Music Video: Pleasure Boys 'Some Time'

A new Music video by Allie Meyer for the song 'Some Time' by the Pleasure Boys was released this week in anticipation of the upcoming Louisville Is For Lovers 'LIFE 2016' LP (out 2/5/16), in which 'Some Time' is included, along with 30 other original tracks by Louisville artists.

 Other music videos by Allie Meyer with Louisville artists can be found here.
a music video of Remote Observer's Sea of Love, also on LIFE 2016, can be seen here.

2/2 Louisville Is For Lovers Preview Listening Party/Photo Exhibit @ Haymarket

There will be a Preview Listening Party at Haymarket Whiskey Bar on Tuesday 2/2/2016  from 6-9pm for the new Louisville Is For Lovers 2016 'LIFE' compilation LP.
There will also be a photographic exhibition of bands from Louisville Is For Lovers albums over the last 15 years taken by photographer Nik Vechery. A silent auction of the prints will go to fund Louisville Is For Lovers Releases, and 5 lucky people will walk away with a FREE advanced copy of the LP! (21+ 6-9pm. FREE). Further event info here.

Pleasure Boys photo by Nik Vechery

Quiet Hollers/Shadwick Wilde photo by Nik Vechery

White Reaper photo by Nik Vechery

Louisville Is For Lovers Valentine's Weekend @ Zanzabar

Just announced is the Louisville Is For Lovers Valentine's Weekend celebrating the 15th anniversary of the series, as well as the release of the new compilation (featuring over 30 unreleased tracks by Louisville bands including White Reaper, Twin Limb, Quiet Hollers, Lydia Burrell, The Deloreans, and more).
On Friday Feb.12th is the Album release show featuring The Hot Wires, The Gallery Singers, The Fervor, and The Cut Family Foundation followed by a 80s/90s Dance Prom at midnight with prizes for Best Dress and Best Dressed Couple. tickets $10. 21+ 8pm.
On Sunday Feb.14th is the Louisville Is For Lovers Valentine's Brunch also at Zanzabar from 11am-2pm with an Endless Brunch, Bloody Mary Bar, Cereal Bar, and music by Daphne Luster and The Winger Brothers. tickets are $15 or 2 for $25. Tickets to both events are available here.

Valentine's Weekend 

FB Event information here.

Review: Freakwater 'Scheherazade' LP

   Long standing Louisville/Chicago Neo-traditional country group Freakwater's first album in over a decade, Scheherazade, is set to be released Feb.5th.  The opening track, What The People Want, is a trek through the steepest edge of Appalachia, with the fiddles ringing low and lonesome over a banjo's strum, asking "Who's baby Are You? Alive or Dead, They Could Not tell."
   The second track, The ASP and the Albatross, is further down the country side of Freakwater's past, with equal parts Nashville and Lucinda Williams. The dark country road continues throughout  Scheherazade, with stories of treachery, darkness, and the search for redemption, with brief heartbreakers in between like Ghost Song, asking "How Long Will You Be Gone?", drenched (the way heartbreakers should be) in peddle Steel.
    This long awaited 8th album is a must for any Freakwater fan, or anyone willing to take a trip down the darkest and mysterious musical path through Kentucky to east Tennessee. 

Freakwater will be playing Zanzabar on Feb. 20th with Jaye Jayle. $15 12+

  

Louisville Tribute to David Bowie

In 2008 Louisville Is For Lovers released TRAFOZSATSFM: A Louisville Is For Lovers Tribute To Ziggy Stardust with Louisville bands covering the classic David Bowie album from start to finish; and in honor of Bowie's life and inspiration it has just been re-issued in a digitally remastered edition with bonus tracks not on the original release. For a limited time TRAFOZSATSFM will be available for free on the Louisville Is For Lovers site. Includes tracks by Wax Fang, Whistle Peak with Cheyenne Mize, The Gallery Singers At The Electric Church Of The Tambourine, Joe Manning, The Trophy Wives, The Phantom Family Halo, and many more. Happy 15th Anniversary Louisville Is For Lovers!

