Last week while attending the second official live performance by the band Senteons (featured on the last The Indie Leak) I met with another band currently on tour called Walking Shapes. Based out of Brooklyn, though they record in their studio in SOHO, Walking Shapes may have performed for a minuscule audience on a Tuesday night in Phoenix, AZ, but they did so as if they were performing in front of a three thousand person audience. That is a very positive sign to know if a band “has it” or not.
I was sitting alone waiting for the show to begin when the Walking Shapes bass player Dan Krysa sat across from me at the table where he was awaiting his before show meal. It’s not his fault for sitting in front of the mad interviewer known to you all as El Guero Unico, if he had known about the onslaught of questioning though I doubt he would have avoided me, because as it turns out he’s one swell lad and very good conversationalist himself.
I learned a lot about Walking Shapes before I even heard their music. We talked about music history, our preferred instrument brands and designs, their recording process and even music blogging. After I talked his head off about Pythagoras’ invention of the monochord and creation of the Diatonic scale and what what guitar Neil Young uses to write music with and why, Dan asked me if I had attended school because of all my facts (some more useless than others). I told him I had very little schooling and am just passionate about music for various reasons and love to acquire music history knowledge in just about every area possible to study.
After dinner Senteons performed an excellent set, very surprising actually for only their second official performance. Then I went out back to help them with the load out and talked shop for the entire set by the second band. Just making it back inside in time for Walking Shapes, I was very surprised to find out I how much I loved them within the first minute of their first song.
Lead singer Nathaniel Hoho proved to be an excellent front man as he climbed the amps and climbed the rafters all while singing extremely well. Their sound is very catchy, each song just as excellent as the next. I was pleasantly surprised by this band that had only formed a little over one year ago. So much so that we exchanged information after they agreed to an exclusive written interview as well as a follow up video interview when they return to Phoenix in August.
Walking Shapes recently released their excellent debut record “Taka Come On” on April 8th just in time to share with all of you here.
Here is a collection of their videos.
Lucky for us here are a few live video performances by Walking Shapes.
iTunes Purchase of Taka Come On
This is their mixtape from last year (free download link below).
Here is their single “Woah Tiger” off their album.
Walking Shapes Official Website
Keep an eye out for my exclusive interview with Walking Shapes, coming soon.
Of all the albums released in 2013 “High Top Mountain” by Sturgill Simpson was the album I listened to the most, almost to an embarrassing amount of times actually. You might actually consider me obsessed with this amazing album. It not only delivered the best Country music I’ve heard in the past three decades but it also brought me into a genre I never expected to be such a fan of. I’m not sure of exactly what to call it, “New Country,” “Nu Country,” “New Outlaw Country,” whatever you choose to label it is up to you but one thing is for certain, the songs written and performed by Sturgill Simpson are honest, fun, brilliantly performed instrumentally and vocally, and over all an excellent body of work that excites me and keeps me coming back. Hell I’ll probably listen to it before I turn in for the night tonight. It wouldn’t surprise me considering it has been my chosen bedtime soundtrack many nights since I first purchased it.
Despite the cold shoulder by the misguided Country music mainstream, Sturgill Simpson has garnered a devout following of fans and his popularity continues to grow daily. His music is honestly a breath of much needed fresh air within the Country music community. Now I’m not saying there isn’t talent in Nashville, it’s quite the contrary actually. Some of the best session musicians come out of that famous music city and there are a few artists who have been “lucky” to penetrate the mainstream but none of them deserve the attention they get like Sturgill Simpson does.
I might be asking too much from people to wake up to the truly brilliant artists outside their beloved mainstream – a stream however that is collapsing in on its greedy self these days. But I’ll try anyway WAKE UP! Sturgill Simpson is here and he’s providing some of the most creative lyrics and talented musicianship in today’s music.
Just recently his new music video for his song “Turtles All The Way Down” cleverly visits concepts of God, the universe, human consciousness, drugs, love and alien life forms in distant galaxies – yep I’m still talking about country music – this is what makes Sturgill Simpson so unique.
If you haven’t purchased “High Top Mountain” yet you’re really missing out. But don’t worry, it’s never too late. Listen and purchase Sturgill Simpson’s Hight Top Mountain today!