Whichever it is, Lohse is a very active songwriter and longtime fixture in the Philly music world, whether as a backing player / behind-the-scenes type, or the person at center stage with the 60s folk melodies and the haunting voice. This week she appeared on the new On the Hill video session series from Kettle Pot Tracks studio in Lafayette Hill. She performed two songs – “Role of Rabbits” got its first public airing and it sounds great, as does “All Around the River,” which appeared on her Key Session. Watch the videos below, and see Lohse live at Ortlieb’s Lounge on May 4th.

Lincoln, Nebraska native Joshua James performs at the Tin Angel tonight.  The folk singer is touring in support of his 2012 full-length From the Top of Willamette Mountain, an album that deals with James’s interactions with and personal thoughts on religion.  Leaving his farm in Utah to record in Oregon, the LP was co-produced by The Shins’ Richard Swift and borrowed the name of the studio for the album title.  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Isaac Russell can be found here.  Watch Joshua James’s video for “Queen of the City” below.

Acres of Diamonds play Ortlieb’s Lounge tonight.  The local outfit released the Animal Trust EP in October after recording the three songs at Miner Street Recordings with Jon Low.  The EP followed up their 2010 debut with some great post-punk / pop vibes with vocals that bring to mind Kate Bush or Kim Krans.  On their Bandcamp, Acres of Diamonds professed a desire to release three new songs every six months – we’ll be keeping an ear out for new tracks this month.  Tickets and information for the 21+ show with Bueno and the Goods can be found here.  Below, stream “Blind City” from the EP.

St. James & The Apostles will be at Johnny Brenda’s tonight.  The local acid rock trio have been hitting the stage hard over the last few months with a string of dates that included an appearance at Johnny Brenda’s in February following the band’s Key Studio Session.  The band of cousins released their Baphomet LP last year, which features the song “St. James Infirmary Blues.”  Stream and download the Key Studio Session version of that song below and check out St. James & The Apostles live tonight with The Original Sins, The GTVs and Midwestern Exposure.  Tickets and information can be found here.

• Saint James Infirmary Bluesby Saint James and the Apostles from The Key Studio SessionsDownload

Returning from an international tour with a new album to launch, The Spinto Band found a homecoming celebration waiting for them at Johnny Brenda’s Saturday night. The Wilmington group, who has been together in some form or another since 1995, packed the venue. It was clear that the show was celebrating more than the new album, Cool Cocoon – particularly when a friend of the band, Pat Finearty, introduced and heckled each band member as they came onstage.

The band’s homecoming aside, its live show reflects the amount of time its members have spent devoted to playing very upbeat music for very happy people. Between their dance moves and their cohesive, explosive presence, the fun that the fellows of The Spinto Band have while playing music is contagious. During “Na Na Na” from the new album, the audience chimed in for the titular chorus. Everyone was swept up into the performance – all the way to the folks fist-pumping in the balcony section.

Yet the most exciting aspect of Saturday night’s show was the album that the release centered on. Cool Cocoon is an unarguably good album. There are moments that sound like early Vampire Weekend, songs which recall old Rogue Wave, and on tracks like “She Don’t Want Me,” the youthful, unpredictable early 2000’s Spinto sound is revitalized. The album has received unanimously favorable reviews, even garnering praise from Pitchfork, who ranked Cool Cocoon as highly as they ranked Nice and Nicely Done back in 2005. The Spinto Band’s album release show was the stuff that indie rock dreams are made of – from the audience perspective, too.  It went neither unnoticed nor unappreciated when Thomas Hughes made a beeline for the merch table as soon as the encore ended so that he could interact directly with the audience members. Nice and nicely done, guys.

