Sunday, May 31, 2015

On the turntable this Sunday...Caress of Steel



Caress Of Steel is the third studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1975. The album shows more of Rush's adherence to hard progressive rock, as opposed to the blues-based hard rock style of the band's first album.

Although Rush's previous album, Fly by Night, dabbled in longer conceptual pieces such as "By-Tor & the Snow Dog," such works were the central focus of Caress of Steel. Long pieces broken up into various sections and long solo passages are two prominent elements of the album. It includes the band's first two epic pieces, "The Necromancer", and "The Fountain of Lamneth", which were also blamed for the commercial failure of the album itself; the latter runs 20 minutes total and comprises the entire second side of the original vinyl release.
The album cover for Caress of Steel was intended to be printed in a silver colour to give it a "steel" appearance. A printing error resulted in giving the album cover a copper colour. The error was not corrected on subsequent printings of the album.

Geddy Lee admitted in the 2010 documentary film Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage that he thought bandmates Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart and he were "pretty high" during the making of Caress of Steel.

Some cassette printings of the album altered its intended track listing, specifically switching the "Didacts and Narpets" movement of "The Fountain of Lamneth" with "I Think I'm Going Bald" (possibly because of cassette tape length and to balance out both sides). In addition, the other movements of "The Fountain of Lamneth" are listed as separate songs.

Caress of Steel
did not attain gold certification in the United States until December 1993, nearly two decades after its release. It remains one of the few Rush albums to not go platinum in the U.S.[7]Although the band initially had high hopes for Caress of Steel, it sold fewer copies than Fly by Night and was considered a disappointment by the record company. The album eventually became known as one of Rush's most obscure and overlooked recordings, consequently being considered underrated by fans.

Due to poor sales, low concert attendance and overall media indifference, the 1975-76 tour supporting Caress of Steel became known by the band as the "Down the Tubes" tour. Given that and record company pressure to record more accessible, radio-friendly material similar to their first album – something Lee, Lifeson and Peart were unwilling to do – the trio feared that the end of the group was near.

Ignoring their record label's advice and vowing to "fight or fall," the group's next album, 2112, ultimately paved the way for lasting commercial success despite opening with a 20-and-a-half-minute conceptual title track.

Saturday, May 30, 2015

32 Years Ago: Dio's 'Holy Diver' Released (Ultimate Classic Rock)



By May 25, 1983, the man baptized Ronald James Padavona had already accumulated an incomparable musical CV including passages through numerous obscure ‘60s doo-wop groups, ‘70s blues-rockers Elf, castle-metal kings Rainbow, and heavy metal originators Black Sabbath. But now, finally, at the ripe age of 41, Ronnie James Dio was finally ready for his close-up with his debut, Holy Diver.

Read More @ Ultimate Classic Rock: 32 Years Ago: Dio’s ‘Holy Diver’ Released 

Friday, May 29, 2015

Inside U2's 'Innocence' Spectacle: A Backstage Q&A With Bono and Edge (Rolling Stone)



It's about 25 hours before U2 kick off their Innocence + Experience tour at Vancouver's Rogers Arena and Bono is sitting on a plush couch in a backstage lounge near the Edge. He's fiddling with a laptop and looking at a CDR recorded at a recent tour rehearsal. Right outside the door, walkie talkie-wielding tour personnel frantically run about as they prepare for the big night, but Bono seems completely relaxed. Adam Clayton walks in, hands him a cup of tea and then vanishes. We're instructed to sit between Bono and the Edge, knowing their schedule is insanely tight and they only have 20 minutes to chat.

Read more @ Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/inside-u2s-innocence-spectacle-a-backstage-q-a-with-bono-and-edge-20150521#ixzz3bF9q92Bm

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Jack White Talks Meg White, Displeasure Touring and More in Revealing Q&A (jambands.com)



Jack White entered the members-only Third Man Records Vault chat room over the weekend to answer some questions. While the full Q&A is available if you’re a member of a TMR Vault, Consequence of Sound compiled some highlights.

