Archive: 2005

Dr. Dog has been creating music in various incarnations in their hometown of Philadelphia for nearly four years now. The five musicians making up Dr. Dog are all from various musical backgrounds. Imagine The Beach Boys, Beatles, Tom Waits, David Bowie and Neil Young as acknowledged influences that have been interpreted through the eyes of Pavement, Palace Brothers, R. Stevie Moore or Roy Wood.

Along with Rolling Stone, Spin, Alternative Press, Fader and many others, The Philadelphia Inquirer raved Easy Beat, the band’s current album, is an” infectious debut album … Beach Boys-style three part harmonies layered over skewed bouncy rock songs.” The New York Times went on to call Easy Beat an “extraordinary catalog of off kilter ballads and light-headed riff rock … All nine songs, filled with breezy vocal harmonies and unexpected digressions.”

Dr. Dog will be producing the record themselves and are currently recording in Philadelphia in their own studio / rehearsal space. Dr. Dog are looking at a June / July 2006 release.

The King Of France, consisting of vocalist Steve Salad and drummer Michael Azerrad, are gearing up to take to the road in February with Nada Surf and recently announced tourmates, Rogue Wave.

TOUR DATES

Thu 1/12/06 Spaceland Los Angeles CA w/Helio Sequence & The Can’t See
Sat 2/4/06 Mercury Lounge New York NY w/Say Hi To Your Mom
Sun 2/5/06 The Khyber Philadelphia PA
Mon 2/6/06 Beachland Ballroom Cleveland OH
Tue 2/7/06 Garfield Artworks Pittsburgh PA
Wed 2/8/06 Eight By Ten Baltimore MD w/Nada Surf & Rogue Wave
Thu 2/9/06 Starr Hill Charlottesville VA w/Nada Surf & Rogue Wave
Fri 2/10/06 Cats Cradle Carrboro NC w/Nada Surf & Rogue Wave
Sat 2/11/06 The Loft Atlanta GA w/Nada Surf & Rogue Wave
Sun 2/12/06 Exit / In Nashville TN w/Nada Surf & Rogue Wave
Tue 2/14/06 Blue Note Columbia MO w/Nada Surf & Rogue Wave
Wed 2/15/06 Granada Lawrence, KS w/Nada Surf & Rogue Wave
Fri 2/17/06 Trees Dallas TX w/Nada Surf & Rogue Wave
Sat 2/18/06 Emo

ALO (Animal Liberation Orchestra) will be taking off in 2006, with a new version of their album Fly Between Falls slated for release on Brushfire Records February 21, 2006.
The Bay Area-based quartet specializes in eclectic, groove-based rock

Pictures by Mike Wren of The Duo (Benevento/Russo) at Revolution Hall, Troy, NY on 12/1/05

Rarely does a record come along so layered with rich lyrics and melodies, and despite motifs of death and life fading away, the songs never succumb to melancholy. Strange Geometry isn

Dinosaur Jr,’s performance was one big pile driver leaving the audience with ears ringing and hearts singing. More then one person was looking for any extras to Saturday

Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and bassist Andy Rourke will perform together for the first time since the legendary U.K. act split up in 1987 at th U.K. act split up in 1987 at the benefit Manchester v. Cancer, to be held Jan. 28 at the English city’s Evening News Arena.

Rourke is overseeing the lineup for the show, which will also feature New Order, Doves, Badly Drawn Boy, Primal Scream’s Mani, Stephen Fretwell and other acts to be announced. Rumors have circulated that former Smiths frontman Morrissey will be involved in the show but at present there’s no indication he will participate.

“Andy told me about this project he was involved in and of course I literally stood up and applauded,” Marr says in an audio interview posted on the event’s official Web site. “I said I’d get involved if he needed any help. Absolutely glad to do it. It’s a privilege to do it. It’s not the easiest thing in the world to get something like this together, because it has to be on a fairly big scale for it to be significant.”

The Smiths’ unhappy breakup has of late been back in the news, after former drummer Mike Joyce attempted to sell unreleased Smiths material on eBay. Morrissey responded by posting a detailed account of the lawsuits Joyce has filed for back royalties in recent years on the fan site True to You.

“Somehow, he appears to believe that he should have equal financial status to both myself and to Johnny Marr, even though Joyce has done dramatically less than Johnny and I to attain the positions we now have,” Morrissey wrote.

Tickets for Manchester v. Cancer go on sale Saturday (Dec. 17) via Ticketmaster. “It will bring together people and bands that have made Manchester famous,” Rourke says. “The idea is that this will be the start of an annual event to raise money for charity whether it is helping cancer or arthritis.”

