Around Town with Rhonda Bellamy: GROW: Getting Racism out of Wilmington

[Repost from WHQR; by Mary Bradley, July 10, 2020]

Rhonda Bellamy speaks with James Tritten of Fort Lowell Records about GROW: Getting Racism out of Wilmington, an indie rock compilation to benefit the NAACP.

CLICK HERE TO PLAY MP3 AUDIO FILE OF COMPLETE INTERVIEW

Love Language, Rosebuds, Tracy Shedd and more to be featured on upcoming compilation from Port City’s Fort Lowell Records

[REPOST from StarNews; by John Staton, July 8, 2020]

Ever since the George Floyd video surfaced in May and the protests started, James Tritten has been a little on edge. He wanted to do something to show his support for the Black Lives Matter movement, but he wasn’t sure what.

“I had been aggressively meditating because of all this anxiety, trying to get my head around it,” said Tritten, who lives in downtown Wilmington with his wife, the musician Tracy Shedd.

Then, on June 3, while he was meditating, “It hit me: I’ve done this before,” Tritten said. “I can curate this wonderful collection of indie rock bands and have it be for a good cause.”

Tritten, who runs the indie label Fort Lowell Records with his wife, had helped release a musical compilation in 2011 to benefit victims of a mass shooting in Arizona, where he and Shedd lived at the time.

Later this summer or by early fall, Tritten said, Fort Lowell will release “GROW: A Compilation in Solidarity with Black Lives Matter.” Comprised of songs by current and former Wilmington indie rock bands -- and including one act making its debut -- proceeds from the sale and streaming of the record will benefit the New Hanover County chapter of the NAACP.

Hours after he came up with the idea for “GROW” on the morning of June 3, Tritten said, he had $15,000 in donations from manufacturers who will be producing the vinyl version. “GROW” will also be on streaming services and available for download.

The album’s 12-band lineup reads like a who’s who from the annals of Wilmington indie rock history (and/or its future). All of the songs are new releases.

Two bands, The Rosebuds and The Love Language, got their starts in Wilmington before moving on to record albums for Durham’s Merge Records label.

The Rosebuds, formed in Wilmington 20 years ago by then-married couple Ivan Howard and Kelly Crisp, are releasing their first song since breaking up a few years ago, a remix of an existing track.

“Kelly is tickled pink” to release the song, Tritten said, adding that the all-Wilmington compilation gave the band the perfect excuse to drop the tune.

Other acts on the compilation include a mix of veteran acts (Shedd, Sean Thomas Gerard of Onward, Soldiers); seldom-seen old-school heroes (Summer Set, The Majestic Twelve, Life of Saturdays); current acts (Kicking Bird, Lauds, Pinky Verde, Team Player); and one brand-new band called Neon Belly.

The list of local partners is lengthy, and there’s also a visual art element to “GROW,” with James Williams (cover), Trevor Van Meter (jacket), Chet Childress (vinyl) and the students of DREAMS of Wilmington (liner notes) providing work for the project.

Liner notes will be written by Wilmington’s Third Person Project, which delves into often unknown or covered-up aspects of Wilmington’s history in regards to race.

Tritten and Shedd are from Florida, and from 2006 to 2013 they lived in Tuscon. That’s where Fort Lowell started, and where they released “Luz De Vida,” a compilation created by the Music Against Violence group that benefited the victims of a mass shooting that included Congresswomen Gabbi Giffords.

They’ve been in Wilmington for just the past two years, but their local roots run deep. Tritten first played here with his former band, Audio Explorations, in 1996 for the old WE Fest, and Shedd’s music was featured on locally shot hit shows “Dawson’ Creek” and “One Tree Hill.”

He and Shedd also host Manic Monday, a monthly alt-rock and indie pop DJ night that, before the pandemic, was held at downtown bar The Opera Room.

Tritten’s day job is as sales manager for KWIPPED, a locally based, online equipment-procurement marketplace. But he said the community nature of the “GROW” project “gets to why we even have a record label in the first place.”