2/24 Kurt Vile @ Headliners

Kurt Vile's b'lieve i'm goin down... was undoubtedly one of the most acclaimed albums of 2015, and on February 24th, you will be able to hear tracks from this and his other 5 albums at Headliners.
 

Free Tix Give-A-Way: Those Darlins @ Zanzabar 1/19

Our friends, Those Darlins, from down the road in Nashville, have been playing Louisville for years, and will do so one last time on Tuesday Jan. 19th at Zanzabar for their Farewell Tour and we have 2 tix to give away! just leave a comment or send an email to louisvilleisforlovers@gmail.com by Jan. 14th. And Come out and say Fair Well to Those Darlins.

1/19 Those Darlins @ Zanzabar (for the last time)

Nashville group, Those Darlins, have been gracing Louisville for years, and will do so one last time on Tuesday Jan. 19th at Zanzabar for their Farewell Tour before hanging it up. Come out and say Fairly Well in style..

12/9 Sea Hero album Release/Farewell Show @ Zanzabar

With mixed emotions, Sea Hero is releasing their new album (vinyl/digital) at Zanzabar this Saturday, at their very last show. This is a do-not-miss event for any Sea Hero fan.
Album download here.
Show Info Here.

Call For Filmmakers: The Annual Grand Film Festival in New Albany IN

The  2016 Film Festival at The Grand in New Albany is an annual event presented by the Arts Council of Southern Indiana and looking for enteries from those from the New Albany Indiana community and the Kentuckiana region at large.
Entering its 3rd year, the festival will expand leaps and bounds with the incorporation of exclusive film premieres, celebrity panels, and award ceremonies.
For information on entering a film please visit the official website here.

Important dates to remember: January 4, 2016 Begin Submission Period
February 01, 2016 Begin Late Entry Submission Period
February 15, 2016 Submission Deadline
March 12 & 13, Festival Event Weekend

New LIVE Louisville Compilation

To kick off Louisville Is For Lovers 15th Anniversary year they have just released (on Jan. 1st 2016) a compilation album of Live recordings from Louisville Is For Lovers events and artists over the last 15 years including Bonnie 'prince' Billy, Jim James (of My Morning Jacket), The Deloreans, The Mack, Phantom Family Halo and many more; over an hour of previously unreleased recordings for only $7 here.

Best Of: 1st half of the decade (2010-1015)

Music:

Gayngs 'Relayted' 2010
One of the most imaginative ensemble albums ever created, the 22 member Gayngs  recorded 'Relayted' of the course of a year, and at the sexy 69 BPM, to incredible success, and has yet to release a follow up.

The Deloreans "American Craze" 2011

The Dynamite blast of the Deloreans 2nd LP mixes 1930s sentiment with equal parts Lounge Axe and B-52s stylized pop delivered with polished talent.   A must have for any fan of post-90s Louisville  rock. 

 The Fervor "Arise Great Warrior"  2011

Released within a month of American Craze, The Fervor's 'Arise' is a brutal and heartbreaking exploration through the choppy waters of love, that only a husband and wife group can deliver. Ben and Natalie Felker front The Fervor, with Ben's slick guitar, and Natalie's undeniably honest look into Love and Loss, through expert vocals and smooth keys. 

Death Grips "Exmilitary" 2012
The brilliantly executed 1st full length album by art-rap's damaged duo M.C. Ride &  Zach Hill is an excellent example of the anatomy of a madman's dream. It will cause you to question your entire life, and possibly reality it's self.

DMX "The Weigh In" 2012

 In 2012 DMX released 2 hard hitting LPs, the first ‘The Weigh In’ for free (in current hip-hop mixed tape style) as a prelude to ‘Undisputed’. I think both albums  are well worth any DMX fan's collection, but I keep finding myself going back to the Weigh In, as it is more gritty and with unabashed inflections that read like a prison diary that DMX was so good at in his early albums such as ‘It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot.’ It is also a  free album so nothing is stopping you.

