Jonah with Far in 2009 (more by Chloe Rice)

Onelinedrawing, the moniker that Jonah Matranga used to record solo material under before reverting back to his own name, will make a return (unless maybe too many people object).

As previously mentioned, Jonah recently scheduled a tour that hits the NYC-area on March 7 at Maxwell's (tickets) and March 14 at Mercury Lounge (tickets). Both of those are still listed as "Jonah Matranga", but the just added Brooklyn show at Union Pool on March 6 is up as "Onelinedrawing". Tickets are on sale now.

Updated tour dates, including a San Francisco Noise Pop show with Christie Front Drive (who played a Brooklyn reunion show over the summer), are listed below...

Continue reading ""Onelinedrawing" adds shows, one in Brooklyn, one at Noise Pop with Christie Front Drive (dates)"

By Bill Pearis

At the end of 2011 Philadelphia's Reading Rainbow (who had recently expanded from duo to trio) changed their to Bleeding Rainbow, something I only realized when I saw them open for Cloud Nothings at the Studio at Webster Hall this last Thursday. (And I only caught the last song.) If you're wondering why they did this, they have an answer (via their Tumblr):

READING RAINBOW = BLEEDING RAINBOW
REASONS WE CHANGED OUR NAME FROM READING RAINBOW TO BLEEDING RAINBOW:

- We like the name Bleeding Rainbow better.

- It is trippy as shit.

- We didn't want to get a cease and desist letter from PBS.

- We were sick of being named after a children's t.v. show.

- We were sick of people fixating on it and making dumb jokes/comments about it. (even though it was our own damn fault.)

- Carrie Brownstein didn't like the name Reading Rainbow.

So there you go.

Bleeding Rainbow are gearing up to hit the road with Crocodiles, a tour that doesn't appear to be stopping in NYC. (Or Philadelphia for that matter.) They will however be playing Knitting Factory on Saturday, February 11, opening for Nashville's The Black Belles and Bleached. All upcoming Bleeding Rainbow tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

Continue reading "Reading Rainbow changed their name to Bleeding Rainbow, touring with Crocodiles after NYC show (dates)"

Buke and Gase @ Celebrate Brooklyn (more by Toby Tenenbaum)

In their own words:

Your phonetic struggles are over! We know it's been hard on everyone trying to figure out the pronunciation of Buke and Gass. Is it bass like the fish, or bass the unusually funky instrument? Well, now there's no more subtly trailing off as you tell your friend about this great new band you love so much. ("Oh, you should really check out that band Buke and Guh-aa.....yeah, that one.") The band has decided to officially change their name to (insert drum roll here) Buke and Gase. Aron and Arone wrote their own explanation:

A limerick announcement addressing the mis-pronunciation of our name:

If there was one thing to replace
It would be the last S in Gass,
There isn't much class
When rhymed with sassafras,
So we changed it to E just in case.

With Love,
Buke and Gase

So, there you have it. We're busily updating lots of important looking file folders with the new name, and hopefully the internet won't take too long resolving itself to the change. (Bang, you are so damn fast, Mr. Internet.)

But wait, we have yet more announcements about Buke and Gase (née Gass). News flash #1: The band was recently nominated in the Best Art Vinyl 2011 contest, for their Riposte record! You still have time to vote for Aron and Arone, who created the cover themselves, both of their hands & with their hands. Cast a vote right here.

Finally, hopefully you're already aware that Buke and Gase have been tooling around Europe on tour! You have until December 14 to see them live so we suggest you take a look at the updated list of Buke and Gase shows here.

That is, AFTER you cast a vote in for the Best Art Vinyl. We're trying to be thorough here.

Want to make your own limerick about the name change? You can do so on Brassland's Facebook page. If they like yours best you win a pair of tickets to their January 12th New York Guitar Festival show. They're performing the score for Buster Keaton's The General with Lee Ranaldo, Kaki King, and Twi The Humble Feather. Thurston Moore, Nels Cline and many others are playing the Guitar Fest too. Most updated lineup HERE.

by BBG

The artist soon to be formerly known as Mos Def
at Rock The Bells (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Countdown is on. Only 3 months and 10 days left of "Mos Def":

Following a lengthy line of rappers that have hung up their show names, rapper Mos Def says he's definitely giving up his rhyme alias come 2012.... the artist born Dante Smith revealed that he's changing his name to Yasiin. After more than a decade in the business, though, he won't be mad is you slip up and call him "Mos."
"No, no, not at all... 'Mos Def' is a name that I built and cultivated through the years... I feel that I've done quite a bit with that name. It's time to expand and move on."
...He's usually credited as Mos Def during cast listings. But his several identities will soon just be that one.
"I also don't want to have to deal with having any moniker or any separation between the self that I see and what [people refer to me as]," he continued.
At press time, his publicist wasn't able to confirm what Mos' full name will be after it's changed or if he'll simply just be Yasiin. -[EW]

Anyway, Yasiin is currently on the road with Talib Kweli as Black Star until early October. They play two shows in Chicago Friday night and will hit Irving Plaza in NYC on 10/5. Tickets are still available. All dates are listed below.

