With their debut album, Horehound, quickly approaching its July 14th release, The Dead Weather (Third Man Records latest supergroup: Jack White (The White Stripes), Alison Mosshart (The Kills), Jack Lawrence (The Raconteurs) and Dean Fertita) have announced the uncensored Cinemax debut of their short film for latest single, "Treat Me Like Your Mother". Directed by Jonathan Glazer, the groundbreaking short will premiere in its entirety on July 11th at 9:55pm on the premium cable channel. The clip will mark only the second time Cinemax has ever premiered a music video.
Check out both trailers, one featuring Jack and the other featuring Alison, below!
Since the release of Mazzy Star's debut album She Hangs Brightly, Hope Sandoval has defined the sound and style of California psychedelic dream pop. The world took notice when the breakthrough single "Fade Into You" (from sophomore album So Tonight That I Might See) hit the airwaves and MTV heavy rotation.
Sandoval's trademark vocals helped to make her a modern day music icon. Now the revered singer returns along side My Bloody Valentine's Colm O'Ciosoig to deliver her long awaited sophomore album Through The Devil Softly on September 1.Over the past decade, the sought after vocalist has collaborated with artists from across the musical landscape: The Jesus & Mary Chain, Air, Death in Vegas, The Chemical Brothers, Massive Attack and Bert Jansch, to count a few.In 2001, she joined Colm O'Ciosoig to form Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions and release their debut Bavarian Fruit Bread.
Now on Through The Devil Softly, the definitive star of the Paisley Underground scene reignites her trademark sound in an epic journey across the 11-song album. The project continues the laid-back, slowcore sound they are renowned for and places Sandoval's sensuous, hypnotic voice in the forefront. Recorded in both Northern California and the Wicklow Mountains of Ireland, the spare, subtle arrangements reinforce Sandoval's gentle vocal style.An extensive North American tour is planned for Fall 09, with dates in the UK and Europe to follow.
With his geek-chic style and earnest, heartfelt ballads, Gary Go is quickly becoming the newest hero of the UK pop scene with rave reviews and a fiercely devoted following. His self-produced first album and the lead single “Wonderful”, which the BBC calls a “shimmering slice of sing-along song craft”, are climbing the charts and have earned him the opening spot on Lady Gaga’s upcoming European tour.
Depending on your background, the term "power trio" may bring to mind the '60s sonic depth-charges launched by the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream; the twisty prog-rock styles of mid-'70s King Crimson and Rush; or the post-grunge bash of Seether and Wolfmother. In the case of Civil Twilight, as evidenced on their self-titled debut album, the term means all of that - and much more.
"We like to write together, and jam for hours at a time," says singer/bassist/pianist Steven McKellar, who joined his brother Andrew (guitar) and childhood friend Richard Wouters (drums) to form the group in 1996. "We'll play together in a studio, record all our jam sessions, and then listen back to them and pick the sections to work on that we think could turn into songs." Each member also writes on his own. "It's a very sensitive thing," Steven remarks. "Each of us approaches it in a different way. It's really all about learning to read your creative flow."
"I think honesty is really important when creating," adds Richard. "Whether it be lyrically or musically, we want it to be true and heartfelt. We want to be saying something we really mean." That creative honesty and flow is very much in evidence on Civil Twilight, from the pop-smart, piano-led "Next to Me" to the chiming, soaring "Anybody Out There," from the cod-reggae rocker "Soldier" to the sweeping grandeur of "Quiet in My Town."
And while comparisons to the arena-filling likes of U2 and Radiohead may be inevitable, Civil Twilight have without doubt found a niche all their own.
Friends since childhood, Andrew McKellar and Richard Wouters both started out on guitar in their native Cape Town, South Africa. By age 15, Wouters had switched to drums; during an early rehearsal, Andrew showed up with his younger brother, the then-13-year-old Steven, who quickly proved his mettle as an emotive songwriter and soon after developed as a solid bassist. "We were all friends; it was pretty much that simple," says Andrew. "We just got into enjoying it, practicing once a week on Sunday and having fun."
Growing up, the three young men took advantage of the musical eclecticism that surrounded them in Cape Town. "My mother would play the piano every few days," Steven says. "That was my first experience of really sensitive, soulful music. When I first started playing bass, I got into jazz and studied that for awhile, but eventually realized that was not what I wanted to do." American and European bands like Nirvana, Blur and Oasis were making the same inroads in South Africa that they were in their native lands, and the McKellar brothers were quickly drawn in.
"Nirvana really changed everything for me," says Andrew. "Here was a guy who sounded - and, as it turns out, was - pretty desperate, singing in a way that was very real. That band was really blowing people's minds; we'd never heard anything like that."
At the same time, native dance music and the mbaqanga and township jive styles popularized worldwide by Paul Simon's Graceland album were inescapable influences.
"South Africa can be a hard place to explain," Richard reflects. "It's very heavily influenced by American and British bands, but it also has this aspect to it that's totally unique. Being situated at the tip of Africa, and with its history as both a British and Dutch colony, we kind of create our own worlds."
Constant gigging eventually led Civil Twilight to conquer the local club scene, at which point the decision was made in 2005 to relocate to Los Angeles.
"My mom is actually American," remarks Andrew, "and we'd kind of always wanted to come and live here. Musically it's so huge and there's so much going on. America is an incredible place to start something new, to start over. It has an air about it that makes dreaming big possible." And they don't get much bigger for a "new" act than placing no fewer than four songs in one year on major network TV shows: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (which featured "Letters from the Sky"), One Tree Hill ("Quiet in My Town"), House ("Human"), and Without A Trace ("Human").
