by Bill Pearis

For a lot of folks, this was the sound of the '80s: bright, jangly guitar pop with hooks out the wazoo. Tommy Keene never quite got the attention that Matthew Sweet, The Plimsouls, The dB's or even Let's Active, but he has consistently made some terrific records over the last 25 years including last year's In the Late Bright.

Keene also just released the career-spanning You Hear Me: Retrospective 1983 - 2009 which does a great job showcasing his talent and consistency. (You can listen to the whole thing on the label's website.) It's a sound that doesn't really go out of style. And when not making his own records, Keene is also an in-demand freelance axeman, touring over the years with Paul Westerburg, Velvet Crush and, recently Robert Pollard. (Pollard and Keene made an album together in 2006 as The Keene Brothers.)

Tommy Keene just started a tour where he's playing his classic 1986 album Songs from the Film in its entirety, along with other nuggets from his catalog. The tour hits The Rock Shop on Wednesday (9/15).  That record has what is arguably Keene's most well-known tune, "Places That Are Gone," and the whole album is really a classic. And also out of print, sady.

The whole night is a power pop extravaganza, actually, with two openers both of which have fairly long pedigrees. First is  Title Tracks, the new band from Jon Davis who was in Georgie James and Q and Not U. Title Tracks debut album came out in February and is full of super-melodic powerpop that would appeal to anyone who owns a Sloan album.

Also playing are Valley Lodge, which some of you may know is fronted by funnyman Dave Hill and onetime Walt Mink singer John Kimbrough. Valley Lodge's second album came out last year, and if you like crunchy, glammy, Thin Lizzy-style rockers, be sure to get there early.

All Tommy Keene tour dates, plus videos from Keene, Title Tracks and Valley Lodge are below....

Continue reading "Tommy Keene playing 'Songs from the Film' on tour (dates) "

Brooklyn party-rock band Cheeseburger will be playing a show at the Bell House on Saturday, March 13th (after the venue hosts tough-act-to-follow The National for two nights). Opening the show will be Valley Lodge (a band that features writer/comedian Dave Hill) and a special set from another writer/comedian, Jon Glaser. Tickets are on sale.

Cheeseburger, who have their second album on the way, recently played Brooklyn Bowl on February 13th with Diamond Nights. At the show, singer Joe Bradley was absent (to be with his newborn baby), and the band was led by a series of guest vocalists who included Jon Glaser, Jason Green of Violent Bullshit, Diamond Nights' Morgan Phalen, and Les Savy Fav's Tim Harrington and Andy Reuland. A video of Tim Harrington (on a ladder) fronting the band is below.

Total that makes at least three times Jon Glaser and Cheseburger have shared a stage. The other time I'm thinking about was that Adult Swim show at Santos over the summer.

Cheeseburger will also be in Austin for SXSW, and one of their shows will be the BrooklynVegan/Annie from Panache Day Party at Spider House on Thursday, March 18th along with a ton of bands that including Tyvek, Thee Oh Sees, Jim Jones Revue, Everybody Was In the French Resistance Now and DM Stith (to just name a few).

Dave Hill performs his "Big in Japan" one-man show at UCB Theatre in NYC this Thursday, March 11th. Tickets are on sale. He'll also be performing as "The Dave Hill Explosion" at the same venue on March 25th. Tickets for that are up too.

A video and tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Cheeseburger playing SXSW & Brooklyn w/ Jon Glaser & Valley Lodge (featuring Dave Hill who has other shows too)"

I already used the above picture on the top of Dave Hill's Best of 2007 post, but thought it deserved an encore performance in light of the recent bad news. Get well soon Dio!

Dave Hill. A man of many talents. Huge in more than just Japan (if you know what I mean). Check out what he had to say about 2009, 2010, 1989, naked dudes, murderers, rapists, Janeane Garofalo, and more. below:

Continue reading "an end of 2009 interview with Dave Hill"

Comedian/musician Dave Hill is a man of many talents, and many projects. One of those projects is his power pop band Valley Lodge ("an unstoppable rock band from New York City" according to their bio).

Valley Lodge came together when John Kimbrough, former singer-guitarist for Minnesota power pop band Walt Mink, met up with comedian/musician Dave Hill (formerly a member of bands such as Cobra Verde, and Sons of Elvis) to compare the home demos they were working on.

Joined by bass player/singer Phil Costello (Satanicide, Tragedy), and drummer Rob Pfeiffer (Sense Field) and inspired by bands such as Cheap Trick, The Raspberries, Thin Lizzy and Big Star they released their eponymous debut in 2005. The album proved particularly popular in Japan even getting a re-release with bonus tracks in 2008. The band went on to tour there in March 2009. [Wikipedia]

That March trip inspired Dave Hill's new one man show "Big in Japan" (which he performs this week in LA).

