Posts
3 days ago
Saturday, March 28, 2009
The Fresno Undercurrent...
" Shoegaze rock (haven't heard of it? Look it up!) and psychedelic rock will be in full effect on this otherwise sleepy Sunday night in Fresno. Levator returns to Fresno after a great 2008 show to give Fresno a second change to hear why the Northwest has a unique handle on these genres. Levator, touring in support of a brand-spankin' new record, promises to please."
Monday...
I'm really excited that we'll be playing a brand new song on Monday. It doesn't even have a name yet! Well, that's not true,.. it has approximately 7 names.
hahaha
sky
hahaha
sky
SodaPop's Marco Giorcelli reviews TBWCAN
Recentemente qualcuno lo ha definito dreamcore: un fumoso intruglio di loops, onirico shoegaze ed eteree santità di sapore Cocteau Twins (Treasure ovviamente!). I mantra che ne scaturiscono sono interessanti ed è inevitabile rimanerne sedotti, come del resto di qualsiasi cibo eccessivamente speziato o zuccheroso! Il rischio è che tal abuso di incenso e miele alla lunga sgogni. Il recente risveglio di un certo fragore noise (siamo finalmente al recupero dei novanta!) mi porta a pensare che, invece, questa forma di minimalismo, dignitoso e ben costruito, conduca principalmente ad una sorta di assopimento sensoriale. Le dichiarazioni d'intenti della bella Sky Lynn (chitarra e voce) riportano alla luce vecchi bauli (cito esplicitamente) di fotografie in bianco e nero dove i ricordi, appena percepibili nei frammenti più profondi della memoria, evocano nostalgie reali (ed indotte). Insomma, benchè provenga da Seattle, la band, ormai al terzo LP, viaggia a mani giunte con il pendolino al centro alla ricerca di fantasmi e premonizioni di una non ben definita mente collettiva. L'unica osservazione che mi sembra di dover sottolineare è che navigando entro tali suggestioni il pericolo è proprio quello di isolarsi completamente dal mondo circostante che, inutile dirlo, ha quotidianamente bisogno di materia e sostanza. Non me ne vogliano gli eterni sognatori.
English Translation via free webiste:
Recently someone it defined it dreamcore: a smoky concoction of loops, dreamlike shoegaze and ethereal sanctity of taste Cocteau Twins (Treasure obviously!). The mantra that spring I am interesting of it and is inevitable to remain seduced it, like besides of any food ecessively speziato or sweet! The risk is that tal I abuse of incense and honey to the long sgogni. The recent one I awaken of a certain roar noise (we are finally to the I recover of ninety!) carries to think myself that, instead, this shape of minimalismo, decorous and quite built, conduca mainly to a sensory sort of drowsiness. The declarations of you institute of the attractive Sky Lynn (guitar and voice) restore to the old light trunks (I cite unequivocally) of black and white photographs where the memories, just percepibili in the deepest fragments of the memory, evoke real nostalgia (and armatures). Well, benchè comes from Seattle, the band, now to the third LP, travels to hands arrived with the commuters to the center to the search for phantoms and premonitions of a not quite definite collective mind. The sole observation that seems me of dover to underline is that sailing within such suggestions the danger is actual that of to isolate itself completely from the neighboring world that, useless to say it, has daily need of matter and substance. Me not they the eternal dreamers may want of it.
Click here to view Original Site.
English Translation via free webiste:
Recently someone it defined it dreamcore: a smoky concoction of loops, dreamlike shoegaze and ethereal sanctity of taste Cocteau Twins (Treasure obviously!). The mantra that spring I am interesting of it and is inevitable to remain seduced it, like besides of any food ecessively speziato or sweet! The risk is that tal I abuse of incense and honey to the long sgogni. The recent one I awaken of a certain roar noise (we are finally to the I recover of ninety!) carries to think myself that, instead, this shape of minimalismo, decorous and quite built, conduca mainly to a sensory sort of drowsiness. The declarations of you institute of the attractive Sky Lynn (guitar and voice) restore to the old light trunks (I cite unequivocally) of black and white photographs where the memories, just percepibili in the deepest fragments of the memory, evoke real nostalgia (and armatures). Well, benchè comes from Seattle, the band, now to the third LP, travels to hands arrived with the commuters to the center to the search for phantoms and premonitions of a not quite definite collective mind. The sole observation that seems me of dover to underline is that sailing within such suggestions the danger is actual that of to isolate itself completely from the neighboring world that, useless to say it, has daily need of matter and substance. Me not they the eternal dreamers may want of it.
