Alexander Laurence's Blog, page 2469

THE WHIGS & DAVID LETTERMAN - TONIGHT!!

THE WHIGS RETURN TO THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN TONIGHT  
NEW ALBUM MODERN CREATION SPOTLIGHTED BY ESQUIRE, SPIN, PASTE  & MORE
NOW ON NORTH AMERICAN HEADLINING TOUR

The Whigs are thrilled to return to The Late Show with David Letterman tonight (May 7th) to perform new song "Hit Me," a track from their latest album Modern Creation (released April 22nd).
Check out the hilariously funny video for "Hit Me," - a loving tribute to "The Old Grey Whistle Test" and a song Spin Magazine simply calls "triumphant" - here: http://bit.ly/1fMduuF
What the press is saying about Modern Creation ...
"It's one of those all-encompassing, all-too-rare experiences where you actually feel the music, every perfectly synched-up moment between guitars & crashing cymbals, each echo of every shout & snarl. It's rad. It's hard. And it's been a constant for the Nashville-via-Athens trio since they laid tape to their debut."- Esquire  
"The Whigs may be one of the last true rock & roll bands going. With so many artists playing to niche versions of the genre, the Athens power trio carry the torch of the straight-ahead, big chorus-singing, distortion-loving, fist-pumping, '70s & '90s bands that they grew up listening to." - Paste
"Modern Creation is an album for furious air-drumming & single serving sing-alongs ...Modern Creation is big, buzzy guitar pop that is timeless as it is timely." - Magnet
The Whigs have always been known for their unforgettable live show, something documented with their unbelievable debut performance on The Late Show. Watch this powerful performance and stay tuned in on Wednesday for more rock: http://bit.ly/1kP9Ej8
The Whigs are currently on a North American headlining tour that has already included sold-out shows in NYC, Philly, DC and Athens. The band plans to spend all of 2014 on the road! Tour dates on www.thewhigs.com
Listen to Modern Creation in entirety on Esquire: http://bit.ly/StgTEg
Stay tuned for more news!
Tour Dates (more to be announced):
May 9th           Shaky Knees Festival              Atlanta GAMay 10th         The Earl                                   Atlanta, GAMay 15th         Radio Radio                             Indianapolis, INMay 16th         Double Door                           Chicago, ILMay 17th         Off Broadway                          St. Louis, MOMay 24th         16th Street Mall                     Denver, COJune 12th          Fitzgerald's (Downstairs)     Houston, TXJune 13th          Red 7                                       Houston, TXJune 14th          Elm Street Music & Tattoo Festival  Dallas, TXJune 15th          Stickyz Rock N Roll Chicken Shack  Little Rock, ARJune 18th          Duling Hall                              Jackson, MSJune 19th          Workplay Theatre                 Birmingham, ALJune 20th          Hi-Tone Café                          Memphis, TNJune 21st          Mercy Lounge                        Nashville, TNJune 25th          WFPK Waterfront Wednesdays      Louisville, KY
www.thewhigs.comhttps://www.facebook.com/thewhigshttps://twitter.com/TheWhigshttp://www.youtube.com/user/TheWhigsband

Lucius Drop "Don't Just Sit There" Lyric Video

Announce US Tour Dates w/ Sara Bareilles 

Lyric Video for “Don’t Just Sit There” +
“Genevieve”/ “Don’t Just Sit There” Digital Single Released Today 
 
 
Photo Credit: Peter Larson

On the heels of their first headlining European tour (which included prestigious national television performances in  the UK ,  France  &  The Netherlands ), Brooklyn’s Lucius announce US tour dates with Sara Bareilles. These dates, in addition to shows with Tegan and Sara and The Head and The Heart, will take the band well into the summer when the quintet will perform at a variety of festivals including Governors Ball, Newport Folk and Lollapalooza.
 
Today, Lucius release an engaging lyric  video  featuring digital sketch imagery by the photographer/illustrator Peter Larson for the single “Don’t Just Sit There.” The band alsorelease a “digital 45” of a new recording of the fan favorite “Genevieve” b/w “Don’t Just Sit There” (available on iTunes).
 
Lucius made their US late night TV debut on Conan (available to watch & share  here ) and recently performed “Wildewoman” and “Two of Us On The Run” on Last Call with Carson Daly. Their UK television debut on Later… with Jools Holland will air Thursday in the US on Palladia at 10/9pm CT.
 
A complete list of tour dates below.
 
