Watch Steve Wynn & Peter Buck play an acoustic version of "Ghostbusters"

Peter Buck & Steve Wynn – who are currently in Athens, GA to work on a new album – played "Ghostbusters" & "Gloria" at the Rialto. Check it out below. 

Writes Steve Wynn...

Peter Buck and I will be heading into Chase Park studio here in Athens, GA to record a bunch of new songs we've written together over the last few months. We'll be joined by Scott McCaughey, Mike Mills, Jay Gonzalez, Linda Pitmon and a few other guests with David Barbe engineering. We aired out six of the songs on stage at the Rialto last night and they felt great so I'm very excited to get going. Nothing like making new music with good friends and I can't wait to lay it all on you sometime very soon. Roll tape!

Happy Birthday Lenny Kaye!

Celebrating Lenny Kaye's 79th birthday with a few interviews and performances (some with Peter Buck) you may have missed. 

The Minus 5 say "Blow In My Bag"

Scott McCaughey's video for the Minus 5's "Blow In My Bag" – off their new album Oar On, Penelope! – boasts an all star cast.

Here's the scoop...

The Scott McCaughey directed and edited video for The Minus 5's "Blow In My Bag" off their forthcoming album Oar On, Penelope! (available here: https://ffm.to/oaronpenelope) which stars Scott along with Peter Buck and Kurt Bloch with cameo appearances from Alejandro Escovedo, Nate Fassold, Patterson Hood, Debbi Peterson, Linda Pitmon, Chuck Prophet, Wesley Stace, Steve Wynn and yes, Nick Saloman's boot. 

Watch The Baseball Project live in Milwaukee & Kansas City – Cheers Scott!

Since it's Scott McCaughey's 70th birthday today, we're celebrating with some of his recent Baseball Project performances. 

Hear "Shiny Happy People" off Micky Dolenz Sings R.E.M.

Watch the video for "Shiny Happy People" off Micky Dolenz Sings R.E.M. (out now via 7A Records) after the Athens launch party. 

Full Time Men go digital with Part Time Job retrospective

The Full Time Men's Keith Streng gets a vocal assist from Dave Faulkner on the Hoodoo Gurus-esque "We Were Using"

Here's the scoop from Yep Roc HQ...

On October 27, Yep Roc Records will release Full Time Men’s Part Time Job. Available on CD, Digital, and Limited Edition LP formats, Part Time Job marks the first time the band’s illustrious catalog is finally available on CD or digital platforms. 

In the mid-to-late ’80s, Full Time Men was a part time venture of Fleshtone Keith Streng (guitar and lead vocals) that featured Gordon Spaeth (sax, harp), Robert Warren (bass, vocals). and Bill Milhizer (drums), all full time members of New York’s Fleshtones, along with Rich Thomas (lead guitar, vocals) from LESR (Lower East Side Rockers). This compilation of the band’s material includes special guests Peter Zaremba (Fleshtones), Pat DiNizio (Smithereens), Dave Faulkner (Hoodoo Gurus), Stiv Bators, Jeff Connolly, Scott McCaughey, and Peter Buck.

The 20-track Part Time Job (CD/Digital) set collects the band’s entire recorded catalog. It features four previously unreleased songs, “We Were Using,” “Reinvented,” “Pink Cloud,” and “TOT (Toilet of Time),” plus songs from the band’s 1984 self-titled debut EP, Full Time Men, 1988’s Your Face My Fist, and 1999’s The Fabulous Sounds Of Coney Island ‎EP. The Fab Sounds Of Coney Island featured Ken Fox of the Fleshtones on bass and Andy York, of John Mellencamp fame, on lead guitar.

The Part Time Job 12-track LP, limited edition to 500 units and pressed on translucent emerald green vinyl, includes all three songs from the Full Time Men EP, select songs from Your Face My Fist LP, and the four previously unreleased songs, “We Were Using,” “Reinvented,” “Pink Cloud,” and “TOT (Toilet of Time).” You can pre-order a copy of the CD or LP via Yep Roc right here. 

Check out an audio clip of "We Were Using" featuring Dave Faulkner, Peter Buck and Clem Burke following the tracklisting below. 

Full Time Men – Part Time Job 

We Were Using*

Reinvented*

Pink Cloud*

TOT (Toilet of Time)*

I Got Wheels (EP Version)^

One More Time^

Way Down South^

Nothing’s Gonna Stop Our Train+

One More Time (Encore)+

Southern Twitch+

I Got Wheels (LP Version)+

Four Day Creep+

Full Time Men+

Critical List+

Wrecking Ball+

Making Time+

High On Drugs+

Baby Don’t Do It+

I’m Gonna Have Fun#

Did You See Her Eyes#

* previously unreleased 

^ from Full Time Men EP

+ from Your Face My Fist LP

# from The Fabulous Sounds Of Coney Island ‎EP

Portland's Eyelids jangle their way back to the Horseshoe, Sunday

Watch Portland's Eyelids cover R.E.M.'s "Gardening At Night" with Peter Buck along with a couple of their puppet videos.