Read more at jambands.com and Consequence of Sound

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Gary Clark Jr. Joins The Rolling Stones on Opening Night (jambands.com)



The Rolling Stones kicked off their Zip Code Tour this past weekend at San Diego’s Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres. Shortly into the show, the band brought out opening act Gary Clark Jr. to add guitar to “Bitch,” one of four Sticky Fingers tunes the band would perform on this night. 

Read more @ jambands.com

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Rush R40 Live: 40th Anniversary Tour in Alpharetta, GA






Well, tonight is the night I have been excited about for quite some time....my first and possibly last Rush concert.  

Rush brings their R40 Live: 40th Anniversary Tour to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park in Alpharetta, GA this evening and from the looks of their setlists and reviews from the road so far, the folks in attendance will be in for a treat.  

A full recap and photos to follow, but since it's all about Rush today, I have posted a few clips and photos that I have found on the internet for your viewing pleasure.  

-Will Fisher, The Showbiz Kids






Monday, May 25, 2015

Faith No More: How Rock's Most Contrarian Band Made Up and Came Back (Rolling Stone)



Faith No More are hours away from their first North American tour in 17 years and they haven't figured out who's going to sound the chime in "From the Dead." A 12-song soundcheck in Vancouver's empty, echoey PNE Forum is like trying on new clothes since, in the next few days, they'll be premiering five songs from the ominous, brawny Sol Invictus, the band's first album since 1997...

Read more of Christopher R. Weingarten's article @ Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/faith-no-more-how-rocks-most-contrarian-band-made-up-and-came-back-20150512#ixzz3aVAJD9Cz

Sunday, May 24, 2015

On the turntable this Sunday...Tiny Music...Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop



Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop is the third album by American rock band Stone Temple Pilots, released on March 26, 1996, on Atlantic Records. After a brief hiatus in 1995, STP regrouped to record Tiny Music, living and recording the album together in a mansion in Santa Barbara, California. The album had three singles reach #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, including "Big Bang Baby", "Lady Picture Show", and "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart".

Tiny Music displays a drastic change in the band's sound, featuring music strongly influenced by '60s rock and bands such as The Beatles. Stephen Erlewine of Allmusic stated in his review of the album that "Tiny Music illustrates that the band aren't content with resting on their laurels" and "STP have added a new array of sounds that lend depth to their immediately accessible hooks," naming shoegaze and jangle pop as two examples of genres explored on the album. Erlewine also wrote that the album "showcases the band at their most tuneful and creative." Rolling Stone also favored the album, regarding it as the group's best effort to date. They expressed surprise, however, at "the clattering, upbeat character of the music" given Weiland's much-publicized run-ins with drugs and the law. The magazine also featured STP on its cover of issue No. 753 in February 1997.
David Browne of Entertainment Weekly, however, was less favorable of the album, writing that "none of it... has a distinct personality."

In early 1995, shortly after the band was forced to scrap two weeks worth of recorded material, lead singer Scott Weiland was arrested for heroin and cocaine possession and sentenced to one year's probation. In the months following this incident, Weiland formed his own side-band, the Magnificent Bastards, and recorded songs for the Tank Girl soundtrack and for a John Lennon tribute album.
During this time the rest of the band decided put together their own side project, which would later become the band Talk Show. In the fall of 1995, when Stone Temple Pilots regrouped to record again for Tiny Music, Robert and Dean got together to figure out which songs should be Tiny Music songs and which songs should be Talk Show songs. Dean would later say "Robert and I had about 30 songs, and we sat in the room one night and basically went down the list and marked next to every song: Scott, Scott, Dave, Scott, Dave, Dave, Scott.... It's really weird, because in all reality it was like 'Big Bang Baby' could've been on [the] Talk Show record and 'Everybody Loves My Car' could have been on Tiny Music."

Issues with Weiland's drug use did not clear up after his sentence, and STP was forced to cancel most of their 1996-1997 tour for Tiny Music. Because of the tour cancellation, Tiny Music did not receive as much exposure as initially intended. The album was certified 2× platinum but was not as commercially successful as STP's first two albums.

