There’s two types of music aficionados. Those that know and love Daytrotter and those that have yet to discover it. The Horseshack Recording Studios is located in Rock Island, Illinois a small city of less than 40,000, on the mighty Mississippi in the country’s heartland. It may seem like an odd destination to attract some of the premier and most exciting up and coming acts in the country, but attract they do.
Stripping down the music to its bare essence, more than a dozen bands per week lay down tracks in a live mini-concert with no editing, overdubbing or other effects. The session is recorded in analog with minimal mic’ing straight to tape. The sessions are ultimately transferred to a computer and digitized and that’s what appears on the Daytrotter site. However, what you hear is exactly what happened that day. Often raw. Often spine-tingling. Often soulful. Often compelling. Often brand new. Often intimately familiar but with a twist. Daytrotter delights not only with the outstanding recording, but likewise with unique illustrations and interesting biographies and write-ups that accompany each session. This is a music site without many peers.
I recently had the pleasure of asking Daytrotter founder, Sean Moeller, a few questions about the studio, the recording process, the bands and the technology that make Daytrotter such a magical experience. So no matter if you’ve never heard of Daytrotter before or already a fan of the site, read on to learn more about one of my favorite music sites on the web. In addition, we have a complimentary subscription for one of our lucky readers.
Over the last few years, the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, which boasts an impressive array of celebrities buried within its grounds, has played host to a series of unique concerts. The latest batch of artists to sign on to perform amongst the tombstones include Explosions In The Sky, James Blake, Mark Lanegan and Flaming Lips. The psychedelic-rock act, who will play the cemetery for two nights and one morning on June 14 and 15, will seize the opportunity by performing their 1999 breakthrough album The Soft Bulletin in its entirety as well their interpretation of Pink Floyd’s seminal classic Dark Side Of The Moon. Ticketing information and further details about these shows are still forthcoming.
As an added Tour Dates bonus, you can click through to see the full NSFW poster for the Lips run at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
If can’t make it out to LA for these special shows, then maybe you’ll be able to hit one of these recently announced tours…
Finally, influential live music website Daytrotter has announced the details for their 4th annual Barnstormer Tour. The five show tour will run from April 26-30, hitting actual barns in Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan and Iowa, and will include performances from site alums Sondre Lerche, Guards, The Romany Rye, Hellogoodbye, ARMS, Keegan DeWit, Mike & The Moonpies and Hands.
A few weeks back I headed over to influential music website Daytrotter, and decided to mine their vast archives of fantastic in-studio recordings from a veritable who’s who of indie-rock act – downloading some 150-plus songs. If you’re unfamiliar with the site, its a great place to discover up and coming bands, as well as hear your favorites in a laid back live setting. So with that in mind, I thought I’d give you a mix of some of my favorites that I found on Grooveshark. So sit back, enjoy and play it loud…
We kick things off with White Winter Hymnal from Seattle folk-rockers the Fleet Foxes, who are currently finishing up their sophomore album. From there, we’ve got Frightened Rabbit with the deep cut Square Nine, from their debut album Sing The Greys. Next up, is a jazzy cover of The Beatles’ quirky, western ode Rocky Raccoon from songstress Jessie Baylin.
We follow that up with Little White Lies from HT faves Deer Tick, who kicked off their lengthy cross-country fall tour Wednesday night in Chapel Hill. Then, it’s Bon Iver with this hauntingly beautiful take on Creature Fears. Finally, we close things out with some psychedelic rock courtesy of Akron/Family with their slow building freak out Will They Appear, off their highly recommended album Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free.
After a spending three years inhabiting venues across the mighty Northeast, Farm Aid will once again return to its roots with a show in the Midwest at the Gateway City of St. Louis. The long running socio-political benefit concert will make its debut appearance in the Show Me state on October 4 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Maryland Heights, MO.
As has become the custom, Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews with band will perform, with Wilco, Jason Mraz and Phospheresant also confirmed to play.
If you can’t make it to St. Louis, for what is sure to be a fantastic day of music for a great cause, than maybe you’ll be able to hit one of these recently announced tours…
Finally, influential live music site Daytrotter have announced a unique series of shows to take place in barns and attics in Iowa and Wisconsin. Dubbed the Daytrotter Barnstormer six of the sites alumni – including Local Natives, Catfish Haven and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – will head out on a five day tour with fans encouraged to caravan along to each of the stops.
in its entirety as well their interpretation of Pink Floyd’s seminal classic 
. Ticketing information and further details about these shows are still forthcoming.
. Next up, is a jazzy cover of The Beatles’ quirky, western ode Rocky Raccoon from songstress Jessie Baylin.
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