54 search results for "Gunn"

Steve Gunn: April 1, 2015 Baby’s All Right – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

April 5, 2015
By

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Steve Gunn is having a blockbuster spring, having signed recently to Matador Records, and announcing that he’ll be joining Wilco on their spring tour. Gunn’s music has been one of building slowly but methodically as he nurtured different aspects of his talent, from his early solo work, to his partnership with John Truscinski on two outstanding records, to his second solo phase represented by Time Off and Way Out Weather, two fine records that have launched him onto the bigger stages he deserves. This show at Baby’s All Right represented the end of Steve’s recent tour with the “Way Out Band” comprised of site favorite Nathan Bowles on drums, Jason Meagher on bass, and Paul Sukeena on guitar, and it may be the last proper club show for Gunn for a while.

While Steve’s tours have been increasingly turning up newcomers, there to see what the buzz is about, this show was all about the hometown crowd, with the front rows lined with Steve’s personal friends and musical associates, alternating love and tipsy-but-gentle heckling. The set reflected the mood, with the band serving up long-form, loose versions of Time Off and Way Out Weather regulars. “Old Strange” set the tone, with its hypnotic opening riff, and the songs that joined it kept up its feel, with Gunn and Sukeena trading guitar lines while Bowles and Meagher kept the beat. If the slightly different band (trading Sukeena for Jim Elkington) at the 2014 Rough Trade show felt like a band growing into itself, this one was that almost-same group spreading its wings, even more road-confident than when they returned to the area back then. “Street Keeper” was a new addition I hadn’t heard at recent NY shows, making this a winner setlist- as as well as performance-wise.

You can catch Steve Gunn this spring with Wilco; please show up early and make him feel welcome in those large arenas!

Kevin Mazzarelli mixed this live set and recorded various tracks to Pro Tools; I mixed and mastered them. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the complete set: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Stream the complete set and download individual tracks:

Steve Gunn
2015-04-01
Baby’s All Right
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and live engineered by Kevin Mazzarelli
Produced by acidjack

6 digital soundboard tracks + Audio Technica 4051>Pro Tools>8x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (mix down, hard limiter, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total time: 57:14]
01 Old Strange
02 Water Wheel
03 [banter]
04 Wildwood
05 [banter2]
06 Milly’s Garden
07 [banter3]
08 Street Keeper
09 [banter4]
10 Way Out Weather
11 Tommy’s Congo

Band:
Steve Gunn – vocals, guitar
Paul Sukeena – guitar
Jason Meagher – bass
Nathan Bowles – drums

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Steve Gunn, visit his website, and buy his albums, all of which have “buy” links here.

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Steve Gunn: January 11, 2015 Rough Trade – FLAC/MP3/Streaming Full Set

January 15, 2015
By


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[photos by Jill Harrison]

One of the very best songs on Steve Gunn‘s Way Out Weather is a song inspired by Steve’s former noisy neighbor. In lesser hands, such banal subject matter might result in a bit of a dud. But Gunn turns the humble beginnings of “Milly’s Garden” into something wonderful and universal, a meditation on unease and the desire to move on. We last saw Gunn at Rough Trade in October, with his full band in tow, so this was a very different, but equally special kind of performance. Celebrating the first anniversary of the once-troubled (by noise complaints, at least) venue, Gunn played this gig solo but left the songs’ guitar explorations. Again, in lesser hands, a ten-plus minute “Old Strange” as a solo opener might not work — but Gunn’s kickoff to the night was magical. Poking fun at his trademark relaxed demeanor, Steve warned the Sunday afternoon crowd at the outset that they might fall asleep, but the house gave him their rapt attention, hanging on words shorn of everything surrounding them but his lone guitar. Gunn was in fine form, making us laugh in between songs that he played with dead-serious intent. To put an exclamation mark on the evening, Gunn closed with “Lurker”, which first debuted on the Three Lobed Recordings boxed set and was a treat as a full-band version back in October.

