Britta Phillips’s recommendation: “Papercuts are from San Francisco and will be opening for us in L.A. & SF next week! (Nov. 11th & 13th – tour details here). They have a gorgeous, lo-fi retro sound that is both beautiful and sad. There is an edgy melancholy to it that is bittersweet in the way Galaxie 500 is, but they sound like themselves, like they’re transmitting from their own far-away planet. I wasn’t sure if it was a boy or girl singing at first which was cool.”
If you are new to Papercuts, Britta recommends you start with the You Can Have What You Want album.
MP3: John Brown by Papercuts
About our guest author, Britta Phillips: Britta Phillips is the beautiful female half of Dean and Britta. Both Britta and her band partner, Dean Wareham, were members of critic fave Luna and the duo has been doing very cool things since they formed in 2005. Most recently, the band was commissioned by the Andy Warhol museum to perform while Andy’s silent screen tests were projected. The songs from that record are now available as a double CD titled 13 Most Beautiful. Equally cool is the duo’s appearance on Nick Jr.’s Yo Gabba Gabba! (awesome video below). Be sure to check the Dean and Britta web site for tour dates and know that on some of the dates, the band will be doing exclusive sets of Galaxie 500 tunes or the Warhol inspired tunes. AMAZING.
About our guest author, Steven Page: After co-leading The Barenaked Ladies for 20 years, Steven Page set off on his own and has since been quite prolific as he composed the score for three productions at Canada’s Stratford Shakespeare Festival. Before the amicable split with BNL, he released his first solo album, Vanity Project
. Five years and several collaboration records later, Steven Page recently released an album of cover songs, A Singer Must Die (we love his take on Elvis Costello’s I Want You) and another solo recording, Page One, both which are available on http://www.stevenpage.com/. Be sure to check that link for a list of tour dates. Don’t miss the chance to see one of the great pop vocalists of our time.
About our guest author, Matt Bishop: Matt is the lead singer and guitar player for Hey Marseilles, the Seattle based 7 piece ensemble that has been aptly labeled as the ‘Lil’ Decemberists’ by Seattle Weekly. The band’s 2008 release To Travels & Trunks
caught the attention of Sound Magazine as they named them one of the “Top 10 Bands to Watch for 2008.” The band most recently re-mastered and re-released their rookie record, performed at Bumbershoot and landed a spot on the Starbucks Sweethearts compilation. Be sure to check their website for news and tour dates.
MP3: Rio by Hey Marseilles