gordon withers :: cello rock

Cello drone cover of Rihanna’s “We Found Love”...

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 14:41:22 -0400

Cello drone cover of Rihanna’s “We Found Love” for upcoming compilation Now That’s What I Call Drone Vol. 1 (follow @naxuu on twitter for details)

fuckyeahthejoyformidable: The Joy Formidable performing A Heavy...

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:18:17 -0400

fuckyeahthejoyformidable:

The Joy Formidable performing A Heavy Abacus in Montréal.

That cello intro? Yours truly. Get it at my Bandcamp!

Still so honored they used it.

Rant in Philebrity about Kickstarter

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:55:12 -0400

Rant in Philebrity about Kickstarter:

Click through the link to read a rant about music-related Kickstarter projects from April 6. Someone posted this on Twitter today, and reading it left me with mixed feelings (full disclosure: I’ve run two successful vinyl Kickstarters and at least two KS employees follow this Tumblr).

The author brings up some points worthy of discussion. It is absolutely true (and tragic) that community-based “high” art funding is in crisis right now. As a society we should be ashamed for not valuing the arts more. Secondly, there are indeed many differences in the way people consume, interact with, and perceive art produced by bands, and that produced by those doing installations, one-off dance performances, etc. This can create a problematic juxtaposition when these two somewhat-similar worlds are lumped together in a context such as Kickstarter. Thirdly, while I tentatively agree with the author’s “pay your dues” argument to bands, I think it’s a separate issue that he/she incorrectly conflates with the community-art crisis.

A rising tide should lift all boats. Herein is my main problem with the author’s rant - he/she assumes a zero-sum game. I believe that excitement about the arts is infectious, with the ability to cross-pollinate and expand across artistic scenes. Last year, Kickstarter raised as much money as the NEA gave out in grants. Was this extra $150M diverted directly from peoples’ pre-existing arts budgets? Of course not. I believe the typical Kickstarter arts pledger probably spent more on arts-related items in 2011 than they would have anticipated. In the same vein, I highly doubt the author’s assertion that Philly band Kickstarters are cannibalizing community-arts funding. Certainly, not every band should launch a Kickstarter, and many who do so have poorly-conceived projects (Again, Kickstarter’s quality control is a subject for another time), and the same could be said about community-arts Kickstarters. But looking at this in a more positive way, there is an opportunity here. Excitement about the arts is infectious. If a community has a vibrant scene in one area, be it music or visual arts or dance or sculpture or anything, that excitement can spill over and fuel growth in any other artistic area. And it should! Some folks will have to pick and choose which projects and events to support, to be sure. But excitement and cross-pollination will bring more people into the arts and grow a city’s scene, benefiting everyone. There are a number of easy ways to start doing this - bands could message to their fans about worthy local community arts projects, and vice versa, for starters.

Art funding is not a zero-sum game. But perhaps more importantly, negativity and division within a region’s artistic community is insidious and destructive. Maybe not every band should be on Kickstarter. But the way to improve a local scene is to highlight the best projects that are being produced at that moment - not to nitpick the bad ones. Focus on the exciting, new things happening, and break down barriers between different artistic scenes! This will further the quality and vibrancy of your local arts scene. Harping on the “unworthy” will only set you back.

Thoughts welcome.

Please come to Comet Ping Pong in DC on Friday! I’ll be...

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:01:28 -0400

Please come to Comet Ping Pong in DC on Friday! I’ll be playing with old friends as part of Rotary Club. I play on RC’s 2nd album, which you can stream @ Bandcamp: http://rotaryclub.bandcamp.com/

Also, I’m psyched to play with local heroes Tereu Tereu and Charlie from Secret Cities.

RSVP on Facebook by clicking the flyer.

Cello demo of Swervedriver’s new song “Deep...

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:19:17 -0400

Cello demo of Swervedriver’s new song “Deep Wound”, which they premiered on Jimmy Fallon earlier this week.

