VINYL MUSIC HALL PRESENTS
The Psychedelic Furs
The Chevin, My Jerusalem
Wed, October 31, 2012
Doors: 7:30 pm / Show: 7:30 pm (event ends at 11:00 pm)
Vinyl Music Hall
Pensacola, FL
$20.00 - $25.00
Tickets
This event is all ages
* General Admission * Standing Room Only * No Re-Entry * All Ages * Additional $5 Cash Surcharge At The Door For Under 21 * Attendees Under 16 Must Be Accompanied By A Ticketed, Adult Guardian *
http://www.vinylmusichall.com/event/152119/
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The Psychedelic Furs
If you sit and talk to many of the alternative rock artists dominating today's music, you'll find that many of them pay homage to the The Psychedelic Furs. Led by front man and songwriter Richard Butler, the Furs won over fans and critics alike by combining poetic lyrics, innovative rhythms and melodies driven by an aggressive, punk desperation. Through it all, the band scored major hits with "Love My Way," "Pretty In Pink," "Heaven," "The Ghost In You," and "Heartbreak Beat" in all releasing seven studio albums and spawning several compilations, a boxed set, and a live concert DVD.
The Psychedelic Furs came together in England's emerging punk scene in 1977 initially consisting of Richard Butler (vocals), Tim Butler (bass guitar), Paul Wilson (drums), Duncan Kilburn (saxophone), and Roger Morris (guitars). By 1979, this line up had expanded to a sextet with Vince Ely replacing Wilson on drums and John Ashton being added on guitar.
The Furs debut, a self-titled album from 1980 was produced by Steve Lillywhite. The LP quickly established the band at radio in Europe and was a top 20 hit in the UK. The album also found success in Germany, Italy, France, Spain, New Zealand and Australia. The US version of the album was resequenced, yet failed to have as strong a commercial impact.
The Furs did find success in the U.S. with their next release, 1981's Talk Talk Talk, which saw the band making its debut on the US album charts. In New Zealand, meanwhile, the band became immensely popular, as Talk Talk Talk reached the top ten in the charts, the first in a string of Furs' albums to chart in the New Zealand Top 10.
In the UK, the album spun off two charting singles, "Dumb Waiters" and the original version of "Pretty in Pink". The latter song served as inspiration for the 1986 John Hughes film of the same name, and was re-recorded for the film's platinum-selling soundtrack.
In 1982, the Furs, now a four-piece with the departures of Morris and Kilburn, recorded Forever Now, with producer Todd Rundgren in Woodstock, New York. This album included "Love My Way", which became yet another UK and US chart hit.
Ely left the band after Forever Now, although he would return for the 1988 single "All That Money Wants" and the 1989 album Book of Days.
The Furs' 1984 release Mirror Moves was produced by Keith Forsey, and featured the songs "The Ghost in You" and "Heaven". Both charted in throughout the world, and "Heaven" became the band's highest charting UK hit at the time. Strangely, however, "Heaven" was never released as a single in the U.S. Instead, Columbia Records opted for "Here Come Cowboys", despite both international success and heavy MTV airplay for "Heaven". "Here Come Cowboys" failed to chart, but "The Ghost In You" was a hit single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
By the mid-80s, the band had become a staple on both U.S. college and modern rock radio stations. Simultaneously, they were experiencing consistent mainstream success, placing several singles in the pop charts on both sides of the Atlantic.
In 1986, the band recorded a sax-infused version of "Pretty in Pink" for the soundtrack of the film of the same name. Released as a single, it became their biggest hit to that time in the U.S., and their biggest-ever UK hit. Butler later claimed that the success of "Pretty in Pink" caused the band to be pressured into entering the recording studio to record a follow-up release before they were ready. The result was Midnight to Midnight, their biggest Top 40 success to date, but also a more overtly commercial effort than the Furs had ever recorded before. The album also featured the single "Heartbreak Beat", which became the Psychedelic Furs biggest hit yet on the U.S. Top 40. The album also featured drummer Paul Garisto and sax player Mars Williams, both of whom continue to tour with the band.
