WAVED RUMOR - Rock n' Roll

Rock Clip of the Week - The Living End "Prisoner of Society" (live)

2012-01-27T18:21:00.007-05:00

It's summertime now in the southern hemisphere, and that means Australia is in the middle of its Big Day Out festivals all across the country.

One of the perennial favorites for Big Day Out is the rockin' punk trio The Living End, who played Sydney's Big Day Out fest on Thursday, and will again perform at the Melbourne Big Day Out date on Sunday. The Living End joins Kanye West, My Chemical Romance, Noel Gallagher and his birds, and others on the stages.

The Big Day Out promo blurb captures the excitement of The Living End:

-- "Leading the Aussie charge onto the battlefields of BIG DAY OUT 2012 are THE LIVING END and our troops couldn’t be in more capable hands. This will mark the band’s fifth appearance on the national tour and it’s safe to say Chris Cheney, Scott Owen and Andy Strachan have well and truly solidified their place in the annals of the BDO since their first showing in 1999. Evidently the trio have also made a huge impact on a national scale having landed the No. 4 on Triple J’s Hottest 100 Australian Albums of All Time with their self titled debut album . With their sixth album, The End is Just the Beginning Repeating, in tow the boys are set to write another, darker chapter, to their legacy with what they state is their most honest album to date. It’s no holds barred this time around, with THE LIVING END set to lay it bare."

Here's a clip of The Living End doing a classic track of theirs called "Prisoner of Society" at the 2009 Big Day Out fest. An enterprising promoter should put Bad Religion and the Living End together for a tour - like brothers from a different mother!

Have a rock n roll weekend!

PsychFest - Austin, TX April 27-29

2012-01-27T14:17:00.008-05:00

Set your roadtrip (and headtrip) plans now. The initial lineup for the Austin Psych Fest 2012 on April 27-29, 2012 features Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Black Angels and The Black Lips lead the lineup.

The all-ages festival will be held at Emo's East & Beauty Ballroom in Austin. Tickets are available now. Here's the full list of bands:

Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Black Angels, The Black Lips, Olivia Tremor Control,
Dead Meadow, Wooden Shjips, Bombino, Woods, The Telescopes, Pink Mountaintops,
Disappears, Sun Araw, Peaking Lights, Prince Rama, Psychic Ills, Pure X, Indian Jewelry, Sleep Over, Lotus Plaza, Moon Duo, Quilt, The Intelligence, Amen Dunes,
Ringo Deathstarr, Headdress, Spindrift, Night Beats, Acid Baby Jesus, The UFO Club,
Allah Las, Federale, Quest for Fire, High Wolf, Christian Bland and The Revelators,
Cosmonauts, MMOSS, Smoke and Feathers, Orange Revival, The Band In Heaven, The Cush.

Phoenix Open Bird's Nest Music Feb 1-Feb 4

2012-01-27T13:33:00.006-05:00

Pro golf, beautiful weather, live music and beer? That's what the Waste Management Phoenix Open offers year after year. And sure, there are no real surprises, but hanging out at the golf outing's live venue "The Bird's Nest" is usually a good time, if you can deal with occasional douchebaggery and drunken shenanigans. The music and the women make it worth a trip.

Here's the music lineup for this year's fun: (thanks to Scoop Factory for the content below)

Wednesday, February 1: Slightly Stoopid will kick off the four days of concerts, entertaining fans with their reggae rock fusion. Local band Elvis Before Noon and DJ Ronnie G will also perform. Show begins at 6:00 p.m.

Thursday, February 2: The Goo Goo Dolls will slide into the Birds Nest to perform some of your favorites like it was 1998 again. DJ Ronnie G and Kelly James will also perform beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Friday, February 3: Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas will be spinning records. Check out his DJ skills before his electro-dance album drops later this year. Also performing, The Chadwicks, Kelly James and yep, DJ Ronnie G beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Saturday, February 4: What PGA Tour wouldn’t be complete without an 80s cover band? Flashback Heart Attack, from southern California, performs with Champagne Tap, Smasht and DJ Ronnie G beginning at 6:00 p.m.

The Ex-Girlfriends Club - New LP, Sonics Cover

2012-01-26T22:11:00.010-05:00

Great to read that Portland garage-punk glam rockers The Ex-Girlfriends Club have a new release coming out next week.

