Not Blood, Paint Play Knitting Factory on July 16th w/ Jangula, Yellow Dogs and Charlie Slick

Tommy by notbloodpaint

I've been a fan of Not Blood, Paint for a while so rather than rehash some of my past write-ups...FreeWilliamsburg.com described the band as follows: "They are music, they are spectacle, they are hit ’n run theater, car crash club night, they are a disorientating re-imagining of what four men, five coats of make-up and accomplished musicality can do with a six by ten space."

Also on the bill is Brooklyn synth-pop/college rock band Jangula who put on a h*ll of a show (check out Genji Glove from the band's self-titled EP). I don't know much about The Yellow Dogs (Iran to Brooklyn trasnplants) but they have gotten positive write-ups on their post-punk sound. The Knitting Factory website describes Charlie Slick as "a musician and inventor who resides in Ann Arbor, MI. He currently performs with Molly Mascow and Micah Vanderhoof. He has released 5 full length albums, his most recent, ELRON HUBBARD, is available on Vinyl." (check out Charlie Slick - "Money")

Advanced tickets for the show are $9 and $13 (DOS). Doors are at 7PM and the show starts at 8PM.



Links:
Not Blood, Paint

Active Child Release Second Track from Debut CD as Free Download / Show at Bowery Ballroom on Sept. 10th

DOWNLOAD: Active Child - "Hanging On" (from You Are All I See)
Active Child - Playing House (Ft. How To Dress Well) by VagrantRecords

Active Child, the musical project from choirboy-turned-indie-pop musician Pat Grossi, have announced their first North American headlining tour. Having opened for the likes of School of Seven Bells, White Rabbits, and James Blake, fans will be treated on this tour to the first performances of Active Child as a full band.

Active Child will be touring in support of their debut album You Are All I See which will be released on August 23 via Vagrant Records. The album comes as a follow-up to last year’s critically-acclaimed "Curtis Lane" EP which NPR praised as “a young singer and musician already living up to his own promise”. You Are All I See was produced by Ariel Rechtshaid (Cass McCombs, Glasser, We Are Scientists, Major Lazer) and features 10 brand new tracks, including “Playing House” – a collaboration with lo-fi r&b singer How To Dress Well – which Pitchfork praised in their premeire saying, “Active Child’s sound now seems positively ahead of its time.”

The local tour stop is at Bowery Ballroom on Sept. 10th and Active Child are playing with Com Truise. Tickets are $15 and doors are at 8PM.

Links:
Active Child

Doro Announces "25 Years in Rock" DVD Release Party at Gramercy Theatre on Sept. 9th

Legendary metal maven, Doro Pesch, will perform a special one-off show in New York City on September 9, 2011 at the Gramercy Theatre. This show will mark the official U.S. screening/release party for Doro's 25 Years In Rock DVD, set for release in North America via Nuclear Blast on September 13. Released in Europe late last year (also via Nuclear Blast), the epic 2 DVD/CD set includes Doro's 25-year anniversary show in its entirety as well as out-takes from her 2,500th concert and so much more.



Tickets for the Gramercy Theatre show are now on sale and are $23.00. For anyone who needs some live Doro now, Arte, a Franco-German TV network, posted the complete set from her performance at Hellfest this past June.



Earlier this month, Doro sat in with Dio Disciples, taking the place of Tim "Ripper" Owens who was unable to make the three dates that the band played in Spain. Commented Pesch: "I'm so excited to be a part of this tour. I listened day and night to Ronnie James Dio's amazingly wonderful song and I will try me very best to do a good job with them. I feel so honored and blessed to be a part of this and to keep Dio's music and magic alive. He was truly the greatest rock and metal singer of all time. We love you, Ronnie. I will sing my heart out for you and the fans. "



Links:
Doro

The Dwarves Plays Knitting Factory and The Studio at Webster Hall This Month on Their 25th Anniversary Tour

Here are five items from the list of "25 Things You Don't Know About The Dwarves":

1 - THE DWARVES first tour in 1988 covered over 6,000 miles and highlights were featured in the Village Voice. The tour consisted of 3 cities, 4 shows and $165 dollars cash. The band slept in a cargo van and booked gigs on stolen telephone cards.

2 - THE DWARVES have recorded for visionary independent labels including Sympathy For The Record Industry, Epitaph, Fat, Sub/Pop, Bomp!, Amphetamine Reptile, Man’s Ruin, Recess, Theologian, Glitterhouse, Burning Heart, White Jazz, High Voltage, No Balls, Zodiac Killer, MVD, Midnight, Reptilian and Greedy. Some of them even paid royalties.

3 - THE DWARVES have been stabbed, bludgeoned, swarmed, arrested, shut down, sabotaged and even fellated onstage and much of it is available on video, like the free dvd that comes with the Dwarves Are Born Again.

4 - THE DWARVES were one of the first hardcore bands to regularly use samples, drum loops and found sounds, even on their earliest recordings where they used cassette tapes to generate them.

5 - THE DWARVES were kicked off tour with a UK metal band for sleeping with the girls the headliners had hired to hang out backstage. They were banned from venerable punk dive CBGBs for breaking a table and bleeding on the floor making the venue cleaner and improving its décor.

The Dwarves are touring behind their latest disc, Born Again, which is their first new studio disc since 2004's The Dwarves Must Die. (see my previously posted review of The Dwarves are Born Again)

The band just finished up a European tour and is kicking off their US tour in Baltimore on July 13th. The Dwarves play Knitting Factory on July 15th and The Studio at Webster Hall on July 16th. The show at the Knitting Factory includes The Stalkers and Lugosi and tickets are $15.

Tickets for the show at Webster Hall are also $15 and The Dwarves are playing with The Stalkers, The Threads and Cvlt War.



Links:
The Dwarves

Marissa Nadler: Boston Dream-Folk Artist Kicks Off July Headlining Tour // Shows at Mercury Lounge and Littlefield

DOWNLOAD: Marissa Nadler - "The Sun Always Reminds Me of You"


American gothic / dream-folk artist Marissa Nadler just released the follow-up to her well-received 2009 disc Little Hells and is playing a short run of headlining dates in support of the new release. This new self-titled release came out of Nadler's Box of Cedar label and The Tune described the new disc as "a delicately-crafted affair executed with poise and grace -- this music is nothing short of brilliant."

Marissa released her last two albums on Kemado (and Mexican Summer, which was named after one of her songs), and decided to venture out on her own for this new album. She financed the recording through a successful Kickstarter campaign, and has sold her own handmade albums through Etsy. After performing several dates with Low and Timber Timbre, she'll be embarking on a headlining tour throughout July with Faces On Film.

Marissa Nadler July Tour Dates
July 18 – Montreal, QC @ Il Motore #
July 19 – Toronto, ON @ Supermarket #
July 21 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas #
July 22 – Minneapolis, MN @ Turf Club#
July 23 – Madison, WI @ Frequency#
July 25 – Pontiac, MI @ Pike#
July 27 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge# (Early show @ 6:30PM, Tickets are $12)
July 28 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Chapel#
July 29 – Washington, DC @ Red Palace#
July 30 – Brooklyn, NY @ Littlefield# (Show @ 8PM, Tickets are $12)
July 31- New Haven, CT @ Rudy’s
Sept 23- Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live with Sharon Van Etten

* With Timber Timbre
# With Faces On Film

Links:
Marissa Nadler

Laurie Anderson and Bill Laswell: Live Photos and Review from River to River Festival, Castle Clinton, June 30th

Multimedia performance artist Laurie Anderson and downtown producer/bassist Bill Laswell took the stage to a standing room only crowd just 7PM at the River to River Festival show at Castle Clinton last Thursday.

From Laurie Anderson & Bill Laswell - Castle Clinton, NYC June 30, 2011

From Laurie Anderson & Bill Laswell - Castle Clinton, NYC June 30, 2011

The duo played an almost exclusively instrumental set that was closer to the ambience of Brian Eno than the avant-noise of recent collaborations with John Zorn. Anderson started off the evening with introductions using her "Voice of Authority / Fenway Bergamot" voice filter and switched off during the set between her electric violin and keyboards. There were no breaks during the duo's hour long performance so there wasn't any clear delineation where songs started and stopped but there sounded to be three - four distinct pieces. Almost coming full circle to where they started, Anderson added a brief snippet of spoken word vocals from "My Right Eye" (from 2010's Homeland) to the duo's final number.

