DJ Don Letts compiled a wicked collection of tunes for Dread Meets Punk Rockers Uptown from his vast collection of reggae and dub 7-inches. The album is a veritable soundtrack to London’s legendary Roxy Club circa December ‘76 - April ‘77, where the Pistols, Clash and Banshees were known to kick it while Letts spun irie tunes. Dread Meets Punk Rockers Uptown features 16 tracks by King Tubby, Culture, Jah Stitch, Horace Andy, Lee “Scratch” Perry, U-Roy, Junior Murvin and many more.
Ska punk meets grime in the underground. Lethal Bizzle joins Gallows for their cover of The Ruts’ “Staring at the Rude Boys.” Check the new video here: ([More →])
Ian MacKaye, frontman for Minor Threat and Fugazi, has been getting a lot of phone calls today. He answers immediately, exclaiming, “I am still alive!” He goes on to say, “I am happy to report that I am not dead.” ([More →])
So many bands and music fans are concerned about the future of the Manium - an all ages venue in downtown Olympia that the city is trying to shut down. If you have ever been involved with an all-ages venue in any city in the US, you know the kind of problems they face. Instead of being appreciated for getting kids off the streets and away from the television, they are viewed as sources of illegal activities and the corruption of society. Maybe there are a few rare cases where this happens, but usually the venue is a boon to society, especially a culture that neglects its youth more and more and fails to provide healthy gathering spaces. ([More →])
Experimental electronic noise scientists - Nate Young, John Olson and Mike Connelly, aka Wolf Eyes - added new tunes to their music $pace page plus new tour dates through Europe. Before they leave the US though, they will play four shows in northeast US: Buffalo, Brooklyn, New Haven and Cleveland. So, check out the new music, and look out for your chance to catch them live. Wolf Eyes’ live shows are fascinating crosses between metal, punk, noise, and guitar destruction. They have so much fun on freaking out on stage and they are so much fun to rock out to. ([More →])
Recently, NPR’s “Song of the Day” a chord with old-skool punk fans who found it hauntingly familiar. Many who caught the sense of recognition probably brushed it off, thinking “Bah, this is a catchy pop song. I don’t listen to pop…” Well, this is true - it is a pop song. But once, in the early 80’s it was a raging punk song, blasted out of crunchy guitar cabs and screeched over by a very young Henry Rollins. Now, the Dirty Projectors have created an entire album based on Black Flag’s 1981 album, Damaged. ([More →])
San Francisco adores the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. No other town loves this band more except maybe New York City. Witnessing a Yeah Yeah Yeahs concert in SF is almost a religious experience. I can feel how much the music means to each person in the crowd: music that reached them in their darkest hour; lyrics that spoke to them directly; or simply a celebration of life and the sparkle that Karen O brings to the room. Whatever the reason, everyone in the room is affected by the music. Tuesday night, August 21, 2007 at the Fillmore in San Francisco was no exception. The floor bowed deeply under the rhythmic jumping of the devoted congregation, and a sea of arms reached out to catch the melodies mid-air. The YYYs have earned this response from the audience with their relentless delivery of stellar shows. Their music and their stage presence isn’t contained on the stage, it imbibes everyone in the room until it feels like we’re actually dancing on stage with the band. If there is one thing the Yeah Yeah Yeahs do well, it’s connecting with each and everyone of their fans in a personal way. ([More →])
Earlier this week I posted an article about how punk music supports the community and can provide new opportunities for disadvantaged youth. Punk - the music and the scene - has always been about community and helping each other survive a brutal reality. Well, hopefully that truth extends beyond cd sales and tours because right now Karl Alvarez needs help. The 43-year old bassist built his career playing thumping riffs for the legendary punk band Descendents as well as the lesser-known but also excellent band ALL. ([More →])
Die-hard punk fans in the US are probably familiar with the record labels Hopeless and Sub City. These 2 labels have consistently released quality, loved-by-the-underground-massive, punk music from bands like Fifteen, Jeff Ott, Mike Park, Thrice, The Weakerthans, Against All Authority, Atom And His Package, Har Mar Superstar, Nobodys and Scared of Chaka. What you may or may not have been aware of, is that both record labels exist to make the world a better place. Little did we know that those Fifteen albums we bought (and still have, despite not listening to them anymore) were actually helping disadvantaged kids get some fresh opportunities! ([More →])
Happy Skateboarding Day! To celebrate this fine occasion, and being skate punks themselves, The Beasties Boys have 1 trick and 2 treats up their sleeve!
Beastie Boys - The Gala Event New Video:
Buy The Mix-Up, Go To Beastie Boys Shows
Treat #1 : They still have tickets to some of the sold out shows on their US tour as part of the preferred seating they will be selling after July 3rd. Shows that include instrumental gala events of their psychedelic jazz punk stylings, as well as old skool hip hoppery.
Trick #1 : There’s a catch - in order to receive the promo code for the preferred seating sales, you need to order their new album The Mix Up from iTunes on Tuesday. I’d be buying the album anyway, but not from iTunes, that’s too bad.
