One year ago today…

On April 2, 2022, my son’s band Car Seat Headrest performed at the Anthem in Washington, DC. Will wasn’t feeling well, so he sat for a portion of a set he described as “more acoustic-y” than usual.

I recorded the ending of his song “Sober to Death,” which features Will singing lead and guitarist Ethan Ives singing the high harmonies.

The next day, Will tested positive for Covid-19, and the band had to suspend its tour.

Car Seat Headrest in the news – Feb. 2019

“Almost no one in indie rock right now shoots the horizon with as much horsepower and ragged exuberance as Car Seat Headrest.”

–Bao Le-Huu in Orlando Weekly, Feb. 25, 2019

“Car Seat Headrest’s Will Toledo is ready to meet Tampa Bay”

–Ray Roa on Creative Loafing, Feb. 22, 2019

“Toledo connects the fragility of young love to the delicacy of the human body, the vessels that allow us to experience life fully.”

–Ellen Johnson in The Village Voice, Feb. 13, 2019

“Car Seat Headrest have announced a few new headlining U.S. tour dates for this year.”

–Jackson Pacheco on Paste, Feb. 11, 2019

“The band will play concerts in Buffalo, Nashville, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and elsewhere, in addition to their previously announced shows kicking off on Valentine’s Day in Boston.”

–Madison Bloom on Pitchfork, Feb. 11, 2019

“The band are on a break right now, but are set to kick off the next leg of the tour in Boston on Valentine’s Day.”

–Will Gottsegen on Spin, Feb. 11, 2019

“Toledo’s refurbished blast from the past joined a host of records last year that promised hope while granting space to the sinking feeling around this country’s uncertain future.”

–Sasha Geffen in The Village Voice, Feb. 8, 2019

“Pazz & Jop: The Top 100 Albums of 2018”

The Village Voice, Feb. 6, 2019

Uncertain future for Round Hill jam sessions

On the last Friday of every month, musicians converge on the Old Furniture Factory in Round Hill, toting stringed instruments of all sizes, from mandolins to upright basses. Before long, they are standing in small clusters, picking and singing, filling the room with strains of bluegrass and old-time country music.

For 14 years, the informal sessions have attracted singers, instrumentalists and fans from the Washington area and beyond. But the future of the jams is uncertain. The Old Furniture Factory is for sale, and bluegrass enthusiasts fear the music will end when the building changes hands.

Full story

The Washington Post, June 4, 2017

Mixed-arts celebration in Sterling

“Springtime in Winter” opening in Reston

Local painters, poets and musicians will celebrate the transition from winter to spring in a presentation of original works Saturday on the Sterling campus of Northern Virginia Community College.

The event is the culmination of a months-long collaborative process, in which eight pairs of poets and artists created poems and paintings around the theme “Springtime in Winter.”

Read more

The Washington Post, March 19, 2017

Car Seat Headrest in the news – Feb. 2017

“In less than a year, the album Teens of Denial made it to the top of countless best-of-2016 playlists, the band have been booked by high-profile mainstream TV shows such as The Tonight Show and the 24-year-old Toledo ­regularly faces huge crowds who roar his lyrics back at him in packed venues.”

–James Belfield in The Listener (New Zealand), Feb. 16, 2017

“Even without checking production credits, the imprint that Car Seat Headrest and lead singer Will Toledo has on Gold Connections is unmistakable.”

–Jared McNett in Paste Magazine, Feb. 13, 2017

“Gold Connections is something like the Silver Jews to Car Seat’s Pavement: rich and wandering, hazy and pensive with the sort of thoughtful lyrics and explosive choruses we’ve come to expect from a Toledo production.”

–Rob Arcand in Spin, Feb. 13, 2017

Review of “Drunk Drivers / Killer Whales”

–Erika Kooda in Atwood Magazine, Feb. 2, 2017

“It was certainly an experience we all needed.”

–Danielle Hansen on Howl & Echoes, Feb. 2, 2017

Piano Company is thriving downtown

Transporting more than 100 pianos across town last spring, from Battlefield Shopping Center to Market Street in downtown Leesburg, was no easy task. In fact, Robert Purdon, general manager of the Piano Company, described the move as “a logistical nightmare.”

But after 16 years at the store’s previous site, Purdon is happy with the shift to the current location, near the Loudoun County Government Center.

Full story

Washington Post, Jan. 1, 2017

Autographs of Herbie Hancock, Randy Weston, and others can be seen inside the $250,000 Fazioli concert grand on display at the store.

Car Seat Headrest makes ‘Best of 2016’ lists

Car Seat Headrest

“Teens of Denial”

“Drunk Drivers / Killer Whales”

“Vincent”

Fill in the Blank

“Cosmic Hero”

“Destroyed by Hippie Powers”

“The Ballad of the Costa Concordia”