Avett Brothers add to Their Genius Collection

As you may know, the speedstump staff recently saw the Avett brothers preform live at the meadowbrook in Gilford NH. Despite still being numb from the experience it has recently come to my attention that the Avett Brothers will be releasing a new album in early 2012...hopefully. The article states late 2011 but unconfirmed sources (wikipedia) says early 2012. My fingers are crossed. To tide you over, here is one of their newest tracks.

The Once and Future Carpenter

Future Wife

Somehow it took me a month to find out that Florence Welch from Florence + the Machine had come out with a new song, but now that I've heard it I've become a bit obsessed, both with the song and the singer. She may not know it yet but we're going to end up together and have singing tall strawberry-blond children. Check out the video for her song What The Water Gave Me and then tell me she's not insanely cool, adorable, quirky, and beautiful. But maybe I'm just impartial cause she's a read-headed Brit... Regardlesss her music's sick and so is this song. Get prepared for her second album, Ceremonials, to drop at the end of this month. I'm expecting great things.

Avett Brothers Show

Last night Ben, Ben, John, Josh and I saw these fellas live in New Hampshire. See them!

Can't Wait

DayTrotter

Hey y'all. Happy Summer! I found a great website for not only discovering new music but also downloading songs from your favorite artists. The site is called Daytrotter and is actually the name of a recording studio in Illinois. Artists stop at the studio and record a (usually) stripped down version of a couple songs and do an interview. Then, the recordings are put on the website and can be downloaded FO FREE. Check the site out, they also have shweet portraits of the artists.

http://www.daytrotter.com/

Back From Assignment: Bonnaroo 2011

Morning ladies and gents, faithful readers of nationally acclaimed blog Speed Stump. I just returned from my biggest assignment yet as a blogger -- BONNAROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

It took two days and a stop at Billy Collins horse farm for me and my crew (including Brina!) to arrive in Manchester, TN. The first day of the festival lacked any huge headliners so we took some time to acquaint ourselves with our new location and meet our neighbors. We then went into the stage area and heard some great music -- my faves included River City Extension, Band Of Skulls, Best Coast, Twin Shadow and Beats Antique.

I took enough drugs to ensure the next three days of the festival are nothing but a foggy hazy memory, haha but seriously....

I do remember the sun pounding down, dust and dirt everywhere, and a scare about running out of water. Someone wrote on a car near our campsite "Bonnaroo = Somalia WTF?!?!" that reminded me of our dreadful conditions each time I passed it.

The only way I can remember which concerts were on each day is by looking at the schedule but here it goes. On Friday my favorites were Phosphorescent, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, The Decemberists, PRIMUS, and (a big reason I went to roo) RATATAT!!!!!!!!! Saturday had an unbelievable line-up beginning with Hanggai, an unknown but awesome Mongolian rock band. The day continued with Old Crow, Alisson Krauss, MUMFORD AND SONS (who played new songs!!!!!!), THe Black Keys, Buffalo Springfield, and some Eminem's to top the day off. Sunday really brought me back to when I grew up in the 70s, hearing Robert Plant and Gregg Allmann, man I miss the good old days. I also heard Explosions in the Sky, The Strokes (kinda sucked), G. Love, Neon Trees, and Widespread Panic to close the festival.

I'm glad to be home now, between short term and Bonnaroo, I've only had one mode "GO!!" On the real though, Bonnaroo was an unreal experience. It reminded me of walking around campus on a saturday night looking for parties when you're really f--ked up, except at roo it's 4 days and you're hopping between concerts instead of parties. It felt weird being the only one reporting fpr Speed Stump, I think next summer it would only be proper if the whole team made it to the roo.

Chris Sharma at Smith Rock

On Tuesday and Wednesday a few buddies and I decided to go to Smith Rock for some top quality rock climbing. While we were there we saw Chris Sharma, regarded as the greatest climber (perhaps) of all time. Usually the man spends his time with his spanish girlfriend in Europe, it is a rarity for him to be in the United States let alone Smith Rock. Now that I am finally back in civilization for a little while this encounter has hit me in full effect.

These are the best pictures we could take without being too forward.


Chris Sharma working on the classic Smith climb "Chain Reaction". Taken by Chris Eden


Chillin with his beautiful mediteranian girlfriend

New Beirut

Beirut - East Harlem by Revolver USA

Check It

UNDERCITY from Andrew Wonder on Vimeo.

When in Maine..

