On July 17, Mike Coykendall released his latest record, Half Past, Present Pending via Fluff and Gravy Records. American Standard Time calls it “a slice of seriously fuzzy, spaced-out folk music”, which seems a pretty accurate description. Today, we are happy to present the first video from the record, for the ballad “Hard Landing”.

The video was produced by Coykendall and long-time friend (and fellow Portland musician), Charlie Maxton.  The song itself is one of deep personal reflection.  “If you’re lucky, you can procrastinate dealing with certain issues for quite some time,”  says Coykendall. “Youth moreso than middle age. Then, if you’re really lucky, you live long enough that you gotta deal and it’s scary. It’s also liberating and empowering.”

 The video is dedicated to or “The lucky ones who got to spend a little extra time at the county fair. The ride isn’t over till the big carnie kicks you off.”

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKRhIARw5Xo[/youtube]

It’s finally here! Today is the official release day for Fernando Viciconte’s long-awaited 7th full-length release, “Leave The Radio On“. Even better, KEXP featured the first single “Save Me” on their Song of the Day podcast. Whoop!

The album, which features Peter Buck on 8 of the 11 tracks as well as Scott McCaughey (The Minus 5, The Baseball Project, Young Fresh Fellows) has been 3 years in the making. This is a new chapter in Viciconte’s ever-evolving musical trajectory, a career marked by creative integrity and an almost painful honesty which attracts fans from high and low that still believe in the redemptive power of rock and roll.

He will be touring the US through the end of 2015, and will embark on European Tours in early February and April of 2016.

Available now on LP, CD and digital formats. Look for it at your favorite record store, on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify or get it directly from Fluff and Gravy Records.

On Sept 18, Fernando Viciconte will release his 7th solo album, titled Leave The Radio On (Fluff and Gravy Records).  Featuring Peter Buck (REM) on mandolin, and guitar, as well as Scott McCaughey (The Minus Five, The Baseball Project, The Young Fresh Fellows), the record stands to be Fernando’s finest to date.  The record has been highly anticipated since KEXP featured an early single from the record, “The Dogs”, as their Song of The Day back in October of 2014.

After a series of health problems that prevented him from touring for the better part of a decade, Fernando is finally healthy and eager to hit the road. “Most folks who tour at this level at the age of 46, they’re burnt out,” he says. “I have a new lease on life.”

 

 

Here is where you can catch him this Fall:

Aug 28th |Seattle, WA | High Dive Seattle (Record Release Party) | 9:30pm | $10
Aug 29th | Portland, OR | Star Theater (Record Release Party) w/ Mike Coykendall, The Delines | 9pm | $10
Sept 5th | Portland, OR | PDX Film Fest Solo performance | 5pm
Sept 6th | Troutdale, OR | Edgefield Winery | 7pm |FREE
Sept 15th | Salt Lake City, UT| The Heavy Metal Shop *
Sept 16th | Colorado Springs, CO | Triple Nickel | 9pm | $5 *
Sept 17th | Denver, CO | 3 Kings Tavern *
Sept 18th | Fort Collins, Co | House Show *
Sept 20th | Boise, ID | House Show *
Sept 26th | Hillsboro, OR | Rock Creek Tavern | 9pm | FREE
Oct 3rd | Portland, OR | White Eagle
Oct 5th | Sacramento, CA | The Press Club
Oct 6th | Santa Margarita, CA | Dunbar Brewing
Oct 7th | Santa Barbara | The Seven Bar
Oct 8th | Los Angeles, CA | Cafe Cinema
Oct 9th | Morrow Bay, CA | Libertine Pub
Oct 10th | Santa Cruz, CA The Crepe Place
Oct 11th | San Francisco, CA | Thee Parkside
Oct 16th | Salem, OR | Boon’s Treasurey
Oct 31st | Portland, OR | Rock Creek Tavern

 * with Michael Dean Damron and Mishka Shubaly

Go get it!

