photos by Taylor Keahey

The Gories

"I, for one, enthusiastically accept Scion as my new corporate overlord. If they can bring the Gories, the Oblivians, King Khan and a cast of garage punks from far and wide to town in one day, they can sell me a sewage soda and I'd say thank you.

That's because Scion sponsored Garage Fest, an event that brought almost 30 bands to Lawrence [on 10/2]. From 4 p.m. 'til nearly midnight I had a cornucopia of raw rock to choose from....

...my number one show on the list: Detroit's incendiary trio, the Gories. Mick Collins, who's arguably better known for his garage-meets-soul outfit the Dirtbombs, is somewhat of a musical hero to me, and I wasn't about to miss the reunion of one of his first -- and probably most raw -- bands. They didn't disappoint. A big crowd for the not-so-spacious Jackpot heaved toward the stage, almost in unison...

I made one last trip to the Granada to catch Memphis' the Oblivians anyway. The trio, originally around in the early '90s, was the cherry on top of the day's punk sundae. I decided to go sans ear plugs and just let it rip. Matt and Disco had staked out a spot front and center, but I didn't have the energy to fight my way up there for long. As I hung toward the fringe of the front crowd, I saw one more thing I can now check off my list of rarities: a guy in a wheelchair crowd surfing." -[The Pitch]

Scion Garage Fest went down in Lawrence, KS over this past weekend. A spoiled New Yorker, who had chances (sometimes Scion-sponsored) to see The Obvlivians and the Gories and many of the other bands on the bill over the past year, might not quite bow down before the lineup, but it was pretty rockin' nonetheless.

A set of pictures from the show, including The Raveonettes, Gories, Oblivians, Times New Viking, Black Lips sideproject The Gaye Blades, Thee Oh Sees and others (though none of King Khan, Best Coast, Tyvek, The Clean, The Greenhornes and some others on the four-venue bill) continue below...

Continue reading "Scion Garage Fest happened (here are some pics) "

The Greenhornes 2007

After detours in The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather among other projects, The Greenhornes are back at it and will release their first LP of new material in eight years via Jack White's Third Man imprint. The record, entitled Four Stars, will be proceeded by select east coast dates that will include Mercury Lounge on 9/3 (free with RSVP) and Maxwell's on 9/4 with The Black Hollies (tickets) leading up to their appearance at ATP NY on 9/5 ("full" lineup).

A month later (on 10/2), The Greenhornes are confirmed for Scion Garage Fest 2010 in Lawrence, Kansas alongside a plethora of killer notables including The Oblivians (who recently played Knit), The Gories (who just played Bowery and toured with Oblivians), The Raveonettes (who are playing Bumbershoot), King Khan & The Shrines (who are playing Santos and Bell House), Best Coast (who just played the Seaport and like weed), Tyvek, Thee Oh Sees, Hunx & His Punx, and a ton of others.

Much like Scion Rock Fest, the show will take place across four venues and is FREE, but RSVP is required. Full lineup is below.

Some videos and the full Scion lineup & flyer is below...

Continue reading "The Greenhornes playing shows - ATP, a free one @ Mercury & Scion Garage Fest (full lineup - Oblivians, Gories, more) "

Taking cues from late 70's/early 80's synthpunk pioneers as the Screamers, Nervous Gender, and The Units, this Arizona based one man band [Digital Leather] rely on just keyboards, drum machines and vocals to set the scene of gloomy electronic desert landscapes and gay night club discotheques.This is the life of Sean Foree, who created this masterpiece in his one bedroom apartment in Tempe, Arizona. Live he borrows members from the Wongs, Reatards, Lost Sounds, and Destruction Unit. Ten tracks that are sure to appeal to fans of the current rebirth of keyboards in punk... but this record surely pushes the boundries of that. [CT Indie]

Digital Leather, the project of Shawn Foree, was managed by the late Jay Reatard. His record Warm Brother came out last September on Fat Possum. There's a new video for his/their song "Kisses" from that record, which is posted below with all tour dates (SXSW included)...

Continue reading "new Digital Leather video & 2010 tour dates (SXSW)"

Jay Reatard @ the Wired Store (more by Tim Griffin)

As I was saying (and Bill will say even more about later), Jay Reatard and his Shattered Records crew (Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders & Useless Eaters) are on their way from Pop Montreal to NYC for a late show at Le Poisson Rouge tonight (10/1). Tickets are still on sale.

Yesterday, with some help, I rushed together some questions for an email interview with Jay (not the ideal format). Jay in turn rushed some answers back this afternoon, presumably from the road and after playing a late show last night. With that in mind, you can find that interview, which attempts to set the record straight on Jay's recent hate for Brooklyn, and what time Hamburghini practice starts, with all dates and tonight's set times, below....

Continue reading "an interview w/ Jay Reatard (whose Shattered Records tour hits Le Poisson Rouge in NYC tonight) "