Best Of: 2017

It's already the end of the year, and not a moment too soon some would say. And while 2017 has been a difficult one in many respects, when it comes to music it has been a great year. We have seen the return of many musical heavyweights including Future Islands, Bodycount, Kendrick Lamar, and Run The Jewels (our #1 LP pick),  as well as indie favorites Scott H. Biram, Bully, and Angel Olsen (our #1 compilation pick), and of course Louisville favorites like Second Story Man, 1200, RMLLW2LLZ, Quiet Hollers, and Jaye Jayle (our #1 EP pick)! 

Disclaimer: A few years ago we heard a convincing argument by a good friend and music producer about why he declined a 'Best Of' award; the argument being that while you can quantify a 'tallest building', you can't mathematically conclude a 'Best' when it comes to personal taste; be it music, film, or any other art. But keeping with 10 years of tradition here at 37FLOOD, we have kept the title 'Best Of' but would like to express that these are only lists of our 'Favorites' and hope you enjoy them as well.   Click here to read past 37FLOOD 'Best Of' lists.

Share your Favorites  list of 2017 with us for a chance to win a Cassette & Download of the Louisville Is For Lovers Duets EP 'Little Darlin' featuring Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, The Winger Brothers, and more! Send your lists by email here. 

Favorite Albums:
20. Planetary Overdrive Self-Titled LP
19. 1200 'Séance & Spirit'
18. Quiet Hollers 'Amen Breaks' LP
17. Escape-ism (Ian Svenonius) ‘Introduction To Escape-ism’ LP
16. Bully ‘Losing’ LP
15. Watter 'History Of The Future' LP
14. Zola Jesus ‘Okovi’ LP
13. Public Service Broadcasting ‘Every Valley’ LP
12. Future Islands ‘The Far field’ LP
11. Bodycount ‘Bloodlust’LP
10. Kendrick Lamar ‘Damn’ LP
9. Wax Fang 'Victory Laps' LP
8. White Reaper 'The World's Best American Band' LP
7. L.A. Witch - S/T LP
6. RMLLW2LLZ 'Concerto No​.​9 Movement II' LP
5. Curtis Harding ‘Face Your Fear’ LP
4. Black Angels ‘Death Song’ LP
3. Scott H. Biram 'Bad Testament' LP
2. Second Story Man S/T LP
1. Run The Jewels 'Run The Jewels 3' (37FLOOD Approved!)



Favorite Cover Albums, Compilations, & Live Albums:
10. Jason Molina "The Black Sabbath Covers" 7"
9. Jim James 'Tribute To 2' LP
8. Bonnie "prince" Billy "Wolf of the Cosmos" LP
7. Silicon Valley Soundtrack LP
6. Jackie Shane 'Any Other Way' Numero Collection LP
5. The Replacements "For Sale: Live At Maxwell's 1986' LP
4. Babymetal "Legend Metal Resistance: Black Night" Live
3. John Carpenter 'Anthology: Movie Themes 1974-1998'
2. Louisville Is For Lovers Vol. 12
1. Angel Olsen 'Phases' LP (37FLOOD Approved!)



Favorite EPs & Singles:



5. Alan Poe & Beatnik Dee 'Composure' EP
4. Kendall Elijah Dynamite & House Ghost 'Sistersingles'  EP
3. The Gallery Singers "POWER TO THE POOR"
2. MC Hijack 'TRUTH CHURCH' EP
1. Jaye Jayle & Emma Ruth Rundle 'The Time Between Us' EP (37FLOOD Approved)


Favorite Reissues:
5. Louisville Is For Lovers Vol.4 Reissue
4. Louisville Is For Lovers Vol.5 Reissue
3. Saredren Wells 'Memories Are Hunting Horns' 5th Anniversary Reissue
2. Wu-Tang Clan ‎"Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)" Deluxe 7" Casebook
1. Louisville Is For Lovers Vol.3 Reissue (37FLOOD Approved)


Favorite Books/Media/Videos:
5. Clownvis Presley 'Don't Be a Bitch (Or You Won't Get Stuff for Christmas)'


