Micah Blue Smaldone

No, it's not a long-lost 78rpm record- Micah Blue Smaldone, master of the fingerpicked guitar and the throaty warble, phones it in from South Portland, ME. Without a doubt one of the most unique artists active today, incorporating dusty Americana and a broad range of European folk traditions into something fresh and yet timeless

Songs:

Away Out on the Mountain [Jimmie Rogers] / Untitled / Untitled / Grim / Sirdus Vera Kar Ma Ga (There's A Stone On My Heart) [Udi Hrant]

Darren Hanlon!

Candle Records' Darren Hanlon phones it in from Prescott, AZ, via Sydney, Australia. More awkward than usual? Darren wasn't expecting to play more than one song, and I wasn't expecting to talk for so long. Still, he handles it, of course, with grace and aplomb, and the songs speak for themselves. Ukulele lullabyes, including an ace Magnetic Fields cover.

Songs:

Hold On / Love Is A Chemical / Book of Love (Magnetic Fields)

Bob Schwenkler & Jenny Jenkins

Olympia, WA's Bob Schwenkler & Jenny Jenkins (SuperDuo, Encyclopedia of Fun) phone it in from Sacramento, CA, while on the Bicycle Records Road Show. From the sound of their voices in the storm, you'd never know that they were on a dock on the river in the old city, with the heat at 100 degrees. Despite the cel phone reception, the songs come through beautifully- pop songs great and small. Ross Cowman (June Madrona) holds the phone.

Bob Schwenkler:

Today / Untitled (Song for Ava) / Some Sinatra (Secret Stars)

Jenny Jenkins:

Roman Spark Blues / Robot Affair / Somestimes I Sleep With Evil

John Thill

8/9/07

John Thill (Aum Rifle, Quem Queritis) phones it in from Norco, CA. Ecstatic and damaged lo-fi monomaniacally obsessed with the Inland Empire. Fucking great. Record out soon on the mighty Shrimper.

Songs:

Drugs / Girls of Meth / Santa Ana Pass / Crown of the San Gabriels / Pink Jacket / I Burned Down Your House / The Chorus

Virgin of the Birds

Abandoned Love Records head honcho Jon Rooney phones it in from Austin, TX.

Named after a poor English translation of a Salvadore Dali painting, Virgin of the Birds is primarily Jon Rooney augmented by the talents of various folks for live shows and selected recording. Virgin of the Birds was created as an outlet for Rooney's songs outside of Morning Spy, an indie pop/rock band he formed in San Francisco that has enjoyed considerable inconspicuous acclaim since their debut release first surfaced in early 2004. As a collection of pop songs, Mixed Choir, released in July 2007 by Abandoned Love Records, treads a line between intimate, lo fi folk and the occasional grandeur of early art rock. These are songs about girls, heresy, defiance and bright, searching guitars among other things. Indie pop is an excitable mistress, best quelled with a cocktail of hazy major-key melodies, unruly e-bow, and arcane balladry.

Songs:

Prepare to Sound / City Falcons / You Haven't Talked to Tara > Love Song For the Silver Age Having Past / Hey Kirsten / Two Horses / Baby Let Me Trace You