Set List
1. The Living Things
2. Summer Grof
3. Trust vs. Mistrust
4. Take It
5. Brown Boxes
6. Shake It Off
7. Later On
8. Memo
9. Look Away
10. Amy & Jen
11. Leave Yourself Alone
12. Spy vs. Spy
13. What I Love
14. Na Na Na
15. Oh Mandy
16. Direct to Helmet

Encore
1. Mountains
2. ?
3. Late

Over at Kung Fu Necktie, Arctic Splash will open for Creem Circus.  The Joey Sweeney-fronted band make soulful rock ‘n’ roll and it’s not hard to mistake Sweeney’s crooning for that of Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy.  The local outfit stopped by recently for a holiday-themed Key Studio session, during which they shared a few non winterized tracks as well – check out a great live version of “When You Say My Name” below and download the full session here.  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Naked Heroes can be found here.

Local rock band Cold Roses headline MilkBoy tonight.   Though they’re from Philly, Cold Roses sound like they’re straight out of a Texas roadhouse with their old-style country rock / blues combo.  The four-piece released their debut EP The Georgia Fugue this month and have been celebrating with a string of hometown dates, including tonight’s with Dressed Like Stolen Cars and The Rivals.  Tickets and information for the 21+ show can be found here.  Stream “Lose That Man” from the EP below.

Brooklyn blog-favorites Parquet Courts will be at Voyeur for tonight’s Making Time Valentime’s Day party.   The indie rockers released their first proper full-length Light Up Gold last summer, an effort that followed up their true debut American Specialties (released exclusively on cassette and passed over by most).  Tonight, Parquet Courts come to town with Inc. for Making Time’s Valentime’s Day show with all the Making Time regulars including DJ Dave P and Sammy Slice and special guest DJ The Crystal Ark.  Tickets and information for the 21+ show can be found here.  Below, watch a live video of Parquet Courts performing “Borrowed Time.”

Benefiting Ladyfest Philadelphia, there’s a rocking cover band show happening tonight at Cha-Cha’Razzi in South Philly.   Featuring tributes to Blondie, The Breeders, B-52s and more, all proceeds will go towards the summer festival that celebrates art, music and culture in Philadelphia.  The event will also launch DIYPHL‘s new photozine highlighting a year in local DIY shows and happenings.  More information can be found here.  Watch a video of Fauxlectrelane covering “To the East” at the Sugar Town 10th Anniversary show below.

The Key: Your new music video has been hailed as “charming” and “joyful.” How did the video come about?

Nick Krill: This video came about after Albert Birney went to the local library bought a used instructional gymnast book that had pictures for every step of each maneuver. We started scanning these pictures, not really sure what we would do with them. Eventually we had the idea to compare and contrast her gymnastic routine with someone’s breakfast routine. Albert and I ended up making the video over the course of about a week.

TK: How has your experience been touring the new album? Any favorites to play live? Is there one song from your whole discography that is, across the board, everyone’s favorite to play?

NK: Well, we haven’t toured much on this album yet, but we are about to go out on a little east coast tour next week. We just got back fro a few dates in France to promote the album, and the best show was in Toulouse. The crowd was fantastic, and the venue (Connection Cafe) was outstanding. Hmm, in terms of our favorite song to play…it seems that our favorite to play is always the newest song we’ve just learned.

TK: You’ve been all over the world and just returned this week from a tour in France. What’s it like to come back to the local scene and play here? How has your touring style and experience changed over the years?

NK: it is great to come home to our local music community.  Our home town region has such a great community of musicians and clubs and radio stations that it is really an amazing place to come home to.  Hmm, I dunno, our tour style seems to stay pretty consistent…. Just a bunch of smelly dudes in a van.

TK: You’re playing at Johnny Brenda’s this Saturday night. What’s your favorite venue to play when you’re in the area? Is there a particular place that, when first you played there, established that you had achieved a certain level of success?

NK: We love playing Johnny Brenda’s.  That venue is fantastic.  We also love Mojo Main down in Delaware (the old East End Cafe).  I think my best local venue memory is when we were first offered a concert at the Khyber years and years ago… I remember being really excited that we were finally going to play in Philadelphia.

TK: How did the recent New Yorker coverage make you guys feel? They loved your new single.

NK: It made us feel great! My mom has had a subscription to the New Yorker as long as I can remember… She’d always read it around the house when I was growing up…so it was great to forward her that review.

