Cheers Elephant

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April 9, 2013 | 11:23 AM | By

Watch Cheers Elephant’s HotBox Studio Session; listen to its Daytrotter Session

KingsleyCollapseCheers Elephant have been some productive cats of late. The band headed out on a spring tour to SXSW, returned home to open for Darwin Deez at the Church, and somewhere in the mix, recorded sessions for HotBox Studios and Daytrotter. Both of those sessions premiered this week; stream Cheers’ Daytrotter set here (Daytrotter members can download) and watch an outstanding performance of “Leaves” for the HotBox cameras below; love that drummer Robert Kingsley gets so worked up (above and beyond his normal worked-up-edness) that he collapses on his drumkit at the end. Watch for some Cheers Elephant concert news later this spring.

FILED UNDER: Artists, News, Recordings, Cheers Elephant, Daytrotter, HotBox Studios
April 4, 2013 | 9:30 AM | By

Tonight’s Concert Picks: Darwin Deez at the First Unitarian Church, The Cave Singers at Johnny Brenda’s, Living Colour at The Keswick

PartyOnDarwinIndie rockers Darwin Deez play the First Unitarian Church tonight.  The Asheville, North Carolina band formed in New York City in 2009, feeling at home at the Sidewalk Cafe, a launching pad for off-beat pop acts including Kimya Dawson and Adam Green.  The band released their self-titled debut of upbeat, dance-along tracks shortly after in 2010.  Now the Darwin Smith-led quirk pop outfit are working the road for sophomore effort Songs For Imaginative People, released via Lucky Number in February.  Tickets and information for tonight’s all-ages show at the First Unitarian Church with Caged Animals and Cheers Elephant can be found here.  Watch the video for Darwin Deez’s “Free (The Editorial Me)” below.

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FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Previews, Events, Bleeding Rainbow, Caged Animals, Cheers Elephant, Darwin Deez, First Unitarian Church, Johnny Brenda's, The Cave Singers, Wrong World
March 12, 2013 | 12:12 PM | By

Download The Key Studio Sessions’ SXSW PHL sampler featuring Cold Fronts, Lushlife, DRGN King and more

Bleeding Rainbow at SXSW 2012 | Photo by John Vettese

Bleeding Rainbow at SXSW 2012 | Photo by John Vettese

The music portion of the Austin’s annual South by Southwest festival kicks off today, and many of our city’s finest up-and-coming bands have been spent the last week crammed in hatchbacks or vans with amps and instruments, making their trek to Texas. Several have, over the past couple years, recorded Key Sessions in our studio, and today we present you with a downloadable sampler of artists who are repping Philly in in Austin this week.

Beginning with a snappy performance of “Jackie” by Philly pop-rockers Cold Fronts, who won a JanSport competition to be a SXSW featured artist, all the way to the doom-y “Downward Years to Come” from Nothing, it showcases some of the rock (Cheers Elephant), hip-hop (Lushlife) and punk (Lantern) Philly bands on the various bills across Austin. Listen to the set below, download at Soundcloud. And check out some bonus video after the Jump – West Philly’s Waxahatchee performs a ton of shows this week, including an NPR Music showcase with Nick Cave tomorrow, while Bleeding Rainbow is making the rounds as well. See videos of the former playing “Dark Moon” in our studio and the latter tearing up “Get Lost” at Johnny Brenda’s.

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FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Previews, Downloads, Events, Recordings, Blayer PointduJour and the Rockers Galore, Bleeding Rainbow, Cheers Elephant, Cold Fronts, Creepoid, DRGN King, Lantern, Lushlife, Nothing, SXSW, waxahatchee
March 1, 2013 | 10:00 AM | By

Tonight’s Concert Picks: Grandchildren at Underground Arts, Black Horse Motel at Kung Fu Necktie, Up The Chain at Milkboy and more

GrandchildrenTonight at Underground Arts, local experimental pop band Grandchildren will kick off their spring tour and give fans a taste of their new album Golden Age, which is slated for a May release. Yesterday, The Key’s Adam Gould talked to Grandchildren about five things that have changed about the band since their 2010 debut Everlasting; read the interview here. Opening the 21+ show are Buried Beds and Son Step, more information is available at the WXPN Concert Calendar. Below, watch Grandchildren performing “Sunrise” for The Deli and Hot Box Studios’ Choice/Cuts session series.