Source billboard.com.

Toronto four-piece Metric are excited to announce that they will open for The Rolling Stones on January 18th and 20th at Madison Square Garden. Following these dates, Metric will return to the US with a North American tour, kicking off March 7th at the Roxy in Boston and ending on April 15th at Detroit’s St. Andrew’s Hall, in support of
their new album, LIVE IT OUT, which was called “one of the year’s best” by Under The Radar. These dates, which include two shows for the South by Southwest festival in Austin, TX, follow an enormously successful 48-day tour this fall, where Metric sold out nearly all of their shows, including New York’s Bowery Ballroom, Los Angeles’ El Rey Theater, The Social in Orlando and Slim’s in San Francisco.

Sufjan Stevens, the Magic Numbers and Engineers lead the lineup for the upcoming tribute album “Dream Brother: The Songs of Jeff & Tim Buckley.” Due Jan. 31 via Rykodisc, the 13-track set also features contributions from the Earlies, Adem, Kathryn Williams, King Creosote and Micah P. Hinson.

Covering Tim Buckley tracks are Stevens (“She Is”), the Magic Numbers (“Sing a Song for You”), Engineers (“Song to the Siren”), Williams (“Buzzin’ Fly”) and Tungg (“No Man Can Find the War”), among others.

Jeff Buckley material receiving the interpretative treatment includes “Mojo Pin” (Adem), “Grace” (King Creosote) and “Everybody Here Wants You” (Matthew Herbert and Dani Siciliano).

“‘Dream Brother’ is a model tribute,” writes Buckleys biographer David Browne in the liner notes. “It’s clear that the British and American bands and singer-songwriters who’ve contributed to this unique, joint salute to the Buckleys love their music, but they’re happy (not sad) to shake things up as much as they can.”

Here is the track list for “Dream Brother”:

“Sing a Song for You,” the Magic Numbers
“Yard of Blonde Girls,” Micah P. Hinson
“She Is,” Sufjan Stevens
“Grace,” King Creosote
“I Must Have Been Blind,” the Earlies
“Dream Brother,” Bitmap
“Song to the Siren,” Engineers
“Mojo Pin,” Adem
“No Man Can Find the War,” Tunng
“Morning Theft,” Stephen Fretwell
“Buzzin’ Fly,” Kathryn Williams
“Everybody Here Wants You,” Matthew Herbert and Dani Siciliano
“The River,” Clayhill

Source billboard.com.

Legendary folk rocker Bob Dylan will start a new career as a radio DJ when he launches a new weekly music show on XM Satellite Radio next March.

The station said on Tuesday the show would feature music hand-picked by Dylan, writer of some of the enduring classics of popular music since the 1960s such as “Mr Tambourine Man,” “Like a Rolling Stone” and “The Times They Are A-Changin’.”

“Dylan will offer regular commentary on music and other topics, host and interview special guests including other artists and will take emails from XM subscribers,” XM said.

Now 64, Dylan’s anti-establishment folk songs were the anthems of a generation and he has released over 44 albums in a career spanning more than four decades.

“Songs and music have always inspired me. A lot of my own songs have been played on the radio, but this is the first time I’ve ever been on the other side of the mic,” Dylan said in a statement.

His memoir “Chronicles Vol. 1,” published in October 2004, was a huge best-seller in the United States.

XM Satellite and its main rival Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. are battling for supremacy in the nascent market for subscription radio and both have been luring high profile names to their stables to boost their profiles.

XM says it has more than 5 million subscribers.

Source CNN.com.

Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado is one of the most exclusive outside venues. The beautiful surroundings of the amphitheatre seem to uplift and inspire the the bands that play there. The Dave Matthews Band captured their September 9-12, 2005 Red Rocks stint via a double disc album and concert DVD compilation called, Weekend on the Rocks.

Playing a stand alone club date, a benefit for the Red Cross, the Machines aired some new material and a few old favorites to a receptive, if tame, crowd. The Secret Machines have been steadily gaining respect with their form of vibrant musicianship and mind blowing live shows.

San Francisco

days after his 65th birthday, groundbreaking comedian Richard Pryor died Saturday of a heart attack, his wife told CNN.

Pryor, who had been ill with multiple sclerosis, died at Encino Hospital near Los Angeles at 7:58 a.m. PT. Jennifer Lee Pryor tried to revive him at their home before paramedics arrived and took him to the hospital, she said.

