Pete and Andrea Connolly///////////////////////////////////////////
////CD RELEASE SHOW @ LOCAL 506/////////////////////////////
photo by Agatha Donkar - www.flickr.com/photos/minervacat/--------------
photo by Agatha Donkar - www.flickr.com/photos/minervacat/--------------
photo by Agatha Donkar - www.flickr.com/photos/minervacat/--------------
////////////////JOSH "STARMAKER" STARMER on CELLO/////////////////////////////
photo by Agatha Donkar - www.flickr.com/photos/minervacat/--------------
photo by Agatha Donkar
--------------------www.flickr.com/photos/minervacat/
//////////////////photo by Brian Risk///////////////////////////
////////////////////////photo by Betsy Harris/////////////////////
///////////////photo by Bill Hudson/////////////www.cameraviews.com
//////////////photo by Bill Hudson/////////////www.cameraviews.com
*STARMAKER* OUT NOW!
to order please visit www.307knoxrecords.com
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STARMAKER is INDEPENDENT WEEKLY's ALBUM of the MONTH for OCT....now streaming on www.indyweek.com
Birds & Arrows sing their life and love onto the new Starmaker
illustration by Nathan Golub
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----------------------------------Birds & Arrows' Starmaker----------------------------------
--------------------------------------(307 Knox Records)-------------------------------------
Starmaker, the full-length debut from young duo Birds & Arrows, plays like a scrapbook that chronicles the love and lives of husband and wife Pete and Andrea Connolly. Both the album art and songs are deeply personal, edging on voyeuristic at times, but offering a sort of universal truth for their intimacy. On the title track, Andrea and Pete sing in unison, identifying God as the "starmaker" who pushes a pin through black paper like on a schoolchild's art project. By casting God as the craft artist, the Connollys afford themselves the power to create their own world, one of instant nostalgia and familiarity, not unlike the best of Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music. Artwork of Native Americans and spaceships collides with lyrics about traveling and love. Birds & Arrows' domain is strange and beautiful, full of wide-eyed wonder.
On "Honeymoon Song," they describe a broad and encompassing world, singing, "In a place so old with a life so new, it was all." Still, Andrea picks out minute details, like stopping the car every few miles because it was smoking. The specificity paints an intimate portrait, offering an inlet into the couple's private life. Andrea's strummed guitar begins the track, which grows in layers—cello, piano and pedal steel as ornaments, then Pete's simple tribal drumming on tom-toms. Add all the sounds in the world, though, and the excitement in "Honeymoon Song" stems from the palpable connection between the couple. Pete joins Andrea on harmony vocals, helping lift the line, "It was all," into "It was always you."
The singing throughout Starmaker is fantastic. Andrea's voice is clear, full and stunning, seemingly designed for melancholic anthems and slow-burning love songs. With sand on his vocal chords, Pete delivers lyrics with a rootsy, quiet confidence that balances Andrea in an unexpectedly appealing way. He even tackles lead vocals on a few songs, including "Monkey Brother," a song about his estranged adopted brother who died last year.
While the band is essentially a guitar-drums duo, "Ripe and Ruptured" features Latin-inspired claves and ooh-la-las. Coldplay could even cover "Company Keep." The music refuses to stand still, mirroring the album's uniting motif of drives—or, more generally, movement and progression. The theme comes to fruition on "Daisy Renee," a joyous country ode to an old car. "Send her home," the Connollys call together, echoing Tom Waits and Neil Young's old-world automobile nostalgia. The '64 Oldsmobile can be imagined heading off into the glowing sunset.
Primal and passionate, expectant and hopeful, Birds & Arrows' Starmaker is a Victorian curio cabinet filled with personal moments and universal emotions..............................
ALBUM REVIEW by ANDREW RICHEY of Independent Weekly
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We also have two self released EPs which we are selling for $5. Please contact us through myspace or email (birdsandarrows@gmail.com) if you are interested in purchasing one.
All songs are written, recorded and released by Birds & Arrows
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*******Woodgrain Heart*******
(self-released)
“The packaging for Woodgrain Heart, the debut EP from Chapel Hill duo Birds & Arrows, consists of a slim cardboard sleeve that's been spray painted a deep cerulean shade, the band's name written in a comfortable, slightly sloppy script across the top in coarse black marker. A rudimentary cutout of a human heart printed onto the sort of lumber laminate you'd use to line kitchen cabinets sits at the middle. Tucked inside, the liner notes are printed onto a single sheet of tawny paper with doodles and lyrics and acknowledgments packed onto one side, pictures of price tags and the band set in a grid on the other. It's a decidedly handmade production, the sort of thing bandmates attached at the hip make while watching the sun come up, an old record spinning on a nearby stereo.
