Finding The Light in Darkness: A conversation with Springsteen author Lawrence Kirsch
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
As we break the seal on 2010, I'm looking forward (as so many Springsteen fans are) to the much-discussed commemorative box set for Bruce Springsteen's classic release, Darkness on the Edge of Town. We don't know at this point specifically what shows/materials will be incorporated into the bonus elements of the release, but it is allegedly going to hit the shelves this year. If you bought the previous box set for Born to Run, I think you'll agree with me that this new release will be something to look forward to as a Bruce fan.
My anticipation for the release of this set doubled late last year with the release of The Light in Darkness, Lawrence Kirsch's excellent chronicle of the Darkness on the Edge of Town tour. Told from the fan's perspective, by the fans themselves, Kirsch took the numerous fan story submissions, combined them with over 200+ classic photographs from the tour, and delivered an amazing gift to Bruce fans. With time travel via DeLorean still unlikely, The Light in Darkness is the closest that you'll ever come to attending a show on the Darkness tour.
After finishing the book (my review is posted here), I had some further questions and wanted take a look under the hood at the assembly process behind releasing something like The Light in Darkness, one that is most certainly mammoth. Kirsch was more than happy to answer a few questions, and I'm glad that I took the time to inquire, because he certainly had plenty to say, and I think that all music fans will enjoy reading the story of how The Light in Darkness (and Kirsch's previous book For You) moved from a concept to the actual release.
CommentsVideo: Cracker in Iraq
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
Earlier this week, I spoke with Cracker frontman David Lowery regarding the upcoming winter run of tour dates for Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven. The interview, which will run soon in the Riverfront Times, was a good opportunity to chat with Lowery about a number of subjects. One of the things that I was most interested in hearing about, was the recent tour that Cracker played overseas for the troops in Iraq. We talked quite a bit about that, and as it happens, the band have just posted on their website a mini-tour documentary of sorts that documents the experience.
Here's the vid for your viewing pleasure!
Comments
Bill Stone of Paranoid Lovesick: The ATV Interview
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
This weekend will bring a multitude of glorious events, all happening right here in Cleveland. Now, I can already hear you out-of-town types starting to snicker a bit - knock it off! Cleveland IS cool - say it with me, and you'll start to understand! The world renowned International Pop Overthrow festival will make what I believe to be its Cleveland debut on Friday and Saturday night at the Beachland Ballroom. A mecca for power pop fans and lovers of music in general, IPO has come as close as Youngstown, OH in recent past. With the CLE debut, Ohio music fans that missed the Youngstown IPO, can finally stop kicking themselves - second chances do sometimes come around!
The IPO lineup is largely a showcase of some of Cleveland's finest - from veteran Bill Fox (The Mice) to relative newcomers Pale Hollow, peppered with a few bands from outside the zip code, including two bands - Triggers and The Jellybricks from PA - plus Colin Gawel and the Lonely Bones from Columbus, OH.
Perhaps the most exciting part of IPO for me personally, will be the reunion/farewell show from Cleveland's personal slice of power pop goodness from the 90's, Paranoid Lovesick, who will release TWO CDs of "new" material for the first time at IPO. Suburban Pop Allegro, the band's long overdue never-released second album, will be released for the first time, accompanied by Tuxedo Avenue Breakdown, the band's unreleased third album.
The tale of Paranoid Lovesick is lengthy and complicated, both critically acclaimed and yet at times, universally and criminally ignored. The story had an unplanned premature ending with the sudden death of guitarist Rick McBrien in 2003.
I can't recall when I first saw Paranoid Lovesick, but I remember the feeling that I got from hearing them on-stage. My ears perked at the sound of something that was finally different from the rest of the Cleveland music scene, which had gotten a bit stale. I signed up for the Paranoid Lovesick mailing list, unaware that I was opting into the greatest band mailing list ever - my ticket to receive their "newsletter", the Subterrestrial Glamorous Pop Hymnal - made up nearly 100 percent of satire, un-truths, and inside jokes/not-so-subtle jabs at members of the local Cleveland music scene.
And oh yeah, the road. Touring. Lots of things going wrong. Thank God, we had the internet in its infancy to read their numerous tales of highway-related woe. The PL "road stories" were legendary good reading back in the day, via the band's AOL message board - an area that deserves its own separate hall of fame. We caught up with PL frontman Bill Stone to swap a few more stories, talk about Saturday's IPO show and about the mysterious series of events that led to the release of Suburban Pop Allegro and Tuxedo Avenue Breakdown.
