Broken Bells 2014 Fall Tour

BROKEN BELLS 2014 FALL TOUR 09/26/14 - New York, NY - Rumsey Playfield 09/27/14 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory 09/28/14 - Richmond, VA - The National 09/29/14 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium 10/01/14 - Athens, GA - Georgia Theatre 10/02/14 - Birmingham, AL - Iron City 10/04/14 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Music Festival 10/05/14 - San Antonio, TX - The Aztec Theater 10/07/14 - Dallas, TX - South Side Ballroom 10/08/14 - Tulsa, OK - Brady Theater 10/11/14 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Music Festival 10/24-25/14 – Los Angeles, CA - Orpheum Theatre 10/24-26/14 – Las Vegas, NV - Life Is Beautiful Festival 10/28/14 - San Francisco, CA - The Masonic Auditorium Win a Special Broken Bells Jukebox

Suzi Quatro Box Set The Girl From Detroit City

Every once in a while when I have nothing clever or insightful to add - I'll merely post a press release as received from either a record company or publicity representative. Maybe I'll toss out a sentence like "Hey it's Leather Tuscadero from Happy Days" but if you're like me you already knew that and may own some of Suzi Quatro's music. Anyway, this is is one of those straight press release times: CAREER SPANNING 4-CD BOXED SET The Girl From Detroit City is a beautifully presented 4-CD boxed set, celebrating an amazing 50 years in the music business for rock ‘n’ roll queen, Suzi Quatro. The 82 tracks on offer here span the whole of Suzi’s career, including three songs by the Pleasure Seekers, the all-girl rock band, which Suzi formed along with her sister Patti, and which signed to Mercury Records in 1968. Her massive chart hits from the 1970s also feature, including the ‘Chinnichap’ numbers, Can the Can, 48 Crash and Devil Gate Drive and a whole wealth of material from the 1970s onwards, through to tracks from her critically-acclaimed 2011 album, In The Spotlight, which witnessed her reunion with producer, Mike Chapman; highlights of which included Suzi’s covers of Goldfrapp’s Strict Machine and Rhianna’s Breaking Dishes plus a Chapman number, A Girl Like Me, which he wrote especially for her. The Girl From Detroit City comes complete with fascinating up-to-date liner notes, tracking Suzi’s career from the outset to the present day, and it presents a wealth of album & poster artwork and photographs, including a shot of Suzi’s incredible vintage Ray-Ban collection! Suzi Quatro was the most successful female artist of the entire Glam Rock period (Suzi’s style and music were not truly ‘Glam’ but this was the era, which saw her shoot to stardom) and her influence on subsequent generations of female rock musicians are widely acknowledged. It’s been well-documented that Chrissie Hynde and Joan Jett both drew inspiration from Suzi but so have many others, including Talking Heads’ Tina Weymouth, who was encouraged to learn to play bass by listening to Quatro albums and, more recently, KT Tunstall revealed that the cover photo of her 2007 album Drastic Fantastic was based on Suzi’s image. In celebration of Suzi’s 50th year in the music business, the BBC will be hosting a special performance of her one-woman show, Unzipped, in London on Friday 26th September. It will be recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on Thursday 2nd October. On 29th September Cherry Red will also release the single The Girl From Detroit City on digital download only. This brand new song was recorded in 2013 and is exclusive to this compilation. Written and produced by Mike Chapman, the song speaks of Suzi’s early days in Detroit and her discovery by Mickie Most. 50 years on and Suzi Quatro has no intention of slowing down. She’s about to embark on another massive live tour and in 2015 she will finally publish her poetry in a book called Through My Eyes. SUZI QUATRO THE GIRL FROM DETROIT CITY (GLAMBOX150) CHERRY RED RECORDS 20TH OCTOBER 2014 Editor’s Notes Suzi Quatro has sold in excess of 55 million records worldwide. In the UK she has had 18 hit singles, including 2 No. 1s (Can The Can and Devil Gate Drive). From 1973-1979, Suzi featured in the British charts for no less than 101 weeks. In Australia it was 18 hit singles with 3 No. 1s, whilst in Germany the total was 18 chart entries, with 12 of them reaching the Top 10. In 2013, Suzi received a lifetime achievement award at her hometown Detroit Music Awards (the DMAs) and later that year she was presented the Woman of Valour Award from Musicians for Equal Opprtunities for Women (MEOW). She has also written her autobiography, Unzipped, which adds best-selling author to her already huge list of achievements. In 2012 she hit the stage at London’s Hippodrome Casino for a week, with her one-woman show based around the autobiography. With nigh on 40 years in show business, Suzi has taken on numerous acting roles, including the TV shows Happy Days, Minder, Dempsey & Makepeace, Absolutely Fabulous and Midsomer Murders. There have also been highly successful musical stage roles, including Annie Get Your Gun and Tallulah Who? and she appeared in the play, Exonerated, alongside Charles Dance. Suzi has ventured into the world of broadcasting with very successful shows on BBC Radio 2, including Rockin’ With Suzi Q and Wake Up Little Suzi. She also recorded a series of 2-hour high profile documentaries on some of her favourite artists, including Elvis Presley, Otis Redding, Patsy Cline, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison, which were broadcast on BBC Radio 2 during 2011 and 2012. Suzi continues to tour and does over 100 shows a year all over the world. On retiring, she has this to say; “When I turn my back on the audience and shake my ass, and there is silence…..I’ll stop.”

