Three Imaginary Girls - Nana Grizol

Liz's DJ set from Monday's Crocodile Happy Hour

imaginary liz — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 04:11:24 +0000

{photo by the lovely Victoria VanBruinisse}

Thanks again to everyone who stopped by the Crocodile on Monday!

It was *so so awesome* seeing you and boy oh boy did the double helpings of pizza make my tummy happy. I still have a couple of those wooden tokens for rum drink specials left over; I suppose I've kept them to remind me of the rum vanilla-y goodness for weeks to come.

Word from our interoffice email threads since the event confirms that every member of the DJ crew had an amazing time! Chris Estey, Amie Simon, and Victoria VanBruinisse really outdid themselves putting together their sets.

Some folks who couldn't stay the whole time (or perhaps redeemed one too many of those wooden rum drink tokens) asked for a recap of the set... so here's mine:

Keenan's Top 10 Songs of 2010 (with Videos)

imaginary keenan — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:05:26 +0000

It's hard to believe 2010 is already over (which is probably why this list is so late), as it was one of the biggest and craziest years of my lifetime. I quit working full time to start a business with my fiance, and, as some of you know, mid-way through last year I decided it was time to bid Seattle a temporary farewell, and by the end of the year, I was packed up and across the country, living small-town style in Athens, GA. I'm a life-long Seattleite, and will continue to think of myself that way, despite the distance, for at least the time being.

These songs of 2010 were the ones that counseled me through the tough decisions of leaving and provided respite in scream-alongs to remind me that everything was going to be OK. Some of these win brownie points for unbelievably adorable videos, and some of them the songs were just too great to not post something, so bear with the fake youtube videos that just have a photo and the album version of the song. Trust me, it's worth it.

1. Nana Grizol "Cynicism"

Imaginary Liz's favorite songs of 2010

imaginary liz — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 19:01:47 +0000

It usually isn't in my nature to go against the John Roderick grain, but when it comes to end of year lists of favorites, I can't help myself. I have to gather all of my favorite songs into an MP3 scrapbook for my own current and future mental sanity.

Perusing the song stacks of the past year allows me to recall and file the past year before opening up my next year's calendar. Having an MP3 scrapbook gives me a one stop shop when, a year or even 15 days from now, I ask my-list-driven-self "What was 2010?" {because aren't all of our best memories tied to a song?}.

The answer to that question is below in the form of the playlist of my Imaginary Liz's Favorites Songs of 2010 mix:

1. Stornoway - Zorbing / Beachcomber's Windowsill
This is a solid album that is a soothing blend of a bashful Mumford & Sons, randy Features with a pinch of John Denver. This is the most rocking song on the album and the best Stornoway gateway drug, although I nearly featured "Long Distance Lullaby" on this record because I'm a sucker for love letters about late night phone calls. If I was the kind of girl that would have two songs by the same band on a single mixtape, "Long Distance Lullaby" would be a great way to end this year's wrap up.

2. Drums - Let's Go Surfing / The Drums
I'm a sucker for their Spector-esque take on the new wave of the retro reverb. I also love that igDana suggested that the chorus is actually, "Obama, I want to go shopping!"

3. Allo Darlin' - Kiss Your Lips / Allo Darlin'
It is far from hyperbolic to say this is my album of the year if not the decade. I can't recommend it highly enough. It's got the sweet coy of Heavenly, the foresight of Weezer (name checked in this song), and the jangle guitar of the Wedding Present. I've got several candles lit in hopes Allo Darlin returns to Seattle this year {they are set to play the San Francisco PopFest over Memorial Day weekend - which is just a hopskipjump away!}. They are getting a lot of attention from critics and record store fans far and wide, so I can only hope that Allo Darlin' is the future of sweetheart pop {and that sweetheart pop is the future of twee}.

Athens Popfest roundup: 5 days of awesome

imaginary keenan — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:00:36 +0000

{a rare Popfest sight - an empty 40 Watt, by Rich Guiterrez}

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Athens Popfest is always the best week of the year for indie pop nerds, and this year was no exception. Think five days straight of raging shows, surrounded by so many old and new favorite bands and your "camp buddies" you only see once a year + 100 (or more) degree heat and southern humidity + cheap booze + insane nerdery. All I can really say is that it was epic, for so many reasons. Here are a few highlights.

Top five favorite bands:
1. Go Sailor
There was kind of no way that this wasn't going to be my favorite, as I'm a die hard Go Sailor fan, but their set was amplified by me and about 20 other die hard Go Sailor fans screaming along every word to every song. You just can't buy that kind of camaraderie and sense of community. At that moment, Go Sailor were our Beatles. We spent the whole set singing specific favorite lyrics to each other and jumping up and down and dancing our asses off. I consequently spent the rest of popfest without a voice. It was totally worth it. Their whole set was recorded and is on youtube, but here's my favorite song of the set "A Fine Day For Sailing". (That's us in the background.)

