Busdriver tour (probably in a van, sans bus driver)
By Nobodaddy on Mar 4 2010
Look out, pedestrians of the US and Australia! Your old pal Busdriver — probably the only L.A.-based indie-rapper who’s punk rock enough to be signed to Epitaph and spend his Friday nights playing ski-ball with Fat Mike — is busdrivin’ himself to your city this spring without a permit! Actually, the three-man show of Regan John Farquhar, himself, and he can probably easily fit themselves into a fully-loaded Canyonero. But hey, you can’t blame a guy for making lazy “bus driver” puns right before his lunch break, now can you?
Anyway, “B-driddy,” as he’s known here in the L.A. branch of the TMT offices, hasn’t put out a record since last summer’s Jhelli Beam, but he’s probably got a few aces up his sleeve. Maybe some NOFX covers, then?
03.06.10 - Brisbane, Australia - Sounds of Spring Festival
03.10.10 - Adelaide, Australia - Adelaide Fringe Festival
03.12.10 - Adelaide, Australia - Rocket Bar
03.13.10 - Melbourne, Australia - Espy Melbourne
04.02.10 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
04.03.10 - Durango, CO - Strater Theatre
04.04.10 - Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room
04.05.10 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
04.06.10 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre
04.07.10 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
04.08.10 - Eureka, CA - Red Fox Tavern
04.09.10 - Portland, OR - Dantes
04.10.10 - Bellingham, WA - The Nightlight Lounge
04.11.10 - Seattle, WA - Neumos
05.01.10 - San Diego, CA - Winstons Beach Club
06.12.10 - Reno, NV - Tonic Bar
• Busdriver: http://www.myspace.com/busdriver
• Epitaph: http://www.epitaph.com
No fair! No Fun Fest takes the year off; New York still isn’t much quieter
By Erika H on Mar 3 2010
Carlos Giffoni, the man behind No Fun Fest, No Fun Productions, and his own electronic/experimental project, No Fun Acid, has announced that there will sadly be no No Fun Fest in 2010.
This year would have marked seven years of No Fun Fest, blasting eardrums and annoying Brooklynite neighbors each spring since 2004. Last year, No Fun Fest surprised its fair share of noise fans by incorporating Sonic Youth, Cold Cave, Blank Dogs, and Bardo Pond into the lineup for those who find the likes of Merzbow, Religious Knives, and Wolf Eyes a little inaccessible.
No can do this year. While there won’t be a No Fun Fest, however, Giffoni assures his fans that this is not the end of No Fun endeavors. According to the No Fun Fest website, his decline to curate a festival this year comes in an effort to focus on the No Fun Productions label and his personal music projects, as Carlos Giffoni and No Fun Acid. True to his word, news for the year’s events is slowly trickling out from No Fun & Co. While the New York gig is a no-go, Giffoni claims that there will be a one-day No Fun Fest in Montreal this June (featuring Hair Police, No Fun Acid, Oneohtrix Point Never, and Religious Knives, for starters), plus a possible international date.
No Fun Acid is also touring Europe throughout March with Oneohtrix Point Never. Check out Carlos Giffoni’s MySpace for tourdates.
And remember, there’s always Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin.
• No Fun Fest: http://www.nofunfest.com
More ACTA Leaks Show Challenges to American-style Copyright Rules. They Do Agree That Nobody Likes Joe Biden's Shit-Eating Grin, Though.
By Ze Pequeno on Mar 3 2010
Man, it’s a hard time to be America. The economy is in ruins (despite claims of recovery), the legislature seems ungovernable, and nobody wants to really fix it because it would take too long. It makes everyone around you turn into sharks, waiting for you to cut yourself. Such is the case with new revelations come from the incredibly leaky ACTA negotiations. When the current draft of the trade agreement — spearheaded by Vice President Joe Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder, and the RIAA — was leaked to the public recently, it seemed to be both a massive concession (the three-strikes policy has been all but removed) and a massive expansion (rules resembling the Digital Millennium Copyright Act would be implemented on a global scale) of American copyright policy.
Yet, with leery eyes, nations have indeed exploited the small signs of weakness that the American delegation is falling back, according to new leaks in the negotiations. First, the American delegation seeks ACTA no longer as a treaty but as an “executive agreement.” This allows governments to ratify it without legislative approval, but it also means it CANNOT alter current national law. Both the Japanese and European delegations made note of that, with the Japanese stating it would have to “examine its own laws” before agreeing to any of this, and the Europeans stating that the draft is “not consistent” with EU law.