TK: From singles like “Oh Mandy” “Summer Grof” and “Jackhammer” (from the Slim & Slender EP) to your recent single “What I Love” and it’s cheerful music video, you have developed a reputation for creating generally upbeat music, even when your lyrics take on darker content. Reviews of your music use phrases like “pure bliss,” “playful” even “goofy.” What does it mean to you that you create “happy” music? Does The Spinto Band’s established sound ever act as a constraint to writing a different kind of music?

Thomas Hughes: I never think of our music as strictly “happy” because as you mentioned, much of its lyrical content can be quite melancholy. Perhaps we’re just more attracted to major keys than minor ones? As a band we’ve always been interested in making concise, ornamented pop music. I don’t feel any writing constraints unless maybe I wanted I wanted to make a brooding, humorless dirge.

TK: How has your music writing style changed over the years? You guys formed in 1995 as high schoolers, right? And there’s an urban legend that your inspiration back then came from lyrics that Krill’s grandfather (Roy Spinto, hence the name) wrote onto the back of a box of cracker jacks. Do you feel that you are still the same band that came together all those years ago?

TH: We’ve gone through many changes in our musical development. When we first started making music we never spent more than two hours writing and recording a song. Then we started to realize that songs could be written before they’re recorded. Then we filled up the songs with as many chords and melodic lines as possible. And recently we’ve come full circle trying to integrate the spontaneity of our early 4-track recordings into the writing process. Every step has been equally exciting.

TK: We recently ran a piece on you guys which had a ridiculously long headline due to the sheer amount of activity you have been up to lately– you had dropped a new track, announced an album sale, planned a show at JB’s, and just received that New Yorker shout out. Is it hard to balance band activity with your lives outside of the band?

TH: It can be at times. Luckily, we have five people in the group and everyone seems to have certain skill-sets that help with the division of labor.

TK: You guys seem to be very media savvy. Your Twitter feed is blowing up with sharp, complimentary fan re-tweets, you tweet for yourselves, you Instagram, you Facebook… Has social media changed the way you promote yourselves since you first started as a band? Do you feel more connected to your international fans now than you used to?

TH: The internet has always been a big part of our band, down to the first AOL-hosted Spinto Band site I made using some awful templates I had available when I was in high school. There was a picture of Bob Saget on the front page because we didn’t have any pictures of ourselves. It has always seemed like an essential part of our being so we’ve seemed to co-evolve with the technology I guess.

TK: Finally, what’s next for The Spinto Band? You have east coast and international shows scheduled through March. What will the spring bring for you guys?

TH: At the present time, we have a few shows and some festivals. Our recording studio is going to bulldozed so we should probably figure out something to do with all of the free coaches and pianos we’ve been collecting through the years.

The Spinto Band headlines Johnny Brenda’s on Saturday, February 16th. Tickets and information for their 21+ show Saturday night are available here.

4.  Carsie Blanton “Smoke Alarm” – 6,988 plays

3.  The Spinto Band “Muesli” – 8,463 plays

2.  Heyward Howkins “Sugar Sand Stitched Lip” – 10, 276 plays

1.  Swift Technique “Route One to Route One” – 13,092 plays

If you’ve enjoyed these live recordings, visit the artist links above to support the musicians in their studio and touring endeavors.

Hot off the release of their sophomore album, New York’s Freelance Whales swim into Union Transfer tonight.  The pop band that brought us the indie gem “Hannah” on 2010′s Weathervanes charmed fans again with Diluvia and the catchy lead single “Locked Out” earlier this month.  Also performing is San Francisco synth-pop band Geographer.  Tickets are $15; with each online ticket purchase you will also get a download of Diluvia in its entirety.  Go here for more information.  The doors will open at 8:00 p.m. for the all-ages show.  Below, watch a backstage/rehearsal video for “Locked Out.”

