Wand/Golden Boots Split 7" on People in a Position to Know

Just ordered this and a couple other things from Mike at PIAPTK last week and was listening to them this weekend. The sleeve and vinyl are great, as usual, there's actually two different versions of this screen printed on blue or three color screen on white, you can see both of those on my classy sheet covered/cat barf protected couch. The vinyl itself is a kind of swirled black and pink....more pink than black.

Wand of Wooden wand and the vanishing voice or James Toth has two tracks on the A-Side of this single. His catalog is a little overwhelming, having multiple aliases and recording with all kinds of artists and thus changing the band name slightly on a million labels makes it like some kind of crazy treasure hunt to track everything down. He's got at least 3 myspace pages. It's got to be confusing even for him at some point keeping up with answering friend requests, posting songs. So this is a 'solo' release, hence the Wand.
The first track 'Dirty penny', makes me feel better about taking the obsessive time to track down a good amp and speakers because the deep bassline here is really pushing the low end around. Even at 33 1/3, this single is sounding great, they didn't loose anything in the mix at all. James has a slightly country, slightly folk sound, some other stuff I've heard reminded me of Mark Lanegan, not his signature baritone vocals so much, but stylistically. It's dark country, it's classic, really well constructed...the kind of thing that you can hear the painstaking years of paying homage to the years of singer songwriter tradition before him. 'I'm afraid of little girls', this not only has a great acoustic strummed melody but lyrically this is where James nails it. It's that Johnny Cash story song about the things that don't scare him, except for little girls. Timeless writing like 'I'm not going near the hurricane in a dress', for me he's getting into Townes Van Zandt territory. The kind of thing that doesn't matter what category you try to out it in explaining to someone. It has an instant credibility. I'm looking for credits to see if this is a cover or something just to make sure. But this is the kind of writing that makes his whole body of work stand out. He does more than just attempt to make a go of it with practically traditional country, but it sounds like he's succeeding.

The B-Side features Arizona's Golden Boots. I can't think of another band I've heard recently from Arizona, so right away I'm reading all kinds of guitar, harmonica with some things into the sound, picturing the desert cactus, and miles of sky. It's a great match with Wand, there's a classic country influenced sound but reinterpreted, like Calexico. In 'Passers by (Penelope)' there's lots of harmonies, slow reverbthermin or synth at the end for that anti-folk kick. It sounds like they are playing with that country folk expectation a little bit. Just when the direction sounds all planned out, it goes somewhere else.
The second track 'A nothing', speeds things up a bit, with a lot more electronics, high pitch squeaks, weird percussion sounds, definitely some synth...it's a little Flaming Lips to me. The melody is pitch wheel shifted through a great organ sound. It's even Magnetic Fields in it's future cowboy sound. Alien sounds coming together in a country two step way...they've got that weird combination sewn up nicely here.

For the ultimate in low-fi sound, PIAPTK has this mp3 of one of their tracks cut into a plastic picnic plate.

Wand/Golden Boots Split 7" - A great new split 7" from two of my favorite bands! Tennessee's James Jackson "Wooden "Wand"" Toth and Arizona's Golden Boots. Each artist has two songs, Wand's "Dirty Penny" and "I'm Afraid of Little Girls" and Golden Boots "Passersby" and "A Nothing". Will be on colored vinyl. Preorders get mp3s early!

Get it from PIAPTK...the label is currently on vacation, but they'll ship everything at the end of the month.

Wooden Wand on 25 Diamonds Records

There are very few things I know about James Toth's Wooden Wand. I know that he's incredibly prolific and a dead serious songwriter. An artist that hasn't just magically hit on the stuff, he's put in the hard long work. It feels like hard fought talent, Townes Van Zandt hard and I'm willing to go that far in finding a comparison for James. He can sit on stage with a single guitar and it's going to be a compelling performance.

A hard, slow strummed electric opens A-Side's "When Your Stepfather Dies" I always forget what a great vocal he's got as well, there's no overlooking it. He can pick moments to hold back and then solidly delivering on substantial melodies. Like Owen Ashworth from Casiotone's style in a higher register with a huge range of delivery hollaring to half whispering. Setting his somber scene all the way down to the temperature, it's unbelievable this is a single guitar in this rolling ocean rhythm about reminiscing and regrets. The lyrics for this one are the only ones on the reverse of the insert and spelled out like this they hit even harder. If these aren't purely autobiographical then he gets so deep into this character it makes no difference.

