Tuesday, February 27. 2007
Meat Puppets
Genre: Alt Country Hometown: Austin TX
www.myspace.com/curtkirkwood
Saturday, March 17 9:15 p.m.
Emo's Main Room (603 Red River St)
(subject to change)
Add this to your SXSW Calendar
Fresh from a surprise appearance with Army of Anyone at Austin's La Zona Rosa, the Meat Puppets will play a set at SXSW on Saturday, immediately following punk rock icon Pete Shelly and the Buzzcocks on Emo's outdoor stage. Since it's the first time the Meat Puppets have played a full set in years, this promises to be one of SXSW07's most buzzed about sets.
One of the founding Puppets, Curt Kirkwood, sat down and talked to us on the phone about their upcoming SXSW gig, Kurt Cobain, Jerry Garcia, the Puppets' forthcoming album. and Burmese pop classics of the 70s. To listen to the interview click on the audio player link under the fold.
Continue reading "Podcast: SXSW Artist Spotlight Interview - The Meat Puppets"
Sunday, February 25. 2007
Blacklist
Genre: Rock
Hometown: New York NY
http://www.listofblack.com
Wednesday, March 14 9:45 p.m.
Elysium (705 Red River St)
(subject to change)
Add this to your SXSW Calendar
Sounding like they come straight off the Breakfast Club soundtrack, New York City-based Blacklist takes the moodiness of Morrisey and combines it with Edge-like fuzzy guitar work to come up with a sound more akin to its roots than to any 21st century angst driven indie emo band.
Opening the showcase for Mark Burgess' new band, Bird, and for former Stranglers' frontman Hugh Cornwell at Austin's Elysium, they promise to fill the air with buzzy guitars and deep dark plaintive vocals. We spent some time talking to Blacklist's frontman and guitarist Josh Strawn about their upcoming SXSW gig. Click on the player underneath the fold to listen to the interview.
Continue reading "Podcast: SXSW Artist Spotlight Interview - Blacklist"
I love my iPod. I cannot lie. And I have spent, oh, a very very lot of money in the iTunes store buying music all locked up so that even though I own it, I don't own it, because unlike all the songs off my CDs (that I also bought and own), you can't play your iTunes music on anything other than your iPod.
Welcome to the age of Digital Rights Management, or DMR.
So if you shellac a one-atom-thick layer of DRM over a product, you get the full power of the American legal system as a weapon to use against competitors. Apple may have created a successful "Switch" campaign by reverse-engineering Microsoft products like PowerPoint to make Keynote, an Apple program that lets you run old PowerPoint decks on your Mac, but Microsoft can't create a "Switch to the Zune" campaign that offers you the ability to play your iTunes Store songs on a Zune, Microsoft's latest abortive iPod-killer.
Although Apple's DRM is wholly ineffective at preventing copying, it does manage to raise the cost of switching from an iPod to a competing device. Every iTunes song you buy for 99 cents amounts to a 99 cent tax on switching from an iPod to a Zune. That's because your iTunes songs won't play on your Zune -- or on any other player, save those made or licensed by Apple. Jobs tries to skate around this in his memo, suggesting that only a tiny fraction of the music on iPods comes from his music store, and so the anti-switching effects are minimal.
The rest of this is at Salon - if you're not a subscriber, you can get a free day pass to read the article. It's worth the trouble.
Friday, February 23. 2007
The Zico Chain
Genre: Rock
Hometown: London, U.K.
http://www.myspace.com/thezicochain
Wednesday, March 14 12:15 a.m.
Dirty Dog Bar (505 E 6th St)
(subject to change)
Add this to your SXSW Calendar
Last year I stumbled into a tiny packed club on Austin's 6th Street during the SXSW festival just in time to catch the last couple songs of the Zico Chain's set. With Chris Zico's frenetic platinum blond hair, the blistering guitar runs, and the waves of energy emanating from the stage, you could have imagined yourself projected back in time to see a young pre-bleach Nirvana.
