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World Cafe Archives
Free at Noon Archives
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December 12, 2008
The Spinto Band at World Cafe Live
The Spinto Band joins us for a Free At Noon Show on December 12 at World Cafe Live. A co-production of WXPN and NPR Music.
The Spinto Band, an indie-pop group from Wilmington, Delaware,
had a notably unique, nostalgic start. In 1996, Nick Krill was poking
around some personal effects of his guitar-playing grandfather, Roy Spinto. Spinto had scribbled songs on the back of Cracker Jack boxes and then kept them. When Krill found some particularly inspiring lyrics, he decided to join a band of six members called Free Beer, bringing the lyrics along. The band was subsequently re-namedThe Spinto Band in honor of Roy Spinto, and founding members Jon Eaton, Thomas Hughes, Joe Hobson, Sam Hughes, Jeff Hobson are going strong twelve years and numerous releases later.
The Spinto Band has been compared to Flaming Lips and Pavement for its complex, indie-pop sound. With just a hint of electronica and a multi-faceted harmony, mandolins and catchy beats, their signature sound is influenced by what they call the Five B's: Bacharach, Beatles, Beach Boys, Berlin, and Bowie.
Independent in sound as well as production, they didn't sign on with a label until their eighth album, Nice and Nicely Done, in 2005. Once Nice and Nicely Done was released, it was nabbed for re-release by Virgin UK. Three years later, after several singles and high-profile shows, the band started working on their ninth album, Moonwink. Produced by Dave Trumfio (Wilco, Built To Spill, Billy Bragg,and Mates of State) and engineer Tchad Blake (Tom Waits, Los Lobos, Cibo Matto, and Paul Simon), Moonwink evidences maturation of the band's sound, and continues with their unique, infectious indie-pop sound.
The Spinto Band is currently touring North America in support of their latest release.
Andrew Lipke
Ollabelle
Calexico
John Legend
Hercules and Love Affair
Randall Bramblett
Website: spintoband.com
MySpace: myspace.com/thespintoband
Origin: Wilmington, DE
Recent Release: Moonwink
Release Date: September 22 (UK), October 7 (US)
Label: Park The Van / Fierce Panda
Song Clips: 
Oh Mandy
Summer Grof
Serving People in Need - Help Drive Hunger from Our Communities
When you come to XPN's Free At Noon Concerts, bring a can of food to support Philabundance, Delaware Valley's hunger relief organization. Beginning April 25, we'll have drop-off boxes to collect canned goods for the needy. Current priority items include: canned pasta, chili, beef stew, tuna, mac & cheese, ready to eat cereal, pork & beans/ baked beans, green beans, corn, fruit cocktail, creamy peanut butter and/ or grape jelly (plastic containers only), and boxed sugar. Thanks!
WXPN Free at Noon Photo Gallery at Flickr
Click to visit our gallery for photos of the Free At Noon Concerts! Previous concerts include Hall & Oates, O.A.R., Citizen Cope, Old Crow Medicine Show, Kaki King and many more!
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Concert Archives Include:
Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Sean Lennon, Chris Smith, California Guitar trio, Joan Osborne, Disco Biscuits, Damien Rice, Cold War Kids, Marc Broussard, The Slip, Arlo Guthrie, Alice Smith, The Dears, Barenaked Ladies, and more...
Made possible by XPN Members, and Comcast.
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November 28, 2008
Andrew Lipke at World Cafe Live
Andrew Lipke joins us for a Free At Noon Show on November 28 from World Cafe Live. A co-production of WXPN and NPR Music.
With an impressive award winning track record of songwriting/producing, Andrew Lipke is a gem in the Philadelphia folk rock community. The South African born musician acquired a keen love for music, particularly the piano, early in his youth, but after moving to America in 1987, Lipke added guitar to his multi-faceted repertoire. While attending Philadelphia's University of the Arts, he toured regionally with several bands, demonstrating his great prowess as a guitarist and vocalist. However, eventually status as a frequent ensemble player in a variety of bands led to the pursuit of a more intimate solo career. Able to construct his own style, with influences from the classical (Bach) to classic rock (Led Zeppelin), he recorded his debut Ghosts in 2004. Its distinct lyrical qualities paved the way to a successful full length album The Way Home... on Drexel University's MadDragon Records in 2007.
His sophomore release Mother Pearl and Dynamite may draw upon his signature style - rock-y ballads coated in sugary melodies in contrast to themes of love and death - but there is a fresh intricacy to the Mother Pearl.... Filled with swooning vocals, more prominent South African influences, and the addition of his backing band The Prospects on cello, pedal steel and resonating guitars, the album is equal parts happy-go-lucky tempered with unsuspectingly dark undertones.
