Live Like This tag:blogs.metropulse.com,2008-05-08:/live_like_this//741 2010-11-18T18:31:59Z Movable Type 4.261 A Little Night Music (Photos) tag:blogs.metropulse.com,2010:/live_like_this//741.145530 2010-11-18T18:31:00Z 2010-11-18T18:31:59Z Wednesday was a good night for music in Knoxville, from Abigail Washburn wrapping up her residency at Relix to the Discordian Society's rollicking jams at Pres Pub and Liturgy's screeching, pummeling black metal at Pilot Light. Here's a little of... jfm

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(Jennifer Niceley opening for Washburn at Relix.)

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(Abigail Washburn and band.)

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(Abigail Washburn and band.)

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(Dancing to Discordian Society at Preservation Pub.)

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(Hunter Hunt-Hendrix of Liturgy at Pilot Light.)

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(Throwing the horns at Liturgy.)




]]> Shortwave Society's Van Stolen Overnight tag:blogs.metropulse.com,2010:/live_like_this//741.145506 2010-11-12T15:57:54Z 2010-11-12T16:07:24Z The local electro-acoustic/chamber pop ensemble Shortwave Society, just a week away from a headlining show at Pilot Light with Asheville's Stephaniesid, had their van, loaded with a pile of gear worth $25,000, stolen in South Knoxville last night. It's a... Matthew Everett http://twitter.com/metropulse Shortwave Society, just a week away from a headlining show at Pilot Light with Asheville's Stephaniesid, had their van, loaded with a pile of gear worth $25,000, stolen in South Knoxville last night.

It's a bad deal for any band, but it's particularly devastating for these guys, who depend on samples, programmed percussion, and homemade synthesizers to make the music they do. Singer/songwriter Grant Geren says it's "a nightmare" and worries that they'll have to cancel shows for the rest of the year.

Details from Knox Blab:

LARGE, WHITE 15 PASSENGER DODGE RAM 3500 WITH THE WORD "CAUTION" ON THE BACK IN BLACK LETTERS. THE FRONT GRILL AND RIGHT TURN SIGNAL ARE ALMOST COMPLETELY MISSING AND BUMPER IS BENT.

Gear in van: Roland handsonic, v-drum kick trigger, L1 Bose Tower w/ mixer and bass speaker, homemade synthesizer, Vintage Fender Rhodes with stand, Roland space echo peddle, RE-20 dynamic microphone, fender deluxe guitar amp, Line 6 delay modeler, Baggs DI box, yamaha mixing board MG-122X, Mooger Fooger Ring Modulator, Boss digital tuner pedal, Mod Tone tremor pedal, 4 DI Boxes, a pandeiro, a djembe, 18' crash cymbal, gretsch snare drum, Monster Power Conditioner, many stands cables, full box of shortwave Cd's, 50+ shortwave t-shirts.


]]> Girl Talk at the Valarium, Jan. 24 tag:blogs.metropulse.com,2010:/live_like_this//741.145491 2010-11-05T19:53:28Z 2010-11-05T20:00:39Z Just in case you missed him at MoogFest in Asheville last weekend, Gregg Gillis, the Pittsburgh DJ/producer who mixes and matches samples from classic rock and Top 40 and goes by the name Girl Talk, is coming back to Knoxville.... Matthew Everett http://twitter.com/metropulse
Chris Buckner wrote about Gillis back in 2008.
]]> R.B. Morris, Man of Science tag:blogs.metropulse.com,2010:/live_like_this//741.145482 2010-11-03T14:52:22Z 2010-11-03T15:02:53Z R.B. Morris has followed a lot of paths during a three-decade career as poet, playwright, and musician. But none of them would have obviously led him to his latest post, which is songwriter-in-residence at the University of Tennessee's National Institute... Matthew Everett http://twitter.com/metropulse R.B. Morris has followed a lot of paths during a three-decade career as poet, playwright, and musician. But none of them would have obviously led him to his latest post, which is songwriter-in-residence at the University of Tennessee's National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis.

The Institute is designed to face the "ongoing challenges of maintaining a safe food supply, avoiding economic disruptions caused by emerging infectious diseases, and evaluating methods to better manage the inevitable disease outbreaks that develop due to globalization," which"may best be investigated by integrating modeling and mathematics with the biological studies which are critical to the formulation of public policy to address these challenges." (That's all according to the NIMBioS website.) The songwriter program is intended "to encourage the creation and production of songs involving ideas of modern biology and the lives of scientists who pursue research in biology."

