It's been a fun and weird week, and as we enter into the heyday of summer daze, with all the weirdness around us, I'm feeling Out of Step with this world. And what better song to express that frustration than Minor Threat's early hardcore anthem "Out of Step".
Minor Threat's Wikipedia entry shows this: "Another Minor Threat song from the second EP, "Out of Step" further demonstrates the belief: "Don't smoke/Don't drink/Don't fuck/At least I can fucking think/I can't keep up/I'm out of step with the world." The "I" in the lyrics was only implied (mainly because it did not quite fit the rhythm of the song), and some in Minor Threat -- Jeff Nelson in particular -- took exception to what they saw as MacKaye's imperious attitude on the song."
Nonetheless...the song rocks. Here are two vids (they're shorties!)
Minor Threat - Out of Step (alt version)
(I) Don't smoke Don't drink Don't fuck At least I can fucking think
I can't keep up, Can't keep up Can't keep up Out of step with the world
Brendan Benson played Letterman last week and rocked his single "A Whole Lot Better" from his new collection of songs called "My Old Familiar Friend". Cool song, pure hard pop - love that guy, writing and performing songs that go against against all current musical trends. The middle vocal part is pure Raspberries.
Stream songs from Benson's album at his MySpace page. Not all of them rock like the one above - they're lighter, more country-based including two songs with country singer Ashley Monroe), and still worth hearing.
Every Wednesday this month, I've added some new songs to my Slashing the Sunlight page. Today's addition is just one song - '30 Days' - a hate song about paying rent. Read the lyrics here. Play the song (click the FF button until it hits 30 Days) below. Thanks for listening.
I'm missin' new music from Paul. Last stuff I heard was the Amazon 49:00 songs last year. Maybe soon? It's been all quiet on the blog front for any news from him. Except for this great April Fools articles about The Replacements reuniting.
The Replacements, 1981, Minneapolis, Rockin' "I'm in Trouble"
Here's The Gaslight Anthem doing a cover of the Replacements' 'Left of the Dial' from St. Patrick's day this spring in Boston. Excellent version, considering they were in BOSTON on St. PATRICK'S DAY - yes, I did just imply that drinking was likely involved.
Come join cool people, swig cold drinks and soak in hot songs. Do something different. See a club rock show. Join us! It starts around 8pm or so. Ruby Room Lounge is located at 717 S. Central Ave, Phoenix.
One of my classic rock faves back in in the '70s was Starz. I own all four original LPs, the remastered Ryko discs and I saw them live in the 70s (w/Rush in Chicago) and the '00s (at Don Hills in NYC).
The band, led by guitarist extraordinaire Richie Ranno, still plays around New Jersey clubs a lot. Last weekend, Starz traveled to San Antonio, TX to play a rock-metal fest at Sunken Gardens.
I found one video so far on the Tuber from the show - the visual quality is crap, but the sound's decent and the band is rockin' their classic 'Coliseum Rock/It's A Riot' blast! Love that Ranno guitar sound.
Last night, I caught the music of two bands I've never heard a lick of before - Woods and Dungen.
For the friendly Stockholm psych-rockers Dungen, I was expecting loud rock bombast, and instead we got soaring guitar melodies, gorgeous piano playing and a band incredibly in mental musical tune with each other. I loved these guys, never having heard a single piece of music of theirs until last night. And this was despite at times wondering if this was the second coming of Spinal Tap - A Jazz Oddyssey. It was that prog-jazzy at times. But Dungen were so into it, and so skilled at it that people were listening intently. It was not a fist-up, beers-in-the-air rock show (my favorite kind). And the Dungen boys loved Phoenix, and said so a few times. Cool set all around.
Opening earlier was Woods (or is it Woods Family Band?) came on, playing their pretty melodic folk pop. (FYI - I saw these guys back in NYC a few years ago in an earlier incarnation called Menaguar - search my Waved Rumor archives, you might find a review somewhere)
Woods is a multi-instrument friendly combo, and I like a guitar-strumming drummer (or is it a drumming guitar-strummer?) If you didn't like the singer's thin wavering voice (I kinda did after awhile, admittedly - it fit the slight melodies), you could dig into the band's tape manipulations, handled deftly front and center by this cool cat:
Cool stuff - the crowd really liked it. I wasn't disappointed. There was a local PHX opening band (Terra Firma) - I arrived as they were finishing their last song, a little reverby spacey guitar thing.
