advance copy

2008-08-29T15:59:00.000-07:00

The Pink Spiders announce extensive U.S tour, including a date with the Pretenders. Sweat it Out releases September 23.

Hell, these dates for the power-pop group aren't even on their myspace yet! There are, however, new songs there. Oh yea, duh, of course i'm jealous about the Pretenders gig. September 23 sees the release of the next album Sweat It Out. Prior to the album release, the band is selling pre-order "survival" packs that contain the album along with a T-shirt, 5-Song digital EP, sunglasses and a condom. As i wrote in the bio at allmusic.com, the Nashville band signed to Geffen for Teenage Graffiti, which was produced by the one and only Ric Ocasek. A major wasn't the place for them and sure enough, Sweat it Out will get issued via Adrenaline Music Group.

September 11 Nashville, TN Movement Nashville Festival - Cannery Ballroom #
September 13 Cambridge, MA Middle East Upstairs ^ @
September 14 New York, NY Knitting Factory - Main Stage ^ @
September 17 Allentown, PA Masquerade Room ^
September 18 Philadelphia, PA JC Dobbs ^
September 19 Baltimore, MD Noise in the Basement - The Talking Head club *
September 20 Lancaster, PA The Chameleon
September 26 Murfreesboro, TN Main Street #
September 29 Champaign, IL IMC ^
September 30 St. Louis, MO Bluebird ^
October 1 Kansas City, MO Record Bar #
October 2 Boulder, CO The Black Sheep ^
October 3 Denver, CO Marquis Theatre ^
October 7 Sacramento, CA The Boardwalk +
October 8 Los Angeles, CA The Troubadour +
October 10 Anaheim, CA Chain Reaction +
October 12 Tempe, AZ Clubhouse +
October 15 Salt Lake City, UT Studio 600 +
October 16 Provo, UT Velour +
October 17 Rexburg, ID The Westwood Theatre +
October 18 Boise, ID The Venue +
October 19 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theatre +
October 20 Seattle, OR Chop Suey +
October 23 San Francisco, CA Slim's +
October 24 Visalia, CA 210 +
October 25 San Luis Obispo Downtown Brew +
October 31 Austin, TX Emo's ^
November 1 San Antonio, TX The Rock Bottom %
November 2 Houston, TX Walter's %
November 4 Pensacola, FL The Handlebar %
November 6 Jacksonville, FL Jack Rabbits %
November 8 Miami, FL Respectable St. %
More dates to be added.
^ all ages show
@ w/The Loved Ones
# 18 and over
* w/The Pretenders
+ w/Sherwood, Barcelona and Reign of Kindo
% w/Cruiserweight and Mondo Primo

2008-08-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

Tilly and The Wall will be in the premiere episode of the new 90210. September 2 on the CW. This Tuesday! The band will be playing at a birthday party. They're also gonna be in a music video that will be on the upcoming season of Sesame Street.

Tour dates:
9/14/08 Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre (Monolith Festival)*
9/15/08 Salt Lake City, UT @ In the Venue*
9/17/0 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom*
9/18/08 Seattle, WA @ Showbox*
9/19/08 Portland, OR @ Roseland*
9/20/08 San Francisco, CA @ Mezzanine – Treasure Island After Party
9/22/08 Los Angeles, CA @ Mayan Theatre*
9/23/08 Los Angeles, CA @ Mayan Theatre*
9/24/08 Pomona, CA @ The Glass House*
9/25/08 Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room
9/26/08 Albuquerque, NM @ Historic El Rey Theater
*with CSS

2008-08-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

new audio + video.
Kings of Leon - "Sex on Fire"

Sex On Fire

2008-08-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

Wrap it Up with Wrapping Paper. interview by Kenyon.

Wrapping Paper [aka Tim Andrew Meyer of Saint Paul, Minnesota] wrote a fabulous song about the Advance Copy blog. This earns Meyer an interview. The Hold Up the Neon Sign EP, featuring the marching band indie pop title track, is out now from Borrowdeer records.

this is Wrapping Paper's "excited" look.