Kid In Every Wes Anderson Movie

John Lennon's ode to Yoko Ono "Oh Yoko!" featured with great effect in a parody of Wes Anderon films that every well schooled fan of Wes Anderson films will love. Enjoy a laugh courtesy of "Kid In Every Wes Anderson Movie" by Upright Citizens Brigade. Also the interesting and nicely edited short Museum Of Wes Anderson narrated with the help of either too much cappuccino or good old fashioned nerves by youtube user Rob S.

Heaven Adores You: An Elliott Smith Documentary (The First Few Minutes)

The first few minutes of the Elliott Smith documentary Heaven Adores You Heaven Adores You is a documentary film by Nickolas Rossi about the astoundingly talented musician Elliott Smith, born Steven Paul Smith (1969-2003). AFI Docs has released the first few minutes of the film: The music of Smith is important to so many people, I think, because it is honest while expressing and encapsulating moments wherein words might otherwise fail. Smith's most famous song is probably "Miss Misery" from the Gus Van Sant film Good Will Hunting which Smith performed at the 70th Academy Awards, March 23, 1998. The sensitive "Indie" singer-songwriter tune placed on a soundtrack has since become a bit of an "in joke" among music lovers and film aficionados alike, but the song is absolutely stunning. But my favorite Smith song is "A Passing Feeling" from his posthumously released album From a Basement on the Hill. Elliott Smith is quoted about his "fame" as follows, (with a statement to which I empathize for other reasons), “The less I think about it, the happier I am. I don’t really care where I fit into anything, or if there’s anything to fit into to. It’s just, I like music, you know? That’s the thing. It’s really uncomplicated.”

Honeymoon trailer

Writer/director Leigh Janiak's film Honeymoon starring Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones), Harry Treadaway (Control), Ben Huber and Hanna Brown shows how fast love can turn into terror. Synopsis: Young newlyweds Paul (Harry Treadaway) and Bea (Rose Leslie) travel to remote lake country for their honeymoon, where the promise of private romance awaits them. Shortly after arriving, Paul finds Bea wandering and disoriented in the middle of the night. As she becomes more distant and her behavior increasingly peculiar, Paul begins to suspect something more sinister than sleepwalking took place in the woods. Honeymoon will be available via iTunes, On Demand, and in theaters September 12, 2014.