“He enjoyed life right up until the end,” she said, adding that Pryor had been laughing a lot and was in good spirits in the two weeks preceding his death. “At the end, there was a smile on his face.”

Source CNN.com.

It’s barely the holidays and already festival season 2006 is quickly approaching.

Coachella 2006 is set for April 29th & 30th, 2006, with Depeche Mode headlining the first night. The seventh Coachella Music & Arts Festival will return to Empire Polo Field in Indio, Calif. Line-up announcements are expected shortly, but in the meantime, the festival will be the subject of the two-hour retrospective documentary “Coachella,” which will premiere Jan. 19 at Los Angeles’ Orpheum Theatre and roll out Jan. 24 to additional U.S. theaters.

For more info see: coachella.com/news

As posted on discobiscuits.com:

After several months of auditions and many weeks of deliberation, the Disco Biscuits are once again a four piece band.

It is with great pleasure and excitement that we would like to welcome to the band our new drummer, Allen Aucoin.

After many weeks of rehearsal with several drummers, Allen emerged at the head of the pack with an undeniable energy and a youthful exuberance that, in the end, was absolutely unparalleled. Simply put, Allen brought the heat, and the heat was HOT.

While we did find that there were many incredible drummers out there, there was only one that made us feel like we were truly dealing with that indescribable feeling called BISCO. When Allen Aucoin was beating the skins, bisco was in the air. You could close your eyes and it just felt right, and in the end, that was the biggest factor in our decision to take Allen. We like to call it the X-Factor.

So help us all in welcoming our incredible new drummer to the band, Allen “X-Factor” Aucoin. Come on out to the Tower Theatre on December 28th and help us to usher in a new era of The Disco Biscuits. Celebrate with us as we play Allen’s first full show. We have been practicing for it for weeks now and will be fully charged and ready to go.

For more info see: discobiscuits.com

Hassidic reggae rapper Matisyahu’s debut studio album, “Youth,” will feature a newly recorded version of the track “King Without a Crown,” the live take of which is at a new peak of No. 17 this week on Billboard’s Modern Rock chart. That song is drawn from Matisyahu’s “Live at Stubb’s,” which peaked at No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Reggae Albums chart.

Due Jan. 31 via Epic/Or Music/J Dub, “Youth” is expected to feature such tracks as “Late Night in Zion,” “Unique Is My Dove,” “Indestructible” and “Fire of Heaven/Altar of Earth.” The album was largely overseen by noted producer Bill Laswell.

Matisyahu’s busy touring schedule will continue through the end of the year, including a six-show Hanukkah tour that begins Dec. 24 in Philadelphia.

Source billboard.com.

Pink Floyd singer/guitarist David Gilmour will begin his first solo tour in decades March 10 in Dortmund, Germany, in support of his upcoming solo album, “On an Island.” Although North American dates have yet to be confirmed, Gilmour is expected to visit the region in April.

Due March 6 via Columbia, “On an Island” is Gilmour’s first solo release since 1984’s “About Face.” The set is packed with guest appearances from David Crosby and Graham Nash on the title cut, Pink Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright, Robert Wyatt, Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera and Jools Holland.

Manzanera serves as a co-producer on the set with Gilmour and Chris Thomas. Orchestral arrangements were provided by composer Zbigniew Preisner.

In related news, Sony Music has bumped the release of Pink Floyd’s “Pulse” DVD to Jan. 31. The project, which chronicles Pink Floyd’s final tour in 1994, was originally slated to arrive last week.

Here are David Gilmour’s tour dates:

Mar. 10: Dortmund, Germany (Konzerthaus)
Mar. 11: Hamburg (Congress Centrum)
Mar. 15: Paris (Le Grand Rex)
Mar. 16: Paris (L’Olympia)
Mar. 18: Frankfurt (Alte Oper)
Mar. 19-20: Amsterdam (Heineken Music Hall)
Mar. 24-25: Milan (Teatro Arcimboldi)
Mar. 26: Rome (Auditorium Parco Della Musica)
May 29-30: London (Royal Albert Hall)

Source billboard.com.

The many levels contained within Toubab Krewe’s self-titled album, surround and reward the ear upon multiple listens. The polyrhythmic spider webs entangle; meshing scurrying string romps with the pulsing of low end, the result is sense of community formed with the musical world as a whole, and a great rookie release from the Krewe.

Just as we do every year, Glide has chosen the twenty albums that appeal to us as the strongest artistic statements of the year, representing both our diverse content and readership. Our 20 For 2005, plus a dozen disappointments.