The Love Dimension is an ever expanding sacred psychedelic music group from San Francisco

 

 

http://babysue.com/2012-Oct-LMNOP-Reviews.html#anchor379949

The Love Dimension - Forget The Remember (CD, Warrior Monk, Pop)
To quote directly from the band's web site: "The Love Dimension is an ever expanding sacred psychedelic music group from San Francisco (Originally from the lost city of Atlantis) that creates sonic architecture for the benefit of all sentient beings across the multi-verse. The Love Dimension is currently using their musical sound waves to open up hearts and spread the vibration of love on Planet Earth to assist in the quantum shift of the collective consciousness of humanity." Right about now you may be thinking you're in another decade...or century...but fear not, the year is still 2012. But the folks in The Love Dimension are bringing back ideals and values that will definitely remind folks of the progressive 1960s when it was all about peace and love. That said, this band's songs are more current and lighthearted than you might guess. The tracks on Forget The Remember are more pop than rock...and more about moving feet than moving mountains. Pretty cool sounding stuff here. Our favorite cuts include "True Love Comes 'Round Again," "Where Do We Go?", "Tierra Nueva," and "Outer Space."

The Love Dimension (Warrior Monk)

FORGET THE REMEMBER -

http://blitzmag.blogspot.com/2007/01/shape-of-things-to-come-by-michael.html

 

The musical movement that produced such Bay Area bands of consequence as Big Brother and the Holding Company, Jefferson Airplane, the Charlatans, the Beau Brummels, Harpers Bizarre, the Youngbloods, Count Five, the Syndicate Of Sound, the Great Society, the Grateful Dead, the Sopwith Camel, Country Joe and the Fish, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Moby Grape and others of similar intent all had a common thread that stood in striking contrast to developments in rock music elsewhere. Aside from the distinctive “tin roof with sound baffles” sonic quality that frequently characterized the production values of their recordings, many of these bands encouragingly professed a healthy regard for the most diverse of musical pioneers. Conversely, a number of their counterparts elsewhere seemed paradoxically determined to eschew creative autonomy and instead pander to the lowest common denominator via the façade of self-indulgence.

Taking their cue from the aforementioned healthy perspective (as did the equally charismatic Elvis Perkins In Dearland in recent years) is the Love Dimension (Jimmy L. Diaz - lead vocals, guitar; Celeste Obomsawin - vocals, percussion; Devin Farney - keyboards; Nick Marcantonio - bass; Jesse Olswang - drums). In their forthcoming Forget The Remember album (recorded from August through December 2011 and scheduled for 20 November 2012 release), the ambitious and inspiring San Francisco-based quintet showcases eleven originals that draw from the most diverse of inspirations, from psychedelia (the aptly titled, upbeat Bound To The Sound) to classic country (Hold On Or Let Go?).

Encouragingly (and perhaps in part commensurate with their individual circumstances), the Love Dimension does not hesitate to defer to the like minded accomplishments of others. Witness the relentless optimism of Down The 101, a fascinating hybrid of the dynamic tension of the Last’s L.A. Explosion (Backlash BLS003) and the Underdogs’ Surprise, Surprise (Hideout 1011). In turn, the high drama of Uma Coisa Linda takes its cue from the vacillating tempos of Grand Funk Railroad’s Anybody’s Answer (from their On Time album on Capitol ST-307), with the results acknowledging solidarity with the aforementioned Bay Area pioneers, if not sympathy. The straight ahead garage rock exuberance of Live Divine adequately underscores the point.

While of course geography is only at best of peripheral concern in terms of assessing the aesthetic merits of a given work, suffice to say that the Love Dimension has followed their instincts and has produced a highly original album that has been inspired by the high standards of those who have preceded them. While they may indeed be Bound To The Sound, it is indeed reassuring to realize that theirs is a mission statement with (in their own words) A Human Heart.

Imaginary Interview: Sophie Barker

 

Sophie Barker is a wonderful secret among the music community. Although she has managed to remain just below the radar of renown, she has been releasing music since 1996, both as a solo artist and in the form of collaborations, the most prominent of which has been with downtempo group Zero 7. The British songwriter released Seagull last year, a reflective collection of songs that she is extremely pleased with. Sophie is also just about to embark on a West coast tour of the United States and she will be making a stop in Seattle this Saturday, November 3rd, at the High Dive. We had the chance to check in with her and she provided some insights on her rich recording history and personal endeavors.

