Empty Chairs | Jonathan Corley's Blog

Northern Noise Interview

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NN: So you guys have some downtime between shows, how do you typically spend your free time these days?

JC: Recently, I think we have all been playing more basketball than anyone expected. The entire band, along with a few of our closest friends entered into a Fantasy Basketball League (NBA). This immediately led us to constantly monitor games, players, injuries and trades.  During our video shoot for ‘Simple Math’ there was a basketball hoop wedged in between some of the production vehicles. All I have to say is that “Little Andy” had pretty incredible court awareness for a young actor. We started shooting around during some downtime, and pretty soon we found ourselves seeking out courts in Atlanta, too… (Read More)

April 2011 PLAYLIST

Mogwai - ‘Im Jim Morrison, I’m Dead’
TV on the Radio - ‘Caffeine Consciousness’
Modest Mouse - ‘Polar Opposites’
Frightened Rabbit - ‘The Loneliness’
The Mountain Goats - ‘Elijah’
Efterklang - ‘Alike’
The National - ‘Terrible Love’
Olivia Tremor Control - ‘NYC-25’
J Roddy Walston & The Business - ‘Don’t Break the Needle’
DFA - MIA ‘Paper Planes (Remix)’
Curren$y - ‘Montreux’
Gil Scott-Heron - ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’

Click to Listen at GROOVESHARK: http://bit.ly/hsEaNV

(CLICK LINK ABOVE)

HT: Here’s a random one for you. So, I saw that you hit the Lakers game the other day. Assuming that you grew up a sports fan, did you ever try to emulate a pro athlete (i.e., clothes, style, a Michael Jordan windmill dunk in your backyard?)

JC: MO had plans to go see the Lakers last week. At the very last minute our tickets fell through, and our band had to watch the game from a bar near the stadium (it’s a longer story than I even have time to get into). In the last year, our band has collectively obsessed over the NBA. We started a fantasy league and I’m kind of frustrated by my seed in the playoffs right now. Fantasy Sports changed the way that I approach watching a basketball game. Suddenly, an individual’s stats and minutes begin to take priority over either team’s performance.

Growing up, I followed MLB constantly. Our label – Favorite Gentlemen – is so named because it rhymes with ‘Terry Pendleton’, among other reasons. During my childhood the Atlanta Braves had a pretty great run, hardly ever missing the playoffs. More than anyone else, I tried to emulate Tony Gwynn. While most kids looked up to Griffey, Jordan or Barkley (Thanks Nike), I aimed at a diligent and overweight left-fielder for the Padres. There still hasn’t been another player who’s approached pitchers and their tendencies within a strike zone as well, since Ted Williams. (READ MORE)

The Hangover 2 trailer

Feb 25: Jonathan Corley’s Current Playlist

There is a tree in our backyard that keeps creaking. It stemmed a conversation between Chris and I about exactly what would happen if all the trees in the world fell at once.

Voices: Chris Freeman, Jonathan Corley

Nebraskaland

Kearny. Elm Creek. Overton. These are names of the tiny Nebraska towns that we’re driving through. On Tuesday, Chris and I left Atlanta with the van and gear. We’re heading out to Salt Lake City where our brief, midwest tour begins. The first couple of shows are makeup dates for postponed shows on last year’s winter tour with Brand New. I’m losing count of the number of records we’ve stuffed into the stereo.

Andy called this afternoon stoked about a Neil Young record he discovered called Mirror Ball. In 1995, Young teamed up with Pearl Jam on a studio album. The two bands met at an Abortion rally in Washington DC. They briefly toured Europe (without Vedder) in support the record. Fans started calling the project “Neil Jam”. We haven’t passed a town large enough to sell a copy of this record in hours. Both Garmin and Google Maps have failed me- it seems there won’t be a Best Buy until we get closer to Denver. Where the hell do you buy find records in rural Nebraska?

For dinner, we stopped off I-80 in an old railroad town called North Platte. In the home of Buffalo Bill Cody and “Nebraskaland Days”, we ended up at Depot Bar and Grill. It felt like everyone in there was wearing a cowboy hat. A server who was entirely too stressed out by her small collection of tables brought us a locally brewed beer called Third Stone.

We spent the majority of today listening to records. Good records- the kind of music that makes you want to record an album. Before the tour, I bought a spindle of CDs and a one of those zip-up, leather cases. Admittedly, I have hardly burned any records since I bought that first generation iPod. Too often, I find myself skipping between records seeking that perfect song in the moment. iPods have made it way too easy to bounce between tracks and forget why records were recorded in order.

I’ve pieced together a playlist (above) of songs that we’ve played on the drive. The process became frustrating when I realized that iMeem no longer exists. Myspace acquired the company in another attempt to energize Myspace Music. After searching around, I found another music recommendation solution called Slacker.

I created a custom station using Slacker that you can access here.

Mobile/iPhones: (1) Download Slacker from App Store  (2) Listen