Jeffersonville signer-songwriter hosting record release Friday

Local singer-songwriter Nick Dittmeier is hosting a record release party for a new EP “Extra Better” on Friday, May 17.

Dittemer, an alt-country artist from Jeffersonville, is joined on the EP by Alex Plamp, bass, Paul Dittmeier, pedal steel and Eric Baldwin, drums.

“Extra Better” has a distinct country flavor with a pop sensibility. Dittmeier bridges the gap between the two by infusing pop melodies with a country-style jam band.

The record release party will be held at Monkey Wrench, 1025 Barret Ave., in Louisville. Doors open at 8:30 p.m.

Forecaslte showcasing Kentucky’s spirit

LOUISVILLE– The Forecastle Festival is bringing a slice of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail directly to its fans.

The three-day arts, music and activism festival will  feature a lineup of bourbon offerings in an expanded Bourbon Lodge and a bourbon-inspired culinary experience during this year’s event.

The Bourbon Lodge will feature more than 12 Kentucky bourbon brands, and more than 30 bourbon selections, including Four Roses, Maker’s Mark, Woodford Reserve, Old Forrester, Early Times, Willet, Old Pogue, Heaven Hill, Corsair Distillery, Wild Turkey, Town Branch and Jim Beam, among others.

Guests will also have the opportunity to engage in an exclusive culinary experience called SMOKED, a southern soul food experience imagined by Jim ‘N Nicks famous southern barbeque and Chef Ed Lee of Milkwood.

“I’ve never met a bourbon I didn’t like,” Lee said in a press release. Combined with Jim ‘N Nick’s guiding principle of “low and slow” the chefs have created SMOKED, a pop-up culinary experience available only at the Bourbon Lodge. It will feature a one-time-only menu from Lee’s newest restaurant, Milkwood, and the South’s best BBQ, Jim ‘N Nicks.

Master Distillers and bourbon experts will also be on hand to discuss all things bourbon.

While bourbons will be served neat or on the rocks to engender a true tasting experience, the Bourbon Lodge will also feature a mixology station –presented by Liquor Barn– that will offer cocktail creations ranging from Manhattans to Mint Juleps.

In addition to the Bourbon Lodge, the Forecastle Festival will also feature three specialty bourbon bars throughout the festival.

Two ways fans can enjoy all of the perks of this year’s Bourbon Lodge are: for $5 fans will gain entry into the Lodge and receive five tickets worth $1 to be used to purchase food and drinks inside the Lodge. Fans can re-enter the Lodge by showing a ticket, but if fans are out of tickets, a minimum purchase of five tickets is required to re-enter. The second option is to become an official member of the Bourbon Lodge.
For $10 fans will gain entry into the Lodge and receive five tickets, again worth $1. Official members will also receive a commemorative Bourbon Lodge double walled, steel mug from Eco Vessel, while supplies last. The mug will allow official members to re-enter the Bourbon Lodge at any time throughout the weekend, with or without tickets

You Must be 21-years-old or older to participate.

Full Bourbon Lodge details including pricing, membership and more, can be found at www.forecastlefest.com.

Soundgarden plays sold-out show in Louisville: muddled sound dampens performance

 

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Photos by C. Michael Stewart

By BRADEN LAMMERS

Soundgarden hit the stage at the Louisville Palace on Friday to a sold-out venue and proceeded to play a furious hour and 40 minute set.

There was no opening act for the show. Everyone that attended was there for one reason: to listen to one of the 1990s iconic grunge bands. And the Seattle-based rockers fired out of the gate with two of their classic songs: “Spoonman” and “Jesus Christ Pose.”

They followed up with “By Crooked Steps,” off of the first album the group has released in more than a decade “King Animal.” Plenty of selections off the new album were smattered throughout the show. The band also reached deep into their catalog playing a few songs off of “Ultramega OK” and their debut EP “Screaming Life,” released in 1987.

At their best Friday night, Soundgarden had the look and feel of a band playing a large club show. Raw, loud, no pretense in their presentation. It was simply hard rock-and-roll.

One of the best songs of the night was “Outshined,” off of “Badmotorfinger.”

Guitarist Kim Thayil was stoic on stage and brilliant on guitar throughout the show. Chris Cornell, somehow, was able to howl his way through the whole main set and the four-song encore.

But the disappointment was that the highlights did not carry the show.

The band was so loud — granted it should be, it’s a rock show — that the sound became muddled. Instead of a loud rock-and-roll band, a wall of noise indiscriminately forced its way through the crowd.

Had they turned down the volume a touch, or remixed the sound, it would have offered the audience a clearer, crisper version of what was presented to Louisville’s Soundgarden fans.

When the group did come out for the encore, they again played with energy and passion. However, they ended the show with a bizarre, nearly 10-minute session of getting feedback to pour out of the amplifiers by strategically placing their instruments next to them.

One-by-one, the band walked off stage to a wall of sound.

 

Rye Launches free summer music series

Rye, a restaurant in Louisville’s East Market district, is hosting free concert series throughout the summer.

The second season of the Back Porch Sessions will be held every third Thursday, from May through September, in Rye’s parking lot at 900 E. Market St.

