words by Alanna Wray, photos by Deneka Peniston & Jason House

Dick Dale on a boat (by Deneka Peniston)

Last Sunday (one day after the Kvelertak show), backlit with our lady of liberty and the east river's special scum, The King of the Surf Guitar, Dick Dale played the perfect venue-- on the water. The Jewel, one of the illustrious Rocks Off Concert Cruise's fleet, is an intimate, rocking (from side to side) host to a plethora of shows "that don't suck". Dick Dale, the Jewel's latest jewel, graciously glutted his steadfast fans with all the classics: from a blistering "Miserlou", to the anthemic "Let's Go Trippin'" and back to a virtuous version of "Amazing Grace" (which filled the East River with more righteousness than the Slocum Ferry Disaster.)

At seventy four years old, Dale plays with the antics and agility of a rock n' roll wood sprite. His seamless set moved with the graceful fluidity of 60 years of refinement, grooving through his time honored originals into epic covers of Rumble, Hava Nagila and House of the Rising Sun.

Jimmy Dale, Dick's fresh-faced nineteen year son, backed on set gyrating the double bass like an arena heavyweight. Bassist Sam Bolle of Agent Orange fame played a soulful House of the Rising Son solo smokey as slow sex. The vibe was fuzzy, the sound was wet, the energy was slap happy, the crowd was authentic. After the show Rocks Off bossman Jake Szufnarowski had Dick Dale sign his arm, which has since become his latest tattoo. Dale ended with a "thank you for being my medicine"... and if Dale's got a musical prescription that good, we're glad he's sharing.

Here are some pictures from the show. They continue below

Continue reading "Dick Dale played a Rocks Off Cruise (pics & review)"

by BBG

Twilight 2010. That's Jef Whitehead, second from the left

"A tattoo artist raped his girlfriend using tattoo tools above a near West Side tattoo parlor, authorities allege.

Jef Whitehead, 42, allegedly choked and beat his 26-year-old girlfriend unconscious by banging her head against a wall above Taylor Street Tattoo and Piercing, 1150 W. Taylor, in t he early hours of Saturday morning.

He also attacked her with a pair of scissors, it's alleged. When she regained consciousness she discovered she had been sexually assaulted with the tattoo tools, Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Tom McGuire said. Whitehead then allegedly knocked her out again, McGuire said. When the victim woke up she was in the street outside the parlor, he added. A heavily-bearded and tattooed Whitehead was dressed all in black as he appeared before Judge Israel Desierto Sunday morning.

Wearing a hooded sweater with the words "stop the madness" printed on it, he was ordered held on bail of $350,000. Whitehead is from California but he and his girlfriend had recently arrived in Chicago and were considering making it their permanent home, McGuire said." [Chicago Sun Times]

What the article doesn't mention is that Jef Whitehead, aka Lurker of Chalice aka Leviathan, is also a highly regarded US Black Metal musician. Leviathan's Massive Conspiracy Against All Life was one of my favorite LPs of 2008 and his catalog has quite a few other highlights. Whitehead, aka "Wrest", also collaborated with Nachtmystium and Sunn O))) among others, and was also a member of the band Twilight alongside Aaron Turner (Isis), N.Imperial (Krieg), Blake Judd (Nachtmystium), Stavros Giannopolous (The Atlas Moth), and Sanford Parker (Minsk). The "supergroup" released Monument to Time End last year and it ended up on a few "best-of" lists.

Jonathan Shaw, Johnny Depp, and Jim Jarmusch

A well-known tattoo artist and son of big-band legend Artie Shaw was arrested after cops found an arsenal of heavy weaponry among his belongings, prosecutors said Monday.

Jonathan Shaw, who opened the first legal tattoo parlor in the city and inked celebs like Johnny Depp, Marilyn Manson and Naomi Campbell, was arrested Sunday after movers found the weapons cache in a storage locker.

Shaw was sending the contents to Los Angeles, but when the movers found rifles in a suitcase and duffle bag, they called police, said Manhattan prosecutor Christopher Prevost.

Cops discovered an AK-47 assault rifle, a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun, a loaded British rifle, 96 knives, five sets of metal knuckles, eight batons, 2,833 rounds of ammunition, stage pistols and an air rifle, authorities said.

Shaw, 57, was hit Monday with dozens of weapons possession charges. The tattoo artist's lawyer painted a different picture of his client. "He's a peaceful man," said Brian Pakett, describing Shaw as an artist and author. "The charges miscast the type of person Mr. Shaw is. He never had as much as a fight."...

