wild sweet orange @ ear x-tacy/louisville (07.31.2008)

tonight, the birmingham, alabama based band "wild sweet orange" played a nice 45 (+/-) minute in-store set @ the most excellent ear x-tacy here in louisville to celebrate this week's release of their first record "we have cause to be uneasy." the band performed tonight as a 5 piece, while billed as a four piece consisting of; preston lovinggood (vocals, acoustic guitar), garrett kelley (bass), chip kilpatrick (drums), taylor shaw (electric guitar), unfortunately i didn't get the name of the other player on guitar tonight. i got to talk to them for a few minutes after they played tonight, all very pleasant, nice young men that seemed very appreciative of the support they've received.

i always hate the dreaded "what kind of music do they play" question... well, it's a nice blend of rock, power pop with a little twinge of a folkish vibe on at times. but no doubt, they can bring it, they are a really good band with a very talented vocalist. lovinggood's voice is great, very much his own but at times you'll hear a little bit of bono or maybe griffin house come out when he starts to wail. not a bad thing at all. he is the perfect compliment to their sound, which i'm sure is no accident, since he is the chief songwriter and producer.

i really enjoyed their live performance and i'm still running through the record for the first time and digesting it lyrically, sonically i'm really enjoying it, the sound is really nice. a very nice listen; "ten dead dogs," "sour milk," and "an atlas to follow" seem to be the standouts for me on the first pass thru.

my suggestion, go to wildsweetmusic.com (streaming audio link on top left of page) or www.myspace.com/wildsweetorange and have a listen for yourself, it's worth your time.

and on a side note, while i myself am a "southern boy" and grew up on the music of "allman brothers band" and the like, i always love seeing a band that comes out of the deep south that breaks that "southern rock" stereotype and dispells the theory that if you come from the south, you've gotta sound like "lynyrd skynyrd" to be successful. good on them for doing that.


photos by bill ivester

tour schedule
August 1, 2008 Pontiac,MI PIKE ROOM AT THE CROFOOT
August 3, 2008 Chicago,IL LOLLAPALOOZA Show Time- 12:30 PM
August 4, 2008 Omaha,NE THE SLOWDOWN
August 6, 2008 Minneapolis,MN THE VARSITY THEATER
August 10, 2008 Austin,TX STUBBS
August 11, 2008 Houston,TX STUDIO AT WAREHOUSE LIVE
August 12, 2008 Dallas-Ft. Worth,TX HOUSE OF BLUES
August 13, 2008 Shreveport,LA The Rustic Cowboy
August 14, 2008 Memphis,TN The High Tone
August 20, 2008 Nashville,TN Belcourt Thearter
August 27, 2008 Orlando,FL THE SOCIAL
August 28, 2008 Gainesville,FL COMMON GROUND
August 29, 2008 Athens,GA 40 WATT CLUB
August 30, 2008 Columbia,SC 5 POINTS PUB
August 31, 2008 Mt Pleasant,SC VILLAGE TAVERN
September 2, 2008 Charlotte,NC Neighborhood Theatre
September 3, 2008 Charlottesville,VA GRAVITY LOUNGE
September 4, 2008 Philadelphia,PA KHYBER
September 5, 2008 Brooklyn,NY SOUTHPAW
September 6, 2008 Hoboken,NJ MAXWELLS
September 8, 2008 Baltimore,MD FLETCHERS
September 9, 2008 Richmond,VA CANAL CLUB
September 10, 2008 Greensboro,NC GREENE STREET CLUB
September 11, 2008 Atlanta,GA THE EARL
September 12, 2008 S. Jacksonvil,FL JACK RABBITS
September 13, 2008 Tampa,FL WMNF Birthday Bash
September 14, 2008 Gainesville,FL Real Big Deal Fest

ear x-tacy - "live" in-store concerts

submitted by: bill ivester

for any of you in the general louisville area, ear x-tacy (according to paste magazine, one of the 17 coolest record stores in america) is known for having a wide range of in-store performances and the next few weeks are shaping up nicely...


Sarah Elizabeth Burkey was born and raised on Rural Route 4, Kevil, Kentucky. Her unique musical and literary compositions are born of this rich history. Sarah's work has been published in books and literary journals in the US and Europe. In 2007 Sarah's work was featured in the book reflections upon the 50th anniversary of Jack Kerouac's On the Road. 2007 found Sarah performing in Portugal, England, and across the US including a California tour.



In a world littered with disposable pop Missy Higgins is a welcome relief.. passionate, sincere and proudly Australian.

The 23 year old singer/songwriter from Melbourne has enjoyed phenomenal success in her homeland in spite - or perhaps because - of shunning the usual synthetic packaging and tabloid tackiness. Instead she's adopted a more timeless approach, relying on her undeniable songs and unforgettable live performances to build a genuine and gimmick free connection with her audience.



Last Days at the Lodge is Amos Lee's third record, following his first two critically-acclaimed and tremendously successful records, Supply and Demand (2006) and his 2005 self-titled debut. The new record is produced by Don Was, and features Lee on guitars, Doyle Bramhall, Jr. (Eric Clapton) on guitar, Spooner Oldham (Neil Young, Aretha Franklin) ..s, Pino Palladino (The Who, D'Angelo) on bass, and James Gadson (Bill Withers) on drums, along with many others.



If you haven’t already heard of Hayes Carll, you soon will. In the three years since his self-released second album, Little Rock became available, Carll has toured relentlessly in North America and abroad (performing over two hundred shows a year), founded a successful singer-songwriter music festival on the Gulf Coast of Texas, secured a record deal with Lost Highway Records, and has even seen Little Rock become the first self-released album to reach #1 on the Americana Music Chart. He’s only getting started.

On his new album, Trouble In Mind, the 32 year-old Carll navigates his way through both stormy weather and calm, sun-drenched waters with ease, emerging with songs that melt even the hardest heart in town (a feat he manages on the plaintive, world-weary "Don't Let Me Fall") or heat up a roadhouse (like the ruggedly strutting "Wild as a Turkey"). Their impact is heightened by the fact that they're songs born of both immersion in the works of his songwriting heroes and plenty of real world experience.



Wild Sweet Orange’s Canvasback Music debut, WE HAVE CAUSE TO BE UNEASY, is a work of exquisite power, its songs propelled by edgy emotion and a cathartic yearning for connection. Tracks such as “Ten Dead Dogs” and “Sour Milk” find the Birmingham, Alabama-based rock outfit honing an intimate and individualistic sound that veers unrestrained from aching intimacy to a turbulent, seething intensity. For singer and songwriter Preston Lovinggood, the album’s provocative title serves as both an ideal statement of intent as well as a strong assertion of identity.

“It’s being honest about who we are and where we’ve come from,” Lovinggood explains. “Our generation gets a little looked down upon for asking too many questions or complaining too much, but I think we have the right to ask those questions.

“It’s hopeful and weary at the same time,” he adds. “To be aware of the situation, to understand there is a cause, is a healthy place to be.”




i'm especially looking forward to wild sweet orange, i saw them on letterman a few weeks ago and they were really good, i've also been impressed with what's available on their myspace page. unfortunately, i'll miss amos lee, he's on the same night as an over the rhine concert in dayton, i've heard great things about him. sarah elizabeth burkey , missy higgins and hayes carll all sound pretty interesting, and i'm looking forward to hearing more. i'll probably pass on hawthorne heights, just sounds a little too "cool" and "popish" for my tastes.

many thanks to ear x for continuing to put this music out there!

and as always, support independent music.