From Laurie Anderson & Bill Laswell - Castle Clinton, NYC June 30, 2011

From Laurie Anderson & Bill Laswell - Castle Clinton, NYC June 30, 2011

From Laurie Anderson & Bill Laswell - Castle Clinton, NYC June 30, 2011

From Laurie Anderson & Bill Laswell - Castle Clinton, NYC June 30, 2011

Laurie Anderson is playing another free show on August 10th as part of Lincoln Center's "Out of Doors".

Laurie Anderson, the reigning performance artist of our time, has performed at Lincoln Center on numerous occasions, most recently at Lincoln Center Festival 2008, with the evening-length work Homeland. In roles as varied as visual artist, composer, poet, photographer, filmmaker, electronics whiz, vocalist, and instrumentalist, Anderson has toured the United States and internationally with shows ranging from simple spoken word performances to elaborate multimedia events. On August 10 at Damrosch Park she performs on a double-bill that features a younger generation of experimenters and innovators led by composer/arranger/violinist Todd Reynolds. Reynolds is joined by singer/multi-instrumentalist provocateur Sxip Shirey (The Luminescent Orchestrii), human beat-box vocal performer Adam Matta (Carolina Chocolate Drops) and a “Who’s Who” violin section: Caleb Burhans, Conrad Harris, Pauline Kim Harris, Yuki Numata, Courtney Orlando, and Ben Russell.

Links:
Laurie Anderson
Bill Laswell

A.A. Bondy's New Disc "Believers" Comes Out Sept. 13th on Fat Possum

Download: A.A. Bondy - "No Man Shall" (live on Laundromatinee.com)

There were stories late last year of a hand injury sidelining A.A. Bondy but he obviously recovered quickly as the singer/guitarist recorded his third solo disc earlier this year and announced a release date of September 13th for Believers.

Believers is ten new songs by A.A. Bondy. They were conjured during and between dreams, in bare rooms, and on the late night streets of America. It was recorded in the spring of 2011 by Rob Schnapf at Mant/Kingsize Studios in Glassell Park, California. Musicians include Ben Lester (drums, piano, pedal steel) and Macey Taylor (bass). Believers is the follow up to the 2009 album When The Devil's Loose, and is Bondy's third for Fat Possum Records.

"Not many people know this, but he's not a bad horn player, but he only played during particular celestial events. At least that's what he told me." - Gladys Broussard (secretary, B&O Railroad)

Believers is the last couple years in one long exposure. Made of scenes gathered in actual places (upstate New York, Mississippi, California), but also scenes from an other place. A finger on a dream globe. One foot in the dirt, one in the ether, unseen voice at your ear. On the tide with the Surfer King. - Bondy

Believers track listing:

The Heart Is Willing
Skull & Bones
Down In The Fire (Lost Sea)
Surfer King
123 Dupuy Street
Hiway/Fevers
Drmz
The Twist
Rte. 28/Believers
Scenes From A Circus

Links:
A.A. Bondy

My Brightest Diamond with yMusic Plays Free River to River Festival Show at Castle Clinton on July 7th

"I witnessed something I have never seen before: an entire audience transfixed – jaws scraping the floor and people pulling at their hair in rapt amazement – hundreds awash in power and intimacy, under a blanket of music and dance, punctuated by squeals of a baby in the back at the sound of his mother onstage." - The Indie Handbook review of My Brightest Diamond & yMusic at the MusicNOW Festival

My Brightest Diamond will be playing a FREE show for the River to River festival at Castle Clinton in Battery Park in NYC on July 7th at 7pm. The most amazing chamber ensemble, yMusic , will be joining Shara & drummer Brian Wolfe, to perform the new MBD album from top to bottom, as well as playing three instrumental pieces that Shara composed for yMusic & dancer Jessica Dessner.

Free tickets are available online starting Monday, July 4th at Noon and at the gate on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 5PM on the the day of the show.



My Brightest Diamond is the project of singer/songwriter Shara Worden, who is the granddaughter of an Epiphone-strumming traveling evangelist, her father is an accomplished accordionist and her mother a classical organist. As a young person, Worden sang in church with her family and competed internationally with her high school chamber choir. She received a BA in Opera from the University of North Texas and studied composition with Padma Newsome. Her band, My Brightest Diamond, has released Bring Me The Workhorse (2006) and A Thousand Shark’s Teeth (2008) on Asthmatic Kitty Records. In addition to her own songwriting endeavors (a new album is imminent), she has recently collaborated with myriad artists, including The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens, David Byrne, Matthew Barney and Sarah Kirkland Snider. On this night she will join forces with a young but sophisticatedly scrappy group of players called yMusic who have backed the likes of Antony and The Johnsons, Arcade Fire, Beth Orton and Spoon to name a few. A night of incredible versatility in a place called home, Shara and her musical wanderers will leave you in a beautiful daze.

