Filmed by same director who handled PJ Harvey's 2006 doc "On Tour".

By Blurt Staff

Whattaya get when you send Howe Gelb off on tour and have a filmmaker follow him around? Why, a Howe Gelb music documentary, of course, and if you're familiar with Gelb (frontman for Giant Sand) you know that a doc on him won't be your garden variety doc. You can see a clip from it, below.

‘Sno Angel Winging It follows the collaboration of Gelb and his band plus the Voices of Praise gospel choir. Filmed in the UK, Spain and Canada over 2 years by director Maria Mochnacz - PJ Harvey - On Tour: Please Leave Quietly (2006) - it shows the coming together and subsequent recording session and tour of musicians from very different backgrounds. In the words of choir director Steve Johnston, "Taking a gospel choir, with what we stand for - our beliefs, out on the road with a rock and roll band; you have absolutely no idea what to expect!"

In the words of Gelb:


rock documentaries suck.

this one is no different, except maybe, cause it was left in the talented hands of maria mochnaz (who shot and assembled the live p.j. harvey DVD) and follows the impossible notion of attaching an entire choir to the crinkle of desire to acquire. it works if you want it too. soothing, like reaffirming creme. loose, like cluster muck. the reliving is relieving and revealing. probably doesn't suck at all.

the end

-howe

En route, then, is a DVD/CD package featuring the Winging It film plus a live concert audio CD. The audio portion of this package will also be available as a digital download from iTunes, Amazon, etc. Go to www.giantsand.com where they are taking preorders right now.

Open up those wallets, people - this is one that's important.

By Blurt Staff

If you've picked up the latest issue of BLURT you've seen our tribute to New Zealand legend Chris Knox, he of the mighty Tall Dwarfs, in which members of the Bats, the Clean and others offer their anecdotes and observations on Knox, felled earlier this year by a stroke. It's also got commentary provided by Knox himself to writer Jud Cost, who interviewed the man a few years ago. Cost also disclosed some of the details behind the forthcoming Knox tribute album, titled Stroke - Songs For Chris Knox that's due out next week in New Zealand and then Stateside in February via the Merge label.

Fans can cheer the news, posted yesterday at Knox's blog, of his gradual-but-steady recovery along with a tracklisting for the 2-CD album, which is stuffed to the gills with a who's who of NZ and American indie rockers ranging from the Verlaines, the Chills and David Kilgour to Portastatic, Jay Reatard and Yo La Tengo. Full tracklisting is below.

And if the tracklisting don't sway ya - at Knox's official site you can hear samples of most of the songs currently streaming. Go here and prepare to have the socks charmed off ya. (There's also a link you can use to order it from NZ in case you can't wait until Feb.) This is a tribute with meat on its bones, and it's for a good cause too, kids. Stroke, like the Sweet Relief (Victoria Williams) and Inner Flame (Rainer Ptacek) tributes before it, represents the music community rallying together for one of their own.

Incidentally, if you happen to be in New Zealand next week there is to be an album release party and benefit concert at Auckland's Kings Arms on Friday, Nov. 20, featuring Dimmer, the Bellbirds, David Kilgour, Don McGlashan and the Pyjama Party. The door fee will get you a copy of the album.

Tracklisting:

CD1 (Yellow Disc):

01 Jay Reatard: "Pull Down the Shades"
02 The Checks: "Rebel"
03 The Bleeding Allstars: "Ain't It Nice"
04 Peter Gutteridge: "Don't Catch Fire"
05 The Chills: "Luck or Loveliness"
06 David Kilgour: "Nothing's Going to Happen"
07 The Crying Wolfs: "All My Hollowness to You"
08 Stephin Merritt: "Beauty"
09 Portastatic: "Nostalgia's No Excuse"
10 The Mint Chicks: "Crush"
11 Jay & Sam Clarkson: "I've Left Memories Behind"
12 Sky Green Leopards: "Burning Blue"
13 Shayne Carter: "The Slide"
14 Pumice: "Grand Mal"
15 Hamish Kilgour: "Knoxed Out" *

CD2 (Black Disc):

