by Klaus Kinski

Doug Gillard @ Irving Plaza NYE (more by Chris Gersbeck)

I got heavily obsessed with Guided By Voices after the demise of the "classic '93 - '96 line-up" which featured Robert Pollard, Tobin Sprout, Mitch Mitchell, Kevin Fennell, and Greg Demos (a line-up that reunited in 2010 and has been blazing a sweaty, beer soaked trail across the US since) (this past weekend's Sasquatch Festival included).

I've now seen the classic line-up twice thanks to the reunion, but prior to that my live experience was always delivered by Robert Pollard, Nate Farley, Doug Gillard, Kevin March, Tim Tobias and, later on, Chris Slusarenko. I often had to be rolled out of those shows in a wheelbarrow, and memories of those shows are muddied and schizophrenic, but two things I always took away from a GBV experience was A) that I had had the time of my life and B) that lead guitarist Doug Gillard was, and is, easily one of the most agile guitar gods in rock 'n roll. I mean, forget about shredding and other wanky guitar-athleticism bullshit. What Doug brings to the table is a prodigal level of rock-solid, rock guitar purity and proficiency. Doug is an absolute master of his craft, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone out there these days who can get such a thunderous onslaught from his Les Paul and his amps. So it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to find that your man Klaus has been following Doug's solo career with great interest and it is because of non-GBV-related Gillard news that I write to you fine people today.

On Saturday June 4th, Doug will be part of an ensemble of musicians paying tribute to Captain Beefheart at Bowery Poetry Club.

Gary Lucas (Beefheart alumni, Jeff Buckley), Nona Hendryx (Labelle, Talking Heads), Nina Persson (The Cardigans), Nathan Larson (Shudder To Think), Cynthia Sley (Bush Tetras), Doug Gillard (Guided By Voices), Eric Slick (Dr. Dog), & Weasel Walter (Behold The Arctopus), will be joined by musicians from the rock, jazz, metal, progressive, blues, experimental, & classical worlds to perform faithful and interpretive versions of songs from Beefheart's entire catalog, from his 1966 debut "Safe As Milk" to his final record "Ice Cream For Crow", released in 1982.

Captain Beefheart died on December 17, 2010 from complications from multiple sclerosis, so it's fitting that ALL PROCEEDS from this show (a reasonable $10) will go directly to The National Multiple Sclerosis Society. If you can't make it to the show, watch the live stream. And consider donating to the MS Society.

Besides the MS/Beefheart show, there are many more opportunities to catch Doug live. Speaking of beef, on Saturday June 11th, get your non-vegan ass to the Big Apple BBQ in Madison Square Park at 1:00pm on Saturday June 11th. While you're feasting on various forms of carrion with gristle and BBQ sauce dribbling from your lips (editor's note: Klaus!), the band Bambi Kino will be performing. Bambi Kino features Mark Rozzo (Maplewood), Ira Elliot (Nada Surf), Doug Gillard (Ex Guided By Voices), Erik Paparazzi (Cat Power) and were formed to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles' first concerts in Hamburg Germany. Back in those days, the Beatles were essentially a cover band themselves, and Bambi Kino's setlist is culled from the Beatles' set list from back in those days. So it's like a cover band covering a cover band who were doing their own versions of the whole blues thing. And it's free! More about who's playing the Big Apple BBQ, HERE.

You can also catch Doug when he goes on tour with Tommy Keene and Sally Crewe and the Sudden Moves. Doug recently wrote and recorded songs on Sally's upcoming 5-song EP "Transmit/Receive". Tommy is touring in support of his new LP, and Doug Gillard will have a new vinyl 7" he'll be promoting. The tour lands at the Rock Shop on September 10th, 2011. Complete tour dates below.

Oh, and before I forget... Doug is recording tons of guitar for the upcoming Nada Surf LP, which is due out in Fall of 2011. Look out for that as well as a tour in support of said LP. Nada Surf's Matthew Caws joined Doug on stage at Irving Plaza on New Years Eve when he opened for GBV.

Catch Guided By Voices, Wavves, and Surfer Blood during the Northside Festival on June 18th, yo.

Catch Bush Tetras (Cynthia Sley is also playing the Beefheart show) at Le Poisson Rouge on Friday, June 10th.