Links:
My Brightest Diamond

The Handsome Men Return to Arlene's Grocery for a Show on July 1st // Debut EP out August 13th

DOWNLOAD: The Handsome Men - "Find My Way" (from the forthcoming EP "Tin Angel")

The Handsome Men started playing live earlier this year and made their NYC debut with a show in May at Arlene's Grocery. The band returns to Arlene's this Friday and they are playing a 10PM set alongside DeBlois Milledge Band (9PM), Vance Jeffrey (8PM), Logan Verderlic (7PM) and Pol the Fisherman (11PM). Cover is $10.

The Handsome Men are in the process of mixing their debut 7-track ep entitled "Tin Angel", which will be released on August 13th with a show at Stanhope House in New Jersey, playing alongside Delicate Steve and Church Pussy. The band just released a brand new track from the forthcoming EP, "Find My Way", posted above which showcases the band's driving post-punk sound.



Links:
The Handsome Men

Uriah Heep - "Into The Wild" CD Review (Frontiers Records)

Every now and then, I come across a band that have been around for decades but I really don't have a clue what they sound like. Uriah Heep is now in the fourth decade as a band and their latest disc, Into the Wild (Frontier Records), is my first real exposure to their music.

Into the Wild is the band’s twenty-third studio disc and, musically, the heavy use of a Hammond organ and Bernie Shaw’s Ian Gillian-like vocals make for an immediate comparison to Perfect Stranger-era Deep Purple but there are also some elements of early 80’s Iron Maiden style NWOBHM in the mix. Where both of these comparisons fall away though is that original member Mick Box delivers some solid guitar work but the songs have more of a “full band” sound rather than highlighting individual guitar heroics.

This 12-track (Note: the Japanese edition has a 12th “bonus” track – “Hard Lesson to Learn”) / 59 minute disc has a solid foothold in the AOR/arena rock sound of the 70’s. Each of the 4+ minute tracks has a healthy sense of melody but there is little of the pop commercialism that crept into the metal scene in the mid-80’s; these are fist-pumping anthems for the denim and leather clad hard rockers. The strong leadoff track and first video from the new disc “Nail on the Head” sets the tone for the tracks that follow.



The band plays to their strengths with the four guitar and organ-driven hard rockers that follow: “I Can See You”, “Into the Wild” (which is one of the strongest tracks on the disc), “Money Talk” and “I’m Ready”. The band then changes pace and slows down a bit for some Iron Maiden style epic power-ballads on the back-half of the disc with tracks like “Trail of Diamonds”, “Southern Star” and “Kiss of Freedom”. Uriah Heep gets really creative on the Middle-Eastern flavored psychedelic track "Lost" and closes the disc on a strong note with the slow burning “Hard Way to Learn”. This is a strong set of hard rocking songs and AOR anthems; the only tune that was a bit of a turn-off was the poppy "hair metal" song “T-Bird Angel”.

Having read about the tumultuous lineup changes that Uriah Heep underwent in the 70’s and early 80’s, this current lineup has proven to be their most stable. The members of Uriah Heep are Bernie Shaw (vocals), Phil Lanzon (organ), Trevor Bolder (bass), Mick Box (guitar) and newcomer Russell Gilbrook (drums).

Links:
Uriah Heep

Please Consider Donating to "The Life is Good Playmakers" Fundraiser

One of my colleagues (and one of the truely good guys in the music industry) is raising funds for a great cause, The Life is Good Playmakers, so I wanted to support Joe and post a link to his fundraising page (click through on the image on the left).

Millions of our nation's youngest children experience profound suffering in many forms; domestic violence, abuse, neglect, natural disasters, extreme poverty, or severe illness. Consumed by fear and powerlessness, traumatized children stop playing, connecting and experiencing joy in the world around them. Early childhood trauma devastates young lives and shortens life expectancy.