In other Talib Kweli and Mos De.. -ahem- Yasiin news, the pair will also cross paths on 10/8 at the previously mentioned Restoration Rocks! Music Festival on Fulton Street between Marcy & Brooklyn Ave. The FREE show, now with an expanded lineup, kicks off at noon and will close at 5PM, featuring appearances from Idle Warship (with Kweli), Pharoahe Monch, and the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra with Mos Def. Flyer is below. More Mos Def & Philharmonic appearances listed HERE.

Talib Kweli and Pharoahe Monch will also cross paths at the just-announced Duck Down vs Blacksmith CMJ showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg on 10/22 with Pharoahe Monch, Buckshot, Jean Grae, Smif N Wessun, Kidz in the Hall, Promise, and a Statik Selektah "Population Control" All-Star Set. Tickets go on sale at noon on 9/23, or you can use your CMJ badge (if you're one of the first 150 to try and do so). Flyer below.

All Black Star tour dates and flyers below.

Continue reading "Mos Def's new name, Black Star tour dates, free Restoration Rocks! Fest, a Duck Down vs Blacksmith CMJ showcase & more"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Born Gold - "Alabaster Bodyworlds" (MP3)

Born Gold (via Gobble Gobble's facebook)

Canadian electropop futurists Gobble Gobble changed their name to Born Gold last week. The members are the same, the music is even more paralyzing. They'll release their debut LP under the new name, Bodysongs, on September 20 via Hovercraft/Crash Symbols. You can pre-order the album now on Insound and receive a digital download on September 9. Megan James of Purity Ring, the duo in which Born Gold's Corin Roddick is also a member designed the cover art. Check that artwork out below, along with the tracklist.

Grace your ears with the album's lead track, "Alabaster Bodyworlds," which you can grab above. It's skittering jungle beats and tropical electropop sounds like the perfect thing to throw on as you're cruising through rainforests in your spacecraft. You know, because people do that, right?

Born Gold will tour the US and Canada in support of their new album and new name this September and October. The tour includes dates with Blood Diamonds, Dan Deacon, Washed Out, Magic Mountain, Braids and more. They'll play Brooklyn on September 20 at Glasslands and continue to tour for the next month before culminating their run with CMJ shows in NYC. Those shows have not been announced yet. Tickets are on sale now for the Glasslands show. No opener has been announced yet.

Purity Ring also has shows coming up with Neon Indian including the Webster Hall show during CMJ.

Blood Diamonds and Magic Mountain (DJ), who play some shows with Born Gold, share a bill at Glasslands on August 26 with Tanlines (DJ) and Braille (DJ). Tickets for that show are still available.

Braids have other shows coming up too.

Washed Out have an upcoming tour with Cut Copy and Midnight Magic.

All dates, album art (NSFW?) and tracklist below...

Continue reading "Gobble Gobble is now Born Gold, releasing 'Bodysongs', touring (MP3, dates & stuff)"

The band Brother have changed their name to Viva Brother following a legal challenge from another band of the same name. The Slough band came to the attention of another act - an Australian "powerhouse Celtic tribal trio" based in the US who combine "the deep pulse of the didgeridoo, the soaring highs of the bagpipes and tribal percussion". To avoid a court battle, the band briefly renamed themselves Brother UK, like the Charlatans UK before them, before deciding to adopt Viva Brother instead." [Guardian]

Viva Brother (formerly Brother) play Bowery Ballroom on August 2nd with Kitten and Frenchkiss band 1,2,3 (who should also change their name) (actually Kitten should too) (Kitten, Brother and 1,2,3 may be the most un-Googleable lineup of all time).

Meanwhile, Moonface is still Moonface.

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Wolvserpent - "Serpent" (Edit, MP3)

It's hard enough to make a name for yourself in the music world, but to go and change it after a succession of releases is another thing entirely. That's what Northwestern doom duo Pussy Gutt has done with their new LP due on 20 Buck Spin, Blood Seed. Over two 10+ minute tracks of decidedly punishing dooooom (note the extra o's), the band currently known as Wolvserpent (not to be confused with Wolvhammer) is up to its same old riffing as displayed in the edit of one of the tracks, "Serpent", available above.