On July 17, Mike Coykendall released his 4th solo record and 22nd overall, Half Past, Present Pending.  American Standard Time called it “a slice of seriously fuzzy, spaced-out folk music”, which seems a pretty accurate description. With this record, Mike had the idea to strip things down (mostly) to his live “rig”, which finds him playing an oversized Kay guitar, a tin can kick drum, and hi hat, all run through layers of distortion and delay. Of course, he took a few liberties in the studio, but the point remains that sounds on Half Past, Present Pending are pretty much what you’re going to get when you see a Mike Coykendall show.  If you’d like to see it for yourself, now’s your chance…

Here is when Mike will be in your neck of the woods:

Aug 29 | Portland, OR | Star Theatre, w/Fernando (record release) & The Delines | 9pm | $10
Sept 01| Pendleton, OR | Great Pacific | 7pm | Free
Sept 02 | Salt Lake City, UT |  The Heavy Metal Shop (in-store)
Sept 03 | Denver, CO | Syntax Physic Opera, w/Porlolo | 9pm | $7
Sept 05 | Wichita, KS | Barleycorn’s, w/ Nikki Modelmog & Michael Carmody | 9pm | $5
Sept 09 | Lawrence, KS | Replay Lounge, w/The Harrisonics | 10pm
Sept 10 | Omaha, NE | Pageturner’s
Sept 12 |Milwaukee, WI | Linneman’s
Sept 14 | Rock Island, IL | Rozz-Tox
Sept 15 | Iowa City, IA | Trumpet Blossom
Sept 16 | Bloomington, IN | Player’s Pub, w/Opal Fly & Kapow | 6pm | $4
Sept 17 | Cincinnati, OH  | The Southgate House w/Happy Chichester | 8pm | $10
Sept 19 | Columbus, OH | Natalie’s, w/Happy Chichester | 10pm | $10
Sept 21 | Ithica, NY |  Sacred Root Kava Bar w/Nate Marshall
Sept 25 | Portland, ME | The Bayside Bowl, w/Chris Robley
Sept 26 | Providence, RI | Machines with Magnets, w/Death Vessel
Sept 27 | Newport, RI | The Parlor w/Bob Kendall
Sept 29 | Brooklyn, NY | Pete’s Candy Store, w/Gabriel Mintz
Sept 30 | (The Orchard – NYC) + Boston, MA @|Hostelling International, w/ Gabriel Mintz
Oct 01 | (WERS Boston) + Winthrop, MA | Blackstrap BBQ, w/Gabriel Mintz
Oct 02 | Middlebury, VT | Middlebury College, w/Gabriel Mintz
Oct 03 | Burlington/Winooski, VT | The Monkey House
Oct 06 | Chattanooga, TN | JJ’s Bohemia, w/Charles Allison
Oct 07 | Nashville, TN | The Stone Fox, w/Chris Scruggs
Oct 08 | St. Louis, MO | Foam, w/Bobby Stevens
Oct 10 | Columbia, MO | Cafe Berlin
Oct 11 | Kansas City, MO | The Tank Room, w/Maria the Mexican | 7pm
Oct 12 | Wichita, KS | Kirby’s Beer Store | 7pm
Oct 14 |Albuquerque, NM | The Sister Bar, w/Wildewood 
Oct 17 | Morro Bay, CA | The Libertine Pub
Oct 18 | San Francisco, CA @ The Make Out Room w/Yea-ming & the Rumours
Oct 19 | San Francisco, CA @ The Make Out Room, w/Sad Bastards Club
Oct 23 | Portland, OR | Mississippi Studios, w/Annalisa Tornfelt & Michael Hurley | 8pm | $13
Oct 24 | Seaside, WA | The Sou’Wester Lodge
Oct 25 | Astoria, OR | Fort George Brewery, w/Bart Budwig

Hope to see you there!

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[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnY6MItXzVg[/youtube]

Today’s the big day! Drunken Prayer’s The Devil and The Blues hits the shelves of your favorite record stores and online establishments today.

Here are some excerpts from a few early reviews:

“Wit, romanticism, weirdness: Drunken Prayer hits that sweet spot once again” – Pop Matters

“a slurry of rockin’ back-beat, bluesy licks, filthy slide guitar, and angelic harmonies to boot” – American Standard Time

“Rebellious roots music with pentecostal zeal” – WNCW

“Lead track “Hellraiser” is adrenaline-fueled and takes no prisoners. The drums stomp, guitars gallop and Geer’s stand-and-deliver vocal style verges on violent. Wisps of smoke issue from the speakers — and there are still 11 tracks to go.” – Mountain Express

You can stream the record and purchase it here, or snag it from iTunes if that’s your bag.