The LP is called 'Boo Hoo Hoo' and it's available from 1/31 at all the digital outlets. Guitarist Orion of the Apocalypse wrote recently to say: "'Boo Hoo Hoo' is for fans of Pissed Jeans, The Murder City Devils, Queens of the Stone Age and older bands like The Dead Boys or The Stooges. We worked with Timothy Stollenwerk (Thee Oh Sees, Wooden Shjips) from Stereophonic on this record and we're really excited about it!"

The band covers The Sonics' 'Witch' - Grab the MP3 of The Ex-Girlfriends Club cover of The Sonics' 'Witch' You can also grab an MP3 of the opening track "Your Prescription" from the band's website.

Tracks include:
01 Your Prescription
02 Coming Off Benzos
03 Lightning Bolt
04 The Witch
05 Take it From Me
06 Devil Eyes
07 Mister Singer
08 I'm Not Your Man
09 The Seer

The Ex-Girlfriends Club is celebrating with a few hometown shows for the release. No word on if a tour is in the offing.
01|28|12 @ Slabtown, Portland OR w/The Cry | Beyond Veronica
01|29|12 @ Club 21, Portland OR w/Holy Children | LSD&D

Nada Surf - Live NYC show (Jan 24, 2012)

2012-01-26T22:02:00.006-05:00

If you've never seen Nada Surf play live, then you're missing gorgeous vocals, cracklin' guitars, and a pop-tight rhythm section.

Here is the next best thing. Nada Surf played NYC's Bowery Ballroom on Tuesday night, and turned in a great performance, with a bunch of new songs from their new LP. Added guitarist Doug Gillard plays wonderfully off singer-guitarist Matthew Caws. Online music channel Rdio & BandPage sponsored the video and Nada Surf is sharing at YouTube. It's embedded below.

The SST Tour - 1985 (Husker Du, Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Saccharine Trust, SWA)

2012-01-26T00:08:00.016-05:00

SST Records used to put together its SST bands on package tours and send 'em out to do Greg Ginn's bidding, er, I mean to play shows! And then a video of the show would come out. Here's the liner sleeve above for the full video clip below.

Looking back on those lineups today, you're likely to think 'WOW, it must've been amazing to see these bands back in their heyday'. And maybe you're right, and maybe you're wrong. Some nights might've smoked and other nights might's been drunken aberrations or dope-fueled jam sessions.

But in the case of this SST tour from early in 1985, you have what D. Boon of The Minutemen call 'a brotherhood of bands'. Indeed, it was - SWA, Saccharine Trust, The Meat Puppets, The Minutemen and Husker Du - a brotherhood of bands. This clip below is a compilation of all the band's sets from January 5, 1985.

And it's cool. Great to see early Saccharine Trust and SWA, a youthful, gangly Meat Puppets playing oldies onstage and The Minutemen and Husker Du live in their prime. Amazing the sound that killer trios can make. Catch The Minutemen covering the Meat Puppet's classic "Lost", Husker Du's Grant Hart drumming barefoot and pounding out a thrilling "Diane" as the first song of their set (though Husker's set is marred by the audio-video synch being off for much of the rest of the set).

[Thanks to the Meat Puppets for putting this on their Facebook feed tonight]

For another POV on the 1:21:00 video, check out this comprehensive review from Aaron Poehler.

New solo Robert Pollard release - Mouseman Cloud

2012-01-21T18:21:00.008-05:00

Fire Records announces the impending release of rock craftsman Robert Pollard's upcoming solo LP "Mouseman Cloud".

Robert Pollard - "Mouseman Cloud" Album Release Date: March 12, 2012
"Robert Pollard's new solo album Mouseman Cloud shows the Guided By Voices frontman in a playful and spontaneous mood. This is a record by a guy who just wants to rock, and not have to worry about how that rock will be received by anyone other than himself.

While the songs here are not a world away from anything you'll find on GBV's Let's Go Eat The Factory, the emphasis on Mouseman Cloud is on wordplay rather than melody, on unkempt exploration rather than traditional song structure. A lot of the tracks sound as if they started as lyrics - even poetry - first, and were fit around the sounds, which is not an uncommon way for Pollard to work, but the album's gleeful verbosity could be interpreted as the work of a man who's maybe been feeling the pressure of expectations from (for instance) a Guided By Voices reunion and just wants to cut loose.

