Archive

Archive for the ‘Music News’ Category

Medeski Martin & Wood – 20 Download

8th Mar 11 (Tue) 3 comments

Medeski Martin & Wood have been around for 20 years.  And to celebrate, they’re digitally releasing two new, never-released tracks each month (starting March 29th), for a total of 20 tracks by the end of the year.

You can pre-order the entire package now for only $9.90… right HERE.  If you wait until after March 29th, the price per download is $0.99.  So, act now, and get the new tracks for essentially half price.

With the pre-order, you will be alerted by email when the monthly 2 tracks become downloadable!  The first two tracks will become available for download March 29th, 2011. See below for the release schedule for the remaining tracks:

4/26/11 – Tracks 3 & 4
5/31/11 – Tracks 5 & 6
6/28/11 – Tracks 7 & 8
7/26/11 – Tracks 9 & 10
8/30/11 – Tracks 11 & 12
9/27/11 – Tracks 13 & 14
10/25/11 – Tracks 15 & 16
11/29/11 – Tracks 17 & 18
12/20/11 – Tracks 19 & 20

If you happen to be in Oregon, specifically Portland, check John Medeski, Billy Martin & Chris Wood out TONIGHT at the Roseland Theater!

~Dan – np: Colin Stetson w/ My Brightest DiamondNew History Warfare – Judges, Vol. 2

Glen Phillips & Sean Watkins / WPA – “4×4” EP (2011)

6th Mar 11 (Sun) Leave a comment

Glen Phillips & Sean Watkins project Works Progress Administration just put out a new EP, entitled 4×4, with buddies Sebastian Steinberg and Jerry Roe.

http://wpamusic.bandcamp.com/

1. Solar Flare 04:13

2. Don’t Say You Love Me 03:22

3. It’s Over Now 02:47

4. Wild Side 02:40

Four friends, four songs, most of a day, many tacos.
released 05 March 2011
Made by WPA
Mixed by Jerry Roe at Ed.

Glen Phillips – vocals, guitar
Jerry Roe – drums, vocals
Sebastian Steinberg – bass, vocals
Sean Watkins – vocals, guitar

$4, that’s all.  http://wpamusic.bandcamp.com/

~Dan – np: Kaki KingJunior

Help 12-yo blues singer Savanna (Kickstarter) [3/6 update]

6th Mar 11 (Sun) Leave a comment

Savanna has less than a month left and is only about halfway there. If you have a spare $10, you can help her make this album. Every little bit helps!

http://tinyurl.com/coen-kickstart

~Dan

Help 12-yo blues singer Savanna (Kickstarter) I’m here to promote music.  When that music is also made by friends, it’s even more fun to promote. When I moved to Eugene, I got involved in a most excellent vegetarian supper club.  The founders, Josh & Sharon Coen, are super great… it’s a really fun group.  Well, when we moved here, we met their (then) 9 year old Savanna.  About two years ago, she started singing and has been gigging more and more in the Eugene area… whether it be Satu … Read More

via mainly music meanderings

Categories: Music News Tags: , ,

dUg Pinnick on Al Shire & the Henchmen’s new album

4th Mar 11 (Fri) Leave a comment

From Blabbermouth… in the realm of “when does dUg take time off?“…

dUg Pinnick of King’s X laid down guest vocals on the Al Shire & the Henchmen‘s song “Know Your Lie” from the new record, Fate Out of Tragedy, due out later this month.  Al Shire is the guitar tech for King’s X’s Ty Tabor.

More info:
http://www.reverbnation.com/alshire

In related news, dUg will join Pearl Jam‘s Jeff Ament and Mike McCready on the debut Tres Mountains tour (I’m hitting the Seattle date).  Read more about that tour and new album HERE.

~Dan – np: Charlie Parker – With Strings 

Ipecac News (2/25) on AmericanNoise.com

25th Feb 11 (Fri) Leave a comment

Karina H did a great interview over at American Noise with Ipecac Records co-founder, Greg Werckman. Go check it out.

