This blog belongs in the WTF catagory for sure… I just learned today of a super group of sorts forming featuring members of bands you would never suspect.
What band members do I speak of? How about former Smashing Pumpkin guitarist James Iha, Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, singer/Hanson brother Taylor, and Fountains of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger. Supergroup indeed. The band is called Tinted Windows and they should be releasing an album on April 21st, 2009.
WTF: Members of Smashing Pumpkins, Hanson, Cheap Trick, and Fountains of Wayne Form Band
According to Billboard.com, there’s a new band that exists on earth called Tinted Windows featuring former Smashing Pumpkin James Iha, Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, handsome Hanson brother Taylor, and Fountains of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger.
I am looking at my calendar right now. It is not April 1.
A couple things while my mind is still barely stuck together: You put together one of the most random something-groups ever and the best name you can come up with is Tinted Windows?! Is that a play on the secretive nature of the group? Do they all wear Men in Black shades on stage? Is this a Blues Brothers revival act? But, really, if you’re going to go “Tinted” why not go all the way, like Blacked Out. Or Smashed Windows. Well, maybe not “Smashed.” Hm. At least a moniker with some confidence, some commitment. As of now, this band is like the transition lenses of something-groups.
The union sort of makes sense considering Iha and Schlesinger co-own a studio and Taylor Hanson seems like an all-around good guy…but still.
Apparently, the band have already recorded their debut album in New York and are set to make their big time live splash at Billboard’s SXSW showcase March 20 in Austin.
If this is Billboard’s idea of a gag, I have to hand it to them– it could be an incredible gag.
UPDATE: It’s not a gag. Tinted Windows is very real, their publicist assures us. And their album is coming out April 21.
WTF indeed… I will be researching this in the upcomming weeks and hope to find out a little more about this including WHY.
Rock band Clutch collectively released a new CD from their side project band, which some claim is an alter ego of sorts called The Bakerton Group. Focusing mostly on instrumental music, the four-some recently, with help from Per Wibeg of Opeth, released El Rojo. The outcome of this CD strays slightly from the stoner rock but travels more so down the jam band style of music with elements of jazz and blues.
The Maryland rock act Clutch has been rocking out since 1990 and although they never reached the mainstream level, they have a huge fan base and have sold tons of albums as well as toured the world. Their hard work over the years got them where they are today including a following of fans, more of a cult following as Clutch does not get played on the radio much nor do they have countless music videos for their material. The band, which barely slows down, tours constantly and has eight albums under their belts.
The Bakerton Group was formed around 1999 by the members of Clutch perhaps to just try something different and expand their musical creativity. Their first EP titled Space Guitars was released in 2000 and is still available for free download on the band’s website. It was not until 2007 when a full length self titled album was released on River Road Records. El Rojo marks the second release by the band and this time has been released on Clutch’s very own label Weathermaker Music.
The Bakerton Group is more of a rock jam session that will appeal to more than just one type of fan. It’s easy to compare the sound to Clutch as all four members contribute. I admit that while listening to some tracks I was waiting for Clutch lead singer Neil Fallon to bellow out over the music. While listening though I had to keep reminding myself El Rojo is an instrumental project full of a surplus of music types.
With El Rojo being my first taste of the Bakerton Group, I did not know quite what to expect other than instrumental songs. Starting off the CD was “Time Horizon”. All I could think of was how Clutch sounding the track was. Being as big of a Clutch fan as I am, I was glad to hear the music, and it rocked, but my first taste of this side project was nothing out of the ordinary to me.
The CD really didn’t hit me until “Bien Clasico” played with intermittent crazy saxophone playing that even John Zorn would smile at. The song had sort of a Disco Biscuits feel at times sans the electronics blips and bleeps. The potent organ solo on “Life On Lars” was something worth listening over and over again. “M.(F).H.S.” became predictable sounding at times but turned out to be one of my favorite jams on the entire album.
I could not help but smile while listening to “Work Em” as perhaps Neil could not control himself as he just screamed out in the middle of the song finally giving me that total Clutch fix I was yearning for. Whispering robot sounds added to the fun of this track not to mention the length of the song. If there is any song on the album you want to preview to get a taste of what the Bakerton Group sounds like, this is a perfect song to start with.
For those of you who think the songs on El Rojo might be Clutch songs that never made it to one of their CDs, you are to a degree correct. El Rojo to me was more intimate Clutch music that usually only can be heard behind closed doors when the band just feels like rocking out and not going to plan. This is the music you only wish you could have heard before perhaps as a b-side or as filler at a live show. The music is solid, composed, and extensive at times making for a great CD to just sit back and listen to.
The Bakerton Group will be touring with Clutch in support of El Rojo. Technically speaking Clutch will be touring as The Bakerton Group opening for Clutch. Does that make sense? Who cares. If you are a fan of Clutch you will love the Bakerton Group and should not pass up the opportunity of a full forced night of music when they hit your city. If you are not a fan of Clutch but appreciate good musicianship, you too should at least sample the CD, you might just like it.
