I’m crying my eyes out…tears of joy that is. One of my favorite bands and bunch of boys in the world, Dry The River covered Usher’s song “Climax” in a park in Brighton while they were at the Great Escape Festival. Absolutely brilliant (and dreamy)!
xx
Yesterday was Record Store Day and my friend Cait and I had a blast! Before I get back to my new records tonight, I am currently listening to my friends radio show on 91.7 WKDU from 6-8, it’s a dance show called “Bass Is Loaded” and I love sending him songs to play. Last week I got to join him in the studio and it was a blast. You can listen now online here just click “Listen now” on the top right of the page. Yesterday was the perfect day, the sun was shining and I woke up ready to get some records. I went to my favorite record store in Philly which is also a cafe called Milkcrate. I got my favorite breakfast and was so excited to see that they got Jack White’s new album due out next week Blunderbuss in for Record Store Day. I picked that up with my breakfast, my first purchase of Record Store Day couldn’t be more perfect. I love Jack White and I couldn’t wait to get home and listen to the new album, so when I got home at the end of the day for dinner I did just that. I couldn’t help but dance the whole time, he is amazing and the new album is incredible. I must have played it in full last night at least 5 times. Cait and I then hit up two more record stores in the area, I picked up 3 cds, two Letters To Cleo albums (one of my favorite 90s bands), The best of Blondie, and two more 7″s from my checklist: The Hives “Go Right Ahead” and The White Stripes “Hand Springs”. Next, we headed to Main Street Music in Manayunk and I pick up my last purchase for the day, Dry The River’s “New Ceremony” 7″ (one of 500 in North America!). We also got to see Jesse Malin play live there! Cait and I made our way to a nearby local coffee shop and as we were there we saw absolute radio legend Pierre Robert walk in to get a coffee! I couldn’t believe it, he is such an inspiration I had to get a picture with him. It was the perfect end to a perfect Record Store Day. Soon after we left and I went home to make dinner and listen to all my new vinyl. I was super sad I couldn’t find Arctic Monkeys “R U Mine?” I was beat out by someone at both stores! But needless to say, I did pretty well otherwise!
xx
Today I am in my favorite record store in Philly, Milkcrate, starting the morning off right with some breakfast and new vinyl! Today is my favorite day of the year (besides the 4th of July) because today is Record Store Day. One day of the year set aside for us to celebrate our local record stores and all the new and special edition vinyl releases of our most loved artists. Today I am picking up an early copy of Jack White’s Blunderbuss here at Milkcrate, then I am taking my checklist and trying to get as many as I can from all the record stores in Philly. Here are some of the tracks and vinyl I am most excited to pick up. Check for your local participating Record Store Day stores here and make your own checklist of new and special releases here!
Arctic Monkeys “R U Mine?” / Domino Records / 7″ / 1340
The Hives / “Go Right Ahead” / No Fun AB / 7″ / 1800
The White Stripes / “Hand Springs” + “Red Death at 6:14″ / Third Man Records / 7″ Black and Red Swirled Vinyl
Dry The River / “New Ceremony” / RCA / 7″ Vinyl / 500 in North America!
There are so many more epic new releases I would love, it might be too hard to choose! All I know is I am excited for the free shows today at Main Street Music and new vinyl!! Not so excited about looking at my bank account after… Have a great Record Store Day everyone! Don’t forget to hug (or just thank) your favorite record store owner!
xx
Dry The River are one of my favorite bands. I was so stoked to know that they were playing in Philly the week I got back from SXSW, it made leaving my Texas music heaven a little more bearable. After hearing their debut album Shallow Bed which comes out April 17th, I could not wait to see some of my favorite songs from the album performed live. Dry The River played last Thursday night at one of my favorite venues in Philly, a bar only a mere couple blocks away called Johnny Brenda’s. One thing I swear by when going to shows is never missing the opening band, if you have never heard the opening band before, chances are they are incredible and might just be your new favorite band. Many of my favorite bands I haven’t seen before end up opening for other bands, and this was the case for Dry The River. They were opening for Bowerbirds that night, and with an early show time, I got home from work rushed to get ready and ran to the venue only to realize the show had been pushed back a couple of hours. Luckily, I had friends there waiting and we caught up while waiting for things to get started. When I went downstairs to set up camp around the stage I talked to some Bowerbirds fans who haven’t heard Dry The River before. This obviously ended with me gushing over how much I love them, how awesome I know they are going to be live, and how I can’t wait for their album to drop on April 17th so I could buy it. I think I had them convinced. Soon, my words meant nothing because where I talked, Dry The River walked. They took the stage and absolutely killed it. They had the crowd mesmerized, not a sound was heard during their quieter songs, and not a body wasn’t moving during their fast upbeat songs. My friends are used to me telling them about a lot of bands, and sometimes write me off or don’t really look into them. But I couldn’t stop smiling when looking at their faces during Dry The River’s set. I could tell that the band was leaving Philly with so many more fans, and though I love them enough for all of Philly, I couldn’t be more happy that they were building up the hype they deserved. I heard Bowerbirds fans after say, “Wow, I came for Bowerbirds, but now I feel like I can just go home. That was amazing”. I could tell they weren’t the only ones. Everyone at the show seemed to be talking about how stunning what they just saw was, including my friends. Dry The River are an incredible band to see live, not only is their music amazing, but the amount of energy they emit from on stage is endless and contagious. You can tell they absolutely love what they do, they love playing for fans (and soon to be fans), and they have so much fun playing together, it’s inspiring. I feel and hope that this is the year for Dry The River. They are such a great band and I hope that this year they get all the attention they deserve after their stellar album Shallow Bed drops in the US on the 17th. Check out more photos from the show on my gig photos page here, and check out Dry The River on tour now in the US and soon in the UK!
