I’ve categorized this as “You Should Know:” but really, if you haven’t heard of Montreal fireball Melissa Auf der Maur then you need a serious lesson in Alt Rock history. After Kristen Pfaff’s overdose, Melissa became her replacement as bassist of Hole and in 2000 MAdM would replace D’Arcy Wretzky in Smashing Pumpkins until it’s initial dissolution. Her 2004 solo album titled simply Auf der Maur would go on to sell over 180,000 copies worldwide.
Now that you know who she is you should know that her latest SELF-RELEASED solo album Out Of Our Minds is a vibrant, layered work with touches of Kate Bush with newer hints of artists like A Perfect Circle, Azure Ray and Blonde Redhead. Her electro-rock orchestrations have a very epic swing and play into the delicate blasts of her voice. And it could be my stubbornly approaching 30 yrs-old ears but in songs like “Meet Me On The Dark Side” I still hear a bit of that 20th century “alternative rock” sound remaining in the songs structure which might actually be a welcome appeal to people of my generation and the Gen X’ers just before us. Of the 5 tracks I have been given to preview the standout is still the title track but a close 2nd is “The Key” which almost has a Queens of the Stone Age vibe, not so coincidentally. MAdM has also worked with them in the past. Album guests include Jordon Zadorozny (Sam Roberts), Chris Goss (QOTSA, UNKLE), Alan Molder (Depeche Mode, Smashing Pumpkins), Mike Frazer (Franz Ferdinand, ACDC) with a special duet with Glenn Danzig.
Out Of Our Minds is following the modern trend to remonitize music by appealing to hardcore fans by offering the solo record along with various other media in cost escalating tiers. Along with the solo record there is also an accompanying Graphic Novel by Brooklyn artist Jack Forbes as well as a 28-minute HD film, directed by Tony Stone which premiered at The Sundance Film Festival in 2009 and a vinyl picture disc (among other standard merch). All of this is set for release this March 23rd.
A free MP3 of the title track is available at xmadmx.com when you sign up for updates. Warning for sensitive listeners: In title track Out Of Our Minds, “Fire” and “Desire” lyrically interchange. But because she is a redhead, I think we can make an exception.
Intr0vert may have reviewed Brooklyn’s dirty-glamorous Semi Precious Weapons back in November, but I wanted in on the action. So when the chance came along to interview them before their show on Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball tour, I picked my jaw up off the ground, threw some glitter on and rented a sexy Kia Spectra to get to Rosemont.
From ditching their Brooklyn apartment and hopping on a tour bus that follows my beloved Lady, their lives have been turned a bit upside-down in the past year. Lady Gaga actually opened for Semi Precious Weapons, back sometime between being Stephanie Germanotta and a 23 year old woman with her own army of Monsters.
Sitting down on the bus with SPW, I was expecting 30 minutes of me being awkward turtle while they stared at me blankly, wishing for a legit interview. To my utter amazement, it was just the opposite. Yeah, I did have four gorgeous rock stars staring at me, but to my relief it was just 6 people (including Justin’s mom for awhile) having a conversation about rock and roll, tits, blood, glitter-you know, normal stuff. Read the rest of this entry »
This was my first time at Schuba’s, and I like that it was a small and intimate venue, albeit more long than wide. It’s just off of Southport and Belmont, so if you’re in the Lakeview area, not a hard place to get to.
Now, in my humble opinion, you have to be pretty famous to make people wait an hour, only to play a 30-40 minute set. Such was the case with Nico Vega, thus I was quite confused when they announced their final song so soon. However, when they finally did get going, it was clear that I was among many hard-core Nico Vega devotees.
They weren’t lacking in energy, which was much appreciated. I’ve read comparisons of Aja to Karen O, which I can kind of buy, but with one difference: Aja clearly was an active participant in all the fun, and really fed off the crowd’s energy. She came out in a Robin Hood-esque cape and hood, only to reveal the disco ball madness below it (it was Bob Mackieish). Her voice was soulful and angry, she was quite frankly a little scary (the fact that every picture I took gave her devil eyes didn’t help either). The sound is bizarre and haunting, sounds like a hybrid of several people (I’m thinking a little Grace Slick, some Leila Moss…) and that’s not to say her voice isn’t unique.
