by Fred Pessaro // BBG

Cover of the Grails side of the Pharoah Overlord split

Grails are preparing the release of Black Tar Prophecies Vol.5, one side of a split with the Finnish greats Pharaoh Overlord (members of Circle). That record will see the light of day via Grails' new label home of Kemado on October 30. Stream the lush and cinematic opus, "Chariots," below alongside their forthcoming schedule of dates down under.

The cover for Black Tar Prophecies Vol. 5 is a skewed reference to another album cover, one recorded during a "weird period" by a very important and hugely influential musician. Do you know the musician and art that it references? If so, head below for details on how to enter a contest to win a copy of the vinyl!

Reminder, Emil Amos from Grails will also be in the NYC area soon, touring with Om as part of their round of make-up dates (due to Emil's injury). Those dates include November 21st at Bowery Ballroom, tickets are still available.

That stream, the Pharoah Overlord art for their side of the split, a list of tour dates, and contest details are below.

Continue reading "Grails ready split 12" with Pharoah Overlord; Stream a song and win a copy"

Emil Amos at Knitting Factory, 2011 (more by Fred Pessaro // BBG)

With his busted arm healed, Emil Amos will return to action in November with his Om bandmates Al Cisneros and Robert Lowe for a string of US dates. The previously-announced dates, originally set for this week and then cancelled due to Amos's injury, includes the now-rescheduled NYC show at Bowery Ballroom on 11/21 stil with Daniel Higgs opening. Tickets go on sale on Friday (8/24) at noon.

All tour dates are listed below, along with  a couple song streams.

Continue reading "Om reschedule shows, including NYC (updated dates)"

The new Om (officially now) at Europa (more by Chloe Rice)

Om, now officially a three piece with the addition of Robert Lowe (Lichens) to the lineup, will take to the road in celebration of the Advaitic Songs, the band's new LP due on Drag City on July 24th. The band to hit Music Hall of Williamsburg on August 29th and tickets go on sale Monday (7/16) at noon. Daniel Higgs, who is currently in the midst of a residency at Zebulon, will open for the band at MHoW.

While you're patiently sitting at home, waiting for the tour to start, you might want to check out  "Gethsemane (Edit)" from Advaitic Songs which is streaming below, along with "State of Non-Return" and all upcoming tour dates in the popular list format.

Continue reading "Om are now a trio, going on tour, including MHOW (dates)"

by BBG

Art for the Lilacs & Champagne LP

It's nearly impossible to nail down a Grails release as far as influence is concerned; odd 70s soundtracks, prog, kraut-rock, post-rock, goth and dashes of metal all rear their head in every release in equal measure. Every song is a journey, a similar tactic employed on the new Lilacs & Champagne LP. The band, which features half of Grails including Emil Amos of Om/Holy Sons and Alex Hall, uses those influences as a jumping off point but explores psychedelia through the lens of hip hop, filtering the music as it might be envisioned by MF Doom, Madlib, J.Dilla, or The Alchemist.

In celebration of their debut release (out TODAY via Mexican Summer), Lilacs & Champagne have kindly shared a recent DJ set entitled Suicide Solution Vol.1 exclusively here. The record also features "Sensations", which also makes its debut here, as well as "Everywhere, Everyone" which is available in video form. Stream all songs/videos below.

Continue reading "Lilacs & Champagne = 1/2 of Grails, new album out today on Mexican Summer --- listen (exclusive song stream & DJ set)"

photos by Autumn Andel

Neurosis / The Antlers

Typhoon played a great set with thirteen people on stage, a friend notes that every time she sees the band there's someone else in it. After their set, lead singer Kyle Morton goes and sits with his family in the crowd after and obliges a female fan who asks to take a picture with him...

The incredibly good-looking boys in Antlers are nearly as sedate as the comatose crowd filling the square. Good thing the crowd is almost as incredibly good-looking as the boys in Antlers. I am distracting myself with untoward thoughts until something interesting happens...

Here's the thing I don't get about Explosions in the Sky: There's really no reason for them to be an instrumental band. Their music isn't evocative enough to NOT require a singer. All the dudes are currently rocking out in great disproportion to the actual rock-out quality of the music. We head to Virginia Cafe. Uh oh...

It's been four years since Neurosis last played Portland. For the full house at Roseland tonight, this is like going to church....

