Leave it to Neil Young to make an album about a questionable multinational agrochemical company. The Monsanto Years will be released on 16th June 2015. He debuted the new songs at a stealth gig on April 16. Young enlisted Willie Nelson's sons, Lukas and Micah, and the band Promise of the REAL. The "Rebel Content” tour kicks on July 5th.
Live dates:
07/05 Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest
07/08 Denver, CO @ Red Rocks
07/09 Denver, CO @ Red Rocks
07/11 Lincoln, NE @ Pinnacle Bank Arena
07/13 Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
07/14 Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
07/16 Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
07/17 Bethel, NY @ Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
The Guardian compiled a list of "the cover portraits that deserve to hang in a gallery", including this one of Elvis Costello's debut album, This Year’s Model:
Elvis turns the camera back on the world, and really doesn’t like what he sees – a faultless image. Photographer Chris Grabin has said: “Alongside a powerful stereo I kept a large record collection at my Camden Studio, and artists would choose music they enjoyed or were interested in for their sessions. Just as we were about to start shooting, Elvis asked me if I had Hotel California by the Eagles, and could I play it. I was puzzled by his choice – until he told me that he loathed the record, but wanted to look really pissed off and angry in the shots!”
Oakland dream pop dance band Trails and Ways have released Say You Will, another single from their forthcoming full-length Pathology (out on Barsuk Records on June 2). It is slow and funky love song written by bass player Emma Oppen featuring the band's signature four-part harmonies.
Trails and Ways:
Hannah Van Loon: vocals, lead guitar, synths
Ian Quirk: vocals, drums, production
Keith Brower Brown: vocals, rhythm guitar, synths
Emma Oppen: vocals, bass
They will hit the road in June to promote the album. Fellow Oaklandlians Waterstrider are the support act.
There's an element to songwriting that I can't explain, that comes from somewhere else. I can't explain that dividing line between nothing and something that happens within a song, where you have absolutely nothing, and then suddenly you have something. It's like the origin of the universe.
David Ellis has unveiled a video for When Love Is Caving In, a melancholic love song that is released on the double A-side single.When Love Is Caving In b/w Tallulah thru Axis Mundi Records. Former Londoner Ellis brought psychedelic pop to NYC when he moved there. A 21st Century torch song singer with a knack for melody.
London rhythm & noir band Alberteen are streaming their new single A French Connection, the lead single from their new album Miss World. It sounds like a sunny mashup of Leonard Cohen's First We Take Manhattan and the soundtrack of a late Sixties/early Seventies police B-movie, the kind of song that is tailor made for driving a sports car with the top down.
The single hits the shops on May 18. The new album Miss World will be released on May 25.
Dutch rock quartet Organisms paint a picture of an after party that goes awry on their new single Para op de after. Two guitars, a sparse bass and a drummer who goes nuts get the message across, even when don't understand a single word of the lyrics.
Folk duo Alicia Dara and Glen Cooper had been on the Seattle music scene for many years before they formed Diamondwolf, focusing on vocal harmonies about halfway country and rock. Their first full-length Your Time Has Come is like a favorite blanket, soft and warm, thanks to the basic tracks being recorded in open room on Vashton Island. No piece of software comes close to superb natural acoustics.
With their impressive array of guitar sounds - Nashville fingerpickings, West Coast pop, power chords, Southern Rock et al., Diamondwolf is a barebones version of the Tedeschi Trucks Band playing in the comfort of your own home. As versatile multi-instrumentalists they only needed a bit of outside help for piano, keys and cello. Sad songs without Hollywood endings that run deep.
Diamondwolf:
Alicia Dara: vocals, nashville accoustic, slide guitar, drums/percussion, dulcimer
Glen Cooper: vocals, accoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass
Jason Staczek: Hammond B-3, piano
Danna Theilen: cello
Your Time Has Come is a self-released album. Buy it from their website. Release date: April 7th.
