Tampa Calling

Shitty concert etiquette can destroy what could otherwise be an out-of-this-world concert experience. I’ve attended hundreds of metal, rock, and punk shows and witnessed all manner of drunken douchebaggery. The more intense the show, the more idiocy you’ll have to put up with.

I’m not a people person. I don’t go to shows to get shitfaced. I don’t go to shows to intentionally collide with people galloping in a sloppy circle while shadowboxing. There’s nothing wrong with either of those things, and I have no problem putting up with people who engage in them — I just want to enjoy an awesome live show.

Gogol Bordello played the Ritz Ybor last Monday. They were just as amazing as their last Bay Area appearance at the State Theatre, and I had an awesome time. Early on, however, I feared my evening would be ruined by the most egregious concert etiquette faux pas. An error so heinous it transcends rock shows and infringes upon normal everyday life: exceptionally awful body odor. Read the rest of this entry »

On paper, Dethklok should be unbearably lame. Fake bands from cartoons bring to mind tripe like Jem or Josie & The Pussycats. But somehow, Metalocalypse creator Brendon Small got it right. Dethklok is more than just a “brutal” caricature. Judging by how Small crams in references to obscure bands and invites big names from the metal underground such as George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher and the members of Exodus to provide guest voices on most episodes, Small clearly gives a shit about metal. The Berklee College of Music grad not only voices many of the characters and writes much of the music, he also sings and plays guitar.

The Dethalbum should have also been unbearably lame. Songs from the TV show’s first season had to stand on their own without silly ultraviolent imagery. At best, Dethklok should be paint-by-numbers metal, and their songs little more than novelty throwaways. But behind every silly concept like “Murmaider” (homicidal sea-creatures) or “Awaken” (resurrecting demons) hides a pretty awesome metal song. In fact, Small’s Berklee pedigree and heavy metal fanboy roots create a competent, if not expertly-crafted pastiche of the best aspects of death, thrash, and traditional heavy metal.

The Deathalbum was one of my favorite releases of 2007. Now, Small and his cartoon band will try again. Read the rest of this entry »

When Billy Corgan first announced his intention to resurrect The Smashing Pumpkins, longtime fans crossed out the names of uninvolved former members (except Jimmy Chamberlain) one by one. We knew there would be no James Iha (now in that silly supergroup Tinted Windows) and no D’Arcy Wretzky (right). Only now do we finally hear what’s up with the silvery-haired bassist! D’Arcy randomly called Chicago alt-rock station Q101 to let us know she left the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle behind in favor of passing her days on a horse farm in rural Michigan. Oh, and she loves Silversun Pickups, who don’t at all sound like The Smashing Pumpkins.

Last month, I reported on Courtney Love and her similar intention to resurrect Hole with minimal involvement from former bandmates. Former Hole guitarist and co-conspirator Eric Erlandson took time out from Buddhism and marketing vegan food for a Spin Q&A. When asked about his feelings on Hole’s return, he responded:

We have a contract. She signed a contract with me when we decided to break up the band, which was like 2002 or something, so I really don’t have a comment on it except that I know my part in that band. The way I look at it, there is no Hole without me. [Laughs] To put it blunt. Just on a business level… I’m open to discussions regarding the real Hole, and if she has a solo album together, I think that’s great.

What did Mrs. Cobain have to say about this? Find out after the jump! Read the rest of this entry »

Punknews.org reported this week that Long Island emo-rockers Brand New named and dated their upcoming fourth album. And One Head Can Never Die is scheduled to drop September 22, sandwiched between new albums by Muse (9/14, hopefully the next day in the U.S.) and AFI (9/29).

UPDATE: According to Aversion.com, Brand New renamed their forthcoming album Daisy.

As much as I love and revere Muse, my hopes and expectations are even higher for Brand New. While frontman Jesse Lacey never hesitated to elaborate his deepest, inner-most feelings even dating back to their pop-punk-leaning debut Your Favorite Weapon (2001), the musical progression showcased on the band’s two successive albums dwarfs his still-impressive growth as a lyricist. Deja Entendu (2003) and The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me (2006) find two almost completely different bands, each superior to the last.

