Alexander Laurence's Blog, page 2166
January 7, 2016
Bill Frisell @ Skirball Cultural Center on Feb. 25!
BILL FRISELL’S WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR SET FOR RELEASE JANUARY 29
AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW
Album cover; photo credit: Monica Frisell
When You Wish Upon A Star , the latest project from legendary guitarist/composer Bill Frisellis set for release on January 29 via OKeh Records. Comprised of music from iconic film and television scores, the LP is conceived not only as an homage, but as a celebration of music-making with longtime collaborators and their collective commitment to refined interpretation of material. The album is available for pre-order now and Frisell will tour widely in support of it—see below for tour dates.
Produced by Lee Townsend (Loudon Wainwright III, John Scofield, Carrie Rodriguez), the LP brings together an all-star “dream team” of Frisell’s frequent partners in crime: violist Eyvind Kang, drummer Rudy Royston, bass player Thomas Morgan and vocalist Petra Haden. Frisell describes the group of friends’ unique process as beginning with listening to as many versions of the pieces as possible and committing any lyrics to heart, followed by total immersion in the original score (harmony, phrasing, arrangement), learning the notes and hours of practice. “Finally, when it’s in the blood,” he says, the musicians are ready to deliver their interpretations.
The cornerstones of the album are four “suites” of music that reside deep within the collective psyche: To Kill A Mockingbird, Psycho, Once Upon A Time In The West and The Godfather. These are joined by new versions of well-known songs that describe the mysterious power of dreams: “You Only Live Twice,” “The Shadow Of Your Smile,” “Moon River” and “When You Wish Upon A Star.” Finally, the set is rounded out with music from TV series “Bonanza” and “Happy Trails,” the film noir classic The Bad and The Beautiful and Frisell’s own work from the TV show “Tales From The Far Side.” Taken together, the selections touch upon a wide swath of mid-twentieth century values, major events and cultural touchstones. “I’ve been watching TV and movies my whole life,” Frisell notes. “What I’ve seen and heard there is a huge part of, and is embedded so deeply into the fabric of what fires up my musical imagination.”
Born in Baltimore, Frisell played clarinet throughout his childhood in Denver, Colorado. His interest in guitar began with his exposure to pop music on the radio. Soon, Chicago Blues became a passion through the work of Otis Rush, B.B. King, Paul Butterfield and Buddy Guy. In high school, he played in bands covering pop and soul classics, James Brown and other dance material. Later, Frisell studied music at the University of Northern Colorado before attending Berklee College of Music in Boston where he studied with John Damian, Herb Pomeroy and Michael Gibbs. In 1978, Frisell moved for a year to Belgium where he concentrated on writing music. In this period, he toured with Michael Gibbs and first recorded with German bassist Eberhard Weber. He then moved to the New York City area in 1979 and stayed until 1989. He now lives in Seattle.
Over the years, Frisell has contributed to the work of such collaborators as Paul Motian, John Zorn, Elvis Costello, Ginger Baker, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Lucinda Williams, Bonnie Raitt, Suzanne Vega, Loudon Wainwright III, Van Dyke Parks, Vic Chesnutt, Rickie Lee Jones, Ron Sexsmith, Vinicius Cantuaria, Marc Johnson (in “Bass Desires”), Ronald Shannon Jackson and Melvin Gibbs (in “Power Tools”), Marianne Faithful, John Scofield, Jan Garbarek, Lyle Mays, Vernon Reid, Julius Hemphill, Paul Bley, Wayne Horvitz, Hal Willner, Robin Holcomb, Rinde Eckert, The Frankfurt Ballet, film director Gus Van Sant, David Sanborn, David Sylvian, Petra Haden and numerous others, including Bono, Brian Eno, Jon Hassell and Daniel Lanois on the soundtrack for Wim Wenders’ film Million Dollar Hotel.He has released over 40 albums and won as many awards, including a 2005 “Best Contemporary Jazz Album” Grammy for his LP Unspeakable.
Sony Music Masterworks comprises Masterworks, Sony Classical, OKeh, Portrait, Masterworks Broadway and Flying Buddha imprints. For email updates and information please visit http://www.SonyMusicMasterworks.com.
WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR TRACK LIST
1. To Kill a Mockingbird, Pt. 12. To Kill a Mockingbird, Pt. 2
3. You Only Live Twice4. Psycho, Pt. 15. Psycho, Pt. 26. The Shadow of Your Smile7. Bonanza8. Once Upon a Time in the West (Theme)9. (As a Judgment)10. (Farewell to Cheyenne)11. When You Wish Upon a Star
12. Tales from the Far Side
13. Moon River
14. The Godfather
15. The Bad and the Beautiful
16. Happy Trails
BILL FRISELL TOUR DATES
November 20 /// The Arts Center /// Carrboro, NC*
November 21 /// Isis /// Asheville, NC*
November 22 /// Gunter Theatre at the Peace Center /// Greenville, SC†
November 24 /// Opperman Music Hall, Florida State University /// Tallahassee, FL†
January 14 /// Meany Theater /// Seattle, WA‡
January 15 /// Meany Theater /// Seattle, WA§
February 5 /// Kings Theatre /// Brooklyn, NY†
February 13 /// The Barns at Wolf Trap /// Vienna, VA**
February 14 /// Avalon Theatre /// Easton, MA**
February 16 /// Ardmore Music Hall /// Ardmore, PA**
February 18 /// Taft Ballroom /// Cincinnati, OH**
February 19 /// Old Town School /// Chicago, IL**
February 20 /// Dakota Jazz Club /// Minneapolis, MN**
February 21 /// Atkins Auditorium /// Kansas City, MO**
February 24 /// Oriental Theater /// Denver, CO**
February 25 /// Skirball Cultural Center /// Los Angeles, CA**
February 26 /// Freight & Salvage /// Berkeley, CA**
February 27 /// MIM Music Theater /// Scottsdale, AZ**
March 8–13 /// Village Vanguard /// New York, NY††
March 15–20 /// Village Vanguard /// New York, NY‡‡
* Bill Frisell Trio feat. Gerald Cleaver & Tony Scherr
† Bill Frisell Trio feat. Tony Scherr & Kenny Wollesen
‡ with Michael Gibbs and the UW Symphony and Jazz Studies Faculty
§ with Michael Gibbs and the UW Big Band and Jazz Studies Faculty
** When You Wish Upon A Star feat. Petra Haden, Eyvind Kang, Thomas Morgan, Kenny Wollesen
†† with Thomas Morgan
‡‡ When You Wish Upon A Star feat. Petra Haden, Eyvind Kang, Thomas Morgan, Rudy Royston
AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW
Album cover; photo credit: Monica Frisell
When You Wish Upon A Star , the latest project from legendary guitarist/composer Bill Frisellis set for release on January 29 via OKeh Records. Comprised of music from iconic film and television scores, the LP is conceived not only as an homage, but as a celebration of music-making with longtime collaborators and their collective commitment to refined interpretation of material. The album is available for pre-order now and Frisell will tour widely in support of it—see below for tour dates.
Produced by Lee Townsend (Loudon Wainwright III, John Scofield, Carrie Rodriguez), the LP brings together an all-star “dream team” of Frisell’s frequent partners in crime: violist Eyvind Kang, drummer Rudy Royston, bass player Thomas Morgan and vocalist Petra Haden. Frisell describes the group of friends’ unique process as beginning with listening to as many versions of the pieces as possible and committing any lyrics to heart, followed by total immersion in the original score (harmony, phrasing, arrangement), learning the notes and hours of practice. “Finally, when it’s in the blood,” he says, the musicians are ready to deliver their interpretations.
The cornerstones of the album are four “suites” of music that reside deep within the collective psyche: To Kill A Mockingbird, Psycho, Once Upon A Time In The West and The Godfather. These are joined by new versions of well-known songs that describe the mysterious power of dreams: “You Only Live Twice,” “The Shadow Of Your Smile,” “Moon River” and “When You Wish Upon A Star.” Finally, the set is rounded out with music from TV series “Bonanza” and “Happy Trails,” the film noir classic The Bad and The Beautiful and Frisell’s own work from the TV show “Tales From The Far Side.” Taken together, the selections touch upon a wide swath of mid-twentieth century values, major events and cultural touchstones. “I’ve been watching TV and movies my whole life,” Frisell notes. “What I’ve seen and heard there is a huge part of, and is embedded so deeply into the fabric of what fires up my musical imagination.”