It's a month-long program that will last through June and include up to five songwriters. No word yet on what exactly will be done with the songs that are written.
]]> Knoxville Horror Film Festival Stuff Continues This Weekend tag:blogs.metropulse.com,2010:/live_like_this//741.145468 2010-10-28T17:28:38Z 2010-10-28T18:00:15Z The Knoxville Horror Film Festival is officially over, but you won't be able to tell this weekend: the same group that organized the fest at Relix Variety Theatre in Happy Holler last weekend is hosting a two-hour recap at the... Matthew Everett http://twitter.com/metropulse Knoxville Horror Film Festival is officially over, but you won't be able to tell this weekend: the same group that organized the fest at Relix Variety Theatre in Happy Holler last weekend is hosting a two-hour recap at the same place on Friday night, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m., followed by a screening of black-metal documentary Until the Light Takes Us, which will in turn be followed by a performance from Knoxville black-metal band Argentinum Astrum.

Lee Gardner reviewed Until the Light Takes Us here.

Admission to either the recap or the UTLTU screening is $5, or it's $8 for both.
]]> Bad News for MoogFest: Devo Cancels Headlining Performance tag:blogs.metropulse.com,2010:/live_like_this//741.145464 2010-10-27T13:32:46Z 2010-10-27T13:39:16Z Devo has canceled its scheduled performance at MoogFest this weekend after guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh had his right thumb sliced open by a piece of glass, according to a press release from Devo's label. Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Cassale will still... Matthew Everett http://twitter.com/metropulse MoogFest this weekend after guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh had his right thumb sliced open by a piece of glass, according to a press release from Devo's label.

Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Cassale will still attend the AC Entertainment-organized festival in Asheville to accept the Moog Innovation Award on behalf of the band.

Details after the jump.
]]>
DEVO FORCED TO POSTPONE UPCOMING TOUR DATES DUE TO SERIOUS HAND INJURY SUSTAINED BY GUITARIST BOB MOTHERSBAUGH
LIVE DATES FOR 2010 POSTPONED UNTILL SPRING 2011

Devo Founding Members Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale Will Still Attend Moogfest in Asheville, NC, to Accept Moog Innovation Award, On October 29th

 
Burbank, CA - DEVO deeply regret that they have had to postpone all of their upcoming live dates for 2010 due to a serious hand injury sustained by guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh. A glass shard sliced Mothersbaugh's right thumb to the bone, severing a tendon. He underwent immediate emergency surgery and is expected to make a full recovery after proper care and therapy.
 
Most of DEVO's upcoming November tour dates, including Solana Beach's Belly Up, , Los Angeles' Club Nokia, and San Francisco's Warfield Theater, will be rescheduled for next spring and the public will be informed once new dates have been confirmed.
 
DEVO founding members Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale will still attend Moogfest on October 29th, in Asheville, NC. As previously announced, DEVO have been awarded the first-ever Moog Innovation Award by Moog Music. The Moog Innovation Award celebrates pioneering artists whose genre-defying work exemplifies the bold, innovative spirit of Bob Moog. Past recipients of the previously titled Moog Award include Keith Emerson, Herb Deutsch, Gershon Kingsley, Jan Hammer, and Bernie Worrell.
 

]]> New CD From Johnson Swingtet; CD Release Show at Laurel Theater on Oct. 29 tag:blogs.metropulse.com,2010:/live_like_this//741.145463 2010-10-26T22:46:04Z 2010-10-26T22:55:38Z The Johnson Swingtet is one of Jack Neely's favorite local bands, as you can tell from his 2008 feature on them. They've changed things up quite a bit since then, so the new CD, which the Swingtet is officially releasing... Matthew Everett http://twitter.com/metropulse feature on them. They've changed things up quite a bit since then, so the new CD, which the Swingtet is officially releasing this weekend, will be a welcome introduction to the band's new lineup and its new interest in Western swing.

The Swingtet's celebrating the release of Volume 1 (oddly enough, the follow-up to their 2008 self-titled debut) on Friday, Oct. 29, at 8 p.m. at the Laurel Theater in Fort Sanders. Admission is $10-$12.
]]> Mark E. Smith Vs. Mumford and Sons (Who Play the Valarium Next Month) tag:blogs.metropulse.com,2010:/live_like_this//741.145448 2010-10-21T18:26:07Z 2010-10-21T18:38:00Z It might be a surprise to their fans, but everybody doesn't like Mumford and Sons, the exceedingly popular young English folk-rock band (think Coldplay meets the Decembrists) that sold out its Nov. 8 show at the Valarium in a matter... Matthew Everett http://twitter.com/metropulse Valarium in a matter of days.

