Grandchildren‘s Golden Age is featured in this week’s Unlocked series [link]

It’s been a big week for show announcements, with The Monkees [link], Patty Griffin [link], Pet Shop Boys [link] and The Olms [link] unveiling Philly dates

Joe Pug played a show at Johnny Brenda’s this week – check out a free download of five tracks from the Chicago singer-songwriter [link]

Khari Mateen will kick-off Brewerytown’s summer jazz concert series on May 15th [link]

Take a listen back to this year’s Key Studio Sessions with Volume 7, featuring Waxahatchee, Pissed Jeans and Ruby the Hatchet [link]

Kurt Vile shares a new video for “Never Run Away” – he’ll be at Union Transfer on May 18th [link]

Dave Hartley presents an overview of the NBA playoffs in a new edition of Top of Key [link]

Mount Moriah highlighted their sophomore album Miracle Temple during this week’s Folkadelphia session [link]

Download a compilation of music from local bands including Cheers Elephant, Roof Doctor and Norwegian Arms c/o Beat the Indie Drum [link]

Matt Marchinowski of Big School Records is moving out of Philadelphia.  To celebrate his time here, Marchinowski has pieced together a snapshot of the local music scene with a 27-track mixtape called Philamixington II, available as a free download via his Tumblr.  The second installment in the local music mixtape series, this collection samples various genres, circles and side projects with tracks from radio favorites like Cheers Elephant (pictured), basement staples Roof Doctor and The Hundred Acre Woods and new-projects-from-old-buddies like Avery Rosewater.  From Marchinowski:

Although April will see my moving out of Philadelphia for the peaceful confines of the sticks I will still consider its scene ‘home’. It wasn’t easy narrowing this collection down to 27 jawns but I can assure you it won’t be the last notch in the Philamixington series.

Download the full mixtape for free on Beat the Indie Drum here and stream a sampling of the tracks below.  The first Philamixington set can be downloaded here.

Everyone’s favorite bummer, Coma Cinema, stopped by Church of the Advocate this Saturday to get sad with a few of Philly’s hometown heroes – Roof Doctor, Pill Friends, and Alex G. It was clear there was a lot of love between these bands; they all seemed genuinely excited to see each other play, and rightfully so, for each band rose to the occasion with a wonderful performance.

Pill Friends started the night off with a noisy, energetic set. If you’ve ever seen this band, you know that they appear in two forms: the bedroom-style, super quiet acoustic band with a cello and two-part harmonies, and the indie-screamo band, with fiery shouts replacing what would normally be a near whisper. This set was probably pretty surprising for anyone who had only previously known this band for its weepy lo-fi acoustic tunes. Hopefully the recent addition of bassist Davis Cook has made this kind of set a more likely possibility for future shows, because it was totally awesome. Not going to lie, this was my favorite set of the night.

Roof Doctor played next, and their set was stellar. They always sound great at this venue, as its state-of-the-art “giant cube” shape seems to provide just the right amount of reverb for their dreamy folk-pop tunes. They played a few new songs, which they will soon be recording for their full-length, so keep an eye out for that.

The next band was Coma Cinema, and this was certainly the reason this show happened. These guys drove up from South Carolina just to play Philly and Baltimore, and it quickly became clear that many of those in attendance had eagerly awaited this band’s visit to Philly. The set was distinctly less synthed-out than many of their recordings, giving the songs a very stripped-down feel. Cool.

Alex G was put last because he rules. He plays frequently as a solo acoustic act, but when he decides to get the band together, it’s way better – but that’s me, I hate acoustic stuff. He played a really good mix of tunes, and I found this set to be very satisfying. It was a great end to a great show, and here’s to hoping for many more great lineups like this at Church of the Advocate.

Philly band Royal Shoals returned this week with a brand new four-track EP called Surrounderer + 3, recorded with Jeff Ziegler at Uniform Recording.  The EP follows up the surf rock / new wave outfit’s 2011 debut Dirty Water with a collection of brightly polished, tightly produced tracks that show growth and confidence.  Stream and download “Surrounderer” below.  Royal Shoals play Kung Fu Necktie on February 28th; tickets and information can be found here.

With help from local musician Ryan Wilson of Pill Friends, Slovakian music blog Start Track released a free compilation this week featuring tracks from a number of Philadelphia bands involved in the basement / DIY / house show scene.  It’s a glimpse into the depths of the Philly music community with a diverse batch of contributors including electro-disco outfit Night Panther, thrashy punk band Mumblr, darkly captivating singer-songwriter Abi Reimold and an acoustic take from alt-folk / rock squadron Roof Doctor.  Stream “Rug” by Abi Reimold below and download the full Philly compilation on Start Track’s Bandcamp here.