About 2/3 of the way down, stuff in the works with Mike Patton (Ipecac’s other co-founder).  I don’t wanna spill the beans of Karina’s exclusive interviewRead more over at American Noise to find out about Fantômas New Years show, DVD, more Mondo Cane, Nevermen, Darkness II, and Lovage & Crudo with Dan the Automator.  And there’s also info about the melvins, but that was already out of the bag.

~Dan – np: EarthAngels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1

Dave Douglas – United Front (April 5th)

25th Feb 11 (Fri) Leave a comment

A glimpse of the new Dave Douglas release just popped up on Greenleaf Music’s blog

United Front: Brass Ecstasy at Newport comes out April 5th, 2011.  Stay tuned here or at Greenleaf Music for details as they emerge.

~Dan – np: Palo AltoPalo Alto

Nik Bartsch’s Ronin @ PDX Jazz Fest (2/25)

22nd Feb 11 (Tue) Leave a comment

If you missed your chance to get tickets to see Grammy-winning ‘Best New Artist’ Esperanza Spalding on Friday, February 25th at the Portland Jazz Fest.  Well, you’re out of luck – unless you can win some or find a reasonable scalper.

My choice for PDX Jazz Fest’s Feb 25th offering was always Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin anyway!  That show is Friday, February 25th – 8:30pm, Alberta Rose Theater.

Nik Bärtsch is a Swiss pianist & composer.  His albums with his band Ronin are more on the rock/funk side of the jazz continuum, and on record, it is stunning.  I can’t wait to see him live.

Check out some Ronin sound samples on Amazon (click the album covers below):

And lucky for you, tickets are still available!!  Find out how to get tickets HERE.

~Dan – np: Nik Bärtsch’s RoninHolon

Steven Wilson’s 2nd solo album (2/21 update)

21st Feb 11 (Mon) Leave a comment

More news to tack onto the original announcement (go here for that).  This is also from Steven Wilson‘s facebook page:

Thanks for all the wonderful feedback regarding my new solo record! Sorry, but “Cut Ribbon” once again failed to make the cut – although the 12 tracks / 84 minutes of music I’ve selected for the main release is quite eclectic, it has in common a pretty organic feel, mostly inspired by the darker end of vintage progressive music and some… movie soundtrack stuff (Morricone especially). The sound palette is made up of things like strings, choir, woodwinds, mellotron, organ, piano, fender rhodes, jazz drums, and warmer guitar tones, so the shiny metal attack of Cut Ribbon just doesn’t fit. But the track is all mixed and finished and sounds good, so I’ll find somewhere to release it. Definitely the album will come out on double vinyl too. Love the new Radiohead album! Here’s another still from the work in progress films Lasse is working on to include on the blu-ray version of the album.

~Dan – np: EarthAngels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1

Derek Webb – Democracy Vol 2

21st Feb 11 (Mon) 6 comments

Enrollment / voting for Derek Webb‘s Democracy Vol 2 goes live today.  Those who participate will not only receive the exclusive album, but will democratically decide what songs Derek will record.

Want Derek to record Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Megadeth, Slayer, or Mary Poppins?  Well, sign up and vote…

Price for 2011’s volume is only $5 for 10 songs, one cover song each month from March through December 2011.  You can still by the 2010 version (the 12 songs in Democracy Volume 1) for $8, or buy it bundled with Democracy Volume 2 for $12 – a steal for 22 songs. Nominations are immediate with Volume 2 upon purchase (after clicking through the purchase).  Voting for Democracy nominations ends March 1st.

http://derekwebb.com/store/democracy

My nominations: Tori Amos “Crucify,” Lady Gaga “Telephone,” and Alice in Chains “Would?” – not favorite songs ever, but I’d be curious to hear Derek’s take on them.  For a taste, here’s what he covered for us last year:

  • January 2010: The Beatles – While My Guitar Gently Weeps
  • February: Coldplay – Fix You
  • March: Bob Dylan – The Times They Are A-Changin’
  • April: Gnarls Barkley – Who’s Gonna Save My Soul
  • May: Sufjan Stevens – Chicago *a personal fave*
  • June: U2 – Where the Streets Have No Name
  • July: Huey Lewis & the News – Power of Love
  • August: The Beatles – Eleanor Rigby *a personal fave*
  • September: Simon & Garfunkel – The Sound of Silence
  • October: Radiohead – Karma Police *a personal fave*
  • November: Leonard Cohen – Hallelujah
  • December: Robert Robinson – Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Per Derek, he has a few rules imposed on himself…

  1. I do no preparation.  A few of last years songs I had never heard before the morning I recorded them.
  2. I play all the instruments and do all the recording/mixing myself, in my studio.
  3. I only allow myself 24 hours from the start to the finish of each song.

~Dan – np: EarthAngels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1

Radiohead *out now* and “Lotus Flower” video

18th Feb 11 (Fri) 1 comment

So, the new Radiohead album The King of Limbs is out now (not tomorrow).  They put it on their download servers early… so, if you bought it, go get it.  If you didn’t, go buy it and get it!  http://www.thekingoflimbs.com/

They also put out the video for “Lotus Flower


Produced and Directed by Garth Jennings
Choreographed by Wayne McGregor
Director of Photography- Nick Wood
Editor- Leila Sarraf

The video features Thom Yorke as an “old man dancing”… :)  The choreographer is a genius.  Not because of his output… but because he was able to earn some income for services rendered to Radiohead.  I mean, isn’t that style just called “Thom Yorke stage presence”…?

~Dan – np: RadioheadThe King of Limbs

File Sharing Policy: There are no free mp3 download or FLAC torrents for any albums on this blog (nor will there ever be). On occasion, there are links for songs for free download (legally provided by the artist). If you like music, support the artists. Buy it!!

Sufjan Stevens & Gaspar Claus collaborations

17th Feb 11 (Thu) Leave a comment

Some new collaborative pieces from Sufjan Stevens and cellist/experimental music Gaspar Claus have shown up on an official.fm artist site.

Sufjan meets Gaspar

Click the song names for streaming mp3s of the electronic meets cello of “Romance Cave,” the noisy experimentation of “Invalid Skin,” and the rain & electronic monstrosity that is “Alien Vs Predator.”

~Dan – np: MogwaiHardcore Will Never Die,  But You Will

Steven Wilson’s 2nd solo album

15th Feb 11 (Tue) Leave a comment

Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree put out his first solo album, Insurgentes, in 2008.  He followed it up with the concept album The Incident from his day gig (Porcupine Tree) in 2009, a live PT DVD (Anesthetize) and Insurgentes DVD in 2010… and now, 2011 will shower us with at least two SW-related records: Blackfield‘s third album, Welcome to My DNA (with a world tour), and his second solo album (based on this news on his facebook page):

My second solo album is nearing completion. It will be in the form of 2 separate 40 minute albums released in the same 2 CD set, and will also come as a blu-ray with surround mix, high definition stereo and a lot of visual material (Lasse [Hoile] is already working hard on films for many of the songs, attached is a still from one of these we shot a couple of weeks ago to a song called “Index”). We’re also planning a special Insurgentes style hard back book edition with a full length bonus CD of additional material. A year in the making, this is without doubt my biggest project to date, perhaps my most ambitious and personal music, and with some phenomenal musicians and performances on it (drummer Nic France in particular is going to blow a lot of people away). We hope a website will launch around April/May to start previewing material, with the album scheduled for September. More soon….

There’s also Storm Corrosion… his collaboration with Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth and Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater).  TBD/TBA…

He’s a busy dude.

