A Conversation with River City Extension, Part 4

Patrick O'Brien and Joe Michelini at Simple Gifts 4 last year.

"I'm Not There," First Aid Kit, "Jackie," Politics

Note: This is the final installment in a series of posts (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) in which I've shared with you portions of my conversation with River City Extension's Joe Michelini and Patrick O'Brien. We sat in my backyard, drank a few beers, and had a long chat. You'll hear crickets, dogs, planes, trains, bottles and glasses knocking around. You'll also hear some very interesting insights on music and beer.

It's time for the final installment of my conversation with Joe Michelini and Patrick O'Brien of River City Extension. Just in time, too. The band play The Stone Pony tomorrow night for the fifth go-round of their Simple Gifts Thanksgiving Eve show. It's become a Thanksgiving tradition here, and this year's show features some excellent local acts in gods, EdTang and The Chops, and Prehistoric Forest. The band will also be accepting food donations for the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties at the door.

We got back to talking about Deliverance, and Joe, Pat, and I spent some time on Joe's philosophy about how to record a slower song as we discussed Deliverance track "I'm Not There."

The new record doesn't display the overt Americana of its predecessors. Part of that, I think, is due to the lack of a banjo on any of the songs. We find out the reason for that, and Joe and I each make a confession about our own experiences seeing Swedish country duo First Aid Kit play live.



Finally, we've spent a good deal of time discussing an album that just about nobody has heard yet. I wanted to touch a bit on some of the newer music from Joe that's been out there for a while, so we talked a little bit about a couple of songs, like "Jackie," that didn't make it onto the record.



We also touched on the idea of making a political statement in music and why River City Extension doesn't do that.



I'd like to thank the guys for spending so much time with me, talking, and drinking beer. It was fun, and just thinking back on it puts me in a festive holiday mood. Simple Gifts is always a great time, and there are still tickets available.

You should go.

A Conversation with River City Extension, Part 3

Photo: Chase Heaverlo of Shady Buffalo

Muccino, Anger, Mexico, and a New Song

Note: This is the third in a series of posts (Part 1, Part 2) in which I'll share with you portions of my conversation with River City Extension's Joe Michelini and Patrick O'Brien. We sat in my backyard, drank a few beers, and had a long chat. You'll hear crickets, dogs, planes, trains, bottles and glasses knocking around. You'll also hear some very interesting insights on music and beer.

Last week, River City Extension premiered the first song from their upcoming LP Deliverance, slated for March 2015, over at Paste.

"Something's Gotta Give" is a good introduction to the record. It shows the band moving on from the more folky sound of Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Your Anger, while setting up the album's themes of overcoming self-doubt and making difficult moral choices.

According to Joe Michelini and Patrick O'Brien, it's also the first songwriting collaboration for Michelini with significant contributions coming from guitarist John Muccino. In the next clips, we discuss that as well as the generally more collaborative approach that River City Extension took on Deliverance. We also get back to our discussion of the band's past catalog, with special focus on Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Your Anger; and Joe and Pat reveal what Unmistakable Man favorite "Mexico" will sound like at Simple Gifts 5.





Finally today, we've gotta touch on a beer. At this point, we'd already had a couple of wild ales and the Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale from Michigan's Founders Brewing. Our fourth beer came from Quebec's Unibroue. It's one of my favorites, the Belgian style strong dark ale called Trois Pistoles. Here's our quick take.



Check back here next week, on the eve of Simple Gifts 5, for the final installment of my chat with Joe Michelini and Patrick O'Brien of River City Extension. I think it will be kind of an odds and ends piece, maybe a beer or two and some other thoughts.

Also, head over to rivercityextension.com to see all the details on Simple Gifts and to grab a free download of "Something's Gotta Give."

A Conversation With River City Extension, Part 2

Photo: Chase Heaverlo of Shady Buffalo

Lolita, New Band, New Approach

Note: This is the second in a series of posts (Part 1) in which I'll share with you portions of my conversation with River City Extension's Joe Michelini and Patrick O'Brien. We sat in my backyard, drank a few beers, and had a long chat. You'll hear crickets, dogs, planes, trains, bottles and glasses knocking around. You'll also hear some very interesting insights on music and beer.

The organizing principle, the reason, that Joe Michelini, Patrick O'Brien, and I got together in my backyard a few weeks back was beer. I had this idea a while ago to sit down with River City Extension to taste a few beers and to shoot the breeze. That's what we did.