Tritten said the minimum donation for the compilation when it comes out will be $30, to benefit the NAACP’s get-out-the-vote efforts. At least 1,000 vinyl copies of “GROW” will be pressed, he said, and will be available locally at Gravity Records, Modern Legend and elsewhere.

Contact John Staton at 910-343-2343 or John.Staton@StarNewsOnline.com.

"Reinvent a new form of decency"

On April 16, 2011, Fort Lowell Records had the pleasure of releasing a 7inch record by Howe Gelb of Giant Sand for Record Store Day 2011.  It was a split 7inch between two of Howe's own projects: 'Sno Angel and Melted Wires.  For Howe's 'Sno Angel track, we were provided a live recording of the song "Spiral" that was performed with the Voices of Praise Choir from Ottawa, Canada.

Music documents a moment in time, and allows us an opportunity to be reminded about the past and continue to learn from it.  "Spiral" was originally released on March 20, 2006 by Thrill Jockey Records as part of the album 'Sno Angel Like You.  Howe would have drawn his inspiration for "Spiral" from events unrelated to what we are all witnessing today in 2020; this is what makes "Spiral" so important.  Today, the lyrics of "Spiral" are as relevant and necessary as they ever were.

As Fort Lowell Records continues to work on our upcoming release GROW: A Compilation in Solidarity with Black Lives Matter, which will itself document a moment in time, we are reminded at how thankful we are to have had to the honor to partner with both Howe Gelb and Record Store Day to bring you Howe's in-concert recording of "Spiral."  We encourage you to take a moment to revisit this song below, and to help us - as Howe says: "reinvent a new form of decency."

Howe Gelb “Spiral”

There’s a lot of people out there
Having a hard time tonight
There are shouts of revolution
There are whispers of hang on tight
There’s a lot of hearts out there
But now some will never mend
Been losing our patience
Been losing way too many men
Some are saying it’s the end times
Some are saying it’s just begun
Some are running to the churches
Some are running to the gun

And you come on down
Fall on down
Well within this regency
Spiral down
You can jot it down
Reinvent a new form of decency

Some are thinking it’s extinction
Some are swearing by salvation
Some are noting Nostradamus
Some are relating Revelation
Well it sure is getting hotter
And the water’s on the rise
Don’t wanna live forever
Another generation would be nice

And you come on down
Fall on down
Well within this regency
Spiral down
You can jot it down
Reinvent some new form of decency

There’s a lot of people out there
Having a hard time tonight
Some are shoutin’ revolution
Some are crying to hang on tight
There’s a lot of crippled hearts out there
And now some will never mend

And you come on down
Fall on down
Well within this regency
Spiral down
You better jot it down
Reinvent a new form of decency
Decency

New Song: "Fight For the Good" by Wet & Reckless

Like many musicians right now, Emily Brooks Wilder, frontwoman of the Los Angeles, California band Wet & Reckless, has been focusing her thoughts around racial injustice into her own music.  She recently recorded a fantastic new song, titled "Fight For the Good", and has made the track available on YouTube for the world to enjoy.  Take a moment to listen to "Fight For the Good" by Wet & Reckless here: https://youtu.be/ivo9bzL0-ZI.  We hope you find Emily's words to be as healing and welcomed as we do.

Get Racism Out of Wilmington (and everywhere else)

Alright folks, it's about time we posted a lil' something here on our ol' Blogger site to let you know what is going on with Fort Lowell Records.  If you are like us, as we all witnessed the horrifying events that unfolded on May 25, 2020 with the four police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota who killed George Floyd, along with the events that followed, then your heart is heavy as well with a deep pain and concern for our country and mankind altogether.  Fort Lowell Records believes music is essential to living a good life, and by continuously supplying our planet with positive music, a better world is possible for all human beings to experience.

To show our support for the Black Lives Matter movement, and stand in solidarity with people around the world who want to end racism, Fort Lowell Records is releasing a compilation album of Wilmington, North Carolina based artists to sell so we can raise money to provide a financial donation to our local New Hanover County chapter of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People).  The title for this project is 'GROW: A Compilation in Solidarity with Black Lives Matter,' which also stands for Get Racism Out of Wilmington.