~Dan – np: Ozric TentaclesArborescence

PDX Jazz Fest starts THIS WEEK

15th Feb 11 (Tue) Leave a comment

The Portland Jazz Festival (aka PDX Jazz Fest) kicks off this Friday, February 18th, 2011.  It boasts a great line-up of acts that brings attention to the theme Bridges & Boundaries – Jewish & African-American jazz playing together.  And now, it boasts new Grammy award winner – Esperanza Spalding!  Congrats!

PDX Jazz Fest 2011 – Headliners

  • Friday, February 18, 7:30pm, Winningstad Theater, Randy Weston
  • Saturday, February 19, 7:30pm, Winningstad Theater, Anat Fort
  • Sunday, February 20, 7:30pm, Winningstad Theater, Dave Frishberg
  • Thursday, February 24, 7:30pm, Newmark Theater, Don Byron
  • Friday, February 25, 7:30pm, Newmark Theater, Esperanza Spalding
  • Friday, February 25, 9:30pm, Crystal Ballroom, Poncho Sanchez
  • Friday, February 25, 9:30pm, Alberta Rose Theatre, Nik Bartsch’s Ronin
  • Saturday, February 26, 2:00pm, Crystal Ballroom, The 3 Cohens
  • Saturday, February 26, 7:30pm, Newmark Theater, SFJAZZ Collective
  • Saturday, February 26, 8:00pm, Tony Starlight’s, Gerald Clayton
  • Saturday, February 26, 9:30pm, Crystal Ballroom, Regina Carter
  • Sunday, February 27, 2:00pm, Newmark Theater, Joshua Redman
  • Sunday, February 27, 7:30pm, Crystal Ballroom, Maceo Parker
    FULL SCHEDULE (Feb 18-27)

I’m most excited about Nik Bartsch’s Ronin (above) set on Friday the 25th.  That and other shows still have available tickets.  If you’re in town, head on over to pdxjazz.com for the info.  If you’re out of town, head on over to Alaska Airlines and get your plane ticket along with your festival tickets.  This is not a fest to miss!

~Dan – np: Ozric TentaclesPungent Effulgent 

Radiohead – The King of Limbs

14th Feb 11 (Mon) 3 comments

Screw the Grammys… there’s a new Radiohead album coming out!

The King Of Limbs by Radiohead

Pre-order Radiohead’s The King Of Limbs now. Release dates: Digital: Feb 19, Retail: Mar 28 (Europe) Mar 29 (US/N.A.), Newspaper Edition: May 9.  The newspaper edition includes:

  • Two clear 10″ vinyl records in a purpose-built record sleeve.
  • A compact disc.
  • Many large sheets of artwork, 625 tiny pieces of artwork and a full-colour piece of oxo-degradeable plastic to hold it all together.
  • The Newspaper Album comes with a digital download that is compatible with all good digital media players.
  • The Newspaper Album will be shipped on Monday 9th May 2011 you can, however, enjoy the download on Saturday 19th February 2011.
  • Shipping is included in the prices shown.
  • One lucky owner of the digital version of The King Of Limbs, purchased from this website, will receive a signed 2 track 12″ vinyl.
  • mp3 & Wav formats available $48 (mp3) or $35 (wav).
  • It’s also available as digital only download for $9.
    http://www.thekingoflimbs.com/

As you can imagine, the server is working overtime… maybe wait a few hours to order.

What is the significance or meaning of the name The King of Limbs?  Here’s some thoughts on the album name & artwork, courtesy of The Jammin Jabber blog…

King of Limbs is apparently a thousand year-old tree that inhabits Savernake Forest, which is in close proximity to the house the band recorded In Rainbows in. It is also a term referenced in the Koran (those wacky liberal musicians!)

