Archive

Posts Tagged ‘rock’

Sunny Day Real Estate have also caught the reunion flu

23rd Jun 09 (Tue) 2 comments

File this under: awesome.

So, I saw Sunny Day Real Estate in 2000 on their The Rising Tide tour.  It is probably one of the 10 or 20 best concerts ever for me, and I say that in that they aren’t one of my favorite 10 or 20 bands in my wheelhouse.  Anyway, I dig their albums a plenty, but that tour was just fantasticly great.  Even the opener, Euphone, was great (my first foray into post-rock).

Well, in the recent rash of get togethers that I care about (Faith No More and Galactic Cowboys being two notables), SDRE are getting back together with the original four members: Jeremy Enigk, Dan Hoerner, and recently Foo Fighters’ William Goldsmith & Nate Mendel.  Call it a SDRE-union, if you will.  Diary and LP2 will also be re-issued on Sub Pop.  Read the full story over at Pitchfork and BrooklynVegan.  Here are the tourdates:

09-17 Vancouver, British Columbia – Commodore Ballroom
09-18 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom (MusicFest NW)
09-20 Murray, UT – Murray Theater
09-21 Denver, CO – Ogden Theater
09-23 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
09-24 Chicago, IL – Metro
09-25 Detroit, MI – St. Andrew’s Hall
09-27 New York, NY – Terminal Five
09-28 Boston, MA – House of Blues
09-30 Washington, D.C. – 930 Club
10-01 Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero
10-03 Atlanta, GA – CW Center Stage
10-05 Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
10-06 Houston, TX – Warehouse Live – Ballroom
10-07 Austin, TX – La Zona Rosa
10-09 Tempe, AZ – Marquee
10-10 Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
10-11 Los Angeles, CA – Henry Fonda Theater
10-13 San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
10-15 Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory
10-16 Seattle, WA – Paramount Theater

I plan on hitting the Portland show.  That week is busy for me now… I’ve got Porcupine Tree on Wednesday, Wynton Marsalis on Thursday, and now Sunny Day Real Estate on Friday.

But it’s gonna rule!  And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

~Dan – np: Miles DavisIn a Silent Way

GALACTIC COWBOYS Never Die.

22nd Jun 09 (Mon) 5 comments

Reposted from Blabbermouth

GALACTIC COWBOYS, the heavy-hitting Houston, Texas band responsible for such classic albums as Space In Your Face, Machine Fish, and At the End of the Day, will reunite this August for three concert performances only in the group’s home state — in Houston, Dallas, and Austin. GALACTIC COWBOYS’ classic lineup of Monty Colvin (bass), Alan Doss (drums), Ben Huggins (vocals), and Wally Farkas (guitar) will hit the stage on August 13, August 14 and August 15.

The Houston show has just been booked and announced for Saturday, August 15, 2009 at Warehouse Live (813 St. Emanuel Street, Houston, TX 77003). More information may be found by contacting the venue at (713) 225-5483. The band is currently booking the remaining shows in Dallas and Austin. Details for these two nights will be forthcoming.

Commented Colvin: “[It’s] something we have talked about on and off over the years and now is the first time all of our schedules coincide to be able to do this. It’s going to be a lot of fun and we are really looking forward to reconnecting with the fans that have been asking about this ever since we broke up.”

GALACTIC COWBOYS released its debut album on Geffen Records back in 1991 on an unsuspecting public, combining progressive metal with a style of vocals influenced by THE BEATLES and the heavy playing style of thrash bands such as ANTHRAX. They have been described as “possibly the most melodic metal band ever.” The band called it quits in 2000 after a string of well-received albums on Metal Blade, a loyal cult following and years of successful tours with bands such as KING’S X, ANTHRAX, and DREAM THEATER.

For more information, visit www.galacticcowboys.com.

I’ve been a GC forever… ran an unofficial (but officially approved) website for them in college (back in the heyday of the internets).  I wish I could make it down to Texas for these shows, alas, I’ll be in Idaho for work.

I hope the reunion bug bites harder and they decide to do something else together… an album or more shows.

In other, older Galactic Cowboys-related news… check out this about The Jibbs.