Born in Baltimore, Frisell played clarinet throughout his childhood in Denver, Colorado. His interest in guitar began with his exposure to pop music on the radio. Soon, Chicago Blues became a passion through the work of Otis Rush, B.B. King, Paul Butterfield and Buddy Guy. In high school, he played in bands covering pop and soul classics, James Brown and other dance material. Later, Frisell studied music at the University of Northern Colorado before attending Berklee College of Music in Boston where he studied with John Damian, Herb Pomeroy and Michael Gibbs. In 1978, Frisell moved for a year to Belgium where he concentrated on writing music. In this period, he toured with Michael Gibbs and first recorded with German bassist Eberhard Weber. He then moved to the New York City area in 1979 and stayed until 1989. He now lives in Seattle.
Over the years, Frisell has contributed to the work of such collaborators as Paul Motian, John Zorn, Elvis Costello, Ginger Baker, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Lucinda Williams, Bonnie Raitt, Suzanne Vega, Loudon Wainwright III, Van Dyke Parks, Vic Chesnutt, Rickie Lee Jones, Ron Sexsmith, Vinicius Cantuaria, Marc Johnson (in “Bass Desires”), Ronald Shannon Jackson and Melvin Gibbs (in “Power Tools”), Marianne Faithful, John Scofield, Jan Garbarek, Lyle Mays, Vernon Reid, Julius Hemphill, Paul Bley, Wayne Horvitz, Hal Willner, Robin Holcomb, Rinde Eckert, The Frankfurt Ballet, film director Gus Van Sant, David Sanborn, David Sylvian, Petra Haden and numerous others, including Bono, Brian Eno, Jon Hassell and Daniel Lanois on the soundtrack for Wim Wenders’ film Million Dollar Hotel.He has released over 40 albums and won as many awards, including a 2005 “Best Contemporary Jazz Album” Grammy for his LP Unspeakable.
Sony Music Masterworks comprises Masterworks, Sony Classical, OKeh, Portrait, Masterworks Broadway and Flying Buddha imprints. For email updates and information please visit http://www.SonyMusicMasterworks.com.
WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR TRACK LIST
1. To Kill a Mockingbird, Pt. 12. To Kill a Mockingbird, Pt. 2
3. You Only Live Twice4. Psycho, Pt. 15. Psycho, Pt. 26. The Shadow of Your Smile7. Bonanza8. Once Upon a Time in the West (Theme)9. (As a Judgment)10. (Farewell to Cheyenne)11. When You Wish Upon a Star
12. Tales from the Far Side
13. Moon River
14. The Godfather
15. The Bad and the Beautiful
16. Happy Trails
BILL FRISELL TOUR DATES
November 20 /// The Arts Center /// Carrboro, NC*
November 21 /// Isis /// Asheville, NC*
November 22 /// Gunter Theatre at the Peace Center /// Greenville, SC†
November 24 /// Opperman Music Hall, Florida State University /// Tallahassee, FL†
January 14 /// Meany Theater /// Seattle, WA‡
January 15 /// Meany Theater /// Seattle, WA§
February 5 /// Kings Theatre /// Brooklyn, NY†
February 13 /// The Barns at Wolf Trap /// Vienna, VA**
February 14 /// Avalon Theatre /// Easton, MA**
February 16 /// Ardmore Music Hall /// Ardmore, PA**
February 18 /// Taft Ballroom /// Cincinnati, OH**
February 19 /// Old Town School /// Chicago, IL**
February 20 /// Dakota Jazz Club /// Minneapolis, MN**
February 21 /// Atkins Auditorium /// Kansas City, MO**
February 24 /// Oriental Theater /// Denver, CO**
February 25 /// Skirball Cultural Center /// Los Angeles, CA**
February 26 /// Freight & Salvage /// Berkeley, CA**
February 27 /// MIM Music Theater /// Scottsdale, AZ**
March 8–13 /// Village Vanguard /// New York, NY††
March 15–20 /// Village Vanguard /// New York, NY‡‡
* Bill Frisell Trio feat. Gerald Cleaver & Tony Scherr
† Bill Frisell Trio feat. Tony Scherr & Kenny Wollesen
‡ with Michael Gibbs and the UW Symphony and Jazz Studies Faculty
§ with Michael Gibbs and the UW Big Band and Jazz Studies Faculty
** When You Wish Upon A Star feat. Petra Haden, Eyvind Kang, Thomas Morgan, Kenny Wollesen
†† with Thomas Morgan
‡‡ When You Wish Upon A Star feat. Petra Haden, Eyvind Kang, Thomas Morgan, Rudy Royston
January 6, 2016
Fat White Family's New Album 'Songs For Our Mothers' Released January 22nd
Fat White Family's new album 'Songs For Our Mothers'Out January 22nd via Without Consent/Fat Possum Records
Pre-order here
SXSW shows and US tour dates forthcoming
Photo: Steve Gullick Watch the video for 'Whitest Boy On The Beach' here Some people will call Songs For Our Mothers the most unpleasant album of this year, if not of their entire generation; the work of a bunch of drink and drug wracked nihilist degenerates. Some will say that it is a thrilling statement of disgust, defiance and complete creative independence made by the only rock band in the UK that really counts for anything at all anymore. But it is likely that few who hear it will walk away from the second album by the Fat White Family, released on their own label Without Consent, (via Fat Possum in North America) not caring one way or the other. Some will hail this hair-raising, pulse-quickening and indignant collection of glitterball disco, smacked out psych, glam funk, heart-breaking torch songs and otherworldly slabs of Kraut n’ western as the shot in the arm that independent rock has been ailing after. And a shot in the arm is exactly what this album is. For if modern indie rock, DIY, alt-country - call it what you will - is sick, then the Fat Whites are the pretty nurse with Munchausen’s Syndrome by proxy, pushing down the plunger on the syringe; murdering the bed-ridden patient with a tainted injection right under everyone’s noses. They have witnessed an entire musical scene teetering on the verge of terminal irrelevancy and given it a hard shove void-wards. And the dark irony is that physically, mentally and psychically the band nearly disintegrated themselves long before they got chance to deliver the goods. After working so hard on the band for so long, when it looked like their time was finally here, frontman Lias had no intention of letting three serious illnesses one after another stop them from having their moment. “I had pneumonia and was coughing up blood at one point… I thought I was done for”, he says, “It was a result of snorting and drinking every day and living at the Queens [their one time Brixton pub HQ] but then instead of recuperating, going out on a really long tour and ending up in a really bad way.” And no wonder some of this sickness and deathliness has saturated the new album. Those looking for dark, subversive, thrilling, transgressive (and sometimes satirical) art that unwaveringly holds a mirror up to the morally blank times we live in will find what they want in the Songs For Our Mothers; just as those who revel in being offended will do likewise. It’s hard not to wonder - especially when you look at some of the song titles (Love Is The Crack? Goodbye Goebels? Leibensraum? When Shipman Decides?! Hoooo boy: they’ve pushed the boat out this time!) - if the band are just handing ammunition to perma-outraged liberal detractors who will inevitably call them fascists, advocates of hard drug use, serial killer fanboys (among many other things) instead of looking for deeper meaning. Lead singer and lyric writer Lias Saoudi grins: “Yeah, and we’re handing them the ammunition gladly… because people who get up in the morning to look for Nazis end up seeing them everywhere by lunchtime.” Lead guitarist and music writer Saul Adamczewski is deadly serious when he adds: “I think what I learned from our debut Champagne Holocaust is that if you were going to listen to all of your online critics it would pretty much be impossible to do anything other than toe the line completely and make the most conservative music imaginable. We’ve already been called fascists. We’ve already been called Stalinists.... So what do we actually care? And besides, these are the best questions to ask and the best scenarios to explore. Who cares about the artistic potential of singing about good people and good situations?” Before Lias adds laughing: “So we just thought we might as well crank it up to 11.” But if the album nearly didn’t happen because of illness, it also nearly didn’t happen because of Saul and Lias’ obsessional idea of what the band should sound like. Scores and scores of songs were scrapped and several recording sessions were abandoned because the music just wasn’t sounding exactly right; and that was including one attempt to make the album at new pal Sean Lennon’s studio in Woodstock. Saul says: “I’ve met a lot of people since the last album… the millionaire set, the sons and daughters of famous people, and most of them are horrible but Sean’s really sound. A nice guy. We’ve become good friends.” (One track from that session did make it onto the album however,Satisfied, which is about “the vertigo, or fear of sex” and involves the unlikely scenario of receiving oral relief from revered literary titan and holocaust survivor, Primo Levi.) But it wasn’t until the band returned to England and decided to throw disco into the mix that the project really took off. Saul says: “We’d been playing ‘The Whitest Boy On The Beach’ live for ages but it wasn’t until we tried it in this Giorgio Moroder producing Donna Summer style that I realised we had something that we could use. After we finished the last album two years ago we were convinced it had been a massive waste of time so we ran away to Spain to become buskers. We went to live on a beach in Barcelona for two weeks. It was so hot we were hiding in this tiny bit of shade, just cowering away from the sunlight. And there were 12-year-old boys with muscles and beautiful girlfriends, just striding round in the heat. And we were just pathetic; the weakest links in the chain, as the song says.” The song mixes together the aesthetic of Throbbing Gristle (Lias, Saul and organist Nathan took a trip up to Beachy Head to recreate the cover for 20 Jazz Funk Greats