4. Quiet Hollers 'Pressure'

3. Babymetal 'Legend Metal Resistance: Red Night'


2.  Hip Hop Evolution (Netflix Documentary)


 1. Erin Osmon 'Riding With The Ghost' the biography of Jason Molina (37FLOOD Approved)

Favorite Live Events:

Jesus And Mary Chain at Headliners. Photo by Kevin Ratterman

10. Forecastle
9. Cindy Wilson at Zanzabar 
8. Jesus And Mary Chain at Headliners
7. Mother Runaway at Kaiju
6. Second Story Man at Zanzabar
5. Louisville Free Public Library After Dark Music Series
(RMLLW2LLZ, Brooks Ritter, Billy Nelson, Jonathan Glenn Wood)
4. Future Islands at Mercury Ballroom
3. Jonathan Richman at Zanzabar
2. Frankie Cosmos at Zanzabar
1. Neil Diamond At Yum!

Neil Diamond at Yum! Bucket

Samuel T. Herring of Future Isands

Cindy Wilson at Zanzabar

Mother Runaway at Kaiju

Jaye Jayle with Emma Ruth Rundle at Forecastle

P.J. Harvey at Forecastle

Charles Bradley at Forecastle

Jesus and Mary Chain at Headliners

Frankie Cosmos at Zanzabar

Second Story Man Album Release Show at Zbar

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.

Preview: Louisville is for Lovers 2016

To bring a little Christmas cheer and bolster support for Louisville Is For Lovers 15 year Anniversary Crowd Funding Campaign, we are previewing "Sea of Love" by Remote Observer from the feb. 2016 Valentine's Comp! 
The Feb.5th release has over 30 Louisville bands with all exclusive tracks! Donate now to their Crowd-Funder to ensure this comp sees the light of day; Any amount is better than no amount, and donations of $5 or more will come with an exclusive LIVE album download featuring Bonnie 'prince' Billy, Jim James, and more! donations of $15 and more will get both the Live album and new 2016 comp downloads. You can pre-order the 2016 comp on vinyl as well! Pre-orders available until Dec.20th here!

louisvilleisforlovers.culturearchivist.com

Louisville Is For Lovers 15 Year Anniversary celebration & 2016 Line-Up Posted

The triumphant return of Louisville Is For Lovers massively popular Valentine's comp (annually from 2001-2010) is set to be released on Feb.5th (with showcase at Zanzabar Louisville on Feb.12th) and the 15th anniversary edition of this series is loaded with some of the city's finest bands:

Adventure,  Brother Wolves, Cereal Gylphs, Crush (with Tory Fisher & Cheyenne Mize), The Cut Family Foundation,  CZAR, The Deloreans, Eyeball (former The Mack frontman Jeff Shelton),  The Fervor, The Gallery Singers, Gritty Pearl, The Hot Wires, Houses In Motion, J. Brent Stewart,  Jaye Jayle,  Regan Layman (of Black Birds of Paradise),  Daphne Luster, Lydia Burrell, Maximón,  Pleasure Boys,  Plastic Bubble,   Quiet Hollers,  Remote Observer, Sandpaper Dolls, Second Story Man, Super Rowboat (Carrie Neumeyer of Julie of the Wolves), Tender Mercy,  Twin Limb, Twin Pigeon,  White Reaper, & The Winger Brothers.

Louisville is for Lovers has also announced plans to digitize and remaster all 10 previous editions of the Valentine's series and release one a month during 2016. All of this doesn't come cheap so they are asking for donations to help with the project via a crowdfunding campaign. Included in the campaign are options to pre-order the 2016 comp (digital and vinyl), as well as getting a download of never before released live recordings of Louisville Is For Lovers songs by artists such as Bonnie 'prince' Billy and Jim James of My Morning Jacket for a donation of just $5. for such a good cause as well as getting great albums this feels more like getting great music for a great price than mere charity:

Forecastle 2015 Photo Review

FORECASTLE 2015 PHOTO REVIEW 

Modest Mouse

Sturgill Simpson

at the Camel Tent

Cage the Elephant

Mast Stage

My Morning Jacket

MMJ

Tyler of Dr. Dundiff and Friends

Best performance of Forecastle: Jim James with Dr. Dundiff and Friends

Love at Forecastle

Ocean Stage Overpass

Ocean Stage

Funanas the Seahorse 

Beating the Heat

White Reaper with a reaper

Forecastle After-Parties

The Pass at Haymarket

Private Party at La La Land

La La Land

Saturday Night at Haymarket

The Pass

Man of the Hour Jim James on Sax

New Daniel Martin Moore album produced by Jim James

 Daniel Martin Moore has a new LP out called The Golden Age, produced by Jim James and recorded at La La Land.

