You don't want to be a one-trick pony. On a lot of Smiths songs, I used a pick or a plectrum, and for some of the slow songs, I used my thumbs and my fingers. That's why I love the bass - it's adaptable, and you can express yourself so well with it.
Andy Rourke
French dark wave band Deleyaman will be on tour in Ireland in October. Confirmed dates so far:
Chicago based funky soul band The Right Now have turned the Buffalo Springfield classic For What It's Worth into an upbeat defiant dance tune, tailor made for PA systems at anti-45 gatherings. Bold brass, crunchy organ, and lead singer Stefanie Berecz as the centerpoint of the action.
For What It's Worth is a self-released single. Buy it from the usual digital outlets.
Phish
2018/07/28
The Forum, Inglewood, CA
Phish
2018/07/27
The Forum, Inglewood, CA
Watch John Cale going through Emily with his band Dustin Boyer, Joey Maramba and Deantoni Parks. Filmed backstage @ Openluchttheater Rivierenhof, Antwerp, Belgium - June 24, 2018.
Phish
2018/07/25
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, CA
Phish
2018/07/24
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, CA
Denver Balkan folk inspired band DeVotchKa will release their new album This Night Falls Forever on August 24. They have posted a lyrics video for the lead single Straight Shot.
Belgian noise dance rock sextet Statue stand out with their line-up of four guitarists and a single bass player and drummer. They are on the road tor promote their latest album Kasper:
(..) a hard-hitting mix of Nine Inch Nails, Sonic Youth, New Order and even Television. The nine instrumentals whizz and purr, growl and moan, dance and jump with barely a chance to catch your breath. It's a trip into the dark, uncharted backwaters of repetitive, sparse and sometimes surprisingly melodic noise that can drive an audience into a frenzy. Those who can't stand the heat and the volume will be long gone by then.
Phish
2018/07/22
Gorge Amphitheatre, George, WA
Phish
2018/07/21
Gorge Amphitheatre, George, WA
Phish
2018/07/20
Gorge Amphitheatre, George, WA
I mean, give me a guitar, give me a piano, give me a broom and string, I wouldn't get bored anywhere.
Keith Richards
Phish
2018/07/18
Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys, Stateline, NV
Phish
2018/07/17
Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys, Stateline, NV
Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio will be answering questions on the SiriusXM channel JamON. Why not play Europe? Why not practice more?
Have a question for Trey? @SiriusXM #JamON is giving you a chance to ask Trey anything. Send your questions to Trey at asktrey@siriusxm.com by Sunday, July 22nd. Stay tuned to Sirius XM Jam On and see if your question is answered.
Phish kick off their Summer tour tonight with a show in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
The Little Red Rooster Blues Band have been playing their spicy mix of Chicago Blues and West Coast Jump Blues for more than 30 years, establishing themselves as a household name in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley. Their latest album Lock up the Liquor is perfectly to create a sweet buzz without using outside stimulants, liquid or otherwise.
As per usual in their genre, their songs are about trouble and mishaps, but they will always take it in their stride when the shit hits the fan. In fact they can joke about like they do in Thrift Shop Rubbers ("second-hand protection is no protection at all". Lock up the Liquor is a feelgood record about being getting beaten down and rise to the occasion to come out on top. Honourable mentions for their harp player Dave Holtzman and special guest Anthony Geraci on piano for making it swing.
Like most musicians, I'm good at becoming immersed in the music that I am currently working on. We seldom lift up our heads to contemplate even the music we will be doing in the future, let alone what we've done in the past.
Tony Levin
Listen to Chicago psych pop band Umbra and the Volcan Siege take on the Bob Dylan classic If Not For You. They took the better known - and melodically superior - George Harrison version from All Things Must Pass as their point of reference.
Umbra and the Volcan Siege:
Jim Licka: guitar, vocals
Curtis Evans: guitar
Russ Mallord: drums
Pete Trillo: bass
Dark post-punk quintet FEHM are back with a new single: Scarborough Warning starts off deceptively joyful with an upbeat synth part before slowing way to Cure-alike guitar excursions and singer Paul Riddle's tale about imminent doom. The historical attack on the castle of Scarborough during the English Civil War is captured from the perspective of the crew on a ship going down. Recommended if you like Depeche Mode and English history.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have a posted a live video of Distant Sky, the title track from a new EP due for release on 12” vinyl and digitally on September 28. They were joined by Danish soprano Else Torp, reprising her part from the Skeleton Tree album. The tracks for the EP were recorded @ Royal Arena in Copenhagen on October 20, 2017.
Side A:The Copenhagen show was filmed professionally and had a short run in movie theaters. Changes are a DVD/Blu-ray will hit the shops later this year.
