sunday brunch: John and Peter's

Authentic, original music; No Cover Bands allowed
John and Peter's looks more like a converted basement/pizza parlor than a concert venue, yet it has been an integral part of the local music scene for the past 32 years. Located immediately over the border in New Hope, PA, John and Peter's is best known for serving as the home-base and launching pad of the original indie-band, Ween.

And Dean Ween certainly looked at home last night while sitting in with local legend Chris Harford and his Band of Changes, which also featured Bobka-friend Scott Metzger on guitar and the incredible Joe Russo on the drums, among others. The vibe was mellow and the standing-room-only crowd of roughly 50 people was attentive as Harford led his band through an array of songs and musical styles; sometimes light and introspective, other times powerful and rocking, but always sincere and captivating.

What I love most about John and Peter's is the automatic sense of intimacy one gets as soon as they walk in the door. It is impossible to be more than 10 feet away from the stage, and the low ceilings effectively capture every sound that is produced (including cell phone ringtones). Just be sure your phone is on 'vibrate'.

John and Peter's official site
Chris Harford MySpace

more swedish music: Club 8

"Cuz I Need Heaven Just Like You"

No not S Club 7 or 8-Ball, Club 8 is among the elite elders of the swedish indie pop community (and what a sweet, sincere community it is). And yes, for the 74th time, WE LOVE SWEDISH MUSIC. Club 8 apparently claim some hypothetical indie rock homecoming king and queen title in their native land. To be quite honest I'd never heard of them 'til last week (shows what I know). Coincidently, their phenomenally titled The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Dreaming, their 8th LP, drops next Tuesday in Sveden (November 13th in the States). While the band is known for mellow-electronic dance cuts and a similar downtempo bossanova/trip-hop vibe, "Heaven" is jangly funk guitar complete with maracas and bongo's and pogo friendly rhythm that brings to mind fellow Swedes Peter Bjorn & John's whistl-tastic "Young Folks." With that morsel in your brain, Club 8 have been hustlin' Stockholm and surrounding areas since PB&J were eating PB&J. Yeah, thats lame, but seriously, Club 8's Johan Angergard runs the prolific Swedish label Labrador and has been playing music with the sexy, coy Karolina Komstedt since 1995 (Remember '95? Dookie and Suburban Grunge. Good times). Already a mixtape staple for late summer/early fall. Not gonna lie, I wish the new Rilo Kiley sounded a bit like this, but hey, you cant always get what you want. Dig "Heaven" below and peep the video of one of Club 8's biggest hits to date, "Missing You." (Warning: "Missing You" is a little cheesy, in the realm of Ween's "Friends" & the few unsincere moments in Sally Shapiro songs, but regardless it's kinda catchy).

Oh, yeah and John and Karolina are ridiculously, ridiculously good looking. Like almost obscenely good looking.

Club 8- Heaven

nu musik: Ween - The Friends EP

"Friends in life are special"

Ween has been doing the whole 'indie-rock' thing long before it ever was a 'thing' to do. Founders Aaron Freeman (Gene Ween) and Mickey Melchiondo (Dean Ween) met in 1984 in a middle school typing class, and soon began churning out an endless stream of basement tapes. Over the years, Ween has gradually amassed a sizeable and devoted fanbase, largely without the help of mainstream media. (The closest they ever got to mainstream acceptance was in 2002 when they were hired to write a jingle for Pizza Hut's "Insider Pizza").

In spite of that debacle, Ween has boldly forged on and now presents us with their freshly produced "The Friends" EP. From the official press release: "We have recorded a lot of new material the past year and we wanted to give you an appetizer for the summer. It is the ultimate party record, filled with good beats and good times. Perfect for your barbecue or doing bong hits or whatever it is that you guys do." The EP is five tracks long, and in typical Ween style, covers five different genres of music: techno, rock, reggae, salsa, and 80s pop ballads.

"The Friends" EP is available exclusively through Ween's own label, Chocodog Records, until early July, at which point it will hit record store shelves. Look for the new full length album sometime in the fall. Until then, check out a track from the EP below, which could well be the jam of the summer.

Ween - Friends