video: Candy Claws

"Hidden Lands"

Hibernating in the woods can really pay off. At least, it did for Thoreau....I think. The same reclusive introspection can also be said of Candy Claws, who've been quietly penning and producing their next record in the sylvan wonderlands of grand ole Colorado. Not so secret as it once was, the band is now keeping track of their work on their new blog, and will even leave the confines of their humble abode for the calamities of SXSW. If you're heading to Austin, be sure to catch them as they do not play in public very often, if ever. Expect a forthcoming record this summer on two syllable records.

Post-SXSW Festival in Monterrey Mexico?

"ToddPNYC"

Yesterday some interesting pictures of an abandoned drive-in movie theater turned up on Facebook. BK DIY scene leader Todd P posted them. Later I came to learn that the pictures are of the potential grounds for a post-SXSW festival in the Mexican city of Monterrey, roughly four hours south of Austin. Rumor has it 200 bands (Correction: more like 40-80 bands) will be playing the three day festival, which will reportedly kick off the Saturday March 20th, and will overlap with SXSW for a couple days. If the lineup is anything like Todd's SXSW shows of the past, his legendary beach BBQs, or CMJ shows under the Bridge, 80 bands over three days is probably an accurate, maybe even conservative, take on the amount of music that could be blasted from the base of the Sierra Madre's one late weekend in March. Fingers crossed. See ya in Mexico.

interview (sorta): The Acorn

"Sleep above the mango trees"

Last week I rang Rolf Klausner of the Bobk-approved The Acorn to chat about the band's Glory Hope Mountain, his mother and the bands first trek into the United States of America. What happened next is a mess of digital coding, computer meltdowns and bedroom freakouts. Let me tell you kids, it wasn't pretty. In case you didn't already know, always, and I can't emphasize this enough, always back up everything you do, immediately after you do it. Not an hour later, or a day later, or a week later, but immediately after you're done. Trust me, it'll save you alot of time and anguish. A lot.

Truthfully, I should take my own advice, because after re-listening to Rolf wax poetically on the extensive research he did into his Mother's life (the muse for Glory Hope Mountain, the organic writing process and the bands recent trip to SXSW, I somehow lost the file. I'd exported the track through audacity and saved it as an .mp3 and moved it into my Bobka desktop folder for safe keeping. Two hours later, my new MacBook Pro arrived and I began transfering all my files from my old iBook G4 to my new machine. Unfortunately, somewhere in the digital chaos "the acorn-rolf-interview.aud" and "theacorn-rolf-interview.mp3" were lost. After a week of searching for these files on my external hard drive, old computer and new computer, I have reason to believe they have vanished in a digital black hole. Never shall the world hear Rolf eloquently speak on the organic process of writing and recording Glory Hope Mountain, or how sad he was when the band lost their Speedy Gonzalez bobble head. It's sad, especially since The Acorn are already back in my hood. (Last night they played the first of four shows in NY/BK at Union Hall.) Honestly, I'm a bit saddened by this, mainly because it was by far the best interview we'd conducted for the Bobka so far (no offense Explorers Club, Ra Ra Riot and Someone Still Loves You...), but this was a genuinely fascinating interview and I can't thank Rolf enough for giving up his time to speak to lowly me. With that said, you should give up a bunch of your time this week and catch The Acorn in New York. Why? Because they're fucking awesome. Just go see them this week, you'll be glad you did.

Sunday May 4th- Sound Fix, Brooklyn 6PM (FREE!)
Monday May 5th- Pianos, NYC (with The War on Drugs, part of a Brooklyn Vegan Party)
Tuesday May 6th- Mercury Lounge, NYC (with The Cave Singers, Love as Laughter)

The Acorn comes to America!

interview: The Explorers Club

"I'll remember our last kiss forever"

The Bobka is not even a year old (one more week!) but somehow we managed to finagle ourselves an intern, whatever that means. So please give a good hearty welcome to Hunter, our intern. (We really like the way that sounds.) When he's not making pita's and redesigning his facial hair, Hunter can be found writing about frogs and buying vinyl at Chuck-towns 525, one of the best record stores in the southeast. In his first call to duty, we had Hunter interview one of the finest bands to come out of Charleston, The Explorers Club. You might remember us talking about them last Spring when their demos of Smiley Smile-era harmonies were setting the stage for a beautiful summer. Since then the band has signed to Dead Oceans (Bowerbirds, Phosphorescent, Bishop Allen) and is about to release their debut LP, Freedom Wind (May 20th). The band is also releasing their first 7" single "Do You Love Me?" b/w "Carry Me" this Tuesday 4/8. You can snag it HERE.