~Dan – np: TV on the RadioDear Science

Attack Attack!’s Stick Stickly

20th Jun 09 (Sat) 3 comments

This is the best worst thing I’ve seen in a while.  I kinda love it…

(Note: if the Vimeo video above doesn’t work,
let me know and I’ll refresh the link)

So amazingly, A+ horrible that it’s A+ good… poop squat guitarist moves, jumping around flipping guitar over head, death metal vocals, dance breaks, auto-tune vocals (a la Akon, Justin Timberlake, etc)… I mean… what’s not to love/hate/love again? No matter how seemingly painful, you can’t turn away.

And if you just wanna watch the silly pieces forever, here are some animated gifs of the Attack Attack! “Stick Stickly” action (click for larger, or right click to save):

~Dan – np: The WeepiesHideaway

REVIEW: Hiromi’s Sonicbloom @ Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley (Seattle, WA – 6/16/09)

17th Jun 09 (Wed) Leave a comment

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

Well, I’d never been to Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley.  It’s an amazing little room (maybe 200 seats) with dinner served if you show up early.  Plus, in downtown Seattle, it offers free parking.  Yeah, you read that correctly – free parking. :)  Anyway, I showed up shortly after 6pm after fighting with traffic heading through Tacoma and into Seattle.  I got seated right up front, which was also the benefit of showing up early for the dinner & show deal.  Fantastic food, and wonderful staff!  The venue earns an A+!!  I hope they bring in some more choice acts… it was worth the trip.

Hiromi Uehara and Sonicbloom took the stage around 7:40.  The band was Hiromi on piano (a Steinway & Sons, if I recall correctly) & keyboards (3 different keyboards/syths), Tony Grey on 6-string electric bass, Dave Fiuczynski on double-neck guitar (12 string on top, 7 string on bottom), and Mauricio Zottarelli on drums.  Both Tony & Dave played on Hiromi’s two Sonicbloom records.  Actually, Tony played with Hiromi on her last four records (not just the recent Sonicbloom moniker).

As a band, they were pretty tight.  I liked Tony a lot on bass.  He had a nice groove, and his “mouthing” of the solos was fun, too.  Maurice was also great, but he was shielded from me for most of the night from an older “bigger hair” couple; so I didn’t catch many glimpses of him.  Dave was good, too… but sometime he got too “noodley” versus what the band was doing.  His solos weren’t great in my opinion, but when he was playing lead, his playing worked well.  Maybe guitar in a jazz quartet wasn’t my thing this time around.

As far as setlist, no luck.  Hiromi only announced one song from the stage: “Time Travel” from Time Control (the 2007 Sonicbloom record).  I’m pretty sure that they didn’t play “XYZ” (or the variation “XYG”).  That was a bummer, but not too much of a bummer – as the show was amazing all around.

They played a few standards, one that the name is on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t for the life of me remember it.  I can hear it still in my head (doo doo doo, doop doop doodle doop).  Damn, there are too many songs in my head and barely any names.  Hiromi also played a solo classical piece that was very familiar, but again, I’m drawing a blank.  Regardless of song names, Hiromi’s handwork is amazing.  I swear, I don’t know how she can pull off playing two different melodies at the same time with different hands.  Anyway, the whole group was an amazing bunch of musicians.  Most of the show was pretty jammy, but had elements of straight ahead jazz, and again some classical.

They’re playing again at the Jazz Alley as I type this… if anyone went tonight (June 17th), let me know how it went.

For the uninitiated to Hiromi, check out the video electronic press kit for Beyond Standard featuring “XYG“:

Or check out the video for “Time Difference“…

The Appropriate Linkage:

~Dan – np: Anakronic Electro-OrchestraThe Yiddish Part -EP-

HIROMI’s SONICBLOOM PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

tons of news

12th Jun 09 (Fri) Leave a comment

Nine Stories!

In this episode: The new Masada Quintet with special guest Joe Lovano, the Jenny Owen Youngs‘ video that I somehow missed, Nellie McKay‘s Election musical, Fanfarlo for $1, the deaths of JazzTimes & Jeff Hanson, the resurrection of Futurama, a new Wussy video, and Asthmatic Kitty’s most excellent Library Catalog Music Series

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The new Masada Quintet with special guest Joe Lovano just came out for June on Tzadik Records.  It’s the original Masada Quartet (John Zorn on alto sax, Dave Douglas on trumpet, Greg Cohen on bass & Joey Baron on drums) plus pianist Uri Caine… plus special guest tenor sax Joe Lovano.  Holy cow!!!  It’s the first official studio release from the Masada Quartet since 1999’s י [Yod] (or 2005 if you count the unreleased/rarities compilation Sanhedrin).  This album is bound to be at the top of my “best of” list for 2009.