Tracks:
When I Rise
Cool Blue Fire
Crasher
Unbound (You Know My Name)
Swan Song
Supermoon
Burn Him Down
Limited Time
Across The Water
Mantra
Live date:
05/13 Seattle, WA @ El Corazon (supporting Grayson Erhard)
Memphis screaming blues quartet Low Society is busy putting together an European tour in November. An appearance at the Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland is already confirmed. Things will get loud and sexy.
John Cale performed at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York yesterday, providing a live soundtrack during a screening of Andy Warhol's Empire. Of special note: Tony Conrad, a former collaborator in the days of the Theater of Eternal Music / The Dream Syndicate (1964-5) was also on the program, with the String Orchestra of Brooklyn.
Dutch dark balladeer Mark Lotterman has made a video for Time Goes By (So Slowly)), which is a released on the split 7" with Johnny Dowd. Trains of thought about feeling lonely and depressed while holding his head up high.
Listen to Australian singer Courtney Barnett's gentle version of the John Cale classic (I Keep A) Close Watch. It was released as the B-side of Kim's Caravan, a limited edition 12" for Record Store Day.
Watch the new Thomas Truax video for I've Got To Know, a track from his new album Jetstream Sunset. Watch him playing his homemade instruments "Mother Superior" (drums) and "Scary Ariel" (bass), while an eye keeps an eye on things.
Live dates:
04/24 Southampton, UK @ Talking Heads (Supporting Duke Special)
04/25 Reading, UK @ Bowery District (Supporting Duke Special)
04/26 Cardiff, UK @ The Globe (Supporting Duke Special)
05/01 Northampton, UK @ Labour Club
05/02 Oxford, UK @ Cellar Bar Frewin Court Oxford
05/06 Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
05/08 Hull, UK @ The New Adelphi Club
05/16 Braziers Park (near Wallingford), UK @ Wood Festival
06/11 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ De Nieuwe Anita
06/13 Haarlem, Netherlands @ Beeckestijnpop
06/17 Berlin, Germany @ TBA
UK blog Folk Radio UK has an extensive interview about bulding things, stuff breaking down at concerts and freaked out customs officials who are suspicious about his sonic luggage:
One very early review said ‘The audience loved it when it worked, and even more when it didn’t work’. I try to remember that when anything goes wrong during a show. At airport security, I’ve been held up a few times. The Stringaling is the main culprit. It’s got a plastic chattering skull on it and a mini audio mixer inside which I made myself out of a small tea tin. You know, the kind of things that naturally would make airport security nervous.
You can't beat a big city for feel lonely and lovesick. Singer David Ellis, born in London and now living in NYC, has captured his grief on his new single When Love Is Caving In b/w Tallulah, mixing folk with psychedelic pop.
Harpist Tom Moth (Florence + The Machine) gives Tallulah an extra layer of melancholy that is missing from the more straightforward When Love Is Caving In.
When Love Is Caving In b/w Tallulah is released thru Axis Mundi Records. Release date: April 28th.
Sensuous surf garage from Minneapolis. Murder Shoes' new self-titled EP is the perfect soundtrack for a late night drive through unlit highways, a trip where the shadows may be hiding danger and monsters. Backed by a rumbling freight train back beat and a call-and-response two men guitar front line lead singer Tess Weinberg sounds like the darker (and cooler) sister of Tanya Donelly and Karen O.
Drenched in reverb the Murder Shoes EP is a throwback to the heyday of surf noir, a genre that never got big but has been kept alive and well by a fervent inner circle. An enterprising soul with good ears should offer them a vinyl release.
Power fusion rock trio The Aristocrats have unveiled the cover art and the track listing for their third studio album Tres Caballeros. As per usual each band member has contributed three tracks:
Stupid 7
Jack’s Back
Texas Crazypants
ZZ Top
Pig’s Day Off
Smuggler’s Corridor
Pressure Relief
The Kentucky Meat Shower
Through The Flower
Tres Caballeros will hit the shops in early Summer:
The album will be released in a Standard Edition (CD) and Deluxe Edition (CD/DVD), which will include a 30-minute documentary featuring live and in-studio footage, outtakes, demos, and more.