Lucius Tour Dates
 
# = w/ Tegan and Sara
^ = w/ The Head and the Heart
% = w/ Sara Bareilles
 
5/6: Columbia, MO @ The Blue Note # 
5/7: Louisville, KY @ Mercury Ballroom #
5/8: Covington, KY @ The Madison Theater #
5/9: Upland, IN  @ Taylor University
5/10: Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room at The Old National Centre #
5/12: Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works #
5/13: Chattanooga, TN @ Track 29 #
5/14: Charleston, SC @ Music Farm # 
5/15: Atlanta, GA @ The Buckhead Theatre #
5/16: Jacksonville, FL @ Ponte Vedra Concert Hall # 
5/19: Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore #
5/20: Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel #
5/21: Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club # – SOLD OUT
5/22: Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club # – SOLD OUT 
5/25: Quincy, WA @ Sasquatch! Music Festival – SOLD OUT
5/28: Kalamazoo, MI @ The State Theatre ^
5/29: Cleveland, OH @ Masonic Auditorium ^
5/30: Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE ^
5/31: Nelsonville, OH @ Nelsonville Music Festival
6/2: Richmond, VA @ The National ^
6/3: Richmond, VA @ The National ^
6/4: Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head Live ^
6/7: Randall’s Island, NY @ Governors Ball
6/8: Hunter Mountain, NY @ Mountain Jam
6/21: Dover, DE @ Firefly Festival
6/22: Concord, NH @ Granite State Music Festival
7/4: Toronto, ON @TURF Festival
7/6: Ottawa, CA @ Ottawa Bluesfest
7/12: Greenfield, MA @ Green River Festival
7/14: Vienna, VA @ Wolf Trap %
7/18: Chattanooga, TN @ Nightfall Summer Series
7/20: Louisville, KY @ Forecastle Festival
7/22: Raleigh, NC @ Red Hat Amphitheatre %
7/23: Atlanta, GA @ Chastain Amphitheatre %
7/25: Camden, NJ @ XPoNential Music Festival
7/26: Newport, RI @ Newport Folk Festival – SOLD OUT
7/29: Cincinnati, OH @ PNC Pavilion %
7/30: Nashville, TN @ Woods of Fontanel %
8/1: Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza – SOLD OUT
8/5: Seattle, WA @ Marymoor Park %
8/6: Portland, OR @ Edgefield %
8/10: San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands
8/15: Hasselt, BE @ Pukkelpop
8/16: Hamburg, DE @ MS Dockville
8/29-8/31: Salisbury, UK @ End of the Road Festival
9/13: Burlington, VT @ Grand Point North
10/3-10/5 + 10/10-10/12: Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Festival

London Grammar Announce West Coast Dates

LONDON GRAMMAR ANNOUNCE WEST COAST TOUR DATES
CONFIRMED TO SUPPORT COLDPLAY AT THE ROYCE HALL ON MAY 19TH

SET TO PERFORM ON KCRW'S MORNING BECOMES ECLECTIC ON MAY 20TH

 RELEASE ‘IF YOU WAIT’ REMIX BUNDLE TODAY  

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES
05/18 – The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA -  TICKETS
05/19 – Royce Hall – Los Angeles, CA* -  TICKETS
*supporting COLDPLAY

London Grammar has announced their welcomed return to North America for two Los Angeles shows following their sold-out U.S. headline tour earlier this spring. The UK trio will be headlining the prestigious Wiltern Theateron 05/18 and will support Coldplay at UCLA’s Royce Hall on 05/19.

In continued support of their latest North American tour dates, London Grammar has released a special ‘If You Wait’ Remix Bundle today via Columbia Records (buy the bundle here: http://smarturl.it/IfYouWaitRemixes). The exclusive bundle includes a remix of “Hew Now” by the legendary Sasha, and remixes of current single “Strong” by Jonas Rathsman and RAC (see full track listing below). Last week DJ Sasha’s remix of ‘Hey Now’premiered on VICE Magazine's electronic affiliate THUMP and reached #1 on Hypemachine. Listen to the remixhere. "Hey Now (Arty remix)" has also recently been added to to the SIRIUS/XM BPM playlist. The band - comprised of guitarist Dan Rothman, multi-instrumentalist Dot Major and vocalist Hannah Reid – recently completed an extensive North American tour this spring, selling out every venue in a matter of days. The trio kicked off the tour with a welcomed stop at this year’s SXSW Festival, wowing critics across the board with their stunning live performances.

Since January 2014, London Grammar has performed ‘Strong’ on various U.S. late night shows including CBS’ Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! (watch HERE) and CBS’ The Late Show with David Letterman (watch HERE).

London Grammar will also be performing live on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic on Tuesday, May 20th.

Priests Announce Spring Tour, Debut EP Out 6/3

Priests
 
Bodies and Control and Money and Power  Debut EP
Out 6/3 On Don Giovanni/Sister Polygon

Announce Spring Tour Dates + “Right Wing”


Photo Credit: Matthew Pandolfe

Priests' powerful, frenetic sounds are the kind of music that's unafraid to look you in the eye and ask questions. It's hard to look away or turn it down when this Washington, DC four-piece plays: their music is full of peculiar tension, relentless energy, and a kind of thoughtful rage indebted to both waking up down the street from the White House and the typical, anonymous frustrations of city living. These sounds are alienated and bizarre, but perhaps their undeniable pop-catchiness is what's most remarkable of all. Hear a Priests' song once and it might be stuck in your head for a long time.  “Right Wing”  off the band’s debut EP  Bodies and Control and Money and Power  (out June 3on Don Giovanni/Sister Polygon) is a perfect pop-riot example of just that.

