Iron and Wine (perhaps you've heard of them?) is the stage name of one heavily bearded, heavily talented songwriter called Samuel Beam. Like his oxymoron of a moniker suggests, Beam's songs rely heavily on the mixing of emotions. Stark, brutal confessions laid over soft, whistling melodies of a single spare guitar. Minimal bells-and-whistles, maximum effect. As much Tom Waits as it is Nick Drake, frightening in its purity of vision. This formula has served him well. Before breaking on the scene a few years ago, Beam would pass around self-produced tapes in his native Miami, and eventually caught the attention of Sub Pop head Jonathan Poneman. The label went on to release Beam's proper Iron and Wine debut The Creek Drank the Cradle before putting out Our Endless Numbered Days and really putting the artist on the map.
Now, with The Shephard's Dog, Beam is set to show the independent music world how to really accomplish success with the folk-indie hybrid he helped solidify. "Boy With A Coin," the album's first single, packs the poignant lyrics and lush, hushed melodies you've come to expect from Iron and Wine, and puts it in a package from an artist at the top of his game. Never has self-conscious introspection sounded so self-assured, without even rising above a whisper. Are you still mourning Elliot Smith? Is Neutral Milk Hotel's output not consistent enough for you? Please, do yourself a favor a check out Iron and Wine if you haven't yet done so. The music world needs an artist like Beam to receive the same kind of honest respect he puts into every song he writes.
www.ironandwine.com
-Jon Meyer
So Kelsie and I ended up at Victorian's Midnight Cafe on sunday night to have some much needed "just sit down and not worry about where maggie has walked off to" time. It was really good. We had a good hour to ourselves on the back porch before Kelly Williams came back through. She brought with her, Kyle Charles and Patience Evermore. Rewind: When Kelsie and I first came through the doors, there looked to be some film students filming a scene at the booth closest to the stage. I thought to myself, "That is so rock & roll". Fast forward: Just when Kelly, Kyle, and Paish sat down, we were being asked to fill some "extra" roles as dancers on the dance floor. Kelsie dragged me in (with Chimay in hand) and we were up onto the stage. I was immediately told I looked like David Cross
(by one of the actors), to which I responded, "Oh really, it is usually Matisyahu." But this was a film studio, not bonnaroo, so I gracefully accepted the actor comparison. The piano man was a twenty-something with an orangish-red tight tank top and a few cool tattoos. He played some jazz piano that we could swing to, in which we toodled around with chimay and cigarettes for two takes, while some drama unfolded among the characters of the film. We wrote our names in a little black book (full of ideas - I peaked) so we could be credited in the film. I am dancer #1, Kelsie is dancer #2. The film itself is feature length, taking place in the near future when our military invades Iran and reinstates the draft. The protagonist of the film has dodged the draft, and was currently on the run in Texas when we briefly encountered him. The director also told us he was going to submit the film to Sundance this year. Awesome. We then finished the night with "Old Rasputin" just before going back to Hilliard to do some laundry. 
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