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Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse: Dark Night of the Soul Out 7/13

April 27th, 2010 | No Comments

HIGHLY ANTICIPATED DANGER MOUSE AND SPARKLEHORSE COLLABORATION OUT JULY 13

Danger Mouse

Dark Night Of The Soul is an album by audio auteur Danger Mouse and the already
much-missed Sparklehorse (who committed suicide on March 6). The record sees the pair joined by the following remarkable roll call of
guests: The Flaming Lips, Gruff Rhys, Jason Lytle, Julian Casablancas, Black Francis, Iggy Pop, David Lynch,
James Mercer, Nina Persson, Suzanne Vega and Vic Chesnutt.

Rumours of this mysterious collaborative project began to circulate in early 2009 sparking widespread anticipation
and excitement. However, whilst Dark Night Of The Soul successfully manifested itself as both a limited
edition art book with enclosed blank CDR and an audio-visual gallery installation, its music was never officially made
available. Now, following months of talks, Danger Mouse and EMI are excited and proud to announce that Dark
Night Of The Soul will be released worldwide in July.

Whilst this beautiful, haunting record being made widely and legitimately available is undoubtedly a cause for
celebration, the news is shadowed by sadness following the recent passing of Mark Linkous, who released
and performed under the Sparklehorse pseudonym. Dark Night Of The Soul will now stand as a de facto
tribute to this well-loved, stunningly talented yet often-overlooked artist and has received the blessing of Mark’s
family who have issued the following statement: “Mark felt that it was an honor to be able to collaborate with so
many of the artists on this record. His time and dedication to this project was immense and his hopes for its release
are finally being realized. We are glad that people will now be able to hear these songs and know the beautiful gift
that Mark shared with all of us through his music.”

Danger Mouse adds: “I told Mark that we’d worked things out with EMI back in January and he was very happy that
the album was finally going to be released this year. Mark meant a great deal to a lot of people and I’m grateful to
have made music with him and to be a part of his legacy.”

Dark Night Of The Soul is also dedicated to the memory of Vic Chesnutt.

In addition to featuring on two songs, David Lynch has created a series of original photographs for Dark Night Of
The Soul adding a spectacular visual dimension that will be incorporated in to the artwork for this already
unparalleled project.

Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse’s Dark Night Of The Soul will be released on July 12 in the U.K. through
Parlophone/EMI and on July 13 in the U.S. via EMI’s Capitol Records.

Danger Mouse Tour Dates :: Danger Mouse News :: Danger Mouse Concert Reviews

Lilith Fair 2010: Artists Announced For 8 Cities

March 17th, 2010 | No Comments

DETAILS FOR PORTLAND, SEATTLE, CHICAGO AND MORE

“Lilith Fair: Seriously, you might wanna go to this…” – USA Today

Sarah McLachlan

The 2010 Lilith Fair Tour has officially announced dates, venues and artists for eight of the 36 North American cities the summer festival will hit this summer. At the same time, Las Vegas, Cleveland and Kansas City were revealed as the final three additions to the 36-city run. Tickets for initial shows will go on-sale to the general public beginning Saturday, March 27.

Much like the original Lilith Fair, there will be 11 artists on each date, with only two consistencies per show: the Lilith Local Talent Search Ourstage.com winner who starts the day and headliner Sarah McLachlan. The remaining acts on the line-up are constantly rotating from among more than 80 acts.

The following is the list of dates that go on-sale on Saturday, March 27. For the specific lineup at each of the eight announced dates go to Lilith Fair website.