for the single cover) with a sound that owes as much to the Sparksas it does to Donna Summer as it does to Naffi Sandwich (while still finding space to throw in a reference to TS Eliot’s ‘The Hollow Men’). There is a theme of abusive relationships that runs through the album - a metaphor for Saul and Lias’ fractious but creative relationship. “I guess I am a bit of a masochist”, sighs Lias. “And that’s just as well because I’m definitely a sadist”, says Saul. “There are only so many times you can have a tambourine thrown at your head before you start imagining you’re in the bunker with Hitler or that you’re Tina Turner”, adds Lias, only partially joking. One of these songs ‘Hits Hits Hits’ was inspired by an attempt to unpick the creativity from the violence in Ike and Tina’s relationship. Lias says: “When I got seriously ill I had to go to my dad’s to recuperate and I got obsessed with their story. ‘Hits Hits Hits’ isn’t making light of what happened to Tina Turner - it isn’t necessarily even about them it’s just about the kind of situation you can find yourself in, in a creative partnership. On one side of their relationship you’ve got this amazing songwriting and performing partnership and on the other side you’ve got this horrific domestic violence and these things are definitely connected as uncomfortable as that thought might be. You play a character when you sing this kind of song and if people have trouble with that idea then they really have to question their stance toward art full stop.” Of course another of these songs, ‘Goodbye Goebels’, finds inspiration from an even bleaker source - the bunker in which Hitler and his last allies in national socialism committed suicide. “This was my idea”, says Saul gleefully, “I came up with the concept as a challenge to us. I asked Lias would it be possible to write our most sincere and heartfelt song ever but about the last few hours in Hitler’s bunker just before they took their own lives. I think the lyrics are beautiful. They’re my favourite Fat White Family lyrics. Regardless of who they were, they genuinely believed in what they were doing and there must have been love in that relationship.” Lias adds: “The song definitely derived from the situation that had built up around us trying to make this second album. It is a grotesque extension of an egotistical fantasy: the melodies, the memories, the music and what felt like the whole fucking world waiting for us at the door, ready to hang us from meat hooks, just like self-righteous scum like us deserve.” One of the darkest and most surreal songs on the album is ‘Tinfoil Deathstar’ - a ghost story which deals with heroin abuse and the spectre of austerity victim, David Clapson. Saul says: “There’s no hiding it, it’s about smoking heroin. It’s become massively popular among young people in London over the last few years. Part of it is to do with getting older and naturally progressing into harder drugs but it’s also to do with people being impoverished. We’re not making a judgement about it, just writing about it.” Lias says: “A few years ago no one was on it, but then this brown cloud rolled through London. The three nights a week on cocaine? No one can afford that any more. At the end of the song, the ghost of David Clapson is standing at the window asking to be let into the party. He was a former soldier, a veteran, who had his benefits cut after he missed one appointment and they found him dead in his apartment. He had diabetes and couldn’t afford to keep his fridge on and keep his insulin cool, which was the thing that killed him. He was found next to a stack of CVs… it’s fucking disgusting. He had £3.44 to his name and the autopsy showed he had no food in his stomach when he died. He had worked his whole life and only started claiming dole so he could look after his mum.” Saul adds bluntly: “It’s just murder. He was murdered.” Lias concludes: “It was murder. I like how the song sounds really gleeful and upbeat; the idea of having a warm heroin glow surrounding all of these young people having their youthful opiate adventures but right at the end the ghost of David Clapson is outside the room looking in, tapping on the glass with a bunch of CVs in his hand, waiting to be let in. He is like their Ghost Of Christmas Future. These are two separate realities and they may be disparate but they are linked and I was just trying to bring out this underlying link.” The pair are keen to point out that it is easy for them to fill the vacuum created by the pusillanimous nature of other bands in 2016. Saul spits: “We really are living through the worst times but that makes it easier for us. I think we’re a good band and I’m proud of what we do, but the reason why we get as much attention as we do is that there’s nothing else going on. Some people talk about us as though we’re the best band there is, but there just isn’t anything else… especially at the level we’ve risen to. So we’re competing with big indie bands who have signed to major labels like Peace and Slaves but we’ve got literally nothing in common with them. Those bands are just toeing the line and making bland commercial music. What we do is not commercial and it is hard to digest and bracket so it’s not surprising that people pay attention to us.” Unpleasant or not, the Fat White Family are the last truly great rock band in the world and in Songs For Our Mothers they have created an album that demands to be heard. - John Doran, Utrecht, November 2015 'Songs For Our Mothers' will be released on the band's own Without Consent label via Fat Possum (in North America) onJanuary 22nd. This follows their critically acclaimed debut album, Champagne Holocaust. 
Tracklisting: 1. Whitest Boy On The Beach2. Satisfied**3. Love Is The Crack4. Duce5. Lebensraum6. Hits Hits Hits7. Tinfoil Deathstar8. When Shipman Decides9. We Must Learn To Rise10. Goodbye Goebbels **Co-produced by Sean Lennon Facebook
Twitter
Pre-order here
SXSW shows and US tour dates forthcoming
Photo: Steve Gullick Watch the video for 'Whitest Boy On The Beach' here Some people will call Songs For Our Mothers the most unpleasant album of this year, if not of their entire generation; the work of a bunch of drink and drug wracked nihilist degenerates. Some will say that it is a thrilling statement of disgust, defiance and complete creative independence made by the only rock band in the UK that really counts for anything at all anymore. But it is likely that few who hear it will walk away from the second album by the Fat White Family, released on their own label Without Consent, (via Fat Possum in North America) not caring one way or the other. Some will hail this hair-raising, pulse-quickening and indignant collection of glitterball disco, smacked out psych, glam funk, heart-breaking torch songs and otherworldly slabs of Kraut n’ western as the shot in the arm that independent rock has been ailing after. And a shot in the arm is exactly what this album is. For if modern indie rock, DIY, alt-country - call it what you will - is sick, then the Fat Whites are the pretty nurse with Munchausen’s Syndrome by proxy, pushing down the plunger on the syringe; murdering the bed-ridden patient with a tainted injection right under everyone’s noses. They have witnessed an entire musical scene teetering on the verge of terminal irrelevancy and given it a hard shove void-wards. And the dark irony is that physically, mentally and psychically the band nearly disintegrated themselves long before they got chance to deliver the goods. After working so hard on the band for so long, when it looked like their time was finally here, frontman Lias had no intention of letting three serious illnesses one after another stop them from having their moment. “I had pneumonia and was coughing up blood at one point… I thought I was done for”, he says, “It was a result of snorting and drinking every day and living at the Queens [their one time Brixton pub HQ] but then instead of recuperating, going out on a really long tour and ending up in a really bad way.” And no wonder some of this sickness and deathliness has saturated the new album. Those looking for dark, subversive, thrilling, transgressive (and sometimes satirical) art that unwaveringly holds a mirror up to the morally blank times we live in will find what they want in the Songs For Our Mothers; just as those who revel in being offended will do likewise. It’s hard not to wonder - especially when you look at some of the song titles (Love Is The Crack? Goodbye Goebels? Leibensraum? When Shipman Decides?! Hoooo boy: they’ve pushed the boat out this time!) - if the band are just handing ammunition to perma-outraged liberal detractors who will inevitably call them fascists, advocates of hard drug use, serial killer fanboys (among many other things) instead of looking for deeper meaning. Lead singer and lyric writer Lias Saoudi grins: “Yeah, and we’re handing them the ammunition gladly… because people who get up in the morning to look for Nazis end up seeing them everywhere by lunchtime.” Lead guitarist and music writer Saul Adamczewski is deadly serious when he adds: “I think what I learned from our debut Champagne Holocaust is that if you were going to listen to all of your online critics it would pretty much be impossible to do anything other than toe the line completely and make the most conservative music imaginable. We’ve already been called fascists. We’ve already been called Stalinists.... So what do we actually care? And besides, these are the best questions to ask and the best scenarios to explore. Who cares about the artistic potential of singing about good people and good situations?” Before Lias adds laughing: “So we just thought we might as well crank it up to 11.” But if the album nearly didn’t happen because of illness, it also nearly