Mario Speedwagon’s Under the Radar News Round Up: Vivian Girls to Release Sophomore LP This Fall, Tortoise to Tour This Summer, YACHT to Release Album in July, Athfest, Karl Blau Heads Out on European Summer Tour

By Mario Speedwagon on

Sorry there was no round up last week, kids. It was a holiday weekend and I took a half-day and was getting my happy hour on.

- File this under shit I don’t care about, but I bet you do: Vivian Girls are releasing their follow-up to the 2008 self-titled debut this Fall. Everything Goes Wrong will be out in September 2009 via In The Red. I really hope they do themselves a favor and don’t do any interviews.

- Tortoise are heading out on a small tour this summer in support of Beacons of Ancestorship, out June 23 on Thrill Jockey. Their tour kicks off at the end of May in Buffalo, NY at the Tralf Music Hall and continues on various dates throughout the summer in the U.S., Asia, and Europe, until August at Pukkelpop in Hasselt, Belgium. Tortoise can play Buffalo, NY, but they can’t play in the south? Come on, guys. (You can check out all the dates at that first Tortoise link, baby.)

- YACHT will release their newest LP, See Mystery Lights, July 28 via DFA. The record was recorded in Marfa, TX (random), and the album title comes from orbs of light that appear on the horizon of the desert. One time I went to Chili’s on acid and freaked out because I thought I couldn’t see my reflection in a cutout in the wall. It was a cutout. There was no mirror there. Anyway, check it out.

- AthFest, the annual music festival held in Athens, Georgia, will be happening the weekend of June 25-28 in downtown Athens and at various music venues around town. Bands scheduled to play include Dead Confederate, Black Lips, Patterson Hood, Ginger Envelope, Nappy Roots (aw’naw), Cinemechanica, Pegasuses-XL, Ruby Isle, Casper & The Cookies, The Buddy System, We Versus The Shark, Madeline, and tons of other bands. Wristbands for the entire event are only $16! That’s cheap as shit, y’all. (You can find information on wristbands, lodging, and more on bands playing, at that first AthFest link, baby.)

- K Records patriot Karl Blau will be going on tour in Europe this summer. Karl is currently at Primavera Sound in Barcelona and will continue hitting up festivals and select dates with Ariel Pink throughout June and parts of August. Other European dates are will be added soon.

L8R.

Tone Loc Rushed to a Hospital After Passing-out Funky-Cold at Hot Outdoor Concert in (Where Else?) Florida

By Nobodaddy on May 29 2009

In what must be the biggest bummer since Sheena turning out to be a man back in ’89, Rapper Tone Loc (a.k.a. the best part of 1994’s critically acclaimed Blank Check) reportedly collapsed and passed-out after performing at an outdoor concert in Florida today. Capt’n Fun Beach Club, a delightful-sounding open-air club on the Portofino Boardwalk of Pensacola Beach, FL, is, apparently, subject to some funky-hot weather conditions, which included temperatures in the low 80s and humidity of about 87% (not unusual for this time of year), according to weather reports. Based on a visual estimate, the club was filled to about two-thirds of its capacity at the time of the performance. Nothing like getting drunk in the morning, is there, Florida?

But instead of cold-coolin’ by the bar like he’s used to, a spokesman for the Escambia County Sheriff's Department said it appeared that Tone Loc collapsed and possibly had a seizure. Or, as TMZ eloquently put it, “moments after complaining about the heat and humidity, the ‘Wild Thing’ singer suddenly went down so hard -- he busted open his elbow and bled all over his shirt.” That’s poetry, ladies and gentlemen.

Anyway, fans and medical personnel sprung into action, and my man Tone was then rushed to the Hospital. There is no official word yet about his condition. But in solidarity, I think we should all watch some of his finest and most-criminally neglected work together. Let the internet resound the funky sound of... that iguana from Ferngully.

Stay up, Tone!

Two-Thirds of One-Fifth of The Strokes Tour! Er, I mean, Little Joy to Hit the Road This Summer Sans Fab!

