Watch Nick Waterhouse's video for Sleeping Pills, see him at the Mod Club

Nick Waterhouse returns to Toronto for a Mod Club gig September 17. Check out his Sleeping Pills clip.

NICK WATERHOUSE TOUR DATES
July 1                                                         Santa Ana, CA                                      The Burger Revue
July 12                                                    San Francisco, CA                            Phono del Sol Festival
July 19                                                   Salt Lake City, UT                                        Urban Lounge
July 21                                                         Denver, CO                                          Bluebird Theater
July 22                                                         Omaha, NE                                             Waiting Room
July 24                                                      Milwaukee, WI                              Cathedral Square Park
July 28                                                       St. Louis, MO                                                      Firebird
July 29                                                     Kansas City, MO                                        The Riot Room
July 30                                                        Norman, OK                                                         Opolis
July 31                                                          Dallas, TX                                                             Trees
August 1                                                       Austin, TX                                                    The Parish
August 3                                                      Houston, TX                                          Bronze Peacock
August 5                                                 Albuquerque, NM                                                       Sister
August 6                                                      Phoenix, AZ                                The Crescent Ballroom
August 15                                                     Hasselt, BE                                                    Pukkelpop
August 16                                               Basel, Switzerland                                       Open Air Basel
August 17                                           Winterthur, Switzerland                               Musikfestwochen
August 19                                             Darmstadt, Germany                                      Central Station
August 20                                               Munich, Germany                                         Hot Jazz Club
August 21                                                  Groningen, NL                                  Noorderzon Festival
August 22                                                   Deventer, NL                                          Bergerweeshuis
August 23                                               Cologne, Germany                                            Pop Festival
August 24                                        Charleville-Meziers, France                                     Cabaret Vert
August 27                                                  Edinburgh, UK                                    The Electric Circus
August 28                                                   Glasgow, UK                          No Mean City King Tut’s
August 29                                                  Liverpool, UK                                                     Studio 2
August 30                                                  Salisbury, UK                            End of the Road Festival
September 2                                               Athens, Greece                                             Gagarin Club
September 3                                                Paris, France                                           Jazz a la Villette
September 4                                             Toulouse, France                                                Metronum
September 5                                                Caen, France                                         All Tech Festival
September 11                                              Hamden, CT             The Ballroom at The Outer Space
September 12                                          Northampton, MA                                           Pearl Street
September 13                                               Boston, MA                                 Brighton Music Hall
September 16                                              Montreal, QC                                            Petit Campus
September 17                                Toronto, ON                               Mod Club
September 18                                                Detroit, MI                                               Magic Stick
September 20                                          Minneapolis, MN                                              Turf Club           
October 2                                                 Los Angeles, CA                                       Mayan Theatre
October 3                                                     Fresno, CA                                                 Strummers
October 4                                                  Sacramento, CA                                Launch TBD Festival
October 6                                                     Seattle WA                                                      Barboza           
October 7                                                    Portland, OR                                      Doug Fir Lounge
October 9                                                San Francisco, CA                                Regency Ballroom

The New Christs return with Incantations

Happy Birthday Walter Daniels!

Cheers to Austin's harp honker deluxe Walter Daniels on his day. Here are three overlooked gems you'll enjoy. 

One For The Weekend: Dave Burns Quintet

Here's Kenny Barron's swingin' Rhodesian Rhapsody off his first recording with Dave Burns from 1962.

RIP Bobby Womack, 1944-2014

Batsumi's 1976 Afro-jazz gem "Moving Along" gets deluxe reissue

The long out-of-print Moving Along album by Soweto's Batsumi will be reissued on 180g vinyl July 1.

J.D. Wilkes & The Dirt Daubers @ The Horseshoe, Saturday

Check out Shack Shaker J.D. Wilkes' latest album Wild Moon produced by Cheetah Chrome.

François Hardy vs. Connie Francis

Rudresh Mahanthappa Quartet at the Rex Wednesday

Guitar slinger Rez Abbasi bolsters Rudresh Mahanthappa's combo at The Rex Wednesday at 10 pm. 