In the wake of Midnight To Midnight, the Furs found themselves dissatisfied with their new commercial direction, and subsequently returned to a rawer sound with "All That Money Wants", a 1988 track especially recorded for a best-of compilation album "All Of This And Nothing". 1989's Book of Days and 1991's World Outside also saw a return to the earlier Furs' style.
The Furs' steady chart success continued with three #1 hits on the newly-established U.S. Modern Rock chart between 1988 and 1991. "All That Money Wants" was a #1 hit in 1988, while "House" topped the chart in 1990, and "Until She Comes" was #1 in 1991.
The band went on extended hiatus in the early 1990s, with the Butler brothers going on to create the band "Love Spit Love" along with guitarist Richard Fortus and drummer Frank Ferrer. Love Spit Love released two albums and enjoyed some chart success as well.
After spending most of the decade apart, the Butlers and Ashton reignited The Psychedelic Furs in 2000, and released a live album Beautiful Chaos: Greatest Hits Live, which also featured a new studio recording, "Alive (For Once In My Lifetime)." A DVD version of the performance included live versions of "Alive" and three other previously unreleased songs: "Anodyne (Better Days)," "Cigarette" and "Wrong Train." Since then, lead singer Richard Butler has released an eponymous solo album produced by Jon Carin, and has hinted at the possibility of a new Psychedelic Furs album.
These days, the band continues to tour around the world. The current Psychedelic Furs touring lineup remains Richard Butler (vocals), Tim Butler (bass), Rich Good (guitar), Mars Williams (saxophone), Amanda Kramer (keyboards), and Paul Garisto (drums).
The Psychedelic Furs came together in England's emerging punk scene in 1977 initially consisting of Richard Butler (vocals), Tim Butler (bass guitar), Paul Wilson (drums), Duncan Kilburn (saxophone), and Roger Morris (guitars). By 1979, this line up had expanded to a sextet with Vince Ely replacing Wilson on drums and John Ashton being added on guitar.
The Furs debut, a self-titled album from 1980 was produced by Steve Lillywhite. The LP quickly established the band at radio in Europe and was a top 20 hit in the UK. The album also found success in Germany, Italy, France, Spain, New Zealand and Australia. The US version of the album was resequenced, yet failed to have as strong a commercial impact.
The Furs did find success in the U.S. with their next release, 1981's Talk Talk Talk, which saw the band making its debut on the US album charts. In New Zealand, meanwhile, the band became immensely popular, as Talk Talk Talk reached the top ten in the charts, the first in a string of Furs' albums to chart in the New Zealand Top 10.
In the UK, the album spun off two charting singles, "Dumb Waiters" and the original version of "Pretty in Pink". The latter song served as inspiration for the 1986 John Hughes film of the same name, and was re-recorded for the film's platinum-selling soundtrack.
In 1982, the Furs, now a four-piece with the departures of Morris and Kilburn, recorded Forever Now, with producer Todd Rundgren in Woodstock, New York. This album included "Love My Way", which became yet another UK and US chart hit.
Ely left the band after Forever Now, although he would return for the 1988 single "All That Money Wants" and the 1989 album Book of Days.
The Furs' 1984 release Mirror Moves was produced by Keith Forsey, and featured the songs "The Ghost in You" and "Heaven". Both charted in throughout the world, and "Heaven" became the band's highest charting UK hit at the time. Strangely, however, "Heaven" was never released as a single in the U.S. Instead, Columbia Records opted for "Here Come Cowboys", despite both international success and heavy MTV airplay for "Heaven". "Here Come Cowboys" failed to chart, but "The Ghost In You" was a hit single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
By the mid-80s, the band had become a staple on both U.S. college and modern rock radio stations. Simultaneously, they were experiencing consistent mainstream success, placing several singles in the pop charts on both sides of the Atlantic.