Best of 2010 {half year check in}: Imaginary Liz's mixtape of favorites

imaginary liz — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:43:38 +0000

In celebration of all the great things released so far this year, I couldn't help but make my own mix to listen on repeat. I even got so nerdy as to create cd-sized cover art with a tracklisting for my Favorites of the First Half of 2010 (download the 5MB printable PDF).

Fav Albums (in no particular order):
Allo Darlin - Allo Darlin
Antarctica Takes It! - Constellations
The Drums - The Drums
Los Campesinos! - Romance Is Boring
Math & Physics Club - I Shouldn't Look As Good As I Do
Nana Grizol - Ruth
People Eating People - People Eating People
Quasi - American Gong
Standard Fare - The Noyelle Beat

Fav Retrospective:
Carissa's Wierd - They'll Only Miss You When You Leave: Songs 1996-2003

Fav 7":
Gold-Bears - “Tally”

Fav Cover Song:
Cats On Fire - “Your Woman” from the album Dealing In Antiques
(cover of a White Town song)

I am sure I forgot something... what songs and/or albums are your favorites of the year so far? Anything in particular you're looking forward hearing that's set for release later this year? {Thermals, Thermals, Thermals}

Best news of the day: Theo from Nana Grizol in Seattle June 29th

imaginary keenan — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:26:02 +0000

It's no secret that we here at Three Imaginary Girls LOVE Nana Grizol. The magical twitter birds happened to post this news today:

June 29th at the Mine (5113 Russell Ave NW)

Defiance, OH (Theo NG's other band)

Kimya Dawson

Your Heart Breaks

Theo Grizol (his solo sets are so magical!)

Chin Up, Meriwether

8pm sharp, $6-$10

Though it's a Tuesday, we feel this show needs no explanation. Without the horns and the double drums and exploding energy, what's left in Theo's songs are beautiful, heartwrenching tales of friendships and relationships so honest and true that it's hard not to instantly relate.

I recently came into posession of a Nana Grizol Inspirational Pillow Case with the phrase (from the song "Galaxies") "What you now are seeking hope to realize. Don't give it til the weekend it will takes weeks months years it will take you your whole life". Just think about that one for a while and try not to be inspired.

Athens Popfest 2010 lineup announced

imaginary keenan — Fri, 21 May 2010 09:42:08 +0000

Today is like Christmas morning for indie pop nerds. Today, I am giddy as hell because THE ATHENS POPFEST LINEUP HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED! I've compared Athens Popfest before to indie pop summer camp, but basically, it's the best week out of the year for anyone who loves indie pop. And this year, I think they've really done it with the lineup:

The Wedding Present, Mission of Burma, Apples In Stereo, Go Sailor, Circulatory System, Oh-OK (early Athens greatness), Joe Jack Talcum (Dead Milkmen), Nana Grizol, BOAT, Cars Can Be Blue, Poison Control Center, Gold-Bears, Dream Diary, Eux Autres, Afternoon Naps, World Atlas, Your Heart Breaks and more. Complete lineup after the jump. Commence freaking out and immediately buying plane tickets now. Check out complete band bios here.

A roadtrip to Athens, GA... and other things going on this weekend

imaginary liz — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 22:15:28 +0000

Tomorrow morning, before the crack of dawn, I'll be headed to Atlanta, GA to visit my mom and sister for the weekend (they moved there a few years back, after I had already survived a Delaware childhood). Besides getting to visit with the fams, I am elated that my mom agreed to not only transport me from suburban Atlanta to Lil Five Points to visit ATL's Criminal Records, but also go on a mini-roadtrip to Athens for the day on Saturday!

It's no secret I love all that is Athens, GA. Over the last *cough* decade+, I have enjoyed many a stroll down Lumpkin Street and have worn out more than one 40 Watt Club t-shirt. I really don't think I will ever get over my Athens-obsession.

The highlights this time around? A visit to Wuxtry Records and lunch at The Grit. While running around GA, I will also have my eye out for some thrift stores (the southern ladies usually donate some pretty fly wares) and I might even spot a Nana Grizol or Cars Can Be Blue!

Anything else we should do while in the sweetest of small towns for the day? Any GA local releases I should look out for in the shops?