But the true King of Limbs is older than any future paper or book of fairy tales. He’s been prowling the murky depths for millions of years, biding his time- and now’s his time to shine! That’s right, I’m talking about a little cephalopod who goes by the name of Octopus vulgaris. No one has more limbs than that motherf*cker! And Radiohead knows it, because guess who graces the cover of the new album in all their majestic glory? Not Allah or some goddamn tree, but your garden variety ghost octopus, commonly referred to as a ghoctopus. Long live the king!
Visit TheJamminJabber

Radiohead album #8… octopus cover.  Makes sense to me.

~Dan – np: OzomatliOzomatli

File Sharing Policy: There are no free mp3 download or FLAC torrents for any albums on this blog (nor will there ever be). On occasion, there are links for songs for free download (legally provided by the artist). If you like music, support the artists. Buy it!!

Stryper – The Covering Tour

12th Feb 11 (Sat) Leave a comment

The yellow and black spandex is hitting the road again.  If I’m not on the other side of the state for work, I’m planning on hitting the Portland show… I mean, why not?  It’s Stryper… should be entertaining to say the least!

March 2011 US Tour

  • Mar. 02 – Seattle, WA – El Corazón
  • Mar. 03 – Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater
  • Mar. 05 – Santa Clara, CA – Avalon Nightclub
  • Mar. 08 – San Juan Capistrano, CA – The Coach House
  • Mar. 09 – Los Angeles, CA – Club Nokia LA Live
  • Mar. 11 – Las Vegas, NV – Santa Fe Station Casino
  • Mar. 13 – Lubbock, TX – Jake’s Sports Cafe
  • Mar. 14 – Houston, TX – Scout Bar
  • Mar. 15 – San Antonio, TX – Backstage Live
  • Mar. 16 – Dallas, TX – Trees
    http://www.stryper.com/

They’re out in support of their new album of covers… The Covering (out on February 15th).  It features the original line-up: Michael Sweet, Robert Sweet, Oz Fox, and Timothy Gaines.  Tracklist: 1. Set Me Free (Sweet) 2. Blackout (Scorpions) 3. Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath) 4. Lights Out (UFO) 5. Carry On My Wayward Son (Kansas) 6. Highway Star (Deep Purple) 7. Shout It Out Loud (Kiss) 8. Over The Mountain (Ozzy Osbourne) 9. The Trooper (Iron Maiden) 10. Breaking The Law (Judas Priest) 11. On Fire (Van Halen) 12. Immigrant Song (Led Zeppelin) 13. God (Stryper).

~Dan – np: Over the RhineThe Long Surrender

Kevin Moore’s Shine (order)

11th Feb 11 (Fri) Leave a comment

If you missed the Kickstarter for Kevin Moore‘s Shine (the score/soundtrack to the Turkish film Küçük Kıyamet), you can now order it via a standard method…

http://chromakey.squarespace.com/

Click the above images to go to the website for samples and ordering info.  It’s limited to 1,000 CDs.  I imagine it will surface as digital only at some point.

I’ve had Shine since late, late December… I dig it.  Definitely fitting more in with movie scores, like Ghost Book (his score for Turkish horror movie Okul), compared to his work with Chroma Key or O.S.I.

~Dan – np: Over the RhineTrumpet Child

Dream Theater, Fates Warning, Kucuk Kıyamet

Clint Mansell hints at show with Mike Patton

10th Feb 11 (Thu) Leave a comment

This to this FNM blog and this interview in The Quietus, here’s a news snippet about a potential collaboration between movie score master Clint Mansell [Pop Will Eat Itself, Nine Inch Nails, Black Swan] and Mike Patton [Faith No More, Mr Bungle, Mondo Cane, etc]…

Do you do much work for other outlets like computer games? Mike Patton, for example, has most recently voiced The Darkness.

CM: I’m doing a video game this year actually. Mass Effect 3. Funnily enough, talking about Mike, we’ve exchanged emails about the possibility of doing a show featuring the Quartet and people they’ve collaborated with. It’d be a Kronos show, with different rooms for other people to do their thing, then bringing it all together. It’s pretty cool-sounding.