Read more at Wikipedia

Saturday, May 23, 2015

How Todd Rundgren Helped Make One of 2015's Most Exciting LPs (Rolling Stone)


When the Smalltown Supersound label asked Todd Rundgren to remix space-disco pioneer Hans-Peter Lindstrøm's "Quiet Place to Live" in 2012, no one could have guessed that the rock singer and producer's first-ever remix would lead to Runddans, a time-warping return to his most progressively synthedelic heyday...



Read more of Richard Gehr's Interview and article @ Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/how-todd-rundgren-helped-make-one-of-2015s-most-exciting-lps-20150511#ixzz3ZqHWklBT


Thursday, May 21, 2015

Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson Given All Clear on Cancer (RS)



Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson, who has been battling tongue cancer since February, is now reporting that his doctors have reviewed a recent MRI scan and given him the "all clear." "I would like to thank the fantastic medical team who have been treating me for the last few months, resulting in this amazing outcome," the vocalist wrote on the band's website.


Read more @ Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/iron-maiden-singer-given-all-clear-on-cancer-20150515#ixzz3aQSBjedR

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

My Morning Jacket Revive Spontaneous Curation Series for Tour Opener (jambands.com)




My Morning Jacket kicked off their The Waterfall Tour with an intimate show at the Georgia Theater in Athens, GA on Friday night. The stop marked MMJ’s first performance at the 1000-capacity venue since their 2008 outing in support of Evil Urges.




Read more at jambands.com

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Van Halen Tear Through ‘Panama’ at the Billboard Music Awards (UCR)


Following the “let’s go on first and get the %$#@ out of here” model established by AC/DC at this year’s Grammy Awards, Van Halen successfully hit it and quit it by kicking off the Billboard Music Awards with a sharp performance of “Panama.”

Read More of Matthew Wilkening's article and watch video clip @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Van Halen Tear Through 'Panama' at the Billboard Music Awards

Monday, May 18, 2015

Rest In Peace. B.B. King (UCR)



Blues legend B.B. King died last week (May 14) at the age of 89 in Las Vegas, where the guitarist recently revealed he was undergoing hospice care. A cause of death has yet to be announced.

Born Riley B. King on September 16, 1925, he spent his early years near Indianola, Mississippi, where his parents worked as sharecroppers. King’s parents split up when he was four, at which point he was taken in and raised by his maternal grandmother.


Read More @ Ultimate Classic Rock: B.B. King Dies at 89 | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/b-b-king-dies/?trackback=tsmclip

Sunday, May 17, 2015

On the turntable this Sunday...The Waterfall


The Waterfall is the seventh studio album by American indie rock band My Morning Jacket. It was announced by the band on March 2, 2015, and released on May 4 through ATO Records; under license to Capitol Records for North America. The record was co-produced by Jim James and Tucker Martine. The album's first single, "Big Decisions", was released on March 2. The second single, "Spring (Among the Living)" was released on March 31, 2015. On April 1, the band put up an April Fool's Day "prank" with The Waterfall album cover and a link to the whole album, for one day only. On April 4, 2015, the entire album leaked on to the internet.

In December 2014, My Morning Jacket announced that they were working on two new albums. One is to be released in 2015 (which would later be announced as The Waterfall) and the other is to be released in 2016. Lead singer and songwriter Jim James told Rolling Stone that the band had recorded 24 "solid contenders" for the two albums.  He also said the band had no intention of making the collection a double album.

The Waterfall received positive reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 76, based on 22 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".