John Cale performed Shanghai Symphony Hall, Shanghai, China - July 11, 2018. Billed as a Velvet Underground 50th Anniversary Memorial Concert.
The band:
John Cale: vocals, electric guitar, keyboards, viola
Dustin Boyer: lead guitar, samples
Joey Maramba: bass
Deantoni Parks: drums, samples
Setlist
The Special Pillow have been flying under the radar for more than 20 years, playing delicate psych-tinged dreamy songs that in an alternate universe might have raising them to the stature as the rightful heirs of The Creation, early R.E.M., and The Kinks. Will their new album Sleeping Weird finally get them long overdue wider recognition? Listen to the HCTF exclusive stream of Gilded Shrug and find out. It's a great song about getting rid of things you couldn't care less about.
Sleeping Weird will be released on July 25th.
LA based Country band Jeffrey Halford & The Healers are cherished by the music critics, but the general public haven't caught up with them quite yet. Music lovers in The Netherlands & Germany have a change to catch them on tour August, playing songs form their latest album Lo-Fi Dreams and assorted nuggets form their back catalog.
Magnolia Boulevard follow the rock tradition of The Allman Brothrs Band and the Tedeschi Trucks Band on their self-titled EP. Based in Lexington, KY the quintet gained a following by of word-of-mouth thanks to a busy touring schedule. They released a couple of live recordings, before entering the studio to cut the tracks for this first official release.
Lots of bands get nervous when confronted with all the hoopla and tech talk that happens in a studio, but they managed to keep the energy, albeit with a lower intensity. They picked songs with a country vibe and stand-out track Sister has the power to make it into regular rotation on classic radio shows looking for fresh talent.
The new Boz Scaggs album Out Of The Blues contains a cover of the Neil Young classic On The Beach. He slowed it down a bit, making it almost as sad as the original, It's can be streamed on YouTube.
Out Of The Blues will be released on July 27th thru Concord Records. He assembled a list of A-list players to help him out: drummer Jim Keltner, guitar aces Doyle Bramhall II, Ray Parker Jr. and Charlie Sexton, bassist Willie Weeks and keyboardist Jim Cox./
Croatian post-punk trio No No Instigator don't take themselves too seriously with songs about imaginary vegan cat (a way cooler concept than tan imaginary friend) and wondering about the diet of Lydia Lunch. Some of it is in their native tongue, nn is in German, but they stick to English mostly and. Changes are that albums by New Order, Sisters of Mercy, The Cure, Trio and The Pixies, and X-Ray Spex are in heavy rotation at their rehearsal space.
They sound harsh and upbeat, a far cry from the dead serious outlook on life that is commonly associated with this genre.
Aussie rockers Psychedelic Porn Crumpets sound like their name: retro with a bit of dirt to make it more interesting. Their single Cornflake is the first taste from High Visceral Pt 1 & Pt 2 double album that will finally be released outside their native country on September 10th. Sprawling concept album fans will love it. The animated video was made by Mike Wyatt (Attack Animation).
I like to open new doors and blaze new trails through the jungle and all that whatnot. What keeps me goin' all these years is changin' it up.
Les Claypool
John Cale performed at Parco d'Europa, Padova, Italy (July 6, 2018) and iazza Lusvardi (Arti Vive Festival), Soliera, Italy (July 7, 2018).
The band:
John Cale: vocals, electric guitar, keyboards, viola
Dustin Boyer: lead guitar, samples
Joey Maramba: bass
Deantoni Parks: drums, samples
Padova setlist
(Thanks: Ondra Kvapil)
Like-minded lo-fi garage bands Eureka California and Witching Waves will be on tour in the UK. Hooks and riffs galore.
Live dates:* (Eureka California only)
Sander van Munster of Dutch indie folk project No Ninja Am I only needed "one take, one mic" to record the four tracks on a single day @ Studio peggy51 for his new If You Want This to Mean Something EP. With only his voice and a guitar Van Munster sings soft-spoken songs about Burmese cats, the intellectually challenged inhabitant of the White House, love, and bluebirds.
This EP is like a house concert, with the artist right in front of the audience. Kudos to Michel Vermeulen who captured it perfectly, handled production, mixing and took the photo that was used for the cover art.
John Cale performed at Fortezza Santa Barbara, Pistoia, Italy - July 5, 2018.