Live dates:
07/06 Sacramento, CA @ Harlow's
07/07 San Francisco, CA @ Slim's
07/08 Santa Cruz, CA @ Don Quixote's
07/10 Portland, OR @ Star Theater
07/11 Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven
07/12 Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
07/14 Boise, ID @ Reef
07/15 Salt Lake City, UT @ Club X
07/17 Denver, CO @ Quixote's True Blue
07/19 Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
07/20 Des Moines, IA @ The Gaslamp
07/21 St. Paul, MN @ The Amsterdam Bar And Hall
07/24 Chicago, IL @ Reggie's
07/25 Indianapolis, IN @ Birdy's
07/26 Cincinnati, OH @ The Mad Frog
07/28 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
07/29 Pittsburgh, PA @ Hard Rock Café
07/30 Columbus, OH @ Skully's
07/31 Detroit, MI @ Token Lounge
08/01 Toronto, ON @ Mod Club
08/03 Ottawa, ON @ The Rainbow Bistro
08/04 Montreal, QC @ TBD
08/05 Woodstock, NY @ Bearsville Theater
08/07 Boston, MA @ The Middle East
08/08 New York City, NY @ Irving Plaza
08/09 Philadelphia, PA @ North Star Bar
08/10 Washington, DC @ Jammin' Java
08/11 Raleigh, NC @ Pour House
08/13 Charlotte, NC @ Tremont Music Hall
08/14 Atlanta, GA @ TBD
08/15 Nashville, TN @ The High Watt
08/16 St. Louis, MO @ Old Rock House
08/17 Kansas City, MO @ The Scene
08/18 Tulsa, OK @ The Vanguard
08/20 Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald's
08/21 Austin, TX @ The Roost
08/22 Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX @ The Sanctuary
08/24 Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
08/26 Phoenix, AZ Club Red
08/27 Mexicali, Mexico @ Teatro De Estado
08/28 San Diego, CA @ Price Center Ballroom East, UCSD
Thomas Truax is an original, a one-man band,who cuts through genres like William Burroughs on a particularly bumpy trip. His new album Jetstream Sunset features longtime fan Brian Viglione (Dresden Dolls, Nine Inch Nails) who jumped at the chance to work with the homemade drum set ‘Mother Superior’.
Truax is a sound geek, a sideshow magician who sprinkles his dark humoured songs with off-kilter bangs and beeps created by his wide array of home-made instruments. Singing about cars (Driving In The Dark), horror (Feelin' Bad For Dracula) and science (I've Got To KnowJetstream Sunset is the soundtrack for a late-night Fifties B-movie at the drive-in. Definitely not for the squaemish, but a highly rewarding journey through the back alleys of the American underground. Once you've heard his cover of You Are My Sunshine it's next to impossible to consider as a happy song.
Jetstream Sunset is a released on Psychoteddy Records. Buy it from his website.
Tracks:
Jetstream Sunset
I Was A Teenage Post-Punk
Driving In The Dark
Phantom Vibrations
Shine Brightly As You Can
Feelin' Bad For Dracula
I've Got To Know
Fat Spider
You Are My Sunshine
You Are My Sunset
Written In Your Blood
Live date:
04/24 Southampton, UK @ Talking Heads (Supporting Duke Special)
04/25 Reading, UK @ Bowery District (Supporting Duke Special)
04/26 Cardiff, UK @ The Globe (Supporting Duke Special)
05/01 Northampton, UK @ Labour Club
05/02 Oxford, UK @ Cellar Bar Frewin Court Oxford
05/06 Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
05/08 Hull, UK @ The New Adelphi Club
05/16 Braziers Park (near Wallingford), UK @ Wood Festival
Amsterdam band Merry Go Round are young quartet who are into Britpop in general and The Beatles in particular. Their debut single Do You Wanna Be Mine? is a dynamic track pushed forward by a relay of guitar and keyboards, with a nifty chorus as the icing on the cake. The vocals could use a bit more power, but give them two more years or so and they can go places.
Merry Go Round:
Sjaak Thissen: bass, vocals
Titus Verster: guitar
Jurian van der Hoeven: keys
Rafael Mulder: drums
Do You Wanna Be Mine? will be released thru Fourtwenty Records. Release date: May 19th. Pre-order from iTunes (digital) or the label (physical).
