Kevin Drumm and Prurient Go Searching For a One-Armed Man in England, Decide to Play Shows While There
By David Nadelle on 01-28-2008
If there is one thing you can always count on, it's that no matter what hijinks you're up to on a night out, there will always be the eventual letdown of returning home to find The Fugitive playing on an inordinate number of TV stations during the peak passed-out-drunk hours of 2-5 AM. You can pray all you want for a French Connection double bill to start just as you fall on the couch, but you'd be wasting your precious breath. No, The Fugitive is aired more often than While You Were Sleeping (and that steaming pile of sadness plays perpetually throughout cable-land, so that is saying something). Regardless, late-night television can lead to some truly messed-up dreams, especially when you are watching garbage and when your stomach is churning from a dozen pints of vodka-waters. Here’s the proof:
Requiem for David Nadelle’s Dream[Our story starts with a group of camera-ready, ethnically diverse, law-and-order types standing around drinking coffee in front of a man-made lake and a dense forest. To the left, the remains of once-proud Piper Cub light aircraft smolders. Cut to Tommy Lee Jones' Marshal Sam Gerard character prepping his team of wise-crackin' lovable shlubs.]
Gerard: “Alright, listen up people. Our fugitives are named Kevin Drumm and Prurient, a.k.a. Dominick Fernow, and they will be on the road for only four days. Average foot speed over uneven ground barring injuries is 35 miles per hour. Yes, you creampuffs... that is fast! These two absconders of justice are smart, manipulative, and have more tricks than a coked-up squadron of hookers at a high stakes Texas Hold ‘Em tournament. Yes, my wife did come up with that one, you smart asses! Yes, I know it makes very little sense! But do you young bastards know what that means? It means we have to hightail our cabooses hasta pronto and bring 'em in! Now move it, move it, move it!”
[After performing a hard-target search, of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse, and doghouse in a 10 mile radius, we are made aware that Drumm and Fernow are actually in England, readying themselves for a short tour by guzzling real ale and fish pies, while Gerard and co. are somewhere in the Midwest of the United States.]
[A narrator's voice (me, but with a slight Austrian accent) plays over footage of the team making their way across the Atlantic. Some don frogsuits to swim and boogie-board across the tranquil ocean (they will inevitably wash up dead on the coast of Devon three weeks after the case has been closed), two deputies strap themselves to the undercarriage of Richard Branson's weather balloon, and Lee Jones goes via Air Force One.]
Austrian Me: “If anyone deserves a news story on TMT for a FOUR-date tour then I guess it should be the dynamic duo of Prurient and Kevin Drumm. This live pittance takes place from January 28 to 31. Later dudezzz.”
[Tee Lee Jones, in flat cap and britches, stands before his diminished posse.]
Gerard: “Alright, let’s go people! Our fugitives are guilty of everything associated with good taste, innovation, and intelligent music. You may be tempted to sit and watch these two engage then attack your eyes and ears with their pioneering brand of noise concrèe (you like that label, don’t you Deputy?) but keep in mind that these agitators are animals, and our bland, generic music taste has to be preserved; it is the only thing that separates us from the animals. That and opposable thumbs. And paying taxes. There’s no time to play the hero card; that’s my job. If anyone thinks of an appropriate classic line of dialogue while they are in hot pursuit of Drumm or Fernow, please see me first so I can deliver it as one of my own. Now let's get it on!”
He then did a dance like Jean-Claude van Damme did in [Kickboxer and made-out with someone who looked a little bit like a buck-toothed Juliette Lewis.]
[Fin.]
And Still, Wanting, Prurient's first "official" full-length since Pleasure Ground, is due February 15 via No Fun Productions. Kevin Drumm and Prurient's collaboration, All Are Guests in the House of the Lord, was released last year on Hospital Productions.
Kevin Drumm and Prurient are the Fugitives of Sound:
01.28.08 - Nottingham, England - The Chameleon #
01.29.08 - London, England - Barden’s Boudoir $
01.30.08 - Newcastle, England - World Headquarters %
01.31.08 - Bristol, England - The Croft ^
# Sunroof!, Soft Option Killing & Stomach
$ Beach Fuzz & Cheapmachines
% Romance & Brothers Yemen
^ Putrifier, Team Brick
Whatever The Question, A Go! Team Tour Is The Answer!
By Liz Louche on 01-28-2008
So, how are those New Year's Resolutions going? Have you succeeded in using your new gym membership to the fullest advantage? Have you stopped smoking? Have you started saving towards that dream family vacation that 10 years from now the kids will look back on with scorn and revulsion?
Well, don't feel bad. Studies have shown that making significant behavioral changes take a good deal of time. I, for example, considered vowing to write daily in hopes of someday achieving my dream of writing an edgy, but true-to-life novel that would make me the Bret Easton Ellis/D.H. Lawrence of the new millennium. Fortunately, I realized that this would require lots of self-control, and for the sake of my social life, I decided to change my New Year's Resolution to "being even more awesome than the year before."
