RIP: Tom Brumley, steel guitar player

From the LA Times:

Tom Brumley, a legendary steel guitarist who contributed to the "Bakersfield sound" of Buck Owens and the Buckaroos in the 1960s before spending 10 years performing with Rick Nelson, has died. He was 73.

Brumley died Tuesday at Northeast Baptist Hospital in San Antonio, eight days after suffering a heart attack, said his wife, Rolene Brumley.

- Tom Brumley official website
- Tom Brumley Wikipedia entry

Women Add U.S. Tour; ATTENTION: Horny Guys, This Is Probably Not What You Think

Lo-fi psych sensation Women will be making a trek this spring to prove to the masses that they are indeed men -- that, and to show off tracks from their particularly solid debut LP Women (TMT Review). Although it's a blogger-happy song, “Black Rice” has still got to be one of the best tracks to come out of this millennium, and the rest of the album ain't too shabby either.

According to Jagjaguwar, Women’s label, the group will be setting out this spring to show off their awesomeness for crowds in the United States and Canada, with help from Abe Vigoda, Crystal Stilts, and Chad Van Gaalen. The dates with Chad Van Gaalen especially make sense, since he both recorded Women's album for them and has had Women members in his touring band.

Women tourdates:
02.13.09 - Birmingham, UK - Hare & Hounds
02.14.09 - Glasgow, UK - Captain's Rest
02.15.09 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club
02.16.09 - Manchester, UK - Night & Day Cafe
02.17.09 - London, UK - White Heat Mayfair @ Madam Jojo's
02.19.09 - Kortrijk, Belgium - De Kreun !
02.20.09 - Lille, France - L'Aeronef w. The War On Drugs
02.21.09 - St. Malo, France - La Route Du Rock Festival
02.22.09 - Paris, France - Maroquinerie
02.23.09 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso
02.24.09 - Hannover, Germany - Ruby Tuesday @ Cafe Glocksee
02.26.09 - Berlin, Germany - Magnet Club
02.27.09 - Leipzig, Germany - NATO
03.01.09 - Lloseta-Mallorca, Spain - Teatre Lloseta
03.02.09 - Elche, Spain - Centre Cultural Escorxador
03.03.09 - London, UK - Scala
03.08.09 - Fargo, ND - Aquarium
03.09.09 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock
03.10.09 - Mt. Vernon, IA - Cornell College
03.11.09 - Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge
03.12.09 - Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern
03.14.09 - New York, NY - Music Hall Of Williamsburg*
03.15.09 - Washington DC - DC9*
03.16.09 - Lexington, KY - Al's Bar*
03.17.09 - Jackson, MS - MS121 Milsaps*
03.18.09 - Houston, TX - Rudyard's*
03.19.09 - Austin, TX - SXSW
03.22.09 - Dallas, TX - Club Dada#
03.23.09 - Norman, OK - Opolis#
03.28.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland+
03.30.09 - Visalia, CA - The Cellar Door+
03.31.09 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill+
04.02.09 - Portland, OR - Holocene+
04.03.09 - Seattle, WA - Chop Suey+
04.04.09 - Victoria, BC - Sugar+

! The Constantines

* Crystal Stilts

# Abe Vigoda

+ Chad Van Gaalen

Mario Speedwagon’s Under The Radar News Roundup: Ticketmaster Takes Over The World, 4AD Signs Some Bitches, Crystal Antlers To Release LP, Decemberists Debut New Album At SXSW

Hey ya’ll.

- Ticketmaster (ugh) and Live Nation are close to merging into one, big, corporate mess. The company will be called Live Nation Ticketmaster and would be a concert promoter and ticket supplier all-in-one kinda management company. One potential problem would be that, since the new company would be, like, some sort of superpower, they’d have to be under review by antitrust authorities. Ticketmaster sucks, by the way. The Boss thinks so too.

- 4AD signed a shit-ton of bands: the latest signings to the label are The Big Pink, Broken Records, and Camera Obscura.

- Crystal Antlers are going to be dropping their LP, Tentacles, via Touch and Go on April 7, 2009. I dug their EP, so I’m excited to hear it. Meanwhile, the band is currently on tour in Europe and has a few dates in the states afterwards with the Cold War Kids. Check it out.

- So, if you happen to be going to SXSW this March and also like The Decemberists (one of these two things apply to me; I’ll let you guess), you can check out a full performance of their latest album The Hazards of Love at the NPR showcase on March 18, 2009 at Stubbs. NPR will broadcast and webcast the entire concert, which will be anchored by Bob “All Songs Considered” Boilen, Carrie “Sleater-Kinney/NPR BLGGR” Brownstein, and David “KUT” Brown.

Yep, that’s it. Oh also, check this out. HILARIOUS.

Why Cut Out the Middle Man? Yaris and Urban Outfitters Release Benefit Compilation

Urban Outfitters and Toyota aren't the kind of corporations who follow the rules or use vowels in their proper places. They say "fuck you grammar, wr done with yr oppression." They're the 21-century Allen Ginsberg and Thurston Moore of the manufacturing and retail sectors. At last that is how they see themselves, or how they want you to see them.