Check out Catherine Feeny and Chris Johnedis as they play a live session at OPB Music. You watch the live videos, read the interview, and download the live tracks here.

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IVPNKMgzxw[/youtube]
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Catherine Feeny and Chris Johnedis continue to ride the wave of their self-titled debut lp. Hot off their live session at OPB Music, Feeny and Johnedis will hit Northern California for a string of dates this week. Armed with a ukelele, drums, and looped guitar, the duo relies on Feeny’s masterful songwriting and powerful voice, and their interplay with Johnedis’ abstract counter-rhythms. Together, Catherine Feeny and Chris Johnedis play music that feels at once challenging and ground-breaking, yet immediately accessible.

 

Here’s where you can catch them for the remainder of August:

August 19 | Eureka, CA | The Siren’s Song Tavern (w/The Trouble) | 9pm | FREE
August 20 | San Francisco, CA | The Lost Church (w/Bobey and Emily Ritz) | 7:30pm | $10 adv, $15 at door
August 21 | Santa Cruz, CA | The Crepe Place (w/ Stealth Ulvang of The Lumineers) | 9pm | $8
August 22 | Davis, CA | Sophia’s Thai Kitchen and Bar (w/ Mimicking Birds) |8:30pm | $5
August 23 | Cottage Grove, OR | The Axe and Fiddle | 8:30pm | FREE

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IVPNKMgzxw[/youtube]

New Records from Fernando, Mike Coykendall, Drunken Prayer, and Vacilando

Happy summer everyone! It’s going to be a busy one for us here at Fluff and Gravy Records. We are excited to welcome two new artists to the family, long-time Argentinian troubadour, Fernando Viciconte, and newcomer Indie Rock/Ambient Soundscapers, Vacilando.

Just to get you started, here is your 2015 summer anthem, from Mike Coykendall, as presented by Glide Magazine.

Read more about all of the release below! Remember that all of these records can be preordered here, and that shipping charges ONLY apply to the first item that you order.

The Vacilando and Fernando records are available as limited edition colored vinyl (hand numbered to 100), so be sure to get those before they go if it’s your bag.

Thanks so much for all of your support!

Much love,
John and Chad

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Half Past, Present Pending is Coykendall’s 4th solo album,and his second on Fluff and Gravy Records. A departure from 2012’s Chasing Away The Dots, which featured numerous guests (M Ward, Ben Gibbard, Zooey Deschanel) and full band arrangements, this record is all Coykendall. The goal was to bring the listener closer to his live performances, and his setup which he affectionately calls “the rig”, consisting of an oversized Kay electric guitar, a tin can kick drum and a huge set of high-hat cymbals, all awash in delay and reverb. Half Past, Present Pending mixes excellent new compositions (check out “Hard Landing”) with tracks from his back catalogue (check out “East of Cheney” or “Spacebaker Blues”) along with fresh interpretations of other artists (he covers Roger Miller, Syd Barrett etc).

Available July 17, 2015 on lp, cd, and digital formats

Sample a track and pre-order the record here!

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Hailing from Portland, OR, Vacilando might accurately be called the Fluff and Gravy house band. At it’s core, the band is a vehicle for the songs of John Shepski (FnG Head Honcho), accompanied by Chad Lanning (FnG partner, photographer, and social media guru) and Juniana Lannign (FnG Studios lead engineer).

Their debut record, While They Were Dancing, is slow and atmospheric, breathing deeply with vast empty spaces underneath heart-in-hand lyrics and a humble delivery. The band is fond of describing their record alternately as Bummercore or Bleak Midwestern Soundscapes, but just when the listener is drawn in and seemingly transported to another time and place, the band brings them crashing back to earth in a sonic explosion of screaming guitars and feedback. The music feels at once nostalgic and timeless, all while remaining grounded in the present.

RIYL: Yo La Tengo, Low, Fennesz, Vic Chesnutt

Available July 17, 2015 on lp, cd, and digital formats

Sample a track and pre-order the record here!

