Pete Krebs needs your help

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.

Where ya been, Atomic Ned?

Two months since the last post and even before that posts were few and far between.

Since mid-August my time has been spent running KidsInterviewBands.com, a site featuring interviews my 6th grade daughter and her friend do with bands traveling through Columbus, Ohio. The girls have interviewed 38 bands since mid-July including Awolnation, Grouplove, Matt & Kim, Neon Trees, Imagine Dragons, The Wombats, etc. and have no plans to slow down.

But, I keep stumbling across cool music so I think posting to AtomicNed.com is going to happen a little more frequently if, for no other reason, than I’d like to look back in a few years to see what I was listening to at a certain point in time.

So … see you again soon, real soon.

Thenewno2 (George Harrison’s son) releases The Fear of Missing Out on Tuesday

Dhani Harrison will never be able to live down the comparisons to his father just as Sean and Julian were unable to ever be reviewed without the mention of John Lennon’s name. And, on the first release, “Make it Home”, from Thenewno2’s sophomore release, The Fear of Missing Out, Dhani does indeed sound like his father though the band’s music is more modern day Radiohead (with electronic and dubstep elements) than classic era Beatles.

The Fear of Missing Out will be released on July 31 and Thenewno2 will be performing at Lollapalooza next weekend.

Preteen Zenith features Polyphonic Spree’s Tim DeLaughter

Preteen Zenith is the new collaboration between Polyphonic Spree’s Tim DeLaughter and Secret Machines Philip Karnats and the duo is set to release Rubble Guts and BB Eye on May 29 via Good Records.

The Zenith doesn’t fall too far from the Spree although there are about 45 less band members in the new collaboration! If you’re into feel good, Flaming Lips-style quirky pop, you’ll want to give Rubble Guts and BB Eye a listen. If you’re not into this kind of stuff, you must hate life.

Redd Kross signs with Merge, new album in August

Sometimes it’s best just to let the publicists do their job. Instead of writing a bunch of fancy words about the return of Redd Kross, just read the press release:

Redd Kross is back and delivering their signature brand of genuine rock ‘n’ roll with a vengeance. On August 7, Merge Records will release Researching the Blues, the first new album from Redd Kross in 15 years.

Researching the Blues features 10 new songs clocking in at just under 32 minutes. With songs written by Jeff and produced and mixed by Steven, the album is by far the band’s favorite record. Steve says, “It has the most singular artistic vision of any record we’ve done. It’s just 10 really fucking awesome songs that have the ability to move you in many different ways.”

Founded 34 years ago in Los Angeles during the first wave of LA punk rock by brothers Jeff and Steven McDonald (then respectively 15 and 11 years old), Redd Kross cut their teeth opening for Black Flag at a middle school graduation party. Their debut recordings caught the attention of Rodney Bingenheimer, who quickly became a fan as he spun their Ramones-inspired songs like “Annette’s Got The Hits” and “I Hate My School” on the world-famous KROQ.

In 2006, Jeff and Steven announced their reunion with the “classic Neurotica” line-up, joined once again by guitarist Robert Hecker (IT’S OK) and drummer Roy McDonald (The Muffs). Redd Kross have been playing to enthusiastic audiences at sold-out select shows and festivals such as the Azkena Festival; Coachella; The HooDoo Gurus’ Invitational, “Dig It Up”; All Tomorrow’s Parties; and Pop Montréal. More Redd Kross tour dates to come this year!

Track List:
1. Researching the Blues
2. Stay Away From Downtown
3. Uglier
4. Dracula’s Daughters
5. Meet Frankenstein
6. One of the Good Ones
7. The Nu Temptations
8. Choose to Play
9. Winter Blues
10. Hazel Eyes

Redd Kross is:
Jeff McDonald – Vocals, Guitars
Steven McDonald – Bass, Vocals
Roy McDonald – Drums
Robert Hecker – Guitars