According to the news on the BBoys site:
Purchase The Mix-Up from iTunes, and receive a code that gives you access to preferred seating for the upcoming tour dates, INCLUDING THE SHOWS THAT HAVE ALREADY SOLD OUT!!! Special blocks of tickets have been set aside specifically for this promotion.
You must act quickly in order to qualify for this promotion. Offer expires July 3rd.
Please note: Tickets for this promotion are limited. Purchasing the album through iTunes does not guarantee tickets.
Beastie Boys Listening Party In LA
Treat #2 : LA will be treated to two special listening parties of The Mix-Up. Both take place on June 25th and feature FREE ice cream and limited edition Tees!
Union
110 S. La Brea
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Free ice cream provided by Scoops
Undefeated Silverlake
3827 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA, 90189
Free ice cream provided by Pazzo Gelato
The festivities kick off at 6pm and its all first come first serve, so don’t be late! I was just saying how this is the year to live in LA and here is yet another example of why. Lucky kids.
Wrap your punk-deprived ears around this sound friends - Holy Molar are funtastic old school lof-fi clown punk at its very best. I think of it as Captain Beefheart in a secret rendezvous with Die Monitor Bats, but the press likens it to an incestuous relation between The Locust and Mr. Bungle. Both equally obscure and impossible to categorize, so you must listen!
Their bio reads like the screenplay for DJ Qbert’s Wave Twisters:
There is a tooth stuck in your knuckle and it is rotting from the inside out. The cavity-ridden lackadaisical cultural genocide dirty dentists know no novocaine can ease the pain or tell-tale stench on your breath that is your rotting mouth, so they just ball-pin hammer them out. Back ally dentists pocketing your gold plated teeth and molding the holes with tin foil. There is a chemical reaction in your head. Your teeth are shivering and it’s not from the cold. Because the blood of your gums is the missing ingredient for the elixir that could cure your stupid, stupid nerves, we give you Holy Molar, five dental school drop out hacks still willing to drill away at you just because there are so many obvious holes to fill.
Musicians from as far and wide as Final Conflict, Cattle Decapitation and The Oath came together to create this blasphemous noise that some dare to call music:
ron avila [drums] (get hustle, ex antioch arrow, final conflict) bobby bray [keyboards] (the locust) mark mcmolar [vocals] (the oath, virgin mega hore, ex charles bronson, social coma) justin pearson [bass] (the locust, ex struggle, swing kids, the crimson curse) gabe serbian [guitar] (the locust, cattle decapitation)
Their latest EP hit the virtual shelves today. It’s titled Cavity Search, features some amazing art by Mark McCoy, and according to the band’s label 31G, it’s “loaded with some serious metal drumming, songs about Pocahotass, and some of the strangest sitar and horn arrangements added to the bands recorded material.”
Cavity Search Tracklist
1. Cavity Search
2. You’ve Had More Kids Pulled Out Of That Thing Than A Burning Orphanage
3. The Night Pocahotass Spread Her Land O’ Lakes
4. My Saturday Night Fever Turned Into A Sunday Morning Rash
5. Der Werewolf Breath
Young@Heart rocks! I saw this article on yahoo news and I thought it was going to be some kind of “senior citizens find reason to live through rock n roll” but I was quite wrong! It turns out that the 23 elders that comprise the Young@Heart Chorus are putting an all new edge on some of rock’s biggest hits.
Elaine Fligman of the Young@Heart Chorus giving it her all:
The morbid messages in some of rock’s great anthems takes on a serious tone when sung by those toe-ing the line between here and the afterlife, while teen-age dimentia becomes hilarious when belted out by the well-senile. Take for example -
“My future is static / It’s already had it.” — Steve Martin, 79, singing Sonic Youth’s “Schizophrenia.”
Or contemplating life and death with the Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go.” I had never heard of them before today, but apparently they are international stars and tour around the world. They have even performed for the king and queen of Norway!
Under the direction of wheelchair-bound Fred Knittle, the Young@Heart Chorus is trying to record a full length album of such covers, tentatively to be titled Rockin’ At Heaven’s Door. HAha! I LOVE it! These seniors rule, and if you aren’t convinced, then I am just doing a poor job representin. Check out the full story on yahoo news.
I hope the Beastie Boys aren’t getting tired of guitars, drums, and bass already. They have expanded their tour schedule to include all out hip hop shenanigans with just the occasional “Exclusive Instrumental Show.” These 3 boys have yet to disappoint me, so I will trust in their tour plans. I’m quite impressed with how much I still love their music, and how they continue to release really exciting albums. They are doing a much better job than Bjork as far as remaining relevant and fresh musically.
Beastie Boys Hip Hop Shows
8/1 Philadelphia - Festival Pier
8/6 Boston - Bank of America Pavilion
8/8 New York - Summerstage
8/9 Brooklyn - McCarren Pool
8/16 Denver - Red Rocks
8/23 Santa Barbara - County Bowl
8/25 Berkeley - Greek Theater
What’s this I see - a McCarren Pool performance? Excellent!