Not a moment is wasted on Priests’ debut as they traverse a surprisingly wide girth of aggressive sounds: from the devastating sweep of "Design Within Reach" to the teasing agility of "Doctor", the ripping B-side maelstrom of "Modern Love/No Weapon" and maniacal creep of "And Breeding". This isn't a record for the faint of heart or hearing and this theory will continue to be tested as the band takes their fierce lyrics and stomping beats to all ages venues across the country this spring, kicking things off in their hometown of Washington DC:

Priests Tour Dates
6/2: Washington DC @ Black Cat
6/3: New York, NY @ ABC No Rio (early)
6/3 New York, NY @ Cake Shop (late)
6/4: Montreal, QC @ Cabaret Playhouse
6/5: Toronto, ON @ Smiling Buddha 
6/6: Detroit, MI @ Trumbullplex
6/7: Chicago, IL @ Bric-A-Brac Records (daytime instore)
6/7: Chicago, IL @ Emporium Arcade Bar
6/8: Milwaukee, WI @ Bremen Cafe        
6/9: Minneapolis, MN @ House of Lard (DIY show)      
6/12: Missoula, MT @ Ole Beck VFW Post
6/13: Olympia, WA @ The Northern     
6/15: Seattle WA @ Black Lodge    
6/18: Oakland, CA @ 1234 Go! Records 
6/20: Los Angeles, CA @ The Church on York   
6/21: San Diego, CA @ Che Cafe    
6/23: Phoenix, AZ @ The Trunk Space
6/26: Houston, TX @ Walter's 
6/28: Atlanta, GA @ Wonderroot
6/29: Raleigh, NC @ Nice Price Books + Records
Bodies and Control and Money and Power was recorded in Arlington, VA at Inner Ear Studio by Hugh McElroy and Kevin Erickson; and in Philadelphia at Fancy Time Studio by Kyle "Slick Johnson".