Listen to and order the new album here.

John's Forecastle Day 2 Review

Saturday at Forecastle could almost have been called Crazy-fest for all the raucousness, some planned some not, that filled the entire day.
For me the day started about 2 pm when I showed up to try and sneak into The Flaming Lips press interview.. but as my Press Pass only got me into the Festival and no where else I was turned away (which I'm not complaining, compared to the big time press agents covering the Fest, it is kind enough that the Forecastle peeps even gave us a Junior Press Pass).
But shortly after this Metro Safe decided to evacuate the grounds due to threatening weather, which turned  out to be only a threat with no real punch, but better to be Metro-Safe than sorry.  The downside was that after the evacuation there were thousands and thousands of people still exposed to the elements wandering around downtown with no where to go (including the 37flood team).

displaced Forecastlers spilling into the streets during the evacuation

After an hour of evacuation and an hour of re-entering the metaphorical ship had righted it's self but with a little confusion as to what-where-who was playing and when.  But this set back was a blessing as my afternoon was freed up to catch the entire Freakwater set. The last time I saw them play was at Mercury Paw waaay back, and they haven't missed a beat. It was a great trip down memory lane, and great to know these guys (mostly girls actually) still have a following of die hard fans.

Freakwater of the WFPK stage

After freakwater was the onslaught of overlapping headliners: Jim James, The Flaming Lips, and The Black Keys all playing over top one another. with the 3 biggest names of the fest, I have no idea why these bands were not spaced out over the 3 days. on Friday I left after Big Boi ended at 9pm because the last band was The String Cheese Incident which isn't my cup of tea. (Sunday's Headliners are Avett brothers and Animal Collective, and the latter canceled).

Regardless, Jim James being the top notch performer, put on one hell of a show mixing My Morning Jacket songs with his Solo songs along with crowd favorite covers (He ended the night with Let It Be). On stage with him were Louisville favorites like Kevin Ratterman and Dave Gibbons drummer from Month Of Sundays.

Jim James Band

After Jim James wooed the crowd I caught some of the explosion that was The Flaming Lips, it would have been great to see the whole show, but when acts are scheduled on top of each other a man has to choose, and I chose Louisville natives... and I stand by it.

The Explosion that was The flaming Lips

I did see The Black Keys, which was an energetic trip across their entire catalog, which was great for folks like me who kept up with them for their first 3 records and then trailed off... They did have a second guitarist, a bassist, and a keyboard player which surprised me.   The first time I saw The White Stripes play with a bassist I was a little shocked, but playing live means bands get a chance to do things a little differently.  

Because of the evacuation the schedule was kicked back an hour which meant The Black Keys, being final band of the night, played for maybe 30 shorter than planned, but this was no ones fault.. when the city permits office says you end at midnight, you end at midnight (actually the Keys snuck past this by about 15 min..  but if they hadn't there might have been a riot). 

and that was DAY TWO!

Interview: Scott Moore of 23 String Band

37: So you guys have a new album since the last time you talked to us, Catch 23, when did that come out, how’s it being received?

Scott: It came out in Fall 2011, it’s been received really well. Really positive reviews, it’s been played on the radio all over the world, it debuted at number nine, I think, on the U.S. Folk charts. We’ve sold a lot of them. People seem to like it.

37: I gotta’ say, I’ve heard a lot of Bluegrass bands in my day, but one thing that I think is really special about your sound is that you guys have some intangible element of really hard rock n’ roll that’s kinda’ hidden in the works, How do you pull that off? Where does that come from?

