The Thanksgiving edition of the Local Spins music news roundup is a feast for the ears — and the stomach — with tasty nuggets about The Appleseed Collective, The Soil & The Sun and Star Darts.
The Appleseed Collective got a boost this week from The Huffington Post.
THANKSGIVING SALUTE: APPLESEED COLLECTIVE GETS HUFFINGTON POST LOVE FOR ‘PUMPKIN PIE’
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Michigan’s Appleseed Collective has found a unique Thanksgiving tie to help market its music … and its scrumptious pie recipe.
And it all got the attention of The Huffington Post.
The Ann Arbor-based Americana/folk band’s next single from its upcoming new album is a slice of holiday-hued fare titled, “Pumpkin Pie,” which singer, banjo player and songwriter Katie Lee says inspired the group’s publicist, Green Light Go, to contact The Huffington Post about premiering the tune.
And it did just that earlier this week (as part of a story that included interviews with Elvis Costello and Twenty One Pilots), along with posting Lee’s recipe for a gluten-free pumpkin pie.
A self-described “foodie,” Lee told HP that the pie paean represents “a playful song of opposites and learning to love someone because of your differences,” hence lines like: We don’t match up like pumpkin and pie, but you’re the apple of my eye.
The single is aimed at giving fans a taste of The Appleseed Collective’s new material and getting “as much buzz about the new album going as possible.” The release of the “Young Love” album is set for Jan. 21, just before the band performs at the prestigious Ann Arbor Folk Festival.
“We’re excited about the Huffington Post article and hope it gets some new folks to hear our music,” Lee tells Local Spins. “We’re also hoping that the title of the song gets us a little extra attention since we’re coming up on Thanksgiving.” And it has.
HITTING THE BULLSEYE: GRAND RAPIDS’ STAR DARTS BUILD NATIONAL AUDIENCE BEFORE PLAYING FIRST GIG
The Star Darts
If you haven’t heard of The Star Darts, you soon will.
The Grand Rapids pop-tinged punk band featuring members from West Michigan alt-country/Americana outfit Dutch Henry has yet to perform live and hasn’t even officially released its first album.
But already songs from the upcoming “Shooting Star Darts” debut album recorded in Grand Rapids have gotten airplay on Internet radio and college stations across the country, with the fledgling band signing a contract with Toronto’s Attack Media Group and landing a distribution deal with Universal.
“I had some songs that I wanted to record,” guitarist and singer Todd Long tells Local Spins. “We started recording in June: I played drums, rhythm guitar and sang on the record. I asked a few of my friends to play on it. I hired a college radio promoter. It started getting interest. I got us on all these Internet radio stations.”
That led to a management deal and a video shoot even though the band has yet to play its first gig, partly because it’s still looking for a drummer. As Long puts it, “Kind of a backwards way of doing it, but whatever works.”
The “strange, unique story” continues as promotion of the EP ramps up over the next two months with “official” retail release in January.
“Overall, the response has been really positive so far. There are a lot of stations that have the record in rotation, and a lot of them that have it going strong already which is great,” Long says. “Over the next few weeks things should be picking up.”
The Soil and The Sun
WISH YOU WERE HERE: THE SOIL AND THE SUN TAKE MICHIGAN-BRED FOLK TO WEST COAST
West Michigan’s The Soil & The Sun continue to make a dent nationally with their Michigan-made “experiential, spiritual orchestral rock.”
Already having earned plaudits for their appearances at the South by Southwest conference/festival in Austin, Texas, earlier this year and repeated citations by Paste magazine as a band “on the rise,” the seven-piece Grand Rapids folk-rock ensemble is now taking the West Coast by storm.
In the midst of a western tour that hit venues earlier this week in Los Angeles, Santa Monica and San Diego, Calif., the group begins its return trek home with stops on Friday in Arizona and Saturday in New Mexico (appropriate considering band members sometimes refer to their approach as “New Mexican space music”).
“The tour has been going really well,” band member Alex McGrath tells Local Spins from the road. “The audiences have been responding well and we’ve made a lot of new friends so far.”
The band is about halfway through its national tour, with 18 shows under its belt thus far. It returns to Michigan for homecoming shows at The Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids on Dec. 14, Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo on Dec. 20 and The Crofoot in Pontiac on Dec. 21.
“We have gotten to play with some really cool local bands,” McGrath adds, noting that word about The Soil and The Sun apparently has reached California. “We’ve been pleasantly surprised by the amount of people coming out.” Get more information on the band’s Facebook page.
Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2013, Spins on Music
