Archive: 2009

Interpol’s lead singer, lyricist and guitarist Paul Banks will release a solo album under the name Julian Plenti, according to the Matador Records blog. The new project, "Skyscraper," will be released on August 4th. Banks has written and performed under the Plenti moniker for several years, according to a source close to the situation. While […]

You know how it is when you get a song lyric stuck in your head?  It turns your skull into a mental pinball machine, with the lyric violently bouncing from flipper to ramp to bumper and back again.   It racks up points as it targets your ability to concentrate and beats your focus to a pulp.  Personally, I’ve had Ashford & Simpson’s “Solid” and Robbie Nevil’s “Wot’s It to Ya” in my head on and off since the early ‘80s.

Modest Mouse drummer Joe Plummer has replaced Jesse Sandoval in The Shins, as part of a shuffle in the lineup of the band. Keyboardist Marty Crandall is also out of the band, while Fruit Bats man Ron Lewis has joined the band on bass. In an interview with Pitchfork, Shins main man James Mercer revealed […]

Danger Mouse’s latest project, Dark Night Of The Soul — a collaborative multimedia effort featuring such notable artists as Pixies‘ Black Francis, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, Iggy Pop and Julian Casablancas of The Strokes — is previewing its highly anticipated album online now. The album, titled ‘Dark Night Of The Soul’, is streaming […]

On May 12, politically charged alt.country troubadour Steve Earle is set to release his latest album, Townes, a 15 song tribute record honoring the work of his friend and mentor – the late Townes Van Zandt. Earle, who selected the tracks based on his personal connection to them, will hit the road later this month […]

The Ropeadope record label will be celebrating their 10th anniversary – quite an accomplishment these days – with an all-star gala at Sullivan Hall in New York City on June 10th. So far John Medeski, Charlie Hunter and John Ellis have signed on, but we have a feeling that’s only the tip of the iceberg. […]

The AP is reporting that former Wilco multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett is suing Jeff Tweedy for breach of contract surrounding payment for Bennett’s appearance in the 2002 documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.

[via Rockpalast Archive]

Bennett, who was in Wilco from 1994-2001 and contributed to Being There, Summerteeth, both Mermaid Avenue albums and of course, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, claims in the lawsuit that he was compensated only in “infrequent partial payments” equal to 15 percent of Wilco’s income from sales and performances.

Now, I am certainly no copyright attorney. And I’m equally no expert on how actors and musicians are paid for their work in movies. So I’m not going to pontificate on what Bennett is legally entitled to. But aren’t there clear laws about this? Could the movie have even come out if Bennett hadn’t signed some agreements to determine compensation? What about Leroy Bach, who was also in the band during the filming of the movie but has subsequently been replaced – has he been paid more/less than Bennett for the movie?

READ ON for more of Luke’s thoughts on Bennett’s lawsuit…

The Ballad Of Curtis Loew was originally released on Lynyrd Skynyrd’s aptly titled sophomore effort Second Helping. There is a FAQ section on Skynrd’s website that asks if there was a real Curtis Loew. Here’s the answer…

The inspiration for Curtis Loew was loosely based around the characters that lived near Ronnie’s home on Jacksonville’s Westside. The corner store in the song is based on Claude’s Midway Grocery on the corner of Plymouth and Lakeshore in Jacksonville. While there wasn’t a ‘real’ Curtis Loew, there were many Curtis Loews in the neighborhood. The actual spelling of the name came when Ed was writing the liner notes for the Second Helping album in 1974. He thought it would be funny to name this old Florida black bluesman after the Jewish Loew’s Theatre.

Looking back at last week’s Eminence Front Cover Wars, Max Creek has emerged victorious with a little help from guest guitarist Jeff Pevar.

The Contestants:

Keller Williams: Leading off this week we’ve got a short rendition from the early years of Keller Williams. Source: 1-25-1998
[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/kw.mp3]

READ ON for the rest of this week’s Cover Wars contestants…

“These guys are a fun band”, Dee said as the openers – The Truth & Salvage Co. – took the stage. “You’ll probably like them”. Dee and Ron had come to town from their rural environs north of Nanaimo, British Columbia. They were following the Jackie Greene Pacific Northwest swing of his current tour.

Getting their fix, as Ron put it, of live music for the year. Sort of like Hoss and Little Joe hooking up the buckboard and heading into town for supplies. Dee and Ron drove seven hours (not counting ‘ferry time’) to get to the previous night’s show in Seattle. Another three hours and change south on I-5 (not counting an hour or so lost in the one way maze that downtown Portland can become at rush hour) to get to Thursday night’s gig at the Aladdin Theater.

