Archive
Ty Tabor (of King’s X) news…
posted on Ty Tabor‘s website…
Ty Tabor (King’s X), John Myung (Dream Theater), and Rod Morgenstein (tons of bands) are discussing the possibility of recording a new Jelly Jam album in 2010. This would be their third release as The Jelly Jam and their fifth overall release together. More news coming soon! [Editor’s note: yay! The Jelly Jam / Platypus / Jughead releases are some of my favorites from Ty]
Ty has some things on eBay at the moment and plans to sell some of Alien Beans Studio’s gear over the next month. Keep an eye out at eBay.
King’s X is still working on the live DVD shot in London earlier this year. Look for a 2010 release.
Ty’s new solo album is coming along nicely. The yet untitled album will also be released in 2010. [Editor’s note: double yay!]
~Dan – np: David Gilmour (of Pink Floyd) – Live in Gdańsk
ha’fway 2009
Happy 233rd birthday, United States!
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(Sub)consciously prompted by these music blogs, here are my favs of the first half of 2009… it’s all bound to switch around by year’s end:
Artist – Album (label)
- Dredg – The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion (Ohlone)
- Masada Quintet + Joe Lovano – Masada Book Two: Book of Angels, Vol. 12 ~ Stolas (Tzadik)
- OSI – Blood (Inside Out Records)
- Wussy – Wussy (Shake It Records)
- Dave Douglas & Brass Ecstasy – Spirit Moves (Green Leaf Music)
- Wynton Marsalis – He and She (EMI / Blue Note)
- John Zorn – Alhambra: Love Songs (Tzadik)
- Regina Spektor – Far (Sire / Warner)
- Isis – Wavering Radiant (Ipecac)
- Zu – Carboniferous (Ipecac)
- Dream Theater – Black Clouds & Silver Linings, really only the instrumental disc (Roadrunner)
- Jamie Saft – Black Shabbis (Tzadik)
- Madeleine Peyroux – Bare Bones (Rounder)
- Secret Chiefs 3 – Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini (Web of Mimicry)
- Ember Swift – Lentic :: 子玉 (Few’ll Ignite Sound)
I didn’t get a few that already came out this year… the new Green Day, U2, Placebo, Eminem, Dave Matthews Band, Fever Ray, Crank 2 soundtrack (by Mike Patton). I’m waiting for them to be cheaper used, but they may make it to the list at the end of the year.
The 2nd half of 2009 promises to bring some potential great ones, too… John Zorn’s O’o, Medeski Martin & Wood Radiolarians 3, Mike Patton’s Mondo Cane (possibly by November), Secret Chiefs 3 Book of Souls (maybe), a new Sufjan Stevens (just speculating, since it’s been a while), Ani DiFranco always has something coming out, Jon Madof’s CircuitBreaker debut (maybe) & another Rashanim, The Tango Saloon’s Transylvania (stateside release?), new Tristeza, Over the Rhine Live from Nowhere IV, George Hrab ‘s 6th album Trebuchet, Derek Webb‘s Stockholm Syndrome, SFJazz 2009 with Dave Douglas & Joe Lovano and others, A Perfect Circle internet only single releases (as mentioned back here), and a new Tool record (they’ve worked on it some, but I doubt it’ll hit until 2010)… and I’m sure another dozen or more that I’ll dig from Tzadik.
~Dan – np: Cut Chemist – The Audience’s Listening
again… Happy 233rd birthday, United States!
This July 4th, celebrate Sarah Palin resigning as Alaskan governor!
Music Videos x 3
Tori Amos “Fire to Your Plain” from Abnormally Attracted to Sin
(click pic for video)
Dream Theater “A Rite of Passage” from Black Clouds & Silver Linings
(click pic for video)
Incubus “Black Heart Inertia” from Monuments and Melodies
So… yeah, the Tori Amos video is OK. Hard to distinguish anything great here, doesn’t seem unlike Tori, but doesn’t seem like great Tori either. I suppose we shall see when the full album arrives (May 19th).
The Dream Theater video is, well, good except when James LaBrie is singing John Petrucci’s inane lyrics. They’re so inane, I thought they were Mike Portnoy lyrics. ::rolleyes:: The only thing missing from the lyrics were mentions of dragons or doves (they’re interchangeable in the realm of prog rock lyrics). I love 3/5ths of this band (guitar: John Petrucci/bass: John Myung/drums: Mike Portnoy), but about only 1/5ths of its lyricists (John Myung). Ack… best part of this video is about 3/4ths in when Petrucci shreds it up… before LaBrie comes back in with more singing. No offense, but this video wreaks of prog metal gone… well… as planned, I suppose. It is comforting that the special edition of BC&SL (June 23rd) has a 3rd disc of the instrumental mixes of the entire album. Trust me… it’ll get the most spins from me.
The Incubus video is cheesy, too-O.C.-y. The song is actually pretty good, and I dig Brandon Boyd’s vocals. It’s part of a greatest hits release (June 16th) as the bonus song or what have you. IMO, it’s promising for the future album, assuming they’re working on one. At this point, I could go for guitarist Mike Einziger’s side project end>vacuum on album.