In 1986, the band recorded a sax-infused version of "Pretty in Pink" for the soundtrack of the film of the same name. Released as a single, it became their biggest hit to that time in the U.S., and their biggest-ever UK hit. Butler later claimed that the success of "Pretty in Pink" caused the band to be pressured into entering the recording studio to record a follow-up release before they were ready. The result was Midnight to Midnight, their biggest Top 40 success to date, but also a more overtly commercial effort than the Furs had ever recorded before. The album also featured the single "Heartbreak Beat", which became the Psychedelic Furs biggest hit yet on the U.S. Top 40. The album also featured drummer Paul Garisto and sax player Mars Williams, both of whom continue to tour with the band.
In the wake of Midnight To Midnight, the Furs found themselves dissatisfied with their new commercial direction, and subsequently returned to a rawer sound with "All That Money Wants", a 1988 track especially recorded for a best-of compilation album "All Of This And Nothing". 1989's Book of Days and 1991's World Outside also saw a return to the earlier Furs' style.
The Furs' steady chart success continued with three #1 hits on the newly-established U.S. Modern Rock chart between 1988 and 1991. "All That Money Wants" was a #1 hit in 1988, while "House" topped the chart in 1990, and "Until She Comes" was #1 in 1991.
The band went on extended hiatus in the early 1990s, with the Butler brothers going on to create the band "Love Spit Love" along with guitarist Richard Fortus and drummer Frank Ferrer. Love Spit Love released two albums and enjoyed some chart success as well.
After spending most of the decade apart, the Butlers and Ashton reignited The Psychedelic Furs in 2000, and released a live album Beautiful Chaos: Greatest Hits Live, which also featured a new studio recording, "Alive (For Once In My Lifetime)." A DVD version of the performance included live versions of "Alive" and three other previously unreleased songs: "Anodyne (Better Days)," "Cigarette" and "Wrong Train." Since then, lead singer Richard Butler has released an eponymous solo album produced by Jon Carin, and has hinted at the possibility of a new Psychedelic Furs album.
These days, the band continues to tour around the world. The current Psychedelic Furs touring lineup remains Richard Butler (vocals), Tim Butler (bass), Rich Good (guitar), Mars Williams (saxophone), Amanda Kramer (keyboards), and Paul Garisto (drums).
The Chevin
From panoramic vistas from the peaks of stately Yorkshire ridges to drug-°©-running ranches in the deserts of Texas, The Chevin are a band steeped in natural grandeur. They're a band who grew up relishing the magnificent swathes of moorland stretching from York to Leeds visible from atop the hill overlooking their home town of Otley – the geological marvel after which they're named – and instinctively destined to recreate the wonder of it in music. "Otley sits in a valley in Wharfdale and the hill on one side of the valley is The Chevin," singer and songwriter Coyle Girelli explains. "I like the romance of naming ourselves after something so local and personal, and at the same time it creates an image of being stood on the edge of a ridge or a cliff looking out. If you go up into the hills, you can see all the way to York on one side and as far as the eye can see on the other. When you write without being contrived you're directly influenced by your surroundings and growing up in a place with such a wide landscape we naturally go towards that sort of feeling." As a teenager, roaming the tiny market town of Otley in The Chevin's shadow with a head full of Nirvana, Oasis and The Beatles, Coyle had a soundtrack to his life spooling constantly through his head. "I was constantly singing music to myself when I was playing, everything always had a soundtrack attached. I guess it was a natural place I was heading, I was constantly writing melody and words for as long as I can remember, without realising. Nirvana was the first thing that made me want to be in a band. The first album I got was 'In Utero' and I remember listening to it all the way through, and Nirvana strike a chord with a lot of teenagers but it really spoke to me personally. I'd loved other music but that was the first time that something had hit deep. After that I bought 'Nevermind' and I was hooked. The idea of being in a band was something that was formed from really