Austin rocker's current road trek through the South intended to wind its way to Lexington, KY, where he'll record a new album, due out in June.

By Fred Mills

BLURT hero Alejandro Escovedo is currently in the middle of a short tour that will bring him to Asheville, NC, showcase venue the Orange Peel tomorrow night, Jan. 15. After that he'll have dates (as listed at his official website) in Virginia Beach, Charlottesville, Knoxville, Birmingham, Memphis and Louisville, then he'll take about three weeks off before resuming his road trek Feb. 11 in Santa Fe.

Escovedo and his band won't be cooling their heels during the break, however: following the Louisville gig they'll scoot over to Lexington, KY, home to St. Claire studios, where Escovedo recorded his last album, 2008's acclaimed Real Animal, with producer Tony Vicsonti.

In an interview published this week in Asheville's Mountain Xpress weekly, Escovedo explaied, "This tour is the beginning of the process of recording a new album... The record, as I see it, is a rock album along the lines of Real Animal only not autobiographical."

The Xpress article adds that "the new material has been developed over the course of Escovedo's residency at the Continental Club in Austin, Texas, where he's been presenting three new songs each week." He's also been unveiling selected tunes in concert on the current tour.

Escovedo's management indicated in an email to BLURT that a projected release date of June has been penciled in for the new album. It's slated to come out on Back Porch/Manhattan but no title has been determined yet.

***

Read our 2008 interview with Escovedo, producer Visconti and Chuck Prophet, who co-wrote the songs on Real Animal with Escovedo: http://blurt-online.com/features/view/105/

More Al:

CD review: http://blurt-online.com/reviews/view/98/
Live review: http://blurt-online.com/concert_reviews/view/39/
Video filmed especially for BLURT: http://blurt-online.com/video/view/62/

[Photo Credit: Todd V. Wolfson]

With frontwoman Regine Chassagne's family roots extending to Haiti, this makes it personal for them. Time to step up and make a donation, folks. It's as simple as that.

By Blurt Staff

A message from the Arcade Fire, posted to their site this morning:

Friends,

Haiti needs your help in her darkest hour.

We just got off the phone with our friends at Partners in Health.

Most of the medical infrastructure in Port-au-Prince is down.

Since Partners in Health's clinics are in situated the surrounding areas and haven't been damaged, they are mobilizing their resources towards the capital, setting-up field hospitals to treat the injured on the ground. Also, Paul Farmer (the founder of PIH) is at the UN and has access to the best information on where to direct the money... so for the moment if you want to help, we suggest sending funds to:

www.pih.org

+

donate.pih.org/page/contribute/haiti_earthquake?source=earthquake&subsource=homepage

Canadian residents with Roger cell phones can text HELP to 1291. 5 $ will be directed to Partners In Health's Haiti emergency fund.

Please be generous as time is of the essence.

love,
Win and Regine

p.s.
these photos convey some of what is going on:

+ www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/01/earthquake_in_haiti.html

Famed electronic musician-producer (and shoegaze scene celebrant) lines up a who's-who of cutting edge artists and then has his way with ‘em: Asobi Seksu, Mojave 3, Mark Gardener, Rachel Goswell, High Violets, Mahogany and Howling Bells, among others.

By Blurt Staff

Although strictly speaking a remix album, Missing Deadlines sees Ulrich Schnauss adopt the role of a master orchestrator or alchemist, rearranging and restructuring the songs of his contemporaries, as opposed to simply adorning each with throwaway beats-by-numbers. The record is a testament to Schnauss's unique aural vision, showcasing his undeniable grasp of heart-warming, heart-wrenching melody. Schnauss's telltale signature sounds are present in each track - whether it be the ever-oscillating synth patterns, the rich, reverb-laden voices, or the euphoric beats - yet still manage to reemain true to the spirit of the originals.

Says Schnauss, "Essentially what makes me really happy about this album is the fact that it's a selection of the - in my opinion - best mixes from a musical point of view, rather than a compilation of the commercially most successful ones, or the tracks that have the biggest names associated with them. In all cases, the original songs are already great in their own right - which made it really inspiring to work with them."

It's due March 15 from Britain's ever-eclectic Rocket Girl label.

Tracklisting:

1 Howling Bells: Setting Sun

2 A Sunny Day In Glasgow: Ghost In The Graveyard

3 Katharina Franck: Faithful Friend

4 Madrid: Out To Sea

5 Asobi Seksu: Strawberries

6 Dragons: Remembrance

7 Aus: Halo

8 Mahogany: Supervitesse

9 Lunz (Roedelius & Tim Story): Lunz

10 Rachel Goswell: Coastline

11 High Violets: Chinese Letter

12 Mark Gardener: Story Of The Eye

13 I'm Not A Gun: Make Sense And Loose

14 Mojave 3: Bluebird Of Happiness

[Photo Credit: Troy Stains (note the Omnichord)]

On the web: www.myspace.com/ulrichschnauss

Distaff pop/punk-garage rawk summit galore! Check the video, below.