Chocolate Bobka: How was SXSW?

Jason Brewer: I was sick most of the time, but it’s a lot of fun, we definitely got our name out there… We did it last year too, and we really enjoyed it.

CB: I read that Jim and Stefan (of the Explorers Club) ran into Michael Stipe…

JB: Yeah, I saw him sitting at a table at our label’s showcase, and (Explorers Club guitarist) Jim and (organist) Stefan grabbed one of our CD’s and went over and gave it to him, mentioned that we were friends with Brain Wilson. He was really cool about it.

CB: How did the band form? Did you guys have in mind that this is what you would sound like from day one? Or did it evolve more organically than that?

JB: Well I wrote a bunch of songs a couple years ago with that sound, just to see what I could come up with, that whole sixties sound. I’ve known our drummer since high school, and met most of the other guys at college. I called them up, told them I had these songs and some studio time, asked if they wanted to put together a band. I wanted it to be like a singing group, not just a rock band. There aren’t really singing groups anymore, you know? My dad directs choirs at church, that’s kind of how I learned. I wanted to take all these harmonies, take some Beach Boys, Beatles, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, whatever, and just put it all together. That’s what I wanted with the new record, Freedom Wind. I wanted it to sound like a combination of everything on my ipod, everything I put on a turntable.

CB: Let’s talk about Freedom Wind…Can you take me inside the recording process?

JB: We recorded in Atlanta with my friend Matt Goldman…he normally does a lot of commercial stuff, but he’s into Paul McCartney, Simon & Garfunkle, ELO... One of the guys who I co-wrote a lot of the songs with, who’s also from Atlanta, was an engineering intern a long time ago, and that’s how we met Matt. He’s got a really great studio with a lot of really cool session guys. We were able to get some really great horns and strings pretty cheap, as well as just getting a really good sound. And with him being familiar with all the music we like, we were all on the same page. He and I were the co-producers.

CB: Do you guys record live together at once, in separate parts, or a combination of the two? What about the harmonies?

JB: We do both, sometimes live, sometimes overdubs. We’ll sing it together to make sure it sounds good, then record it later. It’s pretty much the same with the instrumentation; sometimes we do different combinations of instruments live, sometimes just each instrument one at a time.

CB: I’ve been listening to the demos for a long time, and after a few listens to Freedom Wind, I’ve noticed a few production changes. What was it like re-recording these songs that had already been staples in your repertoire for so long?

JB: It wasn’t weird. I was really glad to be able to go re-work some of it. The demos were pretty good, but they weren’t as great as they could be. We needed to do it properly. Nine of the songs were recorded in June, and then the three original demos were beefed up a little bit, remixed and mastered; we added an instrument here or there, re-did some vocals.

CB: Do you feel like it helps to take some time off from a song, then revisiting it with a fresh set of ears? Or do you like to just hammer it out and get it done?

JB: I like to hammer them out. When you think about it too long, you start to come up with too many ideas. But sometimes it helps.

CB: From seeing your live shows, it seems like you guys are just out to make sure everyone has a good time. Did you want that vibe to translate to the record?

JB: Live, we’re not up there trying to do an art show, we’re not trying to be as cool as possible. We take our music seriously, but we’re mostly just trying to make sure everyone has fun. I kind of wanted the record to have that feel, where people don’t have to sit there and listen to it like it’s Dark Side of the Moon or something. I think a lot of bands do try and make a Sgt. Pepper’s or whatever, the first time they make a record, and I don’t think that’s such a good idea. I wanted to make a fun record with some really good songs on it, great sonics, something you can really get into with a pair of headphones on, and most of all, the songwriting to be really good.