I am fundraising for The Life is Good Playmakers, who are providing innovative training and support to preschool teachers, early child care providers, Child Life Specialists, social workers, and adults working directly with kids who are struggling to overcome early-childhood trauma.

My fundraising efforts are part of the 2011 Life is Good Festival, which is a fundraiser taking place this September 24th and 25th. With fundraising activities like Life is Good's Backyard Challenge, arts and live music on three stages, 30,000 fundraisers are coming together to celebrate the positive impact we are having on the lives of kids.

Please make a donation that will help support the front-line heroes who work every day to restore the greatest gifts of childhood playfulness, joy and optimism to a generation of hurting children.

Links:
Life is Good: Playmakers

Jim Ward (Sparta, Sleepcar) Releases Free Download from Forthcoming Debut Solo Disc

DOWNLOAD: Jim Ward - "Broken Songs" (from Quiet In The Valley, On The Shores The End Begins & The Electric Six)

Jim Ward, frontman of Sparta and Sleepercar and founding member of At The Drive-In, will release his debut solo album Quiet In The Valley, On The Shores The End Begins & The Electric Six on August 2nd, 2011 via his own Tembloroso Recordings. The album is a compilation of his acoustic solo EP trilogy - 2007's Quiet, 2009's In The Valley, On The Shores, 2011's The End Begins - paired with an additional disc of select tracks gone electric.

The album is preceded by the digital release of the acoustic and electric versions of first single "Broken Songs", both available now on iTunes. Ward premiered the acoustic "Broken Songs", featuring Tegan Quin of Tegan and Sara on AOL Music's Spinner; the song can also be downloaded as a free MP3 above.

The solo EP trilogy marked Ward's transition to writing quieter, more autobiographical acoustic songs after years of writing and performing loud, feedback-filled rock songs. When the songs are combined on Quiet In The Valley, On The Shores The End Begins, a seamless continuity is revealed, from the warm, piano-accented opener "On My Way Back Home Again", to the soaring, poignant "Broken Songs", to the rolling and cinematic "Waves In Spanish". The companion disc The Electric Six, meanwhile, captures the many nuanced facets of the songs and represents the live band with whom Ward will tour. The six-song collection transmutes each original track: the gently urgent "Take It Back" (featuring Maura Davis of Denali) amplifies to an anthemic rocker; the haunting "Mystery Talks" becomes a dynamic swell of chiming guitars; the jangling, melodic sweep of "Coastlines" moves to a rollicking country stomp; and the antique barroom waltz of "Decades" (written for his wife of 10 years) winds to a lush, gospel swing. Whether grounded in the acoustic or electric versions, Ward's matured and warm, plaintive vocals are showcased throughout the album.

With good friend and bandmate Gabriel González, Ward produced all the tracks on Quiet In The Valley, On The Shores The End Begins & The Electric Six in their Clap of Thunder studio in their hometown El Paso, TX. A longtime champion of the city's music scene, he enlisted many local musicians to back him on the songs; they include, in addition to González, Charles Berry (The Lusitania), Chris Heinrich, Chad Morris, Joel Quintana (Sleepercar, Metatron), Nicole Smith (The Royalty), Gregg Sosa, and Ray Wallace (Secret Life of Sparrows).

Ward began writing acoustic songs in 2006 during the last Sparta tour in support of their third album, Threes. Over the past five years during downtime from touring, he continued to write and record them as EPs. The songs explore themes of home, family, and nurturing roots, strongly influenced by his past few years spent mainly in El Paso after dedicating his early adulthood to making records and touring the world. Ward initially self-released and sold out limited edition runs of each EP via his Tembloroso Creative Lab website which is dedicated to providing a worldwide voice for his hometown of El Paso's artists and musicians.

The cover artwork for Quiet In The Valley, On The Shores The End Begins & The Electric Six, designed by artist Kelsey Brookes (www.kelseybrookes.com), is shown above.

Quiet In The Valley, On The Shores The End Begins track listing:
On My Way Back Home Again
Take It Back
Mystery Talks
Coastlines
Easier Said Than Done
All That We Lost
Broken Songs
My Town
The Newest One
This Love Has Gone Away
Lake Travis
Waves In Spanish
Decades
The Beginning Of The End

The Electric Six track listing:
Take It Back
Mystery Talks
Coastlines
Broken Songs
My Town
Decades

Links:
Jim Ward

Laurie Anderson and Bill Laswell Play Free Show at Castle Clinton on June 30th (River to River Festival)

As part of the 10th Annual River to River Festival, Laurie Anderson and Bill Laswell will collaborate in an evening of improvised beats and melodies with a free show at Castle Clinton.