(Footnote: I think I'm starting to really dislike the Rhythm Room. Maybe it's the stage backdrop that doesn't help distinguish one band from another while onstage. It's ALWAYS the faded, worn, fraying 'Rhythm Room' sign behind 'em. Or maybe it's the pitifully small and low stage, which Dungen could barely fit on and which you can barely see the musicians if you're in the back. Or maybe it's just the grim, dark atmosphere that pervades the place. Seeing shows at Rhythm Room sucks away my joy of rock and roll each time I'm there.)
I got an email this weekend about Australia band Dappled Cities and don't know much about 'em, so I'm passing along what I've got.
"After 2 years of ludicrously intense international touring and songwriting, Dappled Cities prepare for the release of their 3rd album, the art pop opus, Zounds. The work is the highest achievement of a ten year career traced back from their current home on US indie label Dangerbird Records (also home of Silversun Pickups, Sea Wolf and Darker My Love) to the teenagers first playing music together in their Australian childhood suburbs."
Go to Pitchfork to read and listen to their 2007 LP "Granddance". And Spin Mag heard traces in their last album of The Flaming Lips, Grandaddy and the Shins.
Here's the band's new video for the song "The Price" (which you can download at Spinner) and it's loaded with LED lights - brightness prevails! Cool...really. Their new CD is called Zounds.
"There's unlimited supply, And there is no reason why I tell you it was all a frame, They only did it 'cos of fame Who? E.M.I. E.M.I. E.M.I.
Too many people had the suss, Too many people support us An unlimited amount, Too many of them tuning out, Who? E.M.I. E.M.I. E.M.I.
And sir and friends are crucified, A day they wished that we had died We are an addition, We are ruled by none Never ever never EVER!
And you thought that we were faking, That we were all just money making You do not believe we're for real, Or you would lose your cheap appeal?
Don't judge a book just by the cover, Unless you cover just another And blind acceptance is a sign, Of stupid fools who stand in line Like E.M.I. E.M.I. E.M.I.
Unlimited edition, With an unlimited supply That was the only reason, We all had to say goodbye
Unlimited supply (E.M.I) There is no reason why (E.M.I) I tell you it was all a frame (E.M.I) They only did it 'cos of fame (E.M.I) I do not need the pressure (E.M.I) I can't stand those useless fools (E.M.I) Unlimited supply (E.M.I) Hello E.M.I Goodbye A & M
Popmatters Blog writer Jason Gross offers up an article 'Suicide Right on the Stage' talking about what very few writers I've seen have tackled - is it time for the aging '60s-'70s-'80 boomer rockers to hang it up? Out of care and concern, that is? Not of apathy.
Using as a starting point Aerosmith's Steven Tyler's recent injuries incurred from his fall earlier this month off a South Dakota stage, and his bandmates' other maladies that have resulted in the tour cancellation, Gross offers questions and directions about why these rockers continue to go out there every few years or so and make a payday - "It’s reasoned that as long as the crowds keep showing up, why shouldn’t they keep performing? It makes sense as long as the decision takes the artist’s health into consideration, which we rarely hear about until there’s a show cancellation."
Also: "So consider for a minute an incomplete roll call of still-touring AARP-age performers. For the 60-year-old group, there’s Jagger (66), McCartney (67), Dylan (68), Townshend (64), Paul Simon (67), Smokey Robinson (69), Greg Allman (61), the Dead (61, 63, 65, 69) and George Clinton (68), with Springsteen just missing the cut (59). Then, you have 70-year crowd where we’ll throw in some country and jazz legends: George Jones (77), Little Richard (76), Jerry Lee Lewis (73), Ornette Coleman (79), Sonny Rollins (78), Willie Nelson (76), Merle Haggard (72) and… Pat Boone (75). The octogenarian group includes Chuck Berry (82), B.B. King (83) and Cecil Taylor (80) (also note that while Fats Domino is 81, he’s rarely performed since the 1980’s). Ah, but they’re mere spring chickens compared to bluesmen Pinetop Perkins (96) and Honeyboy Edwards (94). All of which is to say that it ain’t unusual to see the 50-plus crowd touring but some of them already have faced the limitations of their age, or they will soon. Even James Brown couldn’t do leg splits towards the end of his life."
