2010 was a year of making noise and news for the Band of Heathens. With 200-plus show dates, a fifth anniversary celebration, appearances at Lollapalooza and other top national festivals
Not nearly so memorable as his Higher Ground show of 2006 nor anywhere near as spectacular as recent shows with his Allman Brothers, Gregg Allman’s performance in the Green Mountains nevertheless suggested he brought a definite sense of self-renewal with him from his home in the Deep South.
Social D ‘aint changing for nobody. Rocking the soul country punk since the Carter administration, Mike Ness and the boys return for the first time since 2004 with Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes. Storming out of the gates with the instrumental “Road Zombie”, the band declares their intention to pick up exactly where they left off – chunky power chords remain front and center and the pounding, punchy drums thrash on.
For a nine-piece, groove-based band with no vocals, the Budos Band can sure pack a house. The anticipation for this Daptoe Records-flavored ensemble was certainly at a fever pitch, as the sold-out crowd at the Independent could attest to on Friday night. There is no question these guys have built a reputation as a no-holds-barred, funk-blast of a band, and this sweaty night was no exception. With a gritty Staten Island-flavored street swagger, Budos dug deep into their catalog of minor-key grooves and exercised their craft of selfless ensemble playing.
Van Halen have started work on their first album with original frontman David Lee Roth in 26 years. News that the band were set to work with producer John Shanks,
The Strokes announce the release date for their highly anticipated fourth album, Angles, on March 22nd via RCA records in the US, and March 21st via Rough Trade Records in
On April 23, 2011 Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax will be appear in Indio, CA at the Empire Polo Club, where the Coachella Festival takes place the weekend before. After
Today marks the 50th Anniversary of one of the most important moments of Bob Dylan’s life. On January 24, 1961, Zimmy arrived in New York City after a 24-hour car
When last week’s announcement that Rhino would be putting out a $450 limited edition release featuring all of the Grateful Dead’s legendary Europe ’72 tour came down, there was a question
Beyond the obvious associations of flux capacitors, 1.21 gigawatts & lightning, there’s a new distinction we need to make regarding the DeLorean. Doc & Marty have inspired a pair of great bands to name themselves after their stylish time machine: the one spelled “Delorean” is the Spanish dance-rock band, and the other, the focus of today’s interview, spelled Dolorean, is a fantastic Americana-folk group led by Al James out of Portland.
[Photo by Sarah Jurado]
After releasing three albums in just five years prior to 2007’s You Can’t Win, Dolorean took the last four years as a reprieve, having come to the realization that they needed to slow it down. The constant studio output and subsequent touring grew exhausting, so they decided to put the music on their own time-line, and in doing so, put forth one of the first great records of 2011 called The Unfazed.
The Unfazed works as a quasi-concept album about acknowledging life’s anxieties without getting too bent out of shape; rolling with the punches. It’s entirely apropos in that the album’s mantra serves as a direct parallel to both the band’s hiatus and the album itself, as a living embodiment of being “unfazed.” By accepting the stresses, regaining control of the process and doing it at their own speed, Dolorean gave the music time to grow around the easy feelings and in essence, created a perpetual spiral, whereby this idea of The Unfazed flowed through into the music and the music in turn now embodies the idea of being Unfazed.
Hidden Track: So, let’s begin with this idea of “The Unfazed” that permeates the new album. I gather that this is saying something to the effect of “The Unfazed” are people who can sort of deal with bullshit and go about their lives without being too affected by the annoying burdens?
Al James: In some ways it’s about not dealing with the bullshit, but the flip side of that. It is accepting it, embracing it and not being surprised by it. It’s about not being caught off guard when things go completely off the rails (because the usually will) and just maintaining perspective. Living unfazed is a position of empathy and understanding.
HT: It’s probably not a great example, but that idea made me think of Bernie Madoff for some reason. The guy never showed an ounce of emotion in the face of blunder that probably caused more stress than any human could normally endure. So, who are some other people that come to mind when you think of The Unfazed?
READ ON for more of Ryan’s chat with Al James…