Since its inception, Rough Trade has been a valuable add to a neighborhood whose venues are depleting rapidly. Even if its surroundings may be fancier than the DIY spots that came before it, hosting an artist like Steve Gunn for your anniversary show proves that the Rough Trade folks intend to remain a credit to what this neighborhood was.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK41 microphones and a soundboard feed from house engineer Kyle Lawrence. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Stream the complete show: 

Steve Gunn
2015-01-11
Rough Trade (1st Year Anniversary)
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Schoeps MK41 (FOB/DFC/PAS)>KC5>CMC6>Sound Devices USBPre2 + Soundboard (engineer: Kyle Lawrence)>>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, harmonic exciter)>Audacity 2.0.5 (tracking, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 57:47]
01 [intro banter]
02 Old Strange
03 Shadow Bros
04 Water Wheel
05 [banter2]
06 Wildwood
07 [banter3]
08 Way Out Weather
09 [banter4]
10 Milly’s Garden
11 [banter5]
12 Lurker

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Steve Gunn, visit his website, and buy his albums, all of which have “buy” links here.

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Steve Gunn: October 12, 2014 Rough Trade NYC – FLAC/MP3/Streaming Full Set

October 14, 2014
By


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Steve Gunn‘s tenacity and prolific output have paid off. When I saw the man mentioned in Rolling Stone in conjunction with his latest, Way Out Weather, which also received favorable notice in all the right places, I felt that sense of vindication that sometimes the mainstream gets it right. Properly hailed in that magazine as a “six-string legend”, what is perhaps more notable about Gunn’s recent turns is his growth as a vocalist. More than a few guitarists’ careers have foundered when the man stepped to the microphone, but Gunn’s vocal turns, particularly on his last two records, have only broadened his appeal. You’d be mistaken if you ignored instrumental triumphs like Boerum Palace and Ocean Parkway (or his Golden Gunn effort with Hiss Golden Messenger), but Gunn has established himself now as a capable traditional frontman as well as one of the most exciting guitarists of his generation.

This show celebrated the release of Way Out Weather in Gunn’s hometown, and he and the band arrived exhausted but loose from a too-long stint on the parking lot of I-95. The show began almost informally, with the band’s soundcheck seguing into a jam that became “Water Wheel” from Time Off, followed by “Old Strange” from that album in a similar, extra-extended mode. Gunn took his time between tracks to chat about the meanings of songs (“Wildwood” came from a lot of time on the Jersey shore as a kid; “Milly’s Garden” arose out of conflict with a nosy neighbor) and joke with the crowd. The vibe was both homecoming and celebration, as it should have been. The title track and “Tommy’s Congo” already feel like live show standards, offering Gunn ample opportunities to shred on guitar. Likewise, he and the band didn’t hold back on the encore number, “Lurker”, a song celebrated for a while now as one of the best examples of Gunn’s vintage blues. Gunn’s exposure to the world has been a bit like his music, unfolding without hurry, at his own pace. Here’s to more people spreading the word.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK41 supercardiod microphones and a soundboard feed from Rough Trade engineer in our usual location in the venue. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Download the full set: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Stream the full set (minus banter tracks):

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, and feel free to repost the Soundcloud links.

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Steve Gunn
2014-10-12
Rough Trade NYC
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Schoeps MK41 (DFC, PAS, at SBD)>KCY>Z-PFA>Sound Devices USBPre2 + Soundboard (engineer: Nick)>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (tracking, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 1:15:25]
01 intro jam>Water Wheel
02 [banter1]
03 Old Strange
04 [banter2]
05 Wildwood
06 [banter3]
07 Shadow Bros
08 [banter4]
09 Milly’s Garden
10 Way Out Weather
11 [banter5]
12 Tommy’s Congo
13 [encore break]
14 Lurker

Band
Steve Gunn – Vocals, guitar
Nathan Bowles – Banjo, drums
Jim Elkington – Guitar
Jason Meagher – Drums, bass

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Steve Gunn, visit his website, and buy his releases from Paradise of Bachelors and Three Lobed Recordings. 

Little Black Egg Big Band (feat. Steve Gunn, Georgia Hubley, Ira Kaplan, James McNew, Letha Rodman Melchior and William Tyler): September 5, 2014 Three Lobed / WXDU Day Show, King’s, Raleigh, NC (Donation Download)

September 9, 2014
By


photo by PJ Sykes
[photo courtesy of PJ Sykes]

SUPPORT LETHA RODMAN MELCHIOR IN HER FIGHT AGAINST CANCER. DONATE HERE.

