John Vanderslice Signs to Dead Oceans, Where the Dead Float Face Down in the Ocean with a Knife in Their Back And Their Brains Blown Out, Turning the Ocean Blood Red
John Vanderslice, Heidi Vanderslice's long-lost father/lover/muse/brother, has recently said goodbye to Barsuk and hello to Dead Oceans for his follow-up to 2007's Emerald City (TMT Review). Titled Romanian Names, the new set of tunes is scheduled for release May 19. According to Vanderslice:
In the fall of 2007 I played shows with Bishop Allen and Bowerbirds. I was already in love with both bands. By the end of the tour I had fallen hard for their label, Dead Oceans. I had known Phil for a few years and I deeply respected his taste in music. When he joined the Secretly Canadian / Jagjaguwar family, I started to pay close attention. I am honored to be in the game with these people! They are passionate, aware, loyal and SERIOUS.
As we reported last week (TMT News), John Vanderslice is heading out on tour with John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats, which is sure to be the most lovable tour EVER. C'mon, who doesn't love these guys? They're so adorable I could just chew off their faces.
John Vanderslice & John Darnielle tourdates: 03.18.09 - Asheville, NC - the Grey Eagle 03.20.09 - Norfolk, VA - the Atticus Theatre 03.21.09 - Washington, DC - Sixth and I Synagogue 03.24.09 - Northampton, MA - Pearl Street 03.25.09 - Somerville, MA - the Sommerville Theatre 03.27.09 - New York, NY - Society for Ethical Culture (Wordless Music series) 03.29.09 - Gambier, OH - Kenyon College 03.30.09 - Oberlin, OH - Oberlin College 04.01.09 - Chicago, IL - Epiphany Episcopal 04.02.09 - Champaign, IL - Courtyard Café at University of Illinois 04.03.09 - Iowa City, IA - the Mill (Mission Creek Music Festival) 04.04.09 - Richmond, IN - Earlham College 04.06.09 - Bloomington IN - Buskirk-Chumley Theater
There are expensive turntables... and here is another one. This record player is called The Gabriel, and it could be yours for $64,000. As you can see, this model has four arms, making constant changing of pickup cartridges a thing of the past (finally!). The one-armed model will run you a mere $27,000.
Why would a pile of aluminum, bronze, and stainless steel cost you a couple of years tuition at your finest community college? Well, it bills itself as a shining example of magnetic suspension, which lifts vinyl mere millimeters above bearings by means of calibrated magnets which dampen vibrations, as if the record was nestled upon feathers plucked from the sublime wings of the angel Gabriel himself. As any seasoned audiophile will tell you, that makes for “good lissnin’!” It takes half a day for maker Angelis Labor to calibrate The Gabriel and set up the turntable. As Placido Pappalardo, co-owner of Angelis Labor, claims, “When I look at it the only word that comes to mind is love.” We hope so, and at that price it better swallow too!
Very high-end record players are not that rare, and they are fun to look at. For example, this. These. Or this nutty thing! A quick stroll on the web will yield you plenty of (I hate to go over your heads and get real technical here) mumbo-jumbo justifying these pricey units, and if discerning between low bass string gauges is important to you, then these may make your listening conundrums easier. Regardless of the extravagance, all of us have some sort of stereo setup and love music, so it never hurts to take a few moments during your day and daydream about owning a sweet piece of stereo art normally scooped up in pairs by billionaire bumpkins who want to hear that stupid “bawitdabaabangadangdiggydiggyboobysandwich” Kid Rock song in its purest form (one for the den, one for the outhouse).
If you do somehow have the funds to buy The Gabriel, you will have to contact the company directly; Angelis Labor will never allow anybody to sell their products on the internet. Said Pappalardo: “We will never allow anybody to sell our products on the Internet.” Maybe they are willing to do radio ads?
Want to be the envy of your friends and have them stripped-searched upon entry to your home? Then The Gabriel is for you. The Gabriel is one of the small few contestants to ever beat BioHazard on Battlebots. The Gabriel doesn’t use electricity, but it does need to be fed crickets, mice, and rattlesnakes to function. The U.S. Government used The Gabriel to develop its stealth aircraft technology. The Gabriel has been its own UN designation, out of respect. Don’t make eye contact with The Gabriel; it can turn on you like a bipolar nympho possessed by a feral parrot off its meds. Girls, don’t expect a call from The Gabriel the morning after a hot date; do expect to be pregnant. Always bring The Gabriel on road trips; it can change a tire and hunt and cook you survival vittles...
