Portugal. The Man Interviewed in Seattle Weekly

[blogs.seattleweekly.com] ​Confession: For the past four or five days, I've really only been listening to one song. In my defense, it's a really, really good song. Last Friday Atlantic Records sent me a four-song sampler of some brand-new stuff from Portugal. The Man's forthcoming sixth album, In the Mountain in the Cloud, including what will be the first single, "So American," an earworm of a song with an elegant melody bolstered by cellos and steel drums. (Yeah, steel drums.) (Unfortunately the song hasn't been released to the public yet, so you'll just have to believe me when I say it's great.)* I liked the song so much I had to get PTM's ridiculously lovable frontman John Gourley on the phone to talk about it. We ended up talking about more than just the song, like Motown, conservative talk radio, and the Palin kids. Read on.

When's the new album going to come out? Who's been working on it?

Gourley: Towards the end of summer. Andy Wallace, who everybody should know--he worked with Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, Slayer, Jeff Buckley. He worked on some of our all-time favorite records. Does amazing work... He is just on top of his shit. We kind of just gave [the record] to him knowing it was Andy Wallace, and I mean, fuck our notes anyway. Whatever he's going to do, he's going to do. He focuses and highlights all the band's strong points. Also one of the nicest guys I've ever talked to. I realized the other day--this was one of those really surreal moments--he had called me up and I missed his call, and as I open up my phone I hit his speed-dial number, and realize I have Andy Wallace on speed dial. He's one of the coolest and most respected people in music for all of us.

What did you write this album about?

Originally I was going to write about my grandfather passing away... He was my first close family member who passed away. It just made me think about life and death and how little it bothered me. For whatever reason. He was a great guy. But my family's always kind of been like this. It's not something that worries us or bothers us, if it happens it happens.

Well, the recording process was really intense. It was intense on all of us. We had just signed to Atlantic Records, and we wanted to deliver a good album. We wanted to write our best songs. We ended up putting so much pressure on ourselves, it just stressed out this whole process of recording, and the whole album just became all of my thoughts throughout that year and everything I was witnessing with the band and how we interact and how we interact with the outside world. I'll call it that because we really live in a bubble. We really live in a fucking van. So it just became so much more than that. It's basically just commentary on everything that we get to see. We travel around the world. I was actually thinking about this this morning, just because I was on Twitter and I was seeing Tweets from bands that were in Paris and Amsterdam, and I thought it was so funny that these people, most of them high-school dropouts, never went to college--why are these people given the opportunity to travel around the world? I hope they really appreciate it.

Are you a college dropout?

Oh yeah, totally.

So you were wondering that about yourself.

Yeah, yeah.

Do you like Portland better than Wasilla?

Um, I wouldn't... no.

Do you miss Alaska?

I honestly miss Alaska. Mainly because I just sit in the woods when I'm back home. I don't even leave my house really in Portland. It's just the way I am. I've never been a really social person. I have fun with people and I like being around people, but I kind of just watch nerdy movies and draw all day.

READ THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW HERE.

Here Holy Spain Featured on Pop Matters

[popmatters.com] Here Holy Spain is rooted in Dallas’s oft-neglected music scene, but its punk grunt, sonic savviness, and gut-level rock ’n roll nuances explode well beyond the death zone of John F. Kennedy. Although irreverent neighbors like Reverend Horton Heat and the Toadies call North Texas a home, the megalopolis remains aloof in the American pop music consciousness compared to its southern sister Austin, which seems to ooze with reporters chasing the next trendsetters.

Up-close and face first, Here Holy Spain is a consummate power trio whose heavy combative licks feel more like the 1990s than today’s era of Cee-Lo and Arcade Fire. As such, the tough vein it probes is akin to the stoner rock of Nebula and Fu Manchu, with screamo [ed note: screamo?? are we listening to the same band?!?!] edges for added potency, and moody, atmospheric rhythmic roiling too, such as the slowdowns on “Names” from its latest album Division.

Still, the group avoid minefields that might stem from its style: it avoids warp speed and amphetamine angst; it refrains from stuttering metallic mosh pit hamminess; and it doesn’t fly the flag of ornery hell-raising with a Southern backbone. The band is more methodical, balanced, and tuneful, able to wield rhythmic curves and deafening sonic blasts in equally controlled measures, as “Waiting, Wearing Your Skin” evinces.

READ MORE HERE.

Mark Lanegan Releases Bobblehead Doll + More

[pitchfork.com] Former Screaming Trees frontman, Isobel Campbell/Gutter Twins/Twilight Singers/Soulsavers/Queens of the Stone Age collaborator and boozy, downbeat solo artist Mark Lanegan is one of the least cartoonish people in the entire rock landscape. Yet you can now purchase an inches-tall plastic version of the man from his own website. If you've ever wanted a grizzled, apocalyptic post-grunge singer-songwriter constantly nodding at you from the corner of your desk or dashboard, now's your chance.

It features Lanegan in a suit, holding a cigarette, on a stand that reads "The Night Porter" (an allusion to a lyric from Lanegan's song "When Your Number Isn't Up".) The bobblehead even has Lanegan's hand tattoos!

In slightly less ridiculous Lanegan news, he's contributed a song called "Burning Jacob's Ladder" to the post apocalyptic shooter video game Rage, which arrives in September from id Software. The song plays during the trailer of the game, which you can watch below. Don't watch it if you're the type of person who doesn't like to feel like you're being attacked by pixelated mutants.

Lanegan will play a few solo acoustic shows on the West Coast in June, and he's also got some European dates coming up with frequent collaborator Isobel Campbell. His touring plans are below.

06-12 Hollywood, CA - Hollywood Forever Cemetery ^
06-14 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall ^
06-16 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge ^
06-17 Seattle, WA - Neptune ^
07-08 Antwerp, Belgium - Cactus Festival *
07-10 Turku, Finland - Ruisrock Festival *
07-12 Glasgow, Scotland - Grand Ole Opry *
07-13 Lancaster, England - Library *
07-14 Manchester, England - Cathedral *
07-16 Suffolk, England - Latitude *

^ with Sean Wheeler, Zander Schloss
* with Isobel Campbell

Meat Puppets Debut "Orange" Video

[press release] Legendary rock trio Meat Puppets premiere the first video off their recently released 13th LP, Lollipop. Watch heads explode, rattle, and spin in the trippy Pitchfork-premiered video for "Orange." The video was directed by Mike Etoll. See more of his work HERE.

Lollipop is OUT NOW on Megaforce Records. Download the first track off the new LP, "Damn Thing." Produced by band leader Curt Kirwood, and recorded at Spoon's HiFi Studio in Austin, Lollipop features the indelible Kirkwood brothers back at work and back at play on 12 powerful new original cuts.

The Meat Puppets kick off tour dates with Slightly Stoopid before heading to this years' All Tomorrow's Parties festival curated by Animal Collective where they will be performing Up On The Sun. ATP have put together a festival mix featuring the title track to that classic LP.

