Black Keys Drummer Starts Side Band Called Drummer; As a Result, Phil Collins Forced to Rename Autobiography to Douchebag
Jimi Hendrix could have just named himself Guitar and totally gotten away with it. Freddy Mercury could have ditched Queen and started a group called Good Voice without eliciting so much as a blush. Mick Jagger could’ve gone solo in the mid-60s as Very Skinny Man and still would’ve ended up a legend. But no, your heroes were all cowards. They macked the rep, but lacked the sack to call themselves exactly what they damn well were: extraordinary people who could penetrate the regular man’s soul through skillful manipulation of a common object. Instead, they cowered behind sobriquets and wasted their careers as “The Experience” or “The Stones” when they could have been caressed in the light of straightforward arrogance. In the end, only The Band had the brass to tell every other musician to fuck off right from the get go.
In such intimate company does The Black Keys’ skin-slapper Patrick Carney now find himself. Along with a few pals from bands like Teeth of the Hydra and The Six Parts Seven, Carney and company are Drummer, the band. Could this be a power play? Is Carney seeking what so many before him were too craven to pursue: worldwide domination over a particular instrument? Will he be percussion’s Galactus, devouring any who dare challenge his dominion? Probably not.
With the band’s cheekily titled debut Feel Good Together due to drop September 29, Drummer looks more like a band about friends having fun than some sinister musical coup. While I hold no ire towards bros being bros, I can’t help but be disappointed. I wanted war. I wanted bloodshed. Now I’ll just have to settle with an album and an October tour. Oh well, I guess some metaphorical battles were never meant to be fought.
10.08.09 - Brooklyn, NY – Southpaw #
10.09.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s #
10.10.09 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge #
10.11.09 - Cambridge, MA - T.T. the Bear’s #
10.12.09 - Washington, DC - DC9 #
10.13.09 - Baltimore, MD - The Ottobar #
10.14.09 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 #
10.15.09 - Knoxville, TN - The Pilot Light #
10.16.09 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl #
10.17.09 - Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge #
10.19.09 - Louisville, KY - Skull Alley #
10.20.09 - Indianapolis, IN - Spin Nightclub #
10.21.09 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon #
10.22.09 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry #
10.23.09 - Chicago, IL - Schubas Tavern #
10.24.09 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom # †
#with The Royal Bangs
† Other Girls
RIP: Dani Baquet-Long of Celer
From Celer's official website:
With great sadness I have to announce to you, our friends, that Dani passed away yesterday, July 8. On Tuesday morning I woke to find her unconscious, and not breathing. The medics were called, and she was revived, but fell directly into a coma and didn't wake up. She passed away yesterday at 3pm, with her family by her. All that is known to say why is that her heart stopped, for no foreseeable reason. The only relation is that her father died in the same way, of a cardiac arrest at the age of 29. She was 26.Right now I don't know how to express the loss and sadness I feel, knowing that someone so ultimately close to me, and such an inspiration and friend to so many other people in the world is gone. All I can say is that she won't be forgotten, or pushed aside only because she's gone. She'll always be with me, as my inspiration, my love, my everything. All I can say is I miss her, every second.
Thanks to Eric Fourman for the news tip.
Grizzly Bear and Beach House: Benzodiazepines Tour 2K9
Are you sick of going to rock shows where everything’s all kinds of loud? Are you tired of getting “slam-danced” out of your cozy spot in front of the stage by punk-ass motherfuckers who are too busy flailing, spilling sticky drinks, and dry-dumping to the beat of the bong water-bubbling bass that’s spilling out of the way-too-hot P.A. and punching you in the stomach until you're nauseous and dehydrated to notice that, well, you were kinda standing there first? Heck, are you sick and tired of “standing” at shows in the first place?
Don’t worry. Brooklyn’s Grizzly Bear and Baltimore’s Beach House got your back. That’s right, two of the haziest, wooziest, dreamiest, prettiest acts in indie rock are teaming up this summer and fall to offer the most relaxing tandem tour since Graham Russell teamed up with Russell Hitchcock.
