Archive: 2009

Dramatic singer/songwriter Ryan Adams surprised many of his fans yesterday by posting a note on his blog explaining that his days as a member of the Cardinals are finished after the band’s upcoming tour. Besides selling a bunch of tickets for the “final shows” – I bought ducats for the Montclair show – Ryan depressed the hell out of his fanbase.

Adams took to his Cardinal Cave blog once again this morning to explain the reasoning behind his decision to quit the band…

FOR CARDSFANS AND FAM- Peace-Out!! R XO

THERE WILL BE NO CANCELLED SHOWS AND THIS CARDINALS TOUR WILL HAPPEN AS PLANNED SO PLEASE UNDERSTAND I AM JUST SHARING THIS NOW SO THAT IN A FEW DAYS OR LESS IT WILL BE NO PROBLEM AND NOT INTERFERE WITH HAVING A PEACEFUL TOUR AND A NICE TIME PLAYING THE GIGS BOOKED.

FOR CARDINALS FANS and FAM,

I am very sorry if my blog post concerning my need to walk away for however long from cardinals( and from doing music related to the music i have made during my solo career and during my very long and substantially frustrating time at my former label ) was alarming or shocking or seemed off base. it was not my intention to be dramatic. I feel like i am entitled to my feelings and that i certainly do not deserve to be further ridiculed for my deteriorating inner ear issues and the physical pain that goes along with that.

READ ON for more of Ryan Adams’ “it’s me, not you” blog entry…

As Conan O’Brien goes, so must guitarist Jimmy Vivino, who despite appearing in any number of contexts over the years in his New York City base, definitely considers his role in the Max Weinberg 7 the priority gig. As such, Vivino later this spring will make the move to Los Angeles. And although his spot […]

Either Gregg Allman is a really good liar or Dickey Betts won’t be a part of the Allman Brothers Band 40th Anniversary Run at New York City’s Beacon Theatre on March 8 – 21. The only living band member with the Allman last name told Ross Cat of BestofWNY.com that Betts isn’t welcome… Ross CAT […]

Steve Kimock will be hitting the road this spring with his new project Steve Kimock Crazy Engine. Exploring a new direction, Crazy Engine is a Steve Kimock project unlike any other. Pushing the boundaries of rock and roll, rhythm and blues, gospel and soul, the repertoire will include Kimock classics as well as an energized […]

The Collector’s Edition of Warren Zevon's debut album has all the pristine clarity of most 70's California rock. But the shadowy blue tones of the front-cover photograph suggest how deceptively arresting the music is inside.

There's a fine line between grand and grandiose. Most concept albums are so much the latter that they never even get close to the line. Sepultura, veterans of the concept album, aren't close to that line either, but they're on the good side.

As usual, Jann Wenner has fucked up again by naming a bunch of undeserving acts to the Rock and Roll Ha… Scratch that. Old habit. Actually, this year’s inductees are fairly awesome. Metallica, Run DMC, Jeff Beck, singer/songwriter Bobby Womack, doo-wop heavyweights Little Anthony & the Imperials and pioneering country artist Wanda Jackson are among […]

Earlier today, Ryan Adams put up a post on the Cardinology blog announcing that he will be leaving the Cardinals and the blog itself behind after the band’s tour ends in Atlanta on March 20. Here’s Ryan’s post…

me- 34-a non smoker and happy, for the first time in my life.. i am excited to finish this wonderful time i have had with the cardinals and whatever new adventures may come after march. atlanta will be my last venture with the band and i am grateful for the time we have had and maybe someday we will have more stories to tell together. i am however ready for quieter times as i think it is very evident i am struggling with some balance and hearing issues.

also, no drama or anything but i am okay to step back from all of this right now and i think i did enough manic blogging when i felt alone and isolated during the last few years of travel. these last few years were the hardest i can remember and the most rewarding but i have loved ones to care for now and i am lucky i have been given a chance to turn around and see just what i am capable of as a friend and as someone who is not gone forever every year- it rendered me incapable of things i needed to be to myself and others- and my schedule sometimes never ended when the shows did- and some of that was my doing. and i lost someone i loved, and i lost myself.