Rabbit in the Bag, very intense good moment, the song I was waiting to hear them play. Like Jefferson Airplane’s ‘White Rabbit’, albeit more in your face and sans metaphors. That song was definitely worth the wait, and with such sheer intensity the show reached its peak with this one. After that, they closed with “Beast”, much to my surprise. It was a great song to end with, but I spent most of the song disappointed that their set was over so quickly.
I guess in summary I would say that Aja’s amazing vocals and intense energy are what make this band worth watching. They already have a handful of songs in my head, and I wanna use the word “potential” without being trite. But I get the impression that with the wind blowing just the right way, Nico Vega could burst from their cult-following status to filling much bigger venues with devotees. I would definitely advice you to catch them if they’re in your area.
I can tell you about the band 100 Monkeys but chances are you won’t read anything I’m saying because you’re probably too busy screaming. Why? Because 100 Monkeys features Jackson Rathbone, better known as dreamboat Jasper Cullen from the Twilight Saga. And that’s fine.
It was a very Perry Tuesday at the Viper Room last night as Aerosmith’s six-string slinger took the stage as The Joe Perry Project to mark the release of his new solo record, Have Guitar, Will Travel; his first since 1983*. It was like Guitar Hero:Viper Room as legends of rock began to stream in the Larrabee door for the show. Decked out in bales of hay and cow skulls, the downstairs lounge carried the album’s western theme and became the VIP area where an open bar of “Admiral Perry’s Mojitos**” flowed throughout the night. As guests lined the sidewalks waiting to get into the SOLD OUT show they were treated to the arrivals of rock royals Slash, Perry (Jane’s Addiction) & Etty Farrell, Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue) & Kat Von D, Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine, The Nightwatchman) and a slightly creepy Steven Tyler look-alike who gave the fans a quick cheer… and a disappointed “aaaaaawgh”. Read the rest of this entry »
“Weezer is playing a sorta secret show @ The Roxy, u in?” was the text message that woke me up Monday morning. What a glorious way to start the week!
With little prompting I was invited to check out the show which ended up being an 8 song session which goes up Yahoo! Originals (similar to Sessions @ AOL) for Guitar Hero 5 Fridays. Mixed into their 8 song set were 2 new tracks, the current single “If You Are Wondering If I Want You To (I Want You To)“ and “I’m Your Daddy” from the upcoming album produced by Butch Walker. For those unfamiliar, Butch Walker was the focal point of late-90’s breakouts The Marvelous 3 and in the decade since has been writing and producing albums for some of the biggest hit-makers in the world (P!nk, Katy Perry, Avril Lavigne) while releasing brilliant solo albums revered by his rabidly dedicated fans…myself included.
As a fan of Weezer since 1994’s “Blue” Album (Released the Day before my 14th birthday …on Cassette!), and really, who wasn’t? I’ve been disappointed in most of what has been released after 2001’s “Green” (Released the day after my 21st Birthday). But fans of the old sound, take heart! If the 2 new songs from yesterday’s set are any indication of a paradigm shift in Weezer’s sound then I am happy to announce that Butch Walker may have finally cured Weezer of their bad case of queso that plagued most of their 2000’s singles. “Troublemaker” makes my stomach physically ache.
Whoever it was that said ‘Lightning doesn’t strike twice’ obviously doesn’t live on The Sunset Strip.
Lately, The Viper Room has become a hotbed of guitar action! A couple weeks ago, Steve Stevens stopped by to jam with Ginger Wildheart and Billy Morrison on some “Rebel Yell”. A couple nights later Slash joined former Guns ‘N Roses drummer Steven Adler for “It’s So Easy” and “Mama Kin”. (Read About It Here.) And then last Saturday as the dust of the Sunset Strip Music Festival was just beginning to settle, Rock and Roll legend Ace Frehley took the Viper stage by storm with his show of KISS Classics, New Fan Favorites from ANOMALY and his signature model Les Pauls on Fire! And as an added bonus the spaceman even closed his set with 1974’s “Cold Gin” featuring Slash once again as special guest! Really, where else are you going to see a duo THAT HUGE in such an intimate setting. To say that we, as an audience felt privileged would be a gross understatement.
