Author: chip midnight

Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer

Listen to “Death or Radio” from the forthcoming Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer release, Schematics.

In the dog days of summer, nothing sounds better than an ambitious power-pop album played at full blast in a top-down convertible. Fortunately, Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer understands this and has, over the course of five years, given music listeners plenty of refreshing pop confections that are not only fun to listen to but to sing along with as well.

Following closely on the heals of the split covers EP with Reel Big Fish, Duet All Night (featuring remakes of Madonna’s “Dress You Up,” Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney’s “Say Say Say” and Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me” among others), Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer is prepping for the release of their third full length album, Schematics, due in September.

I caught up with singer Rachel Minton just before she hit the road to start her summer (touring) vacation.

Continue reading “Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer”

First Blind Melon tour date surfaces

Blind Melon reunited last year with new singer Travis Warren. Since that time, the band has been busy at work recording two CDs worth of material. Now it’s time to take the show on the road and play for the first time since Shannon Hoon passed away in 1995. I developed a special bond with the band earlier in their career and was saddened at the loss of Shannon as well as the inevitable breakup of undoubtedly my favorite band at the time (and probably in my top 3 favorites ever).

I was alerted to the fact that there is a Blind Melon show listed on the calendar for the club The Basement in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, October 13. It excites me to no end to discover that the first “leaked” tour date just so happens to take place in my backyard. And, it’s the same week as two other reunion shows I’ll be attending – Van Halen (Cleveland, Oct.10) and the Smashing Pumpkins (Columbus, Oct.11).

I suspect more dates will start showing up in the next couple of days.

Here’s a video of the “new” Blind Melon performing “Harmful Belly”.

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

Free music Friday

Ferraby Lionheart – “Small Planet” (MP3)
Grand Ole Party – “Look Out Young Son” (MP3)
Tiger City – “Dark Water” (MP3)
Clockclean Er – “Vomiting Mirror” (MP3)
State Radio – “Unfortunates” (ZIP)
The Go Station – “All Together Now” (MP3)
Holler, Wild Rose – “Marylawn Hair” (MP3), “Sun Vines” (MP3)|
Para One – “Dun Dun” (ZIP)
Gram Parsons – “Long Black Limousine” (MP3) (only available for download until Aug. 30)
Brandi Shearer – “Lullabies” (MP3) (only available for download until Aug. 30)

Track 3: “Dirt and the Body” by Hello Dragon

Chris Zerby and Julie Chadwick used to be in an incredible band called Helicopter Helicopter. After deciding they had done all they could do in Boston, they moved to L.A. to give H2 a new start but soon started recording music as a side project they called Hello Dragon. After going through the whole traditional CD release thing a few times with H2, they’ve decided to embrace technology and allow people the option to download the Hello Dragon stuff via their MySpace page. Fans who want to support the band can pick up a limited edition EP, each copy with a unique hand-painted design, for $5 (+$2 shipping).

Chris recently answered the following 3 questions about track number 3 from the EP, “Dirt and the Body”. Before getting to his answers, head over to the band’s MySpace page, queue up the song (or download it), and use it as reference when reading what Chris has to say about the track.

Track 3: “Dirt and the Body” 

Is track 3 representative of the whole CD?
Kind of, but not really. It’s the catchy one. (See answer #3.) So I didn’t really have a choice.

What’s the story behind the song – from the lyrical content to the way it was written and recorded?
The song was mostly recorded at my little studio End of the World, and was mixed by Bruce Macfarlane here in Echo Park. I don’t really know what it’s about; I guess it’s kind of a comment about how we spend so much of our lives dealing with our day to day needs, and manage to ignore the really important things. Like space travel and the size of the universe. And kitten rescues. And the behavior of subatomic particles. And the joys of a really good pre amp. And sea creatures. All that stuff.

Was there a particular reason you placed this song in the #3 spot on the tracklisting?
I put it third because you always start with the best song. Track two should throw a little curve ball at the listener. Track three should be the second best song and should always be catchy. It’s a tried and true formula, and really, you shouldn’t deviate from it; you can really fuck things up if you do.

Black Lips

“This is the second coming of The Libertines,” I said to David during the Black Lips afternoon performance at the Fader party at SXSW 2007 even though I had never heard a Libertines song in my life. I figured that these British kids MUST be ripping off Pete Doherty’s band. If not in sound, than in that dirty, rotten punk attitude.

“I don’t think these guys are from England,” David said back. “And they don’t really sound like The Libertines.”

Shows you what complete ignorance and a whole lot of free booze will do to ya.

The Black Lips have a new album coming out on Vice in September called Good Bad Not Evil. It’s loaded with primative ’60s garage punk songs like “Katrina” and “How Do You Tell a Child that Someone Has Died”.

A few September tour dates have been announced and include:

09/12 – Athens, GA – 40 Watt Club
09/13 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
09/19 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall Of Williamsburg
09/21 – Cambridge, MA – Middle East Restaurant

Now, if you believe everything you read (and in the Black Lips case you absolutely should), you may witness some of the following during a live show: puking, pissing, nudity, fireworks, spitting, members of the band making out with each other, and blood.

Here’s “Katrina” from the new album.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=7QxwA4ZCioI[/youtube]

And while you’re here, how about an MP3 to check out?

Download “Cold Hands” from Good Bad Not Evil.