Now, I’ve never been to Detroit, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t heard things. Things like the astounding number of vacant homes, and how the bears are beginning roam freely within city limits. With the abandonment from the auto industry, it seems like there would be plenty of time to sit around and drink beer. I don’t know much about the background of Awesome Color, but it certainly seems a viable direction — for three grizzly, grimy dudes to decide to channel their collective energy wrought from the gray, dreary city into some sludgy sort of garage rock.

And maybe Detroit is starting to flourish again, much in the way Mt. St. Helens is beginning to shows signs of plant and animal life. Maybe things are returning and there’s promise and hope. Who knows? Certainly not I. But what I do know is that Awesome Color is, well, pretty awesome. And that makes Detroit more than alright in my book.

Awesome Color hit Viva Radio’s Me + You studio fairly recently and their session airs today on Viva Radio, the Internet’s most excellent online-only radio station (especially now that WOXY’s sadly defunct). Here’s a little note from the Viva Radio blog about the session…

Loveable they are, this power trio. The tunes are infectious, the tones are infected, and there is just something incredibly down to earth about these 3 individuals who end up producing music that is at times out of this world. Maybe it’s bass player Michael Troutman’s dreads? Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that they’re from Detroit!

DETROITER ALERT

Yes, Tedward goes all out on the Michigan references here, which the Awesome’rs are more than eager to indulge. It does lend to a very comfortable sounding session though…

So, with a thoroughly entertaining interview and four solid, solid songs off of their upcoming Massa Hypnos LP, which comes to you on April 6th thru Ecstatic Peace!, this is a highly recommended Me + You!

Viva Radio’s Me + You have given us permission to provide you a sample from the session. Check out the song “IOU” below, and visit Me+You for the full session. You can also see a video from the session below. It airs today, Monday, March 22nd, at noon.

Please do not re-host this mp3, but feel free to link to this post and to Viva Radio’s Me+You

Download: “IOU (Live at Viva Radio’s Me+You)” by Awesome Color

The latest artist to enter Viva Radio’s Me+You studio is Glass Rock and, as usual, we’ve got a sneak peek for you of their session. Their aptly titled debut, Tall Firs Meet Soft Location, defines the band’s make-up. Tall Firs coaxed Kathy Leisen, as the band puts it on MySpace, “out of retirement” to collaborate and create the band Glass Rock. And like those by Tall Firs, this album finds a home on Ecstatic Peace.

I think I’ll let Ted Shumaker, mastermind and radio personality behind Me+You, take it from here:

I think Kathy from Glass Rock put it best in the interview when she said, “It’s always weird to get emotional at noon on a Sunday.” We did get emotional on that Sunday bloody Sunday as I invited one of the more striking groups of the last year, Glass Rock, into the Viva Studios for Pt. 68 of Me + You. They performed what was their second official set as a band ever in our studio. The first set being an incredible Sunday performance just a month before at Union Pool. Glass Rock is the melding of two different musical acts. The first being Soft Location featuring Kathy Lieson and Matt Kantor originally from Detroit. The second is the Brooklyn group Tall Firs with Aaron Mullen, David Mies, and Ryan Sawyer. I highly recommend treating yourself to a day massage and a hot listening sesh to both of these bands over a steamy weekend.

I wouldn’t go so far to say that this was the most informative interview ever, but it certainly was a good lesson on social behaviors when slightly inebriated. I knew Kathy from Detroit, when she dated Dr. Z back in 2005, but I knew little about her musical offerings. The wonderful Kerry Davis from Viva tipped me off on Soft Location and said we need to get Kathy in the studio at some point. I was determined to make yet another Detroit connection here with Viva Radio! I was determined to get the real story. Even as bassist Matthew Kantor exclaimed during the interview,”I’m not feeling this at all, this is so serious, let’s just go to another song.” But being the serious music journalist that I am, I wanted to get the full story! Kathy then exclaimed, “you know you got to sing all the time, sometimes you don’t want to talk afterwards.”

Moreover, what started out with five songs Kathy had written for a possible split with Tall Firs became a sweet green light for their full release entitled “Tall Firs meet Soft Location” on Ecstatic Peace. Needless to say there is a warm and fuzzy side to the band and yes that day Glass Rock were definitely frothing up and spilling over the brim! It’s the perfect kick to a nice Winter Me + You session!

It’s pretty ironic that I’m also writing this from Detroit right now. Not to dwell on the comparison too much but I’ll leave you with a quote from Kathy when asked about the comparison of Detroit and New York. “In New York there’s an insane world existing around you all the time, but in Detroit there’s an insane world existing in each and every one of us inside all the time, and that’s the difference. You just have to take that crazy world and make it inside of yourself.” Happy New Year and Much Love to everyone! Tune in to Me + You today at Noon!

Here’s an intimate and exclusive sneak peek at the Glass Rock session:

Glass Rock: Lion Dance (Live on Viva Radio’s Me+You) [mp3]

Please do not rehost this mp3, but do feel free to link to this page, to Viva Radio’s Me+You site, and to the Viva Radio Blog.

Viva-Radio’s Me+You has done it again, in more ways than one. They’ve brought back Andrew W.K. for a second Me+You session, and they’ve created something absolutely worth hearing: an Andrew W.K. Christmas Holiday Special. This is one session you definitely do not want to miss.

States the Viva-Blog about Andrew W.K. stopping by for the holidays:

Coming off like a cross between Newman and Nilsson (a little more the former), A.W.K. weaves conversation and composition pretty seamlessly and quite humorously. Tedward really has to take the backseat here but is definitely along for the ride, giving our man the direction in which you ultimately want him to go.

