Having come up through the indie rock tape-trading age synonymous with the 1980s and '90s, does it come as a surprise to anyone that Weezer was an avid home demo-makin' band? Anyone familiar with the band's unparalleled geekitude shouldn't be surprised, but no one could have guessed that the quality of Weezer's demos would be so good; immediately noticeable on Alone (where Cuomo is anything but—most of these tracks are full-band recordings) is the care and precision that Rivers Cuomo...
As idiosyncrasies go, few musicians can be topped by Rufus Wainwright; particularly now that the singer's adoration for Judy Garland has led him to recreate Garland's famous 1961 performance in every possible way from the set list employed to the venue in which the show occurred. Okay, that's out of the way. Now then—belief in one's ability is one thing, but execution is quite another, and the amazing part about Rufus Does Judy is that Wainwright does better than pull...
Check out this photoseries of VHS or Beta at Slim's in San Francisco as they made their way throughout the west coast in support of their latest album, Bring on the Comets, out now on Astralwerks. More on VHS or Beta here:...
A photoset from Kristoffer Rangstam's performance in San Francisco where he was opening up for Blondie, which we would've covered too if it wasn't for a publicist that thinks it's amusing to not return emails. Thanks a million. Kristoffer Ragnstam – Breakfast By The Mattress...
Remember when Kanye West flipped a shit at the MTV Europe Video Awards for losing out to the Simian vs. Justice video for that catchy “We Are Your Friends” song? Well the band of Simian is no more, but the vocalist, Simon Lord, has teamed up with Theo Keating of The Wiseguys to bring us some new music to dance to with The Black Ghosts. The Black Ghosts currently have their four-song EP out titled Any Way You Choose to...
A Les Savy Fav aftershow isn’t as cool as a Les Savy Fav show. Guitarist Seth Jabour carried his equipment back to what presumably was their van. Bassist Syd Butler and drummer Harrison Haynes talked to many of their friends who stayed behind. Even singer Tim Harrington, known for his high-wire stage antics, was subdued, decked in a Gilligan inspired Pabst Blue Ribbon hat, he jokingly apologized to the venue’s security guard whose sole purpose of the night was to...
I have to be honest here. I have heard of Yeasayer, but never actually heard Yeasayer until a few minutes ago when I received this press release from the good folks over at Motormouth Media. But after checking out "Sunrise" and "2080" i was quickly sold on the band. The release stated a few things directly from the band’s mouth. 1. They announced a North American tour.2. They announced a European tour with dates in Norway and Sweden, France, Spain,...
For better or worse (it makes fans cheer) every band that Jon Spencer has ever graced with his presence (be it Blues Explosion, Boss Hog, Pussy Galore or Heavy Trash) has had one thing in common: his trademark, over-driven "vacuum cleaner" guitar sound. That, along with his Grade Z Elvis impersonator vocals, has always been the staple of his sound and the dead giveaway that Going Way Out With… is the guitarist's turn toward straightfaced songwriting is its absence. Rather,...
To start the evening, we walked into the Viper Room in L.A. to find this crazy looking dude singing rock/pop/disco style music, which ended up being Mars locals Troy This. We said hello to the birthday girl, who happened to be friends with the girls that were throwing the show this evening. I couldn’t get over the lead singer’s completely overgrown bowl haircut. He looked like “Cool Ethan” from Slackers. The Viper Room is not a large venue. At the...