In the late 1950s, a band comprised of three random British dudes named John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison entered a talent contest under the moniker Johnny and the Moondogs. They would later become , arguably the greatest band in the history of everything.
Some 45 years later, a random Canadian dude named Dante DeCaro leaves some band called to return home and jam with his old friend Lindy Gerrard (and, later, Mark Devoe).
He soon joins , arguably the greatest band among a certain demographic of fashionable young persons for at least two weeks in the fall of 2005. DeCaro also forms a ramshackle indie folk act with the aforementioned old friends, and calls that band: .
Coincidence?
Possibly. DeCaro s Johnny and the Moon claim their name came from a local folk tale. But we d rather believe something cosmic is at work, and that they too, by name alone, are destined for greatness.
I guess we can all find out on October 24, when British Columbian imprint releases the eleven-track, self-titled debut by Johnny and the Moon. So it wasn t exactly gone, but beloved Berkeley/Oakland-based indie pop imprint is officially back in action, having recently revamped its website and issued two new 7 s-- the label s first releases in three years.
King of Slumberland Michael Schulman (or Mike Slumberland, if we go by the indie pop system of nomenclature) told Pitchfork that while he has been keeping the label s mailorder operational all the while, the release front has been dormant because of real job/life responsibilities that just take too much time.
..to really give enough attention to Slumberland and the rise of downloading and the near-collapse of sales of records/CDs.
While I wouldn t exactly blame downloading/freeloading for the decline in sales Slumberland (and other small labels I know) has experienced, Mike went on to explain, it s pretty clear that there are generations of music fans coming up that don t necessarily collect small bits of plastic of the music they like. For good or ill, labels like Slumberland have to deal with the economics of selling hundreds rather than thousands of any given release.
It's a sobering feeling to have the law be completely lawless, and feel like there's absolutely nothing I could do.
When Pitchfork reached on the phone yesterday to talk about the at their Houston, Texas show on Friday night, singer/guitarist Adam Stephens and drummer Tyson Vogel sounded tired, angry, and slightly bewildered. And they have every right to be. It s been a confusing few days, Stephens said.
I guess I m getting over feeling absolutely powerless in a so-called free and democratic society. It s a sobering feeling to have the law be completely lawless, and feel like there s absolutely nothing I could do. I think everyone there that night felt the same.
Quick catch-up: On Friday night, the band headlined a show at the Houston club . and opened. After receiving a noise complaint, the Houston Police Department sent officer G.
M. Rodriguez to the club. Rodriguez took the stage as Two Gallants played, and demanded that the band stop performing.
When they refused, a melee ensued. Rodriguez shot several people with a Taser gun, and there were numerous arrests. Vogel and Trainwreck Riders vocalist/guitarist Andrew Kerwin and bassist Sean Kohler were arrested and spent the night in jail.
Stephens was Tasered, but escaped. On Sunday, the Houston Chronicle reported that HPD Sgt. Nate McDuell claimed that Rodriguez had been attacked and had acted out of self-defense.
Stephens and Vogel said that was far from the truth, and explained their side of the story.
throw up in theaters, and dress homeless chic at Lollapalooza, but nothing could have prepared us for this one. According to several reader reports, entries made on the and fan message boards, and an interview with Pat Hagin, managing partner of the concert promotion company and nightclub the Pageant, last night s Wilco show at Springfield, MO s Shrine Mosque got a little out of hand.
Pitchfork reader, Tweedy punched a rowdy fan in the face about 30 minutes into Wilco s set yesterday evening. So some dude jumps on the stage, the reader claims. After he gets on stage (who really does this at a Wilco show?
), he runs up to Tweedy to give him a fat smooch on his having his ears touched and grabs the dude by his throat. While clinching to his throat, Jeff hauls off and decks him with a punch/open hand slap/shove to the face and [the] dude skirmishes away. Tweedy later apologizes (sort of) and hurries to the point of the set where they bow out before the encore.
show attendee e-mailed us, adding, Tweedy had to comment. I mean, come on guys, we aren t used to that! You guys have to stay down there.
Luna's Dean Britta Cover Donovan, More on EP Indie rock s sexiest couple? They re certainly in the running. With officially out to pasture, now have plenty of time to focus on the important things, like being sexy, recording covers, and readying the follow-up to 2003 s lovely L Avventura.
