Crow Follow raise a glass to evolving nightlife on ‘Iron Bottom Sound’
Massachusetts urban cabaret and velvet shaman swamp rock project toast the enduring Boston music scene on Friday, September 9
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Crow Follow release debut album ‘Red Velvet Radio’ on September 30
WATCH: ‘Indiana Line’ video is now playing on YouTube
Photo Credit: Kelly Davidson Studio
BOSTON, MA [September 9, 2022] –Those who think a certain city’s music scene is dead will never admit – to themselves or anyone else – that at some point they simply stopped looking for it. No matter what the timeline, the trend, or the temptation, the truth is that a city’s creative vibrancy is often lurking in the shadows, in the bunkers, and just outside public view. Here in Boston, the much maligned and debated music scene is still thriving – but folks just have to know where, and how to look.
“Iron Bottom Sound,” the new single from Crow Follow, streaming Friday, September 9, raises a glass to New England musicians past, present, and future, and sets a striking low-end tone for the urban cabaret and velvet shaman swamp rock project’s forthcoming debut album Red Velvet Radio. Fueled by six previous singles and four new tracks, the self-released record is set for release on September 30 on compact disc and digitally, with a celebration of a release party that same night at The Square Root in Roslindale with The Jacklights and The Daylilies.
And no one needs to hunt high and low to find this kind of party, the type Crow Follow toast in “Iron Bottom Sound,” which takes the band’s post-punk vibe and coats it in a seductive low-end moonlit groove buoyed by John Keegan’s baritone saxophone, the type of tune heard in smoky bars that shake with the rumble of elevated train tracks, that soundtrack a joint next door to Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks, and the off-the-beaten path dive where the stage is propped up with milk crates but the sound is divine. When co-vocalists and co-conspirators Tim Sprague and Agent Judy tease some “big fun” in the track’s chorus, it’s pretty clear what they’re alluding to.
“It's about the music scene, going out, playing out; the underneath places where local music tends to be,” says Judy. “It’s about seeking out the scene. Looking for those badass women playing amazing rock. We have role models amongst them too numerous to name.”
On The “Iron Bottom Sound” artwork, across a bridge arcing over a nod to the actual Iron Bottom Sound, located roughly 1,300 miles northeast of Brisbane, Australia, and over silhouettes of musicians rocking out, a layer of eyes are displayed, collected from performance shots of women rocking out around Boston. It’s the look through the mist and the smoke, the ghosts of Irene, Shelly, and Petra, peering out from the distance.
“Some folks have been saying that original music, indie rock, original rock, punk rock in Boston is dead, or ‘not what it used to be,’ for years,” says Sprague. “Every time an iconic club dies, like The Rat, or The Underground, or The Abbey, some folks will say that the scene is over. The fact is, independent, original music, the urge to make it, the urge to witness it, never goes away. It mutates, evolves, and always finds new ways to express and manifest itself.”
Sprague says he found inspiration shortly after the dissolution of a prior band, when curiosity brought him back out to see live music. He lent Linnea Herzog his guitar for an open mic show at Central Square’s Out of the Blue gallery in Cambridge, and a piqued interest in her music led to him to see her band Powerslut and Stars Like Ours at ONCE Lounge in Somerville.
“Here was a crowd – mostly women, flash, and punk – that was into it!” Sprague recalls. “The bands were insanely energetic and inspiring. Fronted by women, engaging women in a joyous, collaborative instigation of power and fun. My inner thoughts to the skeletons of the mind was, ‘Rock ain’t dead, it just changed gender!’ There has always been a strong legacy of women making music in the Boston scene – Robin Lane, Barb Kitson, Judy Grunwald, The Bristols, Linda Viens, to name a few – but this was something different, an evolution of context.”
Sprague counts himself as someone “who would pick Patti Smith over the Pistols,” and wanted to capture that feeling of excitement of discovery after seeking out a new and different sound. “‘Iron Bottom Sound’ is about looking for it, getting there, finding it, making it, and getting it,” he adds. “Music, the ultimate subversion of square expectation.”
Of course, “Iron Bottom Sound,” musically, grew slowly. Inspired by a somewhat bizarre blended idea of two struggles – that of independent original music, particularly made by women, and the historical struggle in World War II over the island of Guadalcanal, where the track draws its title.
“When I heard Michelle Yvette Paulhus tear out her bass lines with that huge voice of hers in Stars like Ours, I thought ‘Now there’s an Iron Bottom Sound!’ and the first key line gelled,” Sprague says. “‘Iron Bottom Sound’s’ vibe was inspired by the kind of low-key groove found in a tune like Tom Waits’ ‘Walking Spanish’ or Miles Davis’ ‘So What’. By the time the tail comes around it’s all whirring tires on wet midnight pavement and street lights with halos in the rain. Cool feels easy in the stride, but it never comes for free. The second verse just rose up from how truly inhospitable the infrastructure those first generation Boston punk clubs could be. Restrooms flooded with duckboards on the floor. Rain soaked cement back stairs where drug addled bouncers would throw people. And the feeling as a first generation punk that you were navigating through a vaguely hostile foreign territory. Those ratholes with the glowing music became our sanctuary and our grail.”
Combine that vibe with a collection of musicians raised on a steady diet of Boston rock but also looking forward, gravitating towards what’s new and exciting as we get our live music sea legs back after the pandemic, and the sonic cocktail almost serves itself. “Just coming up in that era, of The Rat when we were young, of The Space, The Underground, Cantone’s, a ton of small clubs often in basements,” Judy adds “It had a certain crawliness about it. You had to know where to go. And these incredible bands, so many. I’m not a very nostalgic person. The stuff I see all around me from young artists and musicians blows me away daily. There’s so much happening. But this song is almost a ballad about a particular time in our histories.”