With Brand New progressing by leaps and bounds with each release, why does the end now draw near? (VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP) Read the rest of this entry »

Courtney Love is nuts. (Newsflash, right?) Years of drug abuse will do that to a person. She uses the Internet predominantly to bicker with Ryan Adams and wonder aloud, “What happened to all that Nirvana money!?”

Sometimes, she covers both topics simultaneously! She either hasn’t quite grasped or doesn’t give a shit about Twitter’s 140-character limit, opting instead for stream-of-consciousness commentary and storytelling sometimes interrupted mid-word. And she’s still close pals with lone original Smashing Pumpkin Billy Corgan.

Love has worked intermittently on her second solo album Nobody’s Daughter over the past three years. Because of various false starts and Internet leaks, the disc is three producers and four studios deep. Now it seems Nobody’s Daughter won’t even be a Courtney Love solo album. Courtney has taken a page from Corgan’s playbook and resurrected a dormant, yet familiar name.

Hole. Read the rest of this entry »

“Doing a Radiohead.” Big-box exclusivity deals. “360″ contracts. These and other new business models are side effects of the digital media revolution — a paradigm shift caused by the MP3. The days of $15 CDs are all but dead. Long live the $10 digital album and the 99-cent single, both still dwarfed by everyone’s favorite method of acquiring music: illegal downloading. I think in hindsight, considering the events of the past decade, the recording industry would have been happy for a fractional dip in revenue built into the transition from brick-and-mortar stores to iTunes, but factor in music piracy and the numbers aren’t even close.

Bottom line: recorded music is not worth what it used to be, and count Pixies mainman Frank Black among those who understand. In an interview with Britain’s NME about his newest project, Grand Duchy, he makes several very interesting points about the devaluation of music: Read the rest of this entry »

The mid-90’s Britpop feud between Oasis and Blur has become the stuff of legend. Noel Gallagher once famously hoped Blur frontman Damon Albarn would “catch AIDS and die” (he since recanted, blaming drugs for the outburst).  Surprisingly, he’s 100% behind the current Blur reunion: “I’m right into the Blur reunion, ’cause it’ll finish off the Kaiser Chiefs and put them to bed. There’s nothing worse than a shit Blur. And at least the original shit Blur are back to finish off all these other shit Blurs. I’m bang into the Blur reunion.”

From an old reunion to a possible new one: Nine Inch Nails‘ Trent Reznor no longer thinks very highly about former friend and collaborator Marilyn Manson.  Reznor calls Manson “a malicious guy and will step on anybody’s face to succeed and cross any line of decency … Seeing him now, drugs and alcohol now rule his life and he’s become a dopey clown. He used to be the smartest guy in the room.  And as a fan of his talents, I hope he gets his shit together.”

Lots of news on the Flaming Lips, The Cult, STP, Moz, and more after the jump!

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Ever since the phrase “pull a Radiohead” entered the music blogosphere’s lexicon, we’ve watched as a diverse list of acts such as Nine Inch Nails, Saul Williams, Pennywise, and Portishead explore ways to reinvent the music business wheel. One of the highest-profile free agents is Pearl Jam – a group unafraid to fight corporate giants like Ticketmaster head-on. But Eddie Vedder and company don’t fear partnering up with a big box store either.

Billboard reports:

[Pearl Jam manager Kelly Curtis] confirmed that deals were also finished or in the works with an online retailer, a mobile partner, a gaming company and with a network or possibly networks of indie retail stores. “Target ended up allowing us to have other partners. We’ll be able to take care of all levels of the Pearl Jam fan…We wish we could tell the whole story right now, but all the deals aren’t done. Target was cool enough to realize that little independent record stores are not their competition.”

Pearl Jam will follow in the footsteps of AC/DC, Prince, Guns n’ Roses, The Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, and many other famous names that granted exclusivity deals with big box retailers. But Pearl Jam’s deal with Target is not quite as odious. Details after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Few names resonate more with heavy metal fans than Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. Interestingly enough, Ozzy’s time in the band represents only a small portion of Sabbath’s legacy. Black Sabbath now has 40 years and 18 albums under its belt. Ozzy was around for eight albums, and two of them are so awful they damage his own legacy and justify his termination from the group in 1979.  Drummer Bill Ward and bassist/lyricist Terrence “Geezer” Butler left and rejoined before bolting for good in 1984. Through all the substance abuse, through turbulent, revolving door lineups, and through parts of five decades — only guitarist Tony Iommi remained an original member.