New Jawbreaker cello arrangement - “Ache”, by...

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 21:08:27 -0400

New Jawbreaker cello arrangement - “Ache”, by request of Mr. Adam Nanaa.

It’s an honor to see The Joy Formidable incorporate my...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 09:37:27 -0500

It’s an honor to see The Joy Formidable incorporate my cello version of “A Heavy Abacus” as the intro when they play the song live.

First pass at a cello version of Rodan’s “Bible...

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 19:43:57 -0500

First pass at a cello version of Rodan’s “Bible Silver Corner”, for an upcoming Jason Noble benefit compilation.

hardcorefornerds: gordonwithers: Second Jawbreaker cello...

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:22:18 -0500

hardcorefornerds:

gordonwithers:

Second Jawbreaker cello arrangement - “Fireman” from the album Dear You. Comments welcome.

as raptoravatar says about the arrangement of ‘Accident Prone’:

“It’s funny, cause if yr an emo/punk nerd, there’s a good chance you’ve post-mortemed “Dear You” at some point. This is the first time that I’ve ever thought the answer to “What went wrong?” is “They didn’t do it on cello… duh.””

although I never consider Dear You as dead, or a dud, so I’m not sure a post-mortem is necessary, I have made several attempts at dissecting its component parts (lyrically, mostly), and I understand the criticism of it being over-produced (that’s the glory of it!) so yeah… this makes a lot of sense. I prefer this track because I kinda think it’s a better song anyway, but particularly because of the ‘layering’ and the interplay between the what-were guitars (‘Want’ is really cool, too.)

no-one will thank me if it catches on, but I have to say I think ‘emocello’ has a nice ring to it (well, if you don’t say it out loud). this is also the guy who did Jawbox on Cello: A Benefit for Cal Robbins, so if you like 90s abstract guitar pop/post-hardcore twisted from its electric distortion into more sonorous tones and spaces, he’s your man.

First of all, thanks for the shoutout about Jawbox on Cello - it netted at least one sale/donation for Cal! Very awesome.

Someone once said to me that the cello is the “most emo of instruments”, and I kind of agree. So I don’t mind if folks call this “emocello” as long as that’s not the primary signifier (or maybe I should fully embrace it, and transpose everything to d-minor (the saddest of all keys) as well).

I understand how the (possibly-over-)produced sound of Dear You invites criticism, but I agree it is also glorious in a way. In fact, the lack of production on their prior albums is more off-putting to me than the over-production of DY. Those earlier songs deserved better. I’m not of the mindset that punk rock has to sound like it was recorded on a boombox using a “My First Sony” mic and cardboard drums in order to sound authentic. That’s not to denigrate boomboxes and cheap mics - if that’s all you’ve got, go for it! I recorded with only a four-track cassette recorder for years. It’s just to say that we shouldn’t hold up crappy-sounding recordings as an aesthetic ideal. I guess that was the source of my confusion with friends and fellow fans who were disappointed with DY when it came out, and it until I saw this series of posts, it never would have crossed my mind that the debate still existed today.

I will save your lyrical examinations of Dear You in my to-read queue - they sound very interesting!

Cheers,

-G

gutxcheck: gordonwithers: Third demo: Jawbreaker’s...

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:24:14 -0500

gutxcheck:

gordonwithers:

Third demo: Jawbreaker’s “Accident Prone” arranged for cello. Comments welcome.

I’m going to learn this on cello. Too sick.

You totally should, it’s actually not too difficult. When I have some time I’ll do some sheet music transcriptions.

raptoravatar: lifeonfiction: gordonwithers: Third demo:...

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:54:42 -0500

raptoravatar:

lifeonfiction:

gordonwithers:

Third demo: Jawbreaker’s “Accident Prone” arranged for cello. Comments welcome.

This is perfect.

So fucking good. I was just about bit my finger off in anticipation of the chorus…I was not disappointed.