By Blurt Staff

As the story goes, Nikki Corvette - frontwoman for legendary pop/punk combo Nikki & the Corvettes - turned up at a Gore Gore Girls show in Los Angeles and, upon being introduced to Amy Gore by a mutual friend (critic/photog Robert Matheu), hit it off immediately with the other frontwoman. Later, Corvette relocated to her native Detroit for family reasons and she and Gore began to spend time together, spending hours talking about music while hanging out by the record player. 

With members of each woman's bands in different cities, they originally conceived the idea of doing a punk cover band, playing their favorite songs from bands like the Buzzcocks and the Damned. Gorevette was born.

That initial m.o. soon changed, however, when Nikki brought her tune "Lustfully Yours" to the table. Amy began writing songs specifically for Nikki that carry on the ‘Shangri-Las meets Ramones' sound she is famous for while incorporating lyrics rejecting the artificiality of current feminine ideals ("Fake It") and making stand for the hedonistic fun of dancing, cars and staying up all night. They recorded at studios in Ann Arbor in Detroit, tapping the talents of ace producer-engineers Jim Diamond and Pete Bankert, while the great guitarist Deniz Tek from Radio Birdman was on hand for a couple of tracks.

"Rock n' roll, above all else, should be fun," said Gore.

The new tracks are compiled for The Lustfully Yours EP on Strange Girl Recordings, out January 26. Check out the video for "Lustfully Yours" below.

The backstories:

1978 saw the birth of Nikki Corvette's career with the release of the Nikki Corvette and the Convertibles single "Young and Crazy" b/w "Backseat Love" and "Criminal Element". This was all happening in Detroit during the punk rock explosion where Nikki would see herself sharing the stage with The Ramones, Johnny Thunders, The Romantics and many more. By 1980 the band name was changed to Nikki and the Corvettes. They would release their legendary debut album on BOMP! Records, an incredible mixture of 60's style girl group vocals, twangy guitars and teenage pop with plenty of punk rock attitude, with songs about cruisin for boys and fun in the sun. The album and band would influence everyone from The Go-go's (to go for more of a "pop" sound) all the way to The Donnas (see the lyric "I wanna be like Nikki Corvette" from Gimmie My Radio), and around the world to Japan with The 5678's.

Meanwhile, Amy Gore was born in Detroit, Michigan and in 1997 she founded the Gore Gore Girls, the first of a few contemporary all-female garage band. Along with other bands such as The White Stripes, The Dirtbombs, The Detroit Cobras and others, the Gore Gore Girls helped establish the modern American garage rock scene of the 1990s in Detroit. Gore's talents are myriad: she is a ferocious guitarist who has helped bring Gretsch hollowbody guitars their due, a songwriter who distills the perfect pop gem and a studio pro whose unerring ear brought Gorevette to light.

Tracklisting:

1. Nothings Gonna Stop Me*

2. Lustfully Yours

3. Baby Let's Rock

4. Fake It

5. Honey Don't You Know?

6. Brand New Lover*

7. Candy Man

* Featuring Deniz Tek on lead guitar

On the web: http://www.myspace.com/gorevette 

[Photo Credit: http://www.dianaprice.com]

New album followed shortly by a U.S. tour.

By Blurt Staff

Late yesterday Australian label Spunk posted the following news on its website (thanks to Pitchfork for the tip):

Spunk is thrilled to announce the forthcoming Joanna Newsom album ‘Have One On Me', due for release February 19.

This is Joanna's third full length album. Her last record ‘Ys' was a conceptual masterpiece of ethereal harp, lush vocals and expansive, complex orchestrations arranged by Van Dyke Parks, and was recently voted one of the Albums of the Decade by Pitchfork and Mojo Magazine.

‘Have On One Me' is released in Australia via Spunk February 19, and released the rest of the world February 23 on Drag City.

Well that sounds like good news to us! As of yet Drag City hasn't pulled the trigger, news-wise, but it's probably forthcoming. Meanwhile, as previously announced here, Newsom will be wrapping up her tour of Australia, New Zealand and Japan early next month then will kick off a short U.S. trek in mid-March that will include an appearance at the Big Ears festival in Knoxville. Tour dates are here.

[Photo Credit: Paul O'Valle]

Feature film The Sentimental Engine Slayer will premiere Feb. 4 at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. View the freaky trailer below.