The Baseball Project knocks it outta the park with "Grand Salami Time"

Peter Buck, Steve Wynn & Scott McCaughey hilariously cram all the home run clichés they can fit into the title track of their new Baseball Project album. 

The Baseball Project previews Grand Salami Time with "Journeyman"

Steve Wynn, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Scott McCaughey & Linda Pitmon return with Grand Salami Time! on June 30th via Omnivore. Listen to "Journeyman"

Here's the scoop from Omnivore HQ...

In 2008 they busted out of the box and easily reached first with their Frozen Ropes And Dying Quails. The Baseball Project was on base and immediately posed a threat to go further. In 2011, they moved on to second with some wildness aptly called High And Inside. They were halfway home. Three years later in 2014, the quintet of Big Stars moved on down the line to the aptly titled 3rd, an epic double dip delight of craftsmanship and savvy.

And there they stayed. For nine long years at the hot corner, but we’re happy to say that The Baseball Project is finally coming home, scoring big and touching ’em all with their fourth album Grand Salami Time. The scoreboard is lighting up and the fireworks are illuminating the sky.

Speaking of reaching home, this album is a homecoming of sorts, as the band recorded and produced the album with none other than the legendary Mitch Easter. BBP members Peter Buck and Mike Mills’ made their first albums with Mitch back in the early ’80s with a swingin’ little combo called R.E.M.

Scott McCaughey and Steve Wynn kept busy themselves, busting out new tunes with the Minus 5/Young Fresh Fellows (Scott) and The Dream Syndicate (Steve), while stockpiling a passel of penned poetics about the national pastime, many co-written with Peter. Mike adds a new classic of his own about doctored baseballs called “Stuff.”

Linda Pitmon, who along with Peter and Scott has been part of a steady rhythmic nucleus, bashing out epic rock platters with Filthy Friends, (Alejandro Escovedo, Luke Haines & Peter Buck), is back driving the ship from behind her mighty drum machine.

All in all, a fancy pedigree but, as Wynn points out, “this is our only band that plays stadiums”—true story as The Baseball Project has performed full sets along with the National Anthem and “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” at major league parks in Boston, Chicago, Milwaukee, Denver, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and more minor league and spring training fields, as well as having thrown out some exceptional first pitches (nothing but strikes!) as well.

It’s all part of an unusual arc and fun story of a band whose first gig was an appearance on Late Night With David Letterman followed by a festival in a medieval Spanish city. For a quintet that has seemingly done everything over the years with their other bands, The Baseball Project always offers new and uncharted experiences.

The album was recorded at Mitch Easter’s fabled Fidelitorium Studios in Kernersville, North Carolina, with the entire band performing live together in the same room, a joyous experience that seemed impossible to imagine only one year before. Mitch adds guitar on a few tracks and the record also features appearances by Stephen McCarthy (The Long Ryders) and Steve Berlin (Los Lobos).

In the meantime, the band will be out on the road throughout—when else?—the upcoming baseball season. And we all know they’ll find their way home. Get out the rye bread and mustard, Grandma, it’s Grand Salami Time!

Available on CD, Digital, and as a double-LP (with an etched 4th side), Grand Salami Time is the home run music fans have been waiting for. Packaging features stories behind the songs from band members, and makes Grand Salami Time more than a game—it makes your season! 

You can pre-order The Baseball Project's forthcoming album, Grand Salami Time! from Omnivore right here. Listen to "Journeyman" followed by the album trailer clip below. 

 

Celebrate 50 years of Nuggets with Lenny Kaye @ Glendale's Alex Theatre, May 19

Lenny Kaye will be joined by Chocolate Watchband's Dave Aguilar, The Leaves' Jim Pons, The Seeds' Daryl Hooper, and others.

Here's the scoop on the Nuggets 50th Anniversary celebration/autism benefit...

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary the release of the classic Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968, benefit concert producers Wild Honey Foundation, original LP curator Lenny Kaye, and Rhino Records will present a live performance of songs from legendary LP and bonus material from the era as a benefit for the Autism Healthcare Collaborative. Lenny Kaye and Wild Honey stellar veterans Rob Laufer & Andrew Sandoval will lead the Wild Honey Orchestra (with Steve Stanley and Alec Palao sitting in) through this legendary garage/psychedelic song collection. Special Guests include Van Dyke Parks, Peter Buck, Peter Case, Evie Sands, Scott McCaughey, Peter Zaremba, Carla Olson, Mike Stax, Kathy Valentine and Elliot Easton along with Original Nuggets artists such as The Leaves' Jim Pons, Chocolate Watchband's Dave Aguilar, Love's Johnny Echols, The Seeds' Daryl Hooper & Paul Kopf, Electric Prunes' Jim Lowe, The Count Five and more tba. Should be a blast! 

Get tickets from the Alex Theatre while they last right here.  Have a listen to the entire 4-disc Nuggets box set below the poster Steve Stanley designed for the event. 