CommentsBill Champlin: The ATV Interview
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
During my early years as a music fan, I came across albums that would be important mile markers in my continuing musical education. Chicago 17 was an important album that introduced me to the production of David Foster, and perhaps more importantly, the vocals of Peter Cetera and Bill Champlin. Champlin was a recent addition to Chicago, having joined during the songwriting sessions for Chicago 16, the band's first album for their new label, Full Moon/Warner Brothers, after a career length stint recording for Columbia. The winning combination of Foster + Champlin + Chicago led to platinum selling results, and the band's second #1 single with "Hard to Say I'm Sorry."
CommentsWaking up with Nils Lofgren
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
After a period of being available exclusively at NilsLofgren.com (purchase), Nils Sings Neil is getting a traditional retail release via your favorite local record store and online outlets.
The disc hit stores this past Tuesday (2/24) and I had the pleasure of running a radio tour that same morning with Lofgren in which he spoke to radio stations in Boston, Buffalo, Denver, Miami, Seattle, and Philadelphia.
Lucky for us, Springsteen decided to schedule rehearsal gigs in Asbury Park for Monday and Tuesday night (long after the radio tour had originally been booked,) so we got the nice surprise of having Nils on the line, fresh from the first semi-official airing of lots of new material from the Working On A Dream album.
Thanks to the modern world of podcasts and website audio, you can check out audio of the interviews from Boston and Buffalo. Big props to Boston for throwing in a song request for "Chimes of Freedom" at the Boston shows. I'd love to hear that one!
Unfortunately, Nils put a slight damper on the possibility of that request (and others being fulfilled,) yet offered one major helpful tip (that us hardcore Bruce fans are well aware of) on how to get your song request played!
"I've learned that unless you have a cute little five year old kid in your arms with a sign, it's kind of wasted energy.."
Speaking of Bruce:
Pete at Blogness on the Edge of Town has some song samples from the first night, and also hipped me to the following video footage, which I actually enjoyed quite a bit, of NJ.com critic Jay Lustig discussing the Monday night gig. What can I say, I love fellow music nerds on camera!
| Ledger Live: Jay Lustig recaps Springsteen concert in Asbury |
Rolling Stone has a nice behind-the-curtain look at how Jay Weinberg scored the fill-in drummer gig for the upcoming tour, where he'll play at least 6-7 of the European dates, and potentially other shows. 18 years old.....started playing drums at age 14? That's crazy. I'd actually like to see one of the gigs with Jay behind the kit - he's got the goods, judging by the tunes I heard from Monday night's show!
Finally - I think all of us really enjoyed Ben's post over at Deeper Shade of Soul, offering some helpful setlist tips to Bruce for the upcoming tour. I really like the suggested Human Touch/Lucky Town cuts, particularly "Cross My Heart," which was always a favorite of mine. I'd also like to add "My Beautiful Reward" to that list. I get chills just thinking about hearing "Better Days" and "Lucky Town" again. Granted, the Human Touch/Lucky Town tour was my first Bruce show, but I really enjoyed both albums as well, and I've even softened up on cuts like "Man's Job" for example, that I really couldn't stand at the time.
Speaking of Human Touch and Lucky Town, they celebrated a birthday this past week.
The tour begins on Wednesday night in San Jose, CA. You're ready, right?
Can't wait to start tracking setlists!
CommentsNew Music: Cracker, Jenny Owen Youngs
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
Hello kids,
Thought I would spotlight briefly, a couple of things that have been in my ears this past week.
First, a few links of interest for your enjoyment:
Leading up to the Rock Hall induction ceremonies, I've been talking Metallica with my former radio comrade Chris Akin and Cleveland Scene's D.X. Ferris. The first installment can be found on Scene's newly re-born C-Notes Music Blog here.
Also on the Scene site, Anastasia Pantsios shares details from the opening night of Blue Arrow Records and Books. As one that doesn't really enjoy the opening night crush, (unless it is Van Halen or Springsteen,) I haven't been yet myself, but it's on the schedule for this week!
My buddy Ryan has a chance for you to win the new live CD and DVD from Stevie Nicks. Get your name in the hopper by going here! Smashing!
The Lemonheads covers record that was scheduled for release late last year, is finally scheduled for June.
Michael Penn talks about a lot of things during a SXSW interview, including a total flashback to the days of Hypercard!