Swirl and swoon as Grizzly Bear play unimposingly mid-tempoed hits off of their recent Vekatimiest (TMT Review). Fawn and fizz as Beach House breeze through a few nonchalant numbers from last year’s critically acclaimed Devotion (TMT Review). Meet a few people, take a few pills, and make up your OWN words to describe your physical reactions to their songs: maybe you’ll “swizz” with friends to the “swaultry thicktitude”... or perhaps you’d like to “schwobble” through the “croomy blue galauziness”? You know, it’s your own thing; do whatever! Uh, just don’t drive to the shows, maybe.
Oh, and be sure to check out Grizzly Bear on The Late Show With David Letterman this Thursday to see what you’re in for from the headliners. In the mean time, check out the bands’ individual dates for this summer and fall, and start planning your fall show-going excursions now. It’s not as easy as you’d think to find yourself a good horse-tranks dealer.
Grizzly Bear and Beach House:
08.30.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Williamsburg Waterfront - Jelly Pool Party
09.26.09 - Ann Arbor, MI - Michigan Theater
09.27.09 - Chicago, IL - Metro
09.28.09 - Chicago, IL - Metro
09.30.09 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
10.01.09 - Columbia, MO - Blue Note
10.05.09 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
10.06.09 - Norfolk, VA - The NorVA
10.07.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
10.08.09 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
10.20.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Palladium
10.21.09 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern
Grizzly Bear:
07.19.09 - Chicago, IL - Pitchfork Music Festival
08.07.09 - Osaka, Japan - Summer Sonic
08.09.09 - Osaka, Japan - Summer Sonic
08.13.09 - Oslo, Norway - Oya Festival
08.14.09 - Goteborg, Sweden - Way Out West Festival
08.15.09 - Rees-Haldern, Germany - Haldern Pop
08.16.09 - St. Malo, France - La Route du Rock Festival
08.18.09 - London, England - Koko
08.20.09 - Hasselt, Belgium - Pukkelpop Festival
08.21.09 - Biddinghuizen, Netherlands - Lowlands Paradise
08.22.09 - Glanusk, Wales - Green Man Festival
10.03.09 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Festival
10.14.09 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Vogue Theatre
10.15.09 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
10.16.09 - Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre
10.18.09 - San Francisco, CA - Treasure Island Music Festival
11.01.09 - Dublin, Ireland - Vicar Street
11.02.09 - Glasgow, Scotland - ABC
11.04.09 - Manchester, England - Cathedral
11.05.09 - Leeds, England - Leeds Metropolitan University
11.06.09 - Bristol, England - Anson Rooms
11.08.09 - Brussels, Belgium - Cirque Royal
11.09.09 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
11.10.09 - Hamburg, Germany - Grunspan
11.11.09 - Berlin, Germany - Postbahnhof
11.12.09 - Munich, Germany - Theaterfabrik
11.15.09 - Fribourg, Switzerland - Fri-Son
11.16.09 - Vienna, Austria - WuK
11.17.09 - Basel, Switzerland - Volkshaus
11.19.09 - Koln, Germany - Kulturkirche
11.21.09 - Paris, France - La Cigale
11.24.09 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Lille Vega
Beach House:
08.07.09 - Baltimore, MD - Metro Gallery
09.19.09 - Portland, OR - Berbati's Pan
09.20.09 - Seattle, WA - Neumos
09.22.09 - Anacortes, WA - Dept. of Safety
09.23.09 - Bellingham, WA - The Nightlife
09.24.09 - Victoria, British Columbia - Rifflandia
EMI’s New Cost-Cutting Measure: Refusing to Sell Music to Mom & Pop Stores!
We all know that times are tough for record labels thanks to declining CD sales and the slowness and/or refusal to adapt to online file-sharing. Consequently, you would expect that music executives would try to cling on to any kind of business they could possibly get.
Which is why EMI has taken the innovative (and surprising step) of refusing to sell music to mom and pop stores. The reason for this flash of inspiration? To help reduce costs and encourage customers to buy music at one-stops rather than independent retailers (even though the likes of Wal-Mart are stocking catalog less and less).
One can’t help but feel this is another vindictive move against stores that have the cheek to sell albums promoted and marketed by musicians themselves (see the Kill the Record Labels DVD release), who have got better things to do than suffocate under a major label’s control.
EMI’s New Cost-Cutting Measure: Refusing to Sell Music to Mom & Pop Stores!