Anton Newcombe Interview

BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE INTERVIEWWith Anton Newcombe
Anton Newcombe is a man of many talents. He has released 14 albums as BJM. He runs his own record label, A Records, and releases records by The KVB, Magic Castles, The Blue Angel Lounge, and Le Big Byrds. He owns his own recording studio in Berlin. He is married and has a kid in Berlin. Anton has ventured into movie soundtracks. He is already quite well known as the subject of DIG THE MOVIE, as well as providing the theme song for Boardwalk Empire. His 14th release, REVELATION, comes out on May 20th, 2014. When I spoke to him a few days after headlining Austin Psych Fest, he seemed to be in a good mood being back in Los Angelesfor the first time in a while. This week he will be playing three shows in California: at the Observatory in Orange Countyon May 7th, at the Fox Theater in Oaklandon May 8th, and a final show at the Wiltern on May 10th. The rest of the summer the band will be touring and playing festivals all across Europe. Many of the 50+ shows are already sold out. So we have much to look forward to this year and next.
By Alexander Laurence
***
AL: I read somewhere that you were talking about the 1960s and all age venues.
Anton: I was explaining to some people in some interviews in Europe how things changed in the 1960s. Live music was viewed as this youth revolution that could be dangerous. They changed all the laws. They stopped having shows in coffee houses. You had to be 21 years old to see bands. They had gigs in bars. That put the kibosh on kids freaking out anymore. When I was a kid growing up in Orange Countywe would mainly see bands in people’s backyards when their parents weren’t home. When I started being in bands you had to appear to be mature, so you could get the gig at Safari Sams, so you can open for Jane’s Addiction. It was never about youth culture. It was about hanging out with your friend’s older brother. You needed someone who had a car and a driver’s license. It wasn’t cool to be a little teenager.
AL: Yeah. All these bars wanted to sell beer. The teenagers weren’t helping things.
Anton: Me and Mike and Nicky Sjobeck used to sneak in the Cuckoo’s Nest when we were 13. It was funny. We were really good at it. When the bouncer would throw out some punker out the back door, one of us would jet through the back door. We saw all the punk bands that played there. That is how we got into every single club from the time we were 11 on. There are pictures of me singing with The Hated, Minor Threat, and The Dead Kennedys when I was 13. I would just jump up on the mike.
AL: You have been in Berlin for a while now. What is like coming back to Americaand looking around?
Anton: I visited last year. I saw my family. It gets stranger coming back as I get older. I get to see Kim Kardasian’s fat ass and the media. In Berlin, you see the America stuff too. This guy with a big hat is singing a song. I wish sometimes that I could have a house with a small garden in the Hollywood Hills. I get teary eyed about that. It might be nice to live up in Portland. I miss having a garden. It’s something that you never see being in the center of Berlin. It’s very urban.
AL: You have just played Austin Psych Fest. You have played in Austin, Texas on tour a few times. You have been there for SXSW.
Anton: We played SXSW and CMJ in 1996. There was a line around the block to get into our shows. That happened at all our shows. It was ridiculous. Anybody from a record label couldn’t even get in. At some point we stopped playing those festivals. We weren’t even trying to get a big deal with a label, but it was such a circus. The last time we did CMJ was in 2003. We rented a boat and played on the Hudson River. It was insane. It was us and the band Hopewell. There were all these people on mushrooms. We told people to get there at 10pm and it’s a booze cruise. They took the boat up the river to the top of Manhattan. They turned it around and went with the current. We were playing at a manic pace and the NYC skyline was there, and people were freaking out. The weather was perfect. It was a once a lifetime experience.
AL: CMJ and SXSW have lost their purpose. They used to be a place to discover bands. Now they are just places to announce that you have a tour or record coming up.
Anton: What does college radio even mean anymore? You should probably just listen to Gregg Foreman’s podcast I guess.
AL: We are older analog guys. Now you have all this digital stuff, and the culture just seems so fast and there are so many bands.
Anton: I am interested in all mediums. I like all the new formats. Someone like Julian Cope has given up. He thinks that his 13 year old daughter knows better about new music than all this stuff he’s done and provided for him. I like how Ian Astbury is. He is great. He thinks that people don’t respect him now because of the album Electric, which is more like Guns N Roses. They lost their core audience. I saw them in Berlin. They were great.
AL: But there are other people our age who haven’t bought a record in twenty years. Maybe like Jack White has gotten through to them?
Anton: That isn’t me either. When Gaslamp Killer cut that record with that Turkish player, I went out and got that record. I am not going to love everything by Flying Lotus. Some of it is not for me. But there are records that are killer, and then I am into it. As far as psych rock bands: I don’t have time for everyone’s bandcamp because I am putting other’s people records.
AL: So what do you think of Austin Psych Fest?
Anton: What Alex Maas and Christian Bland have done is highly commendable. They do long tours and put the money back into the Festival and other bands. Any person who puts out ten records, on an indie level in this day and age, by other bands, deserves some respect. In the hiphop world, these rappers sign to a label like Master P, and he makes all the money. It’s like a pyramid scheme. I just help people with their records with my distribution system. I could be on some major label. But I have eliminated that part. I don’t need their permission to do anything. I am never going to sell the rights to anything. It becomes like gold because my records are like reorders and sales for twenty years.
AL: Austin Psych Fest seems more focused than SXSW.
Anton: Yeah. It’s good what they are doing. I don’t have to like all the bands. The Zombies were really good. I have a connection to their records my whole life. It was hard to watch them. I played a song with the Dandy Warhols. I had to face the drummer because I was being the music director. I had to show them the chords and where to start and stop. They didn’t know the song. I don’t want people to look at me. If I cared about people watching me, you would google my name and there would be a million pictures of me. It’s like the opposite of the Dandy Warhols. They must have done as many photoshoots as the Beatles by now. I am not interested in that. I did a few interviews at Austin Psych Fest but I can’t talk to everyone. If I did interviews for eight hours, I wouldn’t have a voice for singing by the time we do a show.
AL: What about A Records? There are records by Blue Angel Lounge, The KVB, and Les Big Byrd…. How do you find these bands?
Anton: Dead Skeletons. We have done all kinds of stuff.
AL: The KVB is bass driven, Peter Hook-like…
Anton: Peter Hook. Peter is playing in Spainwhen we are. I know his son is coming to our show. When BBC says “New Order is in the studio,” I say “Where is Hooky?” All that Joy Division/New Order stuff is written by Peter Hook. None of it would exist without him. He came up with every great idea for those bands. If you take always the guitars, it still sounds like him. Hook wrote all those songs in his bedroom. It’s great that Peter Hook is going out there on his own playing those records. For New Order to carry on without him is fucked. Plus Bernard Sumner ripped off one of my songs. What are you doing?