This video from Jenny Owen Youngs came out in September 2007.  How did I miss it?  It’s a brilliant singer-songwriter cover of rapper Nelly‘s “Hot in Herre” (so take off all your clothes).  I bought the iTunes single… great stuff:

Nellie McKay is writing a musical based on the book/movie Election.  Read more about it over on Brooklyn Vegan blog.

Fanfarlo just put on their debut album, Reservoir, for $1.  Fanfarlo is a London-based band founded by Swedish musician Simon Balthazar.  Nice textured indie pop… think Sigur Rós meets Sufjan Stevens.  The album, in full, is available for only $1.00 until July 4th, 2009 at http://www.fanfarlo.com/.

The economy took another print-media victim.  This time it’s the death (or “temporary suspension”) of JazzTimes magazine.  The 38 year old magazine couldn’t maintain readership in the new era of online content.  It’s a sad day, as it was a great magazine.  I hope it’s able to come back later in some form or another under new ownership, as mentioned in the Howard Mandel article.

Whispy singer-songwriter Jeff Hanson died last Saturday (6/5) after an accidental fall on his cement-floored apartment in St. Paul, MN. Jeff was known for his feminine vocal style and songwriting/sound similar to late indie rocker Elliott Smith (who also died young).  He had three great albums out on Kill Rock Stars.  I hate to sound selfish, but I’m bummed I missed him when he recently came through Portland.  We lost another one, far too young…

In “Oh Sweet, Futurama’s On” News, the resurrection of Futurama is eminent.  Much like Family Guy, the popularity soared even after being originally canceled.  Futurama had some straight-to-DVD movies recently, and it will return with new 26 episodes on Comedy Central in the winter 2010.

A favorite band of mine from Cincinnati, Wussy, has a new “acoustic from an RV” video of “Maglite.”  They recently put out their 3rd full length album, and it lives up to the quality and momentum in their prior two albums (plus 1 EP).  Check out the video and then check out the album at Shake It Records:

Asthmatic Kitty’s most excellent Library Catalog Music Series just came out.  The naming of the series sounds… boring.  However, it’s really great instrumental music.  There are three issues thus far: 900X: Music for Lubbock 1980, Law of the Least Effort: Music for Measurements, and Casey Foubert/James McAlister: Music for Drums.  My favorite is the 900X one.  Really, really good electronic, post-rockiness. If you liked a more “sane” version of Sufjan Steven’s Enjoy Your Rabbit, I bet you’d like the LCMS. Check it out at Asthmatic Kitty Records.

~Dan – np: FanfarloReservoir

REVIEW: King’s X @ Berbati’s Pan (Portland, OR – 6/8/09)

9th Jun 09 (Tue) 24 comments

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

So… King’s X?  Where do I start.  They’ve been a band for 26 or 27 years.  I’ve been a fan of theirs since 1994.  I see them every time they come through my town (16th time in 15 years).  I’ve seen them in 6 or 7 states (mostly Ohio), but this is first time to see them in Oregon for me.  It was only last August that I saw them open up for Extreme in Cincinnati, and they haven’t put out anything new since that show.  Honestly, though, it really doesn’t matter.  It’s King’s X… Doug, Ty & Jerry.  They are a must see show, any time, any place!!

I showed up late for the show; so I can’t speak to the rockin’ (or not rockin’) of the openers Orange Sky & Quandry.  If history tells me anything, the openers were good but not phenomenal*.  I had other work-related plans, and I couldn’t make it to the venue in time.

*A good/great opener in days of yore is a band like Podunk.  Also, re: “openers,” I wouldn’t put Galactic Cowboys in that category.  They’re more like “peers”… and were always a great lead in to King’s X.  For the most part, other openers for KX were OK, but usually just delayed KX starting time by more than I normally cared for… I mean that in no disrespect to the openers tonight.  Had it not been a rough day of work, I’d have done my best to make it for your sets.  Seriously.