But it also firmly plants Crow Follow as a band for right now, taking the gritty baton from the summer’s “Indiana Line” music video and casting a smooth, speakeasy like invitation to the world of Red Velvet Radio, where 10 tracks twist and crawl across a spectrum of art-rock and weave a tapestry of weathered tales of American life.
“‘Iron Bottom Sound’ kicks off what would be Side 2 on the vinyl version, welcoming you back in with a more urban, relaxed groove,” says Sprague. “We have Pete Danilchuk laying down a Fender Rhodes city vibe that is a bit different from the psychedelic guitar bends of the side one closer. And on baritone sax, John Keegan finds his own vibe and makes his own path through these tunes like an ice sculptor riding between cars on a downtown train. During mixing, I wanted some spark to complement John’s sax lines, so off the cuff I threw in some trumpet licks. I don’t get to play trumpet live with John because I’m holding down the guitar, but it was a blast vamping with his sax in the studio! The offer and challenge of ‘Big Fun’ invites our listeners to dive in for the next round! It’s dark, but there’s sequins in those shadows.”
You just gotta know where to look.
Media Contact: Please direct all press inquiries to Crow Follow at crowfollowmusic@gmail.com or Michael Marotta at michael@publisist.co.
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Crow Follow short bio:
Crow Follow brings a glowing brightness to the darkest tunes. Risen from the vibe of a diverse and energetic music scene in Boston MA, Crow Follow celebrates and transcends it. Their DNA is from the art-rock, low-rock, and post-punk scenes of the late 20th century, filtered through the usual smoldering warehouses and sketchy sugar shacks of the American Hinterland.
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‘Iron Bottom Sound’ single artwork:
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‘Iron Bottom Sound’ production credits:
Iron Bottom Sound performed by Crow Follow
Written by Tim Sprague
L. Ramona Herboldsheimer: Drums
Carolyn Jean Corella: Bass
Agent Judy: Vocals
John Keegan: Baritone Sax
Tim Sprague: Vocals, Guitar, Trumpet
Peter Danilchuk: Fender Rhodes
Recorded and mixed by Ethan Dussault at New Alliance Audio, Somerville MA
Mastered by Pete Weiss
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The music of Crow Follow has been heard on:
Les Monstres Sacrés, Boston Groupie News, Bay State Rock, Code Zero Radio, Cape Cod Wave, Original Music Showcase and Marc’s Alt Rock Playground on Mark Skin Radio, Sunshine Music iRadio, Indie Radio YFM, Mike on the Mic and Rising with Skybar on WMFO, Alt Rock Radio, PopRadioUK, The Music Authority, The Attic Show on KPISS, Alternative Revolution on Blue Torch Radio, Wolfman Radio, IPO Radio, WMPG, Mike Rogers Show, Bill Kelly, ROCK Radio, CDNX, Banks Radio Australia, Belter Radio, UK Independent, Dandelio, Radio Wey, Radio Caroline, Lonely Oak, FONR, Somer Valley, Castledown, Redwall Radio Camglen Radio, Krux, Radio Saltire, Radio Skye, Chasing The Essential, Flatlines Radio, KZFR, Radio VGR, WITR, Dublin City FM, Narradio 95.3, Oban, Chasing The Essential, Flatlines Radio, KZUU, Love FM, Radio Candy Radio, Hanks Alternative Radio, Island 92 FM, Radio Sotra, Merseyland, The Menace), EDA, Lux Radio, DM Pulse, Cambridge, Aggie Radio, IC Radio, Oban FM, KONR, KOR Radio, Valley FM 89.5, EN5, Rock Radio Northern Ireland, Future Radio, Military Veterans Network, LSR Leeds, Woody Radio, Lucky Star Radio, Radio Ara, WMPG, Café Nacional FM, New Visions Radio Network, Secret Weapon, WORT, Perfumed Allotment, Bombshell Radio, Radio Pepito, FM4, KCC Live, KZUU, 5GTR, and other fine shows and stations…
Media praise for Crow Follow:
“[‘Indiana Line’] is just excellent.” – Monstres Sacrés
“‘Indiana Line’ is rooted in rock 'n' roll and the kind of rockabilly infused punk that bands like X created. It's a raucous and groove filled track that also leans into the sound of someone like The B-52's. ‘Indiana Line’ is a party waiting to happen, but it also seems to have a level of darkness hidden deep within. This is a great song if you're looking for weirdo rock and punk based party music that won't scare the normies... too much.” – If It’s Too Loud
“Growth amidst decay” – 1st 3 Magazine
"We think 'Indiana Line' by Crow Follow was their best effort yet. The song careens like an out of control rig. A scratchy radio transmission in the beginning is haunting. They do a lot of tricks to depict this visually. There’s ample use of animated chalk drawings that add a primitive touch.” – Boston Groupie News
“...great new video for ‘Indiana Line’” – Rising with Skybar on WMFO
“And then there was Crow Follow, a band that I loved... they put out some angry original rock and roll that was great.” – Cape Cod Wave
“They brought a Morphine-like bohemian jazzy low-rock mystery (with poetic recitals) and early King Crimson-style progressive rock intensity and complexity into the soup.” – Boston Groupie News
Press Contact: michael@publisist.co or crowfollowmusic@gmail.com
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