Lilith Fair 2010 Dates with Lineup/Venue Details

Fri, Jul 2 Portland, OR The Amphitheatre at Clark County
Sat, Jul 3 George, WA The Gorge Amphitheatre
Sat, Jul 17 Chicago, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
Tues, July 20 Indianapolis, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center
Sat, Jul 24 Toronto, ON Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
Tues, July 27 Cleveland, OH Blossom Music Center **
Sun, Aug 8 Atlanta, GA Aaron’s Amphitheatre
Tues, Aug 10 W. Palm Beach, FL Cruzan Amphitheatre

(**Tickets go on-sale April 3)

Full list of artists announced so far:
A Fine Frenzy, Anjulie, Ann Atomic, Anya Marina, Ash Koley, The Bangles, Beth Orton, Brandi Carlile, Butterfly Boucher, Cat Power, Ceci Bastida, Chairlift, Chantal Kreviazuk, Colbie Caillat, Corinne Bailey Rae, Court Yard Hounds, Donna Delory, Elizaveta, Emmylou Harris, Erin McCarley, Erykah Badu, Frazey Ford, The Go-Go’s, Gossip, Grace Potter and The Nocturnals, Heart, Ima, Indigo Girls, Ingrid Michaelson, Janelle Monae, Jennifer Knapp, Jesca Hoop, Jill Hennessy, Jill Scott, Julia Othmer, Kate Miller-Heidke, Kate Nash Katzenjammer, Kelly Clarkson, Ke$ha, La Roux, Lights, Lissie, Loretta Lynn, Lucy Schwartz, Marina & The Diamonds, Martina McBride, Mary J. Blige, Meaghan Smith, Melissa McClelland, Metric, Miranda Lambert, Miranda Lee Richards, Missy Higgins, Nikki Jean, Nneka, Norah Jones, Priscilla Renea, The Rescues, Rosie Thomas, Sara Bareilles, Sarah McLachlan, Serena Ryder, Sheryl Crow, Sia, Sugarland, Susan Justice, Suzanne Vega, Tara MacLean, Tegan and Sara, Toby Lightman, Vedera, Vita Chambers, The Submarines, The Weepies, Ximena Sarinana, Zee Avi

Full list of cities revealed so far:
Atlanta, Austin*, Birmingham, Boston, Calgary, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Edmonton, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City*, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Minneapolis*, Montreal, Nashville*, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Raleigh, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa, Toronto, Vancouver, DC and West Palm Beach

fun.: Tour Dates

February 17th, 2010 | No Comments

fun. Announce Spring Tour Dates With Motion City Soundtrack and Paramore
Winter Tour With Jack’s Mannequin Kicks Off

fun.

The 2010 touring season is officially in effect for fun. Almost two weeks into their month long winter tour with Jack’s Mannequin, the rock/pop trio is excited to announce Spring tour dates with both Motion City Soundtrack (April 6 – April 25) and Paramore (w/ Reliant K April 26 – May 16), including a stop at Bamboozle on May 2 in New Jersey.

Additionally, the band will make their way overseas to play their first ever show in London at The Social on March 23.

To celebrate the kick-off of their 2010 tour season, fun. has just released the single, “At Least I’m Not as Sad (As I Used To Be),” as a 7″ vinyl that also includes a clear CD.

fun. recently won the Independent Music Award (IMA) for the Pop/Rock Song Category for hit track “All The Pretty Girls” off their 2009 debut Aim and Ignite. Winners were chosen by a panel of judges made up of industry professionals including Tom Waits, The Black Keys, Mark Hoppus, Aimee Mann, Suzanne Vega and Zooey Deschanel.

Tour Dates:

With Jack’s Mannequin:

Feb. 17 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
Feb. 19 – Kansas City, MO @ The Beaumont
Feb. 20 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
Feb. 22 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
Feb. 23 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
Feb. 24 – Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room
Feb. 25 – Ann Arbor, MI @ Blind Pig
Feb. 26 – Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy
Mar. 1 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
Mar. 3 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Mar. 5 – Norfolk, VA @ The Norva

Headline Show In U.K.