By Blurt Staff

While The Sentimental Engine Slayer is not the first venture as a director for the Mars Volta's Omar Rodriguez-Lopez -- he also created two unreleased films, 2001's A Manual Dexterity and 2003's Letters from Dystopia -- it is his first feature released to the public. Made on a relatively small budget using money borrowed from a close friend and Rodriguez Lopez's parents, the cast and crew worked diligently on location in El Paso, TX to bring the project to fruition.

The Sentimental Engine Slayer tells the tale of the overdue coming of age of a 20-something misfit named Barlam (played by Rodriguez-Lopez). Set against the backdrop of drug-addled suburban El Paso sometime in the not-too-distant future, Barlam's awkward transition from boy to man is as much the story of struggling to find one's essence in a world of stereotypes as it is an indictment of the distorted reality of family life in the disengaged 21st Century. For a more detailed plot synopsis, check out the film's IMDB page.

In between his work with the Mars Volta, producing Juliette Lewis and collaborating with the likes of Hans Zimmer, John Frusciante and Erykah Badu, Rodriguez-Lopez also found time to learn the craft of filmmaking, familiarizing himself with the process by way of producing two unreleased films (2001's A Manual Dexterity and 2003's Letters from Dystopia) in lieu of any formal training. The Sentimental Engine Slayer, is the director's debut feature release. Despite a virtually continuous commitment to the process of recording and touring with his various bands, Rodriguez-Lopez has managed to complete two more films since principal production on The Sentimental Engine Slayer wrapped in 2007; El Divino Influjo De Los Secretos (2008) and Boiling Death Request (2009) are both currently in post-production.

Found early this morning in the bed of his Memphis home.

By Fred Mills

Word is getting out that the body of Memphis garage-rock maverick Jay Reatard (real name: Jimmy Lee Lindsey) was discovered in his bed at his Midtown home early this morning, Jan. 13.  The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports that "family and friends" disclosed this information, and that the cause of death has not been announced pending an autopsy and a police investigation. The musician was 29.

Reatard's early label, Goner Records, posted a statement, saying "It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our good friend Jay Reatard. Jay died in his sleep last night. We will pass along information about funeral arrangements when they are made public."

Meanwhile, his most recent label, Matador, also expressed their sorrow in a statement that read "We are devastated by the death of Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., aka Jay Reatard. Jay was as full of life as anyone we've ever met, and responsible for so many memorable moments as a person and artist. We're honored to have known and worked with him, and we will miss him terribly."

At this point any speculation is questionable, although the obvious thing to note is that Reatard had demonstrated some mildly erratic behavior in the recent past leading up to and following the release of his Matador album Watch Me Fall, so questions of a substance-induced death will certainly be raised. Back in October there was that incident when, following the conclusion of one leg of a fall tour supporting the record, Reatard's band quit on him, leading to some bizarre Twitters and his former bandmembers hooking up with Wavves.

Last month an Austin performance ended on a violent note when a pair of audience members jumped onstage to attack Reatard, although this wasn't specifically of Reatard's doing (although it should be said that he'd been known to deliberately provoke the audience). And then just two days ago there was that so-called beef he was havaing with Jersey band Liquor Store, which he alleged had slashed the tires of his tour van, leading him to post to Twitter, "I will give anyone a hundred bucks per tire that they pop on the band Liquor Store's van! Yes I'm serious." So again, speculation as to Reatard's mental and physical condition prior to his death will no doubt run rampant during this upcoming news cycle.

At any rate, it's a tragic loss of one of our most engaging and stimulating indie rockers. We recently featured an exclusive interview with Reatard in the print edition of BLURT and will be revisiting that tomorrow on the website in tribute to the musician. We'd also like to express our condolences to his family and circle of Memphis friends.

 UPDATE:

Numerous media outlets are now reporting, based on a note originally posted to the web by CMJ, that Reatard's death has been attributed to an overdose. CMJ wrote, "CMJ was told by an undisclosed source close to Reatard that he died of an overdose although according to a Matador Records representative an autopsy has yet to be conducted nor the cause of death determined." However, nothing has been confirmed as of yet.

Star studded event takes place Feb. 16 at Brooklyn Academy of Music.

By Blurt Staff

Details:

February 16, 2010
Gilman Opera House
Brooklyn Academy of Music
30 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn NY 11217
Tickets on sale January 12, 10am
For Tickets: 718-636-4100 or www.BAM.com

Radiohead's Phil Selway, the Police's Stewart Copeland, Pink Floyd's Nick Mason, Snow Patrol's Jonny Quinn, the Corrs' Caroline Corr, Elbow's Richard Jupp, Egyptian musicians Yehia Khalil and Mohamed Mounir, and Ghanaian drummer Mustapha Tettey Addy.