In the spirit of that wise decision, I'd like to present a possible solution to any feelings of inadequacy or boredom you, the new non-smoker/non-drinker/non-fun dude, may be experiencing. The answer is short and simple, and it is this: The Go! Team is embarking on a U.K. tour this spring. Imagine the fun! Imagine the music! Imagine the neon! It's all you need to get your groove back, and to do it with panache. So dress to impress, and erase the stress! This tour promises to be one of the most important steps in making yourself "even more awesome" in the new year.
John Vanderslice to Open for Stephen Malkmus on Tour, But More Importantly, I Did Not Go to Work Today
By Heidi Vanderslice on 01-28-2008
You'd think that overpriced sushi on the Lower East Side of New York City wouldn't result in me becoming BFFs with my bathroom, but my life is full of surprises. So, I'm sitting at home right now when I should be at work (this is a new job, mind you, so the anxiety level is doubled). But then I realized, "Hey! I write for a pretty kickass little pub called Tiny Mix Tapes! I work for them too! Let's get productive!" And so it starts...
Mr. Slice, who we all know and love, will be venturing out on the road in support of his new album, Emerald City (TMT Review). (Note: I am so whacked out I had to Google "John Vanderslice" to remember the TITLE OF HIS NEW ALBUM. Which I own. Please don't expect much of me here.) I am not sure how the idea of touring with Stephen Malkmus and his Jicks came to fruition, but I would like to think that he and Stevie looked at each other, agreed that each other were type awesome, and made it official in Las Vegas over Mai Tais. The wedding celebration kicks off next month, and the annulment occurs approximately one month later.
...I don't even know what I'm talking about anymore. I don't feel well.
Tourdates, all with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks (my wit is broken along with my soul):
There Will Be Blood: British Sea Power’s Keyboardist Knocked Unconscious After Stage-Diving Accident
By Mr P on 01-28-2008
"The impact knocked him out straight away. He was unconscious for three minutes and there was a lot of blood."
That's what British Sea Power's spokeswoman told the BBC, referring to a live accident last Wednesday at the Irish Centre in Leeds, England. According to reports, British Sea Power keyboardist/cornet player Phil Sumner decided to climb up a 12-foot PA system for a theatrical stage-dive. But when the crowd didn't properly catch his jump, Sumner landed head-first onto the venue floor.
"It all looked a lot worse than it really was," according to the spokeswoman.
In addition to three minutes of unconsciousness, Sumner suffered a broken molar and received some stitches, but he returned to live performing the very next day because he's such a fucking badass.
British Sea Power's latest album, Do You Like Rock Music? (TMT Review), was released in the U.K. earlier this month, with a U.S. release slated for February 12.
Cautiously hopping off monitors at these dates:
Tapes ‘n Tapes to Release LP ‘n LP… Wait… Scratch That… Just One LP
By Nobodaddy on 01-28-2008
Ladies and gentlemen, in today's Shepherd's Dog-eat-dog world of indie-cred name-checking, obscure reference one-upsmanship, and intimidating hyphen-usage, you damn well better know a thing or two about bands like Tapes ‘n Tapes if you wanna fit in at the next Zaireeka Party (hint: Zaireeka isn't a kind of wine).
After all, you don't wanna eek your way through life as "the guy down the hall who was heavy into Pearl Jam," now do you?
I didn't think so.
So, let's start boning up on factoids about one of the most basic pillars of present-day indie's charming little house of cards: the always-classic "blog-feuled-little-band-that-could" (told ya there'd be a lot of hyphens).
Take, for example, exhibit A: the much-balleyhooed Minneapolis four-piece Tapes ‘n Tapes. Let's start out simple and see if you can answer a string of quiz questions about these seminal niche-nestlers and their upcoming sophomore LP (hint: "LP" means "record"... uh, and "record" means "album").
Please Russian Circle one:
1) TRUE/FALSE: Tapes ‘n Tapes play sort of lo-fi, jittery indie-rock with pinches of spaz-country, psych, and sugary-pop thrown in.
2) TRUE/FALSE: Tapes ‘n Tapes' sophomore record will be released on April 8, 2008 by indie label XL Recordings.
3) TRUE/FALSE: This record is entitled Walk It Off and was produced by renowned producer Dave Fridmann, who has worked with such luminaries as The Flaming Lips, Sleater-Kinney, and Weezer.
4) TRUE/FALSE: Walk It Off features 12 new tracks and is the Minneapolis-based band's first record since 2006's widely lauded The Loon, which established the band – Josh Grier (guitar, vocals), Jeremy Hanson (drums), Matt Kretzman (keyboards), Erik Appelwick (bass guitar) – as a "band you'd damn well better find out about before your girlfriend does from that dude that she's in art classes with."
5) TRUE/FALSE: Tapes ‘n Tapes will be performing at SXSW this year and will be announcing Spring tourdates in support of the new album soon (hint: SXSW = South by Southwest Music and Film Festival).
Great! That wasn't toooo hard was it? Now, please score yourself 1-12 based on the following tracklist:
Well? Are you a "Dirty Dirty?" Or at least a "Demon Apple?" You'd better bone up, or you'll never be able to over-use that hyphen key.