Why, then, is Ozzy suing Tony Iommi for ownership of the “Black Sabbath” trademark? And why now? Ozzy’s statement:

“It is with great regret that I had to resort to legal action against my long-term partner Tony Iommi, but after three years of trying to resolve this issue amicably, I feel I have no other recourse.

“As of the mid-1990s, after constant and numerous changes in band members, the brand of ‘BLACK SABBATH’ was literally in the toilet and Tony Iommi (touring under the name BLACK SABBATH) was reduced to performing in clubs.

First of all, ten bucks says that’s not Ozzy’s statement — it’s his harpy mouthpiece wife, Sharon’s.

Secondly, listening to a Black Sabbath album — whether a legendary Ozzy- or Dio-fronted LP, or the easily forgotten Tony Martin — there’s no doubt for a second who stars. Ozzy’s vocals rarely deviated from directly following Iommi’s riffs!

If Ozzy wants to argue about legacy, he should pop in a DVD of The Osbournes and look inward — or better yet, at his wife.

The Black Sabbath lawsuit made me wonder about other great bands – not just in heavy metal, but over all of rock ‘n’ roll, where similar debates may rage.

What’s more important? The Frontman or The Riff? The debates and classic Sabbath video after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Depeche Mode frontman Dave Gahan is recovering from a cancer scare! First hospitalized for gastrointestinal issues on May 12, Gahan couldn’t shake what his people thought was just a nasty stomach flu (I think swine flu was ruled out early on). It’s a good thing Detective John Kimble wasn’t around, because it was definitely a toomah!

From the band’s website:

On May 12th, lead singer Dave Gahan suffered a severe bout of gastroenteritis, leading to his hospitalization and the cancellation of the Athens concert. While in hospital, further medical tests revealed a low-grade malignant tumour in Dave’s bladder, which has since been successfully removed. At doctors’ orders Dave Gahan must take a break until June 8th, to ensure that he makes a full recovery. The Leipzig show on June 8 will be the first concert following Dave’s recovery.

All told, Depeche Mode cancelled or postponed 15 shows in the four weeks Gahan will spend out of commission.

How will this affect their September 4 show at the Ford Amp? Read the rest of this entry »

Oklahoma is cooler than Florida! At least as far as official state rock songs are concerned. Residents declared The Flaming Lips‘ “Do You Realize?” the rock anthem of Oklahoma via an online vote. However, the Oklahoma state House rejected the resolution. Some representatives, inclined against all things cool, protested the vote, citing the band’s profanity and provocative wardrobe. A bandmember once wore a hammer & sickle t-shirt? Say it ain’t so! When all was thought lost, Gov. Brad Henry, part-time rock savior, overruled the legislature via executive order and threw his support behind the people’s choice. Oklahoma is now cool despite the best efforts of certain politicians. As for the Lips (pictured right), they are currently prepping a double album.

Joey Ramone passed away back in 2001, but his family still throws the annual Joey Ramone Birthday Bash to raise money for the Joey Ramone Foundation for Lymphoma Research. In addition to sets by Fishbone and Supersuckers, this year’s show will feature a listening party of previously unheard Joey Ramone demos and rough mixes.

(Nick Cave’s Gladiator sequel, reissues from R.E.M. and Stone Roses, and more after the jump!) Read the rest of this entry »

I wasn’t really sure what to expect going into Friday’s concert at Mahaffey Theater featuring an un-costumed, un-amplified-to-11 Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer. Maybe I was thinking too hard about it? After all, when you go see a band, they play their songs.  When you go see a comedian, he does his material. With Guest, McKean, and Shearer, reality lay in between — a hilarious, two-hour multimedia jaunt down memory lane complete with stories, clips, and songs predominantly from two classic film satires about seemingly disparate genres of music. Read the rest of this entry »

Barely a month ago, I finally witnessed Iron Maiden live. It literally took half my life to see them. I documented the journey, from the show’s announcement through its conclusion. While nothing could top my Maiden experience, it seems the Metal Gods continue smiling down on me nonetheless.  After all, you can’t mention Iron Maiden without bringing up Judas Priest.