Stan and Sheila, our neighbors to the right, agreed. “Really fun,” they chimed almost in unison. “Really, really fun,” Sheila added. They had journeyed from Eugene the night before to catch the Seattle show and, without getting lost, made it back south to Stumptown in time to get to the front row tonight, roughly ten hours in the car so far.

These guys were making me feel guilty for living ten minutes away and waiting for the tour to come to me. No, I take that back. Only I can make myself feel guilty. They were making me feel nostalgic for the old day’s road tripping to Seattle to see the Stones, Bowie, The Who and later on, Green River, Nirvana, Alice In Chains et al as grunge grew up three hours north.

READ ON for more about AJ’s experience at the Jackie Greene show…

[youtube]DDmxHDx0SBQ[/youtube] King Khan & The Shrines – Land Of The Freak

…a powerfully eerie sound erupts out of the darkness, and the magician twirls his hands up, down, and side to side, before waving his digits in a fast flurry through the low-lit air. The young sorcerer walks away from his own electronic creation, slashing his arms in a bird-like fashion, until the arcing cries transcend shape, slowly fading into the demonic distance, neither appearing nor disappearing by the physical touch of a human hand.

Jimmy Page is done with his bit of sinister audio, and returns to attacking his Les Paul. Robert Plant howls at the devil on his trail and yelps for a whole lotta love, while John Paul Jones and John Bonham beat the drums en route to Valhalla without any pretension towards mercy and restraint. This ain’t your daddy’s Chicago blues, mate. This is chaos.

My initial exposure to the strange surreal sounds of the theremin was on many trips to a little midnight movie by the world’s biggest band, Led Zeppelin. The Song Remains the Same was a sledge-hammered cranium-opener for my sane and sober teenaged mind. Flash forward a few years, and one comes across a documentary based on the inventor of the instrument and this week’s Hidden Flick, Theremin – An Electronic Odyssey.

READ ON for more on this week’s Hidden Flick…

April was a good month for Miles Davis, as a slew of bands dipped into the great band leader’s songbook. This week’s SM mix features some of the best there was to offer. We open with The Dead from 4/18 doing Milestones. Bobby covers the tune regularly with Ratdog, but this particularly hot version makes […]

A magnificent songwriter and bonafide cultural icon, Bob Dylan has  never been a truly skilled recording artist in the sense of using the studio as a versatile tool in enlarging the scope of his music. On the contrary, his best recordings are those in which savvy musicians capture their chemistry by instinct, inspired by the great material they’ve been given to play. That’s not what happens on this new album.

the progressive rock outfit who are recording their fifth album, are also spreading their wings by playing to new audiences in 2009. Creating more visibility in the metal world, as well as the jam and indie circles more than ever. Earlier this year, the band supported the heavy metal juggernaut, Slipknot, and now, mix that […]

Some performers from the 1969 Woodstock concert will get back to the garden for a 40th anniversary show this summer. On the bill for August 15 are The Levon Helm Band, Jefferson Starship, Big Brother and the Holding Co., Ten Years After, Canned Heat, Mountain, and Country Joe McDonald. They’ll perform at the Bethel Woods […]

Following their recent West Coast dates and performance at Coachella, Fleet Foxes will head back out on the road for a limited tour through both the US and Canada during spring and summer 2009. On-sale information below.  In addition, the band’s “Mykonos” 7” is out tomorrow, May 5th, on Sub Pop Records. Mykonos” is the centerpiece […]

Meg White and Fred Smith, son of Patti Smith and the late MC5 guitarist with whom he shared a name, are set to get married later this month. The pair are scheduled to tie the knot in Nashville on May 22, reports Freep.com. Smith has played guitar in bands including Back In Spades. It is […]

Jay Bennett is suing the band’s lead singer, claiming he’s owed royalties for songs during his seven years and five albums with the group.Bennett also claims in the breach-of-contract lawsuit filed Monday against singer Jeff Tweedy that he deserves money from the band’s 2002 documentary, "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart." The film documents the […]

Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam are following up on a huge 2008 with what’s looking to be an even bigger 2009. They’ve enlisted Mr. Comes Alive himself, Peter Frampton, to produce their new album – Coming Up for Air – which comes out in digital format on May 19 and in stores June 16. […]

Southern jammers Widespread Panic brought their Travelin’ Light touring festival  – remember that lineup? – to Berkeley, CA’s historic Greek Theatre in 1998, but the Athens-based band didn’t get to play a typical two set show at the Greek until they returned for a three night stand in 2001. The first two shows of the run […]