"Country Graveyard Soil" starts out with a solitary guitar and his slightly gravelly vocal. It's purely born, after months of hard labor out in the back barn with a couple of friends creating for themselves. But they want to share these highly personal sentiments after all with no expectation of having the attention. It's quietly biding its time, if you don't get it now, you're going to come around in a vulnerable moment. So much room to breathe in these tracks, the abstract imagery about loss and turning things around are just as good as when he's as specific as the first track. Devoting himself to the altar of an acoustic, one of the few people that can get away with it.

A faster strummed rhythm opens on B-Side's "Free Seeds" with that single mic capturing an open strum in a room, this one sort of sounding like Pink Reason with a similar tense desperation.

songs don't get written

in loud and crowded bars

This is Mark Lannegan dark, someone kept his truck and it's time to get out of this bar. Less of that reverb echo on this side, closser and more into his space. He can get to those moments without sounding sorry for himself, with the feeling of the long road. Maybe that's what I hear in Cleaning the Mirror too, knowing a little of what he's been through. Gets catchy with no right to make you sing along with this, except maybe its the only way to look back on this situation now.

On lavender vinyl from 25 Diamonds Records with a spraypainted style two color sleeve, this one screen printed, all tracks exclusive to this release.

Kill Country - Good Saints split - self released

Got a nice note from the guys in Kill Country, out of Lincoln, NE letting me know about this single they put together with the Good Saints which features one James Toth, who is a guy I've seen constantly popping up on various labels single's from PIAPTK to The Great Pop Supplement and have mentioned before on the site as far back as 2007.

Kill Country is a seven piece folk ensemble and their track, "Brown Lee" has a quiet intensity about it... the creaking of a chair, the bedroom room roll of a brush snare...all the rest of the instrumentation slowly joining in. Full of layers of a quietly recorded group of acoustics and their real crazy strong changes that seem to come out of nowhere, a slide banjo, even possibly some slow piano strikes way off in the back, but the center of this showdown on the plains is Josh James who is gifted with a unique, rough as hell, baritone vocal. Like Mark Lannegan with such a gravely, high plains drawl the lyrics barely register with meaning, once you start decoding this real sorrow, it just leads further down into sadness. The sort of person that doesn't need to raise their voice, when they have something to say you'd better listen, to horses, hands and hearts. I always think about this Will Oldham style, Giant Sand kind of country music that's going on as representing that genre, and god forbid forget about Miley Cyrus or who knows what else isn't even country.

The B-Side from Good Saints, is entitled "Texas Moan" and it always gets me, especially here when you listen to these back to back, how you can work with the same instruments and end up with such an incredibly different sound, a completely unique room, and this vocal here is full of youth and optimism, even hope. The acoustics and fingerpicking comes in slow waves working with real distinct harmonies. There's a big emotional style vocally against this melancholy instrumentation that reminds me of Jason Molina and Songs:Ohio with an incredible acoustic slide solo...I know that sounds silly, but the delivery of this one is truly unique, an inspired unhinged soul sound. It' a real love song about the memory of this woman, feet on dashboards, the fading photo memories of those moments:

Shame on you texas / for letting her go

Screen printed by Doe Eyed design on textured cardstock and pressed an olive green vinyl...a real handmade affair, they went all out.

People in a position to know - R Stevie + Wooden Wand

It's hard to keep up with the People in a Position to Know Records, I hate to say it but I almost dread checking out their site, just because I know there'll be at least 3 new things I have to get and/or talk about, and not just, "Oh I pressed a record from a great band" but I handcut music exclusive to this release with a lathe cutter in my garage! And I letterpress printed them myself at a nearby printshop! I added the exclamation points because PIAPTK is such an inspiration when it comes to elevating the lowly single to and I almost hate to say it, something to hang on the wall and handle with white museum gloves.



