Side Pony

Submitted by nonesuch on
Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

For its Nonesuch debut album, Side Pony, Lake Street Dive—drummer Michael Calabrese, bassist Bridget Kearney, singer Rachael Price, and guitarist/trumpeter Michael "McDuck" Olson—worked with Nashville-based producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell). The title refers to a whimsical hairstyle but also serves as a metaphor for the band's philosophy and personality. "A band steeped in Motown Soul, Beatles melodies, and pop divas from Dusty Springfield to Adele," says Rolling Stone, "the retro vibe rules, vividly captured by producer Dave Cobb … pretty irresistible."

Description

Lake Street Dive's Nonesuch Records debut album, Side Pony, was released on February 19, 2016. The four band members—drummer Michael Calabrese, bassist Bridget Kearney, singer Rachael Price, and guitarist/trumpeter Michael "McDuck" Olson—worked with Nashville-based producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell) on the record.

Side Pony takes its name from a song on the record that refers to a whimsical hairstyle, but it also serves as a metaphor for Lake Street Dive's philosophy and personality as a band. As Kearney puts it, "When we were settling on the album title, that one just stuck out to us as embodying the band's spirit. We've always been this somewhat uncategorizable, weird, outlying, genre-less band. That's the statement we wanted to make with this record: be yourself."

Olson echoes her sentiment: "It has also come to mean anything you're doing for the sheer joy of it. We have always 'rocked our side pony.' Now we have a convenient phrase for it."

Cobb's working method was to keep the recording fast and loose, as live-in-the-studio as possible, and to embrace the unorthodox. This provided Lake Street Dive with a welcome challenge: an opportunity to experiment with sound and arrangements and to collaborate on songwriting in a way the band had never attempted before.

Calabrese says of the recording process, "Dave's process was mercurial, changing direction quickly, going from 'we don't have anything' to 'we've got it!'" He continues, "We weren't always so sure. But then we'd listen to a comp and we'd agree that he'd heard something we hadn't."

Price adds, "It was great to see, through this particular recording process, how beautifully our individual strengths complement each other."

The members of Lake Street Dive met in 2004 as students at Boston's New England Conservatory of Music. Though they were all studying jazz, their work together was informed by their love of classic pop, particularly from the '60s, including the Beatles, the Supremes, Dusty Springfield, and the Beach Boys.

For several years, the group was a part-time proposition, but in 2012, Lake Street Dive became a full-time combo after a YouTube video of the quartet acoustically performing the Jackson Five's "I Want You Back" on a suburban Boston street corner went viral. Producer T Bone Burnett soon invited them to perform at a concert he curated at New York City's Town Hall. The band's performance of "You Go Down Smooth" was a crowd and critical favorite, with Rolling Stone calling the band "unexpected showstoppers."

Lake Street Dive's 2014 album Bad Self Portraits was highly praised by the press. USA Today called the record "a sparkling collection of jazz/Motown/girl group/British Invasion–inspired original tunes." Performances on the Colbert Report, Late Show with David Letterman, and Conan followed, and their live shows became a hot ticket, culminating in two sold-out shows at New York's Terminal 5.

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Dave Cobb
Recorded at Sound Emporium, Nashville, TN
Engineered and Mixed by Darrell Thorp
Assistant Engineer: Mike Stankiewicz
Additional Engineering by Eddie Spear
Mastered by Pete Lyman at Infrasonic Sound, Los Angeles, CA

Design by Jeri Heiden for SMOG Design
Photography by Danny Clinch

Track 11 contains elements from "Love Pains" (J. Boyce/S. Harley) performed by Major Lance. Licensed courtesy of Universal Music Enterprises.

Nonesuch Selection Number

551913

ns_album_releasedate
Album Status
Artist Name
Lake Street Dive
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Rachael Price, vocals (1–12), background vocals (3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12), vocoder (3), handclaps (11, 12)
Bridget Kearney, bass (1, 2, 4–9), background vocals (1–12), piano (1), acoustic bass (3), electric bass (3, 10–12), Mellotron (3), screams (3), celeste (8), organ (9), handclaps (11, 12)
Mike "McDuck" Olson, guitars (1–9, 11, 12), background vocals (1, 2, 4–12), Moog (1), organ (1), Mellotron (2, 3, 5–9, 11, 12), trumpet (3, 4), screams (3), organ guitar (4), celeste (8), Rhodes (10–12), handclaps (11, 12)
Michael Calabrese, drums (1–12), background vocals (1, 2, 4–12), tambourine (1–6, 8, 9, 11, 12), handclaps (1, 3, 11, 12), congas (3, 8, 9, 11, 12), shakers (3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12), vocal percussion (3), screams (3), organ (5), marching kit (11), triangle (11)
Dave Cobb, handclaps (1, 3, 11), vocoder knobs (3), acoustic guitar (6), volume knob (9)
Emily Lichter, handclaps (11)

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
LP+MP3
Price
17.00
UPC
075597948905
Label
CD+MP3
Price
12.00
UPC
075597948899
Label
FLAC
Price
10.00
UPC
075597948936
Label
MP3
Price
9.00
UPC
075597948950
Label
96/24 HD FLAC
Price
13.00
UPC
075597948943
  • 551913

News & Reviews

  • Lake Street Dive has announced a new batch of North American spring and summer tour dates. Following its previously announced shows in upstate New York in May, the band will head to Toronto on June 1 and continue through the US East and Midwest, making stops in Pennsylvania, Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, Wisconsin, and more, including a return to NYC's Radio City Music Hall on September 10. Lake Street Dive has partnered with PLUS1 so that $1 per ticket goes to supporting the Climate Justice Alliance and their work uniting frontline communities and organizations into a formidable force in the climate movement.