01 Boh Runga: "Not Given Lightly"
02 Red&Zeke ft. Bill Doss and Neil Cleary: "Bodies"
03 Bill Callahan: "Lapse"
04 Genghis Smith: "Growth Spurt"
05 Yo La Tengo: "Coloured"
06 A.C. Newman: "Dunno Much About Life But I Know How to Breathe"
07 Alec Bathgate: "Glide"
08 Don McGlashan: "Inside Story
10 Lambchop: "What Goes Up"
11 The Mountain Goats: "Brave"
12 The Tokey Tones (and Friends): "Round These Walls"
13 The Bats: "Just Do It"
14 Will Oldham: "My Only Friend"
15 The Finn Family: "It's Love"
16 Jordan Luck: "Becoming Something Other"
17 The Verlaines: "Driftwood"
18 Lou Barlow: "Song of the Tall Poppy"
19 The Nothing: "Napping in Lapland" *
20 Tall Dwarfs: "Sunday Song" *

* bonus tracks

Pablove Foundation fundraiser in Hollywood to include Tom Morello, BRMC, Tom Gabel, Shirley Manson, Sea Wolf, Butch Walker, Jarrod Gorbel and more.

By Blurt Staff

Here's a message from Band of Horses' Ben Bridwell, so listen up ‘cos it's for a worthwhile charity:

***

Hi everyone -

We're really excited to announce a very special benefit show in Los Angeles to raise money for children's cancer research, and help families fighting this terrible disease. I hope you guys can help us get the word out. Information about the show and the charity, The Pablove Foundation, is below. Please let me know if you have any questions or need any more info, and thanks much for your help!

Ben

Please join us on November 21, for a very special Pablove Foundation benefit show at the Avalon in Hollywood. The show will feature stripped-down performances from:

Band of Horses

Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Shirley Manson of Garbage

Tom Gabel of Against Me!

Sea Wolf

Butch Walker

Jarrod Gorbel of Honorary Title

Songs for Kids

and more!

Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.

The Pablove Foundation raises money to improve the lives of children with cancer. Your ticket purchase directly benefits the charity's programs. These include funding pediatric cancer research, helping families without health insurance, and improving hospital playrooms. Please visit www.pablove.org  to learn more.

The alt-rock legends bring Doolittle to Oakland's Fox Theater.

By David Downs

Legendary alternative rock band Pixies howled the ferocious language of Doolittle to thousands of rabid, animalistic fans at a rare, sold-out engagement in Oakland's $92 million, restored 1930s picture palace, the Fox Theater Sunday night.

Only the band's second U.S. tour date in four years, lead singer Black Francis, bassist Kim Deal, drummer David Lovering and guitarist Joey Santiago devoured a dream-come-true setlist including the entirety of Doolittle ("Monkey Gone To Heaven", "Here Comes Your Man", "Hey", "Tame", and "Debaser"), with two encores including "Gigantic", "Caribou", and Fight Club anthem "Where Is My Mind?"

Twenty years into the release of the influential record, and Doolittle has become the Rosetta Stone to alternative music - everything important, from Nirvana to Modest Mouse to Built To Spill can be decoded through Pixies and Sunday night the band proved that three chords and two minutes of their time was often enough to encompass the entire artistic career of other bands. The now-forty-something icons executed Doolittle commendably, if not flawlessly, changing up some choruses and attacks, like Black Francis' slow, whispering, Gollum-esque version of "Wave of Mutilation".

Dressed in black, the rotund juggernaut Francis kept the rock talk near zero Sunday night, leaving the banter to the adorably ebullient Kim Deal. "Thanks for inviting us to this beautiful fucking place," Deal gushed. She occasionally narrated the set list, and joked with the crowd, "Anybody coming tomorrow? We're playing the same songs," referring to their three-night run at the Fox.

Santiago and Lovering focused on the music amid a riveting production that used copious amounts of fog, a video projector of gigantic proportions, and a dynamic, 3-D, lighted sculpture that would dance above Pixies' heads.

The band seemed to embrace the sing-along aspect of a re-union tour to perform Doolittle, feeding the crowd lyrics on the video screen, and further amplifying that strange feeling when you're at a show and everyone is singing every word of every song. It was a rapturous, teenage fantasy occasion for most in the crowd, darkly underlined by the brooding, anxious themes in the music.