We all know that times are tough for record labels thanks to declining CD sales and the slowness and/or refusal to adapt to online file-sharing. Consequently, you would expect that music executives would try to cling on to any kind of business they could possibly get.
Which is why EMI has taken the innovative (and surprising step) of refusing to sell music to mom and pop stores. The reason for this flash of inspiration? To help reduce costs and encourage customers to buy music at one-stops rather than independent retailers (even though the likes of Wal-Mart are stocking catalog less and less).
One can’t help but feel this is another vindictive move against stores that have the cheek to sell albums promoted and marketed by musicians themselves (see the Kill the Record Labels DVD release), who have got better things to do than suffocate under a major label’s control.
Mope Off 2009: Frightened Rabbit Tours with Twilight Sad, We Were Promised Jetpacks
Frightened Rabbit are probably the greatest bunch of mopers Scotland has today. That is, except for maybe their similarly downtrodden buddies The Twilight Sad. Then again, upstarts We Were Promised Jetpacks seem to have this moping thing down pat. Who could pick just one band of Scottish sad-sacks?
Good news: you don’t have to. The three groups will be successfully bumming out the United States together this September. Then and only then shall we know who is the greatest moper of them all. Before then, however, Frightened Rabbit will hit up North America by themselves in mid-July. Tears will be shed, epic climaxes will be reached, catharsis will be found via shredding of vocal cords. It should be awesome.
If you can’t it out to any dates or just prefer moping in the comfort of your bedroom, don’t fret: Frightened Rabbit are currently writing and recording the follow-up to last year’s Midnight Organ Fight (TMT Review). They will be debuting some of the new record’s material during their North American jaunts. Lead singer Scott Hutchinson already premiered one of the group’s new songs, “Swim Until You Can’t See Land,” in solo form during a session for Off The Beaten Tracks, which can be viewed here.
Frightened Rabbit solo mope:
07.17.09 - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell’s
07.18.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Siren Festival
07.19.09 - Chicago, IL - Pitchfork Festival
07.21.09 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
07.22.09 - Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern
07.23.09 - Montreal, QC - Petit Campus
07.24.09 - Providence, RI - Jerky’s
07.25.09 - Northampton, MA - Iron Horse Music Hall
Frightened Rabbit, Twilight Sad, We Were Promised Jetpacks triple mope:
09.12.09 - Morrison, CO - Monolith Festival
09.14.09 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
09.15.09 - Boise, ID - Neurolux
09.16.09 - Seattle, WA - Neumo’s
09.17.09 - Portland, OR - Dante’s (Musicfest NW)
09.18.09 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
09.20.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Knitting Factory
09.22.09 - Tucson, AZ - Plush
09.24.09 - Austin, TX - Mohawk
09.26.09 - Birmingham, AL - Bottletree
09.27.09 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
09.28.09 - Tallahassee, FL - Club Downunder
09.29.09 - Orlando, FL - The Social
Akron/Family Hit the Road with Wooden Wand, Jeffrey Lewis, Slaraffenland; Department of Homeland Security Raises Freak Threat Level From Schwag to Dank
To: President Barack Obama
From: NORAD
Date: July 13, 2009
Re: Bi-Quarterly Freak Report
Mr. President,
Below you will find a list of known freak cells with a brief rundown of threatening attributes included for each subject. We have reason to believe that SUBJECTS 2-4 will each rendezvous with SUBJECT 1 in various cities across the United States and Canada over the next three months. Each subject is presumed to be highly dangerous and exceedingly freaky. A catastrophe akin to Waco is virtually guaranteed should SUBJECTS 2-4 rendezvous with SUBJECT 1. We suggest immediate action in order to avoid calamity on any scale:
SUBJECT 1: AKRON/FAMILY
- Experimental folk outfit from New York City.
- Recently released fifth studio album Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free (DHS Report)
- Possible Russian spies
- FLAGGEDSUBJECT 2: WOODEN WAND
- Psychedelic pseudonym for James Jackson Toth.
- Appears on a benefit compilation for a subversive Minnesota-based music website.
- FLAGGEDSUBJECT 3: JEFFREY LEWIS
- Extremist member of a reactionary group know as the “anti-folk movement.
- Writes, draws and delivers lectures on comic books.