Nuggets – Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era

Disc 1

I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night) –  (The Electric Prunes) 00:00

Dirty Water –  (The Standells)  02:59

Night Time –  (The Strangeloves) 05:47

Mechanical World– (Spirit) 08:20

Respect – (The Vagrants) 13:35

A Public Execution –  (Mouse) 15:50

No Time Like the Right Time –  (The Blues Project) 18:40

Oh Yeah! –  (The Shadows of Knight) 21:27

Pushin' Too Hard –  (The Seeds) 24:16

Moulty – (The Barbarians) 26:53

Don't Look Back – (The Remains) 29:28

An Invitation to Cry –  (The Magicians) 32:11

Liar, Liar – (The Castaways) 35:09

Roller Coaster–  (The 13th Floor Elevators) 37:05

Psychotic Reaction –  (Count Five) 42:05

Hey Joe –  (The Leaves) 45:13

Romeo & Juliet –  (Michael and the Messengers) 48:05

Sugar and Spice –  (The Cryan' Shames) 50:05

Baby Please Don't Go –  (The Amboy Dukes) 52:36

Tobacco Road – (Blues Magoos) 58:16

Let's Talk About Girls –  (The Chocolate Watchband) 1:02:59

Sit Down, I Think I Love You –  (The Mojo Men) 1:05:43

Run, Run, Run –  (The Third Rail) 1:08:06

My World Fell Down –  (Sagittarius) 1:10:02

Open My Eyes – :(Nazz) 1:13:52

Farmer John –  (The Premiers) 1.16:38 

It's A Happening –  (The Magic Mushrooms) 1:19:05

Disc 2

Talk Talk –  (The Music Machine) 1:21:52

Last Time Around –  (The Del-Vetts) 1:23:52

Nobody but Me –  (The Human Beinz) 1:26:35

Journey to Tyme –  (Kenny and The Kasuals) 1:28:54

No Friend of Mine –  (The Sparkles) 1:31:30

Outside Chance –  (The Turtles) 1:33:57

Action Woman – (The Litter) 1:36:02

Spazz –  (The Elastik Band) 1:38:36

Sweet Young Thing –  (The Chocolate Watchband) 1:41:23

Incense and Peppermints –  (Strawberry Alarm Clock) 1:44:22

I Ain't No Miracle Worker – (The Brogues) 1:47:12

7 and 7 Is –  (Love) 1:50:01

Time Won't Let Me (The Outsiders) 1:52:27

Going All the Way (The Squires) 1:55:17

I'm Gonna Make You Mine – (The Shadows of Knight) 1:57:40

The Trip –  (Kim Fowley) 2:00:14

Can't Seem to Make You Mine –(The Seeds) 2:02:17

Why Do I Cry – (The Remains) 2:04:54

Laugh, Laugh – (The Beau Brummels) 2:07:44

The Little Black Egg – (Nightcrawlers) 2:10:39

I Wonder –  (The Gants) 2:13:25

I See the Light –  (Five Americans) 2:15:40

Who Do You Love? –  (The Woolies) 2:17:50

Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love) – (The Swingin' Medallions) 2:19:55

Live – (The Merry-Go-Round)  2:22:12

Steppin' Out – (Paul Revere and the Raiders) 2:24:50

Diddy Wah Diddy –  (Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band) 2:27:03

Strychnine –  (The Sonics) 2:29:32

Little Girl – (Syndicate of Sound) 2:31:45

(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet –  (Blues Magoos) 2:34:15

Shape of Things to Come –  (Max Frost and the Troopers) 2:36:33

Disc 3

Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out) –  (The Hombres) 2:38:27

Fight Fire –  (The Golliwogs) 2:40:34

At the River's Edge – (New Colony Six) 2:43:09

At the River's Edge –  (The Daily Flash) 2:45:48

It's Cold Outside –  (Lyme and Cybelle) 2:48:26

Follow Me – (The Choir) 2:50:55

Beg, Borrow and Steal –  (The Rare Breed) 2:53:44

She's About a Mover –  (Sir Douglas Quintet) 2:56:17

Little Bit o' Soul –  (The Music Explosion) 2:58:41

Put the Clock Back on the Wall –  (The "E" Types) 3:01:03

Falling Sugar –  (The Palace Guard) 3:03:25

Run, Run, Run – (The Gestures) 3:05:37

I Need You – (The Rationals) 3:07:54

Knock, Knock –  (The Humane Society) 3:10:10

Primitive – (The Groupies) 3:13:07

Psycho –  (The Sonics) 3:16:58

So What!! –  (The Lyrics) 3:19:15

You Must Be a Witch –  (The Lollipop Shoppe) 3:22:03

A Question of Temperature –  (The Balloon Farm) 3:24:51

Maid of Sugar - Maid of Spice – (Mouse and the Traps) 3:27:33

You Ain't Tuff –  (The Uniques) 3:30:13

Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White –  (The Standells) 3:32:34

