Guest List: A Few of Yawn Mower's Favorite Things from 2018

Yawn Mower at this year's Bond St. Block Party in Asbury Park

Yawn Mower Ruins 2018

Asbury Park duo, Yawn Mower, are another band who had an eventful 2018. They released Waffle House, a double single consisting of re-mixes of a pair of older Yawn Mower tracks. They signed to NJ's Mint 400 Records. And, in the spring, the band released their third EP of originals, Could Eat, Would Sleep.



Guitarist Mike Chick and drummer Biff Swenson each branched out to other projects, Chick putting out some songs with Beach Wolff and Biff playing in PA / NJ band, Earth Telephone.

Oh. They also have a Chrismas EP, Yawn Mower Ruins Christmas.



I asked the guys to sum up their 2018 for me, and they each took their own swipe at it.

Mike Chick

Chick

Favorite Albums

Floating Features, La Luz. Every release is better than the last with this band. Album has a great sound and feel.

Oxnard, Anderson .Paak. As soon as this guy's voice starts it lights up the room.

Warm, Jeff Tweedy. This album is relatively new, but feels instantly familiar upon listening.

Favorite Singles

"Chun Li," Nicki Minaj. This is a great wild out while your driving song.

"RSI," BEAK>. Great motorik beat from some of the folks in Portishead. Best album cover of the year award goes to this record too.

>>> by BEAK>

"Boyish," Japanese Breakfast. Beautiful melody. Gets stuck in your head right away. Stays there for a while until you get another beautiful melody in your head.

"Klutz," Aesop Rock. One-off single from one of the greatest lyricists of our time. Artwork done by the great Steve Powers.

Favorite Concerts

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks playing a rough version of "Life's Been Good" by Joe Walsh (Music Hall of Williamsburg). I’ve been mildly obsessed with Joe Walsh's But Seriously, Folks this past year, so to see one of my all-time favorite musicians play this song was a real surprise. My brother even looked over at me and said, "Isn't this your favorite song right now? How cool is that?!"

David Byrne's (Count Basie Theatre) show for American Utopia was one of the coolest, most original shows I have ever seen. The setlist was perfect. All the instruments were wireless, so the band moved around the stage the whole time. Some members would dip on and off stage depending on the song. Just such a great show.

Favorite Yawn Mower Gigs

North Face Blue Lodge Party in Plymouth, NH. One of the craziest shows we ever played. The crowd was jumping so much the floor was full on bouncing.

North Jersey Indie Rock Festival at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, NJ. Put on by Mint 400 Records and other NJ-based music labels and blogs. Awesome day of music by some of the best NJ bands today. Bucket list item to play at White Eagle Hall also.


Yawn Mower at the North Jersey Indie Rock Festival by Rose Lamela

Favorite Foods

Ani Ramen, Jersey City, NJ.
Hot Chicken Sandwich at Bruxton Hall, Asheville, NC.
Fusaro Pizza, Manahawkin, NJ.

Biff Swenson

Biff

Favorite Albums

S/T, Algernon Cadwallader 

Tentanda Via, American Trappist

Oxnard, Anderson .Paak 

Negro Swan, Blood Orange 

iridescence, Brockhampton

Night Swimming, Dentist 

Bark Your Head Off, Dog, Hop Along 

Redemption, Jay Rock

Kanye' s Wyoming Sessions (Kids See Ghosts / Daytona / Ye)

Swimming, Mac Miller 

[untitled], mewithoutYou

Chosen Family, Thin Lips

Whack World, Tierra Whack

Kill The Lights, Tony Molina 

This is Fine, Well Wisher 

Favorite Singles

"Reel It In," Aminé 

"Bubblin'," Anderson .Paak

"Dig," Everywhen

"Mr. Tillman," Father John Misty

"Moon River," Frank Ocean

"Jersey Fornication," Jae Bird 

"Paradise," Kon Sweetie 

"Soul Searchin'," Matty Pasq ft. Tom Jacob

"Nobody," Mitski 

"Model Homes," Pedro The Lion

"Fever Pitch," Rainbow Kitten Surprise 

"Sunflower," Rex Orange County 

"Potato Salad," Tyler The Creator & A$AP Rocky 

"Honeybee," Unknown Mortal Orchestra 

"Wink," The Voidz

Favorite Concerts

Brockhampton at The Fillmore (Philly). took acid, was tight.

Brockhampton at Terminal 5 (New York). took shrooms, was tighter.

Favorite Gigs I Played

Yawn Mower playing NH & CO for The North Face. crazy cool shows, and TNF was

extremely accommodating and generous to us.

Yawn Mower playing WFMU's Monty Hall with Electric 6

Earth Telephone opening for the final night of The Menzingers' 3-night run at Crossroads. we had Joe from Hop Along/Algernon Cadwallader fill in on lead guitar - unreal!