I don't get easily overwhelmed at concerts, but I don't know how much more of Neurosis I can handle. Standing by the PA speakers, my puny earplugs aren't standing much of a chance. And damn if they don't look possessed up there on stage. It's one of the most amazing things I've ever witnessed but am so tired that it's starting to scare me a little bit. - [Williamette Week]

MFNW Day 3 pics HERE. Day 2 HERE and HERE. Day 1 HERE.

More pictures from Day 4, at Pioneer Square and Roseland Theater, below...

Continue reading "MFNW Day 4 pics (Neurosis, Grails, EITS, Antlers, Eluvium...)"

Emil Amos with Grails at KF in April (more by BBG)

Holy Sons, aka Emil Amos of Om/Grails, will support Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks on part of their upcoming jaunt across the East Coast/Mid-West, including at Terminal 5 on 9/26. Tickets for the NYC show are still available. All dates are below.

Holy Sons have a spankin' new website, "including extensive archives (audio, video, artwork)" available for stream/download. Check it out.

Meawhile, Amos is also preparing for a tour with Grails in early September, including a date at the awesome MusicFestNW with bands varying from Archers of Loaf to Neurosis. Tickets are still available.

Malkmus will play two acoustic in-stores on 8/25, at Academy Records in Brooklyn at 6 PM, and at Other Music in Manhattan at 9 PM.

In related news (if you want to call it that),

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks' new album (out August 23) is called Mirror Traffic, but, according to a recently posted e-mail exchange, it was originally going to be called L.A. Guns (at the suggestion of former Silver Jews front man David Berman). However, Malkmus's lawyers nixed the title when they learned of the existence of a band with the same name. After reviewing the case of Pump, Inc. v. Collins Management, Inc., in which "an obscure group called Pump unsuccessfully sued Aerosmith for putting out their album Pump"... [NY Mag]

And remember how Fred Armisen is a fan of Holy Sons? Fred further confirms that fact in a video you can watch, with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Holy Sons touring w/ Stephen Malkmus (whose new album is not called LA Guns)"

Here is the initial lineup for Willamette Week's MusicfestNW, scheduled for Sept. 7-11, 2011 in Portland, Oregon, and it's pretty great. The multi-venue fest includes big outdoor performances by Band of Horses (Sunday, Sept. 11), Explosions in the Sky (Saturday, Sept. 10), and Iron & Wine (Friday, Sept. 9), in addition to shows with everyone from Archers of Loaf to Big Freedia to Butthole Surfers to Neurosis. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 3rd. Check out the full list below...

Continue reading "MusicfestNW 2011 -- dates & initial lineup"

by BBG

The eclectic sounds of Grails played Knitting Factory on a wet Easter night (last night, 4/24) with tour-mate James Blackshaw. Unfortunately, I missed all of Moonrises's set and at least half of James Blackshaw's, though his twelve-string guitar's resonant (in tone and emotion) and gorgeous compositions sounded amazing.

Grails played material from across their output to a mesmerized crowd. New tracks like "I Almost Grew My Hair" mixed with old songs like encore track "Reincarnation Blues." The six-piece rotated instruments, with Emil Amos (who is also in Om) playing both drums and guitar, while the other band members weilded lap steel, keys, sampler, melodica, shaker, and more. Grails is supporting their current jaw-dropping effort Deep Politics (out now on Temporary Residence).

More pictures from last night's show are below...

Continue reading "Grails played Knitting Factory w/ James Blackshaw (pics)"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Grails - "I Led Three Lives" (MP3)

Grails at Newtown Barge Park (more by Greg Cristman)

Want to see me nerd out, and quick? Throw on the new Grails LP Deep Politics, which combines bits of the KPM Library with Lalo Schifrin, 70s prog, David Axelrod, and 100s of oddball influences to create a wholly cohesive and ballsy record. I give it a few months before crate-digging Hip Hop producers like The Alchemist sniff this out.

Deep Politics is out NOW on CD and (gorgeous) 2LP via Temporary Residence Ltd. The gatefold 2LP features colored vinyl, an etching on the fourth side and I have one copy to giveaway! Details on how to win are at the bottom of this post.

The last time that we caught Grails was supporting Les Savy Fav/Polvo during Northside 2010. Now the band is hitting the road in late April for an East Coast tour, tagging Knitting Factory in Brooklyn on April 24th with guitar master James Blackshaw. Tickets for the NYC show are on sale. All tour dates are below.

Meanwhile, you can catch Emil Amos of Grails on stage with his solo project Holy Sons at the BrooklynVegan/Knitting Factory/Partisan Records Day Party at Barbarella's/Swandive on 3/18, one of many dates scheduled for Holy Sons and Dolorean who are touring together before after Texas.