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti (who are now in the studio recording a new full-length, who have just released a limited-edition 7-inch on Mexican Summer Records, and who will be touring with Duchess Says and Animal Collective throughout March) and Vivian Girls (whose self-titled debut was re-released by In the Red, whose "sweetly angelic vocals is practically a can't-miss concoction," who have some scattered dates in Feburary with M. Ward, and who will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers) have announced a joint 13-date tour, which will lead up to their first appearances at Coachella.
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti & Vivian Girls: 04.02.09 - New York, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg 04.03.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's 04.04.09 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar 04.05.09 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 04.06.09 - Knoxville, TN - Pilot Light 04.07.09 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl 04.08.09 - New Orleans, LA - The Parish 04.09.09 - Houston, TX - Walter's on Washington 04.10.09 - Austin, TX - The Mohawk 04.11.09 - Dallas, TX - Hailey's 04.13.09 - Phoenix, AZ - Modified 04.14.09 - Tucson, AZ - Plush 04.15.09 - San Diego, CA - Casbah 04.19.09 - Indio, CA - Coachella Music & Arts Festival
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti: 02.26.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda $ 03.17.09 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom Of the Hill # 03.19.09 - Portland, OR - Holocene # 03.20.09 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon # 03.21.09 - Vancouver, BC - Media Club # 03.22.09 - Missoula, MT - Palace # 03.24.09 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge # 03.25.09 - Denver, CO - Hi Dive # 03.27.09 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock # 03.28.09 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle # 03.30.09 - Toronto, ONT - El Mocambo # 03.31.09 - Montreal, PQ - Zoobizarre # 03.01.09 - Boston, MA - TT the Bears #
$ Animal Collective
# Duchess Says
Vivian Girls: 02.19.09 - New York, NY - The Apollo % 02.20.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero % 02.21.09 - Washington, DC - Sixth & I Historic Synagogue % 03.18.09 - Austin, TX - SXSW
Massive Attack has plans for a new album. Portishead has reunited. Kingdom have risen and fallen, and over 10 years have passed since the birth of trip-hop. For too long, the lords of the downbeat had been silent. But now something is stirring. It comes'a rumblin' from the West, a steady hum from the concert venues of America. It could only mean one thing: Tricky has been roused from his slumber to complete an extensive tour of the United States and resume his position in the sacred trip-hop trifecta.
Tricky will be hitting the road for a five-week U.S. tour in support of his most recent album Knowle West Boy, a fresh mix of hip-hop, punk, and electronica that proves the Kid is still an innovative and inspiring presence in the scene. If you missed Tricky when he was last stateside in September, this list of tourdates is his most extensive yet, with stops at the Langerado Festival in Miami and at SXSW, where he's billed alongside Devo.
To celebrate, Domino Records is digitally releasing the "Puppy Boy" single with remixes, unreleased B-sides, and videos for "Council Estate" and "Puppy Boy." Performances promise songs from throughout the man's career, and he's been selling out shows all across Europe -- so don't sleep on this
03.02.09 - Farmingdale, NY - Crazy Donkey 03.03.09 - New York, NY - The Fillmore at Irving Plaza 03.06.09 - Miami, FL - Langerado Festival 03.07.09 - St. Petersburg, FL - State Theatre 03.09.09 - Charlotte, NC - Neighborhood Theatre 03.10.09 - Baltimore, MD - Ram's Head Live 03.11.09 - Boston, MA - The Roxy 03.13.09 - Chicago, IL - Epiphany 03.14.09 - Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line Music Hall 03.18.09 - San Antonio, TX - The Scout Bar 03.20.09 - Austin, TX - Austin Music Hall* 03.23.09 - San Diego, CA - Belly Up 03.24.09 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues 03.25.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theater 03.26.09 - San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine 03.27.09 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir 03.28.09 - Seattle, WA - Showbox
Ryland Bouchard (ex-Robot Ate Me) will wrap up his European tour tonight in Brussels, before embarking on a "whole new world" (North America) tomorrow in Chicago. He'll be supporting his latest 7-inch box set, Seeds (TMT News), which is absolutely beautiful.
Tour-related things to check out:
- I Need Sleep, who are opening a bunch of the dates and have some music coming out on Swim Slowly later this year. - Emperor X, who is also playing a bunch of dates with Ryland. - Drew Danburry, who's only playing a handful of dates but also has his own tour going on.
