#andiecunniffe

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Foo Fighters at Deluna Fest

Pensacola, FL

September 2012

Photos by Andie Cunniffe

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Best Coast at the Social Orlando

July 2012 All photos by Andie Cunniffe

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The Gasparilla Music Festival celebrated its second birthday on March 9th.  Lord Huron, lead by Michigan-based Ben Scheider, is still early in his career. After releasing a trio of EPs in 2010, Schneider released his debut record Lonesome Dreams this year. The new record explores themes of the Old West and self discovery. The Guardian described Schneider's style in the debut effort as "a folk-rock Thoreau", and Consequence of Sound described the record as "impressionistic, world-bent Americana" with inspirations from Animal Collective. Lord Huron made a stop at Gasparilla Music Festival before playing California's coveted Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival later this year.

The festival's national artists also included California's Best Coast. Their surf-rock inspired songs of yearning and romance earned the title of 'Best New Music' from Pitchfork Media. Their second album, 2012's The Only Placereceived less critical acclaim, but it did help the band land a tour opening for Green Day.

It seemed almost inevitable for Dr Dog to play Gasparilla Music Festival this year. After a cancelled tour date at the State Theater last November, this opportunity seemed an ideal return for the band to the Bay Area. Their indie psychedelic sound brought the enormous crowd together as the band played tracks from across their discography.  Not to be out-done, the festival's climax and come-down was delivered by official headliners The Meter Men featuring Page McConnell. McConnell, formerly of acclaimed jam-band Phish, joined established New Orleans funk band The Meter Men have been playing since the 1960s and performed with Dr John, Robert Palmer and Sir Paul McCartney.

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Big Harp are one of the cutest bands to come out of Omaha, Nebraska. Straddling the line between being musicians and parents, the band has been known to take their children on tour with them.  Well indoctrinated in the Saddle Creek music scene, married couple Stefani Drootin-Senseney and her husband Chris Senseney have played with many famous Saddle Creek artists including The Good Life and Bright Eyes. Taking a chance on a project of their own, Big Harp have recently released their second albumChain Letters. Experimenting with their style, Stefani Drootin-Senseney admitted, “we’re still learning a lot about playing together now, so it’s been a positive experience.” This sentiment is important to the band, giving sway to the importance of artistic freedom rather than limiting goals. Lead singer Chris Senseney noted that “I feel like in some ways we’re still kind of trying to figure out what kind of band we are. And I hope we never figure it out, because it’s fun just kinda stumbling along and going wherever it takes us.”   And the stumbling has gotten Big Harp recognized on a national level. Their new album Chain Letters was streaming on AV Club and their hit “You Can’t Save ‘Em All” was available for download on Rolling Stone, and their music video for “Everybody Pays” premiered exclusively on the Independent Film Channel (IFC). The band is currently touring the country in support of their new record, Chain Letters.   Read 206 times

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Matt Pond’s sound is evocative of 70s California folk music scene. His music is tends to focus on an effortlessly harmonic sound that often deals with relationships and personal struggle. Starting out in the late 90s, some of Matt Pond’s first shows involved opening for indie rock bands such as Superchunk.   Growing up in New York, Pond lived near the infamous Bearsville Records, where he would eventually record his own albums. Set against the trends and angst of the music of New York City, Matt Pond’s sound is largely inspired by The Band. His dream tour would involve opening for legendary musicians like “John Lennon and Harry Nillson.” After producing several acclaimed records, Pond made it clear that he is still honing his craft, “I just want to do one thing well, and I’m waiting for that one.”

His new record, The Lives Inside The Lines In Your Hand was released on February 5 was reviewed by Pasteand Consequence of Sound.  The release coincided with a tour with fellow New York-via-Philadelphia folk band Jukebox the Ghost.  Read 218 times

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Desaparecidos is the post-punk side project of Saddle Creek scene leader Conor Oberst. After recording several solo efforts, as well as a few records with indie bands Bright Eyes and Commander Venus, Oberst and some of his childhood friends decided that they needed a political outlet. Many of the songs on their debut record Read Music/Speak Spanish critique consumerism, corporate greed, and the development of their native Omaha. As sharp as their commentary might have been, many of the addressed issues have (arguably) intensified since the album’s 2002 release. This album could easily be a contender for getting the Pitchfork’s revisionist memory treatment, as Desaparecidos’ album Read Music/Speak Spanish initially received a mere 4.6 review. After all, Desaparecidos isn’t the only indie staple of the early 2000s that is coming back.  However, the band doesn’t abandon the more human themes either. In our discussion with the band’s guitarist Denver Dalley, he mentioned that “obviously Bright Eyes is way more intimate, but I think we touch on some of that stuff, like damaged goods.”   The band’s recent return has gotten attention for speaking out about current issues, such as Arizona’s immigration policy, Occupy, the Anonymous hactivist movement as well as the changing nature of the music industry. Desparecidos will be headlining at The Beacham in Orlando on Feb 19, you can find more information here.  Read 275 times

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Welcome to our new column, examining the best new tracks in college radio. There’s a lot of good music (and singles) out this week so let’s get started. You can listen to these songs in playlist form by subscribing to the Bulls Radio Music Youtube channel. Read 221 times

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The Tall Firs were chosen to support the ever-elusive Jeff Mangum on his comeback tour. The band, including Aaron Mullan and Dave Miles, have been friends since they were in middle school. While people’s tastes change a lot over the course of twenty years, the band’s music has been compared to Sonic Youth and folky shoegaze. Their third album,Out of It and Into It will be released later this year. Read 181 times