South Jersey outfit The Naked Sun kindly came to the WXPN studios recently to record a Key Studio Session.  Drawing mostly from an upcoming EP, the Beta Hi-Fi competitors brought the energy with broadly arranged but tightly performed roots rock boogie tunes.  And with the jazzy inclusion of saxophone and trumpet players, the session’s five dynamic tracks are energizing enough to remedy any sort of mid-winter blues this weekend’s weather has slumped us into.  The Naked Sun play the Field House on April 12th with The Lawsuits.  Stream and download “Holdin’ Back the Heart” below and head over here for the full session.

• Holdin' Back the Heartby The Naked Sun from The Key Studio SessionsDownload

Each weekday this month World Cafe is offering a free download of a Cafe track from a limited-time-only compilation.  By February 22nd, there will be twenty songs up for grabs – but here’s the catch: the download links will disappear on March 1st.  This week’s free offerings included recordings by neo-soul / R&B singer Allen Stone, roots rocker John Fullbright and the track streaming below, “Fortune Teller” from alt-country band Calexico.  The duo and a full band recorded the song when they stopped by Philly for a sold-out Free at Noon at Union Transfer last fall; listen to their full World Cafe session with David Dye here and download the free collection here.

Nightlands celebrate the release of Oak Island tonight at Kung Fu Necktie.  Dave Hartley spent the brief quiet moments between touring and recording with The War on Drugs over the last few years concocting the many layers of his latest solo effort, out last week on Secretly Canadian.  In an interview with The Key’s Kate Bracaglia, Hartley noted that Island is “an evolution” from his Nightlands debut Forget the Manta and describes it as “more confident.”  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Jon Barthmus (Sun Airway) and Scott Churchman (Ape School) can be found here.  Below, watch the sci-fi themed video for “I Fell In Love With a Feeling.”

Upstairs at Kung Fu Necktie, local indie quartet Catnaps will celebrate the impending release of their Shuteye EP (out January 29th).   The fuzzy pop / punk band took their sound in a new direction with last year’s Boys Drool, channeling a fusion of The Shangri Las and Vivian Girls on the follow-up to 2011′s debut Why Don’t You Whisper? A few weeks ago The Key premiered the video for Catnaps latest single “Cherry Lips,” which sees the band adding a sci-fi / electronic element to their sound and a cute music video just in time for Valentine’s Day.  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Roof Doctor, Incorporated Village of Ghost and Oh Bree can be found here.  Watch the video for “Cherry Lips” below.

Also at Kung Fu Necktie tonight, Ladyfest will hold its first benefit show in conjunction with Sugar Town‘s 12th Anniversary.  The activism, arts & music festival will return to Philadelphia for the first time in 10 years this summer.  Hosted by local comedienne Juliet Hope Wayne, the event will include sets by Radiator Hospital, Bike Crash and Batty.  Tickets and information for the 21+ event can be found here.  Below, stream “Andy Griffith” from Radiator Hospital’s Some Distant Moon.

XPN welcomes Garland Jeffreys to The Sellersville Theater.  The Brooklyn musician will perform 1981′s Escape Artist in its entirety with his band, including classic fan favorites “Mystery Kids” and “Christine” alongside his cover of ? and the Mysterians “96 Tears.”  Though this is a retrospective evening, Jeffreys has continued to release critically acclaimed material over the course of his career, most recently with 2011′s The King of In Between.  Tickets and information for tonight’s show can be found here.  Below, watch the video for “Modern Lovers” from Escape Artist.

Photo by Abi Reimold | abireimold.wordpress.com/from-all-angles

Last December, Roof Doctor lead guitarist/vocalist Mark Harper looked to his friends’ bands for “the best musicians he knew,” and borrowed them record his own material. It was evident after only two practices with Alex Stackhouse (guitar), Chet Williams (bass), Sean Reilly (bass), and Kevin Paschall (drums) that the group possessed enough chemistry to identify as a band in its own right. Last week I sat down with Harper to discuss Roof Doctor’s path – from starting out at the notorious North Philadelphia Maggot House where Harper and guitarist Alex Stackhouse live, to the band’s current plans, and their recently crushed dreams of beefing with Conor Oberst.

TK: Have you been working on anything new since the release of your EP I Am Going To Die back in July?

MH: Yeah, yeah. I Am Going To Die was recorded from February to May in the basement of Maggot House, but we’ve been pretty busy playing and writing new stuff.

TK: Did starting the band inside Maggot House influence your style?

MH: Absolutely. I never listened to punk at all, I was totally new to the whole DIY thing. The people there had a big effect on me. I want to keep playing house shows—I’m not really big on playing a lot of bar gigs. When you play at house shows and colleges people are more enthusiastic.

TK: What’s your favorite show you’ve played?