The story making the Internet rounds is that Mark E. Smith, the curmudgeonly lead singer and mastermind for British postpunk legends the Fall, revealed his contempt for the band in an interview with Australian mag The Brag. The full interview isn't available online, but the Quietus offered this excerpt, which reveals Smith to be (surprise!) kind of a bastard, but is also pretty funny:

"We were playing a festival in Dublin the other week. There was this other group like, warming up in the next sort of chalet, and they were terrible. I said 'shut them cunts up' and they were still warming up, so I threw a bottle at them. The bands said 'that's the Sons of Mumford' or something, 'they're number five in charts!' I just thought they were a load of retarded Irish folk singers."
]]> Gun*Slinger Update: Frontman Out of the Band tag:blogs.metropulse.com,2010:/live_like_this//741.145447 2010-10-21T14:48:21Z 2010-10-21T14:53:48Z That didn't take long. The same day we ran a story about Maryville cock-rockers Gun*Slinger, we also got an e-mail from the band's management informing us that singer Cole Graham, who founded the band in 2008, has been fired--just in... Matthew Everett http://twitter.com/metropulse Gun*Slinger, we also got an e-mail from the band's management informing us that singer Cole Graham, who founded the band in 2008, has been fired--just in time for the band's show at the Longbranch Saloon tomorrow night. Daniel Ott, whose brother Marcus plays lead guitar in the band, has been named as Graham's replacement.


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]]> Tim Lee 3: New Double Album "Raucous Americanus" Due in November tag:blogs.metropulse.com,2010:/live_like_this//741.145418 2010-10-06T14:48:28Z 2010-10-06T14:59:38Z We reported back in April that the Tim Lee 3 had a busy summer ahead of them, mainly because they would be recording a new album at studios in North Carolina, Arizona, and Mississippi. They apparently got really busy at... Matthew Everett http://twitter.com/metropulse
They apparently got really busy at those sessions--the new album, Raucous Americanus, the follow-up to the band's 2008 disc Good2b3, is an old-fashioned double album. It's due out next month, and the CD-release show the Lees have planned for Patrick Sullivan's on Friday, Nov. 12, is appropriately big: a premiere of the band's video for the song "Get There First," DJ sets from Nathan Moses and Graham McCorkle of the Vaygues, and an opening set by Angela Faye Martin, a North Carolina singer/songwriter the Lees have befriended since playing a local show with her earlier this year. And, of course, a long set of the Tim Lee 3 playing songs from the new album, and probably some old favorites.  ]]> Q&A With Slayer Drummer Dave Lombardo tag:blogs.metropulse.com,2010:/live_like_this//741.145407 2010-09-30T14:29:17Z 2010-09-30T15:11:12Z Today's the big day for middle-aged metal fans: Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax at the Civic Coliseum. (For once it's the perfect venue, the place where some of us saw our first heavy metal and hard rock concerts back in the... Matthew Everett http://twitter.com/metropulse big day for middle-aged metal fans: Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax at the Civic Coliseum. (For once it's the perfect venue, the place where some of us saw our first heavy metal and hard rock concerts back in the '70s and '80s.)

You can read my story about Anthrax here, but I also got a last-minute interview with Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo that couldn't make it into the print edition. (Lombardo, one of the most influential drummers in metal ever and an undisputed master of the double bass, left the band way back in 1992. Slayer soldiered on through the 1990s with a string of replacements, but their reunion with Lombardo for Christ Illusion (2006) and World Painted Blood (2009) has been considered a significant return to form. So here's a transcription of my conversation with him, after the jump. (Bonus: Read John Sewell's 1999 interview with Slayer's Tom Araya here.)
]]> You've been back in the band for quite a while now. Can you tell me why you left in the first place, and what brought you back?
Well, why did I leave? I forget why I left.

Really?
Yeah, there's no reason to bring it up now. It's old news. Actually, you can read about it on the Internet. It is what it is.

Well, what brought you back?
Money, dammit. That's what brought me back. Slayer, you know, one of the bigger bands I've worked with, called me after not playing with them anymore. It was like, wow, this is awesome. And of course working with these musicians, Kerry, Jeff, and Tom, putting back together the original lineup was an amazing thing to do.

This tour indicates that thrash has become classic rock. How do you feel about that?
I feel great that it's considered like that. At least our thrash--the Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, even Exodus and Metallica, but the new metal, I would not consider that classic rock.

What's different about being in Slayer now that you're in your 40s, writing new material for the band and playing those old songs? How is it different than when you were in your 20s?
Well, I feel like when I first recorded those albums I didn't know what I was doing. I had an idea, I had a road map of how I wanted to play, but it's nothing to how I play today. When I had to relearn those songs I was very apprehensive in using some the same drum rolls. I add a little bit more to those songs now. So when fans see the show I add a lot more drums, a little flair to it that I didn't do before.

Do you remember what you guys were trying to do back in the early '80s when you first got together? Were you trying to be as extreme as possible?
Yes. We were. The most extreme or the best?