Meat Puppets Tour Dates:

Apr 27 - Busters - Lexington, KY
Apr 28 - The Valarium - Knoxville, TN
Apr 30 - Starship Records - Tulsa, OK
Apr 30 - Cain's Ballroom - Tulsa, OK
May 1 - Liberty Hall - Lawrence, KS
May 3 - Simon Estes Amphitheater - Des Moines, IA
May 5 - The Venue - Fargo, ND
May 6 - First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN
May 7 - The Pageant - St. Louis, MO
June 8 - The Blue Light - Lubbock, TX
June 9 - Santa Fe Brewing Co. - Santa Fe, NM
June 10 - Launchpad - Albuquerque, NM
June 11 - The Clubhouse - Phoenix, AZ
June 14 - Casbah - San Diego, CA
June 15 - Detroit Bar - Costa Mesa, CA
June 16 - Echo - Los Angeles, CA
June 17 - Independent - San Francisco, CA
June 18 - Humboldt Brews - Arcata, CA
June 20 - Wild Buffalo - Bellingham, WA
June 21 - Crocodile - Seattle, WA
June 22 - Doug Fir - Portland, OR
June 23 - Neurolux - Boise, ID
June 25 - Urban Lounge - Salt Lake City, UT
June 26 - Abbey Theater - Durango, CO
June 29 - Bluebird - Denver, CO
June 30 - Record Bar - Kansas City, MO
July 1 - The Waiting Room - Omaha, NE
July 9 - Summerfest - Milwaukee, WI
Aug 20 - Crispy Music Fest @ White's Bar - Saginaw, MI

Quick Notes: Foo Fighters, Portugal. The Man, Dead Confederate + More

*[blogs.dallasobserver.com] Well, that was fast: Just two days after the Foo Fighters rolled through the region to perform a secret show in a fan's garage as part of their Blackberry-backed promotional tour, the band has rolled out their video recap of the event. It's a fun watch, too, if a little heavy on the typical Dallas and rural cliches, as heard most eye-rolling-inducingly at the clip's end when someone wondered aloud, "How does a cow get up after you tip it?"



*Portugal. The Man have posted another teaser from their upcoming album, this one for the song "You Carried Us (Share With Me The Sun)"...



*Enter Dead Confederate's Poster Design contest via Music Allies to win Hangout Festival passes. Visit HERE for instructions on how to enter your design for a $500 cash prize and 2 festival passes for the weekend. To purchase Hangout Festival passes, visit HERE.

Dead Confederate would also like to encourage you to attend Sandcastle Festival in Charleston, SC at The Music Farm. Event information can be found HERE. Be on the lookout for some exciting new music from Dead Confederate this spring. Hope to see you out at these great events in May.

*[pitchfork.com] A few things about this video of No Age bashing and shouting through Everything in Between standout "Depletion" on Greek television station ANT1: First off, the duo's mutual mustaches are kind of ridiculous in a great way. Second, the TV studio they're playing in is undoubtedly one of the most rock club-looking studio settings out there, and it makes other variety show setups look like Pat Boone's fucking living room by comparison. Oh yeah, also, "Depletion" is still an awesome song. Check out the performance below (via Prefix)...



*[pitchfork.com] As Rolling Stone reports, punk rock lifer Mike Watt ended his show at Seattle's Triple Rock last night in a very big way: Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl, and Germs/Nirvana/Foo Fighters guitarist Pat Smear emerged on stage to re-create their 1995 tour together. The impromptu band started out playing "Big Train", a song from Watt's ripe-for-rediscovery 1995 all-star album Ball-Hog or Tugboat?, before breaking into a 10-minute jam. Sadly, they never got around to "Against the 70s". A fan in the crowd filmed the whole thing, and his "Oh, no shit!" when he realizes what's happening is great. Check out the video below. Dave Grohl sure knows how to wallop some motherfucking drums...



*The new earthtone9 EP is finished, wrapped up, polished and ready for your aural delectation. It features four tracks and 3 videos. If you head over to PLEDGE MUSIC you can PRE-ORDER IT NOW. It will be injected into your brain next week. C'mon - show some love folks! You can also order earthtone9 t-shirts, signed lyric sheets, drumsticks and all kinds of jazz! Here's the tracklisting:

Tide Of Ambition
Ghosts
The Trail That We Carved Out
Reborn
Tide Of Ambition (video)
Evil Crawling I (video)
Tat Twam Asi (video)

Quick Notes: Radiohead, Fugazi, Manchester Orchestra + More

*[pitchfork.com] While the regular version of Radiohead's latest album, The King of Limbs, has been out for weeks, the deluxe edition "Newspaper Album" is scheduled to come out on May 9. For now, a few purported images of what, exactly, the thing looks like have leaked to the Internet. A couple can be seen above and below; go HERE for more. According to the King of Limbs website, the "newspaper album" contains "two clear 10" vinyl records in a purpose-built record sleeve," "a compact disc," and "many large sheets of artwork, 625 tiny pieces of artwork and a full-colour piece of oxo-degradeable plastic to hold it all together."

UPDATE: Several readers have written in to say they have received The King of Limbs deluxe edition in the mail, and these photos are indeed of the "newspaper album." Images of Radiohead's "Newspaper Album" edition of The King of Limbs:



*[FMQB.com] Punk icons Fugazi are in the process of digitally archiving every single live show from their 15-year career, which will be made available online for fans. Frontman Ian MacKaye says the group is working on converting "thousands" of live recordings from DAT and cassette tapes to digital files. He told the blog Approaching Oblivion: "We're hoping it will be up in the near future. The idea at the moment is to start it with 100 shows. Then put 20 more on every month or something. Were still building the site, it's an interesting an complicated process."

*Manchester Orchestra have posted a video of yesterday's live chat discussing their highly anticipated third album Simple Math, due out May 10th...



*[theprp.com] Eagles Of Death Metal frontman Jesse Hughes is moving forward with his Boots Electric solo project. Hughes is currently in the studio with producer Tony Hoffer (Beck, Depeche Mode) working on the as-yet untitled outing with a fall release through Dangerbird in the cards. In addition to material written by Hughes, the effort will also feature songs co-written by Money Mark (Beastie Boys, etc.)

*[consequenceofsound.net] When listening to a song with the lyrics “Spread your legs/Insert your alibi”, “Come taste the body”, and “Lick your lips” images of sexual acts are hard to repress, but according to The Twilight Singer’s Greg Dulli, he doesn’t know what exactly his lyrics to “On The Corner” mean. Describing his writing process for the new album Dynamite Steps in a recent interview with SPIN, Dulli revealed that “I try to find words that sound good and that my mouth enjoys saying, but their meaning usually doesn’t come to me until later.”

Innuendoes or not, the Twilight Singers’ late night performance on Letterman got viewers dancing between the sheets. The performance builds off of the steady percussive beat, a simple piano melody, and Dulli’s gritty vocals, but the song doesn’t really take off until some unknown character takes their place. Really, no meaning? Check the video below, and keep an ear open for the riffs courtesy of guitarist Dave Rosser (via The Audio Perv).



*Earthtone9 have posted their video for "Tide of Ambition," their first new release in over a decade. The track comes from their soon to be released EP For Cause and Consequence...



*A message from Shoes And Socks Off... "Facebook page is gonna get it any day now. Join the mailing list HERE to stay up to date with... things. Come the end of the month, everyone on the list will receive a free new song/video called 'Made'. This song will not be on the new album."

*[rcrdlbl.com] “Diamond,” from Priestbird’s Beachcombers, out May 3rd from Benzod, is a heavy piece of psychedelic rock with drums that kick you right in the chest and some nasty sounding electric guitar that crackles and pops. The band, which features Greg Rogove from Devendra Banhart, is like classic blues cooked in a spoon. The refrain here, “When I wake I’ll want the same,” is a statement devoid of any clear referent, that still sounds sexy, even if it comes off like more of a curse than a desire. Priestbird's last album, In Your Time, was an underappreciated masterpiece, mining metal, blues, folk, and psych-rock. Don’t let this one go unnoticed.



*[FMQB.com] Actress Kate Hudson confirmed on the Today show this morning that she is engaged to Muse frontman Matt Bellamy. The couple announced earlier this year that they are having a child together. As reported yesterday, Muse is one of the headliners for Lollapalooza in Chicago this August.

Ty Segall Releases New Single + Tour Dates

[pitchfork.com] The young San Francisco garage rock basher Ty Segall has a new album, Goodbye Bread, coming June 21 from Drag City. And on May 17, that same label will also release "I Can't Feel It", a new 7" single from Segall. The A-side comes from Goodbye Bread, and it's backed by a non-album B-side, "Falling Hair". Clips of both songs are streaming HERE.

Segall also has a bunch of dates coming up in North America and Europe. We've got his dates below...