This year the Zico Chain is back for SXSW armed with a whole new pack of songs in the kit bag and have promised us another smokin' hot set. Even without the golden locks, the comparison to early Nirvana is still fitting. Chris took a few minutes to chat with us about their gig at this years SXSW and touring with Alkaline Trio and Disturbed. Click on the player link under the fold to listen to the interview.
Continue reading "Podcast: SXSW Artist Spotlight Interview - The Zico Chain"
Wednesday, February 21. 2007
 Well looks like the Vegas oddsmakers were right.
Once again they didn't even make it out of the starting gate. This year's planned reunion tour of David Lee Roth and Van Halen will apparently NOT occur. Rolling Stone is reporting that employees of the promoter Live Nation have been informed that "the Van Halen tour has been shut down." Good news for David Lee Roth, however, as this will allow him to pursue the lead in the sequel to the 2006 Matthew McConaughey film Failure To Launch.
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news, rumors, and buzz compiled from around the web by the club.kingsnake staff
Tuesday, February 20. 2007
Paul Collins Beat
Genre: Rock Hometown: New York NY
www.paulcollinsbeat.com
Friday, March 16 12:00 a.m.
Habana Calle 6 Patio (709 E 6th St)
(subject to change)
Back in 1980, when both Paul Collins and I had a lot more hair and Austin was just becoming the hotbed of the alternative music scene that it is today, some interesting tours came to town. One of these included a gig by Paul Weller's UK band the Jam, at the old Armadillo World Headquarters. Opening that gig was a band called the Beat that I expected to be the ska band of the same name, also from the U.K.
Instead it turned out to Paul Collins' Beat, or the L.A. Beat, a slick, buzzy powerpop foursome whose sound showed a variety of influences. Lead by Paul Collins, who along with Peter Case was one of the founding members of the Nerves, the Beat bounded from Beatlesesque harmonies, to almost a pure Ramones rip, to Stray Cats -nfluenced guitar twang, each song seemingly hookier than the next. The influences came honestly, with Paul and the Nerves touring with the Ramones in 74, and the Nerves even penning the song "Hanging on The Telephone" later made a hit by their friends in Blondie.
After a 10 year hiatus from the music scene, Paul Collins will return with the Beat to Austin's SXSW festival with an official SXSW gig as well as several other local sets. We were lucky enough to get a chance to talk to him about his SXSW gig and what is was like back in the day before there was an "alternative" or "indie" music scene. Click on the player link under the fold to listen to the interview.
The Paul Collins Beat SXSW/Austin Schedule
WEDNESDAY MARCH 14
KOOP Radio Live internet broadcast air time 7pm
THURSDAY MARCH 15
4:30 cd signings for the South by Bookstore Entire Band
in the SXSW Trade Show. The book store is located in the trade
show along the back wall, Booths M18-O18.
SATURDAY MARCH 17
Havana Calle 6 Patio 709 E 6th St.
SXSW SHOW TIME 12 a.m. (Midnight)
Antone's Record Store
2928 Guadalupe Austin, TX (512) 322-0660
FREDDIE STEADY'S FRONTIER A GO GO
7th Annual Showcase & Rock & Roll Hootenanny
PAUL COLLINS - 7 PM
THE FREDDIE STEADY FIVE - 6 PM
THE UGLY BEATS - 5 PM
EVE & THE EXILES - 4 PM
JENNY WOLFE & THE PACK - 3 PM
THE TEXCENTRICS - 2 PM
RUBY DEE & THE SNAKEHANDLERS - 1 PM
Continue reading "Podcast: SXSW Artist Spotlight Interview - The Paul Collins Beat"
Monday, February 19. 2007
 This week's free download in the iTunes store is a song called "The Guide" from Australian band Borne. I usually grab the free downloads, and most of them don't grab me. This one does.
