Earwood, Vol. 1 Compilation: The Best of HearYa Live Sessions 2008 [Free Album]by OZ on JANUARY 8, 2009

2008 was a great year for live sessions, so we thought we’d kick off the new year with a compilation of some of our favorite tracks. Since Shirk’s blood and sweat are in the sessions, it was only fitting that he choose the set list. He did a great job and the 16-track digital album flows really well from start to finish. A big thanks to Beer Nuts for continuing to sponsor the sessions. Without them, these studio sessions wouldn’t be possible.

So please, if you’re going to eat nuts, make them Beer Nuts. I do and I’m really sweet.

While HearYa + Beer Nuts = Love , we also recognize that the audio tags that mention the sponsorship might get a little intrusive between each song in a straight-through listen. Thus, we’re offering these tracks without commercial interruption for your listening pleasure. Furthermore, several tracks have been mixed and re-mastered by Shirk to give your ears a bit more wood.

And that’s a not so subtle segue into the album title and cover art. Drinking Buddy has been lobbying for HearYa to use the tagline “Give Your Ears a Boner” for quite some time and Woody describes most music like an erection, using phrases like “this is bonerific!” or “I have a chubbaroo!” I’m sure he’d prefer to use a simple 5 boner rating system for album reviews, but my duty as editor is to class it up a bit.

After exchanging emails with a reader after a contest submission, I noticed some fancy illustrations and asked if he could make a visual representation of an ear with an erection. He said he could and also suggested using “wood” instead of “boner.” Genius! In all seriousness though, Sean’s artwork came out great and we thank him for his time.

I hope you enjoy the first volume of Earwood. Thanks for reading, thanks for commenting, and thanks for having great taste in music. Let’s continue supporting bands by attending shows, buying music, and spreading the good word.

Download Earwood, Vol. 1 (It Don’t Cost Nuthin’).

The set list:

Sam Champion - LorraineJoe Pug - Hymn 101
Morning Benders - Last Today
The Everybodyfields - The Only King
Dead Confederate - All The Angels
The Acorn - Flood Pt1
Justin Townes Earle - Lone Pine Hill
Jukebox The Ghost - Good Day
Samantha Crain - Rising Sun
AA Bondy - World Without End
Langhorne Slim - Cut It Down
Port O’Brien - Is This Really What It’s Come To
The Explorer’s Club - If You Go
Matthew Ryan - Dolce Et Decorum Est
Backyard Tire Fire - How The Hell Did We Get Back Here
Tom Schraeder & His Ego - Which Excludes You


http://www.hearya.com/2009/01/08/earwood-vol-1-compilation-the-best-of-hearya-live-sessions-2008/

Be sure to check out shows out and I hope to see you in your city very soon. - Tom

TOP FIVE ALBUMS 2008 5. The Bronx - The Bronx III I don’t know whether it’s the fact this is the third album from the Bronx to be called The Bronx, the fact they also perform as a mariachi band covering their own songs, that singer Matt Cauchtran sounds like he has been living on a diet of Marlborough Reds and razor blades since birth, or that their unpredictable live shows just have you utterly hooked from the moment they play a note, but The Bronx slays me every time they put out a new record. This one is no exception. Simply one of the most non-bullshit, exciting bands in rock - period. Mariachi El Bronx 4. The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound Although in danger of overhype now, it's no wonder The Gaslight Anthem will most likely feature on many rock folks' favorite lists this year - like Social D covering Bruce Springsteen, the album was fresh because the songs sounded like they had already been around forever. Euphoric punk with a nostalgic edge, The '59 Sound was a great intro to the masses for a great band. 3. Tom Schraeder & His Ego - Lying Through Dinner EP Disappointed with Ryan Adams’ latest effort? As a fan since his Whiskeytown days, so was I. Luckily, discovering singer songwriter Tom Schraeder this year pedaling his raw, bittersweet alt country made up for it. With songwriting as strong as the drinks you'll join him for in the bar afterwards, he's an old soul in a deliciously hype-free new talent, and looks set to be as prolific as Adams, but ironically given his band's moniker, without the ego. 2. Jack's Mannequin - The Glass Passenger I was never a Something Corporate fan. I appreciated it, but I just felt Andrew McMahon was capable of more. And I was right - his next project Jack's Mannequin reached an all time high this year with the release of The Glass Passenger. Honest songwriting from someone who has something to say is rare, and with this album he really won me (and a shitload of others) over. As Andrew has proved, a talent like this can survive anything. 1. Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs Emerging gracefully from the inevitable backlash from being unwittingly thrust into the limelight through the O.C. and signing to a major, Death Cab evolved so beautifully that their gradual and subtle ascension to the top of the charts might have gone unnoticed if it weren’t that Death Cab are so godamn good they have been rightly unavoidable in 2008. And "I Will Possess your Heart" has to be a contender for one of the best singles in its genre all year, if not all time. Stunning.