Foot-stomping Americana band Spirit Family Reunion come to The Abbey Bar at the Appalachian Brewing Company in Harrisburg tonight.  Formed in New York City, the revivalist sextet has been receiving national praise for its debut LP No Separation, a reference to the band’s communal-style shows where the line between performer and audience member is often blurred.  Tickets for tonight’s 21+ show are $7 here; doors are at 8:00 p.m.  Below, watch the band perform around Bob Boilen’s desk for an episode of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts.

XPN welcomes Donavon Frankenreiter to World Cafe Live.  Tickets are $23 here for the all-ages show.  HEad over here for tickets and information.  You can pick up tickets here.  XPN also welcomes Shemekia Copeland to the Arden Gild Hall in Arden, Deleware.  Please note that Rickie Lee Jones‘ show at The Sellersville Theater has been postponed until Monday, November 12th, and the Fountains of Wayne show World Cafe Live at The Queen in Wilmington has been canceled.

The Dead Milkmen will take the stage at Union Transfer for a Halloween show with Psychic Teens and MC Lars.  The Philadelphia-born band has been working on a new album at Miner Street Recording Studio and you can check out teaser clips on their website.  Tonight’s show is also the first in the Philadelphia Poster Guild’s lineup with a festive poster designed by Thom Lessner, which you’ll be able to pick up at the concert.  Tickets are $25 for the all-ages show and doors will open at 7:00 p.m.  Listen to some spooky vibes from the band’s recent recording sessions below.

Over at The Fire, it’s A Tribute to Halloween with members of Polar Ice Cap, The Stammer, The Best Westerns, The Extraordinaires, The Really Cooks and Dangerous Ponies.  The bands will be undercover as they perform cult favorites from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Pixies, Joy Division and more.  Tickets are $5 for the 21+ show here.  Doors will open at 8:00 p.m.  Stream Dangerous Ponies’ track “Ghost” below.

Get your Halloween hip hop on with Kuf Knotz’s BoomBox Collective at World Cafe Live.  Featuring soul singer Brian Owens, tonight’s event will have live music, dancing and a costume contest.  The party will begin at 8:00 p.m. and is free for all ages.  More information can be found here.  Meet Brian Owens in the promotional video below.

Looking for more? Visit WXPN’s Soundcloud page to download The Key Studio Sessions Vol. 1 through Vol. 4.

American descendant of Panamanian parents, Aloe Blacc grew up in Los Angeles and became invested in the California hip hop scene. He worked in troupes such as Emanon and Jazz Liberatorz, and began his solo career in 2006. He has released two LP’s that evoke his R&B style underneath his eclectic singing and rapping skills. He plays tonight at the TLA at 7 p.m. Tickets to this all ages show are $20. Below watch Aloe Blacc’s video for “I Need A Dollar”.

Philadelphians Oldermost produce beautifully-crafted melodies drizzled with soft-spoken vocals, delicate piano strokes and steady rhythmic drumming. You can listen to their EP Lose Your Mind on their bandcamp page. Their warm energy will be flowing tonight at Johnny Brenda’s, along with Capewrath and Daniel Ryan Belski. Tickets to this 21+ show are $10, grab yours here. Doors open at 8 p.m.

The Candlight Concert for Epilepsy Awareness is a concert series taking place in Pennington, NJ. It is a chance to raise funds and awareness about the effects of epilepsy. Tonight’s feature is righteous soulful singer Sharon Little. She recently released her sophomore album, Paper Doll. Catch her tonight at the concert while donating to a worthy cause at the same time. Doors are at 7 p.m., show at 8; tickets are $15. And if you can’t make it out to the show, you can stream it live on StageIt.com.

WXPN welcomes The Spring Standards CD Release Show to World Cafe Live at the Queen in Wilmington, DE. They released their double EP Yellow // Gold, and it reflects their memories of growing up as folksinger children and provides a snapshot living life today in the big city. Also playing tonight is Wilmington’s own, The Spinto Band. The show starts at 8 p.m, tickets are $18-20. Below watch The Spring Standard’s official video for “Heavy Home” off the EP.

Photo by Laura Jane Brubaker

Tonight begins the August edition of PhilaMOCA‘s music-and-film series, Tuesday Tune-Out, with Fred Knittel curating the program for the next four weeks.