Mar. 23 – London, U.K. @ The Social

With Motion City Soundtrack:

Apr 6 – Duluth, MN @ Grandmas Sports Garden Bar @ Grill
Apr 7 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
Apr 9 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
Apr 12 – Nashville, TN @ Rocketown
Apr 13 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
Apr 15 – Iowa City, IA @The Blue Moose Tap House
Apr 16 – Ames, IA @ Iowa State University
Apr 17 – Winona, MN @ McCown Fieldhouse
Apr 19 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
Apr 20 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
Apr 21 – Gainesville, FL @ The Venue
Apr 24 – St Petersburg, FL @ State Theatre
Apr 25 – Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House of Blues

With Paramore:

Apr. 26 – Knoxville, TN @ Knoxville Civic Coliseum
Apr. 28 – Charlottesville, VA @ John Paul Jones Arena
Apr. 30 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Trump Taj Mahal – Mark G Etess Arena
May 2 – East Rutherford, NJ @ Meadowlands Sports Complex (Bamboozle)
May 3 – Columbus, OH @ The LC Amphitheatre
May 4 – Grand Rapids, MI @ DeltaPlex
May 6 – Rockford, IL @ Rockford MetroCentre
May 7 – Moline, IL @ i Wireless Center
May 8 – Council Bluffs, IA @ WestFair Amphitheatre
May 10 – Salt Lake City, UT @ E Center
May 12 – Seattle, WA @ WaMu Theater
May 15 – Bakersfield, CA @ Rabobank Arena
May 16 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint

SXSW: Partial Band List/Panels

February 2nd, 2010 | No Comments

SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST ANNOUNCES PARTIAL BAND LIST, PANEL INFO, STAGE NEWS

Pretty Lights

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Conference and Festival, scheduled to take place March 17-21, 2010 in Austin, Texas, is pleased to announce a few of the bands scheduled to perform, artists that are participating on panels and exciting changes at the SXSW Day Stage.

This year’s SXSW Music Conference will feature some notable artists that will be speaking on panels taking place in the Austin Convention Center. Judy Collins shares her thoughts on Where Goes English Folk Music?, John Doe joins Ian Rogers‘ panel The Cultural Significance of Direct-to-Fan Marketing, DJ Spooky encourages the spread of music into established cultural institutions in Performing Arts: New Frontier for Live Acts, Melissa Auf Der Mar exhibits her photographic side on Image Makers Of Rock and Soul, Suzanne Vega kicks MP3 butt on Music Artists: Getting A Digital Ass-Kicking, Andrew WK dissects rock star myths on What Becomes A Legend Most, Chris Walla highlights his studio work on Producers Adapt & Survive, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth recall early gigs on CBGBs Stories, and Anya Marina talks soundtracks on Case Study: New Moon.

Join these artists and over 350 other speakers for an enlightening look at the past, present and future of the music industry.

The SXSW Day Stage also in the Austin Convention Center, will be partnering with six great radio stations from around the country who will present Day Stage performances on their airwaves. These are KCRW, KEXP, WXPN, The Current, KUT, and Mexico City’s Reactor.

Each station will present a three hour block of music. Highlighting KCRW‘s block on Saturday March 20 will be Rogue Wave, Middle East and Lissie. More artists will be announced soon. SXSW Day Stage performances take place in Ballroom D from 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.

SXSW Initial Band List (selected from over 10,000 entries)