Your newest record, Seagull, is more intimate than previous recordings. Was there a conscious effort to approach creating and recording the album differently than previously employed?
Genuinely, I allow every thought to flow -- my creative ideas just seem to happen in the moment and reflect what I am feeling at the time, and more often than not, they seem to reflect what is happening around me. Seagull came about a feeling of change in what was happening or rather not happening in the world around me. I felt that nothing was connecting and I was looking at the world from the outside in and when the recession hit, it was almost like a veil of vanity and greed had been lifted allowing human beings to have an opportunity to begin properly communicating beyond their veneer, forcing us to become more conscious or aware of other circumstances around us. I also luckily met the right people to produce the album, Alex Pilkington and Mark Tucker, who understood my emotional and musical sensitivity.

Seagull took about five years to come together from when the first songs were written in 2006. Was this an album that morphed over time from its original intention or did it just take time for the tracks to meld together in a cohesive collection?
The reason it took five years is because I couldn't find the right team to produce the sound that I wanted. I went through so many changing musical outfits and all of them were nearly, but not quite -- I nearly let the album go and then I just let go and had the faith that I would know when the right people would come along -- I knew that this album was instrumental in how I would move forward musically and suddenly I found the musical match in heaven.

How has your songwriting process evolved over time? Did your involvement with Zero 7 or others have an impact on how you approach writing songs or is the process completely separate when you work on your solo material?
The only thing that I have learnt about myself is that it is either there or not, so the way I respond to music and life is experiential hence live -- all the songs I have ever written in my life have always come through me and if it takes too much time or is a painful process then it isn't right -- I have not changed, but through time have learnt to be more confident with my immediate feeling towards whatever experience is coming towards me as everything that you respond to is a relationship in itself, whether it be writing a song or the way you make a cup of tea- be present in everything you do!

You will be performing in Seattle on Saturday evening, November 3rd. Will this be a solo acoustic show or will you have a band with you? What format can the audience expect and will there be any surprises?
This time, we will be full band and they are amazing -- I can't wait to show them to the world and how much of a privilege it is to have these incredible human beings, who happen to be extraordinary musicians, support me on my musical journey -- and there may well be a few surprises....

Do you have any plans to work with Zero 7 again in the future?
I am always open to work with people who I have had a fantastic experience with.

Your recent cover of "A Forest" by The Cure is an interesting take on the song. Where the original version is stark, vulnerable and desperate, your rendition offers a more skeptical female perspective. How did this come together? Was it a song that you always wanted to cover or did it happen spontaneously?
I have always loved this song and what I adore about it is that it is such a good song and something that I couldn't have written myself, but as a performer it represented in me something that I wanted to explore -- I felt that I could translate it as a woman as I feel in many ways Robert Smith is genderless in the way he writes, which is a gift -- allowing me not only to sing a song that I think is incredible, but that I can make my own interpretation of it without taking anything away from the original.

You have collaborated with many artists in the past. In addition to Zero 7, you have worked with Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins) and Groove Armada. Do you have any other collaborations in the works? Is there anyone in particular whom you would like to work with in the future?
I have been lucky to work with such incredible people, but I do feel that we choose a lot of our path or at least have a choice of what we gravitate towards -- we are given many opportunities to move forward despite our personal experiences which can be very painful and if we have the courage to go through the pain barrier then life rewards you in the most extraordinary way. I would love to work with Peter Gabriel and Damon Alban and hopefully one day I will.

You visited Kenya this past summer to raise money for the Rainbow Collections Children's Fund (RCCF) in order to rebuild a school in great disrepair. How did you become involved in the project and how was did the experience impact you? How can out readers contribute?
I have a collection of music for children that I re-created with my dear friend Kevin Kerrigan -- nursery rhymes and lullabies -- we had lots of friends with kids and all the CD's were terribly produced, yet the songs were beautiful and historical so we wanted to make a more honest collection with a few musical twists and through this project we then thought of doing an international collection -- recording children lullabies and stories from around the world, reflecting the language that we could then musically surround making it easier for children to listen to other languages and music. We were given an opportunity to do an album with an incredible school in East Africa -- we made the album -- 20 hours of music edited in the most honest way into 30 minutes and the school was falling down- that propelled me into building a foundation and a fundraiser to raise money for this school in April 2009 -- we raised over £30,000 and I have just been there in August 2012, and the Nursery, school educative centre is nearly finished. It has taken a while, but has been the most amazing experience seeing something grow from an idea and through passion and determination complete itself in the most pure way. This is how I see my album Seagull.