The show opened with a weird, dark surreal piece of film - 1929 silent short Un chien andalou - that ends with a couple sinking into the sand and it's important to remember that the working title for Doolittle was Whore. The end of the '80s featured the withdrawal of Soviet Forces from Afghanistan after a disastrous nine-year campaign, the Pan Am bombings, the massacre at Tiananmen Square, and Reagan followed by George H.W. Bush. Doolittle is more than just a primer for the '90s, it was a harbinger, conveying the overweening sense of dread and comedy that would mark the century's turn, skid, and ultimate slide off the highway - tree branches whipping the windshield as we rolled off into the abyss. It was all there on vinyl in 1989, if you knew how to listen.

"I can't believe this album came out 20 years ago" quipped TV On The Radio's Kyp Malone, who opened with solo act Rain Machine. "Pixies saved me in high school."

****

The Pixies have a free EP of live music they are giving away on the Internet at their website and are currently selling Deluxe and Limited Editions of box set Minotaur. The Deluxe is $150. The Limited Edition is $500, weighs 25 pounds, and is limited to 3,000, individually numbered units, hand-signed by every member of Pixies and Vaughan Oliver. Visit www.ainr.com to buy.

[Photo Credit: Chris Glass]

Tour canceled on the eve of its kickoff... new album in stores today.

By Fred Mills

Okay, so the new album The Fountain is easily the worst record Echo & the Bunnymen have ever done - despite showing occasional glimmers of Bunnymen greatness, it sounds like years of alcohol and chemical abuse have finally taken their toll (and anyone who saw the band's horrific, incoherent state back in March at SXSW will agree that this damn bunny's been boiled). Read our review of the album here.

But hey, just because a group delivers a substandard product is no reason to keep ‘em out of the damn country! They just might redeem themselves, even. However, it would appear that our very own IRS decided to intervene, therefore causing the cancellation of what would have been an 8-date, high profile tour. The following press release was just slipped over the BLURT transom that will explain. Meanwhile, go listen to some earlier E&TB albums and console yourselves (but don't listen to The Fountain; it'll just depress you).

***

Echo & the Bunnymen are saddened and extremely disappointed to have to announce the cancellation of their upcoming US tour dates.  The band planned the performances in conjunction with the US release of their new album The Fountain, out November 10th.  The cancellation of the tour is due to the rejection of the band's Central Withholding Agreement (CWA) by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The rejection was unexpected as the Echo & the Bunnymen team submitted the necessary paperwork in due time and in accordance with the process that had been followed on previous tours. Additionally, the IRS offered no reasoning for the rejection and was unresponsive to our inquiries. This CWA allows for foreign entertainers to be paid in full, otherwise promoters are legally obliged to withhold a minimum of 30% in lieu of tax which ultimately will not allow for a tour to happen at this time.

However, we have some very exciting news for the rest of 2009 and on into 2010! The hotly anticipated new album The Fountain will be available Tuesday, November 10. Exclusive bundles will be available through band's website, www.bunnymen.com, and are currently available for pre-order. The bundles include exclusive Ocean Rain sheet music for the well-known track "Silver" as well as an exclusive t-shirt. We will also be rescheduling the cancelled tour dates and adding additional dates in early 2010.

Cancelled Tour Dates:

Nov. 15 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
Nov. 17 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
Nov. 18 - State College, Pittsburgh, PA - State Theatre
Nov. 20 - Glenside, PA - Kewsick Theatre
Nov. 21 - Fairfield, CT - StageOne
Nov. 22 - New York, NY- Hammerstein
Nov. 23 - Boston, MA- House of Blues
Nov. 25 - Chicago, IL - Metro

Them Crooked Vultures' self-titled debut arrives next week but you can hear it now at YouTube.

By Blurt Staff

The other day the upcoming Them Crooked Vultures album leaked to the Internet (it subsequently turned up at scores of sites, including this one which is still offering up a download of the entire thing). So in advance of the Nov. 17 release by DGC/Interscope, they decided the only thing to do was make it available for streaming via YouTube. Here are the official details:

In response to the leak of Them Crooked Vultures' album, the band has made the unprecedented decision to stream the record in its entirety beginning with first track "No One Loves Me & Neither Do I" http://bit.ly/stream_tcv

Them Crooked Vultures' self-titled debut album is due out November 17 in the United States and Canada on DGC/Interscope Records. Its release has been preceded by first single "New Fang" currently streaming at http://www.myspace.com/crookedvultures and "Mind Eraser, No Chaser" now available as a free iTunes download.