AL: How did you find all these bands for A Records which you help put out?
Anton: The KVB. Doctor Kiko is a tour manager who lives in London. He is an Italian guy who drives around for everybody. He will be at the show with The Kills in Berlin. He will be working. I always see him in Berlinfor coffee. We are friends. He played me The KVB from iTunes. I wanted to put out that record. Bands think that they are real if they are on Bandcamp and get paid 50%. A band is real in this era when it’s available in every medium. All the cassettes I made in 1990 and mailed were not real. They were just demos. A band becomes real when you do the recording in every possible format together. You have to leave town and play shows and sell recordings. That is real. Just exchanging soundclouds with new bands is not enough. You should be doing split singles and shows to push your music along. You do everything you can think of. Bandcamp is just sound that their fucking facebook profile makes. Here’s the picture and here’s the sound the picture makes. I am happy for people. There’s an abundance of stuff. I told KVB let’s put some records out. They were cool. They came to the studio and they got out of their bedrooms. Joe Dilworth from Stereolab played drums on their record.
AL: You played some shows with The KVB?
Anton: Yeah. It was a loop station and the girl playing a synth. It was fine. There are so many of those bands. Dirty Beaches can do this minimal approach on the stage and excel at it. I didn’t see Panda Bear at Austin Psych Fest, but my whole band was wondering when he was going to start. He was standing there with a light show pressing a few buttons on his computer. It was like weak ass karaoke. He was one of the headliners playing to 12,000 people. I don’t jump around too much these days unless something gets into me. I get uptight about my band not playing better.
AL: I saw pictures of Frankie Emerson with an arm sling. Did he break his collarbone?
Anton: I don’t know what to do. He wouldn't take any advice and sit this one out. I guess he needs the money. He should be at a doctor and getting his arm reset. On top of that, he wants to go on this whole summer tour. We only had one practice before Psych Fest. He told me he didn’t have to practice for ten hours because we have played the songs a thousand times. At practice he has forgotten the chords. They are sitting around drinking PBR. We do need to practice.
AL: All bands come to Los Angeles, like Leonard Cohen and The Rolling Stones, and they rehearse for two weeks, and learn all the songs, before any tour.
Anton: No shit. But these guys want all this money to rehearse the show for a week or two. I am the record company so I would have to invest thirty grand into the band before we even played one show. It’s not even doable. I would rather press some more records with that money. It would be cool if my band put in more an effort to learn the songs before we rehearsed.
AL: You can warm up this week, and then by Oaklandand the Wiltern, it should be pretty good.
Anton: It might be great tomorrow night at the Observatory. But if one song sounds weird to me, then that’s enough to put me off. I told them to listen to “Devil May Care” a few times, and get those background vocals in your head. I have a tape of the song going on in my head. I am not playing off the band so much.
AL: You have the perfect form how the song should be in your head, and it’s not matching up with the live reality?
Anton: Exactly. That is the feeling I get. When I was drinking and drugging, I would remember every sound made, every nuance, every part. I was carrying everything with me in any situation. It was like I was holding out to a baby in a tornado. The minute that I stopped drinking that mentality went away. When I am at home a week after a tour, I forget the lyrics of a song that was just so good. It’s so strange. It’s not being older. It’s just being focused and letting yourself go when you are not working. I am relaxed.

AL: When I first heard your music at home was probably around the time of Strung Out In Heaven. When I first heard it, I mistakenly thought that it was “retro.” But after thinking about it for a while I figured out that you were taking the best parts of music and bringing your personality forward. Other bands just copy the previous bands and you don’t know anything about them except what their record collection looks like. They are a little faceless. You may have started out with familiar sounds but at the end you start sounding like yourself and nothing like the previous bands, because the personal touch is so strong.
Anton: If you look at Spaceman 3, they didn’t have any original ideas except the presentation of their music. They would take other great songs and minimizing it to one note. Even Spiritualized is taken from other bands and other songs. My default position was never like “Okay, I will just rip off the Jesus and Mary Chain.” I am interested in music more than style even. That is why I wear blue jeans and play music with no effects.
AL: My problem with many new bands is that they are good copyists without any of their own personality. It’s a very conservative approach to music. It's like they are saying "We are not going to alienate a crowd by being this interesting human being." They are being a little safe, like a band like Interpol.
Anton: They should make it like a life process. It got really bad a few days ago when I saw The Horrors. They went totally 1980s and sounded like Talk Talk. I kid you not. We were laughing.
AL: Would you ever do a solo acoustic tour?
Anton: It has always felt like a solo thing. Nobody would ever have me in a group. My personality? I am headstrong. It’s always been a solo thing but at the same time it was never about me, if you can imagine that. I am someone who can come up with ten great pieces of music. I could think that I have done some of the best music of my life. I can walk away and the buzz goes away. I can then wonder if I can do anything again ever. That happens to me all the time. Some bands are hot for a while because they are riding the wave of the machine, and they do what is expected. The best thing you can do is keep making music regardless of the machine. It’s like Swans, who are still doing great records after all these years. Beck puts out a new record and the machine goes “eh” and moves on.
AL: What do you think of Jack White?
Anton: He’s turning it around. He’s in the mix helping out other people. He transforming from his usual bullshit. The Dead Weather and all that stuff is bullshit. The White Stripes was interesting because of the way he applied that. The Go isn’t that interesting. I don’t like rock and roll the way he likes rock and roll. He likes weird stuff. I respect him when he helps other people. Most bands are more interested in getting a house. Perry Farrell did Lollapalooza. Flea opened a music school in Silverlake. That is cool. If every band that gets into a certain position, helps out other bands, we would have a different music world.
PART TWO will come soon