didn’t happen because of Saul and Lias’ obsessional idea of what the band should sound like. Scores and scores of songs were scrapped and several recording sessions were abandoned because the music just wasn’t sounding exactly right; and that was including one attempt to make the album at new pal Sean Lennon’s studio in Woodstock. Saul says: “I’ve met a lot of people since the last album… the millionaire set, the sons and daughters of famous people, and most of them are horrible but Sean’s really sound. A nice guy. We’ve become good friends.” (One track from that session did make it onto the album however,Satisfied, which is about “the vertigo, or fear of sex” and involves the unlikely scenario of receiving oral relief from revered literary titan and holocaust survivor, Primo Levi.) But it wasn’t until the band returned to England and decided to throw disco into the mix that the project really took off. Saul says: “We’d been playing ‘The Whitest Boy On The Beach’ live for ages but it wasn’t until we tried it in this Giorgio Moroder producing Donna Summer style that I realised we had something that we could use. After we finished the last album two years ago we were convinced it had been a massive waste of time so we ran away to Spain to become buskers. We went to live on a beach in Barcelona for two weeks. It was so hot we were hiding in this tiny bit of shade, just cowering away from the sunlight. And there were 12-year-old boys with muscles and beautiful girlfriends, just striding round in the heat. And we were just pathetic; the weakest links in the chain, as the song says.” The song mixes together the aesthetic of Throbbing Gristle (Lias, Saul and organist Nathan took a trip up to Beachy Head to recreate the cover for 20 Jazz Funk Greats for the single cover) with a sound that owes as much to the Sparksas it does to Donna Summer as it does to Naffi Sandwich (while still finding space to throw in a reference to TS Eliot’s ‘The Hollow Men’). There is a theme of abusive relationships that runs through the album - a metaphor for Saul and Lias’ fractious but creative relationship. “I guess I am a bit of a masochist”, sighs Lias. “And that’s just as well because I’m definitely a sadist”, says Saul. “There are only so many times you can have a tambourine thrown at your head before you start imagining you’re in the bunker with Hitler or that you’re Tina Turner”, adds Lias, only partially joking. One of these songs ‘Hits Hits Hits’ was inspired by an attempt to unpick the creativity from the violence in Ike and Tina’s relationship. Lias says: “When I got seriously ill I had to go to my dad’s to recuperate and I got obsessed with their story. ‘Hits Hits Hits’ isn’t making light of what happened to Tina Turner - it isn’t necessarily even about them it’s just about the kind of situation you can find yourself in, in a creative partnership. On one side of their relationship you’ve got this amazing songwriting and performing partnership and on the other side you’ve got this horrific domestic violence and these things are definitely connected as uncomfortable as that thought might be. You play a character when you sing this kind of song and if people have trouble with that idea then they really have to question their stance toward art full stop.” Of course another of these songs, ‘Goodbye Goebels’, finds inspiration from an even bleaker source - the bunker in which Hitler and his last allies in national socialism committed suicide. “This was my idea”, says Saul gleefully, “I came up with the concept as a challenge to us. I asked Lias would it be possible to write our most sincere and heartfelt song ever but about the last few hours in Hitler’s bunker just before they took their own lives. I think the lyrics are beautiful. They’re my favourite Fat White Family lyrics. Regardless of who they were, they genuinely believed in what they were doing and there must have been love in that relationship.” Lias adds: “The song definitely derived from the situation that had built up around us trying to make this second album. It is a grotesque extension of an egotistical fantasy: the melodies, the memories, the music and what felt like the whole fucking world waiting for us at the door, ready to hang us from meat hooks, just like self-righteous scum like us deserve.” One of the darkest and most surreal songs on the album is ‘Tinfoil Deathstar’ - a ghost story which deals with heroin abuse and the spectre of austerity victim, David Clapson. Saul says: “There’s no hiding it, it’s about smoking heroin. It’s become massively popular among young people in London over the last few years. Part of it is to do with getting older and naturally progressing into harder drugs but it’s also to do with people being impoverished. We’re not making a judgement about it, just writing about it.” Lias says: “A few years ago no one was on it, but then this brown cloud rolled through London. The three nights a week on cocaine? No one can afford that any more. At the end of the song, the ghost of David Clapson is standing at the window asking to be let into the party. He was a former soldier, a veteran, who had his benefits cut after he missed one appointment and they found him dead in his apartment. He had diabetes and couldn’t afford to keep his fridge on and keep his insulin cool, which was the thing that killed him. He was found next to a stack of CVs… it’s fucking disgusting. He had £3.44 to his name and the autopsy showed he had no food in his stomach when he died. He had worked his whole life and only started claiming dole so he could look after his mum.” Saul adds bluntly: “It’s just murder. He was murdered.” Lias concludes: “It was murder. I like how the song sounds really gleeful and upbeat; the idea of having a warm heroin glow surrounding all of these young people having their youthful opiate adventures but right at the end the ghost of David Clapson is outside the room looking in, tapping on the glass with a bunch of CVs in his hand, waiting to be let in. He is like their Ghost Of Christmas Future. These are two separate realities and they may be disparate but they are linked and I was just trying to bring out this underlying link.” The pair are keen to point out that it is easy for them to fill the vacuum created by the pusillanimous nature of other bands in 2016. Saul spits: “We really are living through the worst times but that makes it easier for us. I think we’re a good band and I’m proud of what we do, but the reason why we get as much attention as we do is that there’s nothing else going on. Some people talk about us as though we’re the best band there is, but there just isn’t anything else… especially at the level we’ve risen to. So we’re competing with big indie bands who have signed to major labels like Peace and Slaves but we’ve got literally nothing in common with them. Those bands are just toeing the line and making bland commercial music. What we do is not commercial and it is hard to digest and bracket so it’s not surprising that people pay attention to us.” Unpleasant or not, the Fat White Family are the last truly great rock band in the world and in Songs For Our Mothers they have created an album that demands to be heard. - John Doran, Utrecht, November 2015 'Songs For Our Mothers' will be released on the band's own Without Consent label via Fat Possum (in North America) onJanuary 22nd. This follows their critically acclaimed debut album, Champagne Holocaust. Tracklisting: 1. Whitest Boy On The Beach2. Satisfied**3. Love Is The Crack4. Duce5. Lebensraum6. Hits Hits Hits7. Tinfoil Deathstar8. When Shipman Decides9. We Must Learn To Rise10. Goodbye Goebbels **Co-produced by Sean Lennon Facebook
METZ video for “Eraser" + East coast tour kick-off
Watch the new METZ video for “Eraser”
The new METZ video for “Eraser”
METZ video “Eraser”
“Eraser”
2016 tour schedule kicks-off January 8th
Premiere via Brooklyn Vegan
“Eraser” b/w “Pure Auto” 7” / DL single
worldwide January 22 from
Three One G & Sub Pop
Here now is the disorienting and frenetic new video for the forthcoming METZ single, “Eraser,” directed by Nathan Joyner and starring Alia Jyawook of the San Diego band Hot Nerds.
Brooklyn Vegan says of the visual, “It visually matches the song's pummeling sonic assault, beat for beat (see video premiere January 7th).”
METZ’s 2016 headlining world tour resumes this Saturday, January 9th in Boston at the Sinclair and runs through February 20th in Beijing, China at Mao Livehouse.
New highlights include: a short east coast/midwest US tour January 9th-16th (with Bully); January 29th in Tokyo at Fever; January 30th-February 14th for appearances at the multi-city Laneway Festival, held in Singapore, Australia and New Zealand; And February 17th -20th for three shows in Taiwan and China. Please find a complete list of tour dates below.
The “Eraser” b/w “Pure Auto” single will be available January 22nd, 2016 on 7” vinyl from Three One G and digitally from Sub Pop.
Following two acclaimed albums on Sub Pop (2012’s METZ; 2015’s II) and a deeply impressive amount of touring, this Three One G single is the band’s first recording for the esteemed CA-based label, and their first new material since the release of II. Both “Eraser” and “Pure Auto” were produced by METZ, recorded by Graham Walsh at Union Sound Company, and mastered by Matthew Barnhart at Chicago Mastering Service.
The “Eraser” / “Pure Auto” 7” single, which was pressed on either sea foam green or white vinyl in two runs limited to 1,000 copies each, is available now for preorder through Three One G while supplies last (copies through Sub Pop Mega Mart are now sold out). The single is also available for preorder digitally throughThree One G, megamart.subpop.com, iTunes, and Amazon.
For more info on METZ’s “Eraser” / “Pure Auto” single, please visit Three One G.
