Blog Archives

Oct 11 2012

Mecca Lecca’s 2012 CMJ Showcase @ Rock Shop on October 16th

MECCA LECCA CMJ SHOWCASE

Tuesday, October 16 @ Rock Shop (Brooklyn)

Featuring Performances by:
Friend Roulette, Zula, Making Movies, Rice Cultivation Society,
Joshua McCormack, Howth, Sean0Sean

On Tuesday, October 16th, Mecca Lecca will be hosting its CMJ showcase at Brooklyn’s Rock Shop, in collaboration with our good friends at The Record Machine. The showcase will provide a glimpse into Mecca Lecca’s crystal ball. Sean0Sean will be making their debut as a live band. Joshua McCormack will be making his Brooklyn debut with a solo set. Rice Cultivation Society will be playing material from their forthcoming Mecca Lecca debut. And to complete the quartet of Mecca Lecca artists on the bill, Howth will continue to display why they’re one of Brooklyn’s finest treasures. Kansas City Latin rockers Making Movies will be representing our pals The Record Machine. And in addition, the incredible locals Friend Roulette and Zula will round out the night’s bill.

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SeanØSean

Mixing the colors of west-coast pop with the mechanical rhythms of east-coast art rock, Jersey City-based Sean0Sean carves his own angles on Arch Envy, using unusual harmonies and declarative statements with hints of later Pavement and Elvis Costello.

Listen: Sean0Sean – “Arch Envy”
Listen: Sean0Sean – “Don’t You Worry About A Thing”

Howth

“There’s a warm intimacy at work in their Fleet Foxes-esque sound, and their latest album Newkirk is a gorgeous example of the quieter side of the Garden State’s music scene.” — Paste Magazine

Listen: Howth – “Secret Goldmine”
Listen: Howth – “Out In Eagan”
Watch: Howth – “Needles & Pins”
Watch: Howth – “Grand Marais”

Joshua McCormack

“Starting on keyboards, Joshua McCormack has dabbled in metal, acoustic Bjork covers, and the vocal lessons of Seth Riggs, who coached Michael Jackson and Prince. McCormack has developed into a wildly eclectic musician.” — Epitonic

Listen: Joshua McCormack – “Wolves”
Listen: Joshua McCormack – “Terminal Velocity”

Rice Cultivation Society

“Rice Cultivation Society’s music is notable for it’s incorporation of diverse musical elements and genres, such as delta-blues, guitar rock, found sounds, jazz, pop, and folk. The lyrics often paint a picture of the world in which every experience, person, and thing has a vivid and inexplicable interior life, where ideas and events connect where they are least expected to. The combination creates songs with an overall sense of warmth and character that invite the listener to get lost inside of their twists and turns, both in meaning and form.” — Deli Magazine

Listen: Rice Cultivation Society – “Miller High Life”
Listen: Rice Cultivation Society – “Saint Randy”

Making Movies

“I can’t think of another band in KC that has its shit more together — both musically and in terms of doing what it takes to be a viable, successful band.” — The Pitch

Listen: Making Movies – “Hangover Blues”
Watch: Making Movies – “Hangover Blues”

Zula

“Delving into underlying feelings and suggestions, and toying with unusual musical ideas, Zula updates the existential art rock of Radiohead’s “Kid A” era for the DIY generation.” — Deli Magazine

Listen: Zula – “Make Contact”
Listen: Zula – “Technocrat Motorist Coping”

Friend Roulette

“Their songs are eclectically and musical in the purest sense of the word, the way Van Dyke Parks’s music is real musician’s stuff.” — The Austinist

Listen: Friend Roulette – “Hi, Hello”
Listen: Friend Roulette – “On Her Own Tonight”
Watch: Friend Roulette – “Hi, Hello”

Jul 25 2012

Howth Shares Free “Secret Goldmine” EP / Heading on Tour

Download the Free Secret Goldmine EP

Download: Howth – “Secret Goldmine”
Download: Howth – “Joseph”

There is something magical about songwriter Carl Creighton and his band Howth. In the past couple years, Howth has released a pair of LPs, but those records do not tell the whole story. Creighton has been writing songs at a prolific rate. Overflowing with songs and more than ready to record another LP, Howth has decided to give away a new EP featuring a pair of new songs that show Creighton’s range as a songwriter, as well as the band’s range as performers. Engineered & Mixed by Mike Caffrey at Converse Rubber Tracks Studio in Brooklyn, NY, “Secret Goldmine” captures Howth’s poppier side in ways we’ve never seen before. Meanwhile, self-recorded ballad, “Joseph” is as sweet as it gets. Additionally, the Secret Goldmine EP includes an epic live version of “Out In Eagan” captured by NYC Taper at the band’s record release show at Mercury Lounge in May.

Catch them all over the United States throughout the months of July and August.

