I just received word that Akron, OH’s DEVO has announced that they will be working on a studio album for a Fall 2009 release!
Direct from the email I received:
What the iconic new wave, art punk pioneers cautioned us about almost 30 years ago is no longer a humorous theory. It’s pretty much fact–we now live in a devolved world that’s getting wackier each and every day.
The fall of 2009 will bring a new DEVO studio album, their first one since 1990’s Smooth Noodle Maps. It’ll mark their first new music since the strong fan reaction that greeted the 2007 single “Watch Us Work It,” their first new song in 18 years and one that was produced by Sweden’s TeddyBears (Robyn). They’re now in the studio putting the finishing touches on their new album (title TBA).
The five-piece–featuring co-founders and songwriters MARK MOTHERSBAUGH (lead vocals, synthesizer innovations) and GERALD CASALE (lead vocal, bass) and rounded out by BOB CASALE (guitarist), BOB MOTHERSBAUGH (guitars/vocals) and JOSH FREESE (drums)–are set make a special U.S. appearance at SXSW this year including a press conference (4:00pm) and keynote panel (5:00pm)–moderated by radio veteran Nic Harcourt–set for Thursday, March 19 at the Austin Convention Center (500 East Cesar Chavez St.). They’ll follow that up with a Friday, March 20 one-night-only SXSW concert at the Austin Music Hall (208 Nueces St.). Pre SXSW, DEVO fans in Dallas can catch a special one-off show on Wednesday, March 18 at the Palladium Ballroom.
In May, DEVO will head to the United Kingdom for a series of dates. On Wednesday, May 6, DEVO will perform their debut album, the seminal Q: Are We Not Men, We Are Devo! in its entirety from beginning to end at London’s Kentish Town Forum. Released in 1978, the seminal album produced by Brian Eno and recorded in Germany features such notable tracks such as the band’s cover of The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” “Mongoloid” and “Jocko Homo.” Next up on Friday, May 8, they’ll headline the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in Somerset at the Butlins Holiday Centre.
Formed in 1972 in Akron, OH, DEVO–short for “de-evolution”–began as an art project cautioning that humans were devolving and regressing into a herd mentality of American society, not evolving. A conceptual band from the beginning, DEVO were ahead of their time, incorporating elaborate aesthetics into their live shows and seamlessly combining their music with visuals years before MTV or any music-video culture existed. Indeed, the group’s first appearance at Kent State University in 1973 was recorded with a black and white portable video system. Societal satirists, DEVO’s lyrical mix of comedy and quirky wit, warned of the dangers of rampant capitalism in “Whip It” and “Freedom of Choice”, and the devolution of society in “Jocko Homo” and ”Beautiful World.“ Onstage in their early incarnation, the group began with a mixture of synthesizers and rock instruments; as they developed in the late seventies and early eighties, DEVO became one of the first American acts to perform using only synthesizers. DEVO have now returned with an evolved look, ready to impact the vastly devolved world we now find ourselves trying to navigate.
Hardcore punk rockers Propaghandi may be getting up there in age but have no intentions of slowing down.On the verge of releasing an all new album entitled Supporting Caste, the band continues to spread their thoughts through song on real causes that actually mean something.Focusing on real current events, the band are more activists over performers.Having been around for over twenty years it is nice to see this band continue on with what they love to do.
Recently I had the chance to chat it up with the bassist of Propaghandi Todd Kowalski.He was more than happy to answer some questions for me.
You guys have been around since 1986 right? How challenging has it been to be a punk band for over 20 years?
I joined a mere 12 years ago but I’d say despite wanting to bite each others eyes out a few times we’ve been ticking along pretty good. I think the fact that we all like the songs we’re trying to make is a big factor in it all working. if we didn’t like what we were hearing it would turn us into pustulous blobs with fangs.
How long did it take for Propagandhi to start touring outside of Canada and around the world?
I think the first Propagandhi tour to the U.S. was around 92. They went down to the west Coast.