Indeed, Pete and Andrea Connolly (neé Nell) wed in October, becoming the most recent addition to the Triangle's excellent collegium of married bands that includes The Rosebuds, Work Clothes and Waumiss. And their work—warm, emotional, poetic folk music played tenderly and gingerly—thrives on the relationship's intimacy, spinning songs from domestic images like the blue flickering flame of a gas burner and the trove of persistent memories that remain like love's kindling. Andrea, who sings and plays guitar in the bluegrass quartet Sweet By & By, takes the lead on three of the EP's six tracks, turning in a slow-burning performance on opener "Garden Shed" and layering her reverb-tinged vocals over banjo and handclaps on the title track. With a voice that's as workmanlike as it is worn, Pete adds a jangly lift to his tracks, like the mandolin-abetted "Old Man Winter" or the structurally convoluted "Black Shoes." But, as things should be, the Connollys sound best when they sing together, their complementary voices wrapping together in rustic contentment and comfort, like a happy pair making music because that's how love makes them feel. These six splendid songs beg for those feelings to continue”----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14 JAN 2009 • by Grayson Currin --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------Independent Weekly---www.indyweek.com
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-----------------------------BALTIMORE CITY PAPER-----------------------------------------------
By Al Shipley | Posted 5/29/2009
"The Thursday show was opened by Porcelain Doll Club, a solo singer/songwriter who appeared a little nervous and inexperienced, but gave a pleasant, ingratiating performance. The real gem of the show was the other opener, Birds and Arrows, a husband/wife duo from North Carolina. Singer/guitarist Andrea Connolly's sweetly smoky voice and twangy tunes with Pete Connolly's complementary harmonies and bombastic drums combined to create one of the more complete, full-bodied sounds ever to come out of a two-person band. The only frustrating thing, however, was that the killer standout of Birds and Arrows' set, "Not Interested," is a newer tune not yet available on record. But, like Kadman, their previews of unreleased songs made a good case for keeping an eye out for a future release date"
So glad we were able to play a show with y'all in chicago. You sound so good together! We're serious about the show trade thing... we could definitely hook up a cool show for you in Detroit so hit us up when you're lookin' to cruise up that way! Luck on the road, friends...
Your page is just dynamic!!! I'm playing everything B&A you have posted here because, well, you're still just crazy addictive! The more I listen, the more I want to listen again. Has myspace upgraded the player?, because these postings are FANTASTIC!!! Love love love this total experience here!
(PS - -Proud to have some photos featured on your profile page. Thanks!)
Hammer No More the Fingers - 12:45 am - whenever Auxes -11:30 pm - 12:30 am Fin Fang Foom - 10:15 pm - 11:15 pm I Was Totally Destroying It - 9:15 pm - 10:00 pm Dr. Powerful - 8:15 pm - 9:00 pm Embarrassing Fruits - 7:15 pm - 8:00 pm Renminbi - 6:15 pm - 7:00 pm Vinny Vegas - 5:15 pm - 6:00 pm White Tiger & the Bed of Roses - 4:15 pm - 5:00 pm Starmount - 3:15 pm - 4:00 pm Hymn All the Fires - 2:15 pm - 3:00 pm G-Force Karate Demonstration - 1:45 pm - 2:15 pm Ol' North State - 1:00 pm - 1:45 pm Ned and Lucie Watkins - 12:00 pm - 12:45 pm
Follow TTWD Fest on Twitter! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What is TTWD Fest?
TTWD is an all day music festival held at the Old Gilliam Mill Park outside of Sanford, NC on August 8, 2009. The park is a replica of a 19th century grist mill, and it is a great place to see music. Bands play in an amphitheatre style setting on a stage that looks like the front porch of an old shack. It has sort of an “Austin City Limits” feel. There are campsites with electricity, running water, bathrooms, and showers. There is also a full kitchen onsite, and food and beverages will be provided by Bella Bistro.
Point your GPS to 4613 Carbonton Rd, SANFORD, North Carolina 27330 (This is the closest physical address to the park. The park itself is on Hwy 42 W / Carbonton Road in between Wakefield Road and Pickard Road.)
you guys sounded amazing last night. we'll definitely try and get something together for the fall in raleigh. pete, let me know when you want to kick my ass at tennis. i'm for serious. love you guys!
Hey Birds as well as Arrows. Thx for the add. It was fun hanging out and hearing you guys rock the coolest laundromat in the world a few weeks ago. I listen to your cd quite often...sounds great. Hope to see/hear you guys again. Cheers!
Hi Birds & Arrows! Thanks for the friendship. We have a show coming up in Raleigh, NC May 30th. Check the event link below for details. Hope to see you there! Click Here To View Event <>>> <>>>