(To donate to the Children’s Fund): We no longer have a direct donation place unless they buy the Rainbow Collections albums on Amazon.


Sophie Barker and her band will be performing at The High Dive in Fremont on Saturday evening, along with Kimo Muraki & Tiny Messengers and Henry at War.

http://www.threeimaginarygirls.com/blog/2012oct/imaginary-interview-sophie-barker

The Winter Sounds' Runner on CD

 

Nostalgic trends usually take about two decades to bloom. In the '70s we became obsessed with the '50s (Happy Days, Sha-Na-Na), in the '80s we started waxing rhapsodic about the flower children and in the '90s we started making jokes about the downright goofy excesses of the '70s. At the end of the century we started putting the '80s on a pedestal--or under a microscope, depending on your sense of irony--especially in the world of music. Bands from every genre seemingly re-discovered synthesizers and drum machines; the sampling techniques that were employed were merely subtle winks to the audience that we were still in the 21st century, but twenty-year-old music is just as cool as ever. So let's all nod knowingly in unison.

It's seems like I've said all this before. So many alternative bands these days are defined by the dates they type into their time machines, and over the last year I've heard the resurrections of everyone from The Ventures to Kiss to the Smiths. The Winter Sounds--a quintet that alternately claims New Orleans, Nashville and Athens, Georgia as its home--has pulled off an interesting time travel twist in its new CD, Runner. They've ventured into that gray area of nostalgic tribute that comes when enough time hasn't passed for homages to become obvious. Think about it...now that we're in the 2010s, what are we going to start saying about the '90s? Will we start growing goatees (I haven't shaved mine since 1995) and start wearing flannel and knit caps (I can't wait since I found both incredibly comfy)?

I remember 1990, and how all the alternative genres started to merge and everything felt simultaneously cool and possible. A band could blend punk, metal and synth-pop and still sound fresh, and the Manchester Sound was absolute theft, albeit a swashbuckling one. The Winter Sounds still holds onto the late '80s with its earnest anthems filled with synthesizers and electronic drums, but it can also borrow from the fullness and honesty of the early '90s, stripped back and returning to the rock and roll basics that would lead to bands as good as Blur and as bad as Oasis. Throw in an equal measure of Anglo-folk from The Waterboys and maybe Big Country--lead singer Patrick Keenan will remind you of a half-dozen British singers from the '80s--and your time machine is set and ready for adventure.

Where this band winks to the audience is in its decidedly modern production (executed brilliantly by Scott Solter, who has worked with Spoon, St. Vincent and Okkervil River, all personal favorites), and its willingness to shift suddenly out of a song for a sudden lyrical tangent. The Winter Sounds is an exceptionally ambitious band, and exceptionally well-oiled as well since they boast about the 500 shows they've performed in the last five years. It's a trademark of these times that a new band like this can sound so accomplished in its beginnings, something bands weren't generally doing in the '80s and '90s. It will be fascinating to see what the Winter Sounds will do next.

http://thevinylanachronist.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-winter-sounds-runner-on-cd.html

The Love Dimension's Forget the Remember on CD

 

I gotta admit that on most days, the idea of a psychedelic blues garage band from San Francisco sounds like a great idea. The Love Dimension, with its heavy helpings of reverb-saturated vocals and farfisa organs and a plethora of other fifty-year-old artifacts, easily meets this challenge on their new CD, Forget the Remember. Not only does Celeste Obamsawim effectively channel Grace Slick without the arrogant attitude (she relies heavily upon her Native American heritage to add another layer of mysticism), but the entire band commits to the idea that you can still sound like you're playing rock and roll in a small club in the Mission District circa 1966 without winking gratuitously to contemporary kids.