On January 27, Toyota -- under their branding of their hip new station wagony car thing, the Yaris -- and Urban Outfitters -- that store where your little sister shops -- recently released a Free Yr Radio compilation. The digital release features (a) exclusive tracks from bands that people who read this site tend to like, and (b) an avenue to recruit a new target market for Toyota and UO products. The album is available exclusively at Insound for 99¢, with proceeds going to 12 independent radio stations that are probably out of range of wherever it is that you live.

In the words of their PR strategists, the corporate duo's goal for the Free Yr Radio campaign is to "start a conversation with their customers about the importance of independent radio and to encourage people to talk about, listen to and support their favorite stations." What a nice sentiment.

Personally, I think people who "illegally" download music should be sent to Gitmo for one last taste of real U.S. justice before it closes in 2010 (maybe). But those of you with no respect for the rule of law could probably grab these albums off the internet for free, make a donation to your local community radio station, feel good about yourself, and avoid having to participate this PR campaign altogether. It's yr choice.

Free Yr Radio tracklist:

1. !!! – Must Be The Moon (Live at KEXP)
2. Chairlift – At My Side
3. Yeasayer – Final Path (Daytrotter Sessions)
4. White Williams – Blue Steel
5. Dan Deacon – Cave Birth
6. No Age – Padded Chair
7. Mudhoney – The Lucky Ones (Live)
8. King Khan & Saba Lou – Past and Gone
9. The Secret Machines – The Walls Are Starting To Crack (Live at KEXP)
10. The Walkmen – In The New Year (Live)
11. Tokyo Police Club – Your English Is Good (K-Os Remix)
12. Jamie Lidell – Rope of Sand (Live at Austin City Limits)

RIP: Dewey Martin, Buffalo Springfield drummer

From Rolling Stone

Buffalo Springfield drummer Dewey Martin died January 31st of unknown causes. He was 68. Born Walter Milton Dwayne Midkiff, Martin cut his teeth in Nashville, playing with Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison and the Everly Brothers. He moved to L.A. in the mid-1960s and learned that a fledgling band was looking for a new drummer. The group’s guitarist, Neil Young, was highly impressed by Martin during his audition in 1966. “He was a sensitive drummer,” Young says in his biography Shakey. “You get harder, he hits harder. You pull back, he hits back. He can feel the music — you don’t have to tell him.” After his successful audition, Martin asked the group what their name was. “They went over and pulled out this sign, Buffalo Springfield,” Martin later recalled. “I said, ‘Great man, a steamroller. You got a heavy sound. Let’s go for it.’ ”

- Dewey Martin Wikipedia entry
- Buffalo Springfield

The Juan Maclean to Release Sophomore Album in April, Continues to Justify Use of Definite Article Beside His Own Name

If you walked into any decent club in 2008 with the intention of shaking your ass, you inevitably heard The Juan Maclean’s infectious single “Happy House” and commenced to set your ass to shaking. Wait a tick, I have absolutely no evidence to back that up. I don’t think I ever set foot in a single dance club for the whole of 2008, or even my whole life, now that I think about it. The horseshit dives I usually frequent are little more than crackhouses with better roofs and fewer emaciated dogs. I have no idea what the club scene is like in any city, let alone my own. What am I doing writing about a supposed club standard like The Juan Maclean? Moreover, what am I doing with my life? Maybe I should go to grad school after all...

Waaaah fuck! No! Get out of here, bad thoughts, and take that grad school talk with ya! Okay, get it together, McHugh, and report this shit the lazy way. Eh hem: I really liked The Juan Maclean’s “Happy House,” and I really liked his (Or is it “their?” What’s with this band anyway?) 2005 album Less Than Human. Okay, that part’s done.

Now, the press release called “Happy House” an a “international club anthem,” so as long as I unabashedly trust everything press releases say (which I always do), I think I now have the authority vested in me to report that The Juan Maclean will release their new album The Future Will Come April 14 on the dependably dancy DFA Records. Oh man, I think I even have enough clout leftover to announce that the album will be bookended with The Juan Maclean’s other ’08 club stomper “The Simple Life.” Phew! I’m sure glad I could get through all that with my cred intact!

Oh yeah, and the band or dude or what/whoever are gonna release a new 12-inch for the tune “One Day” and has two dates left on his/their/whatever European tour. I don’t know if I have enough cred remaining to say those two things, so I’m just gonna list the dates and the tracklist and get the fuck out of here.

Tourdates:
02.06.09 – Lisbon, Portugal – Lux
02.07.09 – Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz

The Future Will Come tracklist:

1. The Simple Life
2. The Future Will Come
3. One Day
4. A New Bot
5. Tonight
6. No Time
7. Accusations
8. The Station
9. Human Disaster
10. Happy House

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