Gross asks: "How far and how long should these performers push themselves? When do they figure that it’s time to pack it in? Some have joked that they’ll be glad to get wheeled out onto the stage when they can’t walk anymore. The way that each of these artists answers these questions for themselves is some mix of ego, pride and artistic drive."
He also relates in the comments that he wrote this not in condemnation of the artists, but rather concern over their health and well being. "Again, I have nothing against artists continuing to tour in their later years- I just hope that some of them don’t push themselves too far when they shouldn’t be doing it."
Several other commentators basically said 'Why stop?" If they dig it and there's an audience, keep it alive.' Me? I'm sort of torn - rock and roll's always been better as a young guy's game, so maybe there is a suitable time and place for a 70-year old to just wave goodbye. The jury is still out, I guess.
Would've been nice to receive a little heads up notice on all these great bands playing in Downtown Phoenix this weekend. I just read it over at Up on the Sun, which seemed surprised too!
But it all looks cool - Secret Machines, The Maine, Dear and the Headlights, Against Me on Sunday night - all good bands this weekend. Presented by KiaCollective.
I've played out some Green Day clips recently, but haven't thrown up any Franz Ferdinand videos for y'all. Both bands are rocking Phoenix's US Airways Center this weekend, and it seemed right to bring some of FF's 'No You Girls' your way. Can't say I find the song as scintillating "This Fire" or anything, but it still makes ya wanna shake yer butt, right? Am I right? Is FF the '00s Durannies? You decide!
Probably true dat, but I missed a lot of the '90s US style while living in Europe during those heady years. Still, I'm inclined to think that Green Day has surpassed that cultural/musical milestone twice - with American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown. Dookie is/was essential but I bet the band's fans would agree they've taken good steps forward.
All Time Low is currently doing Warped Tour and VMA dates until end August, then a few weeks off before another US tour kicks off.
All Time Low on tour:
Aug 15 2009 Vans Warped Tour Seattle, Washington Aug 16 2009 Vans Warped Tour Portland, Oregon Aug 19 2009 Vans Warped Tour Fresno, California Aug 20 2009 Vans Warped Tour Mountain View, California Aug 21 2009 Vans Warped Tour Sacramento, California Aug 22 2009 Vans Warped Tour San Diego, California Aug 23 2009 Vans Warped Tour Los Angeles, California Aug 25 2009 VMA Tour: Six Flags Chicago, IL Aug 27 2009 VMA Tour: Six Flags Agawam, MA Aug 28 2009 VMA Tour: Six Flags Jackson, NJ Aug 29 2009 VMA Tour: Six Flags Bowie, MD Aug 30 2009
Some of the best bands in Arizona are performing LIVE this Thursday night for the Scottsdale Third Thursday jam-bon-ee (ok, I just made that term up) starting at 8pm!
Seriously, this is good news for rockers in great Scottsdale/Phoenix Metro area - the Scottsdale Third Thursday is upon us and that means rock and roll and guns and dope and ??? in the streets... Oh well, maybe not all that - perhaps just a few bands kickin' it out in Scottsdale old Town on Thursday night. Still seems like a fun night out!
The line-up features bands: - Street Sweeper Social Club (including Tom Morello, a founding member and guitarist of the rock bands Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave) - W.I.N.C. (pronounced wink) is an acronym for Weird Is the New Cool, a band whose main goal is to create uncategorized music: No Rules, No Boundaries. - Great Northern, an adventurous band that says it is "trying to overcome the fear of changing ourselves, constantly redefining ourselves as artists, and never creating the same thing twice."
(Tell me if this gets monotonous for you).... But...
I'm thrilled to add my two fave songs from my upcoming CD 'Slashing the Sunlight' to the online listening mix! The new songs unveiled today are 'When I Go Away' (careful what you wish for, Dfactor) and 'Too Much Regulation' (careful how you act, Obama)
Download the songs at the link above or stream them right here on the ReverbNation player!
