Category: news

Adam Franklin/Swerverdriver

Caught Adam Franklin’s show in Columbus last week and felt very honored to do so as the ex(?) Swervedriver frontman played a set of consisting entirely of solo originals rather than dipping into the Swervedriver catalog and did so in the very comfy confines of a club (Andyman’s Treehouse) that, if there are 50 people in the room, feels very tight. Without the sonic propensity of Swervedriver behind him, Franklin still managed to recall his roots which lean towards the shoegazing, Pink Floyd-psychedelic side of things (the lengthy closing track, “Ramonesland” was really rather incredible).  A few days before the show it was announced that Franklin’s former band would be getting back together for a reunion tour in 2008 and Franklin spoke to Billboard about the plans for 2008.

I captured Franklin and band performing “Seize the Day” though the recording has two strikes against it as the club was dark and my camera doesn’t do so well with loud audio. But you can still enjoy the atmosphere and appreciate the size of the room he was playing.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=A7RXExKJ1jo[/youtube]

MP3: Adam Franklin – “Seize the Day” (CD version)

The Scrantones to appear at The Office Convention

Who knew there was even a band called The Scrantones? Fans of The Office, obviously. This weekend, in Scranton, PA, The Scrantones will be performing at The Office Convention. The Weezer website says that bassist Scott Shriner will be sitting in with The Scrantones though an article about the convention lists the following musicians: Bob Thiele (Bonnie Raitt, Lou Reed) guitar, vocals; Davey Faragher (Elvis Costello & The Imposters, Cracker), bass; Brian MacLeod (Sheryl Crow, Madonna, Tears For Fears), drums; and Roger Manning (Beck, Blink-182, Jellyfish), keyboards.

You probably recognize The Scrantones big hit – the theme song to The Office.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=zI8ZgKc-ZDc[/youtube]

(Thanks to Chad for the head’s up about this)

Glossary gives it away for free

Glossary

Following in the wake of Radiohead’s big news this week, Tennessee alt.country rockers Glossary have posted their entire new release, ‘The Better Angels of Our Nature’, up on their website and are inviting fans and skeptics to download the thing for free. And I, for one, would much rather hear this CD than the new Radiohead CD.

Apparently Glossary-hungry fans crashed Glossary.us with the massive amount of downloading going on but as of the time of this post, you should be able to hit the site and grab ‘The Better Angels of Our Nature’. If you dig what you hear – and you will if you like anything on the Undertow label (Milton Mapes, Magnolia Summer, etc.), Two Cow Garage, Lucero, etc., etc. – then maybe do the band a favor and BUY a copy of an older release or a t-shirt or something.

Here’s a preview “commercial” for ‘The Better Angels of Our Nature’.
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=oAJfW4RpIDs[/youtube]

Tim Keegan – On a Good Day (video)

Years ago when I was interviewing Lauri Kranz she told me about seeing Tim Keegan perform at SXSW and said that if she ever had the opportunity to collaborate with the artist of her choice, it would be Mr. Keegan. I wasn’t familiar with him at the time but after some digging around discovered that Tim had worked with the likes of Robyn Hitchcock and The Blue Aeroplanes and, at the time (this was probably around 2000), was fully engaged in his own project, Departure Lounge.

All the Departure Lounge CDs are available used on Amazon.com at very reasonable prices so I’d definitely suggest picking up the whole catalog if you’re into bands like Mercury Rev (later period), The Pernice Brothers, Galaxie 500/Luna. If you’re looking for a single CD choice, I’m partial to ‘Out of Here’ but only because it was my introduction to Keegan and his work.

Check out this awesome cover of Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades” (it’s in RealMedia format; I haven’t been able to find an MP3 of it), available on the “What You Have is Good” single.

I recently discovered that Keegan put out a solo album earlier this year called ‘Foreign Domestic’ (available as an import through Amazon) and I’m burning up iTunes credit right now downloading it! The songs I’ve heard on MySpace are similar to the stuff Keegan did with the Departure Lounge, as you might expect.

Here’s a video from the new album for the gorgeous track “On a Good Day”.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=2YTPUSABPaY[/youtube]

Smashing Pumpkins setlists

The new album isn’t so bad but I was a bit hesitant to drop $50 for a ticket to see the Smashing Pumpkins in Columbus on October 11 because I didn’t want the setlist to be heavy with new material with the “hits” being saved for the encore.

Now, normally I’m all for bands with a deep back catalog of hits and a new album to promote playing the new stuff. In fact, I wonder what the point is for bands like The Scorpions or Journey or Superchunk or whoever to keep recording new music when the fact of the matter is that live, fans only want to hear the classics. Think it’s rough for those bands to be truly excited about ALL the songs on their new albums knowing that there are probably 6 or 7 of those tracks that will never be played live … ever?

I digress. If you want to see what the Smashing Pumpkins have been playing on their new tour, check this site out – there are setlists from pretty much every Pumpkins show EVER including the new tour. It looks like it’s a Greatest Hits tour with just a few new songs making it into the set each night.

Here’s a fan-filmed “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” from the September 19 show in San Diego.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=_2ZVjCvquwk[/youtube]