Here is our list of TOP 30 RECORDS of 2008! Drum .............................. Roll............................................................ Please.................................................................................. 30 SLT / THE WAY OF THE BUFFALO / LIMEY JAM 29 COMPANY OF THIEVES / TOURNIQUET EP / SR 28 RISE AGAINST / APPEAL TO REASON / GEFFEN 27 MUSIKANTO / GHOST PAIN / SR 26 CANASTA / WE WERE MIXED UP / SR 25 GRAMMAR / LOW / VIATOR 24 ALLA / ES TIEMPO / CRAMMED DISCS 23 THE 1900'S / (7" WHITE VINYL) / PARASOL 22 THE DIALS / AMOEBA AMORE / NO FUN RECORDS 21 THE INFRASONICS / SURFACE TO AIR / CAFFEINATED RECORDINGS 20 UNICYCLE LOVES YOU / UNICYCLE LOVES YOU / HIGHWHEEL RECORDS 19 LOCAL H / TWELVE ANGRY MONTHS / SHOUT FACTORY 18 RUE ROYALE / RUE ROYALE / SR 17 MAKE BELIEVE / BONE CHURCH / FLAMESHOVEL 16 MINNEAPOLIS HENRY'S / THE WAY OF THE ALBATROSS / GRAPE JUICE 15 JOE PUG / JOE PUG / JOE PUG MUSIC 14 THE PRAIRIE CARTEL / EP 1 & 2 / SR 13 PIT ER PAT / HIGH TIME / THRILL JOCKEY 12 MAHJONGG / KONTPAB / K RECORDS 11 CURTIS EVANS / MORE SONGS ABOUT LONELINESS / GRAPE JUICE 10 TOMS SCHRAEDER AND HIS EGO / LYING THROUGH DINNER / SR 09 INCHWORM / SHEEP IN WOLFS CLOTHING / SR 08 COOL KIDS / THE BAKE SALE / CAKE RECORDINGS 07 BRIGHTON MA / AMATEUR LOVERS / LOOSE TOOTH RECORDS 06 PRETTY GOOD DANCE MOVES / EEP / GORGEOUS GROUP 05 WALTER MEEGO / VOYAGER / ALMOST GOLD 04 BAILIFF / MM HMM / SR 03 BOUND STEMS / THE FAMILY AFLOAT / FLAMESHOVEL 02 CATFISH HAVEN / DEVASTATOR / SECRETLY CANADIAN 01 THE M'S / REAL CLOSE ONES / POLYVINYL

TOP 10 RELEASES BY CHICAGO BASED BANDS IN 2008 Tom Schraeder and His Ego, Lying Through Dinner EP On his latest EP Schraeder often mixes Americana with the feel of a humid New Orleans bordello. Boozy, swinging strains spill out of darkened nightclubs into puddle-splashed streets. Rouged nipples brush inches away from the unshaven crevices of a miner’s chin on the boozy sing-along “When You’re Not Around,” an excellent compliment to the soaring hopeful organ strains permeating “Guadalupe Cries.” Schraeder expertly mixes the dark with the light creating a chiaroscuro effect on his compositions.

As some of you may have seen, I removed the acoustic version of "Evil Eye" with a rough live version of "Carry On". It is unreleased and posted on our page as a hint towards what is to come on the next record that we are in pre production on. Hope you are as excited as I am. Talk soon and be sure to add it to your profile. Night.

- Tom

 

Austin 360 photo album of release show!

http://www.austin360.com/calendar/mediahub/media/slideshow/index.jsp?tId=124435 

This was a solo show but at last minute (three hours before the show) as a treat for all of our friends and fans in Austin, I invited almost every person who was on Lying Through Dinner to join me for three tunes. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to play it in April when His Ego and I head down there. See you then Austin. Next up, NY on the 24th for CMJ...

- Tom

Tom Schraeder Takes A Grand Step Forward

Tom Schraeder's new EP, Lying Through Dinner, displays a remarkable step forward for the young singer-songwriter. Previously we've compared Schraeder's gritty country tinged rock to a one man version of The Band, but here he takes our previous perception of his music and turns it on his head.

On the new EP Schraeder often mixes Americana with the feel of a humid New Orleans bordello. Boozy, swinging strains spill out of darkened nightclubs into puddle-splashed streets. Rouged nipples brush inches away from the unshaven crevices of a miner's chin on the boozy sing-along "When You're Not Around," an excellent compliment to the soaring hopeful organ strains permeating "Guadalupe Cries." Schraeder expertly mixes the dark with the light creating a chiaroscuro effect on his compositions.

- Jim Kopeny

I'm heading back to Austin for my cd release on Oct. 15 at the Mohawk with Dana Falconberry, Leatherbag, and many more special guests. Can't wait to see you there!

- Tom