If Valley Lodge wasn't so busy being unstoppable, I think they would make great sitcom theme song writers. Actually, I think some of their songs should be sitcom theme songs. One such guilty pleasure is the song "All of my Loving" for which they made a brand new, and very shiny, (and NSFW) video. That's a picture from the video above (Dave never loses his sense of humor, even when making music). Check it out below...

Continue reading "new Valley Lodge video - 'All of my Loving' (a BV premiere)"

Attention People of New York City:

Hello. This is your man Dave Hill writing to let you know that Thursday, October 15 at 8:00pm, I will performing my brand new one-man show "Dave Hill: Big in Japan" like a motherf@#ker for the very third time over there at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in historic Chelsea. Attendance is mandatory unless you hate having a really, really nice time that might also lead to sex. Anyway, I realize there has been a lot of confusion- especially in the Scandinavian press- about my new one-man show. And while there is some truth to the rumor that my new one-man show is a coming-of-stage tale based on my early years as a young Austrian girl who wanted nothing more than to express herself through dance even if her pimp Danny had different plans for her, it is mostly about one man's (me, silly!) undying will to rock the f@#k out of people and also this one time I went to Japan and rocked the f@#k out of people with my rocking rock Valley Lodge. Also- and I cannot stress this enough- it is NOT the same show as the Dave Hill Explosion so stop thinking that, dammit. However, my new one-man show is explosive in nature and possesses similar heatbringing properties and an almost identical bang quotient (sin(ax)sin(bx) - k cos(ax)cos(bx) = number of chicks who totally want to bang me). Anyway, I really hope you can make it. Aside from all the heat I will be bringing to the show, it is directed by the great Jeff Tomsic and assistant directed by the super dupes Nicole Brodeur. It also features the winsome Chris Chuang and the fiery Zachary Danziger in the roles of a lifetime. And as if all of that is not enough, my show is immediately followed by Pangaea 3000 Sucks, a great show that you totally don't have to pay extra for. So come, you know, if you want. I'm tired of fighting about it. You can get tickets right here.

Love,
Dave Hill

That "Big in Japan" show is TONIGHT (10/15). The next "Dave Hill Explosion" is at the same venue on October 22nd and features special guests Gordon Gano of the Violent Femmes and the RETURN of Dick Cavett (not to be missed). Tickets are on sale.

In between those two UCB events you can catch Dave Hill playing two roles in one night. I'm talking about the official BrooklynVegan CMJ showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg on October 20th where Dave is both playing guitar in the Walter Schreifels Band (expect Quicksand, Gorilla Biscuits, Rival Schools and more), AND telling some jokes and hosting the night. Tickets are still on sale.

"Big In Japan" happens again on October 29th at UCB. The flyer along with a very recent video of Walter performing solo in a store... IN JAPAN, below...

Continue reading "in addition to being funny, and playing for Walter Schreifels (and hosting BV CMJ), Dave Hill is big in Japan! (@ UCB)"

photos by Alex Erde

Harvey Danger somehow...got John Hodgman to introduce them. It was hilarious...Once they came out on stage, they were incredible. They played for about 2 hours and 40 minutes, longer than I've ever seen any band play for before in my life. By the end, there wasn't really too much left that they hadn't played. It was really awesome and didn't get boring at all...even if we were all insanely tired by almost 2AM when we finally walked out.

For the encore, they came out and did a lot of Q&A and took requests. A bunch of them.

They sounded really on all night too, even towards the end of the set, they were still playing well and having a great time on stage. If you didn't make this show, you messed up, big time. Below is the full set list so that you can kick yourself for missing the show...[ihaveamessage]

The review above is from Harvey Danger's Farewell Tour show on August 8th at that Bell House. Valley Lodge (photographed below) and Jukebox the Ghost (not photographed) opened.

Harvey Danger's final, final show happens August 29th at The Crocodile in Seattle. More NYC pictures, some videos and that setlist are below...

Continue reading "Harvey Danger played their final NY show -pics/video/setlist"

After 15 years, three albums, hundreds of shows, and far more twists and turns than we ever imagined possible, we've decided to put Harvey Danger to rest. The decision is totally mutual and utterly amicable. Everyone is very proud of the work we've done together, but we've also come to feel that our collaboration has--in a very positive way--run its course. We're all eager to try our hands at other projects, musical and otherwise. Chances are we'll all work together in one form or another; if we've learned anything, it's that you never know what will happen. Of course, putting an end to something we've been working on since our early 20s can't help being accompanied by a soupcon of melancholy. Nonetheless, as the Chambers Brothers remind us, time has come today. Rock bands have life spans, and Harvey Danger's has been longer, and more eventful, than even we would have predicted. [Harvey Danger]

The band's Farewell tour consists of six dates (currently). One of those will be Saturday, August 8th at the Bell House in Brooklyn. Opening will be Jukebox the Ghost and Dave Hill's powerpop band Valley Lodge. Tickets are on sale.

