July 28 will be a hot night at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco as Henry Rollins and Xcene Cervenka and their respective bandmates kick off an 18 stop tour of the U.S.

Having actually spoken with both artists this year, albeit seperately and in a different context, I can tell you I am already checking tour schedules and flight schedules to see if we can cross paths . This promises to be an extremely rowdy time guaranteed to cause more than one listener to wonder if they had traveled back in time to the 80s.

According to Pollstar "X will feature its original lineup of Exene Cervenka, John Doe, Billy Zoom and DJ Bonebrake, and the Rollins Band is back with the same formation that recorded the 1994 album Weight - frontman Henry Rollins, bassist Melvin Gibbs, guitarist Chris Haskett, drummer Sim Cain and producer/sound man Theo Van Rock."

Now if we could only get Hank III to open a few sets for them. It would make for some interesting backstage conversations. Hank could compare tattoos and talk about his penchant for playing "Black Flag" tunes with Henry, and could swap tales about the troubles of trying to fit a standup bass on the tour bus with Exene.

THAT would be a show worth seeing.

Well, to answer the band's question posed, no I am rather bored thank you.

I liked this music better when it was new, in the 80s, and the bands that were doing it were more inventive and daring both musically and lyrically (and hair-stylistically as well I suppose). This, this just sounds like a re-gurgitation of those bands and their music into a putty colored melange of turgid bull plop. Overall I hear strains of the Cure, The Smiths, some Ultravox, a little INXS and a couple bands I just can't quite put my finger on (Simple Minds?). Don't get me wrong, I love most of those bands, that era, and those sounds, and I love new wave bands in general, but this disc just doesn't rise to the occasion.

Even the songs listed on the label as being the "feature" tracks, "Paralysed" and "Hide Away," aren't really edgy enough or distinctive enough to elicit much enthusiasm. I don't know what they did to earn "Band to Watch 2006" from Rolling Stone and Alternative Press but I hope that it was for something other than this disc. I think for this band to succeed they will need to reach beyond the 80s for their inspiration or Molly Ringwald will start having to make teen films again.

Snow Patrol
Hometown: Dundee, Scotland
http://www.snowpatrol.com/
Friday, May 26, 2006
Stubbs Bar-B-Q (Austin, Texas)
also: The Duke Spirit, Augustana

Hailing from Northern Ireland but formed while attending university in Scotland, Snow Patrol is currently touring in support of their fourth album, Eyes Open, released on May 1. Kind of a lesser known brit pop band, Snow Patrol's music is very similar in sound and genre to such bands as Coldplay and Radiohead, although their music isn't quite as depressing.

According to the band this was their fourth time playing Austin, and judging by the turnout they have attracted quite a local following. Based on the number of prom dresses in the audience it appears that all their work to get their music onto TV shows is paying off by attracting that all important young "O.C." audience.

Snow Patrol played a tight show, covering most of their new album, including of course "Hands Open" and "Chasing Cars," as well as songs from their previous releases. This was a night of squeaky clean brit pop fun and the audience really enjoyed the show.

Special thanks go out to George Ibbetson, Snow Patrol's road manager, for scoring me the camera pass and access to the VIP area. I wish I had brought my better camera setup for it. To check out show photos of Snow Patrol take a look at our photo gallery.

Opening for Snow Patrol was The Duke Spirit from London, fronted by the cute Liela Moss. Formed in the U.K. in 2003, this five-piece band has a fuzzy sound similar in texture and tone to the Pixies, and Liela's voice reminded me a little of Nico and Exene Cervenka. With more of a rough edge than any of the other bands in the showcase, they had a neat buzzy raspy sound, crossing straight ahead rock songs with a noise filled ethereal droning.

Augustana followed The Duke Spirit's set with a neat set. Formed in California, lead singer Dan Layus has a tremendous voice. At times the band's sound, and Layus' voice, were distinctly reminiscent of the bands Live and Counting Crows. They too appear to have developed a local audience, with many of their songs being greeted enthusiastically by the crowd.

Three solid shows, all audience pleasers.