All Grails tour dates, the contest details and some videos below...

Continue reading "Grails released 'Deep Politics', going on tour, playing Brooklyn w/ James Blackshaw (2011 dates & a chance to win the vinyl)"

today in NYC
* Bars Mitzvah @ Southpaw
* Ozomatli @ Irving Plaza
* Questlove @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Chuck D @ Apple Store SoHo
* Bad Reputation @ Barbes
* Colin Stetson @ The Stone
* Lotus, D.V.S* @ Mercury Lounge
* Charlie Hunter @ Rose Live Music
* Mia Zabelka @ Issue Project Room
* Alloy Orchestra @ World Financial Center
* Ryan Sawyer, Shahzad Ismaily @ The Stone
* Joseph Arthur, Greg Laswell @ City Winery
* Brooke Shields @ Feinstein's at Loews Regency
* Das Racist, Jasmine Solano @ Highline Ballroom
* Baptist Church, Sweet Tooth Nelson @ Zebulon
* Yellow Ostrich, Telenovelas, La Big Vic @ Pianos
* Donna The Buffalo, Roy Jay Band @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Best Coast, Wavves, No Joy @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Fergus & Geronimo, Easter Vomit, PC Worship @ Union Pool
* Occult Blood, Ivens, The Vomit Arsonist, Lussuria @ The Acheron
* Mussels, The Brooklyn What, Proud Humans, Steer @ The Rock Shop
* Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Deluka, Infernal Devices @ The Bell House
* The Knocks, Penguin Prison, Like Diamonds, Lightwaves @ Tammany Hall
* Michael Leonhart and the Avramina 7 @ David Rubenstein Atrium (free)
* Happy New Year, North Highlands, Eskalators, Sweet Bulbs @ Death By Audio
* White Ring, Blissed Out, Von Haze, Pictureplane DJ set @ Santos Party House
* Alex Bleeker & The Freaks, Melted Toys, Wet Dream, Speculator @ Glasslands
* The Young Things, Workout, Luke Rathborne, Evan Watson & The Headless Horsemen @ Bowery Electric
* Weed Hounds, The Missionaries, I'm Turning Into, Lost Boy?, Harpoon Forever @ Silent Barn
* Seabrook Power Plant, Smother Party, STATS, Casperelectronic (Peter Edwards) @ Littlefield

The Radio Dept. @ Webster Hall is cancelled. How was last night at Music Hall of Williamsburg?

Yellow Ostrich kicks off their Pianos residency tonight.

Popshop returns to Tammany Hall tonight - this time with Penguin Prison and The Knocks on the bill. Flyer below.

A sort of NSFW new Grails video for "Daughters of Bilitis" is below..

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Grails - "I Led Three Lives" (new MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Grails - "Up All Night" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Grails w/ Simeon of Silver Apples - "Silk Road" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Grails - "Reincarnation Blues" (MP3)

Grails at Newtown Barge Park (more by Greg Cristman)

With Black Tar IV in the rearview (but still available on black vinyl), Grails have announced their new LP Deep Politics. The record, due on March 8th via Temporary Residence Limited, spans eight tracks and features "I Led Three Lives", a new song available for download (above) stream (below) for the first time ever. Check out the tracklisting and the cover art below as well, both of which also make their first appearance here.

In related news, Holy Sons (aka Emil of Grails/Om) recently dropped a video for "A Chapter Must Be Closed". View that and a Grails video teaser for Deep Politics, stream "I Led Three Lives", and check out the art/tracklisting for the LP below...

Continue reading "Grails releasing 'Deep Politics' (new MP3, album art, tracklist)"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Holy Sons - Slow Days (MP3)

Holy Sons have released a new video for "A Chapter Must Be Closed" from the new LP Survivalist Tales, view that for the first time below. Grab an MP3 from the same record above. The video release comes hot on the release of the trailer for the new LP from one of Emil Amos's other project, Grails, which will drop in March.

Check out the new Holy Sons vid with two older videos, and the Grails trailer (UPDATE: with full album info) below. I will literally never think of Chuck Mangione in the same light again...

Continue reading "new Holy Sons video +++ a trailer for the new Grails LP"

photos by Greg Cristman

Einstein Music Journal: What are the challenges of being both the owner of your record label and an artist on the roster?