By Nobodaddy on May 29 2009

Hey, so-so news, everyone! Little Joy, a.k.a. “that Strokes off-shoot band that’s not quite as solid as Albert Hammond, Jr.’s thing but not as much of a whole-assed trainwreck as Nickeleye,” is hitting the middle-of-the-road this June for a medium-sized tour of decent-enough U.S. venues!

You may halfway remember that, back in early 2008, Strokes drum machine Fabrizio Morretti joined up with collaborators Rodrigo Amarante and Binki Shapiro in Los Angeles to record what would become Little Joy's mostly okay self-titled debut album (TMT Review), which was released last November by Rough Trade to more-positive-than-not response.

Now, two-thirds of the tepid trio, Rodrigo (vocals and guitar) and Binki (vocals, keys), will set out to spread the little joy of Little Joy without Fab (though concert-goers shouldn't be surprised if ol' boy pops in to make an occasional handsome appearance on stage), as he will for the most part be occupied with, you know, being the click track for the rest of The Strokes.

Luckily, all of these bands sound pretty much the same at the end of the day (oh, come on, they do, its okay), so Rodrigo and Binki will fill out the lineup with Todd Dahlhoff and Matt Borg from The Dead Trees (on bass and guitar, respectively), Matt Romano from Albert Hammond, Jr.'s band (drums) and Jack Dishel from Only Son (guitar, backing vocals). And you know what? They’ll probably do a capable job. More dates to come.

Little Joy C+ Tour:
06.02.09 - Santa Barbara, CA - Club Soho
06.03.09 - San Francisco, CA - Independent
06.04.09 - Costa Mesa, CA - Detroit Bar
06.05.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
06.08.09 - Austin, TX - The Independent
06.09.09 - Dallas, TX - Club Dada
06.10.09 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Studio
06.12.09 - Atlanta, GA - Smith's Olde Bar
06.13.09 - Birmingham, AL - The Nick
06.14.09 - Newport, KY - Southgate House
06.15.09 - Chicago, IL - Double Door
06.17.09 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre *
06.19.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Khyber Pass
06.20.09 - Boston, MA - Cafe 939
06.21.09 - Fairfield, CT - Stage One
06.23.09 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom

* Regina Spektor

Different Hoax for Different Folks: Carla Bozulich Brings Evangelista and Bloody Claws to Europe, Finishes New Evangelista Album, Prince Of Truth

By David Nadelle on May 29 2009

There are two things I know for sure:

1. “Palin Bags a Bigfoot!”
2. Carla Bozulich will tour Europe under two guises -- her renowned Evangelista combo (for one date) and an improv-based noise/sound duo with cellist Francesco Guerri called Bloody Claws (for the rest).

The first is too fantastical to be false, and the second would hurt too much if not true. Whatever the fate of the mighty Sasquatch, it is with certainty that Ms. Bozulich will embark on yet another innovative musical spree covering towns in Scotland and England, then Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, and France with Guerri in tow (including the Evangelista show lineup).

More European dates will be announced in due time, but we can tell you that a couple of other gigs have been booked in August; one in Meaford, Ontario at the Electric Eclectics Festival and a special date as part of the “A Century of Sound” series at the RuhrTriennale Festival near Dusseldorf, Germany. This show will see Bozulich take the stage with, among others, Marianne Faithfull and Marc Ribot.

And most excitingly, the new Evangelista album, Prince Of Truth, has been recorded and is awaiting release by Constellation in September. Details coming soon. I think I just jizzed my pantaloons.

