-Melissa

No, it’s not Don Johnson you see, but rather (The) Tony Castles drummer Gabbi Wurzel. Also, in more Tony Castles suit-news, keep an eye out for the upcoming video release for the first single, where the suits will be making their screen debut. And don’t forget to make it out to the band’s September 17 record release party at Union Pool, before their fall tour with Tom Tom Club!

-Drew

In the meantime, check out the hot limited-edition run of 300 letterpressed, hand-numbered CDs, designed by our friends at Letter From Brooklyn:

Check out those grommets! For more info on the release or the “bespoke letterpress,” email the band via their website or head to letterfrombrooklyn.com.

-Drew

This ultimate sing-along track is from the band’s debut album, North Hills, which was released last August on ATO Records (co-founded by Dave Mathews). You can download the track free from the band’s website.

Dawes – When My Time Comes (live):

-EV2BK

Here are a couple shots of Bear Hands playing “Golden,” from their EP of the same name. We’re also excited to let you know that the band’s forthcoming LP will now officially be titled Burning Bush Supper Club, and is set to be released on Cantora Records in the US & Canada on November 2, 2010. Get ready folks!

-EV2BK

They are playing another show at Webster Hall tonight but, unfortunately, this one is sold out too. If you don’t have tickets yet, get out there on the street and try to find them, believe me it’s worth the effort. If you can’t get in, you could always go check out Dawes who are headlining at Maxwell’s tonight in Hoboken.

-Melissa

Common Prayer – Us vs. Them

Or, check out the recorded version here.

-EV2BK

EV2BK – Your debut album, There is A Mountain, just came out digitally here in early June. How long did the album take to put together?
Common Prayer - (Russo) It took a lifetime to write, but 6 days to record. We did 95 % of the tracking in a barn in a small English village then brought it back to Brooklyn to mix. Which we did in 2 days, max.
(Marvar) And then I sang into a mic set up in Jason’s bedroom in Greenpoint. That took… a couple hours. Though yes, there were years of unwitting subconscious preparation for both parties I’m sure.

EV2BK – We love the off-kilter Americana sound of “Us vs. Them.” What inspired the song?
Common Prayer - (Russo) This song was inspired by the most time-honored tradition in pop music, failed love.
(Marvar) It inspires me.

EV2BK – You guys have a big tour that kicks off very soon in the UK, is this your first tour across the pond?
Common Prayer - (Russo) Yes! Well, we played the 12th annual Truck Festival last year, but it was before we were called Common Prayer… This is our inaugural UK tour.
(Marvar) That said, the storage-container recording studio inside that cow barn on Hill Farm is already pretty familiar with us, and we’ll be visiting it again early in the tour for rehearsals with our English constituency and other shenanigans.
(Russo) We are very excited.
(Marvar) Fact.

EV2BK – What songs do you most look forward to playing when you perform?
Common Prayer - (Russo) My fave is “Marriage Song” because it has these bad-ass breaks that we do a three-part harmony over. Either that or Alex’s whistling solo at the end of “Us vs. Them.”
(Marvar) At times it is a whistling duo or trio, which I prefer. But my favorite is definitely also “Marriage Song,” because I get to bang on garbage and blow a marching band whistle.

EV2BK – You’re playing the Truck Festival in the UK again this year, and I know you played in the first US version of the festival, Truck America, earlier this year up in the Catskills—Can you tell us a little about that festival?
Common Prayer - (Russo) The folks that founded Truck fest (particularly two very musical brothers Joe and Robin Bennett) were instrumental in the making and recording of our album. We used the aforementioned barn studio on Hill Farm, also the site of the Truck Fest. The Truck Fest is a great example of a family-run “indie festival” — it’s held on a farm in a small, ancient village every year, all about community, with little to no corporate sponsorship… Rather grassroots.
(Marvar) This spring’s Truck America was it’s first venture on “patriot shores.” I have [an] apartment in Kingston, NY (near the Catskills), and Jason has significant ties to the music scene there as well, so we were likely suspects to help our friends at Truck bring their operation stateside. For year one, I’d have to call it a smashing success. Everyone from the Sadies to Mercury Rev to Here We Go Magic to… well… us.

