Just Because …

Thanks to my kid sis, Ari, and the wonders of Facebook. Enjoy the snow day, Vermont.

New Kochalka Vid: Bacharach Galactica

This just in from the Superstar himself: a brand new vid for "Bacharach Galactica," my second favorite song from last year's Digital Elf. My favorite? "BLOG," the reasons for which should be obvious to anyone who's ever heard the song — and/or read this blog.

Anyway, here's the video, which was helped into existence by none other than ex-Pants guitarist Pistol Stamen. Enjoy!

Take Away Shows: The Low Anthem

I love it when my favorite things collide. In this case, Rhode Island's The Low Anthem and La Blogotheque's Take Away Shows. Here's part one, filmed in Grand Central Station. You can see the rest here. Oh, you can also catch the band in person when they swing through Montpelier in late April. Enjoy.

The Low Anthem - Apothecary - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Killer Tomato

I haven't skied in a decade. I've never snowboarded. I don't actually even own a pair of snow pants. In short, I'm not a big winter sports guy. But I'm hooked on the Olympics — which you may have gathered if you've read this week's SoundBites. And stuff like this is one reason why.

Here is US snowboarder Shaun "The Flying Tomato" White's brand new trick, which you will almost certainly see attempted at tonight's competition in Vancouver. Even I'm pretty bro'ed out about this one. Enjoy …

 

That's the Ticket: M.T. Bearington

Wednesday night, famed indie-pop duo Mates of State take the stage at the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge as Seven Days' "Hot Ticket" band for February. Neat-o. Even neat-o-er, they'll be joined by our own very own twee-ty birds, The Smittens. But what about the third band, New Haven's M.T. Bearington? Turns out they're pretty cool too …

VT TV

Vermonters are all over public television this week.

Last night, our old pal Neil Cleary made his PBS debut, scoring and producing the music for a program called "American Blueprint: Beyond the Motor City." The 90-minute documentary is part of a larger series focusing on infrastructure in urban areas around the country. Cleary's episode centers on Detroit, a city profoundly ravaged by economic woes. And ironically, given its very name once represented the iconography of the American automobile, a city practically crippled by a lack of public transportation. 

That's all well and good. But what about the music?

In an email sent to friends, family and colleagues, Cleary writes that he had fun playing with Motown sounds — a fact evident within the doc's first few minutes. But to solve its transportation woes, and perhaps those of America as well, Detroit is casting an eye towards high-speed rail projects in Spain and California. So Cleary also had the chance to explore "Spanish and futuristic computer-y sounds." Nifty.

You can watch the entire episode here. And I'd recommend it, actually, even beyond merely to keep tabs on Cleary. It's an interesting look at the history — and maybe the future — of transportation in the US. And Cleary's score does a nice job of augmenting the story.

Moving on, tonight marks the debut of Cumbancha founder Jacob Edgar's musical travelogue "Music Voyager" on PBS. I wrote about the show in last week's paper, which you can read here. But for those too lazy to click through, here is the Reader's Digest version: Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations," only about music instead of food. And instead of a brash New Yorker, it's hosted by a pleasant guy from Plainfield.

I've seen a few clips and enjoyed them. Then again, I'm also a big fan of travel shows, in general. Tune in for the first episode tonight at 9:30 p.m. on Vermont Public Television. In the meantime, here's a trailer for the show.

The Daredevil Christopher Wright @ Radio Bean, Tuesday

Since reviewing their debut album, In Deference to a Broken Back, last year, I've developed something of an infatuation with Eau Claire, Wisconsin's The Daredevil Christopher Wright. Lucky for me — and you — they'll be at Radio Bean this Tuesday, pre-Honky Tonk.

In the meantime, here's a nifty little vid featuring the band. It's an interview format as opposed to concert footage. But it's interesting to hear them talk about their hometown. Sounds a lot like Burlington, actually …

James Kochalka Super … er, MOVIE Star?

Does the dude with the creepy grin in the first scene of this trailer look familiar to anyone else?

MARS - The Movie [HD Trailer] from Geoff Marslett on Vimeo.

The Breakdown: Jeff the Brotherhood @ The Monkey House, 2nite!

Hey, hey, Solid State.

Apologies for the lack of postings lately. It's been a really strange week. Like, one of those weeks where everything I touch breaks. Literally. The running tally since last Monday: one car, one dog, one family heirloom and now, one computer. Fortunately, each of those things (the dog, first and foremost) can be fixed. My fragile mental state? We'll see. We'll see …

Anyway, I wanted to pass this along this video of "The Tropics" by Nashville's Jeff the Brotherhood, who are playing the Monkey tonight with local rockers Folk Heroes. It's a fun vid and a pretty nifty song. A little Weezer-esque, even. In fact, if I weren't afraid of accidentally breaking the band by my mere presence at the show, I might even make the trek to the 'Noosk this evening. But for now, I'll just have to make do with this. Enjoy.