[still from this video]
A Sam Prekop show changed my life. I was nineteen years old, set up to record in the center of a tiny venue in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Halfway through the set, a guy came up to me who turned out to be my college newspapers music editor. Impressed that I was one of only two people from our school (not UNC) who bothered to come to see acts like this (Sam was touring behind his self-titled 1999 solo debut), he more or less offered me the job. My relationship with music, and with writing, was never the same hence.
Since then, Prekop has continued to make his own unique brand of jazz-and-lounge-inflected rock, both as a solo act and with the better-known Sea and Cake, still considered his primary gig. A recent Sea and Cake show at Bowery Ballroom confirmed the continuing vitality and appeal of that band, who have a new record coming out. But Prekop, who for years has incorporated African and Brazilian rhythms into his guitar work, has more ideas than one band can handle. So, while continuing to record with Sea and Cake, he has put out a diverse range of solo records, from his eponymous 1999 effort that was essentially Sea and Cake-style material, to his latest, Old Punch Card, which finds Prekop taking a radical, ambient turn with his sound. This show at Mercury Lounge, featuring Prekop and fellow Sea and Cake bandmate Archer Prewitt (also a great solo artist in his own right), gave fans a miniature retrospective of Prekop’s career. Kicking off with a new, untitled ambient jam reminiscent of Old Punch Card, the set then evolved into a mix of Prekop solo songs from the last twelve years, as well as Sea and Cake classics like “Do Now Fairly Well” and “The Staircase”. Prekop and Prewitt played with the easy rapport of long-time collaborators, and even without any particular stage adornments or a backing band, the pair held the attention of the packed house for the full hour.
Along with the Mercury Lounge recording, which is my usual mix of Schoeps MK41 microphones and a soundboard feed, I am offering the Sam Prekop show from North Carolina, which has not been distributed (at least by me) since the year 2000, as a bonus download. The North Carolina recording, while made with a decent rig, is not comparable in quality to the Mercury Lounge show (in large part due to the jackasses talking in the audience), but features Sam playing with a full band, and is more focused on material from Sam Prekop. Enjoy!
Stream “The Staircase [Sea and Cake]” from Mercury Lounge:
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/S0811SeaandCake0211/03 The Staircase.mp3]
Stream “The Company” from Mercury Lounge:
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/S0811SeaandCake0211/07 The Company.mp3]
Stream “The Shadow” from Local 506 in Chapel Hill, NC:
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/S0811SeaandCake0211/05 The Shadow.mp3]
Direct download of MP3 files: [Mercury Lounge] | [Local 506]
Download the Mercury Lounge FLAC files [HERE]
Download the Local 506 FLAC files [HERE]
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Note: All of the material on this site is offered with artist permission, free to fans, at our expense. The only thing we ask is that you download the material directly from this site, rather than re-posting the direct links or the files on other sites without our permission. Please respect our request.
Sam Prekop & Archer Prewitt
2012-06-30
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY USA
Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack
Soundboard + Schoeps MK41>CMC6>Aerco MP-2 >> Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Audition (mixdown)>Izotope Ozone 5 (light EQ)>Audacity (set fades, mild DR compression and additional EQ, tracking, amplify and balance, downsample)>FLAC (level 8 )
Tracks
01 ambient jam
02 Something [Sam Prekop]
03 The Staircase [Sea and Cake]
04 On A Letter [Sea and Cake]
05 Between Outside [Sam Prekop]
06 [banter]
07 The Company [Sam Prekop]
08 Showrooms [Sam Prekop]
09 Don’t Bother [Sam Prekop]
10 On Such Favors [Sam Prekop]
11 Coconut [Sea and Cake]
12 Do Now Fairly Well [Sea and Cake]
__________________
Sam Prekop
1999-04-07
Local 506
Chapel Hill, NC USA
Recorded and produced by acidjack
Nakamichi CM300/cp1 (XY, DFC, 7ft)>Zefiro InBox>TCD-D8>DATM>CDRM>xAct>16bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, tracking, adjust levels)>FLAC ( level 8 )
Tracks
01 The Company
02 Practice Twice
03 Smaller Rivers
04 Don’t Bother
05 The Shadow
06 On Such Favors>Faces and People
07 Showrooms
08 So Shy
09 [encore break]
10 Do Now Fairly Well [Sea and Cake]
11 Parasol
If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Sam Prekop, visit the Sea and Cake’s website, and purchase Sam’s records from Thrill Jockey [HERE]
Thanks so much for recording this – it was an intimate gig that I would like to remember. Great to hear so many songs from Sam Prekop’s first solo album
I had waited for twelve years to see Sam play his solo material. I had been at the “This Ain’t No Picnic” festival in Los Angeles in 2000 to see him and had trouble parking. I got to the stage just in time to hear Sam say, “Thanks!” He walked off the stage. In the interim, I saw The Sea and Cake play close to 10 times, but never did they play any of Sam’s solo music. When he scored that movie (I can’t remember the name) that would play at BAM in Brooklyn in 2012, I saw that he and Archer were playing at Mercury Lounge. I live in Philly and hoped this small scale show might be my time to see him play his solo record. I jumped on a bus and made my way up there. I am standing about 5 feet from Sam in that picture.
THANK YOU FOR RECORDING AND POSTING THIS GREAT CONCERT IN MY LIFE.
Thanks for your comment. That’s the kind of story that makes up feel like what we’re doing is all ultimately worthwhile.
Hello! In celebration of The Sea and Cake’s new 2018 release today “Any Day” I was wondering if you could re-up or fix the FLAC link for Prekop’s Mercury Lounge Show? Thanks in advance.