We will be pressing a total of 1,000 vinyl records, and asking for a minimum donation of $30.00 per record, which will allow us to potentially donate approximately $30,000 to the New Hanover County NAACP.  All of the artists involved, musicians as well as visual artists, have donated their talents, time, and work 100% to this project.  In addition, all of our manufacturing partners have also contributed 100% of their materials, time, and costs to GROW, which is enables us to give 100% of the proceeds to the New Hanover County NAACP.  This simply would not be possible without their support.

MANUFACTURING PARTNERS:

• Golden Mastering - Vinyl Lacquers
• Imprint Indie Printing - Album Jackets
• Kindercore Vinyl - Vinyl Records
• NiPro Records - Vinyl Stampers
• Peerless Mastering - Audio Mastering

LOCAL SPONSORS / PARTNERS:

• Art In Bloom
• ARTphics
• DREAMS
• Gravity Records
• Modern Legend
• New Elements Gallery
• Third Person Project

VISUAL ARTISTS:

• Chet Childress
• HeyTVM
• James Williams - Cover Art

MUSICAL ARTISTS:

• Kicking Bird
• Lauds
• Life of Saturdays
• The Love Language
• The Majestic Twelve
• Neon Belly
• Pinky Verde
• The Rosebuds
• Sean Thomas Gerard
• Summer Set
• Team Player
• Tracy Shedd

Stay tuned to Fort Lowell Records here, as well as on Instagram and Twitter, to keep up with the GROW project.  Supporters from around the world will be able to purchase GROW on vinyl record through the internet and have it mailed directly to them, as well as they will be able to buy GROW locally here in Wilmington, North Carolina at various retail outlets.  In addition, GROW will be available through all digital music download and streaming platforms, such as Amazon, Apple Music, Bandcamp, Google Play, Pandora, Spotify, YouTube Music, etc., where all proceeds from those services will also be donated to the New Hanover County NAACP, so you will be able to show your support with GROW even if you are not interested in a vinyl record.

Thank you in advance for your support! - Fort Lowell Records

Follow @FortLowellRecords now on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/fortlowellrecords • Finally, yours truly has moved into the 21st century and created an account for our lil' ol' record label on Instagram.  Please follow Fort Lowell Records - @FortLowellRecords - so you can keep up with what we have going on.  And that being said, we've got some good, good stuff in the works, so you will want to keep up for sure.  Thanks!

Listen to "Mantra" now, a brand new song by Tracy Shedd

"Mantra," scheduled to be released on Friday, May 22nd, was written and recorded by Tracy Shedd during the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020. Just as the butterfly effect caused the coronavirus to spread across the world, Tracy Shedd's new song, "Mantra," is an optimistic melody set in motion to make a positive change in our world.




Cover photograph by Julia DeConcini

The full story behind Tracy Shedd's "How Your Eyes Affect Me"

This coming Friday, December 20, Tracy Shedd will be releasing a brand new single - a new version of an old song - "How Your Eyes Affect Me," which was originally released on Shedd's EP88 (Eskimo Kiss Records) in 2010.  EP88 was Shedd's first collection of songs that the classically trained indie pop pianist had ever written or performed on piano.  Prior to, Shedd had been playing and writing all of her music on guitar; until she was given an opportunity by Tucson AZ radio station, KXCI, to perform a few holiday tunes during the winter of 2009, when she bought her first piano to play a few jingles on the air.  The ultimate result of that purchase was EP88, including the song "How Your Eyes Affect Me."

The following year, Tracy Shedd and husband / band-mate, James Tritten, decided to embark on a US Tour as a duet; leaving out a live bass player or drummer.  Instead, they used a drum machine app from their iPhone to create a beat, while both played electric guitar; adjusting their delivery of each song to fit this new arrangement.  On December 2, 2011, the couple performed at New World Brewery in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, and friend, Aaron O'Laughlin just happened to capture the performance on video. Eight days later, O'Laughlin posted his video recording of a more upbeat drum machine driven version of "How Your Eyes Affect Me", which would end up serving as the main inspiration that motivated Shedd and Tritten to start their electronic music project, Band & The Beat.