!!! (Brooklyn, NY)
Amaral (Madrid, SPAIN)
Anita Tijoux (Santiago, CHILE)
Apoptygma Berzerk (Oslo, NORWAY)
Athlete (London, ENGLAND)
Bajofondo (Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA)
Balkan Beat Box (Tel Aviv, ISRAEL)
Band of Skulls (London, ENGLAND)
Bear In Heaven (Brooklyn, NY)
Black Milk (Detroit, MI)
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (Los Angeles, CA)
Bomba Estereo (Bogota, Colombia)
Broken Social Scene (Toronto, CANADA)
Chalie Boy (Hearne, TX)
Chamillionaire & Paul Wall (Houston, TX)
Cymbals Eat Guitars (New York, NY)
Deer Tick (Providence, RI)
Evan Dando (New York, NY)
Frightened Rabbit (Selkirk, SCOTLAND)
Fucked Up (Toronto, CANADA)
Grant Hart (St. Paul, MN)
Hauschka (Dusseldorf, GERMANY)
Here We Go Magic (Brooklyn, NY)
Hudson Mohawke (Glasgow, SCOTLAND)
Invincible (Detroit, MI)
jj (Gothenburg, SWEDEN)
Killer Mike (Atlanta, GA)
LA Riots (Los Angeles, CA)
Les Savy Fav (Brooklyn, NY)
Maldita Vecindad (Mexico City, MEXICO)
Marina & The Diamonds (London, ENGLAND)
Mayer Hawthorne & The County (Ann Arbor, MI)
Midlake (Denton, TX)
Miike Snow (Stockholm, SWEDEN)
Mr Hudson (London, ENGLAND)
Mundo Livre SA (Recife, BRAZIL)
Murs (Los Angeles, CA)
Natalia Lafourcade (Mexico City, MEXICO)
Pretty Lights (Charlottesville, VA)
Rye Rye (Baltimore, MD)
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings (Brooklyn, NY)
She & Him (Los Angeles, CA)
Shwayze (Malibu, CA)
Spoon (Austin, TX)
Steve Aoki (Los Angeles, CA)
Systema Solar (Taganga, COLOMBIA)
Texas Tornados (San Antonio, TX)
The Drums (Brooklyn, NY)
The Middle East (Townsville, AUSTRALIA)
The Soft Pack (San Diego, CA)
The Very Best (New York, NY)
The xx (London, ENGLAND)
Trae (Houston, TX)
VV Brown (London, ENGLAND)
Wolfgang Gartner (Austin, TX)

This list is subject to change. This is only a portion of the bands that will be performing at the SXSW Music Festival.

For more on SXSW, check out our 2009 coverage here.

Chief Sign To Domino Records Free Single “Mighty Proud”

December 8th, 2009 | No Comments

CHIEF SIGN TO DOMINO RECORDS AND GIVE AWAY FIRST SINGLE, “MIGHTY PROUD”

Chief

Chief have officially signed to Domino Records, and have digitally released their first single, “Mighty Proud,” on the venerated label. Also featured is the B-side “Stealing.”

Chief create rollicking melodic music which captures a time where storytelling was at the core of composition, and bands were followed by fans who believed in what they stood for and knew all the words to prove it. “Mighty Proud” and “Stealing” are as care free as they are filled with purpose. Evan Koga (vocals/guitar), brothers Danny and Michael Fujikawa (vocals/guitar and drums, respectively), and Mike Moonves (bass) evoke nostalgia in their earthy, freewheeling rock that is sure to resonate with fans who crave something more than the fare offered by flash-in-the-pan bands.

Originally from Los Angeles, Chief officially formed while living in New York attending the creative hotbed of NYU. Having recently returned to Santa Monica, CA, the band are making preparations to record their debut album for Domino Records with Grammy award winning producer Emery Dobyns (Antony & the Johnsons, Suzanne Vega, Noah and the Whale) for a spring 2010 release.

The band’s first official release appeared on London’s Chess Club label, featuring these two tracks as a limited edition 7″ for the U.K. alone.

In addition to Chief playing Glastonbury this year, “Mighty Proud” received multiple plays at BBC Radio 1 (Zane Lowe), BBC Radio 2, and XFM Evening Playlist, to name a few. Stateside, Seattle’s KEXP has come on as an early supporter surrounding their select 2009 CMJ shows.

The Lemonheads: Varshons

November 11th, 2009 | No Comments

By: Ron Hart

As fans of Evan Dando‘s lively spins on such tunes as Suzanne Vega’s “Luka”, Simon and Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson,” and “Frank Mills” from the musical Hair know, few acts from the 1990s commercial alt-rock boom could deliver a cover tune quite like The Lemonheads. And if you’re the type of fan who prefers Dando karaoke to his original material, you need to check out his latest album since resurrecting The Lemonheads name, which is also his label debut for the otherwise metal-centric imprint The End Records.

