Neil Young revisits "Thrasher" in L.A.

Neil pulled out the rarely heard Thrasher at the Dolby Theatre as seen in this security-shortened clip. 

Happy Birthday Johnny Dowd!

LINKS
site http://www.johnnydowd.com/

Elvis Costello solo @ Massey Hall on June 14

Elvis Costello has announced ten new "SOLO" tour dates in North America beginning June 9th, the first time since 1999 (when touring with keyboardist Steve Nieve) that he's headlined the area with such a stripped down setup. For the last several years, Costello has been playing about a month of solo dates in the U.S. a year, region by region. They are some of the most adventurous and lauded performances of his career -- the last run in November 2013 was called “remarkable” (Esquire) and "exhilarating" (American Songwriter) -- and they reflect the musician's astonishing breadth of material.

In Los Angeles in 2012, the OC Register called Costello's solo show "spellbinding" and said that Costello's set list "touched on cornerstone numbers and obscurities of his own, but...also dipped back to pre-Elvis, pre-Beatles, pre-the-other-Elvis and prewar tunes that illustrated his familial roots in the riches of both the Great American Songbook and England’s dance hall and music theater traditions."

In November, 2013,  the DCist pointed out that "It’d be tough to name another songwriter who’s produced as much original material over the last 35 years, and it’s impossible to name another who mines his back catalog as equitably onstage. Most artists have only a handful of songs they’ll ever play from any particular album. With Elvis, any tune he’s ever released is fair game." The Washington Post wrote that “Costello showed that real rockers don’t need amplification or sound processors to rock out."

Elvis Costello - SOLO  June North American Tour Dates:

All tickets on-sale Friday, March 28 except as noted

Monday 9th St. Paul, MN - O’Shaughnessy

Tuesday 10th  Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theatre

Wednesday 11th  Chicago, IL – Copernicus Center (on-sale April 5th)

Friday 13th Ann Arbor, MI – Michigan Theater

Saturday 14th Toronto, ON – Massey Hall

Monday 16th Cleveland, OH – Palace

Tuesday 17th Louisville, KY – Palace

Thursday 19th Atlanta GA – Cobb Energy Centre

Friday 20th Knoxville, TN – Tennessee Theatre

Saturday 21st Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium

Happy Birthday Steve Turner!

Enjoy this clip of Steve with Mr. Epp & The Calculations at Metropolis in 1984.

One For The Weekend: The Dream Syndicate

Happy 50th Birthday Scott "Deluxe" Drake!

Here's a clip of Scott performing with The Humpers at Toronto's Sneaky Dee's in 1994. 

Dave Bingham pens Ugly Ducklings tell-all

Written by Ugly Ducklings' lead vocalist Dave Bingham, Noise From The North End: The Amazing Story Of The Ugly Ducklings follows the career of the legendary 60s garage rock band from their Scarborough origins through their major hit parade successes to their re-emegernce as the favourite 60s gararge band of the punk rock movement in New York & Toronto and beyond. 
Exploits and touring stories abound, with descriptions of opening for The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys and many other iconic acts of the 60s, 70s, 80s & 90s. 
Of particular note are the descriptions of recording their seminal debut album Somewhere Outside in Toronto, their snotty proto-punk anthem Nothin' and their chart topping hit Gaslight in New York during the summer of love in 1967. Have a look at an excerpt right here.  

Whaddya mean you don't know Hanggai

Mongolian crew Hanggai have just issued their third album Baifang on Harlem Recordings

Bruno Spoerri Versus Jay-Z

See if you notice any similarity between Bruno Spoerri's On The Way and Jay-Z's Versus.

Happy Birthday Martin Short!

Celebrating the 64th birthday of Hamilton's own Martin Short with a Queen Haters clip.

Odonis Odonis get all Hieronymus Bosch with new animated video

"Order In The Court" is taken from the Odonis Odonis album Hard Boiled Soft Boiled due April 15.

UPCOMING ODONIS ODONIS TOUR DATES:

April 10 Hamilton, ON - The Baltimore House + April 11 Québec City, QC - Les Nuits Psychédéliques de Québec @ Le Cercle * 
April 13 New York, NY - Baby's All Right ~
April 14 Washington DC - Black Cat
April 16 Durham, NC - The Pinhook
April 18 Athens, GA - World Famous
April 20 Baton Rouge, LA - Mud And Water 
April 21 Austin, TX - Mohawk (Inside)
April 22 Dallas, TX - Club Dada
April 25 Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge
June 19-20 Toronto, ON - NXNE 

+ w/ Weaves
* w/ Hellshovel, PyPy, Tonstartssbandht 
~ w/ Yamantaka / Sonic Titan

Watch Sharon Jones on Jimmy Kimmel Live

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings Canadian Shows:

April 4 -- Victoria BC -- Alix Goolden Hall [SOLD OUT]

April 5 -- Vancouver BC -- Commodore Ballroom [SOLD OUT]

April 8 -- Winnipeg MB -- Burton Cummings Theatre

June 3 -- Ottawa ON -- Algonquin Commons Theatre

June 4 -- Montreal QC -- Corona Theatre

June 5 -- London ON -- London Music Hall

June 6 -- Toronto ON -- Massey Hall

Listen to the new Black Keys' tune Fever

Akron's Black Keys salute Ghoulardi with their new album Turn Blue due May 13. Check out "Fever" below.