I showed up right at 11pm, and King’s X were deep into their third song (per the door guy).  So, for those keeping track at home, file that under “whoops… messed that one up.” My guess is that they started with “Groove Machine.”  Regardless of my missing the intro, King’s X put on a great show, and I thoroughly enjoyed it… a little bit of feedback and a low ceiling’ed venue, but I got to move around a bit and snap some shots from several angles.  No videos… I imagine it’d be too much feedback for the camera.

Setlist: thanks for the setlist additions

  • Groove Machine {thanks, bishopjso}
  • Pleiades {thanks, bn}
  • Visions
  • Move (*a fave of night*)
  • What Is This?
  • Black Flag
  • Lost in Germany
  • Pray (no offense, but a non-fave)
  • Dogman (*a fave of night*)
  • Go Tell Somebody (no offense, but a non-fave)
  • Summerland
  • Looking for Love (*a fave of night*)
  • Over My Head
  • Encore: It’s Love
  • We Were Born to Be Loved (*a fave of night*)

Fantastic show… once again.  Doug, Ty & Jerry are a joy to see.  I hope they’re making music for many more years to come.  Doug’s preachin’ during “Over My Head” had a new slant… “It’s a terrible thing to do what you don’t want to do for the rest of your life.”   I’m glad that Doug didn’t get stuck being a choirboy for the rest of his life.  Oh, and Ty’s “Over My Head” solo was smoking!!!! It was one of the few instances where I wish I had been taping…

Wishes for the evening… maybe switch out “GTS” and “P4M” with “Cigarettes” and “A Box.”  But all in all, I’m glad that they’re still making music and still touring.  I figure, beggars can’t be choosers.  I saw a great show by some great musicians… yet again.

The Appropriate Linkage:

How the screaming changes when the meaning hits your ears…
~Dan – np: dredgThe Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion no torrent or free download here

KING’S X PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

The Rest of the King’s X Tour Dates (as of now)

6/09/2009 Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
6/10/2009 Coeur d’Alene, ID @ The Grail
6/12/2009 Salt Lake City, UT @ Club Vegas
6/13/2009 Denver, CO @ Owsley’s Golden Road
6/15/2009 Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
6/16/2009 Kansas City, MO @ The Riot Room
6/17/2009 Lincoln, NE @ Knickerbockers
6/19/2009 Sioux Falls, SD @ Nutty’s
6/20/2009 Fargo, ND @ Venue At The Hub
6/23/2009 St Paul, MN @ Station 4
6/24/2009 Des Moines, IA @ People’s Court
6/26/2009 Milwaukee, WI @ Shank Hall
6/27/2009 Chicago, IL @ Double Door
6/28/2009 Mt Clemmens, MI @ Freedom Festival
6/30/2009 Memphis, TN @ Newby’s
7/01/2009 Little Rock, AR @ Juanita’s
8/07/2009 Raleigh, NC @ Volume 11
8/08/2009 Springfield, VA @ Jaxx
8/09/2009 Pittsburgh, PA @ Pepsi Roadhouse
8/11/2009 Hartford, CT @ The Webster Theater
8/12/2009 Sellersville, PA @ Sellersville Theater
8/13/2009 Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony
8/15/2009 Southbridge, MA @ ADC Performance Ctr.
8/16/2009 Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Chance
8/17/2009 Virginia Beach, VA @ Peppermint Beach Club
8/19/2009 Charlotte, NC @ Amos’s
8/21/2009 Marietta, GA @ The Local
8/22/2009 Fayetteville, NC @ Jester’s

then they hit the road with Porcupine Tree in September 2009

Silverchair 2009

1st Jun 09 (Mon) 1 comment

This little blurb in from the Llama Appreciation Society today (6/1/09)…

It is with great pleasure to confirm SILVERCHAIR have been back in the studio working on a bunch of new songs.

I expect this means… early 2010 for a new album?  In any case… awesome news!!!