This year’s third Three Lobed Recordings / WXDU co-produced Day Show during the Hopscotch Music Festival was an embarrassment of riches once again, featuring a number of one-time-only collaborations. But perhaps nothing was more hotly anticipated than the brief spring into existence of the Little Black Egg Big Band, named after Georgia Hubley’s solo guitar project Little Black Egg, which she has performed only rarely:  guitar luminaries Steve Gunn and William Tyler together with Hubley, Ira Kaplan and James McNew of Yo La Tengo. Letha Rodman Melchior also provided the pre-recorded material that was mixed and manipulated into the live recording.

Hubley, Kaplan and McNew’s participation in this event was brought about in part by their desire to support Melchior, a friend and fellow musician who hoped to join for the day show but was physically unable. Melchior, who has played music under her own name as well as under the alias Tretetam, and in the band Ruby Falls, was diagnosed with stage IV melanoma in 2010, which she has documented on a personal blog. Melchior’s illness has produced considerable financial hardship for her and husband Dan Melchior in addition to the agony of her cancer. An effort to offer further support to Melchior is also the reason why we are honored to offer this performance to the wider world today.

What the fans in the room at King’s in Raleigh saw at the show (along with those who heard it on the stream by Duke University’s WXDU) were five masterful musicians collaborating in real time on an at-times brooding, but oddly hopeful soundscape. Instead of soloing all over each other, each artist blended into a whole that spoke with one voice. Over its nearly forty minutes, the piece gains on itself in increments, with the bed of guitars and Melchior’s pre-recorded effects manipulated by McNew, a technique familiar to anyone who has seen him perform as Dump.

The piece honored Melchior as well as the spirit of the entire event, which celebrated the power of experimental music, the validity of independent labels and college radio, artist-run venues like King’s, and the ever-present, unquenchable thirst that the best artists have to evolve, change, and create. Three Lobed has a fan base primed to understand that this particular grouping probably wouldn’t be playing YLT classics like “Big Day Coming” with a bunch of extra guitars added in. What was expected, and what was received, was a unique offering that could exist only in this single moment. It was a performance for the benefit of people who believe the best artists never stop taking chances and are as generous with the product of their minds as they are with their time. People like the ones sitting on that stage.

This recording was made with Schoeps MK4V microphones in the center of the stage, combined with a stereo soundboard feed by the King’s staff. Because this download is offered for donation only, we are not streaming it, but you can trust me that the quality has been approved by the artists and is excellent. We are deeply grateful to all of the five artists involved for playing this show and for giving us the opportunity to help benefit Melchior and share this music with the wider world.

Thanks to Cory Rayborn, Ross Grady, Kelly Davis (and everyone else at WXDU), Paul Siler of King’s Barcade, Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley, James McNew, Steve Gunn and William Tyler for making this possible.

AT THE REQUEST OF THE ARTISTS, THIS DOWNLOAD HAS EXPIRED.

This recording raised approximately $4,000 in seven days for a worthy cause. We thank the artists and the others noted above, as well as all who participated, for their support of Letha Rodman Melchior. 

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[Photo courtesy of Rodney Boles]

Little Black Egg Big Band
2014-09-05
Three Lobed Recordings / WXDU Day Show
Hopscotch Music Festival
King’s
Raleigh, NC USA

Exclusive download hosted for donation only at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Schoeps MK4V (onstage pair)>KC5>CMC6 + Soundboard>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (mix down, light compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (adjust stereo image, light EQ, light harmonic effects)>xAct (tagging and conversions)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time: 38:28]
01 improvisation

Musicians (in alphabetical order)
Steve Gunn
Georgia Hubley
Ira Kaplan
James McNew
Letha Rodman Melchior (pre-recorded material mixed and incorporated into the performance)
William Tyler

Along with supporting Letha Rodman Melchior, please support these musicians. You can buy Steve Gunn’s albums from Three Lobed and Paradise of Bachelors, Yo La Tengo’s recordings from their website and Matador Records, and William Tyler’s latest work from Merge Records.  

