donovan quinn and michael james tapscott

donovan quinn and michael james tapscott ~ goodbye, marlene (self~released, 2012)

“though best known for his work with the Skygreen Leopards, Quinn has been culling his private weird recordings since he lived in a rotting trailer in the suburban sprawl of Walnut Creek, California. due to popular insistence, Donovan has finally gone solo. Quinn is a Marlboro man mystic channeled through Francois Hardy just woken from a nap: frowsy, susurrant and surly. he curls out chords like Duane Eddy on ludes, strumming on some ether plane of American guitar groupmind. It warms my heart that perhaps people will hear Donovan and be able to discern a true contender from the hollow trees out there.” ~ Elisa Ambrogio, Arthur Magazine

"if i could only be serenaded by one person for the rest of my days, i'd choose michael tapscott in a heartbeat. the odawas vocalist's talent is something to die for. that voice... cannot be beat. but what tapscott brings on his debut solo release under his own name is far more than just that voice." digitalis

a veces los sueños se cumplen... dos de las voces más bonitas juntas en un disco que aparece de repente, sin promoción y que nos regalan donovan y michael desde su página de soundcloud. 'goodbye, marlene', un título que dice mucho más de lo que pueda escribir, es una preciosidad que de alguna forma da continuidad narrativa a nuestro querido 'sunny california'. letras evocadoras a modo de diario para un space folk soleado y cristalino que depara pequeñas grandes canciones una detrás de otra: 'i'll kill you in time', 'many safe returns, anne' (mazzy star meets beachwood sparks) y 'marlene left california' cantadas por donovan (espíritu oklahoma soul, one, two three, guitarras acústicas, pianos y algún tímido field recording como en los días felices de los leopardos del cielo verde), 'it's not the blues, it's the drug', a ritmo de armónica, y 'otw marlene', que me recuerda en algún momento fugaz a lindsey buckingham, esos coros, cantadas por michael james tapscott. un disco sencillo y bonito que en realidad sólo suena a the skygreen leopards y odawas, puro california dreaming, perfecto para escuchar a media luz, entrecerrar los ojos y soñar que el verano no toca a su fin (snif)

fotos: alina senchuk & adriá cañameras

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donovan quinn & the 13th month

donovan quinn & the 13th month - s/t (soft abuse 2008)

"The son of Dave Carter, bassist & vocalist for legendary 60's psychedelic group Country Weather, and named after Mr. Leitch, Quinn grew up on a horse ranch in Walnut Creek, and began writing songs at an early age. Donovan's growing reputation as a first rate darkly romantic penman (thanks to contributions to The Skygreen Leopards and solo as Verdure) has culminated with his latest endeavor, a new solo vehicle known as Donovan Quinn & the 13th Month.

Rather than aping or ducking genres, Quinn has crafted a bright spectrum of songs best described as 'American.' Folk, languid pop, loner country, and west coast psych are touchstones, with Quinn's singular lyrical abilities & taste for sun-baked song. Ever the flower bed romantic, Quinn has, at the risk of over-simplification, written a classic "break-up record;". Though not exactly lost in a sea of scarves, Quinn is indebted to the vulnerability, humor and bitterness present in the works of Ronnie Lane, Skip Spence, Nikki Sudden, Gene Clark and Basement Tapes-era Dylan. Weaving earthy melodies around Quinn's characteristically hazy vocals is The 13th Month: a small rotating cast of players that includes Jason Quever (Papercuts), Karl Bauer (Axolotl), Hélène Renaut, and Jess Roberts." soft abuse

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holy agent (mp3)

sister alchemy (mp3)

donovan quinn

donovan quinn - october lanterns (soft abuse 2008)

”donovan quinn is a singer-songwriter from san francisco, california. since 2001 he’s performed his songs with the skygreen leopards (collaborating with glenn donaldson) & under the name verdure. currently he can be found operating solo, occasionally being joined by various friends & collaborators, under the umbrella of the 13th month. donovan’s first solo record, produced in collaboration with jason quever (papercuts), will be released in the spring of 2008.” bruno schulz

