Author: chip midnight

Tour: Nada Surf

Nada Surf did some warm-up dates this past fall road testing new material from the forthcoming release, Lucky, due in stores February 5 and now they’re ready to get back out there to pick up where they left off. Though not officially announced yet, the tour kick-off will take place in Austin, Texas during the 2008 SXSW Music Festival and will continue through at least mid-April according to the already released dates.

March
17 Tempe, AZ – Clubhouse Music Venue
18 San Diego, CA – House of Blues
19 Los Angeles, CA – Henry Fonda Theatre
21 Pomona, CA – Glass House
22 San Francisco, CA – Fillmore
25 Sacramento, CA – Harlow
26 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
28 Seattle, WA – Showbox
29 Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom

April
01 Denver, CO – Gothic Theatre
02 Omaha, NE – Waiting Room
03 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
04 Chicago, IL – Metro
05 Detroit, MI – St. Andrews Hall
07 Toronto, ONT – Opera House
08 Montreal, QBC – Club Soda
10 Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
11 New York, NY – Terminal 5
12 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
13 Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero

Here’s where it all got started – I think this is the last time we saw Daniel without dreads.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=P8g_wavcFR4[/youtube]

And whatever happened to the “popular” cheerleader from the video? Turns out Sarah Sebestyen has a singing career of her own these days, though her country-style is far removed from the indie rock sounds of Nada Surf.

Heavy Metal Parking Lot: Van Halen

Michael Butler hosts a great (and regularly updated) metal podcast called the Rock and Roll Geek Show (you can subscribe via iTunes). In addition to being a podcasting nut, Butler just recently got off the road, touring as the bassist for the recently reunited Jetboy. Butler got the gig because he also plays in American Heartbreak with Jetboy guitarist Billy Rowe. I also just learned recently that Butler played with the thrash band Exodus from 1990-1992.

Butler and his Rock and Roll Geek Show co-host Casey Crenshaw (who also is in American Heartbreak) took their video camera down to a Van Halen reunion show and conducted some parking lot interviews. The results are pretty hilarious, especially the part where Crenshaw thinks he’s going to get hit (fast forward to the 4:58 mark).

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=gdG0awa6ELo[/youtube]

Tour: The Donnas + The Hives = Rock n’ Roll Goodness

The Donnas just posted a MySpace bulletin announcing an upcoming run of dates with The Hives. This might be more rock and roll in one night than the average kid can handle!

Feb 19 – The Wiltern – Los Angeles, California
Feb 20 – The Fillmore – San Francisco, California
Feb 21 – Roseland Theater – Portland, Oregon
Feb 22 – Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver, British Columbia
Feb 23 – Showbox SODO – Seattle, Washington
Feb 26 – Ogden Theatre – Denver, Colorado
Feb 28 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, Minnesota
Feb 29 – Riviera Theater – Chicago, Illinois
Mar 1 – Newport Music Hall – Columbus, Ohio
Mar 2 – Agora Theater – Cleveland, Ohio
Mar 3 – Kool Haus – Toronto, Ontario
Mar 4 – Club Soda – Montreal, Quebec
Mar 7 – Terminal 5 – New York, New York
Mar 8 – 9:30 Club – Washington DC, Washington DC

This is one of the best songs of 2007 – The Hives “Tick Tick Boom”.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=rwhU99_66R8[/youtube]

Tour dates: Scott H. Biram

I don’t know many truck drivers. Hell, I don’t know ANY truck drivers but if all the stereotypes are to be believed, Scott H. Biram may be the prototypical truck-driving country-rock hillbilly with a need for speed … speed metal, that is. His 2006 release, Graveyard Shift, isn’t really an alt.country-metal album the way, say, some of the stuff that Hank III puts out is, but you can tell that Biram’s the type of dude whose got an armful of tattoos that he shouldn’t be showing in church or to his momma. As much as metal influenced Biram (I’m guessing the guy’s got a shoebox full of Motorhead cassettes), there’s also a dirty blues influence in his music. Now, I’m a trusting fella and am inclined to believe that his love of country and the blues is genuine though Pitchfork called Biram’s 2005 release, The Dirty Old One Man Band, “mock blues” to which Biram had a few words to say.

DOWNLOAD: “Whiskey” from The Dirty Old One Man Band
DOWNLOAD: “Been Down too Long” from Graveyard Shift
DOWNLOAD: “No Way” from Graveyard Shift

You’ll have the opportunity to decide for yourself whether it’s real or mocking as Biram hits the road this month for a string of tour dates.

1/19 – Austin, TX (Hole in the Wall)
1/24 – Houston, TX (Continental Club)
1/25 – Lake Charles, LA (Cowboy’s Night Club)
1/26 – Hattiesburg, MS (Thirsty Hippo)
1/29 – Athens, GA (Caledonia Lounge)
1/30 – Atlanta, GA (Star Bar)
1/31 – Knoxville, TN (Pilot Light)
2/3 – Raleigh, NC (The Berkeley Cafe)
2/5 – Charleston, SC (The Map Room)
2/6 – Daytona Beach, FL (The Bank and Blues Club)
2/7 – Orlando, FL (The Social)
2/8 – Ybor City, FL (Orpheum)
2/9 – St. Pierce, FL (Stage Easy)
2/12 – Tallahassee, FL (Big Daddy’s)
2/13 – Baton Rouge, LA (Spanish Moon)
2/14 – Alexandria, LA (Finnegan’s Wake)
2/15 -  Lafayette, LA (Blue Moon Saloon)
2/16 – Beaumont, TX (Vortex)

Other reads: THE BIG TAKEOVER, MELT

A little bit of shameless self-promotion – besides AtomicNed.com, you can read some of my stuff in the current issues of THE BIG TAKEOVER and MELT.

Big Takeover My stuff in this issue includes: Half-page features on Great Northern and Sea Wolf and reviews of CDs by Murder Your Darlings, Megan Palmer, Paper Airplane, Southeast Engine, Tigers Can Bite You, Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer, and Sensory Lullabies: The Ultimate Tribute to Jellyfish.

Also in this issue of THE BIG TAKEOVER, interviews with: The New Pornographers, The Shins, Maximo Park, Emma Pollock, The Cribs, Little Steven, The Pipettes, Fields, Pointed Sticks, Don McGlashan, Rogue Waves. There are a dozen or so half-page features and hundreds and hundreds of CD reviews. Look for THE BIG TAKEOVER on newsstands now (I know that both Borders and Barnes & Noble carry the magazine).

MELT Magazine I tried to set up a phone interview with somebody from the EDITORS for the January issue of MELT but they were squirrelled away in the studio doing some recording in December and, unfortunately, the interview never happened. But, the band is coming to Columbus in January – along with Hot Hot Heat and Louis XIV – so I wrote up a 2-page feature. Because the magazine is limited to distribution in Columbus, I’ll go ahead and publish the story after the jump.

Continue reading “Other reads: THE BIG TAKEOVER, MELT”