SAY HI, PARSON REDHEADS, YELLOW OSTRICH, AND BLAIR ON FRIDAY MAR. 25TH AT THE ECHO, 1822 WEST SUNSET BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES. 8:30PM/ $12/ 18+

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We’ll be installed in the lobby of the brand-new Bedrock L.A. rehearsal and recording studio—home of the prototype Echoplex, one of John Lee Hooker’s guitars, vocal mics used by Bowie and a whole arsenal of insane vintage equipment—this afternoon, so come say hi if you’re going and go if you’re not already going! Learning Music, [...]

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The folks at Bedrock—Echo Park’s newest rehearsal and recording studio and soon-to-be newest microbrewery!—have given us a brand new Dixon snare plus four Dixon t-shirts and four VIP passes to the Bedrock grand opening on Sunday, October 25! A lot of L.A. RECORD friends are helping out with this event, like IS GOOD radio and [...]

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One appreciated the Echo for finally living up to its name with Tillman’s seasoned voice filling up the entire room and the walls sending its best approximation back to our grateful ears. And what a voice, an uncanny combination of Jason Molina and Will Oldham’s vocal timbres, it’s probably at its most effective when Tillman would simply, wordlessly hum. Maybe it was all that hair covering his face that made some of his cries resound like a lone wolf howling in the darkness.

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Finally, the husband-and-wife team of the Handsome Family took to the stage with their band and launched into a rocking country tune, complete with train-track drums and a fiddle. Their lyrics touched on many subjects—love ballads by insects and trees with deep longings. I looked around the room at all the affluent Silver Lake denizens who had descended on the tiny club. They seemed to be enjoying themselves. The grey-hairs rocked along with the beat and mouthed the words silently in a way that clearly showed they’d found something very personal in the lyrics. Harmony filled the air and their down-home music had a calming effect on everyone in attendance. “We can’t hear the fiddle!” yelled a man from the back corner of the venue. “Shut the fuck up!” retorted another voice in the darkness.

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The clear winner for me was “I Knew a Young Girl.” Stripped of all the fuzz and fog that are associated with trying to sound vintage, the song stands alone—haunting but at the same time beautiful. Singer-songwriter Evan Way guides you with his melody until the gentle backing vocals of Brette Marie carry you off. Before you’re wisped away into the Pacific, the song ends and you’re alone.

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Parson Redheads filled the big stage like they’ve played it before, which is to be expected since they do a good share of touring throughout the year and they ARE a great live band. This was the first time I had seen them since they altered their lineup a bit, with three guitars, a slide, and four-vocal harmonies led by Evan Way. Aesthetically, the band misses Way’s sister keyboardist Erin (left to focus on acting) and her twisty tambourine playing, but musically they are still fun in the sun.

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scott schultz

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scott schultz

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