Recorded in collaboration with producer/multi-instrumentalist Todd Tobias, Mouseman Cloud is catchy, heavy, lovely, rocky, exuberant, complexly simple and freaking wonderful. Not sweating the small stuff is not the same as taking no pains over the writing and recording - too often the two are conflated when discussing Pollard's prodigious output. He takes pains. He edits. He cares deeply about each and every part of each and every song he records. That he seems to do so frequently and effortlessly is not his fault. It's a unique and unparalleled talent. Mouseman Cloud is the work of a consummate craftsman as well as a crazy genius, and proof that these two traits are not incompatible."

Here's the track listing:
1. Obvious #1
2. Picnic Drums
3. Mouseman Cloud
4. Dr. Time
5. Lizard Ladder
6. Human Zoo
7. Bats Flew Up
8. Mother's Milk and Magnets
9. Continue To Break
10. I Was Silence
11. Smacks of Euphoria
12. Science Magazine
13. No Tools
14. Aspirin Moon
15. Half-Strained
16. Zen Mother Hen
17. Chief Meteorologist

Nada Surf - Stream the new LP, tour dates

2012-01-19T01:38:00.003-05:00

The wonderfully melodic, guitar-pop classicists Nada Surf have a great new rock LP and tour dates in the US and Europe.

The LP is called The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy, and features the veteran trio of Matthew Caws, Daniel Lorca and Ira Elliot. Rock vet Doug Gillard, previously Nada Surf's touring guitarist (and GBV guitarist 1997-2004), also played on every song on the release. According to the band's press blurb, Gillard became such an integral part of the band’s sound that they invited him to play on Stars too, and while his solos do somewhat recall the late great James Honeyman-Scott (The Pretenders), they ignite the music with a brilliance all their own. "What’s amazing about Doug is that he’s got classic rock chops," explains Caws, "but a sideways new wave brain."

The LP kicks off with two amazing rockers. The first is "Clear Eye Clouded Mind", which highlights Caws' wonderful pop voice singing the LP title in a verse over storming guitars. Killer drums, too! It's followed by what is a hit single in my universe "Waiting for Something", a brisk power-rocker with a chorus not miles away from Superchunk's equally catchy "Digging for Something" from last year.

The LP is available to buy in January 18 (Japan), January 23 (UK/EU), January 24 (USA). You can stream the LP right now at Paste Magazine, which also awarded it an 8.0 on the Paste-Record-O-Meter.

2012-01-18T13:08:00.002-05:00

Learn more about SOPA at this video:

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

Time Out for Rock

2012-01-16T09:10:00.000-05:00

Waved Rumor is taking some time off for a death in the family. We'll resume in a week or so.

LCD Soundsystem - Shut Up and Play the Hits (dance doc)

2012-01-12T13:51:00.000-05:00

As expected with most 'finals' of everything these days, LCD Soundsystem is putting out a dance doc about the run-up to its final shows in April of 2011. Should be a fun watch. Watch the trailer below.

The blurbists write:

"On April 2nd 2011, LCD Soundsystem played its final show at Madison Square Garden. LCD frontman James Murphy had made the conscious decision to disband one of the most celebrated and influential bands of its generation at the peak of its popularity, ensuring that the band would go out on top with the biggest and most ambitious concert of its career.

The instantly sold out, near four-hour extravaganza did just that, moving the thousands in attendance to tears of joy and grief, with NEW YORK magazine calling the event "a marvel of pure craft" and TIME magazine lamenting "we may never dance again." SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS is both a narrative film documenting this once in a life time performance and an intimate portrait of James Murphy as he navigates the lead-up to the show, the day after, and the personal and professional ramifications of his decision."

The Rapture - South America Tour

2012-01-11T13:07:00.004-05:00

Amazing to think The Rapture is on its second decade of existence as a band. Following on its "In the Grace of Your Love" release in the fall of 2011, the band toured the US and is now in South America, and then will head to Australia and then Europe dates, according to its Facebook page.

Here's a great classic track from The Rapture - 'Out of the Races and Onto the Tracks' from 2001.