Take this R. Stevie Moore and Billy Anderson release, it's hard enough to find R. Stevie stuff on vinyl, and it's usually way out my price range on ebay, and then to have such a cool handscreened, spraypainted matchbook style sleeve puts this over the top for just $5. The track is a great poppy, off kilter, falsetto Stevie number. Super clean production, full of high hat and electric organ bouncing along, I sincerely hope to still be half as much messing around with tracks for this long. To still have that sense of experimentation...totally inspiring. Only 400, a steal.
Then that Wooden Wand box set, and not just any box, a handmade wooden box housing 6 disks of James' archives. Mike assures fans that this isn't just pieces of unfinished songs or alternate tracks, PIAPTK was given free reign to choose work from the hundreds of unreleased songs over his 15 year career...too amazing. The gold vinyl is sold out, but black is still available...check out the disk listing:

Disc One: Hard Bargains – This disc contains the more “rocking” Toth tunes, mostly full band style recording with a heavier groove to it.
Disc Two: Roadside Peaches – This disc contains the lesser seen Toth song-type... the sincere, sweet, love songs.
Disc Three: Visiting Hours and Other Missteps - Full of the more Downer-type tunes. But don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of giggle-worthy moments despite the somber tone. A good disc for fans of Born Bad.
Disc Four: Get Right With The Goddess – A really good mixed bag of mostly acoustic tunes.
Disc Five: Preparing An Audience - Much like Tom Waits, Wand often writes tunes from the perspective of a character. Whereas Waits’ protagonist is a down-on-his-luck, hard living, skid row bum, Toth’s is more of a self-loathing, hard living, smarmy Southern jerk. This disc compiles some of the best tunes from that perspective.
Disc Six: Five Alive / First Songs – A collection of the lower-fidelity tunes, many of which are very old, and give a really good glimpse into a little different Wand than you are used to. Runs the gamut of recording type and vocal style.

You can even make an offer on his picnic plate 7" wedding favor discs! Jad Fair, Carcrashlander...only twenty of these exist! It's like you were there! I can't stop the exclamation!

Second H. Sam - s/t EP on Shit Music for Shit People and a Record Store Day PIAPTK release

Got a notice about this solo project from Second H. Sam on the Shit Music for Shit People label, looks like they're based 'somewhere between Portugal and Italy"...founded a few years back they're trying to combine great music and art together, putting a lot of effort pairing artists together and getting sleeves like the one above.

The couple of tracks I found on his bandcamp page sound  like a ramshackle trudging Doo Rag busted folk with slide guitar, and SHS's deep reverb Leonard Cohen style drawn out vocals. Random percussion picks up this warped carnival feel on "Cherie Cherie Maria", clinking bottles and metal trash can lids.
Another one, "Sick About You and I" has a delayed warble tremolo guitar, picking up the pace and mixing a kind of junkyard folk with Serge Gainsbourg. Plus plenty of time at the multitracker fiddling around with just the right kind of weirdo layers. This one's got a drum machine and a little bit of a garage feel, loose with layers and laid back vocals, super clean. Check out these samples below and pay that sweet air shipping for this one from Shit Music for you, I mean, Shit People Records.

Shit says:

In less than a year of live shows he amazed the audience with his minimal approach to the music, inspired by glowing romantic scenarios, seen through psychedelic and lo-fi glasses. In his music you can find a little of Johnny Cash, Townes Van Zandt, Hank Williams, Fred Neil, Nick Cave, Lee Hazlewood, Fabrizio De Andrè, Daniel Johnston, Syd Barret, Beck & Thurstone Moore. They say about him: "A blues author from the age of the computers, a Muddy Waters with a MIDi keyboard, a Daniel Johnston without obesity and ADHD syndrome. Reverbered semi-acoustic guitar with vocal sinking in a sea of tape-echoes".
His debut EP is available in vinyl 7" from the italian/portuguese label “Shit Music For Shit People”.
The four songs were recorded at the “Outside Inside” in Montebelluna, with the artistic production of Emanuele "Nene" Baratto from the Movie Star Junkies.
Sam is the singer of the Hormonas from Venezia and the Buzz Aldrin from Bologna. He was also the singer of the John Woo, a punk wave band from the 2000s.