-------------------------

Advance Copy: Let's get to today's reward challenge. You want to know what you're playing for? Fishing gear. Sound good?
Wrapping Paper: As far as rewards go, fishing tackle is the best thing I could possibly hope for.

AC: How is life going in Saint Paul, MN?
WP: Life in St Paul is going as good as can be expected for a former prize fighter. Those days are over.

AC: Have you had recordings prior to this Neon Sign EP?
WP: This is the first Wrapping Paper release. I used to be in a band called Cemetery Cemetery when I lived in Santa Barbara. A free download of that stuff is available at my label's website www.borrowdeer.com. I have an acoustic ep for sale at Borrowdeer as well. That "group" is called Workhorse Industries. On September 2, Borrowdeer will be releasing a free download of an EP by a very raw two piece I was in called Happy Veterans Day. Other than that, I self-released a CD with a Captain Beefheart meets Paul Robeson sort of sound back in 1999 under the name of Crazy Tim. It was called Teen Idol. This will be reissued by Borrowdeer at some point.

AC: How many songs about blogs have you written?
WP: I think I've written about 7 songs for blogs.

AC: Are the songs all the same melodies with just different lyrics? Or are they completely diverse?
WP: All the songs are completely diverse. You can hear a couple others at dancehallhips.wordpress.com and saidthegramophone.com/archives/inhabiting.php

AC: You have also been writing songs for people that buy your EP. How much of your time does this take up? Do you have time to do other things each day? This seems like a huge task.
WP: Writing songs for people does take up a lot of time but I really enjoy doing it. Currently it probably takes 5 or 6 hours a week. It doesn't seem like work though. I work from home so I have more free time to do this sort of thing now. I've done a song for a 6 year old's birthday, one about pit bulls, one about how Jesus lives in Milwaukee, one about how Kurt Vonnegut is a better writer than Jane Austen and a bunch of other interesting topics. People seem to really like the idea. I've done close to 50 songs since the end of June. It hasn't become a huge task so far. I'm hoping to wake up one morning and see that I have 100 songs to do. That would be my idea of a great time!

AC: Can i make a bad pun/wordplay about your artist name in the title for the interview? You know like, "Rappin' with Wrapping Paper"?
Feel free! I laughed at Rappin' with Wrapping Paper.

www.myspace.com/wrappingpaperston

2008-08-22T14:57:00.000-07:00

FUN FUN FUN FEST 2008 SET FOR NOVEMBER 8 - 9 AT WATERLOO PARK IN AUSTIN, TEXAS

diverse line-up on four stages includes CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH, THE NATIONAL, DEAD MILKMEN, DEERHOOF, BAD BRAINS.

TICKETS ON SALE AUGUST 22 THROUGH FRONTGATETICKETS.COM AND ALL FRONTGATE TICKET OUTLETS

www.funfunfunfest.com
www.transmissionentertainment.com

Stage 1: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The National, Atmosphere, Minus The Bear, St Vincent, Trail of Dead, Deerhoof, Rival Schools, Islands, The Annuals, Bishop Allen, Centromatic, Sleepercar, Frightened Rabbit, Spinto Band, Parts and Labor, Colourmusic, Expiremental Dental School, 27, Till We're Blue or Destroy, Paul Green's School of Rock.

Stage 2: Tim Fite, Magnetic Morning (adam franklin of Swervedriver, sam fogarino of Interpol), Kevin Seconds (of 7 seconds), the Cynics, Ugly Beats, Walter Schreifels (of quicksand, rival schools, GB, YOT), Pepi Ginsberg, frank smith, spot, The Revival Tour w/: Chuck Ragan (of hot water music), Tom Gabel (of against me!), Ben Nichols (of lucero), Tim Barry (of avail) Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Coldtowne Comedy Hr, Altercation Punk Rock Comedy hour, Matt Beardan, Chris Fairbanks