Fast forward eight years, Tracy Shedd documented a studio recording of that same version performed in 2011, and now the aptly named single "How Your Eyes Affect Me (The New World Brewery Version)" will be officially available on all digital music download and streaming platforms - Amazon, Apple Music, Bandcamp, Google Play, Pandora, Spotify, YouTube, etc. - for your listening enjoyment this holiday season.   To help celebrate the New World Brewery version of Shedd's classic tune, Aaron O'Laughlin himself made a new music video for "How Your Eyes Affect Me (The New World Brewery Version)" using his original video footage taken at New World Brewery nearly a decade ago.

Enjoy this visual rendition below of the "How Your Eyes Affect Me" story, which includes O'Laughlin's original video recording, plus his music video for Tracy Shedd new single:

Here is the original studio recording of "How Your Eyes Affect Me" from EP88:



Here is a live performance of the original version, performed at The Rialto Theatre in Tucson AZ:



Here is a live performance of the original version, performed in Tucson 12's Television Studio:



Here is Aaron O'Laughlin's original video recording from New World Brewery in 2011:



Here is Aaron O'Laughlin's music video for the new version of "How Your Eyes Affect Me":

Listen to Tracy Shedd's remix of L.A. Dies "Tend To Do" now!

On Friday, November 29th, our dear friends at the Harding Street Assembly Lab record label will be dropping the new L.A. Dies maxi-single! “Tend To Do” is the second official cut to be featured from the four-piece’s spectacular LP, Drifting Still. Harding Street Assembly Lab fans can hear the entire release here prior to the 29th!

At L.A. Dies album’s release back in September, Harding Street Assembly Lab reached out to their friends & family about the possibility of reworking one of the tunes. Multiple responses were that the track would have to be “Tend To Do”. For this maxi-single, which clocks in at roughly 18 minutes, the single proper is paired with remixes from Fort Lowell Records' own Tracy Shedd (ex-Band & The Beat), Benjamin Mauch (Colin Phils) & Opin (who are currently mixing down their new LP for Harding Street Assembly Lab).

The single comes across like a long-lost remnant from the last Cocteau Twins album. Slithering bass lines that work around programmed rhythms with a vocal delivery that earns allure as it escapes translation. Each of the remixes lean into the ethereal space trapped within the original. Tracy Shedd & Opin both find themselves working with processed percussive elements to augment the tune. Ben Mauch’s redux is floats away from the base, landing at an authentic recreation.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO L.A. DIES MAXI-SINGLE NOW, and HEAR TRACY SHEDD'S REMIX NOW!

Tracy Shedd's third album, originally released in 2004, is finally available again!

Louder Than You Can Hear, Tracy Shedd's 2004 full-length studio album was originally made available by Devil In The Woods, on the heals of Shedd's debut and sophomore records - Blue and Red [Teen-Beat], and was distributed through digital music streaming / download platforms... until now!  Fort Lowell Records presents to you: Tracy Shedd Louder Than You Can Hear.  Download or stream it now on Apple Music, Bandcamp, Google Play, Spotify, etc.!

La Cerca tourdates announced for November and December

Tucson-based indie rockers La Cerca are heading back out on the road this fall for a few west coast dates.  Don't miss their live concert in a town near you, and be sure to give Andrew a high-five for us!

Nov 11 - Elliot's on Congress - Tucson AZ
Nov 16 - Prospector - Long Beach CA
Nov 17 - Redwood - Los Angeles CA
Nov 20 - Kelly's Olympian - Portland OR
Nov 24 - Hotel Albatross - Seattle WA
Dec 2 - Old Nick's - Eugene OR
Dec 6 - The Boxyard Yard - Tucson AZ
Dec 13 - Sister - Albuquerque NM

Listen to La Cerca's Fort Lowell Records full album Sunrise for Everyone here:

Tracy Shedd has a new single out today - Friday, November 8th

Inspired by the Roland TR-808 Drum Machine and old-school hip-hop beats, Tracy Shedd's latest single - "The Rest Will Follow (The Freestyle Version)" - is a NEW version of the song "The Rest Will Follow" that appears on her latest album The Carolinas.   This is the exact version of the song that Shedd performed at her Record Release Party for The Carolinas, which was held at Bourgie Nights in Wilmington, North Carolina with friends De La Noche.  The Digital 45 Single is backed by the virtual b-side track - "Wake Up" - which is an outtake from The Carolinas recording sessions.  Both new songs are now available on all digital music streaming / download platforms, such as Amazon Music, iTunes, Spotify, etc.

LISTEN NOW:

La Cerca perform live concert November 16 at Prospector in Long Beach CA

VNYL features Tracy Shedd, Beck, The 1975, and more on Spotify 'What's Hot' Playlist!

[Repost from VNYL]

Ooooooh la la lovers of retro. Do we have the power up for your bonus hour of weekend. Our Spotify What’s Hot playlist has just been updated to include new tracks from The 1975, Beck, Power Glove, and Tracy Shedd; featuring “Vengeance” the lead track from Power Glove’s Halloween special glow in the dark vinyl Throwback. Impending doom lingers atop synth-wave backsound as the anonymous duo catapults you straight into apocalyptic soundscapes.

The Good Graces hit the road with an amazing new record!

The Good Graces of Atlanta, Georgia are heading to North Carolina next week in the beginning of November to promote their fantastic new album Prose and Consciousness (POTLUCK Records):

Nov. 5 - Chapel Hill NC - Songwriter's Night at Imbibe with Neville's Quarter
Nov. 7 - Kings Mountain NC - The Revolution1
Nov. 8 - Asheville NC - Static Age Records with Matt Southern & Lost Gold and Joshua Carpenter

Listen to "Standing in Line" from The Good Graces 2014 Fort Lowell Records release:

Happy Birthday, Howe Gelb!

VNYL.org features EXCLUSIVE Tracy Shedd 'The Carolinas' on Electric Green Vinyl

The vinyl subscription service - VNYL.org - is now offering Tracy Shedd's new album The Carolinas (Science Project Records / Fort Lowell Records) to their subscribers, and they have an extra special treat for all of the vinyl loving record collectors out there: the copies of The Carolinas that you will receive from VNYL.org are on a beautiful electric green wax - EXCLUSIVE to VNYL Members only!  Sign up now to subscribe to VYNL.org and received your copy of Tracy Shedd The Carolinas on translucent green vinyl!

[Repost from VNYL.org]

Veteran indie singer/songwriter Tracy Shedd has returned with her latest album The Carolinas, her first in over six years. If you're feeling those summertime withdrawls, fear not because this album is the perfect fall record for you to spin.

The Carolinas, which comes on electric green translucent vinyl, was written and recorded by Tracy and her husband/bandmate James Tritten nearly two years prior to it's release. After tragedies in the family, Tracy needed time to heal and revisited the album to ensure her vision was still there. The final product doesn't disappoint. There's a little bit of very thing on this album, from feel-good, synth-tinged indie rock to 90's singer/songwriter softies. Her lyrics sound like they were pulled right out of a poetry book, her wealth of life experiences inspiring many of the themes here. Shedd has shared the stage with artists such as Cyndi Lauper, Cat Power, and Iron & Wine, and those influences bleed through in this eclectic collection of tunes.

Happy Birthday to Andrew Gardner of La Cerca!

Live Concert Photographs of Tracy Shedd at Bourgie Nights, Wilmington NC

Check these awesome pictures of Tracy Shedd performing at Bourgie Nights in Wilmington, North Carolina for her Record Release Party [Friday, September 20, 2019] for her new album 'The Carolinas' [Science Project Records]!

Photos by Haley Smith [Modern Legend]

La Cerca play live concert at The Quarry in Bisbee AZ

On Monday, October 7th, Tucson, Arizona's La Cerca will open for Levitation Room (Burger Records; from Los Angeles, California) at The Quarry in Bisbee, Arizona!