Live dates:
04/21 De Heeren Van Aemstel (free show), Amsterdam
Watch the new Bella Lokavideo for Alive, a catchy, upbeat track from their Escape EP. The clip was produced, directed and edited by singer and keyboard player Tea Boothby.
The London based indie electropop duo have finished recording a new EP in Abbey Road studios, working with in-house producers Rob Cass & Pearse MacIntyre (Cave Productions). They will road test the new material on their upcoming Summer festival dates.
Heavy blues rock trio Planet of the Abts have made a video for Down For the Count, the lead single for their sophomore album "All Things The Valley, which will be released on June 2nd. The band consists of
Gov't Mule drummer Matt Abts, with fellow Mule member Jorgen Carlsson on bass and T-Bone Andersson on guitar, keyboards and vocals. The band will hit the US East coast for a short promotion tour.
Amsterdam based post-rockers Controllar will be releasing their new digital single Girl in the near future. It starts out a gentle song evolving into heavy-handed rock song, a female fronted Black Sabbath kind of monster with equal parts of impending doom and women's lib. They have posted a live video of the track. It was shot by Mihai Cucu in Bucharest, Romania. Audio by Sofamix.
Canadian singer-songwriter Suzanne Jarvie will be on tour in Europe (May2-18) with Lynne Hanson to promote her Spiral Road album. Confirmed shows in the UK and The Netherlands:
05/07 Locally Sourced, London, UK (free show)
05/10 private show, Utrecht, Netherlands
05/11 Parelsessies, Zuilen, Netherlands
05/12 Trianon, Nijmegen, Netherlands
05/14 Crossroads, Bergen Op Zoom, Netherlands
05/15 ROTR / Van Slag, Borger, Netherlands
05/17 Eric Sessions, Eenum, Netherlands
Canadian live dates:
06/03 Cameron House, Toronto
06/10 Free Times Café, Toronto, Ontario (w/ Peveril Hill South)
Spottiswoode & His Enemies have picked up an Independent Music Award nomination for Best Adult Contemporary Album of 2014 for their latest album English Dream. They are sharing a video (HD on Vimeo) of the full album:
Edited by Clare Elliott from British Council Film Archive footage, it's a mesmerizing complement to the fourteen songs. Perfect if you have a projector, a flatscreen TV or if you simply like to lounge in front of your laptop. Even better after a cup of hallucenogenic chamomile tea. All we ask is that you try to play the audio through decent speakers or headphones. As you will see, this version does NOT feature images of myself or the band, only the archive footage. My personal preference. I'll share the band version next month.
Live dates:
05/21 "40 Story Radio Tower" Broadcast @ Mauch Chunk Opera House, Jim Thorpe, PA
05/22 The Living Room, Brooklyn, NY (w/ Good Luck Mountain)
05/23 B Side Ballroom, Oneonta, NY (w/ Good Luck Mountain)
Get off your ass and buy yourself some music today at your favorite indie retailer with their knowledgeable, friendly staff. Tons of "today only" special (vinyl!) items. It's Record Store Day.
Watch the new Bonnie 'Prince' Billy video for Gloria from the split 7" single Gloria & Drie vragen with broeder Dieleman. The split 7" is a special release for Record Store Day (April 18th) on Snowstar Records: 1000 copies for the Benelux and 1000 copies for the US.
broeder Dieleman will perform four shows on Record Store Day.
Live dates:
04/09 Onderhuids @ Burgerzaal, Middelburg
04/18 Waterput, Bergen op Zoom (11.00)
04/18 Grey, Breda (13.30)
04/18 Velvet Music, Leiden (16.00)
04/18 Molen de Ster (w/ Herrek), Utrecht (ism Ekko)
Dutch rockabilly quintet Bootleg Betty go back to the Fifties with their debut EP Left the Barn, five tracks that have written "jukebox favorite" all over them. The ladies pay tribute to pioneer Wanda Jackson (A Song Called Wanda) and cars (Raging Cadillac), but the highlight is the ambiguity of the slow Like A Wolf - it could be about murder or sex or both. With harmonica, chugging guitars and passive-agressive vocals the song moves like a predator in the dead of night.