Hear Quantic & Beto's swingin' tropical Discoteca mix

Check out Quantic and Beto's dope new' 78-minute mix of vintage Latin 45s below.

¡Discoteca! at the 303: Quantic & Beto
 

Spend 28 minutes with the Bottle Rockets

You can catch the Bottle Rockets live at The Sportsmen's Tavern in Buffalo on June 3.

 

Check out the deluxe edition of the Bottle Rockets first two albums right here

Human Eye's Timmy Vulgar vs. Mantis monster

Be sure to grab a copy of the latest Human Eye album 4: Into Unknown on Goner Records.

Madlib digs the Radio France archives

Our man considers running out the door with a rare Saba pressing of Happy Girl by Nathan Davis.

Happy Birthday Gord Cumming!

You can wish Gord a happy birthday at one of the various Massey-Harris gigs this weekend.

Massey-Harris is playing...
Friday March 21 @ The Duke Of Gloucester (649 Yonge St), 10 pm
Saturday March 22 @ Sauce on Danforth (1376 Danforth), 4 pm
Saturday March 22 @ Relish (2152 Danforth), 9:30pm to 11:30pm
Sunday March 23 @ The Duke Of Gloucester (649 Yonge St), 10 pm

One For The Weekend: Leo "Bud" Welch

Get Leo "Bud" Welch's raw rockin' gospel-blues album Sabougla Voices out now on Fat Possum

Bobby Patterson & The Mustangs in '68

Happy 75th birthday Mike Longo!

The Baseball Project rocks SXSW 2014

They're The Oakland A's


Past Time


The Day Dock Went Hunting Heads


Monument Park


¡Hola America!


To The Veterans Committee

RIP Scott "Rock Action" Asheton, 1949–2014

Along with the Stooges, Scott Asheton will be remembered for his work in Sonic's Rendezvous Band.

The Minus 5 vs. Neil Young

Scott McCaughey takes a little Neil Young with him wherever he goes.

Stream the Black Lips album; see them at SXSW!

Check out the list of Black Lips dates at SXSW following the studio session clip below

Stream the Black Lips' Underneath The Rainbow album right here 

BLACK LIPS @ SXSW

TUESDAY 3.11

6:30 PM  @ TOMs (DJ Set)

WEDNESDAY 3.12

2PM @ Mellow Johnny's | KEXP

5PM @ Scoot Inn | Converse/Thrasher Death Match

THURSDAY 3.13

6:30PM @ Hotel Vegas | ATX Psych Fest

1AM  @ The Main | VICE Records Showcase

FRIDAY 3.14

3PM @ Lustre Pearl | Guitar Center/ Filter

8PM  @ Hotel San Jose | SxSan Jose

10PM @ Paramount Theatre | Lou Reed Tribute

SATURDAY 3.15

2:40PM @ The Palm Door | Do512

5PM @ The Gatsby | Pandora

1AM @ Textile | Agency Group Showcase

See Alejandro Escovedo five times at SXSW!

With thousands of acts angling for SXSW showcase spots, getting one show during the annual week long mega music confab is a feat in itself. Alejandro Escovedo will be doing five shows this year. Here's where you'll find him...

Alejandro Escovedo at Lucy’s Fried Chicken: Taking some time out to play an intimate set at an Austin Favorite, come by Lucy’s Fried Chicken on Wednesday March 12th at 5 PM to see this performance.

Alejandro Escovedo and Richard Barone Present a Tribute to Lou Reed: With an all-star cast of musicians and a historic setting at The Paramount Theater, the stage is set for what promises to be one of the most memorable shows of SXSW. Artists across a wide spectrum of genres come together to play and honor the music of Lou Reed on March 14th. Check this link for more info.

Alejandro Escovedo hosts Maria’s Taco Xpress: An Austin institution filled to the brim with good food and good music for an entire day! Come out to Maria’s Taco Xpress on Saturday March 15th for a bite to eat and a chance to catch one of over a dozen different artists to play that day.

Plowboy Records Showcase at The Saxon Pub: Late in the evening on Saturday March 15th. Come by at 10 PM to grab a drink and catch Alejandro performing a set.

The Annual Continental Club Closeout Bash: The tradition continues! Join us and over a dozen other artists (will old pals Peter Buck and/or Steve Wynn show up?) in a celebration of another successful SXSW with an entire day of great music and great friends. Come for just a drink, or stay through to the early hours of the morning. Hey, you can sleep on the plane home!

