Pickathon

Rose-Garcia is an independent artist through and through. Thanks to the donations of fans and the modest homegrown talent, the singer/songwriter has been able to record and release and number of albums and EPs. These included “Roll the Bones” in 2011, a folk album with a tender and teasing playfulness to it and the eight-track Donor Blues EP, a very lo-fi recording with a big heart.

In preparation for a 2013 Halloween show in Colorado, U.S., Rose-Garcia with friend and fellow musician Esme Patterson of Paper Bird, spent a few hours in Patterson’s house writing a song. Wearing bold halloween costumes, the pair took the newly created sheet music on stage and received a unexpected whirlwind of a reaction, for the weave-like texture of the male and female vocals. The song was called “Dearly Departed” and has since only expanded on that success, with over four-million plays on Spotify and a performance on late night TV show ‘Conan’.

The single “Dearly Departed” featured on Shakey Graves’ 2014 album “And The War Came” which many of the songs also adopt a similar male and female vocal arrangement. Since the release the pair have played to sold out audiences in Portland, Oregon, New York, San Francisco, California and Chicago, U.S. with increasingly bigger shows and festival slots.

Formerly of the alternative rock band Treepeople, Doug Martsch created Built to Spill in 1992 alongside Brett Netson and Ralf Youtz. Martsch's initial intention was to change the line-up after every album, and true to his word after the release of the band’s debut album “Ultimate Alternative Wavers” in 1993, Brett Netson was replaced by Brett Nelson, and Youtz replaced by Andy Capps. Built to Spill, and in particular Martsch became known for his jamming style similar to Neil Young, his elaborate indie-rock solos like Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis, and fractured and cut-up song structures and melodies in a similar vein to Pavement.

Along with cellist John McMahon and a number of ex-Treepeople, the band earned their second underground breakthrough with the album “There’s Nothing Wrong with Love”, finding further appraisal from the indie-rock genre. After Martsch’s first of three albums as the side-project, the Halo Benders, and signing with Warner Bros. in 1995, Built to Spill released a split EP with Caustic Resin titled “Built to Spill Caustic Resin” in 1996.

The move to Warner Bros. still allowed Martsch his creative licence and with a line-up of Martsch, Nelson, Netson and Scott Plouf, Built to Spill released their major label debut “Perfect from Now On” in 1997. The album, along with high-profile shows including Lollapalooza, led to a significant swelling of the band’s fan base, and earned a host of positive reviews.

With a notable lack of structural consistency and continuity, Martsch was forced to keep the same line-up as to be able to play both new and old songs, and earned a reputation for an impressively elaborate and unpredictable live show. With a now fixed line-up of Nelson and Plouf, Built to Spill’s subsequent release “Keep It Like a Secret” in 1999 proved to be the band’s tightest and polished release, once again earning warming appraisal from critics and fans alike, and marked their introduction to the pop charts. On the demand of fans, Built to Spill released the unimaginatively-titled live album “Live”, with the same line-up, however featuring once again featuring Brett Netson and Jim Roth.

The band’s subsequent album “Ancient Melodies” (2001) was the first album to be met with mixed reviews, and Martsch went on to release a folk and blues solo album “Now You Know” in 2002. Built to Spill’s sixth studio album “You in Reverse” (2006) was heralded as a return to form, if not their finest album, and the band embarked on a subsequent tour in support of. The band released their seventh full-length album “There Is No Enemy” in 2009 followed by a festival show at the Matt Groening curated All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival in Minehead, England, and subsequently release the well-received EP “The Electronic Anthology Project” in 2010.

Initially based out of Tacoma, Washington, singer-songwriter Molly Hamilton and drummer Michael Stasiak were beginning to make a name for themselves before moving to the Big Apple in 2010. With the addition of guitarist Robert Earl Thomas, the group, armed with a laptop microphone and GarageBand, starting crafting a six-track promotional cassette. Later named “The October Tape” after the month of its release, the cassette generated significant online buzz for the band who ultimately signed with Captured Tracks.

In March 2011 Captured Tracks issued Widowspeak’s official debut single “Harsh Realm”, combining dark and soaring lead guitar with candid, indie-pop lyricism. The single “Gun Show” followed in June 2011, after which the group released its debut, self-titled album in August. Recorded with Woods’ Jarvis Taveniere, the record earned the group a considerable fan base and was supported by a host of shows and festival appearances.

Widowspeak’s sophomore album, “Almanac”, once again on Captured Tracks, was released in January 2013. Taking their sound in a more folk-driven direction, the record was produced by Kevin McMahon, known for his work with Swans and Real Estate, and is an upbeat, shimmeringly summer playlist. The band were subsequently tipped as an artist to watch at 2013’s SXSW festival, after which Widowspeak issued the EP “Swamps” in November 2013.