Hank Williams III w/The Damn Band/Assjack
Hometown: Nashville, Tn.
http://www.hank3.com/
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
La Zona Rosa (Austin, Texas)
also: The Murder Junkies

Hank Williams III and his music are simply incredible. Were it not for his outspokeness and general dislike for the mainstream music industry, he could easily be filling stadiums with slick overproduced pablum either for Nashville with his country roots, or in L.A. with his rock and roll. Luckily Hank would rather present them both with a big "fuck you" and play his music the way he wants to, genres and big business be damned. Hank is one of the freshest voices in music and to hear him sanitized and packaged would be tragic. The last thing he needs is to be "molded" into someone else's perceived image to fit a genre.

It was a strange and varied crowd, even by Austin's "keep it weird" standards, that showed up to welcome Hank back to Austin. Country folk, city folk, punk folk, and redneck folk, it made for an odd mix for a musician who is known for standing genre labels on their end. Playing a full set at La Zona Rosa, rather than the short set he played at SXSW 2006 over at Antones, Hank was on stage for at least 2 and a half hours.

Opening with an hour of country and bluegrass with a mix so sweet it sounded just like his CDs, this part of the show would rack them in at any honky tonk in Texas. He played most of the new album, starting with the title track "Straight to Hell" and blew through other tracks like "Drinkin & Smokin" and "Pills I Took," barely slowing it down for "Country Heros." He covered at least one Johnny Cash song, and used other songs from his first album to fill in. Backed up by That Damn Band with pedal steel, standup bass, fiddle, and drums, this was a smoking set of bluegrass and old time country. Hank's voice is spookily similar to his grandfather's, so much so that when he covers his grandpa's work, it's virtually indistinguishable.

After an hour of fine country music in which Hank seemed to be channeling his grandfather's spirit, the band began to transition from being That Damn Band into Assjack, and for 20 minutes we were treated to a slice of southern fried rock & roll guaranteed to make any "freebird" yellin redneck rockers in the audience proud of their heritage.

When the morphing was completed we were left with a stripped down 4 peice punk/thrash band that would have felt right at home at any skate ditch in Santa Monica. The band even covered Black Flag's "No Values." Incredibly the punk extravaganza lasted an hour, and when it was over the band and the crowd were bleeding, sopping wet, and exhausted. The only person who seemed to still have energy left was Hank.

If you want to see one of the most talented andmost controversial performers of our day, one your parents wouldn't have let you listen too, this is the man to see. To see more of Hank check out the photos frm his show in our Photo Gallery


Opening for Hank was the punk band The Murder Junkies fronted by singer Jeff Clayton of Anti-Seen. The last backing band of the late G.G.Allin, famed more for his on-stage antics than his musical talents, the band continues Allin's self-destructive traditions, the highpoint being Clayton's ramming a chunk of broken glass into his forehead until he had a nice stream of blood flying into the mosh pit. The title of one of their songs probably sums up their set best "Raw, Brutal, Rough & Bloody."

Watch for my next show review, Snow Patrol at Stubbs Bar-B-Q, on Monday.

We are definitely not worthy.

First we blog about him then we talk with him.

Before heading off to Europe on tour, Rock Legend Alice Cooper checks in with Jeff Barringer on our first club kingsnake podcast interview to talk about snakes (natch!), rock & roll, and Britney Spears. Take a listen on our Podcast Interviews Page or download the MP3 and take it with you.

alicecooper_05242006.mp3

Hank Williams III is indeed going straight to hell.

Initially I had a hard time trying to decide if this was a serious album or a caricature of the country music genre. After two or three listens I am convinced that it is a serious album. Lyrically it is as dark, destitute, self-destructive and morbid as any death metal album I have heard, and yet this album has a pure classic country sound, too far beyond alternative to be considered alt-country, done in a style that harkens back to his grandfather's era and roots.

This is not an album for minors, and in fact it might be a little rough for actual miners as well. Hank III seems to be aiming to be pegged as the blackest sheep in the Williams family and he hits that mark here. Songs abound about drug and alcohol abuse, and murder, death, and suicide. This is all of country and western's self destructiveness, compressed into one single release. Hank even takes time in the liner notes to jab a sharp stick at the Grand Ole Oprey and the Country Music Association.