Baseball Project's "3rd" album due March 25

Steve Wynn, Scott McCaughey and pals will be playing non-stop in Austin during SXSW 2014.

Go-Betweens' Apology Accepted (alternate take)

Chuck E. Weiss releases new album on April 15

Having Tom Waits and Johnny Depp as executive producers should help Chuck sell a few copies.

Red Beans and Weiss, the newest album from Los Angeles legend Chuck E. Weiss, will be released April 15 by ANTI- Records. This album marks Weiss’ first release since his 2006 album, 23^rd & Stout, which USA Today declared, “cuts across a colorful lyrical landscape that includes musty old saloons, 4 a.m. prank phone calls and hopeless searches for the junky “antique” dealers who once dominated the suburban boulevards of L.A. before strip malls replaced them.” 

Weiss has had the extraordinary fortune to record his latest album Red Beans & Weiss without the pressure of a time clock. He began recording in October 2012 with strong encouragement by his friends and mentors, Tom Waits and Johnny Depp, who are executive producing this album, which all consider to be Weiss’ best work yet. Check out "Boston Blackie" below.

Weiss began his career playing drums in hometown Denver, where he was discovered by Lightnin’ Hopkins and proceeded to tour and record with a surplus of legends, including Hopkins, Sunnyland Slim, Dr. John and Willie Dixon, who once said of Weiss something along the lines of, “Ain’t ya got ears son? That boy with the big old head be one of the best musicians in this town, this country even.”

Weiss remained in Colorado for a period of time and taught a class on the history of American music at The University of Colorado at Boulder before making a move to the West Coast. He became friends with Tom Waits in 1973 when they played at the same venue in Denver. In 1975, Waits recorded a couple of songs they had written together. Weiss traveled to L.A. for the recording and decided to stay. 

His early days in L.A. were spent as a cook at the Troubadour club where he eventually befriended Rickie Lee Jones in late 1977/early 1978 and was forever immortalized in her 1979 hit song “Chuck E’s in Love.” 

In 1981 Select Records released a series of demos/unfinished songs called The Other Side of Town. As a result of that release Weiss put together his band, G-d Damn Liars, who performed weekly gigs at a nightclub in L.A. that he and good friend Johnny Depp later converted into the illustrious Viper Room. Weiss has released two other albums, Extremely Cool and Old Souls & Wolf Tickets in addition to his 2006 LP of 23rd & Stout. 

Alejandro Escovedo & Peter Buck salute the Stooges

Alejandro Escovedo, Peter  Buck, Scott McCaughey and Susan Voelz wanna be your dog.

The Sonics release new song for RSD

Yes you heard that right and yes it is the 60’s garage rock band THE SONICS releasing an unheard track called "Bad Betty" on Muddy Roots Music Recordings. What can possibly make this sweeter? Adding "I Like It Small" by MUDHONEY to this 7” split sure the hell would! It will be available on Record Store Day (April 19, 2014) at participating independent retail stores.
So get your ass down to the local record shop and get a copy! This is a one time only pressing to add to your rare collection. Here's the Mudhoney track...

Truth & Soul uncovers lost Beau Williams funk!

You may be familiar with Beau Williams as an accomplished modern soul artist for Capitol Records in the mid 80's. But years before his over-polished Capitol releases, the Houston-based crooner cut a couple of surprisingly funky singles for the legendary Ovide label circa 1970-71 under the alias Bobo Mr. Soul. One was a Honey Cone answer song cleverly titled "Answer To The Want Ads" and the other being the Phillip Mitchell-penned "Hitchhike to Heartbreak Road" (originally cut by Curtis Wiggins) which was re-released by Hi in 1972.  That was all most of us heard from Bobo until he resurfaced as Beau Williams on Star Search. But apparently our man recorded two more powerfully funky soul sides and submitted them as a demo to Lionel Whitfield's Whit label but for whatever reason, "I'll Be Home Soon" and "Outside Love" remained on the shelf.

The lost tracks were rediscovered in 2011 by David Haffner and Brian Sears of Magnetic Recordings from the tape archive of TSU jazz director, Howard Harris who came into the possession of this material through his long-standing working relationship with Whitfield. The undeniably funky drumming sadly goes unaccredited but the understated arrangements and production combined with such emotionally-charged lyrics make for something quite special. Truth & Soul Records has just released a limited 500 copy pressing with hand stamped labels which is sure to become a sought-after cult classic.

 

Congratulations to The Lady In Number 6

LINKS
Alice Herz-Sommer New York Times obit
Bunbury Films site

Happy Birthday Lyman Woodard!

Remembering the late great Detroit keyboardist with his Saturday Night Special. 

Ron Sexsmith vs. The Flying Machine

Check out Ron's performance of his fave Flying Machine tune followed by the original.