In our never-ending quest to dig up some great bands that cost less than a corned beef sandwich at Katz’s Deli, we bring you another round of Blips. Blips highlights some great bands that are largely still in their larvae stage, but will soon morph into their beautiful butterfly. In this edition, we have some really cool new music, so take a sec, poke around their various websites, and see what you think of these three under the radar musical groups…
The Answer
I could easily start this out by saying Ireland’s The Answer is a “mid level band struggling with their own limitations in the harsh face of stardom” considering they sound remarkably like Stillwater – the fictional band from Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous. The Answer are the living embodiment of a modern Classic Rock band, with lead singer Cormac Neeson looking like he just stepped straight of central casting for the part with his long hair and Robert Plant meets Geddy Lee-inspired vocals. The band’s arena-ready hard rock sound derives heavy influences from the likes of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and any other number of like-minded bands from that era.
I recently caught The Answer playing an abbreviated in-store set where they rocked the place like it was MSG with blistering guitar solos and Neeson’s charismatic stage swagger. The band recently released their first stateside EP, Never Too Late, and currently have the high profile task of holding down the opening slot for AC/DC on their world tour that stretches into summer of 2009, but will also return stateside for headlining tour of their own.
READ ON for our profiles of Joe Pug and Viva…
Now that Guitar Hero and Rock Band have become big hits, video game companies are expanding their rock-game offerings. Electronic Arts has just announced the release of rock-adventure Brutal Legend.
Jack Johnson and an assortment of musicians on his Brushfire Records roster pitched in to create a debut holiday album called This Warm December.
G. Love was more than happy to contribute to the Brushfire holiday album with his one of a kind, infectious, blues-injected style. Since dropping his hit debut albums in the mid-nineties, G Love has built an army of loyal fans by consistently coming through with fresh material and over a dozen full-length albums. A road warrior constantly on tour, recording, and collaborating with his Brushfire colleagues- G Love truly is one of the hardest working cats in the biz. Below, G sounds off about why he is all about the Christmas season.
Jack Spilberg: What do you want for Christmas?
G Love: I want a new kitchen knife and a knife sharpener, some real fine wine, and a printer so I don’t have to keep going to Kinkos! I also just want to be with my fam and my girl. Barack Obama for president is the best gift of all.
JS: What’s better, naughty or nice?
GL: Naughty with a lil’ bit of nice
JS: Which do you prefer, real or fake Christmas trees?
GL: I was raised with real trees but now that I’m feeling more environmentally responsible I suppose I will go with a fake tree!
JS: Who in the Brushfire family most reminds you of Santa?
GL: That would be me. I like to give presents and I especially love to sing carols for whomever I can get to listen. I have a cool Christmas song on the new Brushfire holiday record called Christmas Baby, but stay tuned for the G. Love Christmas record coming next year!
READ ON for more of Jack’s interview with G. Love…
We recently came across a brilliant blog post from an American Jam Fan current living in Beijing comparing that city to the lot scene at a Dead / Phish concert. We asked Sasha of Movin’ On Up, to the (Far) East Side if we could share it with our readers and he kindly obliged…
“1 For $3, 2 For $5”
Riding the 656 bus from WuDaoKou across the city to Wang Jing, cramped in what is easily the most uncomfortable seat on the bus (seriously, epic fail here – the row of seats in front of mine had excessive leg room, while I had zero – T.I.C.), I gazed out the window at the sun, attempting to peek through the haze of pollution that dominates the Beijing sky, shining down on a gargantuan statue of Mao. There are a lot of statues of Mao in China. I mean, A LOT of fucking statues. He is everywhere. I’m actually pretty sure that Mao invented the statue. He invented everything. Al Gore did not invent the internet; he simply stumbled upon some old notes of the Chairman’s that he never had time to attend to.
Today is a rare day for me in Beijing. Today, I wish I was somewhere else. Of course, there are the occasional longings for home (notably the family, friends, food, beers, and bands that I associate with home), but since the moment I arrived here back in August, I have not had a severe longing to be elsewhere on this lovely planet Earth. However, today, there happens to be something special going on in another location – Jamaica, mon. Today, a couple of bands, along with 800 crazy people who enjoy their music, are kicking off the sequel to the best music festival ever (I’m sure Woodstock was cool and all, but I will take Caribbean Holidaze any day). Sadly, due to my proximity to the location of said festival, my lack of vacation days, and my lack of student loans to pay for the trip (again), I am sitting this one out.
READ ON for a comparison of life in Communist China and a Phish festival…
McLovins – 12/13/2008 DAUD [FLAC, STREAM, MP3] If you’ve browsed the message boards at Phantasy Tour for any period of time, you’ve probably noticed that the kidz on that board
Linda Ronstadt and Jimmy Buffett appear in FM, a movie made in 1978 giving a behind-the-scenes look at a radio station. Alex Karras, Webster’s father, stars in the film but
This week’s Stormy Monday is a pair of long tracks from Hall of Famer Neil Young. Back in 2003 Neil and Crazy Horse were on tour playing only Greendale in
