Andy Fenstermaker is a music lover, writer, marketing professional, and entrepreneur who has dedicated his life to sharing his passion for music with others. He is the founder of FensePost, a renowned music blog that has been sharing the latest and greatest in indie music since 2006. Andy has always been fascinated by the power of music to connect people, and he started FensePost with the aim of sharing his love of music with others. Andy developed a passion for music at a young age. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Andy grew up surrounded by a vibrant music scene that left an indelible mark on him. He attended Washington State University, where he studied Communication and Business. He holds a BA in Communication and a Masters in Business Administration. After graduating, Andy started writing about music and created FensePost as the outlet. The blog has a strong focus on indie music, but also covers a range of other genres including folk, indie pop, psychedelic, garage rock, and experimental. Andy and the blog relocated to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in 2020.
Look back over the past few Fruit Bats releases and you’ll find a solid handful of greats. “Born In The 70s” and “Earthquake of ’73” off Spelled In Bones. “Seaweed” off Mouthfuls. These were truly great tracks. “Tangie And Ray” off Fruit Bats’ latest LP, Tripper, fits right in. It’s catchy, filled with a folk-pop bounce, and wonderfully crafted. Yet there’s something else… Read More »Fruit Bats: Tangie And Ray (MP3)
Mick Harvey broke from the Bad Seeds back in 2009. Bad Seeds being the group famed for backing Nick Cave. With exception to a light project here and there, this is really the first we’ve heard from Harvey. Sketches From The Book Of The Dead is his first stab at strolling down his own path, and it’s one that should not be ignored. Read More »Mick Harvey: Sketches From The Book Of The Dead (Album Review)
Any music nerd that enjoys the physical release is likely to favor limited print items. Case in point: me. I love ‘em! Can’t get enough of ‘em. A limited release means it will ultimately go out of print, and that OOP association is something nerds like me freak out about. Take, for example, yesterday; someone gave up some old early 90’s K and Sub Pop 7″ singles to Sonic Boom in Ballard (a Seattle neighborhood, for those of you who aren’t familiar with The Emerald City). I picked up OOP singles by Seaweed and a super rare early single by Beck. Read More »James Husband: A Parallax I (Cover Art)
The first release I received of Br’er in the mail from Edible Onion was shocking. On vinyl, the album was tucked into a nice, hand-made cover featuring the nether-region of a nude male body with large garden clippers hiding the member. To be honest, I’m kind of glad Of Shemales & Kissaboos is similar in nature. Read More »Br’er: Of Shemales & Kissaboos (Album Review)
Girls have come to be one of my favorite artists since their early release, Album, in September of 2009. Their music is simply astonishing, from upbeat pop gems like “Lust For Life” and “Alright” to more surreal explorations of pop psychedelia, like “Helhole Ratrace” and “Carolina”. Read More »Girls: Vomit (MP3)
“The Secret Plume” is the latest video from Seattle artist Virgin Of The Birds and it features early video of some very unique dancers. In fact, we saw a similar dancer in The Robot Ate Me’s video for “On Vacation”, which was eerie and surreal. Here, however, it complements Jon Rooney’s melodies, which are often timeless. Read More »Virgin Of The Birds: The Serpent Plume (Video)
Yesterday we covered a new track from Portland folk outfit Death Songs called “Wounds” off the new PDX Pop Now! compilation. We talked a little bit about the band and the song, and had a few words to say about the organization as well. That wasn’t enough; it’s high time I let slip a little something — we here at FensePost have been quiet supporters of the Portland festival. Read More »PDX Pop Now! 2011 Edition
Death Songs is a band out of Portland, featuring members of that city’s folk-pop outfit The Shaky Hands. “Wounds” is vaguely reminiscent of acts like The Shaky Hands and Quiet Life. It’s full on southern-influenced folk that flirts dually with pop and rock, but keeps its roots close. Their song “Wounds”, which I’ve included below, can be found on the latest PDX Pop Now! compilation, which is now available in mp3 format. Read More »Death Songs: Wounds (MP3)
To my surprise, one of my favorite artists from What The Heck Fest was Stephen Steinbrink. What astonished me was the clean and focused nature of this group’s pop music. And I only caught a single song, which I believe was the peaceful beauty of “Breath Of Fire” or maybe it was “A Set Of Hours”. Both songs can be found below, one in video form and one as a sample MP3. Read More »Stephen Steinbrink: Breath Of Fire (Video)
We arrived at What The Heck after perusing Shipwreck Day and grabbing some eats at Gere-A-Deli to catch the second half of Takhoma’s set. On stage was Phil Elverum and another fellow I met briefly the day after (Sunday) but failed to get a name. Elverum was on drums and the unnamed guy played guitar and sang. Read More »Takhoma: Live at What The Heck Fest 2011
