The Center for the Arts in Eagle Rock is one of those undiscovered venues in Los Angeles that inspires everyone to ask, “Have you been here before?” as if seeking out the one true hipster king. Few of us had. The rest were left to feign an indirect, 3rd party knowledge of its past shows or, otherwise, admit ignorance and pontificate on Eagle Rock’s gentrification. The venue / community center / public space resembles an art deco Spanish mission or Coca plantation house that’s been gutted of religious and/or narcotic paraphernalia and replaced by a fresh coat of paint, a stage, and a projector screen. It was the perfect environment to sip some Tecate, talk to old friends, and of course see Vetiver play their new songs.
Vetiver’s set ebbed and flowed between bittersweet summer-day melancholy and darker midnight-drive music; Andy’s vocals were right on, Otto’s drumming was tight, and Sanders’ electric gave each song the pulse it needed to push idlers out of inertia. The movie Benji screened behind the stage. The elements were odd, I suppose — a Spanish mission, Vetiver, and Benji — but everything coalesced into a special, low-lit whole. A Vetiver performance is a reunion of sorts: a gathering of friends acquired over years of shows and shared taste, separated by responsibilities, and united by a feeling that there are no kings, just people.
Produced by Kevin Barker (Currituck Co., Vetiver), The Family Jams features Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, and Vetiver as they tour the country performing their genre-defining music in the summer of 2004. They help each other overcome family tragedies and car accidents, and meet colorful characters, forgotten musical heroes, and folk luminaries as they travel across the country.
The film is an intimate portrait of life on the road for these young musicians early in their careers, playing tiny, obscure clubs and art galleries, but on the verge of larger success where small vans are replaced by large, impersonal tour buses. Here music is a creative, organic, inclusive endeavor. They not only sing about the world in which they want to live, they create it.
The film will be screening at the Sarasota Film Festival – we’ll keep you updated when further news comes our way!
Bella Union, Vetiver’s label in the UK and Europe, have printed up a limited run of 7″s for the song “Everyday”, with a cover design by Nathaniel Russell. It will be available March 9th, and only 500 are being made.
Park Life and Noise Pop are proud to present the third annual group show featuring original fine art created by members of the music community. This year’s show features an eclectic line up of musicians that make art. Confirmed thus far: Alissa Anderson (Vetiver), Joseph Arthur, Bianca Casady (CocoRosie), Harrison Haynes (Les Savy Fav), Jesse Michaels (Operation Ivy), Nate Manny (Murder City Devils), Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo) , Sara Sanger .
Park Life Store/Gallery
220 Clement Street
San Francisco, CA 94118
www. parklifestore. com
“In about a month from now, Feb. 17 to be precise, our new album Tight Knit will be available in stateside stores on our new label, Sub Pop. Shortly thereafter it will make its debut across the pond at our new home abroad, Bella Union. However, the foresighted folk at Sub Pop have enabled you to pre-purchase the album right now, and by doing so, you receive immediate access to a stream of the new record! What a very modern and appealing feature.”
Originally intended as a precursor to their acclaimed recent album, Thing of the Past,Vetiver‘s companion EP is finally released by Gnomonsong as the five-song More of the Past CD as well as a limited-edition 7-inch single, “Hey Doll Baby” b/w “Miles Apart.”
Presented here are six more songs that inspired Andy Cabic and friends, and once again, most listeners will be challenged to have ever heard the originals. These versions all possess the rich Vetiver treatment that makes the special songs the band’s own.
“See You Tonight” opens the EP with a flourish, presenting Vetiver in a new shade of the past as they tackle yet another impossibly obscure treasure of a tune, this time by the enigmatically named ensemble, The Wizards. “Hey Doll Baby” follows and is already an established concert favorite, beloved by Vetiver’s burgeoning fan base as well as being the A-side of the 7-inch single. “Before the Sun Goes Down” is Vetiver going country rock with an old traditional classic. The EP closes with Vetiver’s skillful redux of one of Grin’s (Nils Lofgren’s early ’70s band) finest moments, “Just to Have You,” and Gordon Bok’s lovely “Hills of Isle Au Haut,” originally covered by former Jerry Garcia cohort and folk music mainstay Jody Stecher.
The B-side of the 7-inch, “Miles Apart,” by AR Kane (the same duo who wrote “Pump Up the Volume”), provides a strong taste of Cabic’s love of ’80s UK alternative pop.
