Archive: 2010

In our never ending quest to keep you up to date on the latest and greatest festival news comes the announcement of the initial lineup for Warren Haynes’ Mountain Jam. Now in its sixth year, the jam and roots-rock friendly fest will feature the likes of The Avett Brothers, DSO, YMSB, Matisyahu, ALO  Derek Trucks […]

It’s pretty remarkable just how consistent moe.’s been over 20 years: in personnel, in commitment, in slow, steady growth, in that damned quirky, hard rocking way of doing things they do so well. So I posed the question to guitarist Chuck Garvey directly: How have you guys kept it together and kept from killing each other when changes, hiatuses and other issues have wreaked havoc on many of your jamband peers?

[Photo by Jeremy Gordon]

“That’s just the way we are,” Garvey said in a recent interview. “Everyone has a different attitude about it, but we seem to have a certain comfort level in how we are as a band. It’s been working for a really long time and we’re just getting on to the next creative phase. Making another album is always something to look forward to. This past fall, we were going to record, but we decided to push it off because we didn’t feel like we had enough time to devote to it. We have to make sure these days that we have the time and space to do it right.”

Garvey said moe.’s been “pulling back” on touring in recent years, which seems true but relative only to moe. Apart from a few extended seasonal breaks, the band, at least in the past decade, hasn’t been off the road longer than a few months. Pretty remarkable when you consider the major hiatuses and lineup changes from moe.’s peers, although, as Garvey notes, “It’s different for everyone. Widespread Panic lost Michael Houser, and that’s a major, life-altering occurrence. I’d say it’s more accurate that we’ve been lucky.”

READ ON for more of Chad’s chat with moe.’s Chuck Garvey and Hidden Track staffers’ favorite moe. moments from the past 20 years…

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 the bands’ various websites, and see what you think of these three under the radar acts…

We Were Promised Jetpacks

MySpace / Website

Not only do We Were Promised Jetpacks boast one of the finest aeronautical band names since Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, but they share a very similar sound with Frightened Rabbit – albeit on overdrive – as a) they possess the requisite Scottish accents and b) often construct their songs similarly by building progressions via scalar chord combinations. In other words, they’ll start with a chord and structure a progression by adding and subtracting notes within that same scale. The result translates to unique and peaceful indie pop.

If there’s anyone besides me out there counting the days down to the release of Frightened Rabbit’s third full-length as your most anticipated of the year, these guys ought to buy you some time. The comparisons should come as no surprise as the two bands are label mates, thereby officially making Fat Cat Records of the most promising indie labels today. That makes two terrific Scottish bands without ceilings in as many years (three if you count the Twilight Sad, but I’m not quite sold on them yet).

READ ON for more Blips-worthy bands – Lubriphonic & Head For The Hills…

My sister introduced me to the most amazing alternative bands in the late ’80s/early ’90s including Buffalo Tom, Juliana Hatfield, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Cure, R.E.M. & The Lemonheads. I took to Evan Dando’s passionate power pop from the first time she played me It’s A Shame About Ray. She took me to a […]

If there’s a job to be done in the live music biz, Peter Costello has probably done it at some point. Production? Check. Audio engineering? All the time. Road managing legendary musicians? He’s wrangled them all. Yet, what we love is about Pete is that he’s still a fan and hasn’t lost his passion for the music. We’re honored to welcome Peter to the Hidden Track team to share his thoughts on last Saturday night’s Some Cat From Japan show.

[All photos by Greg Aiello]

As Scotty B wrote late last week, “There are some supergroup lineups that impress and some that blow you away. The lineup for Some Cat From Japan – Will Bernard, Nigel Hall, Scott Metzger, Ron Johnson & Eric Bolivar – is one of those mind-blowing lineups.” I already allowed my own personal expectations to skyrocket & friends called it “the sleeper show of the year” – all of this before any of us heard them play a note.

Clearly the quintet had something to prove as they filed on stage at Sullivan Hall just after midnight Saturday night / Sunday morning. About 11 seconds into the opener, Them Changes, with a Nigel Hall organ swell announcing the the familiar melody, all five of them jumped into the deep end of the pool & set out to do just that. Quickly locking into a groove that felt well rehearsed, but really wasn’t, the band set the stage for Nigel’s vocals. With his familiar – to me – blend of aggressive soultastic leads, Nigel’s vocals soared over the groove, filling the relatively crowded room.

