by BBG

Frodus at the Lovitt SXSW 2009 (more by Jacob Blickenstaff)

Frodus have released what could be their final 7" via Lovitt Records. Entitled Soundlab 1, the three song release features the core members Shelby Cinca and Jason Hamacher, alongside recent reunion member and Dillinger Escape Plan bassist Liam Wilson. The EP is available for download/sale at their bandcamp page, and you can stream it and check out a video of them making it, below...

Continue reading "new Frodus 7" released, streaming"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: The Cassettes - "Writing Analog Letters" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Cassettes - "Monkeyshine Pantsuit" (MP3)

The Cassettes

The Cassettes- a four-piece self-proclaimed "steampunk" stompy rootsy rock n' roll band from Washington, D.C. [was] started by Frodus frontman Shelby Cinca as a solace from his post-punk screaming endeavors. They released a previous album called 'Neath The Pale Moon on Buddyhead Records (California) and Rogue Records (Australia), and have shared the stage with the likes of Brendan Benson, Bishop Allen, Rilo Kiley, Shout Out Louds, These United States, Dead Meadow and Benjy Feree, just to name a few.... The band finished up their follow-up to 'Neath The Pale Moon: a scorching steam-rock n' roll-punk album entitled Countach, [which] quickly sold out... and made some local waves in the Washington, DC area with the release. ...By 2009, ...the group was left in limbo as the members went on to focus on other projects (like a reformed Frodus)

The Cassettes have a new album of sorts, Writing Analog Letters, streaming now with a pair of tracks available for download above. This collection of previously unreleased material, which features a cover of the Dillinger Escape Plan classic "43% Burnt" with Mike Schliebaum of Darkest Hour, was originally planned for a double LP version of 'Neath The Pale Moon but later aborted in favor of a slimmed down version. Pick up a copy of the LP (and all of their others) through the band directly.

Speaking of Dillinger Escape Plan, the band will kick off a tour at Irving Plaza in NYC TONIGHT (3/11) with Darkest Hour. The tour is in celebration of Option: Paralysis (due later this month) and it includes shows during SxSW. Tickets for Irving are still available.

Current Dillinger Escape Plan dates, as well as a youtube clip of The Cassettes "43% Burnt" below.

Continue reading "The Cassettes release LP (MP3s), cover Dillinger Escape Plan whose tour kicks off in NYC tonight (dates) "

photos by Ryan Muir, words By Black Bubblegum

Cymbals smashed with an Epiphone Crestwood. Airborne pizza slices. That vein in your neck that bulges from screaming. Somersaults. An open microphone for the audience to scream out vocals, gang style. These were all present at Frodus's lone NYC date at Death By Audio on Sunday (May 11th), one of a trio for the band over the weekend.

Did I mention the songs? Vocalist/guitarist Shelby Cinca writhed around on the stage floor, banging out faves like "Lights On For Safety", "The Awesome Machine", and "Explosions" (full setlist below). Jason Hamacher (drums), channeling Dale Crover, seemed more energized than ever as his gloved hands bashed the shit out of the Frodus logo'd drumkit. Jason, you may want to have those drum heads checked out.

The madness continues in June, but without bassist Liam Wilson of Dillinger Escape Plan, as former Decahedron bassist Jake Brown will join them on their previously announced dates in June. Full tour dates are also below.

The slowly fading Die Hard obsessives (thats a guess) Nakatomi Plaza played right before Frodus. They hammered out an energetic set of Dischord influenced post-hardcore/punk which provided a great intro for the similarly influenced Frodus. I spoke with guitarist/vocalist Oscar after his set,and he assured me that the trio would play a few more local shows before they go kaput. Whoop it up at those dates NYC.... Yippee-kai-yay motherfucker!

Himalaya and Limbs opened the affair, though unfortunately I missed both due to a certain triple bill of metallic awesomeness at Music Hall of Williamsburg (more on that later). More Frodus pics and tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Frodus & Nakatomi Plaza @ Death By Audio in NYC - pics "

by Black Bubblegum

Lebron James ain't got nothin on Shelby Cinca's vertical (more by Jacob Blickenstaff)

Frodus have announced more tour dates in June, dipping into Florida for two nights and playing their hometown of Washington, DC for the third. These tour dates are in addition to dates this weekend in Baltimore, Philly, and NYC. As previously mentioned, the NYC show is in Brooklyn at Death By Audio on May 10 (Sunday) with the newly added Nakatomi Plaza. The show is $10 at the door. Full tour dates, and the Mike Wohlberg designed flyer (which doubles as an incred-amazing, limited-to-50 silkscreen poster) are below.

We can also confirm that Frodus has begun work on NEW MATERIAL with bassist Liam Wilson of Dillinger Escape Plan. No word on the format of that material (7", EP, LP?!?).

Nakatomi Plaza are calling it a day soon after this show ("We're breaking up..."), but not without leaving a farewell album, Ghosts, and a final round of touring, so as Funkmaster Flex sez... "keep it locked" for more info.

The Dillinger Escape Plan are currently working on their new LP, which Ben Weinman professes will be "dark and evil".

The flyer, and a bunch of videos including their cover of Devo's "Explosions" from their amazing performance at the Slip/Lovitt show, are below...

