Our friends The Daredevil Christopher Wright have a few days remaining on their European tour. I’ve enjoyed following their adventures on their blog. I was just sent the beautiful video above of the band performing “We’re Not Friends” on a balcony in Paris.
Wisco: A Tribute To Wilco’s Summerteeth — a music compilation featuring our favorite Wisconsin artists each covering a track off of Wilco’s1999 LP, Summerteeth.
I am honored to provide you with our labor of love. The state of Wisconsin is overflowing with musical talent. So much more than could ever be captured in just one compilation like this. That being said, I thought about the records that meant the most to me. Ones that I absolutely could not live without. That record, for me, without a doubt is Summerteeth. But this creation is more about the musical talent within our state lines fleshing out these songs and making them their own. This compilation shines a bright light on Wisconsin’s finest by way of one of my favorite records.
The tracks are available for free as a high-quality digital (320kbs MP3) download/stream below, or grab the whole thing as one zip file. This project would absolutely not have been possible without the amazing help of every one of the musicians showcased here. Big thanks also go out to Dan Brielmaier for creating the artwork and Justin Perkins for mastering the project.
This is our gift to you, please enjoy it and share it with your friends. We would love for you to show your support of this project with a donation in any amount to the Wisconsin Humane Society. There’s tons of animals that could use our help. Thanks and enjoy the music.
The weekend is so close. I’ve been looking forward to Saturday night for a long time. Our good friends The Daredevil Christopher Wright are in town opening for Trampled By Turtles at Turner Hall Ballroom. I would highly recommend any fan of The Avett Brothers, Charlie Parr, Megafaun, or Mumford and Sons to find a way to catch these guys on tour. Their new album, Palomino is supremely solid from start to finish. Take a listen/watch to the video for “Wait So Long” above. I spoke to Dave Simonett of Trampled By Turtles about the new album, his favorite sad songs, touring Alaska, and what to do in Duluth, MN. Check it out below and don’t miss their show.
Congrats on Palomino, it’s a very fine record. Can you share a little insight on where/how it was recorded? Did you learn anything during this process that you’ll apply towards future recording sessions?
We recorded Palomino in several different locations, but the bulk of it was recorded at Realphonic Studio in Minneapolis. We also did some tracking at Devil’s Workshop in Minneapolis, Sparta Sound in Sparta, MN and one song was recorded in a hotel room.
I think we learned about the relationship between the song and the room in which it’s being recorded. We tried the same tunes in different places and for whatever reason, they just worked better for us in one place more than another. Environment is such an important part of the recording process.
We do this feature on our website called “Sad Songs & Waltzes” where artists share some of the saddest songs they know by other artists. Got any favorite sad songs?
I was pretty intrigued by your tour of Alaska. I’ve always felt that a lot of groups never made that trek, and I would imagine those people are pretty excited about having bands come through. How was your experience there, what kind of places were you playing and what was the reaction?
Alaska was absolutely fantastic. The people were great, the scenery was amazing, and we got a very warm reception at the shows. We played a couple clubs, a couple bigger halls, and the SE Alaska State Fair.
I follow you guys on twitter. I recently saw that you were working on some new material in studio. Are you already laying down ideas for the next record?
I’m always working on new material. Nothing as specific as a new album quite yet, just trying to get some songs down.
If we rode along on tour with you guys what kind of music would we find you listening too? Do you all share the same musical tastes?
You’d get a pretty wide variety of music in our van on tour. I think all of our musical tastes overlap in certain areas but each one of us definitely has a few records that no one else in the band owns. It’s not unheard of to have Wilco followed immediately by 50 Cent into some traditional Scandinavian instrumental music. We tend to listen to a lot of Minnesota music as well.
Are you guys still calling Duluth, MN home? Where would you recommend visitors check out if they’re making a pass through for the first time?
We’ve spread out a bit around MN in the last few years. I’m in Minneapolis, Ryan’s in St. Paul, Tim’s in Grand Rapids, Dave Carroll is in Duluth, and Erik is in the country outside of Duluth a little ways. Duluth will always be the bands metaphysical home though and it feels nothing short of that every time I go there. It’s one of those places (I found a similar thing in Alaska, actually) that people deeply love. Most of the people I know in Duluth don’t live there because it’s a convenient commute or cause they got a better job offer, or for the weather, but because there is a beautiful community of musicians and artists layered on top of beautiful natural surroundings. It’s also a bit dusty if you know what I mean. Duluth is a great place to write songs. For a first time visitor I’d recommend Pizza Luce, Fitger’s Brewhouse, The Electric Fetus, and to try swimming in the lake
Today La Blogotheque debuted The Daredevil Christopher Wright’s video for “Stewardess,” which coincidentally is our favorite track off their album, In Deference To A Broken Back, which now over a year after its release continues to surprise me with each listen. It truly is an album that deserves more attention.
We’re teamed up with Harmon Drive to showcase some of our favorite bands in Chicago next weekend. Obviously, the city is swarming with stuff to do with Pitchfork going down and all, but we thought you might wish to seek refuge in the air conditioning and get out of the sun for a little while.
in several different locations, but the bulk of it was recorded at Realphonic Studio in Minneapolis. We also did some tracking at 