In the spirit of the project, Nigel doesn’t try to sound like Jimi – nor does the band remain completely faithful to the original arrangements – and that’s a good thing. Its more like Donny Hathaway singing Jimi tunes. Some Cat doesn’t seek to fit the mantle of a “cover band” but, rather, works to reinterpret the songs & put their own spin on things. Think of it more as a “Tribute” band than a cover band. When you combine that vibe with the talent on stage, you get what we had here last Saturday night, which is the way I want it. Well, I got it.

READ ON for more from Peter on Some Cat From Japan…

What stories did we miss today? Look no further than glidemagazine.com, jambands.com and rollingstone.com for the latest stories of note… Umphrey’s to Release Songs on Rock Band Network Glidemagazine.com News Stories: MGMT Headlining Bamboozle Festival The Killers Going on Indefinite Hiatus Dave & Tim  to release Live in Las Vegas Jeff Beck Blends Classical & […]

Apple is rumoured to be launching its much awaited "tablet computer" rumoured to be called the iSlate next Wednesday (January 27). The company has announced it will hold a press conference in San Francisco at 6pm (GMT), with invitations asking people to "come see our latest creation". Speculation about the iSlate has been building since […]

Aerosmith has begun its search for a singer to replace Steven Tyler — though whether it’s permanent or temporary is uncertain. Guitarist Joe Perry told Canada’s QMI Agency that the group is "already getting the word out there. The word’s been out there for a while." After his Canadian swing with Motley Crue — which […]

Vampire Weekend has seen its sophomore set "Contra" debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 124,000 copies sold according to Nielsen SoundScan. The set is only the 12th independently distributed album to top the Billboard 200 chart since SoundScan began powering the list in May of 1991.

This fifth full-length from the Canadian supergroup The New Pornographers titled Together is due out on May 4th from Matador Records. The new album features 12 new songs (9 from AC Newman and 3 from Dan Bejar), and features guest appearances by Annie Clark of St. Vincent, Zach Condon of Beirut, Will Sheff of Okkervil […]

Norah Jones, Heart, Cat Power are among the new artists who've signed on for this year's Lilith Fair Other recent additions to the tour's lineup include Loretta Sia, Gossip, La Roux, Beth Orton, Ceci Bastida, Erin McCarley, Frazey Ford, Julia Othmer, Kate Nash, Lights, Missy Higgins, Lissie, Marina & The Diamonds, Priscilla Renea, Rosie Thomas, Melissa McClelland, […]

In a post on his website, keyboardist Frank Nicolay has announced that he’s left the Hold Steady – the full post is below.   Nicolay is famous for his waxed moustache and his Roy Bittan E Street Band keyboard harmonies.You should know: I’ve left The Hold Steady. I told the band I’d be leaving in early […]

Peter Gabriel has announced a few more dates in support of his covers only release where Gabriel does his versions of songs by among others:Arcade Fire, Radiohead and David Bowie. The scheduled dates are below. Peter Gabriel 2010 Tour Dates: 03/22 – Paris @ Bercy 03/24 – Berlin, DE @ O2 03/25 – Berlin, DE […]

After a shortage of GSW news and recordings over the last few months of 2009, 2010 begins with tons of hope and promise. Longtime HTer Randy Ray penned an article on God Street Wine for the Rearview Mirror column in the February/March 2010 issue of Relix. Randy brings us up to date on where the […]

For this month’s Track x Track, welcome guitarist/singer/songwriter Giles Corey of Chicago blues meets funk act Lubriphonic who will share an anecdote or factoid about every track on their latest release, Soul Solution.

Mixin’ in the Kitchen – Wrote this in 20 minutes. I know it was that long, because at the time I was teaching guitar at a music store, and one of my students was a no show, so I wrote it in between lessons. I remember when my next kid showed up I was playing the chord riff, and he said, “Wow, that’s awesome! Who is that?” So, I decided it was worth showing to the rest of the band.

