Moke: tour dates

Dutch Britpop band have announced Dutch club tour, promoting their sophomore album The Long and Dangerous Sea. The first three shows are already sold out.

• 01/09 Waerdse Tempel, Heerhugowaard
• 01/15 Eurosonic, Huize Maas, Groningen
• 01/16 Noorderslag, Oosterpoort, Groningen
• 01/23 Iduna, Drachten $
• 02/p6 LVC, Leiden #
• 02/19 Metropool, Hengelo $
• 02/26 Bibelot, Dordrecht #
• 02/27 Perron 55, Venlo
• 03/05 De Kelder, Amersfoort #
• 03/12 Muziekgieterij, Maasstricht #

$ w/ Pioneers of Love
# w/ Silence in Sexy

Video: Moke- Switch
Video: Moke - This Plan

» mokemusic.com

Phish in 2009

Live at Hampton - 2009/03/06

Phish came back big time in 2009. The Vermont foursome kicked off with a three-night stand at Virginia's Hampton Coliseum in March, toured through most of the summer, staged the three day Festival8, including the first "musical costume" since 1998 on Halloween with the performance of the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St., followed by a Fall tour. They ended the year with four shows in Miami. The final one is tonight - show 50 for 2009. Not bad.

New studio album
Joy, their new studio album, was received quite well, with notable exception of one track Time Turns Elastic, the first long "composed" song in a long time. It took over a 200 takes. TTE is hated by many and liked by few. The band however persists in performing it. It did work when guitar player Trey Anastasio performed it with a full orchestra in Baltimore and New York. All of the Joy tracks were rolled out in concert before the album's release. Songs that didn't make the cut ended up on the bonus album Party Time, part of the deluxe edition of Joy.

From the Archives
Archival release highlight was the mammoth DVD Box set with 7 DVD's documenting The Clifford Ball. Big Cypress in 2010?

On the road again in 2010?
Will they tour again in 2010? Most likely, but will that include Europe? It's been a long time since that final show in Barcelona, July 10. 1998.

» phish.com

Cover Me: White Rabbit

photo: Adrien Broom

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals take on White Rabbit, the Jefferson Airplane classic written by Grace Slick, who already performed this song with The Great Society before she joined the Airplane. Recorded live at Higher Ground, Burlington, VT - 2009-12-26.

MP3: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - White Rabbit

» gracepotter.com
» jeffersonairplane.com

(Thanks: Triple-B)

Phish NYE Run 2009 SBD + torrents: 2009/12/30 Miami

Phish
2009/12/30
American Airlines Arena
Miami, FL

Set One

1. Soul Shakedown Party
2. Runaway Jim
3. Jesus Just Left Chicago
4. Dixie Cannonball
5. Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan
6. Corinna
7. What's The Use?
8. Tela
9. Gone
10. Rocky Top
11. Chalk Dust Torture
12. David Bowie

Set Two

1. Sand
2. The Curtain With
3. Lifeboy
4. Back On The Train >
5. Wading In The Velvet Sea
6. Hold Your Head Up >
7. Love You >
8. Hold Your Head Up
9. Free
10. Boogie On Reggae Woman
11. Run Like An Antelope

Encore

1. Frankenstein

» Buy the official LivePhish 2009/12/30 release (FLAC | FLAC-HD | MP3)

Audience sources:

» Grab your torrent (Neumann ak50's)

Quick fix? Mr. Miner's Phish Thoughts will have the shows in MP3.

Tim Knol: Dutch tour dates

Live @ Tivoli, Utrecht, The Netherlands - 2009-10-23. Photo: HCTF

Tim Knol, a Dutch singer-songwriter with a great voice, will release his self-titled debut album January 25 on Excelsior Recordings. The CD release party will be held is at the Paradiso in Amsterdam.

Live dates:

• 01/08 Hoorn, Huis Verloren
• 01/09 Tilburg, Cul de Sac
• 01/10 Joure (aftermoon), De Stam
• 01/10 Emmeloord (evening), De Klos
• 01/16 Groningen, Noorderslag
• 02/03 Amsterdam (CD release party), Paradiso
• 02/11 Nijmegen, Merleyn

» timknol.nl
» myspace.com/timknol

Bad Lieutenant: Never Cry Another Tear

A band solely consisting of guys playing guitar? UK band Bad Lieutenant proofs that it can be done, provided you get a bunch of other people to take play the rest of the instruments.

Never Cry Another Tear, their debut album, sounds familiar, mainly because Bernard Sumner takes care of most of the lead vocals. The New Order frontman enlisted his fellow band member Phil Cunningham, who brought along Jake Evans, a guitar player with proper credentials who had to be convinced, with questionable results, to step up to the microphone to sing too.