All songs written by Jim James except "Big Decisions", written by Jim James and Dan Wilson
  1. "Believe (Nobody Knows)" – 4:56
  2. "Compound Fracture" – 3:44
  3. "Like a River" – 4:50
  4. "In Its Infancy (The Waterfall)" – 5:12
  5. "Get the Point" – 3:01
  6. "Spring (Among the Living)" – 6:01
  7. "Thin Line" – 4:03,
  8. "Big Decisions" – 3:53
  9. "Tropics (Erase Traces)" – 5:10
  10. "Only Memories Remain" – 7:11

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Tame Impala Detail New Album, Currents (Pitchfork)



Tame Impala have shared more details about their forthcoming album Currents, the followup to 2012's Lonerism. It's out July 17 via Interscope, and will feature the previously-released singles "Let It Happen","'Cause I'm a Man", "Disciples", and "Eventually", which was released earlier last week. 

Please follow the link to Molly Beauchemin's article and interview with the band @ Pitchfork

Friday, May 15, 2015

Dave Grohl Surprises at Chevy Metal Show (jambands.com)



Chevy Metal, the classic rock cover band project from Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, welcomed out some special guests yesterday during their gig at the Conejo Valley Days in Thousand Oaks, CA...

Read the full article and watch video clips @ jambands.com

Thursday, May 14, 2015

AC/DC Begin 'Rock or Bust' Tour



AC/DC officially began their ‘Rock or Bust’ world tour yesterday in Arnhem, the Netherlands, with drummer Chris Slade still on board.

Slade initially returned for performances at the Grammys and then at the Coachella music festival, which marked AC/DC’s first concert since the health-related retirement of guitarist Malcolm Young


Read More @ Ultimate Classic Rock: AC/DC Begin 'Rock or Bust' Tour 

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

NPR's First Listen: Faith No More, 'Sol Invictus'



...What makes Sol Invictus, Faith No More's first album in 18 years, so extraordinary is not only how comfortably it fits into the band's discography, but also how economical it is. So many veteran bands overcompensate on record, but Sol Invictus clocks in at a sharp 39 minutes. It's lean and to the point, taking listeners deep into Faith No More's twisted world, and it doesn't let up. Its playfulness and aggression intermingle to the point where it's hard to tell the two approaches apart...


Please follow the link to NPR's First Listen to read the rest of Adrien Begrand's article and to listen to Faith No More's upcoming album Sol Invictus.





Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Rush Begin ‘R40 Live Tour’ With Surprises (Ultimate Classic Rock)



If this is indeed Rush‘s last go-round on the road, they’re doing it with no small degree of style. Friday night (May 8), they kicked off their R40 Live Tour at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla., with several videos created specifically for the occasion and a handful of obscurities, including a couple of songs that hadn't been performed in nearly 40 years.


Read More of Dave Lifton's article @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Rush Begin 'R40 Live Tour' With Surprises 


Rush, BOK Center, Tulsa, Okla., May 9, 2015 Setlist

Set 1:
1. “Clockwork Angels”
2. “The Anarchist”
3. “Headlong Flight”
4. “Far Cry”
5. “Main Monkey Business” (last played in 2008)
6. “One Little Victory” (2008)
7. “Animate” (2004)
8. “Roll the Bones” (2004)
9. “Distant Early Warning” (2007)
10. “Subdivisions”

Set 2:
11. “Tom Sawyer”
12. “Red Barchetta”
13. “The Spirit of Radio”
14. “Jacob’s Ladder” (1980)
15. “Cygnus X-1 Book Two: Hemispheres – Prelude” (1994)
16. “Cygnus X-1 Book One: The Voyage: Part 1″ (2002)
17. Drum Solo
18. “Cygnus X-1 Book One: The Voyage: Part 3″
19. “Closer to the Heart”
20. “Xanadu” (2004)
21. “2112 Overture” / “Temples of Syrinx” / “Presentation” / “Grand Finale”


Encore
22. “Lakeside Park” (1978)
23. “Anthem” (1992)
24. “What You’re Doing” (1977)
25. “Working Man”



Read More of Dave Lifton's article @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Rush Begin 'R40 Live Tour' With Surprises 

Monday, May 11, 2015

Dave Matthews Band Summer Tour to Feature Special Guests Including Bela Fleck (jambands.com)

Dave Matthews Band will welcome a variety of special guests during their summer tour, which kicks off May 13 in Austin. A flier for the tour states that “DMB has invited a few of their favorite guests to join them this summer.” 

