So, this amazing woman that Liz knows (and this is Liz writing this part, so it amuses her greatly to speak in third person) is a writer, blogger, music reviewer, professional model, and all around badass that lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Liz only knows her online, but they have blogged together, linked to each other, and advocated each others respective awesomeness for a while now, so what better way to pay tribute to this amazing lady but to review one of her websites? In this case, we’re going to talk a little bit about Gravy and Biscuits, an indie music site that we’re pretty much addicted to.
The lady in question is Jebbica. She is the owner and chief editor of Gravy and Biscuits, a site that had been around since 2008, but has recently undergone a makeover, Jebbica-style. Go to the site, and you will see it is a hotbed of music news, CD release information, tour information, and so much more. And, to top it off, Jebbica posts a new free mix tape every month, for your audio pleasure.
Liz will admit that she hadn’t actually heard of a lot of the artists mentioned on G & B, but she concedes that her iPod is a little fuller and happier these days because of Gravy and Biscuits. But, Liz digresses, and will tell you more during her portion of this here review.
Let’s hear from Micah, first:
There is something special about mixtapes…something special about the gifting economy rocks my mind. Gravy and Biscuits gives us the blessing of audio goodness. Most of us grew up trading tunes or passing off mixtapes to our love interests and G&B is keeping that spirit alive! Everyone loves free tunes and I happen to love Gravy and Biscuits, maybe because they’re cool enough to give me the rock!
**Micah would have written more, but he is super busy planning a benefit for his SuperDog, and he routinely rescues buildings full of burning kittens. Or, is that burning buildings full of kittens? Or maybe it’s that he rescues kittens from burning buildings. Yes. That’s it.
Over to you, Chris:
Admittedly, I wasn’t looking forward to this. My first review and it’s something to do with…a mixed tape? Seriously? After conjuring thoughts of late 80′s & early 90′s top ten hits being shuffled, reordered, and sequenced into someone else’s “meaningful” format, I cringed at the possibility that it would include broody emo music which lead me down a path of images including a boombox being held over one’s head, a lip syncing air guitar closed door bedroom session, and somehow that “extra anchovies” pizza guy who’s now a doctor on TV…and somehow also (and I hate to admit this)…Ducky.
Upon getting to the G&B site, I was pleased to see it very easy to navigate, and went straight to the downloading of the latest mixed tape (September). I was expecting some hoops to jump through or some kind of registration process but was happily surprised that I could just download for free and not have to give anything, not even my spam email address.
I recognized a few of the band names as the sort of hipster rock that has pervaded the indie scene for a bit, though I’m a tourist at best in this scene…amongst others. I grew up relying on MTV, and now that I can only count on it for Jersey Shore, I’ve been quite lost in terms of finding new music outside of randomly hearing it and hoping the Shazam app on my phone will capture it for later inquiry and review. Perhaps this indie site will help me to discover some new tunes that I’ve been neglecting or reticent in seeking.
What followed was a range of noises I wasn’t expecting. The tape was much better than I had anticipated, and I was pleased with the variety it offered. I only had to skip ahead once, which is pretty impressive for me when exploring different sounds. The songs flowed easily from one to the next without being too interruptive, and were a great mix of background sounds for my tastes. I was pleased in the variety of types of songs offered, and didn’t hear the expected brooding sounds of love, love lost, or the attempted poetic whining of a tragically one sided love. A nice range of musical sounds, beats, tempos, and voices…some a bit “puss rock” but altogether pretty well put together. There’s really something to be said about not even noticing that music is playing, somehow at one with my subconscious where I don’t have to actively listen to enjoy.
Hopping around the rest of the site, I was pleased with the layout and offerings of different reviews, upcoming shows, videos, free downloads, and featured up and coming artists…even contests. It’s quite obvious that this site is well thought out, and a great resource for those into indie music or those looking to know more about it. From an outsider to the scene wanting to know more about the different sound styles of the artists (vs what they are wearing or if they have any pets), I’ll definitely use this site for inquiring within and exploring until I hear the sounds that make me take notice…or comfortably not take notice.
And now for Liz…
I’m already a big fan of The Jebbica, but although I expected brilliance upon my first visit to Biscuits and Gravy, I was pleased to find that her site exceeded my already high expectations. The girl..what can I say? She excels at everything. Ah well. And, although I was not familiar with probably 80% of the music talked about on the site, it didn’t matter, because you can’t live on a straight diet of The Beatles and Tom Waits forever, can you? Well, you can, but it would be pretty close-minded of you. Of me, I mean. You know what I mean.
So, I downloaded the mix tape, because how cool is it that you get something for free in this harsh, cruel, demanding, free-stuff-lacking world? I’ll tell you what. It’s even cooler when someone who knows what they’re talking about, music-wise, makes you a mix tape. Remember that feeling? When your older sister’s friend, or some older kid in school would make you a mix tape and you’d just feel so cool because even though you’d never heard any of those songs, you just know you’ll be that much cooler once you do? Yeah. That’s how it is.
I also try to decipher the meaning of mix tapes, since those lyrics mean everything. Warning. Don’t do this with indie music, or you will imagine that you’ve made everyone sad, and that things are very, very emotional all the time.
Thank you, Jebbica, for Gravy and Biscuits.
Get thee, readers, to the site!
Tags: Arts Chattanooga Tennessee Gravy Gravy and Biscuits Indie music IPod Mixtape Music Musical ensemble The Jebbica Tom Waits
4 Comments
Aww, you guys are so nice! I just wish I had time to keep the website up more, or had more free help.
I’m curious, which track did you wind up skipping, Chris? After hearing it a dozen times or so for me, “Weighted Down” wound up being the one I would skip. Maybe this month’s was a little more girly than other months, but I was having a mellow month. I’m betting October will have lots of bluegrass…Octobers always do for me for some reason!
I’m so happy y’all wrote this and liked the site. I am just blushing and grinning ear-to-ear. And maybe the site is geared towards hipster-y music, but we’re not hipsters. Remember that!
We’re just normal people who like good music. And I heart Tom Waits and the Beatles, too Liz!
Jebbs: I ended up skipping Don’t Leave My Mind…it just wasn’t going anywhere for me. Looking forward to the bluegrass…and beyond. Thanks so much!
With fork combine biscuit mix, sugar, milk, and butter, stirring well. Music Download
I could see that! I tried to get through the Azure Ray album…it was pretty terrible. That one song’s okay, just depends on what mood you’re in, I guess. It’s not my normal kind of thing, but when I was going through all the free promo downloads I had gotten that month, that was about the only one I could get through! Hope you guys enjoyed the Halloween mix tape too. There were some issues with part one, but I’ve hopefully fixed them now.