Hearing his music on television is, Richard says, "kind of a surreal thing. Being on the radio is one thing, but suddenly hearing one of your songs pop up on TV is just kind of bizarre. But it's obviously a great way to gain exposure."
"Our music seems to suit a lot of the emotive type scenes on those shows," adds Steven. "Our lyrics are, I think, ambiguous enough, and our music fits in with the themes some of those shows explore."
And in case you think that that ambiguity is indicative of a lack of focus or storytelling skills, think again. "Next to Me" and "Something She Said" both illustrate the pain of someone who's loved and lost to an intimate degree.
"It's not necessarily an autobiographical thing," Steven explains, "but it's obviously a subject I'm interested in. I draw from what I've observed in other people. And I love the idea of second chances - of getting the opportunity to make things better."
The grandiose "Quiet in My Town," inspired by the death of his grandmother, makes for a poignant exploration of a universal theme, leading ultimately to an uplifting finale. "It's the idea of someone old looking back at what they did with their life, realizing they haven't accomplished everything they wanted to," adds Steven.
"It's kind of sobering, but at the same time it's freeing, encouraging people to understand that it doesn't have to be that way - that it's never too late to change or start over."
That, in a nutshell, is what Civil Twilight - both the band and the album - are all about. "We'd like people to come away from this album feeling the weight of emotion behind it," Steven says, as the other two echo similar sentiments. "You should be able to enjoy feeling these different emotions as you listen. And through the experience of these different emotions and stories, we hope the listener might discover something of the goodness of life."
Silversun Pickups were recently invited to be a part of the newly resurrected fan-favorite MTV "Unplugged" and the quartet happily accepted. Their intimate performance is now available exclusively at MTV.com, which features 6 songs, including "Panic Switch," "Lazy Eye" and "Kissing Families."
Clips from this "Unplugged" session are also airing all this week on MTV's AMTV morning music block. "Panic Switch" remains in steady rotation at MTV, MTV2 as well as MTV Hits, while it continues its charge at Modern Rock radio.The band is currently spreading their gospel across Europe and will return for a brief US run, along with several festival appearances, in August.
Check out the "Unplugged" homepage for exclusive photos with full performance & interview videos. Find embed code for each track at the source! Silversun Pickups "Unplugged"
Santa-Monica based public radio station KCRW will air Michael Jackson’s Memorial Service in its entirety on KCRW.com’s all music channel starting at 10am on Tuesday, July 7. Stevie Wonder, Motown records founder Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, Jennifer Hudson, and Lionel Ritchie are among the attendees expected to attend the public memorial, although the list is subject to change and few official details on the program have been announced.
The memorial will take place in the Staples Center arena in downtown Los Angeles. KCRW will carry live audio from the event on http://www.kcrw.com/. More than 1.6 million people registered for tickets to the event and only 17,500 tickets were made available through a lottery system.
The ceremony will not be shown on the giant outdoor TV screen at Staples and there will be no funeral procession through the city. KCRW deejays have put together a number of tributes to the late entertainer over the last couple weeks, all of which are available in the archives on a tribute site, as well as Elvis Mitchell’s interview with Margo Jefferson, author of “On Michael Jackson,” from The Treatment: http://www.kcrw.com/music/michael-jackson
"Ignorance" available to purchase digitally tomorrow, July 7th New album brand new eyes in stores and online September 29th Pre-order brand new eyes beginning tomorrow at http://www.paramore.net/
On tour with No Doubt: 7/6 - Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theatre 7/8 - St. Louis, MO - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre 7/10 - Indianapolis, IN - Verizon Wireless Music Center 7/11 - Chicago, IL - First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre 7/13 - Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre 7/15 - Calgary, AB - Pengrowth Saddledome 7/16 - Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place 7/18 - Vancouver, BC - General Motors Place 7/19 - Seattle, WA - White River Amphitheatre 7/21 - Concord, CA - Sleep Train Pavilion 7/22 - Los Angeles, CA - Gibson Amphitheatre 7/24 - Sacramento, CA - Sleep Train Amphitheatre 7/25 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre 7/27 - Los Angeles, CA - Gibson Amphitheatre 7/28 - Los Angeles, CA - Gibson Amphitheatre 7/31 - Irvine, CA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre 8/1 - Irvine, CA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre 8/2 - Irvine, CA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
At the age of 24 Alison Sudol, front woman of A Fine Frenzy released the bands' first album One Cell In The Sea. Three years have passed since One Cell reached Number One on Billboard’s “Heatseeker” charts, and A Fine Frenzy was chosen as a VH1 “You Oughta Know” artist. Seemingly flawless, sprite-like and poetic the talented Sudol is ready to release her bands’ second album on September 8th on Virgin Records.
A Bomb In A Birdcage was not an accidental title for this record as Alison goes onto explain, "I think some people may be surprised.” “They think that I’m all fragile and ethereal—and that’s lovely, it’s flattering. It's all I've really let anyone see, up to this point. But I have a wild side too. I like to bang on things and cause a ruckus every now and then. I’m a quiet person with a loud streak. I like both. This record is a testament to that.”
I nearly pissed myself when I heard that The Sounds were doing a show at the KEY CLUB in Hollywood. I never picked up tix to support em on the NoDoubt tour, so I was thrilled to hear they added another show in between their 2 other LA show with No Doubt.
July 30th at the Key Club on Sunset is the date...MARK YOUR CALENDAR! In the meantime, check out a brand new interview The Sounds did with Shockhound TV.
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