The band previously played a "final show" in 2001, which led to a two year hiatus. Read the rest of Harvey Danger's goodbye note, with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Harvey Danger is breaking up -- final tour dates (Bell House)"

Comedian and musician Dave Hill was summoned to Bonnaroo this past weekend to be part of both the comedy and music going-ons at the four-day Tennessee festival. I asked if he'd mind sharing his experiences (and pictures) with BrooklynVegan.com. He agreed. I regretted it. He sent it anyway, so here it is (starting with some MP3's by his rock band Valley Lodge), but warning: this post is not for the squeamish (NSFTS)...

DOWNLOAD: Valley Lodge - All of My Lovin (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Valley Lodge - Hangin On (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Valley Lodge - The Door (MP3)

Dave Hill tests face-melting licks out on some chairs

I've just returned from four magical days and nights at Bonnaroo, where my rock band Valley Lodge was the house band for Triumph the Insult Comic Dog's "Bonnapoo 2009" shows, which featured all sorts of awesomeness from Robert Smigel aka Triumph as well as sets from the great Todd Barry, Amy Schumer, and Kumail Nanjiani.

"Smigel performed four sets as Triumph at Bonnaroo, which annually hosts a comedy tent along with its smorgasbord of music acts, spread out over five main stages on a farm in rural Tennessee.

"My live act is a huge undertaking because Triumph kind of thrives on the immediate, discussing what everybody's thinking about," said Smigel while whisking past festival-goers in a golf cart, puppet on hand." [AP]

The excitement started on Wednesday night when I got on a plane to Nashville with my close personal friend Janeane Garofalo, Pete Holmes, Kumail Nanjiani, and the rest of my rock band Valley Lodge. If you've ever wanted to be on a completely hilarious plane, you could do a lot worse than to have been on this plane. As you can probably imagine, all of us were running back and forth between our seats spraying each other with seltzer bottles and throwing pies in each others' faces. At one point, Pete Holmes came over to my seat to shake my hand and it turned out he had one of those joy buzzers on his finger. Man, was my face red. I got him back though by spraying him in the face with a prank flower I was wearing at the time. We both just laughed and laughed after this happened. He couldn't stay mad at me.

Once we got to Nashville, some unmarked vehicles took us all to Murfreesboro, the popular Tennessee town where we all stayed at the Doubletree Hotel, which is really classy. Because I snore and also like to get up to all sorts of hardcore banging in hotels, I had my own room. When I dropped off my bags, I looked around the room and got all excited about all the snoring and hardcore banging I would be doing in my room over the next few days and nights.

continued below...

Continue reading "What It's like to be a VIP at Bonnaroo 2009 by Dave Hill"

Walter Schreifels with Rival Schools at Irving Plaza (more by Tim Griffin)

Walter Schreifels in concert doesn't just mean it will be the hardcore veteran playing his Martin acoustic. For a few dates (so far), Walter Schriefels (the band) will play shows in the northeast, including one on June 17th in NYC at The Studio @ Webster Hall. Ticket info is forthcoming. Expect a mix of "everything" (Quicksand, Gorilla Biscuits, covers...), except Rival Schools since they are currently active. The band is:

vocals & guitar: Walter Schreifels
bass: Arthur Smilios (GB, CIV)
drums: Andy Action (2 Skinnee J's)
guitar: Dave Hill (Valley Lodge, Children of the Unicorn, Cobra Verde)

If you've ever seen comedian Dave Hill play guitar, you know he can shred (usually) in addition to telling jokes. He knows his shredders too. Catch his band Valley Lodge as "the house band for Triumph the Insult Comic Dog Presents Bonnapoo 2009" in the Bonnaroo comedy tent. Catch Dave's hilarious live comedy show, The Dave Hill Explosion, next at UCB in NYC on May 21st with special guests Takka Takka and Ira Glass.

Walter Schreifels' other venture, Rival Schools, are scheduled to play a few dates with Eagles of Death Metal, including NYC on August 6th at Webster Hall. Tickets are still on sale. Rival Schools is working on their new album, the follow-up to United By Fate and first album since reuniting.

All dates below...