I love these two songs. 'When I Go Away' just flat out rocks in the way I like best - a Replacements-worthy descending E chord riff with probably the most naked lyrics I've ever written to create another top 10 hit in a parallel universe. Way cool, catchy garage pop."
'Too Much Regulation' asks questions about government intervention in our lives and if we want it and if it's worth it. I say no, in three chords and a flurry of dynamics. Another corker.
Stay tuned for new Dfactor songs up on WEDNESDAY at my Slashing the Sunlight CD site. My two fave-est ones from the collection! Drop back here on Wednesday.
In other news, filling in the blanks on a hot-sunny Tuesday:
- Punk Rock is alive and well in Russia - and rebelling against PutinMania. "The band is undoubtedly disrespectful to Putin, especially in its 2002 song "FSB Whore," whose title refers to the KGB's post-Soviet successor agency, which Putin once led. The song's lyrics are: "Don't listen to anything! / He always lies to you! / Putin, Putin, Putin! / A pig will find filth everywhere!" Whether due to censorship or simply the limited appeal of its raw punk rock, PTVP's songs virtually never appear on television or radio. The band plays at clubs where it has a small but loyal following."
- Gizmodo reports on the Entire Beatles Digitally Remastered catalog includes all mono albums. "The albums have been remastered by a team of EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London, using original vintage analog equipment, and the latest digital conversion systems. After a long time of initial testing, the digital transfer of the original analogue master tapes was done—one track at a time—using a Prism A-D converter and Pro Tools operating at 24-bit with 192kHz resolution. The tapes didn't had any defects, but they were covered with dust, which had to be carefully removed from the playback equipment after each theme was digitized."
- Do you know your classic Rock n Roll Screams? Here's a chance to test yourself! "The artist LeRoy Stevens spent six months (from October 2008-March 2009) going around Manhattan to every single record store. He asked employees at each one to tell him their favorite scream from a piece of music. He ended up with screams from heavy metal, punk and rock 'n roll, but also opera, the blues and rap. Stevens ordered them according to when he received the selections, and pressed the three-minute collection onto a 12-inch vinyl disk in an edition of 500. It has 74 screams, some of which are easily identifiable, like opening howl from The Who's "We Won't Get Fooled Again" or Iggy Pop's bellow from The Stooges' "T.V. Eye".
Hugh Cornwell was a key Strangler back in the 1970s. Founding member and all that. The Stranglers' first three LPs rock beyond comprehension.
I saw Cornwell play in NYC, opening for the "From the Jam" show in winter 2008 before moving west. (Hey, there I am in front on the right!). His set was cool, full of the grit and rawness that has characterized his rough-hewn R & B sound for awhile.
"Hugh Cornwell is a man of the people. The original vocalist, guitarist and main songwriter for punk and new-wave legends The Stranglers, has made his new album, Hooverdam, available for free download to anyone and everyone… right now! The music is available worldwide from Hugh’s website www.hughcornwell.com, which can be viewed in twelve languages (Dfactor sez WOW), making Hugh’s music freely available to most of the world’s population.
Physical copies will be available on vinyl and as a triple-sleeved digi-pak CD/DVD, which will contain Hugh’s film “Blueprint,” featuring live studio performance inter-spliced with an interview with Hugh at the Tate Gallery in London. Both Hooverdam and “Blueprint” were recorded in Toerag Studios with producer Liam Watson (best known for producing the White Stripes’ Elephant).
The music itself is a rollicking mix of rhythm & blues, rockabilly and post-punk. Early on the disc, “Going to the City” rolls and blares like a train shimmying its way down the tracks, a motor-mouthed wordsmith riding on top. “Delightful Nightmare” follows, slinking into view on a murky bass line to tell the tale of a ghostly lover. Closing out the album, Hugh gives us jangly guitars, a surprise saxophone solo and a dose of punk attitude in “Banging on at the Same Old Beat.” “So give me one more hit / Can’t get enough of it / And if you’re tired of it / Well I don’t give a shit.”