She's My Baby – (The Mojo Men) 3:35:11

Story of My Life –  (Unrelated Segments) 3:38:11

I'm Five Years Ahead of My Time – (The Third Bardo) 3:40:57

Mirror of Your Mind –  (We the People) 3:43:12

Bad Little Woman –  (The Shadows of Knight) 3:45:58

Double Yellow Line –  (The Music Machine) 3:48:37

Optical Sound – (The Human Expression) 3:50:50

Journey to the Center of the Mind – (The Amboy Dukes) 3:53:25

Disc 4

Are You Gonna Be There (At the Love-In) –  (The Chocolate Watchband) 3:57:02

Too Many People –  (The Leaves) 3:59.29

(Would I Still Be) Her Big Man –  (The Brigands) 4:02:15

Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl – (The Barbarians) 4.04:37

Wooly Bully –  (Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs) 4:06:53

I Want Candy – (The Strangeloves) 4:09:15

Louie Louie – (The Kingsmen) 4:11:53

One Track Mind – (The Knickerbockers) 4:14:38

Out of Our Tree –  (The Wailers) 4:16:59

I Think I'm Down – (Harbinger Complex) 4:21:53

What Am I Going to Do –  (The Dovers) 4:24:38

Codeine –  (The Charlatans) 4:25:41 

Johnny Was a Good Boy –  (The Mystery Trend)  4:28:07

Stop - Get a Ticket – (Clefs of Lavender Hill) 4:30:45

Complication – (The Monks) 4:33:14

The Witch – (The Sonics) 4:35:38

Get Me to the World on Time – (The Electric Prunes) 4:38:18

Mr. Pharmacist –  (The Other Half) 4:40:52

Open Up Your Door –  (Richard and the Young Lions) 4:43:27

Just Like Me –  (Paul Revere and the Raiders) 4:46:12

You Burn Me Up and Down – (We The People) 4:48:37

I Live in the Springtime –  (The Lemon Drops) 5:50:49

Mindrocker –  (Fenwyck) 5:53:54

Hold Me Now –  (The Rumors) 4:56:54

Love's Gone Bad – (The Underdogs) 4:59:24

Why Pick on Me –  (The Standells) 5:01:53

Bad Girl –  (The Zakary Thaks) 5:04:39

Blackout of Gretely –  (GONN) 5:06:49

Voices Green and Purple –  (The Bees) 5:11:25

Blues' Theme –  (Davie Allan and the Arrows) 5:13:01

The No Ones (Scott McCauhey & Peter Buck) release My Best Evil Friend on March 31

The No Ones get vocal assists from The Bangles' Debbi Peterson, Teenage Fanclub's Norman Blake and Death Cab's Ben Gibbard. 

Here's the scoop...

"No one is defined as nobody. An example of no one is how you would describe who is in an empty house. Not one person, nobody. The logical negation of someone." 

OK, that makes sense. The No Ones are also defined as "not a single person" and that's fine too. In this case there are but four No Ones, and you can put them all in one room, though not very often at the same time. They are, alphabetically: 

Peter Buck - R.E.M., Minus 5, Filthy Friends, Baseball Project, Luke Haines, etc. Countless songs -- you can only hope to contain them! Double-LPs and pizza. Hound Dog Taylor, Raspberries and Sault. Warm weather and walking. Made three amazing and fucked-up solo albums that are available only in an alternate analog world. 

Arne Kjelsrud Mathisen - I Was A King, Rural Tapes, etc. Drums, keyboards, percussion, vocals, etc. Arne played the controversial piano solo on "Turn Again" from first No Ones long-player. He loves forest green, his Korg MS-10, Can, and Raymond Scott. Rural Tapes (solo/collaborative instrumental project) release 2nd album Inner Space Music November 2022. 

Scott McCaughey - Young Fresh Fellows, The Minus 5, R.E.M., Baseball Project, Filthy Friends, etc. Primary lyricist, plus bass, keyboards, guitars and vocals. He enjoys coffee in his spare time, and dreams of Neil Young and Irma Thomas fronting Sun Ra's Arkestra, with Nice As Fuck opening. Casablanca and The Florida Project are required viewing. Scott The Hoople is his solo side-career. 

Frode Strømstad - I Was A King, Rider, etc. Master of melodies as well as guitars, capos, chords, and vocal cords. He parties down with GBV and Elf Power. I Was A King releases its 8th album Follow Me Home in September 2022. 

So, making music comes naturally to this band, despite the obstacles. Conceived above the Arctic Circle, split by thousands of miles, and compounded by ridiculous schedules and pandemics... Thirty-plus songs later and we have My Best Evil Friend (out March 31 via Yep Roc Records), the band's third release and follow-up to 2020's exceptional (by definition) The Great Lost No Ones Album. 

My Best Evil Friend was realized in the way it was required, bouncing tracks back and forth from studios in Norway to the Dungeon Of Horror in Portland, Oregon, with a few other helpful home-recorders. Arne and Frode were able to track live guitars and drums together in Oslo, which somehow gives the vibe of a combo rockin' a high school gym -- owing much to the engineering work of Bård Ingebrigtsen, who also did the final mixes. 