Locally, Don Henley spent 20 minutes on the phone with Bill Lewis/WNCX, the day before the Eagles concert at Quicken Loans Arena. After the show, my good pal Bear posted a great recap on his Cleveland Rock and Roll website.
Finally, I'm quite stoked to read about a two CD "legacy" edition that is on the way for the classic Lenny Kravitz album Let Love Rule. I want one.
Cracker have more than just a little bit of sneaky nature bundled inside the works of the Cracker machine. They have this knack for dropping new Cracker albums on the unsuspecting music fan, seemingly from out of nowhere. Such is the case with Sunrise in the Land of Milke and Honey (pre-order from Amazon,) the new Cracker album that will be released on May 5th. I believe Cracker have at least one more great album in the tank, and while this isn't it, it is DAMN good.
Continuing the solid groundwork laid by Greenland (2006) (purchase), Sunrise is the no-bullshit straight up rock record that music fans have been waiting for. Blasting through 11 tracks in under 40 minutes, Lowery spits out rapid-fire lyrics that are signature Lowery.
From the album opening "Yalla Yalla" (I had a girl, Nantucket Massachusetts. She had a lisp, but man her ass was perfect,) to "I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right" (Don't you look down in that hole, cause the devil come out, and keep you for his own,) Lowery really brought his A-game on this album. Cracker axeman Johnny Hickman spreads his unmistakable guitar licks all over Sunrise, and grabs a solo writing credit with "Friends" (Well, I'd never sleep with your ex-girlfriend, even if she starts to flirt with me again,) one of the finer tracks on the album.
Cracker reeled in a ton of special guests for this album, including John Doe (vocals on "Shine a Light,") and a slew of special guests for "Darling One," which features Kevn Kinney (Drivin' n' Cryin',) Adam Duritz and David Immergluck (Counting Crows,) and singer-songwriter Shannon Worrell, to name a few. Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey is the band's first album for new label 429 Records, and hopefully we'll get to see some full-band shows supporting the new album, if we're lucky.
BEST TRACKS:
"Yalla Yalla"
"Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out With Me" (the first single) (download)
"Friends"
"I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right"
"Hand Me My Inhaler"
BONUS LISTENING:
"Something You Ain't Got" (download) from Greenland
ADDITIONAL HOMEWORK:
Greenland (2006) (purchase)
Gentleman's Blues (1998) (purchase)
The Golden Age (1996) (purchase)
Kerosene Hat (1993) (purchase)
Cracker official website
Cracker on the Live Music Archive
My apparent love for potty-mouth female singers led me to the music of Jenny Owen Youngs via "F*ck Was I" from Batten The Hatches, an album I bought via Itunes on a whim, after hearing the track from a friend. Youngs' Nelly cover of "Hot in Herre" was an additional purchase I had to make while hanging out at Itunes. Some of you might be familiar with Youngs, from hearing "F*ck Was I" on the hit television program (just wanted to use those three words to sound like "announcer guy nerd") Weeds, a spotlight slot that ultimately helped score Youngs a record deal with Nettwerk. If you missed all of that stuff....well, that's a shame - but now's a great time to catch up!
New Jersey-born Youngs is about to release her second album Transmitter Failure on May 26th, produced by Dan Romer (Ingrid Michaelson, April Smith, The Woes.) Her earlier work is more acoustic-based, and Transmitter Failure will flesh that sound out for the first time with a multitude of instruments including keys, horns, digital drum tracks, flute, glockenspiel, and even a full string section on some tracks. For those that are anxious to hear the new album, (me! me! me!) Youngs will preview the new album with an EP release, Led To The Sea on April 7th.
Youngs shares the following info regarding the new album:
“I wanted to make something that would move people emotionally, but also move them physically. I did not want to end up touring for another three years on a record that wouldn't offer people the opportunity to move. So. Dan and I set out to make something that was, quite simply, more fun to play live. In the process, my writing took turns I didn't expect.”
Dig that. Jenny Owen Youngs will hit the road for a tour with Jukebox The Ghost that goes all over the place with sadly, no tour date for me here in Cleveland. But for the rest of you, check here to see if Jenny is coming to your neck of the woods!
Here's the title track from Led To The Sea, for your enjoyment. Hope you enjoy it - it's my favorite thing that I've heard this week!