See Hugh Cornwell on Tour in September: 09/08: Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's 09/09: Long Branch, NJ @ Brighton Bar 09/10: Washington, DC @ Black Cat 09/11: Bordentown, NJ @ The Record Collector 09/12: New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom 09/13: Boston, MA @ TT The Bear's Place 09/15: Montreal, PQ @ TBA 09/16: Hamilton, ON @ This Ain't Hollywood 09/17: Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club 09/18: Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom 09/19: Milwaukee, WI @ Shank Hall 09/20: Chicago, IL @ The Abbey
Here's Hugh singing that great old Stranglers' nugget "Goodbye Toulouse" from a few summers ago in Ol' Blighty. Great fuckin' bassline.
Blurt has a great pic of The Gaslight Anthem from its Lollapalooza show in Chicago last weekend. And a great review of the fest by Jose Martinez - Worth a click. Here's the pic:
Kiss has announced its plan to sell its next set of music 'Sonic Boom' exclusively at Wal-Mart, reports Billboard and others today.
Billboard writes: ""Sonic Boom" is a three-disc set that mixes new songs and old material with video content at a low price -- in this case, $12. It will be available exclusively at Walmart properties starting on Oct. 6.
"Accompanying the new material will be a disc of Kiss greatest hits re-recorded by the original lineup and previously available in Japan, as well as a DVD filmed at a concert earlier this year in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The cover was designed by artist Michael Doret, whose previous Kiss credit is 1976's "Rock and Roll Over."
Three discs (w/DVD) for $12? One is a "a completely re-recorded greatest hits CD" according to the Kiss site. Heck, I'll buy that. Seems like Wal-Mart's the only place where people are paying for music in physical formats these days, right?
Rolling Stone has a bit more on the deal and the Sonic Boom release. Including this whopper quote from Gene Simmons!
"“The great thing about these tunes is that we can reproduce them live. Just four guys,” says Simmons, standing in black leather and cowboy boots with silver tips. “We don’t have to prove anything to anybody. All the nay-sayers who didn’t understand it, we walk on their graves in our 8-inch platform heels. If you want to say rebirth or born again, you’re goddamn right. There’s a sense of pride here. When you get up onstage with these guys, you look over and you go, ‘Wow, I’m in Kiss.’"
Extra footnote here - when I was at Target (ouch!) last week, I bought some KISS trading cards! Yes - Five pack. Here's a crappy pic below, but the cards are awesome! :-) Who wants to start trading?
"Limited seats available for the big show taking place in movie theaters nationwide on September 17th at 8:00pmET / 7pmCT / 6pmMT and tape delayed at 8pmPT.
Celebrate 15 years of VANS Warped Tour with an exclusive One Night Event taking place on September 17th in over 450+ movie theaters nationwide. This theatrical event will feature a two hour compilation of the best performances from the 15th Anniversary Celebration which will be originally performed and recorded in Los Angeles on September 6th.
Featuring larger-than-life performances on the big screen by 3OH!3, All-American Rejects, The Aggrolites, Bad Religion, Blink 182, Ice T, Katy Perry, NOFX, Ozomatli, Pennywise, The Decaydance All Stars, Rise Against and Underoath."
THIS is GREAT. Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen and band archivist Bun E. Carlos just keep bringing excellent clips out of the archives for fans worldwide. Here's two newly released clips (Aug 3) of the band playing UK's Reading Festival in 1979 (hmmmm...about 30 year ago this month!).
Here's the band playing below soundboard versions of 'On Top of the World" and "Stiff Competition". Excellent quality, absolutely crystal clear and brilliantly played. ENJOY!
Cheap Trick also has a new CD called "The Latest" and a new video of their song "Sick Man of Europe" is added below!
"Scottsdale, Arizona's The Summer Set is here to keep the warm weather days going all year long with their sunny pop-punk songs. The band formed in 2007, when brothers Stephen and John Gomez, still in high school at the time, decided to start a band with local friends Brian Dales, Jess Bowen and Josh Montgomery. Before they even graduated, the young band self-released their first two EPS and sold over 20,000 copies of both to date. The Summer Set's music has quickly created a large following for this young band with over 7.5 million plays and over 2 million profile views on MySpace.