Today, October 17, releases a brand new Dean Britta EP, collecting four covers and a track from the forthcoming full length, due January 30.
The Words You Used to Say EP features the title track-- an original Wareham/Phillips composition set to appear on the new record-- and a quartet of covers: Donovan s Colours , Bobby Darin s Distractions, Pt. 1 , folkie Michael Holland s Since I Lay My Burden Down , and yes, Adam Green s We re Not Supposed to Be Lovers .
Wareham has been getting around, co-producing an album by Holland s alter-ego , and playing on a recent record by Australia s . The compilation dropped earlier this year. This evening, the bride is unveiled at last.
Tonight in their hometown of Portland, the begin their Rout of the Patagons tour in support of their latest album, . break, the Decemberists will get a slew of shows going in Europe. Crane Wife will land in the UK on January 29, courtesy of .
So more or less met expectations at Chicago s last night-- and expectations were admittedly low. Towing along a bassist, a keyboardist/laptop attendant, and a bored-looking horn section, she sleepwalked through set opener LDN -- nervously clutching a cigarette and gazing offstage, eyes glazed over, as though imagining all the places she d rather be-- then launched into a rather tepid rendition of 50 Cent-jacking, non-album Granny dis track, Nan, You re a Window Shopper .
Allen gained confidence as the set went on, but that set was barely 40 minutes long, so the confidence didn t get very far.
Fair enough for a gal with only a couple mixes and one album, which doesn t hit the States until next year. And yet, one hopes for more onstage charisma from Allen, whose excellent shines with wit, a keen sense of humor, and yes, even heart.
Lily has a way to go before she can work a sizable crowd, but she does have the songs, and most in attendance here-- an Internet-savvy bunch, no doubt-- seemed to be enjoying themselves, whether intent on doing so no matter what, or too drunk to notice anything was lacking.
DJ opened with a very impressive set of mash-ups, pureeing everything from Britney Spears, Lupe Fiasco, and Dizzee Rascal to Thom Yorke, the Smiths, and Regina Spektor. More than anyone else on stage last night, he actually seemed enthused to be performing.
Allen embarks on a tour of UK Academies and Universities this weekend, then opens two gigs for Scissor Sisters.
Dates and more photos ahead. Frida! Like a carillon knell through the storm, the name comes ringing down from the mountaintops to redeem the kingdom of music!
Or something. is a swell gal-- she s toured with Jens Lekman, Jos e Gonz a lez, and the Concretes, and last spring released a fine album of spry, immediate piano-pop tunes on the Concretes imprint. Have we mentioned she s from pop hotspot Sweden?
Frida will finally get the U.S. indie kid audience she deserves come October 24, when re-releases the overtly Swedish gal s ten-track debut, Until Death Comes, here in the States.
Frida co-produced the affair with the Bear Quartet s Jari Haapalainen and recorded it at Stockholm s Atlantis studio. This very record spawned the P4k hits You Never Got Me Right ( ) and I Drive My Friend ( ), and soon you will be able to cradle it in your very own quivering hands.
Until Death Comes also birthed a couple fine videos, including the stop-motion-happy I Drive My Friend and the Kate Bush-worthy The Modern .
Catch them both by clicking the links below.
Hyv o nen plays a couple European shows in December, and is presently recording new arrangements of a number of tunes she wrote last year for a dance piece entitled Pudel , by choreographer Dorte Olesens. DVD, Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest, might be due out next Tuesday, October 24 on , but we won t have to wait that long for a taste of it.
support of the aforementioned DVD. The track has been floating around the live/bootleg scene for a while now, and it s good to see it finally receive some official play.
spirit of his solo show.
My only recommendation is that fans scope it out on bit dark and fuzzy.
WilcoWorld.net in the U.
S. between 9pm on October 23 and 12am on October 24, so mark those calendars. place to stream recent live Wilco tunes.
As with Jenny Lewis , Sleater-Kinney, the White Stripes, and oh so many others, Tweedy and co. will rock s online concert series for the second time (the first was February 2005). On October 19, the band s gig at Washington, DC s 9:30 Club will be starting around 9pm.
It will be archived Finally, both Wilco and Tweedy (solo) have a handful of dates lined up this fall, including two newly announced stints at Chicago s Auditorium Theatre.
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