Archive: 2011

Earlier this month, Facebook friends of Mickey “Dean Ween” Melchiondo were shocked to find a status update from the guitarist that contained a two-disc, MP3-only collection called The Caesar Demos. Included were rough takes on tunes Ween recorded from 2001 to 2003 in preparation for what would become the Quebec LP. Only a handful of the songs wound up making the album, which was originally set to be titled Caesar, and most of the tracks in the collection feature only Deaner and Aaron “Gene Ween” Freeman.

[Fan-Made Art via Santa Sangre Redux]

These tracks give an aural look at an important era in the band’s history. They had recently fulfilled their contract with Elektra and were returning to their indie roots. Drummer Claude Coleman Jr. was seriously injured in a car accident during this time, making his future with the band unclear. Deaner explained the backstory in his Facebook post…

well what can i say about this here, lemme see. the first thing that comes to mind is that all the while we were doing this we still had claude coleman on drums, he eventually got into a major car wreck and wasn’t around when it finally came time to make the “real” record. instead the drum duties fell on me, josh freese, and sim cain for a couple of tunes. almost all of this was recorded at our beach house in holgate, nj onto 16 track tape. a tiny bit of it was recorded in the garage behind aaron’s house in pt. pleasant, pa. some of it was recorded in the spare bedroom of my house in new hope. most of the tunes are just me and aaron, with the two of us playing everything, with me on drums. the songs with claude, dave, and glenn are pretty obvious. on just a few tunes we took what you hear here and cleaned them up and had andrew weiss mix them for the record after some overdubs. dave sings on “it’s gonna be a long night”, this was days before he had surgery to remove polyps in his throat and his voice was really rough so we figured he was the guy for the job. This isn’t even all of the tunes that we ended up choosing from, just the ones i happened to burn to cd before we drove home from the beach every week. hope you dig it for what it is.

– Mickey

Once Mickey posted links for fans to download the album, the servers hosting the tracks were bombarded leading Deaner to delete his Facebook posting. Luckily, a number of folks who grabbed the files have reposted them elsewhere. In listening, some of the songs that didn’t make the album are ridiculously good and we’re shocked a few of ’em haven’t turned up live or on future albums. We’re also fans of the mixes from some of the tunes that did eventually make their way onto Quebec such as this version of Happy Colored Marbles…

Don’t sleep on this folks, here’s download links…

• Ween Quebec Demos: Disc One, Disc Two

READ ON for the full track list…

Yesterday was a tough day for the music industry as we lost two legendary songwriters in Nick Ashford and Jerry Leiber. Both were part of songwriting teams – Ashford with wife Valerie Simpson and Mike Stoller with Leiber. Leiber and Stoller’s vast credits include early rock classics Love Potion No. 9, Hound Dog and Yakety […]

 If the opener “My Mistakes” – which sounds like an early Rosanne Cash fronting The New Pornographers – doesn’t have you moving in your chair, seek help.

Crooked Fingers is pleased to announce its North American tour in support of new album, Breaks in the Armor. It is Eric Bachmann’s sixth full-length as Crooked Fingers and will be in stores on October 11, 2011. Bachmann, who writes, records, and performs songs mainly under the name Crooked Fingers, lives in Athens, Georgia these […]

If you think your life is crazy busy, then you haven’t spent a day in the shoes of Sixx:A.M. vocalist James Michael. Not only does he sing, play some guitar and help create songs with fellow bandmates Nikki Sixx and DJ Ashba, but he is also a producer, engineer and songwriter working with numerous other artists.