Hardly essential Never Cry Another Tear is an album that will find its way to the cut out bin in the near future. When picked up on the cheap, it ain't half bad - danceable poppy Northern England fare that is filling, but low on musical vitamins.

Never Cry Another Tear is released on Original Signal Recordings.

Tracks:

1. Sink Or Swim
2. Twist Of Fate
3. Summer Days
4. This Is Home
5. Running Out Of Luck
6. Dynamo
7. Poisonous Intent
8. These Changes
9. Walk On Silver Water
10. Shine Like The Sun
11. Runaway
12. Head Into Tomorrow
13. Falling Tree
14. Split The Atom

Bad Lieutenant:
Bernard Sumner: guitar, vocals
Phil Cunningham: guitar
Jake Evans: guitar, vocals

They employ Joy Division/New Order alumnus Stephen Morris (drums) and Tom Chapman (bass) for their live shows.

» badlieutenant.net

Phish NYE Run 2009 SBD + torrents: 2009/12/29 Miami

Phish
2009/12/29
American Airlines Arena
Miami, FL

Set One

1. Golgi Apparatus
2. Maze
3. Driver
4. The Connection
5. Wolfman's Brother
6. Ocelot
7. Reba
8. Access Me
9. The Divided Sky
10. Cavern

Set Two

1. Kill Devil Falls
2. Tweezer >
3. Prince Caspian
4. Gotta Jibboo >
5. Wilson >
6. Gotta Jibboo >
7. Heavy Things >
8. 2001 >
9. Slave To The Traffic Light

Encore

1. Sleeping Monkey
2. Tweezer Reprise

» Buy the official LivePhish 2009/12/29 release (FLAC | FLAC-HD | MP3)

Audience sources:

» Grab your torrent (Schoeps MK22)

Quick fix? Mr. Miner's Phish Thoughts will have the shows in MP3.

Steve Kimock teams up w/ Chris Berry Trio

CB-3 w/ Michael Kang & Steve Kimock photo: Jamie Soja

Guitar player extraordinaire Steve Kimock joins the CB-3 (Chris Berry Trio) for a string of dates in February and March:

Chris Berry's music got its start in the Ghettos of Zimbabwe where his platinum selling albums featured fusions of Funk, Dance Hall Reggae and African Rhythms. CB-3's Sound is a mix of the modern and the ancient. Old rhythms from the motherland are played through heavy electronics and otherworldly effects. The electric Mbira developed by Chris Berry, is the only one of its kind and creates a unique and distinctive sound that characterizes CB-3's original sound. The result is a dubbed out very dancey version of CB-3's mother-band, Panjea.

• 02/24 Moe's Alley - Santa Cruz, CA
• 02/25 Montbleu Resort Casino - Lake Tahoe, NV
• 02/26 Yoshi's - San Francisco, CA
• 02/27 Yoshi's - San Francisco, CA
• 02/28 Mystic Theater - Petaluma, CA
• 03/01 Point Arena Theater- Point Arena, CA
• 03/02 Red Fox Tavern - Eureka, CA
• 03/04 W.O.W Hall - Eugene, OR
• 03/05 Mt. Tabor Theater - Portland, OR
• 03/06 Domino Room - Bend, OR

MP3: Chris Berry Trio( w/ Michael Kang & Steve Kimock) - Start It Over
(live at Pearl Street, Northampton, MA - 2009-09-11)

» kimock.com
» myspace.com/chrisberrytrio

Phish NYE Run 2009 SBD + torrents: 2009/12/28 Miami

Phish
2009/12/28
American Airlines Arena
Miami, FL

Set One

1. Sample in a Jar
2. NICU
3. My Soul
4. Roggae
5. Undermind
6. Bouncing Around The Room
7. Poor Heart
8. Stash
9. I Didn't Know
10. Beauty Of A Broken Heart
11. Possum

Set Two

1. Mike's Song >
2. Light >
3. I Am Hydrogen >
4. Weekapaug Groove
5. Alaska
6. Backwards Down the Number Line
7. Makisupa Policeman >
8. Harry Hood >
9. Contact
10. Character Zero

Encore

1. First Tube

My Soul was played for the first time since October 7, 2000 (110 shows).

» Buy the official LivePhish 2009/12/28 release (FLAC | FLAC-HD | MP3)

Audience sources:

» Grab your torrent (Schoeps MK41)
» Grab your torrent (Neumann KM150's)
» Grab your torrent (Sennheiser ME-80's)

Quick fix? Mr. Miner's Phish Thoughts will have the shows in MP3.