Rcokabilly is a genre is about girls and boys checking each other out. Bootleg Betty is in step with the boundaries of their niche with Push & Pull, about a will he or won't he protagonist, and the EP's country honk closer Ramblin' in which the ladies take to the streets all dressed up and looking for trouble. Don't classify them as a novelty act, but think of them as a shot in the arm for good old rock 'n' roll. Buy them a beer when you catch them live.
Left the Barn is released on 10" vinyl and CD thru Kroese Records. It is the first release by this label run out of an indie record store. Release date: April 18th.
Tracks:
A Song Called Wanda
Raging Cadillac
Push & Pull
Like A Wolf
Ramblin'
Live dates:
04/18 Kroese in-store (12:30), Nijmegen
04/18 Kroese in-store (14:45), Arnhem
04/25 Merleyn, Nijmegen
05/02 P79, 's-Hertogenbosch
05/05 Bevrijdingsfestival, Wageningen
05/08 Nijmegen Rock City Bowling, Nijmegen
05/10 Rock Around The Jukebox, Autotron Rosmalen, 's-Hertogenbosch
Dutch dream pop band Sväva have made a slowed down cover of The Undertones' Here Comes The Summer. They used the guitar tone of The Cure's Lullaby. The track serves as the theme song for the intimate Here Comes The Summer festival and is available as a free download. Recorded by producers Snoet & Smoel who added a sprinkling of synths and electronics.
Live dates:
04/18 Epe, Netherlands @ Epop
05/02 Vlieland, Netherlands @ Here Comes The Summer
05/05 Den Bosch, Netherlands @ Bevrijdingsfestival
Norwegian electro trio Musique Le Pop recorded their new single Same About You a small house in Finnmark. They had jsut sat through all Twin Peaks episodes and singer Elisabeth Thorsen tried rellay hard to channel the vocals of Julee Cruise’s signature song Falling. The music uses the blueprint of DeVotchKa's How It Ends of Little Miss Sunshine. In fact it comes quite close to plagiarism.
So what we have here is mash-up of two iconic soundtrack songs. It's enjoyable enough, but enterprising copyright lawyers will see an opportunity to build a case.
Same About You and the Safariari remix are released thru Cafe Superstar Recordings. Release date: April 20.
Jacco Gardner has put up a stream of Hypnophobia, the title track of the Dutch retro-psychedelic multi-instrumentalist's second full-length album. The album will be released on May 4th (US May 5th) via Polyvinyl (US), Fulltime Hobby (UK) and Excelsior Recordings (Benelux).
The album release party will be held at Paradiso Noord @ Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam on April 29th.
Live dates:
04/21 Studio 672, Cologne, Germany
04/22 Point Ephemere, Paris, France
04/24 100 Club, London, United Kingdom
04/26 Life I Live Festival, The Hague, Netherlands
Tel Aviv based psychedelic shoegaze trio Vaadat Charigim are sharing another track from their forthcoming full-length Sinking As A Stone. Hashiamum Shokea is a dreamy song about the neverending political tensions in Israel. Think a mix of The Jesus and Mary Chain and Tame Impala.
They have added shows in Phoenix and San Diego to their American tour.
Another archival Phish release is available for streaming and download: 12/12/1992 @ The Spectrum in Toronto:
On December 12, 1992, Phish crossed the border to play at The Spectrum in Toronto – a dance club with a capacity of about 1,000. Anyone with a LivePhish+ subscription can stream the show right now from the LivePhish App or you can purchase from LivePhish.com and stream via the free App (in your Stash). Downloads are also available at LivePhish.com.
In the year surrounding this show, they released four albums on Elektra and their “Hey-Hole” improvisation exercises were yielding increasingly transcendent excursions onstage. This was Phish’s only performance at The Spectrum, their second Canadian gig, and the 20th show on a 21-date tour.