This is really beautiful and does that thing that really brilliant covers do where it makes some of the really underrated moments and structural coups of the original “pop” in a different way. Blake Schwarzenbach is obviously a pretty excellent lyricist, but this is one of those things (see also: getting lost in the churn of dissonance in the main riff to “kiss the bottle”) that shines a light on the dude’s pure songwriting chops.

Oh, and THAT bridge, love the high, trilly bit right before the last chorus.

It’s funny, cause if yr an emo/punk nerd, there’s a good chance you’ve post-mortemed “Dear You” at some point. This is the first time that I’ve ever thought the answer to “What went wrong?” is “They didn’t do it on cello… duh.”

Thanks so much. Again, it’s great to see so much enthusiasm for these covers. I really didn’t expect that, and it’s motivated me to keep doing more.

FWIW, I’ve always thought Dear You was a brilliant album. I never understood why some folks didn’t like it. Maybe the cello covers will encourage those people to give it another chance.

clandemens: tomwerring: gordonwithers: Second Jawbreaker...

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:21:20 -0500

clandemens:

tomwerring:

gordonwithers:

Second Jawbreaker cello arrangement - “Fireman” from the album Dear You. Comments welcome.

wait what <3

what is my life. they even got all the layering in the intro right

I aim to please! (psyched to see so many people digging this, thanks so much!)

Third demo: Jawbreaker’s “Accident Prone”...

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 19:03:38 -0500

Third demo: Jawbreaker’s “Accident Prone” arranged for cello. Comments welcome.

Second Jawbreaker cello arrangement - “Fireman” from...

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 22:39:29 -0500

Second Jawbreaker cello arrangement - “Fireman” from the album Dear You. Comments welcome.

First Jawbreaker cello arrangement/rough mix -...

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 22:38:29 -0500

First Jawbreaker cello arrangement/rough mix - “Want” from the album Unfun. Comments welcome.

Jawbreaker on cello

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:15:01 -0500

I’m arranging some Jawbreaker songs for cello, to be possibly included in a documentary about the band. As I record songs this weekend, I’ll post rough mixes as Soundcloud files for comments and feedback. Follow here, or at Soundcloud, or on Twitter.

Today's chat about Kickstarter

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:34:12 -0500

Nick: 9,433
BACKERS
$1,023,972
PLEDGED OF $75,000 GOAL
47
HOURS TO GO

ok

fijne

i guess

me: is this the iPhone dock project

(i love how every time i refresh the Double Fine project, it has an extra $10-50K)

Nick: yeah
me: SHOULD I SET "MARBLED PURPLE VINYL GATEFOLD [redacted album title] ON CELLO"'s GOAL AT 1 MILLION DOLLARS

PLEASE ADVISE
Nick: will it cost $1M to produce?

"yes"

well, then double it.

GO BIG OR GO HOME, WITHERS
me: YESSS

Thanks to DC Rock Live for this nice review of my set opening for Garland Of Hours this past Wednesday.

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:11:14 -0500

Thanks to DC Rock Live for this nice review of my set opening for Garland Of Hours this past Wednesday.

I released a new album! It’s a cello tribute to the...

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 09:58:05 -0500

I released a new album! It’s a cello tribute to the excellent Welsh band The Joy Formidable. You can listen/buy it at Bandcamp now, and it will be up on iTunes, etc. in a few days. Click through the image to listen.

For locals, I am excited to open for Garland of Hours (cellist Amy Domingues) tomorrow night at the Black Cat. See you there?

officeoffutureplans: Happy Holidays-in-Cambodia from your pals...

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:59:36 -0500

officeoffutureplans:

Happy Holidays-in-Cambodia from your pals Office of Future Plans.

Original AV Club posting (worth reading for background on their “Undercover” series)

This was one of the most incredible experiences. Thanks to everyone at The Onion/AV Club for asking us to play when we were in town earlier this month.