Fitz & the Tantrums in Phoenix Jan 13

2012-01-09T20:02:00.007-05:00

LA soul poppers Fitz & the Tantrums are helping kick off this coming weekend's Rock 'n Roll Marathon this weekend in Tempe and Phoenix.

CityScape's RNR Concert:
Carbo Load Party and Concert
Starring Fitz & The Tantrums
This is an all ages event. Doors open at 4:00pm. Rain or Shine.

From the blurb:
"Runners and non-runners are welcome to jam out to the tunes of Fitz & The Tantrums, an eclectic band featuring “Six killer musicians, five dapper suits, irresistible songs, some serendipity and one vintage organ”."

Click here for all the bands playing along the runner's route.

Here's a taste of what to expect live from Fitz and the Tantrums!

Coachella 2012 Lineup

2012-01-09T19:37:00.007-05:00

Coachella 2012 lineup is out!

Of particular interest to Waved Rumor is:
- the high profile slot for Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel)
- The Hives! The Hives! Need I say more?
- Greg Ginn (ex-Black Flag) & the Growlers? Seriously?
- the small type/dayslot for Black Lips?? C'mon Coachella - Black Lips rule the stage!
- Noel Gallagher and his Birds (or wot ever) - maybe it will be a star-studded celeb fest?
- Radiohead - eh....I've never been a Radiohead head.

What do you see that pokes your eyeballs in a good way?

Last Night: Van Halen club show - NYC, Cafe Wha?

2012-01-06T11:24:00.008-05:00

Van Halen returns in 2012 for an arena rock tour, and to announce that, the veteran rock band played a small NYC club show for record label types, celebs, liggers and maybe a few fans...

photo via AP

VH1 writes:
"Van Halen start the tour in Louisville, Ky., on Feb. 16, and will tour through June, hitting cities like Boston, Atlanta and Chicago. They'll also be promoting a new album. The group announced Wednesday that they'll release "A Different Kind of Truth" on Feb. 7, the group's first album with Roth since their celebrated album "1984," released that same year."

VH1 captured all the intimacy, DLR ramblings and the rock n roll good feelings in its great review of the Van Halen show. They wrote:
"Tonight at Cafe Wha?, we saw firsthand evidence of a band that seems to have rekindled the chemistry that first drew them together some 40 years ago, as well as having rediscovered the formula that led them to become one of history’s greatest rock n’ roll bands. Van Halen appears like an act that’s determined NOT to let history repeat itself, and instead seems committed to the future in a very big way."

Here's the setlist:
SETLIST: “You Really Got Me” / “Running With The Devil” / “Somebody Get Me A Doctor” / “Everybody Wants Some” / “She’s A Woman” / “Dance The Night Away” / “Panama” / “Hot For Teacher” / “Ice Cream Man” / “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love”
ENCORE: “Jump”

Some clips below - great to see Eddie Van Halen looking back in shape and sounding good!

Here are the band members arriving, along with Jimmy Fallon and John McEnroe:

Here's Dave playing the intro to Ice Cream Man:

Check out Eddie's guitar playing on "Hot for Teacher" - Smoke!

And if you're really into David Lee Roth's wild mic ramblings, here's a five minute clip of him talking about his days as an EMT in NYC a few years ago (or scroll to the end for the beginnning of "Somebody Get Me a Doctor")

Happy Birthday David Bowie (Sunday Jan 8th)

2012-01-05T17:09:00.015-05:00

The ultimate rock n roll chameleon, David Bowie, turns 65 this weekend and a quick search of Google shows a numerous round of Bowie tribute concerts all across the rock n roll landscape.

Click over to BBC2 to listen to "Inspirational Bowie" an hour-long audio broadcast first broadcast at his 60th birthday in 2007 and recently updated to reflect the singer's latest activities. Radio 2 says you have 4 days to hear it. You will hear;
"As David Bowie's 65th birthday approaches [Sunday 8 January], Radio 2 revisits this celebration of the iconic popstar. Mark Radcliffe hears from performers who have been inspired by Bowie and his music, including Boy George, Peter Hook, Marc Almond, Annie Lennox, Debbie Harry, Guy Garvey, Jarvis Cocker and Ricky Gervais."

Or just listen to a swell re-mix of Bowie classics at Bowie2001.

Or just think about the differences between Lady Gaga and David Bowie. That's the premise behind Miserable Retail Slave's blog post.