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The Devil & The Blues sounds at first like a party record. But fans of The Reigning Sound, The Sadies or Freakwater will recognize the droll narratives of sadness, rebellion and wild redemption on this slightly psychedelic trip through the history of American roots music. Here, once again, Morgan Geer finds common ground at the peculiar crossroads of gospel, soul and 60’s psych.

There’s a real connection to the aforementioned bands too. Along for the ride with Geer is the rhythm section of drummer Lance Wille and bassist, David Wayne Gay, both former members of The Reigning Sound (Geer, Gay and Willie, as “The Unholy Trio”, have a crazy popular video of Public Enemy’s “Bring the Noise” that Bloodshot Record’s released a while back). Dallas Good, from The Sadies, drops by to play some spectacular guitar.

Rowdy, unswerving and often outrageously funny, The Devil & The Blues, is the new old sound of Drunken Prayer.

Available August 21, 2015 on cd, and digital formats

Sample a track and pre-order the record here!

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3 years in the making, the album Leave The Radio On a virtual who’s who of Portland’s finest musicians, including Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey as well as members of M.Ward, Elliott Smith, Richmond Fontaine and The Delines. Fernando has come a long way since Magnet Magazine named him one of the ten Best New Artists of the Year in 2006. This record represents the next step in his ever-evolving musical trajectory, a career marked by creative integrity and an almost painful honesty which attracts fans from high and low that still believe in the redemptive power of rock and roll.

Last fall, Fernando dropped an early 7” single from the LP as a preview of what is to come.  The a-side (“The Dogs”) is the second track on the record, and was featured by KEXP as their song of the day.

Available September 18, 2015 on cd, and digital formats

Sample a track and pre-order the record here!

“Sea of Japan”  is the first new material from Nick Jaina since 2013’s Primary Perception. The single, and it’s b-side, “Delta of Venus” were recorded during the same time period, and they would feel right at home on the album.

“Sea of Japan” was inspired by a hypothesis regarding the Heikegani crab and fisherman in the Sea of Japan who may have been unwittingly responsible for a selective evolution in the development of the species. The theory, as presented by Julian Huxley and propagated by Carl Sagan, suggests that any time a crab was caught whose face resembled a Samurai Warrior, the fisherman would throw it back. Eventually, the crabs would have (artificially) selected for the trait, which would come to define the species. Nick Jaina takes the artistic liberty of connecting this to a school trip to the Sea of Japan at age 12 when he was stung by a jellyfish.

“Delta of Venus” was a $500 commission for a friend who was trying to win back a lost love, which Nick chose to set at a cafe in Davis, CA, where they lived. When the friend was visiting Portland with the girl, he called Nick and asked if he would stand nonchalantly in the doorway of Mississippi Records and “spontaneously” play the song as they walked past.  He did, and they listened. The awkward silence that followed was nearly unbearable. In the end, the friend didn’t get the girl back. No word on whether he considered this to be a good investment.

Click here to stream the new tracks!

 

 

The debut album from Catherine Feeny and Chris Johnedis is finally here!  Early reviews and premiers from sites including Magnet Magazine, The Bluegrass Situation, American Standard Time, Glide Magazine and The Examiner have already begun to build a wave of excitement. It’s “a strange and powerful sound” (American Standard Time), “infectiously listenable, and like nothing you’ve heard before” (Glide Magazine).

Pick up your lp/cd/digital copy right here

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7HoFKBmmms[/youtube]

Catherine Feeny & Chris Johnedis’ mesmerizing video for “Against You”premiers this week at Magnet Magazine.

The sparse and haunting track, along with all of it’s siblings, will be available in vinyl form and digitally for the first time on April 21. You can preorder at iTunes, or right here (yep, there are cds too!)

Thanks to Keith Rivers for your amazing work on the video!

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7HoFKBmmms[/youtube]

Anna Tivel will hit the road this month, supporting Portland-based Hip Hatchet on their Northwest record release tour.  Check out the dates below!

