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TAS In Session: Magic Bullets

Posted 11-8-10 by , George Evans
Tags: Magic Bullets

San Francisco's Magic Bullets have no qualms about admitting their love of 70s and 80s pop, from the croon of Orange Juice's Edwyn Collins to the moodier jangle of R.E.M. and The Smiths. Magic Bullets released their self-titled sophomore album earlier this year on the new Brooklyn-based label Mon Amie and recently discussed their evolution and Erasure fixation with WFUV's George Evans.

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TAS in Session: Hey Marseilles

Posted 11-1-10 by
Tags: Hey Marseilles

Seattle septet Hey Marseilles self-released their vivacious, chamber pop debut To Travels and Trunks in December 2008. For over a year, they remained one of the Pacific Northwest's best kept secrets until this past summer when the album finally received its long-overdue national release through Onto Entertainment. Hey Marseilles toured the country, landing in New York not long ago. During a visit to The Alternate Side's Studio A, they played several songs from To Travels and Trunks,  like  "Rio," and "Gasworks," and also revealed their unexpected love of Lil Wayne.

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TAS In Session: Colour Revolt

Posted 10-25-10 by , Alisa Ali
Tags: Colour Revolt

Facing label and lineup changes, Sean Kirkpatrick and Jesse Coppenberger, founding members of Colour Revolt, took a bold step and redirected the group's trajectory. They released their latest album, The Cradle, on their own and they're even offering a free download of the album to ticket buyers on their upcoming tour, kicking off October 28. Colour Revolt dropped by The Alternate Side recently to play several tracks from The Cradle and revealed their love of very large, very soft t-shirts.

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TAS In Session: School of Seven Bells

Posted 10-18-10 by , Alisa Ali
Tags: School of Seven Bells

Major changes for School of Seven Bells last week as the trio became a duo after Claudia Deheza quit the band for "personal reasons," leaving her twin sister Alejandra Deheza and Benjamin Curtis to continue on their own.  Surprising, considering the three had told The Alternate Side's Alisa Ali during their Studio A session this past summer that Disconnect From Desire, their sophomore album, was a breakthrough, bonding experience for the band. Check out one of their last performances as a trio as they tackle "Bye Bye Bye," "I L U." and "Dust Devils."

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TAS In Session: The Postelles

Posted 10-11-10 by , Alisa Ali
Tags: Albert Hammond Jr., The Postelles

New York's retro-popsters The Postelles have been longtime friends of The Alternate Side; the quartet was on hand to play for our official launch party back in May 2009. Just recently, to mark the release of their White Night EP over the summer and their self-titled debut album which drops tomorrow, October 12, the band chatted with Alisa Ali and performed in Studio A - and even treated us to a gyrating cover of Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog."

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TAS in Session: Free Energy

Posted 10-4-10 by , Alisa Ali
Tags: Free Energy, James Murphy

Take a band with a love for old Cheap Trick and Tom Petty vinyl, add in their own raucous, exuberant energy and you've got Free Energy. The quintet released their debut album Stuck on Nothing earlier this year and will return to the New York area to play Bowery Ballroom on November 24 and Music Hall of Williamsburg on November 26. Recently, Free Energy dropped by The Alternate Side and not only revealed their admiration for sheep and old school record shops, but also played a few songs from the new album.

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TAS In Session: Chief

Posted 9-27-10 by
Tags: Chief

A Santa Monica band with roots at New York University, soulful, folk-leaning rockers Chief first broke out in the UK. They even played Glastonbury, where they signed their deal with Domino Records in the middle of that muddy festival. Just recently the quartet of vocalist/guitarist Evan Koga, bassist Mike Moonves and the brotherly team of vocalist/guitarist Danny Fujikawa and drummer Michael Fujikawa visited The Alternate Side to play four tracks from their debut album, Modern Rituals.

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TAS in Session: The Walkmen

Posted 9-20-10 by , Alisa Ali
Tags: The Walkmen

The Walkmen, who rose from the detritus of the defunct Jonathan Fire*Eater and The Recoys back in 2000, released their sixth album Lisbon earlier this month on new label Fat Possum. The quintet dropped by The Alternate Side over the summer to play a mini-concert of four tracks from Lisbon: "Angela Surf City," "Juveniles," "Woe Is Me" and "Torch Song."

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TAS in Session: Phosphorescent

Posted 9-13-10 by , Alisa Ali
Tags: Phosphorescent

Phosphorescent is one lucky band. Just  a day after they recorded this session with The Alternate Side, right before the kickoff of their six-week tour, the band's van was stolen in Brooklyn with all of their gear inside. Miraculously,  few days later it was recovered by the NYPD with nary a guitar pick missing. While Matthew Houck and his cohorts didn't play "Nothing Was Stolen" from their latest album during their Studio A session, they did roll out two other tracks from Here's To Taking It Easy, plus one oldie, "Wolves."

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TAS in Session: Hooray For Earth

Posted 9-7-10 by , Alisa Ali
Tags: Hooray For Earth, Jukebox The Ghost

Boston/New York electro-pop band "Hooray For Earth" has had a pretty good year, signing to Dovecote Records and re-releasing their EP Momo. They have also embarked on a lengthy string of tours, opening for everyone from Futureheads to Pains of Being Pure At Heart to Admiral Radley. Earlier this summer, Hooray For Earth dropped by The Alternate Side  and treated us to a Momo-centric live set.