Gary Lucas's other upcoming shows include a July 3rd appearance at Iridium Jazz Club and a July 9th show at the Rubin Museum of Art.

Doug tour dates and the Beefheart flyer below...

Continue reading "Doug Gillard is doing stuff (Captain Beefheart show w/ Gary Lucas, Beatles band, Tommy Keene tour, Nada Surf LP)"

photos by Tim Griffin, words by Andrew Frisicano

You Are Here (The Maze) is underway at Death By Audio. Last Friday (9/11) featured music from A Place to Bury Strangers, The Sian Alice Group, Nine 11 Thesaurus (pictured above and below), Experimental Dental School and Reading Rainbow. Tim stopped by early, before heading to Wild Beasts at Union Pool followed by The Intelligence at Market Hotel. Tim liked Nine 11 Thesaurus and appreciated the art, but wasn't a huge fan of The Maze from the point of view of someone actually wanting to see the bands who are playing. As you can sort of see in the picture above, you walk through a maze which ends at the stage where just a few handfuls of people can actually see what's going on... but maybe that's the point.

You can see more of the new setup in the pics below, or you can head over there yourself. Tonight (9/14) features music from a collection of K Records artists - label founder Calvin Johnson, Arrington de Dionyso and Desolation Wildnerness - with Regattas and City Center (who, with Desolation Wilderness, played at Cake Shop Sunday with the Intelligence). City Center, re-figured somewhat recently into a duo, is on tour (dates below).

Arrington de Dionyso, whose new record ,Malaikat dan Singa, comes out on the label November 3rd, plays two sets at Bowery Poetry Club's ESP Disk Live, with Calvin Johnson doing the other, on September 15th. He's also at Santos's Musicka Mystica Maxima Fest on September 21st and returns to DBA for a collaboration with co-curator Sam Hillmer on September 24th (full Maze schedule).

More pictures and tour dates are below...

Continue reading "The Maze is happening (pics) - continues w/ K Records crew ++ Calvin Johnson, Arrington de Dionyso & City Center dates"

by Andrew Frisicano

'Michelle' Watt w/ Black Fag 1/29/09...

Mike Watt is a musician seemingly without ego. He'll share a stage with anyone, and does - his upcoming dates have the bassist in no less than half a dozen settings. As you can see above, Watt even sat in on guest vocals with SoCal's Black Fag ('An absolutely FABULOUS tribute to Black Flag'). The group writes...

For those who haven't heard, Black Fag has extended an open invitation to all former members of Black Flag to join us on stage for a song of their choice at any of our shows.

The only requirement: they must perform in drag!

Mike Watt was never an official member of Black Flag, but his musical history is so intertwined with Black Flag's that we consider him an honorary member, so when we found out he'd be on the bill that night we contacted him to see if he would want to be the first to accept our invitation.

See a video of Watt + Black Fag taking on "Police Story," below.

Mike Watt was recently in NYC for the "Double Nickels on the Dime" 25th Anniversary Party at the Bowery Poetry Club on Saturday, July 25th. At the variety-style show he played a selection of the band's songs on bass and did poetic reading (appropriate in light of the venue) of Minutemen lyrics. See videos of both below.

This Saturday, August 1st, he'll be debuting Floored By Four, his band with Wilco guitarist Nels Cline, Cibo Matto multi-instrumentalist Yuka Honda and ex-Lounge Lizard/"downtown" drummer Dougie Bowne. M. Ward headlines.

Nels is another musician who gets around quite a bit. Last night (July 30th) he was at the Stone in a trio called The BBC with Tim Berne on saxophone and Jim Black on drums (check out their initials for a clue about the name ).

"...Cline had a neat trick wherein he looped a watery guitar part through his electronic setup, and then used an octave pedal to get a distorted bass sound out of his guitar that he proceeded to play live over the loop. At other times, he went from solo line noodling to crunchy, unpredictable time-signature riffing that still kept heads bobbin'. There was flow there. Occasionally he had a scratch palette like Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello, but instead of Bomb Squad-style guitar turntablism, it was spazzy like Christian Marclay. Meantime, Berne mostly kept to a subtle supporting role, coming out front most nakedly during the quiet interludes of the hour-long piece. Hopefully someone recorded this beast of a thing." [The Awl]

On August 4th, he'll be playing with NYC violinist Jenny Scheinman's Mischief and Mayhem, as a quartet with Jim Black (again) on drums and Matt Penman on bass. Tickets for that are still on sale.

