photos by Harriet Roberts

"The legendary Kid Congo Powers, co-founder of the Gun Club, guitarist for The Cramps and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, will be releasing his new album with his group Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds this spring. Titled Gorilla Rose, the album follows in the footsteps of the band's 2009 Dracula Boots with more ram-charged boogaloo, sleazy psychedelia and Chicano garage rock. In The Red records is gearing up for the new album by releasing a series of oddball limited edition vinyl-only records by the band. The first of these releases dropped in the form of the "Five Greasy Pieces" subscription series. This is a very limited edition (250 of each) series of five different singles each containing two brand new tracks. Starting in January In The Red will be issuing one of these a month. The fifth and final single in the series will come with a handsome box in which all five will be housed. The only way to obtain these singles is to buy a subscription on the In The Red website. In March In The Red will be issuing a live LP by the band titled Live At The Prom which will be another vinyl-only limited edition release available exclusively online." [PR]

Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds recently played a show with Chain & the Gang (Ian Svenonius) and TV Baby (A.R.E. Weapons) at Secret Project Robot. More pictures from that show and a set of upcoming European tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Kid Congo releasing limited edition vinyl (and a new record soon), played Secret Project Robot w/ Chain & the Gang (pics) "

by Andrew Frisicano

Jim Jones Revue...

Speaking of the BrooklynVegan/AnSO Thursday day party at Austin's Spider House (full schedule here), London's Jim Jones Revue will be taking to one of the stages (right before Cheeseburger). The garage rock powerhouse, whose first record came out in 2008 and who are currently working on a new album with producer Jim Sclavunos from The Bad Seeds/Grinderman, will be making their US debut at the festival.

Since forming The Revue in 2007, Jim Jones - the jet-fuelled ex-Thee Hypnotics vocal powerhouse - has led his band through a hurricane of live shows and the recording of their first, bone-shattering LP. [Their February 4th set at London's Jazz Cafe] was predominantly made up of material from that album: a relentless meld of flame-grilled rock'n'soul and punk-R&B. In fact it's rumoured that the Jazz Café had to hold back on the band's usual volume for fear of broken eardrums and complaints from the entire postcode.

What makes the Jim Jones Revue such an exciting live prospect is their heady mix of quality songs and unpredictability. Their mining of the pre-1960 rock'n'roll sound serves them well. You feel that you've lived with these songs for a long time, yet, in a live setting, their material doesn't feel constrained by category. It just makes you stand up and listen before knocking you off your feet. [Mojo]

On the same stage will be Kid Congo Powers (aka Brian Tristan of The Gun Club, The Cramps and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds)...

WOW. The Kid did it again. All the uber cool chops and camped up suss we've come to know and love from this true legend. Yep that's right Legend, an over used word in describing musicians for sure but hell when you've spent your life playing with three of the greatest front men of all time - Lux Interior, Jeffery Pierce and Nick Cave - you must have done something right. No one can tell me its not a justified description for someone who was in not only one LEGENDARY band but three - The Cramps, The Gun Club and Nick Caves Bad Seed's.

These days Kid Congo is hipper than ever with his own band The Pink Monkey Birds, who's charming, sexy mix of 50's Rockabilly, 60's Garage Trash, 70's Vegas Lounge Muzak, 80's Post Punk all put together with an authentic Hispanic twist - serves up some serious cool medicine both on record and live. [Splash One]

The two acts also team up again for an official showcase with The Bellrays and more at Prague later that night. Both have other shows on the docket as well. Videos of both (including Jim Jones at the above-described gig) and their full Austin schedules are below...

Continue reading "Jim Jones Revue (ex-Thee Hypnotics) & Kid Congo Powers (ex-Cramps/Nick Cave/Gun Club) playing SXSW, other shows"

yes we've lost our minds...

BrooklynVegan & AnSo Present:
A Day Party in Austin, TX!
@ Spider House (2908 Fruth St @ Guadalupe)
Thursday March 18, 2010
Noon-7pm

ALL AGES-FREE [No badges, wristbands or RSVP necessary]
19 bands on 3 stages (1 indoor and 2 outdoor)
Full bar w/ Drink Specials. In house restaurant & backyard BBQ.

Stage #1
6:00 Human Eye
5:00 Tyvek
4:00 Thee Oh Sees
3:00 Golden Triangle
2:00 Lovvers
1:00 The Beets

Stage #2
6:00 Cheeseburger
5:00 Jim Jones Revue
4:00 Slim Cessna's Auto Club
3:00 Kid Congo Powers
2:00 Carletta Sue Kay
1:00 Or, The Whale
12:00 La Strada

Stage #3
5:30 UUVVWWZ
4:30 Everybody Was In the French Resistance Now (w/ Eddie Argos of Art Brut)
3:30 DM Stith
2:30 Odawas
1:30 A Sunny Day in Glasgow
12:30 The Sandwitches

Thank you to Annie Southworth of Panache Booking aka AnSo for partnering with us on this amazing party. More info on the bands and stuff as we find time. In the meantime, happy to get this (yet another BrooklynVegan party at SXSW this year) announced!

P.S. Odawas is also on the bill of the free BrooklynVegan Happy Hour show happening at Noise Pop in San Francisco this Saturday (2/27)

UPDATE: SXSW flyer below...

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan & AnSo Present a kick-ass & free Austin 2010 Thursday Day Party (with a zillion bands)"

HEALTH @ Knitting Factory (more by Ryan Muir)

HEALTH returns to NYC on Saturday, June 20th for a New York Night Train show in Brooklyn - possibly at Danbro Studios, and possibly somewhere else (stay tuned). Other bands on the bill are Awesome Color and Kid Congo Powers. Go go artist Anna Copacabanna, drum and trapeze act Wolf and Cub, projection artist Spencer Bewley and projection artists Mighty Robot AV Squad will all also be there along with DJ Josh Styles and DJ Jonathan Toubin.

HEALTH last visited NYC on November 7th, 2008 at the Knitting Factory - a one-off date connected to their tour with Nine Inch Nails.. This summer, the band is also scheduled to play Sled Island Fest in Calgary, as well as a pair of European festivals.

HEALTH's new disc, GET COLOR, comes out September 8th on Lovepump United. A single for the song "DIE SLOW" came out in April. It's now streaming with its b-side/remix on the band's site.

Awesome Color, who are on the bill of the June 20th Danbro show, will be touring this June/July with with Black Dice (June 14th Bowery Ballroom show included), and then with Sonic Youth (but not in NYC).

Sonic Youth have announced all the opening bands for their The Eternal tour kicking off at the end of June. Besides Awesome Color, other openers on the tour will be White/Light, Endless Boogie and The Entrance Band, the last of which opens Sonic Youth's NYC show at the United Palace on July 3rd. Tickets for that show are still on sale. SY's most recent NYC show took place at the Music Hall of Williamsburg as part of the No Fun Fest.

HEALTH CD art and track list, and all upcoming HEALTH, Awesome Color and Sonic Youth tour dates, below...

Continue reading "HEALTH - new CD, tour dates, and a NYC show w/ Awesome Color who is touring w/ Black Dice & Sonic Youth "