Is it possible? Maiden and Priest playing Florida in the same year?

Concert details and video after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Our state has a very rich musical history. Lynyrd Skynyrd and their Southern rock brethren put us on the map. Currently, bands like Against Me!, Iron & Wine and Torche represent the state well. But when I think of Florida, sadly, I tend to think of shitty ’90’s alternative bands and all-boy pop groups. Maybe my outlook says more about me as a Floridian, but there’s a lot of evidence to our state’s detriment.

Did you suffer through N*Sync, Backstreet Boys, or any other of pop svengali and $300 million criminal Lou Pearlman’s fabrications? Show gratitude to Orlando.

We can also blame Orlando for the 45 million Matchbox Twenty albums sold worldwide. And it was that band’s frontman Rob Thomas who annoyed the crap out of you with the inescapable Santana collaboration “Smooth.”

Limp Bizkit helped turn Woodstock ‘99, a 30th anniversary celebration of peace and love, as commercialized as it was, into a rape-fueled riot and bonfire. Yes, scarce water and sanitation also factored in, but Fred Durst barking “Break Stuff” while fans supported him on plywood couldn’t have been much help. Thanks, Jacksonville.

Are any of these as odious as Tallahassee’s Creed? A tough question. Especially the Creed vs. Limp Bizkit part. If I had to choose a bullet or pick one of those bands … man. I might just choose the bullet.

Reunion details and, if you’re feeling especially masochistic,  videos after the jump.
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Ticketholders for the Nine Inch Nails/Jane’s Addiction tour (May 9 at Ford Amp), cross your fingers that Jane’s makes it that far. They’ve been fighting again. Perry Farrell isn’t concerned though. “I’m not going to tell you it’s been all smooches and hugs. But it shouldn’t be because that would be a bore … As long as they can handle it, I can handle it.”

Morrissey (pictured right) gave Coachella concertgoers a moment to remember last weekend. Midway through the set, he said, “I can smell burning flesh, and I hope to God it’s human.” A few minutes later, Moz left the stage! He would return, explaining, “The smell of burning animals is making me sick. I just couldn’t bear it.” The rest of his set concluded without incident. Moz, you may remember, is an outspoken vegetarian. One of The Smiths‘ albums is titled Meat Is Murder, after all.

More stories about Depeche Mode, The Cure, Pixies, Breeders, Pearl Jam, and Smashing Pumpkins after the jump.

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I know.  When you go see a shitty band, shitty concerts usually ensue. Keep reading.

Papa Roach dropped their major label debut Infest in 2000.  Their first and arguably biggest hit to date, “Last Resort,” shamelessly plagiarized various classic Iron Maiden riffs, and along with bands like Korn and Disturbed helped to usher in the nu-metal hey day of chugga-chugga riffs and lyrics so embarrassingly angst-ridden that even grunge bands must be ashamed to have been of influence. Thanks to mediocre ballads like “Forever,” Papa Roach stuck around. Most recently, guitarist Jerry Horton called their new album Metamorphosis, “rock record of the decade.” I’ll at least credit them for the Kafka reference.

This brings us to last Thursday night in Manchester, England. Courtesy of an e-mail to U.K. website Rock Sound, a concertgoer just couldn’t, or perhaps, didn’t care to make it to the restroom.

Read the unbelievable e-mail after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

The good news: if you couldn’t make it to Fort Lauderdale last Thursday for the first Iron Maiden show in Florida since ‘95, frontman Bruce Dickinson swore up and down multiple times Maiden would return to our state in 2011.

The bad news: the classic Powerslave-era stage decor and the old-songs-only mantra of the Somewhere Back In Time tour are now a thing of the past … again.

I waited half my life to see this band in person. Were you to peruse my apartment, you would find no less than three dozen Maiden releases. Multiple copies of studio albums due to varying reissue bonuses. Rare singles.  Multiple live albums — some on both CD and DVD.  Even the ridiculous Eddie’s Archive metallic casket of rarities.  It’s silly and excessive(ly awesome), I admit. Given the band’s lengthy absence from Florida, I’m positive many others shared my situation. But would the British Heavy Metal legends live up to years of expectation?