Stage 3: Bad Brains, ALL, Dead Milkmen (reunion/only show), Flipper, Adolescents, Integrity, Bouncing Souls, Swingin Utters, DOA, Killdozer, Cromags (jam), Scared of Chaka, Young Widows, Leftover Crack, Trash Talk, World Burns to Death, Krumbums, Mammoth Grinder, Cute Lepers, Bitter End, High Tension Wires, Born to Lose

Stage 4: Clipse, Z-trip, Dan Deacon, Grupo Fantasma, Kool Keith/Dr. Octagon, Dengue Fever, Brownout!, Franki Chan, Toxic Avenger (paris), Hawnay Troof, Starlynx/bigface, Richard Henry, Yacht .

2008-08-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

classic vintage video.
Inspiral Carpets - "Two Worlds Collide" (1992)

2008-08-21T06:12:00.000-07:00

The Low Anthem
Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
(self-released)
release: September 2, 2008
style: Americana folk-rock
[rating: ***1/2] The guitar picking and harmonica of Rhode Island's the Low Anthem figures into two sides of the band on Oh My God. Both ways work, though it may have made more sense if the band did two separate records instead of going quiet to loud to quiet every couple songs. I guess you can sort them out on your iTunes. No matter, the Low Anthem is effective and adept at both quiet Americana and folk-rock that meets gruffy, gritty blues. "Home I'll Never Be" (by Waits/Kerouac) offers up a look at the band's influences and that cover feels like the group's own. -Kenyon

2008-08-19T14:18:00.000-07:00

Natalie Walker
"Over and Under."
Natalie is the new Sarah McLachlan. Her hypnotizing, gorgeous voice soars over downtempo arrangements. OMG Sarah! OMG Natalie! Second album, With You, releases August 19, 2008.

2008-08-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

The Dark Romantics: Heartbreaker (lujo)
release: September 9, 2008
style: dark romance
[rating: **] Like She Wants Revenge, the entire record from Dark Romantic is blatantly about heartbreak, torn relationships and dark romance. "Love and Pain" and "The Death of You" are only a couple of the titles that represent the content. With a band consisting of spouses and a best friend, it's ironic that the songs are so solemn and brooding. Not nearly as intense as the best work from Interpol or Editors or SWR, but the dark side of reality is always welcome. -Kenyon

2008-08-19T13:21:00.000-07:00

Makeupbreakup: We Prefer Not To... [EP] (s.a.f.)
release: August 19, 2008
style: electro-rock
[rating: *1/2] Comprised of former members of A Trillion Barnacle Lapse (Level-Plane records) and Rockethouse (Kanine), Makeupbreakup's rough, frequently off-key vocals have a difficult time assimilating with synth. And without much edge to make up for that (no pun intended), they sound bored. -Kenyon

2008-08-16T14:33:00.000-07:00

new audio + video.
Uh Huh Her - "Not a Love Song."
Biggest guilty girl-girl pleasure since t.A.T.u.

Camila Grey is ex-Mellowdrone and Leisha Hailey is ex-Murmurs. Uh Huh Her's debut album Common Reaction is out August 19 on Nettwerk.

2008-08-16T14:00:00.000-07:00

Salme Dahlstrom
The Acid Cowgirl Audio Trade (Kontainer)
release: August 19, 2008
style: boppy dance pop
[rating: **1/2] As dated as her take on big-beat dance pop may be, give credit to the Swedish Dahlstrom for creating her own samples (you won't find any vintage guitar riffs) as well as self-producing and mixing. The Acid Cowgirl is polished pop at the core, especially on the highlight "C'mon Y'all", a sister track to Outkast's "Hey Ya". The simplistic lyrics in, for example, "Hello California" begin to establish where the music is compatible-- "this place is going straight to my head/and all the pretty boys I see everywhere they make me never want to go to bed." Adding a sunshiney attitude, Dahlstrom can best serve the tween market. -Kenyon

2008-08-16T13:30:00.000-07:00

Delerium [you may have heard "Silence" with Sarah McLachlan] announced 2008 North American tour dates. Guest vocalists expected include Leigh Nash (<3) of Sixpence None The Richer and Kristy Thirsk. Fellow Nettwerk records artists Elsiane and Morgan Page will support. Delerium has been in the studio working on an acoustic compilation that will be comprised of past hit singles as well as new tracks.

