Middle Distance Runner performs at the CMJ Music Marathon in 2008.

Every CMJ has its success story—the unknown act who, thanks to buzz and grit and talent and luck , tickles the right trigger of the wayfaring label rep or taste-maker who, for whatever reason, has decided to see it. But most of the thousand-plus little-known bands and artists who descend on New York City each fall for the College Music Journal Music Marathon don’t walk away with freshly inked contracts or top-tier management. Their game is more incremental: A write-up here, a handshake there. So whether they’re dampening expectations or they mean it, it’s probably unsurprising that most of the D.C. bands performing during this year’s CMJ say their primary goal is just to “have fun.”

“These things are kind of a madhouse, and there’s a lot of talk of ‘there’s gonna be a lot of industry people,’” says Matt Dowling, whose band Deleted Scenes has two CMJ gigs and a meeting with a marketing firm. ”I don’t mean to be a cynic, but we’ve been playing for long enough and pined over certain goals to realize that the bottom line is to have fun. If the industry happens to like it, then great.”

John Thornley, of U.S. Royalty, is equally cautious: “I don’t think we’re going to go there and get a record, and I mean, it may happen. The goal is just to go there and play a show and get a lot of people.” But he also sees less tangible benefits. “If you meet a band at a party, and you like their music and they like yours, it’s that much more easy to work with them.”

At least a dozen bands and artists from the District will play gigs during this year’s CMJ, which starts tomorrow night and runs through Saturday, and includes about 75 different venues across New York City (there are also panel discussions and a film festival). Some acts already have recording contracts, others don’t, and all of them—once you get past their shared enthusiasm for merriment—have different goals.

Read More “For District Artists, Mixed and Measured Expectations for CMJ” »

Because I wrote about Title Tracks’ versions of songs by The Flamin’ Groovies and The Merseybeats earlier this week, and because Bob Dylan’s truly atrocious new disc of Christmas standards leaked yesterday, I’ve been thinking a lot about covers.

Let’s put aside the illustrious history of ill-advised tributes (read: the entire Me First and the Gimme Gimmes oeuvre). A good cover can both satisfy a simple, dorky impulse—to hear one artist you admire spin another in an interesting way—and prove rather instructional. For example, it can tell you that Title Tracks frontman John Davis is probably a sucker for semi-obscure gems (he is), as well as a student of infectious, pop-classicist hooks. With that in mind, I’ve collected some recent covers by local artists.

My short list, after the jump, is fairly folk- and indie-centric, and by no means complete. Tell me what I missed in the comments.

Read More “Your Local Faves, Playing Other People’s Songs” »

John Davis’ new project, Title Tracks, makes some mean power pop, and it covers some, too. Davis, who played in the defunct Georgie James and Q & Not U, recently posted some quick-and-dirty demos to his MySpace: ”I Can’t Hide,” one of the catchiest teenage anthems by the influential ’70s band The Flamin’ Groovies, and “I Stand Accused,” a similarly themed ditty by the mostly forgotten British Invasion group The Merseybeats.

Davis’ band, which plays tonight at the Black Cat, occasionally covers both songs live. Davis wrote in an e-mail that he recorded the covers in his Brookland practice space with Michael Cotterman and Andrew Black, who play bass and drums in the band’s live incarnation (Davis plays every instrument in the studio).

“I think they were just songs that fit in with what we were doing overall,” Davis wrote. “We were actually playing that Flamin’ Groovies song on the final Georgie James tour in Europe last year (Michael and Andrew also played with me in GJ), so it was something we knew and just thought we’d bring back and do again.”

Read More “Hear (Groovy) Title Tracks Covers, See Title Tracks Tonight” »

Whether or not you regard the Rock & Roll Hotel as the, erm, jewel in the Atlas District’s crown, there’s surely no better place to see live, local music this weekend. That’s because the H Street NE venue enters its preschool years this weekend, celebrating its third birthday with six events and more than 20 acts — and, coincidentally, a whole lotta craft beers.

Tonight’s show in the venue’s main space, sponsored by Instrumental Analysis, is all about big hooks and singalong choruses: Area favorites Jukebox The Ghost are headlining , and the piano poppers say they’ll be testing out some new songs. And John Davis’ (Q And Not U, Georgie James) power-pop outfit Title Tracks, whose debut drops early next year, should have some fresh material to show off, as well. And in the upstairs bar, All Our Noise sponsors a free dance night with DJ sets by Micah Vellian and Outputmessage.

On Saturday, the pendulum swings from ra-ra rock to artier (or least idiosyncratic) pop, with an early show headlined by D.C.’s Death By Sexy, with local support from Meow vs Meow and Dj Doc Rok. Out-of-towners Starlight Mints (one of the few bands I’d describe as psych-twee) and Gringo Star also will play sets. Show up early and there’s free PBR(!). Stay in the same space after that, and queer dance nights MIXTAPE and Taint are teaming up all Voltron-like.

Full deets for the six events after the jump:

Read More “Live All Weekend: R&R Hotel Turns Three” »

Fort Reno’s website is finally back online with a spiffy redesign and, more importantly, a full summer concert schedule. Local faves like Imperial China, Benjy Ferree, Casper Bangs, and Title Tracks all have dates booked.

Shows will be taking place every Monday and Thursday and will being at 7:15 pm. Also, if you have some spare change, feel free to make a donation.

Full schedule after the jump:
Read More “Fort Reno Posts Full Summer Schedule” »

Musical inspiration and theft often go hand in hand, but most of the time the crimes tend to be immaterial—a lifted chord progression or a borrowed melody. The theft that kicked off AB’s Original Breaks, however, is not the sort of thing that could be explained away as homage.

“I had a laptop stolen from me,” says drummer Andrew Black. “And when I bought a new laptop I decided that since I’m around ProTools so much, I should learn it. So, I started re-tracking all of these drum breaks that I had been playing and cataloging them.”

Black took four of these breaks—minute-and-a-half percussion grooves with minimal instrumentation meant to be sampled by hip-hop artists—and pressed them to a 7” single, dubbing the project AB’s Original Breaks. They’re up-tempo and lightly funky, the kind of thing that might have been snatched out of the middle of a James Brown tune. “I sit down and I try to play them and see if it feels like people would want to move to it,” says Black. “I like to play at about the speed of the human heartbeat—90 bpm. A lot of my favorite go-go is at about 90-95 bpm.”
Read More “Title Tracks Drummer Andrew Black Releases 7″ of Drum Breaks” »

A quick roundup of music-related articles

–Song By Toad interviews Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle about his forthcoming solo record.

–The Washington Post’s David Malitz reviews a bunch of recent indie-rock records.

–Baltimore City Paper’s Michael Byrne profiles Frodus.

–Colour Me Impressed asks Title Tracks ten questions.

Title Tracks, the most recent project of former Georgie James member Jon Davis, will be releasing a 7″ single April 6 on Dischord, but you can hear the A-side right now if your go over to the band’s myspace page.

“Every Little Bit Hurts”–which also features former Georgie James players Michael Cotterman and Andrew Black, as well as Pash’s Meredith Munoz–is a pretty sturdy piece of power pop, the kind of song Elvis Costello might have written back when he was still angry.