04-30 Norman, OK - OK Festival *
05-17 Hamburg, Germany - Hafenklang
05-18 Erfurt, Germany - SG-Club
05-19 Berlin, Germany - West Germany
05-20 Groningen, Netherlands - Vera
05-21 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
05-22 Tilburg, Netherlands - 013
05-25 Bordeaux, France - Festival Relanche
05-26 Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Sound
05-28 Vercors, France - Vercors Festival
05-30 Antwerp, Belgium - Trix
05-31 Liège, Belgium - La Zone
06-01 Torcoing, France - Le Grand Mix
06-02 Paris, France - Filmer La Musique Festival
06-03 Lyon, France - Nuits Sonores Festival
06-16 Toronto, Ontario - The Garrison (NXNE)
06-17 Toronto, Ontario - Wrongbar (NXNE)
06-18 Toronto, Ontario - Bovine Sex Club (NXNE)
07-02 San Francisco, CA - The Independent
07-21 San Diego, CA - Casbah @
07-22 Los Angeles, CA - Eagle Rock Center @
07-24 Las Vegas, NV - Beauty Bar @
07-25 Reno, NV - Holland Project @
07-28 Portland, OR - East End @
07-29 Seattle, WA - Crocodile Café @
07-30 Vancouver, British Columbia - Biltmore Cabaret @
08-14 San Francisco, CA - Outside Lands Festival

* with the Walkmen, Peelander-Z, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
@ with Audacity

Middle Class Rut Offer Update + Tour Dates

A message from Middle Class Rut... "Back on tour. For the late May shows we're taking out another Sacramento band called Lite Brite, go check them out here. In LA now shooting another video then we head to Texas for the first show. See the events section for full details HERE. Working on a couple of releases for early summer. We put together a lyric book for the songs on No Name No Color which is in production now, and we'll also be releasing a 10 inch vinyl with some live and previously unreleased songs. Photos and release dates will be posted as we get them. Until then check the dates and come to a show!"

April 30th in Frisco, TX @ Pizza Hut Park
May 1st in Spring, TX @ Cynthia Mitchel Pavillion
May 4th in Colorado Springs, CO @ The Black Sheep
May 5th in Magna, UT @ The Great Saltair
May 21st in Washington, DC @ RFK Stadium - DC Chili Cookoff
May 22nd in Albany, NY @ Jillians
May 23rd in Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Chance
May 24th in Rochester, NY @ Water Street (small room)
May 25th in Buffallo, NY @ Mohwak Place
May 27th in Lansing,m MI @ The Loft (Harem Lounge)
May 28th in Noblesville, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Center

UME Sign to Modern Outsider Records

[press release] Modern Outsider Records is thrilled to announce they have just signed female-fronted indie rock trio Ume and instrumental cinescapers The Calm Blue Sea. The Austin-based upstart label is gearing up to have an exciting summer as it will release Ume's anticipated debut LP, Phantoms, following the reissue of The Calm Blue Sea's 2008 eponymous self-released full-length, which will be pressed on vinyl and made available digitally in July with previously unreleased bonus tracks. "We couldn't be more honored to be working with both of these fantastic bands," said Chip Adams, co-founder. "We first met with Ume when Modern Outsider was just an idea and the band's album was still in progress. To see the partnership come to fruition is a dream come true." "The Calm Blue Sea's powerful cinematic music is something we've been obsessing over for quite some time and we have wanted to work with them for a while but the opportunity wasn't there until the launch of Modern Outsider," said Erin Adams, co-founder. "We're proud to be reissuing their amazing debut album, giving their music a chance for a much broader audience."

Calling Austin home since 2007, Ume (pronounced ooo-may) has already made quite a name for themselves on the strength of their self-released Sunshower EP and dynamic, awe-inducing live show, described by Brooklyn Vegan as both "poppy and surprisingly heavy, powerful and charming" consisting of "all flailing hair, swinging arms, and wild movements." Front woman Lauren Larson (guitar and vocals), husband Eric Larson (bass) and Rachel Fuhrer (drums) were handpicked by Rolling Stone last year as one of 16 unsigned bands to compete for the cover of the magazine. "Distortion-heavy jams (and the whole marriage thing) invite comparisons to Sonic Youth, but Ume do more headbanging and wailing," they declared. The trio, who have also garnered comparisons to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, have played more than 300 shows including three national tours and shows with the likes of Arcade Fire, Marnie Stern, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Polvo, The Meat Puppets and Warpaint. The band's forthcoming album is a beautiful head-on collision of Lauren Larson's impressive guitar shredding and beguiling voice that ranges from a devilish coo to an unassuming snarl. Combining a keen sense of melody with adroit musicianship, Phantoms is a captivating listen that will appeal to listeners across a broad spectrum as it marries indie rock, '90s alternative, shoegaze and pop hooks with exhilarating results. Ume is poised for big things in 2011.

Modern Outsider was founded in Austin, Texas in October 2010 as a full-service management company and record label by husband and wife team, Chip and Erin Adams. Collectively, they have well over a decade of experience in various facets of the music industry, from radio promotion at Dangerbird Records, Capitol Records, The Syndicate and Cornerstone where they also handled digital marketing; they were in charge of editorial at the tastemaking site, TheTripwire.com. Their mission is simple: discover and release great music while building a tight-knit community for their artists. Modern Outsider Management's roster consists of the critically acclaimed Cincinnati duo Bad Veins, Manchester, UK indie rockers The Answering Machine and The Calm Blue Sea. Ume and The Calm Blue Sea join LA/NYC duo Soft Swells at Modern Outsider Records.

Hooray For Earth Debut "True Loves" Video + More

[press release] In anticipation of the release of Hooray For Earth's debut album, True Loves on June 7th (Dovecote Records), The Song 'True Loves' and Remixes of the Song 'True Loves' is now available for purchase on iTunes. The single boasts remixes from Hard Mix, Rx, Fol Chen, The Hood Internet, Cereal Spiller and New Moods in addition to the original studio version.

The "True Loves" video was directed by Young Replicant, an LA based production team who has also created videos for M83 and Baths. "The video is an homage to our favorite Russian and eastern-European cult sci-fi. French artist Moebius and early Metal Hurlant were also big visual influences," explains director Alex Takacs. "It's about mindscapes and the memory of true love."

"True Loves" is one of ten stand out tracks on Hooray For Earth's debut album. Lead singer Noel Heroux wrote, recorded, and produced about 90% of the new album, with bassist Christopher Principe and guitarist/live synthist Gary Benacquista peppering parts in a few sessions and drummer Joseph Ciampini adding two days of rooftop drum tracking. Mixed by Chris Coady (Beach House, Blonde Redhead, Delorean, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio), the album might as well be a direct link to the exciting mind of Heroux.

THE SONG 'TRUE LOVES' AND REMIXES OF THE SONG 'TRUE LOVES' Tracklisting:
1. True Loves
2. True Loves (Hard Mix Remix)
3. True Loves (Rx Remix)
4. True Loves (Fol Chen Remix)
5. True Loves (The Hood Internet Remix feat. Donwill)
6. True Loves (Cereal Spiller Remix)
7. True Loves (New Moods Remix)

TOUR DATES:

6/1 - Henry Fonda Theatre, Los Angeles, CA #
6/2 - Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA #
6/3 - Slim's, San Francisco, CA #
6/4 - Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR #
6/5 - The Venue, Vancouver, BC #
6/6 - Neumo's, Seattle, WA #
6/9 - Varsity Theater, Minneapolis, MN #
6/10 - Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL #
6/11 - The Mod Club, Toronto, ONT #
6/12 - La Tulipe, Montreal, QC #
6/13 - The Paradise, Boston, MA #
6/15 - Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY #
6/16 - Webster Hall, New York, NY #
6/17 - Black Cat, Washington, DC #
6/18 - World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA #

# with Architecture In Helsinki

Quick Notes: Josh Homme + Alain Johannes, Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters + More

*[theprp.com] Queens Of The Stone Age mastermind Josh Homme and frequent collaborator Alain Johannes have recorded a new theme song for “Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1” – the upcoming rebranded reboot of the animated Adult Swim show, “Aqua Teen Hunger Force“. The new series will premiere on May 08th, with an announcement on that available below, while the new theme song can be heard over at Pitchfork.com.