MH: Oh, just last weekend we played a show at Rowan University. It was really crowded and super energetic. It was just cool because you could see all these kids from the suburbs who had never experienced shows like this, whereas in Philly kids are used to these kinds of shows and places.

TK: What do you love about smaller performances like that?

MH: When the energy of the band matches the energy of the room; I love when people try to sing along and know—or don’t know—the words. We play to make people happy, and if we can make people dance and sing and mosh or whatever, then we’re winning.

TK: I guess people do know your lyrics now that you’re getting more popular- you just won the “Featured Artists Poll” for The Deli Magazine, right?

MH: Yeah, that was in August.

TK: How did it feel to get publicity like that?

MH: It was satisfying, but we won the contest because my friend Josiah runs the Twitter account for Jesus M. Christ and just totally exploited it because we wanted to win.

TK: So “Jesus” was tweeting about you guys nonstop?

MH: Yeah, it was nuts.

TK: Do you guys have any other publicity tactics or—

MH: Well, actually we wanted to start a beef with someone, so we contacted Conor Oberst—

TK: Wait, wait. Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes?

MH: Yep! We emailed his agent and said, “I heard that Conor Oberst was interested in starting a beef with my band, Roof Doctor, and we would like to accept this declaration of beef.” Then I basically listed rules for the beef like, “We ain’t a dang pretty boy like him, we have no intention of making the beef personal, we will the keep it entirely professional, and since we share a similar target audience it could get really dirty.”

TK: How did that work out?

MH: We actually got an email back from his agent thanking us for contacting them but Conor “is not available for beef at this time.”

TK: That’s too funny. So earlier you mentioned you were writing new stuff—do you have a full-length album in the works?

MH: We’ve been recording in a studio in South Philly. It’s going to be called Mobile Freedom Home.

TK: How are you inspired for writing content?

MH: When Roof Doctor started, I was really just writing this stuff to write honest folk; I don’t think people put as much time into lyrics as they ought to.

TK: How does the writing process for this record compare to the writing process for your EP?

MH: We want them to pair as sister albums; Mobile Freedom Home is basically about how being sad is wrong—it’s illogical to be sad. It’s definitely more cohesive than I Am Going To Die. There’s reoccurring themes, reoccurring lyrics. I wrote I Am Going To Die when I was still in college and didn’t know what I was doing with my life. Mobile Freedom Home is more about how it feels to miss home, how it feels to be home, how it feels to lose your home.

Keep your eyes open for Mobile Freedom Home in spring, and in the meantime catch one of Roof Doctor’s two shows this weekend- tonight at The Church of the Advocate with Little Pirouettes, Mumblr, True Gold, and Candice Martello. Details for the all-ages show can be found here. Tomorrow night they will be playing at an acoustic set at 2057 East Susquehanna Ave in Fishtown with Baltimore’s Teen Suicide; details for that show can be found here. Below you can check out their performance of “Soda Jerk” and “Family: Mark Do Better” from a show in July.

http://youtu.be/72iGkN6zgEA

Laser Background

Yesterday evening, Andy Molholt of Philadelphia psych-pop group Laser Background and his longtime friend Brendan Mulvihill of the junkyard folk act Norwegian Arms moved into Dreamcastle, a house-show space in South Philadelphia. They’re living there temporarily, leading up to the kickoff show of their house show “tour” tomorrow night. The plan is an imaginative one: the band is performing four DIY spaces in Philly over the next four weeks. They have to live in each house for two days prior to the show, possibly constructing a pillow fort. They must adhere to “a strict food / drug regimen.” And they’ve got to write music, and perform the results. I grabbed drinks with Molholt and Mulvihill last week to talk about the unconventional residency series, its ambitions, and their affinity for Philly’s vibrant DIY scene.

THE KEY: Let’s sum up this mini-tour (that you’re not leaving the city for). You’re playing four house shows, and the rules are you have to stay in the house two days before playing the show, and collaborative preparational activities will take place while you’re staying there…

ANDY MOLHOLT: Collaborative preparational activities, I like that.

BRENDAN MULVIHILL: That’s really good.

AM: Make sure you put that in there.

TK: …and a song may result that you’ll perform at the show?

AM: More like a song must result.

BM: It’s a must?

AM: It’s a must! We’re good enough songwriters.

BM: We’re in this house for three days, we might as well do something.

AM: We didn’t really ever talk about if the song was going to be collaborative or not, we still have to figure that out. I thought we’d each write a song for our respective projects and perform them as our respective projects. But since I play in Norwegian Arms, and Brendan’s going to play in Laser Background for one of these shows where some of the guys can’t make it, maybe we can do that too.

BM: We’re not entirely sure what’s going to happen. It’s kind of just a big experiment. We might get into a fight. Or we might make out, that might be cool.

TK: It reminds me of the Netherfriends project where he lived in each state, had to write a song in each state. I guess that project is still ongoing. Was at all an influence on this project?