The band:
John Cale: vocals, electric guitar, keyboards, viola
Dustin Boyer: lead guitar, samples
Joey Maramba: bass
Deantoni Parks: drums, samples
Setlist
Barcelona based singer-songwriter Daniel Ruiz has rounded up his five singles for his debut EP Stories from a Whiskey-soaked Mind. His afterhours songs are drenched in alcohol and melancholia. He is a storyteller with a penchant for self-explanatory song titles: A Cup of Coffee with Two Sugar Cubes, Cream, and a Tiny Drop of Whiskey; Meet the Crimson Woman at the Dawn Cafe; I Can't Believe My Luck (I Really Hope I Don't Fuck This Up); Goodbye Letter from a Loved One; Blackout Drunk Dream (Silvia Comes Flying Through the Window).
Sadness by way of girl trouble provided him with a rich source for his lyrics. Recommended if you like Spottiswoode & His Enemies and Tom Waits.
UK rock trio Johnny Kills are making a fuzz on their new single Who’s Counting?, with a zooming bass bringing it home safely. They make harmonizing cool again, as a way to relax while dealing with the prospect of a new relationship. Times may be scary and the future is uncertain with Brexit looming, but the Brits can always count on a steady flow of bands to bring cheer and good times. 2018 might be the new 1966 for them.
The Proven Ones is an apt name for a soulful blues band whose members have been playing as sidemen for years, earning the respect from fellow musicians and wowing more crowds than they care to remember. Based in Portland, OR. the quintet set up shop at Roseland Recording to record the tracks for their first album Wild Again. They had no trouble picking six true-and-tried classics besides their four originals to create an the album that flows like a live show, aided by a trumpet player and three saxophonists to get that late night vibe.
They hit the ground running praising the lure of booze and loud music with Cheap Thrills. The band reaches a peak when the gloves comes off for their rendition of Loan Me a Dime, 11 minutes of pure blues goodness that turns into a lengthy improvisation that never runs out of steam. The title track Wild Again is no slouch either, a tug of war between vocals and fuzzy guitar, with the brass, reeds and piano jumping into the fray as well.
Another episode has been added to the Phish Live Bait series. Vol. 14 covers a time span of 18 years. The oldest track, Harry Hood, was recorded at the Gorge Amphitheatre - George, WA on August 2, 1997, while the most recent one, Tweezer > Prince Caspian, went down at (Magnaball, Watkins Glen International - Watkins Glen, NY on August 22, 2015.
Good to see the inclusion of the threesome Gotta Jibboo > Saw It Again > Magilla (7/4/00 E Centre - Camden, NJ)).
Live Bait Vol. 14 is a free download compiled by the band's archivist Kevin Shapiro.
Tracks:
American artists Anna Coogan and Kathy Ziegler join forces for their Summer of the Lost Year 2018 European tour. Be prepared for an eclectic night of music, from indie rock to opera and more.
Live dates:HCTF review of The Lonely Cry of Space and Time (Anna Coogan).
Slip, Stitch and Pass comes to vinyl as a special treat during the Curveball festival @ Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, NY (August 17-29). The second Phish live album will be released as a 2LP:
EMP Records Store will also feature an exclusive, brand new Phish vinyl release. Phish's 1997 live album 'Slip, Stitch and Pass' will be available for the first time on vinyl at Curveball. The festival version is pressed on 2 color splatter (blue and purple), foil numbered LPs and will be available along with with a Limited Edition "Slip, Stitch and Pass" screen print by Drew Millward.
English garage rock power trio Sewage Farm take their catchy kind of noise on the road again: "they mix fuzz driven power pop, psychedelica and garage for a collection of upbeat tunes about bleak themes."
Live dates:Watch the Aarhus Jazz Orchestra perform Kraftwerk classica @ SPOT Festival 2014, Aarhus, Denmark - May 2, 2014. Special guests: Emil de Waal and Spejderrobot. Visuals by Hattlerized Motorsaw (Sune Petersen and Max Hattler).
Setlist:
Garage noise rock duo The Chewers explore the underbelly of their hometown Nashville on their nee album Downhill Calendar, ambling through the rat-infested back alleys, a plague that is put to good use as a source of nutrition and makeshift clothing in I'm Getting Thinner. Travis Caffrey and Michael Sadler shun any from of crowd pleasing and their lyrics will throw the folks at the PMRC into a hissy fit when they are exposed to Where Is the Fun?: "Sometimes I Think I'm a piece of shit // Sometimes I think I'm great // Sometimes all I can do in a day is self-flagellate and masturbate". Their warped sense of humour comes to fore in Frankie's Downhill Calendar, a Bukowskian tale of demise ("Bought himself a smart phone, found out that he was stupid").
Their relentless brand of distorted guitar and pounding drums will be appreciated by fans of Tom Waits, Johnny Dowd and Nick Cave. With Downhill Calendar they state that every cloud doesn't come with a silver lining, but can cast another shadow instead.