In related news, Josh Homme will appear in a forthcoming episode of TLC’s No Reservations, according to the show’s Twitter account.



*[pitchfork.com] These days, former alt-rock heroes the Smashing Pumpkins just aren't who they used to be. Quite literally, in fact: at this point, the band's immortal 1990s lineup is long gone. But a reminder of the Smashing Pumpkins' glory days is on the way, in the form of an extensive reissue series featuring fully remastered deluxe editions of the band's output between 1991 and 2000, complete with bonus material.

EMI will kick off the two-year campaign this fall with reissues of the band's 1991 debut Gish, 1993's Siamese Dream, and the 1994 compilation Pieces Iscariot. Next year will see re-releases of 1995's double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, the 1996 box set The Aeroplane Flies High, and 1998's Adore. 2013 will bring the 2000 companion albums Machina/the Machines of God and Machina II: the Friends & Enemies of Modern Music. A best-of compilation is also set for 2013.

*[consequenceofsound.net] Foo Fighters might have the #1 album in the land, but the band is showing no signs of slowing down. For one, Dave Grohl and co. will release their new documentary, Back and Forth, on DVD and Blu-ray on June 14th. As previously reported, the James Moll-directed film chronicles the entire history of the Foo Fighters “from the cassette demos Grohl recorded during his tenure as Nirvana’s drummer through their ascent to [becoming] one of the biggest rock bands on the planet.” Pre-orders are now ongoing at Amazon.com.

The band also recently stopped by Fuse to debut the winners of their “My Video Sucks” contest. The promotion called on aspiring directors to make videos for each track off the band’s new album, Wasting Light. Below, you can watch the clip for “White Limo”, which features a cameo by singer-songwriter Kaki King. (She’s the one head banging at the 2:20 mark).



*Manchester Orchestra have posted their new track "Virgin" for streaming below. The song comes from their highly anticipated third album Simple Math, due out May 10th...

Virgin by Manchester Orchestra

*[theprp.com] According to their Facebook, A Perfect Circle have tapped Red Bacteria Vacuum to open for them on all non-festival dates of their upcoming North American Headlining Tour.

*[theprp.com] Barn Burner have debuted their new track “Keg Stand And Deliver” online over at Metalblade.com you can also check it out below. The song is taken from their new album “Bangers II: Scum Of The Earth“, which they are readying for a June 07th release date via Metal Blade.

Barn Burner "Keg Stand and Deliver" by Metal Blade Records

Lollapalooza Line-Up Revealed: Foo Fighters, A Perfect Circle, Death From Above 1979 + More

[consequenceofsound.net] Like every other North American music festival, Lollapalooza is celebrating a milestone in 2011 — Perry Farrell’s annual music extravaganza is no longer a teenager. The festival turns 20 during the weekend of August 5-7 and it will celebrate in Chicago’s Grant Park with a lineup topped by Eminem, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Muse, My Morning Jacket, and Deadmau5.

Other heavyweights include A Perfect Circle, Bright Eyes, The Cars, Big Audio Dynamite, Ween, Arctic Monkeys, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley and Nas, Explosions in the Sky, Death From Above 1979, Deftones, Cee-Lo Green, Beirut, Flogging Molly, OK Go, The Kills, and Cold War Kids.

A number of indie favorites are confirmed, including The Mountain Goats, Atmosphere, Titus Andronicus, Ratatat, Best Coast, Crystal Castles, White Lies, Lykke Li, Local Natives, Black Lips, Delta Spirit, Sleigh Bells, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Wye Oak, The Drums, Smith Westerns, The Naked and Famous, Phantogram, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., The Joy Formidable, Young the Giant, and Cults.

If that weren’t enough, Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump, Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Cage the Elephant, Rival Schools, The Chain Gang of 1974, Friendly Fires, Portugal. The Man, Manchester Orchestra, Two Door Cinema Club, Noah & The Whale, Lissie, Foster the People, Mayer Hawthorne & the County, Fences, City and Colour, and Gold Motel are also confirmed.

This year’s edition will also feature an expansion of Perry’s Place, the festival’s electronic-oriented stage. Designed to accommodate a crowd of 15,000, the area will host the likes of Girl Talk, Kid Cudi, Pretty Lights, Skrillex, The Glitch Mob, Jay Electronica, Modeselektor, Daedulus, Feed Me, Busy P, and Joachim Garraud.

Find a complete list of confirmed acts HERE. Three day and VIP passes are priced at $215.00 and $850.00, respectively, and are now available via the festival’s website.

Mogwai Reschedule Tour Dates

[consequenceofsound.net] Just last week, Scottish post-rockers Mogwai announced that they would be postponing five dates on the East coast leg of their upcoming U.S. tour due to visa issues. Looks like they’ve gotten everything straightened out—and fast—because the aforementioned shows are postponed no more. Beginning September 26th, Mogwai are set to hit New York City for the first of two gigs, with performances in Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Boston following right behind. And just in time for their appearance at the highly-anticipated ATP “I’ll Be Your Mirror” Festival in Asbury Park, NJ on October 2nd.

In addition to the rescheduled dates, there are plenty of other chances to catch Mogwai on the road over the coming months, including a number of appearances throughout the European summer festival season. Check out the complete list of confirmed tour dates below. Further ticketing information can be found on the official Mogwai tour page or via Seatgeek.

Mogwai 2011 Tour Dates:

04/26 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
04/27 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theater
04/28 – Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall
04/29 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
04/30 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
05/02 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre
05/03 – Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
05/05 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
05/06 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
05/07 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market
05/09 – San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom
05/10 – Los Angeles, CA @ Mayan Theatre
05/11 – San Diego, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
05/13 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre
05/15 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre
05/16 – Austin, TX @ Stubbs’ Waller Creek
05/17 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
05/19 – Birmingham, AL @ Workplay Theatre
05/20 – Atlanta, GA @ Center Stage
05/21 – Nashville, TN @ Exit In
05/26 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound
07/01 – Duisberg, DE @ Traumzeit Festival
07/02 – St. Gallen, CH @ OpenAir Festival
07/04 – Paris, FR @ Folies Bergeres
07/14 – Aix-les-Bains, FR @ Musilac Festival
07/15 – Dour, BE @ Dour Festival
07/23 – London, UK @ iTunes Festival
07/29 – Woodford, AU @ Splendour in the Grass
08/05 – Myslowice, PL @ OFF Festival
08/12 – St. Malo, FR @ La Route du Rock Festival
09/03 – North Dorset, UK @ End of the Road
09/09 – Isle of Wight, UK @ Bestival
09/26 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
09/27 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
09/28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Starlight Ballroom
09/29 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
10/01 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
10/02 – Asbury Park, NJ @ All Tomorrow’s Parties “I’ll Be Your Mirror”

Thurston Moore Announce More Tour Dates

[consequenceofsound.net] Thurston Moore’s latest solo effort, the Beck-produced Demolished Thoughts, arrives May 24th via Matador, and he’ll be supporting the release with a West coast tour featuring labelmates Kurt Vile and the Violators. The trek, which follows Moore’s May 20th one-off in Brooklyn and an appearances at Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival and the Pitchfork Music Festival, kicks off July 18th in Minneapolis. Moore and Vile will then hit Vancouver, BC and Portland, OR, before making their way into California for dates in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Find all confirmed tour dates below.

