Forecastle – July 10-12, Louisville, Ky

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Once again we failed to get an interview with Snoop Dogg (we even offered to drive a dump truck of weed to his house). Apparently he got the dump truck, and will be playing Red Rocks tonight. Check out his preview for the show:

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Ani DiFranco: The Righteous Babe hard at work on another album, her 20th

:: Ani DiFranco ::

:: Mile High Music Festival ::

:: Dick’s Sporting Goods Park ::

:: July 18 ::

By Ryan Lappi

After releasing nearly twenty albums in just as many years, it is safe to assume that Ani DiFranco has created one of the most comprehensive, creative, and strikingly intimate scrapbooks in modern music. Since establishing her own label, Righteous Babe Records, in 1990, DiFranco has offered a rare portrait of unrelenting creativity independent of the traditional trappings of corporate music, resulting in a sustained outpouring of unabashed personal and social commentary that not only chronicles her own evolution as an artist, but also holds a finger to the pulse of democracy in America.

That early declaration of independence from the commercial record industry continues to pay huge dividends for DiFranco. Her 2008 album, Red Letter Year, was perhaps her most vast in scope, chronicling everything from politics to her new found – dare we say it – domestic role as mother, to the song-filled alleyways of her new home in post-Katrina New Orleans, to the majesty of existence itself, exemplified in the song “The Atom.” Continue — Read more »

Incubus’ newest album Monuments and Melodies Melds Hits with rarities

:: Incubus ::

:: Mile High Music Festival ::

:: Dick’s Sporting Goods Park ::

:: July 18 ::

By Joe Kovack

Incubus has been on a journey for nearly 20 years, finding themselves and musically evolving along the way.

With the release of Monuments and Melodies last month, Incubus has put out six albums and toured for roughly 12 out of the last 15 years, only stopping to rest and record for brief periods before setting out on the long road, yet again.

With the exception of new bass player Ben Kenney, formerly of The Roots, the guys of Incubus have been friends and bandmates since 1991, when they met in high school in southern California. In a recent interview with The Marquee, frontman Brandon Boyd discussed the band’s beginnings and how that led to the dynamic connection they have today.

“The foundation of our friendship was that we all liked surfing. We liked skating and going to shows when touring bands would come through the Hollywood valley, and it was really just a logical step for us to start a band of our own,” said Boyd. “When we first started the band it was just a high school garage band, and we just turned it up as loud as possible and tried to sound as bashy as we could. Mike [Einziger] was a good guitar player from square one and Jose [Pasillas] was a good drummer from square one, but I didn’t know how to sing. I just … I guess, had the balls to go up and bark into the P.A. and just yell over the top of the music.” Continue — Read more »

Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam tour on Frampton-produced album

:: Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam ::

:: Mile High Music Festival ::

:: Dick’s Sporting Goods Park ::

:: July 18 ::

By Timothy Dwenger

Twenty-two-year-old guitar prodigy Davy Knowles has been turning heads on both sides of the pond for several years now. Hailing from the tiny Isle of Man in the U.K., Knowles’ incendiary guitar style has earned comparisons to legends ranging from Stevie Ray Vaughn to Jimi Hendrix. Propelled by a fierce version of the classic “Outside Woman Blues,” made famous by Cream in the late ’60s, his first album, Roll Away, exploded onto the blues scene in 2007 and put his name on the radar of critics and fans alike.

In addition to serious guitar chops, Knowles possesses an improbably mature and weathered voice for such a young man. This only adds to his credibility in the music world, as he howls and barks the blues like he has lived them for decades upon decades. His new release, Coming Up for Air, picks up where Roll Away left off, throwing the listener straight into the fray with the powerful one-two punch of the title track followed by the arena-ready, train wreck anthem, “Riverbed.”

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:: The Black Keys ::

:: Saturday, July 18 ::

The Black Keys are, simply put, explosive.

With every thump, the duo works into a frenzy of tangled rock and tinny blues that sets hearts pounding and stops them again without warning.

Through collaboration with producer Danger Mouse, the frantic rebellion and fierce independence of the early Keys gives way to well-crafted spurts of melodic genius in their fifth studio album Attack & Release. Drummer Patrick Carney said of their change on the newest album, “I think Dan and I were intrigued to work with somebody as a producer because we both realized we couldn’t teach ourselves anything more, and it was best to start learning from other people. When we were, like, 22, we didn’t have the money to do this; by the time we were 24, maybe we thought we knew more than we actually did. Now, at 27, we maybe just realized we had stopped being broke, and stopped being dip-shits, and we could learn from other people who make records.”

