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OFF! | NYC | Review

December 6th, 2010 | No Comments

By: Ron Hart

OFF! :: 10.22.10 :: Generation Records :: New York, NY

OFF!’s debut, The First Four EPs, is out digitally worldwide. iTunes has the exclusive bonus track “Zero Hour” and eMusic has the exclusive bonus track “Sexy Capitalists.” The vinyl box set and cassette versions of The First Four EPs will be released on December 14th.

OFF! by Dan Monick

For a guy who collects vinyl, having to wait in line for a show in the basement of one of your favorite record shops instead of thumbing through the racks is a practice in restraint no crate digger worth his weight in wax should be required to endure. But when the concert you are waiting to see is an intimate performance from former Black Flag/Circle Jerks frontman Keith Morris’ new California punkcore supergroup OFF!, it is well worth the torture.

Formed by Morris in 2009 and rounded out by guitarist Dimitri Coats of Burning Brides, Rocket from the Crypt drummer Mario Rubalcaba and Steven McDonald of Red Kross fame on bass guitar, the band is a total throwback to the days when punk rock was a bloodsport, a time that Morris fondly recalled several times over the course of OFF!’s half-hour set.

In fact, right when we walked down the steps of Generation Records’ nugget-rich used section that comprises the basement, Morris was in the middle of a yarn about his old bandmate in Black Flag, Robo, making extra money in the old days allegedly digging ditches for a snuff film operation before OFF! tore into an uncompromising mini-set that featured select tunes from the band’s excellently brief 7-inch box set The First Four EPs. As records by Iggy Pop, AC/DC, David Bowie and The Who adorned the wall behind them, the quartet played loud, fast and fearless, tearing through minute-long songs like “Darkness,” “Killing Away” and “Fuck People” with the tenacity of a far younger band, interspersed with Morris musing on everything from the capitalist practices of his former peers on the L.A. scene like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Gwen Stefani to meeting guitarist McDonald when he was just an 11-year-old Black Flag fan who used to sneak into shows.

However, the most poignant moment of the evening came when Morris performed a stirring, ferocious tribute to his old pal, the late Jeffrey Lee Pierce of western punk icons The Gun Club, and with whom Keith was in the early stages of working on a musical collaboration before Pierce tragically succumbed to a brain hemorrhage in 1996.

And nothing was cooler than seeing this whole thing go down at Generation, a place where so many NYC punk fans discovered the dreadlocked trail of inspiration, influence and energy Keith Morris has blazed for over 30 years and continues to do so as a 55-year-old creating some of the most incendiary sounds of the 21st century.

JamBase | Pissed Off
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12 Musicians & Bands Snubbed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

June 16th, 2010 | No Comments

Controversy has surrounded the Hall of Fame in regards to how the nomination process is run, since only a few individuals are behind it — and they’re not even musicians.

Thom Yorke/Atoms For Peace | 04.05 | NYC

April 14th, 2010 | No Comments

Words by: Nick Todaro | Images by: Josh Jarrett

Thom Yorke/Atoms For Peace :: 04.05.10 :: Roseland Ballroom :: New York, NY

Yorke & Flea – Atoms For Peace :: 04.05 :: NYC

Beneath the digital glitter that the world refers to as Times Square, there’s a hidden layer of contextual meaning that provides an explanation as to why our world has become so hectically distorted. Taking a look around this area, advertising displays dominate the landscape; completely side swiping the architectural marvels that wait at every corner and undermining the gritty sincerity such a metropolis has to offer. For the average tourist, looking up at the Roseland Ballroom‘s marquee displaying “Atoms For Peace: Sold Out” must have meant absolutely nothing amidst the sea of endless billboards. However, if you were one of the people waiting in the line wrapping around the block to get into to the Roseland, it meant nothing less than the world.

Back in October, Thom Yorke assembled an all-star backing band consisting of Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, R.E.M. and Beck touring drummer Joey Waronker and percussionist Mauro Refosco of Forro in the Dark to play Yorke’s solo material. Now performing under the name Atoms For Peace, the group kicked off their first tour in New York.

DJ mastermind Flying Lotus opened the evening by delivering an animated set to an eager audience. For the majority of his performance, FlyLo grooved and lip-synced his way around the material while keeping his beats well knit. Regardless of his skills as a DJ, the Roseland’s speakers were not able to handle the bass frequency of the performance. Cracking thuds kept interrupting the sound quality during the most unfortunate of moments. Ending his set with a remix of Radiohead’s “Idioteque,” FlyLo hyped the crowd right when they needed it most. “It’s almost that time,” he announced as the song came to a halt and the house lights came back up.