- FLAGGEDSUBJECT 4: SLARAFFENLAND
- Scandinavian
- FLAGGED
Known rendezvous points:
07.22.09 - Cleveland, OH - Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
07.23.09 - Detroit Lakes, MN - 10,000 Lakes Festival
07.24.09 - Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge *
07.25.09 - Calgary, AB - Calgary Folk Festival
07.26.09 - Calgary, AB - Calgary Folk Festival
07.29.09 - Steamboat Springs, CO - Ghostranch Saloon
07.30.09 - Vail, CO - The Sandbar
07.31.09 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
08.02.09 - Liberty Park, NJ - All Points West Festival
08.11.09 - Washington, DC - Rock & Roll Hotel ^
08.12.09 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle ^
08.13.09 - Atlanta, GA - E.A.R.L. ^
08.14.09 - Birmingham, AL - BottleTree ^
08.15.09 - Asheville, NC - Harvest Festival at Grey Eagle Tavern
08.28.09 - San Francisco - Outside Lands Festival
08.29.09 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theater !
09.07.09 - Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival
09.08.09 - Portland, OR - Baghdad Theatre
09.10.09 - Baltimore, MD - Talking Head Club #
09.11.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's #
09.12.09 - Monticello, NY - ATP NY Festival
09.14.09 - Hudson, NY - Jason's Upstairs # %
09.15.09 - Williamsport, PA - Site B # %
09.16.09 - Ithaca, NY - Castaways # %
09.17.09 - Buffalo, NY - Mohawk Place # %
09.18.09 - London, ON - LOLA Fest
09.19.09 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick # %
09.20.09 - Louisville, KY - 21C Museum Atrium Gallery # %
* Icy Demons
^ Wooden Wand
# Jeffrey Lewis &The Junkyard
% Slaraffenland
! ! Howlin' Rain, Lucky Dragons
Boredoms' Super Roots 10 Gets U.S. Release Date, Band Gets to Live Out “On a Boat” Fantasy First Realized by Andy Samberg and T-Pain
I like Boredoms. The legendary Japanese noise rock band has been going strong since the 1980s, touring with Sonic Youth, recording a serious number of releases, and basically becoming a byword for coolness for record geeks around the world. So it was with pleasant interest when I discovered the band’s Super Roots 10 EP was going to be released outside of Japan via Thrill Jockey. This most recent offering in the Super Roots series came out early this year in Japan and is slated for a September 8 non-Japan release on limited double vinyl, designed and produced by vocalist Eye.
This is great on its own, right? But wait, there's more! How about the news that Boredoms will finally be putting out a new full-length next year? Or what about the sure-to-be MIND-BLOWING show on a Russian ferry off the coast of Japan (TMT News)? Oh, and don't forget that Boredoms are also performing Boadrum 9 at New York City's Terminal 5, and again at the American version of All Tomorrow’s Parties. No boat at those dates, though, alas.
Tracklisting:
1. Super Rooy
2. Ant 10
3. Ant 10 / Estereo 10 (Remix by Altz)
4. Ant 10 (Remix by DJ Finger Hat)
5. Ant 10 (Remix by DJ Lindstrom)
6. Ant 10 / Mineral Dub Break (Remix by Altz)
Tourdates:
07.22.09 – Ocean, Japan – Russian Ferry (The Sun & Moon Festival)
09.09.09 – New York, NY – Terminal 5
09.13.09 – Monticello, NY – Kutscher’s Resort (All Tomorrow’s Parties)
Ticketmaster Forced to Shut Down Misleading Scalping Sites; Or, Why I Hate the Illinois Attorney General
We all know that Ticketmaster’s monopoly on the ticketing business is a force for good. Let’s count the ways we love them:
1. Order processing charges
2. Involuntary parking fees
3. Nonexistent customer service
4. Impossible-to-read Captcha filters
5. TicketsNow, Ticketmaster’s in-house ticket scalping service
6. Merger with Live Nation...
Ugh, let me just skip to #33
33. TicketsNow sites that pretend to be venue websites
Unfortunately for those of us in the Ticketmaster Official Fan Club, the Attorney General of Illinois (TicketsNow's hometown) has forcibly removed Reason #33 from the list in a $50,000 lawsuit against Ticketmaster. According to The Consumerist, Ticketmaster must close Ticketsnow sites that use domain names that include the names of venues and bands, where ticket buyers beleived they were buying their tickets at face value from the source rather than at inflated prices from TicketsNow. But let’s be honest: it’s hardly our beloved Ticketmaster’s job to coddle the ignorant public!
