Month: January 2008

The Little Ones (ex-Sunday’s Best)


(an early photo of Sunday’s Best)

One of the first shows I ever booked (and there weren’t really all that many afterwards) was a triple bill of Sunday’s Best, Onelinedrawing, and Juno at some basement punk rock club called Bernie’s in Columbus, Ohio. Juno backed out at the last minute (to this day, I think their excuse for backing out was a load of crap) but the show went on with a local band taking Juno’s place. I think we did something like 80 paid which, for being a show in the summer (when a lot of students at OSU aren’t taking classes), turned out really nicely and the guys in Sunday’s Best were super appreciative of everything.

Sunday’s Best – “Don’t Let it Fade”

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=RJPhxyceMt0[/youtube]

Tonight I was looking up the band Pond to see whatever became of them when I saw them somehow linked to a band called Skiploader. Skiploader’s lead singer, Tom Ackerman, went on to play drums with Sunday’s Best after his band broke up and it got me to wondering whatever happened to the Sunday’s Best guys. Turns out Ed Reyes and Ian Moreno of Sunday’s Best are now performing indie pop tunes (ala The Shins) as members of the much blogged/buzzed about band, The Little Ones who are just getting ready to hit the road with Nada Surf. Just amazing the stuff you can find out on the web with just a little searching.

The Little Ones – “Lovers Who Uncover”

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=NVwr5Ff6hAU[/youtube]

MP3/Tour: Bob Mould

Bob MouldIt seems like a good time for Bob Mould to return, doesn’t it? I kind of feel like it’s been a long time since I gave the ex-Husker Du/Sugar front man any considerable amount of time in my CD player or on my iPod, but I’m feeling a bit nostalgic. The material I’ve heard from his new solo CD, ‘Direct Line’, in stores in early February sounds great, but in a strange way. Here’s a guy who undoubtedly has influenced a generation of singer/songwriters and his new material, while sounding distinctly Mould-ish, also sounds like material that some of the modern post-emo boys, the ones who have left the “rock” world behind to concentrate on being “serious solo artists”, might perform. Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t get past the feeling that there is something kind of Dashboard Confessional-esque about Mould’s new material thus begging the question, was Chris Carrabba influenced by Mould or was Mould’s latest influenced by the generation of songwriters that HE influenced?

Want to hear what I’m talking about?

DOWNLOAD: “The Silence Between Us” from the forthcoming ‘Direct Line’ 

Mould’s got some upcoming tour dates which are as follows:

03/05 – Minneapolis, MN – First Ave.
03/06 – Milwaukee, MN – Shank Hall
03/07 – Chicago, IL – Metro
03/08 – Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop
03/10 – Toronto, ON – Mod Club
03/12 – Boston, MA – Paradise
03/13 – New York City, NY – Fillmore East At Irving Plaza
03/14 – Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero
03/15 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
03/16 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
03/18 – Atlanta, GA – Variety
03/20 – Austin, TX – Antone’s
03/22 – Boulder, CO – Fox Theatre
03/24 – San Diego, CA – Belly Up
03/25 – Los Angeles, CA – El Rey
03/26 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
03/28 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir
03/29 – Seattle, WA – Neumo’s
03/30 – Vancouver, BC – Richard’s

Free Music Friday

I took a little time off, the MP3s weren’t really rolling in at the end of the year but now the Free Music Friday feature is back and there is lots of great stuff to check out. Hey, it’s free, might as well give these songs a try.

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks – “Baltimore”
Times New Viking – “(My Head) / R.I.P. Allegory”
Headlights – “Cherry Tulips”
Speck Mountain – “Blood is Clean”
Justin Townes – “Hard Livin'”, “Who Am I To Say”
Elevator Suite – “Elenor Rigby”
Laura Barrett – “Deception Island Optimists Club”
Michael Morph – “The Crowd C’est Beau”
The Echo Division – “Don’t Lie To Me” / Ross McMeekin and the Prospectors – “Same Old Songs” (one ZIP file, 2 songs)

Tour/Interview: Megadeth

Blabbermouth has revealed some unconfirmed tour dates for the 2008 version of Gigantour, the annual traveling metal fest started by Megadeth front man Dave Mustaine in 2005. As usual, the lineup is full of some of the heaviest names in metal – Megadeth, In Flames, Children of Bodom, Job for a Cowboy, High on Fire – and the tour is rumored to be kicking off in April. These are the dates floating around out there but as of yet, nothing official has been announced.

Apr. 07 – San Diego, CA – Cox Arena
Apr. 08 – San Diego, CA – Cox Arena
Apr. 10 – Los Angeles, CA – Gibson Amphitheatre
Apr. 11 – Phoenix, AZ – Mesa Amphitheatre
Apr. 12 – Albuquerque, NM – Journal Pavilion
Apr. 13 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
Apr. 15 – Dallas, TX – Nokia Theatre
Apr. 16 – Corpus Christi, TX – Concrete Street Amphitheatre
Apr. 17 – Houston, TX – Verizon Wireless Theatre
Apr. 19 – Atlanta, GA – The Tabernacle
Apr. 20 – Louisville, KY – Louisville Gardens
Apr. 22 – New York City, NY – Hammerstein Ballroom
Apr. 23 – New York City, NY – Hammerstein Ballroom
Apr. 24 – Worcester, MA – The Palladium
Apr. 26 – Baltimore, MD – Pier Six Pavilion
Apr. 28 – Quebec City, QC – Pavilion De La Jeunesse
Apr. 29 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
Apr. 30 – Toronto, ON – Arrow Hall
May 01 – London ON – John Labatt Centre
May 03 – Detroit, MI – DTE Music Center
May 04 – Cleveland, OH – Tower City Center
May 06 – Chicago, IL – [to be announced]
May 07 – Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Ballroom
May 09 – Minneapolis, MN – Myth
May 10 – Winnipeg, MB – Convention Centre
May 11 – Saskatoon, SK – Prairieland Exhibition Hall
May 12 – Edmonton, AB – Shaw Conference Centre
May 14 – Calgary, AB – The Stampede Corral
May 16 – Vancouver, BC – Pacific Coliseum

I interviewed Megadeth bassist James Lomenzo (ex-White Lion) earlier this year for another publication. Read the interview after the jump.

Continue reading “Tour/Interview: Megadeth”

New from The Damnwells

After wrapping up a tour earlier this year with Ari Hest, The Damnwells have been uncharacteristically quiet. I’m feeling a bit like a nervous nellie and letting thoughts of a band breakup enter my head even though there hasn’t been any real word from the band’s camp, only a cryptic MySpace blog (dated Sept.9) by lead singer Alex Dezen that said, “The band isn’t breaking up, but we’re going through real profound changes—changes that are permanent and pervasive.  This is something anyone who cares should know.  The Damnwells aren’t Wal-Mart, were not trying to sell you something you don’t want.  We are a band in the truest sense of the word, and we are struggling to stay alive.  There is nothing you can do about it.  This is something all unions face at some point in their innate, tenuous existence.”

Just this week, Alex started posting homemade videos on YouTube. I take it as a good sign that these videos are listed as “The Damnwells” rather than “Alex Dezen of The Damnwells” because it gives me hope that maybe Alex just needed some time off from writing, recording and touring but is now ready to jump back into it.

Here are the 3 videos that have been posted so far, the first featuring Alex’s relatively new bride, Angela, on backing vocals.

“It’s Okay (Hey Now)” 

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZPZsGP6elh0[/youtube]

“Closer Than We Are”

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=506iWeq3F4o[/youtube]

“Come to Me”

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=CoDFzOGyPlI[/youtube]