Belle & Sebastian Live Dates & Vinyl Reisuues 2014

Belle & Sebastian Live Dates & Vinyl Reissues 2014 Belle & Sebastian will be performing live shows at the following dates and venues: August 16th: God Help The Girl screening and live B&S live set, Edinburgh Corn Exchange, UK September28th: Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theatre, Miami Beach, September29th: House of Blues, Orlando, Florida October 1st: Atlanta, Tabernacle, USA October 3rd: Austin, TX Austin City Limits Music Festival, USA. October 6th: The Theatre at Ace Hotel, LA, USA. October 7th: The Theatre at Ace Hotel, LA, USA. October 8th: Civic Space Park, Phoenix, USA. October 10th: Austin, TX Austin City Limits Music Festival, USA. October 12th: Mexico City, Mexico Corona Capital Music Festival, MEXICO. October 31st: Pitchfork Festival, Paris, FRANCE Additionally titles will be reissued on vinyl October 6th (Jeepster/UK) and October 7th (Matador/USA). Reissue titles: Tigermilk (Matador / Jeepster) If You're Feeling Sinister (Matador / Jeepster) The Boy With The Arab Strap (Matador / Jeepster) Fold Your Hands Child, You walk Like A Peasant (Matador / Jeepster) Push Barman To Open Old Wounds (Matador / Jeepster) Dear Catastrophe Waitress (Matador / Rough Trade) with alternate art Storytelling (Jeepster) The Life Pursuit (Matador / Rough Trade) The BBC Sessions (Matador / Jeepster) Write About Love (Matador / Rough Trade) The Third Eye Centre (Matador / Rough Trade) And here's a tiny teaser showing what Belle & Sebastian are up to in the studio:

Zorch Live Dates & Their Flaming Lips Outtake

Zorch Live Dates and their Flaming Lips Outtake ZORCH LIVE: 08/21 Dallas, TX @ Sons of Hermann Hall w/ El Ten Eleven 08/27 St. Louis, MO @ The Livery 08/28 Chicago. IL @ The Burlington Bar 08/29 Pontiac, MI @ the Pike Room * 08/30 Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace * 08/31 Montreal, QC @ La Vitrola* 09/03 Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall * 09/04 Washington DC @ Rock And Roll Hotel * 09/05 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's * 09/06 Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Bowl * 09/08 Richmond, VA @ Gallery 5 Arts 09/09 Nashville, TN @ Queen Avenue 09/10 Texarkana, TX @ The Silver Dollar 09/28 Dallas, TX @ Index Fest 11/08 Austin, TX @ Fun Fun Fun Fest * w/ Fujiya & Miyagi "Zut Alors" (Live) Listen to Zorch's outtake of "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)" from the forthcoming Flaming Lips Beatles / Sgt. Pepper's tribute With A Little Help From My Fwends here.

Norman Reedus Voices Silent Hill Game

Norman Reedus of The Walking Dead To Voice New Silent Hill Video Game. In addition to ruling Twitter and the small screen, Reedus will take over the big screen starring with Kate Winslet in crime drama Triple Nine. The film to b released some time next year also features Breaking Bad actor Aaron Paul and "Wonder Woman" Gal Gadot. The game Silent Hill is being developed by Pacific Rim, Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrynth) and Metal Gear video game franchise creator Hideo Kojima. The release date for this project has yet to be revealed. And in other Guillermo del Toro news, he has announced he will Executive Produce the horror film The Ring 3d and Produce Pacific Rim 2 which will likely not see release until 2017.