Brian Jonestown Massacre @ Austin Psych Fest 2014

All photo by Bev Davies


Brian Jonestown Massacre @ Austin Psych Fest 2014Brian Jonestown Massacre @ Austin Psych Fest 2014Brian Jonestown Massacre @ Austin Psych Fest 2014Brian Jonestown Massacre @ Austin Psych Fest 2014Brian Jonestown Massacre @ Austin Psych Fest 2014Brian Jonestown Massacre @ Austin Psych Fest 2014Brian Jonestown Massacre @ Austin Psych Fest 2014Brian Jonestown Massacre @ Austin Psych Fest 2014Brian Jonestown Massacre @ Austin Psych Fest 2014Brian Jonestown Massacre @ Austin Psych Fest 2014

Brian Jonestown Massacre @ The Observatory May 7th

Brian Jonestown Massacre @ The Observatory May 7th
Buy the ticket, take the ride.

Brian Jonestown Massacre @ The Observatory May 7thBrian Jonestown Massacre @ The Observatory May 7thBrian Jonestown Massacre @ The Observatory May 7thBrian Jonestown Massacre @ The Observatory May 7thBrian Jonestown Massacre @ The Observatory May 7thBrian Jonestown Massacre @ The Observatory May 7thBrian Jonestown Massacre @ The Observatory May 7th

Black Bananas shares new video

BLACK BANANAS SHARES NEW VIDEO VIA THE GUARDIAN
ELECTRIC BRICK WALL LP DUE 6/24 VIA DRAG CITY BOOM! "Physical Emotions," the first sonic slab to fall from Black Bananas'  Electric Brick Wall, is a revolutionary listen! Released as a physical (not to mention emotional) 7" single two weeks ago, the density of the "PE" jam on its own is so palpable it virtually creates a kinetic visual representation behind the listener's lids; but how to manifest the sound into something physically fitting for the actual eyes? The sounds found on Electric Brick Wall are constantly moving in strange and unusual ways, making outrageous connections while squeezing through unexpected passages - "Physical Emotions" being a prime time example! YES - with the the rare essence of funkin'sense, Jennifer Herrema kicks and belts her iconic bounce-vibe - no surprises in that department! But everyone needs somebody to love to dance with; to get her partner on, Jennifer coaxes one forth from the community blaster: the hypno-robo-fly Flat Top, unleashed from the i-deck, gets down with Black Bananas' ring leader on multiple planes of physical/emotional "reality," making "Physical Emotions" a full-on, boombox-blasting booty-party of a video! Debuting world-wide with The Guardian earlier today, "Physical Emotions" must now be seen to be believed. "Physical Emotions" is all ready for your turntable or your digital docking station as a single, with it's mothership LP,  Electric Brick Wall, ready to rock the world like a sweet meteor shower come June 24th! 

WATCH: "Physical Emotions" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTuYxZQbqrQ    
More about Jennifer Herrema and Black Bananas:
Another year, another jam-packed dance card for Jennifer Herrema, the matriarch of all things that rock as she surveys them from her high perch in Black Bananas, Feathered Fish, and the JJ X denim line. Not only has she got a twisted new heavy music offering from Black Bananas coming in May (you have to hear Electric Brick Wall and even then you probably won't believe it at first, that's okay, just hang in there), but her fashion-and-elsewhere collaboration with Pamela Love is ready to drop another great new thing at the Purple Mag Boutique in April. And then there's the remixes, the photo shoots and the gallery shows that are on the way. 2014's gonna be just fine, thanks....
Jennifer's embodiment of the rock n roll life has won her a legion of freaks and fans since the early days of Royal Trux - a time when she first stepped to the front of the stage and did nothing other than stand there for a LONG time before she sang - and still blow away the band, the room, and what seemed to be her mind too! Or was that just a part of the vision that she was putting in our mind?
It's to hard to know....which is why we are telling you. It's on purpose, man. Jennifer understands subliminal and cut-up and misdirection, all that lends weight to the hammer she's swinging. It's a straight-ahead approach that's underscored by the in-between things. Like for instance, Jennifer's highly influenced by television and the switching of channels.....watching old shit in HD and new HD shit on her phone. Flip the script, in her hands it'd work just as well upside down and backwards.
Since those early days riding the Trux all over the place, Jennifer's been sought out by would-be stylemasters from everywhere seeking her vibe to help them profile their work - and eventually, to just have her tell them what to do, since she obviously had such a righteous idea of her own to begin with. After featuring in loads of fashion shoots, she has lately turned to the designing of items to be worn in those shoots, collaborating with Volcom on her JJ X line of denim creations, and working with Playboy to bring her singular styling approach to their centerfolds. Jennifer is currently exhibiting in the group show This Is Our Art, This Is Our Music at the David Risley Gallery in Copenhagan right now. If it isn't art, then it's music - she will be DJ'ing Richard Phillips' "MTV RE:DEFINE" event at the Dallas Contemporary Art Museum in April.  
In fact, it starts and ends with music, even while the rest keeps growing. The Black Bananas record is setting up for maximum impact with groove beats standing just as tall as the slabs of power chords, and all of it floating above a buzzing hive of ?!?. Jennifer's working on a 12" extended dance remix of two Electric Brick Wall highlights (there are eleven highlights total), "Physical Emotions" and "Give It To Me." Hot Chip have turned in a remix on "TV Trouble," from the last record. Music is where it's at! But that doesn't mean Jennifer's gonna slack on the fashion side of things or whatever else comes her way.
That's it for today....too much else to do. 2014 is underway, look for Jennifer Herrema, Black Bananas, Feathered Fish and everything else - coming your way.  