 — Alex Samuel

:: Ben Harper & Relentless 7 ::

:: Saturday, July 18 ::

At last, Ben Harper is born-again — revived by a wave of gritty American rock from Austin-based Relentless7.

On his latest disc, White Lies for Dark Times, released this May, his first with Relentless7, Harper’s familiar vocals fuse with the trio’s whiskey-soaked rock to create eleven tracks that boast a refreshing balance of beauty and twang — savoring only the best of Harper’s past and soaring forward with inspired vigor. It’s a timeless rock record, with a cohesive collection of music that is as raw, unrelenting and thunderous, as it is arrestingly haunting and emotional.

“Ben Harper is that rare talent able to not only vacation in the worlds of gospel, soul, folk and even reggae,” wrote Billboard, “but sometimes you just want him to rock…And at long last, he’s assembled a new band that seems dedicated to just that.”

— Alex Samuel

:: Rocco Deluca and the Burden ::

:: Saturday, July 18 ::

“The blues died when they took the ‘fuck’ out of it,” wrote a seemingly shy and unassuming Rocco DeLuca in his bio. “The music I was raised on had heat. Energy. That feeling of aggression. The music of today seems so washed out and generic. To get ‘em back we need to stick the real soul, that punk element back into it. It’s the only way I know how to play it.” It’s with that ferocity and determination that DeLuca’s debut album, I Trust You To Kill Me, challenges the listener to dive head first into the heart and soul of a musical revolution.

As with many artists, the road from the past to the reality of today is rarely an even journey. DeLuca’s was no exception. With a traveling musician for a father and having not met his mother until just three years ago, he’ll be the first to tell you that he’s spent a few cold nights on park benches. It was through those years that DeLuca found the strength to keep his creative drive unyielding. “You’ve gotta die a few times and be fierce enough to fall. I’ve fallen on my face many times. Whether it was on stage or with my family, but it’s those times and battle scars that make my music what it is today,” DeLuca said.

 — Brian F. Johnson

:: Dead Confederate ::

:: Sunday, July 19 ::

Dead Confederate’s music is intense – a lumbering, Southern, psychedelic grizzly that reveals itself like fireworks in slow motion. Their songs build before they burst into either giant melodic overtures or a shimmering cascade of saturated squalor — or both. They’re rock songs with a drawl. But when a charge is needed, Dead Confederate cuts through the fog in favor of razor sharp punkers that pay tribute to Nineties rock heroes. Jambase called them, “Arguably the most sonically powerful act in the burgeoning psychedelia-dosed scene in Atlanta, Ga. … a harbinger of a new rise of psychedelic rock.”

But despite their heritage, the band is set to shift the paradigm of the perception of Southern rock. “They did a review of us in Creative Loafing where the guy said that ‘Southern music does not begin and end with Duane Allman,’ and he’s right. And that’s what we’re out to prove.” said lead singer and guitarist Hardy Morris.

— Brian F. Johnson

:: Joe Pug ::

:: Sunday, July 19 ::

The day before his senior year as a playwright student at the University of North Carolina, Joe Pug sat down for a cup of coffee and had the clearest thought of his life: “I am profoundly unhappy here.” Then came the second clearest. Pug packed up his belongings and drove the longest route possible to Chicago. Working as a carpenter by day, the 23-year-old Pug spent nights playing the guitar he hadn’t picked up since his teenage years.

Using ideas originally slated for a play he was writing called Austin Fish, Pug began creating the sublime lyrical masterpiece that would become the Nation of Heat EP. The songs were recorded fast and fervently at a Chicago studio where a friend snuck him in to late night slots other musicians had canceled.

In May of 2008 Pug played the first headlining slot of his young career to a sold out crowd at Chicago’s storied Schubas Tavern. Two weeks later, he released the Nation of Heat EP, which has garnered near-universal critical acclaim and established him as a respected new songwriter. He plans to release his debut full length record in 2009.