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Most people probably don’t know this, but Andy Cabic once slapped a mean four-string with the San Francisco-based Krautrock/shoegaze band Tussle. Though the siren song of fate called Andy away from the funked out jams of Tussle and into the sweet, sylvan sounds of Vetiver, he has rejoined his former comrades for their third record, Cream Cuts. On August 26, Cream Cuts will emerge from the netherworld of space and enter our anxious ears to once again lay sovereignty on the unconscious. To sweeten the deal, the record was produced by Thom Monahan, the genius producer behind the scenes of Vetiver, Devendra, and Brightblack Morning Light albums of yesteryear.
[download] “Meh Teh (Live)” – the studio version will be on Cream Cuts
A true landmark event for naturalismo. I’m proud to present a very special video: Vetiver, Live at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, CA, May 7. Andy Cabic sat down with me to answer a few questions and allowed me to shoot some exclusive live footage. The song included in the video, “Another Reason to Go,” is not available anywhere, and will be included in Vetiver’s forthcoming album of originals to be released down the road.
In the meantime, check out Vetiver’s newest collection of cover songs, Thing of the Past, and definitely check them out on tour this spring.
Also, I shot the entirety of Vetiver’s set at the Troubadour that night and will be posting a select few additional songs from that performance here at naturalismo in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!
It’s hard to believe that Vetiver’s last album To Find Me Gone came out nearly two years ago, but wait no longer as you can finally get your hands on two new remixed songs from the aforementioned album. More recently, after completing a worldwide tour in supporting Devendra Banhart’s latest Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, Andy Cabic has been DJing around the San Francisco area at various concerts and bars. That sound has carried over onto the first remix single from the new Neighbors remix 12″ where with the help of long-time studio partner and Neighbors duo collaborator Thom Monahan, they have crafted an entrancing dance floor reworked version of You May Be Blue, available below. The B-side remix of Been So Long has been changed so much that it barely resembles the original album track. Fixated on the droney bass and percussion of the original Been So Long intro, Neighbors mixes the intoned flute playing of Alissa Anderson with the melodica and pedal steel of “Farmer” Dave Scher to create a version that plays more like a spiritual journey than a song.
We’re just in a Vetiver state of mind here at the ‘Lismo today. Check out this great video of Vetiver performing “Been So Long” with Vashti Bunyan and Juana Molina. This was a rehearsal for the Vetiver/Vashti “0 Degrees of Separation” tour, recorded sometime this past December or January.
Ahhh, isn’t it great working on a national holiday? Isn’t it great writing for a blog on a workday? Yes! Especially on a day like today, when Andy Cabic announced the full tracklist for Vetiver’s upcoming all-covers LP A Thing of the Past. And mark your calendars (aside from “don’t die” on December 31, mine is pretty barren anyway): because the album, which features guest appearances by Michael Hurley and Vashti Bunyan, is dropping sometime in May. So just circle the entire month of May on your calendar and write “Vetiver” in red Sharpie.
A Thing of the Past (songwriters in brackets):
Houses [Elyse Weinberg]
Roll on Babe [Derroll Adams]
Sleep a Million Years [Dia Joyce]
Hook & Ladder [Norman Greenbaum]
To Baby [Biff Rose]
Road to Ronderlin [Ian Matthews]
Lon Chaney [Garland Jeffreys]
Hurry on Sundown [Dave Brock, Hawkwind]
Swimming Song [Loudon Wainwright III]
Blue Driver [Michael Hurley]
Standing [Towns Van Zandt]
I Must Be in a Good Place Now [Bobby Charles]
~
Vetiver, opening for and backing Gary Louris:
03-16 Seattle, WA – Showbox
03-17 Vancouver, British Columbia – Richard’s on Richards
03-18 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
03-20 San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
03-21 Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre
03-23 Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
03-25 Minneapolis, MN – State Theater
03-27 Madison, WI – Barrymore Theater (no Vetiver opening set)
03-28 Chicago, IL – The Vic
03-29 Pittsburgh, PA – Mr Small’s Theater
03-30 Toronto, Ontario – Mod Club Theatre
04-01 Somerville, MA – Somerville Theater
04-02 New York, NY – Town Hall
04-04 Chapel Hill, NC – Cat’s Cradle
04-05 Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
Vetiver’s set ebbed and flowed between bittersweet summer-day melancholy and darker midnight-drive music; Andy’s vocals were right on, Otto’s drumming was tight, and Sanders’ electric gave each song the pulse it needed to push idlers out of inertia. The movie Benji screened behind the stage. The elements were odd, I suppose — a Spanish mission, Vetiver, and Benji — but everything coalesced into a special, low-lit whole. A Vetiver performance is a reunion of sorts: a gathering of friends acquired over years of shows and shared taste, separated by responsibilities, and united by a feeling that there are no kings, just people.