Click here to view Original Site.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Friends On The Road
The Fling (Long Beach) will play The Comet on March 30th 2009 to celebrate the release of a new EP 7" Out Of My Head!
Electric Children (Echo Park) were a blast to have in town, our 3rd show together in a month!
Electric Children (Echo Park) were a blast to have in town, our 3rd show together in a month!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Synthesis' Arielle Mullen Interviews Levator
Levator - Cosmic Pop From Seattle 2/17/09
Hailing from Seattle, Washington, Levator is a three-piece band, consisting of vocalist Sky Lynn, Rando Skrasek (drums, effects, synth) and Nate Henry (tenor saxophone, effects, keyboards). Levator’s music, comparable to Morphine, Sonic Youth and Mazzy Star, has an almost tranquilizing effect, with Lynn’s silvery voice sounding almost haunting at times. Working with a plethora of vintage effects pedals and creating live loops on the spot, the band meshes together seamlessly, and commands absolute attention in the most wonderful and unexpected way. This will be Levator's third trip to Chico (they played first at CRUX and most recently Café Coda), and they're out to promote their newest self-released album, The Biggest Waves Come Out At Night. The West Coast tour has quite a few stops near Chico, so I highly recommend checking out nearby shows if you find yourself a Levator fan after February 21st (which you will be). Synthesis was lucky enough to speak with the group regarding life on the road, their newest album and the upcoming show.
I read on your website (levatormusic.com) that you were once driving through Klamath, California, home of the 50 ft tall Paul Bunyan, and had a very traumatizing experience. The head of "Babe" the big blue ox who sits beside Paul Bunyan had suffered an unknown mishap and his head had fallen off. I thought it might interest you to know that in 1946, when Bunyan was still made of paper mache, his head melted and caved in. So as a band that’s done a lot of touring, what are some of the strangest things you've seen while on the road?
Rando: I remember looking out the window of the van and watching a semi rear-end a dominos pizza car.
Nate: Drunken maniac finds plank and smashes front window in because he can't get any more booze.
Sky: Paul Bunyan was originally made out of paper mache?! That's crazy! It's not really the strangest but the other day I was walking down this little old road and thought I saw a baby coyote. I then realized it was hopping! I've never seen tall and long wild rabbit like that before.
As a band, you deal with a lot of effects pedals. Is it hard sometimes to play along with loop samples in live situations? I would imagine that sometimes things might go awry. How do you all recover when something goes wrong?
Nate: I just shut up and start listening ‘cause obviously I haven't been listening very well if I missed the loop.
Rando: Beat stretching, that's what they call that. It's an industry term. Hahaha.
Sky: I imagine playing with prerecorded loops would be more difficult, but we create ours live on the spot so they feel more natural. Like if we're feeling a little spunky or slow that night, the loop reflects that. Oh, yeah, ha! Stuff goes wrong…er, I should say different sometimes. Like the other night, I started a vocal loop and missed the button, so we'll just play that part a little longer till I get all the layers in there or we'll do a certain thing that queues each other for the change.
I've seen you live in Chico twice, and I've noticed you have a lot of vintage pedals, guitars and amps. Why do you prefer using vintage instruments? Is there a specific store or Web site that you get most of your vintage equipment from?
Nate: It's not vintage, it's just rusty.
Rando: I suppose it's a matter of character or color that is unique. The analog synthesizer is more versatile for unique sounds.