Thurston Moore 2011 Tour Dates:

05/20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
06/25 – North Adams, MA @ Solid Sound Festival
06/26 – North Adams, MA @ Solid Sound Festival
07/15 – Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Music Festival
07/16 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
07/18 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Thratre *
07/21 – Vancouver, BC @ The Rickshaw Theatre *
07/23 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theatre *
07/26 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall *
07/28 – Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour *
07/29 – Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour *
07/30 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah *

* = w/ Kurt Vile and the Violators

Aaron Turner (ISIS / Hydra Head Records) Interviewed on Noisecreep

[noisecreep.com] When Isis announced their break up last year, it heralded the end of an era in extreme music. For over a decade, Isis consistently released genre-defying records that challenged their listeners by aggregating sonic intensity with emotion and melody. The band also maintained a strong visual identity with their albums, posters, and promotional artwork. Isis was originally founded by Aaron Turner and Jeff Caxide in Boston, Massachusetts during the late nineties. Isis released what would become their swansong record, 'Wavering Radiant,' in 2009, just before doing one final tour through North America. The band decided to officially and personally say farewell to their fans and go out on a positive note, thus avoiding the slow, painful decline to which many bands have fallen victim.

In addition to his tour of duty in Isis, Turner is also the founder of Hydra Head Records, an entity that has evolved from a D.I.Y. hardcore distro into a trend-setting, progressive record label that is home to bands such as Torche, Xasthur, Keelhaul, The Austerity Program, and Cave In.

Turner has also been active in collaborations and side projects ranging from House of Low Culture to the USBM supergroup, Twilight.

These days, Turner's musical focus is on Mamifer, a project founded by his wife Faith Coloccia. Their new record, 'Mare Decendrii', is available on their own label, SIGE.

When did you start Hydra Head Records?

Hydra Head was a mailorder and local distro started in 1993. I may have booked a local show or two under this name as well. The label started in 1995 when I put out the Vent 7" - HH666-01... I think it was the fall of '95 when that 7" finally "came out" - which really just meant that the boxes from Erika Records showed up at my house and I started sending them out to zines and distros.

The mailorder/distro thing was something I just started on a whim. I saw an ad in some zine about buying releases from Ebullition Records at wholesale, and it just seemed like an interesting experiment. The discovery of the underground world of DIY labels/bands/zines was of monumental significance to me at that stage in my life, and figuring out how to become an active participant in that world become a goal for me. There was a dearth of sources for more obscure underground stuff where I was living at the time [Santa Fe, NM], and I was hoping to be able to provide some stuff for the local community that was hard to get otherwise. This was in the days before internet ordering. Not so long ago really, but things were very different then in terms of how people actually encountered and obtained underground music. As far as the label goes, it seemed like the next logical step after starting the distro. In fact, it seemed much more interesting to me as I could be more deeply involved with the people making the music I was discovering and enjoying, and also be involved in the process of putting a record together and getting it out into the world.

At what point did you see the label as its own living entity and not just a hobby?

I guess I never really saw it as a hobby. That word has some weird connotations for me -- like something you do in your spare time away from your "real" life. As soon as I started the label I became deeply immersed in the activities relating to it and very excited about the whole process. I guess I recognized a rather radical shift in the label as whole when 2-3 years into it, the amount of records I was selling jumped considerably, and it seemed the public profile of the label grew considerably. That is when I recognized that it wasn't just me putting out records when and where I could, but something that other people were becoming aware of and interested in. It was no longer my secret operation, but something that was becoming part of the world, though still on a very miniscule level.

Back in those days, it seemed like there were a lot of labels operating in the D.I.Y. hardcore scene. Kids bought records back then, before the internet and free mp3 downloads. How has Hydra Head changed to stay afloat?

We haven't really changed all that much, except now we actually try to put together budgets for projects so we can plan a little more precisely rather than just going for it and hoping for the best. CD sales have certainly plummeted in the last few years, but if anything it's brought us closer to our roots - stripping things down, only doing what is essential, focusing on the very personal aspects of running a small label. Things got sort of bloated in the mid 2000's -- bands were getting huge budgets, formerly small indies were blowing up and doing deals with major label distribution and labels, the internet became a much bigger part of operating, and things got sort of out of control in a way. I must say, as distressing as it is that people just steal music left and right now with no thought about the consequence to the artists and labels, it's cool in a way that people have to get back to basics, stop thinking in such massive terms and deciding whether or not they love their craft enough to keep going. It's cutting out those who are purely profit and power-oriented and leaving those who are truly dedicated to this way of life.

Check back next week for more of Noisecreep's exclusive interview with Aaron Turner.

Rival Schools Remixed By Beastie Boy's Ad-Rock

[press release] Over a decade since the release of their beloved debut album, Rival Schools have finally delivered their follow-up, Pedals (Photo Finish/Atlantic Records), much to the delight of their fans. In between playing sold out shows, including recent European dates with Trail of Dead, the band released videos for the anthemic one-two punch of “Wring It Out” and “Shot After Shot.” They also enlisted Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys to do a remix of the song “69 Guns.” Producer Blockhead (Aesop Rock, MURS) and Daryl Palumbo (Glassjaw/Head Automatica) have done remixes for Rival Schools as well, which will be available May 3rd.

Click HERE to stream Ad-Rock’s take on “69 Guns,” which premiered at SPIN.com yesterday. He replaces the original’s jagged guitar riffs with spaced-out production and a driving bassline. Only frontman Walter Schreifels’ sweeping vocals are kept, with the remix essentially deconstructing Rival Schools’ track and creating an entirely new song. According to drummer Sam Siegler that was exactly what the group wanted. The guys have also been confirmed to play Lollapalooza this year and will be kicking off a west coast tour in late May.

Rival Schools Tour Dates:

05/20: Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction
05/21: Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theater
05/23: San Jose, CA @ The Blank Club
05/24: San Francisco, CA @ Slim's
05/26: Portland, OR @ Peter's Room
05/27: George, WA @ Sasquatch! Music Festival
08/05 – 08/07: Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza

SHAPES Announce FREE Download of New Single, Tour Dates, Video + More

SHAPES have premiered their video for the track "Cacophony of Silence" online, which you can check out below. The song comes from their upcoming full length debut Monotony Chic due out on May 30th. The track is available for free download HERE or HERE (for those not on Twitter).

The band has also announced tour details for Ireland and England for May along with album release details, which follows...

The album was recorded with Eskil Lovstrom (Refused, Poison The Well) in Umea, Sweden during November/December 2010. The 10 tracks are:

Siren Song
Allure a Hore
Lipstick Vulture
The Victim
Enola
Magister Navis
Vacancy Ape
Judgement Bespoke
Syncope (Muzzle)
Cacophony of Silence

Tour Dates:

Thurs 5th May - Roisin Dubh, Galway
Fri 6th May - The Quad, Cork
Sat 7th May - Tower Records in-store (matinee show), Dublin
Sat 7th May - Twisted Pepper, Dublin
Sun 8th May - Auntie Annies, Belfast
Tues 10th May - Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Thurs 12th May - The Louisiana, Bristol
Fri 13th May - Don't Drop the Dumbbells, Liverpool
Sat 14th May - The Flapper, Birmingham
Sun 15th May - Hamptons, Southampton
Wed 18th May - The Bodega, Nottingham
Thurs 19th May - The Castle Hotel, Manchester
Fri 20th May - The Clarendon, Hartlepool
Sat 21st May - The Cluny II, Newcastle
Thurs 26th May - The Bull and Gate, London
Fri 27th May - The Druids Arms, Brighton
Sat 28th May - Food For Your Senses Festival, Tuntange, Luxembourg
Fri 3rd June - L'espace B, Paris, France

+ more Euro dates to be announced.

5th - 9th May & 18th - 21st May with JOGGING
26th May - 4th June with BRONTIDE

Quilty Announce Spring Tour

Quilty have announced their plans for a spring tour, so don't miss them when they're in your town...