In case you're not roadtripping this weekend and will be in Seattle with your marshmallow peeps, there's plenty of stuff to keep you busy (hello Miniature Tigers and Surfer Blood!):

Athens Popfest 2010 first lineup announcement!

imaginary keenan — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:23:22 +0000

{Robert Schneider from the Apples In Stereo from Athens Popfest 2008}

We here at TIG have been crushing out over Athens Popfest for years. I've been every year since 2006 and Liz went in 2005 and 2007. It's pretty much always the best week of the year, fusing together amazing indie pop, delicious food (seriously, Athens has the best!), and wonderful community. I look forward to the lineup announcement all year long, and the wonderful popfest folks have given us just a taste of what's to come, featuring some of my current favorite bands and lots of TIG favorites (and as always, some newbies I'm so excited to hear)!

Nana Grizol. The Band Can Play a Show

bobby mchugh — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:07:09 +0000

19 Jan 2010

nanagrizjan10.jpg

Nana Grizol played The Vera Project on Tuesday, Jan. 19th along with Max Levine Ensemble, iji and A Million Years Ago. If you didn't already know about this show... see here, here, here, here, and here.

Nana Grizol

IJI

{Find more great photos backstrokn' in TIG's sparkly Indie-Pop flickr pool}

Tuesday's Nana Grizol show is going to {insert hyperbolic statement here like how it's going to be the most amazing thing ever}

imaginary liz — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:52:25 +0000

I am fairly certain that imaginary keenan and I have created an airtight case to get yourself to the Vera Project on Tuesday {1/19} to see Nana Grizol {exhibits one, two, three, four}, but here are a couple more reasons to get you and your posse there:

Win tickets to see Nana Grizol at the Vera Project January 19th, take 2!

three imaginary girls — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 01:09:19 +0000

{Nana Grizol photo by Jon Manning}

Update! Looks like we found another pair of tickets! Folks who've already entered are still eligible! Details after the jump!

There are some bands that we could go on for hours about how much we love. Athens, GA's Nana Grizol are no exception. I've personally taken to describing them as a combination of the Thermals and the Weakerthans with a horn section, but that barely even scratches the surface of their sometimes 8-infinity piece band awesomeness (complete with floppy hair-ed jumping up and down). Their songs are so heartwrenchingly beautiful and meaningful, complete with lyrics that make you rethink your entire attitude towards life (ex: "Cynicism isn't wisdom/it's just a lazy way to say that you've been burned" from their new album Ruth).

imaginary liz's favorite albums of the last decade

imaginary liz — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:52:00 +0000

Yesterday I divulged my favorite albums of the year. Today I am ready to let go of my latest obsession: My album recap of how I spent my 00's.

The below listage rant is my own little time capsule to remind myself why 2000-2009 musically ruled. As with my other list posts, I'm certain I totally forgot to add something really important to my end-all-be-all-recap. It's up to you to remind me by posting your favs of the 00's below.

Best news of the day: New Nana Grizol album details and {TIG exclusive} free MP3

imaginary liz — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:59:35 +0000

From an informal poll of recent friends' twitters, it looks like it's been a rough week for a lot of us.

Just when I was about to start self-medicating with diet soda and a bucket of leftover Halloween candy, Nana Grizol emailed us and offered a brand-spanking new, never been posted, beauty of a song that is going to be on the next Nana Grizol album Ruth (Orange Twin Records, January 12, 2010)!!!

As I was hoping, "Galaxies" is a brass horn-filled, jangle-ridden, heart-wrenching sing-along piece of pop wonderment (download it now!) and is a great follow up to the first sneakpeek from the upcoming album, "For Things That Haven't Come Yet" (download it).

If you're outside of Seattle, looks like you might be in Nana Grizol luck:

Tonight's recommended show: Theo Zumm from Nana Grizol gets up close and personal

imaginary liz — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:37:32 +0000

I dare you to find a person who attended February 19th Nana Grizol show at the Vera Project who didn't think that Nana Grizol didn't completely upstage the evening's headliners, Music Tapes. I don't mean to start any GA gang wars with my declarations of better-ness, but the show, which marked Nana Grizol's first Seattle performance, was one of my favorites of the year so far.

Nana Grizol completely charmed the audience with their brand of sweet jangle of their Athens, GA indie-rock that makes folks unabashedly dance to their hooky stories about good times with friends hooks and coy affairs of the heart.

And, how could 2009 get any better? Theo (lead front guy songwriter dude) is coming back to town to perform a very special one-man show in a very small, shall I say intimate, setting at New Crompton.