Set I featured Foam, Reba, Split Open And Melt, and All Things Reconsidered, which was deftly woven into both “Bouncing Around The Room” and “Run Like An Antelope”. Set II highlights included a “Maze” opener, “The Curtain” > “Tweezer”, and the Davy Crockett “You Enjoy Myself”. The Toronto “Tweezer” deserves special mention for its multiple themes – from full shred to soaring melodies and bent dissonance. The encore was a rare “Ride Captain Ride” in its only pairing with “Tweezer Reprise” until 2012.
12/12/92 was recorded to DAT by Paul Languedoc and mastered by Fred Kevorkian. To download the show or to listen via the LivePhish App, visit LivePhish.com
Set 1: Llama, Foam, Sparkle, Cavern > Reba, The Landlady, Split Open and Melt, Poor Heart > All Things Reconsidered, Bouncing Around the Room > Run Like an Antelope[1] Set 2: Maze, Glide, The Curtain > Tweezer > Rift, Guelah Papyrus, You Enjoy Myself, Hold Your Head Up > If I Only Had a Brain > Hold Your Head Up, The Squirming Coil > Golgi Apparatus Encore: Ride Captain Ride > Tweezer Reprise [1] Simpsons, Random Note, and All Fall Down signals.
Teases: · All Things Reconsidered tease in Bouncing Around the Room · All Things Reconsidered and Jean Pierre teases in Run Like an Antelope · The Ballad of Davy Crockett tease in You Enjoy Myself
Memorable go-to jams and segues: Tweezer, The Squirming Coil > Golgi Apparatus. Also of note: this a show that recorded before Page McConnell played the baby grand.
Monty Python have made video for Professor Stephen Hawking's rendition of the Galaxy Song. It is released as a 7" single for Record Store Day (April 18th), with the original version on the B-side. Digital via iTunes.
“Galaxy Song” was previously included on the 1989 album “Monty Python Sings”, and included in the 2014 reissue of the album, “Monty Python Sings (again)”, in its original form - sung by Eric Idle - to coincide with Monty Python’s record breaking “Monty Python Live (mostly) – One Down Five to Go” run of 10 live shows at The O2, London. On film during the live shows, Professor Brian Cox berated the scientific inaccuracy of the “Galaxy Song” lyrics before Professor Stephen Hawking knocked him to the ground. Hawking then began reciting the “Galaxy Song” lyrics as he lifted off to journey through outer space. It is this unique rendition of “Galaxy Song” which is now available as a single.
Harvard Of The South is an alt-rock side-project founded by Blue October drummer Jeremy Furstenfeld and Longwave/Hurricane Bells singer/guitarist Steve Schiltz, who share a love for hard-hitting melodic rock songs. Their debut EP Miracle is a mixed bag with elements of R.E.M., The Sisters of Mercy, Big Star and late night ballads. Mutual admiration for each other's influences reigns supreme, but as a proper band they should go for blending their sounds in stead of keeping them separated in different songs.
Harvard Of The South:
Steve Schiltz: vocals, guitar
Justin Furstenfeld: vocals, guitar
Jeremy Furstenfeld: drums
Matt Noveskey: bass
The Miracle EP is released via Slō Lab Records. Buy it on Amazon.
Tracks:
All Our Ashes
Miracle
Descent
Clockers
Heart of Stone
Live dates;
04/16 Vancouver, BC @ Venue
04/17 Seattle, WA @ Showbox Presents
04/18 Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
04/19 Spokane, OR @ Knitting Factory Concert House
Primus have added six shows in Canada. The band will play two sets at all shows including a performance of Primus and The Chocolate Factory in its entirety.
Live dates:
07/11 Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
07/12 Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
07/15 Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
09/11 Calgary, AB Jubilee Auditorium
09/12 Edmonton, AB @ Jubilee Auditorium
09/14 Vancouver, BC @ Malkin Bowl
The deluxe edition of their latest record Primus & the Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble will be released on April 28, featuring a surround-sound version of the album and a live CD.
Mannequins on 7th Street have made a video for their new single Free From Real, a track built upon slow moving drones interacting with nervous percussion and high pitched keyboards. The Brussels based electronic pop duo created the clip with art collective Chapter One.
