Pink Floyd guitarist's protégés were a "next big thing" back in the mid ‘70s.

By Blurt Staff

Pink Floyd fanatics rejoice with the first time release of two rare David Gilmour produced albums by UK country rock band Unicorn. The CDs 'Blue Pine Trees' and 'Too Many Crooks' will be released by Renaissance Records in conjunction with ItsAboutMusic.com on November 11th.

When you think of 'country rock' band's like Firefall, Pure Praire League, Poco, Flying Burrito Bros probably come to mind first, but one band that could well be called the godfathers of the genre actually came from England. The meeting between Unicorn and Pink Floyd's renown guitarist is a curious one.

Early in 1973 Unicorn played at the wedding reception for Transatlantic publicist Ricky Hopper. One of the guests was David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, who at the end of the evening got up and jammed with Unicorn on Neil Young's "Heart of Gold". Afterwards Gilmour told the band that he really liked country rock. A week later the Pink Floyd guitarist phoned the band to say that he had just installed a studio at his country retreat and asked if they wanted to demo some songs there. The band immediately accepted. A few days later they travelled up to Essex to Gilmour's estate. He showed them into the studio and said there was no need to bring any of their gear in from the van. Hanging on the walls was his collection of vintage Fender, Gibson, Rickenbacker and Martin guitars and underneath them Fender amplifiers and a Premier drum kit. They recorded three songs and Dave added some Fender Pedal Steel Guitar which he had just brought on his last American tour and was learning to play. They were invited back on several occasions to record.

"Unicorn were playing at the wedding reception of an old friend of mine, Rick Hopper," related David Gilmour, "when I first saw them and while I was impressed by their vocal harmonies, their tightness and the fact that it was the drummer that sang the lead vocals, it was the songs themselves that I liked the best. Ken Baker's songs, while firmly seated in the American country rock genre had a very original and unusual wry English feel in the stories he told. The one that really made me notice was 'Sleep Song', about a trip to the dentist. Not a common subject for the popular song. Largely on the strength of this I invited them to my tiny home studio in Essex to record some demos. This was the start of an association that was to cover two and a half albums over the next couple of years."

Things started to happen from then on when Gilmour offered to put up the money to record an album of Unicorn songs. Unicorn soon signed with Pink Floyd's manager Steve O'Rourke's EMKA organization, and Ricky Hopper who had introduced them to Dave became their tour manager. Ricky would later discover Kate Bush, then called Kathy Bush. Pete and Pat from Unicorn played on her first demo recordings at Gilmour's studio. Unicorn's first album was recorded in Olympic Studios in Barnes in London. David Gilmour was producing, by his own admission, for the first time. The performances would wind up as the album 'Blue Pine Trees' and parts of the second album 'Too Many Crooks'. The album was mixed at George Martin's Air Studios in London. The engineer was John Middleton and the tape operators were the sons of Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers. Steve O'Rourke took about a week to secure a deal with Charisma Records in the UK, with Capitol Records in the US and EMI International for the rest of the world.

In November 1974 Unicorn set off on their first US tour. At the time Capitol records tour manager, Alan Fry, told them that 'Blue Pine Trees' was number one in the FM action charts (a chart based on the frequency of FM airplay). The first night Unicorn performed at the Whiskey a Go Go on Sunset Strip, where they played in front of what seemed to be the entire Capitol Records staff. Unicorn was the headline band that night and was supported by a then little known Patti Smith. On that first tour the band supported bands like Fleetwood Mac, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, Climax Blues Band, Billy Joel, Linda Ronstadt and the Doobie Brothers. At the end of their first US tour Unicorn flew home via New York to return to play at the Marquee club in London with the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver with David Gilmour sitting in. The following year, 1975, was mainly spent recording the second album 'Too Many Crooks' (Released in America as 'Unicorn 2'). It was recorded in Air Studios at Oxford Circus with some additional tracks at Olympic at Barnes. This album included some of Unicorn's best studio performances. The most notable song was "No Way Out of Here" which was later recorded by Dave Gilmour for his first solo album. His version was the most played album track in the US for several weeks.

"Listening to the best of their output from before, during and after my own involvement with the band," says Gilmour, "has reminded me of the many great songs and great moments in the studio that we shared all those years ago. It's been a long time coming, but it has been worth the wait."