I remember it clearly but wasn’t in the band yet. Our friends Regal and Keith were the roadies, those guys had the van. I thought that was so cool that they all went on tour. I never knew anyone who traveled with their band before.
Who are some of your favorite bands you toured with in the past?
My favorite was Los Crudos who I played four or 5 shows with in about 95 they blew my mind!! This wasn’t with Propagandhi though it was with another band [I was in] called I Spy. It’s all the same to me. We’re all friends playing music.
When you were just starting to play punk rock music, who were your musical influences? Has that changed today?
Today my biggest musical influence, Sacrifice, just sent me two new songs off their upcoming record. They haven’t recorded for about 18 years. These songs blew my head right off my shoulders. They are the best band of all time! Besides them I was in [to and] am still 100% into SNFU, RAZOR, Nomeansno, Voivod and DEATH. That hasn’t changed at all. I like new bands too but these bands have been on rotation for 20 years non stop!!
When did you start becoming move aware of your surrounding and stepped up to spread to the close minded?
I started to slowly become aware of things over a long period of time. I was very, very much a part of the small city mentality growing up. I had to see people get hurt and upset by certain things first hand before I started to wise up. I think the punk bands that I started to listen to when I was in junior high slowly helped me make sense of what I was trying to figure out. It’s been a slow ongoing process .
Your high level approach at everything that goes wrong on this world opened up my eyes when I was younger through your music and from just reading about what causes you were involved in. Was there anyone who helped turn you into an activist of sorts?
As far as bands, I’d say MDC, C.O.C were the biggest influences for a while and later I was really influenced by Born Against, Maliftingbanner, Los Crudos and bands like that. As far as people I think it was a lot of people including my Mom who would always go out of her way for people. I always appreciated that.
I understand many of the band follow a vegan lifestyle. How tough is it for you when touring the world to keep to it?
It’ s generally really, really easy. There is a million [of] choices of things to eat besides meat and dairy and crap like that. It’s well worth the small effort. We end up eating way better than if we were stopping and eating burgers and fries everyday. The hardest place for us was Japan just because we couldn’t decipher the ingredients to things we were looking at. That’s our own problem, though. The food was available.
Were any obstacles ever thrown in the band’s path that make you ever want to give up?
The main obstacles are the frustration at momentary or lengthy lack of ability to achieve our personal visions [with] a lot of this being due to a bit of a lack of natural talent. We work hard to get where we’re trying to go.
Propaghandi has a new album coming out this month called Supporting Caste can you tell me about it?
Yeah, We’re really excited about it. There’s 14 new songs of different types. I think it’s our best effort yet. We worked hard to improve our skills and write the best songs we could. I think it turned out pretty good. If it’s no good it’s certainly not because of a lack of effort!
Recently on your website a couple of MP3’s from the new album were offered for legal download in exchange for donations for as little as $1.00 that will go towards worthy causes. Your request for donations was quite bold almost commanding fans to do something good in return for a sample of for what is to come. How was the response to this?
That’s turned out really well so far. We’ve raised a lot of money for those organizations and they seem to appreciate it. We’re hoping people check out what they’re doing and learn something about it. That’s the real point of it (laughs), yeah it’s bold, and we like insulting our listeners but everybody knows it’s a joke. Those who don’t get mad and amuse those who do. We all win!
You are slated to play the Harvest Of Hope festival in Florida this March. How does that make you feel being a part of this important benefit show?
Yeah, that’s a good benefit. We’re happy to be a part of it. The vibe and spirit of this festival is so much better than the corporate, crap, [and] useless festivals like the Warped Tour that have been thrown at people. We usually haven’t played festivals but if it’s a good one, we’ll be there!
Are there any acts appearing on the Harvest Of Hope festival you are excited to see or have previously toured with?
We’ve played two shows with Strike Anywhere before. I’m excited to see Bad Brains!! Most of the other bands I haven’t heard before so it should be good!
Propagandhi was one of the earlier bands to start with Fat Wreck Chords. I know that Supporting Caste will be released on the indie label G7 Welcoming Committee Records (that was actually started by Chris Hannah and Jord Samolesky of Prop.). How does it feel to have been a part of the Fat Wreck Chord family and then move on?