Further, the American delegation attempted to justify the rules as full implementation of the WIPO Treaty signed back in 1996. However, the vague wording of the treaty granted nations some flexibility in implementing the rules (for example, the use of DRM) agreed to. This was noted heavily by the Japanese delegation, who also questioned how much harm was was actually caused by passing DRM, as well as how useful protections against such bypasses are. (Hey! We know the answer to that one!)
Probably the most revelatory agreement made in negotiations, however, was that all nations agreed that the implementation of ISP monitoring for file-sharing, as well as mandatory enforcement of such a measure to protect ISPs from lawsuits, is off the table. Such harmful and costly monitoring significantly weakens the effectiveness of a three-strikes policy, even though that effectiveness is questionable at best to begin with.
Looks like we don’t have to call Ron Paul, after all.
Nowadays The Black Keys gotta haul off and announce a new LP to let a man know they’re there
By Nobodaddy on Mar 3 2010
The Black Keys know where their money comes from. Sure, they screw around plenty these days with all kinds of kooky projects like solo records, bands comprised entirely of drummers, and blues/hip-hop fusion “supergroups”… but I mean, come on. That shit is all just ridiculous neon-sugar icing on the weathered old vanilla pound cake that is The Black Keys. And if you had to pick either the frosting or the vanilla cake to eat every day for the rest of your life, we all know damn well what you would pick (killing yourself is not an option).
That’s right. You’d release another Black Keys album before it’s too late and everyone just remembers you for all those aforementioned kooky side-projects. Hence, open wide for the sturdy and sensible sixth LP from Carney and Auerbach. It’s called Brothers, and it’s being released on May 18 via Nonesuch.
The duo (not actual brothers, mind you) recorded the bulk of the album at the legendary Alabama studio Muscle Shoals, one of those “if these walls could talk” kinda places that has produced iconic recordings from The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, and others. Speaking about the vibe of the new record, Auerbach says, “We like spooky sounds… like Alice Coltrane, where a dark groove is laid down. That’s the headspace we tried to get into for this record.” The album includes one (last?) Danger Mouse-produced song called “Tighten Up,” as well as a cover of the Jerry Butler classic “Never Gonna Give You Up” (!). The remaining songs on Brothers are back to keeping it all in the pseudo-family though, with Carney and Auerbach themselves performing and producing the remainder of the tracks. Sorry, ‘Kwon.
Brothers:
01. Everlasting Light
02. Next Girl
03. Tighten Up
04. Howlin’ For You
05. She’s Long Gone
06. Black Mud
07. The Only One
08. Too Afraid to Love You
09. Ten Cent Pistol
10. Sinister Kid
11. The Go Getter
12. I’m Not the One
13. Unknown Brother
14. Never Gonna Give You Up
15. These Days
Upcoming dates (Nothing says “Spring Break” in Florida like the Blues, yeah?):
04.08.10 - Iowa City, IA - University of Iowa Memorial
04.17.10 - Live Oak, FL - Wanee Music Festival
04.18.10 - Miami, FL - The Fillmore at Jackie Gleason
04.19.10 - Orlando, FL - The House of Blues
06.11.10 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo
07.27.10 - New York, NY - Summer Stage (SOLD OUT)
• The Black Keys: http://www.theblackkeys.com
• Nonesuch: http://www.nonesuchrecords.com
[Photo: James Carney]
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson announces spring tour without the use of murder
By E. Nagurney on Mar 3 2010
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, he of the many names and the roots-rock anthem, is heading down the Southeast for a little spring tour action. Like nearly every other band touring the area in the next few months, Robinson’s tour revolves around a visit to that little ol’ festival called South By Southwest. Robinson will celebrate his first release on Saddle Creek, last year’s Summer of Fear, by playing the label’s showcase at the festival. After that, he’ll make his way back up to New York via a little touring through the Midwest.
03.10.10 - New York, NY - LPR
03.11.10 - Philadelphia, PA - M Room
03.12.10 - Washington, DC - Black Cat Mainstage
03.13.10 - Carrboro, NC - Local 506
03.14.10 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
03.15.10 - Nashville, TN - Matty’s Basement
03.18.10 - Austin, TX - Maggie Mae’s Gibson Room (Saddle Creek SXSW Showcase)
03.21.10 - Denton, TX - Haileys
03.22.10 - Little Rock, AR - Sticky Fingers
03.23.10 - St. Louis, MO - Firebird
03.24.10 - Columbus, OH - The Summit
03.25.10 - Akron, OH - Musica
03.26.10 - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA - Corner Café
03.27.10 - Buffalo, NY - Soundlab
• MBAR: http://myspace.com/milesbenjaminanthonyrobinson
• Saddle Creek: http://www.saddle-creek.com