Julian Casablancas +The Voids Add Tour Dates

Julian Casablancas + The Voids Add Dates to their “American tour to melt peoples faces off.” Julian Casablancas + The Voids have added tour dates in support of their album Tyranny which will be released via Cult Records September 23. Live Dates: October 16 /// Philadelphia, PA /// Electric Factory October 17 /// Washington DC /// 9:30 Club October 18 /// Charlottesville, VA /// Jefferson Theatre October 20 /// Chattanooga, TN /// Track 29 October 21 /// Nashville, TN /// Marathon Music Works October 22 /// Atlanta, GA /// Masquerade October 25 /// Tampa, FL /// Coral Skies Fest October 26 /// West Palm, FL /// Coral Skies Fest October 28 /// Birmingham, AL /// Iron City October 30 /// Austin, TX /// Emo’s October 31 /// Houston, TX /// House of Blues November 6 /// Los Angeles, CA /// Wiltern Theatre November 9 /// San Francisco, CA /// Regency Center November 11 /// Portland, OR /// Crystal Ballroom November 12 /// Vancouver, BC /// Commodore November 13 /// Seattle, WA /// Showbox November 17 /// Minneapolis, MN /// First Ave November 18 /// Chicago, IL /// The Vic November 19 /// Detroit, MI /// St. Andrews November 25 /// New York, NY /// Hammerstein Ballroom

Karen O Solo Live Dates

Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) has announced a string of small venue live shows in celebration of her debut solo album Crush Songs which will be released September 9 via Cult Records. O remarked of the smattering of dates, “I'm very pleased to announce that I'll be performing Crush Songs to some very intimate audiences. If you're in the mood for love please come join my crush odyssey at these limited engagements. I apologize in advance that these shows are so few but I guess that makes them all the more special if you can make it so don't miss out!" Fans can visit karenomusic.com for a chance to win a spot at select listening parties prior to the album release date. Fan posts from said parties tagged with #KarenO or #CrushSongs, will be compiled on karenomusic.com. Regarding the title of her first solo release, O remarked, “When I was 27 I crushed a lot. I wasn’t sure I’d ever fall in love again. These songs were written and recorded in private around this time. They are the soundtrack to what was an ever continuing love crusade." The Cult Records deluxe limited edition version of Crush Songs has sold out and is no longer available for pre-order. Cult Records is owned and run by Julian Casablancas (The Strokes). The label also includes Albert Hammond, Jr., Cerebral Ballzy, Har Mar Superstar, and Rey Pila. September 9 New York, NY Manderley Bar at The McKittrick Hotel September 10 New York, NY Manderley Bar at The McKittrick Hotel September 11 New York, NY Manderley Bar at The McKittrick Hotel September 12 New York, NY Le Poisson Rouge September 17 Los Angeles, CA The Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery September 18 Los Angeles, CA The Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery September 19 Los Angeles, CA The Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery October 4 London, UK Bush Hall October 5 London, UK Bush Hall October 7 Berlin, Germany Heimathafen

Joseph Arthur Pays Tribute to Robin Williams

"Robin (A Tribute to Robin Williams 1951 - 2014)" by Joseph Arthur Well it didn't take long for this tribute to be written, recorded and ready for release did it? But then Joseph Arthur has a track record of periods of time during which he is extremely prolific. The lyrics and Music are by Arthur, no stranger to addiction or darkness himself. The video was edited by Ehud Lazin. The download is available via soundcloud.com. Arthur also released a tribute to Lou Reed on the album Lou. If you're interested in what I consider an essential album, check out Arthur's classic 2000 release Come to Where I'm From.

Pride To Premiere at Toronto Intl. Film Festival

Pride will have its North American Premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. Pride: Directed by Tony Award® winner Matthew Warchus (God of Carnage) adapted from a screenplay by Stephen Beresford. Pride is inspired by a true story. In the summer of 1984, Margaret Thatcher is in power and the National Union of Mineworkers is on strike, prompting a London-based group of gay and lesbian activists to raise money to support the strikers’ families. Initially rebuffed by the Union, the group identifies a tiny mining village in Wales and sets off to make their donation in person. As the strike drags on, the two groups discover that standing together makes for the strongest union of all. Starring Bill Nighy (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), Imelda Staunton (Maleficent), Dominic West (The Hour), Paddy Considine (Submarine), Andrew Scott (Sherlock), Joseph Gilgun (Lockout), George MacKay (How I Live Now) and Ben Schnetzer (Warcraft). The film will appear in theaters September 19.

The Muffs "Weird Boy Next Door" Video

The Muffs "Weird Boy Next Door" (Official Music Video) Read my interview with The Muffs guitarist/ vocalist Kim Shattuck here.