-For more info on Clutch and The Bakerton Group check out www.pro-rock.com
-Head over to The Bakerton Group’s website and download the Space Guitars EP for free.
-For some extra content plus info on The Bakerton Group plus other Clutch projects check out Brooklyn Vegan.
-Here are some videos of The Bakerton Group from past shows:
I have to say that Bonnaroo 2009 is looking pretty good this year. Tickets go on sale this Friday and I already envision a sellout with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street band performing as well as Phish (2 shows mean major hippie joy). I am more excited to see Coheed & Cambria, the Beastie Boys, NIN, Andrew Bird, Wilco, Elvis Costello, Down (seriously???), and Jenny Lewis.
Here’s the current line up taken from Bonnaroo.com:
More Artists to Be Announced! (Line Up Subject To Change)
Tickets go on sale this Friday. They will run you about $224.50 at first and then will escalate to $249.50 after the early tickets sellout. Pricey, indeed, but this year Bonnaroo is making it easier for you to go as they have introduced a payment plan. Call it a rock layaway of sorts… Here is some info on that:
GA PAYMENT PLAN
General admission tickets will also be available for (5) payments of $50.00 plus applicable fees through our payment plan.
Payment plan ticket fees are $28.90 per ticket, which includes a $6.00 facility fee, $3.00 contribution to Coffee County, $1.00 charity donation, and $5.00 payment plan fee ($1.00 per payment), and service fees.
There is a limit of (10) general admission payment plan tickets per order.
GA Payment Plan Schedule*
Payment 1 $90.90 including all fees DATE OF PURCHASE
Payment 2 $50.00 Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Payment 3 $50.00 Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Payment 4 $50.00 Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Payment 5 $50.00 Tuesday, May 19, 2009
*For each GA ticket purchased starting on Saturday, February 7, 2009.
That is a great idea if you ask me. Everyone these days are hard on cash so this payment plan will pull in those folk who may now have been able to dish out all the loot at once. Keep in mind though that if you do the payment plan and miss just one payment, Bonnaroo will keep the ticket, keep your money, and still bill you for the balance. I knew there was a catch to this. Always make sure you read the fine print or in this case the part that says “IMPORTANT“:
IMPORTANT: If, for any reason, any of your payments are declined, in whole or in part, then all of the following will apply: (i) your order and your tickets will be canceled (ii) any payment received as of that date will be kept by Bonnaroo as partial offset for your default, (iii) you will still owe the balance of the full amount due for each ticket and you authorize Musictoday and Bonnaroo to charge your credit card for any balance due, (iv) Musictoday and Bonnaroo will be entitled to pursue all of their legal and equitable remedies to recover the full payment from you, and (v) you agree to pay all costs of collection incurred by Musictoday or Bonnaroo, including legal fees, that they may incur in collecting the balance of each ticket price. Payment plan tickets are subject to all of the other terms of the ticketing agreement.
I can only afford one festival this year. That is my limit. So far Bonnaroo is winning me over. One thing about Bonnroo that deters me though is the camping. I don’t camp anymore. I especially do not camp with 80,000 other people with camps set up as far as 3 miles from the venue.
I went to Bonnaroo in 2006. We stated in a dump hotel but it the the best thing we could do. We could come and go when we wanted to as we were not jammed into to the camping area like sardines. Trust me, once you park your car and set up camp you are done. There was hardly any traffic movement during the whole weekend as if you camped you were stuck.
No showers, no air conditioning, no running water… yeah I am too old for that these days… I can rock it at an all day long summer festival no problem, but at the end of the day I need a bed with some A/C cranking after a shower.
Just look at the picture below. The lower half of the picture is the festival grounds. The top half is the camping community. There is also an equal portion of the camping community behind the festival grounds too. Honesty it is an incredible site…
Aerial shot by Taylor Crothers
With tickets on sale at the end of the week I am really wishing the Virgin Festival line up would release so I can figure out which way I am headed this summer… I lean towards the Virgin Festival mostly because I have been to all of them so far so why ruin a tradition? This Bonnaroo line up though has me very interested…
Chances are if you were to pick up a CD and see a Ramones looking cover with a guy wearing a bunny mask dressed like Joey Ramone, you would put it back down and continue with life. In the case of solo act Nobunny, I almost did the very same thing. In fact I have had the CD for a few weeks now and could not for the life of me force myself into playing it; that is until today. Today was like any other day except I finally put Love Visions into my CD player and what I got out of it was a complete surprise.
What is Nobunny you ask? Nobunny is a man of sorts, a jokester performer who is more of a modern day GG Allen. A gimmick act who sounds a lot like a mix between the Dead Milkmen and the Ramones, all while sporting a bunny mask. His live shows are for the less timid mostly because the masked Nobunny loses his pants during performances after drowning himself in booze and sings into a microphone that looks like a carrot. The result of his actions, on top of his music, however have won over an elaborate array of fans. This is Nobunny’s first CD release thanks to 1234 Go Records.
