Great new track from Ola Podrida’s forthcoming album, ‘Ghosts Go Blind’, out April 30 on Western Vinyl.

Both bands are celebrating a 40th anniversary – for Lynyrd Skynyrd it’s the anniversary of their debut album, for Bad Company it’s the anniversary of their formation.

With that many years of music under their collective belts, the hits will be flowing on this 12-date summer tour. Blackstone Cherry opens all dates except for July 27.

Thu Jun 20 – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheater
Fri Jun 21 – Ridgefield, WA Sleep Country Amphitheater
Sun Jun 23 – Mountain View, CA –  Shoreline Amphitheater
Thu Jul 11 – Houston, TX  - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Sat Jul 13  - Charlotte, NC – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Sun Jul 14 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
Wed Jul 17  - Camden, NJ  - Susquehanna Bank Center
Fri Jul 19  - Burgettstown, PA – First Niagara Pavilion
Sat Jul 20  - Noblesville, IN – Kilpsch Music Center
Tue Jul 23 – Clarkston, MI – DTE Energy Music Theater
Wed Jul 24 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
Fri Jul 26  - Gilford, NH  - Meadowbrook (Not a Live Nation date)
Sat Jul 27  - *Bethel, NY  - Bethel Woods Center for the Arts

Right in my wheelhouse! While waiting for the new Son Volt CD to come out (the wait ends on Tuesday!), I’ve been biding my time with Drew Holcomb and The Neighbor’s ‘Good Light’. Holcomb and band haven’t really broken any new territory – they’ve just done a great job of nailing a very familiar alt-country sound.

There are a number of tracks on ‘Good Light’ that could have ended up as a “song of the week” but this one captures everything I love about this genre of music – twangy guitars, female backing vocals, and lyrical content about growing up in the south.

Listen: “Tennessee”

Low budget? Looks like no budget but still an entertaining “life in the van” video.

March tour dates for Local H, April and May tour dates for Scott Lucas & The Married Men. It’s just the cost of doing business these days. The Married Men dates are with Empty Mansions, a new group featuring Sam Fogarino (Interpol), Duane Denison (Jesus Lizard), and Brandon Curtis (Secret Machines).

4/24 Washington, DC- DC9 *
4/25 Philadelphia, PA – The Barbary *
4/26 Brooklyn, NY – Knitting Factory *
4/27 New York, NY – Mercury Lounge *
4/28 Allston, MA – Great Scott *
4/29 Buffalo, NY – Tralf Studio Stage
5/1 Detroit, MI – Garden Bowl *
5/2 Grand Rapids, MI – Founders Brewery, Co
5/3 Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle *

* dates with EmptyMansions

The fine fellas over at the Dig Me Out podcast noted in a Facebook post that Veruca Salt’s second album – and the last featuring Nina Gordon – ‘Eight Arms to Hold You’ was released on this day in 1997.

After releasing the Brad Wood-produced ‘American Thighs’ in 1994, Veruca Salt embraced its inner arena rock dreams and hired Bob Rock (Metallica, AC/DC) to produce their sophomore album. The money was well spent as ‘Eight Arms to Hold You’ is a glossy, sparkly, blistering rock album with songs like “Straight”, “Volcano Girls”, “Shutterbug”, and “Venus Man Trap” that were played in arenas (the band spent time on the road following the release playing hockey and basketball arenas opening for Bush).

It stands in stark contrast to the (intentionally?) lo-fi debut but it’s more of the sound Veruca Salt really wanted to make and it still stands out as one of my favorite fist-pumping rockers.

Happy 16th birthday, ‘Eight Arms to Hold You’.

Sad news coming from Rebecca Krebs about her husband, musician Pete Krebs (ex-Hazel) …

This is a humbling plea for help from our community. As many of you know, Pete had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in his early 20s, and through radiation and removal of some lymph nodes, he beat it. However, Pete has now been diagnosed with another type of cancer known as dismoplastic melanoma. The oncologist tells us that this is a rare form of cancer and that there is no cure once it has spread. Chemo and radiation will not work and will not be used to fight it. At this point, we know that Pete is in stage two out of four. We should know how far it has gone after surgery …

From this surgery, we will know how far the cancer has spread and what Pete’s chances are for survival. The best case scenario will be to find out that the cancer has not spread. At that point he may be able to take an immuno-builder that will help him fight future cancer cells. If it has spread, there will be no remission and he will need to be checked regularly, as this cancer travels along the nervous system and can end up anywhere in his body …

I must admit, it is very awkward and uncomfortable to ask this of you. My plea to you is this: We will not have enough income to cover the doctor/hospital bills that are already accumulating, or our mortgage in February (hopefully, our house will sell sooner than later). I am asking for any help that you can give us (and ONLY if you can afford it, as I know that many of you have been struggling, just as we have, in this economy) to help us cover our bills so that we might have a little breathing room to deal with this. We could only return our complete and utter gratitude …

A long time ago, I had a site called Swizzle-Stick and even had a small staff. We talked about naming an “Artist of the Year” a few times and in 1999, had we gone through with it, Pete would have won the award. His album, ‘Sweet Ona Rosa’, was a favorite among the staff and even then, we wish more people had heard it.

We’ll be keeping Pete and his family in our thoughts. If you’re interested in reading more and seeing ways you can help, please check this out.

Consequence of Sound premiered the new Local H video, “Another February”, today.

As someone who hates winter too, (I know, Fyffo, you don’t hate it) this video hits home.

According to the CoS feature:

“Another February” is the centerpiece of a forthcoming EP. It also includes covers of Rush and The National, as well two alternative versions of cuts from ‘Hallelujah, I’m A Bum.’

Can’t wait.

Damn you, crazy Brits for this infuriatingly awesome earworm – it’s like tUnEyArDs-meets-Gotye-covering-Peter-Gabriel. That combination makes my head spin!

Everything Everything’s U.S. debut EP, Cough Cough, is out on Feb.5.

Dates in the U.S. are starting to take shape – LA (3/19) and NYC (3/25) are confirmed as is a SXSW appearance. No word on whether or not there will be more dates but the betting man says there will be.

Some great new music coming out this week …

The Joy Formidable – ‘Wolf’s Law’

Gliss – ‘Langsom Dans’

Bad Religion – ‘True North’

Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown – ‘Wild Child’

See more new releases here.