Cafe Eleven

About DAVID WILCOX:
   A warm, baritone vocal tone and poetic lyricism are combined with a unique guitar style that blends soft jazz and folk sensibilities and an intimate stage persona by singer/songwriter David Wilcox. Often compared to James Taylor and John Martyn, Wilcox has built a solid fan base for his well-crafted folk-pop tunes.

About PIERCE PETTIS:
   Pierce Pettis, adored by both critics and public alike, is one of this generation’s most masterful songwriters. His music is distinguished by his uncanny ability to capture universals in human experience by drawing on the humor and trials in daily life. Pettis’ music can simultaneously pull on our hearts and keep us laughing. The beautiful harmonies, inventive yet subtle percussion, strong guitar, and Pierce’s rich vocals are a constant throughout his body of work.

   The Mountain Goats are one of the more unusual bands to find shelter under the ever-expanding umbrella term of indie rock. Hyper-prolific and militantly lo-fi, there are over a hundred Mountain Goats songs scattered across compilations and label samplers, most of them recorded (by choice) on a department-store boom box. Although many musicians have contributed to Mountain Goats releases, by far the person most identified with the outfit is singer/guitarist John Darnielle. (In fact, many Mountain Goats tracks feature only Darnielle’s nasal bleat and his primitive yet frenzied acoustic guitar.) Taking the name from the Screamin’ Jay Hawkins song “Big Yellow Coat,” Darnielle donned the Mountain Goats moniker in 1991 while working as a nurse in a California State hospital and began releasing cassette-only albums for the Shrimper label. Despite attracting a devoted underground following (or, possibly, because of it) the Mountain Goats continued to release songs in cassette form only for many years, using tape hiss as, virtually, an additional instrument.

Lyrics are also essential with the Mountain Goats. Highly literate and full of metaphor, many of Darnielle’s songs fit together to form a larger narrative than they would alone. The “Going to…” series, the “Songs for…” series and the “Alpha” series (which chronicles a dysfunctional couple) are some of the Mountain Goats’ more notable song cycles. But many of the Mountain Goats’ songs stand alone and present Darnielle’s skewed take on the mundane. Besides innumerable compilation tracks, the Mountain Goats have also released many 7″ singles for over a dozen labels. Their full-length albums include Nine Black Poppies and Zopilote Machine (both released in 1995), Sweden (1996), Full Force Galesburg (1997), and Nothing for Juice (1997). Protein Source of the Future…NOW! and Bitter Melon Farm (both 1999 releases) collected many early tape tracks and singles. Sweden and The Coroner’s Gambit appeared a year later.

Darnielle began the new millennium with records for Absolutely Kosher (The Coroner’s Gambit) and Shrimper (Sweden) before signing to 4AD for the release of the surprisingly polished Tallahassee in 2002. We Shall All Be Healed followed in 2004, and one year later Darnielle was back with The Sunset Tree. Remaining prolific as ever, Darnielle turned away from the intensity of The Sunset Tree for a calmer, more reflective set of songs on 2006’s Get Lonely. The accessible and assured Heretic Pride appeared in 2008. ~ Jason Nickey, All Music Guide

   Vampire Weekend came to public attention via a variety of blogs, first on the African music audioblog “Benn loxo du taccu”[3] and then six months later on Stereogum,[4]on which they claimed to “want to be like the nogs” leading many to cite them as another example of the “blog band” phenomenon. The band is influenced by both African popular music and Western classical music. They describe their genre of music as “Upper West Side Soweto”, performing such songs as “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa,” which references Congolese soukous music.

“Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” was #67 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.[5] The band made a television appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman on February 1, 2008, and on March 8, 2008, performed on Saturday Night Live.

The members of the band met while attending Columbia University. Lead vocalist Ezra Koenig and drummer Chris Tomson first collaborated as members of the comedy-rap band “L’Homme Run”.[6]

The band takes its name from a film they made together titled Vampire Weekend. The film told the story of a boy named Walcott charged by an elder to dispatch a vampiric horde in Cape Cod and escape. The song “Walcott” from their debut album details the plot of the film.

They were declared “The Year’s Best New Band” by the March 2008 issue of Spin magazine and were the first band to ever be shot for the cover of the magazine before releasing their debut CD. [1]

The band also played on the BBC TV program Later with Jools Holland on Friday 29th February alongside Supergrass and The Kills.

On March 8, 2008, Vampire Weekend was featured on NBC’s Saturday Night Live as the musical guest with host Amy Adams. They performed “A-Punk” and “M79″.

They were also MTV’s Artist of the Week for the week of March 3, 2008, being featured during commercials and show credits.