When's the last time you heard a recorder solo in a rock song, as you do here in "Uma Coisa Linda"? When's the last time you heard a lead singer such as frontman Jimmy Dias ask where do we go? and sound so ruthlessly sincere and eager for an answer, ostensibly from someone older and wiser? When's the last time you heard the admonishment, "You gotta live your life" (from "Live Divine") and you thought yeah, you do have to live your life! In these respects, the Love Dimension has done its homework. They get all of these lyrical details down, the wide-eyed-wonder t-boned by a growing sense of cynicism in troubled times. The superficial gee-whiz moments are thrillingly undercut by a sense of liberated sensibilities, which goes some way in explaining the band's fondness for such influences as Johnny Cash and the Velvet Underground--two acts that had to stand outside the mainstream to capture a loyal and more appreciative audience.

I may be overstating The Love Dimension's intent; first and foremost Forget the Remember is, superficially, a fun listen. I hear a lot of modern musicians who can capture that magic '60s garage band sound without too much effort--although I do have to admit that the grungy sound quality of Forget the Remember takes this commitment to quite another level--but if The Love Dimension's success here seems cautiously calculated, it's only because they're crafting something very specific here. It's one thing to sound like a '60s garage band, and another thing to pay homage to '60s garage bands (a la B-52s) while being slightly sardonic about it. What we have here is a group that sounds like a '60s garage band who just cut its sixth or seventh studio album and suddenly wants to grow and evolve into something more complex. That's not an easy trick to pull off, which is why The Love Dimension deserves some attention.

 

http://thevinylanachronist.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-love-dimensions-forget-remember-on.html

 

THE MEMORIALS coming to EUROPE!

CD REVIEW: The Love Dimension - Forget The Remember

The Love Dimension - Forget The Remember (CD, Warrior Monk, Pop)
To quote directly from the band's web site: "The Love Dimension is an ever expanding sacred psychedelic music group from San Francisco (Originally from the lost city of Atlantis) that creates sonic architecture for the benefit of all sentient beings across the multi-verse. The Love Dimension is currently using their musical sound waves to open up hearts and spread the vibration of love on Planet Earth to assist in the quantum shift of the collective consciousness of humanity." Right about now you may be thinking you're in another decade...or century...but fear not, the year is still 2012. But the folks in The Love Dimension are bringing back ideals and values that will definitely remind folks of the progressive 1960s when it was all about peace and love. That said, this band's songs are more current and lighthearted than you might guess. The tracks on Forget The Remember are more pop than rock...and more about moving feet than moving mountains. Pretty cool sounding stuff here. Our favorite cuts include "True Love Comes 'Round Again," "Where Do We Go?", "Tierra Nueva," and "Outer Space."

http://babysue.com/2012-Oct-LMNOP-Reviews.html#anchor379949

REVIEW: The Winter Sounds – ‘Runner’

 

by Eric Schackne

With a huge archive of music in my head nowadays, a song/band has to change my life a little bit for me to look into them. Get some headphones. Listen to The Winter Sounds’ latest musical journey – Runner – with me. Now, please.
Beatufitully bright synths swell to the incessent rhythm of a steady drum beat. The melodies seem to unfold before your very eyes and each chorus feels fully-developed. Gang vocals in the chorus really give it energy and a delicate strength. They remind me of a band that no one knows(but everyone should) called Nightmare of You. They’ve developed a similar style with their theatrical indie rock. Unexpectedly, during a full breakdown you hear an organic sound; a piano. Then it’s time to blast off into space again for another glorious chorus. As far as openers go this is an extremely epic and polished entrance to Runner for TWS.
“Devils” hits you hard right away with jarring synthesized band hits. Nothing sounds washed out, but every fraction finds it’s own frequency to shine. They have this worldly feel to their music that displays quite an ecclectic blend of global influences. They manage to build from something so simple into a controlled chaos consisting of the marriage between non-chalant vocals and thick instrumentation. There’s an undeniable Robert Smith aspect to their singer, who I’m guessing is Patrick Keenan(only one random site lists him as a “singer-songwriter” so I thought it was safe to say).
Was that moment awkward? Anywho. Track three, “Run From The Wicked” tones down the intensity, but keeps the rhythm up nicely. If Two Door Cinema Club was a little harder, I’d expect something dance-y like this track. I’m really enjoying the drums actually. This song displays a different genre of rhythm in each part of the song: the intro started with an indie rock anthem, transforming seamlessly into a four-on-the-floor dance beat, which then drops momentarily into an emo-esque breakdown. Turning the intensity knob slightly down again, TWS delivers another toe-tapping anthem fit for a scene from your favorite 80’s movie. “Old Man Old Woman” helps you sink just a little deeper into your chair with delicate use of reverb that is never to the detriment of the vocals. It’s only track four and I’ve already been on such a journey.
Hello synths. “Bird on Fire” delivers this empowering and speedy riff backed by an unrelenting rhythm section – the bass is killing it. This is almost like a Cure song on speed. The violins riding alongside the synth sounds makes for a great team. This feels so fresh to me. Even the vocals have an overdrive to them that separates this from the others on the album. All of a sudden, we’re into “Shoulders Above” which sounds like a cover of a Dookie b-side. The chorus sounds so Greenday it’s crazy. Another great break and build brings you into an epic outro. The switch to a more organic sound makes this track a standout favorite of mine.
Experimenting more, “Young Love” strays further. With their Wombats-esque sound displayed here, they deliver more of a straight up indie rock tune…oh, but with a gang of violins. Did I forget to mention the mob of stringed instruments? And our first real deep breath comes with “Don’t Change At All.” Despite a pretty loud chorus, the rest of the song acheives a pretty relaxed feel. Bringing the strings to the front somehow bring out a folky/country dance track.
The country-infused “Everything Comes Home To Die” is almost too upbeat and danceable for the meaning of the song. “I can’t stay here another hour. Who wants a nightmare?” That’s a Saves The Day move I know well. I’m loving the instrumental break, hitting a pop-punk-infused breakdown for the bridge. Back to what they do best, “You Had a Bad Dream” displays there unique genre-blending with a jarring transition into the jaunty piano rock chorus that’s actually pretty fun and catchy. This is also a great track to show how well the string production is on this album. Sometimes just a single line, and sometimes a large wall of violins, they lift these songs up pretty high above a typical rock sound.
Gradually bringing the tempo of the album down, “Robots Marching” is well-received but the most generic sounding. While I appreciate the slower song, this might be the weakest track on the record thus far; but, at just(barely) over two minutes, it was an appropriate rest for my toes tapping in my chucks.
An instrumental interlude will bring you back to a engaging pace, starting with a simple dance beat is met with a lovely synth line. “Carousel” is just as easy-going as a couple of the previous tracks, but there’s an intensity that makes you move around. It’s the softness a la Passion Pit that they’re achieving with this tune. This is a great callback to some of what I loved about their sound, as they draw out each instrumental part nicely. This is the final track as well, and it’s a pretty lovey-dovey ending for Runner.
I can’t wait to listen to this album again. I had it playing while I was proofreading this review, and while I was emailing it to my editor…and once more after that. I’ll probably be listening to it well into the evening. I’m excited to look into more from The Winter Sound, and you can too here: http://www.thewintersounds.com
TRACK LISTING:

1. The Sun Also Rises
2. Devils
3. Run From The Wicked
4. Old Man Old Woman
5. Bird on Fire
6. Shoulders Above
7. Young Love
8. Don’t Change At All
9. Everything Wounded Comes Home to Die
10. You Had a Bad Dream
11. Robots Marching
12. Carousel

http://socalmusictoday.com/?p=6086

A Whole Bunch of New Portland Music Videos

                   

                                                              

Lots of local music videos to watch! Here's a new batch of clips from assorted Portland bands, and these run the gamut. Get ready for some streamin' vid.

First up, here's the new and lovely video from Forest Park, for their 10-minute epic "Golden," off their self-titled EP released earlier this year. Directed by Jarratt Taylor, it's about a lengthy journey the band takes—starting each on their own and then coming together—and follows its own undeniable dream logic, resulting in something that's pretty captivating. (For the record, Forest Park has not broken up, despite some recent rumors I'd heard.)
Lots more apres le jump! Zut!

Now here's a live performance clip from Tu Fawning, who I post about all the time here, I know, but they are great and everything they do is worth checking out. This here's a stripped-down, spooky acoustic take of "Blood Stain," one of the countless highlights on their incredible A Monument album. Shot in a bar in Berlin, the band suggests keeping an eye out for the "mildy annoyed construction workers in the background."

Here's another live performance clip, this one from local folksinger Jeffrey Martin, who's accompanied by Anna Tivel for an affecting run-through of the song "Angeline." The clip was shot by Keaten Abbott, who also shot the video for the Shivas' "Gun in My Pocket." This one's pretty straightforward, without any tricks—showing that sometimes all you need is the right performance of the right song at the right time.

And here's a short film called The Audition, which also serves as the de facto music video for Kim Baxter's "Devil on My Side." Baxter is a member of All Girl Summer Fun Band, and recently released her solo album The Tale of Me and You. Shot at Type Foundry studio in evocative black and white, the clip (directed by Chris Flanagan) riffs on the Italian films of the late '50s and '60s.

Lastly, here's the latest video from Rags + Ribbons, and they wanted to incorporate ecoroofs into their video instead of shooting a straight performance clip. The video was made with Perception Northwest's Brynden McNew and ecoroof expert Amy Chomowicz, and was shot at the warehouse of Gunderson, Inc., a manufacturer of flatbed railcars who also have an ecoroof on top of their industrial facility. This video should do for ecoroofs what "Thriller" did for dancing zombies.

THE LOVE DIMENSION : "Forget the Remember"

 

THE LOVE DIMENSION! FORGET THE REMEMBER

The Love Dimension is a psychedelic blues garage music group from San Francisco displaying an amazingly eclectic mix of music's past and future. Think: Spacemen 3, Jefferson Airplane, Spiritualized, Primal Scream, X, Blues Magoos, Ultimate Spinach, 13th Floor Elevators, The Youngbloods, The Byrds, The Velvet Underground, Pink Floyd, BRMC, Shocking Blue......

The Love Dimension is currently using their musical sound waves to open up hearts and spread the vibration of love on Planet Earth to assist in the quantum shift of the collective consciousness of humanity. Shining light through the spectrum of love and the inner journey, The Love Dimension successfully rocks the audience out of their minds and into their hearts.

NEW ALBUM "FORGET THE REMEMBER" will be released on NOV 20th on WARRIOR MONK Records. Make sure to go out and buy it, won't regret it.

http://www.thelovedimension.com/

http://www.warriormonkrecords.com/

 

http://ratb0y69.blogspot.be/2012/09/the-love-dimension-forget-remember.html

The Memorials: Duo set to bring psychedelic soul to the amphitheater

 

 

By

Erinn Grotefend

 

On Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. Becker Amphitheater will host The Memorials, a band with a genre that is unlike any other that has performed at Cal State Fullerton this semester.
The progressive rock, psychedelic soul and fusion band consists of Viveca Hawkins (vocals) and Thomas Pridgen (drums), who formed the band in November 2009.

“We are walking memorials,” said Hawkins. “Living breathing monuments to a sound that might be forgotten or a sound to be remembered.”

Before Pridgen formed The Memorials, he was a part of the rock band, The Mars Volta. His eagerness to express himself to his fullest extent led him to form his own band.
“I don’t know what void I was trying to fill in music,” said Pridgen. “I think the music filled up a void me.”

The Memorials released their latest album, Delirium, on June 5 this year. Hawkins described the record as polished and more refined.

“This record inside and out, visually, musically and lyrically shows that we are weird,” Hawkins said. “We are trained and able to play a variety of styles.”

Hawkins writes the lyrics for the songs using life as her inspiration.

The band’s first album, The Memorials, was released on Feb. 14. Hawkins said the first record was rushed and she was pressed for time to write lyrics.

“I had never made this type of music before so I was just popping songs out with no vision or desire for cohesion,” Hawkins said. “This time we really tried to make sure that we put a little more order in all of it.”

According to Hawkins, Delirium has a dream, nightmare and insomnia theme. With songs like “Dream,” “Delirium” and “Gone” the theme is twisted throughout the album.

Hawkins’ mother, who sings gospel and jazz, influenced her when she was a little girl. The lead singer would attend class with her mother who was studying for her associates’ degree in music.
“I don’t try to emulate other artists. My voice alone sets me apart,” Hawkins said.

Towards the end of October, The Memorials will tour throughout Europe including Germany, France and Portugal. This is the first European tour for the band.

“We feel like it’s going to be a blast,” Pridgen said. “We’re so stoked to be able to play in places people dream of going.”

For now, the band is going to take their time and tour. Beginning in January and February, The Memorials will get back into the studio and start recording.

In addition to attending the Wednesday concert at the Becker, listeners can find The Memorials on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

http://www.dailytitan.com/2012/09/the-memorials-duo-set-to-bring-psychedelic-soul-to-the-amphitheater/
 

SUB. INTERVIEW: THE MEMORIALS

 

posted by

Jameson Ketchum

Leave it to an overseas tour with EDM artists to change everything for The Memorials drummer Thomas Pridgen. “I was tripped out because people would start dancing before the music starts,” he remembers, “here… I don’t know anything dude. I guess when I got to that point it just kinda got weird.”
Weird? Sure, but also inspiring. The experience helped Pridgen come to an epiphany. “I think now music is starting to be at a point where as much as you think you know, you really don’t know shit, so I’m like, I don’t know shit anymore, so fuck it, let’s play around, let’s just do whatever we want, let’s go to places that people don’t ever go to, because I don’t really know anything. I’m just now going into a complete experimental mode where I feel like let’s just try it. Let’s try it, and if it fails, it fucking fails miserably, but let’s just try it.”
It was with that ideology that Pridgen, and singer Viveca Hawkins, went to work on Delirium, The Memorials sophomore album that was released this spring. “We mixed stuff up with the first record (The Memorials), but not as drastically,” Pridgen explains. “I thought it was cool to be able to fuck with the listener, and be like oh you think we’re gonna go here, but we’re gonna go HERE.” Even with a fairly radical take on experimentalism, there were a few things Pridgen wanted to make sure happened on Delirium. “For me it was the sound, and the arrangements, and being able to hear Viv.” He continued, adding “let’s show Viv can sing jazz. Let’s show I can play drum and bass. I’m just showcasing all our talents.”
According to Pridgen, The Memorials still have a long road ahead of them. He feels, as a Black duo in rock music, they’re going to have to put in extra effort. That being said, Pridgen is actually excited at that prospect, saying “I’m down for it. It’s feeling like now, fuck it dude, let’s just go in, because we don’t have anybody to say no to us and I think that’s what Jimi (Hendrix) was about. I think Jimi was working harder than all those motherfuckers. Everybody else would sit there and play their gig, he would come out there and he would thrash the gig. If you look at James Brown, if you look at everybody that was Black who had any kind of influence, they had to work their fuckin ass off to get the notoriety.”
Pridgen, who graduated from the Berklee College of Music at the age of 15, and was the drummer for The Mars Volta from 2007-2009, says, point blank, “people will notice after a while that we’re working our asses off.”
Currently, The Memorials’ hard work has them on a US tour through September 20th, and after that they’ll be headed to Europe until the end of the fall. By the time they come back, The Memorials may be a household name for rock fans.

The Memorials

By Adam Bernard

http://www.substreammusicpress.com/home/2012/09/23/sub-interview-the-memorials/

NEW VIDEO: RAGS & RIBBONS "Moving on"

Teaming up with Gunderson Inc. in Portland, OR to provide the backdrop for their gorgeous new video, Rags & Ribbons tell a masterful story for their single "Moving On." Set against the manically twisted and rusted world of railroad ties and steel rails, the group dresses the part and roughs it with the regular crew, turning the already powerful and drifting "Moving On" into nothing short of an epic tale. Watch as the group works to save a mysterious plant in this incredibly well crafted video, a feast for both eye and ear.

http://popstache.com/video/rags-ribbons-moving-on/

China asks Corvallis businessman to remove pro-Tibet mural

Reported by: The Associated Press

 The Chinese government is trying to pressure the mayor of Corvallis to order that a businessman remove a mural advocating independence for Tibet and Taiwan. Sept. 11, 2012. (KVAL.com) By Jonathan J. Cooper, Associated Press writer SALEM, Ore. (AP) —

 The Chinese government is trying to pressure the mayor of an Oregon college town to order that a businessman remove a mural advocating independence for Tibet and Taiwan. Two consular officials flew in from San Francisco earlier this month in an unsuccessful bid to persuade Corvallis Mayor Julie Manning to find a way to have the mural removed.

The Chinese consulate earlier sent a letter saying the mural "has caused strong resentment from the local Chinese community." The mayor says the art is protected speech under the First Amendment and she has no authority to order its removal.

Local businessman David Lin, an immigrant from Taiwan, installed the mural earlier this year and says he won't take it down.

http://www.koinlocal6.com/news/local/story/China-asks-Corvallis-businessman-to-remove-pro/CaX5TTbAMUSJ42jb1Sn9eQ.cspx

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