The Little Death: The Little Death

photo: Jodi Jones

The Little Death are looking forward by looking back. They channel the B52's, Bowie in his Ziggy incarnation, Janis Joplin and even the Andrew Sisters (but with an extended vocabulary). No record company will touch them, who cares that they got a guy called Moby on bass and guitar. Who is buying racous rhtyhm & blues with a vaudeville twist and a punk attitude.

Lead singer Laura Dawn has the husky strong vocals that are required if you want to belt out songs about booze, deceit and loss. And she can soothe too, but always with a hint of a danger lurking beneath the surface. Guitar player Daron Murphy obviously listened to a lot of Cream and early Led Zeppelin, shooting notes from the hip. Moby is Moby, who knows what a bass should do - keep the beat and lay down a groove, locking in with drummer Aaron A. Brooks like they are Siamese twins.

Let's not forger that "litte death" is used for orgasm in French. Turn it up their album and prepare for multiple eargasms. Fucking great music.

The Little Death:
Laura Dawn: lead vocals
Moby: bass, guitar
Daron Murphy: guitar, bass, harmonica
Aaron A. Brooks: drums

The Death Threats - Cherie Martorana, Jamie Rae Branthover and Luci Butler - supply backing vocals.

The Little Death is a self-released album. Buy it from the band's website.

Tracks:

1. Intro
2. Gather Round
3. That Bone
4. Won't Ever Let You Down Again
5. My Papa Done Told Me
6. Mean Woman
7. Why My Baby
8. I Know You
9. Love Or A Gun
10. Hurricane
11. If Forever's Too Far
12. Shake and Tremble
13. Make Me

» thelittledeathnyc.com
» myspace.com/thelittledeathnyc

The Most Powerful Telescope In The Universe: The Moonlight's Fair Tonight

It's a nice concept. Assemble a group of musicians and shuttle them off for the weekend to a secluded woodland cabin somewhere in the woods of the Pacific Northwest to create an album on the spot. The Most Powerful Telescope In The Universe recorded their full length album The Moonlight's Fair Tonight in November 2007 and November 2008.

The The Moonlight's Fair Tonight is a lo-fi drones driven psychedelic record that sounds great on vinyl, with warm keyboard washes lounging on top of the drums that were recorded with the natural echo of the cabin as a not-so secret ingredient. Melancholy rules in the lyrics for songs like Window Wine and it's boozing sister track Anything for A Drink, but the best is saved for last when the band slows down for Low-lying Clouds.

The Most Powerful Telescope: Michael Bond, Tim Heyl, Andrew Hagood, Andrew Kroner and Michel Winters

The Moonlight's Fair Tonight is released on Datawaslost and Ionik Records. Released on 12" vinyl, with limited-edition screenprinted covers. Free MP3 and FLAC download.

Tracks (digital): Last of the Incas Cops Chasing Undercover Cops Buy Into It Island Bloodmilk In Your View or Mine Reach for the Stars (Bloodmilk, Pt. 2) Window Wine Anything for a Drink The Authenticator Low-lying Clouds

Tracks (vinyl): Side A Last of the Incas Cops Chasing Undercover Cops Buy Into It Island Bloodmilk Side B In Your View or Mine Reach for the Stars (Bloodmilk, Pt. 2) Window Wine Anything for a Drink The Authenticator Low-lying Clouds

» myspace.com/bigtelescope

Transfer: Future Selves

photo: Rachael Short

San Diego band Transfer went through a personnel change, but it doesn't show all that much on their new album Future Selves. Tapping in the UK atmospheric guitar parts and a pinch of West Coast orchestral pop sensibility they paint their songs with broad strokes, most notably in Losing Composure and the paranoia of My Suspicions and the gospel tinged Get Some Rest.

Future Selves can be described as howling at the moon in broad daylight, like Echo and The Bunnymen meeting the Arctic Monkeys on a deserted dirt road.

Transfer:
Jason Cardenas: guitar, vocals
Matthew Molarius: vocals, guitar
Shaun Cornell: bass, keyboards, vocals
Michael Cooper: drums

Future Selves is released on Obscure Magpie. Buy it from the band's web shop.

Tracks:

1. Losing Composure
2. Take Your Medicine
3. My Suspicions
4. Like It Used To Be
5. Get Some Rest
6. Wake To sleep
7. Enojado
8. Like a Funeral
9. The Possum
10. Deerskin

» transferband.com
» myspace.com/transferband

Cover Me: The Perfect Me

photo: Heidi Greenwood

Emanuel and The Fear take on The Perfect Me, the Deerhoof cult classic written by John Dieterich, Satomi Matsuzakis and Greg Saunier.