Old Thin Lizzy recordings unearthed

2012-01-04T11:10:00.011-05:00

Good news for fans of 70s awesome rockers Thin Lizzy! On this day when Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott passed away in 1986, news has come up about a treasure trove of unreleased recordings stashed away by Lynott will come out in a box set in June.

The Irish Independent writes:
"Shortly before he passed away in 1986, Mr Lynott gave 150 tapes to a third party for safekeeping. The cache of up to 700 songs has finally been released to record company Universal Music.

"This is an absolutely stunning find," Steve Hammonds, project manager behind the new Thin Lizzy box set. "In every group there's a member who lovingly collects their recordings and in Thin Lizzy that was Phil Lynott, because Lizzy was his baby and his band."

Thin Lizzy members Scott Gorham and Brian Downey will have the "final say" over which songs are released. "The members of Thin Lizzy are fully involved with this project. We have been sending them tapes of what we've found and respecting their wishes as regards the material being issued and the art work," added Mr Hammonds.

Label bosses have declined to give more details on why the material is only surfacing now, 30 years after Thin Lizzy split. Phil Lynott passed the material on to a third party for safekeeping. They held on to it for decades because they were waiting for the right people to come along. It will be the second boxed set in recent times to feature archive work by the band, following last year's 'Live At The BBC' release.

Click here for touring dates of the current incarnation of Thin Lizzy.

Enjoy Thin Lizzy playing "The Cowboy Song" in a poorly lit live clip from Rockpalast in 1978.

Guided by Voices - "The Unsinkable Fats Domino" (live on Letterman)

2012-01-04T10:47:00.005-05:00

Thanks to the Audio Perv, we have clippage of last night's performance by Guided by Voices on Late Show with David Letterman.

The band played the single "The Unsinkable Fats Domino" off the well-reviewed new LP "Let's Go Eat the Factory".

Watch closely for the enthusiastic playing of bassist Greg Demos around the :49 mark, where he slips up, hits the floor, and later remarks to Dave that he "fell on his ass"...!

The band's leader Robert Pollard remarked to his hometown paper recently that the band plans to play some live shows after the release of the band's 2nd LP later this Spring called "Class Clown Spots a UFO".

GoldenVoice 30 - SoCal Punk Rock Fest

2011-12-30T14:34:00.011-05:00

Back in November, I wrote about the three-night So Cal Punk Rock festival GV30 that Goldenvoice promoter Gary Tovar was planning in December. Well, GV30 happened two weeks ago, and I'm sharing some clips below from the show. Classic SoCal punk bands all played - TSOL, X, Bad Religion, The Descendants, Black Flag, Social Distortion, The Vandals, The Dickies and others all kicked out their fast and furious songs for all the kids. Punk rock rules!

Here's Bad Religion doing 1981's "We're Only Gonna Die":

The LA Times wrote:
"X stuck more closely to GV30’s psychic sweet spot, pulling largely from the series of influential roots-punk albums it released throughout the first half of the 1980s. (Those are also the records X made with guitarist Billy Zoom, who rejoined the L.A. quartet in 1998 after a decade away.)"

Here's all original members of X doing their "In This House I Call Home":

LA Weekly's rock blog wrote:
"Last night was the final night of GV30, concert promoter Goldenvoice's 30th anniversary punk rock show. It was legendary. The sheer energy of the sold out show proved that punk is still alive and kicking in 2011. The most exciting part? Keith Morris and Chuck Dukowski were on the same stage again. The rumors were true and Black Flag were indeed the night's special guests."

Here's the Keith Morris-led Black Flag doing 1978's "Nervous Breakdown" to start their short set on the final night.

From Dec 17th, here's TSOL doing their classic "Code Blue"

Here are The Vandals doing their classic "Urban Struggle" and "Pirate's Life"

Here's the ENTIRE set from The Descendants!

Click over to legendary rock station KROQ website for its awesome GV30 night-by-night review, which starts with:
"GV30 has come and gone, and as I’m recovering from exhaustion, a lost voice and a hangover, I’ve got to say it’s been one of the best weekends I’ve ever had."!

Now that's a punk rock weekend! Awesome!