EV2BK – Is there any band you are looking forward to meeting there or seeing again?
Common Prayer - (Russo) I like Fucked Up. I managed to be in a small room with the singer one late night and he is an smart entertaining guy. Also, I am looking forward to seeing my brothers band – The Silent League – because it’s always fun to see family in weird situations.
(Marvar) Since SxSW, I have become sort of obsessed with an electronic act called Active Child. Glad he will be present. Brooklyn’s own Holly Miranda will be around and even though we’ve never met I feel a kinship with her because we will be Brooklynites at Truck. Jason and I are also both excited to see Neil Halstead. He was our musical hero in the 90s and he is our UK record label hero in the now. We’re also playing a show with him in London right before Truck.

EV2BK – Jason, Common Prayer has a very different sound than your other band, Hopewell, what inspired the shift?
Common Prayer - (Russo) Hopewell has a lot of history – which is a positive thing – we’ve lasted longer than most bands ever dream of lasting, but I wanted to explore the songs that were coming out of me that wouldn’t fit in the trajectory of Hopewell. Common Prayer was the way I could manage to write whatever song came into my head, without worrying where I would put it or what I would do with it.

EV2BK – When is your next show in NYC and what has been your favorite venue to play at here so far?
Common Prayer - (Russo) Next up is a Johnny Leather showcase at either Union Hall or the Bellhouse, and then we are opening up for our pal Nicole Atkins in September at one of our favorite venues that we won’t mention yet because the bill is not yet all set.
(Marvar) Glasslands is one of our favorite venues. (Hint, hint!)

* * *

We’re looking forward to seeing Common Prayer this fall when they are back in NYC. In the meantime, we’ll see what we can do to put in a good word over at Glasslands.

-EV2BK

Skee-Lo may not be doing much these days, and certainly didn’t have any other hits that even approached the level of “I Wish,” but it’s also not hyperbole to say that this track is one of the original, Real McCoy “Jamz of the Day.” Remember when it was the Jam of the Week on MTV for like 13 weeks in a row or something back in 1995? It took Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” to knock Skee-Lo from the top dog position. Let’s reminisce together:

12) The Roots – How I Got Over:

If you haven’t heard last month’s ninth studio album from The Roots, How I Got Over, then do yourself a favor and pick it up now! The title track “How I Got Over” picks up right where “The Seed 2.0″ did back in 2002 with a smooth Cody Chesnutt vocal hook and driving beats from ?uestlove and the rest of the crew.

13) Broken Bells – The High Road:

Danger Mouse and James Mercer team up as Broken Bells for some revamped psychedelic rock classics riding against a hip hop backdrop on their recent release. And for further summer jams reading, check out Danger Mouse’s “Endless Summer” playlist that he put together for New York magazine’s June issue.

14) Darwin Deez – Up In The Clouds:

Darwin Deez is a bit hard to classify, mostly because of the silly hairband/hairdo combo, but this track and video definitely live up to DD’s self-described style on myspace, “indie rock with a side of calisthenics,” if by calisthenics he means dancing. Right now he’s on tour in Europe and elsewhere through November, but when he gets back in town you can be sure to catch the Deez at many local shows around the city’s various boroughs.

15) Snoop Dogg – Who Am I? (What’s My Name)

The breakout solo smash from Tha Original Doggfather himself, Snoop Doggy Dogg. Break out a 40, turn the volume up, and start rolling the dutch, because it’s about to get G-funky up in here!

The hits keep coming, check back soon!

-EV2BK

Even though it’s absurdly hot for the fourth day in a row, we recommend heading over to Stuyvesant Town tonight to check out Delorean’s infectious, swirling, shoe-gaze electro-dance jams. The Barcelona-based band will be playing in the Stuy Town Oval (between 16th and 18th Streets and Avenues A & B (Enter at Avenue A and 14th St.)) starting at 7PM, following a DJ set from DJ Brennan Green at 6PM. But if you just can’t bear the thought of being outside and sweating, you can always wait to see them until this Saturday, when Delorean will bring the beats to Bowery Ballroom’s air-conditioned fortress.

This video for “Stay Close,” from the band’s recent 2010 release Subiza, will make you wish you were at the beach even more than you already do. Shout out to my old friend Ben from Weird Days, who shot the video.

Delorean – Stay Close:

-Drew