The Current's most viewed in-studio videos of 2014
December 31, 2014
The Current hosted more than 100 in-studio sessions throughout 2014, and that's not even counting the dozens of artists who stopped by our studios to record Theft of the Dials, the annual Rock the Garden music festival we put on each year at the Walker Art Center (mark your calendars for Rock the Garden 2015!), or the talented local acts that perform at the MPR booth and MN-Music-on-a-Stick grandstand gig at the Great Minnesota Get-Together.
Remember, you can always look back at all of The Current's in-studios with our online archive including photos from the session, video, interview highlights and, of course, full in-studio audio featuring unique takes on your favorite tracks and exclusive interviews conducted by the friendly hosts you hear every day on The Current.
But you, the music lover, have spoken (more specially, watched). Of the sessions The Current has hosted in Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser studio at Minnesota Public Radio, here are the top 15 in-studio videos of 2014, as viewed by you.
15. PHOX – "1936"
PHOX's lead singer and lyricist Monica Martin, like the rest of her bandmates, didn't expect to be one of the year's biggest breakout acts. As a result, her rather autobiographical lyrics are reaching a lot more ears than she initially expected. "I find myself retroactively apologizing to people for exploiting our relationships," Martin says.
However personal the songs may be in origin, PHOX's music is reaching bigger and bigger audiences all the time. In town to play a sold-out show at the 7th St. Entry in Minneapolis, PHOX made their first visit to The Current's studio, where they played some songs and chatted with Mark Wheat.
The Baraboo, Wis., six-piece have enjoyed a meteoric rise since the release of their 2013 EP Confetti, its songs accompanied by artful videos created by PHOX's Zach Johnston. Not long thereafter, PHOX sold out the High Noon Saloon in Madison, Wis., just 18 months ago. "That's when I realized people really like us," Martin says. —Luke Taylor
Listen to PHOX's full in-studio session and interview with host Mark Wheat
14. Gary Numan – "Metal"
Between gigs at Mill City Nights in Minneapolis last night and Turner Hall Ballroom in Milwaukee on April 1, Gary Numan and his band stopped by The Current's studio to play some tunes and to chat with Mary Lucia.
Lucia and Numan hit it off very well, and Numan talks very openly about his career, his motivation for moving to Los Angeles, his family, his personality traits and his friendship with Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. Numan also explains the deeply personal significance of his tattoos. —Luke Taylor
Listen to Gary Numan's full in-studio session and interview with host Mary Lucia
13. Sonny Knight and the Lakers – "Juicy Lucy"
"We are here to turn The Current out!"
This world isn't fair, but every once in a while, good things happen to good people -- and that's definitely the case with Sonny Knight, the Minnesota soul music veteran who's reaching a new career peak in his mid-60s.
Immigrating up the Big River to Minnesota from Mississippi in the 1960s, Knight cut some sweet sides before being sidetracked by a tour of duty in the Army. He's been an intermittent presence on the music scene since then, including stints in seminal local groups Haze and the Valdons, but it had been a quiet couple of decades for Knight when he was rediscovered by Secret Stash Records.
I'm Still Here, Knight's comeback album with his crack new band the Lakers, is out now on Secret Stash, and Knight is finally being showered with all the attention and adulation he's long deserved. As the band warmed up for their May 3 record release show at First Avenue, Sonny Knight and the Lakers stopped by our studios to play some of their signature soul sounds and to talk with host David Campbell about their past, present, and future. —Jay Gabler
Listen to Sonny Knight and the Lakers' full in-studio session and interview with host David Campbell
12. The New Pornographers – "Brill Bruisers"
Having played Rock the Garden in 2008, the New Pornographers are no strangers to the view of the Minneapolis skyline. On Friday, Aug. 8, the Vancouver-rooted but now variously based indie rockers gathered in the Twin Cities for a show at the Skyline Music Festival at Target Field.
Before the gig, the New Pornographers chatted with Mary about how the band members consider their artistic longevity, about how the new record came together, and about the band's decision to finally start appearing in their own music videos.
The New Pornographers' Kathryn Calder also described A Matter of Time, a forthcoming documentary about ALS (also called Lou Gehrig's Disease) in which she was invited to participate. —Luke Taylor
Listen to the New Pornographers' full in-studio session and interview with host Mary Lucia
11. Caroline Smith – "Bloodystle"
At the end of each month, The Current's Morning Show loads up the 89.3 The Current van and takes a bunch of pastries and a big dispenser of coffee to area workplaces that love The Current. (If you want to get in on this racket, send an email to coffeebreak@thecurrent.org with the reason why your office deserves a treat.)
