We’re finally recovered from our week in Austin and trying to return to normal life. There’s still time for a little bit of reminiscing and celebrating as Magic Bullets played AWESOME sets at SXSW. Bob Boilen from NPR’s All Songs Considered caught their show at Emo’s Jr and named them one of their favorite finds of the festival!! See what else he had to say:
“Magic Bullets is fronted by a very tall, rubbery singer named Philip Benson. His spirit is infectious, and the band was a delight, reminiscent of what Talking Heads were doing before 1978. Here they’re doing a cover of an early ’80s Altered Images tune called “I Could Be Happy.”
Here is some long overdue credit being given for the amazing folks who’ve helped me with the Mon Amie website and postcards.
Emily Beaver is the photographer responsible for all the awesome old-movie-looking images you see in the website masthead and postcards. Chris Hall is the exceptional and kind designer who made the Mon Amie logo, postcards, and website imaging. I imagine there’d still be a Mon Amie record label without them…but it just wouldn’t be nearly as fun or rewarding.
As if you needed another reason to love Magic Bullets…check out their extremely charming appearance on Backseat Beat. I might be biased, but how could you not love a band that marinates burritos in Mountain Dew and makes coq au vin sound like an evening in the Castro.
1. Starting my own record label / Magic Bullets’ NYC shows
2. Beach House – Teen Dream
3. Villagers – Becoming A Jackal
4. Magic Bullets – Untitled
5. Spiritualized @ Radio City Music Hall
6. Road tripping with Conor and Ber of Villagers (Milwaukee you complete me).
7. Lollapalooza / Chicago with Wild Beasts (& Lone Wolf!)
8. Wild Nothing – Gemini
9. Seeing Antony & The Johnsons with a full orchestra @ Lincoln Center on Halloween
10. Anika – Anika
Honorable mentions: Orange Juice box set, Four Tet, These New Puritans, Dum Dum Girls, The National, and Lower Dens.
Thanks to everyone who helped make all this happen…here’s to next year being even better. xx
In honor of the SF Giants’ World Series victory, Magic Bullets (and a slew of other great bay area bands) have donated tracks for a very worthy compilation benefiting the Coalition on Homelessness. It’s only $1 and you can hear Magic Bullets’ incredible cover of Teenage Fanclub’s “Everything Flows.” Donate here.
I’m elated to announce the signing of the second band to Mon Amie Records (don’t get jealous Magic Bullets). Wooden Indian Burial Ground hail from Portland, OR, and founder / songwriter Sir Justin D Fowler is otherworldly. I found him and Judy Brown Eyes serendipitously on my way to Seattle when I was moving to work for Sub Pop. They were more than kind enough to let me crash on their couch during my travels up north, and it turns out they sang really pretty songs too.
Justin still plays those songs (and more) with Judy, and an album of their sweet spooky blues will be out on Mon Amie in the near future, but for now, we get the most righteous sounds of Justin’s full band project under the same name. I won’t spoil the surprise, but I will say, their album (which we plan to release Spring of 2011), is gonna be filled with stone cold jams…the kind that might make you want to space out and do rock kicks in your bedroom. Click here for more information on Wooden Indian Burial Ground.
I had the pleasure of sitting next to Andy Kotowicz every weekday for almost a year when I worked at Sub Pop. I sadly have just come back from his memorial service in Seattle, and words cannot express the devastation of knowing I’ll never see him again. I love Andy K. He was one of the warmest, funniest, most passionate people I’ve ever met.
Andy is responsible for signing some of the most interesting and weird artists on Sub Pop (Pissed Jeans, Wolf Eyes, Vetiver, the list goes on). But I’ll remember him more for the quiet banal moments. I’d start every morning with a cheerful hello from him and quietly enjoy overhearing him yelling at a retailer or cracking the most inappropriate/hilarious joke over his hushed office music soundtrack…mostly reggae or psychedelic noise.
When I gave my notice to go work for Domino, Andy asked if I’d reconsider if he promised to play less reggae. Little did he know, he’s the reason I would become obsessed with rocksteady, mod reggae, and old studio one ska. The Althea and Donna 7″ he gave me is one of my prized possessions.
I almost want to say he’s the type of guy that makes you smile every time you think of him…but there is no ‘type of guy’ like Andy…he was one of a kind. I never would’ve believed my goodbye party in Seattle would be the last time I’d see him. I don’t quite know what to say, except I feel so lucky to have had the time I did with him. My thoughts are with the Sub Pop family, as well as Andy’s wife and daughter. I’ll miss Andy so much.
Thanks very much to the very nice folks at Brooklyn Vegan for bringing the Bullets onto their already awesome lineup for this Friday. Check out details here!