I’m definitely interested in different outlets – that’s one of the reasons I get involved in short films. It’s not so much that I can experiment as it is to be in a situation where nobody’s looking over your shoulder. Short films are usually made by young people and they’ve got ideas I can bounce off. They can take me in a different direction.

If any news develops, I’ll post about it…

~Dan – np: OutKastIdlewild

Blackfield 2011 North American tour dates

8th Feb 11 (Tue) 2 comments

Porcupine Tree‘s Steven Wilson likes to stay busy.  One of better side projects is Blackfield with Israeli pop-singer Aviv Geffen.  They’ve got a new website (http://www.blackfield.org/), a new album coming out (Welcome to My DNA), and a tour coming up…

Blackfield 2011 North American Tour

  • 18th May Washington, DC, 9:30 Club USA
  • 19th May Philadelphia, PA, Theater of the Living Arts USA
  • 20th May New York, NY, Irving Plaza USA
  • 21st May Boston, MA, Royale Boston USA
  • 23rd May Montreal, QC, Le National CANADA
  • 25th May Cleveland, OH, House of Blues USA
  • 26th May Detroit, MA, St Andrew’s Hall USA
  • 27th May Chicago, IL, Park West USA
  • 31st May Seattle, WA, Studio Seven USA
  • 1st June Portland, OR, Aladdin Theater USA
  • 3rd June San Francisco, CA, Slim’s USA
  • 4th June Los Angeles, CA, El Rey Theatre USA
  • 6th June Mexico City, MEX, Metropolitan Theater MEXICO

Unrelated Sidenote: Over the Rhine‘s The Long Surrender comes out today.  It’s a fantastic Americana, singer-songwriter, sultry pop album.  Check it out (click album cover to the right for sound samples)… you can even download a song for free (for a limited time).

~Dan – np: Iron & WineKiss Each Other Clean

A to Z / Music Packaging Today

3rd Feb 11 (Thu) Leave a comment

Check out this cool article/interview from last Thursday with A to Z Media‘s Sarah Robertson and Scott Pollack to discuss the state of physical media in 2011.  Click here or the pictures below to go to the interview…

John Zorn‘s Interzone

John Zorn‘s The Dreamers with Chippy’s artwork

A to Z Media covers a lot of John Zorn’s Tzadik and other record label releases, which are all quite stunning mini pieces of art.

~Dan – np: Over the RhineGood Dog Bad Dog 

Jónsi – Live at the Wiltern (live audio & video), plus more music news…

1st Feb 11 (Tue) Leave a comment

Sigur Rós front man Jónsi just announced his new concert film jónsi live at the wiltern is available to buy now via iTunes (usa and canada only).  Here’s the trailer…

Get the AUDIO // Get the VIDEO

jónsi live at the wiltern was directed by dean deblois, (the director of the oscar nominated film how to train your dragon and the sigur rós film heima). the footage – recorded at los angeles’ wiltern theater – was first aired on npr on sunday october 17, 2010 and it marked the first ever live video webcast of a concert for the public radio organisation. filmed towards the end of jónsi’s extensive world tour in support of his solo album ‘go’, the film captures the live show at the late stage when the set and visuals were at their finest. this digital release is available exclusively on itunes.

Other news…

  • Tres Mountains (side project from Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam & dUg Pinnick of King’s X) is now up for pre-order.  It comes out March 14th.  Go HERE for more info on pre-order.
  • Carla Kihlstedt & Mattias Bossi‘s new album, Still You Lay Dreaming: Tales for the Stage II, also came out today.  It is digital only… and knowing Carla’s chamber indie-rock magic, it’ll be great (it’s in my e-shopping cart now).  http://kihlstedtbossi.bandcamp.com

My Nels Cline Singers‘ Portland show (1/30) review & photo editing being worked on now… I’ll post it by morning (sorry for the delay).

~Dan – np: Ken AndrewsSecrets of the Lost Satellite