Rodney Bowles LBEBB-2
[Photo courtesy of Rodney Boles]

Gunn-Truscinski Trio: September 12, 2012 285 Kent (Issue Project Room Benefit for Tom Carter) – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

October 22, 2012
By


[Photos by acidjack]

LEARN HOW YOU CAN HELP TOM CARTER – BY BUYING MUSIC AND DONATING TO HIS MEDICAL EXPENSES – HERE

The guitarist Steve Gunn joined longtime collaborator John Truscinski (with whom he comprises the unit Gunn-Truscinski Duo), and bassist Justin Tripp (along with Laura Ortman on violin for most of the set) for a very special trio performance to benefit the guitarist Tom Carter. Carter, who has worked on many projects over the years but is best known for his work in Charalambides, contracted a serious form of pneumonia while on tour in Europe, and has incurred significant medical bills while being treated in intensive care and, more recently, at recovery centers in both Germany and the United States. This show at 285 Kent, sponsored by the Issue Project Room, was designed to raise funds for Carter’s ongoing recovery. The community of avant-garde guitarists and musicians is incredibly tight-knit and supportive, and this contribution in New York was one of many efforts to support Tom around the world.

This set consisted of both new material and work from Gunn’s two most recent LPs for Three Lobed Recordings, one highlight of which was “The Lurker”, Gunn’s side from the out-of-print Three Lobed 10th anniversary box set. For that song, Gunn & co. were joined by Marc Orleans, who most recently collaborated with Carter on the Northern Spy Records release Eleven Twenty Nine. The song, like much of Gunn’s work, showcases a range of styles and unique phrasing, and Orleans’ participation made it all the more memorable. Streaming below is a rollicking full-band version of the 2012 Gunn classic “Trailways Gramble”, which appeared on Three Lobed’s compilation of work of eight outstanding American underground guitarists, Eight Trails, One Path. While a lot of this night’s crowd may have been there for the headliner, Thurston Moore’s Chelsea Light Moving, it was perhaps this unique collaboration of guitar talents that was the most fitting tribute to Carter and the work he has done to this point in his life. We wish Carter a speedy recovery, and encourage you to donate by buying music, donating via PayPal, or attending other benefit shows, all of which can be done by clicking the link at the top of this post.

nyctaper and I recorded this set in our usual manner for this venue with Sennheiser MKH-8040 microphones and a soundboard feed. While 285 Kent can always be a bit of a challenge with quieter acts, we feel this is a recording of excellent quality. Enjoy!

The Chelsea Light Moving set was also recorded and will be posted this week.

Stream “Trailways Gramble”

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE] | Direct download of FLAC files [HERE]

If the FLAC link is no longer working, email nyctaper for the FLAC files

Follow acidjack on twitter

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.

Gunn-Truscinski Trio
2012-09-12
285 Kent
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded by nyctaper and acidjack
Produced by acidjack

Soundboard + Sennheiser MKH-8040>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ and compression to individual files)>Audition CS 5.5 (mixdown)>

Tracks [Total Time 48:00]
01 [intro]
02 [unknown1]
03 [banter/tuning]
04 Old Strange
05 [tuning]
06 Banh Mi Ringtones
07 [banter/tuning]
08 The Lurker (w/ Marc Orleans)
09 [banter/tuning]
10 Trailways Gramble

Players
Steve Gunn (guitar)
John Truscinski (drums)
Justin Tripp (bass)
Laura Ortman (violin)

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Steve Gunn, visit his website, and purchase his records from Three Lobed [HERE].  Please also support Tom Carter by visiting helptomcarter.org, buying his music, and donating to his medical expenses.

 

Gunn-Truscinski Duo: September 7, 2012 Three Lobed/WXDU Day Show, Hopscotch Festival (Raleigh, NC) – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

October 2, 2012
By


[Photos by acidjack]