The other thing I wanted to be sure to mention before this weekend is this Record Store day release from Mike over at People in a Position to Know Records, this really cool split single from Wooden Wand and Catherine Irwin covering Hazel Dickens, who I'm just finding out about myself, and it's always great when a record like this can be just great on it's own and paying tribute to a deeper music history...an underappreciated songwriter who wasn't in it for Coachella or Bonoroo, I don't even care if I spell that right. Old time protest music and not making a dime.

Wooden Wand's side is as minimal and just plain heartbreaking as this material should be, slow, mindfully recorded acoustic guitars, and a smooth backup vocal. Recorded in perfectly silent pin drop warmth that ought to be perfect for turning up and putting the speakers in the windows of the porch. Reminding me tonally of that first Iron & Wine record, when you can get away with a single mic and a guitar, why wouldn't you? Because you would probably sound stupid. James Toth  does not.
Catherine Irwin does "Lost patterns" an equally intimate tiny room recording with a lonesome lap steel and barley strummed guitar. It takes a single like this with such attention to detial that makes you want to find out more about the original artist who could write songs about sitting at the kitchen table drinking beer. Great harmony's and Catherine has that crazy range from growly despair to southern twang...all housed in PIAPTK's matchbook style letterpressed cardboard sleeves.

Wooden Wand & Catherine Irwin Sing the Songs of Hazel Dickens 7"
Wooden Wand and Catherine Irwin (of Freakwater) pay tribute to legendary bluegrass protest singer, Hazel Dickens.
This was INTENDED to be (and hopefully still will be) a Record Store Day Exclusive. Unfortunately, despite our sending in the info to them months ago, following up, jumping through hoops, etc, they STILL haven't put it on the list. So, until they recognize it as an official RSD exclusive, I will have some copies here for sale. Once they get back to me about it, I will be taking these down and official RSD stores will be the only places to get them. And that, of course, means you probably won’t be able to get them. 90% of the run went out to distro already, so I only have a few copies anyway. Limited to only 459 copies worldwide, (but numbered out of 500) each 7" comes in a beautiful, hand-set-letterpressed, silkscreened, and numbered Arigato Pak.

Doesn't look like there are any left from Mike direct at this point but you can hear samples of this single over at PIAPTK, look for it this Saturday, or send him an email, you never know.

Here's the original track from Hazel, "A few old memories":

Little Gold on Sophomore Lounge Records

This single from Little Gold arrived from Sophomore Lounge Records. A lot in common with an earlier single on Heartbreak Beat Records, but the fully layered indie country sound is bigger, the melodies harmonically crafted, and the low distortion is always on the vocal. Mostly sounding like they're having fun without breaking bottles.

There's a color insert for the children of a crazy sesame street birthday scene with monkey stickers and adult, very out of place captions, sort of in the style of this party single, don't get too bent out of shape. A trifecta of folk '70s icons greets you over the handwritten lyrics on the reverse.

The A-Side, "Mike Swan" is just the name of a dude that hit Christian Deroeck, founder of Woods and Meneguar, who was innocently riding his bike one day. But of course Christian turned that catastrophe at the corner of Willoughby into gold with this track. The actual swans on the sleeve were extra confusing. I know swans can be insanely aggressive and I think I thought maybe one of the birds happened to chase Christian on a park path off his bike? It's not unbelievable.
But Little Gold is able to cleverly craft this song to be fun and catchy while essentially being a story song about a tiny inconsequential incident, and of course those moments can say a lot more about life. I can relate to this more than most songs and not just because it's about riding a bike in Brooklyn (wear a helmet) but because it's that everyday situation and the fact that they both 'allegedly' were drunk and also high diffused the situation into a simple accident. I'm constantly telling myself to calm down and not be so insanely defensive when an inevitable pedestrian or car runs into he bike lane....take it easy. I mean they both could have been watching out for each other a little better. But thankfully it ended alright, no hospitals no lawsuits, everybody go home, a little scrape, no big deal. It has a slight bar jam country feel, a bent electric guitar with layered wavering vocals. Great harmonies especially when singing the title of the track. "Mike Swan" is the most beautiful part of the whole thing, a nice tribute to the driver and Christians songwriting. There's a Beirut gypsy horn melody towards the end bringing this side safely home.

