listenlisten - Shall We Meet

part 1 - the lyrics of Hymns From Rhodesia

Murkville Music artist, listenlisten, opened up for Denton's Matthew and the Arrogant Sea on the third of four shows on the Monks Music Sessions series two weekends ago and we were able to catch up with Ben Godfrey, lead singer of listenlisten, and discuss with him just what the lyrics were all about concerning their upcoming debut full length, 'Hymns From Rhodesia.' This interview is the first of two parts, the second coming soon where Ben talks about the music of listenlisten and adapting the mood of the lyrics with the music of 'Hymns From Rhodesia.' Stay tuned for Matthew and the Arrogant Sea coverage as well as the final Monks Music Session coming up on August 22nd @ Monks starting at 7:30pm with Balmorhea, Bexar Bexar & Mom, all of which reside on the glorious Western Vinyl record label.

Nat Baldwin & His MVP Tour

Interview and performance at Monks

Nat Baldwin headlined the first of the four shows in the Monks Music Sessions series that kicked off last Saturday. We were able to sit down with Nat on camera and ask him about his time with the Dirty Projectors, how he began his path with the bowed up bass, the MVP tour, and what his thoughts were about West Texas. The next show is tomorrow with Sarah Jaffe & Sabra Laval: 7/19 @ Monks, 7:30pm.

Holy Tulsa Thunder OUT NOW!!

Available on iTunes, datapanic, eMusic, Amazon

July 8th 2008 marks the release date of Beau Jennings latest music record 'Holy Tulsa Thunder'. Here's a bit of what everyone is saying about it: Jennings songs tell stories at times and are poetic musings at other times. The highlight of the album, ‘San Juan Capistrano’ is probably the best example of the latter with lyrics like “And now my richest gain can only count for loss/I can’t stop shaking through the Stations of the Cross/I tip the bottle up I watch the spirits flow/They flow through San Juan Capistrano”. - Jersey Beat Jennings’ voice has the timbre of Jeff Tweedy. Overall, this is a fine collection if alt-country is your thing. There are some fine examples of said genre included on this recording. Take “Girl From Oklahoma” for instance, a song that was born in the country but has gotten used to living in the city. - Pop Matters There seem to be two hipster Nebraskas: the Conor Oberst scene (heartfelt, slightly precious), and the seminal lo-fi Springsteen disc, which has inspired a generation of bleak moods and raw tone. Jennings rightly aligns himself with the latter: This is a Brooklyn alt-folk suffused with old Midwest. -CNET datatpanic

"Holy Tulsa Thunder" Music Video

Tulsa Lost in Coney Island

A note from the Director, The video has been wrapped and here it is, the first single from Beau's new record the title track of the album, "Holy Tulsa Thunder." It was a quick two day shoot in New York that took roughly 15 hours to complete. I've been on a few music video shoots where they had extras during a live performance scene and I have to say I've never seen a crowd become MORE enthused as we replayed the song over and over again. Made our jobs much easier. Perhaps it's a testament to the song, or maybe to the beer. Without further ado, go watch the thang! I think next we'll shoot "San Juan Capistrano" in Norway. -Dustin Reid

And the 'Holy Tulsa Thunder' Rolls

Beau Jennings debut LP

Beau Jennings had a record in the back of his mind for a long time that he knew he'd eventually make. That record has finally been made. Holy Tulsa Thunder says Beau is, "the record I've always been wanting to make," of which he teamed up with some of his best friends to do so: James McAllister (Sufjan Stevens, Pedro The Lion), Ryan Lindsey (The Starlight Mints) & Jeff Shoop (Rosie Thomas, Ester Drang), it drops on our Murkville Music label June 24th. Beau has mostly operated in out of different band names and currently still frontman of Norman founded now Brooklyn based band Cheyenne. Cheyenne has been a favorite of mine dating back to the early days of Silence Magazine. In fact there's an old review of former Silence writer DJ Short basically claiming Cheyenne's I Am Haunted, I Am Alive and Beau Jennings to most certainly be the next big thing in the indie-folk circuit. It has most certainly been a roller coaster ride since then but we believe Beau's songwriting has the weight to catch a lot of peoples attention. Let's face it, Beau is authentic, he's a Brooklyn resident from Oklahoma whose songwriting refuses to become a Yankee. We think that this time around Holy Tulsa Thunder might finally gain the attention Beau has deserved for a long time - what we saw long, long ago.