"The band's first full length album, Love Like This (Razor & Tie), will hit stores on October 13th. Produced by Matt Grabe (The Maine, A Rocket to the Moon), the album has additional production by Matt Squire (3OH!3, Taking Back Sunday, Panic at the Disco) and also features a track co-written with Dave Katz and Sam Hollander (Metro Station, Boys Like Girls, and Gym Class Heroes). The infectious sound of The Summer Set's power hooks, swirling synth lines, and catchy lyrics is apparent on the first single "Chelsea," which will be available on iTunes on September 1st."
Looks like the Scottsdale kids got excitement moving forward on all fronts - check the video here from earlier this year:
The Summer Set are hitting the road hard in the coming months - check 'em out live in your town soon. Full dates below:
Aug 21 Tucson, AZ University of Arizona Aug 29 Anaheim, CA Chain Reaction Aug 30 San Diego, CA The Epicentre * with The Cab Cartel/This Providence Tour Dates October 22 Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theater October 23 Baltimore, MD The Quarter October 24 South Hackensack, NJ School Of Rock October 25 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero October 27 New York, NY The Gramercy Theatre October 28 Boston, MA Harpers Ferry October 31 Columbus, OH The Basement November 1 Cleveland, OH Peabodys November 3 Detroit, MI St Andrews Hall November 4 Chicago, IL Mojoe's Rock House November 5 Milwaukee, WI The Rave II November 6 Des Moines, IA House Of Bricks November 7 St Paul/Minneapolis, MN Station 4 November 10 Seattle, WA El Corazon November 11 Portland,OR Hawthorne Theatre November 12 Sacramento, CA The Boardwalk November 13 San Francisco, CA Slims November 14 Anaheim, CA Chain Reaction November 15 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour November 17 San Diego, CA UCSD Porter's Pub November 18 Tempe, AZ The Clubhouse November 20 Austin, TX Emo's November 21 Dallas, TX The Door November 22 Houston, TX Java Jazz November 24 Orlando, FL The Social November 15 Tampa, FL The Crowbar November 27 Atlanta, GA Masquerade
'Online World' is a short, snappy rocker, gently stroking and tweaking stalkers on Twitter (extra points if you catch the old powerpop-punk reference in the song).
'Head for the Hills' goes the other way, taking a look at today's economy disaster through dusty, Phoenix glasses and not liking much of what I'm seeing. "Thinkin it might be high time to head for the hills..."
I hope you guys like 'em! I enjoyed recording 'em over the winter and spring.
And have you seen my video for the single "Shake It' yet? It's up on YouTube.
No, it's actually the U2 stage set for their 360 (degrees) (SOLD OUT) tour, in a picture from a show at the Slaski Stadion in Chorzow. U2 is nearing the end of its Euro tour, with London shows coming up this weekend. Recent news from Zagreb looked like this:
"ZAGREB — More than 120,000 fans from all over southeastern Europe have gathered in Zagreb to see legendary rock group U2 on their only stopover in the region on their current 360 Degree Tour of the world."
120,000 fans - Stunning, isn't it? Their very own U2 Woodstock this August.
Here's a video that shows the enormity of it all - the band has this a-m-a-z-i-n-g visual wrap around the Claw that gives all sorts of visual cues to the audience. And yes, there are four young musicians playing music beneath that!
But some of the more sensible types in England and Ireland aren't pleased with the excessiveness of it all. The Guardian UK writes: "Protesters in Dublin this week picketed the Croke Park stadium where the dismantling of the world's most expensive – and most preposterous – rock show, including a giant electronic "claw", required almost two days of continual activity and the relentless rumble of juggernauts down narrow lanes."
If they don't go crazy, will we all go crazy tonight? U2 brings their giant Transformer stage to the US, starting in Chicago on September 12.
And Pash, who developed Mixtape.me, should know what he's talking about when he writes... "But after just one day of playing with Spotify, I was convinced it could change the way I listen to music. After a week, I'm absolutely hooked."
But right now, it ain't available to US peeps - the site reads "Unfortunately, due to licensing restrictions we are not yet available in your country. We understand that you are currently in United States..." Spotify is currently only available in Sweden, Norway, Finland, the United Kingdom, France, and Spain. Maybe the US by year end 2009, says the Lifehacker story.