Dutch indie musician Marcel Hulst has unveiled a video for Kowloon, a track from his new album 1974 by his solo project Mountaineer. The animation was made by Frederick Saunders.
UK pop artist Prints Jackson has released the lengthy The Silence of Puget Sound, episode 14 of his "one new song each month till the day I die" project. It's his most ambitious tracks to date, a tapestry of hallucinogens, fairy tales, kings and sharks. Inspired by Jack Kerouac's On the Road the song is an exploration of being trapped in a parallel universe in which the natives aren't particularly friendly.
The Silence of Puget Sound is a self-released single. Buy it (pay-what-you-want) from his website.
John Cale and guests will re-imagine The Velvet Underground & Nico at the Philharmonie de Paris on April 3, 2016. Fingers crossed for Maureen Tucker on drums.
Andrew Lloyd Webber sickens me. He's in your face all the time and what he does is nonsense. It has no value. It is shallow, derivative rubbish, all of it, and it makes me very gloomy. Actually, I've never been to one of his shows but having put that slightly savage joke on the record, I thought I'd better listen to some Andrew Lloyd Webber and I was staying in a rented house in America this summer and the people who owned the house had a whole bunch of his rubbish so I thought I'd listen to Phantom Of The Opera and I put the record on and I was slightly apprehensive. I thought, Christ, I hope this isn't good - or even mediocre. I was not disappointed. Phantom Of The Opera is absolutely fucking horrible from start to finish.
When avant-garde garage noise duo The Chewersshared their new instrumental The Lurk in September 2013 a new album wasn't far off. All kinds of shit happened since then and now the release date for Dead Dads is pushed back yet again until June 13. After a falling out with their label Rats N' Bugs records the band decided to walk out. CD's were ready to go and are in their possession. On the upside: they have a spiffy new website and a video for The Lurk.
Progressive jam band Umphrey's McGee doesn't shy away from a big challenge. They got a chance to record at the renowned Studio 2 @ Abbey Road in London last year and cut a full album within 12 hours. Safe for the vocals (those were added at a later stage in Chicago and LA) The London Session - A Day at Abbey Road Studios takes full advantage of the superb acoustics and dynamics. Given the limited time they had, the sextet opted for stuff that they have been playing live a ton, but never got around to recording in the studio plus a cover of The Beatles classic I Want You (She’s So Heavy), the famous users of Studio 2.
Recording live from the floor is tricky - one band member can screw up a take, but the hallowed "one take wonder" is something that never can be matched with overdubs, edits and such. To up he ante even further, they went for a variety of moods and styles, thus making things way more complicated for the engineers. Acoustic songs (No Diablo, Cut the Cable) sit comfortably next to full-on freak rock (Plunger, Rocker Part 2) and funky jazzy prog stuff (Glory, Bad Friday).
Umphrey's McGee overcame jet lag and nerves to end up with an album that is a 101 for musicians that lock themselves in a pressure cooker of sorts. The London Session - A Day at Abbey Road Studios sounds like a superb live record. It will be hard to capture this kind of intensity and fun when they go back to traditional studio recording methods for the next one.
Umphrey's McGee:
Brendan Bayliss: guitar, vocals
Joel Cummins: keyboards, vocals
Ryan Stasik: bass
Andy Farag: percussion
Jake Cinninger: guitar, vocals
Kris Myers: drums, vocals
The London Session - A Day at Abbey Road Studios is released thru Hanging Brains Music. Buy it from their website. The 2LP vinyl has a live version of In the Kitchen recorded at the Brooklyn Bowl in London on June 19, 2014.
