we'll rise this sunken ship out of the lake.

and it's not too late
(augustines rise ye sunken ships)

My favorite band at the 2009 Capitol Hill Block Party was, quite unexpectedly, a group I had never even heard of. They were named Pela, and I was mesmerized by their songs and stage presence. I think that I even compared them to Pearl Jam, which is no small praise from me. I liked them so much that I not only bought their album, but I also read every interview I could find and watched all their videos on youtube. However, soon after this Pela announced that they were breaking up. I think that I remember them saying something about a record deal that had fallen through (they had several songs for a new album, if I recall correctly).

Fast forward a year and a half to last Friday. I was driving to work, listening to KEXP when I heard a familiar song that I recognized as "Philadelphia" by Pela (I had downloaded a live performance podcast from KEXP and listened to that song on repeat approximately a million times during that year and a half). After the song, John Richards said that indeed it was Pela (or 2 of the members of that group) who were now known as Augustines. After work, I came home and devoured everything I could find about this group; I listened to their live session on KEXP (which you can listen to here and which I can't recommend nearly enough) and spent hours watching the three videos I could find of them on youtube over and over. During the interview with KEXP, the lead singer Billy talks about his brother who had a mental illness, was in prison, and ended up committing suicide.



Admittedly, I have a weakness for charismatic lead singers and Billy McCarthy is definitely one. Yeah he occasionally makes funny faces while he is playing and makes generous use of vocal fillers (the "come on, come on, come on's" and "hey-ya's") but I think that is what makes the songs sound so real and, dare I say, anthemic (is that a word?). When he sings, "Kid, I drove all night to tell you I love you," how can your heart not want to burst? I'd follow his voice anywhere. During their KEXP interview, Billy talks about the music community that they are a part of that helped them survive Pela's breakup, and how that community is totally outside of the music industry. I love them. And despite all that they went through, the fact that their new album is going to be called rise ye sunken ships says a lot about the group and about why I like them. I listen to music because it makes me feel - happy, sad, mad, frustrated.. but, ultimately, uplifted. And that is what these Augustine songs make me feel, ten-fold. That's a cliche, but I don't care because it's completely true.

Here's another video from that Augustine's show at the Middle East in Boston, just because I can't choose only one:



Please play in Seattle soon. John Richards from KEXP seems to love them, so that's a good start.

p.s. on their website they have a free download of Book of James as well as a promotional video for their new album that's pretty darn good. I think it was directed by someone from Seattle.

keep your head up kid

i know we can swim/ but you've gotta move your legs (pela, augustine)
the capitol hill block party 7/25/09




one of my favorite parts of living in seattle is all the summer festivals. even though they can be hot, sweaty and crowded, they are also, in my opinion, made of love. maybe i'm weird (and i'm quite certain that i am), but i enjoy wandering around aimlessly and getting lost in a crowd. i also really really enjoy discovering bands that are completely new to me but nonetheless re-ignite my excitement about live music (see: sleater kinney, minus the bear, blitzen trapper, kings of leon...) more on that later.

on saturday, i rarely had stretches longer than 15 minutes without music to listen to (not that it was always *good,* of course, but it was there). i also loved that, because i am over 21, i had the option of spending the hottest part of the day inside neumos, standing in front of a big fan and drinking free water (nothing beats free water).



my favorite band by far - and the one band i was really excited about seeing this year - was the thermals. they put on a great live show and never fail to put a smile on my face. hutch, the singer, doesn't talk much, which is actually kind of refreshing and their 3-minute long songs make for a really fast-paced show. they are also obviously fans of the early 90s - they played awesome covers of sappy by nirvana and basketcase by green day (full disclosure: both of which i was singing along with!) they ended with now we can see, and the song began with the drummer joining hutch and kathy for the hand-clapping part and then waving to the crowd before racing back to the drum set to play the rest of the song. the rain that had been threatening to fall also started during this song, and seeing live music while rain falls and breaks the heat wave is now crossed off my list of life goals. people all around me were like children, opening their mouthes and trying to catch some of the rain. it was great!

so now back to the band that i unexpectedly fell in love with - pela, who are from new york city. go figure that all the bands i enjoyed were ones that the stranger didn't like (unless it's a good thing to say that the "lead singer is a balloon... filled not with helium or pee but with serious emotions." uh, ok). i was kind of surprised to find that they have only been a band for a few years, because, honestly, the way that they played and fed off the crowd made it seem to me that they had been around forever. and while i was watching them, i decided that the kind of music i really love is rock n' roll that makes me smile and want to clap my hands - music that sounds like it was made to play in an outdoor ampitheatre on a hot summer night. kind of like - dare i say it? - pearl jam. if that is uncool, so be it. and, yes, i am comparing pela to my favorite band. the stranger would probably agree - after all, their description of pela's singer could easily be applied to eddie vedder.


upon further exploration, it seems that pela is a favorite at KEXP. (and where was i last summer when they played at one of the free shows at the mural ampitheatre? argh). there are no less than 3 in-studio performances to listen to, each one better than the last. i especially like the acoustic performance from this past may, which suggests to me that they may be coming out with a new album soon(!!) their tour page doesn't list any upcoming shows, but they seemed to like playing in seattle (the lead singer kept smiling at the crowd and said this is such a rock n' roll town! i love it!) and i hope they'll be back soon. i will definately be there.


be yourself, every one else is already taken - from the bathroom in neumos.