~Dan – np: Secret Chiefs 3Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini

no torrents or free downloads

Music Videos x 3

9th May 09 (Sat) Leave a comment

Tori AmosFire to Your Plain” from Abnormally Attracted to Sin

(click pic for video)

Dream TheaterA Rite of Passage” from Black Clouds & Silver Linings

(click pic for video)

IncubusBlack 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: WussyWussy (2009)

O.S.I. – Blood CD

29th Apr 09 (Wed) 2 comments

Fear Factory Redux

28th Apr 09 (Tue) 2 comments

Stomp rock / industro-metallers Fear Factory have reformed with a slightly different but equally awesome lineup.  Burton C. Bell (vocals) and Dino Cazares (guitars) have put ill-will behind them.  They are joined by bassist Byron Stoud and insanely awesome drummer Gene Hoglan

I first heard Gene on Death‘s Symbolic record.  The man is insane.  I saw him live with Testament on the Demonic tour… the Wednesday before Thanksgiving 199-something.  My turkey and gravy were never so “ringing in my ears” before.

Expect twitchy-bleep thrashing, machine gun kick drums in your face, and lyrics about androids / robots taking over your mind (or your job)… sigh.  Yeah, lyrically / archetypically, Burton’s in a rut.  But I dig the music…  Read more over at Blabbermouth‘s blog.

~Dan – np: Bill LaswellInvisible Design II

Kaki 2Pac

8th Apr 09 (Wed) 1 comment

OK… wow… great mashup of guitar-phenom Kaki King & gunned down rapper Tupac Shakur:

http://soundcloud.com/hoodinternet/the-hood-internet-bone-chaos-in-the-ghetto-2pac-x-kaki-king

I’m more a Kaki King fan, but I dig 2Pac on this mashup, too.

Unrelated sidenote: Amoeba Music recently posted the July 2007 in-store performance from Earth (an interview and two songs: Omens and Portents I: The Driver -and- Engine of Ruin).  http://www.amoeba.com/live-shows/videos/earth.html

~Dan – np: Caedmon’s CallJust Don’t Want Coffee -EP-

REVIEW: dredg @ the Hawthorne Theater (Portland, OR – – 4/3/09)

4th Apr 09 (Sat) 3 comments

No photos this time around.  Rock shows aren’t conducive to them unless you have a really good camera, plus last time I was here, the venue wasn’t allowing it.  Anyway, on to the show…

The openers… well, I’m bummed because I only caught the very last song of From Monuments to Masses.  I kinda dug them… they are a three-piece instrumental band and seemed to have a good groove.  The guitars were a little low in the mix, but I could at least hear what was going on.  Torche, on the other hand, was 40 minutes of painful uninterest.  It wasn’t a wall of sound, it was a wall of mud.  And not the good kind of mud that Earth or Sunn 0))) might throw down, but just muddy, sloppy metal.  Bad sound that night, maybe they’re good on record.  They seemed to be having fun, and there were some obvious fans in the crowd.

Dredg came on around 10:45, after what seemed to be a very long sound check.  They seemed to be having some feedback or other issues going on, and it actually caused some minor technical difficulties early in dredg’s set.  Anyway, this Portland show was the very first show of this tour.  They played a handful of tunes from their upcoming record (see album cover below), and they played a great set with song from their other albums as well.

This was officially my first time seeing them live “as a fan. ” The last time I saw them was when they were opening for the Blood Brothers and Coheed & Cambria.  I was blown away enough to get into their music after that show, but for this show I actually knew the words. :)

I had some major respect for Gavin (singer/ lap steel) and Dino (drums/ keyboard), but now I have much more respect for all four members.  Drew (bass) and Mark (guitars) contribute so much to the dredg sound… excellent grooves and guitar that hearkens some of (Radiohead) Jonny Greenwood’s antics.

Setlist:

  • Stamp of Origin: Pessimistic (new song)
  • I Don’t Know (new song)
  • Ireland  (new song)
  • Same Ol’ Road
  • Of the Room
  • Ode to the Sun (a fave of the night)
  • Catch Without Arms (a fave of the night)
  • R U O K? (new song)
  • Saviour (new song)
  • Information (new song)
  • Bug Eyes
  • Sang Real (a fave of the night)
  • Jamais Vu
  • The Canyon Behind Her
  • Down to the Cellar (new song)
  • Stamp of Origin: Horizon (new song)
  • No Encore

Great show, about 75 minutes… lots of stuff from their upcoming album The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion (due out June 9th).  I bet they would have played longer had it not been for the earlier technical difficulties, but maybe the venue had a midnight curfew.  I got a peek at someone who snagged the setlist; so I think I got most of the correct new songs and placement.  The stuff after “Jamais Vu” was more of a blur, big jam thing.  Overall, the new songs definitely fit with Catch Without Arms and El Cielo.  I’m looking forward to the new record, big time…

