Hot 8 Brass Band

Man, how I wish the these guys would come to Omaha (or anywhere close, for that matter).



Hot 8 Brass Band + Marvin Gaye + Sexual Healing = amazing. These guys are really great.

Johnny, a Camel, and a Gun.

Ok. So, I guess this is really random but I don't care. I have been listening to Midwest Dilemma a lot lately - blame it on their lack of shows in the past few months - and I have decided that 'Omaha' is my favorite song on Timelines and Tragedies. Such great songwriting. So much emotion. It's just a great song. Give it a listen if you have the means. Do you have a favorite Midwest Dilemma song?

In other news, I mentioned the Christmas for Pine Ridge project a few posts ago, and I just found this video of Brad Hoshaw at the River offices doing his Christmas song from Pine Ridge Volume 1. It's called 'Johnny, a Camel, and a Gun' and it's really great. Even though Christmas has passed, it's still a great tune and you can check the video below.



Brad Hoshaw writes a Christmas song like no one else, that's for sure.

Mountain Man

So, a few months ago I was listening to On the Corner and the left field track for that day was Animal Tracks by the band Mountain Man. I have been obsessed with this song since that day and have been anxiously awaiting the release of an album, which you can download now from their Band Camp page. Also, in my search to figure out how to get this album, I came across the site for the 'label' that Mountain Man is attached to, which isn't really a label at all. From the Open Face Records site:

This is not a record 'company', and it's not exactly a 'label'. It is more of a record 'co-operative'. Each of our artists act collectively as each other's managers, agents, production managers, recording engineers, and backup bands. Even this text was written by one of our anonymous artists in the guise of some omniscient narrator.

Not only does this joint ownership create a great community and atmosphere for creation, it's also a good deal financially for everyone. Even most indie labels take about half of the profits from sales. Open Face takes only 10%, which is then recycled into a pool and used for further releases. Since so much of our product is volunteer-based (the musicians who perform, the audio engineers, the producers, the graphic designers, the printers, the booking agents), we can charge a relatively low cost for listeners.

We take pride in our products. Each physical object carries with it the weight of our backs, our sweat, and our souls. These days, there is little incentive to purchase an album that has been machine-processed and is accompanied by little more than a cool image. This isn't enough for us. Every physical product should be a piece of art- we will use hand printmaking processes whenever possible.

Mountain Man is actually a group of three gals on the east coast, and you can read all about them and their new album here.