"HEY GUYS... we're ultra-psyched to announce our upcoming tour... it is going to be so fucking rad, trust us. It was booked by the strong guiding hand of Kim Paris of Sinister Foxy and we'll probably be playing SNL by the time we get back.

HERE ARE THE DATES:

5/6 - Brooklyn, NY @ Glasslands w/ Spacer Ace, Lost Boy, Doldrums, The Library Is On Fire
5/7 - Boston, MA (TBA)
5/9 - Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie w/Creepoid, Ancient Creatures, The Love Dimension
5/10 - Baltimore, MD (TBA...help?!)
5/11 - Charlottesville, VA @ Magnolia w/The Fire Tapes
5/13 - Atlanta, GA @ The Highland Inn
5/14 - Nashville, TN @ The FooBar
5/15 - Louisville, KY @ Derby City Espresso w/The Blind Shades + tba
5/16 - Bloomington, IN
5/17 - Indianapolis, IN @ The Vollrath w/Learner Dancer, John Rambo & the Vietnam Wars
5/18 - Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe w/Narrow & the Brights, Love Culture
5/19 - Chicago, IL @ The Honky Tonk
5/20 - Royal Oak, MI @ UHF Records (in-store, all ages)
5/20 - Detroit, MI @ Northern Lights Lounge
5/21 - ???
5/22 - New York, NY @ Saturday Night Live (hopefully)

If you've got pals in any of these cities, by all means, tell them to come say hi. We'll have new CDs, shirts, and more crap for sale. It'll be fun. See you out there!

love,
QUILTY

Quick Notes: Cage The Elephant, Rural Alberta Advantage, Lollapalooza + More

*Cage The Elephant have posted some tour footage from their recent trek with Stone Temple Pilots...



*[soulpancake.com] Here at SoulPancake, we got it in our heads that the ideal people to tackle the question, "Why is music so powerful?" would be none other than rock stars. So we sent filmmaker Bayan Mogharabi into legendary music halls to ask some of the country's best rock and indie bands that and other Life's Big Questions. In this first video, Bayan sits down with Canadian trio Rural Alberta Advantage to get their take on music, memories, and what's next for them. Check it out and then answer for yourself:

Rural Alberta Advantage @ Rock n Roll Hotel from Bayan Mogharabi on Vimeo.

In other RAA news...

Check out the band performing 'North Star' on the Southern Souls Sessions. Filmed and mixed by Mitch Fillion. The new album, 'Departing', is out now on Paper Bag Records in Canada and Saddle Creek in the US.



*[consequenceofsound.net] At 12:01am CDT tonight, Perry Farrell will reveal the lineup for the 20th edition of his Lolllllllapaloooooza music festival. Of course, the rumors are aplenty [A Perfect Circle, Arctic Monkeys, Delta Spirit, EELS, Jane's Addiction, Local Natives, Nas & Damian Marley, Portugal. The Man], especially since the Chicago-based extravaganza has been leaking several acts via its Facebook page, not to mention the three headliners [Foo Fighters, Muse, & Eminem] already confirmed by the Chicago Tribune. But, hey, a few surprises could happen (probably not these ones though), so as we await that that magic hour, let’s ease our collective antsiness and do some good ol’ fashion conversing. Who’s playing? Who’s your last-minute hope that isn’t Radiohead or Daft Punk? Is Deadmau5 really a headliner? Eminem over Kanye? Skrillex… really?

*(Damn) This Desert Air have posted footage from their recent show at The Bell House in Brooklyn, NY on Friday, April 22nd. The band will be making their Boston debut on Saturday, April 30th at Church with Herra Terra and SuperVolcano...

Mastodon Eager to Enter Studio for Next Album

[bravewords.com] MASTODON drummer Brann Dailor recently spoke with About.com: Heavy Metal, about a number of topics, including the progress on the band's new album, the follow-up to Crack The Skye. An excerpt from the interview, conducted by Chad Bowar, follows:

Q: You're already hard at work on the next Mastodon album. How's that coming along?

A: "It's coming along really good. We're just about done. I'm excited to get into the studio and start recording."

Q: Have you been writing on the road, or do you wait until you're home and have some down time?

A: "The guitar players have been collecting riffs as we go while we're on tour. We have a little amp backstsage and they'll jam on some stuff and record it and get bits and pieces together. Then when we get home and have time to write a record we can dump all those parts out and see what fits together and what sounds good and what doesn't."

Q: Will it be out sometime this year?

A: "For sure. If we get it all wrapped up and everything is sounding great before we leave for Europe, it should be out by the end of summer. We don't mess around. But we'll see."

Read the full interview HERE.

"God Bless Ozzy Osbourne" Reviewed + More

God Bless Ozzy Osbourne, the brand new documentary about the life of OZZY OSBOURNE is being shown at the tenth annual Tribeca Film Festival, which runs until May 1st in New York City. The first screening was yesterday afternoon and Joseph Brannigan Lynch from EW.com remarks that "what could have been a glossy, fawning tribute to the most visible face in heavy metal music history-especially considering it was co-produced by his son, Jack-actually turned out to be a remarkably evenhanded look at Ozzy’s monumental musical influence as well as his less exemplary life as an addict and often-absent father."

Read his entire review at EW.com.

More Tribeca screening times for God Bless Ozzy Osbourne include:

Thursday, Apr 28 at 9:30PM - SVA Theater 1 Silas
Saturday, Apr 30 at 1:00PM - AMC Loews Village 7 - 2

A new God Bless Ozzy Osbourne movie trailer has been released and can be viewed below.

God Bless Ozzy Osbourne (originally titled Wreckage Of My Past: The Story Of Ozzy Osbourne), directed by Mike Fleiss and Mike Piscitelli, recounts the turbulent career of the heavy metal musician turned reality-show star. The 91 minute film is also the first release from his son Jack Osbourne's Jacko Productions.

Ozzy Osbourne's four decade track record as a culturally relevant artist is unprecedented, but his personal struggles have been shrouded in secrecy, until now. Featuring never-before-seen footage uncovered from the archives and interviews with all the principal members of Black Sabbath, the various incarnations of Ozzy's solo band, family and friends, PAUL McCARTNEY, TOMMY LEE and others, God Bless Ozzy Osbourne is the first documentary to take viewers inside the complex mind of rock's great icon. Emerging from a working class family in war torn England, Osbourne and his neighborhood friends formed BLACK SABBATH and invented heavy metal. Plagued by self doubt, Osbourne the solo superstar went on a binge that lasted 40 years. God Bless Ozzy Osbourne will relive the highs of his triumphs as well as his journey to sobriety, which Ozzy regards as his greatest accomplishment.

For more information and still shots from the film visit the official God Bless Ozzy Osbourne Facebook page HERE.



In other news...

[bravewords.com] Contactmusic.com are reporting that budding filmmaker Jack Osbourne is set to make a horror movie inspired by and named after his father OZZY OSBOURNE's rock band, BLACK SABBATH.

The reality TV star recently wrapped his first big gig as a producer, working on behind-the-scenes concert documentary God Bless Ozzy Osbourne, which he premiered at New York's Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday, April 24th.

And Osbourne is already planning his next project around the songs that made the heavy metal group famous.

Marc Weingarten, co-producer on God Bless Ozzy Osbourne, tells WENN, "Jack and I are about to do a horror movie called Black Sabbath so there's some connective tissue there."

Arctic Monkeys Announce Full Summer Tour Schedule

[consequenceofsound.net] With an appearance at one summer music festival already confirmed and another likely coming tonight, Arctic Monkeys have announced additional U.S. headlining dates for this summer. Following their previously announced spring tour of the states, plus a slew of summer festival appearances across Europe, Alex Turner and co. will launch their newest leg beginning August 1st in Dallas, TX. Stops in Austin and Houston follow, with the band then hitting Chicago on August 6th for what seems to be a Lollapalooza aftershow, meaning an appearance at the festival also appears a lock. After that, it’s stops in Seattle and Portland before the Monkeys play two shows in San Francisco, including an appearance at Outside Lands 2011. Find all confirmed tour dates below.

