Category: news

They haven’t gone the way of Radiohead or Nine Inch Nails and decided just to give away their new album (could have something to do with the fact that they are still signed to a major label). For that matter, the band itself probably isn’t even responsible for the pricing, but if you are on fence about picking up the new Weezer CD this Tuesday, Circuit City is offering it on sale for the ridiculously low price of $5.99. Most of the Sunday ads for places like Best Buy and Target show the first week of release price at $9.99, which is still a good deal. But $5.99? That should propel first week sales quite nicely.

I’m sure I’m not the only person that will make this connection but I might be one of the few that care. Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue) announced that he’s signed Chosen Son to his label, Eleven Seven. The lead singer’s name (John Allen) looked familiar and when I saw that Chosen Son is from Maryland, I didn’t even have to add up the pieces. John Allen, in my book, will best be remembered as the drummer for Child’s Play, a sleazy, long-haired rock band from the early ’90s that was – probably rightfully so – lumped into the hair metal genre.

Here’s Child’s Play “hit”, “Rat Race”.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=5r94KcEzTdE[/youtube]

John Allen did some time in SR-71 after Child’s Play before fronting his own band. Also interesting to note, Nick Kay of Child’s Play is also in Chosen Son. Unfortunately, the new band is going towards the Buckcherry sound and sounds a little too much like everything else on modern hard rock radio these days.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_SF5QpNJ-A[/youtube]

While on tour, Blind Melon is going to be doing some in-store acoustic appearances. Check them out in some intimate settings. Check back next week for a concert review (and hopefully interview) of the May 20 show in Columbus.

American Laundromat Records has put together their latest tribute CD, this time honoring the work of ex-Pixie, current Breeder, sometime Amp, former Dayton, Ohio resident Kim Deal. The names aren’t as recognizable on this one as the artists who have contributed to some of ALR’s tributes in the past to Neil Young and The Pixies, but you don’t always have to have recognizable names for a good final output (see: Beatiful Escape: The Songs of the Posies Revisited).

The Kim Deal tribute CD will be available in early June. Here’s the tracklisting:

1. The She – Witch Hats
2. Bragging Party – The German Art Students
3. Cannonball – The Wheelers
4. Tipp City – Tara King TH
5. Do You Love Me Now – Melissa Gibbs
6. Fortunately Gone – Julie Peel
7. Off You – Francine
8. Doe – Rizzo
9. I Just Want To Get Along – Descartes A Kant
10. Invisible Man – The Nuevos
11. Safari – The Douglas Fir
12. When I Was A Painter – Le Tetsuo
13. Divine Hammer – The Modifiers

… you’ll never convince me to a) own any of his music or b) pay $500 to sit in a nosebleed seat at one of his shows. But in the latest “HUH?!?!?” moments in Matt Sweeney’s post-Chavez career (Early Man, Zwan), the gun-for-hire guitarist shows up all over Neil Diamond’s new record thanks to Rick Rubin. And if you squint real hard, you can see Sweeney playing guitar with Diamond at a recent surprise concert sponsored by MySpace in the tiny NYC club The Bitter End (he’s the balding guy facing the camera).

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=vMjZgV4kB-w[/youtube]

Sweeney was interviewed by Billboard.com about his hookup with Diamond (nah, I still can’t believe it either) and my favorite part was the very last sentence in which Sweeney says about his upcoming plans, “I hope to do Chavez stuff as well”.