Read more @ jambands.com






Dave Matthews Band Summer Tour Dates:
May 13 Austin, TX—Austin 360 Amphitheater
May 15 Dallas, TX—Gexa Energy Pavilion
May 16 The Woodlands, TX—Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
May 19 Rogers, AR—Walmart Arkansas Pavilion
May 20 Southaven, MS—BankPlus Amphitheatre
May 22 Raleigh, NC—Walnut Creek Amphitheatre
May 23 Bristow, VA—Jiffy Lube Live
May 30 Atlanta, GA—Aaron’s Amphitheatre
June 2 Orange Beach, AL—The Wharf
June 3 Tuscaloosa, AL—Tuscaloosa Amphitheater
June 5 Cincinnati, OH—Riverbend Music Center
June 6 Burgettstown, PA—First Niagara Pavilion
June 9 Wantagh, NY—Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
June 10 Holmdel, NJ—PNC Bank Arts Center
June 12 Hartford, CT—Xfinity Theatre
June 13 Mansfield, MA—Xfinity Center
June 26 Camden, NJ—Susquehanna Bank Center
June 27 Camden, NJ—Susquehanna Bank Center
June 30 Des Moines, IA—Wells Fargo Center
July 1 St. Paul, MN—Xcel Energy Center
July 3 Saratoga Springs, NY—Saratoga Performing Arts Center
July 4 Saratoga Springs, NY—Saratoga Performing Arts Center
July 7 Clarkston, MI—DTE Energy Music Center
July 8 Cuyahoga Falls, OH—Blossom Music Center
July 10 Charlotte, NC—PNC Music Pavilion
July 11 Virginia Beach, VA—Farm Bureau Live
July 14 Bonner Springs, KS—Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
July 15 Maryland Heights, MO—Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
July 17 Noblesville, IN—Klipsch Music Center
July 18 Noblesville, IN—Klipsch Music Center
July 21 Toronto, ON—Molson Amphitheatre
July 22 Montreal, QC—Bell Centre
July 25 East Troy, WI—Alpine Valley
July 26 East Troy, WI—Alpine Valley
July 29 Tampa, FL—MIDFLORIDA Amphitheatre
July 31 West Palm Beach, FL—Cruzan Amphitheatre
August 1 West Palm Beach, FL—Cruzan Amphitheatre
August 28 Englewood, CO—Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
August 29 Englewood, CO—Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
September 1 Vancouver, BC—Rogers Arena
September 4 George, WA—The Gorge
September 5 George, WA—The Gorge
September 6 George, WA—The Gorge
September 9 Stateline, NV—Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena
September 11 Mountain View, CA—Shoreline Amphitheatre
September 12 Irvine, CA—Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
September 13 Phoenix, AZ—Ak-Chin Pavilion

Sunday, May 10, 2015

On the turntable this Sunday...King for a Day...Fool for a Lifetime



King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime is the fifth studio album by San Francisco-based band Faith No More, released on March 28, 1995. It was their first album recorded without longtime guitarist Jim Martin. The album showcased a greater variety than the band's usual heavy metal leanings, with Rolling Stone calling the result a "genre shuffle." The album spawned three singles—"Digging the Grave", "Ricochet" and "Evidence."

Following Martin's departure, Trey Spruance was brought on to perform on the album, having also been in Mr. Bungle with singer Mike Patton. Production of the album was further marred by the band suffering a car accident, and by the absence of keyboard player Roddy Bottum, who had been affected by the deaths of both his father and Kurt Cobain, whose wife was Bottum's close friend. Spruance was replaced on the supporting tour by the band's former roadie Dean Menta. However, Spruance did play live with Faith No More for the first time in November 2011, playing the entire album during a show in Chile.

Critical reception to the album has been mixed, with its varied genres being cited as a detraction by several reviewers. The album earned the band two Bay Area Music award nominations. The album's first two singles showed more of the typical heavy metal style while "Evidence" was a departure from the band's typical sound, incorporating jazz and funk elements.