Continue reading "Nakatomi Plaza (who are slowly breaking up) are playing NYC w/ Frodus (who added more tour dates) "

words and photos by Black Bubblegum

With stokeage levels on high, we are pleased to announce that spazzy post-hardcore badasses Frodus will make their triumphant return to NYC on May 10th at Death By Audio, flanked by Limbs, Himalaya, and a special guest!

The NYC show will be one of a trio that the band has announced for the east coast. They will also hit The Sonar in Baltimore with Sick Weapons, Solar Powered Sun Destroyer, and Caverns on May 8th, and The Barbary on May 9th in Philadelphia! All dates will include Liam of The Dillinger Escape Plan handling bass duties.

Frodus, back together after breaking up in 1999, played a pair of reunion shows in Austin during SXSW in March. I managed to catch both the Slip/Lovitt Party (Jacob's awesome pics are here) with The Van Pelt and the show at Red 7 with Young Widows. More pics from both shows are below...

Continue reading "Frodus playing 3 east coast shows - NYC included!"

photos by Jacob Blickenstaff

"What could have been a Texan spectacular for the last night of South By Southwest was a near-debacle instead. It was a double bill at the Auditorium Shores riverside amphitheater with Erykah Badu and the Cannabinoids, her digitally oriented producers from Dallas, and Explosions in the Sky, Austin's majestic instrumental rock band.

Thousands of people showed up for the free concert. The Cannabinoids started without Ms. Badu, dispensing drumbeats, chords, samples and brief phrases from small digital keyboards. They announced that all the beats were live -- good -- and that what they were playing was unrehearsed. Not so good. And they went on and on, for about a half hour, cycling through variations on two downtempo chords and asking if the crowd was ready for Ms. Badu. The answer was increasingly obvious by the time the Cannabinoids tapered off and someone announced that Ms. Badu had had "travel incidents."

The Cannabinoids left the stage while the audience wondered what was going on, then returned, soon to be joined by Ms. Badu, in a gray T-shirt and a white top hat. Their vamp turned into "The Healer/Hip-Hop," and Ms. Badu sang it with her tangy, playful coo, followed by an older song, "Danger." Afterward she teased, "Let's go into hyperspace and blow up the sky," which did sound promising. But it meant she was ending her set to make way for Explosions in the Sky." [NY Times]

We already posted the EITS portion of this set, as well as Jacob's pics from the Frodus show earlier that day (3/21), not to mention what he captured on Friday, Thursday and Wednesday.

Erykah Badu and the Cannabinoids also performed once or twice with Kanye West while in Austin. The rest of Jacob's Saturday pics, below...

Continue reading "SXSW 2009 - Day 4 in photos by Jacob"

words by Black Bubblegum, photos by Jacob Blickenstaff

Frodus @ The Slip/Lovitt Party @ Radio Room, 3/21

Beyond all the fucking clamor, hubbub, brouhaha... the "Guitar Hero Metallica" if you will, one band absolutely killed it with little to no "corporate sponsorshit". But maybe that's because the band in question is a corporate entity unto themselves... Frodus Conglomerate International.

Frodus's triumphant return to the stage at the Slip Productions / Lovitt Records party at SXSW on March 21st was amazing in a way that could only be topped by a second show at Red 7 about 8 hours later.... which they did (more on that show, pics included, to come).

The DC band ran through many of the numerous highlights of their catalog with their fill-in bassist, Liam of Dillinger Escape Plan, including the "explosive" (apologies) conclusion to the show... "Explosions" from Conglomerate International (out NOW on Ltd Ed 2LP, 45RPM). Stage dives, flying chairs, heaving and flailing bodies, random vocalists... Frodus was back. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

More pics and a statement from Shelby Cinca below...

Continue reading "Frodus returned, played two shows, it was awesome - pics "

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Frodus - "Bull of Juarez" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Frodus - "Invisible Time Lines" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Van Pelt - "The Speeding Train" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Edie Sedgwick - "Edie Sedgwick II" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Des Ark - "Jesus Loves You (But Yr Still Coming_Home With Me Tonight)" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Poison Arrows - "Casual Wave" (MP3)

2009 has seen the world economy crumble due to the unethical practices of businessmen and corporate oligarchy. The current administration with the assistance of Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve, has reached out to the Frodus Conglomerate International for aid. Calls were made, doors were closed and numbers adjusted. After weeks of vicious negotiation both parties agreed on a proper course of action.

The Frodus Conglomerate International will address the public for the first time in 10 years on Saturday March 21st, 2009 at 4:35 pm in Austin, Texas. Austin will be the first of several public forums to address current global conditions forewarned by the FCI in years past. The Conglomerate has employed Liam Wilson of the Dillinger Escape Plan to supply bass guitar for this address while Nathan Burke organizes his North-West Contingency. We are the economic police.

I couldn't resist... I had to rock that whole quote. That's right... Frodus is BACK and playing SXSW as part of Slip Productions and Lovitt Records day party at The Radio Room on March 21st with Cursive, Young Widows, The Van Pelt (who are reuniting), Des Ark, Milemarker, Pygmy Lush, and a boatload of others. Full details are below and MP3s of some of the participants are above.

Frodus recently reissued their 1998 album Conglomerate International on 2LP mastered at 45RPM. Limited to 600. Um, get on that.

Shelby Cinca of Frodus was recently interviewed on Dissonance Radio. Download that podcast here.

Videos and SXSW party details below...

Continue reading "Frodus is back, playing the Slip + Lovitt = love party @ SXSW"