Tracks:
Bad Friday
Rocker Part 2
No Diablo
Cut the Cable
Out of Order
Glory
Plunger
Comma Later
Eat
I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
In the Kitchen (Live From Brooklyn Bowl London 6.19.14) (vinyl only)
Live dates:
04/10 St Augustine Amphitheatre, St Augustine, FL
04/11 St Augustine Amphitheatre, St Augustine, FL
04/15 George's Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville, AR
04/16 House of Blues Dallas, Dallas, TX
04/17 House of Blues Houston, Houston, TX
04/18 Stubb's, Austin, TX
04/23 First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
04/24 First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
04/25 First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
05/01 Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
05/02 Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
05/22 Summer Camp 2015, Chillicothe, IL
06/21 Stage AE, Pittsburgh, PA
06/26 Brenton Skating Plaza, Des Moines, IA
06/27 Crossroads KC, Kansas City, MO
07/02 Boulder Theatre, Boulder, CO
07/03 Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO
07/16 Blue Hills Bank Pavilion, Boston, MA
07/17 Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ
07/18 River Stage at Great Plaza, Philadelphia, PA
Scottish folk duo Henry & Fleetwoodperformed their new song Little Light on The Riverside Show on Scottish TV. They have a couple of gigs lined to promote their On The Forest Floor EP.
Dweezil Zappa discusses the legacy of his father Frank Zappa in an interview with
The Daily Times:
As I’m learning this stuff, I find more and more details about what made Frank use certain types of sounds and compositional tools, but the thing about it is, there is no really predictable formula in any of it, and that’s what’s so amazing,” Dweezil Zappa told The Daily Times during a recent interview. “Over 80-plus albums, he was never repeating ideas, he was constantly evolving and growing, and if he was putting things in that were similar, it was some purposeful, thematic coherence type of thing. He looked at all of his work as being connected, and I’m constantly amazed at the depth and variety of his music. That’s something to be inspired by and to aspire to.
On performing with Zappa Plays Zappa:
Most people became familiar or got some casual exposure to my dad’s music through what did make it to the radio, and the stuff that made it to the radio wasn’t the majority of the stuff his music was made out of,” he said. “It’s easy to get the wrong impression if all they ever heard is stuff on the radio. Our goal is not to emphasize that material or what they think they know, but to present them stuff they should know more about. I wanted to focus more on the compositional elements that I think made my dad’s music unique.
In building the show, I’m trying to fortify a setlist with instrumentals and things that display what made him different as a composer. What people don’t know is that he really was a classical composer. As a teen, he went to the library to learn how to be a classical composer, and he taught himself everything he knew about music by going to the library. He treated his rock band projects as an orchestra with a repertory ensemble, and that’s a tradition we uphold.
Zappa Plays Zappa will be on tour in North America and Europe throughout this year:
North American tour:
04/09 State Theatre, Portland, ME
04/10 Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield, CT
04/11 Keswick Theatre, Glenside, PA
04/12 Berklee Performance Center, Boston, MA
04/14 Birchmere, Alexandria, VA
04/15 Bijou Theatre, Knoxville, TN
04/16 Iron City, Birmingham, AL
04/17 Wanee Music Fest, Live Oak, FL
04/18 Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA
04/20 The Ready Room, St Louis, MO
04/21 Concord Music Hall, Chicago, IL
04/23 Colorado Symphony, Denver, CO
04/24 The Depot, Salt Lake City, UT
04/25 Brooklyn Bowl Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
04/26 Rialto Theatre, Tucson, AZ
04/28 ACM @ UCO Performance Lab, Oklahoma City, OK
Singer-songwriter Hemant Rao has posted an acoustic demo of his new song Substitute Fear With Love. Once it's finished it will be included on his forthcoming fourth album. He will road test more new material at a hometown show at the Shaika Cafe in Montreal on April 17th.
A new Mike Gordon EP, The Last Step, is available on 10" vinyl (gray splattered wax) from DrtGoods:
Five song EP includes additional tracks from the 2014 Overstep recording sessions; one of which ended up making its way into the recording sessions for Phish's latest album Fuego. Mike and Scott Murawski penned the songs during a series of writing retreats in New England for Overstep.
The EP includes the upbeat "Normal Phoebe" and "Eclipse" before settling into a quieter and more relaxed "Loon" and "Snow". Though originally written by Mike and Scott for Overstep, "Snow" made its live debut on stage with Phish on Halloween 2013. The original studio track was then recorded with the rest of Phish in Nashville during the Fuego recording sessions. The EP ends with a composed and less traditional rock-esque "The Last Step."
