read in one past interview that you named Neutral Milk Hotel as an influence which I immediately did hear on Oviedo, the first track off 3 Rounds and A Sound, particularly with the multi-instrumentation you feature. Every musician I've interviewed or even spoken with in my career thus far has named Jeff Mangum as a formative influence on their career and I just find it amazing how far reaching In The Aeroplane Over The Sea has become in the past eleven years because it definitely orchestrated a good portion of my life growing up. Do you have any particular strong memories of that record?

IN : Absolutely I do. After college I moved out to an abandoned cannery building in Astoria, Oregon. It was out on pilings in the water, away from the city, so it was private and I could be as loud as I wanted. Whenever I wasn't playing music or recording or writing, I was hooking up In The Aeroplane Over The Sea to a massive PA system and just blasting it through the old wooden beams. I'm not sure what exactly it is about Jeff Mangum and especially that album, it might be just simply that it's completely inspired and therefore universal. Whatever it is, I love it and I'm grateful, as many are, that Jeff gave it out there.

AV : Pretty recently you've opened for Langhorne Slim, The Hold Steady and The Decemberists, all of whom are doing something really unique in their own way and are also very talented. Obviously, you were probably familiar with these guys before you toured with them. Was that at all nerve wracking to share the stage with any of these guys? I know if I had to go on before Craig Finn or Colin Meloy, I'd feel a bit inadequate.

IN : It's been one of the most exciting things to ever happen to me, opening for musicians whose music I love. For some reason, it really wasn't nerve wracking to play before them. I just felt glad to be there. Maybe because I knew that nobody's more Colin Meloy than Colin and nobody's more Langhorne Slim than Sean... so it's really no use to make comparisons.

AV : So I read that in 2008 you did a bicycle tour, as in you actually carried your instruments via bike from city to city. How did you come to decide to do that?

IN : Ryan and I were in the annual state of sluggish wintertime Portland and we needed an escape from both the city and the scene. Portland has the greatest music scene ever and I love so many people who belong in it, but we wanted to see how our music would hold up in really small, rural towns where the preface of what music is important/current/cool just didn't exist. That, and it just seemed like a great adventure.

AV : Despite being released a little over a year ago, I'm noticing that alot of people are just starting to catch wind of 3 Rounds and a Sound. Do you guys have immediate plans to record another album or is your priority to still expose this album before heading back into the studio?

IN : As soon as we released 3 Rounds and a Sound, I couldn't wait to get back in the studio soon and that was my plan... But things have been going better and better for this album, so the studio will have to wait 'till we're done touring for a bit.

AV : So I've spent time in Oregon, your home state, and outside of Chicago I think it might be the only other place I could ever call my home. It's beautiful and it has an absolutely amazing music scene. How has being native to the Portland area influenced or inspired you guys to make music?

IN : I grew up on the Oregon coast and it's still where I come if I'm looking for inspiration. It's where I am right now, as we're taking a two week break from touring. This place has a strong emotional charge and so when I hear my songs I hear the place in there too.

AV : So - Lollapalooza. You're playing this year on day 2 and that's obviously a really, really exciting thing because you'll be sharing the stage with some really amazing artists and you'll be bringing your sound to alot broader of an audience than might ever have got the chance to have heard you before. Also, I've noticed that in the past few years, Lollapalooza has definitely been showcasing alot broader of a selection of artists. Last year, Okkervil River and Kevin Devine played. This year, Kevin is playing again as well as the Decemberists, Langhorne Slim, you guys, Bon Iver and quite a few others. How exciting is this for you guys?

IN : I think it'll be a great time and we're looking forward to it. I've never been to Lollaplooza but I know it's one of the greatest music festivals, so I'm excited.


Thanks so much to Blind Pilot and their wonderful manager Alex and, of course, Chad for introducing me to Blind Pilot in the first place!

Blind Pilot is currently on tour and will be not only playing Lollapalooza but will also be playing a House of Blues aftershow on August 8th, both of which I will hopefully be at and, if you're in the area, it'd be a shame to not catch these guys before they head back to the West Coast. Check out their myspace for more info.

Also, if you've got a few spare bucks, it would be a wise decision to pick up a physical copy (or at least an mp3 version) of 3 Rounds and a Sound. Coupled with perrenial summer favorites Built to Spill, Pedro the Lion and Neutral Milk Hotel and new favorites Sea Wolf, 3 Rounds and a Sound has become my "meditative, long drives at night with the windows rolled down" music. Mellow, beautiful and lyrically poetic, I couldn't be happier I've discovered Blind Pilot. Need to find out for yourself? Give the title track off their debut album a listen.


Blind Pilot - 3 Rounds and a Sound

All You Need is Love.

Tonight in L.A., Eulogies and new Hot Half favorites Bad Veins will be playing a show at the Echo to benefit the Pablove foundation.

This show's been blogged about everywhere from the Scenstar to Pitchfork to Filter and most hipster's have Twittered about it but regardless, this stunningly sad story deserves to be told on as many media outlets at possible.

The show, as I said, is benefiting the Pablove foundation which was founded on behalf of Pablo Thraikill Castelaz, son of Dangerbird Records founder Jeff Castelaz. The foundation was formed when Pablo was first diagnosed with cancer and sadly, Pablo passed away on June 27th at 6 years old.

I hope everyone in the L.A. area gets the chance to check this out - Both bands playing are definetly worth your time and obviously, the foundation is a very worthy cause to support.

Tickets are $10 and doors are at 8 so, L.A. hipsters - Hussle! Get pretty as fast as you can in your cutest Urban Outfitters tank top and ballet flats! I'm sure you won't be disappointed!