"Sean Penn’s “Into the Wild” would have been a much better movie if, for its soundtrack, Penn had replaced Eddie Vedder by Donovan Quinn. For the ten tracks on “October Lanterns” show just the right degree of hinterwaldlerdom without ever venturing too far off the beaten track. Sure, when Quinn recorded these fine songs in ‘02 and ’03, he used a wide array of folk instruments. But whether hammond organ, melodica, mouth harp, or mandolin: They all blissfully sound as if the still wore the price tag of the music supply store. That, however, is not a problem at all, but provides track like “At the tent revival” with an awkward quality not to be found elsewhere. Recorded at his former home studio on a horse ranch in Walnut Creek, CA, “October Lanterns” is Quinn’s debut under his own name. He has recorded with The Skygreen Leopards and solo under the Verdure moniker. This cd-r, limited as it is to handmade 100 copies, should help him to get established further in a field ruled by the likes of Hala Strana or Hush Arbors." foxy digitalis

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flying canyon

flying canyon - s/t (soft abuse, 2006)

amanece. tres hombretones barbudos y con camisas de cuadros rasgan la acústica, cantan y tocan la flauta, la slide y el órgano en el porche de Glenn Donaldson, una isla rodeada por un interminable campo de trigo mecido por el viento. los primeros rayos de sol se cuelan entre las nubes y estallan en un resplandeciente manto de calidez y reflejos dorados. ponle música a esta estampa y sonará la preciosa 'At night when the world goes quiet'. Cayce Lindner (voz y guitarra acústica), Shayde Sartin (Skygreen Leopards, Giant Skyflower Band), Glenn Donaldson (The Skygreen Leopards, Thuja, Giant Skyflower Band, The Franciscan Hobbies) y Donovan Quinn hacen folk teñido de country rural tan imaginativo y clásico como Second Attention de Wooden Wand & The Sky High Band. citan influencias como Neil Young, Skygreen Leopards, Leonard Cohen, Souled American, Kris Kristofferson y Hotel Alexis. veranos ardientes y desiertos, ritmos monolíticos, canciones dulces pero poderosas, muy sugerentes, con la inconfundible marca del colectivo Jewelled Antler. 'Relover' es casi sobrecogedora, profunda, un himno pequeñito imposible de describir en palabras. 'This can't be my home' es la que más me recuerda a Neil Young y a muchas cosas que ahora no soy capaz de situar. 'Down to summer' podría ser el tema estrella (me gusta, me seduce, me acuna) de un disco que podría ser mi disco favorito del año, ese que cualquier amante del folk agradecería de por vida.

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wooden wand & the sky high band

wooden wand & the sky high band - second attention (kill rock stars, 2006)

"Does James Toth ever sleep? Having already released Gipsy Freedom this year with his Vanishing Voice band, and re-released his solo album Harem of the Sundrum, Mr. Wooden Wand is set to release yet another album, Second Attention, with his Sky High Band—featuring members of Skygreen Leopards, Vanishing Voice, and Davenport.
Still with me? The album, currently scheduled for a September 12 release on Kill Rock Stars, was supposedly recorded during a two-week period in San Francisco “holed up in a modified two story house with nothing but three reels of tape, a bunch of instruments and copious amounts of drugs and booze.” Amidst all this heathenry, the group churned out an album that reportedly has more of a traditional folk sound than Toth’s other projects. Go figure"

"...no matter. There is beauty in the periphery but more in the small details. Second Attention is where East truly meets West. Where the shimmer suddenly gets grimmer. Sunshine meets grease. It will likely be remembered as the album that remains after any and all 'movements' inevitably move on."

Second Attention tiene buenas canciones, excelentes melodías, una producción sencilla y sobre todo una química muy especial entre Wooden Wand Hassara, Clay Ruby de Davenport y Glenn Donaldson y Donovan Quinn de los leopardos del cielo verde. Neil Young, Townes van Zandt, Bob Dylan, Harem of the Sundrum, un hombre enamorado, un retrato bajo las nubes, el cielo de Nashville, el cañón del Colorado, y diez canciones maravillosas que, como The Witness of Fig, suenan a versiones de clásicos de toda la vida. Madonna (I Walk a line una vez más), Mother Midnight (uuu uuu uuu), Dead Sue (conmovedora, irresistible), Los Angeles Manna (nashville skyline). y The Bleeder. infinito como el horizonte amarillo de la portada el talento de James Toth, por segunda vez reencarnado y transformado en Zimmer Man, despojado de cualquier ruido extraño. brilla el sol con fuerza y en el aire sigue flotando la respuesta a la pregunta del millón. '¿duerme alguna vez James Toth?'