Daytrotting With Headlights

Headlights are some of the nicest people I've met. They stopped by the ol' Daytrotter studios an layed down a few tracks off their latest release, Wildlife. These tracks sound even better than they do on tape. But, I could prolly listen to Erin Fein sing all day long.

You can check out the versions of "Teenage Wonder," "You And Eye," "Secrets" and "Wisconsin Beaches here... even download them if it tickles your fancy.

MP3: Headlights - Teenage Wonder

Daytrotting WIth Kitty, Daisy & Lewis

Yeppers... those crazy swing-blues-country revivalist kids have their very own Daytrotter session. Check it out and get some insight into how they drunkenly recorded their version of "Goin' Up The Country" and you even download it. You can download an exclusive track "The Ska Song" that is an unreleased song they recorded.

Besides that, I'm constantly impressed how awesome their harp player is, that girl can blow!

MP3: Kitty, Daisy & Lewis - Welcome To Daytrotter

Daytrot With Har Mar Superstar

Love him or hate him (love him!) you can't hate on Har Mar's musical skillz. The man can make a helluva R&B/electro song... about sex mostly. He's basically the tubby, white Teddy Riley.

That being said, tubby-funky one stopped by Daytrotter for a session and of course, it kills.

MP3: Har Mar Superstar - Welcome To Daytrotter

Jessica Does Daytrotter

It's been a while since Daytrotter has anyone really interesting in their studio.  But, my heart skipped a beat when I noticed Jessica Lea Mayfield was recently featured.  I realize I've gone on and on about how great she is, but honestly, it's because she is a fantastic singer and songwriter.

MP3:  Jessica Lea Mayfield - I'm Not Lonely Anymore (Daytrotter Session)

Minipop Daytrotter Session

I was pleasantly surprised today when I checked out the ol' Daytrotter.  You may remember we interviewed San Francisco's Minipop last month and they just did a session this week.  So, it's nice to see that Daytrotter is riding BFD's coat tails.  I really think it's about time that someone did.

The good part about their particular session is that of the four songs they recorded, three are unreleased tracks, including their take on The Flaming Lips "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots,  Pt. 1."  If you like the original version, imagine slowing it down and adding a splash of more melancholy.  

You can download the whole session here.  Enjoy!

MP3:  Minipop - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, Pt. 1 (Daytrotter Session)

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears on Daytrotter

The greatness of Austin, TX's Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears is the latest Daytrotter Session.  If you aren't familiar with BJL&THB he does a mix of soul and blues.  To me he's a mix of Stevie Ray Vaughn and Ray Charles.

But, I kinda feel bad about liking him now that I've read this.

Interesting tidbit:  Jim Eno from Spoon drums along side his drummer Matt Strmiska on "Big Booty Woman."

But, you can get all five songs from his session here.

MP3:  Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears - Big Booty Woman (Daytrotter Session)

The Broken West Daytrotter Session

The Broken West's sophomore album Now or Heaven has been on heavy rotation here for quite a while.  So, I was pleased as punch to see they were todays latest artists to be featured on ye old Daytrotter Sessions.  

However, I wasn't so excited when I heard the new version of "Gwen, Now And Then" (my favorite cut off the new album).  Why?  Because it was so different from the recorded version!  But, about half way in, I started to realize it was just like a garden and I started to dig it, man.  But, the reasoning behind the reworking was splained thusly:

When we first started rehearsing this song during the sessions for the new record, it had this really strong, driving drum part. Kind of like The Cure’s “Close to Me”. But then the song got really stripped down — we lost that beat and ended up using this drum loop for most of the track. I’m happy with the way it turned out on the record, but we thought it would be fun to go back to that big beat. So we came into the Daytrotter session knowing that we wanted to try it that way; that’s about the only thing we knew we wanted to do for sure. Then Danny came up with this really awesome, percussive guitar part on the fly, and it all sort of came together. I really like the way it turned out — I’d kind of like to play it like this live from time to time.

You can download the tracks here.  

MP3: The Broken West - Gwen, Now And Then (Daytrotter Session)

Centro-Matic Daytrotter Session

It was  a pleasant surprise to see that Centro-Matic has joined the list of notable alumni of the Daytrotter Sessions this week.  The former Denton boys visited the studio and laid down six new versions of several songs spanning their previous albums.  

An article on the page talks about how Centro-Matic, particularly Will Johnson, delicately straddle the line between sad songs without going completely over the edge.  And the selected tracks on here fit that description accurately.  Along with each track is a short paragraph about the inspiration for each song.  

I highly recommend the stunning version of "I, The Kite" from Dual Hawks--it's better than the original version.  Each track is free to download, so get over there and get 'em!

MP3:  Centro-Matic - I, The Kite (Daytrotter Session)

Tracklisting:

"Counting The Stars" from Dual Hawks

"Gas Blowin' Out of Our Eyes" from All The Falsest Hearts Can Try

"Nothin' I Ever Seen" from Fort Recovery

"I, The Kite" from Dual Hawks

"Good as Gold" from Redo The Stacks

"Quality Strange" from Dual Hawks

Hymns Daytrotter Session

One of my favorite bands I've listened to this year are the Hymns. They've been through the D a couple of times now, and they recently did some recording for the Daytrotter Sessions. If you're not familiar with the Daytrotter Sessions get familiar using the world's most reliable sourse.

If you aren't familiar with the Hymns, you should be. If you like a Southern fried rock sound then you'll definitely like the Hymns.

Click on the Daytrotter link above and it will take you directly to the Hymns section of the site. There are four fantastic songs for download: "LA, or Babette Sange," "Time Told Me," "Streets Alone" and "St. Sebastian."

I like the sound of "Time Told Me." It has a sound that reminds me of the countrified songs of the Rolling Stones I've heard...maybe Tom Petty with a horn section. For a New York band they sure do have the Southern sound down pat.

MP3: Hymns - Time Told Me (Daytrotter Sessions)