Sep 16 - San Diego - House of Blues
Sep 17 - Los Angeles - El Rey Theatre
Sep 18 - Anaheim - House of Blues
Sep 21 - Denver - Gothic
Sep 24 - Minneapolis - Myth
Sep 25 - Milwaukee - The Rave
Sep 26 - Detroit - Royal Oak Music Hall
Sep 27 - Toronto - Guvernment
Sep 28 - Montreal - Club Soda
Sep 30 - NYC - BB Kings
Oct 1 - Washington - 9:30 Club
Oct 4 - Atlanta - The Loft

2008-08-14T15:53:00.000-07:00

Death Cab For Cutie
Radio City Music Hall • October 6
ON SALE FRIDAY, 8/15 AT 11AM
whoop dee f-ing dig dug doo!

2008-08-13T09:13:00.000-07:00

Magnetic Morning [Swervedriver/Interpol side project] tour dates.

Fresh from the Swervedriver tour, Adam Franklin already has the tour schedule worked out with Interpol drummer Sam Fogarino.

15 Oct 2008 Caledonia Lounge Athens, Georgia
16 Oct 2008 Local 506 Chapel Hill, North Carolina
17 Oct 2008 Rock And Roll Hotel Washington, Washington DC
18 Oct 2008 Johnny Brenda's Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
20 Oct 2008 Great Scott Allston, Massachusetts
21 Oct 2008 South Paw Brooklyn, New York
23 Oct 2008 Horseshoe Tavern Toronto, Ontario
24 Oct 2008 The Grog Shop Cleveland, Ohio
25 Oct 2008 The Catus Club Milwaukee, Wisconsin
26 Oct 2008 The Empty Bottle Chicago, Illinois
27 Oct 2008 7th Street Entry Minneapolis, Minnesota
30 Oct 2008 Chop Suey Seattle, Washington
1 Nov 2008 Doug Fir Lounge Portland, Oregon
2 Nov 2008 The Independent San Fran., California
3 Nov 2008 The Roxy L.A., California
4 Nov 2008 Casbah San Diego, California
7 Nov 2008 House Of Blues Dallas, Texas
8 Nov 2008 Waterloo Park Austin, Texas
10 Nov 2008 The Earl Atlanta, Georgia

2008-08-12T22:23:00.000-07:00

Dungen - autumn 2008 tour dates + next album on the way.

"Satt At Se," from the upcoming album 4 (Kemado records), secures more Swedish psychedelia than you can shake a stick at. Check it at www.myspace.com/dungen

October 24 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg (CMJ)
October 27 - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's
October 28 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
October 30 - Boston, MA - Great Scott
October 31 - Toronto, ONT - Horseshoe Tavern
November 1 - Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig
November 2 - Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge
November 4 - Minneapolis, MN 400 Bar
November 7 - Seattle, WA - Chop Suey
November 8 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir
November 10 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
November 11 - Visalia, CA - Cellar Door
November 12 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo

2008-08-12T05:46:00.000-07:00

The Drones. everything you need to know about them at this moment.

This Australian band has that late 1980s pre-Nirvana "alternative" raspy rock essence. The vocals were killing me at first and then a few minutes later were acceptable. Think the Hold Steady vocalist like, really really painfully wasted. Brace yourself. Lucky for the Drones, they got some hot gigs of which we can all be jealous. And i mean MAD jealous. Digital release The Minotaur + A Brief Retrospective will be from ATP Recordings on September 2, 2008. A proper fourth album will be in early 2009. Very futuristic.

[mp3] - "Baby Squared"

tour dates. i know you're jealous.