The Back Porch Sessions are intended to expose local artists and create a place for the community to gather around food and music, according to a press release.

The first session will be held May 16 and features three emerging Louisville artists, the psychedelic synth pop of The Pass, the invincible hip hop of Jalin Roze and one very special guest that has not been announced. The special guest theme will continue throughout the Back Porch Sessions along with the amazing food and beverages that were a staple of last year’s events, according to the release.

Guests from 2012 included Houndmouth, My Morning Jacket’s Patrick Hallahan and Ben Sollee.

Headliners for upcoming Back Porch Sessions include A Lion Named Roar on June 13, Discount Guns on July 18, Whistle Peak on August 15 and an unnamed headliner for the finale on September 19.

A full schedule and more information is available at http://backporchsessions.com; or for news and special guests unveilings throughout the summer like Back Porch Sessions on Facebook.

Grunge is king again: Soundgarden playing the Palace Friday

By BRADEN LAMMERS

Grunge is back, at least for a night.

One of Seattle’s finest, Soundgarden, is set to play the Louisville Palace Friday night with the band’s full lineup.

The band first reunited in 2010 and released “Telephantasm,” a compilation album, following a hiatus that lasted more than a decade. The band broke up after a tour in 1997.

Soundgarden, with Chris Cornell, vocals, Kim Thayil, guitar, Ben Shephard, bass, and Matt Cameron, drums, is touring on the back of its first new album since the mid-1990s, “King Animal.”

During the band’s extended break each dabbled with separate projects. Cornell worked on a solo project and then went on to be the frontman for Audioslave, which enjoyed its own level of success. Cameron joined Pearl Jam and was the bands drummer on several albums, while Thayil worked on several different compilations with other artists. But through a decade of side projects, the former members of Soundgarden were still tied together.

And despite the group’s success throughout the 1990s, including a number one album “Superunknown,” Soundgarden is often placed behind its contemporaries Nirvana and Pearl Jam.

But musically, the band certainly earned its place among its peers.

Friday’s audience at the Louisville Palace can expect Soundgarden, which often treaded the border between hard rock and grunge, to play a host of its classic songs and new tracks off of “King Animal.”

The crunching backbeat, Cornell’s unmistakable caterwaul and Thayil’s brilliant guitar riffs are sure to delight the crowds looking to be transported back to the Seattle grunge scene.

More Forecastle additions

The Forecastle Festival announced several additional acts will join the lineup for the three-day music, arts and activism festival in Louisville’s Waterfront Park.

Friday’s additions include locally-based Houndmouth and Roadkill Ghost Choir, an indie, folk-rock band. Two DJs will join the Saturday lineup, Nosaj Thing and AMTRAC. And on Sunday, Dan Deacon and Wild Feathers will join the slate of artists playing the festival.

For more information visit www.forecastlefest.com.

Houndmouth shines at Iroquois

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Photos by C. Michael Stewart

By BRADEN LAMMERS

Before they ever took the stage at Iroquois Amphitheater Friday, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer declared it Houndmouth Day.

The Southern Indiana band has booked gigs this summer like the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Lollapalooza, Outside Lands Festival and, as they announced during the show Friday night, the Forecastle Festival.

Matt Myers, vocals and guitar, Katie Toupin, keyboards and vocals, Zak Appleby, bass, and Shane Cody, drums, have only been playing together as a band for about a year-and-a-half.

And Houndmouth is still yet to release a full-length album.

So why does a New Albany four-piece elicit all of this attention? I found out Friday; and I also found out it is well-deserved.

Houndmouth opened the summer schedule at Iroquois Amphitheater Friday night with Ranger and Joe Pug.

As the band began playing to the hometown crowd, about half of the audience that filled the lower bowl of Iroquois Amphitheater, and spilled into the second tier, got out of their seats. By the time the song was finished everyone was standing. The audience didn’t sit down for the rest of the show.

The second song out of the gate was “On the Road,” the first single off the band’s forthcoming album, “From the Hills Below the City.”

What was immediately evident with Houndmouth is they’re young, they’re talented and they were having as much fun as the crowd.

Houndmouth is an indie-rock band with a heavy folk influence. They produce a well-rounded, full sound with outstanding harmonies. But they don’t let the folky-rock get stale.

About halfway through the set, the blues came out in the band. The switch was marked by “Houston Train” where Toupin took over on lead vocals.

Houndmouth followed it up by playing a Grace Potter and the Nocturnals cover, where the band swapped which instruments they were playing and took turns singing verses of “I Shall Be Released.”

Each of the band’s members had their turn at the mic which also helped keep the sound fresh and distinct. But for the majority of the songs Myers acts as the sing-songy frontman.

After bringing Ranger and Joe Pug back out on stage to close the set, Houndmouth came out for an encore which included maybe their most well-known song “Penitentiary.”

Well-known might still be a stretch.

It’s unique to go to a performance and not know the majority of songs a band is playing and leave a fan. Houndmouth has that ability.

While it might also be true that they are better known locally, it will soon not be the case. Jump on the bandwagon now, so you can say you knew them when. The ride this band is on is not going to end anytime soon.

“From the Hills Below the City” is set to be released June 4.