Before the band could answer that question I had to sit through the worst case of rock ‘n’ roll nepotism since I saw The Poor open for AC/DC at what used to be the Thunderdome (Angus Young’s nephew played drums): the rock star aspirations of Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris‘ daughter.

Read the rest of this entry »

For every hundred people excited about U2’s impending U.S. tour, I imagine there’s a couple of folks like me – absolutely over-the-moon ecstatic that my favorite band snagged the support slot.

From Muse’s official website:

We are pleased to confirm that Muse will be touring in the UK, Europe and North America this autumn. Full details on the UK and European dates will be announced soon, but for now we can confirm that the band will be special guests to U2 at a number of their North American shows this September including New York on September 24th. The remaining U2 dates will be announced in the coming weeks.

Granted, the post is vague on exact details, but my hopes are totally up. Muse are one of the biggest rock bands in the world – certainly not on U2’s level, but popular enough to headline arenas in Europe and Asia. Large-scale success has eluded Muse in much of America, confining them to clubs and theaters or opening for bigger bands. I’ve been fortunate enough to see them three times, with each performance further cementing them as my all-time favorite live band. There are a lot of ifs – if people show up early enough to the show, if people give the opener a chance, if stadium sound doesn’t suck – but this is a huge opportunity for one of the most criminally underrated bands in the world.  Videos and progress on their new album after the jump.

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Kylesa
Static Tensions
(Prosthetic)
Between a tour with Mastodon and a killer new album, Kylesa seem poised for a breakthrough year in 2009. The ten songs on this Georgia band’s fourth full-length, Static Tensions, speed by in 40 minutes — relatively brief by sludgy, stoner-groove standards; more abstract than Crowbar, but not as otherworldly as Neurosis. The long-time experimental Australian band Alchemist is my closest point of reference. Read the rest of this entry »

You know when you learn something pleasantly unexpected?  For instance, a favorite band you wrote off as finished because its principal members blame each other for stupid shit through music blogs announces their first tour in years? What’s that feeling called? Oh, yeah… hope!

The Pixies return to action this summer with a series of European concert dates, including a June 14 appearance at the Isle of Wight festival with Neil Young, Billboard has confirmed. The gigs will be the first for the alternative rock standard-bearers since 2007, dispelling doubts that the group’s most recent hiatus was permanent. Further details about the additional European shows will be released soon. No North American gigs are planned, according to Billboard’s sources.

The full article from Billboard provides a bit more background, but barely scratches the surface of several years of tension. Statements made by Frank Black and Kim Deal towards the end of 2007 fueled my pessimism that the reunion was over.

Read the rest of this entry »

U2 persists as the biggest rock band in the world. No Line on the Horizon will likely flirt with platinum status in its first week of release — quite an accomplishment in these dire times for the music biz. There aren’t many acts left for whom pressing a new album is akin to printing money. When U2 hitched their wagon with concert behemoth Live Nation, the band received a load of company stock as part of the 12-year, $120 million deal. So confident they are in their continued success, I wonder if they’ve even checked Live Nation’s stock quote since the deal? (I did!  It’s down about 75%!)  I can only imagine how the Irish rockers feel about the proposed merger with Ticketmaster!

Given the mansions upon castles of cash this band raked in over the past few decades, there’s a certain understandable reluctance to revolutionize the way things are done. But music fans with even the most primitive knowledge of the health of the recording industry will laugh at U2 guitarist the Edge’s justification as to why the old business model is the way to go.

If you are currently drinking anything, I advise you put down your glass. Your ensuing spit-take may ruin your computer. Read the rest of this entry »

I vowed not to risk a good night’s sleep on another potentially turbulent …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead show 90 minutes away – not after what happened at Jannus Landing last time they visited the Bay Area; but a last minute ticket and ride offer from my co-worker and good friend Kate proved too tempting to ignore.

I wouldn’t normally describe a transcendent concert experience as ‘uneventful,’ but in this case, it’s just what the doctor ordered! Two years and change after Conrad Keely threw his entire body weight behind a shove that sent a drugged-out Kevin Allen over an amplifier stack barely half-way through their gig at Jannus, …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead simply gave a pretty-full-for-a-Monday crowd in downtown Orlando an incredible hour-plus of anthemic, frenetic indie rock. Read the rest of this entry »

In a press release issued early Tuesday, the band responsible for unleashing Mike Patton upon the mainstream music world announced its return. Faith No More is back!

