Archive: 2009

The Decemberists have announced the first leg of their Spring 2009 North American tour in support of The Hazards of Love, their ambitious new album to be released by Capitol Records on March 24th. The 16-date run will kick off May 19th at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, and include a June 10th performance […]

ROTHBURY, last year’s break-out festival hit, returns to the Double JJ Ranch in Rothbury, Michigan on July 2-3-4-5, 2009. Look for artist line-up announcement and ticket on-sale information coming soon. Building on the outstanding success of its inaugural year, ROTHBURY once again harnesses the unique 21st century American festival spirit to create an event unlike any […]

Fresh off a rousing tour with Semi Precious Weapons and Von Iva, Nico Vega, one of the best live bands around will hit the road again with Detroit’s Von Bondies starting February 12 in London, Ontario, Canada. The previous tour got the band rave write ups in places like The Boston Globe and Creative Loafing. […]

Bob Mould has announced a string of dates leading up to the release of Life and Times on April 7th, including an intimate, acoustic appearance at Hollywood’s Hotel Café on March 2nd and an electrified set at the famed Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival with the Bob Mould Band on April 18th.  Additionally, on […]

It was already packed tight when I arrived at Southpaw in the heart of Park Slope, standard for an Antibalas show in their home borough. The venue proved to be a good fit for the afro-beat collective, despite the small stage—wedging 12 band members, including keys, full percussion and six horns, into that cramped area was an impressive feat.

moe. is returning to New York City for the first time in eight months this weekend, so this week’s Stormy Mondays is a preview of the Valentine’s celebration (massacre?) at Terminal 5 on February 13 and 14. [Photo by Jeremy Gordon] Of all the many talents the upstate quintet can boast, from blazing bouts of […]

Despite the tough economic environment, the Rothbury Festival will return to Michigan on July 2-5. Be sure to signup at rothburyfestival.com to be the first to get the scoop on the lineup and full details when they are announced. Last year’s inaugural Rothbury Festival was a success by nearly all accounts and we look forward […]

We here at HT sort of pride ourselves on trying to stay on top of new music that would be in our collective wheelhouse. From time to time though a band or two slips under the radar that we’ll eventually stumble upon, case in point the Chicago-based Catfish Haven. Fronted by George Hunter – whose […]

McLovin? What kind of a stupid name is that, Fogell? What, are you trying to be an Irish R&B singer?

Well, they’re not exactly Irish R&B crooners, but this trio of young musicians from the Hartford, CT area, Jake (Drumlovin), Jason (Basslovin) and Jeff (Axlovin), have certainly gained a lot of attention in a hurry with their raw talent, impressive chemistry and wise-way-beyond-their-years musical tastes.

In a genre of music that normally requires a good three years of 100+ shows and slow burn word of mouth publicity, the McLovins appear to be the first band in the jam scene to actually blow up. We see it almost every day in the realms of indie rock and pop music, but it sure is fun to see the internets buzzing with fury over the threesome of musical whiz kids because they tackle Phish covers like YEM and Harry Hood as well as plain old virtuoso material like Eric Johnson’s Cliffs of Dover, songs that most players stumble over for months (or years) just to get through a few sections.

Having already made big waves by gracing Rolling Stone’s Smoking Section, igniting the blogosphere, appearing on the local news and making a new friend in Phantasy Tour, we thought it’d be great to get to know a little more about the three J’s: Jake, Jason, and Jeff. The boys were kind enough to collaborate and shed some light on their friendship, the new found internet fame and their plans for a first album. Hopefully, this will help tide you over until we get to see the McLovins live in action.

Hidden Track: Let’s start with a little background on the McLovins; how did you guys all get to know each other and come to realize you shared a common interest in heady stuff like Phish, Eric Johnson, and Weather Report?

McLovins: We met last summer. (Jake and Jason met at Jazz Camp and Jake and Jeff met at Rock Camp). We started playing together in the basement, sharing the songs we already knew and learning new songs we’d heard that we were interested in. We started sitting in together for a few songs every Wednesday night at a restaurant in Collinsville. People started to come to hear us play, even though it is a small place and we could get pretty loud.

