RadioVA

“Heaven is whenever we can get together
Sit down on your floor, and listen to your records
Heaven is whenever we can get together
Lock your bedroom door, and listen to your records”

The song that Heaven is Whenever pulls its name from. The Hold Steady closed their set with a song they admitted was their shot at writing a Morrissey song. They began their fall tour in Richmond and were happy to share five songs with our audience before their first proper show at The National. This was not bassist Galen Polivka’s first experience at Sound of Music Recording Studio. He recorded at the former location with his band Punchdrunk. That album was engineered by Alan Weatherhead, who also engineered this RadioVA session. Listen for Galen trying his hand at the tambourine. He was unusually excited to put his bass down for the session to pick up a few percussion instruments. Thanks to Ronda Chollock and Insubordinate Media for making this possible.

Sons of Bill will release their third full-length album in 2011. They have David Lowery on board as producer. David sat down with the band at his house during pre-production and discussed the band’s history and how three brothers can keep it together on the road. Video by Rich Tarbell.

Sons of Bill is the next band to break out of Virginia. Fronted by James Wilson, Sons of Bill also showcases the talents of his brother Sam on guitar and Abe Wilson on keyboards. Sons of Bill’s second album One Town Away was released in 2009. This introspective masterpiece was produced by the great Jim Scott. Readying their third full length album, Sons of Bill turned to David Lowery to produce. Their new album is currently without a title and will be released in 2011. RadioVA caught up with Sons of Bill during pre-production at David’s house. More videos and an interview are coming soon. This is Santa Ana Winds.



Video by Rich Tarbell.

“So put the food on the table and Papa says a blessing
They’re cutting up some turkey and gobbling some dressing
My Aunt’s praising Palin and my niece loves Obama
My uncle came to dinner wearing his pajamas
Thank God for the filter that enables some distance
From the screaming and crying and the needs of assistance
You wonder why I drink and curse the holidays
Blessed be my family 300 miles away”

This is going to be the last post from RadioVA for a little while. Be sure to subscribe so you get the update as soon as we are back. The Truckers closed out their sound check at The National with a brand new song that is coming out on a 10″ on Black Friday this year with I Used to be a Cop. The Thanksgiving Filter will also appear on their upcoming album Go-Go Boots. Thanks again to Kulture for all of the support and to Rich Tarbell for the wonderful videos. Have a great Thanksgiving. Hopefully there isn’t too much in this song for you to relate to.

“The pretty girls from the smallest towns
Get remembered like storms and droughts
That old men talk about for years to come
I guess that’s why they give us names
So a few old men can say they saw us rain when we were young”

Song three from the Truckers’ sound check gives us a taste of Mike Cooley. Patterson Hood has asserted that the band’s sharing of songwriting with Cooley and Shonna makes them so prolific. With eleven albums under their belt since forming in 1996 and another one ready to drop in early 2011, he may be on to something. Birthday Boy appears on their 2010 release The Big To-Do. Video by Rich Tarbell. Thank you to Kulture for supporting RadioVA!

“Why do my troubles turn true
Whenever i rest my eyes on you
Why must my heartache be found
Wherever your feet are touching the ground “

Here is the other song that Brandi Carlile and the twins Hanseroth performed for us in June. Our video is a compilation of shots taken the night before at Jefferson Theater by Rachel Peltzman and it was assembled by Gabe Slagle. The audio was engineered by Alan Weatherhead.

Here is the conclusion to the saga that was David’s interview with Patterson Hood. Video by Rich Tarbell. Made possible by Kulture. Tune in to WNRN tomorrow morning at 11 to hear the Drive-By Truckers’ full sound check from The National.

“When we made it to the garden it was well past nine
Our hands came to agreement as we walked in time
A jealous rose stole a thread from the skirted thigh
I clipped it quick with a flick of the switchblade knife,
of the switchblade knife, of the switchblade knife”

Here is the last video from the first RadioVA session ever, now over six months ago! This is also the last of the videos filmed in the former Sound of Music location on Broad Street. Summer Angel was the second single off of Minus the Bear’s album Omni.

Here is another taste of Drive-By Truckers’ sound check at The National. In this one, we get an Eddie Hinton cover, as sung by Shonna Tucker. Video by Rich Tarbell. This session was made possible by Kulture! Have you subscribed to RadioVA yet?

Here is part 3 of David Lowery’s epic four part interview of Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers. There is still one more installment of the interview to come. WNRN will be airing Drive-By Truckers full sound check from the evening on Friday morning. Next week, we will post the podcast of the full interview and songs. Enjoy the video by Rich Tarbell. Thank you to Kulture for sponsoring this interview!