Kevin Barker enlists Newsom, Wilco's Pat Sansone and more; Thom Monahan produces.

By Blurt Staff

You And Me may be Vetiver guitarist Kevin Barker's debut album, but he is far from a newcomer to the scene. For the last few years he's been recording, touring and collaborating with Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Vashti Bunyan, Antony and the Johnsons, and Espers, to name just a few and being a regular member of Vetiver.

Now he has assembled an empathetic group of musicians to record his debut album, You And Me. Produced by Thom Monahan (Vetiver, Lilys, Gary Louris, Devendra Banhart), the album features Pat Sansone (Wilco), Joanna Newsom, Jonathan Wilson (Elvis Costello, Jenny Lewis), Eric Johnson (Shins, Fruit Bats), and Otto Hauser (Vetiver, Espers). The album will be released by Gnomonsong - the label helmed by Devendra Banhart and Andy Cabic - January 2010. It's described by the label as recalling at times "the rustic grooves of The Band and the Grateful Dead, the heady melancholy of Roy Harper, and the golden harmonies of CSNY."

Growing up in Washington DC, Kevin was well-versed in the DIY punk culture typified by Fugazi and Dischord Records. While in high school He and his brother formed a vinyl-only punk label, Nervous Wreck Kids. He also organized numerous shows at local VFW halls and art
spaces.

In college he became interested in the fingerstyle guitar playing of John Fahey and Bert Jansch. He began to write songs and recorded under the name "Currituck County" for Teenbeat Records, Troubleman Unlimited, and Track and Field Organisation in the UK.  He then moved to Brooklyn, NY where he attended film school at Columbia University and began playing with Devendra, Antony, and Vetiver.

While finishing his masters at Columbia, he began to tour more as a sideman with Vasthi Bunyan and Joanna Newsom, and began work editing his documentary film The Family Jams, which chronicled the summer 2004 tour of Devendra, Joanna and Vetiver. The film is slated to be released in spring 2010.

[Photo Credit: Peter Sollett]

Clever marketing tie-in with new album, totally annoying foray into kitsch, or something vastly more insidious and sinister? See the video below and YOU be the judge, while keeping warm!

By Blurt Staff

Weezer and Allstar Products Group, marketer and distributor of the Snuggie, America's favorite "blanket with sleeves," have joined forces to create the official Weezer Snuggie.  It launched today and will bear the band's trademark "Weezer" logo.  This latest addition to the Snuggie collection will allow fans of the band to stay warm while keeping their hands free to rock out.
 

The Weezer Snuggie will be available for $29.99 for purchase online.  It arrives the same day as the band's latest album, Raditude. If you order the Snuggie NOW (1-866-66-SHIP8) they'll throw in a copy of the CD - that's an additional $15.98 value! Plus processing and handling, of course.

The Snuggie blanket was featured at New York Fall Fashion Week in September, where models graced the catwalk in some of the latest Snuggie designs, such Snuggie Wild Side in zebra and leopard print, Snuggie Soft Rose for breast cancer awareness and limited edition Snuggadelic Snuggie in funky tie-dye print.  

Latest pick of cool emerging artist in our ongoing collaboration with Sonicbids.

By Fred Mills

The BLURT staff put our heads (and ears) together and we have the latest (October 2009) pick for our Blurt/Sonicbids "Best Kept Secret": it's Boston rockers The Vivs.

Featuring a lineup comprising assorted veterans of the Boss-town scene - several of the players gained regional fame in the ‘90s with Tribe, while early this century the Vivs initially came together under the moniker Edith - the group has a tough-as-nails sound that tilts towards distaff powerpop (think Patti Smith meets Bettie Serveert) while deploying stealth hooks a la classic postpunk outfits of the early ‘80s.

The lineup:

Karen Harris- Guitar/Vox
Terri Brosius- Keys/Vox
Matt Magee- Guitar
Jim Collins- Bass
Scott Rogers- Drums

On Sept. 22 they issued their debut album Mouth to Mouth, which they proudly describe as frontloaded with "songs you want to play loud" - indeed, that pretty much nails it, from the anthemic grandeur of "Falling off the Wagon (Onto You)" and the strummy, Beatlesque psych of "Waking Up" to the soaring girlgroup-styled pop of "Eiffel Tower" and the sassy, swaggering "Better Now." Throughout, frontwoman Karen Harris and keyboardist Terri Brosius serve up what they call "yin/yang vocals" and that's an apt description as well ‘cos there's a whole lotta chemistry going on here. Fun fact for all you Boston scenewatchers: producing and guesting on guitar on Mouth to Mouth are Eric Brosius from Tribe and David Minehan from the late, great Neighborhoods.