LSF's Syd Butler: It's awful! But I wouldn't want it any other way. Thank God for Paul (label manager at Frenchkiss Records) or I would be submitted into a hospital. The big challenges come when I am in label mode and talking to my band mates about what is expected - as a label you want your band to tour and do as much as you can to work the record. My band has other plans - it's like herding cats.

Les Savy Fav traveled to Canada for a sweaty, close-quarters show at NXNE (pics from which are coming soon). They'll have a full tour this fall (TBA), but currently, they're back in Canada for a July 3rd set at Calgary's Sled Island Fest.

LSF's new album, called Root for Ruin, will be released September 14th on (bandmember Syd Butler's) Frenchkiss Records. The track list, cover art, more info and more pictures from the Newtown Barge Park show, below...

Continue reading "Les Savy Fav played Newtown Barge Park w/ Polvo & Grails (pics), announce new album (details)"

DOWNLOAD: Fucked Up - Here Lies Are (MP3)

Fucked Up @ MWTX in Austin (more by Andrew Frisicano)

Lineups for Brooklyn's Northside Festival are coming together-- and some of the bigger shows (that aren't at Music Hall) are going to be at Greenpoint's Newtown Barge Park. First, Titus Andronicus, Cults and a special guest play an afternoon (1pm) show on Saturday, June 26th. Later that night, Liars, Fucked Up and High Places play the space (6pm). Then the next night (6/27, 6pm), Les Savy Fav performs with Polvo and Grails. Tickets to all three are on sale now. The shows are all ages (badges, which you must be 21+ to purchase, get you in too, capacity permitting).

Northside writes that the shows will be the first at the 1,500-capacity park space. Newtown Barge Park is a triangle of land at the corner of Franklin and Commercial Streets, and is part of the proposed plan (PDF) to expand Williamsburg/Greenpoint's waterfront park space.

The BrooklynVegan Northside show takes place the same Saturday as Titus --> Fucked Up/Liars, but at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Doors for that are 8pm, and it goes later. Tickets are now on sale.

Titus may DO NOT have another Brooklyn show coming up, on Thursday, June 3rd at Glasslands with Boogie Boarder. It has been cancelled. It was supposed to be a benefit for Neighbors Allied for Good Growth, a group frontman Patrick Stickles has talked about before...

Pitchfork: Best Purchase of the Past Year

Patrick Stickles: We can't take too much pride in the things we that own, can we? If I can get on my soapbox for a minute.... Isn't it much more important not what things we bought, but where we bought them? I'd love for you to remind your Brooklyn-based readership that they should make a point of not supporting the new Duane Reade that's moving in across the street from the historic Kings Pharmacy on Bedford Avenue. If you'd pass that along I'd appreciate that a lot. You can read a lot more about it at the website of this community group called Neighbors Allied for Good Growth. We all need to remember to vote with our dollars and take a stand for locally owned independent businesses, because that's what makes American capitalism great.

Grails has a new EP coming out. Grab an MP3 from that.

Fucked Up recently posted a new song that'll appear on a 12" split with Serena-Maneesh. You can get it above. Also, Damian from Fucked Up has been Internet debating the new Arizona immigration laws with fellow Canadian band Stars via Twitter and Stereogum.

All tour dates for Titus and Fucked Up are below...

Continue reading "Fucked Up, Liars, Titus Andronicus, Les Savy Fav, Polvo & others playing Greenpoint's Barge Park (and other dates) "

"Like last year, everything will be taking place in Williamsburg and Greenpoint because walking long distances is a drag when there are bands to see and beer to drink, we mean seriously. Us here at The L Magazine will be booking a share of shows on our own, but, for a large chunk of the festival, we've once again handed over curatorial control to some of the most tasteful, talented and dedicated folks in New York's independent music scene -- record labels, bloggers, promoters and more -- allowing them to showcase the bands they think you need to hear. The Williamsburg Gallery Association is again on board to highlight special exhibitions and other events at over 25 art galleries in the neighborhood. And to celebrate Northside's second year, we've invited a few of the city's biggest aficionados of independent film to curate four nights of New York-made movies at Brooklyn's new, as-yet-unopened film house-music club-restaurant-bar, indieScreen."

Music, art and movies will be happening at "30+ venues" and "dozens of galleries" over the course of four days in Greenpoint and Williamsburg. Like SXSW & CMJ, you can buy tickets to individual events, or you can get a badge which gets you in to everything that isn't already at badge-capacity. $50 badges are now on sale to those 21 and over. If you buy a badge, "Arrive to venues early - badgeholders are admitted on a first-come, first-served, one-out, one-in basis."

