President Obama and Ellen shake it to Poor But Sexy's "Cherry Delicious," one of our favorite DC tunes of 2011.

The Deadmen – Sons & Dogs

The Deadmen were DC’s own male Americana version of Wild Flag, and they rocked pretty hard. Josh Read, Justin Jones, Conrado Bokoles, and Paul Garisto recorded a 5-song EP in 2011, and we included Sons & Dogs here. We first fell in love with the tune at this show at Iota. You can stream a few other songs from the EP on their Facebook page.

The Silver Liners – Runnin’ Through My Head

These guys emailed us to see if we could cover one of their shows. We were lame and never made it out, but we dug this tune. It is available as a free download on their site.

Deleted Scenes – bedbedbedbedbed

We caught the Deleted Scenes when they opened for Jukebox The Ghost at the 9:30 Club, and were impressed with the intensity of their set. This is an art rocky, post punky gem from their album “Young People’s Church of the Air.”

Poor But Sexy – Cherry Delicious

All you need to know about Poor But Sexy you can learn from this post-show interview with them, shot backstage at the Black Cat.

US Royalty – Equestrian

We heard a lot of buzz about these guys but never made it to a show. We’ll try to remedy that in 2012. This tune was ear candy.

River James – Arlington

This is what Vince Scheuerman of “Army of Me” fame has been up to lately. River James now has a 4-song EP available, but this beauty was the first single they released.

More Humans – Dracula

OK, you got us. We learned about these guys by reading some of the other local 2011 lists. But they were so good, we had to included this track from their 2011 EP on our list as well.

Black Cobain (w/ Wale) – 4am

Virginia is for lovers. And Black Cobain.

Title Tracks – Turn Your Face

John Davis, of Q And Not U and Georgie James fame, released another album of power pop brilliance.

Turn Your Face by Title Tracks

Vandaveer – Dig Down Deep

Last but not least is one of our favorite Adam and Eve duos. They’ve been performing this tune for a few years now, everywhere from Iota to Paris laundromats. But now they’ve finally released it on an album.

Fisk’s website references “comparisons to fellow Virginia natives Dave Matthews, Jason Mraz, and Pat McGee.” The Virginia may be right, but I hear more of Carbon Leaf’s Barry Privett in “Part of You,” and V-Roys era Scott Miller in “Little Things” and “Life and Limb.”

The one cover on the EP, Paul Simon’s “Stranded in a Limousine,” is grittier than the original and well executed. Fisk clearly has a knack for surrounding himself with talented local musicians. Ted Garber’s soulful harmonica solo on the Simon cover is an instrumental highlight, as is the Katie Chambers cello performance on the album’s final track (a reworking of Part of You).

So Dan Fisk’s sound may not neatly fit into one genre, but that’s clearly a strength. You can catch Dan at several venues in the DC area in July.

Poor But Sexy have been busy. They just released their first full-length album and mini-toured the east coast (and Chicago, and Ypsilanti) all while holding down various other day jobs and ventures. We were excited to have the chance to chat with them after their recent performance at the Black Cat.

During their set, we shot this video of PBS performing Big Chief, off their recently released album Let’s Move in Together.

Poor But Sexy represent one thing we love about the DC music scene — friends of friends (not to mention DC punk veterans) coming together to create a whole new jam.

We also caught Midnight Hike sound-checking “Tell Me You Love Me” from the new album. Look for some professional clips of the actual performance from Midnight Hike in the near future.

Join us at the Midnight Hike CD Release Party at the Rock and Roll Hotel, Saturday, February 26, 9pm. $10.

We also captured The Deadmen performing several new tunes from a yet-to-be-announced album (and one “Dead” cover for the hippies). We’ll call their style “heavy songsterock.” We dug it. You will too.

Since February is the Skee-Lo of months, and we’re a few days late to the game here, we’re promoting four must see shows in the next few weeks:

• The Deadmen (a project of Justin Jones and Josh Read) at Iota, Thursday, February 10, 8:30pm. $12.
• Shane Hines at Vermilion, Wednesday, February 15, 10pm. FREE.
• Kid Congo and The Pink Monkey Birds at Comet Ping Pong, Friday, February 18, 10:30pm. $12.
• Midnight Hike CD Release Party at the Rock and Roll Hotel, Saturday, February 26, 9pm. $10.

If you have other recommendations for us in the coming months, let us know by commenting below or contact us.

See you at the shows!

DC Music Pub caught up with Justin Trawick between sets at the Evening Star Cafe for a discussion about keeping live shows entertaining, the DC music scene, and Justin’s preference for fruity beers.

We also captured Justin and drummer Ben Tufts performing several original tunes in the Number 9 Lounge. See where Justin is playing next at www.justintrawick.com.

What’s left to be said about the Dismemberment Plan Reunion that hasn’t already been said?

It’s true. The Dismemberment Plan reunited, coinciding with the re-release of Emergency & I on vinyl, and played a series of shows in their hometown of Washington, DC. We caught the first show at the Black Cat, and it was apparent that the “memory machine” Travis Morrison conceived in the late ’90s had in fact come to fruition. But it was only part machine, fueled by the internet buzz and Jimmy Fallon appearance. Those present – in the flesh – were moved in equal parts by nostalgia and the urgency of now. Both feelings are captured in the videos we filmed and are releasing to the world now, with the help of “the serene hum of computers in air-conditioned vaults.” Enjoy.

Poor But Sexy at the Galaxy Hut

With the DC music community buzzing about the reunion of beloved local indie rockers The Dismemberment Plan, we made our way to the Galaxy Hut in Arlington, VA to check out one of the openers for the Plan’s reunion tour — Poor But Sexy. Poor But Sexy are a group of local indie rock veterans with a number of connections to the Dismemberment Plan, including Plan guitarist Jason Caddell, as well as Travis Morrison Hellfighters bandmates Brandon Kalber and David Brown.

We braved the elements of a sudden “wintry mix” downpour to shoulder our way through the crowd at the tiny Galaxy Hut to partake in the punky funk brought forth. Braving the elements was well worth it.

We filmed (darkly) two jams, both from the upcoming debut full-length album entitled Let’s Move In Together due out in February. The first song, Big Chief, had show-goers grooving from the opening bass line.

The second, Cherry Delicious, is laced with throwback elements of DC’s own go-go music genre — complete with conga drums, cowbell, and funky, dotted rhythms.

If you missed Poor But Sexy in DC with The Dismemberment Plan — catch them on Saturday, January 29th opening for the Plan again at Webster Hall in New York City.