 Bonnie "prince" Billy S/T 2013
One of the best albums entirely recorded, produced, and released by one man; and of of Will Oldham's most personal and heartbreaking works to date.



Frankie Cosmos "I'm Sorry I'm Hi Let's Go" 2013
Musician Greta Kline (AKA Frankie Cosmos) captures those awkward teen years in a musical diary as only the daughter of Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates could.

Howell Dawdy "Mixtape" 2014
From the alter-ego of Lydia Burrell (which is the alter-ego of Alex Smith) this paranoid Art-Rapper is connecting the dots and exposing international (and inter-personal) conspiracy theories so we don't have to.


Scott H. Biram "Nothin' But Blood" 2014
Texas blues One Man Band, Scott H. Biram's Nothin' But Blood album plays like a schizophrenic jukebox jumping from head on collisions  like "Alcohol Blues" with lines like "You don't love me Mamma like you say you do, You can't be my woman sucking and fucking some other motherfucker too" straight into quiet and endearing tracks like "Never Coming Home"  with lines that will break your heart like "woke up thinking my soul had flown, I thought I'd died somewhere in the night. Yes I'm still just drifting on, got nowhere to do it right." It's full on honesty meets expert blues and country picking.


Dr. Dre "Compton" 2015
Who says Dre has lost touch? this 3rd solo release (in as many decades) has just as much fire power and creativity as anything Dre has ever worked on.

Leon Bridges "Coming Home" 2015
Born Todd Bridges, and transformed into the time machine that is Leon Bridges, this record will take you into the past as well as the future.

 Printed Pop:

  Life by Keith Richards (2010) this massive and energetic autobiography by Rolling Stones founder Keith Richards is an honest and open portrayal of Life as a living god.

With Amusement for All: A History of American Popular Culture since 1830 by Leroy Ashby (2012/updated edition) is the first comprehensive look into the history of pop culture (and also confirmed my suspicions that Pop culture was indeed born right here in the Derby City).  It's a must for anyone who has ever framed a movie poster, album cover, or comic book for proud display or safe keeping.

Hip Hop Family Tree by Ed Piskor (2013) is an amazingly detailed and thought out history of Hip Hop with it's origins in Bronx, NY. Not only has Ed Piskor painstakingly drawn out this history in Graphic novel format, but has also put all of it up to view free online. I got mine in paperback format from Phantagraphics. Hip Hop Family Tree vol.1 & 2 made it onto the New York Times Best Seller list of 2013 and is a must for anyone who enjoys the mythology of rock music and it's gods.

 

Supernatural Strategies for Making a Rock 'n' Roll Group By Ian Svenonius (2013) This book  came out in 2013, and promptly changed my life. It comes from a man whose work in The Make Up changed my life, and life path, back in the 1990s. Supernatural Strategies is a sweeping look into the social significance of Rock music in society, and is truly genius. this is no surprise coming from the man who has brought us The Nation of Ulysses, Make Up, the music podcast Soft Focus, and his first book The Psychic Soviet.  I buy this book everytime I see it just so I can hand it off to someone and maybe change their life too. It should be required reading for anyone who has made the choice between  making music or keeping a job, or buying records versus saving rent money. 

Film:

  Stones In Exile Directed by Stephen Kijak(2010) The amazing and at times unbelievable story of the making of  The Rolling Stones Exile On Main Street. Follows The Stones from their UK exodus, French explosion,  and brief L.A. refuge while wrapping up recording for this magnum opus of an album.

  The Sheik  Directed by Igal Hecht (2014) The true story of Khosrow Vaziri's flight from Iran under threat of assassination to U.S. Olympic medallist, to hated WWF character The Iron Sheik, to -finally- beloved American icon.



Goodbyes:

Jason Noble 1972-2012

Jon Cook 1973 - 2013

Jason Molina 1973 - 2013

Andrew Vititoe 1982 - 2015

Visit our other 'Best of' Lists here including our Best of 2000-2010 list.