#rainydawg

[barstoolblues]

special neilvember pregame radio show starts in half an hour 11am PDT 👇

[rainydawgradioblog]

Cindy Lee in concert

Last month I had the pleasure of seeing Cindy Lee with esteemed RDR music director Steven Neff. Despite empty stomachs and an arduous commute, our spirits and expectations sat high. After getting lost in the Seattle Center and shaking our fists at the downtown offices of RainyDawg’s inextricable enemy and corporate counterpart KEXP, we navigated our way to the Vera Project, which lies tucked away in the shadow of Climate Pledge Arena. 

I’m faced by a dilemna in recounting Cindy Lee’s performance. From what I can tell their setlist consisted mainly of unreleased songs from an upcoming record, which leaves my vocabulary for describing specific moments in certain songs limited. So please bear with me!

The opening act was Freak Heat Waves, performing tracks from their recently released album Mondo Tempo. “The Time Has Come” was the set’s highlight, thanks to its spaced-out vocals and catchy bassline. Though energy was strong among the crowd initially, who took part that ameobic gentle-body-swaying and compulsive-head-nodding one might expect at a show of this sort, the goodwill of Freak Heat Wave’s downtempo plunderphonic beats and monotone delivery began to wane on us. As if sensing the audience’s restlessness, Cindy Lee (Patrick Fiegel of Women) waltzed through the GA area, guitar slung over their shoulder like Clint Eastwood’s cape in The Good the Bad and the Ugly. Lee and Freak Heat Waves immediately launched into their Mondo Tempo collaborative effort “In A Moment Divine.” The contrast of the two act’s musical styles played directly to each other’s benefit: Freak Heat Wave’s penchant for negative space in their production, which in some instances plays as indulgent, here served to heighten the presence of Cindy Lee’s haunting vocals. 

Following their set, Steven and I had a chance to chat with Freak Heat Waves at their merch table. When asked what influenced their stylistic turn to trip-hop beats away from their former post-punk sensibilities, Steven Lind and Thomas Di Ninno were happy to elaborate: “Well we uh. We listen to a lot of music.”

Cindy Lee arrived for their set through the side door this time, sporting heels, a blindingly sequined dress, a fur coat, and a sheepish demeanor. Over the next hour we’d watch Lee place the pop music of the 50’s in front of a funhouse mirror. Preserving the genre’s catchy chord progressions, Lee swapped Brill Building doe-eyed innocence for a disquiet loneliness, an ethos captured throughout the night by the harsh echo of their black-and-white telecaster. Often, Lee enhanced the sound of their guitar by playing over recorded guitar already found in the backing track. This technique reached its full potential on a song about halfway through their set, when, instrument sat comfortably across their lap, Cindy Lee chewed on a solo that would have felt at home both on B.B. King’s Live at the Regal and Unwound’s Fake Train. 

Sound design and composition brought a lot to the table, but the Cindy Lee Experience ultimately hinged on their voice. It’s at once commanding yet delicate; on “Burning Candle” Lee’s voice was particularly striking, managing to be rich in tone without overpowering. The reverb-laden vocal echo found on their recorded discography was reproduced live, but in concert  their voice carried an extra layer of fragility. Imperfections in a deep falsetto merged Lee’s influences and presentation, completing their image as the tortured lounge-singing intersection of noise and pop. 

While I’m by no means as seasoned a concertgoer as many of my RDR peers are, Cindy Lee’s performance felt markedly different from most shows. At a certain point I lost all awareness that I was watching an artist perform songs they’ve no doubt performed many times throughout a grueling tour schedule. I was never fully under the impression that what I was experiencing was in any way contrived. It’s easy to picture Cindy Lee as an omnipresent fixture of downtown speakeasies and smoke-filled country club ballrooms. On any given night, should you find yourself inside such an establishment, you might make out the shape of Cindy Lee through the haze; might hear them spin tales of love lost and burning candles, might see them transcend time and place, at least for 45-60 minutes. I can only hope that Lee’s setlist was indeed composed of songs from an upcoming album, one that might be released as soon as possible.

Plus Steven and I got to ride the monorail on our way back to East Seattle. 

Written by Benjamin Fudal, whose feelings towards KEXP may or may not represent RainyDawg Radio as a whole.  