AM: If any of that factored in, it was definitely unintentional. I used to play with Netherfriends for a little bit, but I didn’t think about that. Residencies are kind of a silly idea to begin with – why would you want to go see a band in the same venue every night for four weeks straight?

BM: Not every night! “Come see us play 31 times…”

AM: [laughs] You know what I mean, though. I get that it’s good for the venue if the band’s popular enough. And you get different crowds each night because there’s different openers playing. But I just think it’s kind of silly. I thought it would funny to self-anoint our own residency at house shows. Then the actual living there idea developed, and Brendan had the idea that we had to write songs too.

BM: I mean, why not, right? Only seems natural.

AM: Brendan and I have known each other since we were 13, so these kinds of ideas come naturally.

BM: And we’re used to sleepovers.

TK: Do you anticipate that any kind of recorded collaboration – a split 7”, a split cassette, a split something – might result out of this?

AM: We were talking about a split something.

BM: Not necessarily a record. Maybe a VHS.

AM: Or a split thumb drive with two different ends of the thumb drive and different sides you plug in have different songs on them.

TK: Why do the tour at a houses? Why not a rotating venue tour, or rotating tour where you play bars on makeshift stages?

AM: Two things. I think that one thing about playing actual venues or bars is that there’s usually a radius clause where they don’t want you to play locally within a certain amount of time. And I’ve also been really wanting to play house shows for a really long time. I had this idea for years and years – “oh, we should play a ton of house shows one month.” [My old band] The Armchairs would always talk about it but it never happened. And it’s a cool thing to do! It’s a lot cheaper than seeing a regular show. It’s a lot less formal, we can have more fun, it gets more rowdy. And like, it’s a different aucience. People who either always go to those spots anyway or its in their neighborhood. There’s a lot of reasons for me to do it – it’s kind of in opposition to playing bars. Personally I just played Kung Fu Necktie, Johnny Brenda’s. So now it’s like, now I’ll take a break from all that. And then I’ve got a plan to play PhilaMOCA at the end of October and Johnny Brenda’s again.

TK: So it’s not in opposition in the sense of “screw these bar venues,” but more you’re looking to do something different?

AM: Yeah, I think it’s two sides to the same coin. If you only flip heads every time…

BM: And also, not to get lofty, but it’s a community thing. I think some people aren’t necessarily aware of some of these venues in different neighborhoods. It’s a Philadelphia-centric thing. There’s certain people that are heavily involved that do a lot of work for it. It’s a celebration of a vibrant DIY community.

AM: That’s one thing I love about Philly, there’s always people doing DIY stuff. There’s actually not that many DIY spaces now, and that was a challenge for us because we were trying specifically for places that people live at. We didn’t want to do PhilaMOCA or Little Berlin or any of the other places I book at a lot because no one lives there.

TK: As musicians who came up in the DIY scene and are still active in it, how do you keep up on what’s what?

AM: I look at where other msuicians play or have played. A lot of times these days I’ll just get invited to some weird event on Facebook, and I’ll be like “where the hell is this place?” There’s a place that popped up, I don’t know if they’re still doing shows, called The Olive Garden. It’s somewhere in South Philly, I never went to any shows there , but that name is in my head. That’s usually how I keep my ear to the ground.

BM: I think that’s the only way to keep your ear to the ground. I guess I actively seek things out, but a lot of times you’ll also randomly stumble across them.

AM: It’s weird as far as, when you’re trying to be somebody who’s trying to start doing DIY shows, how it takes a while to filter its way through the ether. For instance, I don’t know if you knew about that spot Girard Hall, 6th and Girard…it was actually pretty awesome, an old nightclub that had been shut down. I had just heard about that spot because my friends were playing there, and it turns out it was the space’s last show. PhilaMOCA was doing stuff for a year before anybody knew about it, before it gained any traction. But this whole project is definitely going to be fun! It’s definitely going to be weird. The weirdest part is going to be actually living there and interacting with the people who live in the spaces. And also constructing an ambigious couch fort.

BM: A domicile…

TK: When was the last time you constructed a couch fort?

BM: I’ve done a lean-to within the past couple years, I feel like I can apply the same techniques.

AM: The closet thing was when I slept on the roof of the ox, in the elevator shaft. That was a great place to hang out.

The Laser Background / Norwegian Arms House Show Residency 2012 begins Friday, September 14, at Dreamcastle with Jon Pfeffer of Capillary Action and Circadian Rhythms. It continues on Friday, September 21, at Double Deuce with Ghost Light and Roof Doctor; Friday, September 28 at Pi Lam with DRGN KNG and Ladies Auxiliary; and concludes on Friday, October 5, at The Ox with Thin Hymns and Son Step. More information on all four shows can be found here.