Sure it looks glamorous, but bands work hard. No, not the ones who require riders full of demands for green M&M's and can fill an extra tour bus with roadies, but the other ones, those in the trenches. Double that for those without a label, who are generally met with the behind the scenes tasks of recording, packaging, marketing, and all of that other dirty work, in addition to the usual task of actually playing the music out and about.
It's apropos, then, that we feature Portland's Tea For Julie on Labor Day weekend. The band released their long-awaited second album, The Sense in Tying Knots, earlier this year, four years after the success of their debut, Division. Though both efforts were self-released, a decidedly more restrained sound pervades the new one, perhaps revealing a new-found maturity in the process. We'll talk to the band about the process of including a producer in the mix this time around and hear a live set of the new songs on tonight's In House.
Stream: Tea For Julie's opbmusic in-studio session
August 30, 2008 at 4:01pm by inmemoryofjohnpeel
Hi JP
Caught Parenthetical Girls last night at the Doug Fir, a quirky but distinctive band, did an amusing OMD cover. Their true 20-piece Orchestral performance next week is a one off not to be missed. Will you be out and about during the fest?
Tea For Julie session was good, I'll give the dice another spin.
August 30, 2008 at 7:05pm by Jeremy Petersen
Sounds interesting, I wasn't aware of those Parenthetical Girl circumstances for the upcoming show.
I will indeed be out and about, though I'm still trying to figure out where and when. There should be a calculator of some sort where you can enter desired acts/nights/venues/etc and a personal schedule complete with ETA based on venue proximity and assorted other unplanned variables can be produced. Still a few things catch my eye: Built to Spill playing Perfect From Now On seems not to be missed on Friday (plus Britt Daniel on the same bill). Been a while since I saw M. Ward, too, who I'm thinking must have some new material to unveil. Always like to catch John Vanderslice, too. In short, there are a whole lot of places to be at once, the good part being that there seem to be a lot of can't miss showcases.
Glad you liked the Tea For Julie session, as have a few others who chimed in. I can't imagine they'll be label-less for much longer if they don't want to be......
August 31, 2008 at 10:00am by alder
If I had a label, I'd sign them right now! That was probably the best live session I've heard on In House yet. Another Portland band to take over the world!
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