Sunday, May 12, 2013
The Sons and Heirs (Smiths Tribute Band) Play A Morrissey Birthday Celebration at The Bell House on May 22nd
"The music of Morrissey, Johnny Marr and co. lives on with The Sons and Heirs, a NYC-based tribute band that brings the experience of seeing The Smiths live to the stage. Singer Ronnissey, guitarist Ravi Marr. bassist Christian Rourke and drummer Jonathan Joyce recreate the songs and stage performance of The Smiths with stunning authenticity and attention to detail, right down to the last gladioli left on stage when the band is through."
Raven and Crow Design Studio is hosting a Morrissey birthday celebration at The Bell House on Wednesday, May 22nd. The show includes a live set by The Sons and Heirs (NYC's Tribute to The Smiths and Morrissey), DJ Matt Heart Spade and a reading by Tony Fletcher, author of "A Light That Never Goes Out: The Enduring Saga of The Smiths". No clue on what to think about the "Smiths-inspired congregation of food, fashion and culture" that is also listed as part of the evening's activities. Earlier this year, Fuse.tv had but forward some suggestions for vegetarian menu options inspired by the Morrissey/Smiths catalog.
*This Charming Yam
*The Lettuce Head Master Ritual
*The Boy with the Corn as His Side
*Panic in the Leafs of London
*Figmouth Strikes Again
*Vicar in a Tofu
Tickets for the show at The Bell House are $12 in advance and $15 DOS - doors are at 8PM. For those who pre-order tickets, the fine folks at Raven + Crow Studio are doing weekly giveaways (link).
The Sons and Heirs at The Bell House with special guest Andy Rourke
Links:
The Sons and Heirs
Posted by Mike at 4:28 PM
Labels: Morrissey, The Bell House, The Smiths, The Sons and Heirs, Vegan
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
The Smiths: "Please, Please, Please: a Tribute to The Smiths" CD Review (American Laundromat Records)
Sheila Take A Bow (Smiths Cover) by Telekinesis by americanlaundromatrecords
Panic (Smiths Cover) by Kitten by americanlaundromatrecords
I'm not sure what will happen first: the Age of Quarrel line-up of the Cro-Mags reunite, The Smiths reunite or hell freezes over. It is a funny world though as I can remember listening to a mid-90's interview with Metallica where they were laughing when asked about the possibility of ever playing again with Dave Mustaine and Dave just played with Metallica at the band's 30th Anniversary show in San Francisco.
For anyone who needs a fix while waiting to see whether the rumor is true that The Smiths are reuniting for Coachella 2012, American Laundromat Records has just issued a loving 2-CD tribute to The Smiths - Please, Please, Please. Following up on Morrissey and Johnny Marr's fascination with English pop-singer Sandie Shaw, American Laundromat Records secured rights to use a Sandie Shaw photograph for the cover of this new tribute disc and tapped rock-poster designer Lonny Unitus (Apples In Stereo, The Decemberists, Willie Nelson) to design the cover art and eco-wallet packaging.
The twenty indie-rock band on this collection keep the core foundation of Marr and Morrissey's songs intact and immediately recognizable but each of these bands reinterprets and adds their individual imprint to the songs so this collection should pull in both long-time Smiths fans along with indie-rock fans who want to hear a new take on the band's back catalogue. Sadly, aside for a few greatest hits releases, The Smiths' catalogue has languished since the late 80's so this compilation breathes some new life into the band's well-established legacy.
Disc One starts with a shoe-gazer, shimmery cover of "Panic" by Kitten and some of the highlights on this first disc include Tanya Donnelly and Dylan in the Movies' languid cover of "Shoplifters of the World Unite" and the industrial leaning "Shop Me If You've Heard This One Before" by The Rest and "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" by Chikita Violenta. One of the other stand-outs on Disc One is Greg Laswell's moving piano-driven cover of "Half a Person.