The Learning Curve To Screen

Director Phil McCarty's short film The Learning Curve based upon the essay by New York Times Best Selling essayist David Sedaris will screen at The HollyShorts Film Festival in Hollywood, CA August 16. It was written by David Dong and Phil McCarty and stars Matthew Gray Gubler (Criminal Minds, Suburban Gothic).

"Do Me" Demands Rex Smith

"Do Me" a demand or simple advice from Rex Smith's early band REX. How many times is the phrase "Do Me" uttered? Not enough I say. The end few seconds are my favorite. The album posted is the wrong one, "Do Me" is from the album REX, but for some inexplicable reason that youtube user cut off the final glorious rapid fire seconds. Didja count the "Do Mes"? In other news Happy birthday to Jeff McDonald of the always great (no, but seriously) band Redd Kross. And last note for the day: A flock of ravens is called an "unkindness." A Flock of Seagulls were called questionably coiffed.

The Vaselines Acoustic

The Vaselines Share An Acoustic Performance Of “One Last Year” from the forthcoming release V For Vaselines available via Rosary Music October 7th in North America. There will be a CD with an unspecified bonus disc, limited edition red vinyl and a limited cassette pressing. V For Vaselines tracklist: 1. “High Tide Low Tide” 2. “The Lonely L.P.” 3. “Inky Lies” 4. “Crazy Lady” 5. “Single Spies” 6. “One Lost Year” 7. “Earth Is Speeding” 8. “False Heaven” 9. “Number One Crush” 10. “Last Half Hour” "One Lost Year" the first single can be heard here.

Q&A With Kim Shattuck (The Muffs)