The show will be your last chance to catch Cline on his current run of NYC engagements. It'll also be your last chance to catch Scheinman for a while, as she'll be taking a break to have a child (that's due a little more than a month after the gig). Best wishes to her!

Check out the above-mentioned Watt videos, all Watt/Cline tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Mike Watt w / Black Fag, Bowery Poetry, Summerstage Saturday, Nels Cline & a very pregnant Jenny Scheinman"

by Andrew Frisicano

Dinosaur Jr. @ ATP NY 2008 (more by Abbey Braden)

Dinosaur Jr.'s ninth LP, Farm, is out today (as is the new record by their Jagjaguwar label-mates Sunset Rubdown). In support of that record, the band has a nearly-two-month North American tour planned for the fall. That includes a show at Pop Montreal among many other places. No NYC date has been announced as part of that tour, but that's probably because of Dino Jr.'s free Summerstage show with the Walkmen on August 16th, not to mention the sold out show at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn happening this Thursday (6/25) with Screaming Females.

Joining Dinosaur Jr. on their October dates will be Lou Barlow + the Missingmen, a group that is, as speculated, Lou with Tom Watson and Raul Morales, the crew that toured with Mike Watt a few months ago (including dates supporting Dinosaur Jr.).

The Missingmen will continue to play with Mike Watt too, with scattered shows along the West Coast scheduled (see full dates below).

Watt is also gigging with his other groups. He'll play in August with the Secondmen (with that group's original members, organist Pete Mazich and drummer Jerry Trebotic).

Before that, Watt'll debut a new band at the August 1st Central Park Summerstage show. That group, Floored by Four, also includes Nels Cline, Yuka Honda and Dougie Bowne. M. Ward headlines the show.

Floored by Four has plans to record in the days leading up to the Summerstage show. To tally up Watt's recording projects, his forthcoming records include Hyphenated Man (w/ the Missingmen), a Black Gang (w/ Nels Cline) record, a new Secondmen disc and probably others.

One of Watt's finest records, the Minutemen's Double Nickels on the Dime, will be recognized at the Bowery Poetry Club for a 25th anniversary celebration of the album on Saturday, July 25th. The plans for the party are as follows...

Be prepared for the extreme unusual, with spoken word renditions of songs on the album, musical tributes, rare videos and recordings, and special musical guest stars, including the bassist for the Minutemen, Mike Watt.

Performers confirmed so far include Michael T. Fournier (author of Double Nickels on the Dime (33-1/3 press), New Jersey experimental indie rock band Twede Kamer, Worcester, MA Minutemen cover band Pillowman, mystery punk bassist The Bass Player from Hand Job, electro-poetic mistress Jackie Sheeler, Jazz piano cabaret duo Peter Carlaftes & Kayo, Warhol scenester Ronnie Norpel and punkster poet Kat Georges (author of Punk Rock Journal).

Mike Watt is ALSO playing with Jim O'Rourke, among others, in Japan this September, AND Mike Watt even makes an appearance in the new Dinosaur Jr. video, "Over It," posted below with all Dinosaur Jr. and Mike Watt tour dates...

Continue reading "Dinosaur Jr. album out, touring w/ Lou Barlow & the Missingmen (dates) sans Mike Watt who is plenty busy"

Bowery Poetry Club, Sep 7 2008

As part of the 2008 Howl Festival in NYC's East Village, a panel discussion on the topic 'Unrest in the 70s - US vs UK' at Bowery Poetry Club, directly opposite the old CBGB premises, brought together a number of punk veterans from both sides of the pond.

Panelists:
Richard Lloyd (Television)
Ari Up (Slits)
Cynthia Sley (Bush Tetras)
Judy Nylon (Snatch)
Walter Lure (Heartbreakers)
Arturo Vega (Ramones)
Steve Garvey (Buzzcocks)
Moderator: Mary Harron

Punkcast taped the entertaining (especially Ari Up) panel - all 60 minutes of it, and uploaded it to YouTube. Check it out below....

Continue reading "Howl Festival Punk Panel 2008 (60 minute Punkcast video)"