Nels Cline @ The Horseshoe, tonight

Guitarist Nels Cline is very nearly as popular as his '59 Fender Jazzmaster purchased from Mike Watt. 

RIP Mabon "Teenie" Hodges, 1946-2014

Sadly, guitarist/songwriter Teenie Hodges has passed at the age of 68 after a long battle with emphysema.

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society @ The Music Gallery, Sunday

Vancouver-born Darcy James Argue lights up the Music Gallery with his 18-piece Secret Society orchestra.

Happy 70th Birthday Ray Davies!

Billy Stewart vs. Mickey & Sylvia

Similarities between Billy's Blues and Love Is Strange aren't entirely coincidental – Bo Diddley wrote 'em both. 

Happy Birthday Lazy Lester!

One For The Weekend: Horace Silver

Remembering the late jazz piano great Horace Silver with a 1968 performance of Nutville in Denmark.

Alejandro Escovedo @ The Horseshoe, Thursday

Alejandro Escovedo's midnight set at the Horseshoe Thursday will be hard to top for the rest of NXNE 2014.

Whaddya mean you don't know the Apagya Show Band

Here's an unreleased Apagya Show Band track feat. Gyedu-Blay Ambolley (left) cut in Ghana circa 1974.

Billy Cobham vs. Pax

The second half of the Billy Cobham track Stratus (starting at 3:00) is oddly similar to Pax's Exorcismo.

Happy Birthday Spooner Oldham!

Shovels & Rope @ Lee's Palace, July 5

You can pre-order the new Shovels & Rope album Swimmin' Time right here. Don't miss 'em at TURF!

One For The Weekend: Heavy Glow

Heavy Glow's "Look What You're Doing To Me" is from the album Pearls & Swine and Everything Fine out now. 

Keep It Kool: The Kool Keith Story

Kool Keith's new double album Demolition Crash is out now on Junkadelic Music.

Peter Case @ The Narrows, 05/02/13

Whaddya mean you don't know The Exit

Songs from the rare Chicago punk single by The Exit have been reissued by Permanent Records.

Happy Birthday Howlin' Wolf

Ding Ding... it's Heidi Happy

Heidi Happy's fantastic new Golden Heart album is out now. 

Happy 60th birthday Jad Fair!

Never mind the Field Trip bollocks, here's Tyvek!

Tyvek are joining Parquet Courts and Protomartyr for an explosive night at the Horseshoe Sunday. 

Parquet Courts @ The Horseshoe, Sunday

“We caught slacker punks Parquet Courts in London last night”

“the sort of bed-headed slackers you’d meet at a ‘90s college party”

“90s slacker-rock revivalists”

“’90s slacker heroes”

“The Strokes’ slacker younger brothers”

“prolific slacker band”

“post-punk work ethic with a slacker’s sense of humor “

“Balanced delicately on the edge of a lo-fi slacker dynamic”

“Brooklyn slack-rockers “

“winning take on slacker punk-rock”

“punk vigor and slacker looseness”

“may be the closest thing we’ve come to a slacker call-to-action”

“Brown and Savage might be slackers by trade”

“relentless tracks with wiseass lyrics befitting their slacker ethos”

“Parquet Courts still did not completely shed their slacker image”

“these boys are old-school slackers”

“guitar-chancer-slackers”

“slacker vibes “

“clattering slacker vibe”

“slacker everyman delivery”

“For Parquet Courts, “slacker” isn’t just a lifestyle, it’s a full-blown worldview”

“expert pop craftsmanship and slacker-punk attitude”

“Alternating between slacker and punk impulses”

“faux-slacker art punk”

“our beloved Brooklyn slacker punks”

“Indie-slacker garage punk”

“a combination of poppy slacker rock frequently interrupted by sporadic punk riffs”

“Parquet Courts are a slacker punk band from NYC”

“effortless cool and slacker-culled lackadaisy”

