Jon Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray are...Heavy Trash!On stage and in the studio, Jon Spencer, has destroyed and rebuilt American roots music with such ferocity and wild abandon it is hard to believe that there is anything left. The trail of musical destruction in the wake of his groovy hate-fuck combo Pussy Galore still smolders with the stench of avant punk trash and nasty garage ooze and grind, while his towering work with the Jon Spencer Blues explosion remains an indelible totem to his enormous mojo spirit and red-hot power of deliverance. He is Daddy Boss Hog! He is the Blues Exploder and Microphone Destroyer! A Gibson Brother! The m...
Who is Georgie James? Add the Yof multi-instrumentalist John Davis (drummer of D.C.'s defunct Q And Not U), the X of singer-songwriter Laura Burhenn, and their combined knack for evocative production, inventive songwriting, and multi-part har- monies, and you're almost there. Mix in the duo's passion for 60s & 70s pop music including The Kinks, Richard & Linda Thompson, The Jam, Simon & Garfunkel, and some Shake Some Action-era Flamin' Groovies, and you've got it. While Georgie James may at first seem like a strange amalgam, everything fits to...
A Timeline of The Go! TeamCirca 1999/2000: The Go! Team leader Ian Parton buys an old 80’s sampler and a four-track tape recorder, and starts molding samples from random places and live instruments into songs.2002: The first songs (Get it Together, Kill the Klansmen, Pocket Money Radio, The Ice Storm) are recorded as an EP called Get It Together, which was released on a small UK label called Pickled Egg. It caught the attention of UK label Memphis Industries, with whom...
Energetic melodies make up the circumference sound of Small Steps, Heavy Hooves. So surely, the personalities who created this LP are similarly appealing? My photographer (cool_chick_tx) and I traveled 30 miles north to the college town of Denton, TX. While Hailey's, a mid-sized tavern just off the Main St. downtown area, presented some interesting challenges, it's still a solid atmosphere for live shows. The first issue I faced when trying to sit down with P.J., Ian, and Mark...
“We’re totally ready,” says MINK singer Neal Carlson. “To play until the end of time,” drummer Stella Mozgawa continues. “Until the end of the universe.” The band has clearly hit the ground running. Formed just a blink ago in Spring 2006, MINK has already written more than 60 songs (30 of them in one intense three week stretch), recorded their debut album in just four weeks (with noted producer Sylvia Massy of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tool fame), shot one of the most fun videos of recent times for its infectious song “Talk to Me” with director Christian Lamb (Madonna, Korn, Kelly Clarks...
Recently described in SPIN magazine as "a high-energy cross between Brian Wilson, Paul Stanley, and Elton John,” Adam Marsland's pop adventurism, brash vulnerability and stubborn idealism have not earned him the record sales of his L.A. contemporaries Weezer (with whom he once shared rehearsal space) or the cult following of Wondermints or ...
As Cities Burn is a successful band that comes from Louisiana. Currently a four member group, the band used to have five members all together. The band hit turbulence in 2006, when they were threatened by breaking up as a group. But while on their last tour with Maylene And The Sons of Disaster, the band decided to stay together. TJ[ex-vocals] decided to leave the band to take care of his new born child and start his family the right way, and Pascal[ex-bassist] left the band for his own personal reasons. Cody, who primarily handled backup vocals, stepped up to the front to cover vocals full time and still play guitar. Colin[ex-guitar] switched over to bass, in place of Pascal, and that is what forms ...
Chad Warrix and David Tolliver were raised with about 50 miles and another county between them in the southeastern end of Kentucky. Their parents are hard-working blue-collar middle-class, they both have two older sisters, they grew up in small and smaller towns, did well in school, played sports, went fishing, and jumped on dirt bikes and ATV’s every chance they got. When they were old enough to drive a car, each crossed their county line to get to Hazard, Queen City of the Mountains and, says Tolliver, “the social hub for people who grew up where we did.” Warrix concurs. “There wasn’t anything much in Jackson where I’m from, and even less in Hindman, where David’s from. But Hazard...