getting deep into the songs, really starting to analyse the songs and the words." Surprisingly, Otley proved to be a hotbed for 90s-°©-inspired rock hopefuls, and Coyle and his guitarist schoolmate Mat Steele began writing and playing in a variety of musical incarnations from the age of 12, eventually graduating to the lively live scene of Leeds, playing in local bands. It wasn't until the start of 2010, though, that Coyle, Mat and their regular bassist Jon Langford chanced upon fellow Otley drummer Mal Taylor and Coyle felt the band was right to record the album's worth of songs he'd been hoarding for his big push. Enormous rock songs with the clout and sizzle of early U2, The Killers and the voice of Roy Orbison, but also with the cultish edge of Band Of Horses and Arcade Fire. Uplifting desert air punchers like 'Champion' and 'Blue Eyes', piano-°©-led paeans to nature's wonders like 'Beautiful World', rousing rock wreckages like 'Drive' (in which a mourning Coyle fantasises about crashes, both physical and emotional), synth disco stomps like 'Colours' and tangled relationship elegies such as 'Dirty Little Secret' and 'Love Is Just A Game' that hinted at messy affairs and youthful promiscuity. Songs that retained their style and stature while swerving between the defiant and the devastated, a reflection of Coyle's mindset at the time. "The last few years has been a time of break-°©-ups and I've had some close friends pass away as well as family," says Coyle. "Throughout writing the album, it was a time of loss. 'So Long Summer' is a good closer because it sums it up more than any other. It's an uplifting song but the lyrics are about losing someone close. That sums the album up lyrically – melodically it's quite uplifting, but the undertone is constantly sad. These songs, personally for me, were very therapeutic, and I hope for other people they are too." Demoing the entire album on Coyle's home studio (recordings The Chevin were so pleased with that they kept many of the original keyboard tracks for the finished album) and using them to lure in a manager, the band concentrated on perfecting their songs in rehearsal rather than playing live and opted for the increasingly fashionable approach of self-°©-financing their debut album and approached LA producer Noah Shain early in 2011 to find them a studio as dramatic and dislocated as their music and origins required. "I wanted to find somewhere in a forest or somewhere where we'd be split off from any distraction or outside influence for three and a half weeks," says Coyle. "He found this place out in the desert of El Paso in South Texas. The story of the ranch is pretty crazy, it's right on the Mexican border and there's a history of arms running and drug running but the ranch is now a pecan farm so he makes his money from that and puts it into buying insane vintage gear. It was this old ranch building they'd turned into a studio and anything you ever want is there, vintage guitars, mandolins, baby pianos, everything was there. We were able to go there and completely lose ourselves in the middle of the desert for almost a month. The experience was pretty mind-°©-altering in a lot of ways, it maybe even widened the sound a little more. You opened the door and all you could see was desert. It was completely insane. When we had a bit of time off the owner of the ranch came down and made us fire guns into the desert to make us feel Texan." Between taking pot-°©-shots at cacti, The Chevin recorded thirteen songs, working relentlessly on getting the perfect Peter Gabriel drum sound for 'Dirty Little Secret' and luring in local members of the El Paso Philharmonic Orchestra to add strings to the ever-°©-expanding pop monster that was 'Champion', the song that would become the lead track on their debut EP that October. They emerged with a "very rich, ambitious album" that may well kick-°©-start a revival in properly produced rock. "It's quite rich sonically," Coyle explains, "and that's something that's coming back more and more over the last year, which is good. Maybe it's a reaction to how easy it's got to make music on a computer in your bedroom. It's nice to hear so much music recently where you can tell it's recorded in a studio and the takes are live and there's some thought that's gone into the sound, it's not just a plug-°©-in." The album certainly turned ears. Fierce Panda heard it and offered them a record contract, starting with the ravenously received 