~Dan – np: Wussy – Wussy (2009)
Dream Theater – Black Clouds and Silver Linings
Progressive metal veterans DREAM THEATER have announced BLACK CLOUDS & SILVER LININGS as the title of their tenth studio album. Roadrunner will release the record on June 23. In addition to the standard version CD, the album will also be available on vinyl LP, as well as a 3-disc Special Edition CD that will include the full album, a CD of instrumental mixes of the album and a CD of six cover songs, the titles of which will be revealed at a later date. Six weeks prior to the June 23 street date, Roadrunner will release one cover song per week through digital retailers. Drummer Mike Portnoy and guitarist John Petrucci are once again at the helm as producers, while Paul Northfield mixed the record.
The band will embark on a world tour in support of the album beginning in Europe throughout June which will be followed by the second edition of the band’s PROGRESSIVE NATION tour featuring Zappa Plays Zappa, Pain Of Salvation and Beardfish throughout North America in July/August.
A video for the first single, “A Rite of Passage” will be shot in late March.
The track listing for BLACK CLOUDS & SILVER LININGS is as follows:
1. A Nightmare to Remember
2. A Rite of Passage
3. Wither
4. The Shattered Fortress
5. The Best of Times
6. The Count of Tuscany
I’m excited about the instrumental CD on the special edition… yay!
~Dan
a quad-shot of espresso [in music news format]
Four shots of espresso…
- Dream Theater will have a new album out in the Summer. My guess is that it’ll have long songs, some rockin’, some ballads, and it’ll mostly be enjoyable when there is no singing involved. No title for the album yet. My guess would be that it’ll be named after some obscure latin verb conjugated in a clever way, or some multi-syllabic extinct bird and/or fish. They’ll be kicking off the Progressive Nation 2009 Tour. Dates are not out yet, but I hope they swing through Portland, OR (or at a minimum, Seattle). And… and… and…
- Zappa Plays Zappa will be on the bill for that tour. So will Pain of Salvation and Beard Fish, but that’s totally not as cool as Zappa Plays Zappa and Dream Theater in one night. Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater drummer) is a huge Frank Zappa fan; so I bet it’s a dream come true for him as well… I’m more stoked for ZPZ than DT. Eh, sue me.
- Iron & Wine is releasing a b-sides / rarities double-disc set called Around the Well (May 19, Sub Pop), and he’s also heading out on an all-request tour. Check out the tracklist for the double-disc as well as the tour dates over at Pitchfork (link).
- U2 will essentially take over as house band on the David Letterman Show with five days in a row performances the week of March 2nd in support of their upcoming album, No Line on the Horizon.
Half and half…
(image by burntwoodstudio.com)
- Maynard James Keenan and his Puscifer project’s three nights of shows at the Palms in Las Vegas is underway now. Feb 13, 14, 15… anyone go? Got a good review? I’m totally jealous.
The “don’t burn your hands” sleeve that goes around the cup…
- Björk is re-issuing the underwhelming Volta in a special 4-disc edition that I may actually spring for (i.e.- I never bought Volta, but this version looks great). It’s called Voltaic, and it’s the Volta CD (billed as “Songs From The Volta Tour Performed Live At Olympic Studios”), a CD of the official remixes, a live DVD from Paris & Reykjavik, and a DVD of the Volta videos. Quite frankly, the DVD of the videos is what piqued my interest (see gif to the right).
Hmmm… now I’m craving a venti americano with room for cream.
~Dan – np: Wynton Marsalis – From Plantation to the Penitentiary
update on OSI’s #3 album
As previously mentioned, O.S.I. (a band led by Kevin Moore from Chroma Key / Dream Theater and Jim Matheos from Fates Warning) is being worked on now. This just in from Mikael Åkerfeldt, lead “singer” / guitarist from OPETH, is that he’s contributing vocals to a song…
It’s a very moody song and completely unlike anything I’ve ever done before. I wrote the lyrics and the vocal lines for the piece that I simply decided to call “Stockholm“.
Cool… The album also features Gavin Harrison (from Porcupine Tree) on drums.
~Dan – np: Goddamn Electric Bill – Topics for Gossip
O.S.I. #3
Updated (3/9/09): go here… https://jazzsick.wordpress.com/2009/03/09/more-osi-details/
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Well, I just checked chromakey.com and osiband.com just last week. No updates since 2006.
Now this from Blabbermouth…
OSI (OFFICE OF STRATEGIC INFLUENCE), the project featuring FATES WARNING guitarist Jim Matheos and ex-DREAM THEATER keyboardist Kevin Moore, has spent the past several months working on its third album. According to Moore, “Gavin Harrison (PORCUPINE TREE) is playing drums on this one; he’s nearly done tracking and it sounds great. Along with guitar, Jim is handling bass this time. I still get to sing but may get some help.”
For those not in the know, Kevin Moore‘s Chroma Key is my favorite band ever. This is not hyperbole. Dead Air For Radios is my #1 favorite album ever. O.S.I. is essentially a rockin’ continuation of Chroma Key for me.
(Kevin / CK promo shot)
I’m stoked. I don’t care that it snuck up on me. O.S.I. #2 snuck up on me as well… it makes for a happy present. Now, if I can only convince Kevin to tour Chroma Key or O.S.I.
I suppose watch this blog space for future news… or this one…
~Dan
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
Amazon.com mp3 downloads
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