Sky: Personality would be a huge part of it. It sounds a bit weird, but I'd rather carry around a few pedals that weigh a lot and are very specific then have a very small portable and convenient multi-effects processor. The old stuff just seems to be a little more personal. There is a store in North Seattle called Guitarville. I love that place. My amp went out on me a couple days before tour which was really scary, but they fixed it up and I had it back a day early and it sounds better than ever.
I've tagged along on a few tours with friends, and it seems like after all the nameless cheap hotels, it's so wonderful to have folks on the road who offer up their homes for a night or two. You seem to do mostly West Coast touring—is there anybody along the coast who you particularly enjoy staying with?
Rando and Nate: Yeah we've had lots of good friends along the way that we've stayed with, but this time we have an RV so we've been inviting them over for pizza parties!
Sky: I think we've only splurged on a hotel room a couple times in the past, but we've made so many awesome friends that have shown us an amazing amount of hospitality along the way that we would end up sleeping in the van only a couple times each tour. There's a man in Sacramento by the name of Eric who deserves the trophy though. The first time we rolled through town he invited us over and had all this take-out food waiting. And we didn't even know him yet! But over time it's fun watching the relationships grow with people you only see a couple days a year.
Is there anything you want fans to know in particular about The Biggest Waves Come Out At Night? We’re really looking forward to this upcoming show in Chico.
Rando: I'm glad you look forward to the live show because this new record is a product of touring and how the songs have grown in that process.
Sky: We always look forward to playing at Café Coda when we're in Chico. Venues take a huge chance on bands the first time around so I think it's really important to keep playing the same places and build that relationship. Bands need venues and venues need bands so it's always nice when you find a place that has a personal feel to things. People you can actually have a conversation with and relate to, rather than just all business. This new record was so much fun to make. It was a real collaboration from start to end. I think we are all really happy with how it came out too, which is really important.
Click here to view the real thing.
Hailing from Seattle, Washington, Levator is a three-piece band, consisting of vocalist Sky Lynn, Rando Skrasek (drums, effects, synth) and Nate Henry (tenor saxophone, effects, keyboards). Levator’s music, comparable to Morphine, Sonic Youth and Mazzy Star, has an almost tranquilizing effect, with Lynn’s silvery voice sounding almost haunting at times. Working with a plethora of vintage effects pedals and creating live loops on the spot, the band meshes together seamlessly, and commands absolute attention in the most wonderful and unexpected way. This will be Levator's third trip to Chico (they played first at CRUX and most recently Café Coda), and they're out to promote their newest self-released album, The Biggest Waves Come Out At Night. The West Coast tour has quite a few stops near Chico, so I highly recommend checking out nearby shows if you find yourself a Levator fan after February 21st (which you will be). Synthesis was lucky enough to speak with the group regarding life on the road, their newest album and the upcoming show.
I read on your website (levatormusic.com) that you were once driving through Klamath, California, home of the 50 ft tall Paul Bunyan, and had a very traumatizing experience. The head of "Babe" the big blue ox who sits beside Paul Bunyan had suffered an unknown mishap and his head had fallen off. I thought it might interest you to know that in 1946, when Bunyan was still made of paper mache, his head melted and caved in. So as a band that’s done a lot of touring, what are some of the strangest things you've seen while on the road?
Rando: I remember looking out the window of the van and watching a semi rear-end a dominos pizza car.
Nate: Drunken maniac finds plank and smashes front window in because he can't get any more booze.
Sky: Paul Bunyan was originally made out of paper mache?! That's crazy! It's not really the strangest but the other day I was walking down this little old road and thought I saw a baby coyote. I then realized it was hopping! I've never seen tall and long wild rabbit like that before.
As a band, you deal with a lot of effects pedals. Is it hard sometimes to play along with loop samples in live situations? I would imagine that sometimes things might go awry. How do you all recover when something goes wrong?
Nate: I just shut up and start listening ‘cause obviously I haven't been listening very well if I missed the loop.
Rando: Beat stretching, that's what they call that. It's an industry term. Hahaha.