If you buy a badge you can take your chances at getting into one of the four Northside shows happening at Music Hall of Williamsburg (BrooklynVegan showcase included), Fiery Furnaces at Brooklyn Bowl, and WAVVES & Cloud Nothings at Knitting Factory. TONS more shows TBA, but the initial list of bands that will be playing has been announced (I'm especially excited to see The Wave Pictures, Fucked Up, Liars, Parenthetical Girls and Les Savy Fav on there in addition to what we've previously talked about) (and yes Titus Andronicus is on there). Check it out below...

Continue reading "2010 Northside Festival - tickets & intial lineup (includes Liars, Fucked Up, Les Savy Fav, Polvo & many more)"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Grails - "Up All Night" (new MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Grails w/ Simeon of Silver Apples - "Silk Road" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Grails - "Reincarnation Blues" (MP3)

Grails - Black Tar Prophecies Vol 4

While Al Cisneros is busy rattling skulls in Shrinebuilder and Sleep (!), Om drummer Emil Amos continues to show his instrumental prowess in Grails. Volume four of the band's Black Tar Prophecies is currently on deck (volume 5 is already in the works) and impacts May 25th on Important (who recently dropped Ocean's last LP on wax). The release will be available in the form of 500 pic discs/1000 Stoughton jacketed LPs and will later be compiled with Volume 5 for a release on Temporary Residence Limited (new home of Coliseum and current home to many other notables). Check out the first serene and silently melancholy track "Up All Night" available above and the trippy-as-usual trailer for the band's release below (resembles their DVD). The EP will serve as a primer for the band's upcoming full-length excursion, due on Important in spring 2011.

Meanwhile, Grails is scheduled to hit the shores of Europe in the coming week, leading up to a date at the Pavement-curated ATP. Tour dates for that trek is below.

UPDATE: Grails will be in Brooklyn some time between June 24-27 to play a Northside Festival show. Stay tuned for more info.

Unlike Grails, Shrinebuilder DIDN'T make it out to Europe and are rescheduling their dates in November. However, they DID play a surprise show at Europa while the EU tour situation was in limbo. Thank you/damn you volcano.

Sleep is scheduled to play ATP NY along with sunn o)))/Boris, Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions, Iggy & The Stooges, Sonic Youth, and a jaw-dropping list of others. Tickets are still available.

Some video, tour flyer, and EP tracklisting is below..

Continue reading "new Grails EP (MP3), dates & stuff "

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Sir Richard Bishop - Kaddak el Mayass (MP3)

Om in Brooklyn 9/23/08

On September 8th, Drag City will proclaim that God is Good. The duo of Al Cisneros (who recently played his final show in Sleep) and Emil Amos (also of Grails/Holy Sons) will release their new four track LP of that name, their first LP together and the first Om LP since 2007's Pilgrimage. More details on the Steve Albini-produced album to come.

In addition to the new Om album, Al Cisneros has also helmed a new compilation for Arthur Magazine. Entitled Transmissions from Sinai and featuring art from the legendary Arik Roper, the disc contains contributions from some of the usual Cisneros suspects (Current 93, Scott Kelly, Holy Sons, Grails, Wino) as well as previously unreleased tracks from J. Mascis, Six Organs of Admittance, Lichens, and Sir Richard Bishop. The full tracklisting is below. For more information and to order that disc, head to Arthur.

A few contributors to Transmissions From Sinai will be in NYC in the VERY near future! Lichens has a show at Cake Shop on June 15th with New Zealand's Bachelorette and Pikelet.

     Sir Richard Bishop

Arthur CD contributor, Sun City Girl, and Om's Drag City label-mate, Sir Richard Bishop double teams NYC in the coming days, with a show on June 13th at The Studio @ Webster Hall with Zaimph, and then two nights later with Bill Callahan (and a BV photo show) at MHOW. Sir Richard Bishop's new album THE FREAK OF ARABY was released by Drag City in May. All of his tour dates are below.

Om's previously mentioned live document, Live Conference, will be released (vinyl only!) via Important Records in the coming weeks.

Current 93 recently dropped Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain, as well as Monohallucinatory Mountain, the mono version of said record. Pick that up at David Michael Tibet's site. Spanning eight tracks over it's 53+ minutes, the LP features contributions from James Blackshaw, William Breeze (ex-Coil), Ossian Breeze (Coil), Rickie Lee Jones, Matt Sweeney, Andrew WK, Sasha Grey, and many many others.