Fred is near and dear to our hearts in the XPN universe – he hosts the Sunday afternoon folk music showcase Folkadelphia on XPN2, runs its corresponding studio sessions and curates a concert series around the city. Over the past year, Folkadelphia Presents has featured emerging artists Saintseneca, 200 Years, Spirit and Dust and more. He’s also a massive film buff, and we asked him to put together a guest VJ post previewing the musicians and some of the films he’ll showcase for the next four weeks. All events are at PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12th Street), start at 7:30pm and are $5.

From Fred:
I have always enjoyed attending concerts that incorporate different kinds of media or crowd involvement, so I strive to make the concerts I put on through Folkadelphia more than just music. Live music interspersed with interviews was the format for the Folkadelphia Concert Series and live radio sessions on xpn2 often are a part of recent concerts, so the chance to combine elements of local folksy music with a film screening was really appealing to me. Thanks to Eric Bressler (of PhilaMOCA and Cinedelphia) for the opportunity!

Here are a few videos to pique your interest for the August run of Tuesday Tune-Out curated by Folkadelphia at PhilaMOCA:

Tuesday 8/7:
Brandon Morsberger and Don Black (AVolcano/Ghiant) with an ’80s skateboard classic…

Packed My Bags from Brian Troy on Vimeo.

Brandon and Don performed together early on during my Folkadelphia radio show on XPN2 and literally cracked me up the entire time. Besides being amazing musicians, they are two of the funniest people and their stage chemistry borders on romantic comedy level. I recall during our hang-out on the air, we discussed working on an event that would combine music, comedy, and radio. Hopefully this Tune-Out series will get us on that path…I can’t think of anything funnier than folk music. Check out some tunes and banter from that session here.

I can’t really get into what movie we might be screening, but I can tell you that it’s an 80′s skateboard classic starring Christian Slater and this may or may not be the trailer:

We’ll also be screening the film Mystery Science Theater 3000 style! By the way, here is Don Black starring alongside a pig during this Geico commercial campaign:
Geico commercial

Tuesday 8/14:
Gretchen Lohse (of Yellow Humphrey) with The Beast Pageant

Gretchen was the first artist to agree to this series and she wasted no time telling me she wanted to screen The Beast Pageant, directed by Albert Birney and Jon Moses. I don’t want to make bold, unfounded claims here, but I’m pretty sure this movie has yet to have a Philly screening despite having serious Philly ties (Gretchen will discuss more at the event, but one thing that is obvious and Philly related is that Nick Krill of The Spinto Band recorded the movie music). In any case, I get some major Eraserhead vibes from this one, which is quite welcome at PhilaMOCA.

The Beast Pageant – Trailer from Albert Birney on Vimeo.

I love Gretchen and her band Yellow Humphrey, so I’m glad she’s able to perform in this series. We also have a long history as Yellow Humphrey also appeared on Folkadelphia radio back in the day (here‘s tweet proof!) in June 2011. She also wrote me a kind-of theme song for my radio show! If you haven’t heard Yellow Humphrey, stop by their Bandcamp page.

Tuesday 8/21
Hezekiah Jones with a film screening

Raph Cutrufello of Hezekiah Jones was another person who jumped at the opportunity to combine a set of music with a film screening. Hezekiah Jones is no stranger to the juxtaposition of film and music; they wrote their Shaking Through series song “Borrowed Heart” to a scene from Bride of Frankenstein. Check out the whole session here. I want to use this space to thank Raph for letting me use his band and music as a guinea pig for concert ideas that I have, first with the Folkadelphia Concert Series and now with the Tuesday Tune-Out Series

Tuesday 8/28
Emily Arin with a film screening

SKIPSTER | EMILY ARIN PT. 1 from SKIPSTER on Vimeo.