METZ II is available now on CD / LP / DL worldwide from Sub Pop. The album has earned “Albums of the Year” notice from the likes of Entertainment Weekly , Rolling Stone , Diffuser , Blare , and Treble . II also scored the band its highest chart position in the U.S. to date, entering at #98 / Billboard Top 200. In Canada, the album debuted at #27 on the Top 200 albums chart.
At radio, II peaked at #8 on the CMJ Top 200 chart. The album also saw support with FMQB Alternative Specialty reporters, peaking at #1 on the albums chart, and its lead-off track “Acetate” at #2 on the singles chart.
METZ II is now available for purchase through the Sub Pop Mega Mart, iTunes, Amazon, and Bandcamp.
What people are saying about METZ II:
“Metz colors outside the lines — obliterates them, really.” - New York Times
"The record twitches with the flying-off-the-rails urgency of the band's live shows as Metz sandblasts the industrial precision of their first album into a nastier, more shambolic attack." [Best Albums of 2015 (so far)] - Rolling Stone
“The sludgy, tinnitus-inducing sound of the '90s' Seattle Sound lives on with this Toronto trio. From the thumping bass lines of album opener "Acetate" to the deafening wall of distortion of closer "Kicking a Can of Worms," II is ten rounds of pummeling noise-rock that never lets up.” [#27 / Top 40 Best Albums] -Entertainment Weekly
“...Hard hitting, pleasantly melodic post-hardcore. II seizes; it soars; it thrashes; it has a tendency to completely overtake the headspace of the listener. (All good things in my book.) To put it simply, METZ are crafting songs way beyond their years and have already racked up quite a reputation with Treble for their performance, songwriting and production alike. I’ll be surprised if they don’t have a future album of the year in them somewhere.” [#2 / 10 Best Punk Albums] - Treble
“II takes the sound of the 2012 debut from Metz and refines the hooks while adding in dashes of noise and violent bursts of acoustic guitar, as on the album's centerpiece, "Kicking a Can of Worms." [#48 / Best 50 Albums] - Diffuser
Tour Dates
Jan. 9 - Boston, MA - The Sinclair * ^
Jan. 11 - Washington, DC - Rock & Roll Hotel * ^
Jan. 12 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church * ^
Jan. 13 - New York City, NY - Bowery Ballroom * %
Jan. 14 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg * #
Jan. 16 - Chicago, IL - Metro * (Tomorrow Never Knows Fest 2016)
Jan. 29 - Tokyo, Japan - Fever
Jan. 30 - Singapore - The Meadow, Gardens by the Bay (Laneway Festival)
Feb. 01 - Auckland, NZ - Silo Park (Laneway Festival)
Feb. 05 - Adelaide, AU - Harts Mill, Port Adelaide (Laneway Festival)
Feb. 06 - Brisbane, AU - Brisbane Showground, Bowen Hills (Laneway Festival)
Feb. 07 - Sydney, AU - Sydney College of the Arts (Laneway Festival)
Feb. 10 - Sydney, AU - Oxford Art Factory
Feb. 12 - Melbourne, AU - The Corner **
Feb. 13 - Melbourne, AU - Footscray Community Arts Centre and the River's Edge (Laneway Festival)
Feb. 14 - Fremantle, AU - Esplanade Reserve and West End (Laneway Festival)
Feb. 17 - Taipei, TW - The Wall Livehouse
Feb. 19 - Shanghai, China - Yuyintang
Feb. 20 - Beijing, China - Mao Livehouse
* w/ Bully
^ w/ So Pitted
# w/ Big Ups
** w/ Deaf Wish, My Disco
The new METZ video for “Eraser”
METZ video “Eraser”
“Eraser”
2016 tour schedule kicks-off January 8thPremiere via Brooklyn Vegan
“Eraser” b/w “Pure Auto” 7” / DL single
worldwide January 22 from
Three One G & Sub Pop
Here now is the disorienting and frenetic new video for the forthcoming METZ single, “Eraser,” directed by Nathan Joyner and starring Alia Jyawook of the San Diego band Hot Nerds.
Brooklyn Vegan says of the visual, “It visually matches the song's pummeling sonic assault, beat for beat (see video premiere January 7th).”
METZ’s 2016 headlining world tour resumes this Saturday, January 9th in Boston at the Sinclair and runs through February 20th in Beijing, China at Mao Livehouse.
New highlights include: a short east coast/midwest US tour January 9th-16th (with Bully); January 29th in Tokyo at Fever; January 30th-February 14th for appearances at the multi-city Laneway Festival, held in Singapore, Australia and New Zealand; And February 17th -20th for three shows in Taiwan and China. Please find a complete list of tour dates below.
The “Eraser” b/w “Pure Auto” single will be available January 22nd, 2016 on 7” vinyl from Three One G and digitally from Sub Pop.
Following two acclaimed albums on Sub Pop (2012’s METZ; 2015’s II) and a deeply impressive amount of touring, this Three One G single is the band’s first recording for the esteemed CA-based label, and their first new material since the release of II. Both “Eraser” and “Pure Auto” were produced by METZ, recorded by Graham Walsh at Union Sound Company, and mastered by Matthew Barnhart at Chicago Mastering Service.
The “Eraser” / “Pure Auto” 7” single, which was pressed on either sea foam green or white vinyl in two runs limited to 1,000 copies each, is available now for preorder through Three One G while supplies last (copies through Sub Pop Mega Mart are now sold out). The single is also available for preorder digitally throughThree One G, megamart.subpop.com, iTunes, and Amazon.
For more info on METZ’s “Eraser” / “Pure Auto” single, please visit Three One G.
METZ II is available now on CD / LP / DL worldwide from Sub Pop. The album has earned “Albums of the Year” notice from the likes of Entertainment Weekly , Rolling Stone , Diffuser , Blare , and Treble . II also scored the band its highest chart position in the U.S. to date, entering at #98 / Billboard Top 200. In Canada, the album debuted at #27 on the Top 200 albums chart.
At radio, II peaked at #8 on the CMJ Top 200 chart. The album also saw support with FMQB Alternative Specialty reporters, peaking at #1 on the albums chart, and its lead-off track “Acetate” at #2 on the singles chart.
METZ II is now available for purchase through the Sub Pop Mega Mart, iTunes, Amazon, and Bandcamp.
What people are saying about METZ II:
“Metz colors outside the lines — obliterates them, really.” - New York Times
"The record twitches with the flying-off-the-rails urgency of the band's live shows as Metz sandblasts the industrial precision of their first album into a nastier, more shambolic attack." [Best Albums of 2015 (so far)] - Rolling Stone
“The sludgy, tinnitus-inducing sound of the '90s' Seattle Sound lives on with this Toronto trio. From the thumping bass lines of album opener "Acetate" to the deafening wall of distortion of closer "Kicking a Can of Worms," II is ten rounds of pummeling noise-rock that never lets up.” [#27 / Top 40 Best Albums] -Entertainment Weekly
“...Hard hitting, pleasantly melodic post-hardcore. II seizes; it soars; it thrashes; it has a tendency to completely overtake the headspace of the listener. (All good things in my book.) To put it simply, METZ are crafting songs way beyond their years and have already racked up quite a reputation with Treble for their performance, songwriting and production alike. I’ll be surprised if they don’t have a future album of the year in them somewhere.” [#2 / 10 Best Punk Albums] - Treble
“II takes the sound of the 2012 debut from Metz and refines the hooks while adding in dashes of noise and violent bursts of acoustic guitar, as on the album's centerpiece, "Kicking a Can of Worms." [#48 / Best 50 Albums] - Diffuser
Tour Dates
Jan. 9 - Boston, MA - The Sinclair * ^
Jan. 11 - Washington, DC - Rock & Roll Hotel * ^
Jan. 12 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church * ^
Jan. 13 - New York City, NY - Bowery Ballroom * %
Jan. 14 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg * #
Jan. 16 - Chicago, IL - Metro * (Tomorrow Never Knows Fest 2016)
Jan. 29 - Tokyo, Japan - Fever
Jan. 30 - Singapore - The Meadow, Gardens by the Bay (Laneway Festival)
Feb. 01 - Auckland, NZ - Silo Park (Laneway Festival)
Feb. 05 - Adelaide, AU - Harts Mill, Port Adelaide (Laneway Festival)
Feb. 06 - Brisbane, AU - Brisbane Showground, Bowen Hills (Laneway Festival)
Feb. 07 - Sydney, AU - Sydney College of the Arts (Laneway Festival)
Feb. 10 - Sydney, AU - Oxford Art Factory
Feb. 12 - Melbourne, AU - The Corner **
Feb. 13 - Melbourne, AU - Footscray Community Arts Centre and the River's Edge (Laneway Festival)
Feb. 14 - Fremantle, AU - Esplanade Reserve and West End (Laneway Festival)
Feb. 17 - Taipei, TW - The Wall Livehouse
Feb. 19 - Shanghai, China - Yuyintang
Feb. 20 - Beijing, China - Mao Livehouse
* w/ Bully
^ w/ So Pitted
# w/ Big Ups
** w/ Deaf Wish, My Disco
ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER Shares New Single & Announces Spring Tour!
ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER SHARES NEW SINGLE "SWEETEST GIRL" & ANNOUNCES SPRING TOUR DATES
(Credit: Joe DeNardo)"Friedberger makes breezy-sounding music about adult situations. She notices life's little details...and weaves them into a cozy tapestry...What a beautiful, subtle way to describe a beautiful, subtle feeling." - Pitchfork "...a beautifully lush ramble that evokes the greats of the '70s without aping any of them too closely." -Stereogum "...a slowly rolling charmer streaked with fine, crisp guitar lines." - Consequence of Sound "...subtle, poetic..." - Village Voice
Eleanor Friedberger will release New View on January 22nd via Frenchkiss, and today she shares a new single off of the album entitled "Sweetest Girl," along with its accompanying music video. A swinging, anthemic track with punctuated walls of sound leading into each chorus, wise words of advice and a melodic, synth-laden outro, "Sweetest Girl" is the second song off of New View . "Sweetest Girl" was directed by artist and musician Joe DeNardo (Growing, Ornament), using his outtakes from the New View album cover shoot. Joe also directed Eleanor in She's A Mirror and the upcoming Slow Machine .PRESS HERE to watch the video now via Pitchfork . Eleanor Friedberger will take New View on the road next month and has announced Spring tour dates. See below to find a show near you. New View is the follow-up to 2013's critically acclaimed Personal Record and is her first album as a signee to NYC's seminal indie label Frenchkiss Records. New View signals a fresh beginning for the former Fiery Furnaces' frontwoman. After living in Brooklyn for fourteen years, Friedberger moved to upstate New York, and the album reflects that region's rustic charm. Friedberger drew inspiration for New View from many of her musical heroes - everyone from Van Morrison, Neil Young and George Harrison, to Slapp Happy, Yoko Ono and Elyse. There are ghost notes of all of those influences on New View ,but mostly you hear the singular voice of Eleanor Friedberger, whose warm, inviting alto and incredible word play continue to make herone of the foremost songwriters in the indie rock world today. PRESS HERE to watch the video for the album's first single "He Didn't Mention His Mother." PRESS HERE to pre-order New View now. North American Tour Dates2/18/16 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom2/19/16 Philadelphia, PA @ MilkBoy Philly2/20/16 Woodstock, NY @ Bearsville Theater2/22/16 Toronto, ON @ The Drake Hotel2/23/16 Detroit, MI @ Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD)2/24/16 Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle2/26/16 St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club2/27/16 Omaha, NE @ Reverb2/28/16 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge3/1/16 Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room3/2/16 Boise, ID @ Neurolux3/4/16 Vancouver, BC @ The Cobalt3/5/16 Seattle, WA @ Barboza3/6/16 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge3/8/16 San Francisco, CA @ The Independent3/10/16 Los Angeles, CA @ The Satellite3/11/16 San Diego, CA @ The Hideout3/12/16 Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar3/15/16-3/20/16 Austin, TX @ SXSW 20164/14/16 Washington, D.C. @ U Street Music Hall4/15/16 Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle - Back Room4/16/16 Nashville, TN @ 12th & Porter 4/19/16 Athens, GA @ Georgia Theater - Roof4/21/16 New Orleans, LA @ The Parish4/22/16 Houston, TX @ Raven Tower4/23/16 Austin, TX @ Sidewinder4/25/16 Dallas, TX @ Three Links4/26/16 Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck4/28/16 St. Louis, MO @ The Duck Room4/30/16 Indianapolis, IN @ Hi Fi5/1/16 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop5/3/16 Ithaca, NY @ The Dock5/4/16 Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground Showcase Lounge5/5/16 Portland, ME @ One Longfellow Square5/6/16 Boston, MA @ Middle East - Upstairs5/7/16 Providence, RI @ Columbus Theater http://www.eleanorfriedberger.comhttps://www.facebook.com/eleanor.friedberger.officialhttp://www.twitter.com/eleanoronlyhttp://www.instagram.com/eleanoronly
Nevermen Announce New York and Los Angeles Performances; Self-Titled Debut out Jan. 29
NEVERMEN ANNOUNCE NEW YORK AND LOS ANGELES PERFORMANCES FOLLOWING THE JAN. 29 RELEASE OF NEVERMEN
“Together at last – Mike Patton, Tunde Adebimpe and Adam ‘Doseone’ Drucker. One of the many excellent things about this delightfully chewy collaboration is that it does sometimes manage to sound like the three principals’ best-known bands playing in the same room at once. * * * * (Four Stars) - MOJO
Nevermen album cover; High-resolution photo (credit Peter Hinson) available here:http://speakeasypr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/nevermenhome1peterhinson.jpg
Jan. 6, 2015, Waco, Neb. – Nevermen play their first U.S. shows on Feb. 19 at Webster Hall in New York and on Feb. 21 at the Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, with tickets on sale this Friday, Jan. 8.
The dates come as the trio’s (Adam “Doseone” Drucker, TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe and Faith No More’s Mike Patton) self-titled debut arrives on Jan. 29 via Ipecac Recordings (North America)/Lex Records (ROW). MOJO Magazine awarded the album four stars, dubbing Nevermen “the CSN of avant-rap.”
Drucker said of the live outings: “QUITE excited to bring Nevermen to life, can’t wait to be a proper 3HeadedFrontMan’dBand and play this entire LP LIVE!”
Nevermen tour dates:
February 7 Paris, France Le Trianon
February 9 Amsterdam, The Netherlands Paradiso
February 10 Brussels, Belgium Palais 12 (w/Massive Attack)
February 12 Berlin, Germany Heimathafen
February 15 Dublin, Ireland Olympia Theatre
February 17 London, UK Barbican Centre
February 19 New York, NY Webster Hall
February 21 Los Angeles, CA Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
“Together at last – Mike Patton, Tunde Adebimpe and Adam ‘Doseone’ Drucker. One of the many excellent things about this delightfully chewy collaboration is that it does sometimes manage to sound like the three principals’ best-known bands playing in the same room at once. * * * * (Four Stars) - MOJO
Nevermen album cover; High-resolution photo (credit Peter Hinson) available here:http://speakeasypr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/nevermenhome1peterhinson.jpgJan. 6, 2015, Waco, Neb. – Nevermen play their first U.S. shows on Feb. 19 at Webster Hall in New York and on Feb. 21 at the Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, with tickets on sale this Friday, Jan. 8.
The dates come as the trio’s (Adam “Doseone” Drucker, TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe and Faith No More’s Mike Patton) self-titled debut arrives on Jan. 29 via Ipecac Recordings (North America)/Lex Records (ROW). MOJO Magazine awarded the album four stars, dubbing Nevermen “the CSN of avant-rap.”
Drucker said of the live outings: “QUITE excited to bring Nevermen to life, can’t wait to be a proper 3HeadedFrontMan’dBand and play this entire LP LIVE!”
Nevermen tour dates:
February 7 Paris, France Le Trianon
February 9 Amsterdam, The Netherlands Paradiso
February 10 Brussels, Belgium Palais 12 (w/Massive Attack)
February 12 Berlin, Germany Heimathafen
February 15 Dublin, Ireland Olympia Theatre
February 17 London, UK Barbican Centre
February 19 New York, NY Webster Hall
February 21 Los Angeles, CA Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Immersion - Always The Sea (from Analogue Creatures 10")
Immersion - Always The Sea (from Analogue Creatures 10")
Editors Are Playing The Wiltern On March 3rd!
Editors Share Henri PFR Remix Of 'Ocean Of Night'
Announce 2016 US Tour Dates
Editors follow the release of the 'Ocean Of Night' single by revealing a reworking of the track from Belgium's Henri PFR. Following Henri's Deep House chart topping remix of Novo Amor's 'From Gold' and work with Armin Van Buuren and Robin Schulz, Henri's remix of 'Ocean Of Night' is a deep house classic in the making, retaining Tom Smith's soulful vocals over a floor fixated pulser of a tune.
The band have just announced their first US shows in six years, with a limited run of five dates across February & March 2016. The band, whose sell out UK tour reiterated their continued presence as one of the UK's biggest and most vital musical forces, continue their extensive live work in support of their breathtaking new album In Dream .