Read more @ WIkipedia

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Kraftwerk North American 3D Tour Dates


The Krautrock and electronic music pioneers, Kraftwerk, have announced their plans for a twelve-date North American tour in the fall, which begins in Mid-September.  

Tickets for all shows go on sale this Friday, May 8. As always, please refer to the band's official website for more




Kraftwerk 3D Tour Dates:

September 16 Edmonton, AB—Northern Alberta Auditorium
September 17 Calgary, AB—Southern Alberta Auditorium
September 19 Portland, OR—Keller Auditorium
September 23 Denver, CO—Ellie Caulkins Opera House
September 25 Austin, TX—Bass Concert Hall
September 27 Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium
September 29 Miami, FL—Olympia Theater at Gusman Center
October 2 Philadelphia, PA—Electric Factory
October 3 Boston, MA—Wang Theatre
October 5 Detroit, MI—Masonic Temple Theatre
October 7 Minneapolis, MN—Northrop
October 9 Kansas City, MO—Arvest Bank Theatre

Friday, May 8, 2015

Pearl Jam Respond to Crowdfunded Effort to Bring Them to Queens (jambands.com)



After the success of a crowdfunded Foo Fighters show in Richmond, VA which the band ultimately played, Pearl Jam fans in Queens, NY have taken to the internet to try to bring the band to Forest Hills Stadium. The project currently has 578 backers and has raised over $140,000. 

Read more @ jambands.com

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Phish to Release Amsterdam ’97 Box Set (jambands.com)


Phish will release a box-set of their three shows at the Paradiso in Amsterdam from 1997. A listing on Amazon has a release date scheduled for June 16 as the 8-CD set will feature full shows from 2/17/97, 7/1/97 and 7/2/97. 

Read more @ jambands.com 

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

My Morning Jacket Add New Tour Dates



As My Morning Jacket celebrate the release of The Waterfall (available today), the band has recently added several new dates on the West Coast including stops in Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco to name a few.

Please see the band's website for more details and ticketing information...




My Morning Jacket 2015 Tour Dates:

May 15 Athens, GA—Georgia Theatre
May 16 Knoxville, TN—Tennesee Theatre
May 17 Gulf Shores, AL—Hangout Festival
May 23 Boston, MA—Boston Callling
June 3 Cleveland, OH—State Theatre
June 4 Pittsburgh, PA—Stage AE
June 5 New York, NY—Governors Ball
June 7 Toronto, ON—Field Trip
June 9 Chicago, IL—Chicago Theatre
June 10 Chicago, IL—Chicago Theatre
June 11 Chicago, IL—Chicago Theatre
June 12-14 Manchester, TN—Bonnaroo
June 16 Detroit, MI—The Fillmore
June 17 Detroit, MI—The Fillmore
June 19 Waverly, IA—Gentlemen of the Road
June 20 Milwaukee, WI—Riverside Theatre
June 23 Columbus, OH—Palace Theatre
June 24 Columbus, OH—Palace Theatre
June 26 Minneapolis, MN—Northrup Auditorium
June 27 Minneapolis, MN—Northrup Auditorium
July 17-19 Louisville, KY—Forecastle Festival
July 21 Charlottesville, VA—nTelos Wireless Pavilion
July 22 Lewiston, NY—Artpark Series
July 26 Columbia, MD—Merriweather Post Pavilion
July 28 Raleigh, NC—Red Hat Amphitheatre
July 29 Charlottes, NC—Uptown Amphitheatre
July 31 New Orleans, LA—Champions Square
August 1 St. Augustine, FL—Ampitheatre
August 3 Miami, FL—Hard Rock Live
August 4 Orlando, FL—Hard Rock Live
August 7 Atlanta, GA—Fox Theatre
August 8 Atlanta, GA—Fox Theatre
August 10 Birmingham, AL—BJCC Concert Hall
August 12 St. Louis, M—The Peabody Opera House
August 13 Kansas City, MO—Starlight Theatre
August 14 Denver, CO—Red Rocks Amphitheatre
August 28-30 Paris, FRA—Rock en Seine Festival
September 1 Antwerp, BEL—Riviernehof Amphitheater
September 2 Koln, DE—Gloria
September 4 Dublin, IE—Electric Picnic Festival
September 5 Larmer Tree Gardens, UK—End of the Road Festival
September 6 Manchester, UK—The Ritz
September 8 London, UK—Shepherd’s Bush Empire
September 10 Amsterdam, NED—Paradiso
September 12 Groningen, NED—Take Root Festival
September 13 Berlin, GER—Lollpalooza Berlin
September 30 Portland, OR—Keller Auditorium
October 2 Seattle, WA—Moore Theatre
October 3 Seattle, WA—Moore Theatre
October 6 Boise, ID—Revolution
October 7 Salt Lake City, UT—Magna Salt Pair Pavilion
October 9 Las Vegas, NV—Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas
October 10 Las Vegas, NV—Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas
October 11 Santa Barbara, CA—County Bowl
October 13 Los Angeles, CA—The Shrine
October 15 San Francisco, CA—Nob Hill Masonic Center
October 16 San Francisco, CA—Nob Hill Masonic Center
October 17 San Francisco, CA—Nob Hill Masonic Center
October 19 San Diego, CA—SDSU Open Air Theatre
October 20 Phoenix, AZ—Comerica Theater
October 22 Austin, TX—Austin Music Hall
October 23 Austin, TX—Austin Music Hall
October 24 Grand Prairie, TX—Verizon Theatre