Good riddance to a band long past its shelf-life, we say, or at least we hope.

By Fred Mills

Oh dear. This is what happens when the BLURT newsdesk gives all the interns the weekend off while the editorial staff goes off on its annual Iron Man retreat in Wyoming - the normally on-the-tip BLURT misses the biggest news story of the, uh, week.

That's right: as 193 other media outlets are apparently reporting, Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler has quit the band, or so says guitarist Joe Perry.

Speaking to the Las Vegas Sun on Friday, Perry indicated that Tyler's last show with the band would be the recent one a week ago Sunday in Abu Dhabi: "Steven quit as far as I can tell. I don't know anymore than you do about it. I got off the plane two nights ago. I saw online that Steven said that he was going to leave the band. I don't know for how long, indefinitely or whatever. Other than that, I don't know... He has had no contact with me or the other band members.

"Frankly, the last few months I've been wanting not to rock the boat. I don't want him canceling any more gigs. We really wanted to do these last four. We just kind of didn't want to call him out or anything and get him anymore pissed off, for whatever reason. So we just let things lie. So we did the gigs and, like I said, I got off the plane and saw this online. That's how I know about it."

You can read the entire interview here, along with speculation over whether the band will look for a new singer. Apparently bassist Tom Hamilton told the Boston Herald that it was not an option and that he was hoping the admittedly strained relationships in the band could be patched up, but according to Perry, "You just can't disregard 40 years of four guys who play together as well as they do. We're just trying to - at least I am - trying to figure out what direction the band should take... I really don't know what path it's going to take at this point, but we'll probably find somebody else that will sing in those spots where we need a singer and then we'll be able to move the Aerosmith up a notch, move the vibe up a notch."

Well, whatever. Doesn't sound like ANYBODY in this collection of monkeys is on the same page. Aside from the fact that Aerosmith hasn't been artistically relevant in a decade or more (is it just us, or is the Aerosmith - Guitar Hero game also dull as nails?), this all sounds like a bunch of posturing.

Cue up the arrival of lawyers: One thing you can always count on in the entertainment biz: when at-odds musical partners start hashing their beefs out in the media, it's nothing more than a glitter ‘n' gloss version of passive-aggressive behavior. Aerosmith ain't called the "bad boys" for nothing, either. So watch for more of this tit-for-tat as the story unfolds, followed by the inevitable solo project, followed by the inevitable reconciliation, followed by the inevitable mega-cash world tour.

Or maybe Tyler's just taking some time off to get those 8 facelifts he's been planning so he can do another swimsuit photo shoot....

In demand skinsman played with Turing Machine, !!!, The Juan Maclean, Maserati and others.

By Fred Mills

Sad news for indie fans arrived over the weekend: Brooklyn-based drummer Jerry Fuchs died Saturday night following a fall down a freight elevator shaft. He'd been at a Williamsburg fundraiser and had attempted to jump a few feet from a still-descending elevator but caught his clothing on the elevator, swung back, and tumbled into the elevator shaft, a five-story drop. He died later at Bellevue Hospital. Fuchs was 34.

According to Fuch's Wikipedia page the drummer had gotten his start in bands while attending the University of Georgia in Athens. In 1996 he co-founded Turing Machine, later playing with !!! and The Juan Maclean. Most recently he'd been a member of Maserati, appearing on the albums Inventions for the New Season (2007) and Passages (2009). Most recently Maserati completed a September-October tour with Mono.

Five song EP to serve as stopgap release while we wait for next full-length.

By Blurt Staff

Animal Collective are set to release a new five track studio EP on November 23rd 2009 (digitally) and 15th December (physically).

Titled Fall Be Kind, it was recorded by Ben Allen at Sweet Tea in Oxford, MS in February 2008 and at Mission Sound in Brooklyn, NY August 2009. The EP includes recent live favorites "Graze" and "What Would I Want? Sky" (featuring the first ever licensed Grateful Dead sample). 