That song is a live staple for us because it’s probably the most “pop” friendly thing we do. Johnny Cotton, as he always does, wrote some of the catchiest, funkiest, hornlines around. Joewaun Scott and Rick King on drums turned the riff and melody into something really infectious. This is how all of our songs worked on that album– I came in with the skeleton, Rick and Joewaun fleshed it out, and our horn section sealed the deal.

READ ON for the lowdown on each track from Lubriphonic’s Soul Solution…

As we listen back to selections from live shows of the previous week, we’ve got solo performances from Reid Genauer and Panda Bear, Beatles and Floyd covers from Jackie Greene and The Machine plus Umphrey’s McGee constructing an almost half-hour combination of an original and a jazz cover.

[Thanks to Craig T for this week’s photo]

Artist & Title: Jackie Greene – Taxman > Mexican Girl
Date & Venue: 2010-01-16 Catalyst, Santa Cruz CA
Taper & Show Download: lou

I have featured Jackie Greene a couple of times in this feature and I have always selected tracks from his incredible 2008 album Giving Up The Ghost. This week, I have selected a combination of a Beatles cover and the fan-favorite original Mexican Girl. Greene is currently in Jamaica playing with both The Radiators and Ratdog. When he gets back, he does 11 dates in the US that takes him from Utah to Brooklyn.

READ ON to stream the rest of this week’s selections…

With their name appearing near the top of this year’s Coachella bill, rock-metal-funk act Faith No More will play their first American show since calling it quits back in 1998. Let’s head all the way back to their 1989 album The Real Thing for their break through single, Epic… Faith No More – Epic

Change is always scary, but a painful process of upheaval can often lead to vastly improved circumstances. Such is the case with Dweezil Zappa’s absurdly talented septet, Zappa Plays Zappa. When perpetual Zappa purveyor Ray White unceremoniously left the band last spring, he left a huge vocal gap – he did, after all, lend his unmistakable vocals to dozens of Zappa classics for decades. Having severed ties with both White and another pillar of Zappadom, vocalist/saxophonist Napoleon Murphy Brock, ZPZ faced the unenviable task of finding someone to absorb the often complex and dynamically demanding vocal aspect of their shows.

Enter Ben Thomas, a guy who, even when performing, looks a little more like a bartender than lead singer for one of the world’s best bands. Able to emulate a wide range of vocal styles and even infuse his own ideas into the proceedings, Thomas has enabled the band to draw from a wider swath of Zappa material than ever. This has led to drastically different set lists and a rapidly growing community of fans that rabidly discuss every move the band makes. Dweezil himself has embraced the role in the spotlight, giving back the obvious love that the fans have for the music.

Music fans new and old hunger to hear Zappa’s music presented in a live setting, and it’s no wonder. On stage is where the material is taken to the highest peaks and is able to inspire the most magnificent feats of musicality. The audience at Raleigh’s Lincoln Theatre stood enraptured for the majority of the 2-plus hour show – you couldn’t tear them away from the stage for anything, and there was little shuffling amongst the crowd, which was pleasant. The show was comprised of one jaw-dropping moment after another, and most of the overwhelmingly attentive audience left baffled by the level of skill displayed throughout.

READ ON for more from Bryan on Zappa Plays Zappa…

About 400 fans of funk braved unusual Florida frigid temperatures to get their groove on with Galactic at Freebird Live. All photos by Skip Tapp

Vandaveer is the alt-folk song-singing/record making/globetrotting project penned and put forth by DC-by-way-of-Kentucky tunesmith Mark Charles Heidinger. Vandaveer’s debut album, Grace & Speed, a mostly live, stripped down affair, swiftly entered this great big dusty world in the spring of 2007. Touring continually on both sides of the Atlantic ever since, Vandaveer has played 250+ shows, sharing stages with a host of artists including Bon Iver, Vetiver, Alela Diane, Alejandro Escovedo, Vashti Bunyan, Bill Callahan and Fleet Foxes.  Vandaveer’s sophomore effort, Divide & Conquer, touches upon similar themes found in its elder sibling, winding timeworn themes of love & death, malice & goodwill, sin & perseverance into (mostly) four-minute vignettes.