Join me as we hug and laugh and giggle the night away in underground splendor with the four very fine acts on the bill:

* Theo Zumm (from Nana Grizol)
* Your Heart Breaks
* Daschel Schueler
* Blanket Truth

Nana Grizol and Music Tapes at the Vera Project

heather b — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:09:59 +0000

19 Feb 2009

nana1.jpg

I showed up at the Vera Project to cover Music Tapes, having heard that the band featured former members of Neutral Milk Hotel. I'd never even heard of the support band, Nana Grizol, however there were many many Imaginaries in residence to let me know they'd be a band worth hearing. The Vera Project was a veritable Elephant 6 heaven for any fan that night.

As the Imaginaries predicted, I enjoyed the Nana Grizol show a lot more than I did Music Tapes. The whole band is exceedingly sweet and endearing and just played the hell out of their set, which was mostly just a multi-instrumental joy-fest. Lots of playful banter and charming confusion peppered their time onstage, along with a lot of big toothy grins. Maybe they were just high.

At any rate, they're an energetic and multi-talented bunch of people - and when I say "bunch" I mean "shitload": In addition to two drummers and the requisite guitars, they had two trumpet players, a baritone player, clarinets, tambourines, spoons and more. Vocals by Theo Hilton are wholehearted and earnest and pour out of him with gusto. He's got a funny little cracky, lispy voice and is a fantastic band leader, telling lots of inside jokes and cracking up the rest of the band. The whole ensemble together just seems like a really fun backyard party band who simply have a great time hanging out with one another. The Neutral Milk Hotel vibe on the horns was definitely there, but it didn't eclipse Nana Grizol as a band at all, which was good. Overall a very thoroughly enjoyable show. I bought their CD immediately. You should too.

Music Tapes...Ok, now that was weird, y'all. Having done a little research on Julian Koster since the show, it all makes a little more sense now, but I wasn't prepared for the surrealism of that experience, not one bit. It began with just solitary Julian playing a melancholy song on the banjo, but he was joined by most of Nana Grizol near the end, with Theo Hilton now on the drums. I'd never seen someone rock out so much on a banjo.

Shortly after, Julian introduced us to "two good friends" (which ended up being a saw and a television with a crooked little smiley face drawn on) and then proceeded to play the saw beautifully, what he's most known for. Koster reminds me of Crispin Glover with his odd quirks and eccentricities; the whole experience was kind of what you'd expect from George McFly. Childlike vocals came from the television "from outer space...the only singing television in the world". The song took a captivating turn, him still treating that banjo like he was in Nirvana and backed by a massive drums.

Finally we were introduced to the 7-foot metronome which had been adorning the stage all night, a friend who had "played across oceans, played for kings and queens". The song was great, with a marching band quality, well-placed cymbals and expressive horn.

The set continued in a sort of formula: most songs beginning with simple vocals and strummed banjo, then a rousing, crashing accompaniement by the backing band, then quieting again to just singular vocals and banjo, then rising again with horns, accordion, saw. At one point, the band left Julian alone on his hands and knees onstage to sing into the floor, then suddenly all ran back on to continue with a full-bodied performance. Koster even began sawing on his banjo with a violin bow, which I'd definitely never seen before.

Finally nearing the end, we were introduced to another friend as Julian brought his saw into the audience and invited us to all sit around him as he played "The First Noel" so perfectly I was breathless. It was totally amazing. I've only really ever seen saw players make analagous sounds and singular notes, but never play an actual, identifiable song. He apologized to us for his saw's desire to sing Christmas carols to us at this inappropriate time of year, but that the saw was unaware of time. He ended the song by having the saw bow to the audience.

And then stuff got really weird.

I had heard just prior to the show that Koster likes to play games with his audience but I wasn't expecting anything like this. He requested that the audience write down a memory and place it in a plastic camel. He then invited the entire audience to follow him outside into Seattle Center, where the memories were placed into a large pot and set aflame. Yes. One memory was read aloud before the fire, audience members jumped over the flames one by one. Another memory was read when the fire had gone out. Yes. Julian handed out various hand bells and called us all back into the Vera. As he played onstage, he encouraged us to only ring the bells he'd provided if something in the song reminded us of the specific memory we'd written down. Indeed, as he played, all around me bells began to ring. Yes.

...and then things got really weird. I'd never even heard of the support band, Nana Grizol, however there were many many Imaginaries in residence to let me know they'd be a band worth hearing. The Vera Project was a veritable Elephant 6 heaven for any fan that night.

Dreams will come true at the Vera Project on Thursday

imaginary liz — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 05:46:23 +0000

Mega thanks to the show gods above for bringing Nana Grizol to Seattle - where they will be performing this Thursday (2/19) at the Vera Project (it's all ages) with The Music Tapes and Brian Dewan.