MP3: Emanuel and The Fear - The Perfect Me

» deerhoof.killrockstars.com
» emanuelandthefear.com

Vic Chesnutt in a coma

Singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt is in a coma. It's another suicide attempt, according to Spinner.com:

In tragic news, the New York Times has reported that singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt is in a coma. While the cause is technically unconfirmed, it is widely believed to be the result of a suicide attempt.

News about Chesnutt's condition initially spread via Twitter by his friend and fellow singer-songwriter Kristin Hersh, who sent out the following tweet on Thursday: "Yeah, I can tell you what I know but no one knows much: another suicide attempt, looks bad, coma -- if he survives, there may be brain damage." An hour later, Hersh wrote, "This time, it's real scary: *this* time, he left a note, *this* time, he asked them to call me."

» vicchesnutt.com
» myspace.com/vicchesnutt

Gold Streets: Go

New York trio Gold Streets have released Go, a four track EP. Compared to their previous output - the full length Looks Like Fireflies - the songs have taken on an urgency that was only hinted at before.

The title track Go has an instantly danceable bass line and Dark Horse mixes the back beat of The Clash in their Sandinista phase with damsel-in-distress vocals.

Gold Streets:
Tiffany Almy: drums, vocals
Gizella Otterson: bass
Norman Vino: guitar, keys, vocals

Go is a self-released album. Contact the band for a handmade copy.

Tracks:

1. Billy's Dead
2. What I Want
3. Go
4. Dark Horse

» goldstreetsnyc.com
» myspace.com/goldstreets

Moke + Rigby: Tivoli, Utrecht, The Netherlands 2009-12-23

Moke live at Tivoli, Utrecht, The Netherlands 2009-12-23 - photo: HCTF

Rigby live at Tivoli, Utrecht, The Netherlands 2009-12-23 - photo: HCTF

Two Dutch bands in a olsd out venue. Moke played a raging high energy show at the Tivoli, Utrecht, The Netherlands 2009-12-23. Support act Rigby was the support act, plugging their new single One Song.

» More Moke on Flickr
» More Rigby on Flickr
» mokemusic.com
» rigbymusic.nl

XMAS 2009 freebies: Rodeo Massacre

UK psychedelic trio Rodeo Massacre join in with the rather unimaginatively titled Christmas Song.

MP3: Rodeo Massacre - Christmas Song

Live dates:

• 01/12 Russian Roulette@ Proud Galleries, London, UK
• 01/19 The Macbeth, London, UK
• 01/21 Sunglasses After Dark @ I Candelai, Palermo, Italy
• 01/22 Sunglasses After Dark @ La Chiave, Catania, Italy
• 01/28 Smash & Grab @ Proud Galleries, London, UK
• 01/29 Club The Mammoth @ The Hobby Horse, London, UK
• 02/16 The Macbeth, London, UK

» rodeomassacre.com
» myspace.com/rodeomassacre

The Flamings Lips: The Dark Side of the Moon

The Flamings Lips will be performing the entire The Dark Side of the Moon album on NYE in Oklahoma. A studio version featuring Henry Rollins, Peaches and Stardeath and White Dwarfs is available on iTunes.

It's a family affair of sorts. Dennis Coyne, lead singer of Stardeath and White Dwarfs, is the nephew of Wayne Coyne, lead singer of The Flaming Lips.

Inviting Henry Rollins was a smart move. He has the deadpan cool for the spoken words parts that act as a counterpoint for the rather crowded music. The famous line in Time "hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way" is changed to "hanging on in quiet desperation is ...eh", while the song is kicked off by coughing (in time of course). Peaches' vocals for The Great Gig In the Sky are distorted at first before settling into a more (still rather scary) mellow mode. Money gets an "electro meets Tom Waits" make-over.

The Flaming Lips' DSOTM is weird, but highly entertaining. Hard core Pink Floyd fans may think it's sacrilegious, though.

Live date:

• 12/31 Cox Center, (w/ Stardeath and White Dwarfs), Oklahoma City, OK

» flaminglips.com
» myspace.com/flaminglips

Triggerfinger: Dutch tour dates

Belgian rock trio Triggerfinger head north in January for a short Dutch tour.