Holy Sons (aka Emil Amos of Om / Grails) recently dropped Drifter's Symphony

Grouper recently toured with Animal Collective, and has a few additional tour dates in the Northwest laid out through the summer.

All tour dates and stuff below...

Continue reading "Al Cisneros made a CD for Arthur, Drag City releasing Om, released Sir Richard Bishop in May - 2009 tour dates"

by Black Bubblegum

Om, recording their new LP w/ Steve Albini @ Electrical Audio

In our interview with Emil Amos back at at ATP NY in 2008, he said, "I have four Holy Sons records... A new full-length called Drifter's Sympathy for Important Records, The Squanderer which is the next full length after the Important record, a cover record in the style of Kicking Against The Pricks, and My Only Warm Coals, a 35 song retrospective... I did a show with Damo Suzuki, Yellow Swans, White Rainbow, and Valet, but haven't ever had the time to mix it..."

When not busy playing with Om and Grails, Emil Amos spends a good bit of time cranking away at his solo project, Holy Sons, whose new album Drifter's Sympathy was released Tuesday (4/28) on Important records. Check out a few MP3 snippets, and watch the the video for the title track below.

Also due on Important, Om's new live album! "Live Conference was recorded on 24 track remote audio in Brooklyn. On this night Om performed their seminal album Conference of the Birds live in its entirety. Newly invoked energy resonates in the sound of the band. The dynamics between Emil Amos and Al Cisneros have rendered these songs, and Om's sound into a higher evolution."

I missed Om's last Brooklyn show (9/23/08), but I will vouch for the "higher evolution" of their sound at their performance at ATP three days before. It was one of my highlights for the weekend. Look for Om's Live Conference soon. A picture of the packaging is below.

Om also recently completed recording of their new studio album for Drag City. They're working with Steve Albini, as you saw in the picture above. Look for the album to drop on 9/8.

In the tail end of last year, Emil's band mate in Grails, Zak Riles, released his self-titled LP on Important. A few songs from the LP have evolved into Grails tracks, so it's an interesting trip to hear variations on that theme (pun intended). Check out MP3 snippets from that record too.

Om and Grails both played Roadburn over the weekend. Emil, Scott Kelly (solo, with Neurosis & Tribes of Neurot), Steve Von Till (solo, with Neurosis & Tribes of Neurot), and Wino (solo & with Saint Vitus) were the only people to perform more than once during the festival.

Grails and Al Cisneros's old band Sleep will play ATP The Fans Strike Back with Harvey Milk, the reformed Jesus Lizard, and many many others next week.

If you missed it, we recently interviewed Scott Kelly, Al Cisneros's band member from Shrinebuilder.

Grails' new DVD, Acid Rain, is out NOW. Full tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Holy Sons & Om releasing albums, live & studio + new video"

by JJ Koczan

We continue with JJ's report from the Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, Holland. If you missed it, check out Day One and Day Two. Here is Day Three (Saturday April 24, 2009)...

Om @ Roadburn 2009 (Herr Hanz)

Saturday night I communed with The Riff.

That's not a joke. I was just drunk enough at just the right moment so that as Neurosis took an all-too-rare trip through their back catalog, I was taken somewhere, like a living out of body experience. They opened with "A Sun That Never Sets," and split the middle with "Stones From The Sky," and ended in a huge Steve Von Till/Scott Kelly/Jason Roeder drum barrage; it was almost too much for a human psyche to endure. Survival instinct kicked in. They played for an hour and a half and I felt years pass.

The day was long, but worth the effort. I got to 013 Popcentrum a couple minutes into Grails' set and was reminded of just how much I enjoy that band and why I keep buying their records every time they put one out. Having never seen them live before, I was glad to learn that they pull off every texture and nuance of their songs on stage with presence and conviction. When Neurot put out their first two records, I was into it, but didn't really understand, and though their albums have gotten incrementally better, now I feel like I really get it. They're well on their way to being geniuses.

Amenra was in the Green Room at the time, which was full of those seeking something more abrasive than Grails could offer. "Dark" is the first word that comes to mind in thinking about their sound. "Crushing" is the second. They had a little of the post-metal cadence in their rhythms, but they were onto something much more sinister, mood-wise. Heavy as hell, seriously.

continued below...