If Hank lives as he writes, he is indeed going straight to hell.

I loved every song on this album. This is a must-have and needs to be place right next to Johnny Cash's final releases. Songs like "Country Heros" and "My Drinkin Problem" should be considered instant classics that cross genres. "Satan is Real/Straight to Hell" starts out like an old time gospel tune then rapidly turns into a romp & stomp hoedown. "Thrown out of the Bar" will make you want to get up and dance. "D Ray White" probably could have done without the echo effect but is excellent otherwise. "Louisiana Stripes" is just unreal. "Smoke & Wine" is a wonderfully bouncy pick fest set to a chorus of "I'm drinking & drugging, I'm having lots of fun, I always carry round a loaded shotgun," and "My drinking problem" with "My drinking problem left today, she packed up all her things and walked away" is an unbelieveable honky tonk. Hanks band is incredible, with Andy Gibson on steel, Joe Buck on the stand up bass, and Donnie Herron on fiddle.

Even if you are not a fan of country music, this is one album worth owning.

Favorites:

"Country Heros"
"Louisiana Stripes"
"My Drinking Problem"

The Violent Femmes
Hometown: Milwaukee, Wi.
http://vfemmes.com/
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Stubbs Bar-B-Q (Austin, Texas)
also: Zycos

It was a sweltering 90+ degrees at Stubbs Bar-B-Q, but for a crowd used to outdoor shows in Austin where it's commonly over 100 during the summer, the temperature had little impact as an almost full house gathered to watch the Violent Femmes plow through a playlist chock full of their best works.

Best described as a blend of folk music and what today is called "emo" (although I dread the use of that word), the Femmes are one of the bands that best epitomized the phrase "teen angst" in the 80s and 90s, playing music with a light, bubbly, punky sound that often hid dark lyrics. Never acheiving the mainstream success or radio airplay of some of their brethren like R.E.M., they established their own core cultlike following on college campuses across the U.S.

On what is billed as their 25th year anniversary tour, the Violent Femmes have a long history and deep connections with the Austin music scene. Many of the musicians that accompanied the band in their horn and sections (does a washboard belong in the section?) are either Austin natives or Austin transplants. It was good to see the band back on what for them must feel pretty close to home turf. They looked like they felt very comfortable playing to the enthusiastic crowd. The last time I saw them was in the 90s in a club called Liberty Lunch that is no more, a victim of Austin's downtown development cycle. And I swear although the audience had aged, it was the same crowd x10.

The audience didn't seem to notice the heat at all as the band worked through their catalog of songs, the cult favorites (and mine) "Blister in the Sun" and "Gone Daddy Gone" eliciting great response from the crowd. On other songs the band solicited the audience's participation and were rewarded by the throngs echoing back the chorus. When the Femmes broke into a cover of "Blue Eyes Cryin in the Rain" I half expected to see Willie Neslon amble out onstage, but alas, a guest appearance was not in the cards. I could not find fault with the bands musicianship, nor with the sound mix, and at times you could have pictured yourself listening to a recorded album rather than a live band. "American Music" and other classic Femmes tunes sounded great. I clocked the show at just over and hour and 50 minutes.

Opening for the Femmes was local Austin band (I guess ? I couldn't find much info on the web about them), Zycos, with a sound reminiscent of Tom Petty and a folksier Talking Heads. They played a short, tight set as the audience began to filter in. They were a good match for the crowd and their music complemented the headliners well.

As a side note, I am sorry that I do not have photos from this show. The Femmes had a very strict no cameras policy.

Well it wasn't a fight worthy of HBO, nor was it a title bout, but according to press reports fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger and Guns 'N' Roses front man Axl Rose had an altercation at a new club in Manhattan, which ended with Hilfiger bitch-slapping Rose for moving Hilfiger's girlfriend's drink "He just kept smacking me," said
Rose to radio station KROQ.

No word from Rose's camp as to whether he is planning on letting other fashion designers bitch-slap him but rumor has it the boys from "Queer Eye" are waiting to take him out back for launching that whole bandana fashion trend.

More here.