 — Brian F. Johnson

Aerosmith works on new album and brings old one, Toys in the attic, on tour in its entirety

:: Aerosmith ::
 :: Fiddler’s Green :: August 1 ::

By Brandon Daviet

When you ponder the curious career of Aerosmith you really have to consider two separate phases of existence. There is, of course, the first phase that formed at the dawn of the Seventies and proceeded to spend the decade honing their music with hedonistic albums like Draw the Line and Get Your Wings, while helping cement new definitions of rock and roll excess both onstage and off. As the world ushered in the ’80s the band’s internal conflicts and reputation for partying caught up with them. While the band never actually broke up, both guitarists, Joe Perry and Brad Whitford, left the band for a while and the group’s once magical chemistry suffered. “The band had kind of broken apart in 1979 and a couple of years later the remaining members, myself, Joey and Steven, brought in another guitarist totally believing that we would pick up right where we left off and it would be Aerosmith the sequel,” said bassist Tom Hamilton, who spoke to The Marquee shortly after the first gig on the band’s current tour. “It took time to realize that wasn’t going to happen and for the five of us to realize we belonged to something really great. Then, right in that period MTV came along and I remember thinking, ‘Oh my god, we’re not going to be here for this.’ Here is this new exciting way to present your music and we were missing the boat.’’
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Ra Ra Riot gets the nod from Death Cab for cutie to open summer tour

:: Ra Ra Riot ::

:: with Death Cab for Cutie and Andrew Bird ::

:: Red Rocks Amphitheatre :: July 14 ::

By Timothy Dwenger

For the last two years the six members of Ra Ra Riot have been touring their highly energetic brand of pop music from coast to coast, drawing rave reviews nearly everywhere they play. They have headlined mid-sized theaters, sold out small clubs, and landed some noteworthy opening slots with the likes of Editors and Tokyo Police Club.  With all their successes, however, it wasn’t until this spring that they got to look forward to some of the biggest stages in the country when they were invited to join Death Cab for Cutie’s summer tour.

“They saw us when we played at a festival in Holland that they were also playing,” guitarist Milo Bonacci told The Marquee during a recent interview as he relaxed in Brooklyn on a break from the tour which he referred to as a “month-long weekend.” “Chris Walla introduced himself to us and seemed to be really excited about our show. I don’t know if that was the first thing that sparked it or not, but it seemed to have led to some other discussions. It turns out we have some common friends in the industry, so it just sort of developed and we were thrilled to be asked to a part of the tour. It’s a huge step for us and it’s really exciting.” Continue — Read more »

I don’t give a frog’s fat ass what you personally believe about file sharing and copyright — but the fine that was heaved at Jammie Thomas-Rasset, the first and only file sharing case to go to trial in the United States, is simply despicable and, I think, even more criminal than Thomas’ offense.

I’ve written about her case before but just to recap, Thomas-Rasset was found guilty in 2007 of illegal file sharing on Kazaa. At that time she was smacked with a $222,000 fine from the federal jury. But, a new trial was ordered after a judge claimed he erred in giving jury instructions. Continue — Read more »

Wilco

Wilco (The Album)

Nonesuch

4 out of 5 stars

Wilco is an absolute anomaly.  Their reputation as “the cool band” has greatly overshadowed their actual album sales.  Wilco has somehow become that band that everyone says they love even though most don’t buy their albums.  Need proof?

Wilco’s bestselling album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, has sold just over 590,000 copies.  Basically they are hundreds of thousands of albums away from going platinum and are still able to pack some very large venues across the country, including their summer tour stop at Red Rocks on July 3.  This tour will hopefully feature selections from their upcoming, seventh studio effort, Wilco (The Album)—their best studio album in the post-Jay Bennett era. Continue — Read more »

Dave Matthews Band

BigWhiskey and the GrooGrux King

RCA

3.5 out of 5 stars

The first notes you hear on Dave Matthews Band’s latest release is the unmistakable tone of late saxophonist LeRoi Moore.  It couldn’t be more appropriate considering the album is titled in honor of the founding member who died last August of complications from injuries suffered in a freak ATV accident.  “GrooGrux” is a nickname coined between Moore, drummer Carter Beauford and guitarist Tim Reynolds to describe the vibe of their sound when playing music together.  Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King (or Big Whiskey) is much more than a tribute to a fallen friend.  It is the band’s best studio effort since 1998’s Before These Crowded Streets, and finally gives the band some credible new material to incorporate into their high-energy live shows.    Continue — Read more »