Whereas Great Lost Album was imagined as being discovered in 2054 by a retro-hipster-scribe in Mojo ("The Last Magazine"), the latest is a blurry tribute to our own LP collections and memories, the artists that populate our turntables, and those that continue to inspire us. Not exactly in linear or transparent ways, but you'll find shadows of Plastic Ono Band, Joe Tex, Sugar Pie de Santo, Nick Lowe, beat poet Michael McClure, Blind Tom, Pamela Polland, Dean Martin, and on and on. There are even outright paeans to George Harrison, Jenny Lewis, and Phil Ochs, among others. And once again the quartet has enlisted contributions from generous friends, through the voices of Debbi Peterson (Bangles), Norman Blake (Teenage Fan Club), Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie), as well as 'lead bass' from Camper Van Beethoven's Victor Krummenacher, and strings from Marin Ballemo Bakke. 

With a 2020 tour of Norway repeatedly Covid-canceled, as well as lost appearances at Roskilde and other festivals, you might think it makes sense to hang it up. Well, it does, but that's not the way it works. When downtime is forced upon you, the committed musician just turns it into more songs, more records, more life. The No Ones still hope to meet you all in person, but for now, let's hope that My Best Evil Friend can at least pull you into their orbit, like a beacon from RKO.  – Robert Stove, The Electric Bird Digest, THE Quarterly Magazines for Amateur Electrobirds 

Get a copy of The NoOnes' My Best Evil Friend via Bandcamp right here. Listen to the first three tracks shared from the new album, "304 Molino Way." "Phil Ochs Is Dead" and "Song For George" 

Happy 70th Birthday Robyn Hitchcock!

Raising a glass to ace singer/songwriter Robyn Hitchcock on his 70th birthday! Here's a couple of documentaries and performances. 

Portland's Eyelids w/ Beams @ The Horseshoe, Monday

Don't count on Peter Buck showing up for the Eyelids' set at the 'Shoe tonight but Beams will be there to get things started. 

Happy Opening Day from The Baseball Project!

Watch Peter Buck, Steve Wynn, Linda Pitmon & Scott McCaughey ring in the new baseball season with "All Future and No Past."

Alejandro Escovedo inducted into Austin City Limits Hall of Fame on Thursday

Congrats to Alejandro on the ACL honour, it's just surprising that the Austin icon wasn't in already. 

Here's the scoop on the event from Austin City Limits...

Austin City Limits is proud to announce the newest class of Austin City Limits Hall of Fame inductees, recognizing a pioneering trio of music’s great live acts: Alejandro Escovedo, Lucinda Williams and Wilco. Music greats Jason Isbell, Margo Price, John Doe, Sheila E., Lenny Kaye, Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner, Rosanne Cash, Bill Callahan, Terry Allen and Del Castillo’s Alex Ruiz will take part in saluting the newest class of inductees with one-of-a-kind music performances and tributes.

The 2021 Austin City Limits Hall of Fame inductees will be saluted at a star-studded ceremony to be held October 28th, 2021 at ACL's studio home, ACL Live at The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. Musical highlights and inductions from the ceremony will air as a special on PBS stations across the country in January 2022.

Alejandro Escovedo

Called a “rock and punk godfather” by Rolling Stone, Alejandro Escovedo first debuted on Austin City Limits in 1983 with his seminal band Rank and File, and has made five indelible appearances. The San Antonio-born, California-raised trailblazer has been a punk of the rebel kind in early band The Nuns, a cowpunk of the non-Western variety in Rank and File, commander of a guitar army in The True Believers, an orchestral conductor in his solo work, and a sensitive boy who has outrun death, demons, lust, and lost love in his songs. Crossing borders, jumping barriers, taking risks, betting it all: that’s the path Alejandro Escovedo has taken in his lifelong search for the heart of rock ‘n’ roll. No Depression magazine declared him the Artist of the Decade at the onset of the millennium. His 12th studio album, 2018’s The Crossing, is a testament to his enduring power as a uniquely talented artist and collaborator. Escovedo has appeared on ACL five times - in 1983 (as part of Rank and File), 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2017.

Lucinda Williams

Louisiana-born Lucinda Williams has traveled a long road since her 1979 debut, Ramblin’ on My Mind, followed by Happy Woman Blues, her first album of originals released over forty years ago in 1980. (She says that she’s still “the same girl” except that now “I have a bigger fan base and I can afford to stay at better hotels.”) Over the course of fourteen remarkable albums, three Grammy awards, and countless accolades, including Time’s Songwriter of the Year of 2001, Williams is one of music’s most revered artists, beloved for her singular vocals and extraordinary songs. In 2018, she celebrated the 20th Anniversary of her watershed Americana album Car Wheels on a Gravel Road with a sold-out milestone tour. The pioneering artist returned to the gritty blues foundation that first inspired her as a young singer-songwriter in the late 1970s, releasing a career highlight, 2020’s Good Souls Better Angels, to critical raves and a pair of Grammy nominations, hailed “one of the most searing, potent and passionate albums you’ll hear” by American Songwriter. Williams has appeared on Austin City Limits four times, in 1990, 1992 (as part of a songwriters special), 1999 and 2008.