Uber techno-rave musician Moby has thrown his hat into the ring regarding the issue of Net Neutrality by showing up on Capitol Hill to appear with Massachusetts Democrat Edward Markey to speak out on the issue. "Why do we want to change anything?" said Moby. Then, his bloodstream engorged with adrenaline, Moby grew to 500 feet tall, and proceded to ravage the downtown D.C. area until subdued by agents of the Homeland Security Department.

Details here.

Get ready to bring your tanning butter and bottled water with you to Austin this year because regardless if the weather is hot or not the stages at Zilker park will be steamin.

The full ACL Fest lineup has been announced and this years list is certainly another example of Austin's eclectic music tastes.

2006 ACL Fest Lineup As Announced Today:

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Paolo Nutini Nada Surf Los Amigos Invisibles Feist Phoenix KT Tunstall Goldfrapp Donavon Frankenreiter Oliver Mtukudzi & Black Spirits Asleep at the Wheel Buckwheat Zydeco Husky Rescue Jimmie Dale Gilmore The Subdudes BoDeans The Greencards Guy Clark Kathleen Edwards The Long Winters The Stills Charlie Sexton Alexi Murdoch Pierre Guimard Matt Costa Ben Kweller G. Love & Special Sauce Matisyahu Gnarls Barkley Damien Rice Cat Power Ray Lamontagne Nickel Creek Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley The Tragically Hip

Kings of Leon Iron & Wine Kasey Chambers Matt Nathanson Okkervil River Ted Leo/Pharmacists Sparta Benevento Russo Duo Randy Rogers Band Federico Aubele What Made Milwaukee Famous Jose Gonzalez Ian McLagan and The Bump Band New Monsoon Del Castillo Fields Lou Ann Barton Beto and the Fairlanes I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness. Centro-matic Marah Sam Roberts Rocky Votolato Murder by Death The Black Angels Anathallo The Rocket Summer Sara Hickman Sylvia St. James and The Gospel Stars Terri Hendrix Trish Murphy Patrice Pike Aimee Mann Galactic The New Orleans Social Club Calexico

The New Pornographers Son Volt Solomon Burke & Buddy Miller Guster Explosions in the Sky deadboy & the elephantmen The Secret Machines Jack Ingram The Durdens The Jones Family Singers Sterling Lands and THE WARRIOR GOSPEL BAND Joe McDermott and the Smart Little Creatures The Biscuit Brothers Imagination Movers Elvis Perkins The New Soul Invaders South Austin Jug Band Greyhounds Star Kids Yoga Joy Davis Daniella Cotton Troy Campbell Band The Palm Elementary School Choir Asheba The White Ghost Shivers The Gospel Silvertones The Anointed Voicez Ghandaia Melissa Reaves Claire Small Eli Young Band Rodney Hayden Robyn Ludwick Peter Dawson

Certainly one should expect a number of celebrity guest appearances as in years past and a few bands will probably drop or be added as we get closer to the festival date. For more information on tickets dates and accommodations see the ACL Fest web site at http://www.aclfest.com

As you can see from the picture of my neice Samantha below, born last week, our family has always considered The Ramones to be our "family band" and we indoctrinate our children early.

I may be a LITTLE BIASED when it comes to reviewing Ramones material, but so be it.

Released just in time for Christmas last year, the Weird Tales of the Ramones box set may be the ultimate collection of Ramones music assembled in one place. At 85 songs and 93 minutes long (just kidding... one, two three, four, one, two, three, four...), the set has some rarities and b-sides along with essentially all the classics spanning the band's entire career. It also includes a documentary DVD Lifestyles of the Ramones and a comic book based history of the band along with a set of 3-D glasses, with artwork by 25 comic book artists as Matt Groening, creater of the Simpsons, Sergio Argones of Mad Magazine, and of course Zippy creator Bill Griffith.

If you only have one or two Ramones CDs, this is a great package to give you a taste of their whole career. If you have all their other discs most of the music will be redundant, with the exception of a handful of special mixes and b-sides, but the documentary and history can help justify the purchase. Even at its list price of $64.98 this box set is cheaper than buying each song one at a time at iTunes.