Taken by Chris Eden

May, Undrearify, and The End

When it comes to Stump, I'm simply the protégé of the other hammer flippers present (except for Ben Bregs, of course). It's been humbling and plain embarrassing at times, but it's also nothing new to get schooled up by my young gun compatriots in other aspects of my life this year; I've learned to chalk it up to experience. On this occasion, it's time to flip the stump, and its soft underbelly indicates advantage, Elwood.

Present here are two tracks from Lord Huron, a Michigan man with a knack for the visual arts. The two EP's he released in 2010 combine for only seven tracks, but word is on the way that he intends to release a full scale album, and, well, if it resembles his initial releases in any way,
it'll be the tits.

Into the Sun

When Will I See You Again?

I think my fellows here will agree that the opening refrain to "Into the Sun,"

Tell my family I had to leave. I'm going away.
Tell my friends for me. They'd all agree that I gotta get out of here,

speaks true to a long year spent away from home. It's only appropriate though that that refrain be followed by a more important question,

When will I see you again?

~Elwood

Songkick

In my extreme jealousy over Ben and Charlie's adventure to Boston to see the Fleet Foxes, I went on a several day bender involving copious amounts of 'feel good juice' and tears. I pretty much only listened to Bright Eyes. I know, I know, it was despicable. In the midst of this low point in my life, Charlie pointed me to possible salvation. A website called Songkick. This service tracks your favorite artist, you can update them manually or sync with Itunes, tracks your locations where these artists might be preforming, and even finds the best deals on tickets. If you or a loved one have a problem finding good concerts near you, the first step is admitting it. I did and I am already planning several for the fall when I actually have some change in my pocket. This website also syncs with Facebook. It practically organizes your musical life for you. It is basically a good version of the pointless 'Ping' for Itunes. Check it out. It won't let you down.
Songkick

Fleet Foxes Concerto

Keeping up with the concert trend, Charlie and I recently went to see possibly the greatest band in the universe, Fleet Foxes, in Boston at the Orpheum Theater. The story begins months ago when we attempted to find tickets online after hearing that they were going on tour. However, the search was in vain as the only tickets we could find were 90 dollars, and while we are what some people might call obsessed with this amazing band we are but poor college students who do not happen to have that much change floating around in our wallets. After a period of depression we forgot about the upcoming concert that we would miss out on. Then on the eve of the show while playing stump in the equipment room of the BOC some fellow stump enthusiasts told us that they had tickets and were going. In our jealousy we had a frantic less than sober search for any available cheaper tickets after deciding that we could not miss this possible once in a lifetime event. With some luck we stumbled upon two tickets for 43 dollars that happened to be in the 9th row almost directly center stage. The next day we rented a car and headed down to enjoy one of the best concerts either of us had been to. Robin Pecknold and company put on quite a performance with their perfectly blended harmonies and musical prowess, often switching instruments between songs. The crowd was also rambunctiously excited, standing the whole time after the third song and giving a premature standing ovation with a good third of the set still left to play. Speaking of set-lists, we got one. That's right we got a fucking Fleet Foxes set-list thanks to someone's particularly long limbs. If anyone does not know this band they seriously should cause you're missing out and I feel terribly sorry for you.

Source Code

Were you too high to fully understand Inception? Did you find yourself dreaming of being an architect the whole time and not watching the movie? If not, good for you, if so, my friends, I have found just the movie for you. Source Code is a simpler, easier to relate to movie that you will leave feeling satisfied at how well you understood the movie. Yes it is still a mind-blowing movie that makes you think but I argue that it is more captivating than its sophisticated, trippy cousin Inception. Its a movie you can watch high, but rather than finding yourself daydreaming, the dialogue and action has a way of grabbing your attention unlike Inception. Source Code involves divergent realities, top secret information, time travel, and Jake Gylenhall (sp?). It's a great movie to watch high. Watch it! YOU WON'T!

Deer Tick

Last week on Wednesday evening Ben Breger, some other friends, and I drove down to Portland to see Deer Tick. The band got its name because of an unfortunate incident the band's frontman, John McCauley, had with this animal on a hiking trip. After the opening act the main attraction came on (late) and stated that they were having a shitty day. They did, however, tell us that they had just completed the recording of their next album, something that we all will be eagerly awaiting. McCauley said that they had just finished recording their 28th song on this one album. The concert was fun they played some great music but performance lacked a lot of heart. I loved seeing them play some of their classics and it was sweet rocking out in the very front. It was a fun evening spent with friends listening to good music!

WRBC

Or, W-Radio Bates College, is our campus radio station that covers the twin cities of Maine, and not too far beyond that. Ben McCormack has a show, Charlie and Ben Breger are on a show together, and I have a show. The station is then obviously run by some of the coolest kids on Bates campus.

