Three years ago, I caught a particularly memorable episode of The Late Show with Conan O’Brien. Yes, Coco told some jokes and interviewed Hulk Hogan, but it was pop noir artist Nicole Atkins who caught my attention with her performance of “Maybe Tonight,” the lead track from 2007’s critically acclaimed major label debut, Neptune City. I had missed the hype in prior months; Neptune City was the catchy, lush, atmospheric gem I was looking for.
In a recent half hour phone interview with Atkins, I learned that she thought the Conan performance “sucked.” She seems much more pleased, however, with her band, Nicole Atkins & The Black Sea, and its heavily anticipated sophomore record, Mondo Amore. Atkins spoke to Knox Road about Mondo Amore, the recording process, b-sides, touring, and Twitter.
You can check out the lead track from Mondo Amore, “Vultures,” and b-side cover of experimental German rock group Can, “Vitamin C.” By the time you finish listening to these tracks, you might make it through this marathon interview.
Nicole Atkins – “Vultures” [MP3]
Nicole Atkins – “Vitamin C” [MP3]
With Mondo Amore coming out Feb. 8 and a tour starting next week (yes, it hits New York City AND Washington, D.C.), we naturally opened up our conversation on the topic of her “every show” dress, picked out with her guitarist Irina Yalkowsky.
Atkins: […]I just started wearing it. We just did a tour with The Black Keys and I think I wore it every single show. It required very little thought, although it was kind of hard to find places that do five-hour dry cleaning.
Knox Road: Oh I bet. I always wondered about that because you often see bands who like to wear suits and some are just casual, but I always thought you had a pretty cool fashion sense for your shows. It always fit the music in a way.
Atkins: I feel like if I ever wore jeans on stage, it wouldn’t feel like a show. When people go to work, they put their work clothes on, and when people get on stage and are going to entertain you, [they] put an entertainment outfit on.
Continue reading Interview with Nicole Atkins →
Greg Laswell is playing at the Rock & Roll Hotel in DC on May 24 on his first full band headlining tour. We have TWO free tickets to give away to a lucky winner — Email us at knoxroadblog@gmail.com and title your subject “Greg Laswell Ticket Participant: [your name]”. We will choose the […]
Jamie and I (Lee) were recently interviewed by Max Willens over at “We All Make Music”, a new music blog from Zoom In Online and Magnet Media Films. The interview is the second in their new series, “Behind The Blogs”, which WAMM describes:
A lot of musicians and music professionals tend to view […]
As you may or may not have heard, Sea Wolf has a new album coming out this Tuesday, September 22, called White Water, White Bloom. And, as you probably do know because you’re all such avid readers of Knox Road, we’re all big fans of the first released track, “Wicked Blood,” and have […]
Coming off their latest album, Man Up, Denmark’s The Blue Van have been touring and promoting their music to make a mark in the U.S. After winning Knox Road’s coveted Most Promising Band at Siren 2009 award, frontman Steffen Westmark answered my burning questions about breaking the U.S. scene, going nuts onstage and escaping […]
With The Most Serene Republic set to drop their newest effort, …And The Ever Expanding Universe, tomorrow, we thought it would be of interest to hear what lead man Adrian Jewett thinks about his musicianship, The Most Serene Republic in general, the new sound, and beyond. Good luck deciphering! Check out this previous post about The Most Serene Republic.
The Most Serene Republic – “Heavens To Purgatory” [MP3] (from …And The Ever Expanding Universe)
The Most Serene Republic – “Present Of Future End” [MP3] (from Population)
Knox Road: When and how did you get into music?
Adrian Jewett: My Dad is a huge vinyl fan and music connoisseur. Especially from that of the prog era of the early 70’s. He also had a panache for female singer-songwriters. (i.e. Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell, Alison Moyet) Through him, I got into music at a young age – bopping to Level 42 as a toddler and such. Once the seed is planted, it grows.
KR: How was “The Most Serene Republic” the artist created?
AJ: Friends getting together who needed a lot to keep them satisfied – burning on the inside to explode with communication. Excitement. The world. Our responsibility to make it our own and make it incredible.
Continue reading Interview with Adrian Jewett of The Most Serene Republic →
 With great excitement I announce to you all that we recently had the wonderful opportunity of doing some q+a with a KR favorite, D.C.’s own indie pop darlings, Exit Clov. Fittingly, Exit Clov will be starting their East Coast tour in D.C. at the Black Cat on April 1 (as Jamie noted) and then right here in New York at Public Assembly (with Proud Simon, Milly Beau, Goodfinger and DJ jG) April 2. Go out and support them! If you get a chance to hit up Public Assembly, don’t be a stranger – I’ll be there. Come find me. Just yell out “I love Knox Road!!”
Fronted by twin sisters (again??) Emily and Susan Hsu, with Aaron on guitar, Brett on bass, and John on drums, Exit Clov plays some extraordinarily organic, enthralling pop. The Hsu’s vocals are precious, leaving you with a little sugary hangover after listening. That’s a good thing, my friends.
Oh and by the way. Exit Clov and KR have teamed up to give you a little treat: the MP3 of their latest hit single, from their batch of new material, “District Menagerie”! And for good measure, a cover of a Peter Tosh tune they did for a public service announcement in DC for children’s immigration rights.
Exit Clov – “District Menagerie” [MP3]
Exit Clov – “Steppin Razor” (cover) [MP3]
On to the good stuff…
KR: When and how did you get into music?
[Susan]: Em and I played violin and piano since we were really little, and played in orchestras, then taught ourselves chords on the guitar in high school. We were always singing and harmonizing around the house, so being able to accompany ourselves on piano and guitar (plus having two of us around) was already like being in a band. Listening to music was also a big part of growing up. We had an older brother and we were always going through his tape collections and finding cool stuff like Joy Division and Fishbone and Nine Inch Nails that our own peers were too young to know about!”
Continue reading Knox Road interview with Exit Clov →
I’ve received a lot of questions about my interview with After Last Season writer/director/producer Mark Region, so I guess I’ll do some verifying. (See the bizarre trailer here and the interview here).
I found Mark Region’s phone number through a WhoIs search on the website for his production company, Index Square. Since the number […]
Since the trailer for After Last Season came out and confused the hell out of pretty much the entire world, people have been debating the legitimacy of the movie. Well, you heard it here first: After Last Season is real.
I spoke with writer/director/producer Mark Region about the movie earlier today, […]
I recently had the privilege of speaking with twin sisters Kaleena and Kayleigh Goldsworthy, lead singers (as well as piano and violin players, respectively) of The Scarlet Ending, out of Syracuse, NY, who are set to take the indie world by storm with their newest album soon to be released. They’ve […]
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