Since the 80's when they first worked together in the studio, Anderson and Laswell have pursued radically different musical paths. Recently they played together as part of a trio with John Zorn, and their much-anticipated performance at Castle Clinton show will build on those new ideas and forms.



The show takes place on June 30, 2011 at Castle Clinton in Battery Park at 7PM. Tickets are available at the gate on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 5PM.

Links:
Laurie Anderson
Bill Laswell

Ozzy Osbourne - "Diary of a Madman" Legacy Edition CD Review

I’m somewhat conflicted on how to review the “legacy edition” of Ozzy Osbourne’s Diary of a Madman as this release left me disappointed as I was expecting “more”. The challenge is that I haven’t yet been able to put my finger on what it is that I was expecting.

To dive into this release, this is a double CD that contains the original recording of Diary of a Madman along with a bonus live CD from the Blizzard of Ozz tour. The Osbournes caused quite a stink when, due to royalty disputes, they replaced Bob Daisley’s bass parts and Lee Kerslake’s drum parts on the 2002 reissue of Diary with new recordings done by Robert Trujillo and Mike Bordin. While I think there are serious ethical issues here, numerous bands have added and deleted various (ex-)members parts for as long as I can remember. Some of the ones that come immediately to mind are:

- Black Sabbath: Tony Martin was brought in to sing over Ray Gillen’s parts on Eternal Idol after Ray had left the band
- Dave Wakeling: His solo disc was “built” by the record company using session demos and hired musician long after Dave had abandoned the project
- Kiss: The greatest hits disc in Sonic Boom was re-recorded without Ace and Peter (hmmm…I bet the Gene and Paul wanted to “[add] a fresh sound to the original [tracks]” rather than this having anything to do with royalties)

Disc One of Diary is a straightforward reissue of the eight track / 44-minute CD. Disc Two is a complete live concert (unlisted location – some sites have cited this show as being from The Palladium, NYC on 5/2/81) from the second leg of the Blizzard of Ozz tour. The show sounds great and the disc’s eleven tracks runs just over sixty minutes. The challenge here is that this show has the exact same set list as Tribute (which was recorded in Cleveland in 5/11/81) and covers no new ground.

The good point of this set is that it is selling for $10 used on Amazon, which isn’t a bad price to pay for a full-length live CD. The negative is that I expected something “new” from this reissue – perhaps bonus tracks on the studio CD or, at minimum, the inclusion of the “Mr Crowley” EP so that I don’t have to worry about hooking up my turntable when I want to hear these songs. I also would have expected the live show to be from the Diary of a Madman tour as the Blizzard tour was already documented on Tribute. (Note: The difference between the Blizzard and Diary set lists was the addition of “Over the Mountain” and “Goodbye to Romance” to the set.)

Unless you have to have everything Ozzy does (or you have only the 2002 issue of Diary), I’d pass on this deluxe edition. Inevitably, there will be “super-deluxe” re-reissue that comes out sometime in the next few years.

Links:
Ozzy Osbourne

Minerva Lions and Pow Wow! Are Playing MOSCOT Music's Saturday Series on June 11th

DOWNLOAD: Minerva Lions - "Megrims"
DOWNLOAD: Pow Wow! - "It's Not That Easy"

The Deli Magazine described Minerva Lions as "an emerging Brooklyn band playing rather chilled alt-folk alternitevly reminiscent of Beck from the "Sea Change" period" and Pow Wow! made L Magazine's list of “8 NYC Bands You Have To Hear.”

Both bands are playing a free show this Saturday at MOSCOT Gallery 118 Orchard St (at Delancey St) as part of the Gallery's Saturday Sessions series.

Attendees can get 20% off MOSCOT eyewear with proof of show flyer (see the attached flyer).

Links:
Minerva Lions
Pow Wow!

The Nico Blue Release New Video for "Folk Song Number Two" / Show at Hiro Ballroom on July 1st with Blind Mellon

Local band The Nico Blues have a knack for crafting the perfect indie pop song and they have just released a new "guitar cam" video for "Folk Song Number Two" (from Blame the Boredom, Blame the Basements).



