three blind wolves — Writing

By 'Folkdates' I wish I meant 'dates in which folk music was discussed and/or heard' (I'm looking at you, Charlie Fink doppelgänger in the corner), but in this context I mean updates. Folk updates. Get it? Thankfully, the winter season seems to bring out the best in acoustic music; I guess it's natural for folkies to get in the Christmas spirit, but there's plenty of non-seasonal folk popping up as well, like Three Blind Wolves' new single 'Parade' on Spinner. Anyway, onto the updates:

Anyone who's ever met me has probably heard about Folkroom, the label/folk night that showcases an increasingly wide variety of artists from ye olde Londontown. I visited one of their nights at The Queen's Head when I visited London last year, and co-founder Stephen Thomas even wrote me a guest post a while back. I'm a fan.

For the holiday season, Folkroom artist Lucy Cait has been running an advent calendar on her new website, lucycait.com. From giveaways to gingerbread recipes to new songs, these treats are way better than the usual advent offering of stale chocolates. Lucy's music is the gift that keeps on giving, and she seems to have quite a bit up her sleeves for 2013.

[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/70672059" params="" width=" 100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]

My past few Christmases have been accompanied by the excellent For Folk's Sake It's Christmas albums, and this year is no exception. The latest version features some of my favorite up-and-coming UK folksters: Ellen and the Escapades, Tom Williams, Gerard & the Watchmen, Feldspar, Admiral Fallow, Gibson Bull, Stylusboy, and more.

[bandcamp album=2366929901 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=grande2]

Feldspar doesn't just cover one of my favorite Christmas songs on the FFS album ('In the Bleak Midwinter'), they've also released a video for awesome original track 'The Flat and Paper Sky'. Watch the video below, and catch them at my all-time favorite London pub, The Old Queen's Head, on January 16th.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VePQN8Nr9P8&w=560&h=315]

Props to the old lady getting inked in the church.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-OZP3kifog&w=590&h=300]Check out 'Mukraker' by Conveyor--mark my words, you'll be hearing a lot from them in 2012.

If I covered all the music news that I've found interesting over the past week, I'd be writing this post for three days straight. It's been nutty. So here are some snippets.

King Charles releases Mississippi Isabel EP At long last, I can listen to a version of 'Ivory Road' that wasn't recorded in the back of a London taxicab (although I adore that one too). The king's EP is available on iTunes and Amazon, and features:

1. Bam Bam 2. Love Lust 3. Ivory Road 4. Mississippi Isabel

Andrew Bird reveals Break It Yourself tracklist: I'm stoked to see Andrew Bird and Laura Marling in April--and if that tour prospect isn't juicy enough already, those tickets come with a digital download of the new album and two live EPs. Check those tour dates out here, and the tracklist for Break It Yourself is below.

01. Desperation Breeds… 02. Polynation 03. Danse Caribe 04. Give it Away 05. Eyeoneye 06. Lazy Projector 07. Near Death Experience Experience 08. Behind the Barn 09. Lusitania 10. Orpheo Looks Back 11. Sifters 12. Fatal Shore 13. Hole in the Ocean Floor 14. Belles

Three Blind Wolves release video for 'Echo On the Night Train' These guys need to be better known--they're phenomenal. I'm happy just closing my eyes and listening to 'Echo On the Night Train', but a video (almost) always makes things better.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_A0oHX0_ww&w=590&h=300]

Slow Club announce US tour I'm particularly excited about this one, because it means I finally get to catch this duo live when they hit SF's Brick and Mortar in March.

FEBRUARY 14 - Washington, DC - DC9 15 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's 16 - Brooklyn, NY - The Bell House 17 - Boston, MA - TT The Bears 18 - Montreal, QC - Casa Del Popolo 19 - Toronto, ON - Rivoli 21 - Pontiac, MI - The Pike Room 22 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle

MARCH 06 - Vancouver, BC - Media Club 07 - Seattle, WA - Sunset Tavern 08 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge 10 - San Francisco, CA - Brick & Mortar Music Hall 11 - Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex 12 - San Diego, CA - Casbah

SXSW 2012 dates TBA

Laura Marling discusses her poem and website for The Beast here Laura has posted a poem on the-bea.st; it's inspired by the album and narrated by Gil from Old Crow Medicine Show. Read about her multimedia process and inspiration in the interview above.

Eugene McGuinness releases free download and trailer for 'Thunderbolt' Though we're still waiting on a release date for Eugene McGuinness's upcoming album, at least he's given us another taste of the new material. You can grab the track here and watch the trailer below.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SHDdpSmCSA&w=590&h=300]

Summer Camp hits LA, NY, and DC on upcoming tour I'm bummed that they're not stopping in San Francisco, but you can catch Summer Camp at the following dates:

02/06 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge 02/07 – Brooklyn, NY @ Glasslands Gallery 02/09 – Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall 02/13 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo

And finally.... if you've been on Mars and haven't caught the Coachella lineup yet, click here. Or, for heat-averse San Franciscans like me, check out the Bay Area's Fauxchella dates.