by BBG

Boris at ATP NY 2009 (more by Ryan Muir)

The Japanese rumblers are back. Boris will strap on their double necked-axes and hit the road this summer for a US tour with Russian Circles, and then Red Sparowes. No NYC dates scheduled as of yet (there is a pretty glaring hole on 8/5 and 8/6 though....), but the band will be at ATP 2010 as part of Altar with sunn O))).

Boris recently released a trio of limited 7"s and played ATP in the UK curated by Pavement. All dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "Boris touring w/ Russian Circles, Red Sparowes - 2010 dates "

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Red Sparowes - "Giving Birth To Imagined Saviors" (MP3)

New band member. New sound. And just like an abbreviation of the first track on their last LP, the new Red Sparowes represents a "Great Leap Forward".

As expected, the LA band's recent addition of guitarist Emma Ruth Rundle and the amicable departure of Josh Graham has left a indelible mark on their upcoming LP, The Fear is Excruciating, But Therein Lies the Answer. But it's not for the worse; soaring and heartbreaking melodies are still the primary (and fulfilled) objective and that achy-breaky pedal steel will still get you every time. In a nutshell, it's a Red Sparowes record, filled with expansive, emotional pieces like "Giving Birth To Imagined Saviors", downloadable above. Hanky not included.

Red Sparowes are scheduled to take the stage with Doomriders over two nights at Mercury Lounge: April 13 (tix) and April 14 (tix)

Full Red Sparowes dates and an album trailer are both below....

Continue reading "Red Sparowes (w/ new lineup) releasing new record (MP3)"

by BBG

Red Sparowes w/ Brendan Tobin of Made Out of Babies (more here)

Red Sparowes and Doomriders will team up for a pair of NYC dates at Mercury Lounge on April 13th (tix) and 14th (tix). Tickets go on sale at noon on Friday (2/5).

Red Sparowes will be another species of bird entirely, Mockingbirds, when the band support Imaad Wasif at LA's Spaceland on 2/4. Confused? Let the band explain:

For those of you in the Los Angeles area, we are playing a mostly-improvised set of songs this Thursday night, February 4th at Spaceland under the name Mockingbirds. This is not a set of Red Sparowes songs. There will be no visuals. It's just a chance for us to play around with some musical ideas. We'll have a special guest doing vocals on one song.

Red Sparowes are prepping to release their new LP The Fear is Excruciating, But Therein Lies The Answer via Sargent House on 4/6. Check out a video trailer for that LP below.

Doomriders have a few dates on their calendar as well, including a few with Skeletonwitch. All Doomriders dates are below. Meanwhile Nate Newton of Doomriders' other band, Converge, was recently mentioned in an interesting tweet/twitpic by Coalesce...

If this is a real tour, please someone kindly remove my jaw from the floor...

As pictured in the Fun Fun Fun fest pic on top, Brendan Tobin of Made Out of Babies occasionally fills in for Bryant Clifford Meyer (Isis) on guitar in Red Sparowes. MOoB will be at Union Pool with Unsane, United Nations, and Dark Vibe on 2/12 (a BV Presents prodiction). Tickets are still available, but get 'em now, this show WILL sell out.

All dates and that video below...

Continue reading "Red Sparowes (new LP soon) & Doomriders playing 2 NYC shows together & other dates"

Annual Austin music festival Fun Fun Fun Fest lived up to its name once again today (Saturday, November 7th). And that was just Day One. The fun continues on Sunday which ends with a headlining set by Danzig (and Of Montreal on another stage). More coverage and pictures to come, but before I run out to the Saturday night afterparties (going to try and see Voxtrot at Mohawk and Negative Approach at Red 7), I just wanted to post a few pictures. Check them out below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest - Day 1 in pics "

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Russian Circles - "Malko" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Bad Secrets - "Gimme Sound" (MP3)

Russian Circles (photo by Chris Strong)

Russian Circles have Geneva due on 10/20 and are hitting the road with Young Widows, tagging Bowery Ballroom on 12/1 in the process. Tickets for Bowery, which will also feature Phantom Family Halo, are on AmEx presale now, and go on general sale Friday (9/25) at noon.

Speaking of Young Widows, Evan Patterson recently dropped a 9" with his side project Bad Secrets on Robotic Empire. The lo-fi, somewhat sparse psychedelic look at post-punk is the product of a few weekends in 2007 when Patterson teamed up with Dan Davis (Kodan Armada). Dig on a track from the Bad Secrets 9"/CD above.

And while we're on the subject of Robotic Empire, the label is currently taking preorders for a MASSIVE TWELVE LP (!) box set of Floor material. The comp, which will set you back $250, comes with an exclusive (and rather rad, I must say) Floor tee. Pre-order that sumbitch here. Members of Floor went on to form Torche, Dove, and House of Lightning.

Young Widows JUST played Bowery with Thursday and Fall of Troy on 9/20.

"Since Settle Down City, the band has toured with little rest, contributed to a bevy of split 7-inch records alongside acts like Coliseum and Melt-Banana, replaced a drummer, and released the combustible Old Wounds. More work (including a third full-length) is forthcoming but Patterson insists that all of Young Widows' output reach a personal high mark. "This is what I want to be passionate about," he says." [Hartford Advocate]

Full Russian Circles/Young Widows tour schedule is below...