I think we did all we could with Fat. It’s time to start a fresh slate and prepare to go full tilt with people who are on the same page as us. We’re very happy about it.
In April of 2008 it was announced that G7 would cease to release new material and October of 2008 it was reiterated. While still providing downloads it looked as if the label was finished, what was this all about? What happened to change the mind of G7 to release Supporting Caste?
Derek from G7 moved to Halifax and left Chris stewing in his own juices in the G7 office. I guess they figured enough is enough. But we [all] wanted to put out the Propagandhi record, so we did it on G7.
Will this mark the last release for Propagandhi?
Hell no, we’re just getting started!
You have rocked out in the 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s. Was there a certain decade you favored over the others while performing as a band?
I think the 80’s were the best. Pop music sucked and always will suck but before the 80’s there was no speed metal, death metal, hardcore, barely any punk that interest me, no thrash metal, doom metal, power metal etc.(laughs) That all truly came to be in the 80’s. For my tastes and love of speed it blew my little mind to pieces.
The late 80’s cheese metal and pop and the 90’s sucked total crap except for a handful of bands. Born Against etc… and DEATH were great of course!! I hated Nu Metal, Grunge, Pop punk and all that. What a sickened musical state. Recently there is a lot of bands that I think are great. The new Sacrifice record, Krisiun, Cynic, Immolation, Necrophagist…man, they all rule!!
So what’s next for Propagandhi?
Next on the itinerary is more touring then we’ll work on new songs every chance we get!!! Watch out!!
Supporting Caste will be released on March 10th on G7 Welcoming Committee Records.Make sure you pick up your copy and support this long running punk rock act!
Look for Propagandhi to make a return to the road in support of their recent release. The band just finished playing a slot at the annual Harvest Of Hope Festival that just ended and will continue the US before heading overseas.
The Harvest Of Hope festival, if you have not heard, is a three-day outdoor music festival in St. Augustine, FL that is held to benefit Harvest of Hope: www.harvestofhope.net . The nonprofit organization was founded in Gainesville, FL a little over a decade ago to provide social services to migrant farm workers and their families in the U.S. Since then, HOH has raised and spent over $700,000 to pay for gas, tires, car repairs, rent, utilities, medical services, food, clothing, funeral expenses and educational scholarships in low income migrant worker communities.For more information about the festival itself or on how you can help please visit www.harvestofhope.com
Propaghandi On Tour:
03/08/09 – Atlanta, GA, USA
03/10/09 – Virginia Beach, VA, USA
03/11/09 – Baltimore, MD, USA
03/12/09 – New York, NY, USA
03/13/09 – Brooklyn, NY, USA
03/14/09 – Philadelphia, PA, USA
03/15/09 – Cambridge, MA, USA
03/20/09 – Winnipeg, MB, Canada
03/21/09 – Winnipeg, MB, Canada
04/17/09 – Sheffield, UK
04/18/09 – Bristol, UK
04/19/09 – London, UJ
04/20/09 – Brighton, UK
04/21/09 – Norwich, UK
04/23/09 – Cologne, Germany
04/24/09 – Munich, Germany
04/25/09 – Solothurn, Switzerlan
04/26/09 – Bologna, Italy
04/28/09 – Rome, Italy
04/29/09 – Venice, Italy
05/01/09 – Prague, Czech Republic
It was an entertaining evening Thursday night fueled by heavy doses of country twang and serious rock n roll thanks to the bands that performed at one of Cleveland’s best little venues, the Beachland Ballroom. The line-up was enough to call for that simple dreadful sign stating that tickets were sold out. All who were lucky enough to obtain admittance to last night’s performance certainly are still talking about the show that Those Darlins, Hacienda, and Dan Auerbach who is known as the lead signer of The Black Keys all put on.
