We’re honored to welcome journalist Bob Doda to Team HT. Today, Bob makes his Hidden Track debut with an extensive profile on one of our favorite bands – The McLovins…

On a sunny afternoon in Brooklyn, all three members of The McLovins stand with their backs to a retro-style bowling alley and watch a video of a seal & penguin fight to the death, in some sort of psychedelic nature video.

[All photos courtesy of Carol Huffman]

“That seal kicked that penguin’s ass,” says Jake Huffman, 16, the band’s lead singer and drummer. Obviously, this isn’t your average bowling alley.

The Brooklyn Bowl is half bowling alley, fitted with leather couches and half staging area complete with flashing lights and dance floor. On this particular Sunday, the Bowling Alley is hosting their first Bar Mitzvah. Upon first glance, it would appear that Jake, Jason Ott (bass) and Jeff Howard (guitar) would be there to bowl a few games and down a few cold coca-cola classics, not melt one face at a time with catchy riffs and jams that could only be classified as organized chaos.

Entering their second year as “the band that killed YEM on YouTube,” The McLovins are poised to stay busy in 2010. They will be opening for legendary jam rockers, Max Creek, who are on the verge of their 40th anniversary, in May. They are also on the Snoe.Down bill scheduled for a lunchtime set in Killington, Vermont, and the StrangeCreek Festival in Greenfield, Massachusetts Memorial Day Weekend. Another huge milestone for The McLovins is their own show at Infinity Hall in Norfolk, Connecticut on May 7th. Most recently, they played a gig at the celebrated club, Nectar’s, in Burlington, when a local piano player walked through the door.

READ ON for more of Bob’s interview with The McLovins…

This Sunday at 3PM, HT Faves The McLovins take the stage at Brooklyn Bowl for a free show. Does it get much better than McLovins + Brooklyn Bowl + Free, no, for me it does not. Since that fateful November evening when 15-year-old drummer Jake Huffman uploaded a video of the young trio slaying Phish’s You Enjoy Myself, the group’s original songs, stage presence and improvisational prowess  has grown by leaps and bounds.

It isn’t often they make it down to New York City and rarely do they play All Ages Shows, so this should be a terrific opportunity to see why we keep fluffing their music. Can’t make it out but still want to see The McLovins play? You’re in luck as they will be webcasting a show tomorrow night at 7PM straight from New Vizion.  We hope to see you on Sunday afternoon.

The latest video from The McLovins features Milktoast Man – the group’s new original composition. Milktoast Man contains a laidback, reggae groove and owes more to The Police than the Grateful Dead. Check it out…

The McLovins – Milktoast Man

This clip was recorded this past weekend at Nectar’s in Burlington, VT, where the boys hung with Phish keyboardist Page McConnell…

The McLovins’ next show takes place at New Vizion Studio in West Hartford, CT on March 6th for a show that will be broadcast live on UStream.

We’ve got two new Phish-related iPhone apps to tell you about and they both look pretty damn cool. First up is Phanatic which offers setlists and statistics from every concert Phish has played over the past 26 years and will be updated on the fly with future setlists as the shows happen. Also available is the iDIDN’TKNOW pack featuring five fun games about the band including Professor Mulchahey’s Phinal Exam, Phanagrams and Fuzzy Math.

Both apps are currently available through the iTunes store with a portion of sales from each going to The Mockingbird Foundation.

There’s plenty of links to share, so let’s get down to business…

• William Bell, Counting Crows among Christmas Jam highlights
• Jim James tells BBC6 that MMJ is working on their 6th album
• A look at where the digital music business is heading in 2010
• Reports surface that John Frusciante has quit the Chili Peppers
• MySpace’s deal to buy Imeem leaves 100,000 artists unpaid
• David Byrne unveils a project with Fatboy Slim – Here Lies Love

Finally, The McLovins have just released a new EP entitled Virtual Circle that features the title track and Hell Yeah, both of which will be on the boys’ sophomore release come next summer. You can download both tracks for a mere $1.98 through the trio’s website.

READ ON for three more news stories of interest…

2009 couldn’t have worked out much better for our friends The McLovins. Not only did they play their first gigs in New York City and Boston, they also scored a spot at Gathering of the Vibes and released their first album.

The year isn’t over yet and the Connecticut-based trio has got at least one more trick up their proverbial sleeves. Jake, Jason and Jeff unveiled a “brand raging new” (their term) original called Hell Yeah last Friday night at Troy’s Revolution Hall where they were opening for Max Creek. Hell Yeah veers more dark-prog than some of the boys’ other originals. Check it out…

The McLovins – Hell Yeah

Further Viewing:

• Killing Time
• Virtual Circle
• Bri (In Memory Of)
• You Enjoy Myself

The McLovins have just posted yet another new song to YouTube. This fun rocker – named 20 in a 35 – features Jake Huffman relentlessly pounding the skins, Jason Ott holding it down with some meaty bass lines and Jeff Howard unleashing some monstrous riffs throughout his relentless four-minute guitar solo. These three young talented musicians never fail to impress.

The McLovins – 20 in a 35

Last Week’s Sauce is a recurring column featuring recordings of shows from the previous week. Thanks to bigperm for this week’s photo.

Artist & Title: The Breakfast – Rufus>Frankly Po Zest>Rufus>Frankly Po Zest
Date & Venue: 2009-10-16 River Street Jazz Cafe, Plains PA
Taper & Show Download: Keith Litzenberger

Tim Palmieri is one of the best shredders on the scene, and you get some good evidence why in this section of segued classic Breakfast tunes. The Breakfast will be all around the Northeast in the next couple of months, they are next playing this Saturday at Red Square in Albany. Tim Palmieri plays solo tonight in New Haven. Highly recommended.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

READ ON to hear tracks from Cowboy Junkies, The Brew, and others.

The McLovins return to the island of Manhattan tomorrow night where they’ll be performing a mix of originals and covers at Sullivan Hall around 9:30PM. There’s a $10 cover which also allows you to check out performances by GIG Brazil at 10:30pm, The Concentrics at 8:30pm and Stephanie Chou Project at 7:30pm. Come out to support the boys as they celebrate the release of their outstanding debut album, Conundrum.

The McLovins – You Enjoy Myself

Also on the McLovins tip, the youthful trio have just announced their first-ever Boston gig on October 3. Drumlovin, Axlovin and Basslovin will headline a show at Berklee’s Cafe 939 from 8PM to 11PM along with special guest Vassal. This show is all ages, so if you know someone in high school who listens to awful music bring them along to get educated.

The summer of 2009 has treated our friends The McLovins really well. Not only did they turn heads at Gathering of the Vibes, released their debut album and picked one helluva first Phish show to attend at Hartford but they’ve written a new, fantastic tune called Virtual Circle.

The young trio recently had a live performance of Virtual Circle videotaped and we’re proud to bring you the world premiere of the clip. Take a look…

• Previously on HT: Interview – McLovins Be Superbad

If you haven’t picked up Conundrum you’re totally missing out. Here’s a preview video of McLovins’ debut album to give you a taste…

McLovins – Album Montage