Q&A With Kim Shattuck of The Muffs & Noreen Sobczyk First off full disclosure: As a teen I wanted to recreate the Stop Pretending era Pandoras so bad that a friend bought me a pink paisley guitar to form my own garage rock band. Are you and Melanie (Vammen) currently friends? Kim: Yes! Melanie and I are buddies again. We finally kissed and made up after 17 years of not speaking. I love that girl. She's amazing. We have so much in common and have a similar sense if humor. Reconnecting with Melanie is the best! I was looking for a picture of you with the band where you cheekily (no pun intended) lift up your dress and it sent me to links I never want to visit again. Although I did appreciate seeing the line “fertile fun bags.” Where and for what was that photo taken? Kim: I don't remember that photo. I believe you about that though. I used to lift my dress a lot. I actually just did that at the Burger Au Go Go. I was showing the crowd how I wear mens underwear under dresses now. You always seem free spirited. Not like mugging for cameras, but authentically free spirited. Have you always been that way? Kim: I am a big goofball a lot of the time. Definitely not pretentious or self important! Speaking of that, the song “Cheezy” - any comment about whom this song was written? Kim: I probably shouldn't out the recipients of my ire. That would just be mean. As a weirdo I’ve always kind of used that word positively is there a reason you used that word for ”The Boy Next Door” and is it based on truth? Kim: It's a truthful song about something that happened. And when I say 'Weird' in this song I mean it as the bad weird. I was sitting down in my house to write lyrics for a cool song I just wrote the music to. I literally sit down with my guitar and paper and all of the sudden I hear banging and shouting from next door. It's scared me and my dog. I tippytoed out the back door and peeked over the fence and saw our neighbors weird son hitting his garage with a baseball bat and screaming obscenities. I locked all the doors and shut all the blinds and sat down and wrote the lyrics to the song in literally 3 minutes. Thank you to the dick neighbor for inspiring one of my favorite songs. My favorite lyric at the moment is from that song. I like “He’s an empty vessel made of cotton candy,” both the line and the delivery. Do you have a favorite lyric from this album? Kim: I kind of like "and no smarter than a wooden floor" from “Weird Boy Next Door” and The second verse of “Up and Down Around” which is "I don't care what I'm saying half the time. Are you scared when all I do is rhyme?" Because that actually happened once when I was at a buffet where they had an espresso machine and a chocolate fountain and I was so jacked up from overindulging on caffeine that I literally couldn't say anything unless I was rhyming. I also was talking very very fast. You write some of the most snarky intimidating lyrics and pair them with upbeat hooky pop. How do you decide which melody gets the angry or happy lyrics? Kim: I don't think about it at all. If you think when you write lyrics your lyrics will be stupid. Thinking is bad. I’ll make a note of that! Courtney Love stated a while ago, and I’m paraphrasing, that she’s “the only one still doing it.” Meaning (I assume) being a rock n roll woman. I immediately thought of you. What do you think about that sentiment? Kim: Courtney says stuff like that all the time. It's very entertaining. Indeed it can be entertaining. Speaking of entertainment what are your 5 favorite rock movies? Kim: A Hard Days Night, That Thing You Do, Charlie is My Darling, Don't Look Back, and Loudquietloud. As a fan of both I was disappointed in how The Pixies touring slot ended for you. Anything you would care to comment upon now that time has passed regarding your experience? Kim: It was actually a fun thing to do for the most part. The shows and the audiences were amazing. Charles (A.K.A. Frank Black or Black Francis) was super nice to me. He's a great guy. Really smart and funny. We had great spirited conversations about art and music and I will forever be grateful that he was trying to have me in his band. He was my advocate practically the whole time. I love a lot of those songs. I still do. Just because it ended abruptly doesn't mean my taste changes. I still like what I liked. Did Whoop De Doo come to fruition after the incident or was it already planned? Kim: The album was finished in Jan 2013 when I was asked to be in the Pixies. But we had a hard time deciding on a title. We put the album on hold until I could have a break or the Pixies tour was done. But when Charles said his “Whoop Dee Doo” comment (Black Francis said in the press, I think to Yahoo, that "changing bass players was no big deal, woop de do"), we all three decided that would be an amazing title. Is it frustrating to be a band that consistently delivers the goods but never really achieved huge commercial success? (Save for the "Kids in America" cover for Rock Band 2). Kim: I try not to worry about stuff like that. I just want to be happy with the songs I write and if I love the album we make then nothing else matters. You have the best growling scream in rock n roll rivalled only by Kat Bjelland. How do you do that? Does it ever affect your singing? Kim: It's the easiest thing in the world. To scream and then to immediately sing pretty is like driving. You floor it and go fast. Then you slam on the brakes. No big deal as long as you take care of the car. I became friends with a friend of yours Bill Bartell (A.K.A. Pat Fear from White Flag) only a year or so before he died and didn’t have a ton of time with him, but he’s still missed. I wonder if you have any stories or memories of Bill you would like to share? Kim: Bill was nuts! We had some funny times for sure. He bribed me to sing that stupid Jefferson Airplane song. I didn't want to do it but he wore me down. Then he gave me $10.00. I sang it. I felt like a whore!! Haha. “White Rabbit”? Kim: Yeah, “White Rabbit.” How did you come to be associated with Burger Records? I like so much of what they do. Kim: Ronnie and Roy started hearing about them. I just found out Ronnie and his gal and Lee and his gal went on a double date once. Where did you find the album cover art? Was the back sleeve shot a nod to The Monkees old radio booth gag or just a coincidence? Kim: I was studying photography in 1984. My boyfriend and I went to the zoo and I think he was sketching people and I was photographing them. I spotted a cool looking old couple looking at the gorillas and ran up behind them to get a shot. I love photographing people from behind because it makes them look so much more poignant. I didn't know our back cover looked like the Monkees. Our new video does though. Have you ever done an exhibit of your photographs? Kim: I was in a couple of group shows before, but I'd love to have an exhibit. It's on my bucket list. Do you enjoy touring? Do you prefer studio to touring? Kim: I love doing music for a living. I adore being in the studio. Playing live shows is amazing. Writing songs in my bedroom is the coolest thing ever. Get The Muffs amazing album Whoop Dee Doo (Burger Records/Cherry Red Records) and stay tuned here for any video or tour news.