'Champion EP'; US contacts heard it at Stateside showcase gigs and built an American team around them; The Airborne Toxic Event heard it and took them on the road around the UK for a month; The Pigeon Detectives heard it and offered them a 16-°©-date tour of Europe at the start of 2012, sharing their tourbus. And White Lies heard it, came down to catch them on their UK headline club tour towards the end of 2011 and invited The Chevin to support them on their winter arena tour, culminating at Wembley Arena: "an amazing experience. It was weird, once we were onstage and the place was pretty much full, it's one of my favourite gigs ever. It's great as a support band but as a headliner I'm sure it's better. It's something to tick off on the list." So even before their show-°©-stopping performances at SXSW 2012, The Chevin were being given glimpses of the big time. All that remained was to put the finishing touches to their immense debut album – the shimmering, propulsive, organ-°©-drenched centrepiece and title track 'Borderland', an Arcade Fire-°©-esque epic recorded at Shain's LA studio early in 2012 but inspired by the El Paso recording stint that brought out Coyle's inner Springsteen/Morricone. "Where the studio is situated, it sits right on the Mexican/American border," he says. "You can literally walk for five minutes and hit the big black fence that Cheney put up a few years ago. The song can be taken a couple of ways. When I wrote it it was a little bit about the border war, the almost moral war that goes on at that and many other borders around the world, but subconsciously it was about coming through a period and being re-°©-awoken." And with next single 'Drive' hitting the gas on May 14 and 'Borderland' causing its deep impact in August, The Chevin are about to break another border; the one between local heroes and global superstars. The Chevin: mountainous.
My Jerusalem
"Nobody ever paid money to see Harry Houdini escape being buried alive" says My Jerusalem founder and singer Jeff Klein. "They wanted the small chance of seeing him
killed by the weight of the earth on top of him."
Behold the concept behind Preachers, the second full-length release from Austin's My Jerusalem. From the opening piano of the haunting title track, to the unexpected pummeling guitar and drums on closer "I Left My Conscience In You", Preachers leads
the listener on a cinematic journey through a reckless, jagged landscape of Raymond Carver-esque stories, fueled by Klein's persuasive baritone, ominous guitars, dream-like keyboards and a deep rhythmic pulse.
Recorded in under three weeks by Spoon drummer Jim Eno (Heartless Bastards, Polica, Black Joe Lewis) at his Public Hi-Fi studio, Preachers is the first My Jerusalem album genuinely made by a band, not just performed by a group of musicians. Pushing aside hard drives and laptops to make way for analog tape machines and vintage keyboards, what Klein describes as the "Post-Modern Southern Gothic Soul" sounds of Preachers
were born from organic, live performances Eno carefully captured and tweaked.
Preachers is the follow-up to 2010's critically acclaimed debut, Gone For Good, an album that earned the band performances on BBC Radio 6 and Daytrotter, as well as notices from NPR's All Songs Considered, AOL/Spinner's Song of the Day, and the
iTunes Weekly Rewind. Along with European festival appearances at the Frequency Festival, Musikfestwochen, and Rock Im Saal, the band toured and played shows with a eclectic set of bands including Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Har Mar
Superstar, Avett Brothers, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and White Arrows.
Buoyed by the success of Gone For Good, Preachers showcases a band headed into the studio with a renewed focus and confidence. Preachers contains equal parts swagger
(the swampy gospel of title track "Preachers", the strutting intensity of "Born In The Belly") and groove (the spooky beauty of "Shatter Together", the crescendoing, feral drive of "Devoe", the infectious crooner "Mono"); as much primal ("Death Valley") as it
is humane ("Chameleon").
"It's a darker record," says Klein, who, before forming My Jerusalem in 2010, made 3 records under his own name. "So much had changed since Gone For Good. We'd all kind
of been through hell and back again in different ways, and this was the natural artistic result of all of that. But I think it's a beautiful, comforting darkness. It's real, but not selfish."