Since the day Dan Quillan’s father brought a guitar home for him from a garage sale, he has been exploring found, random sounds and mixing all those unexpected blessings into a formidable hoodoo brew. Recording and performing under the moniker Art Lessing, he has picked apart his idols, reshaping sonic bits into something new and dangerous. A little Mothers’ viola; some "Let it Bleed" slide; some Velvets’ bass lines; mixed with psych, drone and some good old New York style post-rock. He makes his own instruments and frees other people’s words and images to remolds them into his own jam.But his genius is not limited to what cool things he can hear in someone else’s music. His self-produced re...
The Manic Street Preachers have been through a process of destroying what we are. All great bands do that... but ever since Everything Must Go and This Is My Truth we've been trying to reduce ourselves to a pile of rubble. So, for Send Away The Tigers, we've been listening back to Everything Must Go and even the youthful idealism of Generation Terrorists, placing ourselves back at being 18 or 21 again, and reconnecting with all the things th...
Hot Hot Heat will release their third album for Sire Records on September 11, 2007, entitled Happiness LTD. The album is the band's first since 2005's well-received Elevator, which spawned the Modern Rock radio hits "Middle of Nowhere" and "Goodnight Goodnight." Hot Hot Heat began writing new material in January 2005, the very day they launched a globe-trotting tour to support Elevator. "We wanted this record to be written on...
Rilo Kiley have built an illustrious career on creating masterful, deeply engrossing albums, the songs balancing an intimate confessional side with a kind of cavalier joie de vive and an increasingly affectionate nod to their Southern Californian musical heritage. The band's last record, 2004's More Adventurous, prompted Elvis Costello to praise the "best lyric writing that I've heard in many a day", Coldplay to invite them on their 2005 arena tour and a plethora of critics to vote them into their annual "best of" ...
Down and out, tired of the Seattle music scene and his place in it, Chrisopher Blue was ready to call it quits."I was walking around telling myself 'I'm fucking done with this shit, I don't want to do it anymore and was ready to stop music entirely,'" explains Chrisopher Blue. And then there was one fateful day. Mark Lanegan doesn't seem like a likely guardian angel. But perhaps he is. There he was, the former Screaming Trees frontman, dressed in black, sitting in a car in a 7-Eleven parking lot and waiting for a beautiful woman to buy his cigarettes. "He saw me and said 'Chrisopher, keeping singing, man, keep doing what you're doing.'"A...
John Popper: vocals, harmonica DJ Logic: turntables Tad Kinchla: bass Marcus Bleeker: drumsThe pocket. It's musical slang for the deep-groove sweet spot that any band interested in funk and rhythm is hoping to reach, a place where the perfect collision and synthesis of sounds can give a musician the most intoxicating of natural highs.Deep within the womb of the pocket-that's where the music of the John Popper Project has nestled itself. In just two years since the group's namesake and turntable wiz DJ Logic pacted with Blues Traveler bassist Tad Kinchla and Mosaic drummer Marcus Bleeker for a round of on-the-side musical ...
It's not easy to compare the music of Peter Searcy's youth to what he creates today. As the lead singer of hooky hardcore band Squirrel Bait while he was in high school, Peter earned an amazing accolade: Spin magazine proclaimed Peter as "the best voice in rock and roll next to Paul Westerberg." The aggressive energy subsided, but Peter's attentive and personal songwriting continued, coupled with a kinder, more melodic sound. Over the next few years, Peter matured into one of the most compellingly confessional singer-songwriters working today. He produced his first record with the enigmatic Tim Patalan (The Fags), and his next with Butch Walker. In 2006, ...
There are certain moments in a man’s life when he chooses a direction. Sometimes the direction he chooses bites him directly in the ass and comes back to haunt, other times not so much . This is the story of several bites... Musab, self-admitted, doesn’t think in the narrow halls of Rap only. When asked, who are some of the most influential of emcees to him, he threw me a curveball. “I don\'t really believe in the best MC. My favorite ...
