Gotta Groove Records
Author Archive
Leo Rondeau — Right On Time
Leo Rondeau deals in stories candid and honest and plainspoken. Based in Nashville TN, his own story finds root in the Turtle Mountains of North Dakota, where Rondeau grew up surrounded by country music listeners and pickers spanning three generations. “It was always around me,” he says.
This aspect of his adolescence bolstered an unwavering sense of self and place in his work that sets Rondeau apart from peer musicians. A child of the rural American west and owning family lineage within the Turtle Mountain band of the Chippewa Indian tribe, his own history and worldview are engrained in the lines of his songs. This is about a type of honesty that means more than simply telling the truth. It’s a voice that either lives within you or does not.
His latest album – Right On Time — is available now.
Jas Quintet — Bird Ritual Interrupted
Different Folk Records proudly announces Bird Ritual Interrupted, the first vinyl release from Sioux Falls, South Dakota’s JAS Quintet. Recorded January 2019 at Ware House Productions in Omaha, the album will be released June 7th on all digital platforms, CD, and vinyl. Pre-order now and pay no shipping through 6/7 (use the discount code BIRD at checkout!)
Tickets go on sale May 3rd for JAS Quintet’s “Bird Ritual Interrupted” album release show, June 7th at the Belbas Theater in the Washington Pavilion, featuring special guests Jami Lynn (who appears on the album,) Xavier Pastrano and Charles Luden.
The songs on “Bird Ritual Interrupted” were written by Joel Shotwell and arranged by the entire band.
Brandtson — Letterbox
Brandtson: Letterbox Deluxe Reissue
Brandston‘s reissue campaign continues with debut album, Letterbox coming toSteadfast Records on April 12, 2019. Cleveland’s Brandtson – favorites of the 90’s emo-punk era – stood out with a pop-leaning punk sound highlighted by their intricate and infectious dual vocal harmonies and dueling guitar lines. Led by the anthemic charge of “Blindspot” and the starkly evocative “January”; their debut album, Letterbox, is a love letter to the beginning phases of their marriage of pop-leaning hooks and their hardcore punk past.
Originally released on Steadfast Records in 1997 and reissued the following year on Deep Elm Records, Steadfast Records is reissuing the album on limited edition vinyl and cassette for the very first time. The vinyl is limited to 500 total copies, housed in a gorgeous gatefold jacket, featuring restored and expanded artwork from the original Steadfast Records release.
Guided By Voices — Warp and Woof
Following Guided By Voice’s sprawling double-album Zeppelin Over China, Robert Pollard has written and recorded another full-length in record-breaking time. It’s Warp And Woof, exuberantly barreling through twenty-four songs in just thirty-seven minutes with a brevity similar to mid-90s GBV albums Alien Lanes and Vampire On Titus. GBV kicked this one out in a flash, recorded in studios, club soundchecks, hotel rooms and even in the tour van.
After completing Zeppelin, Pollard felt the itch to record a few EPs. Just as GBV had done back in 1994, he would use them to channel his everflowing ideas to an outlet. But when a magical boombox writing session produced six fully formed songs in under half an hour, Pollard realized he had an album on his hands. What to do?
With a band so formidable they’ve been dubbed the Golden Age of GBV, they completed much of the recording on the road. The 2018 Space Gun Tour provided impromptu recording venues. Pollard recorded vocals in hotel rooms, complimentary condominiums, and small studios. Doug Gillard cut guitar tracks for “End It With Light” through his Mesa Boogie rig at the soundcheck at the Ottobar in Baltimore. Bobby Bare Jr. recorded his spacey main rhythm guitars for album closer, “Time Remains in Central Position” at the same show, but in the backstage green room. Kevin March added drum tracks in a studio in his hometown Montclair, New Jersey. Gillard played guitar on “Bury the Mouse” in a van hurtling at 60-plus m.p.h., and Mark Shue laid bass on “Angelic Weirdness” as he balanced on the speeding van’s bench seat….
Mike Sopko — Rituals
Mike Sopko (Guitarist, Composer, Songwriter) was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1979. As a teen he played in various local bands while studying with local Cleveland Jazz/Fusion guitarist, Steve Gordon. After moving to Oakland, California in 2003, Sopko spearheaded numerous projects, including MCR (w/ G. Calvin Weston), Cascading Liquid Rainbows (w/ Dosh, Chris Lopes), The Golden Measure (w/ Simon Lott), and Glimpse Trio/Duo (w/ Hamir Atwal, Chris Lopes). After meeting Hamir Atwal (Tune-Yards) in 2009, the duo toured extensively, releasing four albums, the first of which was awarded Editor’s Pick by Frank Alkyer of Downbeat Magazine in 2011.
Over the years, Sopko has recorded and performed with artist’s such as Bill Laswell, Thomas Pridgen (Mars Volta), Dave King (Bad Plus), Dosh, Tyshawn Sorey, Hideo Yamaki, Dj Logic, Raoul Bjorkenheim, Chris Pitsiokos, Hamir Atwal, Los Lobos and many more. In 2015, Sopko released Sopko/Laswell/Pridgen, a trio collaboration with legendary producer/bassist, Bill Laswell and drummer phenom, Thomas Pridgen. Sopko’s upcoming release’s for 2019 and 2020 include, “On Common Ground,” a trio recording with Bill Laswell & Tyshawn Sorery, “Rituals” Mike Sopko & Thomas Pridgen, and “$pellcheck” with Dave King & Martin Dosh.
Hawk and Dove — Our Childhood Heros
Based out of Brooklyn New York and making music for 7 years, Hawk and Dove have been writing and touring and making community wherever they can. They have just finished an album that describes one man’s miracle cure adventure – to address his failing young [early onset parkinson’s] brain, while also looking at our generational search for luxury and ease at the expense of other people’s further-away-lives. Order now!
Cherry Poppin’ Daddies — Bigger Life
The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies‘ 11th long player! Style wise its a bit of ska, punk, a couple swing songs and a dash of funkiness. I think of it as a mural painted for 2017-2018- addressing that zeitgeist. But done in a way that’s actually universal and timeless. It’s a tough-minded, rockin’ and muscular satire “ripped from the headlines.” Bigger Life is like a throwback to our Ferociously Stoned days, mixed with our skacore influence of the Kids on the Street era.