Personally, I have not had the opportunity to replace most of my vinyl Ramones collection with CD copies so this was a great gift for me. Kudos to our editor Christie Keith on her taste in gift selection.

Favorite Songs:

All of them

James Brown
Hometown: Macon, Ga.
http://www.funky-stuff.com/jamesbrown/
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Stubbs Bar-B-Q (Austin, Texas)

Get back - wanna kiss myslf ... heeeeyyy! heh...

The hardest working man in show business, the godfather of soul, and the man with possibly the longest intro in the history of music, rolled his show through Austin last night and a show it was. Playing to a packed audience with no opening act, the show started promptly at 9 pm, with James actually not appearing until 20 minutes later, relying on his fabulous show band to get the audience revved up.

Fifteen years or so ago I made my only trip to Las Vegas for a bachelor party. All the other guys wanted to drink and gamble. Me, I wanted to see a Vegas show. I didn't want to see Sigfried & Roy, or Wayne Newton, I wanted to see James Brown, who was playing at the Hard Rock. My attempts to drag the others away were fruitless, I missed the show, and regretted it ever since. I mean who wouldn't want to see James Brown in Las Vegas?

Well Stubb's is certainly no Vegas, but what I do at Stubb's doesn't stay at Stubb's either, and James Brown brought enough Vegas with him to sate my desire to see a show. His traveling show must have 20+ artists involved, from his tremendous brass section, to his back-up singers and dancers. He even brought his own MC to do his 20 minute intro.

Covering most of his hits, James got tremendous crowd participation as he danced, kicked his microphone, and blasted through his 90 minute set like a man half his age. While I didn't see him do the splits on-stage, its possibly because of the 7' 4" man mountain in front of me intermittently blocking my view. Unfortunately this also impacted my ability to take pictures of the show, and few that I took actually came out. This didn't impact my ability to enjoy the show however, and I shifted back out of camera range. Good thing I did because there simply was no place to dance up-front, and if there is one thing James Brown does to me, it's make my feet want to move and my head bounce up and down.

I can't think of a single bad song in the whole set, but my favorites and the crowd's were his hits, like "Living in America" and "Sex Machine," and before I knew it the show was over. It felt short, but clocked in at about an hour and 40 minutes.

Neilsen SoundScan is reporting that Tool's first release in 4 years debuted at number 1 on the album charts this week, soundly beating out (by double) Pearl Jam's latest release, which debuted at number 2. Godsmack IV dropped to number 7.

Tool's spot at the top will be brief as next week the Red Hot Chili Peppers will release a double-disk produced by Rick Rubin, Stadium Arcadium, which has already leaked onto the net.

Want to be a music journalist but have no desire to wax poetic? How bout becoming a rock & roll photographer instead? With the flood of digital cameras in the hands of the general public, just about anyone with the desire and a free user account here can be a rock & roll photographer. If you want to publish your rock & roll photos and make your mark in music journalism, we have plenty of space available in our photo gallery for your pictures and it's free!

Concert pics, backstage pics, heck even pics of you holding your pet snake in your favorite rock & roll t-shirt are all suitable to be posted in our gallery. Check it out at http://clubpix.kingsnake.com

Lord help me but I felt like I was being pelted with a bag of oranges listening to this disc. I like Godsmack, I like the band, the sound, their lyrics, but Godsmack IV just didn't get me very excited. Yes the disc has a single, "Speak," but the album feels very much like it was rushed. The songwriting feels like it was rushed as well, and some of the songs felt like they could have been matured a little more before being committed to disc.

One song they could have kept off the disc is a "sequel" to their single "Voodoo" called "Voodoo Too." I thought "Voodoo" itself was too gimmicky and hated it from minute one, and can't say much more for the sequel other than I'm glad CD players come with track selection buttons.

There are some bone-crunching tracks that sound like Godsmack standards, like "Bleed Me" and "No Rest for the Wicked," as well as "Temptation," but none of the songs really pushed me like some of their previous stuff. I think most Godsmack fans will be pleased with and enjoy the album, but honestly I think it needed to be left in the microwave a little longer for my tastes. It's still in my CD changer so I haven't given up on it.

Favorite Songs:
Speak
Bleed Me