Dry The River Tour:
31-March Minneapolis Cedar Cultural Center
3-April Seattle, WA The Crocodile
4-April Portland, OR Doug Fir
6-April San Francisco, CA Independent
7-April Los Angeles, CA The Troubadour
8-April San Diego, CA The Casbah
11-April Austin, TX The Parish
12-April Dallas, TX The Loft
17-April Nottingham, UK Bodega Social Club
18-April Cardiff, UK Clwb Ifor Bach
19-April Manchester, UK Academy
21-April Aberdeen, UK Café Drummond
22-April Glasgow, UK King Tuts
23-April Belfast, UK Limelight
24-April Cork, Ireland Cyprus Avenue
25-April Dublin, Ireland Whelans
27-April Leeds, UK Brudenell Social Club
28-April Newcastle, UK The Cluny
30-April Bristol, UK Fleece
2-May London, UK Electric Ballroom
12-May Norwich, UK Arts Center
xx
Oh happy day!!! I am finally seeing one of my favorite bands Dry The River, not only in Philadelphia, but a few blocks from my house! Straight from SXSW Dry The River will be playing the gorgeous and intimate Johnny Brenda’s on Girard for (I can’t make this up) only $12!! One of my best friends Dylana was saying this week that she wanted to go to a show with me since she has not been to one in a while, and I told her this is the one that she can’t miss. I have been following Dry The River for some time now, and they are one of the few bands which I can say I’ve honestly loved everything I have ever heard from them. When I received their debut album Shallow Bed due out April 17th, I might as well have been a kid on Christmas morning, with pure joy and impatience as I waited for the album to download. Just I had expected, the album starts with an absolutely gorgeous intro song, “Animal Skins”. With lovely layered instrumentals, passionate vocals, and an epic sing-a-long refrain, I was in heaven. The album is glittered with songs I’ve known and loved in a perfect order and mix with equally brilliant songs I hadn’t heard from the band yet. I’d pick a favorite, but with songs like “Animal Skins”, “The Chambers & The Valves”, “Bible Belt”, “No Rest”, “Weights & Measures”, and hauntingly beautiful “Shaker Hymns”, it’s so hard to choose just one…especially because when I went to pick a favorite I just started naming every song on the album in my head. The record ends beautifully with the 12 minute and 28 seconds of the perfection that is “Lion’s Den”. Although I technically have the record, I am lining up in the nearest record store on April 17th to buy it on vinyl. Shallow Bed is an album to dream to, live to, and love to. My heart is doing cartwheels in anticipation of seeing them live tonight with the excellent Bowerbirds. Dry The River is opening so make sure you come on time, or even early. Doors are at 8pm and the show starts at 9:15. Tickets are $12 and still available for purchase here. Check out some of their music below, and if you don’t live in Philly, don’t fret! They are touring many other places too, so check out the tour dates below!
Dry The River Tour:
23-March New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
24-March Boston, NY Paradise
26-march Montreal, QC La Sala Rosa
27-March Toronto, ON The Garrison
29-March Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
31-March Minneapolis Cedar Cultural Center
3-April Seattle, WA The Crocodile
4-April Portland, OR Doug Fir
6-April San Francisco, CA Independent
7-April Los Angeles, CA The Troubadour
8-April San Diego, CA The Casbah
11-April Austin, TX The Parish
12-April Dallas, TX The Loft
17-April Nottingham, UK Bodega Social Club
18-April Cardiff, UK Clwb Ifor Bach
19-April Manchester, UK Academy
21-April Aberdeen, UK Café Drummond
22-April Glasgow, UK King Tuts
23-April Belfast, UK Limelight
24-April Cork, Ireland Cyprus Avenue
25-April Dublin, Ireland Whelans
27-April Leeds, UK Brudenell Social Club
28-April Newcastle, UK The Cluny
30-April Bristol, UK Fleece
2-May London, UK Electric Ballroom
12-May Norwich, UK Arts Center
xx
YAY! It’s March which means it’s almost April 17th, the day Dry The River release their debut album Shallow Bed through RCA Records. I seriously love everything I’ve heard from Dry The River so far, I can not wait to get their new album and see them at SXSW next week and in Philly March 22nd at Johnny Brenda’s! Check out some of their videos below including one of my favorites “The Chanbers & The Valves”! They are currently on tour so make sure you check out their schedule below and make sure you see them live.
Dry The River Tour:
Date City/State Venue
19-March Charlottesville, VA The Southern
21-March Washington, D.C. Black Cat
22-March Philadelphia Johnny Brenda’s
23-March New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
24-March Boston, NY Paradise
26-march Montreal, QC La Sala Rosa
27-March Toronto, ON The Garrison
29-March Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
31-March Minneapolis Cedar Cultural Center
3-April Seattle, WA The Crocodile
4-April Portland, OR Doug Fir
6-April San Francisco, CA Independent
7-April Los Angeles, CA The Troubadour
8-April San Diego, CA The Casbah
11-April Austin, TX The Parish
12-April Dallas, TX The Loft
17-April Nottingham, UK Bodega Social Club
18-April Cardiff, UK Clwb Ifor Bach
19-April Manchester, UK Academy
21-April Aberdeen, UK Café Drummond
22-April Glasgow, UK King Tuts
23-April Belfast, UK Limelight
24-April Cork, Ireland Cyprus Avenue
25-April Dublin, Ireland Whelans
27-April Leeds, UK Brudenell Social Club
28-April Newcastle, UK The Cluny
30-April Bristol, UK Fleece
2-May London, UK Electric Ballroom
12-May Norwich, UK Arts Center
