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Body
Maps -
CD
8 Songs, To be released in Spring, 2009
PRE-ORDER |
1.
Ship Shape [MP3]
2. Hug A Panda
3. Illustrations
4. Wigwam [MP3]
5. The School of Ewok Love
6. Hazel
7. Pitbull River Chase Vs. The Paper Tornadoes
8. Look What I Found. Map Skills For Today.
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The Custer House in Buffalo, NY is cold in the wintertime.
In February of 2007 my band was on its first tour and had our
first show in one of the coldest, snowiest nights I can remember.
It was here in that dank, bat infested basement that I first
saw Red Tag Rummage sale, a two piece cello and guitar group
that summed it all up for me with “we’re happy to be able
to share with you what we do in our own home.” And that
is really it with Red Tag. They can make you feel, no matter
where you are, like you’re in their living room, listening
to them play some of their new songs, laugh, and in general,
feel part of something.
What gets me most about red tag is that they could be playing
in a small theatre, VFW hall, record store, or grain silo;
each performance they give their all, and make the largest
spaces feel close.
I cannot put my finger on their “sound”, which is always what you
should be looking for (if you can link a band back to another one, we’re
not doing our jobs I believe). Anyway, their songs take you through one song
after another of warmth, purpose, and beauty. If anything, their sound is genuine.
With Lisa on cello, the bottom is provided in a way that the ear is expecting
an electric bass to hold down the low end, this time it’s down with a bow
and a low C string. Phil covers the mid and high range, with a balance of chords,
guitar loops, and finger tapping. The sounds weaves you through the room, and
layered on top, vocals that cut through everything. Red Tag uses empty spaces
very well, cutting instrumentation out for vocals to carry the movement, followed
by a powerful drop provided by cello.
These two wonderful, talented musicians, arrangers, performers, leave you feeling
satisfied and feeling lucky that you were there. That is the essence of live
music, especially from the underground. This place, this moment, this night,
is special, and this is exactly where I should be. Red Tag Rummage Sale provides
that feeling in every city, time and time again.
Their new full length “The
Body Maps” was recorded and produced by Devin Ocampo at Silver Sonya Studios
and will be available from Time To Operate Records in early spring of 2009. Pre-orders
are available now.
- Jim Heffernan, February 2009 |
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