I'm part of a 'Singer-songwriters" night at Ruby Room in Downtown Phoenix tonight. Goes from around 7pm-9pm, early, before the night bands rock it out. Local good guy Doug Bale and others will also play. It's part of a monthly series for 'Singer-Songwriters' - I like it. It's well-run, fun, and there's good music being played.
I'll be knocking out a few new songs from my upcoming CD 'Slashing the Sunlight' and hopefully sneak in a few unrecorded ones as well. Fun! Tonight! Buy me a whiskey if you read this!
I read with delight that Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and QOTSA's Josh Homme have teamed up with John Paul Jones to create a 'rock supergroup' called Crooked Vultures! And they're rockin' a surprise (sold-out) show at Chicago's Metro this weekend! And an album is imminent! Nice. Sounds like a fantastic idea, cause Jones has been itching to rock and his ex-Zep bandmates are too old or too boring lately to do so. So teaming up with two younger guys who wanna kick it out Zep-stylin' might be fun. Wait for videos to surface Sunday...
For the young ones here, Wikipedia defines 'rock supergroups" as:
"In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups." Supergroups tend to be short-lived, often lasting only for an album or two. Additionally, supergroups are often formed as side projects that are not intended to be permanent.
Some of the most well-known supergroups include: 1960s groups Cream, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Blind Faith; 1970s groups Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Humble Pie, Cactus and Bad Company; the 1980s & 1990s groups The Firm, Traveling Wilburys, Dokken, Asia, Power Station, Mad Season, and The Highwaymen; the 2000s-era bands A Perfect Circle, Velvet Revolver, Dead Weather, Audioslave, and Zwan."
So in honor of that,I'm devoting this week's Rock Clip of the Week to whatever 'rock supergroups' (or 'super rock encore jams') I can find at YouTube. Rock it!
#1 - Bad Company (1970s rock supergroup) - Bad Company
#2 - Only Crime (punk rock supergroup featuring members of Gwar, Good Riddance and Converge) - Pray for Me
#3 - Ace Frehley, Alice Cooper and the Supergroup - Rock and Roll All Nite
#4 - BOB DYLAN ERIC CLAPTON GEORGE HARRISON TOM PETTY NEIL YOUNG "MY BACK PAGES"
#5 - Monsters of Folk (folk rock supergroup with My Morning Jackey's Jim James, Conor Oberst, M. Ward and the fourth guy) - Dear God
Billy's second release "Flying Saucer Rock n Roll' capitalized on all things space, aliens and US space program back in the day. But it was Billy's classic version of Billy Emerson's 'Red Hot' that put him on the rockabilly map.
Here's Billy singing the number a few summers ago at a Camber Sands UK rockabilly festival - dude still sounded great then for 73 years old! Farewell, rocker man.
Good news Thursday! One of my old fave NYC-Boston stalwart bands The Beatings are back up from the valley of weddings, babies and temporary domesticity to bring their noisy pop sound back to our appreciative ears.
The Beatings are offering up a free MP3 at their site, the chugging, poppy 'Bury You' a mid-tempo pop jangle thing in the vein of mid-period Bob Mould and later R.E.M.
From their site... "The band's 6th studio album is titled 'Late Season Kids' and is set to be released on Sept. 15, 2009. Late Season Kids highlights the band's more pop leanings and should please fans of the bands earlier albums. The album was recorder by Ray Jeffrey at his Liberty and Union Recording Studios in Taunton, MA and mastered by Eric Baird (Half Son of Audio Mastering). The album is co-produced by Jeffrey and The Beatings. An east/southeast coast tour in being planed for mid-August."
Here are the tour dates: * Aug 12: Brooklyn, NY - Death By Audio * Aug 13: Wilmington, DE - Mojo 13 * Aug 14: Morgantown, WV - 123 Pleasant Street * Aug 16: Chapel Hill, NC - Nightlight Bar * Aug 18: Raleigh, NC - Pour House * Aug 19: Athens, GA - Calendonia Lounge * Aug 20: Knoxville, TN - The Pilot Light * Aug 21: Lexington, KY - Green Lantern Bar
But I liked this, found in a Pitchfork tweet today - a fine clip of Black Lips' tearing through their song 'Katrina' from Pitchfork Music Festival. Love those guys.
