Filed under: Music | Tags: concerts at the mural, head and the heart, KEXP, Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, yuni in taxco
Seattle Center
Brought together by a shared commitment to innovative and culturally diverse programming, KEXP 90.3FM and Seattle Center have teamed up to present Concerts at the Mural, a series of eclectic concerts on some of the summer’s sultriest weekends. Take advantage of the warm summer nights and take in the tunes from some of KEXP’s favorite artists. The five FREE all-ages shows are tailored to the culturally curious who seek to discover the best of the area’s independent music scene. Come early to get your seats, listen to KEXP DJs, and enjoy the beer/wine garden. Tonight is the final installment of this series, and it is featuring Yuni in Taxco, The Head and the Heart and Mt. St. Helen’s Vietnam Band.
The AV Club
Local up-and-comers The Mt. St. Helens Vietnam band got a great review from everyone’s favorite website The AV Club. Garnering comparisons to Pink Floyd, the Arcade Fire, Cursive and Trail of Dead, the review says their sophomore album Where the Messengers Meet has “unexpected edge” and points to “Bitter Cold,” a heaving dirge that finds Benjamin Verdoes and his wife Traci Eggleston unraveling a cheerless narrative of madness and abandonment over a tempo set by their 15-year-old adopted son, Marshall. Along the way, over the course of Messengers, swooning cellos, spiky guitars, math-rock drum configurations, and even the occasional banjo enhance the drama.” To read the full review, follow the link.
Filed under: Film, Music | Tags: fences, grassroots, Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band
Seattle Times
Though Grassroots features non-Seattle actors Jason Biggs, Cedric the Entertainer, Joel David Moore, Cobie Smulders, Tom Arnold and Emily Bergl, the film is truly a Seattle piece. With most of the crew, from Director of Photography down, being Seattle-based, the story about Grant Cogswell (former Stranger writer who ran for City Council) and shooting taking place in Capitol Hill, Seattle Center, King County Courthouse and Queen Anne, Grassroots truly embraces Seattle. The soundtrack even features contemporary local bands like Fences and Mt. St. Helen’s Vietnam Band. Says director Stephen Gyllenhaal, “Toward the end, there’s a whole chorus shout to Seattle. … It’s a love story to Seattle.” To read the full article, follow the link.
Filed under: Music | Tags: brite futures, dusty 45s, Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, the head and the heart, victor shade
Seattle Metropolitan Magazine
We know Capitol Hill Block Party is over, but don’t fret! There are still tons of opportunities for you to see live music (often for free!). Check out this listing of summer music festivals and discover events like the Concerts at the Mural presented by KEXP and Seattle Center, Monktail Creative Music Concern: Sounds Outside and BECU Zoo Tunes. The fests have locals playing such as Brite Futures, Victor Shade, The Head and the Heart, Mt. St. Helen’s Vietnam Band and the Dusty 45s. The full exciting listing, follow the link.
Filed under: Digital Media, Music | Tags: arthur & yu, Caffe Vita, cave singers, Fatal Lucciauno, fleet foxes, Fresh Espresso, gabriel mintz, give seattle, grand archives, hey marseilles, josh morrison, Maldives, moondoggies, Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, pearly gate music, saturday knights, Seattle City of Music, sera cahoone, talbot tagora, Tea Cozies, Visqueen
Seattle Times
There’s zero downside to “GIVE,” a downloadable benefit compilation of 30 genre-spanning songs by Seattle musicians. At $7, you’re paying less than a quarter per song. Every cent of that $7 goes toward local hunger relief and arts education. Each of the songs — most of them exclusive — is good. “GIVE” is the sort of big city/small pond collaboration that could only happen in Seattle. Every facet — music, engineering, graphic design, server space, organization, promotion, etc. — was donated. From the sponsors to the bands, “GIVE” demonstrates the Seattle music community is all things to all people, if the people are willing to dig a little. Bands include Fleet Foxes, the Moondoggies, Visqueen, the Saturday Knights, the Maldives, Grand Archives, Cave Singers, Gabriel Mintz, Arthur & Yu, Talbot Tagora, Hey Marseilles, Pearly Gate Music, Tea Cozies, Fatal Lucciauno, Fresh Espresso, Josh Morrison, Sera Cahoone, Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band. “GIVE” is available for download today, November 17th.
Seattle Weekly
Traveling with a band of indie rockers like Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band has its plusses and minuses. For starters, the friendly five piece are some of the nicest musicians in town. If you climb in a 15 passenger van with these guys on a three hour journey, you’ll find they’ve got freshly baked chocolate muffins ready for you. Bite into one and you’ll be happy that you did, until you learn that the band’s 14 year old drummer, Marshall Verdoes, claims he made said muffins from scratch and swears he didn’t wash his hands. Over the weekend, Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band played a great set of music at Mt. St. Helens, the volcano in which they partially named themselves after.