And every once in a while, we're lucky enough to bring an artist along with us. This time, the timing and routing worked out perfectly for us to have Caroline Smith accompany us as we went to Punk Rawk Labs, a Minneapolis company that develops healthy foods.
10. Benjamin Booker – "Violent Shiver"
It's an oversimplified scenario often depicted on television or in films: A record executive goes to a gig, hears a kid who shows promise and offers that kid a contract on the spot. But such things don't happen in real life, right?
For Benjamin Booker, it did: Booker and his friend, drummer Max Norton, were playing a show in Florida. On a tip generated by blogs and satellite-radio airplay, ATO Records General Manager Jon Salter flew down to Florida. At the end of the 30-minute set, Booker was signed to a record deal.
The meteoric rise has left Booker slightly bemused. He and Norton (along with bassist Alex Spoto) expected to play the small-club circuit for a couple years. "Things have been picking up really fast," Booker says.
On April 30, Booker made his national television debut, with an appearance on CBS's Late Show with David Letterman, an experience so nerve-wracking for the band, Booker describes it as "horrifying." —Luke Taylor
Listen to Benjamin Booker's full in-studio session and interview with host David Safar
9. Max Frost – "White Lies"
On tour promoting his emerging career, Max Frost and his band stopped in to The Current's studio for a live interview and performance hosted by Bill DeVille.
Frost spoke to DeVille about growing up in Austin, Texas, and the influence of that city's guitar players, from Bob Schneider to Gary Clark Jr. Beyond the blues, Frost also talks about how hip hop taught him a lot about production.
One of Frost's biggest surprises recently was the opportunity to record at Jeff Tweedy's Loft studio in Chicago. Frost talks about his collaboration with Tweedy, and how the atmosphere in that studio is geared toward the work of making music. —Luke Taylor
Listen to Max Frost's full in-studio session and interview with host Bill DeVille
8. GRRRL PRTY – "Night Watch"
People tend to think of GRRRL PRTY as a party band—which is understandable, they acknowledge, given that they do have "PRTY" in their name—but there are dark dimensions beneath the group's bouncy beats. They don't have much music available to hear on your headphones, but this week they helped to bridge that gap with a fiery performance in The Current's studio.
Led by the power trio of Lizzo, Sophia Eris, and Manchita, GRRRL PRTY staked out Studio M with DJ Shannon Blowtorch on the tables; fifth member Quinn Wilson, hype girl and flag carrier, was unable to make it, but Lizzo assured host Andrea Swensson that the group had erected the GRRRL PRTY flag outside the studio in her absence.
Given that GRRRL PRTY's members have been nearly ubiquitous on local stages over the past several months, they've remained tantalizingly elusive under that moniker. Their single "Wegula"—with which they closed their session—has become a YouTube favorite, but their long-awaited debut EP still hasn't officially surfaced. With a new mixtape and single ("Night Watch") now available, the hip-hop supergroup are positioning themselves for a huge year as their audience continues to snowball. —Jay Gabler
Listen to GRRRL PRTY's full in-studio session and interview with host Andrea Swensson
7. Hippo Campus – "Little Grace"
For a band who have yet to release an LP—or even an EP, for that matter (Ed. note: Hippo Campus released their debut EP Bashful Creatures on Nov. 19, 2014)—the young band Hippo Campus are doing pretty well for themselves. They're the toast of the local live music scene this past summer, and they stopped by our studios to play a few songs and talk about their wild ride to critical and popular acclaim. —Jay Gabler
Listen to Hippo Campus' full in-studio session and interview with host David Campbell
6. Nicholas David – "Lonely"
Ahead of his show at First Avenue on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2013, The Voice finalist and St. Paul, Minn., native Nicholas David stopped by The Current studios to chat with Barb Abney and showed his versatile songwriting abilities with three original tracks.
Listen to the whole session to find out about touring with the Avett Brothers, geeking out in Louisville with Jane Seymour and what it was like recording in the studio of Ray Parker Jr., the man behind the Ghostbusters soundtrack. —Luke Taylor
Listen to Nicholas David's full in-studio session and interview with host Barb Abney
5. Haley Bonar – "Last War"
Haley Bonar refers to her music career as a "happy accident." She recalls how, as a teen, she was charmed by '90s acts such as No Doubt, Nirvana and Hole. Even though she entertained dreams of doing a Gwen Stefani high-kick onstage, "I never would have believed at 30, I'd be doing this," Bonar laughs.