Back in the early 90s when MTV actually played music videos on a regular basis, eyes shooting lightning bolts in the palms of hands and fish flopping around in synch with a somber piano melody were common sights. These memorable images were from the classic Faith  No More video, “Epic.” The band peaked with The Real Thing in 1990, Patton’s first effort with the band, and the slow decline of the band followed.

Angel Dust is first CD I ever bought. Its lead single, “Midlife Crisis,” along with “Epic,” have since been credited (or blamed, depending on your outlook) for the eventual rise of suburban white guys rapping over chugga-chugga riffs (coined as “nu-metal”). The album performed almost as well as The Real Thing commercially, but showcased a new diversity to the band’s sound to the detriment of virtuoso guitarist, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey co-star, and amateur pumpkin farmer, Jim Martin. Martin left soon after and so did many of FNM’s fans. The band released two more mediocre albums before splitting, and Patton resumed creating one weirdo-rock record after another with bands like Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, Tomahawk, Peeping Tom, ad infinitum.

As Pitchfork reports, details are scarce.  We don’t know the band’s lineup. Is Jim Martin involved? Will there be anything beyond this European Tour? New music? Time will tell. Here’s a little “Epic” while we wait:

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Portishead stands on a precipice in 2009, and endless possibilities lay before them. Their album Third, released last year, fulfilled their contractual obligations to Island Records – and as Pitchfork reported yesterday, Portishead are free agents. Here’s Geoff Barrow:

“with the world being the way it is, there are lots of options open … but if you lot have any bright ideas of how we should sell our music in the future, lets us know, why not! [...] i dont think that we’re into giving away music for free to be honest…it fukin takes ages to write and we have to heat our swimming pools…!!!”

I can’t imagine better circumstances for a band like Portishead. Although Portishead lacks the vast catalogue and consistent longevity of other bands that recently introduced new business models, they’ve still done more than enough to earn a decent following of rabid supporters – the type of fans who’ll wait 11 years for the band’s third album. They know how to make music – they just need to decide where to go from there.

Radiohead let fans name their own price for In Rainbows on top of a 90-cent service fee, and made a ton of money; probably less cash than if they picked a set price, but exponentially more than if they shared the profits with a record label under the dying system. Nine Inch Nails released the instrumental Ghosts I-IV independently, in a variety of digital and physical configurations, and cleared well over a million bucks in its first week alone! I’m not sure Portishead possess a high-enough mainstream profile to garner similar multi-million dollar attention from Live Nation as U2, Madonna, Jay-Z, or Nickelback, but it’s still an avenue to consider. Could you imagine the hipster outcry if Portishead went down that road?

So as Geoff said, if you’ve got an idea, pass it along. They’ve got pools to heat and music to write, and Portishead aren’t exactly known for doing things quickly. Here’s are a couple of good Portishead videos, one older, one new

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I was still discovering Iron Maiden when they last visited Florida – 13 years ago. Needless to say, my fifteen-year-old self didn’t even know about the show, much less see it.  Plus, it was during the Blaze Bayley years.  Even in hindsight, I don’t think I’d waste my time. But once classic-era frontman Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith rejoined in 1999, my black heart broke every time the band announced a new tour. Year after year, nothing in Florida. And as if I was being personally mocked by my favorite band, concerts in Boston where I went to college only occurred when I was back home in Fla.

Since their 1999 reunion, Maiden has released three albums – one awesome, two completely forgettable – and announced a few years ago they would tour less. I pretty much gave up any hope of seeing my all-time favorite band.

But on April 2, 2009, everything changes. Iron Maiden will conclude their much-hyped Somewhere Back In Time World Tour 2008-09 at the BankAtlantic Center in Fort Lauderdale. The tour features a classic Powerslave/World Slavery Tour-era stageshow and no songs recorded after 1992.

Tickets go on sale this Friday night at 11:58 PM. That’s right. Two Minutes to Midnight.

“Fear of the Dark (live)” from A Real Live One (1993).

