When Van Ghost releases their forthcoming studio effort The Domino Effect, it will serve as a fitting allegory. The band is at the tipping point, the sweet spot where the grind becomes success. They have checked all the boxes: the catalog, the festivals, the press, the fanbase and the team. Now, it’s time to let the pieces fall into place and reach a broader audience.
Of all the exciting things on the docket, the development that has perhaps aided the success more than any other is the establishment of the permanent lineup. In the past, the band functioned as a bit more of a collective, but now the five-piece led by Michael Harrison Berg and Jennifer Hartswick is as Michael puts it, “the band.” This adds a challenge to the scheduling given the various members’ other projects, but it’s done wonders for cementing the sound and taking things to new heights musically.
We caught up with Michael Harrison Berg to catch up on the new music, the recent “Pick the Single” partnership with Grooveshark, the story of that curious guitar and a little fantasy football.
Hidden Track: To start, I’m dying to know the story of your electric guitar. I’ve been noticing it in a lot of pictures and it looks an awful lot like a Doug Irwin guitar. Could it be?
Michael Harrison Berg: A ton of people ask me that. It is actually called a Phiga from a custom shop luthier in Texas named Phil Gawen. It is an identical replica/tribute to Jerr’s Bolt guitar. Even though we don’t play Dead songs or sound like the Dead, it’s a cool way for me to represent for that community. Anyone who knows freaks and usually even the people who have no idea think it’s cool. It’s really buttery and stays in tune so well. I love it and have almost switched over to exclusively doing that even though I always write on my acoustics.
READ ON for more of our chat with Michael Harrison Berg…
Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes is making good use of his main band’s extended hiatus by releasing an album and touring behind it. The Rich Robinson Tour will run from October 1 until November 20 and the guitarist will be backed by Steve Molitz of Particle on keys, Joe Magistro on drums and Jack Daley on bass. Details about where the band will play those dates will be announced soon. Molitz and Magistro join Patti Smith, John Medeski, Warren Haynes and Larry Campbell in guesting on Robinson’s forthcoming LP, Through A Crooked Sun.
In other news, our friends in Van Ghost are teaming up with Grooveshark to throw a Pick The Single contest. Entrants who listen to four new songs from the group’s forthcoming album – The Domino Effect, “like” the band on Facebook and pick which song they think should be the single are eligible to win a trip to the North Coast Music Festival that includes airfare, all access passes, accomodations, dinner with the band and more.
Elsewhere, Umphrey’s McGee LD Jeff Waful returns with the start of the second episode of Jeff Waful +1 over at Relix. For this episode, Jefferson shares behind the scenes footage of UM’s collaboration with Huey Lewis at Summer Camp 2011.
Chicago-based rockers Van Ghost makes a rare New York City appearance tomorrow night at Brooklyn Bowl for a late-night set featuring a different lineup than the usual VG setup. We’ve confirmed with Van Ghost’s Michael Harrison Berg and Jennifer Hartswick that they will be joined by Natalie Cressman (Trey Anastasio Band) on trombone and guitarist Nick Cassarino (Nick Cassarino Trio and Jennifer Hartswick Band) for the late-night set. Tickets only cost $5 and are available online and at the door.
While the first day of Jam Cruise was fun and featured some terrific music, Day Two took things to a whole new level. No matter where you looked, artists were jamming with each other in configurations that you’d never expect. The day was relentless as the MSC Poesia was motoring down to Roatan, Honduras.
Chicago’s Cornmeal kicked things off on the Pool Deck just before noon to a surprisingly large crowd. Joel Cummins of Umphrey’s McGee provided the first sit-in of the day by joining Cornmeal for a segment that included a cover of Elton John’s Bennie and the Jets that the ensemble nailed on every level. There was even a tease of Terrapin thrown in for good measure.
[Photo by Dave Vann]
If anyone read my Jam Cruise Journals from last year, you’ll probably recall how much I enjoyed Brock Butler’s performances. Brock was all over the place yesterday starting with a solo set on the smaller Solar Stage which featured a dream setlist that started with a cover of LCD Soundsystem’s All My Friends followed by the PGroove classic It Starts Where It Ends and Tom Petty’s Wildflowers. Under sunny skies and in 80 degree weather, Butler also treated cruisers to a Phosphorescent cover and his own The Weather and the Wait as well as Paul Simon’s Diamonds on the Soles of Shoes. The PGroove front man even showed off his freestyle skills during DMX’s Crime Stories.
To me, Hidden Track features a staff of intelligent well spoken contributors who host the only blog on the web that cover all genres with no rules or regulations. It is the tipping point for a beautiful online community that exists in today’s social networking world with a focus on soulful & meaningful music. Filled with unique content, original contests, well spoken editorials and a readership of like-minded folks, Hidden Track shows great potential to become one the web’s most visited blogs for music into this new decade.