Jenny Owen Youngs - Led To The Sea
BONUS LISTENING:
(video)
ADDITIONAL HOMEWORK:
Purchase Batten The Hatches from Amazon - CD or MP3
Jenny Owen Youngs on Twitter
Jenny Owen Youngs on Myspace
CommentsSome Links To Know About – The Jigsaw, Propaghandi, The Alarm, + Bruce Springsteen
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
I've been ill over the past 24 hours after reading D.X. Ferris's rundown of the downward spiral of Phil Lara and the Jigsaw Entertainment Group. In the past couple of years, Lara has purchased or taken a controlling interest in 4 prominent Cleveland-area landmarks - The Jigsaw Saloon and Stage, Peabody's Down Under, The Hi-Fi Concert Club, and the world famous Cleveland Agora.
What sounds like a recipe for trouble has become a lot worse, and Ferris chronicles the downfall, with several big reveals, including this:
Since Lara's team took over, the Agora has bounced checks for big shows, including a December concert by Dragonforce and a sold-out, two-night stand by Akron's Black Keys, with tickets at $28.50 a pop. "I don't think we will ever play there again," says Keys drummer Patrick Carney.
and this:
Lara declines to guess how many checks his clubs have bounced. Laeng, the former Jigsaw GM, estimates the number around 500. He says he's never knowingly written a bad one. One of his last loyal soldiers says that's possible.
I'm not going to comment on this much, except to say that it makes me sick to have a lot of friends that have lost employment as a result of this mess, during the current economic times where finding employment is already challenging. Some of my worst fears regarding the business practices of the Jigsaw Entertainment Group have come true, with the potential loss of The Jigsaw Saloon and Stage, a Parma staple and landmark for over 30 years, and the amount of damage that has been done financially, and credibility-wise, to the Cleveland Agora.
I'm disappointed but not surprised to read the quote from Patrick Carney. I would have expected to read a quote like that from a national band, but not from a "hometown" group like The Black Keys. I can understand why they would be pissed about getting screwed on payment for two completely sold out shows, but in the context of this article, which is about an individual, Carney's statement is a heavy quote that has little to do with Phil Lara, and one that will go far beyond the Scene article and ultimately hurt the Agora's ability to get shows.
Read the complete article here.
And in other news.....
On a much lighter note......let's continue onward with some musical stuff!
In less than a year, my good pal Brian from Broken Headphones has turned out some pretty cool interviews with folks that you don't hear a lot about these days, including Stompbox (one of my personal faves,) Face to Face frontman Trevor Keith, and his most recent interview with Todd Kowalski of Propaghandi.
Propaghandi is one of those bands that make me think of high school, and my friends Casey and Steve, who were both fans of the band. Thanks to them, I knew plenty about them, and they also introduced me to bands like Jesus and Mary Chain, Sonic Youth, All, Season to Risk, and so many more.
That's probably one good reason why Brian and I are such good friends - he writes about a lot of music that I'm not personally familiar with, but thanks to Brian, I've learned a little bit more after I read his stuff. Broken Headphones also has a review of the new NOFX DVD Backstage Passport. Check that out right here.
Sound The Alarm!
Good ol' Swap over at TheFrontloader.Com takes a look at one of my favorite bands, The Alarm, and their Strength release. Life for me got a little bit better the first time that I heard The Alarm and "Sold Me Down The River" from the Change album. As compilations go, The Alarm Standards package is one that pops up fairly often in my musical listening travels. "Devolution Workin' Man Blues," "The Stand," "The Road," and of course, "Sixty-Eight Guns" - love 'em all! I'd love to see a show from Mike Peters and crew in my neck of the woods someday soon!
The Alarm - Sold Me Down The River
Swap also has some tunage for you from John Mayer, someone that I've become a big fan of in the past few years. Standing in Illinois at Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2007, I finally paid attention to John Mayer, and quickly became a convert.
Bruce and Bono = Paradise
Pete at Blogness had a bit of fun churning up the rumor mill with this post, and what I really enjoyed about it all was the tasty video rendition of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" that was at the end of the post. Taken from U2's 2005 Rock Hall induction, how did I miss this one? I must have been sleeping during all of the coverage pre/post, and during the ceremonies!
The Ultimate Drinking Mixtape!
I almost left this one out! Popdose made sure that St. Paddy's Day 2009 went down in style with a mixtape featuring "116 minutes of pure malt goodness" featuring tunes from Social D, The Hold Steady (Hey Jason, Hey Narm!) The Replacements, my man Willie Nelson, and many, many more. Even if you're drinking nothing stronger than Dr. Pepper (the officially endorsed drink of Addicted to Vinyl,) you'll enjoy the heck out of this one.