READ ON for more of Ryan Adams’ farewell ode to blogging…

Steve Kimock hits the road in March with a new project called Steve Kimock Crazy Engine featuring Melvin Seals on B3. READ ON for all the gory details on the band’s lineup as well as what and where they’ll be playing…

Around this time last year I kicked off my semi-regular Better Than Noodling column with a post on on the Grateful Dead meets Pavement stylings of Blitzen Trapper. The band, who seemingly toured like a jamband in ’08, released their new album- Furr – this fall which is chocked full of their backwoods-indie-psychedelia containing a […]

It is sometime in January, 2009. January is the season of lists. The best, worst, sexiest, scariest, highest grossing, lowest common denominator, fill in the blank type of lists that are generated, ad nauseum, between Thanksgiving and whenever the February issues of magazines first hit news stands. Who had a baby, affair, divorce, face lift, pilot picked up, sitcom cancelled or got left at the altar. There are a million of them out there. I really admire the spin most periodicals put on their “In memory of . . .” lists. They come in handy when the ‘Ghoul Pool” finals are tabulated.

[All photos via LedZeppelin.com]

On a grand scale, the lists are just to remind the public of what occurred over the last 12 months before the awards season starts. I mean, really, does the content of any given list matter to anyone other than those on the actual list? Other than the smug self satisfaction and validation one may feel by having a common thread in any of these lists, (“Marion and I saw six of Leonard Maltin’s top ten films this year, aren’t you thrilled?”) they merely serve as fodder for water cooler discussions. These discussions, more often than not, dissolve into pissing matches of one-upmanship, noteworthy only for the imaginative ways the debaters make their point (Gus Van Sant is on that list. He’s from Portland, you know!”)

In any case, this being January, I should be assembling some sort of itemized listing of things that may or may not be important enough to rank in order, from ten up to one, one being the best of these items, in my humble opinion. The most obvious column to select from would be concerts I have attended during 2008. Live music is my muse, if you will. Its power over me has been lifelong and vital and, from it, I derive much more than simple happiness. It could be two guys with guitars in a coffee house or yet another Kiss reunion tour, I would still do my best to get up close and enjoy the show. And I usually do enjoy the show. It is rare for me to pan a performer who, despite how high (or low) on the talent scale his chalk mark reaches, is still baring his or her soul on stage for others to hear. It takes guts and ought to at least be respected for what it is.

READ ON for AJ’s memories of catching Led Zeppelin at MSG in 1971…

It seems like everyone who goes on Jam Cruise comes back raving about the adventure. Head over to JamBase where Brian Bavosa tells the tale of JC7.

The lineup announcement for this year’s 10KLF comes out on January 21 and the festival’s promoters promise “the biggest announcement ever.” Our friends at Breakfast On Tour report that the lineup for the four day festival – which takes place in Detroit Lakes, MN on July 22 – 25 – includes Wilco, DMB, Wookiefoot and […]

Capped off by their already legendary New Year’s Eve performance at Madison Square Garden, 2008 was truly a momentous year for My Morning Jacket.  The quintet released their fifth album: the beautiful, haunting, and mercurial Evil Urges, which has already attained classic status.  Never known to rest for too long, the band is ready to […]

Cold War Kids have announced several US tour dates in support of their sophomore album ‘Loyalty To Loyalty’. After playing a one-off date at New York’s Mercury Lounge and performing on Late Night With Conan O’Brien on January 28, the band will embark on a spring tour. They’ll kick things off at Miami’s Langerado Festival […]

Lotus hits the road this winter for a run of shows in the country’s southeastern states.  The tour comes on the heels of a huge year for Lotus, one that offered widespread exposure for their new album Hammerstrike and massive growth for the band. The band’s 2008 successes, including a coveted cover story in Pollstar […]

The term "supergroup" may be popular music's greatest misnomer. Sure, supergroups are typically made up of musicians who have done some super things, but more often than not, the meeting of their superness is just not all that, well, super. So, as legendary as the meeting of Jaco Pastorius, John McLaughlin and Tony Williams may have become over the years, there's always room for skepticism.

The Disco Biscuits will make their first California appearance since 2007, heading west for seven performances capped off by a pair of weekend shows at the House of Blues in Los Angeles on April 11th and 12th.  The run kicks off with a performance at the historic Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco on April 3rd, […]

Ryan Adams has announced he is leaving The Cardinals, the band he formed and has fronted since 2004. Writing in a lengthy blog on Cardinology.com, Adams said that he will quit the band at the end of their current tour, which ends in Atlanta on March 20. "Atlanta will be my last venture with the […]

Metallica, Run-D.M.C., Jeff Beck, Little Anthony and the Imperials and Bobby Womack will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during an April 4 ceremony at Cleveland’s Public Hall. Run-D.M.C. becomes just the second rap act named to the Hall, following Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five in 2006. Surviving members Joseph […]