Now, with a new album, Last War, released on May 20, Bonar came to The Current's studio to play some new songs and to talk with Mary Lucia.
Bonar describes how a chance meeting with Alan Sparhawk (Low) in Duluth is what ignited her music career at age 19; Bonar was doing an open mic at the Nor Shor Theatre, where Sparhawk heard her and invited her to open for his band.
Songwriting, Bonar says, always seemed to come naturally to her; her mother even has a recording of Bonar singing little improvised ditties at age 3. Since Bonar has become a mother herself, she finds that it has had an effect on the themes of her songs. —Luke Taylor
Listen to Haley Bonar's full in-studio session and interview with host Mary Lucia
4. The Cactus Blossoms – "Change Your Ways or Die (The Buffalo Song)"
Brothers Page Burkum and Jack Torrey of the Cactus Blossoms stopped in to The Current's studios to play a few songs and to talk with Bill DeVille as part of the fourth-anniversary show of United States of Americana.
The Cactus Blossoms spoke about their 18-month residency at the Turf Club in St. Paul, Minn., and how it eventually led to the release of their latest album, Live at the Turf Club.
Among other things, Page and Jack also spoke about their musical evolution, how they were able to wrangle some of the area's best roots musicians to join the band, where they've toured over the past year – and with a little help from Bill DeVille, who won the 1987 World Series. —Luke Taylor
Listen to the Cactus Blossoms' full in-studio session and interview with host Bill DeVille
3. London Grammar – "Strong"
Recently named Best British Breakthrough act at the Brit Awards, London Grammar have enjoyed a meteoric rise that has carried them through a series of sold-out shows on only their second North American tour to date.
In town to play a sold-out show at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, the ambient-pop trio stopped in to The Current's studio to play some songs off their debut full-length, If You Wait, and to chat with Jill Riley.
The amiable group—Hannah Reid, Dan Rothman and Dominic "Dot" Major—described their origins at Nottingham University, what it was like to attend the Brit Awards and to see some of their heroes up close, where they've either displayed or stashed their platinum-record plaques, and how they amuse themselves on the road by turning their easy-going tour manager, Andy Sweeney, into a sort of human Jenga. —Luke Taylor
Listen to London Grammar's full in-studio session and interview with host Jill Riley
2. Jake Bugg – "Me and You"
Bugg, at only 19 years old, has already seen his career take off at an incredible pace; his first full-length debuted at #1 in the U.K. album charts, and Bugg subsequently embarked on a U.S. tour, opening for none other than Noel Gallagher.
The latest album by Jake Bugg, released in November 2013, is called Shangri La, and it was produced by Rick Rubin in Malibu, Calif.; the time Bugg spent on the album was a welcome break from touring. "After travelling around, it was nice to stay in one place," Bugg tells The Current's Mark Wheat between songs. The process of recording Shangri La also afforded Bugg the opportunity to visit the legendary Crossroads in Clarksdale, Miss.; to record at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tenn.; and to go to Nashville, Tenn., where he collaborated on songwriting with Brendan Benson.
Despite his fast trajectory, Bugg remains humble if not slightly bemused about his career so far. He's not one to complain about much, realizing if he weren't pursuing music, he'd just be "back in my bedroom on the council estate" -- a term equivalent to the U.S. term, "public housing project." —Luke Taylor
Listen to Jake Bugg's full in-studio session and interview with host Mark Wheat
1. First Aid Kit – "My Silver Lining"
In town to play a sold-out show at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, sisters Klara and Johanna Soderberg—better known as First Aid Kit—stopped in to The Current's studio to chat with Bill DeVille and to play some brand-new songs and a longstanding favorite.
In their conversation with Bill, the Soderbergs describe how they had always sung as children, but didn't really know what genre best fit them. It was their discovery of Bright Eyes that switched them on to Americana music; they immediately were charmed by the simplicity and honesty of the music, and they were inspired to write songs.
And the signature harmonies for which the Soderbergs are known came about after they discovered such artists as the Louvin Brothers and Everly Brothers. Klara and Johanna began working on their harmonies and now, after seven years singing professionally together, harmonies just come naturally to them. Plus, they admit that having the same genes helps their voices blend so nicely. —Luke Taylor
Listen to First Aid Kit's full in-studio session and interview with host Bill DeVille