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Porter Block
http://www.porterblockmusic.com
[BIOGRAPHY]
[PHOTOS]
[PRESS]
[TOUR DATES]
[AUDIO]
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BIOGRAPHY
SMOTHER – "an eccentric outfit even for the Big
Apple featuring mandolin, stand-up bass, and Dobro slide guitar
with a vocalist who sounds like he owns every pop-punk record
known to man. Definitely boasting a bit of bluegrass, the group
owns a slew of vocally-challenging pop numbers that sound just
to the left of XTC."
Peter Block and Caleb Sherman grew up just blocks apart on New
York City's upper east side, but never met each other
until 2003 when their musical worlds collided. Finding they
resonated as songwriting partners, together they created the
acoustic quartet Porter Block.
Suburban Sprawl is their first full length effort, thirteen
tracks spotlighting Porter Block's infectious indie pop
smarts. Laced with stacked vocal harmonies amid acoustic arrangements
(mandolin, Dobro slide guitar and stand up bass), Porter Block's
songwriting owes much to a previous generations of talented
tunesmiths, the kind of hummable melodies and hook-laden lines
which seem to stay with you...
Suburban Sprawl's tracklisting goes through a song cycle
of sorts, recalling the simple instrumentation and production
style of the Warner/Reprise and Asylum records made in and around
California in the early to mid 1970's. There is little
on Suburban Sprawl in terms of electronic beats or modern keyboard
noodling; most songs use simple percussion and tambourine as
a back beat, yet that certainly doesn't prevent Porter
Block from swinging on the upbeat pop songs.
Peter Block grew up in a musical house – his mother was
a Chamber music graduate in piano – and his initial venture
into music was contributing musical shorts for advertisements
and films, eventually forming his first band, Tripasaurus vs
Blockhead in 2003. More recently, he collaborated with ADM from
the Lordz of Brooklyn, and Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips
of LUNA. Caleb Sherman made his band's first record with legendary
producer Bernard Edwards. He then went on to lend his production
talents to artists in Nashville to New York. (Her and Kings
County, The New Black)
Suburban Sprawl has generated early comparisons ranging from
Fountains of Wayne to Crowded House, but Block counters the
influences are from an earlier era, "there's the typical
Beatles & Beach Boys infatuation... but also power pop type
song writing taking cues from the likes of Big Star and Badfinger"
Porter Block was recently asked to take part in the indie-rock
compilation "Guilt By Association" alongside Devendra
Barnhart, Mooney Suzuki, Jim O'Rourke, and Superchunk, among
others, scheduled for release spring of 2007. |
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PHOTOS
Click on a thumbnail to download that hi-res JPEG (suitable for publication):
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TOUR DATES
- 7 Sep 2008 *
Sputnik * Brooklyn, New York
- 13 Sep 2008 2 *
The Saint * Asbury Park, New Jersey
- 17 Sep 2008 *
Whiskey Bar * Hoboken, New Jersey
- 26 Sep 2008 *
Bar 4 * Brooklyn, New York
- 3 Oct 2008 *
Folk Art Museum * New York, New York
- 3 Oct 2008 *
The National Underground * New York, New York
- 21 Oct 2008 *
Milkboy Cafe * Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
- 23 Oct 2008 *
Tin Roof * Charleston, South Carolina
- 24 Oct 2008 *
The Garage * Winston-Salem, North Carolina
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PRESS
Coming Soon
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AUDIO
Click on a clip of an audio track below to download a mp3:
Porter Block - Off Our Shoulders [2008]
List Of Things To Do [mp3] - 1.02 mb
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