Calexico
John Legend
Hercules and Love Affair
Randall Bramblett
JJ Grey & Mofro
Aqualung
Website: andrewlipke.com
MySpace: myspace.com/andrewlipke
Recent Release: Mother Pearl and Dynamite
Release Date: November 8, 2008
Label: MadDragon Records
Origin: Philadelphia, PA
Song Clips:
Get It Over With
Mind Games
Serving People in Need - Help Drive Hunger from Our Communities
When you come to XPN's Free At Noon Concerts, bring a can of food to support Philabundance, Delaware Valley's hunger relief organization. Beginning April 25, we'll have drop-off boxes to collect canned goods for the needy. Current priority items include: canned pasta, chili, beef stew, tuna, mac & cheese, ready to eat cereal, pork & beans/ baked beans, green beans, corn, fruit cocktail, creamy peanut butter and/ or grape jelly (plastic containers only), and boxed sugar. Thanks!
WXPN Free at Noon Photo Gallery at Flickr
Click to visit our gallery for photos of the Free At Noon Concerts! Previous concerts include Hall & Oates, O.A.R., Citizen Cope, Old Crow Medicine Show, Kaki King and many more!
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Concert Archives Include:
Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Sean Lennon, Chris Smith, California Guitar trio, Joan Osborne, Disco Biscuits, Damien Rice, Cold War Kids, Marc Broussard, The Slip, Arlo Guthrie, Alice Smith, The Dears, Barenaked Ladies, and more...
Made possible by XPN Members, and Comcast.
RSVP
November 21, 2008
Ollabelle at World Cafe Live
Ollabelle joins us for a Free At Noon Show on November 21 from World Cafe Live. A co-production of WXPN and NPR Music.
Starting as an informal, weekend-bar collaboration, folk band Ollabelle
evolved into a full-time entity during the early 2000s. After recording their debut album on spec
at a local studio, Ollabelle's organic, collaborative sound won over artist/producer
T-Bone Burnett who was impressed enough to release Ollabelle on his DMZ label.
The New York based quintet, named for Appalachian folk singer Ola Belle Reed, is comprised of Amy Helm (vocals, mandola), Byron Isaacs (vocals, bass, dobro), Tony Leone (vocals, drums, percussion), Fiona McBain (vocals, acoustic and electric guitars), and Glenn Patscha (vocals, keyboards, accordion). Each member was a previously established artist in his or her own right and pursuing individual projects before Ollabelle took off. The group's distinctively democratic style is a result, displaying a seamless mix of gospel, blues, bluegrass, and country sounds. As percussionist Leone puts it, "With five people contributing words, music, voices and ideas, that's always a lot of opinions to filter into one brew, but I think we're all pretty proud of the end result."
Free at Noon Performances
John Legend (11/7/08)
Hercules and Love Affair (10/31/08)
Randall Bramblett (10/24/08)
JJ Grey & Mofro (10/17/08)
Aqualung (10/10/08)
Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman and Sonya Kitchell (10/3/08)
Website: ollabelle.net
MySpace: myspace.com/ollabelle
Recent Release: Before This Time
Release Date: November 2008
Label: YepRock
Origin: Brooklyn, NY
Song Clips:
Ain't No More Cane
Get Back Temptation
Serving People in Need - Help Drive Hunger from Our Communities
When you come to XPN's Free At Noon Concerts, bring a can of food to support Philabundance, Delaware Valley's hunger relief organization. Beginning April 25, we'll have drop-off boxes to collect canned goods for the needy. Current priority items include: canned pasta, chili, beef stew, tuna, mac & cheese, ready to eat cereal, pork & beans/ baked beans, green beans, corn, fruit cocktail, creamy peanut butter and/ or grape jelly (plastic containers only), and boxed sugar. Thanks!
WXPN Free at Noon Photo Gallery at Flickr
Click to visit our gallery for photos of the Free At Noon Concerts! Previous concerts include Hall & Oates, O.A.R., Citizen Cope, Old Crow Medicine Show, Kaki King and many more!
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Concert Archives Include:
Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Sean Lennon, Chris Smith, California Guitar trio, Joan Osborne, Disco Biscuits, Damien Rice, Cold War Kids, Marc Broussard, The Slip, Arlo Guthrie, Alice Smith, The Dears, Barenaked Ladies, and more...
Made possible by XPN Members, and Comcast.
RSVP
November 14, 2008
Calexico at World Cafe Live
Calexico joins us for a Free At Noon Show on November 14 from World Cafe Live. A co-production of WXPN and NPR Music.
For Calexico, a mariachi-folk-indie band from Arizona, the cliche holds true: change is a constant. Since the band's formation by Joey Burns and John Convertino and the production of their self-titled album Spoke in 1996, changes in name, approach, and contributing musicians are evident in their EPs, compilations, and especially in their five previous studio LPs.
However, Carried to Dust, the band's sixth and latest release, has been given solid reviews across the board for its perceived return to the band's older style—more emotional and raw than their some of their later releases. Still, Carried to Dust shows the regular moodiness and blended genres that are always present in the band's work, as well as some new and returning contributors: Sam Beam of Iron and Wine, Pieta Brown, Doug McCombs of Tortoise, Amparo Sanchez, and Jairo Zava.