Black Bananas
Electric Brick Wall
(Drag City, 6/24/14)

1. Powder 82. Dope on an Island3. Hey Rockin4. Physical Emotions5. Highway Down6. Eve's Child7. Ride the Chump8. Give it to Me9. Creeping Out of Line10. Old Gold Chains11. Bullshit and Lies 

Stream BO NINGEN’s new album 'III' via The Guardian

STREAM BO NINGEN'S NEW ALBUM III VIA THE GUARDIAN
Out on May 20th via Stolen Recordings (May 12th in UK/ROW).

STREAM: III via GuardianWATCH & SHARE: "DaDaDa"
"if I had to describe them in five words it would be "what the hell was that?" In a good way". -Brooklyn Vegan
"Fast sludge rock that will likely pound Foster The People and their ilk into the turf, Bo Ningen will leave some bruises in its wake." -  LA Times
"The Japan-born, London-bred acid-punks jumped around like crazy, making psycho-psych that reached the point of audio electrocution". - CMJ
After have charmed the US crowds with ferocious live shows at SXSW, Coachella and Austin Psych Fest, you can now stream BO NINGEN's new album III via The Guardian
Bo Ningen's third album III will be released by Stolen Recordings on May 20th, 2014 (May 12th in UK/ROW). It is a rich and accomplished album that has seen them evolve musically. It features guest appearances by Jehnny Beth of Savages and Roger Robinson of King Midas Sound and they've sung partly in English for the first time. The album was recorded over several months with the band spending more time on the production and development of the songs. 'III' illustrates Bo Ningen as a group with a singular vision, reaching for what they define as 'pure music', by turns esoteric and a no holds barred sensory assault.


TRACKLIST:
1.DaDaDa2.Psychedelic Misemono Goya (Reprise)3.Slider4.Inu5.CC6.Mukaeni Ikenai7.Maki-Modoshi8.Mitsume9.Ogosokana Ao10.Kaifuku
www.stolenrecordings.co.uk www.facebook.com/pages/Bo-Ningen-official boningen.info