Wilco

In their over two-plus decades as a band, Wilco has won multiple Grammy Awards, released 11 studio albums, as well as a trio of acclaimed albums with Billy Bragg penning music to lyrics by Woody Guthrie. Led, as always by singer/songwriter Jeff Tweedy, the influential Chicago band have founded their own record label (dBpm Records) and festival (Solid Sound). Wilco continue to be regarded as a live powerhouse, as described by NPR, “To see Wilco on stage is to hear the best of the best.” Rolling Stone hails their most recent album, Ode to Joy, “Their best in years, a beautiful exercise in downhearted uplift,” while New York Magazine raved “[Ode to Joy] is Wilco’s best album in over a decade, and solid proof there’s room for bands to grow even when they’re already ten albums in.” Wilco has appeared on the ACL stage four times, in 2000, 2005, 2007 and 2012.

Austin City Limits 2021 Hall of Fame Induction & Celebration

Thursday, October 28, 2021

ACL Live at The Moody Theater

310 W Willie Nelson Blvd, Austin, TX 78701

6:00 pm gates and will call open

6:45 pm doors open

7:30 pm showtime

VIP Party Begins at 6:00 pm

Get tickets right here. Watch Alejandro Escovedo perform "Johnny Volume" with Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey and Kurt Bloch which wasn't originally televised as part of the ACL broadcast. 

 

R.E.M. reissuing Hib-Tone "Radio Free Europe" single

R.E.M. is re-releasing their 1981 debut single recorded in the Winston-Salem garage of Mitch Easter's parents. 

Here's the scoop...

For the first time in 40 years, rock icons R.E.M. are reissuing their foundational, debut single “Radio Free Europe,” first released in 1981. While many fans know the 1983 version of the song, which appeared on the band’s first studio album Murmur, only a lucky few have heard this version, which marks one of R.E.M.’s earliest recordings. Due for release July 23rd via Craft Recordings, and available to pre-order today, Radio Free Europe (Original Hib-Tone Single) will be presented in its original format: as a 45-RPM single, housed in a jacket featuring photography by Michael Stipe. In an homage to the band’s hometown, the single was pressed in Athens, GA at Kindercore Vinyl.

In addition to the 7” single, R.E.M.’s 1981 demonstration tape—titled Cassette Set—is also being made available for the first time. This ultra-rare collection will be available exclusively via the official R.E.M. store as a bundle with the 7”, limited to 1,500 copies worldwide. The Cassette Set tape—also releasing July 23— will replicate the original packaging, which was self-assembled by the band, using photocopied cardstock for the J-card inlays and handwritten cassette labels by Stipe. 

In 1979, singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and drummer Bill Berry were students at the University of Georgia, in the vibrant college town of Athens. Buck worked at Wuxtry Records—a local record store that Stipe frequented. The two young men quickly bonded over their shared love of proto-punk bands like the Velvet Underground and Television. Roommates Mills and Berry, meanwhile, met in high school and had already played in several bands together in their hometown of Macon.

That fall, the four young men met through a mutual friend, Kathleen O’Brien, and began casually playing music together. Several months later, O’Brien was organizing a concert/ birthday party and invited Stipe, Buck, Mills, and Berry to open the show. The group played a loose set of covers and original songs to more than three hundred people. Needless to say, it was a success.

Within a few months, they built a following in the local scene. By early 1981, they had a fanbase that expanded beyond the confines of Athens. That spring, the band were connected with singer, songwriter, and producer Mitch Easter (later of Let’s Active), who booked the band for a session at his Drive-In Studio in Winston-Salem, NC.

On April 15th, set up in Easter’s parents’ converted garage, R.E.M. recorded three songs: “Sitting Still,” “White Tornado,” and “Radio Free Europe.” The resulting tracks were copied to several-hundred self-produced cassette tapes—approximately 400 copies—and distributed to clubs, journalists and labels. The collection, titled Cassette Set, included a few playful additions; “Sitting Still” was prefaced by a few seconds of a high tempo run through of the song done in Polka-style; “White Tornado” was followed by an aborted “White Tornado” take where Buck blunders, the song grinds to a halt, and Buck is heard apologizing before Easter’s voice appears. This Cassette Set was the only place to get the very original Easter mixes of “Sitting Still” and “Radio Free Europe.” Outside of the copies originally produced, this early demonstration tape collection has never-before been reissued—until now.

A copy of the tape also made its way to Jonny Hibbert, who owned the Atlanta-based indie label, Hib-Tone. Impressed, Hibbert offered to put out the band’s first single. On May 24, the band returned to the studio and laid down some overdubs onto “Radio Free Europe” and Hibbert mixed both “Radio Free Europe” and “Sitting Still” the next day.

While the band preferred Easter’s original mix of the song, Hibbert chose his own mix for the 7-inch single, which featured “Sitting Still” as the B-side. An initial pressing of 1,000 was released in July 1981, with 600 copies designated for promotional use. Later, an additional 6,000 copies were issued, due to popular demand (and for practical reasons, as the first pressing inadvertently omitted contact info for the band.)

Despite mishaps along the way, the release of the “Radio Free Europe” single earned the band critical acclaim and an offer from I.R.S. Records. Under the new label, a more experienced R.E.M. re-recorded “Radio Free Europe.” The new version—which featured a slower tempo than its predecessor and slightly revised lyrics—was released as the band’s first official single with I.R.S., and appeared on their 1983 debut, Murmur.