My favorite show of 2009: Feb 19 at the Vera Project

imaginary liz — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:29:24 +0000

NANA GRIZOL IS PLAYING THE VERA PROJECT ON THURSDAY FEBRUARY 19TH!!!

imaginary liz's favorites of 2008 in mix cd form

imaginary liz — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 03:42:40 +0000

One of my end of the year rituals is to compile my favorites of the year into a single mix tape / cd / playlist. For me, this year has been ripe with songs I've listened to on repeat. So many so, I actually had to cut out some so that I didn't alienate the casual mix tape listener. After a casual polling of my friends, I found that four-cd mix isn't all that digestible.

Athens Popfest 2008 - Day One

imaginary keenan — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:46:53 +0000

13 Aug 2008

nanagrizolAPF08july.jpg

Athens Popfest is like summer camp for indie pop and rock nerds. We all convene in the college town famous for several musical revolutions once a year for such activities as sing and clap alongs, eating tasty food from any of Athens finest establishments, record hunting (last one there’s bummed out they missed the copy of Of Montreal’s the Gay Parade on vinyl at Wuxtry!), and of course, dancing around to old and new favorite bands.

Here are the highlights from Wednesday’s shows! (Disclaimer: I had a slight, ok major, personal trauma happen on Wednesday – see below, which caused me to miss quite a few of the bands. I’m having all the photo people here add stuff to the TIG Flickr Pool, so you’ll be seeing stuff I missed! Also, personal traumas aside, it is nearly impossible to see every band, so if you happened to see any of the bands I missed, please let us know your thoughts in the comments field!)

The festival officially kicked off Wednesday afternoon with a fantastic set from Brooklyn’s Boy Genius. I’d met the band the previous night at a bar (very typical for Athens, as unlike CMJ or SXSW, the entirety of Athens Popfest resides in 3 square blocks) and made sure to get to Little Kings (the afternoon venue) nice and early. I was blown away by their swells of metallic fuzz and feedback topped with luscious boy girl harmonies, reminiscent of Pavement, My Bloody Valentine, and the Pastels.

Next up were Amo Joy! who reminded me quite a bit of early Fishboy, mixed with bits of early Elephant 6 recordings with their hyper pop occasionally slipping into a psychedelic audience participation noisemaker freakouts.

Following Amo Joy! were one of my current favorite pop bands, Cleveland’s Afternoon Naps. I’d only seen them perform live once before, when I happened to be visiting Cleveland. Their Beach Boys and 60’s bubblegum influenced boy/girl harmony organ laced songs about cats and hating school have tugged at my heartstrings and they’re not letting go.

Here’s a video of their song “I’m So Happy” that was featured on their Cloudberry release (now out of print) earlier this year. If you’re not “so happy” after hearing this song, then I’m really not sure what to tell you.

Gainsville’s Oh Sanders followed Afternoon Naps. This was their second year at popfest, and I quite enjoyed their new songs, filled with new wave guitar and keyboard lines and dancey beats.

The evening show kicked off with Supercluster, which happened to be an Athens supergroup, with members of Pylon, Casper and the Cookies, and tons of Elephant 6 related projects, which was quite a surprise. Their country swagger meets melodic 80’s swoon (similar to REM, and well, Pylon) charmed my heart.

Next up were Blondiegrunt, which was St. Louis’ fantastic Bunnygrunt covering Blondie’s Parallel Lines in its (almost) entirety. A few songs were shortened (one just to its chorus) and cut, but they did invite Nate from Cars Can Be Blue as a guest rapper on “Rapture”.

During Blondiegrunt’s set, I realized I’d lost my wallet (which I never found all week), and proceeded to panic for the rest of the night, but I knew my panic couldn’t interfere with the amazing Nana Grizol who immediately followed with an amazing, powerful, and energetic set out on the patio of Little Kings. Their inspiring set sounded like at times like a mixture of an orchestrated Weakerthans (with their “let’s go scale a building and have an adventure! punk ethos) and the horns infused hyper pop of David and the Citizens (they featured a tuba, clarinet, trumpet). If Theo from Nana Grizol had asked me to drink the proverbial Kool-Aid, I would have in an instant. Here's a video of their song "Tambourine in Time."

Following Nana Grizol were Happy Happy Birthday to Me’s newest signees, Manchester’s Hotpants Romance, who were in fact wearing hot pants and sounded like a next generation version of riot grrl, except for the whole hot pants thing.

Due to lost wallet panic I unfortunately ended up missing the rest of the night, but it provided me a slight respite to have the energy to do it all again the next day.

Athens Popfest is like summer camp for indie pop and rock nerds.