Formed with it's original line-up in June of 2005, Polydypsia has rocked the Big O and surrounding areas for a number of years. The members of Polydypsia have played with a number of local talented musicians, and our music is ever-changing and evolving. Described as Jazz Fusion with heavy elements of funk and rock, the Dyps keep their audiences entranced with groove crecendos and mood altering improvisational abilities. Trained to play Jazz, these guys use their skills to fill a need, a need for their audiences to get a little funky. With influences like Frank Zappa, George Benson, Miles Davis, P-Funk, Ramsey Lewis, and many more these guys surely quench the need for some soul shakin. The soun...
Mike Longhelt - Lead Vocals/Rhythm GuitarBrandon Wright - Lead Guitar/Backup VocalsMatt Kitchen - BassTrent Priest - DrumsStemming from roots in the hardcore and emo scenes, Dreaming of Eden brings a fresh take to hard music. Driving riffs and distinct back beats layered with powerful vocal and lyrical content are what set Dreaming of Eden apart. In a world of screamers the&n...
Tegan and Sara’s 13-year career has seen them build an avid global following of fans and fellow musicians alike. Their unique ability to bridge the pop and indie worlds has allowed their music to cross all traditional boundaries of genre, from being covered by The White Stripes to collaborating with superstar DJs such as Tiesto and David Guetta. Having sold nearly 1 million career albums and toured with acts from The Killers to Neil Young, Tegan and Sara are now positioned for the release of their 7th studio album – Heartthrob – as internationally-celebrated songwriters, performers, and artists.Tegan Quin and Sara Quin were born in Calgary, Alberta, Ca...
Okkervil River's Black Sheep Boy was one of the most acclaimed releases of 2005. "Wordy and dense, prone to murder ballads, full of soft strings and Wurlitzers...both violent and bookish; it's a striking, woebegone work that...plays out like the strangest Cocteau movie you've probably never seen," wrote the Chicago Tribune's Allison Steward. Kelefa Sanneh wrote in the New York Times that "Will Sheff, leader of the Austin indie-rock band Okkervil River, writes like a novelist." Pitchfork's Stephen Deusner added, "like all good storytellers, Sheff is interested in co...
Rocky Votolato spent his childhood in a small town called Frost (population 647), 100 miles south of Dallas. Growing up with a biker father on a horse ranch, Votolato had an unconventional upbringing, soundtracked by Willie Nelson, Steve Earle, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Johnny Cash. After relocating to Seattle, Votolato spent his high school years discovering the underground punk/indie scene. Inspired by bands like Fugazi, he and his brother Cody (a founding member of The Blood Brothers) formed a punk band called Waxwing, which gained a devoted following. Still wanting to make music that echoed the life he’d left behind in Texas, Rocky recorded four accomplished solo albums...
Judd Hancock - Vocals/Guitar/PianoLondon VanRooy - Vocals/DrumsJim Mandel Jr. - BassMike Mukai - GuitarArizona's Small Leaks Sink Ships reformed in early 2006 after some tiresome, uneventful years performing under the moniker Beyond Analog. Knowing their time together as musicians was not meant to end, Jim Mandel Jr., Judd Hancock and London VanRooy wanted to leave their former sound behind and start anew. Their new beginnings resulted in a genuine, progressive, indie rock sound that would put them on the map. With studio time that was initially intended for Beyond Analog'...
"I'm just tired of being a foreigner," says Federico Aubele who has been living away from his native Argentina (in Berlin & Barcelona) and touring the world for 5 years, "I need to go back home to Buenos Aires." Despite some of the remaining effects from Argentina's economic and political crisis in 2001, Aubele loves Buenos Aires. "It's like going out with a crazy, but incredibly beautiful, charming and seductive woman. She might drive you insane at times, but when you take a step back and look at her, you're reminded how much you love her and why." Aubele's longings for Buenos Aires and South...
