As Paste.com and Pitchfork.com reported earlier this week, Peter and Mike recently recorded demos in Portland, Oregon, with producer Jacknife Lee (Accelerate) and engineer Tucker Martine (The Decembrists). The sessions yielded 14 instrumental tracks which Peter describes as running the sonic gamut from “pretty acoustic things, some really total noisy rock, and some kind of poppy stuff.” Read the full interview here and visit Paste’s article for more photos.
In other news, Michael guests on indie chanteuse Maria Taylor’s lovely “Cartoons and Forever Plans,” the latest single from the Birmingham native’s excellent album Ladyluck :
David Belisle, noted photographer, author of R.E.M. Hello, and R.E.M.’s esteemed band assistant when on tour, tells popphoto.com about his favorite photograph from his book in this article…
If you’re in the area on May 31, be sure to stop by the Hoboken International Film Festival for their screening of Favorite Son, which features two songs by Mike. One of the songs, Gift of the Fathers, is played over the closing credits. For more information on the film, please visit favoritesonmovie.com
Four concerts, a film, and a discussion will celebrate the impressive legacy of Joe Boyd’s 1960s Witchseason Productions. Joe, who produced R.E.M.’s Fables of the Reconstruction will curate each of the events, beginning with this weekend’s Birmingham functions:
May 16: Birmingham Town Hall, 4.30pm. Showing of A Skin Too Few
May 16: Birmingham Town Hall, 7.30pm. Way To Blue: The Songs of Nick Drake
May 17: Birmingham Town Hall, 4.30pm. Joe Boyd in Conversation featuring Robyn Hitchcock
July 18: Barbican London, 7.30pm. An All-Star Fairport Convention Concert
July 19: Barbican London, 7.30pm. The music of the Incredible String Band
Click here for more information.