Continue reading "Walter Schreifels playing (solo) shows with a new band (including Dave Hill) & some w/ Rival Schools - 2009 dates "

John Vanderslice @ Pianos (more by Ryan Muir)

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* Allman Brothers @ Beacon
* Akron/Family @ New Museum
* Marianne Faithful @ City Winery
* Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg @ Maxwell's
* The Fleshtones & The A-Bones @ Southpaw
* Neil Halstead, Brian Bonz @ Union Hall
* The Weakends, Golden Triangle @ Don Pedro
* 88 Keys, Drink Up Buttercup @ The Delancey
* Deastro & Choir of Believers @ Bruar Falls
* Sewn Leather, Narwhalz, Sky Juice @ Silent Barn
* Midnight Masses, Wild Yaks, Anni Rossi @ Union Pool
* Obits, Lycaon Pictus, Browns, Rope @ The Bell House
* Sian Alice Group, Mountains, Lights, Zs @ 92YTribeca
* Titus Andronicus, Real Estate, Dinowalrus @ Market Hotel
* Anamanaguchi, Lionshare, Vulture Realty @ Death By Audio
* White Lies, Friendly Fires, The Soft Pack @ Bowery Ballroom
* Ellen Allien, Thomas Mueller, JDH & Dave P (FIXED) @ Studio B
* The Mountain Goats, John Vanderslice @ Society for Ethical Culture
* She Keeps Bees, The Love Story, The Naked Hearts, Whitetail @ Cake Shop
* The Gaslight Anthem, The Heartless Bastards, Good Old War @ Webster Hall
* Converge, Coliseum, Genghis Tron, Ceremony, Rise And Fall, Pulling Teeth @ Europa
* German Measles, The Beets, Ghost Town, Teenage Night War, Garbage Strike @ Dead Herring

Comedian Dave Hill's rock band Valley Lodge just completed a tour of Japan, Doug Gillard (ex-GBV) on guitar included. A video from their trip below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday?"

DOWNLOAD: Valley Lodge - All of My Loving (MP3)

Dave Hill rockin' @ UCB (more by Tim Griffin)

Hi there,

Just a quick reminder that my seriously good rock band Valley Lodge will be breaking out the hits at Bar 9 (807 9th Avenue between 53rd and 54th Streets in scenic Hell's Kitchen) at 8:30pm TONIGHT. The great Mad Larry (ex-Bogmen guys) will be rocking right after us. Don't miss this rare opportunity to see us play in a venue that serves nachos and other reasonably priced, cheese-themed snacks. It's wet outside, but the Valley Lodge rock will make you even wetter. Wait, that's gross. Sorry. Anyway, come tonight and we'll talk it out after the show. We will playing all the old hits plus some of the new hits from our forthcoming, obscure second album and also our current Japanese debut (currently available with exciting new artwork and some Japanese writing and stuff right here:

I'm not saying you should buy our Japanese album (though you are welcome to), but I would like to point out how we totally have a half-naked chick on the cover and there's nothing my parents can do about it.

XO,
Dave Hill

today in NYC
* DANCE
* Valley Lodge @ Bar 9
* Murphys Law @ Santos
* McRad @ Knitting Factory
* Professor Pez @ Union Hall
* Busta Rhymes @ Knitting Factory
* Corey Dargel & NOW Ensemble @ LPR *
* Murs & Kidz in the Hall @ Bowery Ballroom
* The Essex Green & High Places @ The Bell House
* Apollo Sunshine & Previously on Lost @ Mercury Lounge

* "Tonight, October 29 at 9:30 PM (9:00 doors), Corey Dargel and the dynamic young chamber group, NOW Ensemble, will come together for a special New York record release event at Le Poisson Rouge. NOW Ensemble will join Corey to play special live arrangements of his album tracks, along with accordionist/vocalist Kamala Sankaram. NOW will also play a set of their own, with music by Patrick Burke, Mark Dancigers, and Judd Greenstein."

Halloween is coming.

Bob Dylan tickets on sale tomorrow.

A video of Goldfrapp performing "Clowns" on TV below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"

Photos by Tim Griffin

DOWNLOAD: Valley Lodge - All of My Loving (MP3)

Guided By Voices' Doug Gillard filled in as Dave Hill's "Paul Schaefer" at last night's 'Explosion' at the UCB Theater in NYC (Oct 16). Phil Costello who usually plays the part was off playing with his heavy metal Bee Gees tribute band Tragedy. Trivia time: Dave Hill (comedian AND musician) and Doug Gillard both played in the Ohio band Cobra Verde, but at different times. At last night's show, Doug and Dave played part of "Jessica" by the Allman Brothers (at the same time).

Moby, complete with "cock saddle" moustache, was the first to join Dave and Doug on the stage. They chatted and then Moby played a version of "Dust in the Wind". Next up was Walter Schreifels of Gorilla Biscuits, Quicksand and Rival Schools fame (P.S. Rival Schools are playing the BrooklynVegan party at Knitting Factory on October 25th). Walter spoke to Dave, Doug, and Moby. They all talked to each other and Walter played "Cats and Dogs" by Gorilla Biscuits.

There was a Chihuahua (which oddly wasn't the only dog in the room) (no cats though).

More pictures below...

Continue reading "Dave Hill, Walter Schreifels, Moby, Doug Gillard & abused chihuahua @ UCB, NYC - pics"