Blame the Boredom, Blame the Basements, along with a a demo and the band's 2009 EP are posted as free downloads on their website (Nico Blues). It is somewhat sad how bad the music industry has gotten as this is the sort of music that people once paid for.

The Nico Blues have a number of upcoming shows in the area, including a slot opening for Blind Melon at Hiro Ballroom. Here is a run-down of the band's upcoming shows:

- June 18: Northside Festival Whatever Blog Showcase, Red Star Bar, Brooklyn
- June 25: Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ (Cover is $8)
- July 1: Hiro Ballroom, NYC (w/Blind Melon - Tickets are $25)
- July 7: Bar Matchless, Brooklyn
- July 28: Bruar Falls, Brooklyn

Links:
The Nico Blues

Pulling Teeth - Maryland Death Festival 2011 Photos

I lived in Baltimore during my formative years and punk/hardcore music always seemed to be a "step child" to the city's burgeoning metal scene. The Marble Bar closed in the mid-80's and most of the punk bands played D.I.Y. spaces or DC after that. It seemed like it wasn't until Chris X. opened Reptilian Records in the late 80's that punk bands started coming back through on a regular basis.

I'm pleasantly amazed at the scene that seems to have sprung up since I left town and Pulling Teeth and A389 Recordings seem to be major players. I hadn't heard Pulling Teeth prior to seeing them at MDF but I'm definitely going to have to check out their back catalogue.

From Pulling Teeth - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-27-11

From Pulling Teeth - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-27-11

From Pulling Teeth - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-27-11

From Pulling Teeth - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-27-11

From Pulling Teeth - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-27-11

From Pulling Teeth - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-27-11

From Pulling Teeth - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-27-11

Links:
Pulling Teeth

Cerebral Bore - "Maniacal Miscreation" Interview with Guitarist Paul McGuire (Earache)

Scottish death metal band Cerebral Bore kicked off their third US tour last week with a show at Tobacco Road (aka Port 41). The band just signed to Earache Records and their Earache debut, Maniacal Miscreation, came out last week in the US.

I had the opportunity to catch up with guitarist/tour manager Paul McGuire prior to the show and we talked about the band's signing to Earache, the new disc and the upcoming tour.



Here are Cerebral Bore's upcoming US tour dates:

June 7th - Amarillo, Texas, USA
June 9th - Tucson, Arizona, USA
June 10th - Las vegas,Nevada, USA (Las vegas Death Fest)
June 12th - Los Angeles, California, USA
June 16th - Cancun, Mexico
June 17th - Merida, Mexico
June 18th - Co Del Carmen, Mexico
June 19th - Campeche, Mexico

Links:
Cerebral Bore

Paul McCartney: "McCartney II" Deluxe Edition CD Review

Following last year's deluxe reissue of Band on the Run, MPL and the Concord Music Group are pleased to announce McCartney and McCartney II as the next releases in the Paul McCartney Archive Collection on June 14th, 2011.

McCartney II will be made available as a 2 CD "Special Edition" featuring the original remastered album plus eight bonus tracks including B-Sides and alternative versions. The bonus audio CD includes the #1 hit “Coming Up (Live At Glasgow, 1979)” and holiday perennial “Wonderful Christmastime.”

There is also a 4 disc (3 CD, 1 DVD) "Deluxe Edition" of McCartney II that includes an exclusive bonus DVD featuring rare and previously unseen footage (including performances of "Coming Up" and the new video for the unreleased track "Blue Sway") but includes an additional seven rare bonus audio tracks exclusive to this edition. Additionally, the McCartney II deluxe edition contains an extraordinary 128-page hard bound book featuring many previously unpublished photos by Linda McCartney, original album and single artwork, downloadable hi-res audio versions of the remastered album, an illustrated history of the making of the album, and expanded track by track information for all three audio discs plus detailed historical information on the film content.

McCartney II was recorded in July of 1979 as a one-man solo project in-between Wings' Back to the Egg album and their aborted 1980 tour of Japan. After McCartney disbanded Wings in 1980, McCartney II was released in May of that year. Sharing a 'spiritual' similarity with McCartney (Paul's first solo disc), McCartney II shows Paul almost completely breaking from his past and fully embracing new wave through experiments with synthesizers and electronic beats. The original disc's thirteen tracks are an eclectic but compelling assortment and show Paul getting out in-front of the budding synth-pop movement.