7/27- Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell’s w/ Miracles of Modern Science, Vows
7/28- Philadelphia, PA @ Venue TBA
7/29- Washington DC @ Velvet Lounge w/ Double Saginaw Familiarity, Orchard Wall, This Old Ghost
7/30- Richmond, VA @ The Camel w/ This Old Ghost, Apache Radio, Kindling Kind
7/31- Chapel Hill, NC @ Nightlight w/ Baobab, Virgins
8/2- Athens, GA @ Flicker Bar w/ Black Moon
8/4- Austin, TX @ Lambert’s w/ Royal Forest
8/6- Tempe, AZ @ Long Wong’s
8/7- Los Angeles, CA @ Lot 1 w/ Steffaloo
8/8- Oakland, CA @ Actual Cafe w/ Birdseye
8/11- Portland, OR @ Badlands *Acoustic Afternoon BB-Q!*
8/11- Portland, OR @ Alberta St. Pub w/ David Ramirez
8/12- Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
8/14- Boise, ID @ Red Room
8/15- Denver, CO @ Unit E w/ Rubedo
8/16- Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar w/ Secret Cities, Spirit Is The Spirit
8/17- St. Paul, MN @ Wild Tymes
8/18- Milwaukee, WI @ Venue TBA *Battlecry Presents…*
8/19- Chicago, IL @ Schuba’s
8/20- Rock Island, IL DAYTROTTER!
8/21- Grand Rapids, MI @ DAAC w/ Chanical Fields, Big Dudee Roo
8/23- Toledo, OH @ Ottawa Tavern
8/24- Pittsburgh, PA @ Howlers Coyote Cafe w/ Too Young, Butter Birds
8/25- Brooklyn, NY @ Cameo Gallery w/ Home Video, Port St. Willow

Jun 20 2012

New Video: Howth – “Grand Marais” + Tour Dates Announced!

With their first U.S. tour approaching fast, Howth has faired a new video for “Grand Marais,” which the good folks at We All Want Someone To Shout For premiered earlier this morning.

Sitting on the north shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota, Grand Marais is as much an idealized notion as it is a real place. Minnesota native Carl Creighton has never been to Grand Marais, and he’s also never experienced what it represents in the song he wrote for it. In Howth’s summertime ballad, Grand Marais represents an idealized place and love that singer Carl Creighton has never been to or had. It’s a feeling that we can all relate to. Idealized life. Idealized love. It’s more simply about being single and needing a boy to sit by the lake with. Shot by Michael Pisano on a trip to the Great Lakes, “Grand Marais” perfectly captures the joy and warmth of summer.

<a href="http://howthhowth.bandcamp.com/album/newkirk" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','howthhowth.bandcamp.com']);">Newkirk by Howth</a>

U.S. Tour

7/11- Brooklyn, NY @ Union Hall *Communion Presents…*

7/24- Brooklyn, NY @ Public Assembly w/ Mornin’ Old Sport

7/26- Montclair, NJ @ The Meat Locker

7/28- Philadelphia, PA @ Venue TBA

7/29- Washington DC @ Velvet Lounge w/ Double Saginaw Familiarity

7/30- Baltimore, MD @ Venue TBA w/ Teen Suicide

7/31- Chapel Hill, NC @ Nightlight w/ Baobab and Virgins

8/2- Athens, GA @ Flicker Bar w/ Vestibules

8/4- Austin, TX @ Lambert’s w/ Royal Forest

8/6- Phoenix, AZ @ Venue TBA

8/7- Los Angeles, CA @ Venue TBA w/ Steffaloo

8/8- Oakland, CA @ Venue TBA *Oakland Indie Mayhem Presents…*

8/11- Portland, OR @ Badlands *Acoustic Afternoon BB-Q!*

8/11- Portland, OR @ Venue TBA w/ The World Radiant

8/12- Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern

8/14- Boise, ID @ Red Room

8/15- Denver, CO @ Unit E w/ Rubedo

8/16- Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar

8/17- Minneapolis, MN @ Wild Tymes

8/18- Milwaukee, WI @ Venue TBA *Battlecry Presents…*

8/19- Chicago, IL @ Schuba’s

8/20- Rock Island, IL DAYTROTTER!

8/21- Grand Rapids, MI @ Venue TBA

8/23- Toledo, OH @ Venue TBA

8/24- Pittsburgh, PA @ Howlers Coyote Cafe

Jun 04 2012

Introducing Ajnabi

Free Download: Ajnabi – A

When Mecca Lecca first began its rewarding relationship with Howth, we knew that the band would adventure down several unique paths with plenty of unexpected surprises. With the band’s latest offering, Newkirk, less than a month old, multi-instrumentalist Blake Luley has now released the first of four EPs to be released under the name Ajnabi. What you’ll hear is an ambient cousin to Howth. A is experimental in technique, but the result is an enchanting landscape of sound that shares common ground with post rock pioneers such as Sigur Ros and Mogwai.

Describing Ajnabi’s first release, A, Luley states “This is the first of four loop-based composition collections I’ve done over the past year.These recordings were created with the built-in microphone on my laptop as well as fragments of loops from some of my older pieces. They were written on the spot, improvising and layering one part after another. I attempted to make the pieces as unfiltered as possible, genuinely capturing the moment I was in.”

“My One and Only Love,” featuring guest vocals from Howth’s Carl Creighton, acts as the centerpiece between a pair of very pretty instrumental tracks.