Favorite Foods

Bing Bing, Philly

Pasta Vola, Asbury Park

Milk Bar, New York

Bao Haus, New York

Blackbird Pizzeria, Philly

Mid-Week Fun at The Asbury and House of Independents, 10/31 & 11/1

Titus Andronicus at House of Independents

Old Friends and New

This was a pretty quiet weekend at CDMHQ. CoolMom spent the middle of last week on a business trip to San Francisco, and the rest of us did our usual stuff -- swim practices, shows, trick or treating, that kind of thing. When CoolMom did get home, we decided to have some family time for a change. I did manage to get out to a couple of things while she was away, though.

On Wednesday, I hosted a Halloween show at The Asbury Hotel. That one featured The Rareflowers, Mike Chick, and our old friends Roy Orbitron. It seemed pretty laid back for a Halloween Night in Asbury Park, but I guess that's what happens when the big holiday falls smack dab in the middle of the week.

Mike Chick

We all had a good time. Mike Chick opened solo acoustic with some covers (including some Yawn Mower) and his original Halloween classic, "Ding Dong (Fill My Plastic Pumpkin)." The Rareflowers blew everyone away with their chimey dream pop. I encourage all of you to check out their self-titled EP on Good Eye Records. Finally, Roy Orbitron made a return to Asbury Park riding the high of the fantastic new 8 Million To One.

The Rareflowers

Roy Orbitron

Like I said, it was a weirdly quiet Halloween; but this was a fun show with some of my favorite people.

On Thursday night, Titus Andronicus played House of Independents for their first Asbury Park headlining date since, I think, their 2014 show at Asbury Lanes. This leg of their tour featured label mates Spider Bags; and, on Thursday, locals The Double Negatives started things.

The Double Negatives

The Double Negatives are difficult to classify. It's soulful and emotional rock. Lead singer, Rob Connolly, gives it his all; and the band put on a damn high-energy show.

This was my third or fourth time seeing Spider Bags; and their rambling, punk-tinged garage rock was on full display once again. Songs that start out as barroom-style, rootsy, punk veer off into extended jams and back again. My date for the evening, intrepid interviewer Matt Chrystal, remarked, "These guys rule."

Spider Bags

Patrick Stickles took the stage at about 10:20. After his usual instructions about keeping things peaceful and respecting one another's personal space, he did a solo rendition of The Monitor's "To Old Friends and New." From there, the rest of the band joined him for "Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ;" and we were off.

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

In the middle of the set, the band played several "covers" from a mysterious 1980 compilation album called Working Class Blokes that Stickles and guitarist Liam Betson had supposedly come across during their tour of the UK. Not only did they discover a treasure trove of second-wave Bristol punk rock; but they also made a killing on the record, having purchased it for a single pound only to discover later on Discogs that the comp was fetching 1,000 pounds.

Funny. But I haven't been able to find any trace of this record myself. Oh, well. That "TMLT Around the World" song -- from a later charity comp and written by the same folks who wrote the other songs -- is one I'd like to get my hands on eventually.

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

The crowd was a bit smaller than I expected, but that's the uncertainty of Asbury Park in the cooler months for you. It gave the show a loose, interesting feel; and there was definitely a lot less of the bro-y nonsense that can happen at the more tightly-packed shows. Also, the "Cool! Dad! Cool! Dad!" chant started by Patrick Stickles from the stage was pretty awesome.

After Wednesday and Thursday, I was a little physically and psychologically spent; so, as I said, the rest of the weekend was relatively quiet. CoolMom and I even got to go out to dinner together which was a rare and welcome development.

I posted the pictures from both nights over at the Facebook page. Flickr is going through some changes that leave me wondering if they'll be a reliable picture host down the road, so I've stopped uploading there for the time being. If any bands want a non-squished version of anything, feel free to get in touch.

Premiere: New Video / Songs from Beach Wolff (Mike Chick)

All the contributing members of Beach Wolff

"Where Did You Go?"

"Trying to stay productive."

That's what Mike Chick texted me after we'd discussed the new rap remixes from his band with Biff Swenson, Yawn Mower, as well as the songs from his new solo-ish project, Beach Wolff. I shared the Yawn Mower stuff with you last Friday; and, today, we've got the premiere of a new video from Beach Wolff.

Some background:

On October 1, 2017, Mike Chick got together with Bob Paulos (GayGuy / StraightGuy, Shut Up) and Nick Kaelblein (Wetbrain, ex-Dentist) to learn, play, and -- ultimately -- record two of Mike's songs. After about an hour of practicing, the guys recorded "Where Did You Go?" and "A Pea A Pod A Slug A Mod" to 4-track tape. The whole process took about three hours. Then the trio ate pizza.

They brought the raw tracks over to Pat Noon at EightSixteen / Trax East studios where Chick added vocals and guitar solos. The results, in all their fuzzy, Dinosaur Jr.-inspired glory, are available over at Chick's Bandcamp page.

During the whole recording process, Chick had a camera rolling. The uber-talented Dana Yurcisin edited it into the video for "Where Did You Go?" which you may check out below.

Chick says he'd like to continue to produce songs with the same template / spontaneous nature as Beach Wolff but with a rotating cast of supporting characters. I'm sure we'll see something else soon. Mike Chick is a productive guy.


“Where Did You Go?” from Mike Chick on Vimeo.