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PALEFACE: "a neo-folk icon" (The Flagpole, Athens GA) is currently on tour as a three piece band in support of his Ramseur Records follow-up, One Big Party. The band celebrated the release with a special guest-performance alongside The Avett Brothers at NYC's Radio City Music Hall, followed by US and Europe tours. And soon after, PASTE Magazine premiered "PALEFACE: The Making Of One Big Party", a short documen
tary which follows the band as they record their new album and travel across the US, including clips from live performance in NYC and Boston's The House of Blues. Paleface has released over a dozen records including two major label releases, and he's collaborated and performed on three albums by The Avett Brothers. He's also influenced and inspired a wide range of musical acts, from electropopsters YACHT, to Grammy Award recipients Kimya Dawson (The Moldy Peaches / Juno), and Beck who calls Paleface “a big influence on my early work” on Annie Leibovitz’s book American Music. At the moment, Paleface is in the process of writing a new album to record later in the year, and in the meantime he's self-released Multibean Bootleg Vol.3, a collection of raw demos, live performances and outtakes.
http://PalefaceOnline.com/

"Paleface's One Big Party is one big sonic shit-eatin' grin. Joyous, carefree and catchy as hell, this record is a perfect and cost-effective antidote to whatever ails ya" My Old Kentucky Blog

SCHWERVON!: A two piece rock band....Nan plays drums and Matt plays guitar and they both sing. They lived in NYC for 15+ years and have recently relocated to Kansas City with their cat Gummo. While living in Manhattan, they recorded and mixed the bulk of their music in their apartment as well as curating a DIY music hub called Olive Juice Music, which centered around their own local and online community. They all presently reside in Shawnee, Kansas with Matt’s Dad Harry. Together, Schwervon! have produced 4 full length albums, 2 seven inch vinyl only singles, in addition to touring the world and performing with The Vaselines, Belle and Sebastian, Kimya Dawson, The Thermals, Jeffrey Lewis, The Essex Green, Comet Gain, Herman Dune, Veronica Falls, The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players and other luminaries.
http://schwervon.wordpress.com/ Read more »

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1. I know you go to Europe and sing in some production(s) sometimes.
Is that still going on and what is that all about?

I'm a performer for an experimental theater company called Nature Theater of Oklahoma. About 4 years ago they asked me to be a part of an epic experimental piece called Life and Times. I didn't know what I was getting into but I really liked the directors when I went to speak with them about the project. I sing dance and act in it which is dreamy, but the job is good for me because it pushes me artistically and physically. The people in the company have similar artistic heroes as me and it's challenging and good to use that as a springboard for the performances I do. And now the company includes Dan from Ching Ching and his husband Dany who does a lot of dancing with us so it's good to be around those guys even if we aren't doing our own show.
The show is 11 hours long when all episodes are performed together. We've done it once and we'll do in in a couple of weeks too. I thought I wouldn't be able to do it, I sing for about 5 hours. It's really energizing. It turns out I really like doing things that I don't think are possible. Read more »

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1) Bryan, what exactly is this music called that you compose and
perform with Bryan and the Aardvarks. Is it jazz?

The music I compose for the Aardvarks has proven to be difficult to
categorize. Jazz purists, will be quick to tell you it's not jazz,
and indie rock people will give it a default label of jazz. Truth is,
it is a mixture of everything that has had a profound and lasting
effect on my subconscious. Whether the medium is music, film, a piece
of artwork, literature, personal relationships, etc..., anything that
moves me in a powerful way, tends to stick in my brain and become an
influence on my compositions. I think the things that have influenced
this project most would be; The sudden death of my 28 year-old best
friend Daniel Gilmer, the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,
Jon Brion, Brad Mehldau's Trio, Wes Anderson movies, The Brian Blade
Fellowship, Elliot Smith, Nick Drake, Frederic Chopin, & Erik Satie to
name a few.

2) Unlike a lot of folks that perform at Sidewalk Cafe and perhpas
read stuff on this site, you are a graduate of a music school and
pretty highly trained. Read more »

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1) Jon, what do you call this artform that you engage in?

I'm a little uncomfortable calling myself a poet, since I find what I do (reading/ranting little bits of story that I call "pieces") isn't especially poetical. I often describe myself as a Reader, but no one seems to understand when I make reference to the term. I guess that standup poet, performance poet, or short attention span poet are terms I use where people can get the idea.

2) Did you ever read Keats, Byron, and/or Shelley, and if so what did you think of their writing?

I have read virtually no poetry in my life. I've glances at Ginsberg. I've read a bunch of John S. Hall - and a little Bukowski and Mark Leyner. Oh! I really like former poet laureate Billy Collins. He's the closest to an established guy that I've absorbed. Mostly, though, I take inspiration from musicians.

3) What differentiates you from most slam poets that you have seen?

Not all that much - the slam time unit seems to be three minutes, and most of my pieces clock in at a little less than 60 seconds. Read more »