Having heard about the show last week I decided that it was a show not to be missed and make plans to attend. Accompanied with a couple of friends who have love for the country and the rock I was sure they would have a great time checking out all the bands. We arrived to the Waterloo Rd. venue a little early as I was not certain how long it would take to make the trek there. The Beachland Ballroom is not located exactly downtown Cleveland but just a short drive away on a sketchy yet hip part of town. We arrived with no problems and finally made way into the ballroom. One of the things I like about the Beachland Ballroom is how quaint it is. It reminds me of a gymnasium from a middle school of my past with a stage and no real distractions in the main gathering area itself.
Calling them darlings is an understatement...
Once we finally got in we made a pit stop at the merch tables and I dropped five dollars on Those Darlin’s Wild One EP. For three songs the five bucks was totally worth it. The main reason I even planned on attending the concert was because of the trio of ladies otherwise known as Those Darlins. I just had received a taste of their sound last week and promptly posted a blog about it. What I heard not only made my day but also made me what to see them perform live.
Normally people get excited for the main act at a concert and the openers are almost like icebreakers for the evening. For the first time in a long time this was not the case for me. I dig the Black Keys and I have seen them live before. I actually had not heard the solo release yet on Dan Auerbach yet and to be honest I was more interested in seeing the opener over the other two bands.
Nashville’s neighboring sweethearts Those Darlins took the stage to a decent sized crowd and opened with “Wild One“. I think it is safe to say that they impressed the crowd right away physically and musically with their mix of country, folk, bluegrass, and sass. Dressed to impress, the three fine-looking girls and their mustache clad drummer had an amazing stage presence and were all smiles through their set. Sipping on strong drinks in between songs the girls shared singing duties and entertained all. “I love you” was shouted more than one time, and although I admit a major crush on the three darlings, I assure you it was not me.
They played the two other tracks on their Wild One EP including the humorous “Whole Damn Thing” as well as a healthy bout of tunes to be hopefully released on their debut CD in June. At times they sounded like The Carter Family and other times reminded me of a female version of Hank Williams III but much better looking. Seeing them live on stage having such a good time really added to the attraction. I was not ready for them to finish when they did and really could have listened to them play all night with their unique sound. I can only hope for a return by the sassy ladies once their debut CD is released.
Dan Auerbach
Many people were excited to see the San Antonio rock jam band Hacienda take stage. I wish I could say I was too, but honestly the only thing I knew about this band is that they were backing up Dan Auerbach during his set and that their latest album, Loud Is The Night, was recorded at Dan Auerbach’s Akron Analog . I checked out some of the set and at times was shaking my head along to the beat. It was good music, but just not what I was looking to hear at the time.
Dan Auerbach with Hacienda and friends took stage after a short break. It was at this moment that I realized how sold out the show really was as I could barely move through the crowd to find a good place to watch the headliner. With only hearing a track or two off of Dan Auerbach’s Keep It Hid I knew it was not anything Black Keys but still was not completely sure what was going to happen.
The sounds Dan Auerbach and crew put forth reminded me of early rock at it’s finest with a jam feel at times. Each member on the stage had their own specialty to make the live performance even more interesting. Guitar solos, dual vocals, and smiles ear to ear by the performers just added to the good time being had by all. I got a huge kick out of the duel drumming and especially seeing Patrick Hallahan from My Morning Jacket do his thing moving from drum set to congo and maraca and even beating upon a giant triangle. Rocking out until after midnight the band continued to electrify. I can not tell you what songs they played as I still have yet to pick up the CD but I can tell you Keep It Hid is on my “to buy” list.
It was an excellent night for new music to hit my ears thanks to all three acts playing on stage. I became a bigger fan of Those Darlins as well as gotten a good taste of what Dan Auerbach’s solo material sounds like backed with a full band. Spite the sold out crowd it was a great evening and I know I was not the only one who enjoyed it. If these three acts happen to come your way and you are looking for a night of fun and music do yourself a favor and grab a ticket before it sells out.
The tour continues for just a few more dates. Catch them if you can!