Wolvserpent will take their dark stormcloud on the road, as the band will beat down the US for a string of dates that will include Acheron on Oct 5th with Archon (who are playing Saturday (8/14) at The Charleston with Unearthly Trance and Coffinworm) and Bezoar. Full tour dates, and some video is below. If you would like to help Wolvserpent out with a show in your town, email wolvserpent (at) gmail (dot) com.

Continue reading "Pussy Gutt is now Wolvserpent (new MP3, tour dates, the Acheron w/ Archon) "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Ty Segall - Caesar (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Royal Baths - Nikki Don't (MP3)

Ty Segall

Ty Segall may crank out the records but, so far, they're all good, and each platter goes somewhere new. (Well, new for Ty.) The latest, Melted, just out on Goner Records, adds a nice '60s psych pop flower power vibe to the proceedings, including some trippy flute courtesy Oh Sees frontman John Dwyer. Above all else, Ty Segall has the sound but, more important, he's got the songs, which is what keeps the records in rotation. Check out Melted's first single, "Caesar," above.

It's been almost a year since Ty last played New York but he'll remedy that next month when he stops at Cake Shop on August 12 and Death By Audio on August 13.

Royal Baths

Both NYC shows -- and the bulk of this tour -- are with San Francisco neighbors Royal Baths, who used to be known just as Baths until they added the Royal so as not to be confused with the other Baths, from L.A., who are signed to Anticon. In fact, they were still called just "Baths" when they played our Noise Pop show in February. Royal Baths are kind of bad trip acid rock, dark and seedy but not atonal. But it's definitely down the rabbit hole. In a good way. Royal Baths debut LP is due out on Woodsist in September and you can check out album track "Nikki Don't" at the top of this post.

All Ty Segall/Royal Baths tour dates are below.

Continue reading "Ty Segall released another album (MP3), touring w/ Royal Baths (formerly Baths, not to be confused w/ LA's Baths)"

"Taking notes? Good. First off, Pyramiddd is no more. Starfucker switched monikers awhile back, going with Pyramid at first, then eventually settling on Pyramiddd.

But according to the band's Shawn Glassford, "None of us ever settled with that name, cause it's fucking stupiddd. We're going back to Starfucker for our May tour, then we'll see. Maybe we'll change it again after that to a more suitable name."" [Portland Mercury]

Well, I guess they decided to live with "Starfucker" because that's what they're billing themselves as for a fall tour with Octopus Project that hits Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn on October 8th. Tickets are on sale now. All dates below...

Continue reading "Starfucker changed their name back, touring w/ Octopus Project (2010 dates)"

"Owen Pallett has announced that he will no longer be using the name Final Fantasy for his musical work. Owen Pallett's new album 'Heartland' will be available on Domino on January 12, 2010. Owen has issued the following statement:"

Continue reading "Owen Pallett drops the "Final Fantasy" name"

It's been an exciting year for Portland, OR's favorite breakout band, Starfucker, and today is an exceptional day. Last month, just as the four-piece were poised to set sail on an extensive North American tour, they announced a name change contest that allowed fans to play a pivotal role in re-naming the band. After many votes and infinite good ideas, the guys have chosen PYRAMID as their new moniker. They will perform their last ever show as Starfucker at Portland's venerable Wonder Ballroom on Halloween, so if you have a hankering for infectious beats and a costume contest judged by some of the members of the band, then look no further.

In addition to the name change news, PYRAMID are will self-release their debut UK single via their new imprint DDD featuring "Medicine," from 2009's Jupiter EP. "Medicine" will be available exclusively at London's Rough Trade stores as a limited edition, deluxe white vinyl 7"....

For more information on all things PYRAMID, check out the guys' new website here: www.pyramidlovesyou.com [PR]

As of this second, that link just redirects to their MySpace that still says Starfucker. Pyramid was not one of the ideas that was proposed here on BrooklynVegan.com. Pictures from their recent show at Santos Party House, HERE.

by Bill Pearis

"what a dumb name." -- Anonymous comment, April 20, 2009 11:35am.

Portland, Oregon's Starfucker are in town playing two shows: tonight (9/22) at Bruar Falls and tomorrow (9/23) at Santo's Party House. It will likely be the last NYC shows they'll play under their current moniker, as the band are about to change it. What to? Like that falafel place on St. Marks / Bowery, they're running a contest to pick the new name:

We know our name sucks...so here is YOUR chance to help us pick a new one.

*Email your ideas to: newnameideas@gmail.com

OR

*tell in person at the merch table at a show

If your name is selected, you will get tons of cool shit... tons!

Deadline for ideas is October 1st-ish.

This is weird, we know... but its something we've been thinking about doing for a long time. And the truth is, we never thought we'd make it this far with Starfucker. It started as just a fun little house-show project, but now that we have the opportunity to do this full-time, travel and continue making music, we don't feel like the name makes sense anymore...