Tickets for many of the band’s upcoming shows are available via our Concert Calendar. The band’s newest LP, Suck It and See, hits stores June 6th via Domino Records.

Arctic Monkeys 2011 Tour Dates:

05/05 – Stockholm, SE @ Cirkus
05/06 – Oslo, NO @ Sentrum Scene
05/17 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club *
05/18 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory *
05/19 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues *
05/21 – Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus *
05/22 – Montreal, QC @ L’Olympia *
05/24 – New York, NY @ Summer Stage *
05/26 – Detroit, MI @ Clutch Cargoes *
05/27 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave *
05/28 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *
05/30 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre *
05/31 – Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue *
06/02 – Pomona, CA @ Fox Theatre *
06/03 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium *
06/10 – Sheffield, UK @ Don Valley Bowl
06/11 – Sheffield, UK @ Don Valley Bowl
06/20 – Berlin, DE @ Admiralspalst
06/22 – Cologne, DE @ E-Werk
06/26 – Luxembourg @ Rock A Field
07/01 – Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter
07/02-03 – Malsaucy, FR @ Les Eurockéennes
07/08 – Kinross, UK @ T in the Park
07/09 – Naas, IE @ Oxegen
07/11 – Lyon, FR @ Les Nuits de Fourvière
07/14 – Meco, PT @ Super Bock Super Rock
07/16 – Benicasim, ES @ Benicàssim Festival
07/17 – Bern, CH @ Gurten Festival
07/30 – Seoul, KR @ Jisan Valley Rock Festival
07/29-31 – Niigata Prefecture, JP @ Fuji Rock Festival
08/01 – Dallas, TX @ The Palladium
08/02 – Austin, TX @ Stubbs
08/03 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues
08/05-06 – Kansas City, KS @ Kanrocksas
08/06 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
08/10 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
08/11 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
08/12 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
08/13 – San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands Festival
08/20-21 – Essex and Staffordshire, UK @ V Festival
08/26-28 – Saint-Cloud, FR @ Rock en Seine
09/03 – Bologna, IT @ I-Day Festival

* = w/ The Vaccines

The Flaming Lips Record Videos with SUNY Students

[consequenceofsound.net] It’s obvious that a band is very strange when hitting college students over the head with drum mallets is one of the more normal things they’ve done in a while. Just ask the Flaming Lips. There are already rumors that they plan to follow up their gummy skull release with a fetus version, and while Wayne Coyne & co. have also announced plans to play a gig at a Los Angeles cemetery, their most recent outing was pretty subdued by their standards.

Observer Today reports that the band spent some time at the State University of New York’s Fredonia campus recording videos and audience clapping for upcoming “live” recordings of at least two tracks from their 1999 masterpiece, The Soft Bulletin. At the helms of the recording was long-time Lips producer Dave Fridmann, who has worked on every Lips record with the exception of Transmissions From The Satellite Heart.

Fridmann, who is the professor of Sound Recording Technology at SUNY, apparently recruited students to sit in on “performances” of “Race for the Prize” and "What is the Light?” which found the band playing along to tracks previously recorded at Fridmann’s Tarbox Studios in Cassadaga, N.Y. while camera crews captured the scene on film. Coyne laughed as he explained the staged performances to the students, but attendees were stoked nonetheless. “It was interesting even though it wasn’t an actual show,” Griffin Smith told the Observer, “everyone was still captivated.”

The band’s PR hasn’t responded to inquiries regarding possible release dates for the live recordings and videos, but it’s highly possible that Coyne will take to Twitter to deliver the news anyway.

Primus Featured Article in Relix

[relix.com] Just a 20-minute drive from where Alfred Hitchcock filmed his classic thriller The Birds and a short amble across the small Northern California town of Sebastopol, where Charles Schulz penned his iconic Peanuts comic strip, is Les Claypool’s caboose. You read right, caboose.

So, one naturally wonders: How did this platinum-selling artist—master of the slap bass, author, actor, mockumentarian, band leader and, most recently, vintner—come to end up conducting business in a railroad car?

It’s not as bad as it sounds — he’s hardly living like a hobo on the wrong side of the tracks. It’s pretty nice. Enviable, even. This restored 1855 Southern Pacific railroad car is the headquarters for Claypool Cellars, a small winery that only produces pinot noir.

Claypool and his wife Chaney sell their Purple Pachyderm Russian River Pinot Noir and Pink Platypus Pinot Noir Rose out of this little red caboose. The wine comes with endorsements from the likes of South Park co-creator Matt Stone: “If I could buy only one bottle of wine by a bass player this year, Purple Pachyderm would be it.”

Claypool Cellars is an elegant space, with pale yellow walls, furnished simply with a small, fine-oak desk which is left open to reveal its neat little cubbies, a small, perfect antique lamp that throws a warm light over the room and an oversized bar.

There’s also a few turn-of-the-century straight back bar chairs and a painting of what looks like beautiful Siamese twins—a paean that makes one thinks of his wife who is a twin—next to a chalkboard with prices of the various vintages. A deep glass case displays antique model trains that belonged to Claypool’s late father-in-law and oversized crystal wine goblets etched with the Claypool Cellars logo in frosty white. “We gotta get smaller glasses,” Claypool laughs. “When people come for a tasting, they glare at me if I don’t pour half a bottle into the glass.”

Across a drafty hallway is Claypool’s Prawn Song Records. It’s here that the auteur has been hatching the next incarnation of his legendary trio Primus — this time with stalwart sidekick and guitar maestro Larry “Ler” LaLonde and original drummer Jay Lane. They’ve been busy recording a yet-to-be-titled album due in May, which will be the band’s first release since 1999’s Antipop.

“I started just looking for a weekend vacation property, some place where I could retire,” recalls the Primus progenitor of how his base of operations ended up in this rather remote Northern California town. “I just stumbled across this amazing place, for an amazing price. I went home that day — Chaney and I weren’t married yet but we were living together—and I said, ‘I’ve found an amazing place and it’s up in a place that I’ve never even heard of before, but I have to buy it and hopefully you’ll come with me.’ So she came up, looked at it and fell in love with it. We both thought, ‘All of our friends are going to come up on the weekends.’

“All our friends have come up — on the average of once,” Claypool laughs — a maniacal cartoon cackle, caught somewhere between Heckle and Jeckle. “Once! So we came up here and ended up starting a whole new life,” he says matter-of-factly. “New house. New friends. New everything.”

The changes weren’t matter of fact—at all.

***

Claypool’s new life did not include Primus, the trashy, thrashy, funk-art project he founded back in 1984. Combining cartoonish voices with social anthropology set to discordant strains of manipulated noise and strangely threatening rhythms, Primus provided a bass-centric soundtrack to disaffected outsiders and a funhouse mirror for those in the know. The trio was nominated for Grammy Awards and racked up gold and platinum records like hubcaps from Claypool’s former life as a car mechanic. But by late 2000, Claypool had lost much of his creative luster for Primus. He decided it was time to put his rock behemoth in storage.

“Hiatus is an excuse for not calling it a day,” Claypool explained to me in 2000 about pulling the plug on Primus. “Because I don’t think any of us feel passionately one way or another, as far as: ‘We want to stop. We’re definitely tired of it. We’re done with this torture.’ It’s not like that at all. It’s just become a bit of a struggle and it got to the point of where it just wasn’t fun doing it anymore.”

Today, he affirms this. “Yeah, that’s what I said,” he says of the musing. “I have always said that I would only do Primus as long as it was fun. And it wasn’t fun anymore,” he says resolutely. In fact, it stopped being fun in 1996, when drummer Tim “Herb” Alexander left the band.