Billboard recently premiered a video for 'Ocean of Night' from their Top 5 UK album, In Dream . 'Ocean Of Night' is one of three tracks on the album which feature vocals from Slowdive and Minor Victories Rachel Goswell, the first Editors tracks to feature any voices from outside the band.
In Dream has seen Editors gather praise for an uncompromising and stark artistic statement, leaving behind the straight rock of previous album 'The Weight Of Your Love' . It is the second album to feature the "new" line-up of the band with Justin Lockey and Elliott Williams firmly in place alongside founding members Tom Smith, Russell Leetch and Ed Lay. After two years of global touring this five piece incarnation used the new album to stretch the Editors sound, swerving away from the rock dynamic of "The Weight Of Your Love" and marking a return to a writing process influenced by electronic music. In Dream is out now via Play It Again Sam and available to buy digitally and physically.You can catch Editors stunning live show when they play the dates below.US TourFeb 26 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock ClubFeb 27 - New York, NY - Terminal 5Feb 28 - Washington, D.C - 9:30 ClubMar 2 - San Francisco, CA - Regency BallroomMar 3 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
Buy In Dream on iTunes Buy In Dream on Amazon Buy In Dream on Best Buy
Editors follow the release of the 'Ocean Of Night' single by revealing a reworking of the track from Belgium's Henri PFR. Following Henri's Deep House chart topping remix of Novo Amor's 'From Gold' and work with Armin Van Buuren and Robin Schulz, Henri's remix of 'Ocean Of Night' is a deep house classic in the making, retaining Tom Smith's soulful vocals over a floor fixated pulser of a tune.
The band have just announced their first US shows in six years, with a limited run of five dates across February & March 2016. The band, whose sell out UK tour reiterated their continued presence as one of the UK's biggest and most vital musical forces, continue their extensive live work in support of their breathtaking new album In Dream .
Billboard recently premiered a video for 'Ocean of Night' from their Top 5 UK album, In Dream . 'Ocean Of Night' is one of three tracks on the album which feature vocals from Slowdive and Minor Victories Rachel Goswell, the first Editors tracks to feature any voices from outside the band.
In Dream has seen Editors gather praise for an uncompromising and stark artistic statement, leaving behind the straight rock of previous album 'The Weight Of Your Love' . It is the second album to feature the "new" line-up of the band with Justin Lockey and Elliott Williams firmly in place alongside founding members Tom Smith, Russell Leetch and Ed Lay. After two years of global touring this five piece incarnation used the new album to stretch the Editors sound, swerving away from the rock dynamic of "The Weight Of Your Love" and marking a return to a writing process influenced by electronic music. In Dream is out now via Play It Again Sam and available to buy digitally and physically.You can catch Editors stunning live show when they play the dates below.US TourFeb 26 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock ClubFeb 27 - New York, NY - Terminal 5Feb 28 - Washington, D.C - 9:30 ClubMar 2 - San Francisco, CA - Regency BallroomMar 3 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
Buy In Dream on iTunes Buy In Dream on Amazon Buy In Dream on Best Buy
Emilie & Ogden announce U.S. tour dates in January supporting Half Moon Run
EMILIE & OGDEN ANNOUNCE
U.S. TOUR DATES IN JANUARY
SUPPORTING HALF MOON RUN
DEBUT ALBUM 10 000 OUT NOW
Emilie & Ogden announce a January U.S. tour supporting Half Moon Run, with dates at Seattle‘s Tractor Tavern, Los Angeles’ Troubadour, Denver’s Larimer Lounge and Chicago’s Subterranean. See below for complete tour dates.
Recently, DIY Magazine premiered the video for Emilie & Ogden’s track “Go Home.” The song appears on her debut album, 10 000, out now via Secret City Records. Watch the premiere here:http://bit.ly/1Ow94ms. In addition, PopMatters premiered the video for “White Lies” and Clash Magazine premiered “What Happened,” hailing the song as “uniquely affecting.”
Last year, Emilie & Ogden released a cover of Taylor Swift’s “Style.” Swift shared the rendition via her personal Twitter, and the cover was shared virally. To date it has received over 325,000 YouTube views.
Critics continue to praise Emilie & Ogden:
“...10 000, just out on Secret City, has a steel spine beneath its twinkly
exterior.”—The New York Times
“…recently released 10 000, a luminous collection of pop songs steeped in classical tradition, with subtle hints of R&B and the mainstream hip-hop and rap
Kahn says she likes.”—Boston Globe
“Kahn’s angelic voice works as well as any instrument could, and her intricate harp work proves that she doesn’t exist as a reincarnation of [Tori] Amos or [Joanna] Newsom,
but a newer, more modern variety.”—Stereogum“Magical…”—TIME
“Emilie & Ogden are not your typical musical duo.”—Slate “Kahn is a gifted singer and songwriter. She knows it, too,
and in the best possible way.”—Flood Magazine
10 000 TRACK LIST 1. Blame
2. Ten Thousand
3. Closer
4. White Lies
5. Nothing New
6. Babel
7. Long Gone
8. Go Home
9. What Happened
10. Hold Me Down
11. Dream
EMILIE & OGDEN TOUR DATESJanuary 14 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern*January 15 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge*January 16 San Francisco, CA The Independent*January 19 Los Angeles, CA The Troubadour*January 20 San Diego, CA Casbah*January 22 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge*January 23 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge*January 25 Lawrence, KS Granada Theater*January 26 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock Social Club*January 27 Chicago, IL Subterranean*January 28 Columbus, OH The Basement*January 31 South Burlington, VT Higher Ground Showcase Lounge*February 10 Guelph, ON University Centre CourtyardFebruary 11 Toronto, ON The Drake HotelFebruary 20 Montréal, QC Club SodaFebruary 23 Paris, FR Les Trois Baudets February 25 Eindhoven, NL Muziekgebouw EindhovenFebruary 26 Amsterdam, NL Muziekgebouw & Bimhuis February 27 Rotterdam, NL De Doelen February 28 Groningen, NL OosterpoortMarch 1 Leeds, UK Brudenell Games Room March 2 Manchester, UK The Castle Hotel March 3 London, UK Waiting Room March 4 Bristol, UK Louisiana
*supporting Half Moon Run
U.S. TOUR DATES IN JANUARY
SUPPORTING HALF MOON RUN
DEBUT ALBUM 10 000 OUT NOW
Emilie & Ogden announce a January U.S. tour supporting Half Moon Run, with dates at Seattle‘s Tractor Tavern, Los Angeles’ Troubadour, Denver’s Larimer Lounge and Chicago’s Subterranean. See below for complete tour dates.
Recently, DIY Magazine premiered the video for Emilie & Ogden’s track “Go Home.” The song appears on her debut album, 10 000, out now via Secret City Records. Watch the premiere here:http://bit.ly/1Ow94ms. In addition, PopMatters premiered the video for “White Lies” and Clash Magazine premiered “What Happened,” hailing the song as “uniquely affecting.”
Last year, Emilie & Ogden released a cover of Taylor Swift’s “Style.” Swift shared the rendition via her personal Twitter, and the cover was shared virally. To date it has received over 325,000 YouTube views.
Critics continue to praise Emilie & Ogden:
“...10 000, just out on Secret City, has a steel spine beneath its twinkly
exterior.”—The New York Times
“…recently released 10 000, a luminous collection of pop songs steeped in classical tradition, with subtle hints of R&B and the mainstream hip-hop and rap
Kahn says she likes.”—Boston Globe
“Kahn’s angelic voice works as well as any instrument could, and her intricate harp work proves that she doesn’t exist as a reincarnation of [Tori] Amos or [Joanna] Newsom,
but a newer, more modern variety.”—Stereogum“Magical…”—TIME
“Emilie & Ogden are not your typical musical duo.”—Slate “Kahn is a gifted singer and songwriter. She knows it, too,
and in the best possible way.”—Flood Magazine
10 000 TRACK LIST 1. Blame
2. Ten Thousand
3. Closer
4. White Lies
5. Nothing New
6. Babel
7. Long Gone
8. Go Home
9. What Happened
10. Hold Me Down
11. Dream
EMILIE & OGDEN TOUR DATESJanuary 14 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern*January 15 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge*January 16 San Francisco, CA The Independent*January 19 Los Angeles, CA The Troubadour*January 20 San Diego, CA Casbah*January 22 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge*January 23 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge*January 25 Lawrence, KS Granada Theater*January 26 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock Social Club*January 27 Chicago, IL Subterranean*January 28 Columbus, OH The Basement*January 31 South Burlington, VT Higher Ground Showcase Lounge*February 10 Guelph, ON University Centre CourtyardFebruary 11 Toronto, ON The Drake HotelFebruary 20 Montréal, QC Club SodaFebruary 23 Paris, FR Les Trois Baudets February 25 Eindhoven, NL Muziekgebouw EindhovenFebruary 26 Amsterdam, NL Muziekgebouw & Bimhuis February 27 Rotterdam, NL De Doelen February 28 Groningen, NL OosterpoortMarch 1 Leeds, UK Brudenell Games Room March 2 Manchester, UK The Castle Hotel March 3 London, UK Waiting Room March 4 Bristol, UK Louisiana
*supporting Half Moon Run
January 5, 2016
Peter Noone and Micky Dolenz Set to Appear in NYC-Area This Week
"PETER NOONE IN CONVERSATION WITH MICKY DOLENZ"IN NYC-AREA THIS WEEK
Thurs., January 7th -- The Space at Westbury -- Westbury, NY (Long Island) -- TICKETS
Fri., January 8th -- Tarrytown Music Hall -- Tarrytown, NY -- TICKETS
Sat., January 9th -- Memorial Auditorium -- Montclair, NJ -- TICKETS
Fans can catch two musical icons in a never-before-seen setting with the kickoff of "Peter Noone In Conversation with Micky Dolenz". The intimate NYC-area appearances will feature both legendary artists visiting Westbury, NY., Tarrytown, NY., and Montclair, NJ., to share candid stories from their decades-spanning careers.