Sky: I imagine playing with prerecorded loops would be more difficult, but we create ours live on the spot so they feel more natural. Like if we're feeling a little spunky or slow that night, the loop reflects that. Oh, yeah, ha! Stuff goes wrong…er, I should say different sometimes. Like the other night, I started a vocal loop and missed the button, so we'll just play that part a little longer till I get all the layers in there or we'll do a certain thing that queues each other for the change.
I've seen you live in Chico twice, and I've noticed you have a lot of vintage pedals, guitars and amps. Why do you prefer using vintage instruments? Is there a specific store or Web site that you get most of your vintage equipment from?
Nate: It's not vintage, it's just rusty.
Rando: I suppose it's a matter of character or color that is unique. The analog synthesizer is more versatile for unique sounds.
Sky: Personality would be a huge part of it. It sounds a bit weird, but I'd rather carry around a few pedals that weigh a lot and are very specific then have a very small portable and convenient multi-effects processor. The old stuff just seems to be a little more personal. There is a store in North Seattle called Guitarville. I love that place. My amp went out on me a couple days before tour which was really scary, but they fixed it up and I had it back a day early and it sounds better than ever.
I've tagged along on a few tours with friends, and it seems like after all the nameless cheap hotels, it's so wonderful to have folks on the road who offer up their homes for a night or two. You seem to do mostly West Coast touring—is there anybody along the coast who you particularly enjoy staying with?
Rando and Nate: Yeah we've had lots of good friends along the way that we've stayed with, but this time we have an RV so we've been inviting them over for pizza parties!
Sky: I think we've only splurged on a hotel room a couple times in the past, but we've made so many awesome friends that have shown us an amazing amount of hospitality along the way that we would end up sleeping in the van only a couple times each tour. There's a man in Sacramento by the name of Eric who deserves the trophy though. The first time we rolled through town he invited us over and had all this take-out food waiting. And we didn't even know him yet! But over time it's fun watching the relationships grow with people you only see a couple days a year.
Is there anything you want fans to know in particular about The Biggest Waves Come Out At Night? We’re really looking forward to this upcoming show in Chico.
Rando: I'm glad you look forward to the live show because this new record is a product of touring and how the songs have grown in that process.
Sky: We always look forward to playing at Café Coda when we're in Chico. Venues take a huge chance on bands the first time around so I think it's really important to keep playing the same places and build that relationship. Bands need venues and venues need bands so it's always nice when you find a place that has a personal feel to things. People you can actually have a conversation with and relate to, rather than just all business. This new record was so much fun to make. It was a real collaboration from start to end. I think we are all really happy with how it came out too, which is really important.
Click here to view the real thing.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
San Diego City Beat picks our show!
Levator, Roxy Jones @ Soda Bar. Seattle’s Levator are rocking so much Cocteau Twins in the tour van that they seem to have decoded Liz Fraser’s elfin ramblings and translated them into English.
Click here for actual site.
Click here for actual site.
Collected Sounds' Anna Maria Stjarnell reviews TBWCAN
Levator is fronted by singer/multi-instrumentalist Sky Lynn complimented by Rando Skrasek and Nate Henry.
This is their third album of dreamy yet distorted music.
12:34 sounds like P.J Harvey fronting Morphine, all saxophone and waling vocals. The band captures a late night mood here.
Bruises is shoegaze gone jazz as waves of sound wash over Nate Henry’s sax and Lynn’s angelic singing.
Dark Hair is ghostly and fluid, Lynn’s gorgeous vocals supported by a lovely melody.
Mocking Bird edges into harder territory, and must be a live favorite. The squall of noise is woven into the bands dynamic sound well.
This album is just wondrous.
Click here to view the actual site.
This is their third album of dreamy yet distorted music.
12:34 sounds like P.J Harvey fronting Morphine, all saxophone and waling vocals. The band captures a late night mood here.
Bruises is shoegaze gone jazz as waves of sound wash over Nate Henry’s sax and Lynn’s angelic singing.
Dark Hair is ghostly and fluid, Lynn’s gorgeous vocals supported by a lovely melody.
Mocking Bird edges into harder territory, and must be a live favorite. The squall of noise is woven into the bands dynamic sound well.
This album is just wondrous.
Click here to view the actual site.
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