Imagine the hot-spark pulse of any High School hitting three o’clock the day before summer vacation. By the time the last bell finishes frenching your eardrums, roughed denim pockets will slide over car hoods, stereos will queue, and five young turks will breathe free from the northern jewel of Port Angeles, WA. This June, it’s graduation gowns, big new sounds, and faraway towns for The Lonely H. “HAIR” is the second full-length release from the startlingly killer dude quintet on Seattle’s pioneer indie label, The Control Group. “HAIR” is 11 tracks of fresh, traveling rock beauty a-la Led Zeppelin III with the fever of R.E.M’s Murmur, and the harmonic command of Brian May. Furnishe...
What Doesn't Kill You... only makes you stronger. This has definitely always been the case for Within Chaos. The new album recorded by D. Braxton Henry (Drowning Pool, A Dozen Furies, Jacknife, Dryline) is one of the most brutal and stunning displays of true heavy metal that you're likely to hear anywhere. In the short time since it's release in early 2006, it has been making waves throughout the United States. The heavy metal crowds that Within Chaos is being exposed to are instantly becoming rabid fans and faithful followers. Within Chaos' strong work ethic will only prove to breed an exponential growth to that fanbase in the coming month...
Andrew Wedderburn – Vocals, Guitar • Aaron Smelski – GuitarMatt Swann – Bass, Vocals • Joel Nye – DrumsHot Little Rocket are one of the longest running and most beloved bands ever to emerge from the Calgary rock and roll scene. For almost ten years their unforgettable songs and jarring live performances have stuck in the ears and hearts of indie rockers all across the country.They've piled up road experience like some kind of loud, skinny hockey franchise – back and forth across Canada more times than they can count (sharing the stage with Modest Mouse, The Weakerthans, The Constantines, Eric's Tri...
Recorded on the shores of Lake Ontario on Toronto Island, The Darkest Spark is the first full-length by the indie-rock collective known as The Ghost is Dancing. 2006 saw the release of TGID's joyful and energetic debut EP, exploding with a barely contained pop feel the new band mates had channeled in the basement practice space of their Toronto group house. Now (mostly) out of school, the indie-rock collective have swapped roommates and also added the expert skills of Alt Altman on horn and guitar, Lesley Davies on backing vocals and Ben "Mountain Man" Deschamps on strings. Along with these transformations, they signed with Sonic Unyon Records and set about recording their first ...
Three distinct personalities functioning as one unit, Dub Trio seems capable of making all manner of sounds. The three gentlemen collectively known as Dub Trio bring noises into this world that are unique, and decidedly new and fresh.Drawing on music at large, rather than forcing a marriage of two things that were never quite divorced, the Trio brings an ecclectic and attractive take on the term "new music." Just Drums, bass, and guitar primarily, but the "job description" for each member seems to vary from track to track.Staying away from overtly cliche'd genre restrictions, Dub Trio is free to bring you to the dance floor, or to tears, or at least give you a peek at the three minds at work....
Some bands blast out of the gate and never recapture their early energy. Other bands establish themselves as models of consistency. Still other bands take a while to find themselves. And then there are bands like the Old 97s, who blast out of the gate, establish themselves as models of consistency, take a while to find themselves, and then, fifteen years in, deliver a glorious record that sums up everything about them that fans have always loved. With Blame It On Gravity, the seventh Old 97's record and the second for New West, the band has made its definitive statement. The album is the band's first studio recording in 4 years.Blame it on Gravity, a 13-song powerhouse of an...
Aimee Mann has collaborated with critically acclaimed visual artist Gary Taxali on her 7th solo release @#%&! Smilers, to be released on June 3, 2008 on her own SuperEgo Records. Taxali has contributed 17 original illustrations for the packaging of the CD, art directed by Aimee Mann and Gail Marowitz, and designed by Marowitz and Ed Sherman. Los Angeles art gallery La Luz De Jesus will host a showing of the 17 new artworks which will kick off with a combined art show and CD release party on May 31st at 8 pm. Both Taxali and Mann will be present to sign copies of the new CD. Gary Taxali is an award-winning illustrator who has worked for such clients as Rolling St...