Monday, May 4, 2015

Dave Grohl Credits Kiss With Inspiring Him to Become a Musician (UCR)

This year’s ASCAP Pop Awards came complete with a full-on lovefest between Dave Grohl and Kiss co-founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley

Billboard reports that the Foo Fighters frontman was on hand to present the duo with the ASCAP Founders Award, and took to the podium to deliver a speech looking back over his many years as a member of the Kiss Army. As Grohl told the audience, if it hadn’t been for Kiss, he might not have ever set foot in a recording studio.

Read More of Jeff Giles' article @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Dave Grohl Credits Kiss With Inspiring Him to Become a Musician 

Sunday, May 3, 2015

On the turntable this Sunday...Rain Dogs



Rain Dogs is the eighth album by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits, released in September 1985 on Island Records.

A loose concept album about "the urban dispossessed" of New York City, Rain Dogs is generally considered the middle album of a trilogy that includes Swordfishtrombones and Franks Wild Years.

The album, which includes appearances by guitarists Keith Richards and Marc Ribot, is noted for its broad spectrum of musical styles and genres, described by Rolling Stone as merging "Kurt Weill, pre-rock integrity from old dirty blues, [and] the elegiac melancholy of New Orleans funeral brass, into a singularly idiosyncratic American style."

The album peaked at #29 on the UK charts and #188 on the US Billboard Top 200. In 1989, it was ranked #21 on the Rolling Stone list of the "100 greatest albums of the 1980s." In 2003, the album was ranked number 397 on the magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