The Appropriate Linkage:

~Dan – np: ZuCarboniferous

Ellery, Peter Mulvey, My Brightest Diamond

28th Mar 09 (Sat) Leave a comment

A trio of new music news…

Cincinnati lush-pop/folk duo Ellery is hitting the studio soon with Malcolm Burn (http://www.malcolmburn.com). Malcolm is a Grammy-winning producer who has worked with the likes of Emmylou Harris, Bob Dylan, Kaki King, Rachel Yamagata, Sarah McLachlan, Gillian Welch, Ryan Adams, and more.  This will be their follow-up to the fantastic debut, Lying Awake from 2007.  They’ve got a special “help them make a record” thing going on at ellerystimulus.com.  I’ve plunked down my cash… wish I got to see them as often as when I lived in Cincinnati, but regardless I’m glad they’re hitting the studio again.

For more info on Ellery…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Milwaukee/Boston singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey is putting the finishing touches on his next album, Letters from a Flying Machine.  Of the glut of singer-songwriters, Peter has a place in my heart (and ears).  He’s entertaining, intriguing, great storyteller, and a great sense of humor. If you’ve never heard of him… do yourself a favor, and hear of himhttp://myspace.com/petermulvey

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The third installment of My Brightest Diamond‘s A Thousand Shark Remixes is hitting iTunes on Tuesday, March 31st.  It’s remixed by Roberto C. Lange.  Remix EP #1 (by Alfred Brown) and #2 (by Son Lux) were pretty tasty.  EP #4 (by DM Stith) should be out in a few months, and all four will be made available on a physical CD with likely some tasty packaging.  Maybe vinyl, too… but that’s just me throwing a marble in the rumor mill.

~Dan – np: Brown Wing OverdriveESP Organism

Regina Spektor / Placebo / Elliott Smith / Sean Lennon+

17th Mar 09 (Tue) Leave a comment

A trio of news plus one batch of retro coolness…

Regina Spektor‘s got a new one coming out called Far (out in June on Sire Records).  Read more over at Pitchfork (hey, I’m lazy and it’s busy season).

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(European date schemes are so… backwards)

Placebo‘s got a new one coming out in June as well… June 8th, that is.  It’s called Battle for the Sun Read more over at Placeboworld.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sean Lennon, Yuka Honda, Charlotte Kemp Muhl, and Yoko Ono have some tracks on the premiere release from Chimera Music (their record label).  It’s got tracks from upcoming work by all of them… check it out at fina music downloads.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Pitchfork has a 28+ minute 1998 documentary of Elliott Smith called Strange Parallels.  I have this on DVD-R from a tape trader a while ago, but it’s available to watch for free up on Pitchfork.  It’s quirky and fun – – a good look into Elliott right on the cusp of “super-stardom” (around/just after the Oscar nominee time).

~Dan – np: The Blood BrothersLove Rhymes with Hideous Car Wreck

Dream Theater – Black Clouds and Silver Linings

13th Mar 09 (Fri) Leave a comment

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

more OSI details

9th Mar 09 (Mon) Leave a comment

Well, the 3rd album from the Kevin Moore (Chroma Key) and Jim Matheos (Fates Warning) project O.S.I. (Office of Strategic Influence) now has a name, album art, a tracklist, and a release date.  It features Porcupine Tree’s  Gavin Harrison on the drums, and Mikael Åkerfeldt (OPETH) on “Stockholm.”

01. The Escape Artist
02. Terminal
03. False Start
04. We Come Undone
05. Radiologue
06. Be The Hero
07. Microburst Alert
08. Stockholm
09. Blood

It’s out on April 27 in Europe and May 19 in the U.S. via InsideOut Music.

From Blabbermouth: The creative process which produced “Blood” lasted more than a year. In their now familiar long-distance collaboration, Matheos sent his ideas via e-mail to Moore, who honed them to his own taste before mailing the results back to Matheos. At the end of the day, some pieces were sent back and forth countless times, while others, such as the pulsating metal track “Be The Hero”, required very little exchange. “When Jim sent me his tracks, I had a vocal idea right away,” Moore says of the song. “I think it all came together in a couple of days. I love when Jim sends really heavy ideas, and he doesn’t mind me chopping them up. It was fun to play around with the times signatures by editing, and adding a lot of Minimoog effects and unison lines.”