The iTunes review says lead vocalist Cameron Tapp's voice is a more soulful and rougher version of Bono's... I'm not quite sure I agree with that, but it's not totally off. They also compare him to Chris Martin, which is just wrong. I'm not a Coldplay fan, so maybe I'm too prejudiced to hear it, but Tapp's voice is much more expressive and smoother than Martin's, while still having a rough edge to it that appeals to me much more than Martin's.
I'd describe this as a piano-swelling-into-guitar lovesong squarely in the indie rock tradition... yearning, minimally produced, the slightly sappy edge of the lyrics taken off with the raw vocal.
Go get it.
Friday, February 16. 2007
Texas band The Toadies has just announced a 2 night re-union gig at Austin's Stubb's BarBQ on March 12th & 13th, right before the opening of the huge SXSW music festival on March 15th. With Snow Patrol's sold out show on March 10th and Iggy and The Stooges performing at Stubb's during SXSW, it is rapidly becoming the hotspot for the big bands this year. Look for more SXSW updates as we get closer. Tickets are available at http://Stubbs.frontgatetickets.com
According to news on the AP wire this morning, former Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell has left the band Audioslave citing personality conflicts and musical differences. Tom Morello will re-unite with the remaining members of Audioslave to re-form as Rage Against The Machine for a "one shot" concert at this years Coachella.
Rumor mills have been speculating that the newly re-united Police also may make an appearance at this years Coachella and sources have told our staff that their current 14 date tour will be extended to as many as 41 North American venues. The Police will be performing at this years Bonaroo festival for sure, as well as a number of sports stadiums and arenas.
Graham Williams of Emo's has confirmed they will be hosting the Buzzcocks and the Meat Puppets shows during this years SXSW during a podcast interview with club.kingsnake's own Jeff Barringer (see the post below this one) as well as some of the other bands on their schedule. Mystery still surrounds who this years late booking big names and "secret" SXSW shows will be.
ZZ Top hits the road in March with a tour that starts in Biloxi Mississippi and ends in Pala California. While playing a number of casinos, they will play Houston's Reliant Stadium on March 18th and Austin's The Backyard on April 14th.
Thursday, February 15. 2007
Peaches at Emo's in 2006
photo by staff photographer jeff barringer/font> |
Want to find out who's playing at Emo's at SXSW this year? How about how to get your band booked to play at Emo's? Graham Williams, booking manager has some interesting facts and hot rumors about one of Austin's favorite live music venues! Visit our Podcast Interviews Page or download the MP3 and take it with you.
Continue reading "Podcast: Interview with Graham Williams of Emo's"
Fredrik Andersson somewhere behind his drum kit
photo by staff photographer brian rampacek |
Death metal drummer Fredrik Andersson of the bands This Ending and Amon Amarth talks about This Ending's latest album and touring in America and Europe.Listen here, visit our Podcast Interviews Page or download the MP3 and take it with you.
Continue reading "Podcast: Interview with Fredrik Andersson of This Ending and Amon Amarth"
Tuesday, February 13. 2007
Sean Farber of Daath at the Old Orchard Inn
photo by staff photographer brian rampacek |
Daath
See you Next Tuesday
Psyopus
Job for a Cowboy
Old Orchard Inn
Menomonee Falls WI
Never having been at this venue before we arrived early. Very early. And when I got there, I felt like I'd gone back to high school.
Brian and I spent the first hour just watching the kids. It was like a hot topic fashion show. One girl was sporting a "home-made" magic marker tattoo on her arm of an upside down cross, all while wearing a Norma Jean t-shirt. Every time I saw her, I wondered if she realized the confused message she was giving. Also, ballet slippers have apparently made a fashion comeback. As far as I can tell, the only thing ballet slippers are good for at a death metal show is broken and bloody toes. One of the teeny boppers commented on my combat boots as I walked out of the ladies room. I got my revenge later in the evening, as I saw them all complaining about their sore feets. Ladies, I know Doc's are still cool. Get yourself a pair.
