Rappin’ with Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
Last week I had the opportunity to chat with Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett about his new solo release, credited to Chris Shiflett and the Dead Peasants (also available on vinyl!). Presumably, Shiflett was able to locate some new peasants, because he's currently out on tour supporting the new release, playing a series of shows that will bring him to Cleveland for a show on Thursday, August 5th at the Grog Shop, with Cleveland locals Ohio Sky supporting (paging Pat the Producer, are you listening?).
Shiflett will also be in St. Louis this coming Monday at the Old Rock House, so I spoke with him in advance of that show for the Riverfront Times to get some dirt about the tour and what fans can expect. You can check out the first part of the interview here. We also spent quite a bit of time nerding out about guitars and talked a bit about the new Foo Fighters album as well. That part of the conversation will be online on Monday at the RFT music blog, so stay tuned...
View CommentsExploring “The Things We Left Behind” with Blue Rodeo
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
Every now and then, you have these spontaneous reminders that tap you on the shoulder to let you know that indeed, "maybe we ain't that young anymore." Like the other day, when I realized that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Casino, the 1990 album that introduced me to Canadian alt-country imports Blue Rodeo. Which means officially that I've been buying Blue Rodeo albums religiously for 20 years now - there's never a question or any waiting around to read a review - as soon as I know the release date, it's on my purchase list.
And in those 20 years, they've never let me down with any of the albums that they've released. There have been a couple (Palace of Gold, Small Miracles) that have taken a couple of extra listens, but overall, the consistency has been admirable and it always interests me that these guys don't have more of a fanbase here in the U.S., particularly with Wilco fans.
They've certainly done okay for themselves, and with the release of The Things We Left Behind, which is studio album #12 for the band, they show no signs of running out of steam anytime soon. Featuring a total of 16 new tracks, it really is an interesting listen that breaks the traditional rotation between Keelor and Cuddy numbers in favor of an overall flow, tracked specifically with four sides of vinyl in mind. That's right - this sucker is a double album, and the vinyl has the full gatefold sleeve treatment and a nice bonus inclusion of CDs for on-the-go listening. It's worth a few extra bucks to import the vinyl from Canada, but if you're not a vinyl person, you can buy the CDs or digital download too.
Blue Rodeo are currently in the midst of a 15 date U.S. tour that will bring them to St. Louis tonight (for the first time in a loooong time), and Chicago on Saturday night, where they're booked at their traditional Chicago home away from home, Martyrs'. I spoke with Jim Cuddy about the band's long overdue return to St. Louis, the new album, and quite a few other topics. Although the chat had Chris Farley fanboy overload potential, I kept it professional.
Check out the interview here (via the Riverfront Times) and also some additional "outtakes" from the interview.
Enjoy!
P.S. - for those that are heading out to a show, you'll enjoy this review of the recent Atlanta show. It's nice to see that they're apparently changing up the set a bit from night to night. "It Could Happen To You" has been a recent opener, and for Atlanta, it was "Cynthia" from Five Days in July that kicked things off! And in even better news, they've got longtime BR associate Anne Lindsay out on the road with them, playing fiddle!
View CommentsThe Wild, The Innocent and the Bruce show I will not be attending
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
When Bruce Springsteen started doing the full album performance thang recently with a performance of Born to Run in Chicago, a few of us conversed about the albums that we'd really like to see him perform.
You know the ones I'm talking about - The Wild, The Innocent and The E Street Shuffle, and Greetings From Asbury Park - two great albums that would elicit a full-on fan freakout, but unfortunately they're not exactly the A-list albums that would drive ticket sales.
Still, it was a fun thought.
And now, a thought that at least partially will become reality for the fans attending this weekend's shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
View CommentsAn open letter to Bruce Springsteen
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
Dear Mr. Springsteen,
I have to admit, it's been a thrilling year for both you and me, and our good mutual friends in the E. Street Band. For me, I'll end 2009 having seen three Bruce shows(including Bonnaroo!,) which is nothing for some of your really hardcore fans, but for this guy, three Bruce shows in one year = one hell of an awesome year!
Meanwhile, you and the boys in the band certainly have been having fun with the sign request shows - each show upping the ante for fans to potentially see something they thought they'd never see Bruce and E. Street do. Silly fans - don't they realize that this is the mighty BOSS and the E. STREET BAND that we're talking about?
View CommentsI hear that St. Louis is pretty nice in October….
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
Today's tale reveals an upcoming new adventure in which our hero accepts an invitation to attend the Bruce Springsteen concert in St. Louis....
Oates, I forgot how soft your hands were….
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
We're just as excited as everybody else about the pending public reunion of J-Stache and John Oates, set to occur live onstage at the American Mustache Institute's annual Stache Bash happening on October 30th in St. Louis. Presumably, Oates will be there to promote the brand new super-bad ass Hall & Oates box set Do What You Want, Be What You Are - The Music of Daryl Hall & John Oates.
Fingers are currently crossed hoping that in fact, Mr. Oates might be re-growing that famous 'stache we all knew and loved so much, in honor of the Stache Bash appearance. Or perhaps if we are lucky, Oates mighta frozen that famous 'stache, Han Solo style - which of course means that it is almost certainly perfectly preserved, frozen in carbonite since 1993 and ready for action.
UPDATE: The legendary Oates 'stache is BACK!
We received the following video dispatch from J-Stache - please note that this video contains lots of NSFW language - view with caution:
