The Sounds of Young Scotland

I really was always a Postcard Records person than a Sarah Records fan.

I know the difference between a Boscoe and a Bruno

Here I am with Frank Boscoe who is sporting his NYC Popfest t-shirt. I hadn't seen him since 2001? or 2000? yet I still knew the difference.

Thursday night at the Cake Shop.

So as I mentioned in the previous post, I went to New York during popfest and I thought I would sum up my trip and the shows I saw.

For those who have never been Cake Shop, is a coffee and pastry shop on the main floor with a tiny record shop on wheels and a downstairs bar and venue. Thursday night featured the New York band, In Interview. I have been obsessed with finding more out about this band since about 3 or 4 years ago they played with Ladybug Transistor and Walker Kong and I found out they were former members of the band Toulouse. As with Toulouse, In Interview separates themselves with the fantastic bass lines and they also had nice female vocals with strummy bossa nova guitar. I thought their greatness was understated and rewarding. I even overheard someone complimenting their wardrobe. I was pleased as punch to actually be able to pick up a cd-r demo of 6 songs at the merch table. Why so few songs after so many years? Already can't wait to hear more.

Oh Custer! from Sweden were next and sounded good though i missed a lot of their set catching up with friends though I do remember liking what i heard.

The Secret History played next. I think they were basically My Favorite with a new lead female vocalist. I love My Favorite so I was excited to see them play. Michael Grace Jr was the same old self with a new set of songs and suave fashion sense he was only challenged with the Cats on Fire guy for fanciest dressed. It was pretty great to have the Secret History if we no longer have My Favorite.They were sort of less new wave more dramatic in a Prefab Sprout way. I missed Andrea's energy but I was warming up to this.

Love is All were my favorite band I saw at SXSW 3 years ago and they skipped Portland on their subsequent tour. So I can only hope they lived up to how i remembered them. Unfortunately I had moved out of the front to hang out and chat with others. So i was stuck near the back trying to get to a decent position to see them. The Cake Shop was sold out and let way more people in that were suppose to be in that space. So while I wasn't in the most enjoyable spot ie craning my neck to see anything it was the lively high energy sax blarring chaotic fun. In celebration of their tour 5 song cover ep they played Flock of Seagull "I ran" . My main complaint with the popfest was maybe overselling small venues. I know it wasn't their fault with Love is All as they requested Cake Shop but it wasn't the most comfortable place to see them.


Amazing to witness this as Pant Yell! played a fantastic set. I had never seen them before and was really impressed. Nick Underwood filled in on trumpet which added that nice touch. I know you east coast people get to see this band all the time and I will continue to be jealous.

The Besties played a fairly tongue in cheek slapstick set. I like a lot of their songs but was a little put off by their antics. Though they did bring the energy level up to a repectable level.


Tullycraft play "Twee" at NYC Popfest from Magic Marker on Vimeo.

Tullycraft took the stage and people could not leave the room for fear of not being let back in. Really really great set. Super tight and they just exuded pure joy. Older hits included: 8 great ways, Josie, Superboy and Supergirl but the newer ones seemed to get the biggest reactions like Our Days in Kansas, The Punks are writing love songs and of course Twee. The Besties and some others almost had a mosh pit
going with one of the Besties actually crowd surfing. One of the best Tullycraft sets i have ever seen.

Onto later after decompressing and getting a cab to Don Hills and an actual indiepop dance night including a performance with Cats on Fire. I wasn't actually dancing but the DJs were fantastic. I was catching up with friends I never get to see. Though I am completely jealous as this is an awesome idea and with amazing execution. There were a lot of people there and it was more spacious than Piano's so there was room
to dance. Cat's on Fire took the stage around 1am and the main guy is just dramatic looking. He looked like a cross between Morrissey and Postcard era Edwin Collins. I really loved their record and their set was pretty fantastic. We stayed for their set then I booked it back to our friend's place and a couple of subway trains later and peaceful sleep.

Saturday I decided to go to the Market Hotel show in Brooklyn and see Cause Commotion, The Vivian Girls and Love is All rather than the popfest show. I wanted to see the Pains of Being Pure at Heart and I wanted to see the Orchids but wasn't really into their new album and the people I was with weren't familiar with them. So we went to what was a rundown ballroom in a hotel with a decent stage and no air
conditioner. Cause Commotion opened with punky pop in a herky jerky clever sort. Only heard a few of their songs before this and was happy to hear more.





The Vivian Girls were next and were utterly fantastic. I am not sure why they weren't on the popfest bill but they should have been. Their reverb soaked vocals created the wall of utter brilliance. This is easily my new favorite band. I bought the record but it doesn't capture what they do live. It is good and i need to listen to it more
but this was really bliss. fans of the Aislers Set, Black Tambourine "throw aggi from the bridge" and Phil Spector girl groups beware.




We went outside the place to pick up beer and ended up with Colt 45s and since it was so hot in there that we were pretty much soaked with sweat. We just kept drinking more beer. So by the time Love is All went on I was pretty drunk and it was nice not spending $4 on a Pabst. They were great at the Cake Shop but the Market Hotel was so much better/spacious a place to see them than an over crowded Cake Shop. It seemed liked 150 people had shown by the time Love Is All went on. The saxaphone player came on wearing a Vivian Girls shirt so they seemed like instant coverts. By this time for me that I determined this was one of my favorite shows and between this and the Friday Piano's show that I had clearly made the right decision to fly to New York for a long weekend. Pretty drunk in the middle of brooklyn and seeing one of my favorite bands clearly enjoying themselves on stage. I know this stuff must happen all the time in New York. I mean why would only 150 people be there if it didn't right? I mean the Orchids must have been making dreams come true filling so many Sarah Records fantasies over at the popfest.

I missed the Sunday show with the Hermit Crabs and Silent League, and
Cannanes but I had to get back. Hope you all enjoyed yourself and had as much fun as I did.


I also spotted Thurston Moore at Starbucks, ate large slices of pizza,
saw awesomeness at MOMA, and hit the Renegade Craft Fair.

Just wanted to say thanks to the organizers. So much work. I really
appreciated it. Great job!

Tullycraft tour East Coast play NYC Popfest

My god man how the time flies. Here is a photo of Tullycraft from the 1997 Popfest NW in Seattle, WA. Appearing left to right Jeff, some girl not in the band, Sean, Chris, and with cigarette is Gary. This is when Mark and I drove up to Seattle to ask Tullycraft to give us a song for a compilation that would be our first release. It was an amazing experience as I put 10 dollars in the raffle that Steve and Nancy had to help raise money for the festival and won so many times I actually felt bad and even turned down the 4 th time I won. I didn't know any of these guys and I had never met Steve and Nancy. I had never heard of the Indiepop List and actually signed up while there or first thing when we got back. Today is the first day of the Tullycraft east coast tour with Tullycraft headlining the Friday's Popfest show at Pianos. They are posting updates on their blog during the whole trip. Here is a current photo of Tullycraft and their tour dates. I will be in New York enjoying the festivities so be sure to introduce yourself.

Here is a photo of what they look like now. From left to right is Jeff, Jenny, Cori, Chris, and Sean. Here are their tour dates.

June 11th - Winooski, VT at The Monkey House w/ The Smittens

June 12th - Boston at PA's w/ Pant's Yell! & The Smittens

June 13th - NYC at Pianos w/ Pants Yell!, The Besties & From Bubblegum To Sky

June 14th - NYC at Cake Shop - all-ages show w/ The Cannanes (2PM)

June 14th - Philadelphia at at The Barbary w/ Scary Monster & Surefire Broadcast

June 15th - Washington, DC at Red and Black Bar w/ Sprites & From Bubblegum To Sky

Mark hits the road on his bike

Hey all. I, Curt, am the one who is always updating this blog. Mark who also runs Magic Marker is a bit more of a behind the scenes guy (this is a photo of him at work). I am not sure if you remember but Mark biked across the country two years ago to help raise money for cancer research. He also works in cancer research first at Stanford and now at OHSU. Mark and I have been friends for not only the ten years Magic Marker has been around but several years before that in college. Well a few weeks ago Mark's mom died of cancer and I know it has been rough. He had been planning his trip to Glacier Park for some time and he just started a few days ago. He has his own blog with daily updates and photos from his blackberry. I thought it would be okay to post this for people who may have met Mark or are just interested in his trip. Feel free to contact him and let him know you are thinking about him. Awful lonely out there.

Mark's Blog

The Bridal Shop CloudkicK!