Billy Idol - Yellin' at the Christmas Tree

2011-12-23T14:52:00.011-05:00

As a treat for the holidays, here's a video of a fine rockin' Christmas song by Billy Idol from a few years ago called "Yelling' at the Christmas Tree". It's a humorous look at an inebriated Dad, an amorous Santa and a kid who remembers it all! Great fun for the whole family!

Wish Billy a happy Christmas at his Twitter feed. Merry Christmas to you all - Have a great rest of 2011.

“Yellin’ At The Xmas Tree“
(Billy Idol/Brian Tichy)

When I was a small boy, Here in London town
Seasons snow was falling on the ground
All the friends and family, Here on Christmas Eve
Gather round to dress, The Christmas tree
But daddy’s down at the pub, Full of Christmas cheer
Probably won’t come home, Until next year

[Chorus:]
Oh the Christmas bells are ringing, And the carolers are singing
But Daddy, he don’t hear ‘em, He’s yellin’ at the Christmas tree
Santa’s balls are jingling, Mommy’s hips a-wiggling
But Daddy, he don’t hear ‘em, He’s yellin, he’s yellin’
At the Christmas tree.... All right now yeah…

(cont'd under video)

Uncle is a sports fan, Granny likes a joke
But no one laughs when, Daddy’s stumbles home
But he don’t fall asleep, Wah! The night was getting black
You see, oh God, Dad had too much Jack
Oh Lord!

Every year is the same old thing, Like Rudolph’s red nose
Telling this story will never get old

[Chorus]

Well alright now yeah…Well alright now…
Yellin’ at the Christmas tree

Santa came down the chimney, But then he ran upstairs
Jumped in bed with Mommy, She didn’t care
Across the room went the fruitcakes
Ah, the wreath came off the door
If these are holidays I can take no more
Every year it’s the same old thing
Like Rudolph’s red nose
Hearing this story will never get old

[Chorus]

Santa’s balls are jingling, Mommy’s hips a-wiggling
But Daddy, he don’t hear ‘em, He’s yellin’
He’s yellin’ at the Christmas tree

Well alright now yeah…

He’s yellin’ at the Christmas tree
He’s yellin’ at the Christmas tree
He’s yellin’ at the Christmas tree
He’s sleeping in the Christmas tree

Rock guitar legend Michael Schenker - Tour 2012

2011-12-22T19:50:00.011-05:00

Michael Schenker, a legend among heavy guitar rock aficionados for his work in British rock heavyweights UFO and The Scorpions, will tour in 2012 with Robin McAuley in support of the album "Temple of Rock" that was released in October.

One fan on Amazon's page wrote about the LP:
"Schenker offers not so much a "temple" of rock as a "Cathedral of Rock" - the listener is invited into an expanding space of celebration and jubilant infectious imaginative variety, not shoved into a corner by an angry mob of red-necks will bull-mastifs. Many rock bands today play just a few notes within a reduced-scope minor scale of just a few chromatic intervals - with barely any composition. Schenker, though, gives you huge musical intervals mid-solo."

Glorious Noise's review of the LP takes a different look. While admiring Schenker's melodic phrasing, it cannot help but point out the LP's vocal and lyrical shortcomings:
"Inexplicably, Schenker gives the majority of the vocals on the record to Michael Voss who possesses a flaccid vocal tonality and renders the album as nothing more than an irritant. His limited ability magnifies the album’s other huge flaw: the woefully clichéd lyrics.

What’s bewildering is how Schenker works mindblowing solos in between all of the shit sandwiches and formulaic prose. It’s during these moments when Schenker still shows signs of previous greatness and it hints that he may be nothing more than a six-string savant with flashes of technical brilliant, but with nothing in terms of the social skills needed to share the stage with a complimentary partner."

Glad to see Schenker will tour in my neck of the country later in the tour at Tempe's Club Red.