Waits wrote the majority of the album in a two month stint in the fall of 1984 in a basement room at the corner of Washington and Horatio Streets in Manhattan. According to Waits, it was:
kind of a rough area, Lower Manhattan between Canal and 14th street, just about a block from the river ... It was a good place for me to work. Very quiet, except for the water coming through the pipes every now and then. Sort of like being in a vault.
In preparation for the album, Waits recorded street sounds and other ambient noises on a cassette recorder in order to get the sound of the city that would be the album's subject matter.
A wide range of instruments were employed to achieve the album's sound, including marimba, accordion, double bass, trombone, and banjo, indicating the many different musical directions spread across Rain Dogs. Coming as it did in the mid 1980s—when most musicians depended on synthesizers, drum machines, and studio techniques to create their music—the album is notable for its organic sound, and the means by which it was achieved. Waits, discussing his mistrust of then fashionable studio techniques, said:
If I want a sound, I usually feel better if I've chased it and killed it, skinned it and cooked it. Most things you can get with a button nowadays. So if I was trying for a certain drum sound, my engineer would say: "Oh, for Christ's sake, why are we wasting our time? Let's just hit this little cup with a stick here, sample something (take a drum sound from another record) and make it bigger in the mix, don't worry about it." I'd say, "No, I would rather go in the bathroom and hit the door with a piece of two-by-four very hard."
Waits also stated that "if we couldn't get the right sound out of the drum set we'd get a chest of drawers in the bathroom and bang it real hard with a two-by-four," such that "the sounds become your own."
Rain Dogs marked the first time that Waits worked with guitarist Marc Ribot, who was impressed by Waits' unusual studio presence:
Rain Dogs was my first major label type recording, and I thought everybody made records the way Tom makes records. ... I've learned since that it's a very original and individual way of producing. As producer apart from himself as writer and singer and guitar player he brings in his ideas, but he's very open to sounds that suddenly and accidentally occur in the studio. I remember one verbal instruction being, "Play it like a midget's bar mitzvah."
Ribot also recalls how the band would not rehearse the songs before going to record; rather, Waits would play them the songs on an acoustic guitar in the studio.
He had this ratty old hollow body, and he would spell out the grooves. It wasn't a mechanical kind of recording at all. He has a very individual guitar style he sort of slaps the strings with his thumb ... He let me do what I heard, there was a lot of freedom. If it wasn't going in a direction he liked, he'd make suggestions. But there's damn few ideas I've had which haven't happened on the first or second take.
The album marks the first time Waits recorded with guitarist Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones. As to the reasons for getting Richards involved, and concerning their working relationship in the studio, Waits said:
There was something in there that I thought he would understand. I picked out a couple of songs that I thought he would understand and he did. He's got a great voice and he's just a great spirit in the studio. He's very spontaneous, he moves like some kind of animal. I was trying to explain "Big Black Mariah" and finally I started to move in a certain way and he said, "Oh, why didn't you do that to begin with? Now I know what you're talking about." It's like animal instinct.
According to Barney Hoskyns, the album's general theme of "the urban dispossessed" was inspired in part by Martin Bell's 1984 documentary Streetwise, to which Waits had been asked to contribute music.

Though it has been remarked that the man on the cover bears a striking resemblance to Waits, the photograph is actually one of a series taken by the Swedish photographer Anders Petersen at Café Lehmitz (a café near the Hamburg red-light boulevard Reeperbahn) in the late 1960s. The man and woman depicted on the cover are called Rose and Lily.

The cover-text resembles - in placement and font - Elvis Presley's self-titled debut album, as well as The Clash's London Calling. The European version of the cover features red rather than blue text, as in the former albums.

Read full article @ Wikipedia

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Iron Maiden, Ranked Worst to Best (Ultimate Classic Rock)



When ranking Iron Maiden albums, perhaps the most striking thing is that they succeeded despite changing lead singers on three separate occasions. (It’s four, actually, since one of them came back for a second run.) Few bands survive the loss of a single, recognizable voice so important to a band’s signature sound. 


Read More of Eduardo Rivadavia's article and see the complete ranking @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Iron Maiden Albums, Ranked Worst To Best

Friday, May 1, 2015

Watch Jason Isbell Pay Tribute to Warren Zevon on 'Letterman' (Rolling Stone)


With a new, "celebratory" album hitting stores in July and a baby due by early fall, there's about to be a lot of noise in Jason Isbell's life. Maybe that's why he chose to dial things back for his performance on the Late Show With Dave Letterman Friday night, hitting the Ed Sullivan Theater's stage with just an acoustic guitar and a two-piece band.


Read more of 's article @ Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/watch-jason-isbell-pay-tribute-to-warren-zevon-on-letterman-20150427#ixzz3YWAdVQQw