Here is what is on the set:
(Note: A copy of the third audio disc wasn't included in the review package I was sent)

CD 1 - Original Album [11 tracks / 39 minutes]
As I'm more familiar with McCartney II than Paul's first solo disc, I can hear the difference that the remastering made. This remastering at Abbey Road Studios has added more sonic depth to the disc and one can hear more of the nuances in both the vocals and the instrumentation.

CD 2 - Bonus Audio Tracks [48 Minutes]
Note: "Urban legend" is that McCartney II was originally intended to be a double-album and a number of these bonus tracks come from what is known as "The Lost McCartney II Album".

1. "Blue Sway” [From "The Lost McCartney II Album"]
This track has late 70's style "urban cool" vibe (think Steely Dan)

2. "Coming Up” [From Wing’s final concert: Glasgow, December 17, 1979]
B-side of the studio recording of "Coming Up"

3. "Check My Machine [B-side of "Waterfalls" single]

4. "Bogey Wobble" [From "The Lost McCartney II Album"]
Companion piece to "Bogey Music"

5. "Secret Friend" [B-side of "Temporary Secretary" single]

6. "Mr H Atom / You Know I'll Get You Baby" [From "The Lost McCartney II Album"]
"Mr H Atom" features Linda on vocals

7. "Wonderful Christmastime"
Originally released as a solo single in 1979 b/w "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reggae"

8. "All You Horse Riders / Blue Sway"
"All You Horse Riders" is from "The Lost McCartney II Album"; I don't believe that I've ever heard the mostly instrumental version of "Blue Sway" that follows.

DVD - Bonus Film [55 Minutes]
1. "Meet Paul McCartney"
Includes the "Coming Up" video and an in-depth interview conducted by Tim Rice where Paul goes into detail about the motivation behind and the recording of McCartney II.

2. "Coming Up"
3. "Waterfalls”
4. "Wonderful Christmastime”
Music videos (which were heavily played on MTV at the time)

5. "Coming Up” [Live at Concert for the People of Kampuchea - December 29, 1979]

6. "Coming Up” (from a 1979 rehearsal session at Paul's farm)
A nice intimate recording filmed with a single camera

7. "Making the Coming Up Music Video"
Paul narrates the making of the "Coming Up" video while the video plays behind his voice-over

8. "Blue Sway” Promo Video
Set to Jack McCoy's underwater/surf footage





Links:
Paul McCartney

City and Colour Release New CD "Little Hell" on June 7th // Download "Fragile Bird" for Free

DOWNLOAD: City and Colour - "Fragile Bird" (from Little Hell)

Dallas Green will be releasing his 3rd solo album as a singer-songwriter under the moniker City and Colour on Vagrant Records. The album titled Little Hell is scheduled for release on June 7th, 2011 and it is the follow-up to the 2008’s Bring Me Your Love, which was certified platinum in Green’s native Canada. Alternately sparse and inviting, intense and delicate, Little Hell shows music fans another side of Green’s incredible songwriting skills, and features some of his finest songs to date.

Little Hell was recorded earlier this winter at Catherine North Studios in Hamilton, ON with producer/engineer/mixer Alex Newport (At The Drive-In, Mars Volta, Death Cab For Cutie). Fans got a sneak preview of a brand new track from the upcoming album when an alternate version of the song titled “Northern Wind” recently made its debut on a special Valentine’s Day episode of the hit series One Tree Hill. Green performed on the episode as part of the show’s story line.



Little Hell – named after the album’s title track, a song that explores the little heavens and little hells that comprise a relationship – is the first of Green’s albums to be recorded and mixed to tape. This sonic move ultimately resulted in the album’s warm immediacy, allowing the songs to take on a spaciousness previously unheard in City and Colour albums. The record allows Green to highlight all of the facets of his songwriting, from Blues-tinged rockers to pedal steel-soaked acoustic gems. Songs like “Northern Wind” have a beautiful intimacy, as if Green is in the same room and singing right to you, while “Sorrowing Man” is dark and brooding, anchored by an ominous organ in the chorus. The record also highlights Green’s impressive vocal range, from driving a full band on the rousing chorus of “Natural Disaster” or sighing mellifluously on opener “We Found Each Other in the Dark.”



Links:
City and Colour