We started things off with the Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale. It's a strong ale from Belgium that, like most wild ales, uses a yeast called brettanomyces rather than the typical saccharomyces cerevisiae in the fermentation process. The "brett" gives the beer a funky, often sour, taste and can make for some interesting flavors. We enjoyed that as we took a listen to Deliverance, the album that River City Extension will release in March.

Next up was an American wild ale called Lolita from Chicago's Goose Island Beer Company. It's another strong one, coming in at 9% abv, flavored with raspberry. This was the second time I'd had this particular beer, and it's pretty damn good.

In this clip, you can hear Joe, Patrick, and me discuss Lolita and Necco Wafers. You can also hear me knock over the recorder at the beginning, but it gets better from there.



Two beers in, and it was time to get back to discussing music. With a new five-member lineup and a new album on the horizon, I was interested in finding out how River City Extension view their past output. We got into the band's philosophy when it comes to replacing / not replacing members who have left the band. We talked about how the "new" River City Extension may interpret the old songs, and we touched a bit on the departure of vocalist Sam Tacon.





In a bit of good timing, we got a preview of the band's new approach last week with a "Gardentakes" session during which they played a re-worked "Welcome to Pittsburgh."



Check back next week to hear the next installment of my conversation with Joe and Patrick. We should be pretty far into a few more beers by then. Should be fun.

Head over to River City Extension's website for details on this year's Simple Gifts 5, taking place at The Stone Pony on November 26th.

A Conversation with River City Extension, Part I

Photo: Chase Heaverlo of Shady Buffalo

Let's Talk Deliverance

Note: This is the first in a series of posts in which I'll share with you portions of my conversation with River City Extension's Joe Michelini and Patrick O'Brien. We sat in my backyard, drank a few beers, and had a long chat. You'll hear crickets, dogs, planes, trains, bottles and glasses knocking around. You'll also hear some very interesting insights on music and beer.

Toms River's River City Extension have been through some significant changes since the release of 2012’s excellent Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Your Anger. The then 8-piece band toured as far away as Australia for the album, eventually making their way back home for a triumphant Simple Gifts show at The Stone Pony. They played a jubilant and cathartic set to a crowd still recovering from the devastation of Superstorm Sandy. Since then, River City Extension have dealt with the departures of several significant members of that incarnation of the band. They played another installment of Simple Gifts -- a two-hour-plus show that drew from their entire catalog. They’ve also welcomed new members. Guitarist John Muccino joined the band for the Anger tour and stayed on to form the core trio – with singer / songwriter / guitarist Joe Michelini and keyboardist Patrick O’Brien – that recorded the band’s forthcoming LP, Deliverance, over the course of an 18-day Pocono retreat. With the additions of full-time bassist Josh Gilman and full-time drummer Steve Tambone, River City Extension are now a stream-lined five-piece.

That long process of change and growth is starting to bear fruit. River City Extension just yesterday released a video trailer for Deliverance and announced a release date of March 10th, 2015 for the new record.



They'll also be kicking off a tour with Augustana next week in Chicago that will make its way through 10 cities -- hitting New York's Webster Hall on November 20th -- before the band come back home for the fifth installment of their annual Thanksgiving Eve show at The Stone Pony on November 26th. That show also features a solid slate of local favorites in gods, EdTang and The Chops, and Prehistoric Forest. Head over to www.rivercityextension.com for all the details on that.

The members of River City Extension also love craft beer. Joe Michelini has become a student of brewing in the years that the band have spent on tour. He can name drop species of yeast with the best of them and loves trying new and interesting brews. I thought it would be fun, then, to spend an evening with him discussing the "new" band, their new record, this year’s Simple Gifts show at The Stone Pony, and beer.

A few weeks ago, Joe Michelini, Patrick O'Brien, and I took to my backyard where we enjoyed some great beer and great conversation. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting bits of our chat as we get closer to this year’s Thanksgiving Eve show.

We started the evening off by listening to Deliverance -- one time, straight through, very few comments -- as we enjoyed the Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale (A Belgian strong ale. 9% abv. All the beers we tried were pretty strong. You'll see.).

Afterwards, I turned on the recorder; and we sat down and discussed what we'd just heard. I gave a very quick, lightning first impression. Joe and Patrick talked a bit about the process of sequestering themselves in the Poconos for the recording as well as the band's approach, goals, and inspirations for the new album.

Just in case this isn't obvious, I start things off. The next voice you hear belongs to Joe Michelini, and Patrick O'Brien comes in at various points.



We'll be touching on more of these topics, discussing how the new composition of River City Extension will affect the band's approach to playing their old songs live, and nerding out over a few beers in the coming weeks. It was a wide-ranging conversation that got more and more fun as we tried more and more brews.

So stay tuned.