Emily Arin is not originally from Philadelphia, nor did college or a job bring her out here. Instead it was her positive musical experience recording her debut record Patch of Land, with Jon Low and Brian McTear at Miner Street Recordings and with Greg Weeks (of the Espers) at his Hexham Head Studio, that compelled her to make a change from her upstate New York home. Emily and I quickly became friends after she appeared on my radio show for a session, and since then we’ve often enjoyed participating in late night amateur critiques of films over a beer or two. Emily is as much of a film freak as me, so I can’t wait reveal what she chooses for the series! You’ll have to attend to find out!

Here are the Facebook events for each Tuesday:
Brandon Morsberger and Don Black
Gretchen Lohse
Hezekiah Jones
Emily Arin

Tonight marks the opening of Grimace Federation and Sonkin‘s bi-weekly residence at Kung Fu Necktie entitled “Popular Science”. They will play with different musicians at each show; tonight includes Starkey b2b Dev79 and The Range. The next few dates include August 1, 15, and 29th. Grimace Federation recently played with Work Drugs, opening for Battles at the TLA and will be opening for Circa Survive at Union Transfer on August 25th. Tickets to tonight’s 21+ show are $8. Doors open at 8pm.

The psychedelic rock band from Brooklyn, Here We Go Magic play tonight at Johnny Brenda’s. The frontman, Luke Temple was previously a solo act and has since expanded it to a full band. They have toured with bigger acts such as The Walkmen, Grizzly Bear, and Broken Social Scene. Tonight, they play with The Spinto Band, who also held a weekly residency at Kung Fu Necktie during the month of May. Tickets to tonight’s 21+ show are $12, the set begins at 9:15pm.

The Americana folk rock group Hallelujah the Hills play with Wailbone, Nicotine and Brown, and Frank Cervantes at North Star Bar. This 21+ show costs $8 and begins at 8pm.

UPDATE 07/12: The Spinto Band was recently added as a support act for Here We Go Magic’s appearance at Johnny Brenda’s next Wednesday July 18. Tickets and information on that show can be found here.

We’re super excited this week at The Key Studio Sessions to bring you the first public recordings of new Philadelphia rock trio Purples. Who is this band, you ask? If you were a fan of the local music scene in the mid-aughts, you probably already know them – even if you don’t realize it. Purples is three-fourths of the locally- and nationally-acclaimed indie rock band The Teeth: Peter MoDavis on bass and vocals, Brian Ashby on guitar and vocals and Jonas Oesterele on drums and synthesizer. They’re a rough and tumble power trio take on their old group’s clever and melodic harmony-pop: think Harry Nilsson, filtered through Hüsker Dü. Below, listen to the music; above, check out a photo slideshow courtesy of Bands in the Backyard’s David Kain. To watch a video of the session, head over to BITBY.tv. Want more? Purples plays Johnny Brenda’s this Friday night with Auctioneer and North Highlands.

• Goodnightby Purples from The Key Studio Sessions, May 30, 2012Download

• On the Cloudsby Purples from The Key Studio Sessions, May 30, 2012Download

• Variationsby Purples from The Key Studio Sessions, May 30, 2012Download

• Small Songby Purples from The Key Studio Sessions, May 30, 2012Download

• Dragonsby Purples from The Key Studio Sessions, May 30, 2012Download

• Goodnight Part 2by Purples from The Key Studio Sessions, May 30, 2012Download

• Holidayby Purples from The Key Studio Sessions, May 30, 2012Download

• Goodnight Part 2 (Reprise)by Purples from The Key Studio Sessions, May 30, 2012Download

The Spinto Band has compiled a free sampler of the bands playing the Kung Fu Necktie shows, which you can download here. The band recently stopped by the XPN studios to record a Key Studio Session, which you can listen to here.

