Wires on Fire (PAPA, GIRLS, Queens of the Stone Age) return with new tracks
In 2004, Wires on Fire formed in Los Angeles -- and released an EP, an LP, and then pretty much fell off the map. Brothers Darren and Evan Weiss went on to play in GIRLS and PAPA, while bassist Michael Shuman joined Queens of the Stone Age. Fast forward to today, when Wires on Fire released the first two songs since their hiatus: "Up Your Sleeve" and "Born Dirty to Last Forever," both available as free downloads. The tracks definitely reflect the band's original inspirations of Drive Like Jehu and The Jesus Lizard: riffy, fast and fun. We hope to [...]
Mixtape: Fourteen Songs about Love for Valentine's Day (Podcast #300)
Mixtape: Fourteen Songs about Love for Valentine's Day (Podcast #300) In case you've managed to avoid this news until now, February 14th is Valentine's Day, the greeting card industry holiday that can compel even the least romantic to confront the topic of love. Over the past few years, plenty of our favorite indie rockers have explored the excitement and complications of love in terrific songs. Here, we've collected fourteen tracks about love's many facets, including the swooning romanticism of Real Estate, Cass McCombs, and Bare Wires. Affairs of the heart don't always end well, however, and the mix also offers [...]
Christopher Owens adds West Coast dates to solo tour
Fresh from the infamous Girls break-up of 2012, Christopher Owens' newest project and solo debut, Lysandre, dropped last week (1/14/13) on Turnstile/Fat Possum. The candid, more poppy release was met with a resounding chorus of critic approval, as Drowned in Sound writes: These songs marry the simplicity of the debut’s structures with the overarching consistency and ornamentation of record three (on this go round, adding a good deal of rasping sax and wistful flute), and it’s fun to hear how the two disparate periods of Owens’ trajectory meld together. Songs like ‘Here We Go Again’ and ‘New York City’ account for [...]
Christopher Owens announces debut solo album 'Lysandre' and SF show on 11/9/12
Christopher Owens, the former Girls frontman, has announced the release of his debut solo album. Lysandre is slated for a January 14th release on Turnstile. Owens has describes the record as “A coming of age story, a road trip story, a love story.” The album does have an interesting backstory. Inspired by the events of Girls’ first ever tour in the summer of 2008, its namesake recalls a woman Owens met in France during a festival performance. Lysandre is written, recorded and sequenced as a complete narrative. Recorded with former Girls producer Doug Boehm, the record was written almost entirely [...]
Girls loses frontman Christopher Owens
San Francisco band Girls had a big hit on their hands with their album Father, Son, Holy Ghost, released this past September, following 2010's Broken Dreams EP and 2009's Album. So, it came as something as a surprise when frontman Christopher Owens announced he was leaving the band via Twitter on July 2, 2012. The three tweets read: 1) Dear all, This may come as a surprise to many and has been an issue of much thought for me. My decision was not easy to make 2) I am leaving Girls. My reasons at this time are personal. I need [...]
Girls playing at Bimbo's on April 11th
Here's a special treat for Girls fans: the band will be at Bimbo's - a super classy establishment if there ever was one - on April 11th, and tickets are still available (9:00pm, $22/advance, $25/door, 18+). Not only that, but as of this posting, no other bands are listed on the bill. That means a full evening's worth of Girls and everything they have to offer. Who knows if any openers will be added between now and April 11th, but either way, it's sure to be a great show. Girls - Lawrence by PIAS Entertainment
Girls – "I Will Always Love You" (Whitney Houston tribute)
Via Pitchfork: Over the weekend at the Laneway Festival, Girls covered "I Will Always Love You" - a song originally written by Dolly Parton, but made extremely famous by Whitney Houston, who passed away on Saturday. In this live video, Christopher Owens performs a gentle rendition of the song as the audience joins in, barely holding it together as he softly strums along.
Mixtape: Twelve Bay Area Highlights from 2011 (Podcast #263)
Mixtape: Twelve Bay Area Highlights from 2011 (Podcast #263) We might be biased, but, from this vantage point, 2011 reconfirmed that the Bay Area continues to have the most vibrant music community nationwide. The SF scene cranked out a ton of amazing albums this year, and our final podcast of 2011 highlights twelve great releases from Bay Area artists over the past twelve months. This isn't a "Best of" list per se, but these acts did create some of our favorite music in 2011. We'll be doing more year-in-review coverage over the next few weeks, but, for now, enjoy this [...]
Girls – “Lawrence”
Girls - Lawrence by PIAS Entertainment Out December 6th via True Panther, Girls have a new single that's billed as a tribute to Felt/Denim/Go Kart Mozart leader Lawrence. The record is a red, one-sided, heart-shaped 7" limited to 1000 copies. Give "Lawrence" a spin above. (Via Pitchfork)
Videos: Girls’ Christopher Owens performing solo in an art gallery
Over the weekend, the Opening Ceremony blog posted an entry by photographer Ryan McGinley, who shared several videos from a solo performance by Girls' Christopher Owens at an SF gallery last year. The set includes beautiful renditions of a handful of Girls songs, including several currently unreleased tracks, and a few covers. Said McGinley: "A year ago today was the opening for my show Life Adjustment Center at Ratio 3 Gallery in San Francisco's Mission. Christopher played an acoustic set in the gallery, and everyone sat down on the floor to listen. He had told me about doing a special [...]