Scott: Oh man. Part of it’s just the music that we all enjoy. Obviously, we all listen to really different kinds of music. To answer your question, I grew up listening to a lot of 60’s and 70’s rock n’ roll, that’s what my dad would have on the radio and I always loved that music. I grew up with that even more than Bluegrass and Folk, even though I play in a bluegrass band.

I think that’s kind of true with all the guys. Several of us have played in rock n’ roll bands over the years and we’ve all come to bluegrass in our own way. On the one hand, we’re all from Kentucky and we all love the traditional music of the region, but on the other hand we have a lot of different influences. We’re all younger guys who came of age in the 90’s and I think almost everybody who came of age in that time gets excited about rock n’ roll.

            But also from a technical perspective, we have a lot of focus on energy. Early on we’d go out to shows and play, and the one word that keeps coming back to us throughout the years no matter who we’re playing to is “energy.” So we’ve always tried to put on a good show and known that that was one of our strong suits. We like to be a little edgy, which is similar to rock n’ roll.

37: This is a really big month for you guys. You’ve got Forecastle coming up, you’ve got the Grey Fox and Bowery Electric all in the next couple weeks. Are you excited for that?

Scott: *laughs* Is Bowery Electric still on our website? We actually had to cancel that show but we are gonna’ be in New York for the first time, so that’s exciting. We’ve got a couple shows there. We’re playing at the Living Room and the Jalopy Theatre in addition to the Grey Fox Festival which is a little bit north of the city. Kinda’ upstate. So yeah, it’s exciting. We’ve had the opportunity to travel the mid-south and over to the Rockies and we usually do about two or three trips a year where we’ll take a week or two and go out on the road.

            We’ve got three guys in the band with full-time day jobs that they’ve had for a long time, a lot longer than they’ve been in this band, and another guy who’s going back to school so that makes it hard to get out on the road for any length of time. Any time we get to travel, I consider myself fortunate and I’m pretty sure everyone in the band does. Going to New York is going to be a lot of fun. I grew up outside of the city and our Bass player got his Master’s Degree in the city. So it’ll be a little bit of a homecoming for me and Marty, and none of the other guys have ever been. It’ll be exciting for everybody for different reasons, I think.

            Forecastle is obviously gonna’ be a lot of fun. I’m stoked about all the other bands on the bill. I’m stoked about all the bands that I do know and excited to see a lot of the bands that I’ve never heard of. Hopefully, I’ll come away with some new favorites.

37: That brings me right into my next question. What bands are you specifically looking forward to seeing at Forecastle?

Scott: I don’t have the bill right in front of me, but I know I’m excited about someone everyone else in the universe is excited about, which is The Black Keys. These days, they’re killin’ it. I’m looking forward to that, because I’ve never seen them before.

            Dawes is another band that I’ve never seen live, but I fell in love with their first album. I’m not as familiar with their stuff since then, I’ve heard some of it on the radio. But I’m a really big fan of their harmonies and their sound and their songwriting.

            My girlfriend turned me on to Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. I’m a fan of their lyrics and songwriting

            I’m also excited to see Old Crow Medicine Show. Obviously everybody in a sting band would be interested to see their performance, I think. They’ve helped open a lot of doors with this younger generation with this gradual movement that all of a sudden string band music and Appalachian music and just Folk music in general has kinda’ become cool. It was always cool, but people have been able to find out about it because of groups like Old Crow Medicine Show. The genre in general has benefitted from them and it’s fun to see their songs.

            Flaming Lips are always killer. I saw them when we played Forecastle 2010 and that’s when Wayne Coyne went out into the audience in that giant balloon and they had a crazy light show and all that stuff. I’ve not heard their new album, but I understand that it’s kinda’ stripped down a little bit more. Just kinda’ old fashioned rock n’ roll… as old fashioned as The Flaming Lips get. I’m really looking foreward to see what they can do without all the bells and whistles. Although that was a lot of fun too.

37: Yeah I’m really excited for them too. I’ve been a fan ever since I was an angry teenager and still haven’t got to see them yet.

Scott: Oh! I played on Jim James’ record and I got to see him and his band when they played at the Brown Theatre in Louisville and I’m looking forward to seeing how their sound has evolved. That was one of the first shows on their tour. I think they’ve come together a little bit more since then.