Space City Rock talks to listenlisten

New Album, Appalachian Background

Recently, listenlisten did an interview with Space City Rock.

"Okay, so what the hell am I supposed to make of these listenlisten folks, anyway? They're a cryptic bunch, playing live only sporadically, keeping a low profile in the Houston scene, capitalizing their name a ridiculous number of ways -- over the past few years, I've seen Listen Listen, listenlisten, LISTEN!LISTEN!, and ListenListen!, myself -- and then releasing a beautifully-done self-titled EP this past year that's a CD sleeve glued to a slice of honest-to-god wood with the band's name (and EP title) burned into it. (And yes, I'm assuming it's a limited-edition deal, because I can't imagine that kind of thing's real mass-producable.)" [read full story]

Sarah Jaffe

Interview and Performance at Monks

Sarah Jaffe is just waiting on her EP to arrive. Entitled, 'Even Born Again,' she spoke during her interview about her wishes to tour with Micah P Hinson after the record comes out next month. In the video she talks about her move, and love for Denton, TX, what she's currently listening to and how she hopes the EP stays true to her demos but yet obtaining an orchestral feel. This was the second show of four Monks Music Sessions this summer, the next being tomorrow with fellow Dentonite's Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, along with our very own listenlisten: 7/26 @ Monks, 7:30pm.

Monks Music Sessions

Summer Concert Series in Abilene

Summer has been here for a while, but the Monks Music Sessions starts tomorrow with Nat Baldwin (Dirty Projectors) and One Wolf. The following shows will be on July 19th, 26th & August 22nd. As usual, A Silence Production is attempting to provide an entrainment alternative to what is typically found in the dusty regions of West Texas. All the shows are extremely affordable: $5 every night or $10 for ticket to all four shows. Speaking of the other shows, the full lineup below: Sat. 7/12 - Nat Baldwin (Dirty Projectors) w/ One Wolf Sat. 7/19 - Sarah Jaffe w/ Sabra Laval Sat. 7/26 - Matthew and the Arrogant Sea w/ listenlisten Fri. 8/22 - Balmorhea w/ Bexar Bexar & Mom (Western Vinyl Showcase) *all shows doors at 7:30pm | Monks - 233 Cypress Street, Abilene, TX 79601

Monks SXSW Pre-Party

Phosphorescent + Murkville

SXSW is in town this week and living in Texas is no different from previous years. Even if you don't live in Austin you are going to get some great spill over shows near your area. Although that hasn't always been the case for little old Abilene, Texas, this year A Silence Production was here to rope a few of 'em in. Two Dead Ocean label bands (part of the Secretly Canadian JagJaguwar trinity) Phosphorescent and Bowerbirds headline our pre-party along with Murkville recording artists Listen!Listen! and Beau Jennings' band Cheyenne. Lead singer Beau Jennings is fresh off recording a solo record for A Silence Production's record label Murkville Music and is looking forward to his Abilene and Monks debut. Expected to play a few from both Cheyenne's latest record The Whale & the solo record Holy Tulsa Thunder this should be your thing if you like anything close to Ryan Adams. As for the rest expect dark, sometimes sparse, sometimes orchestral, sometimes quirky, folk tales that will weigh on your mind.
-Doctor Jones

Puddlegum Streams Holy Tulsa Thunder

and asks Beau some easy questions

Puddlegum 2.0 made Beau a topic of conversation while having a conversation with him. See why Beau wanted to do a solo record for so long as well as stream the whole new record!

"Beau Jennings and his band, Cheyenne, relocated last year from Oklahoma to Brooklyn. After the band transitioned into their new community, Cheyenne released an ep and a full-length called The Whale , as Jennings worked as an architect.

Not only did Beau Jennings work towards his band’s debut, he also began working on a solo project. Backed up by James McAlister (Sufjan Stevens), Jeff Shoop (Rosie Thomas), and Ryan Lindsey (Starlight Mints), and mastered by TW Walsh (Pedro the Lion, The Soft Drugs), Beau Jennings has recorded an album called Holy Tulsa Thunder that should grab attention." [read full story]