A recent press release mentioned that there would be more events scheduled in the near future that would have The Mix Up configuration, thus more guitars, drums and bass instrumentals. I will be watching the BBoys site more updates, and will let you know when I find them. The Mix Up is released on June 26th.
06/14/2007 - Sonar - Barcelona, ES
Sonar Festival
A Gala Event – Exclusive Instrumental Show
06/15/2007 - Sonar - Barcelona, ES
Sonar Festival
06/16/2007 - Olympic Baseball Stadium - Athens, GR
Ejekt Festival
06/17/2007 - Parkorman Maslak - Istanbul, TR
One Love Festival
http://www.pozitif.info/2004/en/
06/20/2007 - Columbiahalle - Berlin, DE
Exclusive Instrumental show
06/22/2007 - Hurricane Festival - Scheesel, DE
06/23/2007 - Live Music Hall - Cologne, DE
Exclusive Instrumental show
06/24/2007 - Southside Festival - Neuhasen, DE
06/26/2007 - Le Zenith - Paris, FR
06/27/2007 - Le Bataclan - Paris, FR
Exclusive Instrumental show
06/28/2007 - Festival Park Werchter - Werchter, BE
Rock Werchter Festival
06/30/2007 - Babie Doly Airfield - Gdynia, PL
Heineken Open’er Festival
07/01/2007 - Babie Doly Airfield - Gdynia, PL
Heineken Open’er Festival
07/03/2007 - Odderøya peninsula - Kristiandsand, NO
Quart Festival
Idrettsplassen (Main Stage)http://quart.no
07/04/2007 - Gröna Lund - Stockholm, SE
07/06/2007 - Festival Grounds - Roskilde, DK
Roskilde Festival
http://www.roskilde-festival.dk
07/07/2007 - Wembley Arena - London, GB
Live Earth
07/09/2007 - Stravinsky Hall - Montreux, CH
Montreux Jazz Festival
07/10/2007 - Miles Davis Hall - Montreux, CH
Montreux Jazz Festival
A Gala Event – Exclusive Instrumental Show
07/11/2007 - Piazza Grande - Locarno, CH
Moon & Stars Festival
http://www.moonandstarslocarno.ch
07/13/2007 - Petrovaradin Fortress - Novi Sad, CS
Exit Festival
07/14/2007 - Nuke Festival - Vienna, AT
07/15/2007 - Lake Balaton - Zamárdi, HU
Balaton Sound Festival
07/28/2007 - Naeba Ski Resort - Niigata, JP
Fuji Rock Festival
08/04/2007 - Pimlico Race Course - Baltimore, MD
Virgin Festival
www.virginfestival.com
08/31/2007 - Inveraray Castle - Argyll, GB
Connect Festival
09/01/2007 - Stradbally Hall - Stradbally, IE
Electric Picnic
09/02/2007 - Stradbally Hall - Stradbally, IE
Electric Picnic
A Gala Event – Exclusive Instrumental Show
09/04/2007 - Brixton Academy - London, GB
09/05/2007 - Brixton Academy - London, GB
09/08/2007 - Robin Hill Countryside Adventure Park - Isle of Wight, GB
Bestival
09/09/2007 - Robin Hill Countryside Adventure Park - Isle of Wight, GB
Bestival
Fugazi probably looks fantastic through the lens of glen E. friedman’s camera. We’ll soon find out - when Keep Your Eyes Open is available to explore.
Click the book to read more about it on Amazon.
It’s a book of photographs of the legendary punk band by an artist who is well known for capturing the most exciting action on still film. Whether he’s aiming at pioneer skaters Jay Adams or Tony Alva, or frenetic stage performers Minor Threat or Beastie Boys, Friedman’s camera has excellent perspective. This man has shot it all, and has the talent to portray the raw energy of the live experience. My esteem for both Fugazi and Friedman is in the upper atmosphere of esteem layers due to both going beyond what is necessary for their careers and truly caring about the audience’s experience of their medium. It will be wonderful to see the large glossy pages of this upcoming coffee table tome. I think I will have to add this to my wishlist!
The book will be officially released on the 3rd of September, 20 years on the day of the band’s first live show. (ISIS and Neurosis like to think they are veterans for being 10 years old, but 20 years and still touring, playing, and being super cool, that’s Fugazi…)
FUGAZI BOOK LINKS
Keep Your Eyes Open website Burning Flags Press - You can catch up so much great gEfriedman memorabilia on the Burning Flags page including his other new photo books like RECOGNIZE with words by Peter Lamborn Wilson (aka Hakim Bey author of T.A.Z.).
Burning Flags Press even has a music$pace page where you can watch rare punk and protest videos, and see pages from the books. Dischord Records
Fugazi Live in 1988 - “Waiting Room”:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/-RrxTGQHX-4]
If you aren’t hip to what the various members of Fugazi have been up to lately, pitchf*#k has some info, like tour dates for The Evens and Joe Lally. And of course, Ian MacKaye runs Dischord Records which publishes all of Fugazi’s albums.