I’m not exactly sure how I feel about Michael Mann’s Public Enemies. I mean, I think I know, but then suddenly I’ll feel like I don’t. Is it possible to dislike a movie, yet at the same time leave the theater feeling as though you did enjoy the hell out of it? Does that make any sense? I’ll try to work that out in my review but for context, I’m a huge fan of Michael Mann. I adore Thief and Manhunter. I slurp the greatness of Heat. I will argue vehemently that Collateral is one of the 10 best films of the decade. The Insider, Ali, and The Keep are all fantastic. I love Mann’s attention to process, procedure, and work and how he will show the most minute detail of a robbery or gunfight during the tensest of moments. I love how he can capture cities in ways we’ve never seen with his camera and how his villains are tragically flawed, yet human. In fact, pretty much the only thing I don’t like about Mann is Miami Vice. That movie was disgustingly bad. But hey, every great director is entitled to a bomb every now and then (he should also be admonished for producing the tripe known as Hancock). I can forgive Mann for Miami Vice. After all, the followup film promised Johnny Depp and Christian Bale shooting at each other with Tommy Guns. It’s got to be good, right?
Earlier this summer, McG challenged Michael Bay to a Dick-Off contest to settle once and for all the question of which of the two lousy directors was compensating the least. McG was out of the gate first and single handedly destroyed the Terminator franchise. That’s a good start for McG’s chances. Unfortunately, Michael Bay came along with the eye fuck known as Terminator…er…Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
First, everything you’ve heard about this film doesn’t even begin to explain how fucking awful it actually is. Yes, you will see multiple shots of dogs humping each other. Because I guess that’s “funny”. Yes, you’ll then see a Transformer hump Megan Fox’s leg because that’s even funnier! It makes total sense because the same Transformer calls her “hot” earlier in the movie. I guess Megan Fox is supposed to be so attractive that even robots get off on seeing her. Yep, two Transformers (Skids and Mudflaps) not only speak in ebonics, but have large ears. One even has a gold front tooth and they like to fist bump after they call somebody a “pussy”. Sam Witwicky’s mother eats a pot brownie and decides to jump on people and act out of her mind. Exactly what pot does, I’m told. Sam goes to Transformer heaven for about 10 seconds and Megatron still looks like a total retard. All of that nonsense is in the film and it’s all even worse than what you’ve heard. But that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface.
Vicki Blue was a bass player in the teen rock band The Runaways. She got the gig after Jackie Fox, the previous bass player, had a nervous breakdown and cut herself with glass after her bass broke. Fast forward 30 years and the now “respectable” Victory Tischler-Blue puts together a documentary about the band which is mostly notable for giving the world Joan Jett and Lita Ford. I knew pretty much nothing about the Runaways going into this documentary. Was I illuminated? Did a teenage Joan Jett give me a hard on?
Now that you know who she is you should know that her latest SELF-RELEASED solo album Out Of Our Minds is a vibrant, layered work with touches of Kate Bush with newer hints of artists like A Perfect Circle, Azure Ray and Blonde Redhead. Her electro-rock orchestrations have a very epic swing and play into the delicate blasts of her voice. And it could be my stubbornly approaching 30 yrs-old ears but in songs like “Meet Me On The Dark Side” I still hear a bit of that 20th century “alternative rock” sound remaining in the songs structure which might actually be a welcome appeal to people of my generation and the Gen X’ers just before us. Of the 5 tracks I have been given to preview the standout is still the title track but a close 2nd is “The Key” which almost has a Queens of the Stone Age vibe, not so coincidentally. MAdM has also worked with them in the past. Album guests include Jordon Zadorozny (Sam Roberts), Chris Goss (QOTSA, UNKLE), Alan Molder (Depeche Mode, Smashing Pumpkins), Mike Frazer (Franz Ferdinand, ACDC) with a special duet with Glenn Danzig.