White Hinterland Premieres New Video; Announces US Summer Tour

  White HinterlandPhoto Credit: Derrick Belcham
White Hinterland is thrilled to premiere the video for "No Devotion" on  VEVO  today, the latest track off her standout album, Baby (Out now on Dead Oceans). Spotlighted by Pitchfork, NME and SPIN, Rolling Stone praises Baby for its "operatic quivers, howling yelps" and "haunting harmonic layers." WNYC raves, "It's a record that exudes musical confidence and showcases Dienel's new extroverted and evocative pop identity." Watch the video for "No Devotion" via Youtube here
After touring the UK this month, Casey will return to the US for a string of summer shows this June, including performances in Chicago, Washington DC and New York, before wrapping up the tour in Boston on June 28th. Full show schedule is below. Watch the official video for title-track "Baby" here Watch Casey's impressive performance on WNYC Soundcheck here Biography / Freedom often begins from terror, and White Hinterland's third album, Baby, addresses the fear that comes along with breaking out of established rituals, or leaving a comfortable place, and striking out into the unknown. Four years after her profile-raising release,Kairos (2010), Casey Dienel aka White Hinterland has taken the gloves off and knuckled down to produce a deep, dark, heady mix of songs. After two and a half years of writing and recording material in Montreal and Portland, OR, Dienel moved back in to her family home in Scituate, MA. There she forged a new aesthetic, spending five months building her own studio, The Glades, in her parents' basement - the same space where she practiced piano and vocal lessons as a child. Determined to helm her new album, Dienel spent months studying production, poring over YouTube tutorials about Protools, mic'ing techniques and other minutiae.
Armed with this self-taught skill and her new studio, Dienel set forth to subvert the existing power structure of male producer as svengali and female artist as figurehead (see: Billy Corgan/Courtney Love, Timbaland/Aaliyah, Phil Spector/The Ronettes). She created her own, new path on Baby, which showcases her as a singer/songwriter/producer who has only become bolder and more resolute over the past three-plus years. Calling in her friends as pinch hitters, Dienel worked acclaimed musicians Sean Carey (Bon Iver, S. Carey), Neal Morgan (Joanna Newsom, Bill Callahan), and Cole Kamen-Green (Beyoncé).
On her early records, Dienel projected her fears and fantasies onto imaginary characters, role play, and lush atmospherics. If Kairos was a work of atmosphere, a forty-minute-long reverie without any narrative, thenBaby sits at the opposite end of that spectrum. Baby is about song craft. It is forceful, rooted in the physicality of the voice, percussion and piano, and it is about getting straight to the point, which Dienel does on the very first song. Lead-off track "Wait Until Dark" begins a capella, just Dienel's voice in a reverberant room. That voice is capable of carrying a significant melodic and emotional load, and on Baby's title track it swoops dramatically from an edge-of-cliff howl to her crystalline upper-range, then back down to a soulful growl. By the end of the song, sounding exhausted but ready to push forward, Dienel again drops away the arrangement, leaving just her voice, stripped bare and pushed to the very edges of its significant range, "Say I'll take a sip, but I can't leave a drop," she repeats over and over: "Is this my weakness?" These audacious choices were intentional, she says, "As producer I made the call to scale back the reverb, saw off the synths and seat my voice front and center for the first time. It was not accidental."
The themes explored on Baby are universal but it is Dienel's singular reaction to what life has thrown in front of her that makes the record unique. "I would say the themes of this record to me are personal agency, strength, growth, determination," she posits. "And to get those things is usually fucking terrifying and comes with casualties and loss." Call it Millennial Anxiety, if you like. "White Noise" erupts over alcoholism and abandonment while "Wait Until Dark" and "Sickle No Sword" are paeans to violence and breaches of security. On the unsparing "Dry Mind" mention is made of "No Plan B, no B.A., No Exit." "Live With You" and "Baby" take aim at both the narrator and object of desire. "David" describes the dangerous lotus-eater effect of nostalgia, both a eulogy to the past and a celebration of life even at its most brutal. "No Devotion" asks the question of nature vs. nurture. Do we inherit these behaviors or are they learned over the time? And can we unlearn them?
Baby's production is marked by extremes, and it continually returns to the piano, Dienel's first love. Where her earlier work occasionally showcased a strong Joni Mitchell influence, on new songs like "David" she finds herself in Fiona Apple territory. "Whatever you say, don't say we we're lucky. Whatever you do, don't call it chance," she croons with a mixture of regret and relief. "That's like saying it was an accident when I was running at you with my sharpest knife." Her lifelong love of R&B and gospel also comes to the fore, these resonant styles complement and contrast the sharp dynamic shifts, booming drums, and blasts of brass. Consider "Ring the Bell": her confident vocals buoy the song as it grows larger and more forthright, winding itself up into a maelstrom that feels like the seasick experience of falling head over heels in love. On "Metronome," Baby's centerpiece and most assertive track, she declares, "All day long I'm a boss." She's not asking for someone to serve as a steadying influence, but instead requiring that it's necessary to keep up withher.
Dienel's Baby is both the pop cliché of "Oooh, Baby Baby" and Dienel telling herself to stop being such a baby. It is a word of both endearment and dismissal, repurposed to serve her needs. It's a cathartic embrace of hardship, the crucible which can forge the strongest steel. It is the past three years of her life distilled into song: joy, heartbreak, frustration, longing, disappointment, anger, and loss accumulated, poured out and reborn in this new, unflinching release. Baby | Tracklisting /01. Wait Until Dark
02. Dry Mind
03. Ring the Bell
04. David
05. Baby
06. White Noise
07. Metronome
08. No Devotion
09. Sickle No Sword
10. Live With YouUpcoming Tour Dates05.09.14 - Digital (The Great Escape Festival) - Brighton, UK
05.10.14 - The Prince Albert (The Great Escape Festival) - Brighton, UK
05.12.14 - Brudenell Social Club - Leeds, UK
05.13.14 - Broadcast - Glasgow, UK *
05.14.14 - Birthdays - London, UK
05.15.14 - Manchester Art Gallery - Manchester, UK
05.17.14 - Dokbox - Gent, BE **
05.18.14 - Crystal Club - Berlin, DE
05.20.14 - Scandic Grand Central - Stockholm,  SE
05.22.14 - Vega (Ideal Bar) - Copenhagen, DK
05.23.14 - Fonden VoxHall (Atlast) - Aarhus, DK
05.25.14 - Paradiso - Amsterdam,  NE
06.20.14 - Club Cafe - Pittsburgh, PA
06.21.14 - MOTR Pub - Cincinnati, OH
06.22.14 - Do317 - Indianapolis, IN
06.23.14 - The Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
06.25.14 - DC9 - Washington, DC
06.27.14 - Rough Trade - Brooklyn, NY
06.28.14 - Middle East Upstairs - Boston, MA
* w/ Cobill and Trust
** w/ Xiu Xiu