Here are the dates so far:
02.15.12 - SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MEZZANINE
02.16.12 - SANTA ROSA, CA - THE LAST DAY SALOON
02.17.12 - PORTLAND, OR - DANTES
02.18.12 - TACOMA, WA - BACKSTAGE BAR & GRILL
02.19.12 - SEATTLE, WA - STUDIO SEVEN
02.20.12 - VICTORIA, BC - 9 ONE 9 NIGHTCLUB
02.21.12 - VANCOUVER, BC - VENUE NIGHTCLUB
02.23.12 - ORANGEVALE, CA - THE BOARDWALK
02.24.12 - CORONA, CA - MARQUEE 15
02.25.12 - WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - HOUSE OF BLUES
02.26.12 - SAN DIEGO, CA - 4 TH AND B CONCERT THEATRE
02.28.12 - TBA
03.01.11 - LIBERTYVILLE, IL - AUSTINS
03.03.12 - DETROIT, MI - HARPOS
03.04.12 - ETOBICOKE, ON - THE ROCK PILE
03.05.12 - CLEVELAND, OH - PEABODY'S
03.07.12 - SPRINGFIELD, VA - JAXX
03.08.12 - FOXBOROUGH, MA - SHOWCASE LIVE
03.09.12 - ASBURY PARK, NJ - THE STONE PONY
03.10.12 - NEW YORK, NY - THE GRAMERCY THEATRE
03.11.12 - ALLENTOWN, PA - CROCODILE ROCK
03.15.12 - TBA
03.16.12 - SAN ANTONIO, TX - BACKSTAGE LIVE SA
03.17.12 - DALLAS, TX - TREES
03.18.12 - TBA
03.20.12 - TBA
03.21.12 - TEMPE, AZ - CLUB RED
03.22.12 - LAS VEGAS, NV - VAMP'D
03.23.12 - AGOURA HILLS, CA - THE CANYON CLUB
03.24.12 - SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA - THE COACH HOUSE

Devo Live "Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA"

2011-12-21T17:33:00.006-05:00

Art rock band Devo played NYC's Irving Plaza last week, and here's a cool video of the band playing the great double song "Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA". This band has been at this since the early to mid-1970s! And they still sound like they did in 1977, when they first appeared on the national consciousness! Amazing. Brilliant stage gear, too!

The band has set up some shows on the West Coast as well to kick off 2012.
Jan. 13: San Francisco, CA - Fillmore
Jan. 14: San Francisco, CA - Fillmore
Jan. 15: Napa, CA - Uptown Theatre

Devo will also appear on an Occupy Movement CD, writes Consequence of Sound. "A star-studded benefit album titled Occupy This Album is in the works. Due out sometime this winter, the collection will feature a mix of live tracks and new songs from the likes of Devo, Yo La Tengo, Ladytron, Crosby and Nash, Lucinda Williams, Warren Haynes, Third Eyed Blind, and even filmmaker Michael More, who reportedly sings. The album is being curated by a musician named Jason Samel, with all profits going to the Alliance for Global Justice which will then be divided between Occupy Wall Street and other Occupy movements."

Danny Fields, Creator of Cool

2011-12-20T14:40:00.017-05:00

All pictures copyright by Danny Fields

Today's awesome feature (from November) comes from Slutever.com, which treats the world to a wonderful essay about Danny Fields, the legendary rock and roll exec, promoter, PR cat, manager and friend to the 1960s and 1970s underground.

"If there was ever someone who could be credited for creating cool, it’s Danny Fields. Manager of the Ramones, editor at the iconic 16 magazine, one of Warhol’s glitterati, and the man responsible for signing the Stooges and MC5 (on the same day), since the 60s Fields has existed behind the scenes, shaping pop culture as we know it. He, however, has a more modest interpretation of his contributions: “I was never anything except an editor,” he says with a flick of the hand. “I was never a writer, never a photographer, although I wrote some things and I took some pictures. As for me and music, the connection is tenuous; my talent is just that I’m a super audience member, a ‘number one fan.’ And I think I have good taste.”

At the Slutever link, you'll see pictures of fresh young pop rockers (see this one below of a teenage Jonathan Richman and Jerry Harrison), and a frisky Alice Coopper! Click over to read the whole thing.

"Following Harvard, Fields moved back to NYC, and fell in with the Warhol crowd. His loft in Midtown became a crash-pad for his Cambridge pals–most notably Edie Sedgwick–as well as a regular hang-out for frequenters of The Factory. “It was Thanksgiving weekend in ‘63, and I threw a party at my loft on 20th St.,” he recalls. “My Harvard friends and the Greenwich Village fags and Factory people were all there dancing and seducing each other–it was a big connection moment. A friend from Harvard walked in with Nico, her first (semi) public appearance in New York, and everyone just gasped–that’s what you did when you saw her, because she was so beautiful, such a presence."

