Thursday, October 14, 2010

Jenny and Johnny, Happy Birthday

Monday, October 18 2010, Manic Productions presents in association with Toad's Place

Credit: Silva Artist Management ("Yummy leg," ct indie)
Location:
Toad's Place
300 York Street
New Haven, CT

8:00pm - All Ages - $18 ($16.50 advance)

Buy tickets now or pick them up at Redscroll Records or DETRITUS

Check out Scissor Runner from Jenny and Johnny as a free download!

Before diving into the epic bio below, just a note: Jenny and Johnny recorded a live performance for Jack White's label Third Man Records back on Sunday, September 26, 2010. When fans arrived at the venue, tickets were stamped, and if these stamped tickets were returned within 3 days to the Third Man shop, a black and blue colored limited to 300 vinyl edition of the live show was available for purchase, but it was only the ticket holders that were given the chance to buy the record. Tickets to the show were only $3 bucks. The record was only $15. Third Man has done this before, including with Nobunny, which actually looks to be still available without any special stamped ticket. Anyway, the show-only release thing is a cool idea. Can't imagine pumping out 300 slabs of vinyl three days after the recording itself was in the can, though. Takes some of us around here three days just to get out of bed.

Jenny and Johnny (featuring Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice):
Jenny and Johnny first started working together in Los Angeles in 2005, after being introduced by Conor Oberst. Rice had traveled to Nebraska to make his first record before moving to L.A., where Lewis was beginning work with Mike Mogis on her solo debut Rabbit Fur Coat. They both ended up playing on each others recordings, and struck up a lasting creative relationship. Rice joined Lewis' band for the Rabbit Fur Coat world tour in 2006, and has played live with Lewis at every show of her solo career thus far. Jenny contributed both songwriting and singing to Johnathan's Further North in 2007, and he was quick to return the favor as one of the producers of Lewis' album Acid Tongue and again joining her on the road. During the Acid Tongue sessions, the band cut the song "Carpetbaggers" with Elvis Costello. The legendary songwriter was so inspired with the collaboration that he enlisted Lewis, Rice, their Acid Tongue crew, and the Imposters to help make one of his finest records of recent years, 2008's Momofuku.

During hours of downtime on Lewis' Acid Tongue world tour, she and Rice began writing a batch of songs different from anything they had previously created. The material was fast, ultra-melodic, and often blended both of their voices into one, creating a completely new sound. When the tour wrapped in Japan in August of 2009, Jenny and Johnny were eager to record the new tunes. They enlisted Rilo Kiley's Pierre De Reeder to engineer a nine-day October session at his Bright Street Recorders in North Hollywood with the intention of making demos. Jenny and Johnny played as many instruments as possible, right down to the drums. Jason Boesel lent his considerable drumming talents to the songs that required something more. The four friends worked lightening fast, had a hell of a lot of fun, and were so stoked on the results that Lewis and Rice decided to start a new band and finish the record. Jenny and Johnny packed up a station wagon in December 2009 and drove to Omaha, Nebraska, the place where they first hung out all those years ago, to work with their friend, Mike Mogis.

Jenny and Johnny locked out Mogis' world-class ARC studios for five weeks of tracking, vocals, and mixing during the worst Midwestern winter since the 1860's. The front door of their guest house actually froze shut, so they used an alternate route to get to the studio every day. Cut off from the outside world in a blizzard's haze, the record's personality began to emerge. Gone were the vintage, classic-rock textures of their previous two albums, and in came a brand new sound which was tougher around the edges. The exuberance of love songs like Scissor Runner mask some of the record's darkness, with Lewis chronicling the economic demise of her beloved California in Big Wave, Rice's haunting vocal on Animal, and both songwriters raising a middle-finger kiss off in the acerbic My Pet Snakes. The overall result is genuine and original pop music for Right Now. This is not a Rilo Kiley record, a Jenny Lewis record, or a Johnathan Rice record. This is Jenny and Johnny. They're having fun now, and they want you to, too.



Happy Birthday is Kyle Thomas (aka King Tuff. Vocalist/Guitarist of Witch and Feathers), Chris Weisman, and Ruth Garbus. They formed in November 2008 to play one show at the punk-space “Tinderbox”(RIP), in their hometown Brattleboro, Vermont. Kyle needed a band to play his new pop songs because he was too scared to play by himself. They enjoyed playing with eachother so much that they decided to keep doing it. Sub Pop.




Jenny and Johnny Tour:
Oct 17th Ithaca, NY Cornell University
Oct 18th New Haven, CT Toad's Place
Oct 19th New York, NY Irving Plaza (Ground Control Touring CMJ Showcase)
Oct 21st Toronto, ONT Kool Haus
Oct 22nd Detroit, MI The Fillmore
Oct 23rd Upper Darby, PA Tower Theatre
Oct 24th Charleston, WV Mountain Stage
Oct 25th Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live
Oct 26th Charlottesville, VA Jefferson Theatre
Oct 28th Asheville, NC Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
Oct 29th Charleston, SC North Charleston Pacific Arts
Oct 30th Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre
Oct 31st New Orleans, LA The Parish @ House of Blues
Nov 2nd Austin, TX Emo's Outdoors

European Jenny and Johnny tour dates here

European Happy Birthday right here:
Oct 18 Toad's Place w/ Jenny & Johnny New Haven, CT
Oct 23 SWN FESTIVAL Cardiff, UNITED KINGDOM
Oct 24 Start The Bus Bristol, UNITED KINGDOM
Oct 25 Bodega Nottingham, UNITED KINGDOM
Oct 27 Now Wave @ Islington Mill Manchester, UNITED KINGDOM
Oct 28 Botanique/ Rotonde Brussels, BELGIUM
Oct 29 De Nieuwe Anita Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS
Oct 30 Fleche D' Or Paris, FRANCE
Oct 31 A Nation Of Shopkeepers Leeds, UNITED KINGDOM
Nov 1 Captain's Rest Glasgow, Glasgow Ci, UNITED KINGDOM
Nov 2 Sneaky Pete's Edinburgh, City of Ed, UNITED KINGDOM
Nov 3 Head of Steam Newcastle upon Tyne, Northeast, UNITED KINGDOM
Nov 4 Hoxton Bar and Grill London, UNITED KINGDOM

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