CB: Between Explorers Club and Dr. Dog, do you think there’s a retro revival happening? Or is it just coincidence?

JB: Probably more coincidence. We’re definitely open to combining powers… I think we might do some gigs with them later this year, I don’t know, don’t quote me on that.

CB: Wouldn’t dream of it.

JB: I think it’s just coming around, you know? There are all these phases… there was the garage rock thing, the dance rock; recently it’s like noisy kind of stuff, I think? I don’t even really know. I just think a lot of kids who grew up in the 80’s, their parents, really listened to a lot of the stuff from the 60’s and 70’s, and are making music that sounds like that. In one way, it’s just kind of a lot of watering down, of the older stuff, but there’s certainly a lot more of it. Now there’s just an explosion of all kinds of music. For me, it’s all across the board, as far as influences go. I think the wide availability of music these days is just going to make everything broader and broader.

CB: What was it like having a song on the OC? (see video here)

JB: They cut it up and remixed it! But I was glad to have a song on there to get some exposure. People definitely went out and bought the song on itunes because of that, so I was pretty excited.

CB: How did you guys get a spot opening for comedian Zack Galifianakis? Was the crowd different at all?

JB: Well I just randomly sent him a MySpace message, saying how funny I thought he was, and to check out our band, and I guess he did, because he asked us to show up at this restaurant in Charleston on his sister’s birthday, and sing happy birthday for her in four-part harmony! After that, he asked us to open for him for some southeast shows. He wanted a band instead of an opening comedian, so we got to play to a bunch of college kids who were thoroughly confused why there was a band playing. But I think they had a lot of fun.

CB: Whats next for the Explorers Club?

JB: Well the record comes out May 20th [on Dead Oceans], and we’re gonna be doing a full U.S. tour, which should be great. We’re hoping that everyone digs the record, and can have fun with it. It’s a good summertime record, good for cruising around in a car and hanging out with your friends. We’re just glad that we can share our fun with this record with everybody else.

The Explorers Club have a few dates up and down the East Coast in late April. Unfortunately, I just realized that they're playing the same night as Ra Ra Riot, bummer. Guess we'll have to make the trek to Philly to see them.

4/23/2008 Mercury Lounge, NY,NY (with the Virgins and Sam Champion)
4/25/2008 Cafe Metropolis, Wilkes barre, PA (with the Spinto Band)
4/26/2008 Johnny Brendas, Philly, PA (with the A-Sides and The SW!MS)
4/27/2008 Sonar, Baltimore, MD (with The Spinto Band)

The Explorers Club- Do You Love Me?
The Explorers Club- Forever (demo)

interview: Ra Ra Riot

"Nevermind what your daughter is taught in school"

Today we start a new feature on the Bobka where we chat with some of our favorite artist's about music, life and whatever the hell else pops into what's left of our mangled brains. For our inaugural interview we caught up with Allie from Ra Ra Riot about the bands recent trip to SXSW, recording their first album and what the rest of the year holds in store for the Ra Ra's.

CB: You just got back from playing a ton of shows at SXSW, any highlights?

RRR: It was all pretty much a highlight. The weather was glorious. It was a good time.

CB: Catch any bands you’ve been meaning to see?

RRR: Yeah, I saw The Whip, The Virgins, who we toured with, they're friends. Tokyo Police Club, White Denim…they’re awesome, soo good.

CB: How many shows did you end up playing?

RRR: 7 in 4 days. 3 the first day, 2 on Saturday and a couple in between.

CB: Rumor has it you recorded another Daytrotter down there?

RRR: Yeah, we did, but it’s not finished. We’re going to go back in and finish it sometime soon.

CB: You played a show at the magnificent Red Rocks last summer. Are there any dream venues you’d like to play, or favorites you’ve played?

RRR: I don’t really know a lot about venues, but I’d love to play Red Rocks again. We played in Iceland at Iceland Airwaves and I’d love to play there again. It’s in Reykjavik and it’s amazing. I think we’d all love to go to Japan, but we’re pretty happy wherever we go.

CB: For recording I know you use an acoustic cello, have you ever toured with it?