Things to check out in any context:
- Indian River High School Talent Show (performance of "A Whole New World"):
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- "A Whole New World" by Nick Pitera (check out this dude's "Jasmine"):
02.04.09 - Chicago, IL - Go Go Town: 3117 S. Morgan Ave
02.05.09 - Toronto, ON - Rancho Relaxo # 02.06.09 - Montreal, QC - The Green Room # & ! 02.07.09 - Ottawa, ON - 443 Kent Street # 02.12.09 - Burlington, VT - Monkey House 02.13.09 - Willimantic, CT - Wrench in the Works 02.15.09 - New York City, NY - Cake Shop # 02.16.09 - Jamestown, NY - Labyrinth Press Company # 02.17.09 - Meadville, PE - Allegheny College # 02.18.09 - Gambier, OH - Kenyon College # & 02.19.09 - Kalamazoo, MI - 1809 Douglas Ave
02.20.09 - Rock Island, IL - Daytrotter 02.21.09 - Dekalb, IL - The House Cafe # && 02.22.09 - Chicago, IL - The Empty Bottle 02.23.09 - East Moline, IL - Mixtapes! 02.25.09 - Urbana, IL - 107 N Coler Ave # && 02.26.09 - Madison, WI - TBA 02.27.09 - Northfield, MN - Carleton College # && 02.28.09 - Minneapolis, MN - TBA 03.03.09 - Kansas City, MO - The Pistol Social Club # 03.06.09 - Denton, TX - Rubber Gloves $ & # 03.07.09 - Santa Fe, NM - Meow Wolf $ & # 03.09.09 - Phoenix, AZ - The Trunk Space # & $ 03.10.09 - Tucson, AZ - The Living Room 03.12.09 - Irvine, CA - UC Irvine $ & # 03.13.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Ports O Call 03.20.09 - Portland, OR - The Artistery
On April 7, Vagrant will release The Hold Steady's A Positive Rage, a double-disc set that includes a 53-minute documentary of the band in London and a live disc from Halloween 2007. According to their publicist: "A Positive Rage captures the excitement and high spirits of both the band and their fans in the days surrounding the release of their third full-length, Boys and Girls in America, (Vagrant) and ensuing world tour in 2006."
The live disc will also feature five bonus tracks, "Ask Her For Adderall," "Cheyenne Sunrise," "Two Handed Handshake," and unreleased tracks "Spectres" and "40 Bucks."
The band's currently on tour, which will culminate with the band opening for Counting Crows in May.
There, I wrote the story. Can you let me out of this room now, Mr P? Fuckin' jerk.
A Positive Rage tracklisting:
1. Intro 2. Stuck Between Stations 3. The Swish 4. Chips Ahoy! 5. Massive Nights 6. Ask Her For Adderall 7. Barfruit Blues 8. Same Kooks 9. You Gotta Dance (With Who You Came With) 10. Lord, I'm Discouraged 11. You Can Make Him Like You 12. Your Little Hoodrat Friend 13. Southtown Girls 14. Citrus 15. First Night 16. Girls Like Status 17. Killer Parities
02.04.09 - Sydney, AUS - The Metro Theatre 02.06.09 - Perth, AUS - Laneway Festival 02.07.09 - Adelaide, AUS - Laneway Festival 02.08.09 - Sydney, AUS - Laneway Festival 03.31.09 - Albany, NY - Valentine's 04.01.09 - Buffalo, NY - Tralf Music Hall 04.02.09 - Grand Rapids, MI - Calvin College Fine Arts Center 04.03.09 - Urbana, IL - Illini Courtyard Café 04.04.09 - Bloomington, IN - Jake's Nightclub 04.06.09 - St. Louis, MO - Gargoyle 04.07.09 - Iowa City, IA - The Picador 04.08.09 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown 04.10.09 - Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre 04.11.09 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Urban Lounge 04.13.09 - Las Vegas, NV - Beauty Bar 04.14.09 - Stateline, NV - Harrah's Tahoe South Shore Room 04.17.09 - Indio, CA - Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 04.15.09 - Sacramento, CA - Harlow's 05.10.09 - Glasgow, UK - SECC # 05.11.09 - Manchester, UK - Manchester Evening News Arena # 05.13.09 - Birmingham, UK - NIA # 05.14.09 - London, UK - Wembley Arena # 05.16.09 - Cardiff, UK - Cardiff Arena # 05.18.09 - Bournemouth, UK - BIC # 05.19.09 - Nottingham, UK - Royal Centre # 05.21.09 - Brixton, UK - Academy # 05.30.09 - Hunter Mountain, NY - Mountain Jam