The duo of the guitarist Steve Gunn and drummer John Truscinski, better known as Gunn-Truscinski Duo, was a perfect closer to the Three Lobed Recordings/WXDU Day Show during the Hopscotch Music Festival. The pair epitomizes some of the highlights of the Three Lobed aesthetic – rhythmically complex, guitar-based music with psychedelic overtones that occupies no obvious musical niche, that advances the state of its art while giving a subtle nod to its forebears. With no words sung during their set, it is still easy to locate Gunn-Truscinski as distinctly American; although he melds Eastern elements to his work, Gunn is nonetheless a successor to this country’s folk tradition. What we got at King’s Barcade on this fine Friday afternoon was a short barnstormer of a set consisting of three of the five songs from the duo’s latest release on Three Lobed, Ocean Parkway.  Gunn and Truscinski kicked off with perhaps that record’s best song, “Banh Mi Ringtones”, given some extended jamming treatment, followed by “Don’t Lean On Door” and “Ocean Parkway”. For those who would doubt that an instrumental guitar and drum duo can unrepentantly rock, I submit this recording as Exhibit A.

I recorded this set in the same manner as all of the other sets from this show, with Schoeps MK5 microphones onstage in the omnidirectional setting and a soundboard feed provided by the King’s staff. As I was able to get the mics closer to the performers for this set, this is one of the best quality-wise of the day. Enjoy!

Thanks to WXDU, Cory Rayborn and Three Lobed. Also check out our post of Gunn and Truscinski playing as a trio in support of Tom Carter, which is coming soon.

Stream “Banh Mi Ringtones”

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE] | Direct download of FLAC files [HERE]
If the FLAC link is no longer working, email nyctaper for the FLAC files

Follow acidjack on twitter

Check out all of NYCTaper’s Hopscotch Festival recordings

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.

Gunn-Truscinski Duo
2012-09-07
Three Lobed/WXDU Day Show
Kings Barcade
Raleigh, NC USA

Recorded and produced by acidjack

Soundboard + Schoeps MK5 (omni, onstage, split)>KC5>CMC6>>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Audition CS 5.5 (mixdown)>Izotope Ozone 5 (light EQ and tube effects)>Audacity 3.0 (set fades, tracking, amplify, balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 [intro]
02 Banh Mi Ringtones
03 Don’t Lean On Door
04 [banter]
05 Ocean Parkway

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Gunn-Truscinski Duo, visit Steve Gunn’s website, and purchase Ocean Parkway and their other releases directly from Three Lobed [HERE]

Ryley Walker: June 5, 2021 Private Backyard, Flushing, NY

June 7, 2021
By

“I don’t think Steve Gunn forgets his lyrics,” Ryley Walker wondered aloud midway though “The Roundabout” this past Saturday. He was performing in front of a small backyard audience in Flushing, Queens. We’re all a little rusty, performers and audiences alike, as live music returns to New York. But as we experienced this weekend, everyone’s quick to rediscover the well-worn grooves. In this hour and a half set, Ryley touches on his entire catalog, from Primrose Green to his outstanding new album, Course in Fable. A few covers complete the afternoon, including a lovely take on “There’s Hell in Hello, But More in Goodbye” from Jim O’Rourke’s Bad Timing record.

I recorded this show with a pair of MBHO omnidirectional mics positioned up front and overhead. Despite the windy day, the sound is superb. Enjoy!

Thanks to Ryley Walker for playing; and to Mark and Kim for hosting. You can purchase all of Ryley Walker’s albums, including Course in Fable, at Bandcamp. He’ll be on tour this fall with a full band opening for Dinosaur Jr. That tour wraps up November 20 at Brooklyn Steel. More immediately, Ryley will be joined by Stuart Bogie, Spencer Zahn, and Kevin Raczka for a sesh at Nublu 151 this coming Thursday, June 10. See you there!

Stream and download the show at the Live Music Archive.

Ryley Walker
2021-06-05
Private Backyard
Flushing, NY

Recorded and produced by Eric PH for nyctaper.com

MBHO KA100DK/603A (on stage) > Naiant PFA >> Sound Devices MixPre-6 > WAV (24/48) > Adobe Audition CC + Izotope Ozone 5 > Audacity 3.0.2 > FLAC

Tracks [1:34:05]
01. On the Banks of the Old Kishwaukee
02. The Roundabout
03. Rang Dizzy
04. Promise Me
05. Telluride Speed
06. Shaking Like the Others
07. The Halfwit in Me
08. If I Were a Carpenter [Tim Hardin]
09. Improvisation
10. Primrose Green
11. Summer Dress
12. Over the Hill [John Martyn]
13. There’s Hell in Hello, But More in Goodbye [Jim O’Rourke]
14. Fair Play [Van Morrison]
15. The Grand Old Trout [Bill MacKay]