March 5 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
March 6 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
March 7 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
March 10 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
March 11 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
March 13 – San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo’s
March 14 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
I got an email today regarding a young comedian / musician who I had never heard of. The email asked me to “please post” the email so here ya go:
Internet phenomenon Bo Burnham is about to release his first full-length album, simply titled Bo Burnham. With a CD of 13+ of the best of his hilarious, irreverent, and craftily-worded songs and a full DVD of his internet videos, a Comedy Central Presents, and other performances, this is the package that the fans have been waiting for.
Before he reached his 18th birthday, Bo entered the mainstream consciousness with internet videos (that have been viewed well over 20 million times) of him playing uproarious songs with ingenious wordplay and bad puns.
Bo was also just tapped by Judd Apatow to write and perform in various upcoming films, and when Bo isn’t on set, he will be touring the country selling out shows from coast to coast.
Bo’s Comedy Central Presents special will air on March 27th. Check your local listings for times and channels.
This kid is only 17 years old. Crazy… So how did he get his start? Well I checked out his website and found out:
Ever since his first temper tantrum, Bo knew he wanted to perform. After an awkward “athletic” phase, he started dedicating his time to school theatre. He continued to nurture his love for performance, receiving rave reviews from countless relatives. Bo chose to attend an all-boys catholic high school, thus giving his nickname “theatre queer” some additional validity. During the fall of his junior year in high school, Bo started teaching himself how to play piano and guitar. Soon after, he wrote and composed autobiographical songs, such as “My Whole Family Thinks I’m Gay,” as non-fictional jokes between him and his friends. On December 28th 2006, Bo recorded two of his songs as videos, and posted them on YouTube. Eight months and seven songs later, Bo’s videos have been seen over ten million times worldwide, generating literally hundreds of thousands of laughs. The songs, recorded in Bo’s bedroom with a camera resting on a stack of books (couldn’t afford a stand), have been remixed, rated, and reviewed thousands of times. Now amongst such elites as “The Chocolate Rain” guy and Chris Crocker, Bo hopes to capitalize on his “success” and share his stories with the world.
Bo Burnham on tour:
3/19/2009 – Case Western University – Cleveland, OH
3/27/2009 – Comedy Central Presents: Bo Burnham Premiere –
4/04/2009 – Michigan State University: The Wharton Center for the Performing Arts – East Lansing, MI
4/11/2009 – Wilbur Theater – Boston, MA
4/17/2009 – Norwich University – Northfield, VT
4/19/2009 – 04/27/2009 – Melbourne Comedy Festival – Melbourne
5/01/2009 – University of Miami – Coral Gables, FL
10/16/2009 – Aladdin Theatre – Portland, OR
10/17/2009 – Moore Theatre – Seattle, WA
I know my last blog was about P.O.S. and I feel I am starting to sound like a super fan, but when artists release videos like this…
…you have to talk about it and share it with others.
I’m not sure if you read my review of the P.O.S. CD Never Better but I did state how organic sounding the beginning of “Optimist” was and how I thought it was cups. I had no idea he created the beat from the game that combines cups and stacking skills…very original!
I was lucky enough to receive an email today on how the song was actually created:
P.O.S. describes how “Optimist” was created:
I made the beat to this song after my friend Alegra taught me how to play a game she learned when she was young. Based off of taking a few upside down cups and tapping on them and swooshing them around. The main rhythm of the beat was made by setting up some mics and playing the game. (You see it clearly at the top of the video) I added the organs and pads to kind of soften up the hard noise of the clapping and cups. I wrote the words while listening to the beat in my car, driving around mpls (Minneapolis) trying not to sweat how it came out. This was one of the last songs I wrote for the record and I was just not about feeling any pressure. Not from the label, not from my fans, no pressure no stress. That’s where the inspiration came from for this song I think. Not worrying about what anyone has to say about anything, ever. Doing my own thing and expecting the same from everyone else. That’s where the refrain comes from, “We make our own and if they don’t feel it, then we are not for them”.
I loved the idea of this video as well as how P.O.S. created the song and just had to post it here. I hope you all enjoyed it.