Bloody dates!
05.29.09 - Stirling, Scotland - Le Weekend Festival #
05.31.09 - London, England - The Old Blue Last $
06.03.09 - Brussels, Belgium - Botanique *
06.04.09 - Cologne, Germany - Kulturbunker $
06.05.09 - Krefeld, Germany - Kulturrampe $
06.06.09 - Vienna, Austria - Arena $
06.07.09 - Graz, Austria - Absolutely Free Project $
06.09.09 - Berlin, Germany - The West Germany Club $
06.11.09 - Genoa, Italy - TBA $
06.12.09 - Rome, Italy - Teatro Ruskaja dell’Academia Nazionale di Danza %
06.13.09 - Torino, Italy - Sapzio 211 $
06.14.09 - Soliera, Italy - Arti Vive Festival $
06.21.09 - Napoli, Italy - Toro Farnese, National Archeological Museum $
06.26.09 - Paris, France - Instants Chavirés $

# as Evangelista (Tara Barnes, Dominic Cramp, Steve Nobel, Bozulich, and Guerri)

$ as Bloody Claws (Bozulich and Guerri)

* as Bloody Claws, with Marissa Nadler

% as Bloody Claws, with Electric Leak (Giovanni Falvo, Christian Ferlaino, Alberto Fiori, and Guerri)

Photo: [neonwar]

The Paper Chase Announce Tour, New Disaster-Themed LP, Topic Provides Too Much Fodder for a Focused Headline

By Kasia Galaxy on May 29 2009

I don't know, man. The new Paper Chase album Someday This Could All Be Yours (Part 1), released this week on Kill Rock Stars, is probably good, but what about that tracklisting? "The Extinction," "The Blizzard," "The Mass Hysteria"? I mean, John Congleton's production on the new St. Vincent album is decent. Super, even. But I really can't read about disasters without thinking of the Armageddons and Twisters and Outbreaks or a photo shoot for America's Next Top Model. My brain just overloads with jokes, like it does when I hear the words "Laserdisc" and "GeoCities."

Also, there will be a (Part Two) next year, equally disaster-themed. This is where I cop out.

Someday This Could All Be Yours (Part 1) tracklist:

1. If Nobody Moves Nobody Will Get Hurt (The Extinction)
2. I'm Going to Heaven With or Without You (The Forest Fire)
3. The Common Cold (The Epidemic)
4. The Laying of Hands The Speaking in Tongues (The Mass Hysteria)
5. Your Money or Your Life (The Comet)
6. What Should We Do With Your Body? (The Lightning)
7. This Is a Rape (The Flood)
8. The Small of Your Back The Nape of Your Neck (The Blizzard)
9. This Is Only a Test (The Tornado)
10. We Have Ways to Make You Talk (The Human Condition)

The tourdates:
06.18.09 - Houston, TX - Walter's on Washington
06.19.09 - Hattiesburg, MI - Thirsty Hippo
06.20.09 - Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn
06.21.09 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
06.22.09 - Washington DC - DC9
06.23.09 - Pittsburgh, PA - Brillobox
06.24.09 - Philadelphia, PA - M Room
06.25.09 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
06.26.09 - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's
06.27.09 - Providence, RI - AS220
06.28.09 - Montreal, QC - II Motore
06.29.09 - Toronto, ON - The Drake
07.01.09 - Lansing, MI - Mac's Bar
07.02.09 - Milwaukee, WI - Cactus Club
07.03.09 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
07.04.09 - Dubuque, IA - The Busted Lift
07.05.09 - St. Louis, MI - Firebird

Dr. Dre Debuts Detox In A Dr. Pepper Commercial; In Other News, Da Brat Was Seen Picking Up Empty Soda Cans On A Highway

By Annapocalypse on May 29 2009

Not unlike Chinese Democracy, Dr. Dre has been promising the release of his long-awaited final album, Detox, for a long time -- in this case, since the early part of this decade. Originally set for a Fall 2005 release, the album has now been scheduled for release “sometime in 2009 by Interscope Records.” Yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it. In the meantime, Dr. Dre has come up with what seems to be the ideal way in the 21st century to promote Detox: by partnering up with Dr. Pepper. Hmm, why does this all sound so familiar (TMT News)?

According to Billboard, Dr. Dre will appear in the last installment of Dr. Pepper’s current ad campaign, entitled “Trust Me, I’m A Doctor,” which previously featured appearances from Dr. J, Dr. Frasier Crane, and Gene Simmons (a.k.a. “Doctor Love”). The commercial is scheduled to begin airing June 1. Don't know what a TV is? Don't fret: you can watch it on Billboard’s website right now.

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