April 17 – Secret Society, Portland OR – 8:30pm, $8
April 18 – The Green Frog, Bellingham WA – 7pm, $5
April 19 – Sunset Tavern, Seattle WA – 8pm, $8
April 22,23 – Adrift Inn, Long Beach WA – 8pm
April 24 – Voodoo Room, Astoria WA
April 25 – House Show, Eugene WA
April 26 – Oberon’s Tavern, Ashland OR – 9pm, Donation
April 27 – House Show, Reno NV
April 28 – Scandinavia, Emeryville CA
April 29 – Pine Street Saloon, Paso Robles CA

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IQAyg4j2qs&list=PL-yhFmAsEYVBtILoAvxHi2ShcDZdEpO12[/youtube]

Acclaimed songwriter Catherine Feeny met jazz drummer Chris Johnedis after recording her rebellious fourth solo album. She had just come back from the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York, and he was returning from 2 years of working and studying in Thailand. The two hit it off, and Johnedis helped translate the varied rhythms of “America” — which ran the gamut between vintage drum machine sounds and captured field recordings — into a live show setting.

Two years later, working with producers Sebastian Rogers (Floetry) and Sheldon Gomberg (Ben Harper, Ricki Lee Jones), in a live four-day session in Silverlake, CA the two create a universe of sound that is sparse and propulsive, yet playful, for their eponymous debut as a duo. Producers Rogers and Gomberg and mixing engineer Tony Lash (Elliot Smith, Feist) leverage Feeny’s quietly arresting vocals and classic pop songwriting against Johnedis’s R&B inflected polyryhthms, masterfully maximizing their tools — ukulele, voice, guitar and drums.

Catherine Feeny remains best known for 2005′s “Hurricane Glass. The song “Mr. Blue” was picked up by KCRW in LA, and later featured in “Running with Scissors,” “The O.C.,” and “Miss Conception.”  The attention won by “Hurricane Glass” resulted in the album being picked up by EMI Records.

Audiences across the US and Europe have been mesmerized by the spell Feeny and Johnedis cast on stage. Feeny has played internationally as a headline act and in support of: Wilco, Belle and Sebastian, Suzanne Vega, John Prine, The Indigo Girls, Kelly Jones (Stereophonics) and Martha Wainwright.

Catherine Feeny and Christopher Johnedis’ eponymous full-length cd/lp will be released on Fluff and Gravy Records on 4/21/15, preceded by a 4 song digital ep, featuring the  single “Harm” on 2/17/15.

Find Catherine Feeny and Chris Johnedis here http://www.catherinefeenyandchrisjohnedis.com/

Pre-order the ep and full-length here http://www.fluffandgravy.com/store

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhJ15yHtAO4[/youtube]

Drunken Prayer continues their video onslaught for House of Morgan, with their most recent visual home-made offering for the tracks Things I Shud’v Done/Things I Should Have Done. This is Drunken Prayer at their finest – diy, balls to the wall punk blues, and slide guitar that feels like it’s about to rip the skin off of your forehead.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Wishing Kevin Lee Florence safe travels as he takes the show on a West Coast roadtrip this week. Check out this video of Kevin playing “Goodbye, Goodbye” in a van, from his debut lop, Given, with guitarist Danny Donnelly.

And be sure to check out the upcoming LA and San Francisco shows, where Kevin will be accompanied by Evan Way of Parson Red Heads!

11/19 – Sliver Lake Lounge – Los Angeles
11/20 – Hotel Utah (with Hook and Anchor!) – San Francisco

 

 

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[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEs2SD4NGSI[/youtube]

 

 

On January 20, 2015, Fluff and Gravy Records will be releasing an expanded 2x LP version of Dogs in the Daylight.  The doubel lp set will include 4 exclusive bonus tracks in addition to the 15 tracks that make up the original cd pressing.  The pre-order link can be found here, and will ship in mid-January.

Praise for Dogs in the Daylight

“Dogs in the Daylight is as close to a masterpiece as a folk album by an emerging singer-songwriter can get” – NoDepression

“It’ll give you shivers” – The Bluegrass Situation

“It’s tough to pinpoint exactly what it is that sets certain singer/songwriters apart from other singer/songwriters, other than the thoroughness with which their songs turn your guts inside out. And by that measure, Martin is way ahead of the pack” – Portland Mercury

 

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19xi1g08NKU[/youtube]