We'll have an interview with the band posted to the site shortly. Check out the band's MySpace page for song samples, tour dates and more. And congratulations to The Vivs. They're one of the good ‘uns, trust us.

***

Bands, go to www.sonicbids.com/blurtonline to submit and have us review your materials for feature consideration.

>Our November Best Kept Secret: The Handcuffs, from Chicago.

>Our December Best Kept Secret: Black Swan Green, from Brooklyn

>Our January Best Kept Secret: stephaniesĭd, from Asheville

>Our March Best Kept Secret: Polly Mackey & the Pleasure Principle, from England

>Our June Best Kept Secret: Wiretree, from Austin

>Our August Best Kept Secret: Bulletproof Vests, from Memphis

Harmonica legend played with Steve Miller Band, Elvin Bishop, Bonnie Raitt and more.

By Fred Mills

Less than a month ago harmonica great Norton Buffalo was diagnosed with lung cancer. Word spread through the rock and blues community rapidly when the following news was posted to the musician's official website:

Norton has been recently diagnosed with stage 4B Lung Cancer (adenocarcinoma) which was also discovered in his pleural fluid and his brain. He has been using a combination of Western Medicine, Chinese Traditional Medicine, Prayer, Spiritual Healers, Native American Healing, Reike, Visualization and Positive Thought, Acupuncture, Massage, ... and is taking in all the love and prayers from friends fans and loved ones from around the globe. He is currently home and gaining strength after his first round of Chemotherapy. His loving wife Lisa has been his constant support throughout this challenging time and he is as well receiving lots of support and care from his family and close circle of friends.

Sadly, Buffalo's battle proved brief; according to a report posted yesterday at Nightwatcher's House of Rock, he passed away Friday. He was 58.

Buffalo was born in Oakland, California, in 1951, going on to prominence in the ‘70s playing with various Bay Area outfits (among them, blues guitar great Elvin Bishop's band). Later he was a member of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen and the Steve Miller Band, playing on a number of key Miller albums during the guitarist-songwriter's hitmaking years in the mid/late ‘70s.

He also released a number of solo albums, fronted his own band The Knockouts, played with the likes of the Doobie Brothers, Roy Rogers (with whom he won a Grammy nomination in 1991), Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Mickey Hart and Merl Saunders, and also appeared in a number of films. He also continued to work with the Steve Miller Band. All in all, Buffalo appeared on 180 albums during his long career, and the loss his death brings to the rock and blues world is immeasurable.

[Photo Credit: Dave Rocco]

Get a load of that dental work...

By Fred Mills

Minutemen/Stooges bass legend Mike Watt took time out from his busy schedule to post one of his iconic photographs friends on his mailing list yesterday - see above, as it's self-explanatory.

Watt recently announced a string of dates with the Secondmen (the latest in his ongoing revolving door of ensembles... the dude don't sleep...). In the lineup are drummer Jerry Trebotic and Hammond organ player Pete Mazich, so you know it's gotta be some funky, psychotic shit. Catch ‘em live if you're on the left coast:

Monday, November 2 At 8 Pm

At The Echo, Echo Park, Ca

Saturday, November 14 At 9 Pm

At Di Piazza's, Long Beach, Ca

Friday, November 20 At 11 Pm

At The Redwood Bar + Grill, Los Angeles, Ca

Friday, December 18 At 10 Pm

At Club Good Hurt, West Los Angeles, Ca

iTunes here
Amazon here

Punk drummer walks among us! Blogger who "broke" the news of his death, however, ain't too happy...

By Fred Mills

Happy Halloween! I'd like to say my face is red, both from embarrassment and anger at being duped, but I've long been a fan of rock ‘n' roll hoaxes, dating back to the great Masked Marauders spoof in 1969. I mean, I even warmed up to the Dwarves hoax that the scum-rockers pulled on Sub Pop (and themselves) in 1992, so you could say that I'm kinda disposed to shenanigans and tomfoolery, as evidenced by the Captain Beefheart album/tour prank we at BLURT pulled some time ago (twice, actually) and the John Wesley Harding conspiracy we cooked up with JWH.

