Bryce Dressner, Sufjan Stevens & Nico cover “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”

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The Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir will form a supergroup with The National’s Devendorf brothers

Bob Weir of The Grateful Dead and Bryan and Scott Devendorf of The National will share the stage under the name “The Bridge Session” at California’s TRI Studios on March 24.

The musicians aim to mix “different musical genres, political discussion and a showcase of modern technology, the event aims to ‘bridge the gaps’ between people of various tastes and viewpoints.”

They will perform original songs as well as cover songs. There will be roundtable political discussions between the sets.

You can win tickets HERE

The Devendorfs cite The Grateful Dead as a major influence on their music, and Bryan considers himself a Deadhead. The National will also curate a Dead tribute album.

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The Guardian reviews The Long Count, praises Dessners

There is no question the Dessner brothers have a musical reach well beyond the saturated rock songs of their day job.

Read the entire review HERE

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Aaron Dessner talks about The Long Count to The Quietus

I was watching a video interview with him about The Long Count which was interesting – he said that for him, it also extended to ideas of games and combat, conflict and play in every day life. Was that of significance to you too?

AD: Yeah, definitely. I remember… early on, it was very much about games and play and tests, and we tried to affect that in the music. A lot of the music involves these chases, or mirroring – my brother and I can play guitar in really unique ways together because of how we grew up. Literally I can look at his hand and play the exact same thing or the exact opposite thing, or a key off. What usually happens is that I’m playing something and he plays a mirror or echo of it, and a lot of music is like that, and it’s extended into the ensemble also, so it’s like twins also. That extends into the film as well – you see the film, the two diamond shape films, and then they reflect down off of this mirror floor, so everything is doubled or quadrupled, so this has this interesting effect where it’s all very playful.

You must both be acutely aware of the ways in which you and Bryce work together and apart.

AD: I think we have this instinctive feeling that if we hit a wall at some point, that the other will be able to break through it. We have different tendencies: he’s much more academic about music than I am, and I’m more visceral or spontaneous. It’s probably easier for me to generate lots of new ideas, a constant stream, and in a way it’s easier for him to finish those ideas, and maybe elevate them beyond a simple idea. But then he’ll do some work and I’ll take it further. There are very few times where either of us is working on something where the either isn’t in some way part of it. Bryce is writing more orchestral work now, and some of that I’m not involved in it, some of that I am, and in some ways that’s a different exercise when you’re writing in a more traditional way, as opposed to collaborating. We’re always finishing each other’s ideas, and it works really well in The National, and in some ways it works even better in these more expansive, experimental ways. There aren’t these restraints. With The Long Count, there are a lot more musicians to bounce things out of and draw on, different voices and things. It’s liberating.

read the rest HERE

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Aaron Dessner discusses The Long Count with Barbican Podcast

Aaron gives a nice overview over his collaborative musical project about mythological “hero twin brothers”; the origins; his relationship with Bryce (and how they sync up on stage) and much more. He calls it “our personal mythology” and says that each time they perform The Long Count, they interpret it differently.

Listen to the podcast on Soundcloud.

more information can be found at Barbican’s website

watch the trailer below:

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Bryce and Aaron Dessner to perform at “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry”

via Brooklynvegan:

“Bryce and Aaron Dessner (of The National) are curating ‘Crossing Brooklyn Ferry,’ a music festival taking place in BAM’s spaces from May 3 – 5. Each night will include a variety of NYC artists, film screenings, accompanying scores, and a late-night dance party. Lineup announcement coming soon and tickets go on sale in March.”

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The National might curate this year’s ATP Festival

Rumor has it that The National will be in charge of the three day Somerset festival for Christmas 2012. The theme is “Nightmare Before Christmas” and will feature The Magnetic Fields, Joanna Newsom, Thurston Moore, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Fall, Low, Young Marble Giants and more.

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Bryce Dessner shows up in an ad for musical accessories

Bryce shows up in this ad for D’Addario & Company, “an American manufacturer of high quality musical accessories including strings for all stringed instruments, cables, drum heads, drum sticks, reeds & many more.”
Bryce himself uses D’Addario products, and the video has “So Far Around The Bend” in the background (the track which the National contributed to 2009’s charity LP Dark Was The Night)

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The National talk about shaking their miserabilist image for their new album

About their new album, Matt Berninger said:

“We’ve barely begun. I don’t know what we’re going to do. We try not to have any plan at all and just see what stuff gets us excited. We’re really thankful and lucky to have gotten where we are but we realise how easy it is for a band to disappear and for people not to care so we don’t take it for granted… I don’t know what the next record is going to be like but we’re not going to phone it in, I can promise that…

“We’ve tried for years to make poppy songs and I think some of them are but we desperately want to shake off that miserabilist personality or image that we have. I don’t know if it’s possible though, maybe it’s in our DNA.”

listen to Bryce Dessner’s new brassy, instrumental song, “Rose of Lincoln”, below:

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“The Long Count” to debut in London in February

The Dessner twins  have given more details about their multi-media side project: “The Long Count.”

The brothers collaborated with visual artist Matthew Ritchie to create a show is based on the 1976 World Series in Cincinnati (the year they were born). The project also draws inspiration from the first two books of Mayan myth Popol Vah.

The music will be performed by a twelve-piece orchestra,  accompanied by visuals from Ritchie, as well as text from The Dessners,  Matt Berninger and others. The project was originally commissioned for the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s 2009 Next Wave Festival. It will take place on February 2nd-4th at the Barbican in London.

Buy tickets HERE starting tomorrow

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