August 13 - 3 of Clubs - Los Angeles, CA
August 18 - Spaceland - Los Angeles, CA
August 24 - Tractor Tavern - Seattle, WA
August 28 - Hemlock Tavern - San Francisco, CA
August 31 - Echoplex - Los Angeles, CA (w/ Polvo & Trans Am)
September 13 - Piano's - New York, NY
September 20 - Kutshers Country Resort - Monticello, NY (All Tomorrow's Parties)
September 21 - Trocadero - Philadelphia, PA *
September 22 - The National - Richmond, VA *
September 23 - 9:30 Club - Washington, DC *
September 24 - Ram's Head Live - Annapolis, MD *

* w/ Built To Spill, Meat Puppets

2008-08-09T08:53:00.000-07:00

Ladytron : "Runaway." Second hot video + audio from Velocifero.

(Myspace Exclusive)

2008-08-08T17:35:00.000-07:00

Bark Hide and Horn
Happily living amongst the plants and animals, Bark Hide and Horn's literary green-folk was inspired by National Geographic. Songs about ants, snails and chimps are etched into the debut album, National Road (August 19 on Boy Howdy). Naturally, the group is from Portland Oregon.

[mp3] - "Treasure of the Everglades"
[mp3] - "Trumpeter Swan"

2008-08-07T15:21:00.000-07:00

KINGS OF LEON new music + tour dates, many with We Are Scientists and the Stills.

The latest from KOL is even better than when they opened for U2 in 2005. Only by the Night will hit the ground September 23. First single "Sex on Fire" is hot stuff, progressing beyond the roots rock of the first album. Listen at http://www.kingsofleon.com/ <>

September
23 New York, NY Webster Hall w/The Whigs

October (w/The Stills and We Are Scientists)
11 Las Vegas, NV The Joint
12 San Diego, CA House of Blues
15 Los Angeles, CA Nokia Theatre
17 and 18 San Francisco, CA Warfield Theatre
20 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre
21 Portland, OR Schnitzer Hall
23 Denver, CO The Fillmore Auditorium
25 Austin, TX Austin Music Hall
26 Oklahoma City, OK Bricktown Events Center
28 Houston, TX Verizon Wireless Theater
29 Dallas, TX Palladium Ballroom
31 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom

November (w/The Whigs and We Are Scientists)
1 Minneapolis, MN Orpheum Theatre
3 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
5 Milwaukee, WI The Eagles Ballroom
7 Toronto, ONT Kool Haus
8 Detroit, MI The Fillmore
10 Washington, DC DAR Constitution Hall
12 Boston, MA Orpheum Theatre
15 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory Ballroom
18 Atlanta, GA The Tabernacle
19 Nashville, TN Nashville Municipal Auditorium

2008-08-04T14:28:00.000-07:00

Spiritualized >> second video from Songs in A&E.
"You Lie You Cheat." Warning >> may cause dizzyness.

Band to be on Late Night with David Letterman tomorrow. Other guests that night will be Kelly Ripa and Steve Coogan (Hamlet 2). Blech.

2008-08-03T22:05:00.000-07:00

classic vintage video.
J. Geils Band - "Freeze Frame" (1981)

2008-08-03T21:40:00.000-07:00

Dave Stewart, best known as the guy from the Eurythmics, has been mad productive since that band's heyday. Few of us know that he's written songs for other top artists [No Doubt, Tom Petty]. And now his absurdly large 30-piece band will be on tour to play with new life all those songs he wrote. Go HERE for dates and all that.

2008-07-31T18:21:00.000-07:00

a change is gonna come.