I hope Mike gets to hear this.

The B-Side, "Oh, Dad" is a cover of a James Toth (Of Wooden Wand) song which they grunge up a bit here. At first it sounds like quotes or advice from the Dad, but it's actually the son after the Dad. He's past that age of defiance when you criticize everything your parents do. Dad's an equal, he's a person, and the protagonist isn't disappointed here so much as just sad that he sees the way his Dad gets treated and is worried he's letting himself get walked on a little. It's a nice sentiment, the "In Defense of Dad" song, sounding very dirty garage'd out. A little distortion on the vocal, definitely with attitude. The sleeve photo couldn't be more perfect on this side of a '70s photo of a Dad in the backyard, next to the chainlink fence reluctantly waving to the camera. bog collar polyester brown jacket. Beard and sunglasses. Sort of happy times.
Dad's change and sometimes you start to question if his life choices make sense...Oh, Dad. Not unlike the teenage "Oh. Dad" which is always disappointed. It all comes back around.

Check out these tracks from Little Gold and get this one from Sophmore Lounge Records.

The Great pop supplement - 2 more new ones!

MV+EE I have to say, I just can't give them another chance after seeing how terrible they were live, but I did listen to Jerusalem.... today and they have a nice huge sound, complete with tape starting and stopping hiss and clicks, all the while keeping a psyche sound like the shjips or JAMC going. Dense sounding and huge percussion...the drums are underwater in a huge cavern far far away , I didn't think myspace could duplicate that sound. Swirling organs and feedback, I can't really tell if there are vocals or not at times they have so many effects they ust blend in. It seems to vary with tracks with more upfront vocals that sound alright...I like the more opaque stuff, but both of these will be keepers from the Supplement, and maybe you can ebay the MV+EE one to some sucker, or it will be so awesomely packaged you just won't even care....or MV+EE actually sounds good when they have time to rehearse and record....let's hope so.
(That pic of the split color 45 is from a few releases back....it's just an example of their high quality work.)

gps33 mv+ee "the best it ever was" 45 another winner from matt and erika with 'the golden road', chunky double bass led, summer psych slow burner in cool linen card sleeves, limited to 500 and the second of this year's 2 x mv+ee GPS 45s, the first came and went in 72 hours!

gps34 jerusalem and the starbaskets / bengal traitors split 45 urgent split 45 on clear vinyl in gorgeous op-art acetate sheet sleeves. JATS offer up the mighty "everybody's dig accounted for" (check out the video on youtube!) while the bengal traitors is a part time project for james and jessica toth (wooden wand etc). a psych monster, with label art and op-art sleeve to match...!

cost on these is as follows:- £4.29 each (vinyl pressing plant price increase :-( ) OR the pair for £10 including post in the UK. £11.50 post included for the pair into europe £12.00 post included for the pair elsewhere. AS USUAL PAYPAL IS BEST PLEASE on this email address is fine thanks...

thegreatpopsupplement [at] hotmail.com

Wooden Wand

I am a little overwhelmed by his back catalog, I have a few releases from WW+VV, I got the feeling that was over from the myspace page, and that he was going solo as Wooden Wand. The latest great pop supplement was under the vanishing Voice moniker, here it's just wooden wand.
From all the press releases/promo he's trying to divorce the psychedelic from the folk and just go his own direction with a bunch of guest musicians like Steve Shelly and Lee Renaldo from Sonic Youth. It's hard to make that transition, to go from the style that has been successful, even got you where you are, and then decide to go a new direction...but with this kind of support other people believe in it.


Wooden Wand
More From The Mountains/Guru Femmes
Woodsist 005
7"

Excellent limited single from Wooden Wand, with two sides of beautiful "Desolation Row" styled circular folk ballads that would've sat perfectly anywhere on his last couple of albums. A real keeper and a pleasure to flip. More From The Mountain features one of James Jackson Toth's final transmissions under the Wooden Wand moniker. Side A has been a live favorite for some time, while Side B's "Guru Femmes" is a home recording of a long-retired tune entirely exclusive to this release. Limited, hurry, etc

It's available from Fusetron.