If you live in Kerhonkson NY, it takes you two hours to get to Manhattan by car. If you can find a parking spot, you can hang out over there. So, you’re not quite in the center of New York City, but you’re also not quite upstate either. If you start a rock’n’roll band, you probably have the same chance of becoming the new Strokes as any other band in the USA. And who would even want that in the first place?
The Strungs are a duet that comes from Kerhonkson. On the back of their new record Nothing is Possible the photo is taken on a deck. One of the band members is pessimistically looking into the distance, while the other one greets imaginary crowd with a peace sign. They maybe just finished the mix of their new record in their bedroom a moment ago. That’s precisely the sound on the record. Perhaps the whole thing is recorded on a digital four track and microphones are from the previous century.
But don’t get hung up on technology. Nothing is Possible romps through the 18 tracks, most under two minutes, with the arena rock confidence. Catchy tunes will capture your attention beyond the cheap lo-fi background. Nothing is always possible, but you will more than likely to get into this.
The first track on the album is Listening to Your Twenty Year Old Records. Taking the time machine backwards, it’s not hard to imagine that the twenty year old records on their turntable were Alien Lanes and Bee Thousand. Possible?
Get the music at bandcamp.
Today we say goodbye to Jesse Winchester, a wonderful singer songwriter from the South, who moved to Canada in the late sixties to avoid being drafter to Vietnam war. After that he recorded some of the greatest records in the seventies, with songs which were full of sorrow, nostalgia and longing for his homeland. He passed away on April 11 this year. Besides a tribute to Jesse, we also play some new music. Jim Lauderdale has a new record with songs co-written with Robert Hunter. Paul Starling is another new singer songwriter from LA area. The Singles from Detroit are back as a duet. Baseball Project super-group is also back with another record based around baseball themes. Left Lane Cruiser had a great albu last year called Rock The Back To Hell and now a record that compiles their earliest recordings is also out. Also, check out a really cool, rare live appearance of Harlan T. Bobo’s The Fuzz recorded last week in Cleveland.
We have two new heavy rock albums to start off today. Hush or Howl by Black Pistol Fire of Toronto and Austin and Get Pure by Mount Carmel from Columbus. Thee Melomen come from Zagreb, and they are basically Backstreet Brats re-branded. Pridjevi are from around there as well – studio trio which consists of Nina Romić, Dino Santaleza and Ivana Picek. Sally Crewe from Austin TX has a new ep with a cover of XTC’s Making Plans for Nigel. Doug Gillard is a guest guitar hero on it. The Hold Steady are back with the new record. For those who like mellower sounds, we have Kevin Kane from Toronto with his charming cover of Simon And Garfunkel’s Cathy and Allysen Callery re-imagines Gordon Lighfoot’s Sundown.
Doug Gillard has a new record out called Parade On and we check out the new single. His old band-mate from Death of Samantha, John Petkovic and his new band with J Mascis, Sweet Apple, finally have their long-awaited second record out, and we check out one track from it. Holly Golightly and her Brokeoffs are back with another LP, All Her Fault. Luther Dickinson of The North Mississippi Allstars also has a new record called Rock’n’roll Blues. Dex Romweber from Flat Duo Jets returned with Images 13 plus there’s a recent reissue of the back catalogue on Third Man Records. We introduce three new names. Little Murders from Australia and Lydia Loveless from Columbus. Muck and The Mires come from Boston.
We have a very quiet show today. Gavin Gardner from Toronto opens up with a Dylan tune. Then we go to New York and hear Lucius perform one of Bob’s songs from the 80s. We also check out a shoegazer band Creepoid from Philadelphia. Allysen Callery is a new name here at the Little Lighthouse. She mainly accompanies herself on guitar and has a very interesting voice, sounding a lot like Sandy Denny. We check out Marianne Dissard’s new record and we find her now back in France after being in Tucson for awhile. Carla Bozulich is back with the new record. And despite this being a very quiet episode of the Little Lighthouse, we close with the loudest record ever recorded – Stooges’ Raw Power. This our tribute to Scott Asheton, drummer of the Stooges who passed away last week.
We end today with the mind-blowing new album for Rachel, Tanya and Petra Haden, The Haden Triplets, produced by Ry Cooder. We start with The Forty Nineteens from LA who just put out excellent new record called simply Spin It. Our recommendation exactly! The we check out Coathangers, a trio of ladies from Atlanta for the first time at the show. Black Lips have a new record and so do John The Conqueror. Swedish punks Bäddat För Trubbel are also back with a new tune.
We start today with two delightful power pop compilations that came out on Austin’s Cheap Rewards Records. One compiles Radio Ready Lost Power Pop Hits from Wisconsin and the other one compiles Texas. Then we check out the new album for The Men, which surprised us with its quality. Mozes and the Firstborn is a new interesting band from Netherlands on Burger Records. Latin America is represented today with Aj Davila (formerly Davila 666) from Peru and Lorelle Meets The Obsolete from Mexico. We also check out two bands from UK, psychedelic band with infinite songs The Cosmic Dead and a more traditional folk band Dai and the Ramblers. We also have Dead Meadow for the first time in our show with a live track from their recent gig in Cleveland. Also, today we have a full line up of our bonuses: Mystery Train, Kozmic Blues and Sympathy for Rock’n’roll. Scroll down and check it out!
Today we have two new names from Vacilando ’68. Both names come from the Medway area in Kent, England. They are Theatre Royal and Stuart Turner. Susie Hug had a fantastic album with that label a few years ago called Tucson Moonshine and she announced a new record soon called Hug Is The New Kiss. Sarah Borges from Boston is back with her new album Radio Sweetheart. War on Drugs from Philadelphia have a new record as well. We also check out a track from Eamon McGrath’s upcoming EP Exile pt.2.
We begin with a couple of veterans from Australia. Deniz Tek of Radio Birdman is back with the new record called Detroit. Leadfinger is lead by Stewart Cunningham and has been around since the grunge days. The most famous band from Boise Idaho is Paul Revere and The Raiders. Mark Lindsay was their singer and he has a brand new album Life Out Loud. Guided By Voices has another new record, I lost the count. Brimstone Howl singer John Ziegler has a new band called The Lupines and we check it out. JJ And The Real Jerk are from California and we check out their latest EP In The Alleyway. Krayolas are back with Canicas Marbles. Finally, legendary Thalia Zedek of Come and Uzi has a new EP called Six and we also played one song from her recent gig in Grog Shop.