Drink up and be merry! Welcome to the China Club!
CommentsNIN interview hot off the presses
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
Nine Inch Nails are currently on tour in Australia, and NIN mainman Trent Reznor gave a rare in-person interview yesterday (2/22) to Triple J Radio. Reznor discusses the upcoming planned hiatus for NIN, the tour with Jane's Addiction, and a wealth of other subjects. The interview runs 16 minutes and includes some cool memories of Reznor's first Jane's Addiction concert here in Cleveland.
Listen now (audio courtesy of ninblogs.wordpress.com)
PS - I can't confirm, but I do believe that my good friend Burgo helped hold the microphone for this interview. I kid, I kid.
CommentsSetlist: Filter @ Hard Rock Cafe Cleveland 11/01/08 + Richard Patrick interview
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
Things are hella-busy right now, but I wanted to drop in for a quick post that you will all enjoy.
This past Saturday, Richard Patrick brought the Filter rock and roll machine back to C-town for a hometown show to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Cleveland location of the Hard Rock Cafe.
On Saturday afternoon, good friend/comrade Pat The Producer had Richard in studio at 92.3 K-Rock for what we figured would be a 10-15 minute interview.
Instead, Richard spent a relaxed hour with Pat recording an interview that ended up being an extremely open discussion of Richard's career with Filter, Nine Inch Nails, and his formative years growing up in the Cleveland suburb of Bay Village.
Filter frontman Richard Patrick with Pat the Producer at 92.3 K-Rock
After the interview, Richard made note that this interview was the first time he's really spoken in-depth about his time in Nine Inch Nails, a subject he usually doesn't discuss.
The interview also includes dirt on an upcoming Filter greatest hits compilation, and the first details on the new Filter studio album currently in the works.
I thought it was a really great interview, and asked Pat for permission to post the entire unedited interview here, and he agreed.
Here is the unedited version of Pat's interview with Richard Patrick, which aired Sunday, November 2nd on Inner Sanctum, the weekly local music show on 92.3 K-Rock. Check out the Inner Sanctum Sunday nights from 10pm-Midnight EST on 92.3 K-Rock, and on the web at www.krockcleveland.com.
Leave a comment here, or drop Pat an email directly if you dig the interview!
(P.S. - Filter fans can get their hands on Remixes For The Damned, a new album of remixes for songs from the most recent Filter album Anthems For The Damned. The remix project is available as a digital download TODAY - The purchase link is at the end of this post.
Pat and I had the opportunity to hear the KILLER remix for "What's Next," and we're both itching to get our hands on the new disc!)
Richard Patrick interview - part one - part two - part three
Filter @ Hard Rock Cafe - Setlist:
(The Hard Rock show was Filter show #3 for me this year....yay!! Pat, Brian from Broken Headphones, and myself, were there to witness another great Filter show!)
Welcome To The Fold
American Cliche
Dose
(Can't You) Trip Like I Do
It's Gonna Kill Me
So I Quit
Jurassitol
Cancer
Hey Man Nice Shot
encore
The Take
Take A Picture
Relevant Links:
Purchase the new Filter album Remixes For The Damned from Amazon - MP3 Download
Filter's official website
CommentsInterview: Tesla guitarist Dave Rude
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
On the heels of their recent live DVD release, Tesla are set to release Forever More, their first new studio album in four years on October 7th.
My compadre Chris Akin caught up with Tesla guitarist Dave Rude for an interview on last night's edition of The Classic Metal Show. The interview covers a lot of ground and includes of course, discussion about the live DVD, and plenty of dirt on the upcoming studio album, which finds the band reuniting with producer Terry Thomas (Bad Company, etc.) who produced the 1994 Tesla release Bust A Nut. Engineer Michael Rosen, who engineered the band's last studio release Into The Now, returns for engineering duties on Forever More.
Tesla guitarist Frank Hannon spoke about the new CD recently on the band's official site:
We started writing new songs for this album the first week of January, while simultaneously planning a mid-West tour of America in February and recording our COMIN’ ATCHA LIVE! 2008 DVD while we were on the road. Coming home in March, we hired Terry to jump back into writing and recording music with us while we edited the DVD and routed a summer tour of Europe. We’re riding a wave of energy that doesn’t come easy for a band of rookies much less a band whose been doing this for over 20 years - and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Read more
Tesla hits the road in October for a series of tour dates launching in Salt Lake City, with additional dates in Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland (!), and more!
Relevant Links:
Tesla official website
Comments