I moved to PHX from NYC in early 2008 and once settled, started working on new songs and recording. As a busy dad rocker guy, it's been a 'catch-time-when-ya-can' kind of adventure, so throughout the past winter/spring, I caught time when I could. Happily, I completed a song every few weeks or so throughout early '09. Then mixing (sheesh...too much...too long) and mastering (great dudes at Park Slope CD, and overloading on web fun, and here we are. The day of reckoning.
I present to my beloved Waved Rumor readers (loads of you lately, what's up with that?) the first two tracks from my upcoming rock release Slashing the Sunlight - the title song 'Slashing the Sunlight' and pop hit single 'Shake It'. Stream 'em both here. If ya like 'em, buy 'em for a buck each at the Slashing the Sunlight page.
For 'Slashing the Sunlight' I wanted to marry some newfound PHX AZ observations to a rockin' garage riff, and see if I can find a melody inside. The cover photo came first, and provided some inspiration. As does the desert. I hope you like it.
For 'Shake It', I came up with the riff in Feb/March '09, and originally recorded it as the "B song" (for the starting chord). But it was way too slow, so I re-recorded it faster, and got better on bass too. The song may have international geo-political meaning, or it might just be about scoring chicks. In either case, I dig it, love to sing it, and hope you like it. Thanks for listening.
I love hearing Noel Gallagher talk. Especially about other rock bands. Especially about bands he grew up with. ESPECIALLY The Smiths, from his Mad hometown.
"Let's take Morrissey first. Morrissey is....
...you can't really sum that geezer up really in a nifty sentence, because... everything about him is contrary.
He is without a doubt the most literate man to ever write music."
"Here is an excerpt from the forthcoming review in the September edition of MOJO (4/5!) '...Communion is another sprawling 24-song deep affair sans filler, its prog, folk and classic rock-aware conceits born free...'. Feels like the perfect way to start the UK countdown.
So, only 22 days left until the Communion release on August 24, and as a special treat we’ll be releasing the Ego Delusion digital single on Aug 23rd. You'll have links up on Myspace and Tsool.net, including a new inspirational picture. Album pre-orders with exclusive limited edition poster!
London Scala show- British fans, and anyone else who plans to be in London that day, should click on this link for tickets to the Scala Show on Aug 20. Let's fill the house!
We're also excited to go back to Asia to headline the InMusic Festival in China with Tricky on August 9 & will do 2 more German festivals in August; Taubertal Aug 7 and Haldern Pop Aug 15. Germany has been very kind to us this summer! You can also see us at Malmöfestivalen on August 19 and Gröna Lund, Stockholm on August 28. More show dates in Europe and North America will be announced in a couple of weeks.
Stay tuned and thanks for being there with us! Ebbot, Fredrik, Ian, Mattias, Kalle, Martin"
I'm just learning about them - and their sound is great and all over the musical map! What I've heard is earthy, bluesy (at times), rockin' and real. 'Fashionably Moral' is 'Treatment Bound' blues, 'Couldn't Lose Myself if I Tried' is like Beach Boys 'Smile' era goodness, and 'July 23' takes flight with a hypnotic piano riff sounding not unlike something off David Vandervelde's last offering. Lots of tasty music in and around the songs and vocals. Wish I'd managed to hear more earlier.
What Laura Says is playing several local shows in the next weeks, with the earliest being what will likely be a packed, hot sweaty show at Phoenix's Yucca Room this Saturday night.
Glen Matlock is rockin' out tonight (Monday) in London on his own. Solo, it says. Is that Glen and an acoustic guitar? Or Glen and a combo? We'll have to read the blogs to find out later this week.
Glen's Wikipedia entry notes... "Matlock rejoined the original Sex Pistols members for reunion tours in 1996, 2002 and 2003, and again in 2007 and 2008. He played bass guitar and sang for a time in the bands The Philistines and The Flying Padovanis. He toured with a loose collective of punk and post-punk stars, Dead Men Walking, which included Mike Peters of The Alarm, Kirk Brandon of Theatre of Hate and Spear of Destiny, and Pete Wylie of Wah!"