37: When’re you guys going on?

Scott: We will be playing at 3:30 on Saturday. 3:30 PM on the WFPK stage and we might be able to wiggle into a slightly earlier time slot and just play for longer. We’ll definitely be playing by 3:30 and it’s possible that we might start playing before then.  So I’d suggest getting there a little early and finding a nice spot in the grass to cheer us on. We’d definitely appreciate it.

37: For people coming into the city for the festival, what is your favorite place in Louisville to get a bite to eat?

Scott: Wow. Man, that’s a tough question. I’m a foodie. I love cooking and eating good food, and Louisville is… it’s almost a cliché to say it at this point, but Louisville is a great food town. Especially for its size, it’s got so many good places to eat.

            Man, that’s a tough one. That’s way tougher than any musical question you could ask me.

37: Well what’s a really good meal to have in Louisville?

Scott: I mean, you can’t go wrong with… um… can I give you three?

37: Yeah that’s fine, give me three.

Scott: I’ll just stick with downtown ‘cause Forecastle is downtown. Mayan Café… Fuck. I’ve got a soft spot for Harvest because I used to work for the owner. I worked on his organic farm for a year. Then I worked for his company called Grasshopper which helps grow good, natural food and sell it to restaurants in Louisville and elsewhere. It’s great food, great food, and a great… cause is the wrong word, but I think it’s important.

            I hate to go Latin again, but I’m a big fan of El Mundo, ‘cause they’ve got killer margaritas and the food is really good. It’s a fun vibe. It’s one of my favorite places.

37: So Mayan Café, El Mundo, and Harvest?

Scott: Sure, I’ll go with those. I could give you ten more in a heartbeat. *laughs*

                                       Note: Scott emailed me later to add: 

We partnered with Rye on Market last year and came up with the Back Porch Sessions, a four-month residency. It was a blast, and we had a great time collaborating with some very special guests too. The food was amazing. Thought Rye should probably be on that list too. (Holy Grale, Silver Dollar, Roots, Queen of Sheba, Kashmir...I could go on...)

Let me know if you need anything else. See you at Forecastle!

Cheers,

Scott

Editor's Note: Logan Nichols is an English Major at Berea College joining 37Flood for this year's coverage of the Forecastle Festival. He is very excited about this. If you see him around this weekend, feel free to say hello. He likes strangers. and most likely beer too.

Looking Back at 2010 (best Local shows of the year)

now that 2010 (and for that matter, the first decade of the 21st century) is over, we have asked several friends of 37 Flood to share with us their favorite Louisville shows and local albums of 2010, and their favorite Albums, Books, Movies, TV, and other media events of 2000-2010. Over the next few weeks we will be posting the lists, and we hope you will share your own lists with us. just leave your lists in a comment and be entered to win one of several great prizes including a copy of the new Deloreans CD "American Craze" or a copy of the limited edition Louisville is for Lovers "Anniversary" signed by featured artists. winners will be picked at the end of January.

John's favorite 2010 Louisville shows list (in chronological order):

1)NYE w/Danny Glover Cover band 12/31/09-1/1/10

2) Louisville is for Lovers 10th Anniversary showcase @ Vernon 2/13/10

3) Louisville Is For Lovers Valentine's show w/ Jim James @ Rathskeller 2/14/10

4) Wax Fang does Purple Rain @ Zanzabar 4/27/10

listen:Purple Rain

5) Damien Jurado @ 930 Listening Room 6/10/10

listen:Diamond of the Sea

6) Rock N' Roll Ballet @ New Albany Amphitheater with The Deloreans, Whistle Peak, & Louisville ballet Co. 6/17/10

7) Cougar Express, Dangerbird @ Glassworks 7/25/10

8) Scott H. Biram @ Zanzabar 8/19/10

listen:Scott H. Biram live 

9) 6th Annual Zombie Attack w/ J Glenn, Chadwick Wilde & Ok Zombie 8/29/10

10) Lucero @ Headliners 9/14/10

listen:Lucero "kiss the bottle"