"We finally have a shared collective vibe," adds guitarist/keyboardist Jon Merz, "I believe it's more representative of what our live shows sound like. This time around, Jeff would bring us song ideas and we would add our own perspectives to it."
The five-piece, which also features multi-instrumentalist Michael St. Clair, drummer Grant Van Amburgh, and bassist Geena Spigarelli, also had the opportunity to road-test much of the new material before recording, during their extensive touring behind Gone For Good. It was a luxury they didn't have the first time around.
"Working out the kinks live before recording them makes a big difference," reflects Klein, "They get a chance to breathe and grow before committing them to the world permanently. Because of that process, some songs, like 'Death Valley,' sound nothing like
their early version. We're excited to take them on the road and see how they evolve even further."
Equal parts sweet, morbid, strange, and sincere, Preachers is an experience that could convert the most steadfast of non-believers.
killed by the weight of the earth on top of him."
Behold the concept behind Preachers, the second full-length release from Austin's My Jerusalem. From the opening piano of the haunting title track, to the unexpected pummeling guitar and drums on closer "I Left My Conscience In You", Preachers leads
the listener on a cinematic journey through a reckless, jagged landscape of Raymond Carver-esque stories, fueled by Klein's persuasive baritone, ominous guitars, dream-like keyboards and a deep rhythmic pulse.
Recorded in under three weeks by Spoon drummer Jim Eno (Heartless Bastards, Polica, Black Joe Lewis) at his Public Hi-Fi studio, Preachers is the first My Jerusalem album genuinely made by a band, not just performed by a group of musicians. Pushing aside hard drives and laptops to make way for analog tape machines and vintage keyboards, what Klein describes as the "Post-Modern Southern Gothic Soul" sounds of Preachers
were born from organic, live performances Eno carefully captured and tweaked.
Preachers is the follow-up to 2010's critically acclaimed debut, Gone For Good, an album that earned the band performances on BBC Radio 6 and Daytrotter, as well as notices from NPR's All Songs Considered, AOL/Spinner's Song of the Day, and the
iTunes Weekly Rewind. Along with European festival appearances at the Frequency Festival, Musikfestwochen, and Rock Im Saal, the band toured and played shows with a eclectic set of bands including Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Har Mar
Superstar, Avett Brothers, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and White Arrows.
Buoyed by the success of Gone For Good, Preachers showcases a band headed into the studio with a renewed focus and confidence. Preachers contains equal parts swagger
(the swampy gospel of title track "Preachers", the strutting intensity of "Born In The Belly") and groove (the spooky beauty of "Shatter Together", the crescendoing, feral drive of "Devoe", the infectious crooner "Mono"); as much primal ("Death Valley") as it
is humane ("Chameleon").
"It's a darker record," says Klein, who, before forming My Jerusalem in 2010, made 3 records under his own name. "So much had changed since Gone For Good. We'd all kind
of been through hell and back again in different ways, and this was the natural artistic result of all of that. But I think it's a beautiful, comforting darkness. It's real, but not selfish."
"We finally have a shared collective vibe," adds guitarist/keyboardist Jon Merz, "I believe it's more representative of what our live shows sound like. This time around, Jeff would bring us song ideas and we would add our own perspectives to it."
The five-piece, which also features multi-instrumentalist Michael St. Clair, drummer Grant Van Amburgh, and bassist Geena Spigarelli, also had the opportunity to road-test much of the new material before recording, during their extensive touring behind Gone For Good. It was a luxury they didn't have the first time around.
"Working out the kinks live before recording them makes a big difference," reflects Klein, "They get a chance to breathe and grow before committing them to the world permanently. Because of that process, some songs, like 'Death Valley,' sound nothing like
their early version. We're excited to take them on the road and see how they evolve even further."
Equal parts sweet, morbid, strange, and sincere, Preachers is an experience that could convert the most steadfast of non-believers.