The Menzingers

Next Monday, May 28th, XPN2‘s Eric Schuman will be reaching into the archives to play interviews and performances by bands (both local and out-of-town) who have recently appeared in the studios. The full lineup can be found below:

Noon – The Spinto Band
1 p.m. Stevie Jackson
2 p.m. Hop Along
3 p.m. The Menzingers
4 p.m. Zammuto
5 p.m. Chill Moody

This week, The Spinto Band released its first full-length record in three-and-a-half years. The wait might have been long since 2008′s Moonwink, but truly it was time well spent, since The Shy Pursuit might just be the Wilmington indiepop five-piece’s strongest and most mature showing. The songwriting is sharp, clever and sophisticated; frontman Nick Krill hits melodic highs reminiscent of David Byrne, while bassist Thomas Hughes and guitarist Joe Hobson contribute songs that explore jazzy meters and classic crooner melodies with a psychedelic twist. The band is about to settle into a month-long residency at Kungfu Necktie featuring some of the strongest lineups of local talent this spring (May 8 features a solo set by Alec Ounsworth, and a performance by Purples, which features former members of 00′s Philly indierock faves The Teeth). While those shows are bound to be done up full-band rock-out style, the most refreshing thing about this new batch of songs is how well they are rearranged in new and interesting manners – just like The Spintos did for the Key Studio Session you can download below.

• The Living Thingsfrom The Key Studio Sessions, May 2, 2012Download

• Mueslifrom The Key Studio Sessions, May 2, 2012Download

• Cookie Fallsfrom The Key Studio Sessions, May 2, 2012Download

• Leave Yourself Alonefrom The Key Studio Sessions, May 2, 2012Download

WXPN Welcomes The Spinto Band May residency at Kung Fu Necktie every Tuesday in May starting next Tuesday, May 8th. Today, The Spinto Band release their new album Shy Pursuit and next week they begin their month long residency celebration with some incredible opening bands for each show. On May 8th Purples and Alec Ounsworth open; Nightlands and Via Audio open on Tuesday, May 15th; The Extraordinaires and Heyward Howkins have the honors on Tuesday, May 22nd and Cheers Elephant and Langor open the final show of the residency on May 28th. Go here for tickets and more information about the shows. The Spinto Band have compiled a free sampler of the bands playing the Kung Fu Necktie shows that you can download here. The band recently stopped by the XPN studios to record a Key Studio Session. You can download a sneak preview of it here.

Photo by Kate Bracaglia

On Tuesday, Wilmington’s premier indie-poppers The Spinto Band will release its latest full-length record, The Shy Pursuit. To say we’re excited about it over here at The Key would be a massive understatement. The record is an excitable, energetic collection of eclectic pop songcraft that is more than worth the wait since the band’s last release, 2008′s Moonwink. Last night, the Spintos stopped by WXPN to record a pared-down, in-the-round Key Studio Session that we’ll release next Wednesday. (For those keeping score, that’s the day after the album drops, and the week before the band launches its month-long residency at Kung Fu Necktie.) Today, we’ve got a sneak preview of the session, “Muesli,” a peppy number with a swinging mariachi vibe that has me picturing singer Nick Krill strutting the highway in Baja California. Download the track below, and check back on Wednesday, May 2 to hear the entire session.

• Muesliby The Spinto Band from The Key Studio Sessions, May 2, 2012Download

05.03.12 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Rock Shop
05.05.12 – Rehoboth, DE @ Dogfish Head Brewery
05.08.12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kungfu Necktie
05.10.12 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Rock Shop
05.15.12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kungfu Necktie
05.17.12 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Rock Shop
05.22.12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kungfu Necktie
05.24.12 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Rock Shop
05.29.12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kungfu Necktie

[BITBY AUSTIN - THE SPINTO BAND] from BITBY on Vimeo.

Last night, Philadelphia’s SoFAR Sounds chapter welcomed Wilmington indie-poppers The Spinto Band, London folk-rockers The Brute Chorus and Philadelphia poet K.P. Brown to a living room in Olde Kensington. This is the third installment of the new house concert series – which has previously featured sets from The Lawsuits, Peasant, Alessi’s Ark, Lightning Jar, The Spinning Leaves, Hezekiah Jones and spoken word artist Ms. Wise. The night drew a bustling crowd, both players in the Philly music scene (ubiquitous hip-hop artist Kuf Knotz and North Star Bar programmer Andrew Miller were in attendance) as well as curious music fans. But the very act of calling it a “house concert” might be selling SoFAR (Songs From a Room) short. Performances were streamed live on the internet, and documented by a video crew for an archive on the London-based organization’s central website. The operating philosophy is unconventional as well. It doesn’t actively advertise; you have to like its Facebook page to find out the date and time of the next event, RSVP for the location, and typically don’t know who’s performing until you arrive. Victor Gennaro of Philadelphia rock outfit Mountjoy was the evening’s MC (it was his house the crowd was filing into) and while he got the show underway, The Key spoke with Carolyn Lederach, regional coordinator of SoFAR, about the program’s underground approach to supporting artists…in between pauses for her to answer the front door and ask new arrivals to make themselves at home.