READ ON for more of the first print interview with The McLovins…

VH1 Classic will air Oliver Stone’s 1991 flick The Doors on Tuesday at 7PM. The movie is more about Jim Morrison, portrayed wonderfully by Val Kilmer, and his nutjob antics than the band and their music which makes it an easy target for criticism. Meg Ryan, before she turned herself into a duck with plastic […]

[youtube]XpAG8IWPHeQ[/youtube] Wilco w/ Andrew Bird – Jesus Etc. (Live 10/17/07)

In an effort to get more personal and show some of the thought processes that have led us to running this blog, I’ve decided to pen a note to start each week. For the From The Editor column I’ll discuss the week ahead and whatever’s on my mind. Later today, we’ll be running the first interview with a group of talented schoolkids we’ve got high hopes for – McLovins.

The McLovins took the internet by storm in December when a clip of the trio covering the incredibly difficult Phish song You Enjoy Myself became a viral video smash. Two members of McLovins are currently in high school while the guitar player is still in middle school. In order to secure the interview Ryan and I needed to go through drummer Jake Huffman’s mom Carol and the support, love and concern Carol and the other McLovin parents showed throughout the process had me thinking of the support, love and concern my parents showed me as I explored my passion for music.

I got into Phish and the Grateful Dead back in the mid ’90s when less than 5% of Americans knew what the internet was. After I purchased Lawn Boy and realized Phish was the band for me I started to seek out live recordings. Without the internet, it wasn’t as easy as firing up bt.etree.org and picking from 200 shows to download. As a 16 year old in Hazlet, New Jersey – a town where hardly anyone had heard of Phish – I had limited options for finding Phish tapes and one of them was a store called Prime Cuts in Rockville Center on Long Island.

READ ON after the jump to find out exactly what I’m getting at…

Two viral hits together at last… [NSFW – CURSING, HT – SHAGG] [youtube]70r-Ca8wcVg[/youtube] Christian Bale takes David to the Dentist (Mash-Up)

RCA Records is proud to announce the Kings of Leon spring arena tour. These shows are the first set of US tour dates to follow their epic sold-out performance at the legendary Madison Square Garden in New York City on January 29th. I Kings Of Leon kick off the upcoming dates on the 19th of […]

LADYTRON has just announced a North American co-headlining tour with THE FAINT this spring, beginning in Milwaukee on Wednesday, April 1 and wrapping in Denver on Tuesday, May 5. The two bands will switch headline duties each night, and will be joined by FIGO who will DJ throughout the evening. Tickets go on sale Friday, […]

Coldplay will launch a North American tour in Portland, OR on July 10th. Tickets go on sale beginning February 13th at www.coldplay.com, with additional dates to be announced soon.    Coldplay – 2009 North American Tour Summer Tour Date    City/State        Venue                                      […]

Buffalo Springfield drummer Dewey Martin has died aged 68. Martin, real name Walter Milton Dwayne Midkiff, is believed to have died of natural causes. The star was found by a room mate in his Los Angeles apartment on Sunday (February 1), reports the LA Times. It is thought he died the previous night (January 31). […]

ATO Records is proud to announce that Gomez will be embarking on a string of spring US dates in support of their soon-to-be released sixth studio album "A New Tide."  The band will kick off the tour at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, TX, then head up the east coast to play […]

Brooklyn electronic duo, Ratatat, are hitting the road this Spring.  Still touring in support of last year’s LP3, the tour starts March 21st and will wrap a month later in their home state. Ratatat Tour Dates: March 21 Cincinnati, OH – Bogarts 22 Pontiac, MI – The Crofoot 23 Chicago, IL – Metro 24 Columbia, […]

Crazy Engine is one of Kimock's most curious lineups yet: his old pal and legendary Hammond B3 player Melvin Seals, his son, John Morgan Kimock, on drums, the sturdy Janis Wallin from Family Groove Company holding things down on bass, and a vocals section consisting of Cheryl Rucker and Shirley Starks, affectionately dubbed "The Girls."