• 01/21 LVC, Leiden
• 01/22 Effenaar, Eindhoven
• 01/23 Hedon, Zwolle
• 01/24 Watt, Rotterdam

Video: Triggerfinger - Short Term Memory Love

» triggerfinger.net

Chicago Blues: A Living History

Lurrie Bell, Billy Branch, John Primer and Billy Boy Arnold
photo: Mark R. Mahar

Few tributes capture the spirit of the originals as flawlessly as Chicago Blues: A Living History, a 2CD-set initiated by producer Larry Skoller. With a four man core band consisting of Lurrie Bell, Billy Branch, John Primer and Billy Boy Arnold the musicians tackle the blues giants with both respect and glee. The set is split in two, with the first disc covering the 1940-1955 period and the second running from 1955 to the present - well 1991 actually, the year when Buddy Guy laid down Damn right, I've Got The Blues.

Rock 'n 'Roll wouldn't have existed without Chicago blues, whose players pioneered the use of electric guitar as a lead instrument. If you take music seriously you will be familiar with names like Elmore James, William Broonzey, Jimmy Reed, Juinior Wells, Willie Dixon and Muddy Waters. The assembled blues players tip their hat to them and go for gut werenching, in your face music, because that what good blues is all about - feeling. And having a good time, despite all odds.

Traditionally classic bluee discography is rather hazy, but the liner notes on this album are highly accurate, with short bios about all involved musicians. The only notable flaw is the album's running time: a little over 74 minutes. All songs could have been fitted on a single disc.

The set has been nominated for a Grammy® Award and it should win by a landslide.

Chicago Blues: A Living History is released on Raisin' Music.

Disc 1: My Little Machine She's Love Crazy Night Watchmen Blues Chicago Breakdown Feel Like Going HomE I Believe Moanin' at Midnight Three O'Clock Blues Memphis Slim USA Hate To See You Go

Disc 2: Sugar Sweet Can't Stand to See You Go I Wish You Would Your Imagination My Love Will Never Die Hoodoo Man Blues Hooking It Out of Bad Luck One More Mile The Healer Damn Right, I've Got The Blues

» chicagobluesalivinghistory.com

Steve Vai: interview in "Premier Guitar"

Steve Vai is interviewed in Premier Guitar about his Live In Minneapolis - Where The Wild Things Are DVD:

What I like to see is really great musicianship, elite musicianship but also emotional investment. I don’t want to be beaten up by somebody’s musical intellect. I like dynamic swings. I like a show to have dimension to it, so you can have an acoustic set. When you see this DVD, it’s got all those dimensions. I like to have the audience feel like they’re part of the secret.

Video: Steve Vai - Now We Run

» vai.com

John Cale: "Paris 1919" in London - March 5, 2010

John Cale will repeat the performance of his Paris 1919 album in full in London next year. The Heritage Orchestra is booked for supplying the strings and what-not.

• 03/05 Southbank Centre, London, UK

» John Cale tour dates

(Thanks: Isabel & Ziggy)

Cover Me: Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

Via Tania takes on Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, the Nina Simone classic written by Bennie Benjamin, Gloria Caldwell and Sol Marcus.

» viatania.com
» en.wikipedia.org

Dead Confederate: Dirty Ammo

Dead Confederate posing for the Eiffel Tower in Paris - 2009/11/22

Athens alt.rockers Dead Confederate have released a live EP recorded in Atlanta, GA at the Earl on May 27, 2009. The 8 minute plus Tortured Artist Saint is a uncompromising portrait of musicians for a just a bit too full of themselves.

The band focuses on stuff that hasn't been released before, with only a few live versions of the songs from their breakthrough album Wrecking Ball. A further point of interest are the covers songs that are included. Their take of the Officer May track Smoke A Mirror is quite fetching, while the Elliot Smith tune is just about adequate.

Dead Confederate:
Hardy Morris: vocals, guitar
Brantley Senn: bass
Walker Howle: guitar
John Watkins: keyboards
Jason Scarboro: drums

Dirty Ammo is a self-released album available on CD, vinyl and MP3. Buy it from the band's website. $1 of each purchase will be donated to help rebuild The Georgia Theatre in Atlanta, which was destroyed in a fire in June 2009.

Note: the high quality MP3s can be downloaded for free if you want.

Tracks (digital): Smoke A Minor** Guns Tortured Artist Saint Get Out Start Me Laughing Shadow The Walls Roman Candle* * Elliott Smith cover ** Officer May cover

Tracks (vinyl) Side A Get Out Start Me Laughing Shadow The Walls Roman Candle* Side B Smoke A Minor** Guns Tortured Artist Saint

* Elliott Smith cover
** Officer May cover

Live dates:

• 01/07 Tasty World (w./ Futurebirds), Athens, GA
• 01/08 The Earl, Atlanta, GA

» deadconfederate.com
» myspace.com/deadconfederate
» dirtyammo.com

HCTF review of Wrecking Ball.