Tom Waits will release his forthcoming album ‘Bad As Me’ on October 25. The bluesman will release a regular version of the 13 track album alongside a deluxe edition which includes three extra songs, ‘She Stole The Blush’, ‘Tell Me’ and ‘After You Die’. The single ‘Bad As Me’ is available to purchase from today […]

The POPPED! Music Festival is back with a vengeance this fall in Philadelphia, PA. To take place Friday, September 23, and Saturday, September 24, this is the first year the festival will be held outside on the lush grounds of FDR Park. The confirmed local and international artists to perform include: The Shins, Pretty Lights, Cage The Elephant, […]

NBC’s Late Night music booker Jonathan Cohen continues his trend of reeling in big musical fish with today’s announcement that Seattle-based rockers Pearl Jam will make their Jimmy Fallon debut on September 8 and 9. The band will come to NYC hot off the heels of their PJ20 Festival at Alpine Valley. Pearl Jam Twenty […]

Charlottesville, Virginia hosted a pair of charity concerts on Saturday night, with Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds kicking things off at the nTelos Wireless Ampitheatre before the Warren Haynes Band brought the evening to a close at the Jefferson Theater. Both acts guested with each other making for a quite a night in Virginia. Haynes […]

Last year, HT faves Umphrey’s McGee announced they would be moving their traditional New Year’s Run from Chicago starting in ’11 – ’12 and continuing for the foreseeable future. At that time fans started speculating about cities that might host the prog-jammers and that discussion focused around Denver, Atlanta and NYC. One city that flew […]

When we found out Neko Case would open up for My Morning Jacket on the current leg of the HT faves’ Circuital Tour, we knew we’d be in for some outstanding duets. The chanteuse and the Kentucky boys didn’t disappoint with their takes on Islands In The Stream at the first few shows they played together […]

In a recent issue of Rolling Stone, the venerable music magazine did something that caught me a bit by surprise, as they dedicated their lead album review to The Bright Lights – a four-song EP by 27-year-old Austin-based blues revivalist Gary Clark Jr.’s that garnered four out of five stars. The 500-plus word piece, penned by […]

Last week, The Red Hot Chili Peppers dropped their first video from the long-awaited new album with new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, I’m With You. At first listen, the single sounds pretty darn good, but it also doesn’t go anywhere previous lineups haven’t gone before. The verses have a great funk groove, yet the chorus goes […]

David Letterman will host Drum Solo Week II this week, giving several skinsmen the opportunity to show their stuff on national TV. Back In June Letterman held the inaugural Drum Solo Week which included Anton Fig, Sheila E and the immortal Rush drummer Neil Peart. This week’s artists are Tony Royster, Jr. (Monday), Gavin Harrison […]

The latest offering – and with Robert Pollard I mean what he’s released basically since last night – from the Guided By Voices singer is a rollicking side project called Boston Spaceships (well now main side project) that has a huge ‘60s Brit rock feeling on the lead off “Blind 20-20” that morphs into a sweeter, spacey Beatles-esque romp. Alongside former GBV member Chris Slusarenko and The Decemberists’ John Moen, Pollard is in fine form on the all too short “Juggernaut Vs. Monolith.

With a changed up setlist and more sparkle, the Goo Goo Dolls put on a show full of energetic vigor and special treats for longtime fans. “We’re doing a few old, old, old songs from like 1993, which we haven’t done in years,” Takac shared, a mischievous smile taking over his face. “I love doing this. I still can’t believe I get paid for it.”

Acknowledging that the band has been on the road for what “has seemed like forever”, Kurt Vile and his accompanying two-piece The Violators, hit Carrboro Tuesday night, bringing with them a healthy dose of rock and roll ferocity.  Playing behind the excellent new album, Smoke Ring For My Halo, Vile and company regaled the near-capacity crowd with their expert blend of eccentric lyrical tales, noodly guitar freakouts, and pounding riffage.

Glide Magazine was there to take in the wide array of entertainment, from music, food and wine, to dancing and general shenanigans. And a little tip to those who may be contemplating: start putting in your vacation requests for 2012.

Singer-songwriter Rachael Yamagata will release Chesapeake, her first studio album in three years on October 11th, through her own Frankenfish Records. This album sees a slight departure from her previous darker piano ballad days, taking a brighter and poppier approach, with production handled by John Alagia (John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Mandy Moore). Yamagata recruited her […]

Brandi Carlile has toured in a few different configurations: acoustic trio with the Hanseroth Twins, full band with cello and drums, and she’s even been known to perform with entire symphonies on occasion. For the first time ever, Carlile will be heading out on a solo tour with only her guitar and piano as accompaniment. […]