Continue reading "Surviving Roadburn, Day Three: Relearning What Is Known"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Grails w/ Simeon of Silver Apples - Silk Road (MP3)

Grails at Knitting Factory, Nov 2008

Grails have posted a NSFW preview of their upcoming DVD, Acid Rain, due on April 7th via Temporary Residence Limited. Check it out below. "A year in the making", Acid Rain contains six music videos, video shot on their European tour, an entire live set recorded 11/16/07 at the Knitting Factory in NYC (when they toured with Om), and general weirdness like "vietnamese instructional videos of 'what to do in case of rat infestation'" (a direct quote from Emil Amos). Schweet.

Speaking of Grails live at Knitting Factory, the last time the band touched down here was during a collaborative set with Silver Apples as part of the Hallejuwah Fest. Their set was, to quote Kelly LeBrock from Weird Science, "a mind scrambler". Luckily, Radio23.org was able to capture the audio from "Silk Road" and make it available for download... check it out above.

Grails, along with Earth, Grey Daturas, and Tribes of Neurot (aka the experimental ambient nom de plume of Neurosis) were recently added to the Beyond The Pale Festival at Roadburn. For those counting at home, that officially tips the festival scale from stupid awesome to seriously-fucked-up-that-it's-sold-out.

"Acid Rain" DVD trailer below...

Continue reading "Grails - Acid Rain DVD trailer & live (w/ Silver Apples) MP3"

Bishop Allen @ Fun Fun Fun Fest 2008 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

today in NYC
* DANCE
* Stella @ Union Hall !
* NY Dolls @ Stone Pony
* Ani Difranco @ Town Hall
* Rasputina @ the Bell House
* Al Green @ Wellmont Theater
* The Hackensaw Boys @ 92YTribeca
* Robyn Hitchcock @ Symphony Space
* Slutty Puppets @ Galapagos Art Space
* The Dig & Frankpollis @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* Baroness, Coliseum & Minsk @ Bowery Ballroom
* Electric Six, Local H, Fall On Your Sword @ Webster Hall
* Bishop Allen, Drink Up Buttercup & Electric Owls @ MHOW
* Peter & The Wolf, Ava Luna & Draw Into Disorder @ Silent Barn
* We Are Scientists, Mobius Band & Grandma's Boy @ Irving Plaza
* Grails, Silver Apples, Dinowalrus & Nudge @ Knitting Factory
* Hopewell, Bear in Heaven, Artranker Convoy & Tulips @ Cake Shop
* Cheap Time w/ The Black Clouds, The Konks, and Golden Error @ Asterisk Art Space

in Boston: The Brainwaves Festival

! I have no idea when they added the Stella show at Union Hall, but Union Hall's site reads "SOLD OUT: no tickets are available". It's a warmup for the upcoming tour and shows at Nokia Theatre. It's not clear whether Michael Showalter will also be performing with Eugene Mirman at Union Hall this Sunday. How was the Showalter/Black show at Caroline's?

Local H goes on at 7:45 tonight at Webster Hall (or someone just told me maybe 9:00).

Bishop Allen also plays MHOW on Sunday.

Tonight was supposed to be the first of two Flower Travellin Band shows at Knitting Factory.

NY Dolls added tonight's NJ show since I last posted their tour dates that include Irving Plaza in December.

Ludacris is playing Highline Ballroom Tuesday night.

Bjork turned 43 yesterday.

Karen O was born today in 1978.

Steven Van Zandt was born today in 1950.

John F. Kennedy died today in 1963.

Grails played Union Pool last night. Video below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Saturday?"

by Black Bubblegum

Al Cisneros & Matt Pike of Sleep in High School 1990

From our interview with Om at ATP:

BV: If you got a call from Matt Pike and Chris [Hakius] today to reunite for a show or two, would you be into reforming Sleep?

Al Cisneros: Reforming? No.

Sleep will share the stage with Devo, Spiritualized, and Grails at ATP UK's The Fans Strike Back in Minehead on May 8th-10th, 2009, playing two nights which will be a "world exclusive that will never be repeated". DAMMMIT! Ugh. Anyway, what does "The Fans Strike Back" mean?

For this festival we are reviving something we did in 2007; asking the people that come to the festival to decide who plays! So half of the lineup is chosen by us (ATP) and the other half by you. Everyone that buys a ticket will get a chance to vote for 10 acts they would like to appear at the festival, and we will be compiling charts of the results and approaching acts to see if they are available to play the festival...

Voting will commence in just over 2 weeks on Monday 17th November.

In other ridiculously-awesome-American-doom-bands-that-are-not-reuniting-in-America-news, Al Cisneros's Shrinebuilder bandmate Wino is getting Saint Vitus back together at Roadburn.