Ryley Walker: September 6, 2019 Hopscotch Music Festival (Raleigh, NC)

November 1, 2019
By

What else to say about Ryley Walker? We first saw the champ at this festival, Hopscotch, way back in 2014. In that span of 5 years, he’s expanded his sound, produced definitive records (and the definitive Dave Matthews cover album), gotten wild, gotten sober, and hit stages all over the world. As much has changed, his essence hasn’t — a relentlessly searching, gifted musician who doesn’t pause his growth to keep his audience comfortable, but gives that audience his very best every night. If being the top card late at night at Nash Hall wouldn’t seem like the right opportunity for a wild 90-minute set, you need to know more about Ryley.

Beautifully recorded by our bud Randy Hoke, this set has all the elements — some inside-baseball music biz comedy, classic songs (“On the Banks of the Old Kishwaukee”), and of course, long-form improvisation, in particular, the closing “Primrose Green,” which Ryley seemed determined to push as far from its roots as possible. I think he agrees with us that among his many performances this year, this one was a particular winner. Have a listen and I think you’ll agree.

In a useful piece of Ryley news, he’s launched his own private press label, which includes a sold-out LP pressing of his Walker/Jewel/Gunn trio performance from Union Pool back in March. If you’re lucky, you might find a copy out on tour…

Randy recorded this set with a soundboard feed, AKG shotgun mics at the back of the room, and onstage AKG mics. Even though this room is a challenge, he made an outstanding recording. Enjoy!

Download the complete show at the Live Music Archive

Ryley Walker
2019-09-06
Hopscotch Music Festival
Nash Hall
Raleigh, NC USA

Recorded and produced by Randy Hoke
Tracking by acidjack

AKG 568EB (slightly LOC, PAS) + AKG 480/CK61 (onstage, approx DIN) + Soundboard>>Tascam DR-680>3×24/48 WAV>editing>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 1:24:06]
01 [intro banter]
02 Telluride Speed
03 [banter/tuning]
04 The Halfwit In Me
05 [banter2]
06 Spoil With the Rest
07 [banter3]
08 22 Days
09 [banter4]
10 On the Banks of the Old Kishwaukee
11 [banter5]
12 Opposite Middle
13 [banter6]
14 Primrose Green

PLEASE SUPPORT RYLEY WALKER: Bandcamp | Dead Oceans

Ryley Walker / David Grubbs / Ryan Jewell / C. Spencer Yeh: March 26, 2019 Union Pool

April 15, 2019
By

Ryley Walker’s March residency at Union Pool covered all the bases of Walker’s sound, from relatively “straight-ahead” song-based performances to instrumental blowouts with friends and colleagues like Ryan Jewell and Steve Gunn. Count this final night’s performance firmly in the latter camp, as Walker and residency mainstay Jewell were joined by David Grubbs (Gastr del Sol, others) and C. Spencer Yeh (Burning Star Core) for a full set of avant-garde experimentation that found Walker stepping away from the mic but fully present as guitarist and spiritual force.

Ryley Walker’s March residency at Union Pool covered all the bases of Walker’s sound, from relatively “straight-ahead” song-based performances to instrumental blowouts with friends and colleagues like Ryan Jewell and Steve Gunn. Count this final night’s performance firmly in the latter camp, as Walker and residency mainstay Jewell were joined by David Grubbs (Gastr del Sol, others) and C. Spencer Yeh (Burning Star Core) for a full set of avant-garde experimentation that found Walker stepping away from the mic but fully present as guitarist and spiritual force.

Over the course of these residency shows (plus bonus Queens show), I’ve said my piece about Ryley Walker and “who” he is musically, so I won’t belabor the point. Suffice it to say that even if you follow all things Walker, this unique collaboration is a standout, something not likely to be repeated. Walker made it known what an honor it was for him to play with these musicians. It was equally our honor to have heard it.

I recorded this set in the same manner as the other Union Pool shows, with Doug Graham’s outstanding house mix leading the way. Enjoy!

Thanks to Union Pool and Will S for continuing to book and host interesting and experimental music in north Brooklyn.