Escape from MySpace #24: Elspeth

Belfast band Elspeth formed in March 2009 and it took them a mere two months to be spinned by BBC Radio 6 DJ Gideon Coe after which they made rode airwaves again on BBC Radio One 'Introducing' with Rory McConnell, Across the Line on BBC Radio Ulster, 2FM, and Phantom FM.

Escape from MySpace
Want to get out of the hell called MySpace? You can't. The posts are still up though. The section as such is closed.

The band have been playing well received shows In Ireland and England, while they are working on their debut ep Felix Squirrel due for release in early 2010.

Song for Goodbyes is carefully arranged track, with a repetitive acoustic guitar motive serving as the undertow for the dreamy lead vocals. 24 Hour Paramedics is driven by a toe-tapping back beat belying the serious subject matter.

Elspeth:
Gerard: vocals, guitar
Leo: guitar
Jonny: guitar
Davy: bass
Phil: drums

» myspace.com/elspethmusic

moe.: 20th anniversary tour dates

Jam band moe. celebrate their 20th anniversary with two benefit concerts for the World Hunger Year at the Roseland Ballroom, New York. The band will release an anthology that combines some of their best-loved material, an unrecorded concert favorite and further evolved re-recorded versions of songs from their two major label releases.

• 01/22 New York, NY, Roseland Ballroom
• 01/23 New York, NY, Roseland Ballroom
• 01/27 Stroudsburg, PA, Sherman Theater
• 01/28 Rochester, NY, Harro East Theater & Ballroom
• 01/29 Boston, MA, House of Blues
• 01/30 Ithaca, NY, The State Theatre
• 01/31 Pittsburgh, PA, Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead
• 02/25 San Francisco, CA, Fillmore
• 02/26 Los Angeles, CA, Club Nokia
• 02/27 Las Vegas, NV, Hard Rock CafÈ
• 02/28 Flagstaff, AZ, Orpheum Theatre
• 03/03 Tulsa, OK, Cain'sBallroom
• 03/04 Lawrence, KS, Liberty Hall
• 03/05 Chicago, IL, The Riviera
• 03/06 Chicago, IL, The Riviera
• 03/07 Davenport, IA, Capitol Theatre
• 03/10 Charlottesville, VA, Jefferson Theater
• 03/11 Greensboro, NC, Carolina Theatre
• 03/12 Atlanta, GA, Tabernacle
• 03/13 Atlanta, GA, Tabernacle
• 03/26 snoe.down, Killington and Rutland, VT
• 03/27 snoe.down, Killington and Rutland, VT
• 03/28 snoe.down, Killington and Rutland, VT

» moe.org

Hilary Grist: "Branch's Arms (A Winter Song)" video

Vancouver singer Hilary Grist draw all the pictures for her Branch's Arms(A Winter Song) stop-motion video. It's a song from her new EP Little Ditties.

» hilarygrist.com
» myspace.com/hilarygrist

Chad Price: Smile Sweet Face

Sometimes all you need to make a record is your voice and your guitar. That's what singer-songwriter Chad Price, vocalist of alt.country band Drag The River uses on his album Smile Sweet Face, with Rick Stef adding pinches of accordion to three of the tracks.

The Ault, Colorado based composer is an admirer of Townes Van Zandt (lyrics) and Sam Cooke (phrasing), and it shows in the ten sad songs that make up this album. With a running time of a mere 39 minutes a high grade vinyl version should be seriously considered.

Smile Sweet Face is released on Suburban Home Records.

Tracks:

1. This Cross
2. Cursed
3. With Broken Hearts
4. With Bleeding Wrists
5. Peachy Tuscadero
6. Your Voice Is Music
7. Your Paralyzing Wings
8. Static
9. This War
10. Going Away

» myspace.com/chadpricesongs

XMAS 2009 freebies: The Hush Now

Boston indie band The Hush Now have come up with - stupid song title alert - Wishing You A Happy Christmas. It sounds quite nice though, with a catchy "fa la la" bit and after a rather sparse opening it transforms into a rollicking indie pop song:

MP3: The Hush Now - Wishing You A Happy Christmas

» thehushnow.com
» myspace.com/thehushnow

Coming soon in Utrecht: Local Natives, Brett Anderson, UnsraW

What's on at the Tivoli in Utrecht, The Netherlands? Four acclaimed Dutch bands, a West Coast sensation, loud guys from Japan, English pop, Scottisch folk rock...