Also Om related: Grails have a show coming up at Union Pool and another with Flower Travellin' Band.

Om is currently touring Europe. Tour dates and some videos are below...

Continue reading "Sleep reuniting for The Fans Strike Back, an ATP UK festival"

by Black Bubblegum

Flower Traveling Band @ 2nd World Rock Festival 1974

OK. I literally almost fell out of my chair when I saw this one..... the Knitting Factory NYC booked two nights of the legendary Japanese Psych/Doom/Alloftheabove prog rock of Flower Travelling Band! Their first two US dates EVER. 40 years later. Here's what allmusic had to say about Flower Travellin' Band and their classic LP Satori:

Flower Travelling Band was Japan's answer to Led Zeppelin meeting Blue Cheer and Black Sabbath at the Ash Ra Temple. Simply put, they played grand, spacey, tripped-out hard rock with a riffy base that was only two steps removed from the blues, but their manner of interpreting those steps came from an acid trip... From power chords to Eastern-tinged, North African, six-string freakouts, to crashing tom toms, to basses blasting into the red zone, Satori is a... new sonic universe constructed from cast-off elements of the popular culture of the LSD generation. Forget everything you know about hard rock from the 1970s until you've put this one through your headphones. It's monolithic, expansive, flipped to wig city, and full of a beach blanket bong-out muscularity. In other words, this is a "real" classic and worth any price you happen to pay for it.

Tickets are on sale: November 22, November 23.

Flower Travellin' Band reunited in January of this year, playing a handful of shows in Japan, including the Fuji Rock Festival. The band dropped the NEW album We Are Here on Sept 17th via Pony Canyon Records. Featuring eight new tracks, you can stream three of them here.

Flower Travellin' Band was recently profiled in Julian Cope's Japrocksampler, where Cope named their classic LP Satori as his favorite "Japrock" record ever.

Union Pool plays host to Grails on November 21st with recently added guests Psychic Ills.

Apse recently played ATP NY and have another NYC show scheduled at Death By Audio on November 21st.

All tour dates, the festival flyer and a bunch of videos below...

Continue reading "Flower Travelin' Band playing 2-day Halleluwah Festival in NYC (first US show ever) (w/ Grails, Apse, more...)"

interview by Black Bubblegum, photos by Zach Dilgard

DOWNLOAD: Om - Gebel Barkal (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Om - (Version) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Holy Sons - Gnostic Device (MP3)

Al Cisneros & Emil Amos

Om is the brainchild of Al Cisneros. In the wake of Sleep's dissolution, Al founded Om with his former Sleep and Asbestosdeath band-mate Chris Hakius. Sleep's guitarist Matt Pike went on to form High On Fire. Over five years, Om has carved a unique path... retaining the doom appeal of Sleep, while forging a new somber, yet also oddly calming tone over the course of three studio albums and various vinyl releases. Chris Hakius recently left the group, but was quickly replaced by drummer Emil Amos of former Om tourmates Grails.

Emil Amos is a juggler. Besides Grails and his new venture with Om, Amos also has a solo project called Holy Sons. Of course, Al Cisneros is also on the move, most recently forging an indie metal supergroup of sorts called Shrinebuilder - a four piece with Scott "Wino" Weinrich (of Saint Vitus, Hidden Hand, The Obsessed, many others), Scott Kelly (of Neurosis and Blood & Time), and Dale Crover (of Melvins and Porn).

Om was one of many bands who performed at the ATP festival at Kutscher's resort in upstate NY this past weekend. While there, we were able to coax the duo into taking a ride with us in one of the "sea nymphs", aka rowboats, on Kutsher's Lake. Along the way we paddled, and poked and prodded the band about Om, Shrinebuilder and their many other projects including, "Gebel Barkal", a limited Sub Pop 7" they recently put out (both songs from it are available for download on the top of this post). Among other things, we also found out about an electrician who happens to be very talented on the guitar.

Warning, if you have an aversion to poor yachting, please look away now.

Continue reading "an interview w/ Al Cisneros & Emil Amos of Om"

by Black Bubblegum

Grails's new album, Doomsayer's Holiday, is on the way, and the band have announced a few east coast dates in celebration, including one date at Union Pool on Nov 21 and another at the Knitting Factory on November 22.

In related news, Holy Sons' new album Decline of the West is out September 23rd on Partisan Records. Holy Sons is the side project of Grails (and OM) drummer Emil Amos. All Grails tour dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "Grails - 2008 Tour Dates, new album, videos (post=NSFW)"