Not much is publicly known about the man behind the mask or the band that backs him up. The only known fact about Nobunny is that he is from Tucson. From there it is said that he was living in a trailer with no utilities and came to realize he wanted to be an Animal Elvis impersonator to help pay the bills. Soon thereafter Nobunny was writing his own material and booked his first show in Chicago on Easter Sunday in 2001. The set was in fact dedicated to Joey Ramone, who had actually died that day.
Nobunny has been known for his shenanigans while touring. He once booked two shows on the same day, at the same time, and had a fill in for the show he did not perform. Sometimes he doesn’t even show up to the venue at all leaving fans with a not so funny feeling. Nobunny even mentioned receiving a gift while on stage at Cleveland’s Tower 2012, but you will have to read the interview to find out that gift. You would not think that someone who acted like this would have fans, but the truth is a lot of folk like him and have paid outrageous amounts of money to acquire his Love Visions record on Ebay.
With knowing what Nobunny is all about I finally checked out Love Visions. As soon as “Nobunny Starts” played I could not decide what I liked about it except that it was a direct rip off of a classic song from the past that I can not for the life of me grasp the title. I only imagine Junior Senior while listening to it and realize it is only a gimmick.
The second “I Know I Know” started I realize I was hooked. I am reminded of classic punk rock from the 70s like Iggy & The Stooges. “Mess Me Up” started mixing that said 70’s punk with good, garage rock fun for a great sing along of sorts. I loved the guitar and simple drums and the baritone “Bo bo bo bo” at the end.
“I Am A Girlfriend” is a clear imitation of The Ramones and I loved it as well as the following “Tina Goes To Work”. Perhaps one of the more memorable songs “Chuck Berry Holiday” had me thinking at times of the Rolling Stones in the earlier years. The song was a continuing surprise to my ears as I moved through. “Boneyard” was a track that stood out above the rest with a drum machine sounding beat backing up some easy going distorted guitars. It almost sounds like a White Stripes b-side with a twist.
Ending the CD is the DIY sounding “Not That Good”. I sure hope the song was not how he felt about his debut because I would have to disagree. I enjoyed the simple punk rock entertainment throughout. The CD is not solid by any means and the songs are short and sweet, possibly aiding in the appeal to the act.
Having not heard of Nobunny before and reading a very short bio on him I was not expecting much of anything when I initially put the disc in. I was guessing what I was about to hear was going to be either too artsy for a simple guy like me to understand or just downright ugly. I was wrong. I was dead wrong.
Indie rock, punk rock, and even a little garage rock, it’s all there in Love Visions. Even if the guy wears a mask that is sure to scare the hell out of small children he should not be underestimated and will be heard. His live performances are to be left determined as I have not had the opportunity to see Nobunny in the flesh yet but I did notice on his MySpace page that he will be playing at the SXSW this spring in Austin, TX.
Catch him live if you dare as I have heard good and bad things about him. The bad outweighs the good of course mostly because by the time Nobunny has finished he is hammered and pants-less which may not be appealing to all viewers. The good thing is that regardless how he presents his act, solo or with a touring band, he is there to entertain, bunny mask and all.
Here are a couple of videos I found of Nobunny… Try not to be too scared.
Neverender was the landmark event where for the first time ever, Coheed and Cambria performed all four of their concept albums in entirety over four nights. Now for the first time, you can re-witness this incredible journey through an amazing box set containing not only a DVD and audio CD of each night’s performance, but also a must-have photo book and documentary DVD that captures the journey leading to this spectacular event. In addition, the limited edition deluxe NEVERENDER: CHILDREN OF THE FENCE EDITION box set also contains a collectible dragonfly.
Set includes:
– 4 Live DVDS
– 4 Live CDs
– 1 Documentary DVD
– 10 x 10 hardcover photo book
– Custom metal dragonfly keepsake piece 7.5 x 5.5
Plus if you pre-order before 12-16-2008 your name will be printed in the special “Children Of The Fence” section of the book. If that is not enough, the first 3000 pre-ordered box sets will be signed by the band.
The box set is scheduled to be released on 03-03-2009.
I may have or may not have pre-ordered one… I am a pretty big fan of them you know…
…and for the record this is one performace I wished came a little closer to my home so I could have see it live in the flesh. I kick myself for not making arrangements to travel to see it. It is one of those one in a life time things I missed out on, but with good reason. I am a working man you know. I am just glad they are releasing the DVD so I can at least say I saw it, even it I was not there.
According to Billboard.com, there’s a new band that exists on earth called Tinted Windows featuring former Smashing Pumpkin James Iha, Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, handsome Hanson brother Taylor, and Fountains of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger.