“We decided to go on because we were all fired up because we had a new drummer — Brain [Brian “Brain” Mantia]. We were re-invigorated for a brief period,” Claypool says quietly.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE.

Band of Horses Announce Summer Tour Dates

Band of Horses is thrilled to announce new Summer 2011 tour dates with Kings of Leon. Check out all the dates below. Tickets go on sale this weekend...

July 26 - The Wharf, Orange Beach, AL
July 27 - Aaron's Lakewood Amphitheater, Atlanta, GA
July 29 - Gexa Energy Pavilion, Dallas, TX
July 30 - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Houston, TX
Aug 02 - 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre, Tampa, FL
Aug 03 - Cruzan Amphitheater, West Palm Beach, FL
Aug 05 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Charlotte, NC
Aug 06 - Farm Bureau Live, Virginia Beach, VA
Aug 09 - Jiffy Lube Live, Washington DC
Aug 10 - Nikon @ Jones Beach, Wantagh, NY
Aug 12 - Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden, NY
Aug 13 - Comcast Theatre, Hartford, CT
Aug 16 - Darien Lake PAC, Buffalo, NY
Aug 17 - PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ
Aug 19 - Comcast Center, Boston, MA
Aug 20 - Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga, NY
Aug 23 - DTE Energy Center, Detroit, MI
Aug 24 - Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH
Aug 26 - First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Chicago, IL
Aug 27 - Verizon Wireless Music Center, Indianapolis, IN
Aug 29 - Sandstone Amphitheater, Bonner Springs, KS
Aug 31 - Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Denver, CO
Sept 01 - Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Denver, CO
Sept 03 - Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV
Sept 04 - Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre, San Diego, CA
Sept 06 - Ashley Furniture Home Store Pavilion, Phoenix, AZ
Sept 08 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Irvine, CA
Sept 10 - Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA
Sept 12 - Key Arena, Seattle, WA

Kyuss Lives! Announce US Debut Concerts

[press release] KYUSS LIVES! - featuring original KYUSS members John Garcia, Nick Oliveri and Brant Bjork along with guitarist Bruno Fevery - will unleash their desert rock fury on the U.S. for the first time in over 15 years this fall. The eagerly anticipated near total return of the California rock pioneers follows the blanket success of the group's sold out spring European tour which has proven to be a feast of recognition for the band. Due to unprecedented demand, the legendary musicians have announced two very special U.S. shows to take place this fall in New York and California. Openers The Sword will get each evening started before KYUSS LIVES! delivers its titanic grooves.

KYUSS LIVES! tour dates:

05/04 – Gold Coast, AU @ Coolangatta Hotel
05/06 – Brisbane, AU @ Tivoli
05/07 – Sydney, AU @ Luna Park Big Top
05/08 – Melbourne, AU @ Palace Theatre
05/10 – Adelaide, AU @ Fowlers
05/11 – Perth, AU @ Capitol
05/13 – Auckland, NZ @ The Powerstation
05/14 – Auckland, NZ @ The Powerstation
06/17 – Copenhagen, DK @ Copenhell Festival
06/19 – Clisson, FR @ Hellfest
06/21 – Lisbon, PT @ Incrivel Almadense
06/22 – Porto, PT @ Hard Club
06/23 – Vitoria, ES @ Azkena Rock Fest
06/24 – Merignac, FR @ Le Krakatoa
06/25 – Paris, FR @ Le Bataclan
06/26 – Imola, IT @ Sonisphere Festival
06/28 – Hannover, DE @ Capitol
06/29 – Dresden, DE @ Alter Schlachthof
06/30 – Tilburg, NL @ 013
07/01 – Luxembourg @ Rockhall
07/02 – Belfort, FR @ Les Eurockéennes
07/03 – Athens, GR @ Rockwave Fest
07/14 – Dour, BE @ Dour Festival
07/15 – Trondheim, NO @ Jorddust Festival
07/16 – Tromoso, NO @ Bukta Festival
08/02 – Lokeren, BE 2 Lokerse Feesten
08/05 – Wacken, DE @ Wacken Open Air
05/15 – Wellington, NZ @ Hunter Lounge
09/23 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
10/08 – Pomona, CA @ The Fox Theater
11/11 – Sanitago, CL @ Teatro Teleton
11/12 – Buenos Aires, AR @ Teatro Colegiales
11/13 – Sao Paolo, BR @ The Clash Club

Additional KYUSS LIVES! North American tour dates are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

KYUSS is a band that needs no introduction. In the 1990's, the quartet produced some of the most celebrated, inspirational and influential rock music of its time. Over the course of four studio albums, KYUSS provided the blueprint for a generation of bands as they single-handedly spearheaded the "stoner rock" movement and created their own genre of rock 'n' roll. The group's landmark albums -- 1992's Blues for the Red Sun and 1994's Welcome to Sky Valley -- are universally praised by both critics and fans and are a staple in any discerning rock record collection. The generator parties that took place in the deserts of southern California at the close of the eighties were the making of KYUSS who trailblazed a stunningly heavy psychedelic rumble described by everyone except the musicians themselves as "stoner rock" or the more aptly named "desert rock". The band's gargantuan sound rested on three pillars: a downtuned guitar played through a bass amp, the rhythm section's quaking grooves and the instantly recognizable vocals of John Garcia. KYUSS' classic lineup - Garcia, guitarist Josh Homme, bassist Nick Oliveri and drummer Brant Bjork - only lasted for two years and the band for just five, but after the unit's dissolution in 1995, its posthumous legend grew and grew. In the years since, KYUSS' legacy has lived on with previous members having formed or performed with the likes of Queens of the Stone Age, Brant Bjork and the Bros, The Dwarves, Mondo Generator, Slo Burn, Unida and Hermano.

Then something magical happened. In April 2010, Garcia announced a solo European tour billed as "Garcia Plays Kyuss"; the singer's backing band composed of Belgian and Dutch musicians and friends including lifelong KYUSS devotee Bruno Fevery on guitar. The shows were met with great joy by KYUSS' global fanbase. During a performance at France's Hellfest that June, Garcia and Fevery were joined on stage by former KYUSS members Brant Bjork and Nick Oliveri for performances of the band's classic songs "Gardenia" and "Green Machine". After the gig, Garcia, Bjork and Oliveri decided to bring the KYUSS legacy back to where it really belongs; live and on stage. The undeniable chemistry and electricity that the performance yielded led to the resurrection of KYUSS' lead-heavy psychedelic groove for the masses under the banner 'KYUSS LIVES!', a name both tongue-in-cheek and genuinely deserving of its exclamation point. In its review of the band's sold out show at London's Forum on April 2, Kerrang! called the event "a phenomenal resurrection" that KYUSS LIVES! "executed with their trademark, laid-back cool and cruising power still intact."

The official KYUSS LIVES! European tour trailer can be viewed at this location and footage of the band performing "Green Machine" live in Italy can be seen below.

The most important stoner rock band of all time has returned. The second coming of KYUSS is upon us! KYUSS LIVES!

"Kings of the stoner age... Unheralded in their own time, Kyuss inspired a generation of bands in thrall to their downtuned metal. Now, in the form of Kyuss Lives!, they're back." - THE GUARDIAN

Twilight Singers Offer Update

Greetings Twilight Singers fans, we’ve got a number of exciting things to report at the moment.

Make sure to tune in tomorrow night – Tuesday April 26th as The Twilight Singers will be performing on The Late Show With David Letterman.

The band recently wrapped up the first leg of their tour in Europe. The set list went through quite a few changes which you can see if you visit their Facebook page.

The Twilight Singers US tour will begin on May 4th in Oxford, MS. Tickets for all shows are on sale now. Visit HERE for links to purchase tickets to the shows.

There are new items for sale in the merch store including the two shirts that were on sale during the entire European run.

And finally, we are pleased to announce that The Twilight Singers will be performing at this year’s Glastonbury Festival.

More Twilight Singers news coming soon, stay tuned.