Actor, musician and live entertainer extraordinaire Noone headed up the classic English pop band Herman's Hermits , who were part of the pivotal 1960s British invasion with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. He currently hosts Something Good with Peter Noone on SiriusXM and continues to perform more than 100 concerts a year.
The new year is especially notable for Dolenz, drummer for historic band The Monkees , who happen to be celebrating their 50th anniversary year in 2016. "In Conversation.." will mark the first of many celebratory events for Dolenz, who continues to tour with his sister, Coco, and split his time between national TV screens and theaters.
Be sure to catch both Noone and Dolenz appearing on NBC's New York Live this Thursday, January 7 at 12:30pmEST.
For More Information :
Peter Noone
BiographyFacebookHigh-Res Photo
Micky Dolenz
BiographyFacebookHigh-Res Photo
Thurs., January 7th -- The Space at Westbury -- Westbury, NY (Long Island) -- TICKETS
Fri., January 8th -- Tarrytown Music Hall -- Tarrytown, NY -- TICKETS
Sat., January 9th -- Memorial Auditorium -- Montclair, NJ -- TICKETS
Fans can catch two musical icons in a never-before-seen setting with the kickoff of "Peter Noone In Conversation with Micky Dolenz". The intimate NYC-area appearances will feature both legendary artists visiting Westbury, NY., Tarrytown, NY., and Montclair, NJ., to share candid stories from their decades-spanning careers.
Actor, musician and live entertainer extraordinaire Noone headed up the classic English pop band Herman's Hermits , who were part of the pivotal 1960s British invasion with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. He currently hosts Something Good with Peter Noone on SiriusXM and continues to perform more than 100 concerts a year.
The new year is especially notable for Dolenz, drummer for historic band The Monkees , who happen to be celebrating their 50th anniversary year in 2016. "In Conversation.." will mark the first of many celebratory events for Dolenz, who continues to tour with his sister, Coco, and split his time between national TV screens and theaters.
Be sure to catch both Noone and Dolenz appearing on NBC's New York Live this Thursday, January 7 at 12:30pmEST.
For More Information :
Peter Noone
BiographyFacebookHigh-Res Photo
Micky Dolenz
BiographyFacebookHigh-Res Photo
SUNFLOWER BEAN Premiere New Track & Announce New Tour Dates!
PREMIERE NEW SINGLE "EASIER SAID" VIA STEREOGUM& ANNOUNCE MORE U.S. TOUR DATES Debut Album Human Ceremony Out February 5th via Fat Possum
(Credit: Ruby June)
Early praise for Sunflower Bean + Human Ceremony:
"Three and a half minutes of impossibly jangly guitar bliss and sweet-dreams vocals make ['Easier Said'] the best thing we've heard yet from the New York psychedelic-rock trio..." - Rolling Stone
"The music is both restrained and aggressive...but like a lot of great rock'n'roll, it's also catchy, compelling, and concise." - Pitchfork
"Another killer track...one of the band's best songs to date." - The FADER
"Guitars fade in and out, bending like a black hole pulling in metal riffs and spitting them out into a psychedelic universe on the other side." - Consequence of Sound
"This might be the best song Sunflower Bean have ever penned-those guttural guitars buzzy like early Stone Temple Pilots, the heady harmonies of the chorus reminiscent of Elastica, and that beat destined to inspire a shimmy and a shake..." - Noisey
Sunflower Bean will release their utterly brilliant debut album Human Ceremony next month, and today they share the album's gorgeous second single and lead track entitled "Easier Said." On this song, Nick Kivlen's lilting, clean guitar is met with Julia Cumming's delicate, gliding vocals, which spiral off into a vibrant hum as she sings simple yet hard-hitting truths like, "Should have just stayed home when I'd rather/Be alone instead" and "You're getting old/So act your age/It isn't fun /To make the same mistakes." The result is a subtly beautiful single that will prove difficult to forget.PRESS HERE to listen via Stereogum now. Sunflower Bean - who are known internationally for their exhilarating live shows - also announce the second leg of their U.S. Spring tour. PRESS HERE for tickets. Human Ceremony will be released on February 5th via Fat Possum. Drawing inspiration from a vast pool of influences such as Black Sabbath and The Cure, Sunflower Bean have crafted an album that is a potent, heady mix of swirling indie pop, urgent, fuzzed-out guitar bliss, and girl/boy sugar-spun vocal melodies that delivers a modern-day spin on classic rock & roll. Having gotten their start in the DIY New York scene, Sunflower Bean quickly accelerated into one of the foremost up-and-coming bands nationally and overseas over the last few months. Following the release of their singular EP earlier this year, and a 7-inch vinyl this Summer, Sunflower Bean played over 100 shows in one year between the U.S. and Europe, opening for the likes of DIIV, Best Coast, and Wolf Alice, and delivering show-stopping sets at CMJ, SXSW and UK's Great Escape festival. Now, Sunflower Bean are set to deliver one of the best debuts you will hear in 2016. PRESS HERE to watch the music video for the album's first single "Wall Watcher." PRESS HERE to pre-order Human Ceremony on CD or vinyl, and HERE on iTunes. Sunflower Bean are: Jacob Faber [drums], Julia Cumming [vocals/bass], and Nick Kivlen[vocals/guitars]. International Tour Dates (US Dates in BOLD)2/2/16 Bristol, UK @ Louisiana2/3/16 Birmingham, UK @ Hare & Hounds2/6/16 Paris, FR @ Le Pop Up Du Label2/8/16 Copenhagen, DK @ Ideal Bar2/9/16 Berlin, GR @ Berghain Kantine2/10/16 Hamburg, GR @ Molotov Bar2/12/16 Brussels, BE @ Botanique2/13/16 Lille, GR @ LA Peniche2/15/16 Edinburgh, UK @ Sneaky Pete's2/16/16 Manchester, UK @ Soup Kitchen2/18/16 London, UK @ The Dome2/19/16 Brighton, UK @ Bleach2/25/16 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom2/26/16 Hanover, NH @ Bones Gate Fraternity +2/27/16 Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Club Upstairs2/28/16 Montreal, QC @ Quasi Des Brumes3/1/16 Toronto, ON @ Smiling Buddha3/2/16 Detroit, MI @ Majestic Café +3/3/16 Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern +3/4/16 Lakewood, OH @ Mahall's 20 Lanes +3/5/16 Rochester, NY @ Lovin' Cup +3/6/16 Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie +3/10/16 Washington D.C. @ Black Cat *3/11/16 Durham, NC @ The Pinhook3/15-3/20/16 Austin, TX @ SXSW 20163/24/16 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo3/25/16 La Jolla, CA @ Che Café3/26/16 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place3/27/16 San Francisco, CA @ Brick & Mortar Music Hall3/29/16 Seattle, WA @ The Vera Project3/30/16 Vancouver, BC @ The Cobalt3/31/16 Portland, OR @ Analog Café Lounge4/1/16 Nampa, ID @ Flying M4/2/16 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court4/3/16 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge4/5/16 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry4/6/16 Madison, WI @ The Frequency4/7/16 Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop4/8/16 Columbus, OH @ Rumba Café4/9/16 Pittsburg, PA @ The Smiling Moose; Upstairs* w/ Mass Gothic+ w/ Honduras