Disc Two starts with Telekinesis' cover of "Sheila Take a Bow" which is one of the few tracks on this set that doesn't stray far from the Smiths' original. From there, Solvents pick things up with a shambling alt-country cover of "Is It Really So Strange?" and Wedding Present deliver an alt-metal version of "Hand in Glove". There are a number of engaging tracks on this second disc, which range from Trespassers William's shoe-gazer version of "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" to Girl in a Coma's alt-punk delivery of "Rubber Ring" to a Blondie styled cover of "I Know It's Over" by Elk City. This disc closes on a striaght-forward note with a glistening cover of "Reel Around the Fountain" from Built To Spill's Doug Martsch.
Links:
American Laundromat Records
Posted by Mike at 10:22 PM
Labels: American Laundromat Records, CD Review, Johnny Marr, The Smiths
Friday, March 04, 2011
The Smiths: American Laundromat Records Announces New Tribute Disc Due Out August
American Laundromat Records (ALR) is proud to announce plans to release a Smiths tribute CD titled Please, Please, Please: a tribute to The Smiths. The CD will feature newly-recorded covers by The Wedding Present, Greg Laswell, Doug Martsch (Built To Spill), William Fitzsimmons, Trespassers William, The Rest, Katy Goodman (La Sera, Vivian Girls), The Leisure Society, Joy Zipper, Tanya Donelly and many other outstanding artists. The CD is slotted for Autumn 2011 worldwide release.
Confirmed Artists (in alphabetical order) / Track Covering
Cinerama / "London"
Class Actress / "Ask"
Dala / "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me"
Doug Martsch (Built To Spill) / "Reel Around the Fountain"
Elk City / "I Know It's Over"
Greg Laswell / "Half A Person"
Joy Zipper / "What Difference Does It Make?"
Katy Goodman (Vivian Girls, La Sera) / track to be announced
Kitten / track to be announced
Mike Viola / "How Soon Is Now?"
Sara Lov / track to be announced
Sixpence None the Richer / "I Won’t Share You"
Tanya Donelly w/Dylan in the Movies / "Shoplifters Of The World Unite"
The Leisure Society / "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore"
The Rest / "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before"
The Wedding Present / "Hand In Glove"
Trespassers William / "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out"
William Fitzsimmons / "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want"
Additional artists will be announced soon.
"I’m a huge Smiths fan and have been planning a tribute for a few years now. Timing just never seemed right. Then late last year, for several weeks, everywhere I went, I heard The Smiths playing… at the mall, at restaurants, on my car radio. It was weird… I felt like the universe was telling me now was the time. I started reaching-out to artists in November and the response was overwhelmingly positive. This is going to be one of the best tributes we’ve ever produced." – Joe Spadaro, American Laundromat Records
For the album cover, American Laundromat Records secured rights to use a Sandie Shaw photograph and tapped rock-poster designer Lonny Unitus (Apples In Stereo, The Decemberists, Willie Nelson) to design the cover art and eco-wallet packaging. Sandie Shaw (aka Sandra Goodrich) is an English Pop-Singer, who was one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. Both Morrissey and Johnny Marr of The Smiths were “two incurable Sandie Shaw fans” and reportedly wrote her a letter back in 1983 stating so. In April of 1984, Shaw recorded a version of The Smiths Hand in Glove (their first single) which peaked just inside the UK Top 30. She later collaborated with the band and has covered songs by both The Smiths and Morrissey.
“I wanted to do something interesting for the cover art. Most importantly, I wanted it to look like a Smiths album. Beyond that though, I thought the photograph we used needed to be something that had deeper meaning. Once I learned of the Sandie Shaw connection, I sourced hundreds of old photographs and finally found the one of Sandie lying in the leaves in that fantastic pea coat. I thought it was perfect immediately. Not only because the tribute will be an Autumn release, but because Sandie’s expression and the whole feel of the photo, in my opinion, is reminiscent of The Smiths music. It was a lucky find, and Ms. Shaw has been very gracious in allowing us to use it.” – Joe Spadaro, American Laundromat Records
American Laundromat is now offering 3 exclusive limited-edition, pre-order bundles from their website. The bundles range from $13.00 (CD & Promo Pin) to $35.00 (CD, 7” Vinyl, T-Shirt, Free Digital Download, Promo Pin, and Album Preview prior to release date).
Links:
American Laundromat Records
Posted by Mike at 8:53 PM
Labels: American Laundromat Records, Tanya Donelly, The Smiths