So the emails in the inbox this morning alerting me that the news yesterday of the untimely demise of legendary punk drummer Chuck Biscuits was in fact a hoax didn't faze me much - in fact, I laughed out loud. Well, throat cancer's no laughing matter, but still... all's fair in rock ‘n' roll, especially with Halloween just a couple of days away. Plus, there were multiple media outlets reporting on the death, including, if memory serves, one with an Associated Press byline; this is what happens when overworked/underpaid music scribes don't have time to do too much in-depth fact checking. I mean, BLURT does have 12 interns, all luscious-but-capable, but they are technically sex slaves, so...

There's a really good account of how the Biscuits hoax unfolded over at Brooklyn Vegan. Apparently a writer and huge Misfits fan named James Greene Jr. got pranked into believing that Biscuits had been terminally ill and finally passed away on Saturday. Greene published the news, and his story subsequently got picked up by the press. The rest is viral history.

As Brooklyn Vegan reports, though, confirmation has come from both D.O.A.'s Joe Keithley and the Circle Jerk's Keith Morris tht Biscuits is still very much among the living - or, in keeping with the Halloween season, you could say he's back among the living and currently walks among us. Greene still appears to be in a state of shock about having been duped, however, so you could probably characterize him as being kinda like a zombie at the moment...

Metal monsters take over MySpace for some demonic fun.

By Blurt Staff

Now THIS is scary - even scarier than trying to navigate the clunky, slow-as-molasses MySpace interface!

Starting tonight at Midnight, Slayer will commandeer MySpace's  Music Home Page for the entire Halloween weekend.

The first Slayer Halloween treat will be the exclusive premiere of Slayer's brand new album, World Painted Blood, which is due in stores next Tuesday, November 3. Check out such sensitive ditties as "Psychopathy Red," "Hate Worldwide," "Snuff," "Public Display of Dismemberment," "Not of This God," and "Beauty Through Order" and the title track - the whole thing, start to finish and on demand - until Tuesday when you can own your very own copy. It's even better than getting a box set of Saw DVDs.

But if you really want to get creeped out this Halloween, then check out the video graphic novel "Playing With Dolls," which will be exclusively available for viewing on MySpace Music only through the weekend, and then on Tuesday as part of the World Painted Blood Deluxe Edition.

No mere music video, the 20-minute "Playing with Dolls" was created and directed by Mark Brooks (Metalocalypse) and is a stark, 12-part nightmare that breathes corrupt life into Slayer's latest syllabus of stalkers, psychopaths and serial killers, merging their aberrant psyches into the supremely focused desire of a single, merciless malcontent. A methodical distillation of one man's lethal frenzy, the film follows the gruesome outbursts of a nameless protagonist. He is not an indiscriminate murder junkie, but rather a highly creative snuff-artist with a deeply personal sense of purpose - a man for whom murder is the only conceivable way forward. With a black heart hardened by tragedy, he chooses his victims carefully. His methods are as grisly and varied as they are poetic.

To complete this seizing of MySpace Music, every slot on the MySpace's Music Video Homepage will be filled with Slayer music videos, shout-outs, digital clips of the band providing some behind-the-scenes perspective on World Painted Blood, and other terrifying tidbits.

Happy Halloween!

Culled from new album that's due next February.

By Blurt Staff

Barely a week ago we were reporting on the forthcoming Yeasayer album, Odd Blood, due Feb. 9 on Secretly Canadian. This will be the first recording since Yeasayer's contribution of "Tightrope" to the Dark Was The Night benefit compilation and their critically acclaimed debut LP All Hour Cymbals (Nov. 2007).  

Meanwhile, next week the band drops "Ambling Alp," released digitally and on a limited 12" vinyl packaged in a space age colored metallic sleeve that will also feature remixes by Memory Tapes and DJ /rupture. If you can't wait, however, you can head over to Yeasayer's official website they've created for the single and download it free of charge. Just hand ‘em your email addy and it's yours.

Go here: www.amblingalp.com. Hint: it's awesome.