The Key: How were you introduced to the SoFAR Sounds series and what inspired you to bring it to Philly?
Carolyn Lederach: I have a friend, Rebecca Pierce, who’s really involved in music. She knew [SoFAR] was trying to start a branch here in Philadelphia, so she just got me in touch with them and it worked out. This is like the 15th city they’ve started it in.

TK: What other cities have it?
CL: It started in London. Here in the U.S., they have it in Dallas, L.A., New York, Minneapolis, and there’s ones in Europe and India too.

TK: Have you gone to any of the other cities, the London one?
CL: I have not. I’ve been meaning to go to the New York one, so one day soon. We actually did get help from the MCs up in New York, they came down here and gave us a hand starting things. This is actually our first solo run at it.

TK: When you’re programming each event, what do you look for in the musicians as well as the spoken word artists?
CL: We pretty much just look for something different, we try to mix everything to get a different genre and feel for every night. You have upbeat things, and you try to think about what would sound good in an intimate acoustic room. So obviously the artists would have to be able to strip down the music in some way, and still be fun and interactive. SoFAR has had different artists who use loop pedals and some electronica kind of stuff too. They’ve kind of tried all different things throughout the network.

TK: Do you choose the artists personally, or is it more of a committee?
CL: Everyone does a little bit of everything. Everyone in all the different cities will maybe hear a band and then suggest it because they might be [touring] in a different area. So for example, the girl who runs things in L.A. sent us some suggestions of bands she thought of, and bands will submit things. There’s word-of-mouth, or someone will see a band open for someone else. So it’s a bunch of things really.

TK: How do you find the houses you use as venues?
CL: Well, this is actually the second time we’ve been at Victor’s place. The first one was at Victor’s too; we found it because The Lawsuits [who played that show] were trying to help us find a spot. We had a couple people at the last one come forward with interest in opening up their place. I guess it’s all kind of word of mouth too, different people hear about it and think it sounds like a cool opportunity.

TK: There are a lot of similar DIY shows, house show operations, things of that nature going on in Philly. What do you feel sets SoFAR apart?
CL: Because it’s the global community of SoFAR, it’s beyond this one night. They usually have a live stream set up – we have the computer set up now to run the stream of the show online so people can log in anywhere and listen to it. And then we have the videographers and photographers and stuff, and those videos and photos will be sent around online to the SoFAR sites. So everyone kind of gets a feel for it.

TK: I think it’s interesting that you don’t really announce who’s performing; people who show up don’t necessarily know who they’re going to see. Why is that?
CL: That’s a good question! It’s about the musical community, and sometimes you have bigger artists come through, and you don’t want the huge crowd to come just for them. You want someone to come and appreciate the music itself, as opposed to just one artist. You want someone to sit down and just enjoy the whole night and not really care who’s playing. Or trust the SoFAR experience that we’re going to provide a great group of music.

TK: If you were to sum up the overall goal of SoFAR, how would you do it?
CL: The whole SoFAR thing started with the ideals of bring musicians out of clubs, where people might not really respect them as much. You pay to get into a show and you might be standing there trying to listen to your favorite band and the group next to you is talking, or on their phone. It’s about bringing music out of that medium and into this intimate setting where you have people sitting and collectively listening to what’s there.

PREVIOUSLY: Watch a video from new Philly house concert series SoFAR, featuring The Spinning Joneses and Ms. Wise.