Unrelated sidenote, Celldweller‘s upcoming long-awaited sophomore album is called Wish Upon a Blackstar.  Out… sometime later this year?

~Dan – np: U2No Line on the Horizon

Seinfeld + Curb / Reptet Tour / OTC Tour / Jurassic 5 spin-off

7th Mar 09 (Sat) 2 comments

Entertainment Weekly reported recently that Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards will have appearances in multiple episodes of (co-Seinfeld creator) Larry David‘s Curb Your Enthusiasm this season.  Yay!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

One of my favorite jazz bands from Seattle, Reptet (part of the Monktail Creative Music Concern) is hitting the road again this spring.

March 12th – Mississippi Pizza – Portland, OR
March 13th – The Stage Door – Mt. Shasta, CA
March 14th – Divided Sky – S. Lake Tahoe, CA
March 15th – The Zephyr Lounge – Reno, NV
March 16th – Don Quixote’s – Santa Cruz, CA
March 17th – Delta of Venus – Davis, CA
March 18th -Amnesia Bar – San Francisco, CA
March 19th – Cozmic Pizza, Eugene, OR
March 20th – Triple Door (Musiquarium) – Seattle, WA

I’m bummed, as when they’ll be here in Eugene, I’ll be up in their neck of the woods in Seattle.  And when they’re back in Seattle the next day, I already got Spinal Tap tickets at the Paramount in Seattle.  “Boo” for too many things on the same day.  Anyway, they put on a great show.  Check ’em out… it’s fun, frolicky, goof-off jazz wonderment.

http://www.reptet.com/
http://www.monktail.com/
http://www.myspace.com/reptet

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jason Schimmel’s Orange Tulip Conspiracy put out one of my favorite CDs of 2008 and played one of my favorite concerts of 2008 is also hitting the road again.

May 1- The Comet Tavern Seattle,WA
May 2- The Tonic Lounge Portland, OR
May 3- The Urban Lounge Salt Lake City, UT
May 4- Hi Dive Denver, CO
May 5- Knickerbockers Lincoln, NE
May 6- TBA Chicago, IL
May 7- TBA Buffalo, MA
May 8- TBA Boston, MA
May 9- The Studio at Webster Hall New York City, NY
May 10- TBA Philadelphia, PA
May 11- TBA Washington, DC
May 12- The Village Tavern Mount Pleasant, SC
May 13- Backstage Lounge Gainesville, FL
May 14- The Earl Atlanta,GA
May 15- Bo Bo Gallery Asheville, NC
May 16- Dragon’s Den New Orleans, LA
May 17- Rubber Gloves Denton, TX
May 18- Emo’s Austin, TX
May 19- Zeppelins Underground El Paso, TX
May 20- The Hut Tucson, AZ
May 21- Brick by Brick San Diego, CA
May 22- Knitting Factory Los Angeles, CA
May 23- Hotel Utah San Francisco, CA

I hope to hit the Portland show…

http://www.myspace.com/orangetulipconspiracy

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

One of my favorite, now-defunct rap groups Jurassic 5 has a new spin-off.  Solo albums first by Cut Chemist, Chali 2Na, and DJ Nu-Mark… Akil the MC has one in the works, too… Now Marc7 and Zakir (aka Soup) have formed a new group called Portable Payback.  Sounds pretty smooth – which fits in with 7even & Soup’s style in J5.

Check them out on the MySpaces: http://www.myspace.com/portablepayback

~Dan – np: Ben Folds FiveBen Folds Five

Nellie McKay – Daytrotter Session

23rd Feb 09 (Mon) Leave a comment

Brooklyn-based piano-pop/jazz singer Nellie McKay came through the Daytrotter studios.  Nine songs (much more than the usual 4 songs), in-studio for FREE

http://www.daytrotter.com/dt/nellie-mckay-concert/20030524-3737802.html

1) Oversure 2) Pink Chandelier 3) Politan 4) Mother of Pearl 5) Tipperary 6) If I Had You 7) Do You Know 8 ) Inner Peace 9) Broadway Melody

If you like what you hear, check more out:
http://www.nelliemckay.org/
http://www.nelliemckay.com/

Past Daytrotter Sessions I’ve blogged about (and dug):

~Dan –  – np: Aaron ParksInvisible Cinema (thanks, Matt!)