• 12/23 Moke
  Hollands most fashionable Britpop band.
• 12/24 C-Mon & Kypski
  Dutch avant dance with a rock twist.
• 01/10 Epica
  Gothic with the required female vocalist.
• 01/23 Local Natives
  USA West Coast band to watch.
• 01/24 Brett Anderson #
  Fromer Sude frontman solo
• 02/04 UnsraW
  Metal made in Japan
• 02/10 Fink
  UK lef/feild singer-songwriter
• 03/19 Bettie Serveert #
  groundbreaking indie guitar band still going strong.
• 04/26 The Proclaimers #
  Scotland's finest folk rock band

# Tivoli De Helling

» tivoli.nl

Heathen: The Evolution Of Chaos

When all the shopping centers of the Western world are blasting good time Christmas the urge to put on a really fucking loud Bay Area trash metal album is, well, a bit childish, but perfectly understandable.

Heathen called it quits in 1993 and returned to forefront in 2002, but since then only an EP with cover songs and a below par demo saw the light of day. The recording of long awaited new studio album The Evolution Of Chaos took five years and is continuation of their guitar playing at (mostly) breath taking speed with surprisingly melodic vocals.

Lyrically it's all about mayhem and pain, courtesy of founding member and vocalist David White. Stand out track No Stone Unturned has all the marking for becoming he logical live set closer. It runs for 11 minutes plus and the guitars are molded into the rhythms like swords in a stone. A Hero's Welcome is angry song about the soldiers who end up dead in wars while the world watches but doesn't care. Can someone at Metallica HQ picks this up as an inspiration for what 21st Century metal can sound like?

Heathen:
Lee Altus: guitars
David White: vocals
Kragen Lum: guitars
Jon Torres: bass
Darren Minter: drums

The Evolution Of Chaos is released on Mascot Records. Release date: January 25, 2010.

Tracks:

1. Intro
2. Dying Season
3. Control By Chaos
4. No Stone Unturned
5. Arrows Of Agony
6. Fade Away
7. A Hero's Welcome
8. Undone
9. Bloodkult
10. Red Tears Of Disgrace
11. Silent Nothingness

Live dates (2010):

• 03/12 Prestatyn, Hammerfest, UK
• 03/13 London, Underworld, UK
• 03/14 Rotterdam, Baroeg, The Netherlands
• 03/15 Siegen, Blue Box, Germany
• 03/17 Ingolstadt, Paradox, Germany
• 03/18 Aarau, Kiff, Switzerland
• 03/20 Gorizia, Peffe Factory, Italy
• 03/21 Maribor, TBA, Slowakia
• 03/22 Baia Mare, Tinertului Hall, Romania
• 03/23 Vienna, Viper room, Austria
• 03/26 Essen, Turlock, Germany
• 03/28 Tilburg, 013, The Netherlands

» myspace.com/heathenmetal

XMAS 2009 freebies: The Chasms

UK post.rock trio The Chasms recorded a special Christmas song for independent internet radio station Dandelion:

MP3: The Chasms - Santa's Little Sleighride

Both their albums Advance Paranoia, Advance and the Vs Dandelion Radio EP can downloaded for free from their website.

» thechasms.co.uk
» myspace.com/chasms

CS Leigh, John Cale: "Process" movie released in May 2010

Process , the 2005 movie directed by CS Leigh with a soundtrack by John Cale, will be released on DVD by Syntax, the director company, in May 2010.

» More about the Process soundtrack
» syntax-editions.com

Matt Morris: When Everything Breaks Open

photo: Drew Jarrett

Singer-songwriter Matt Morris from Boulder, CO, built up a nice pile of street cred when he released Backstage at Bonnaroo, a five track live EP, in 2008. Guitarist Charlie Sexton is on hand again to sharing producer's credits with Justin Timberlake for the full length When Everything Breaks Open. Timberlake? Yep, all the lo-fi stuff has been thrown out the window and is replaced with glossy fills, busy percussion, and manic twiddling within Pro-Tools.

Morris has barely survived all this, his voice getting buried in the mix in the fist tracks, but after that the album opens up. All songs of the live EP get a second outing, and the material is strong enough to withstand the pressures of a big studio. Can somebody put up a huge "Less Is More" sign before he enters the studio again?

When Everything Breaks Open is released on Tenman Records. Release date: January 2010.

Tracks:

1. Don't You Dare
2. Money
3. Love
4. Bloodline
5. Live Forever
6. The Un-American
7. Let It Go
8. You Do It For Me
9. Just Before The Morning
10. In This House
11. Forgiveness
12. Someone To Love You
13. Eternity

Live date:

• 12/17 Fox Theatre, Boulder, CO
  (supporting the Flobots)

» mattmorris.net
» myspace.com/mattmorris

XMAS 2009 freebies: Jessie Baylin

Nashville-based singer-songwriter Jessie Baylin offers her new song Mrs. Christmas. Her aunt Jessie graces the cover art.

