June 30th, 2009

Bob Lefsetz // Phoenix @ The Wiltern – Los Angeles

Bob Lefsetz // Phoenix @ The Wiltern   Los Angeles

[Via – Bob Lefsetz – Lefsetz Letter, June 29th]

“Why was everybody there?

I e-mailed Stacey to park beneath the building and she said:

“I’m glad you already have tickets, because this show is totally sold out.”

Huh?

Daniel Glass told me it was a tight ticket, but he owns the label. What was bringing 2,000 plus people out on a Sunday night?

Was it SNL?

Sure, that was a plum gig in the last century, but TV can’t break a band today (other than the Disney Channel, but the Jonas Brothers are already fading, yet it’s still a viable outlet for girl singers). And so many of the people on that Saturday late night show can’t sell a ticket. It’s the epitome of hype. Hey, look at me! My label squeezed somebody powerful and now I’ve got a moment of fame before I go back to my day job!

But supposedly it was different with Phoenix, SNL chased them.

Still…
Bob Lefsetz // Phoenix @ The Wiltern   Los Angeles



June 30th, 2009

Bowerbirds & Megafaun – August 4th – The Echo

Bowerbirds & Megafaun   August 4th   The Echo
Bowerbirds

Bowerbirds with Megafaun
The Echo
August 4th @ 8pm (Purchase Tix – $10)

MP3: Megafaun – Kaufman’s Ballad
MP3: Megafaun – Lazy Suicide
MP3: Bowerbirds – Northern Lights

Bowerbirds – Upper Air out July 7th via Dead Oceans (Pre-Order)
Megafaun – Gather, Form & Fly out July 21st via Hometapes (Pre-Order)



June 30th, 2009

NYT // Vibe Magazine To Close Down Immediately

NYT // Vibe Magazine To Close Down Immediately

[VIA – NYT – Richard Perez-Pena]

Vibe, one of the nation’s leading popular music magazines, is closing immediately, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. Word was broken early this afternoon by the Web site dailyfinance.com and spread to other music and media news sites. The spokeswoman, Tracy Nguyen, said the Vibe staff would be formally notified in a meeting at 2 p.m. She said she did not know how many people would be laid off as a result of the closure.

The closure of Vibe leaves just two large-circulation music magazines, XXL and The Source, focusing on hip-hop and R&B. The Source has had its own troubles, going through a bankruptcy and emerging under new ownership last year. A rock-focused magazine, Blender, folded last year.

In a memo to staff members announcing the closure, Steve Aaron, chief of the Vibe Media Group, wrote that for months, the company tried in vain to either find new investors or “to restructure the huge debt on our small company. Continue Reading the New York Times Story (click here)



June 30th, 2009

Rollo & Grady Interview // Sam Spiegel of N.A.S.A.

Rollo & Grady Interview // Sam Spiegel of N.A.S.A.

Sam “Squeak E. Clean” Spiegel has an impressive resume. He’s produced albums for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Ben Lee, scored commercials for Adidas and Levi’s and composed soundtracks for David O. Russell and Spike Jonze. These days his primary focus is N.A.S.A. (North America/South America) – a musical collaboration between Spiegel and Zé “DJ Zegon” Gonzales. Over a 5-year period the duo have enlisted the services of music heavyweights David Byrne, Chuck D, RZA, the Yeah Yeah’s Karen O, Tom Waits, ODB, George Clinton and many others to contribute vocals to their debut album Spirit of Apollo. The goal of the album is to “bring people together with music.” A perfect example is the pairing of Tom Waits with Kool Keith on the track “Spacious Thoughts.” The fact that they got the reclusive Tom Waits to join the project, speaks volumes to the effort they put into this record. They are also adding the finishing touches on a documentary chronicling the making of the album.

I spoke with Sam by phone last week to discuss the project, the ones that got away and intergalactic loving.

Rollo & Grady Interview // Sam Spiegel of N.A.S.A.

R&G: How are you doing?

Sam: Lovely. Just getting some stuff done while I’m back in town on break.

R&G: Were you in Brazil?

Sam:
Yeah – I just got back yesterday.

R&G:
Was it crazy?

Sam: It was crazy, man. Brazil is always crazy. People definitely have a lot of fun there.

R&G: That’s cool. You’ve mentioned that James Brown was one of the guys you really wanted to work with on the
Spirit Of project. Who else was on your wish list that didn’t make it on the album?

Sam: So many people. David Bowie, Lou Reed, Tom Yorke, Damon Albarn, Al Green, Morrissey, Mos Def, Andre 3000, Jay-Z, Nas, Rakim, Björk. There are so many people.

R&G: Did you reach out to Q-Tip or Kool Moe Dee or Schoolly D? Any of those guys?

Sam: Q-Tip was actually almost on the record, but it didn’t end up working out.

R&G: Were there red tape issues with the other guy’s labels or just conflicting schedules?

Sam: Some people politely declined. David Bowie said, “I really like this, but it’s not for me.” I think he said, “It’s not my cup of tea.”

R&G: I hear that Lou Reed is notoriously difficult. What happened with him?

Sam: He just wanted an insane amount of money we could have never afforded, so unfortunately we couldn’t do it with him.

R&G: Were some of the artists working for free?

Sam: Yeah. Some guys were nice enough to lend their services just because they loved the project. That was awesome. We hooked people up with as much as we could, but it was great to see people just volunteering their services because they were inspired.
Rollo & Grady Interview // Sam Spiegel of N.A.S.A.



June 29th, 2009

King Khan and Atlas Sound To Play Fun Fun Fun Fest

King Khan and Atlas Sound To Play Fun Fun Fun Fest

The King Khan & BBQ Show, Atlas Sound, Broadcast, Red Sparowes and Jesus Lizard are some of the confirmed artists for the 4th annual Fun Fun Fun Fest held in Austin’s Waterloo Park on November 7th and 8th. For more info (click here).

MP3: The King Khan & BBQ Show – Lil’ Girl In the Woods
MP3: Atlas Sound – Cold As Ice



June 29th, 2009

Floating Action & Generationals – July 31st @ Hotel Cafe

Floating Action & Generationals   July 31st @ Hotel Cafe
Floating Action

Park The Van artists Floating Action and Generationals are playing the Hotel Cafe on July 31st.

MP3: Floating Action – 50 Lashes
MP3: Generationals – When They Fight

Download:
Floating Action – Floating Action (iTunes)
Generationals – Con Law (PTV – July 21st)

Related Posts:
Rollo & Grady Interview with Seth Kauffman of Floating Action (click here)



June 29th, 2009

Monday // Covers

Monday // Covers
Mason Proper

Mason Proper, Stellastarr & Wild Light are playing the Troubadour on Friday, July 31st (tix)

MP3: Mason Proper – Lock Lovedown Gets Innocuous (Kanye West/LCD Soundsystem)
MP3: The Roots featuring Erykah Badu – I Wanna Be Where You Are (MJ Cover)*
MP3: Deer Tick – Nebraska (Bruce Springsteen)

*Via Gorilla vs. Bear Via Questlove’s Twitter



June 29th, 2009

New Spoon // Got Nuffin

New Spoon // Got Nuffin

Spoon is preparing to release their sixth studio EP, Got Nuffin, which will mark the band’s first release of new material since 2007’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. I’m digging the lo-fi guitar and the snare drum on the title single “Got Nuffin.” The 3-song EP is available through Merge Records tomorrow, click here to order.

MP3: Spoon – Got Nuffin