days of the 21st century, Parr's heartfelt and plaintive original folk blues and traditional spirituals don't strive for authenticity: They are authentic.

It's the music of a self-taught guitarist and banjo player who grew up without a TV but with his dad's recordings of America's musical founding fathers, including Charley Patton and Lightnin' Hopkins, Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly. With his long scraggly hair, father-time beard, thrift-store workingman's flannel and jeans, and emphatic, throaty voice, Parr looks and sounds like he would have fit right into Harry Smith's "Anthology of American Folk Music."

Most of his recordings, including Roustabout (2008), Jubilee (2007), Rooster (2005), King Earl (2004), 1922 (2002) and Criminals and Sinners (2001) eschew typical studio settings. He has recorded in warehouses, garages, basements and storefronts, usually on vintage equipment, which gives his work the historic feel of field recordings and a quality as timeless as the frozen soil of Minnesota.

Faith, though undefined, underlines all of Charlie's music, both in the listening, the covering, the writing and performing.
"When you listen to Charley Patton playing something like 'Prayer of Death,' way over and above it just being a 'Charley Patton' song, or a 'spiritual' song, it's one of the most
beautiful and haunting pieces of music you'll ever hear in your life. You can't quite put your thumb on it, you just want to do something like that so much...I don't think I ever
have, but it's a weird, visceral thing. Any time I get a song like that right, I get kind of that weird feeling, you know?

Press:
"Charlie Parr captures the intense sound of the folk music of America’s frozen north. His raw voice, lightning finger picking and plaintive but wry songs have made him one of the most important contemporary protagonists of the American folk tradition." -Bath International Music Festival

"There's splashes of instrumental brilliance the equal of Leo Kottke's 6 12 string, but really it's Parr's corruscating attack of a voice, heading down that dusty gravel road which raises the stakes here. As serious as your life, and twice as exciting - what a discovery." -Boomkat

On decks: FALKO TEICHMANN

Brought to you by:
SINCE THE DEVIL IS GONE I MOSTLY FEEL LONELY

Support by:
www.digitalinberlin.de/
www.blitzgigs.de/ ... less

the S/T debut LP and 2011’s What A Pleasure EP, they performed around the world with a lineup that once featured Cole Smith (DIIV) and John Pe?a (Heavenly Beat). They quickly became known for their highly energetic stage show, bringing the recorded work to a volume and tempo that would make even the indie-est of crowds wind up in a frenzy. With the exception of drummer Tommy Gardner, that lineup dissolved to pursue their ambitions with the aforementioned projects. Wanting to bridge the gap between the live and recorded aspects of the band, Dustin began writing Clash the Truth determined to capture the urgency, human flow and spontaneity of the live performance.

Now with a full time drummer (and co-writer of two tracks on the LP) Beach Fossils entered the studio in the fall of 2012 with producer Ben Greenberg of The Men. Instead of merely going from a “bedroom DiY” project to a “better fidelity studio project” the deliberate decision to work with Ben was determined to capture, if not in style, the spirit and enthusiasm of punk and aggressive music in general. To ensure that dynamic, the drums were recorded live in a room with Dustin on bass to give the album a driving and energetic force. Consider the titles “Generational Synthetic,” “Caustic Cross” and “Burn You Down,” it’s easy to see how the record, while not a punk or post-punk record by strict definition, certainly nods to the first major influence of Dustin’s creative spark. The first two notes of the title track that kick the LP off are a clear indicator of where his head was at.

The LP also sees Dustin stretching his songwriting muscles, with the acoustic Lennon-esque “Sleep Apnea” and the dreamy “In Vertigo”, which features the vocals of Kazu Makino (Blonde Redhead). During the recording period, the studio was flooded and destroyed by hurricane Sandy and the band had to relocate to another studio to finish the LP in earnest. It all came together when the work of legendary video artist Peter Campus was finalized to be featured throughout the release and on the striking cover. Clash the Truth marks a clear progression in the ongoing story of Beach Fossils. Drawing from the previous works’ melodic strengths and uncanny guitar textures emboldened by a sound closer to their energetic and cathartic live set, it’s the clear next step in the trajectory of the band and the dis-association from the home-recording boom from which it originated. ... less

it’s true. On Facebook you can see group images with joints and big size pizzas, long hair covered by a baseball cap and a large smile.

Slacker, Skater, Sicko, Stoner and garage musician - that and much more is Kyle Thomas. His second record has been released on Sub Pop recently and delivers hit after hit somewhere between Garage-Rock and yes, Garage-Rock. The sound is drenched in sweat and alcohol and the live shows are excessive. No wonder that acts like NOBUNNY, HUNX HIS PUNX and SHANNON THE CLAMS belong to his close circle of friends.

Now if you do wonder why we would put on a show like that on a monday, it´s because monday is the new friday baby! ... less

dies einen Sinn ergibt.
So sitzen im Sommer 2011 vier junge und eigentlich in Berlin beheimatete Männer in einer Bar in Liverpool und entscheiden sich für einen gemeinsamen Neuanfang: EMPIRE ESCAPE.
Neben einigen Konzerten mit Bands wie I Like Trains, Pete & The Pirates oder The Temper Trap zieht es die Band zu ersten Studioaufnahmen in die endlose Weite Schwedens. Mit Hilfe von Mathias Oldén (Logh) und Pelle Gunnerfeldt (Fireside, Refused, The Hives) werden hier die ersten Songs aufgenommen und produziert.



TICKETS IM VVK:
Für das Konzert wird es eine limitierte Auflage handgefertigter Hardtickets im Vorverkauf geben. Der VVK-Preis beträgt 6 Euro. Zudem erwartet jeden Hardticket-Inhaber am Konzertabend ein kleines Überraschungsgeschenk. Kartenbestellungen werden per Email entgegengenommen, Betreff "Monarch" + gewünschte Kartenanzahl und Versandadresse bitte an:
info@empireescape.com ... less

live immer wieder eindrucksvoll unter Beweis stellen (zuletzt u.a. bei gemeinsamen Shows mit I'm Not A Band oder den Crashcaptains). ... less

waren die späten '60er um '68 und '69, in dieser Zeitspanne entstanden die besten Tracks, eine wilde, explosive Mischung aus Gospel, Soul und Rhythm & Blues. Manche Bands hielten noch länger als bis '72 am ursprünglichen, rauhen und puren Funk-Sound fest, aber spätestens nach '74 war dann wirklich überall der Ofen aus. Der harte, emotionale und kraftvolle Funk wich stupiden Discorhythmen, zu denen sich auch die ungelenke weiße Mittelschicht in ihren schlechtsitzenden Anzügen auf die Tanzfläche traute. Unsere große Leidenschaft gilt den seltenen und obskuren Original-Singles der "Golden Period" von '66-'72. Platten, die meist nur in kleinen Auflagen auf unabhängigen privaten Labels erschienen und damals einfach zu wild, zu hart und ungezügelt fürs Radio und somit einen überregionalen Erfolg waren. Es ist erstaunlich, wie viele dieser Platten es gibt, und regelmäßig werden neue wiederentdeckt, eine lang vergessen geglaubte Musik erlebt eine Wiedergeburt auf der Tanzfläche. ... less

Doppelkonzert mit Rocket From The Tombs in München im Mai diesen Jahres (natürlich ebenfalls ausverkauft), kommt die Band endlich auf eine Club-Tournee nach Deutschland.

Gerade erschien die DVD "Live: Berlin 1988" vom ersten Europaauftritt der Band um Mark Arm - "erweckend" (Thomas Venker) muß dieses Konzert 1988 gewesen sein. Die erste Grunge-Band ever in Europa - das waren Zeiten! Wehende Haare, herumschleudernde Gitarren, Post-Punk-Proto-Grunge! Aber viel anders ist es auch heute nicht - der "in Würde gealterte" (Intro) Mark Arm ist auch heute noch ein grandioser Performer, die Band rockt sowas von, es ist ein Fest, sich von dieser urgewaltigen Band über hundert faszinierende Minuten lang wegtragen zu lassen:

"Mark Arm gab den charismatischen Shouter, die Rhythmusgruppe um Basser Guy Madison und Superdrummer Dan Peters sorgte für den nötigen Druck, den Steve Turner mit Gitarren-Fuzz-Attacken perfekt füllte (...) Das Publikum war euphorisch." (Visions Live-Kritik 2012)

"Als wäre die Stimmung noch nicht kurz vor der Eskalation, peitscht das markante Proto-Grunge-Riff durch die Halle: "Touch Me I'm Sick". Mark Arm erinnert beim einzigen Deutschlandkonzert seiner Mudhoney nicht zum ersten Mal an die Stooges. Das Feuerwerk an Hits, das Mudhoney über zwei hitzige Stunden abschießt, betont die eigene Legende." (Dirk Wagner, Musikexpress, Live-Kritik 2012)
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