RRR: Haha. No, I would never tour with the acoustic. When we started touring I got the electric just cause it is a huge relief. Plus, performance wise, it can go loud, it doesn’t feed back, it’s resilient. Not a hassle at all. Just performing with the electric is easier, lower maintenance, and you can move around quite a bit more.

CB: The band just finished recording an album at Bear Creek Studio in Washington, which seems like an ideal place to record an album (see pics). Besides the fact that a lot of great bands have been recorded there (Built to Spill, Soundgarden, Clapton, Mountain Goats), is there any reason you chose Bear Creek?

RRR: You know it was kind of a vibe thing. We went there and messed around and met Ryan and really hit it off with him. Then we stayed there on tour for a night a couple months ago, and it was like ‘wow if we could make a record here that would just be amazing’ and so that’s pretty much how it worked out.

CB: Did you have most of the songs written before going into the studio or did you pen some there?

RRR: Well, we did it in two sessions. And we pretty much had everything done before we got there. Then we added a couple more songs the second session but we only worked out one song there, the rest we worked on in Frenchtown, NJ at Wes’s house.

CB: Does the album have a title yet?

RRR: I think so, but we're gonna sit on it for a week and make sure we still like it.

CB: Songs tend to evolve on tour, are there any in particular that have evolved in the live setting?

RRR: Mostly just tempos. Sometimes we play certain songs a lot faster or a lot slower, depending on the setting. In terms of arrangements we’ve changed a lot of our older songs .

CB: Can we expect to hear any of those new arrangements on the new record?

RRR: There are a couple.

CB: Which ones?

RRR: I’m not gonna tell!

CB: Have you settled on a label yet or are you going to self release ?

RRR: We’re working it out with labels in the US now, but we still don’t have one in the US. Everywhere else we’re on V2. So that stuff will start picking up in a little while. I think probably within the next month it’ll be a bit clearer.

CB: Any plans for the summer?

RRR: Probably going to be a lot of festival stuff. Probably not in the US since were doing that right now. Most likely festivals in Europe.

If your bumming around Europe this summer be sure to catch Ra Ra Riot at one of those ridiculous festivals they throw over there. If not, don't worry, they're currently touring the states and probably coming to a town near you. We'll be catching them at Maxwell's on 4/23. Get your tickets now, they're going fast. Click HERE for dates.

Ra Ra Riot- Suspended in Gaffa (Daytrotter)
Ra Ra Riot- St. Peter's Day Festival (Daytrotter)
Ra Ra Riot- Each Year (Daytrotter)

post-hype: Lykke Li

"For You I Keep My Legs Apart"

Lykke Li (pronounced Lookey Loo??) is the latest Scandanavian sweetheart to make our collective hearts flutter. Her record Youth Novels is the type of minimalist pop that blends the boundaries of indie bedroom folk and laptop pop, with weeping orchestrations and arrangements by, you guessed it, Bjorn Yttling of PB&J and Lasse Marten, who also worked on Our Ill Wills and Kelly Clarkson's "Since You've been Gone". Lykke is bound for exponential stardom, or at least fan-boy dom, as her coy, slinky vibe is sure to win over last years Feist converts and hype eating hipsters, alike. Goldmines like "Dance, Dance Dance", which features the precious "My hips they lie/ cause in reality/ I'm shy, shy, shy", is poised to wind up on college playlists across the country, while "Little Bit" is likely to be zapped into your home Television set via a Honda commercial. And rightfully so, as Lykke has all the makings of a Swedish pop sensation; sincere, smart, beautiful and Swedish, that's all it takes. Not only does she have the stuff FM pop stations should be drooling over, she's got tracks that scream "remix", like "I'm Good, I'm Gone" and the slightly robotic breakup jam "Complaint Department" ("If you want to complain/ I'm not the complaint department").

The only thing preventing International stardom is the limited distribution, as Youth Novels is currently only packaged for Scandanavian consumption, although we're pretty sure after all the shows she played at SXSW that somebody is bound to ink a deal to bring it Stateside. Right now the only place to buy Youth Novels is HERE.
She will be making her NYC debut 5/7 at Joe's Pub, with another date at the Bowery Ballroom 5/8. Peep the video that made me fall for Lykke below.






"Little Bit" in the Street