Atoms For Peace :: 04.05 :: NYC

A half hour later the fervent audience erupted into applause as the room went dark once again. Walking to the left side of the stage, Thom Yorke sat down at his piano to commence a full band recreation of his 2006 solo album The Eraser with the LP’s title track. Along with the addition of a horn player, the band expanded towards a much denser sound than the record displays and instantly threw the crowd into a sonic trance.

Continuing the album in sequence, “Analyse” gave Yorke a chance to demonstrate his arcane falsetto. As the Ballroom attendees continued to fill the room with cheers, Mauro Refosco grabbed hold of a Whamola to add a compelling new element to “The Clock.” After upbeat favorite “Black Swan,” another instrumental surprise occurred with Flea – who happened to be rocking blue hair – swapping out his bass guitar for a melodica to produce a spellbinding version of “Skip Divided.” Together, Yorke and Flea looked like a couple of snake charmers dancing underneath the entrancing arsenal of green pulsating luminosity. Clearly, these guys were having an absolute blast.

Godrich’s stalky silhouette hovered over an assortment of electronics and synthesizers while keeping busy on “Atoms For Peace” and “It Rained All Night.” Both of these songs received a huge crowd response, especially during the latter’s stand out line, “And it rained all night and washed the filth away/ Down New York air condition drains.” Keeping the energy level high, “Harrowdown Hill” gave Flea a rare opportunity to return to his slap bass roots, which attached a new layer of funkiness to the tune. As “Cymbal Rush” concluded the opening set, eyes remained fixated on the whirling figures up on the stage.

Thom Yorke – Atoms For Peace :: 04.05 :: NYC

After a brief encore break, Yorke returned to perform a few songs solo. “Boy! There’s a lot of stuff to remember in those songs. Speaking of remembering, here’s one you’ve never heard before,” he said before debuting “Chris Hodge/Let Me Take Control.” The number features a trill vocal performance by Yorke as he supplely finger picks his way around the guitar. Following this was a piano driven “Daily Mail,” which Yorke debuted last summer. Building up to the song’s pinnacle of pouncing chords, Yorke sent the crowd into a frenzy as he finished and went into the Radiohead classic “Everything In Its Right Place.”

After another short break the rest of the guys rejoined Yorke, and the group dove into the Radiohead b-side “Paperbag Writer” before plunging into a new Radiohead track entitled “Judge, Jury, Executioner.” Held together by a bouncy rhythmic core, the song boasts a dimension of gloominess that’s become one of the signature elements of Radiohead’s music. Grinning, Yorke added a sense of foreshadowing to the last songs by stating, “We’re about to get crazy up here.” Soon, the room became immersed in a battle between jumpy bass patterns and frantic percussion rhythms during “Hollow Earth.” Similarly, “Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses” felt completely disorderly with its changing time signature, while maintaining a strict composition that could only have been masterminded by Yorke. Ending the track in a glitchy jam, the band waved their final goodbyes and the crowd pleaded for more.

Walking out of the Roseland and back into the dizzying clutter of lights in Times Square, many seemed to be wondering if these live performances would result in the group collaborating on an album together or further touring. Underneath the tangled assortment of propagated messages, experiencing something with such a consequential vibe to it seemed far too genuine to have a limited number of occurrences. If Atoms For Peace is any indication of Yorke continuing his career outside of Radiohead, we’re in for one hell of a ride.

var siteRoot=”http://www.jambase.com”;var newPhotoIndex=”1″;$(document).ready( function() { $(“#GalleryWidget”).load(siteRoot+”/Photos/Widget.aspx?galleryID=20″);}); Thom Yorke / Atoms For Peace | Roseland Ballroom | New York, NY Thom Yorke’s new band Atoms For Peace kick off their tour at New York’s Roseland Ballroom to a sold out crowd… View Photos

Thom Yorke/Atoms For Peace:: 04.05.10 :: Roseland Ballroom :: New York, NY
The Eraser, Analyse, The Clock, Black Swan, Skip Divided, Atoms For Peace, And It Rained All Night, Harrowdown Hill, Cymbal Rush

E: ChrisHodge/Let Me Take Control (NEW SONG)*, The Daily Mail*, Everything In Its Right Place*

E2: Paperbag Writer, Judge, Jury & Executioner, Hollow Earth, Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses

* = Yorke Solo

Atoms For Peace Tour Dates :: Atoms For Peace News :: Atoms For Peace Concert Reviews

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Earl Greyhound: New Album

February 8th, 2010 | No Comments

EARL GREYHOUND TO RELEASE SUSPICIOUS PACKAGE APRIL 13

Earl Greyhound

Brooklyn trio Earl Greyhound will release their second full length album, Suspicious Package, a blistering rock inferno, on April 13. Suspicious Package was recorded at Red Bull Studios in Santa Monica, CA under the nimble and keen production auspices of Dave Schiffman (Mars Volta, Red Hot Chili Peppers, System of a Down).