The single garnered the band their first chart success, peaking at No.78 on the Billboard Hot 100, and helped to propel Murmur up the album charts, where it landed at No.36. Decades later, the song was regarded by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, while in 2010, “Radio Free Europe” was added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry—noted for having paved the way for subsequent indie rock acts “by breaking through on college radio in the face of mainstream radio’s general indifference.”

Despite the breakthrough success of that 1983 recording, R.E.M. has long stated that the rougher, Hib-Tone version of “Radio Free Europe” is the superior recording. And, while eagle-eyed fans may note that the single was listed as a track on R.E.M.’s 1988 compilation, Eponymous, and then on 2006’s I.R.S. years compilation (And I Feel Fine…The Best of The I.R.S. Years 1982-1987), the version that was labeled “Original Hib-Tone single” was, in fact, Easter’s original mix, not Hibbert’s. That formative pressing, however, has remained a sought-after rarity for four decades—and is available again for the first time here.

Have a listen to R.E.M.'s original Hib-Tone version of their "Radio Free Europe" single and the Cassette Set version of  "White Tornado". Check the links section below for an interview with Mitch Easter. 

LINKS

Aquarium Drunkard – Mitch Easter interview

Watch Alejandro Escovedo salute Johnny Thunders on Austin City Limits

Alejandro was joined by Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey & Kurt Bloch for "Johnny Volume" & "Castanets" left off the TV broadcast.

Here's the rest of the show from 2016...

Peter Buck knocks out two new albums!

Peter Buck cut Beat Poetry For Survivalists with The Auteurs' Luke Haines and joins Scott McCaughey with Norwegian pals in The No Ones. 

THE GREAT LOST NO ONES ALBUM

The No Ones – a bi-continental collaboration featuring Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey, Frode Strømstad and Arne Kjelsrud Mathisen – is a band that stretches from the southwest of Norway through Athens, Georgia to the northwest corner of the USA, consisting of members from I Was A King, The Minus 5, The Baseball Project and R.E.M.

As this pedigree almost dictates, they wield Fender and Rickenbacker guitars, cutting, chiming and fuzzing their way through songs dealing with abduction, interstellar mysteries, witchcraft, and more mundane fare like climate change, gentrification, and the desolation of the soul. The vocal harmonies and psychedelic flourishes fuse the sunny turbulent sounds of the ‘60s with the darkness and decay of today.

 The 13-track LP, The Great Lost No Ones Album – out on Yep Roc March 27th – was recorded way back in June 2017 at Type Foundry by Adam Selzer in Portland, OR, and features Patterson Hood (“Straight Into The Bridge” and “Sweet Home Mississippi”), Darren Hanlon (“All You Need Is Rain,” “Too Blind To Believe, “Turn Again”), Andrew Reiger and Davey Wrathgabar (“Dream Something Else”), Lucy Parnell (“Sun Station Vadsø”), and Debbi Peterson (“Gone”).

Initial pressings come with a bonus 7" with the otherwise unavailable tracks "Apples" and "Slow Century." You can pre-order The Great Lost No Ones Album from Yep Roc right here. Watch the video for "Straight Into The Bridge" below and the lead track "No One Falls Alone".

BEAT POETRY FOR THE SURVIVALIST

Beat Poetry For The Survivalist is the new collaboration between Peter Buck and Luke Haines. Peter Buck was the guitarist R.E.M., the biggest band in the world. Luke Haines was the guitarist for The Auteurs who were not the biggest band in the world. Luke Haines also does paintings of Lou Reed.

One day, Peter Buck bought one of Luke Haines’ Lou Reed paintings (for £99.00) They had never met before but decided that the fates had brought them together and they should write some songs together and make an album.

Beat Poetry For The Survivalist (Omnivore) is that album. With songs about legendary rocket scientist and occultist Jack Parsons, the Enfield hauntings (of 1978), a post-apocalyptic radio station that only plays Donovan records, Bigfoot, and Pol Pot. You can order a copy of the album directly from Omnivore Recordings right here. Listen to "Jack Parsons" below.

Alejandro Escovedo signs with Yep Roc, new studio album due in 2018

Yep Roc Records recently announced the signing of acclaimed Texas singer/songwriter Alejandro Escovedo whose most recent album, 2016's Burn Something Beautiful, was issued by Concord Music Group's Fantasy imprint. Currently working on material for his Yep Roc debut anticipated for 2018, Escovedo will headline the Think About the Link 12-city tour beginning January 13, in Austin, TX. A full list of concert dates follows the video clips below.

In partnership with Prevent Cancer Foundation, the Think About the Link tour will raise awareness of the Foundation’s educational campaign about the connection between certain viruses and cancer, www.thinkaboutthelink.org of which Escovedo is a spokesperson. As a hepatitis C survivor, Escovedo hopes to raise awareness about the link between hepatitis C and liver cancer. Each night he will perform his A Man Under the Influence album in its entirety with most of the original musicians featured on the album and a string section.