...Shaw earned notoriety for his tribal tattoos, opening Fun City Tattoos in the East Village in 1991. [Daily News]

Jerry Fuchs

"As the new millennium started gearing up, there was a obvious reason why Jerry started playing with all the DFA-affiliated bands (The Juan Maclean, !!!, etc.) as time went on: He was an invaluable monster on the drums that could recreate those motorik-like disco beats and make it sound human. Goddamn, the hair on the back of my neck stands on end when I think about it. Recent years saw him reaffirm his roots in Athens as he became the incredibly propulsive backbone to Maserati after they gave their original drummer the boot. And man, again, watching Jerry perform was always a treat. ALWAYS." [Chunklet]

It's been a week since the tragic death of Jerry Fuchs. A memorial service was held at Enids in Brooklyn on Thursday. The loft building he died in, 338 Berry Street, is going about business as usual. There are many Craigslist ads for spaces there. All of them mention the freight elevator as an amenity. This is the picture of the building from one of the ads:

338 Berry

What was Jerry doing at 338 Berry at the night in question? Well, this "AccesSoiree" benefit party was happening there...

The party advertised that there would be "DJ sets by fashion darling Judi Rosen, The Juan MacLean's Nancy Wang and more from New York's finest DFA crew to name but a few". The above-quoted Chunklet obit is one of the nicest I've seen, and as it reiterates, Jerry was a large part of DFA. Chk Chk Chk wrote this on their MySpace...

thanks to everyone who has contacted us with their love and support. we could never put into words how special a person jerry was and how much we loved him. we ask that you tell all the people you care about and are thankful for that you love them. we wish we still had jerry.

A member of Hot Chip got this new Jerry Fuchs memorial tattoo...

The first Juan Maclean video below (with a fake fight) explains the midi tattoo. The other video features a 16 minute live version of "Happy House" with Jerry behind the kit. Juan is DJing a benefit in San Francisco on November 20th. More details about that and both videos below...

Continue reading "remembering Jerry Fuchs (338 Berry, Chunklet, !!!, Hot Chip, Juan Maclean, a tattoo & a benefit in San Francisco) "

The previously mentioned Bouncing Souls / 7 Seconds shows have officially appeared and also include Lifetime, Tim Barry (of Avail), and None More Black (ex-Kid Dynamite) and are now (mostly) on band pre-sale. The lineups look like this:

8/20 - The Bouncing Souls, Lifetime & None More Black @ Webster Hall
8/21 - The Bouncing Souls, 7Seconds & Tim Barry @ Webster Hall
8/22 - The Bouncing Souls, 7Seconds, None More Black @ The Trocadero
8/23 - The Bouncing Souls, Lifetime, Tim Barry @ the Trocadero

Tickets for both NYC shows go on AmEx presale on Wednesday at noon. Tickets for all four shows go on regular sale Friday at noon. More Bouncing Souls dates HERE.

Continue reading "Bouncing Souls, 7 Seconds, Lifetime, Tim Barry & None More Black - 2 shows in NYC & 2 in Philly (presale now) "

NYC-area Morrissey tickets are going on sale Friday. Bowery Ballroom (21+), Webster Hall (18+), and Wellmont Theatre (all ages) go on sale at noon 11:00. Carnegie Hall's sale also starts at 11am (also all ages). All four shows are presented by The Bowery Presents. Ticket prices are above. All dates are HERE.

Continue reading "Morrissey tickets on sale Friday: Bowery Ballroom & Webster Hall ($75), Wellmont Theater ($45/55), Carnegie Hall ($75)"

Friday January 30th @ DANBRO STUDIOS WAREHOUSE (tentative)

:: BKLYN vs. B-MORE BATTLE MARATHON!
:: 2 stages, bands from Brooklyn on one, Baltimore on the other
:: --| $3 |--

:: DAN DEACON
:::: Thank You
:::::: Future Islands
:::::::: dj Dog Dick

:: secret guests tba
:::: secret guests tba
:::::: These Are Powers
:::::::: USAISAMONSTER

| DANBRO STUDIOS WAREHOUSE |
268 Meserole Ave @ Bushwick Pl | East Williamsburg, Bklyn
L-Montrose, JM-Lorimer, G-Broadway | 8pm | all ages | --| $3 |--

How was the Dan Deacon 'house party'?

JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound perform "Baltimore Is the New Brooklyn" in the video below...

Continue reading "Broooklyn vs. Baltimore marathon @ Danbro - Dan Deacon, These are Powers, secret guests & more for $3"

Tickets for the upcoming Metallica shows are on presale.
(Radio Preferred Seating password = magnetic)

Tickets are on sale for the Vision of Disorder show at Irving Plaza.

T.I. is playing Highline Ballroom on September 30th. $50 tickets are on sale.

Dawn Landes opens for Federico Aubele at Bowery Ballroom tonight (Sept 03). Tickets are still on sale.

The Little Ones play Mercury Lounge on October 17th. Tickets are on sale.

White Denim play Mercury Lounge on October 19th. Tickets are on sale.

Tickets are on presale for the Type O Negative/Hatebreed tour (password= JAGER).

Wu-Tang Clan are playing a special show at Irving Plaza in NYC on April 16th - a venue much smaller than their usual Hammerstein Ballroom. $55 tickets go on sale Thursday March 6th at 10am. Tickets are on sale now for shows in Allentown, Rochester and Atlantic City. All dates below.....

Continue reading "Wu-Tang Clan - Irving Plaza, Atlantic City & other tour dates"

She won the Independent Spirit Award too. More photos & the full list of Oscar winners below....