As you can see that is Magic Marker's most recent band ,The Bridal Shop, on the top right of this morning's Pitchfork review. We reissued their self released mini-lp "From Seas" recently and they posted a newly recorded song on their myspace page "Cloudkick". Go to Pitchfork to read the review yourself or just click right to their myspace page to hear it. They were also featured in an interview last monday on the Swedish radio program P3 Pop. They were asked about the Sound of Sweden and if Sweden as a whole had a specific sound. Unless you understand Swedish you won't be able to determine what they are saying but Toomas said the comment was like how in Sweden you are more likely to be influenced by The Field Mice and Slowdive than in the US where Pavement is a larger influence. Anyway enjoy and have a great weekend.

UPDATE: BOAT is not in THE PROMOTION

Normally we don't put up trailers for Hollywood movies but this is a special occasion. Now the millions of people that go see The Promotion will hear approximately 1 minute and 20 seconds of BOAT "Free The Birds in the Stall" in the background of a Sean William Scott scene. We haven't seen the movie yet but with John C Reiley, Seann William Scott, and Jenna Fischer starring in the film this has promise. Not only that but according to the music supervisor the director of The Promotion, Steve Conrad, picked the song himself. Here is the trailer and "Free The Birds From the Stall". It is in limited release this weekend and hopefully coming to a cineplex near you. BOAT play on Friday with the All Girl Summer Fun Band and Crayonsmith in Portland at No Exit.

Wait! HOLD ON. After getting the song cleared and the song being personally picked by the director it got cut. We can no longer endorse a BOATless film. Go see whatever movie you want to.

BOAT "Free The Birds in The Stall"

The Story of the Vivian Girls

I have a huge crush on the Vivian Girls well not on the actual girls themselves but the band. Now I think there have been several bands with the name the Vivian Girls including one from Philadelphia, St. Louis, and most notably one from Australia. Well I am not talking about any of those bands. I am referring to the ones from Brooklyn. I was ignorant as to what the name meant or why so many bands had decided to take this moniker. So I did some handy research and found thanks to wikipedia that the Vivian Girls is a reference to the work of Henry Darger. He is known in the outsider art world and wasn't known until after his death in 1973. He was a self taught artist and left a body of work that largely contained his opus the 10,000 some pages of The Story of of the Vivian Girls of The Realms of the Unreal.



This is one of the images from said opus.

Well let me continue on here with what was my original thought. The Brooklyn band the Vivian Girls passed through Portland last week playing one of the worst venues in town which seemed a bit of a theme for their tour. At the top of the post is a photo of them at the Twilight Lounge Cafe. My wife Molly and I met up with Shelflife records Ed and Laura. We showed up supposedly a half hour into the first band's set. In true punk rock fashion not only had the first band not started but no equipment had even been set up. So we bought some of the daily specials which happened to be BL limes. Thats right Bud Light but lime flavored. So delicious. It felt a little weird ordering Bud Light Limes but if it was the "special" it must be cool or punk or something right? Ed and Laura all of a sudden looked at their mixed drinks as boring and mundane and immediately wish they were drinking something as refreshing as a BL Lime as they are called or as the label wanted us to believe. We finished our drinks and decide that BL Limes for $1.50 was really a special treat so we got to get more and Ed follows to get some too. In what I assumed was true punk rock style I held up my hand in a peace symbol and said "I will take two BL Limes". Ed followed suit with a similar motion. As we soon found out the BL Limes we were drinking were not the special because anyone at the bar liked them. They were merely trying to get rid of them which they only had one left. The BL Lime doesn't taste much like beer just so you know. Here is the beautiful design BL label.


So we were back to poor hipster status as we drank our Pabst Blue Ribbons and patiently waited for the Wet Heaves to finish playing what was a truly inspiring set of "songs". Finally the Vivian Girls played what these ears have longed to hear since I first heard the Shop Assistants, Aislers Set, and the One Kiss Can Lead to Another box set of girl groups. No it wasn't the most amazing performance but that sound the one i can't get out of my head was just there. The echo vocal harmonies, the wall of sound guitar, and short fast songs it was just that. So i can only leave you with a recorded song that won't live up to the live experience but will surely draw you in.

Vivian Girls - "Tell the World"


Also here is one of my favorite Walker Kong songs "Vivian Girls"

Also a Comet Gain song titled "The Story of the Vivian Girls"

Basically some of my favorite bands reference Henry Darger so I am definitely hoping to look up info on this artist.