Jacob FREE Jazz Odyssey

30th Jan 09 (Fri) Leave a comment

Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey have released their new studio album, Winterwood, for FREE.  Go here… http://www.jfjo.com/info.php?i=3160

They’re also embarking on a tour which (of course) swings through Eugene when I’ll be out of town.  So, three times through Eugene in 10 months… first time the same time as an in-town Ani DiFranco gig, second time when it was a ticketed show behind a ticketed festival (grumble), and third time when I’ll be 100 miles away for work.  Sigh.  At least they’ve proven that they’ve got love for Eugene… and I’m sure I’ll get to see them… eventually.

Anyway, here are their tour dates (as of 1/29/09):

01/29/09 :: George’s Majestic Lounge – Fayetteville, AR
01/30/09 :: Jardine’s – Kansas City, MO
01/31/09 :: Mojo’s – Columbia, MO
02/10/09 :: Winston’s – San Diego, CA
02/11/09 :: Largo – Los Angeles, CA
02/12/09 :: Yoshi’s – Oakland, CA
02/13/09 :: HopMonk Tavern – sebastopol, CA
02/14/09 :: New World Ballet Co. – Arcata, CA
02/18/09 :: Indigo – Eugene, OR
02/20/09 :: Eastside Club – Olympia, WA
02/21/09 :: Goodfoot Lounge – Portland, OR
02/22/09 :: Tractor Tavern – Seattle, WA
02/25/09 :: Hodi’s Half Note – Fort Collins, CO
02/27/09 :: The B-Side Lounge – Boulder, CO
02/28/09 :: Owsley’s Golden Road – Denver, CO
03/28/09 :: The Parish Room – Austin, TX

And I’m glad I’ll at least be spinning their new album for free in a bit.

~Dan – np: The Bad PlusThese Are the Vistas

New in 2009

31st Dec 08 (Wed) Leave a comment

What I’m looking forward to in 2009?

The 3rd O.S.I. record, the next dredg record, Mike Patton’s Mondo Cane, a new Fantômas, the debut of Crudo (Dan the Automator & Mike Patton), more John Zorn including Masada Book Two releases (one with Dave Douglas & Uri Caine), the new U2 record in March, Medeski Martin & Wood‘s Radiolarians 2 & 3,  another Nellie McKay, Steven Wilson‘s cover version VI, Porcupine Tree in September, new Tegan & Sara (they’ve got 40 songs ready), Galactic Cowboys guitarist Wally Farkas‘ solo debut, The Zappa Family Trust’s Lumpy Money, solo albums by Jurassic 5 rappers Chali 2Na & Akil the MC, Eisley‘s 3rd record, new Megadeth, new Dream Theater, Derek Webb‘s “electronic-tinged” album, new Incubus, three OutKast-related releases, new EminemYann Tiersen‘s Tabarly (a stateside release, please?), OSSO string quartet’s debut, Wussy‘s 3rd record and/or The Magic Words debut record, a new Ani DiFranco (based on Sir Isaac Newton’s Law of Ani DiFranco Will Release Something Every Nine Months), and a 5th Lagunitas Frank Zappa beer (might I suggest Cruisin’ with Ruben and the Jets Pale Ale, Uncle Meat Porter, or Hot Rats Stout?).

And some maybes (as far as “maybe they’ll come out” if we’re lucky)… Secret Chiefs 3‘s long awaited-always promised-never delivered Book of Souls, the Daniel Johns / Luke Steel project called Hathaway/Palmer, another Sufjan Stevens state album, Carissa’s Wierd singer Jenn Ghetto‘s 3rd S album, Saviour Machine‘s Legend III:II (8 years in the making?), Celldweller‘s sophomore album, another Peter Mulvey (he’s due), George Hrab‘s 6th album, Incubus guitarist Michael Einziger‘s end.>vacuum project, the debut from Ken AndrewsLos Angeles Digital Noise Academy project…

~Dan – np: George Hrab – Geologic Podcast #97

Categories: Music News Tags: , ,