Continue reading "Russian Circles & Young Widows touring (dates), Bad Secrets release music (MP3), Floor box set coming soon"

August 25th, 2009 (Austin, TX) - Transmission Entertainment is pleased to announce the lineup for the 2009 Fun Fun Fun Fest, taking place on November 7th and 8th at Waterloo Park in Austin. Fun Fun Fun Fest made its first appearance on a cold Friday evening in 2006, offering a unique approach to festival booking, filling stages with talent bubbling from the underground: what sounded great, and what was making an impact, regardless of what mainstream media said was cool. What started out as a show for a few touring acts and local favorites has become a movement -- a festival that fans and bands alike realize needs to be experienced year after year.

Now in its fourth year, Fun Fun Fun Fest has made a significant impact on the country's winter calendar, successfully combining the vast worlds of indie, punk, rap, electronica and comedy while showcasing some of the city's most unique local businesses.

Greatest. Festival. Ever...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2009 lineup (Jesus Lizard, Of Montreal, Gorilla Biscuits, LSF, 7 Seconds, D.R.I. & DANZIG!! & more)"

by Black Bubblegum

Red Sparowes with touring guitarist Brendan Tobin (Made Out of Babies)

Red Sparowes have announced a new axe-wielder to their ranks, replacing the departed Josh Graham. The band comments:

I think it's safe to announce our new guitar player is Emma Ruth Rundle. She's an unbelievable guitar prodigy. A better guitarist than any of us. And, she works building and repairing guitars. Pretty awesome.

What role Rundle will play on the bands upcoming full-length is not known, but the band have completed seven demos to be recorded in August for release on an upcoming LP due in 2010. Look for some of those tracks to surface while the band plays a few dates "in Oct/Nov" including a date at the Fun Fun Fun Fest with the previously announced Jesus Lizard. More details about FFF Fest and the Red Sparowes tour are forthcoming. The band plans a full US tour, followed by a European tour in spring 2010.

Red Sparowes next release isn't that LP follow up to Every Heart... though, it's the Toshi Kasai co-produced (with the band) Aphorisms DVD+12" which is due this fall. That EP along with the entire Red Sparowes catalog is now available for download as "pay what you want" (over $2.50 that is) from the band. Check that out here.

Some videos below...

Continue reading "Red Sparowes get new guitarist, playing Fun Fun Fun Fest"

by Black Bubblegum

Red Sparowes might be sans Josh Graham (A Storm Of Light, Neurosis, etc), but all that means is leaning harder on members of Isis, The VSS, Halifax Pier, and Angel Hair a little more, which could be ALOT worse.

The band hit the studio with producer and new Big Business member Toshi Kasai in May and will drop the EP Aphorisms digitally on August 1 (Vinyl/CD this fall) via Sargent House. Dig on track uno at their myspace, the concisely titled (Red Sparowes are sooo good at that) "We Left The Apes To Rot, But Find The Fang Still Grows Within".

Red Sparowes will also hit the road this week for a set of mostly UK dates including an intersecting show with an ongoing Harvey Milk/Oxbow tour (dates below for that) and concluding with an appearance at the Wickerpark Fest with Isis, Don Caballero, High On Fire, Okkervil River, Russian Circles and approximately one metric shit-ton of other great bands. Dates below.

Harvey Milk is currently streaming one of my favorite albums so far this year "Life.... The Best Game In Town" here. Melvins are also streaming their entire new album.

Big Business & Melvins will be in town very soon, and have their own ATP to curate.

The VSS recently reissued Nervous Circuits. High On Fire may be playing with Opeth. Tour dates below....

Continue reading "Red Sparowes EP, tour dates, Harvey Milk, Oxbow, Melvins"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: A Storm Of Light - "Mass" (MP3) from the forthcoming And We Wept the Black Ocean Within
DOWNLOAD: Red Sparowes- "Alone & Unaware, The Landscape was...."(MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Battle Of Mice - "Sleep And Dream" (MP3)

Josh Graham is multitasking, and not in a chew gum and walk kind of way either. Graham first burst on the scene as the newest member of Bay Area titans Neurosis, handling the visual element which included live pieces and graphic design, eventually leading into the legendary "A Sun That Never Sets" companion DVD. On the heels of that well received DVD, Josh went on to direct music videos and design artwork for Dillinger Escape Plan, Enon, Jesu, Khann, Underoath, Saves The Day, and many others.

Meanwhile, Josh wielded a heavy (like the music) axe (like the guitar) in Red Sparowes featuring members of the like-minded Isis, Battle Of Mice with members of local metallers Made Out Of Babies, and Tribes of Neurot (a Neurosis related experimental project). His tenure with Red Sparowes has recently come to an end, but that hasn't stopped Mr. No-Sleep from starting another band... A Storm Of Light. A Storm Of Light recently opened up night two of the Neurosis/Mastodon extravaganza (their second show ever, check out videos from it here and here) and a Seattle date with Neurosis and Converge. Up next, A Storm of Light are scheduled to tear down the Pussycat Lounge in NYC this Saturday, March 29th with Hull in a show that will also feature the art of Jorden Haley.

BrooklynVegan's Black Bubblegum sat down with Josh to hash out his thoughts on democracy (in songwriting), how to keep it simple, and how much it means to him to be "Riding Dirty".

Continue reading "an interview with Josh Graham (Neurosis, A Storm of Light)"