By Blurt Staff

Sudan365.org is a recently-established political action collective comprising "thousands of activists and supporters who are drumming for a brighter future for the people of Sudan," according to the organization's official website.

"Sudan is at a critical moment in its history. On 9 January 2010, Sudanese communities and activists around the world are joining together to call on international leaders to take urgent diplomatic action to prevent an escalation of conflict in Sudan that could lead to massive human rights violations."

In order to draw attention to the cause, the drummers of Radiohead, Pink Floyd, the Police, Elbow, the Corrs and Snow Patrol, along with Egypt's Mohammed Munir, Yehia Khalil and Ghana's Mustaffa Teffey Addy have set out to "beat for peace." You can view the video results below.

According to Britain's Guardian, "The initiative was conceived by Jamie Catto, a founder of One Giant Leap and Faithless. Catto worked with Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Save Darfur Coalition to organise drumming events in 15 cities worldwide, including a demonstration in London opposite 10 Downing Street on Saturday.

"‘My personal connection with Sudan is my personal connection with humanity,' Catto told the BBC. ‘[Drums are] something anyone can join in with. Anyone can add a beat to show that everybody feels that making sure horrific atrocities and millions of murders don't kick off again in Sudan.'"

Celebrated Philly band turns to outside producer to craft autobiographical release.

By Blurt Staff

Dr. Dog has inked in an April 6th release of their Anti- Records debut, Shame, Shame. As a band that has traditionally built their spirited albums layer by layer in the undisturbed seclusion of their Philadelphia home studio, Dr. Dog realized that they would need to face the challenge of working in a professional studio and enlist the help of an outside producer (Rob Schnapf) if they were to continue their album-by-album evolutionary growth. The end result, as the label describes the new record, is the band's "most openly autobiographical release to date and peels back the layers of strings and horns of past albums to emphasize the raw immediacy of a tight unit honing their craft."

 Beginning January 27th in Troy NY, Dr. Dog will embark on a 10-week national headlining tour to premiere songs from Shame, Shame. Dates below.

The stylistic reference points of Dr. Dog remain on Shame, Shame but with a darker tone. "It's an album whose themes of doubt, confusion and unanswered questions are soothed by bright harmonies, taut guitar riffs and soaring melodies," says the band. "From beginning to end, Shame, Shame is a record destined to claim its place on the timeless margins, untouched by modern tastes and content to exist on its own terms."

Hey, we are all about timeless margins! Do the dawg, dudes.

Tour Dates:

January 27        Revolution Hall                    Troy, NY  *
January 28        Higher Ground                     Burlington, VT  *
January 29        Lupo's                                  Providence, RI  *
January 30        Westcott Theatre                 Syracuse, NY  *
February 1        Mohawk Place                     Buffalo, NY  *
February 3        The Pike Room                    Pontiac, MI  *
February 4        Turner Hall                           Milwaukee, WI  *
February 5        High Noon Saloon                Madison, WI  *
February 6        The Mill                                 Iowa City, IA  *
February 8        Waiting Room                       Omaha, NE  *
February 9        Rock Island Brewing Co.      Rock Island, IL  *
February 10      Case Western University      Cleveland, OH  *
February 11       Video Saloon                        Bloomington, IN  *
February 12       Newport Music Hall              Columbus, OH  *
February 13       State Theatre                       State College, PA  *
April 14               Lee's Place                           Toronto, ON
April 15             Blind Pig                               Ann Arbor, MI
April 16             Metro                                    Chicago, IL
April 17             Fine Line                               Minneapolis, MN
April 19             Belly Up                                Aspen, CO
April 20             Gothic Theatre                      Denver, CO
April 22             Neuroluz                               Boise, ID
April 23             Wonder Ballroom                  Portland, OR
April 24             Great American Music Hall   San Francisco, CA
April 25            Great American Music Hall    San Francisco, CA  **
April 27             Henry Fonda                          Los Angeles, CA  **
April 29             Santa Fe Brewing Company    Santa Fe, NM  **
April 30             The Loft                                   Dallas, TX  **
May 1               Emo's Outside                         Austin, TX  **
May 2               Warehouse Live Studio           Houston, TX  **
May 3               Majestic                                   Fayetteville, AR  **
May 5               Workplay                                 Birmingham, AL  **
May 6               Cannery Ballroom                   Nashville, TN  **
May 7               Headliners                              Louisville, KY  **
May 11             Paradise                                 Boston, MA  **
May 12             Paradise                                 Boston, MA  **
May 13             Electric Factory                       Philadelphia, PA **
May 14             9:30 Club                                Washington, DC  **
May 15            Terminal 5                               New York, NY  **

* With The Growlers
** With Deertick