   Dark and minimal while noisy and earnest, the point of this duo was to be as sparse and repetitive as possible with the help of little more than vocals, guitars, and a drum machine. Disenchanted vocals thinly resonate while cloaked in a frenzied undertone of fear and uncertainty, all punctuated by bare drum machine beats. Their debut is a record of melancholic tendency and heartfelt desire; a stripped down symphony relegated between city and country, and made for ears of either side.

   At a time when screaming boys with loud guitars are considered the main purveyors of emotional music, it’s nice to have Matt Pond PA remind us that there are other ways to do it. Matt Pond — the frontman and main songwriter for this Philadelphia indie quintet - is a quiet emoter who, like Elliott Smith or Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie, constructs baroque pop songs with an undercurrent of sadness. Pond can make a tear-jerker out of a slight tremble in his voice or the wail of pedal steel on ramble-shamble rockers such as “Closest (Look Out).” His lyrics veer just near enough to pathos on “New Hampshire,” where he sings, “What you had in your hand/Is much more than the gold that I let go to grab.” In spite of all this, Emblems’ persistent bounce and countrified rhythms keep things almost sunny; the effect can be strangely, gorgeously disorienting.

   The Walkmen are an indie rock band from New York City. The band formed with three members from Jonathan Fire*Eater (which had recently disbanded) and two members from The Recoys in 2000. The group comprises Hamilton Leithauser (vocals, guitar), Paul Maroon (guitar, piano), Walter Martin (organ/bass), Peter Bauer (bass/organ) and Matt Barrick (drums). Four of the five band members attended St. Albans in Washington, D.C. They prefer the sound of vintage musical instruments, most famously the upright piano, and often recorded at their self-designed recording studio, Marcata Recording, which used analog recording equipment before closing in 2006, after Columbia University bought the building that contained Marcata.

   Vampire Weekend is an indie rock band from New York City signed to XL Recordings. Despite the band members’ occasionally preppy style, they are influenced by both African popular music and Western Classical Music. They describe their genre of music as “Upper West Side Soweto”, performing such songs as “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa,” which references Congolese soukous music. This song was #67 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.[1]

   Hailing from Philadelphia, Man Man are an astonishingly original quintet who have found the perfect berth for their gypsy-swamp-rock-carny-soul sound at the equally singular Anti- Records, home to other such illustrious iconoclasts as Tom Waits, Nick Cave and Neko Case.

The band had the following to say about the signing:
Honus (vocals/keys/etc): “Championship Rings!”
Chang Wang (sax/etc): “Wow! Yes!”
Sergei Sogay (bass/etc): “Warm Socks!”
Cougar (guitar/trumpet): “Pizza Party!”
Pow Pow (drums/etc): “Ladies Please!”

Man Man have been understatedly described by NPR as “quirky and mischievous… often with old-world instrumentation and plenty of theatrics.” The pre-eminent online music publication Pitchforkmedia.com more extravagantly enthuses, “Man Man’s power isn’t derived from the genres they stumble across, or the maniac light in their eyes, or the sweat pooling in their beards. It’s the unbearable sadness in their marrow and how they transform it, like the existentially distressed but heroically steadfast men men they are, into a terrible and lionhearted joy.”

Known for their literally non-stop kinetic live shows, which utilize a variety of more traditional musical instruments like the accordion, the Moog keyboard and the xylophone, as well as incorporating often overlooked noisemakers like soup pots, shoes, a fire extinguisher and squeaky toys, Man Man have floored crowds around the world on tour with indie darlings such as Cat Power, Arcade Fire and Modest Mouse.

   With 6 albums under her belt, an active touring career throughout the U.S. and a string of accolades from the likes of The Washington Post, The Village Voice and The New Yorker, Susan Werner has become one of the defining artists of the folk music genre. Her songs effortlessly slide between folk, jazz and pop, and are delivered with a sassy wit and classic midwestern charm.

“Susan Werner, a clever songwriter and an engaging performer, brings literacy and wit back to popular song.” -The New Yorker

“(Susan Werner is) a triply blessed artist who sings adroitly, plays the piano smartly and, best of all, writes songs of genuine distinction and high craft…” -Chicago Tribune

“(Werner is) a songwriter and musician who is in such complete command of her gifts that it’s almost scary.” -All Music Guide

“Vulnerability has rarely been so witty or concise in modern song.” -Boston Herald

“Always an impressive songwriter, Werner continues to compose sharp, funny, compassionate lyrics, a gift rare enough to set her apart…” -The Washington Post

“The classically trained and jazz inspired singer is redefining the genre and winning admirers around the country…” -Philadelphia Inquirer