“a slacker manifesto focused on a two chord vamp”

“meshing punk rock abandon and slacker panache in equal measure”

“rough-hewn new wave slacker sound”

“two-minute slacker-punk pellets”

“Slacker rock rules”

“slacker pop singles”

“slacker singalongs”

“like a string of slacker anthems”

“nouveau slacker anthem”

“The Brooklyn-based garage-rockers craft slacker anthems”

“slacker anthem in waiting N Dakota”

“They may have written a slacker anthem”

“Parquet Courts are stoners”

“New York slacker-rock four-piece Parquet Courts are probably too stoned to care”

“slacker stoner social commentary”

“typical laid-back NY-slacker manner”

“Parquet Courts establish their own slacker, protester, Americana sound”

“embody the disenchanted vibe of today’s slacker generation”

“upbeat slacker garage/punk”

“their stoned slacker demeanour doesn’t lead to laziness”

“Their slacker aesthetic is rough, edgy, and easily accessible”

“this slacker aesthetic belies the bands impressive musical and lyrical craft”

“Their aesthetic might be slacker”

Remembering Rainer Ptacek on his day

Dave and Phil Alvin's brilliant Big Bill Broonzy tribute

Dave & Phil Alvin of the Blasters are playing Hugh's Room in Toronto on July 4th.

Common Ground: Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin Play and Sing the Songs of Big Bill Broonzy (Yep Roc)

It took a near-death experience to reunite Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin, the California brothers at the heart of roots music heroes, The Blasters.

"Phil died and was brought back to life over in Spain," Dave says of his brother's 2012 health scare. "That was a real wakeup call to me. We hadn't made a full album together since 1985, but as you get older, you realize you're not immortal and you've only got so much time."

It only made sense, then, that for their first record together in three decades, the Alvin brothers would go back to where it all started and pay tribute to one of their original shared musical heroes: Big Bill Broonzy.

"I first remember seeing Big Bill's picture on an album cover that I bought when I was 14 or 15," says Phil. "I didn't really know who he was and came home and played it and was overwhelmed by him."

"We're brothers, we argue sometimes," Dave adds with a laugh, "but one thing we never argue about is Big Bill Broonzy. I remember the day Phil brought the record home, it was one of those childhood memories like you're graduating grammar school or stealing your first Playboy. For me, Big Bill is in that elite company of Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, people like that."

Like the Alvins', Broonzy's career lasted more than 30 years and spanned several stylistic incarnations, all of which the brothers sought to capture on Common Ground: Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin Play and Sing the Songs of Big Bill Broonzy. "He played both country blues and ragtime blues picking, and then in the late 1930's and 40's he was one of the inventors of the Chicago blues sound," explains Dave. "And then in the late 40's until his death, he was the guy that brought blues and American folk music to Europe. He was the first guy to go over there and blaze the trail."

That the Alvin brothers feel such a kinship with a trailblazer like Broonzy is little surprise. The Blasters emerged to international fame in the early 1980's, blending American roots and blues with searing punk energy to critical acclaim. Rolling Stone hailed their "bright, raw playing, terrific taste and...[Phil's] full-bodied vocals." The band performed with everyone from X and Black Flag to The Cramps and Queen, and even gave early breaks to Los Lobos and Dwight Yoakam by inviting them on the road as openers. 

The brothers went their separate ways in 1986, when Dave left the band to pursue a solo career. After decades apart musically, they reunited briefly to record songs for the 2013 soundtrack to The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, a musical written by Stephen King and John Mellencamp featuring performances by Elvis Costello, Taj Mahal, and Kris Kistofferson among others, and produced by T Bone Burnett. They also sang a duet on “What’s Up With Your Brother” for Dave’s last Yep Roc release, 2011's Eleven Eleven.

"We rehearsed at David's house a few times for that," remembers Phil, "and that was a good step in bringing us back together." Check out their performance of the song at McCabe's from 2012.  

