The Witzard

Purchased on a whim and the sheer strength of two Southern -fried rockin' Blues-Funk teaser singles, White Denim 's recently released sixth album, Corsicana Lemonade is without a doubt one of this past year's late-blooming sleeper hits; While I've always seen White Denim 's name strewn across various Indie Rock -leaning blogs (especially Gorilla vs. Bear ), I'd never really given the Austin -based band a legitimate shot. It's just a solid, no frills 10-track Rock "N" Roll album that's equal parts Black Keys and Creedence (with some added Psych-Rock flavor). But in true Southern Rock fashion, White Denim recruited The Bottom Dollar String Band for "Pretty Green Mash," a reduced version of their lead Corsicana Lemonade single. From what I understand, the track's included on a "Pretty Green" online/tour-exclusive 10" EP, along with B-sides "Under mi Pretty Green" and rough album closer "...

Marcus Mumford, Winston Marshall, Ben Lovett , and Ted Dwane are four British chaps that have been making some pretty All-American -sounding Bluegrass and Folk Rock together since about 2007; While Mumford & Sons' sophomore album, Babel was released back in September 2012, Island/Glassnote Records are still earnestly pushing successful Modern Rock radio singles from it. Mumford & Sons don't even appear in their latest music video, "Hopeless Wanderer" ...instead, director Sam Jones quite ingeniously re-cast former SNL alum and Arrested Development funnymen Jason Sudeikis (Mumford), Will Forte (Dwane), Ed Helms (Lovett), and Jason Bateman (Marshall) as a slightly exaggerated, ramped up version of the band. Now, it could just be a mere coincidence, but Ed Helms & Jason Sudeikis , who I think kinda look alike, are also co-starring in the upcoming summer blockbuster, We're The Millers , along with middle-aged bombshell Jennifer Aniston . ...

Well, this is quite easily the coolest impromptu event I've seen or heard happen in mainstream music in quite some time; Dusting off any pre-concieved notions of banjo-aided Bluegrass or College Rock labeling, frontman Marcus Mumford recruited a couple of friends to help his band, Mumford & Sons , perform a spirited cover of The Beatles/Joe Cocker 's two-headed hit, "With a Little Help from My Friends" at Glastonbury last night. Mumford's posse was effectively joined on stage by Ezra Koenig and 2 additional members of Vampire Weekend, The Vaccines, First Aid Kit, Staves , and a few more musically-inclined buddies. Mumford & Sons seem to have modeled their call-and-response cover after Cocker's Soul -drenched 1968 rendition, which I first heard on The Wonders Years as a kid... not even knowing it was a Beatles song 'til years later! The original "With a Little Help from My Friends" is of course, comfortably nestled within The Be...

First heard Skinny Lister 's acoustic set at Warped Tour 2012 (Holmdel) the other day by mere accidental passing. While waiting for something to happen, I faintly heard the sounds of what I like to call "Sailor Punk" in the distance. A strangely exuberant woman dressed in a large-brimmed hat and floral print sundress who we likened to Flavor Flav [read: hypeman] greeted my buddy Jeremy and I as we walked over to the small truck-side stage; loosely formed in 2009-10, Skinny Lister is essentially the brainchild of brother/sister Lorna & Max Thomas - the quintet is then rounded out by Dan Heptinstall, Sam "Mule" Brace , and Dan Gray on stand-up bass. Skinny Lister self-released two EP's while on their 2010 tour(s), Grand Union EP and Homemade Tour EP , which were recorded on either a canal boat or at friends and family's houses across England . While sh*t like this could very easily be cast off as a cheesy gimmick, Skinny Lister are indee...