The Warm Up with Shearwater

When we heard our friend Christian Mader from Brass Bed, one of our earliest guests on The Warm Up, had joined up with former Okkervil River alum Jonathan  Meiberg in Shearwater, we knew we had to reach out and ask them to stop by Ardent before their gig with St Vincent at Minglewood Hall tonight.

It turns out most of the band are fans of Big Star and were excited to get to stop in and spend some time chatting with studio manager Jody Stephens. We also were thrilled to get to take the guys to Stax and share a little bit of Memphis’ musical heritage with them.

Shearwater will be on tour with St. Vincent for another week and decided to play their own version of one of her songs while they were here. Check out their rendition of “Cheerleader” along with two other cuts off their new SubPop album, Animal Joy. We also talked about their recording process and what their plans are for the rest of the summer. Catch them on tour in a town near you!

Shearwater is a band from Austin, TX. Their new album, Animal Joy, was released February 14, 2012 in the USA and February 27th in the UK/EU. The band will be touring throughout 2012.

SoundCheck @Minglewoodhall with Harlan

We snuck into 1884 Lounge early last night to catch Harlan during sound check. The name is actually the middle name of John Norris, who is currently touring as a one man band – although he also plays with Scott Campbell when he is available. Here is a video of John soundchecking the first song from the band’s new album.

We chatted with John before the show, and not only is he a talented musician, and super nice guy – he is also an incredible artist. Check out some of his brilliant paintings here. Campbell is no slouch either, he’s been commissioned to do designs for posters and t-shirts for tons of bands including The NationalThe AntlersYoung the GiantOkkervil River, and Generationals.

We were lucky enough to snag an early copy of the band’s new record Night Loop and we are in love! Harlan is playing March 23rd in Brooklyn at The Rock Shop w/Bird of Youth. We suggest you catch the show if you’re in the area!