Fox of See You Next Tuesday at the Old Orchard Inn
photo by staff photographer brian rampacek |
The show, however was amazingly packed. While the venue didn't offer niceties such as a photo pit, it did have decent sound, and that was all that mattered to me.
Each band's set seemed incredibly short. The show started around 8 and by 9:30 we were already through the third set of the evening. A little taste of each flavor, leaving you yearning for more - so you run out and buy the album.
Daath is a band I was really looking forward to, after reading reviews of them from earlier in the year by Jeff and Tom, and checking out their myspace page. They have a very Seattle thrash feel to their music. Heavy as hell chunk with melodies reminiscent of Testament. Their solos had a polished and almost progressive sound to them. The drums were set a little too loud for my tastes at times, drowning out everything else. It was the guitars I wanted to hear. The solos brought back days of old, when thrash had virtuosos like Alex Skolnick and Marty Friedman. Not as complex, but still in the same vein. They did perform "Ovum" which is off the new album and can currently be heard on their myspace page. Daath was just signed to Roadrunner and will be releasing a new album on March 20 called The Hinderers.
Adam Frappolli of Psyopus at the Old Orchard Inn
photo by staff photographer brian rampacek |
See You Next Tuesday was up next and it seemed the first night on the road was a bit overwhelming. They had a lot of long breaks between the songs while trying to get things working right. The high vocals came off way too piercing and the low growls were too quiet to hear. I would be interested in hearing a recording and see if I can chalk this up to first night on the tour blues. They do have a new album coming out on Ferret Records in April. The single most entertaining thing was the singer got a kid running the stage through the whole performance. Back and forth. Was pretty darned amusing if you ask me.
To say Psyopus is different is an understatement. The best way I can describe them is free form death metal. At times they are perfectly in sync with each other, and at others, the band as a whole does something that can best be compared to jazz fusion. The guitarist has some excellent technical skills and some insane speed behind those fingers. The 20 minute set was not enough to really get a grasp on the complexity of their sound. In a world where genres are heavily defined and sub categorized, they are bucking the trend and doing something very different. I would like to have heard a bit longer set. Their new album, Our Puzzling Encounters Considered, is coming out on Metal Blade Records on February 20.
Ravi Bhadriraju of Job for a Cowboy at the Old Orchard Inn
photo by staff photographer brian rampacek |
Job for a Cowboy was up next. I wasn't really expecting that tight of a performance, since they just hired on drummer John "The Charm" Rice in early January. I was a tad bit wrong. Sounding to me as though they came right off the album, JFAC was tight and ready to go. This is straight up clean death metal baby and it was lovely. I did regret once again how short the set was. Playing older songs from the Doom release such as "Knee Deep" along side new songs from their upcoming spring Metal Blade release, such as "Burying the Serpent's Lamp" and "Embedded," they are ready to move on to the next level. I fully expect to see them on one of the bigger tours this summer. I was definitely impressed with their solid performance. Once again I was sitting there wishing for a longer set.
Saturday, February 10. 2007
Evan Dando of the Lemonheads at Emo's
photo by staff photographer jeff barringer |
The Lemonheads
Hometown: New York, New York
http://www.thelemonheads.net/
The Lemonheads Concert Photos
Tuesday, February 9, 2007
Emo's Austin (Austin, Texas)
Evan Dando dropped off of everyones radar ten years ago, after a whirlwind career that seemed destined to end tragically like his friend Kurt Cobain. Too much success too soon, and too fast a crowd, left Dando struggling with his own demons long after Kurt was gone. Now after taking his hiatus, Dando has returned to the music scene with the latest incarnation of the Lemonheads. They are currently touring to support the release of their latest album, The Lemonheads.
I had missed Dando and the Lemonheads perform earlier in their career, their rise coinciding with my own hiatus from the live music scene, so I was glad to get an invite from their publicist, Amy, to shoot their show at Emo's this weekend. The Lemondheads, originally from Boston, are probably most famous for their remake of the Simon and Garfunkel classic "Mrs. Robinson," much to their chagrin, or for their single "Its a Shame About Ray." They are a power-pop-meets-grunge trio that emerged during the grunge rock period, with frontman Dando in the role of teen heartthrob. While there weren't many teens in the audience for this show, there were still plenty of women gathered under his microphone.