Continue reading "Diablo Cody (Juno), No Country For Old Men, & the complete list of 2008 Oscar Winners"

The third NYC Pogues show has finally been officially announced. Tickets for March 17th @ Roseland go on pre-sale Wednesday, and then regular sale Friday. March 15th is totally sold out, and March 16th with Billy Bragg is almost sold out.

Continue reading "The Pogues' St Patrick's Day show - on sale soon"

'Miss C's arm tatoos, Billy Bragg lyric included (Neil Fitzgerald)

What and where is your tattoo?
It's the start of a half sleeve on my right arm. So far it pictures Jenna Jameson and Dita von Teese (just missing a third girl) with Mucha style flowers and vines around them. It also says "to have an to have not" at the very top.

What does your tattoo mean to you?
Each of the girls I look up to in some way. Jenna was the 1st woman to take the sex industry and be the boss and take charge instead of being used like to many girls before her. She has also been through a lot in her life and is still going strong. For me she represents a strong independent woman. Dita to me is one aspect of what a woman should be. She's smart, classy and does her own thing. The Mucha aspect just comes from a love of his (and that movement) of art. "To have and to have not" is the title of a Billy Bragg song. I've always loved the song and what it means. In the context of my tattoo it reminds me to keep my feet on the ground. [Miss C talks about her tattoos]

Billy Bragg is opening for the Pogues on March 16th at Roseland Ballroom in NYC. Tickets are still available. No opener has been announced for the sold out March 15th show. Still no St. Pattys show either. All Pogues dates here. All Billy Bragg dates below....

Continue reading "Billy Bragg opening for the Pogues, Tour Dates, tattoos"

I present to you two lame videos by confused "artists" - both using lame stereotypes. The first song is supposed to be about "emo bitches", and the second one was.... performed by some....

Continue reading "Emo Bitches vs. Williamsburg"

Lawyers for Prince have ordered several of the superstar's biggest fan sites to remove any image that bears his likeness, prompting fans to form a group to fight the demands.

Three websites, housequake.com, princefams.com and prince.org have come together to form 'Prince Fans United' in response to the situation, which even sees demands to remove images of fans' own tattoos. [NME]

DOWNLOAD: The Weakerthans - Plea From A Cat Named Virtue (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Hold Steady - Your Little Hoodrat Friend (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Hold Steady - live on KEXP (Oct 16, 2007) (MP3)

a coffee cup and some plastic daffodils (CRED)

I always stress how great the lyrics are when I introduce someone to the Weakerthans. The music might have to grow on you, but their words allow you to instantly follow along. So, this quote by Craig Finn of the Hold Steady was cool to read:

John Samson from the Weakerthans—he is the lyricist that I can say, without hesitation, is better than I am. But almost everyone else I think I'm in contention with. [Other favorites are] Blake Schwarzenbach from Jawbreaker/Jets to Brazil, obviously Dylan, Springsteen—that kind of thing. But John Samson is the best right now. [Craig to the Stranger] (via)

I also agree with Craig (about himself) - he (Craig) is a good lyricist too. The Hold Steady are on tour with Art Brut.

Not surpringly, it wasn't that hard to find a few pictures of Weakerthan lyric-inspired tattoos. That one above with the plastic daffodils is the best. Two more tattoo pics, and some videos for you to sing along with, below....

Continue reading "Craig Finn, John Samson's lyrics & Weakerthans tattoos"

I have to finish what I started, and I guess that would be compiling the world's biggest collection of people dressed as Amy Winehouse for Halloween. I was already up to 92 pictures. By the end of this post you'll have seen another 166. Some are great, and more than a few paired Amy with her boyfriend Blake Fielder-Civil. This photo falls into both of those categories....

Even more looked less like Amy, and then there were many Amys that decided to hang out with Pete Doherty instead of Blake - a pairing that makes a lot of sense from the English musician drug addict tabloid point of view. This picture falls into both of those categories....

Pete Doggerty & Amy Doghouse

In related news,

After Amy Wino's hideous performance at the MTV Europe Awards last night, she was booed when she accepted an award for Artists' Choice. Pete Doherty immediately came to her defense.

He was asked what advice he would give Wino, "I wouldn't give her any. She's fine. It's all bollocks. People should leave her alone. I went for a drink with her earlier today and she's totally fine. Perfectly healthy and happy.
"People are saying she's out of control, but she's not. She's a sensible girl and she knows what she's doing. She ain't doing nothing wrong." [dlisted]

Then there was Amy with Lily Allen...

and even Amy with M.I.A....

Now we'll get to more Amy's in a second, but first: To answer my own question, "no", Amy is no longer playing the MTVu Woody Awards or Saturday Night Live due to visa issues. Oh well - not a big loss considering how scary her last live appearance was. That video, and a zillion more Amy impersonators, below.....

Continue reading "more AMY WINEHOUSE costumes & cancellations"

Simon from Klaxons & CSS' Lovefoxxx & their tattoos

But I guess this is old news. Photo via the Grizzly Bear blog. Klaxons just won the Mercury Prize.