Bronx River Parkway – Deixa Pra La
Dawn And Sunset – Move In the Room
Quiet Village – Circus of Horror

Lockett Pundt

Lotus Plaza – Rain Down

Ryan Sollee (r)

The five members of The Builders and the Butchers escaped subzero winter temperatures and endless dark winter days in Alaska for long and rainy winters in Portland, Oregon. It’s no wonder that the band was originally named The Funeral Band, at which point the only requirement for their songs was that they had to be “death-themed.”

The Builders and the Butchers initially used a DIY approach to music, playing street corners and outside of venues in the Portland area, honing their craft before bringing it indoors to paying audiences. Their music is a mix of folk-rock, gospel, bluegrass, and Depression-era blues.

Butchers’ frontman Ryan Sollee is a talented, storytelling singer-songwriter taking cues from his heroes Johnny Cash and Tom Waits and expertly singing dark tales of hell, murder, the Devil, blood, rain, and drinking your sorrows away.

I caught up with Ryan last month after the Butchers’ performance at Lollapalooza.

R&G: I understand it was raining during your set at Lollapalooza. I imagine that the rain didn’t really faze you, since you’re from Portland.

Ryan: No, we’ve played in the rain quite a few times. It’s always actually really fun, because people kind of are irritated at first, but then they get used to it and can have fun with it.

R&G: How did the audience respond to your performance?

Ryan: It seemed like there was a good response. There were some people dancing around, clapping, and singing along.

R&G: This is the band’s first headlining tour. Do you feel like there’s more pressure on the band in this role than there is when the band is the supporting act?

Ryan: Definitely more pressure and it’s more disappointing when not very many people show up. When people show up, it’s really rewarding, because you know exactly what you have as far as fans. You’re not depending on some other band.

Dead Confederate – Image – Hilary Harris

I have two pairs of tickets to give away for the Dead Confederate and Meat Puppets show Friday night @ the El Rey Theatre. Please email me @ rollogrady@gmail.com. For additional tix (click here).

Dead Confederate – Heavy Petting
Meat Puppets – Rotten Shame

“Work Me Like My Back Ain’t Got No Bones”

She Keeps Bees (Myspace)
Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
Album: Nests (Buy)
Label: NAMES
She Keeps Bees – Gimme

Over the years, Shayde Sartin has performed with The Dutchess and the Duke, The Skygreen Leopards, Papercuts, Citay, and a few other Bay-Area bands, but he seems to have found a permanent home with his current project, The Fresh & Onlys. This group started off in the spring of 2008 as a home-recorded collaboration between Sartin and longtime friend Tim Cohen (Black Fiction). Before long, they had written over forty songs and eventually enlisted the help of Grace Cooper, Wymond Miles, and Heidi Alexander to round out the band.

To date, The Fresh & Onlys have opened for rock legends Stephen Malkmus and Rodriguez and released several EPs and two full-length albums. Their most recent album, Grey-Eyed Girls, was released yesterday, September 15th.

I spoke with Shayde last month about the band, other people’s bands, and his new living arrangement.

R&G: What’s going on?

Shayde: I’m headed home. I just signed the lease on a new apartment. I’m happy: I got a great deal.

R&G: That’s cool. What sparked the move?

Shayde: I’m moving in with my lady [Kristen].

R&G: How long have you guys been together?

Shayde: She’s been living in Atlanta, so it’s been on and off for a year. She’s a tour manager. I actually met her while I was on tour with the Dutchess and the Duke and we started flying back and forth to hang out. It’s been cool, but really hard with the long-distance thing. We just decided to take the leap.

R&G: I bet she’s excited you’re about to go on tour for several months.

Shayde: [laughs] She was so pissed. She’ll be here for like two weeks and then I leave. Then I get back and she leaves. The cool thing is that she understands touring. The bad thing is that she understands touring and everything that goes along with it [laughs]. She gets a little nervous when I’m out there.

R&G: If you were like 24, I could see it being a problem, but you’re in your thirties.

Shayde: That’s what I try to explain to her, but she’s 27. She was also the tour manager for Black Lips, and those guys are fucking deviants.

R&G: They’ve actually calmed down bit, but they’re still wild.

Shayde: Totally. She just thinks that I’m like them. I’m a heavy drinker, but I’m not doing anything fucking stupid.

R&G: Who else has she worked with as a tour manager?

Shayde: She’s worked with Deerhunter and Black Lips for years. She’s been the tour manager for King Khan and the Shrines, Dutchess and the Duke and King Khan & BBQ Show. I can’t even remember all… she’s done a lot of crazy one-off stuff for different artists. That’s how she made her living for a long time.

Amoeba Records – Hollywood

1.) Whitney Houston – Look to You
2.) Arctic Monkeys – Humbug
3.) Dead Weather – Horehound
4.) Patti Smith – Horses
5.) Imogen Heap – Ellipse
6.) Black Crowes – Before the Frost…Until the Freeze
7.) Mew – No More Stories
8.) Soundtrack – (500) Days Of Summer
9.) Little Dragon – Machine Dreams
10.) Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
*Week Ending – 9/7/2009

Grizzly Bear & Michael McDonald – While You Wait for the Others
Washed Out – Feel It All Around (Toro Y Moi Remix)