Dando's latest version of the band was very clean and tight musically. Scruffy and bundled up against the 40 degree temperatures in a thick jacket and ski cap, Evan was nonetheless unhampered in his ability to play, though by the time he hit the stage at 12:30 I had lost all feeling in my toes. After about the third or forth song he ditched his sunglasses to the pre-teen screams of his post-teen audience.
I really liked the Lemonheads' set, and even though they didn't play "Mrs. Robinson," they did play a number of their more popular songs, as well as some of their new songs. Dando was supported ably by Vess Ruhtenberg on bass and Devon Ashley of the Pieces on drums, who seemed to really match Dando's vocals and guitar work well. To see a copy of the set list for this show click here.
Danny Dunlap and The Fall Collection at Emo's
photo by staff photographer jeff barringer |
Opening the show was Austin's the Fall Collection, a nifty little power pop trio fronted by guitarist and vocalist Danny Dunlap. They have a great sound and lots of energy to their music. This will be an Austin band to watch. Kind of reminded me of an updated version of the Paul Collins Beat, but maybe not quite as hooky. Danny really handles his Rickenbacker well. They were a good match with the Lemonheads' sound.
Vietnam at Emo's
photo by staff photographer jeff barringer |
The second band on the bill, a band out of New York called Vietnam, frankly was a very odd choice for this set. I think I have to credit Brian Curley of Jerry's Kids and the Delinquents with the best description: Kind of like Country Joe and the Fish meets the Velvet Underground. I would add to that description a bean bag chair, a lava lamp, and some quaaludes, and you're pretty much there. It's not that their music was bad, in fact I heard some nifty guitar runs wandering in and out of their songs, but the music itself sounded like a Led Zeppelin album with the vocals culled, running at half speed on a turntable with a slipping belt. It seemed to slow down, then speed up, then slow down, then slow way down, stop, then speed up again, all in the same song and for no discernible reason. If heavy metal ever had a need for a jam band from the 70s, this is it. It was interesting, it was different, it wasn't unnecessarily bad; it was just strange to see them on the same bill sandwiched between a couple of power pop bands.
Friday, February 9. 2007
 In what has got to be the most poorly matched song to advertisement pairing ever, the bright guys at Wendy's are currently running a commercial for their new Bacon Mushroom Cheeseburger Melt using the Violent Femmes' song "Blister In The Sun." Now, this intrepid reporter risked life and limb and actually tasted one of these sandwiches, and I can honestly say that they do not taste like blisters in the sun, though they may want to replace the bun with something a little more substantial. They may also want to consider replacing their marketing arm, since this is the most unappetizing song ever used to sell food. No wonder Wendy's 4th quarter profits were down 90 percent in 2006. Next up on their marketing schedule, Cattle Decapitation sings about the new Wendy's "Long Pig Chef Salads"... Dave must be rolling over in his grave.
Buz McGrath of Unearth at OzzFest 2006
photo by staff photographer brian rampacek |
Ok, add this one to the "Yet Another Reunion Show" list. Billy Corrigan, alternative music's own version of Mr. Clean, and the rest of the Smashing Pumpkins have confirmed a new album release for 07/07/07. They will be touring in support starting at Germany's Rock am Ring festival in June.
BLOGGER darlings the Shins have announced a tour date at Austin's Backyard on March 7, just a week too early to catch the SXSW crowd. Tickets go on sale February 13th, pricing TBA. I can hear a whole bunch of keyboards typing now to see if flight schedules can be altered.
Finally, Sharon Osborne has announced that this year's OzzFest tickets will be free, with the tour expenses hopefully covered by corporate sponsors. Ozzy will make a return to headlining this year, and tickets will be available only through special links on the sponsor web sites.
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