UNCUT
interview by Kenyon Hopkin

A lot of times you see a list of a band's influences but the band that is citing them is either shit or nothing like them. Uncut is neither. They are the total sum of their influential parts - Swervedriver, Trail of Dead, Sonic Youth, Fugazi and early My Bloody Valentine. Proud to be hailing from Toronto, Uncut--Jon Drew (drums) , Chris McCann (guitar), Derek Tokar (bass, vocals) and Ian Worang (guitar, vocals)--have completed their second album, Modern Currencies (Paper Bag records]. It sonically kicks down the door of rock and so does the stop motion video for "Darkhorse," which features Care Bears getting militant. So far, the band has opened for the Walkmen, Sloan, Dinosaur Jr. and Bob Mould. In a few weeks, Uncut will face its biggest physical challenge yet-- Japan. While still in North America, Ian Worang shared his obviously educated insight on health care, influential 1990s band Swervedriver and what it means to be rock 'n roll. -Kenyon Hopkin [Kenyon knows how to write a feature story but doesn't have that kind of time. So here is the ever-popular Q & A. photo with books By Alex Collados-Nunez. photo with photos on wall by Alex Collados-Nunez and Sarah Louise Lock].
--------------------------------------------

Advance Copy: I just watched Michael Moore's Sicko and now I want to move to France or Canada for the universal health care. How fair has it treated you in Canada? It seems so incredibly simple to deal with there.

Ian Worang: It is and it isn't. I think Michael Moore has a tendency to idealize Canada, which is flattering, but not entirely the best approach to take as a documentarian. For example, in Bowling for Columbine he comes to Toronto only to find that no one locks their doors. I have no idea where in Toronto he went. Having lived here my entire life -- both downtown and in the suburbs -- I have never left, nor known anyone, who left the doors unlocked.
But back to health care. It is free here, and it's great to know that if you're sick, for the most part, you'll get the best care available regardless of your economic status. It's a great feeling to be able to go get something checked out just to ease your mind. You can go to a walk-in clinic, without worrying about how you're going to pay for it, just to make sure that nothing is seriously wrong with you. One of my closest friends just spent 45 days in the hospital with a severe case of colitis, from which he almost died. Without free medical care he would have been economically devastated. That would have been the last thing he needed to worry about while he was recovering.

I've seen the dark side of the HMO system in the U.S. My father lived and worked in Buffalo and got sick. He repeatedly went to the hospital and was sent home with diagnoses like pneumonia and respiratory infection. Turns out he had stage four lung cancer and died, which was completely unnecessary. If the main goal of the doctors wasn't cost management, he would have received proper treatment. That shit is completely reprehensible to me. It's our responsibility as a society to take care of the sick and vulnerable, no questions, no debate, and it's barbaric to do otherwise. That said, our system in Canada is far from perfect. There are still "private hospitals" which sneak patients in to the top of the line for MRIs if they have the money. Waiting for medical attention can take hours. The hospitals are completely overcrowded and the staff completely overworked. There is also a strong push from the political right in Canada to move to a multi-tiered health care system, which is gaining favour all the time.

AC: How is the culture of music doing in Toronto? What are your favorite bands from there? And please don't say Broken Social Scene or Stars. Thanks.

IW: There's lots of great bands and a healthy music culture here in Toronto. My favourite Toronto bands at the moment are Quest for Fire (best band name ever), Metz, The Constantines, Brutal Knights and, without a doubt, Fucked Up. Toronto bands no longer in action, that I miss greatly, include Phleg Camp, Life Like Weeds, The Deadly Snakes, The Illuminati and Cursed. My mom really likes Feist.

AC: Would you ever live in the United States at this point?

IW: Nope. I have a great time down there, I love my family from there, I love my friends from there, I have great affection for the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago and Detroit. But I just couldn't do it. I never realise how Canadian I am until I cross the border. It's more different than you might think.
++++++++

"I have no idea where in Toronto [Michael Moore] went. Having lived here my entire life -- both downtown and in the suburbs -- I have never left, nor known anyone, who left the doors unlocked."
+++++

AC: What caused the original Uncut to transform from electronic-based music to guitar-lead post-hardcore noise rock?

IW: The band started with just my roommate, Jake Fairley, and I messing around in our living room without really having a clear direction of what we wanted to do. He eventually moved to Berlin to pursue his career in techno. The first Uncut full length ("Those Who Were Hung Hang Here") has a number of songs from the Jake days that were reworked to be played as a band, so some of that original sound carried over. Once we started playing live, we naturally got louder and brasher, and continue to do so. I think early tours with Bob Mould and Death From Above 1979 rubbed off on us as well.