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FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Previews, Events, Black Horse Motel, Cheers Elephant, Foxygen, Grandchildren, Keepers, Kung Fu Necktie, Milkboy, Underground Arts, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Up The Chain, waxahatchee
February 7, 2013 | 3:06 PM | By

Photo Recap: Cheers Elephant, The Explorer’s Club and Honeychurch at Johnny Brenda’s

Last night, tireless Philly rock four-piece Cheers Elephant headlined Johnny Brenda’s. Opening sets were performed by South Carolina’s The Explorer’s Club and Bucks County folk ensemble Honeychurch. Check out a recap of the show in the photo gallery above.

FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Photos + Videos, Events, Scene, Cheers Elephant, Honeychurch, Johnny Brenda's, The Explorer's Club
February 6, 2013 | 9:37 AM | By

Tonight’s Concert Picks: Kishi Bashi at the First Unitarian Church, XPN Welcomes Jeff Mangum to The Strand, XPN Welcomes Rufus Wainwright to the McCarter Theater, Cheers Elephant at Johnny Brenda’s

Violinist, singer and composer Kishi Bashi performs at the First Unitarian Church tonight.  Using his violin as a starting point, Bashi creates entirely new universes in his compositions with swirling loop sequences, layered vocals and atmospheric synth backdrops.  In addition to touring and collaborating with of Montreal, Regina Spektor, The Barr Brothers and Sondre Lerche, the Seattle native takes his sonic creations to new heights with occasional solo recordings like 2012′s 151a LP.  Tickets and information for tonight’s all-ages show with Plume Giant can be found here.  Watch Kishi Bashi perform “Manchester” from 151a below.

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FILED UNDER: Artists, Events, Scene, Cheers Elephant, First Unitarian Church, Honeychurch, Jeff Mangum, Johnny Brenda's, Kishi Bashi, Lucy Wainwright Roche, McCarter Theater, Plume Giant, Rufus Wainwright, Tall Firs, The Explorer's Club, The Strand Theater
November 30, 2012 | 2:11 PM | By

Crossing generations of Rock School with Cheers Elephant and Keepers (both playing this weekend)

Jordan Del Rosario performs with Cheers Elephant | Photo by John Vettese

Jordan Del Rosario remembers when his band was starting off in the mid aughts, and its role models were just an arm’s-length away. The Cheers Elephant guitarist and his bandmates were in their early 20s, barely able to get in to venues like The Fire and Johnny Brenda’s, but nevertheless enthusiastically taking in shows by The Teeth and Dr. Dog.

“This was before we started playing shows professionally,” he recalls. “We were just like, ‘woah, these guys are where it’s at.’”

Certainly it’s a better scenario for an emerging band than never getting to see your heroes because they don’t tour through your town; or worse yet, never getting to see your heroes because they’re long gone. Del Rosario recalls sneaking backstage at shows, slipping CDs to the band when they could, trying hard to break into their inner circle.

But while Cheers occasionally crossed paths in the studio world with The Teeth, Dr. Dog toured so heavily that they were never more than mentors by example. Del Rosario, on the other hand, went on to be something of a mentor-direct for the next wave of Philly-area bands, teaching at School of Rock in Downingtown and working directly with emerging local musicians, including exciting young four piece Keepers. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Artist Profiles, Artists, Concert Previews, Events, Interviews, Recordings, Scene, Cheers Elephant, Keepers, School of Rock, The Blockley, The Fire