Oh my God. We had such a good time at “Holocene” on Tuesday for “The Rumble: Portland” with “Jaguar Love” and “DJ A Train”! Thanks to all of you who came out on a school night to “make party” with us! It was great to see ya. Big thanks to “Future Sounds“, “Pampelmoose.com“, “Cravedog, Inc.“, “XO Publicity“, “Music Millennium“, “WOXY“, & “SPIN Earth” as well for sponsoring the event and making the party FREE for all!!! A good time is ALWAYS better when it’s FREE!!!

Speaking of FREE, Samuel Thomas (from “The Portland FREE Music Project“) was in attendance and filmed me performing “Write It On My Left Arm” with “Cars & Trains“. This was our final performance together for a while, so…I’m glad we have this to remember the evening for years to come. Tom Filepp is a truly special performer who I love dearly.

Have a look:

See you again at the end of the month, Portland! Until then, MY LIPS ARE SEALED.

xxLL

Well, anyone who saw me perform in 2009 or the first part of this new year has seen/will see my friend and live-show collaborator “Cars & Trains” (aka Tom Filepp) in action as my backing band on stage. He has scored himself a killer record deal with “Fake Four” and is heading off on tour here in a month or so to promote his new record, “The Roots, The Leaves” which comes out THIS TUESDAY!!! (1/26/2010)

I’ve had a wonderful time playing with him and have learned a lot about how to translate my music into the live-show format as a result of having him on the project this past year. He’s amazing. You still have a couple chances to see us do our thing: Berbati’s in Portland TOMORROW NIGHT (1/23) and again at Holocene in Portland on February 2nd for “The Rumble” with “Jaguar Love”.

Be sure to pick up the new “Cars & Trains” record next week when it hits and watch the video for the first single, “Intimidated By Silence” just below:

cars & trains – intimidated by silence from cars & trains on Vimeo.

For more information about “Cars & Trains” CLICK HERE.

Tom (Cars & Trains) and I have been shooting some footage of our rehearsals at The Dandy Warhols’ “Odditorium” over the past few months…Here’s a little unplugged rendition of “Feed Me To The Wolves” for ya. There are also some oldies in the video player as well.

Stay tuned, everybody…many more of these to come!

Hell yeah! Portland indie electrofolk act “Cars and Trains” and I will be debuting our merger for my live show (with him on music) at this year’s MFNW…which is this week!!! My showcase is at 9pm on FRIDAY night at East End (203 SE Grand Ave.) and I’m sharing the stage with The Punk Group, Royal Bangs and Tigercity! It’s gonna be a super goodie, so don’t miss it! Doors open at 8pm…get there early because East End tends to fill up on fun nights like this.

SEE YOU FRIDAY, PORTLAND!

For more information on Musicfest Northwest, CLICK HERE.

Just got confirmation yesterday that I will be having a showcase at this year’s “CMJ” music festival in New York City! Super Exciting.

I will be announcing the details here soon, but figured I’d let you all know I’ll be in NYC from October 18th through the 25th and will be making the rounds while I’m there for the show!

See you in a couple months, big A.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON “CMJ” CLICK HERE.

That’s right, folks…TOTAL overhaul on the LL live show. Tom Filepp (aka “Cars and Trains”) has linked up with me and taken over the musical end of my show. I’ll still be behind the mic, but instead of Carlos DJ-ing alongside, you will now see Tom doing his glitch-loop live drum pad spectacle and running the laptop(s).

We’ve been putting a LOT of work into the new setup and are looking forward to sharing the new diggz with all of you at my Musicfest Northwest showcase in Portland next month! (9/18/09, East End – 203 SE Grand, Portland)

Now…For some background on “Cars and Trains” (in case you haven’t already heard):

cars & trains practice sessions stop motion from cars & trains on Vimeo.

“CARS AND TRAINS” ON FACEBOOK!
“CARS AND TRAINS” ON MYSPACE!
“CARS AND TRAINS” ON TWITTER!
“CARS AND TRAINS” ON LAST.FM

ABOUT “CARS AND TRAINS”:

cars & trains albums consist of handfuls of microscopic crafted worlds, shaped with tiny precision. Layers of decaying feedback, sparse glockenspiel and tape samples weave a dark and dense tapestry of sound while deep brooding vocals sit atop songs with deceptive timing, subtle electronic stutters, and thunderous and organic drumming. Banjo driven four to the floor stompers yield to velvety acoustic guitar and spacious instrumentals laden with sampled americana.

Tom Filepp evokes early Morr Music releases by bands like Tarwater, intersecting with folk-oriented electronic groups like Tunng. Found sound and distorted tape samples create urban lullaby landscapes. Undaunted, meloncholic drums and timid textures are reminicent of cloudDEAD or Tujiko Noriko, sitting atop an eclectic songwriting sensibility that brings The Microphones to mind.

Filepp translates his recordings to the stage with a unique solo set, energetically looping found-sounds and live electronic drumming with layers of vocal harmonies, viola, glockenspiel, trumpet, synthesizer, and melodica. All the while keeping an intense and engaging dynamic going, he weaves his songs into a captivating near-non-stop medley that is ever-changing and unique, no two shows being quite the same.

He also runs Circle Into Square, an artist run label and magazine, the entire site and label created from scratch as a means for artists to directly release their music and artwork with cutting edge resources, and to help adapt to the constantly changing music industry. Circle Into Square’s roster includes artists like Boy In Static, ID & Sleeper, Skating Club, BRE’R, The Harvey Girls, and cars & trains. (http://www.circleintosquare.com)

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON “CARS AND TRAINS”, CLICK HERE!!!

Hey kids-

It’s been a big, busy week. I have been thick into rehearsal mode, getting ready to unveil the new lineup and live show this fall at my Musicfest Northwest! That’s all happening on Friday, September 18th, so…come to my MFNW showcase in Portland and have your minds blown. (If you’re into that sorta thing.)

I am also working on THREE new studio projects (on top of “From Pillar To Post”, which is about to come out on Beat The World Records) so “busy” may be an understatement when talking about my current state of affairs!

This week I tracked vocals at Tom (aka “Cars and Trains“) Filepp’s studio for a project I’m in the midst of with Y-Tron (aka Bryan Cecil) and everything turned out pretty amazing! I’m excited about all the talented folks I am working with these days!!! I’ve also been plugging away at a record of cover songs with Producer Mac Valentine and new songs with Carlos (Cortes) for later, so…more for your ears soon (and moving forward)!

Have a great week everybody! I have some big announcements coming up and am having SUCH a hard time keeping my big mouth shut about them in the meantime! Patience is not really my specialty, as it turns out. ha ha ha

Love you all! Thanks for listening! New music and videos coming right up.

xxLL