AC: In the song "Darkhorse" there's a riff near the end nearly identical to Swervedriver's "Rave Down". Has anyone else noticed that yet?

IW: Others have probably noticed that, but you're the first to call us out on it. I like to think of it as a loving tribute, rather than an outright rip-off. Technically, we likely owe Swervedriver 10% of the profits for that song. So, if you're out there reading this Swervedriver, we would be more than happy to mail you a cheque for something around $2 CDN. If you could hold-off on cashing until Friday (pay day!), that would be awesome.

AC: You played with Swervedriver a few weeks ago -- they were fantastic here in New York. Did that show rock the house or what?

IW: It was really great to hear all the old favourites again. However, there were a lot of meatheads at the show moshing to every song. Who even moshes anymore? It was like the first Lollapalooza all over again. It was surreal watching the pit in action while they were playing "Feel So Real." It just didn't add up for me.

"Who even moshes anymore? It was like the first Lollapalooza all over again."

AC: The video for "Darkhorse" is shorter than the actual song. It leaves out a verse and chorus. Is that because animation takes a long time to do?

IW: That's exactly what happened. We would make an edit and they would say "can you just take out a little bit more?" Every second of the song represented hours of filming, so we were totally sympathetic. We have the dolls and the little instruments from the video. Best band memento ever.

AC: How are you feeling about playing dates in Japan? What are you most looking forward to there? Are you scared to go in a plane that far?

IW: My mind is exploding in excitement. It's all I think about (and talk about -- I think most of my friends are sick of hearing about it at this point). I'm not so excited about the plane though. Mind you, we've done longer drives straight through in a minivan, so how much worse can this be? (It will likely be much, much worse.)

AC: Some of your lyrics sound like they have some kind of profound political-social edge or message. Does that ring true? Any inspiration from political thought or philosophers?

IW: I used to read a lot of stuff like Howard Zinn, Michael Parenti and Noam Chomsky. I went to school for politics. I currently work at a non-profit organization and my entire family on my mom's side has worked in the public service for generations. And I spent my youth with bands like Fugazi and Minor Threat. I think in that way, politics and social thought are a part of who I am, and that does creep into the songs. I find the theme of loss of community and neighbourhood (which for some reason I keep framing in images of violence, I'm not sure why) is something that constantly flows through the songs, much more so than the bigger picture issues like war and neo-imperialism.

AC: Most of your musical influences have redefined what you can do with the electric guitar. Do you wish to contribute to that?

IW: I wish I could do that, but I probably can't. I think that our songs do try to assert the idea that you can be serious about playing your instrument and being proficient, without being overly rockist. We're not going to get all Blueshammer, but we are going to have some guitar solos. There was (is?) a time where anything beyond basic proficiency would render you a pariah in the indie and punk rock circles, as though by being excited by your instrument and wanting to get better at playing it meant you were missing the point by taking the naiveté out of rock. I would love to know how is it more authentic to rub a butt plug on your guitar than it is to know what the mixolydian mode is. Both have their place. Not that I'm trying to say we're Mastodon or anything. We're still pretty basic rock.

AC: For serious, before you play a show what are you thinking about? Do you ever think, "oh man I am totally gonna rock the hell out tonight"?

IW: It depends on the show. Sometimes I'm thinking "oh god, I hope I don't fuck up." Sometimes I'm thinking "we're going to crush these people with volume." Sometimes I'm thinking "fuck this place, I want to destroy it."

www.myspace.com/uncutband
www.thenewviolence.com
www.paperbagrecords.com

2008-07-30T20:59:00.000-07:00

new audio + video.
The Streets - "The Escapist." From Everything is Borrowed, out September 15, 2008. The first single off the fourth album from the Streets displays the soul-searching side of Mike Skinner, while again blending hip-hop and smooth R&B.