Tampa Calling

Mohawk Bomb Records announced today the release of the debut EP from Ascending to Avalon, whose Soundgarden-meets-Minus-the-Bear throwback riff rock and psychedelic sensibility make them a prime choice to fans of Led Zeppelin, Black Crowes, Foo Fighters and Open Hand.

“Wake the Sleeping Sun” is a 7-song eclectic blend of styles that shows the band’s talent and diversity. Ascending to Avalon was started in March 2008, when Ryen Gerson (vocals, guitar) started jamming with Lance Miller (drums) and Eric Bourne (guitar) on some material that sat around in the depths of his mind. The trio quickly formed a bond which led them to record over 20 original songs and put forth a rough demo recorded in Ryen’s basement. In October 2008, producer Ivan Pena started working with the band and the result was “Wake the Sleeping Sun”, an eclectic display of the band’s range of influences, full of radio rock appeal.

Listen below the jump:

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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 »

It’s been raining all day, even before I woke up, making the already problematic feat of getting out of bed doubly difficult. The gray weather is making my brain cloudy and I’m having a hard time focusing on anything other than the soothing pitter-patter of drops on the Creative Loafing office’s metal roof. (If it was raining harder, it’d be near impossible for me to even think.)

Anyway, here’s a list of my top 10 personal favorite songs about rain. I know there are plenty I left out, but there are so many goddamn songs about rain. Makes a person wonder how many songs there are about the sun.

1. “Rain Song,” Led Zeppelin, Houses of the Holy, 1973

2. “Here Comes the Rain Again,” The Eurythmics, Touch, 1984

3. “Why Does It Always Rain on Me?” Travis, The Man Who, 1999

4. “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head,” written by Burt Bacharach for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969

5. “Dry the Rain,” The Beta Band, The Three EPs, 1998

6. “November Rain,” Guns n’ Roses, Use Your Illusion I, 1992 Read the rest of this entry »

Wayne Coyne’s film Christmas on Mars is an abysmal clunker, even by vanity-project standards. It’s a mostly black-and-white, sci-fi, faux philosophical adventure strongly indebted to Stanley Kubrick’s infinitely superior 2001:A Space Odyssey and David Lynch’s pioneering, if equally obnoxious, Eraserhead. Whereas Flaming Lips live shows are charmingly weird and fun, the band’s silver screen debut reeks of film-school pretentiousness and art-house arrogance.

Lips frontman Coyne wrote, co-directed and appears in the flick, as do his fellow band members, but there are no musical performances – which makes Christmas on Mars less appealing than The Song Remains the Same sans the concert footage. Even with a head full of high-grade acid I can’t imagine finding this film more entertaining to view than, say, the popcorn ceiling of your average shitty apartment. As for the CD part of this twofer package, it’s the instrumental soundtrack to the film: 32 meandering minutes of trite, trippy washes that ebb, flow and then dissipate before leaving any real mark on the listener – just like the movie itself. 1 star