The EP comes less than one year after the band's acclaimed album Merriweather Post Pavilion which wowed fans and critics across the globe. Your friendly neighborhood BLURT - mindful of the hype that's surrounded the band of late - offered a positive, if somewhat cautionary assessment, writing:

Merriweather Post Pavilion may be the most hyped album by a band few people have ever heard of. Before it was even officially released, bloggers were proclaiming it the best album of 2009. In this case, you can believe the hype - well, most of it anyway. Merriweather is a very strong album and another step forward for an already-terrific band. But it's not quite a masterpiece. What Animal Collective has done is combine the electronics, psychedelia and tribal rhythms of its previous records with the Beach-Boys-In-Space sound of band member Panda Bear's 2007 solo album Person Pitch. The result is an album that's both experimental and accessible, a rare feat. But like Person Pitch, there are times when Merriweather is too focused on a sound or mood, instead of on actual songs. For every "Summertime Clothes," which could be played on Top 40 radio in an alternate universe, there are other tracks that, while always interesting, tend to run together. In other words, it's an album well worth owning. Just don't sell your copy of Pet Sounds for it.

With that in mind, keep your eyes peeled for a review of the new EP around the time of the digital release. We've been listening to it over the past week and thumbs are definitely up so far.

Track Listing:

1 - Graze
2 - What Would I Want? Sky
3 - Bleed
4 - On a Highway
5 - I Think I Can

Winners get to appear on special compilation that will be distributed next April on Record Store Day... plus a grand prize from Fender to boot!

By Blurt Staff

EMI Label Services/Caroline Distribution are working hand in hand with independent record stores to invoke a great rock tradition: a BATTLE OF THE BANDS amongst local high-school groups across the nation.

The events are taking place at participating stores through mid-November. The "winning" band as chosen by each local store will have the chance to have a song included on a compilation that will be released on Record Store Day (April 17, 2010). The finalists will then be reviewed and one band will be selected to receive the grand prize of recording time with a legendary music producer, and a complete gear outfit courtesy of Fender Musical Instrument Corporation.

As stated by Dominic Pandiscia, SVP/GM EMI Label Services and Caroline Distribution, "The Battle of the Bands campaign reinforces the record store as a key hub of activity for students.  We're incredibly excited to work with all associated partners to nurture local music talent, while creating exciting events at local independent stores."

Michael Kurtz, co-founder of Record Store Day, a celebration of independent record stores, saw this as a great opportunity to get the local community involved. The compilation of winners will be released on Record Store Day and the winning band from each market will be invited to perform in-store. "The organizers behind Record Store Day have helped develop artists as incredible as Regina Spektor, Flyleaf, and Linkin Park," said Kurtz.  "Additionally, we've been doing our part to help build the audience of such amazing bands as Wilco, Joss Stone, and Evanescence, while celebrating the music of artists like Tom Waits, Green Day and Radiohead with special RSD vinyl releases. It is exciting to now help an aspiring high school band discover that when they work hard, other people will step in to help. Helping the Fender Music Foundation bring funding and resources to the local communities is especially gratifying."

The winning band, to be selected by Merovingian Music President Jack Ponti and Fender Director of Entertainment Marketing Del Breckenfeld, will be outfitted with Fender equipment, including  a Fender Road Worn^TM '50s Strat® , a  Fender Road Worn '50s Precision Bass®, a Fender California Series^TM Kingman^TM SCE Electric Acoustic,·  a Fender Super-Sonic^TM Amp; a Fender Bassman® Fifteen Bass Amp;  a Gretsch® Blackhawk^TM Drum Kit, Sabian® Cymbals and Gibraltar® Drum Hardware.  Nine runner-up bands will receive Fender G-DEC® Amps (one per band), preloaded with loops and other tools, for practicing and songwriting.

The winning band will also have studio time with legendary producer/musician/manager/ songwriter Jack Ponti (Bon Jovi, Alice Cooper, India.Arie, Aiden, Boyz II Men).  The recording will then be mixed by Kevin Shirley (aka The Caveman) who has mixed records for Iron Maiden, HIM, Slayer, Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin.

In addition, participating local bands will have the chance to open for The Sunstreak at select high schools around the country. Signed to Merovingian Records, The Sunstreak, veterans of the Vans Warped tour, self-recorded their soon to be released, Once Upon A Lie on a MacBook, exemplifying the "do it yourself" indie spirit of the "Battle of the Bands" campaign.  

Details and updates at www.recordstoreday.com .