They elaborated to the Portland Mercury:

We never thought starfucker would make it as far as it has, and never had any expectations of success. At this point we need to be able to either put more into music, or just stop doing it so we can get 9-5 jobs to pay our rent. Right now we're in this bardo where we don't quite make a living off music but we put so much energy into it that we can't put any time into a real job either. We just need to get serious about one or the other. The name has been a problem for us in a lot of ways. We've missed out on opening slots with bands we really like, and we hope to tour europe soon where there is already a Starfucker. Someone booked us once thinking we were the European Starfucker. The list goes on and on...

Portland Mercury: Why did you decide to come up with your new name via a fan submission contest? Who will be picking the new name, and what will your selection criteria be?

The reason we decided to have a contest is because we always want to keep a close connection with our fans, we started off playing house shows, which we love, and want to keep that level of intimacy as much as possible. So having a contest with our fans is a way that they can participate and have a say in what we should be called. We did a contest before with a t-shirt design and it went really well. It gives people an opportunity to be creative and do something they might not have a chance to do otherwise, which is rad. In the end, the four of us have to agree on the name, and we all have to like it.

The band are on tour with fellow Portland residents Deelay Ceelay, a "a collaboration between video artist/musician Chris Lael Larson and percussionist Delaney Kelly, fusing live instrumentation with synched projected visuals. Deelay Ceelay blur the divide between music, experimental film and performance while emphasizing the creation of a two-way exchange with audiences." You can download their "album" (20 minutes, four songs is an EP, guys) for free at their website.

All Starfucker/Deelay Ceelay tour dates, plus a video, below....

Continue reading "Starfucker - changing their name (you can help choose it), on tour (dates) & in NYC now w/ Deelay Ceelay"

" [Dios member] Morales says that, even after the [2004] letter, he was still opposed to changing the band name [from Dios to something else], but went with Dios (Malos) after a long, arduous process in which Dio's lawyers shot down many proposed alternatives. "I thought we should've used the silliness of the whole thing to get our name out more, maybe not even change the name at all and let him sue us," says Morales. "It would've been hilarious and would've been a good story. But there were too many [wimps] in Camp Dios at the time, so no one wanted to go to war with me."

With a new record label, Buddyhead, supporting them, Dios is back to their original one-word name, boldly announced in the title of their new album, 'We Are Dios,' which drops in late July." [Spinner]

What's My Muthafuckin Name?
...Santigold

Change the graffiti on the bathroom wall, get your tattoo fixed, get your t-shirt airbrushed and change the name on your year end list- Santogold is now Santigold. She's not telling you why, that's just how it is. No unpronounceable symbol, no numbers where they shouldn't be, no random capitalization, just plain ass Santigold so remember that.

Downtown/Lizard King released Santigold's self-titled breakthrough CD in April and it instantly became one of 2008's most acclaimed albums garnering international raves. Critics and radio have championed the record's standout tracks "L.E.S. Artistes", "Creator" and her latest single "Shove It".

I can guess why.

VICE: Why did you change the name?
Matty Soft Pack: It had started to seem like a burden. All the shit people say, people were being dicks, saying all this shit about jihad. We all felt pretty shitty about it. It became something that we had to live with every day.

Did you ever actually get threatened about the name?
No, why would we? We got a band together and we liked the sound of the name but we didn't think it was a big deal, and then people got excited about it. We didn't really like it in the first place. It didn't even occur to us that it might be controversial, it's just a good word.

Hmmm, not sure I believe that. Do you think the name got you more attention than you'd have got otherwise?
Yeah, if I'm honest I think it probably did.

So do you think some people might think you're pussies for changing the name once you've already got the attention? Like now you're ready to be successful, you'll get a normal one?
Yeah, I can see why people would see it like that, but it's not like that. We're fucked. People thought we were dicks when we had the name, now they think we're dicks cause we don't.

But officially you're not pussies?
No, I don't think the music we make is pussy.

The Soft Pack's latest tour dates are HERE. Decide if they are pussies in the video below...

Continue reading "The Muslims say why they changed their name to Soft Pack"

photos by Leia Jospe

WE HAVE CHANGED THE NAME OF OUR GROUP TO "THE SOFT PACK". Working on new material and firing on all four cylinders, we feel strongly about this one. It's a new chapter in our lives and hopefully yours. Stay tuned to The Soft Pack page (www.myspace.com/thesoftpack), as we will be posting new videos, music, and junk in the coming weeks. We are pumped. Have a great Thanksgiving and keep it loose. Your buddies, The Soft Pack. [The Muslims]

When they played the BV day party at Pianos on October 23rd, they were still The Muslums, so... Soft Pack tour dates, and more Muslims pics, below...

Continue reading "the Muslims are now the SOFT PACK - CMJ pics, tour dates"