You have a radio show? You must be a hipster! I saw nay to this ignorant accusation. While we play recently released indie and alternative music on our shows, our goal is not to impress pretentious hipster friends by hearing about the music before anyone else has. At least for me, the thought of having your music choice and voice spread throughout the airwaves is empowering. I also often have an eclectic choice of music throughout the show. Transitioning between classic rock, underground hip-hop and indie tracks has certain challenging appeal to it.

The point is, the radio show is your own baby. Here is a list of our shows and times and a link to the web stream.

What Da Funk? Fri-10-12pm + (4-6pm on 5-13)

-John Barbadoro & Danny Birkhead

Vacationland Thurs 12-2am

-Ben Breger & Charlie Grant

Ben & The Wench Thurs 12-2pm

-Ben McCormack & Allie Balter

Tune to 91.5fm if you are in the greater LA area or

Click the Listen tab on the right to stream the station.

Polaroids

New York City
November 2010


Colby College
October 2010


Colby College
November 2010


Northern Maine
November 2010

JJ Grey And Mofro: Georgia Warhorse

“Yellow and black, and tough like an old-school Tonka toy,” said JJ Grey regarding his band's latest album Georgia Warhorse. This Jacksonville, Florida funk/rock/jam/soul/dixie band really shines in this album. Tracks such as King Hummingbird, The Sweetest Thing, and Beautiful World straight rock. It's a ways away but these guys will be playing in Portland, ME post-summer on September 15th.

The Hobbit Motherfuckas

Some people might look at the title of this blog post and say, "Wow, really?? A post about The Hobbit? What a nerd." Well I would make the counter argument that this post actually makes me one of the coolest people I know, including my ultra cool co-posters, and if you did not watch or enjoy the Lord of The Rings trilogy directed by Peter Jackson then you my friend are probably kinda lame. Anyways after a long rough start The Hobbit has now finally begun production and filming, so get pumped! Peeps like Gandalf and gollum will be returning to Middle Earth along with many a newcomer creating a new interesting mix which means the movies are gonna be sick. Oh yeah they're splitting the book into two parts which hopefully will work out for the better. But come on seriously, knowing Peter Jackson how could it not? For those of you unfamiliar with The Hobbit it takes place before The Lord of The Rings and centers around Bilbo (Frodo's uncle) who gets dragged away from the Shire by Gandalf to go on a journey with some dwarves. They end up going through a lot of shit including crazy orc-filled tunnels, battling giant spiders, and ultimately facing off with a dragon. These movies will be ridiculous so get ready cause the first one's coming in December 2012. Here's a little video from Jackson himself about the upcoming movie, showing the beginning process a little so click on the link if you wanna watch (I recommend it). Be careful though, it may make you cry.


Here is the video

Helplessness Blues

The Fleet Foxes highly anticipated album Helplessness Blues has finally been released! The band has been in the final stages of production for a long time and the long wait is finally over. The album has a much more mellow and calm vibe than their earlier self titled cd. The band's new album is much deeper and more intricate than their previous one. Robin Pecknold, singer and the face of the group, achieved his goal of creating a much expressive record, touching on his own life experiences. Although Helplessness Blues does not include as many group harmonies this album has a much more emotional tone. A great addition to the band's already excellent music!

Download (right click + save link/file as):
Helplessness Blues

Speed Stump: Origins

I have been given the privilege of writing this inaugural entry as I listen to Charlie and Benny Breg's soothing baritones on Vacationland broadcasting from WRBC 91.5 (we've all got shows, tune into 91.5fm or look us up)

At this point I am sure you are looking quizzically at the name of our blog. you probably have a ridiculous expression on your face. To save you the embarrassment, here is an explanation and a teaser of what is to come.

The name is derived from a game called Stump, or Nails. This game involves flipping a hammer one full rotation and in one motion, bringing the hammer down on an opposing players nail in a tree stump. Often included is a drink used as a counter weight and for various other purposes... The games origins are not to well known, believed to be started from a college in upstate New York and brought to the leaders of a summer camp on Lake Winnepesaukee in New Hampshire. From there, the game spread far and wide, for obvious reasons.

For more info, hit up worldstump.com for the full list of rules and regs.

Speed Stump, is a reference to the playoff that ensues if the two final players knock each other out in the final swing and revenge hit. This round is played one V one and is ridiculously intense but requires zen-like concentration and willpower. This, in essence describes our lives, each and every one of us. We thought you should get a glimpse of this fantastic slurry of Life, Liberty, Music, Maine, and Stump in one fast passed, intense blog.

Stay tuned...