For these reasons, my favorite blog on the web is Hidden Track. I really wanted to announce the launch of this podcast series exclusively through HT to its community of passionate music lovers. I hope you enjoy it, will share it with others, and are off to a great start for 2010. With mad love for y’all…
11.21.09 – Kingston, NY – Keegans Ales (*)11.25.09 – Chicago, IL – Subterranean (**)
1. Do It For You 2:38 (*)
2. Coliseum 3:01 (*)
3. Head Above Water 2:47 (**)
4. Danimal Plays For Keeps 0:23 (**)
5. Wednesday 4:07 (**)
6. Head Full Of Doubt/Road Full of Promise (The Avett Brothers cover) 4:04 (**)
7. Return To Innocence 3:58 (**)
8. Heart Broken On The Wrong Day 3:25 (**)
9. Not Feeling Me 3:28 (**)
10. Domino Effect 3:25 (*)
11. Telling Stories 3:48 (*)
12. Everyday Music 3:22
13. Hurry Up –> 3:16 (*)
14. On The Way Home –> 4:20 (*)
15. Find The Cost Of Freedom (CSNY cover) 2:41 (*)
16. Summer Promise 3:20 (*)
All songs are from November’s “The Breakdown Acoustic” tour.
We were out on the road as an acoustic trio featuring Michael Harrison Berg (vocals/guitar), Jennifer Hartswick (vocals), and Chris Gelbuda (guitar/vocals) supporting our friends Nershi/Law Duo having too much fun. The performances feature material from our debut record, “Melodies For Lovers”, our forthcoming record, (currently titled) “Heartbroken On The Wrong Day” as well as a few covers by The Avett Brothers and CSNY. The track listing above will show you which show each track is from but all cuts are from.
We’ve been singing the praises of Van Ghost for over a year at this point and we were excited to come across the band’s first webisode featuring footage of the band in action at Rothbury and the Wicker Park Festival.
Next week, the Van Ghost Acoustic Trio featuring Michael Harrison Berg, Jennifer Hartswick and Chris Gelbuda hits the road with the Nershi-Law Duo for The Breakdown Acoustic Tour. Check out the Van Ghost website to find out when they’ll be in your neck of the woods.
It’s not often we point you to shows on the Open Source Archive, but our friends from Chicago – Van Ghost – recorded their set opening for the Derek Trucks Band back in April, mixed and mastered it in protools and uploaded the files to the aforementioned Open Source Archive for our listening pleasure. Van Ghost’s sound has gone a bit more to the rock side of things recently thanks in part to the addition of Nick Cassarino on electric guitar and the band’s tendency to open the arrangements up a bit. You can download or stream the show here and don’t miss vocalists Michael Harrison Berg and Jennifer Hartswick’s harmonies on a cover of The Faces’ Ooh La La.
Here are six more shows we found on the Open Source Archive…
With the NCAA Tournament getting into full swing this evening, we wanted to create a little March Madness around these parts as well. We’ve taken 16 past Cover Wars champions and matched them up against each other to see which one our readers thinks is the best of the best.
Today, we kick things off with our round of 16 which finds some tough matchups in each of our brackets. Let’s take a look at the matchups:
This has been a big week for video debuts from a few of our favorite up-and-coming artists. On Tuesday we showed you Bonerama’s first video and today we’ve got the new clip from Chicago’s Van Ghost. Van Ghost’s debut album, Melodies For Lovers, features the tender yet intense songs of longtime Chicago music scene fixture Michael Harrison Berg. Rocco Labriola’s uplifting pedal steel licks mix perfectly with the gorgeous harmonies Berg lays down with vocalist Jennifer Hartswick on each Van Ghost original.
Our first taste of Melodies For Lovers is a single called Summer Promise that sounds equal parts Oasis, CCR, Wilco, Moonboot Lover and The Byrds. Van Ghost worked with the talented Wiggle Puppy Productions team to create the perfect visual for this catchy tune. Let’s take a look…
On Saturday, Chicago promoters Triple Dot Mas will celebrate its sixth anniversary in style at the Double Door with performances from the Tim Reynolds Trio and powerhouse upstarts Van Ghost. You don’t want to miss this exciting pairing.
Widely known for his work with Dave Matthews, Tim Reynolds has recently embarked on his first tour with a full band in eight years. The Tim Reynolds band (or TR3) promises to bring “a mix of updated Tim classics to wild covers of everything from James Brown to Prince to Tim’s newest catalogue of material he is preparing just for this tour,” according to his website. Read on for more…