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TAS In Session: Stornoway

Posted 8-31-10 by
Tags: Stornoway

Evolving from a Teenage Fanclub cover band to one of the most promising English groups to come out of Oxford in recent years (also home to Radiohead and Foals), Stornoway are gathering critical kudos for their eclectic debut album, Beachcomber's Windowsill. The Alternate Side's Russ Borris recently met up with the lads for a session in Studio A.

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TAS In Session: Plants and Animals

Posted 8-29-10 by , Alisa Ali
Tags: Plants and Animals

Montreal's woozy rockers Plants and Animals will play Seattle's Bumbershoot Festival this coming weekend and plan a North American tour with Frightened Rabbit in October. The trio recently visited The Alternate Side, recalled their charmed life in a Parisian studio by the Seine, and played songs from their sophomore album, La La Land.

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TAS in Session: Villagers

Posted 8-23-10 by , Rita Houston
Tags: Bob Dylan, Conor J. O'Brien, Nina Simone, Villagers

Villagers is both a band, depending on the gig, and the acoustic solo project of Dublin's Conor J. O'Brien, former member of Ireland's regrettably short-lived The Immediate. O'Brien's debut, Becoming a Jackal, dropped on Domino in June, around the time he visited WFUV and The Alternate Side to chat with Rita Houston and play an exquisite quartet of songs. Villagers, the full band version, will be touring North America in the fall with New York dates planned on November 2 (Knitting Factory) and November 3 (Mercury Lounge).

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TAS In Session: Active Child

Posted 8-16-10 by , Alisa Ali
Tags: Active Child

Active Child, the moniker of synthpop warbler and harp aficionado Pat Grossi, will head out on tour this fall with School of Seven Bells. It's a high-profile gig for Active Child, especially since Grossi just released his debut EP, Curtis Lane, in June. Not long ago Grossi and his touring bandmate Stratton Easter dropped by The Alternate Side's Studio A and very nearly performed his new EP in its entirety.

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TAS in Session: Delphic

Posted 8-9-10 by
Tags: Delphic

The mantle of hype that descends on some British acts can either be right on target (the xx) or an odd misfire (Little Boots). The UK music press has been salivating over Manchester dance rockers Delphic for good reason; the young band's first record Acolyte is one of the most accomplished, promising debuts of the year. Earlier this summer, Delphic dropped by Studio A to play "acoustic" versions of "Doubt," "Counterpoint" and "Halcyon."

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TAS in Session: Blitzen Trapper

Posted 8-2-10 by , Alisa Ali
Tags: Blitzen Trapper

Well, no one has ever said that Blitzen Trapper's frontman and songwriter Eric Earley is a loquacious guy; in fact, he ranks as one of the most laconic musicians we've ever interviewed in Studio A. However, all that Earley and his bandmates really need to say is found in the Portland, Oregon band's eloquent new album, Destroyer Of The Void. When Blitzen Trapper visited The Alternate Side, they not only performed tracks from that excellent new release, but Earley also played a new, not-yet-recorded song, "Taking It Easy Too Long."

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TAS In Session: Fyfe Dangerfield

Posted 7-26-10 by , Alisa Ali
Tags: Fyfe Dangerfield

Fyfe Dangerfield, the frontman for the Mercury Prize-nominated Guillemots, released his own solo debut, Fly Yellow Moon in January. He recently visited The Alternate Side's studio, chatted with Alisa Ali, played two of his own tracks, "Faster Than The Setting Sun" and "She Needed Me," and then totally surprised us with a Billy Joel cover.

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TAS In Session: Stars

Posted 7-19-10 by , Kara Manning
Tags: Stars

Montréal's heartbreak kids, Stars, are marking their tenth anniversary and have just released their fifth album, The Five Ghosts. The quintet (yes, they're fascinated by the number 5) have also become the proud owners of their very own label, Soft Revolution Records. The band, which is part of the extended Broken Social Scene family, dropped by Studio A not long ago to chat with WFUV's Rita Houston and they performed three songs from their new album, including "I Died So I Could Haunt You" and "Dead Hearts," plus one old favorite, "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead." Notice a theme?

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TAS In Session: The Morning Benders

Posted 7-12-10 by
Tags: The Morning Benders

The Morning Benders attracted enthusiastic attention when they released their debut album, Talking Through Tin Cans, in 2008, touring with The Kooks and Death Cab For Cutie. However, it wasn't until their second release Big Echo, which came out this past March on Rough Trade, that the band truly made its breakthrough. Not long ago, the quartet dropped by The Alternate Side's Studio A to perform "Promises," "Wet Cement," "All Day Light" and "Cold War" and they told Alisa Ali about working with Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor and where to find good Berkeley pizza

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TAS in Session: Kele

Posted 7-7-10 by
Tags: Bloc Party, Kele Okereke

Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke has temporarily traded the rougher guitar chops of his longtime band for sleeker, synth-driven dance grooves, as evidenced on his solo debut album, The Boxer. A few weeks ago, Kele dropped by The Alternate Side studios to talk with Demos and unfurl three acoustic versions of "Tenderoni," "Everything You Wanted" and "Rise."

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