The band formed in 2002 with the collaboration of songwriters Matt Whyte and Kamara Thomas, who began performing regularly as a duo in New York City. All the while, they were crafting the unique sound and songs that would form the foundation for a colossal rock band. Their influences swept from the strident English three-and four-pieces of the 70′s, to the dark pop and heavy grunge grooves of the 90′s, to the transcendental, noisy acid sounds of modern rock.

In 2005, Earl Greyhound recorded their first album, Soft Targets, but also hit their first snag when drummer Chris Bear left to pursue his fortunes with the band Grizzly Bear. Reluctant to release the album without a permanent drummer, Matt and Kamara vowed to play relentlessly until their dream drummer found them.

Later, guitar player Kirk Douglass (The Roots) witnessed a show and brought his friend and Gold Crowns band mate Ricc Sheridan to the next few gigs. Says Ricc, “I awoke from a dream one night, and I knew this was my band.” A few weeks later, a rockneck-inducing jam confirmed that the band had found its soul mate, and they hit the ground running. Soft Targets and Earl Greyhound’s wrecking ball of a live show earned them oodles of fans and critical acclaim from The New Yorker, SPIN, Rolling Stone, JamBase, Brooklyn Vegan and Pitchfork, among others.

The next three years were spent touring the U.S., Canada and Japan as well as opening for Gov’t Mule, Chris Cornell and Saul Williams.

Suspicious Package marks a turning point in the band’s maturation since the benefit of Sheridan’s full creative collaboration. Listeners will notice a marked expansion into the higher reaches of the sonic territories.

Suspicious Package Track Listing

1. The Eyes Of Cassandra (Part 1)
2. The Eyes Of Cassandra (Part 2)
3. Oye Vaya
4. Ghost And The Witness
5. Shotgun
6. Holy Immortality
7. Sea Of Japan
8. Black Sea Vacation
9. Bill Evans
10. Out Of Air
11. Misty Morning

Earl Greyhound tour dates available here.

And for more on Earl Greyhound, see our 2007 feature here.

Madonna invests Â£937K in coconut water manufacturing firm

February 2nd, 2010 | No Comments

Queen of pop Madonna has invested 937,000 pounds in a coconut water manufacturing firm after she fell in love with the drink during her Sticky & Sweet world tour.
Madonna, 51, along with her manager Guy Oseary, snapped up shares of New York-based company Vita Coco, which sells the latest trendy beverage across the U.S.
And [...]

Frusciante No Longer A Red Hot Chili Pepper

December 17th, 2009 | No Comments

John Frusciante No Longer In the Red Hot Chili Peppers

John Frusciante

Thanks to Pitchfork, we’ve learned that super-shredder John Frusciante is no longer in Red Hot Chili Peppers. Turns out the guitar ace actually quit about a year ago. Here’s the “Clarification” from Frusciante’s MySpace page:

When I quit the band, over a year ago, we were on an indefinite hiatus. There was no drama or anger involved, and the other guys were very understanding. They are supportive of my doing whatever makes me happy and that goes both ways.

To put it simply, my musical interests have led me in a different direction. Upon rejoining, and throughout my time in the band, I was very excited about exploring the musical possibilities inherent in a rock band, and doing so with those people in particular. A couple of years ago, I began to feel that same excitement again, but this time it was about making a different kind of music, alone, and being my own engineer.

I really love the band and what we did. I understand and value that my work with them means a lot to many people, but I have to follow my interests. For me, art has never been something done out of a sense of duty. It is something I do because it is really fun, exciting, and interesting. Over the last 12 years, I have changed, as a person and artist, to such a degree that to do further work along the lines I did with the band would be to go against my own nature. There was no choice involved in this decision. I simply have to be what I am, and have to do what I must do.

Sending love and gratitude to you all.

:-)

Frusciante has released several solo albums, the most recent was The Empyrean (January 20, 2009).

This departure is the second time Frusciante has quit the Chili Peppers. He joined the band in 1988 following the death of original guitarist Hillel Slovak and quit the first time in 1992. He rejoined the band in 1999. No replacement has been announced, but Pitchfork and MusicRadar are reporting that the Peppers have been working with Josh Klinghoffer.

Red Hot Chili Peppers to end hiatus this fall

August 1st, 2009 | No Comments

After a lengthy hiatus, Red Hot Chili Peppers are reuniting in October this year.
While ending split reports, drummer Chad Smith insisted he and his bandmates plan to “jam” together for the first time in two years, reports Contactmusic.
Smith tells Billboard.com, “Everybody was like, ”Y”know, I really like having this time off, not being a Chili [...]