Download the complete show from its Live Music Archive page.

Ryley Walker/David Grubbs/Ryan Jewell/C. Spencer Yeh
2019-03-26 (Residency Night 4)
Union Pool
Brooklyn, NY  USA

Recorded and produced by acidjack

Soundboard (engineer: Doug Graham) + Schoeps MK5c (XY, at SBD)>KC5>CMC6>>Sound Devices MixPre 6>24/48 polyWAV>Adobe Audition CC>Izotope Ozone 5>Audacity 2.3.0>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 UP Quartet Jam Pt 1
02 UP Quartet Jam Pt 2
03 UP Quartet Jam Pt 3
04 UP Quartet Jam Pt 4
05 UP Quartet Jam Pt 5

PLEASE SUPPORT RYLEY WALKER: Bandcamp | Dead Oceans

Ryley Walker & Ryan Jewell: March 24, 2019 Trans-Pecos

April 2, 2019
By

Making music is an act of generosity — the sharing of your inner self with a public that may or may not appreciate or understand it. The music in the world that is great is also the music in which the artist is most honest with her/himself. Honesty often means getting close to the dark places inside you.

Ryley Walker’s music has always embodied a certain conflict. When Walker takes a fairly straightforward folk-rock album track and turns it into a live 15-minute jazz-psych freakout, I don’t think the change is just about the “freedom” of the live setting or a fundamental dislike of the album track. Maybe that’s part of it, but I see a contest of impulses — to be a commercially approachable troubadour or the more esoteric, improvisational player he’s been since his career began. Do you want to be the guy who wears British tailoring in leafy photo shoots, or do you want to be the guy who uses his trio show with Ryan Jewell and Steve Gunn to play 50 minutes of psych jams? Walker is both of those things — he’s good at being both of those things — but one gets the sense that he isn’t totally comfortable living solely as either. I get it: A lot of us want to be more than our headline.

There’s a well-known paradox of the “sad clown” — that people who are funny are often people who aren’t happy. Anyone who has caught Ryley live or read him in Vice or reads his Twitter knows that he is certainly the former: he can be very, very funny. Listen to his lyrics as sung, and you might be surprised: Most of Walker’s songs are varying degrees of melancholic. Even a whimsical-sounding tune like “Summer Dress,” if you listen to his delivery, is more anxious than it seems: for a person with a belly full of wine singing about green pastures of desire, the narrator sounds ill at ease. The song is especially vivid for me because it’s the first one I ever heard Ryley Walker play. That very first song lacerated me; I believed the voice I heard.

Generosity. It’s sharing those darkest places in yourself, but it’s also playing a huge fan’s birthday party at Trans-Pecos in the middle of the day, even though you’ve got another show in town that Tuesday (which ends up being a jaw-dropping improv set with Jewell, David Grubbs, and C. Spencer Yeh—check back here soon). This set (a duo of Walker and Jewell) encapsulated all of the different sides of Ryley Walker at once — from his best-known song (and total live jammer) “The Roundabout” to the not-often-played-anymore “Summer Dress,” to the ending jam, which hews closer to his most recent Union Pool shows — and also kills.

That Walker puts his conflicts out there for everyone to see is not a flaw, nor is one choice he makes more true or “real” than another. They’re who and what he is — honest to the point of ache, always pushing to be something more. The late 2010s don’t feel like a moment for generous spirits, but you don’t choose when you’re born, anymore than you choose to whom, or where. Yet here he is: a generous spirit, one for whom, on this particular day, I was especially grateful.

Download the complete set from its page on the Live Music Archive.

Ryley Walker & Ryan Jewell
2019-03-24
Trans-Pecos
Queens, NY  USA

Recorded and produced by acidjack

Soundboard + Schoeps MK5c (onstage, XY)>KC5>CMC6>>Sound Devices MixPre6>24/48 polyWAV>Adobe Audition CC>Izotope Ozone 5>Audacity 2.3.0>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 The Roundabout
02 [banter]
03 Summer Dress
04 [American Primitive rap]
05 Primrose Green
06 [HBD]
07 Pecos psych jam

PLEASE SUPPORT RYLEY WALKER: Bandcamp | Dead Oceans

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