  • Lake Street Dive and Rachael & Vilray—who share a singer in Rachael Price—have both announced new 2022 tour dates. Lake Street Dive has added three shows in Georgia and South Carolina in March and three in upstate New York in May, including a concert with the Avett Brothers in Cooperstown. Rachael & Vilray, who close out their residency at Rockwood Music Hall in NYC next Monday and play at the Troubadour in LA on January 16, have added six new shows back on the East Coast in January, in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, DC, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

  • About This Album

    Lake Street Dive's Nonesuch Records debut album, Side Pony, was released on February 19, 2016. The four band members—drummer Michael Calabrese, bassist Bridget Kearney, singer Rachael Price, and guitarist/trumpeter Michael "McDuck" Olson—worked with Nashville-based producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell) on the record.

    Side Pony takes its name from a song on the record that refers to a whimsical hairstyle, but it also serves as a metaphor for Lake Street Dive's philosophy and personality as a band. As Kearney puts it, "When we were settling on the album title, that one just stuck out to us as embodying the band's spirit. We've always been this somewhat uncategorizable, weird, outlying, genre-less band. That's the statement we wanted to make with this record: be yourself."

    Olson echoes her sentiment: "It has also come to mean anything you're doing for the sheer joy of it. We have always 'rocked our side pony.' Now we have a convenient phrase for it."

    Cobb's working method was to keep the recording fast and loose, as live-in-the-studio as possible, and to embrace the unorthodox. This provided Lake Street Dive with a welcome challenge: an opportunity to experiment with sound and arrangements and to collaborate on songwriting in a way the band had never attempted before.

    Calabrese says of the recording process, "Dave's process was mercurial, changing direction quickly, going from 'we don't have anything' to 'we've got it!'" He continues, "We weren't always so sure. But then we'd listen to a comp and we'd agree that he'd heard something we hadn't."

    Price adds, "It was great to see, through this particular recording process, how beautifully our individual strengths complement each other."

    The members of Lake Street Dive met in 2004 as students at Boston's New England Conservatory of Music. Though they were all studying jazz, their work together was informed by their love of classic pop, particularly from the '60s, including the Beatles, the Supremes, Dusty Springfield, and the Beach Boys.

    For several years, the group was a part-time proposition, but in 2012, Lake Street Dive became a full-time combo after a YouTube video of the quartet acoustically performing the Jackson Five's "I Want You Back" on a suburban Boston street corner went viral. Producer T Bone Burnett soon invited them to perform at a concert he curated at New York City's Town Hall. The band's performance of "You Go Down Smooth" was a crowd and critical favorite, with Rolling Stone calling the band "unexpected showstoppers."

    Lake Street Dive's 2014 album Bad Self Portraits was highly praised by the press. USA Today called the record "a sparkling collection of jazz/Motown/girl group/British Invasion–inspired original tunes." Performances on the Colbert Report, Late Show with David Letterman, and Conan followed, and their live shows became a hot ticket, culminating in two sold-out shows at New York's Terminal 5.

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Rachael Price, vocals (1–12), background vocals (3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12), vocoder (3), handclaps (11, 12)
    Bridget Kearney, bass (1, 2, 4–9), background vocals (1–12), piano (1), acoustic bass (3), electric bass (3, 10–12), Mellotron (3), screams (3), celeste (8), organ (9), handclaps (11, 12)
    Mike "McDuck" Olson, guitars (1–9, 11, 12), background vocals (1, 2, 4–12), Moog (1), organ (1), Mellotron (2, 3, 5–9, 11, 12), trumpet (3, 4), screams (3), organ guitar (4), celeste (8), Rhodes (10–12), handclaps (11, 12)
    Michael Calabrese, drums (1–12), background vocals (1, 2, 4–12), tambourine (1–6, 8, 9, 11, 12), handclaps (1, 3, 11, 12), congas (3, 8, 9, 11, 12), shakers (3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12), vocal percussion (3), screams (3), organ (5), marching kit (11), triangle (11)
    Dave Cobb, handclaps (1, 3, 11), vocoder knobs (3), acoustic guitar (6), volume knob (9)
    Emily Lichter, handclaps (11)

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by Dave Cobb
    Recorded at Sound Emporium, Nashville, TN
    Engineered and Mixed by Darrell Thorp
    Assistant Engineer: Mike Stankiewicz
    Additional Engineering by Eddie Spear
    Mastered by Pete Lyman at Infrasonic Sound, Los Angeles, CA

    Design by Jeri Heiden for SMOG Design
    Photography by Danny Clinch

    Track 11 contains elements from "Love Pains" (J. Boyce/S. Harley) performed by Major Lance. Licensed courtesy of Universal Music Enterprises.