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
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!
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!
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!
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!
As Fernando’s 2015 release, Leave the Radio On, was coming together one thing was clear early on in the process. This was going to be a different record for the Argentine-born troubador, best known for his velvety voice and tex-mex, country-tinged rock and roll laments. The 5 years that had passed since 2010’s widely heralded True Instigator had been filled with health problems (a misdiagnosed hiatal hernia that nearly cost him his voice), causing Fernando to all but disappear from the public eye. Convinced to return to the studio by his friend Peter Buck, Leave The Radio On would mark a rebirth of sorts for Fernando, and he wanted the record to reflect that.