The Special airs at noon (wherever you may be) but should be available for stream afterward at the Me+You Viva-Radio contributor page.

Below you’ll find Andrew W.K. doing “High Holidays”, but first a clip from the interview, including a little impromptu song called “Dov’s Doves”:

Andrew W.K. – Dov’s Doves [mp3]

Andrew W.K. – High Holidays [mp3]

Please do not rehost this, but feel free to link here and to the Me+You Blog/Contributor Page.

A sampling of loud drums and guitars, Moi Non Plus is dub at its most epic. The Amsterdam band’s debut LP was released back in October, and in support of the record they recently visited Viva Radio’s Me + You studio to record a session, scheduled to air today at noon. You can tune in over at Viva-Radio.com.

Despite only one LP, and a recent one at that, this duo has already begun making a name for themselves out here in ye olde West. States the Viva blog:

Dutch hexperimental duo The Moi Non Plus have a special connection to Viva. The two sorcerers behind this self-proclaimed “loud drum guitar sample” outfit are non other than Bas & Leon, luminaries of the scene digest / event brand Subbacultcha and keepers of the American underground on their Viva Radio show of the same name.

Once the noon hour rolls around (if it hasn’t already done so), you can check out the band’s session on Viva Radio; you can also hear more of Me + You over at Viva-Radio.com/meplusyou.

Here’s a song from their album (not from the Me + You session) to tide you over:

The Moi Non Plus: Ha Ha Ha [mp3]

This week we bring you another, by way of Viva Radio’s Me + You, exclusive track. This time from Brooklyn tropical punk group The So So Glos. The song “Island Loops” is given somewhat of an acoustic makeover, dropping out a small amount of the percussion and the more ferocious aspects of the electric guitars. These brothers (yes, a band of brothers) take the tropical sound that seems to have defined early 2008 and then some, and give it a punk twist that is much more their own. You can hear it on “Island Loops”; it’s intrepid and nonchalant, relaxed and carefree.

About the interview, Viva Radio writes:

The interview was somewhat revelatory, and while a few years younger than Tedward, they offered a nice gritty and regional contrast to Ted’s ironically non-homosexual gay transplant vibe. Starting off with a family history, it is explained that two of these guys are brothers and one is a half-brother since age 3. Hint: it’s not Matt. Then – a reverb-soaked “1-2-3-4″ leads right into “Throw Your Hands Up”, a song that shits all over national radio and Clear Channel mindlessness. How appropriate!

“Island Loops” and the above-mentioned “Throw Your Hands Up” are off The So So Glos’ new LP, Tourism/Terrorism, out now on Green Owl Press.

Me + You airs Mondays at noon.

Please do not re-host this mp3, but do feel free to link to this feature and/or the Me + You site.

The So So Glos: Island Loops (Me + You Pt. 63) [mp3]

Here’s a sneak peek for you who love rarities, exclusives and original material. And a bonus for those of you who dig radio in all its forms. The Raveonettes recently visited the Me + You studios for a Viva Radio spot and below you can hear the band performing their song “Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed)”. The session is Pt. 62 of Me + You, a live series that includes often funny and telling interviews with some of today’s hottest artists, conducted by host Ted Shumaker. The Raveonettes’ session airs at noon today on Viva Radio.

Here’s a snippet from the Viva Radio Me + You blog:

its been established that The Rave’s are damn well suited to be doing what they’re doing and several consistent recorded efforts would justify that. Which is why Album #4, In And Out Of Control, is widely welcomed. It pleased us immensely to have the group up up in here here to talk about feelin’ at ease in NYC, boys who rape, and constantly being on the rise to being the NEXT BIG THING.

Once Pt. 62 of Me + You airs, you can check it out at your leisure by visiting Viva Radio: Me + You. And you can read and see more from the Viva Radio blog post on Me + You 62: The Raveonettes.

“Boys Who Rape Should All Be Destroyed” is off The Raveonettes new album, In And Out Of Control, available now on Vice Records.

The Raveonettes: Boys Who Rape Should All Be Destroyed [From Viva Radio's Me + You]

Please do not re-host this mp3, but do feel free to link to this page and/or Viva Radio Me + You.

Viva Radio is one of the premier internet radio stations and to develop additional support, they’re giving us a pretty extensive and comprehensive compilation dubbed Best Of Me + You and featuring a total of 57 tracks. Granted, some of the tracks are station IDs and band interviews from the various groups on the comp, but that still leaves a solid quantity of songs from a who’s who collection of indie artists. And, to top it all, each song is an exclusive live take from Viva Radio’s Me + You.

The comp comes with an extensive zine that documents the goings-on and antics at Me + You, as if the interviews aren’t a tell-tale sign to begin with — just listen to Sebastien Tellier go from topics like “loving horses” to being a “puppet of sex.” Brilliant. You can also purchase a “Me + You” t-shirt and you’ll get the booklet zine and digital comp gratis. Bonus.

You can order the comp from American Apparel. You’ll get some pretty amazing tracks from artists as diverse as Black Lips, Dark Meat, The Fiery Furnaces, Tilly & The Wall, and Deer Tick (that’s who’s performing in that image up there). I’m only on track 6 – Sebastian Tellier’s “Divine (Live In LA)” – and what I’ve heard already has been pretty astounding. I (and you) can only imaging what’s in store for me in the next 51 tracks!

To give you a little taste of the goodness on this comp, here’s a track for ya…

King Khan: Desert Mile [mp3]