The settlement also requires that TicketsNow wait to sell marked-up tickets until after Ticketmaster puts the tickets on sale at regular price. This sounds like a case of big bad government meddling in private industry, something we here at Tiny Mix Tapes staunchly oppose on the basis that it’s mean. Ticketmaster needs all the money it can get, especially because it no longer has real competition in the ticketing market.
Throw Me The Statue Throw Us a New LP and Tour; Catch Them or You Are a Loser
I had this great idea to write a whole news story making fun of Throw Me The Statue’s band name -- something about how they maybe picked it after one of the guys was, uh, throwing a statue or something like that. But then I looked up their Wikipedia entry and found out that the Wiki gods state the band likely took its name from the 1984 movie, Romancing The Stone. Um, what the fuck, Wikipedia?! Thanks for ruining my story idea! I still don't know exactly how Throw Me The Statue relates to the film -- I was born a year after it was released and don’t spend my free time watching Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner movies from the 80s -- but feel free to email and enlighten me.
In more relevant news, Throw Me The Statue have a new album coming out August 4 on Secretly Canadian. Creaturesque is its name, and the tracklisting is as follows:
1. Waving At The Shore
2. Pistols
3. Tag
4. Ancestors
5. Noises
6. Snowshoes
7. Dizzy From The Fall
8. Cannibal Rays
9. Hi-Fi Goon
10. Baby, You're Bored
11. Shade For A Shadow
12. The Outer Folds
Romancing The Tour Dates:
07.11.09 - Seattle, WA - Neumos #
07.31.09 - Seattle, WA - Mural Ampitheatre %
08.23.09 - Spokane, WA - Empyrean Coffee $
08.26.09 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry $
08.27.09 - Urbana, IL - Courtyard Café $
08.28.09 - Madison, WI - The Annex $
08.29.09 - Chicago, IL - Subterranean $
08.30.09 - Toronto, ON - TBA $
08.31.09 - Montreal, QE - Il Motore $
09.01.09 - Boston, MA - Middle East Upstairs $
09.02.09 - NYC, NY - Mercury Lounge $
09.03.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's $
09.04.09 - Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel $
09.05.09 - Durham, NC - Duke Coffee House at Duke University $
09.07.09 - Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn $
09.08.09 - Tallahassee, FL - Club Down Under $
09.09.09 - Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon $
09.10.09 - Houston, TX - Rudyards $
09.11.09 - Austin, TX - Mohawk $
09.12.09 - Dallas, TX - Cavern $
09.14.09 - Phoenix, AZ - Modified Arts $
09.15.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Echo $
09.16.09 - San Diego, CA - The Loft $
09.17.09 - San Francisco, CA - Rickshaw $
09.18.09 - Sacramento, CA - Luigi's Fun Garden $
# Robin Pecknold
% Blitzen Trapper
$ The Brunettes
Dum Dum Girls Play One Show, Get Signed By Sub Pop
Well, that was fast! Not too long ago, I announced details of the Woodsist/Captured Tracks fest in NYC (TMT News), which included Dum Dum Girls. And now, after playing one gig, they have been signed to Sub Pop.
Dum Dum Girls, originally made up of only one member Dee Dee, was joined by members of Crystal Stilts, Blank Dogs, and Crocodiles, rocking NYC so hard that the quake was felt all the way in Seattle. Although this was Dum Dum Girls' first gig, the band has actually existed for quite a while, releasing an EP on Captured Tracks, a 7-inch on Hozac, and an EP on Zoo Music.
Dum Dum Dum Girls' Sub Pop debut is said to be coming out in early 2010. So yes, we are in this classic dilemma of a lo-fi band signing to a major indie label. Will DDG step into a professional studio? Will Dee Dee sign her soul away to the monsters of slick production and mass overdubs? Or will she retain her style and stay fuzzed? As reported a few days ago, Times New Viking is making a 25% increase in fidelity by jumping up to VHS master-quality (TMT News). Could this be the beginning of the end to shitty sounding recordings? I hope not! Stay fucked!