Varshons is an 11 song set that finds Dando and co. delivering low-key covers of some of his favorite tracks from the deep nether regions of his album collection. For the most part, the album is centered around a pretty, alt-country haze, featuring songs tailor-made for this theme, from Gram Parsons’ “I Just Can’t Take It Anymore” and Townes Van Zandt’s “Waiting Around To Die” to countrified renditions of songs that you never thought twang-worthy, including Wire’s Pink Flag rave-up “Fragile” and an absolutely ingenious reading of GG Allin’s “Laying Up With Linda” that really removes the crust from GG’s tortured, controversial image to reveal the heart of a fairly great songwriter.

However, Varshons also contains some pretty neat surprises outside of the country box as well, most notably a fun run through “Dirty Robot” from Dutch electro-duo Arling and Cameron (featuring guest vocals from supermodel Kate Moss), and a scrappy, stirring reading of “Beautiful”, Linda Perry’s smash hit for Christina Aguilera that Dando makes entirely his own. Nothing against The Lemonheads’ original stuff – I mean, “My Drug Buddy” and “Mallo Cup” are definitely some of the all-time singles of modern rock – but perhaps Dando should follow the lead of his fellow Clinton-era alt-rock superhero-turned-cooler-than-cool cover act Matthew Sweet and prepare a second volume of Varshons.

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Indigo Girls: Poseidon And The Bitter Bug

October 1st, 2009 | No Comments

By: Bill Clifford

The Atlanta-based duo of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have been writing, recording and performing music together as the Indigo Girls for more than twenty years. Their debut recording, 1987′s Strange Fire, was independently released and then later re-released via Columbia Records. With their eleventh studio recording, Poseidon and the Bitter Bug, they’ve come full circle, releasing the CD on their own independent imprint label, IG Records, distributed via Vanguard Records.

The new CD finds the duo working again with veteran producer Mitchell Froom (Neil Finn, Richard Thompson, Suzanne Vega). It’s a double CD, with one disc being a full band recording of ten songs while the second offers barebones, acoustic versions of the same songs plus one that didn’t make the full band disc, harkening back to the acoustic folk of Strange Fire.

The songs are placed in a different order on each disc, and initially, the full band recording resonates a little more and warrants repeat listens. For instance, the full band version of “Digging For Your Dreams” is haunting and ethereal, fleshed out with a slow but cadent rhythm, lush organ swells and pitch perfect, digitally touched up vocals. The acoustic version focuses the attention on the sparse guitars, lovely, lilting harmonies and harsh, heart wrenching lyrics like, “I went looking for the answers from someone I heard believes that life gets easier/ You learn how to breathe or you learn how to grieve the past.”

Elsewhere, that same sparse instrumentation bares a strong resemblance to Strange Fire. On the upbeat, hooky “Love Of Our Lives” one can imagine oneself on a backyard porch with a small crowd, singing along at the top of their lungs with Ray and Saliers strumming their guitars.

The Indigo Girls remain committed to social, political and environmental issues in their songwriting. On “Salty South,” the bonus acoustic track, they sing about Native American folklore and the glorious sunsets of early America compared to those we see today in picture frames with no sense of time. Sweet banjo adds a dulcet tone to the duo’s lilting harmonies.

The additional instrumentation and polished production on the full band recording serves “Second Time Around” well, with Ray’s mandolin mixing sweetly with banjo. On the full band CD rockers such as “What Are You Like” and “Ghost Of The Gang” are rousing and upbeat with electric guitar and steady drums and bass, while on the acoustic versions one doesn’t necessarily miss the rock instrumentation.

The collective experiences between these two singer-songwriters, including Ray’s solo punk excursions, have established the Indigo Girls as career artists. Their independence from the corporate music world reinforces their integrity, though it was never in doubt. Whether listening to the full band recordings or the acoustic versions, Poseidon And The Bitter Bug affirms their status as musical icons who continue to live up to the high standards they’ve set for themselves for more than two decades.

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