[goodnighteveryonetinklehoy-blog]

Week 2: Sp00ky Shit by goodnight everyone tinkle hoy

Air date: October 27, 2017

Tis the season to be sp00ky. This week I dug deep into the dusty corners of my memory and pulled out some tracks that traumatized me as a child. Hopefully this will give you a nice scare (not as scary as my GPA, though)

Art by Junji Ito from Yami no Koe 

Playlist:

Shinsei Kamattechan - Yuugure No Tori 

Jun Togawa - Tamahime Sama 

Geinoh Yamashirogumi - Doll's Polyphony 

Yayoi Yula - Hoshingoeika 

Chiaki Ishikawa - Uninstall 

Eiko Shimamiya - Naraku No Hana 

Joe Hisaishi - Cell 

Hako Yamasaki - Noroi 

Kazumi Totaka - K.K. Dirge 

Masahiro Ikumi - Virtua Mima 

Asa-Chang & Junray - Hana - a last flower - 

Backing track is the Ao Oni theme

[mikey-somebody]

The Case Of Christine Tran, Gus & RainyDawg Radio

[aciotm]

hey, i’m live with my show basement tapes on rainydawg.org right now! 

if you could listen in that’d be amazing

[piscinapop]

i miss :-’)

[re-yawn]

Love hip-hop. Great Performance #IsaiahRashad #TDE #rainydawg #lastFriday #icecream #Seattle #UW #vsco #vscocam #hiphop #Batmanology #SaveGotham

[vintagestefan]

The OG Instagram with @rodswerving #polaroid #RainyDawg #UW #PnW

[barstoolblues]

whos ready for the og pressing of trans for neilvember week 3 🤗

👇tune in at 11am PST!

[rainydawgradioblog]

Avestra Interview + EP Review

I’ll usually pounce on any chance to grab some tea, regardless of who it’s with. Last week, I got the chance to sit down with Seattle’s own, Avestra, for, well, tea and one iced coffee. For those who aren’t familiar with Avestra, the electronic duo consists of vocalist Savannah Johnston and producer Zach Troupe. The duo reminds me of a combination of electronic/tropical house artist Alina Baraz (especially her EP Urban Flora) and electronic duo Marian Hill. While Johnston, when young, was trained classically in music, and playing all types of instruments, Zach only began experimenting with production and sound more recently. Genuine curiosity has pushed him from downloading music production software just for fun to contributing heavily to Avestra’s sound and vision.

In the past year, Avestra has churned out single after single, most notably songs like “Come My Way,” as well as “Mind’s on You.” When asked whether the pace at which the two have been releasing music at seemed maintainable, the duo replied, “We keep on waiting for the low or creative block to hit, but, surprisingly, we haven’t hit it, and don’t see it being anytime soon.” Full speed ahead, Avestra’s pushing forward into their new EP Niche release. We sat down to talk about their plans for their new music, as well as Avestra’s ambitions moving forward into 2019, with no speed bumps in sight.

It’s easy to assume that the lyrical perspective mostly stems from the vocalist: I mean, they’re the ones singing, right? Being naturally curious about an artist’s perspective (especially in a group), I decided to ask the duo about how they interweave the stories of both members into their music. According to the duo, Niche draws more so from Savannah’s personal experiences, but at the end of the day, feelings of infatuation and relationships across the board, are innately easy to sympathize with.

Niche consists of a crisp four tracks, including “GLOW”, “WHATUWANT”, “HEART”, and, my personal favourite, “WINDOWSEAT.” “GLOW” and “WHATUWANT” are tracks where Avestra’s in cruise control, combining spacey beats with alluring, and at times velvety vocals. Where the EP really starts shining is the track “HEART.” When describing the song that he was most proud of, Zach stated that, “HEART has gone through so many changes, seeing where it started and how it turned out production wise is what makes me so proud of it.” Right off the bat, the guitar sounds luxurious yet enticing, almost harp-like. My only gripe with “HEART” lies within the end of the song, where the group manipulates Savannah’s vocals and pushes more bass into a song that naturally succeeds by being more pared down. “WINDOWSEAT” gives me more of what made HEART so sumptuous. With less bass in production and more natural vocals, “WINDOWSEAT,” with Savannah’s mother on the saxophone, delivers Avestra’s best on the EP.

While Niche establishes a base for their discography and fans, in no way do they want to be put in a box. “The hardest part is waiting to release new work and sounds, we wish we could show [you all] what we’ve been working on”. Catch Avestra this Saturday at ASUW AE’s Band Bash in Maple Hall at 7pm or at their release party next Thursday, 6pm at The Auditorium @ UHeights.  

-Alexander

[goodnighteveryonetinklehoy-blog]

Spin-off Episode: Meme Machine by goodnight everyone tinkle hoy

Air date: October 26, 2017

covering for stomach folds

[barstoolblues]

COMPUTER FIXED!! join me at 11am pst for my neil birthday show im spinning tonights the night https://rainydawg.org/

[barstoolblues]

spinning dire straits making movies today at 11am PDT tune into the stream if you’re interested!

[barstoolblues]

radio show this morning 😗 schubert in 15

[barstoolblues]

since i picked up a 6pm (9pm edt) show, ill drop a link :) im playing all dance songs 😗

[barstoolblues]

spinning this album on my radio show rn if you wanna drop into the stream 👇