The piece talks about Fields' impeccable rock cred (he hung with the Velvet Underground, brought MC5 and Iggy and the Stooges to Elektra Records in the late 1960s, and managed The Ramones - need we point out more?), and his contacts throughout the rock n roll underground, including his later managing The Ramones.

From that part of his life, Slutever writes:
"A semi-known fact about the Ramones is that the reason the group became friends–and later, a band–is because they were all outcast, Stooges fanatics at their high school. So not only were they nagging Fields because they wanted to be in his column, but they were also great admirers of his, aware of the integral part he played in the Stooges’ career.

"The first time I saw the Ramones play, the first words Joey sang were, ‘I don’t want to go down to the basement’. Now, unless you’re Bob Dylan or John Philips, I don’t give a shit about lyrics, but man, those are some great words! It’s like every comic book you’ve ever laughed at. I just loved them, and they looked so great, and the whole show was over in 17 minutes! They were the perfect, ready-made band."

Here's a short clip of Danny being interviewed by Curt at iCurt.

Racing Round the Radar

2011-12-20T12:44:00.006-05:00

A quick trip around the Internet reveals rock n roll's glam charms, historical antecedents, and slashing chords.

1) Classic Rock Music Blog has a terrific look at the 1984 Lp "Double Nickels on the Dime" by great American early 80s band The Minutemen.
-- "Nickels is a double album that marks the point where hardcore punk began reaching out to embrace other styles of music. It is one of the most significant albums in rock history and one of the Top 10 best recordings by any American artist or group. You must own it on vinyl for two reasons – there is a concept to the record involving each of the three band members’ choices for the material (each side named after the musician, with the fourth side called “side chaff”) and each of two known CD releases of the album have excluded songs present on the vinyl version. In short, you’re not getting the punch of the band’s artistic statement if you’re not listening to it on vinyl."

2) In related news, Rolling Stone writes about the backlash against the Minutemen's former label SST records after it decided to remove many videos off YouTube of the bands that recorded for the label in the 1980s and 1990s. LA Weekly has the inside dirt:
-- "It turns out that (SST founder Greg) Ginn is almost certainly not to blame. After speaking with him and reviewing published YouTube guidelines, this is apparently what happened: Those posting the unauthorized SST videos in question were actually random internet denizens (not band members), and those videos were legitimately shut down by the DMCA complaints."

3) British band Blur will receive the "Outstanding Contribution to Music" Award at the Brit Awards in February 2012, writes Gigwise. The Brit Awards are way better than our Grammies. The site wrotes:
-- "The band will collect the gong during the ceremony at the O2 Arena on February 21. Speaking about the award, Damon Albarn has said "recognition for all the work and all the heartache that has gone into this band."

4) And who needs to worry about rehearsal spaces anymore when you have an iPad and the Rockmate app? Create Digital Music writes about Rockmate and how you can create a full band sound around your coffee table with the availability of others' fingertips working the tunes. Don't believe it?? Check the clip below.

Fucked Up - David Comes to Life, live

2011-12-19T12:40:00.015-05:00

Thanks to Pitchfork.tv for sharing all of the songs from Fucked Up's cool in--the-round performance of the entirety of "David Comes to Life" in NYC's West Village a few weeks a go. I tried to embed the clips, but it's a no go. Click the Pitchfork link above.

Seattle Post Intelligencer (along with others) named "David Comes to Life" one of the best records of 2011. Hard to disagree. Most fans agree that the songs are brilliant, if listeners are occasionally turned off by singer Damian Abraham's rough growl. The Post Intelligencer wrote:

"As always with Fucked Up, singer Damian "Pink Eyes" Abraham is an acquired taste, and your appreciation for his abrasive scream will dictate whether you can listen to David Comes To Life. He doesn't sing, he yells, and his voice sounds like he's been gargling glass. I grew up on hardcore, so I love his voice, but it turns a lot of people off. My wife won't let me play this around her, and I have friends who have told me that they'd like the band if they had a different singer. I can't help but think that Abraham is the prime reason why David Comes to Life has sold less than 20,000 copies since its release in June."

It rocks. I like it. Give it a shot this Christmas.