Once inspiration struck for the Big Bill Broonzy project, all it took was a phone call from Dave, and Phil was onboard and ready to head into the studio for their first album together in three decades.

"We used this old Foley studio from the 30's that had been used for movie sound effects," says Dave, who shares vocal duties with his brother on the record. "We set up all in that one little room a la Sun or Chess and just recorded."

"It was easy," he continues. "I'm not as boisterous as I used to be. Like the title suggests, this is where we come together. It's square one. There was nothing to argue about outside of 'Am I playing the guitar part right?'" he laughs.

Rather than trying to recreate Broonzy's exact guitar parts and vocals note for note, though, the record honors his innovative spirit and musical adventurousness, blending chords and melodies from different songs and incorporating stylistic nods to other guitarists—everyone from Magic Sam to Bo Diddley—whose work bears Big Bill's unmistakable fingerprint.

That encyclopedic knowledge of American music, that expansive musical vocabulary and the fluency with which the Alvins slip in out and of genres and eras is what enables Common Ground to triumph. Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin may have set out to honor the legacy of Big Bill Broonzy with this record, but in the process, they solidified their own as one of roots music's most exceptional duos.

Ticket's for Dave & Phil's show at Hugh's Room in Toronto on July 4th are now on sale. Call the Hugh's Room box office at 416-531-6604 for details. The Common Ground album – out June 3 – is currently available for pre-order directly from Yep Roc where you may be able to score a limited edition Dave & Phil belt buckle if you act fast. 

Happy Birthday Bongos Ikwue!

Cheers to Nigerian Afro funk legend Bongos Ikwue!  Check out his rippin' Otachikpokpo jam below.

Quantic's new Magnetica album due June 10

Quantic explains his appreciation of Colombian music extends to Fruko's bizarre sleeve designs. 

Magnetica Live Tour Dates:
6/11: Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
6/12: Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
6/13: New York, NY @ Drom
6/14: Chicago, IL @ Taste of Randolph Festival
6/15: Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
6/17: Winnipeg, MB @ Winnipeg Jazz Festival
6/19: Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West at King Plow
6/20: Austin, TX @ Empire (Control Room)
6/22: South Park, CO @ Sonic Bloom Festival
6/25: Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
6/27: Seattle, WA @ Nectar Lounge
6/28: Vancouver, BC @ Vancouver Jazz Festival
6/29: Montreal, QC @ Montreal Jazz Festival

New album from Tuatara due in August

Barrett Martin's Tuatara project with Peter Buck & Mike McCready release Underworld on Aug 5.

Roy Orbison vs. Elvis Costello

Roy's demo of Elvis Costello's The Comedians was just issued with the re-release of Mystery Girl.

Interpol readies El Pintor for Sept 9 release

"Don't worry lads, Alan Moulder will save it in the mix. "

Watch Alela Diane @ Mississippi Studios

Here's some beautifully shot footage of Alela performing The Way We Fall, The Rifle and Lost Land. 

New GBV video starring Rob Corddry & Katy Goodman

Check out the Mike Postalakis video for Bad Love Is Easy To Do featuring La Sera's Katy Goodman

     

José James changes up his delivery for EveryLittle Thing

José James rids himself of the "jazz crooner" tag with his forward looking new album due June 10. 

Happy Birthday Curtis Mayfield!

Cheers to the late great Curtis Mayfield – check out his 1973 appearance on Soul Train. 

Parquet Courts cleverly release black & white video for "Black and White"

Watch Parquet Courts tear up the Horseshoe in Toronto on Sunday night

Woods Are Full Of Cuckoos live @ The Cabana Room '82-'83

When the Cuckoos played the Cabana Room in the 80s, it was at the Spadina Hotel, now a Second Cup. 

Watch Bob Mould's entertaining new video for I Don't Know You Anymore

Bob Mould's eleventh solo album Beauty & Ruin is out on Merge June 3 – sounds like a winner!

Happy Birthday Frankie Venom

An early promo shot of Hamilton's Teenage Head after Steve Marshall replaced Steve Park in 1975.