MP3: Jessie Baylin - Mrs. Christmas

» jessiebaylin.com
» myspace.com/jessiebaylin

Levon Helm: Grammy® nomination for "Electric Dirt" Levon Helm

Levon Helm's Electic Dirt has been nominated for a Grammy® for Best Americana Album. Its predecessor Dirt Farmer won in 2008. It might happen again.

» levonhelm.com

HCTF review of Electric Dirt.

Harper Blynn: Loneliest Generation

photo: Amy Sly

Harper Blynn is a New York quartet with a penchant for pop harmonies with a rock edge. It makes sense that they wanted David Kahbe (The Strokes, Paul McCartney) as the producer for their debut Loneliest Generation.

Formerly know as Pete and J. the bands two songwriters Pete Harper and J. Blynn takes turn singing the lead vocals. With original rhythms and keyboards bubbling under songs like Luck Struck Kitty and Centrifugal Motion continue the tradition laid down by bands like the Shirts. Addictive. The ballad All The Noise might be picked up to play during the end titles of a sitcom with a huge audience.

Loneliest Generation is a digital release. A physical CD will hit the stores in April 2010 on baby jackal records.

Tracks:

1. 25 Years
2. This Is It
3. Steal Your Love
4. The Doubt
5. Loneliest Generation
6. All Pretenders
7. Luck Struck Kitty
8. Centrifugal Motion
9. All The Noise
10. It May Be Late

Live date:

• 12/17 Bowery Ballroom (Digital Album Release Show), New York, NY
  (w/ Madison Square Gardeners & Pretty Dance Moves)

» myspace.com/harperblynn

Nowhere Boy: Original Soundtrack

Nowhere Boy is a movie portrait of an insecure young man who would become one of the biggest names in music ever. John Lennon was raised by his aunt Mimi, fell out with his mother Julia, and was saved by rock 'n' roll. The movie will be in theaters in the UK on Boxing Day (December 26th), but the 2CD soundtrack is already available.

Director Sam Taylor-Wood worked closely with screenplay writer Matt Greenhalgh and music supervisor Ian Neil in assembling the tracks for the first disc. They know they will be watched by hordes of Beatles fans who will point out any historical flaw. Actor Aaron Johnson learned to sing a couple of songs that Lennon performed with his first band The Quarrymen (credited as The Nowhere Boys on the CD), and he comes close to the voice of young Lennon. Raunchy was an obvious choice - this is the song that George Harrison played for John on the back of a midnight bus, hoping to impress him enough to let him join the band. Taylor-Wood and Greenhalgh picked Lennon's most intense song Mother as the closing music for the movie, a song so raw with emotion that it hurts.

The second disc is an "inspired by" collection, less adventurous but it does include Paul McCartney all time favorite Peggy Sue by Buddy Holly, a singer who proved that you could wear glasses on stage and look cool. It would take some time for Lennon to do the same.

The Nowhere Boy soundtrack is released on Sony Music.

CD1 - Original Sound Track Wild One (Jerry Lee Lewis) Mr Sandman (Dickie Valentine) Rocket 88 (Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats) Shake, Rattle & Roll (Elvis Presley) Hard Headed Woman (Wanda Jackson) I Put A Spell On You (Screamin' Jay Hawkins) Maggie May (The Nowhere Boys) That'll Be The Day (The Nowhere Boys) Rockin' Daddy (Eddie Bond & The Stompers) Twenty Flight Rock (Eddie Cochran) That's Alright Mamma (The Nowhere Boys) Raunchy (The Nowhere Boys) Movin' and Groovin' (The Nowhere Boys) Hound Dog (Big Mama Thornton) Be-Bop-A-Lula (Gene Vincent And The Blue Caps) Hello Little Girl (Aaron Johnson) In Spite Of All The Danger (The Nowhere Boys) Mother (John Lennon)

CD2 - Music Inspired By Roll Over Beethoven (Chuck Berry) Rock Around The Clock (Bill Haley & His Comets) Rip It Up (Little Richard) Baby, Let's Play House (Elvis Presley) Peggy Sue (Buddy Holly) Party Doll (Buddy Knox) I Fought The Law (Bobby Fuller Four) Brand New Cadillac (Vince Taylor & His Playboys) Susie-Q (Dale Hawkins) Let The Good Times Roll (Shirley & Lee) Money (That's What I Want) (Barrett Strong) Ain't That A Shame (Fats Domino) Stagger Lee (Lloyd Price) These Dangerous Years (Frankie Vaughan) Come Go With Me (The Del-Vikings)

» nowhereboy.co.uk