Carried to Dust was released in September of 2008. Notably, during the previous summer, one of Calexico's new songs from the album, "Crystal Frontier", was used in the morning to wake the astronauts on the Discovery space shuttle. Certainly appropriate for a band that is constantly pushing at its own musical edges throughout the years.
Hercules and Love Affair
Randall Bramblett
JJ Grey & Mofro
Aqualung (10/10/08)
Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman and Sonya Kitchell (10/3/08)
Rachael Yamagata (9/26/08)
Website: casadecalexico.com
MySpace: myspace.com/casadecalexico
Recent Release: Carried to Dust
Release Date: September 9, 2008
Label: Touch and Go/Quarterstick
Origin: Tucson, Arizona
Song Clips:
Alone Again, Or
Quattro
Two Silver Trees
Serving People in Need - Help Drive Hunger from Our Communities
When you come to XPN's Free At Noon Concerts, bring a can of food to support Philabundance, Delaware Valley's hunger relief organization. Beginning April 25, we'll have drop-off boxes to collect canned goods for the needy. Current priority items include: canned pasta, chili, beef stew, tuna, mac & cheese, ready to eat cereal, pork & beans/ baked beans, green beans, corn, fruit cocktail, creamy peanut butter and/ or grape jelly (plastic containers only), and boxed sugar. Thanks!
WXPN Free at Noon Photo Gallery at Flickr
Click to visit our gallery for photos of the Free At Noon Concerts! Previous concerts include Hall & Oates, O.A.R., Citizen Cope, Old Crow Medicine Show, Kaki King and many more!
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Concert Archives Include:
Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Sean Lennon, Chris Smith, California Guitar trio, Joan Osborne, Disco Biscuits, Damien Rice, Cold War Kids, Marc Broussard, The Slip, Arlo Guthrie, Alice Smith, The Dears, Barenaked Ladies, and more...
Made possible by XPN Members, and Comcast.
SOLD OUT
November 7, 2008
John Legend at World Cafe Live
John Legend joins us for a Free At Noon Show on November 7 from World Cafe Live. A co-production of WXPN and NPR Music.
Soul singer John Legend is a five-time Grammy winner of sultry and sophisticated R&B style. His albums, full of easy vocals and piano-based hip-hop instrumentation, are also great collaborative efforts. Legend began playing the piano at the age of three and by the time he was 7-years-old, he was fully immersed in traditional gospel singing with his church. Though he was also classically trained on the piano, most of his current work draws heavily from the gospel R&B traditions he grew up with. After attending the University of Pennsylvania, Legend used his experience as an a cappella musical director and his distinct sensual and refined sound to wow audiences in nightclubs.
His smooth, heartfelt style won over many established musicians and soon enough he was working with notables such as Lauryn Hill. The release of his debut album Get Lifted in 2004 was a remarkable multi-platinum success for the up-and-coming artist. In addition to his stream of successful top charters, he became quite politically active. In 2007, he launched the Show Me Campaign (based on his hopeful song "Show Me"), to fight poverty and help lower-income communities. In addition to such philanthropic efforts, he has played a big role in the current democratic political campaign by holding speeches as well as performances.
Legend's latest album since 2006, Evolver, features OutKast's Andre 3000, emerging hip-hop/soul artist Estelle and established musical superstar Kanye West. November 19 marks the start of Legend's worldwide tour to promote the album.
Randall Bramblett (10/24/08)
JJ Grey & Mofro (10/17/08)
Aqualung (10/10/08)
Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman
and Sonya Kitchell (10/3/08)
Rachael Yamagata (9/26/08)
Website: johnlegend.com
MySpace: myspace.com/johnlegend
Recent Release: Evolver
Release Date: October 28, 2008
Label: Columbia Records
Origin: Springfield, Ohio
Song Clips:
Ordinary People
Stereo
Serving People in Need - Help Drive Hunger from Our Communities
When you come to XPN's Free At Noon Concerts, bring a can of food to support Philabundance, Delaware Valley's hunger relief organization. Beginning April 25, we'll have drop-off boxes to collect canned goods for the needy. Current priority items include: canned pasta, chili, beef stew, tuna, mac & cheese, ready to eat cereal, pork & beans/ baked beans, green beans, corn, fruit cocktail, creamy peanut butter and/ or grape jelly (plastic containers only), and boxed sugar. Thanks!
WXPN Free at Noon Photo Gallery at Flickr
Click to visit our gallery for photos of the Free At Noon Concerts! Previous concerts include Hall & Oates, O.A.R., Citizen Cope, Old Crow Medicine Show, Kaki King and many more!
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Concert Archives Include:
Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Sean Lennon, Chris Smith, California Guitar trio, Joan Osborne, Disco Biscuits, Damien Rice, Cold War Kids, Marc Broussard, The Slip, Arlo Guthrie, Alice Smith, The Dears, Barenaked Ladies, and more...