“I had a great time performing at Yep Roc Records 20th anniversary show,” says Escovedo, “connecting with friends old and new, I look forward to joining Yep Roc’s esteemed roster.”

“We are massive fans of Alejandro,” says Yep Roc’s Glenn Dicker. “I first met with him about Yep Roc in 2003 at a little festival outside of Chapel Hill called Shakori Hills. Through Alejandro directly and a handful of managers, we’ve managed to stay in touch over all of the ensuing years and, you know, I just can’t put you down!  We’re so proud to be finally working together.  Let’s have some fun!”

With 14 solo albums throughout his illustrious career, Alejandro Escovedo has a rich musical history and future. In a trailblazing career that began with The Nuns, San Francisco’s famed punk innovators in the mid ‘70s, to the Austin-based alt-country pioneers, Rank & File, to Texas bred darlings, True Believers, through countless all-star collaborations and tribute album appearances and a series of beloved solo albums beginning with 1992’s acclaimed Gravity, Escovedo has earned a surplus of distinctions, including No Depression magazine’s Artist of the Decade Award in 1998, and the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Performing in 2006.

Previously produced by John Cale, Tony Visconti, and most recently Peter Buck & Scott McCaughey who also played on the aforementioned Burn Something Beautiful album, Yep Roc will release his 15th album in 2018.

Watch Alejandro perform "Horizontal" and "Johnny Volume" with Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey on Austin City Limits. Scott is currently receiving medical treatment in San Francisco for a stroke suffered while on tour with Alejandro back in November. Scott's partner Mary Winzig has begun a GoFundMe campaign to help defray the costs of Scott's medical bills and extensive physical and speech therapy to which you can contribute right here.








ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO'S THINK ABOUT THE LINK TOUR
January 13 – Austin City Limits at Moody Theater – Austin, TX
January 16 – The Hamilton – Washington, DC
January 18-20 – City Winery – New York, NY
January 21 – City Winery – Boston, MA
January 23 – World Cafe Live – Philadelphia, PA
January 25-27 – City Winery – Chicago, IL
January 28 – The Castle Theatre – Bloomington, IL
January 30 – City Winery – Atlanta, GA
January 31 – City Winery – Nashville, TN
February 6 – Knuckleheads – Kansas City, MO
February 8 – The Kessler Theater – Dallas, TX
February 9 – The Heights Theater – Houston, TX

Limited-run RSD albums from The Fleshtones, Los Straitjackets and Minus 5 due November 24

With Record Store Day fast approaching, the fine folks at Yep Roc Records just announced a Black Friday bonanza of releases from The Fleshtones, Los Straitjackets and the Minus 5 – each containing at least some music you don't already own! Here's the scoop...

The Fleshtones – Budget Buster (Yep Roc Records)
Packaging: 12” Vinyl / red and orange splatter-colored
Limited to 1000 copies worldwide

Known as the “The Kings of Garage Rock” or “America’s Garage Rock Band,” there’s no debate that The Fleshtones are one of the hardest working (and rocking) bands of all time. In the past decade, Peter Zaremba's crew has released loads of new music that rivals the best of their impressive 40-year run. The 12-song Budget Buster collects some of their finest singles tracks and rarities over the last 10 years, many of which are long out-of-print and difficult to find. Fleshtones completists should note that Budget Buster includes two previously unreleased tracks and features a sleeve created by Mons. Zaremba himself!

Los Straitjackets – Sing Along With Los Straitjackets (Yep Roc Records)
Packaging: 12” LP with bonus 45 single
Limited to 1500 copies worldwide

Way back in 2001, Sing Along with Los Straitjackets marked the first time the masked instrumental marvels featured vocals on their recordings, an endeavor they would embark on again later with Deke Dickerson.

Sing Along with Los Straitjackets features a party of musicians spanning the musical sphere, from Nick Lowe playing bass on his own “Shake That Rat,” to collaborations with the always amazing El Vez, Raul Malo from The Mavericks, Exene Cervenka from X, Mark Lindsay of Raiders fame, Mike Campbell from Tom Petty's Heartbreakers, and even instro royals The Trashmen. Reissued on wax for the first time, every copy of the LP comes with a bonus 45 single featuring two rare collaborations from the Sing Along with… sessions featuring Dave Alvin and Reverend Horton Heat, who also appear on the album.

The Minus 5 – Dear December (Yep Roc Records)
Packaging:  12” LP | white vinyl
Limited to 1500 copies worldwide

In early 2017, Scott McCaughey penned a few holiday numbers to submit to a well-known artist’s prospective holiday album. He became so inspired by the task that he wrote more than an album’s worth of material and decided to record that album with his group, The Minus 5, which for this project includes Peter Buck and drummer Joe Adragna as core members.

A cool yule selection of 11 original future holiday classics, Dear December includes collaborations with Kurt Bloch, M. Ward, Death Cab's Ben Gibbard, Mike Mills, Colin Meloy (of The Decemberists), Chuck Prophet and a few other special guests. The deluxe white vinyl album comes packaged with an Advent-inspired calendar, a gatefold cover and digital download.