You may have missed this the first time around, because who the hell watches Fuse? But last spring, the music video network took a break from airing badly-censored versions of shitty movies and provided a decent reason to tune in: NOFX: Backstage Passport. The eight-episode tour documentary chronicled what the band thinks may have been its last extensive world tour. Their rationale? As NOFX passes the quarter-century mark and its members approach middle age with families to support, they might not have many chances to give remote locations on planet Earth a good punking – much less document the experience.

The result: several hours of entertaining shenanigans and an interesting look into the life of a band on a world tour. Sure, we all have ideas about cramped trailers and smelly bandmates – but what happens when your band plays for several thousand people in China, but the promoter tells you the nation’s widespread counterfeiting problem makes it impossible to discern how much money he owes you? How about a promoter in Peru that secures a vacant lot for an outdoor show, but no power, water, food, bathrooms, or permits? Then the police show up and practically hold your band hostage! Watch Kent, NOFX’s tour manager and the absolute highlight of the series, deal with such crises while getting fifteen different kinds of drunk – all while bandmembers snort strange green drugs in Singapore and videochat with their families.

Tour documentaries and live DVDs are usually “for fans only” affairs – but you don’t even have to be a punk rocker, much less a NOFX fan, to appreciate this.

NOFX: Backstage Passport hits stores on March 17. Don’t tell Fuse, but you can watch pretty much the entire series on YouTube. See a clip after the jump.

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As far as I’m concerned, the Red Hot Chili Peppers exist solely to fund guitarist John Frusciante’s numerous solo endeavors.

In 1988, Frusciante became friends with then-Chili Peppers guitarist Hillel Slovak, who would lose his own battle with heroin addiction later that year. Through Slovak, Frusciante befriended the rest of the band – and they turned to him when their next hired gun didn’t pan out. He joined in time to contribute to Mother’s Milk, and later, their 1991 breakthrough Blood Sugar Sex Magik.  Unable to cope with the band’s quick rise to fame, Frusciante quit in 1992. He retreated home to California, where he buried himself beneath both his own creative work and drugs.

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Once upon a time, I thought …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead was an amazing metal band name wasted on some Austin indie rockers. Then I heard Worlds Apart, the band’s ambitious, anthemic, self-indulgent yet criminally underrated 2005 album, and I realized these guys rule.  I finally caught them live in November of 2006. To say they left me wanting more would be too kind.

Disappointment set in when I happened upon their upcoming tour dates. February 23 at The Social over in Orlando. Nothing in our vicinity.

Why am I so disappointed? Well, I’m of the opinion that …Trail of Dead owes us a decent concert.

What happened on-stage at Jannus Landing on November 18, 2006?

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If Ivan’s sludge primer piqued your curiosity – or you’ve been a stoner rock aficianado for longer than your pot-addled brain can remember – this news should please you.

Shrinebuilder is the doom supergroup that will rule them all.  Just look at the lineup! Read the rest of this entry »

Orange County punk veterans T.S.O.L. spent the week prior to Christmas in the studio crafting a free full-length to mark their 30th anniversary.  With sponsorship from Hurley, Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Free Downloads hit the web late last week. Hurley.com documented the production process via streaming video of the band at work in the studio.

The band’s recently completed third decade was rather tumultuous. Two people were shot backstage at the House of Blues in Los Angeles at a T.S.O.L. gig in November 2002.  Although found not liable in the victims’ lawsuit, legal fees left the band $13,500 in the hole.  This debt left the band unable to tour.  During this period they released an intended final album, Divided We Stand, in 2003; and they played a couple of farewell gigs in 2006.  Six months later they upgraded the band’s status to hiatus, eventually getting back to business with a tour in 2008.

Doug Grean is ready for his moment in the sun – and after putting up with the unpredictable antics of a songwriting partner like Scott Weiland, I can’t really blame him.  The Los Angeles producer/musician and the erratic Stone Temple Pilots frontman began collaborating back in 1998, and sixteen of their co-written songs appear on Weiland’s latest solo album Happy In Galoshes.  He wears the ridiculous (self-imposed?) title of “musical director” in Weiland’s band.  I have no problem admitting I’ve never heard of the guy, and I’m betting you haven’t either. But Grean’s blog post recapping Weiland’s recent solo tour irritates me as a music fan

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