They seem like two different things. Are they related to you, being extreme and being good?
Yes. I mean, you have to. You can be extreme and suck. There's a lot of bands out there like that that are very extreme. It's like, ugh, not good. So we try to be extreme but within the parameters of creating solid music.

I wanted to ask you about Reign in Blood. That's a landmark album, certainly a progression for you guys at the time, and most of all it was just so fast. Was that on purpose?
No, that was the way I played. That's the way we wrote the songs and played the songs. Well, when we first wrote the songs they weren't that fast. As you play them and rehearse they kind of speed up. That happens with all albums that we do. They're at a certain bpm, beats per minute, and then once we play live and get used to them they become faster, to a point where I have to almost pull the reins on them and say, whoa, we've got to slow down because the song is not becoming fluid, it doesn't sound like it's supposed to. You kind of lose the vibe of the song if you play it too fast. So I make sure to keep my tempo at an even pace.

Do you remember what it was like in the studio at the time? When you guys started to hear it, did it seem special to you? Did you think, 'Wow, we're really doing something here'?
No. At that time, I was very disconnected with the band. I don't know if you remember, I left the band back then, too, in '86. I'm always leaving. I'm the rebel. I'm like, 'F--k you guys, I'm out of here.' Anything doesn't work my way--well, not if anything doesn't work my way, but if I find disagreements that don't sit well with me, I'll leave, no hesitation.
Did I think that this album had something? No. But I did feel it for World Painted Blood. That one, as we were working on it I noticed that there was something special about it. And I think it was more how the band members were getting along. We were all having a good time when we were putting this album together and also we had a producer in rehearsal with us who we got along really well with and helped us out through the whole thing. For that album, yes, but for Reign in Blood I didn't.

When you recorded South of Heaven and Seasons in the Abyss, did you make a conscious decision to slow things down, to sort of step back from Reign in Blood?
I think we did, because it made no sense to recreate something we had already created. We knew that we weren't going to be able to top that album. And still to this day, you can't top that record--28 minutes of classic thrash metal. You can't. And that was all done without us even knowing. We were clueless. We just knew what we were doing felt good, and the music we were writing felt good, too.

What did you think about the emergence of death metal in the early '90s? Those bands were obviously taking so much from you guys.
Some of the performances were great by the musicians, but you know, the singing is a big part of music to me and I just don't find it musically stimulating when the singer has no melody. There has to be melody and a lot of the death metal stuff didn't have that. Death metal, thrash metal, speed metal, whatever metal--'Oh, melody, we don't want no melody.' Well, dude, melody's the core of music and if you can't realize you need melody, good luck with your band.

You never really play blast beats, do you?
Yes, I do. I started playing blast beats during my Fantomas years, when I was recording with Mike Patton. And then I brought blast beats into Slayer. They were stealing from me, all those death metal and grindcore guys were stealing from me, so I stole from them.

]]> Auld Lang Syne: Dirty Guv'nahs at Bijou on New Year's Eve tag:blogs.metropulse.com,2010:/live_like_this//741.145390 2010-09-21T14:26:56Z 2010-09-21T14:40:56Z New Year's Eve in Knoxville used to be Scott Miller Night. Even after the dissolution of the V-Roys in 1999, Miller kept up his annual Dec. 31 gig for several years. It's still going, in fact, but this year he'll... Matthew Everett http://twitter.com/metropulse Dirty Guv'nahs take the coveted spot at the Bijou that night.

That pretty much cements the Guv'nahs as the most popular local band right now (as if three consecutive Best Band awards in Metro Pulse's Best of Knoxville voting hadn't already done that). It's too late to say you saw them when..., but there's a preview of the New Year's Eve show this Friday at the Bijou, with the band celebrating the official release of its second album, Youth Is in Our Blood. The Black Cadillacs are opening at 8 p.m., and a few tickets are still available.

Tickets for the New Year's Eve show are $20 and go on sale on Friday, Oct. 1.
]]> Concert Review: Best Coast and Cults at Pilot Light tag:blogs.metropulse.com,2010:/live_like_this//741.145374 2010-09-14T16:46:07Z 2010-09-14T16:52:10Z Despite the downpours, a sizeable crowd turned out to Pilot Light on Saturday night for L.A.'s Best Coast and Brooklyn's Cults. (It was also Pilot Light owner Jason Boardman's birthday). Starting at around 9:30 p.m., a noticeably younger audience that... Matthew Everett http://twitter.com/metropulse Best Coast and Brooklyn's Cults. (It was also Pilot Light owner Jason Boardman's birthday). Starting at around 9:30 p.m., a noticeably younger audience that included several out-of-towners (I met a couple from Michigan and a group from Kentucky) filed down Jackson Avenue and
quickly filled the club to capacity an hour before the show even got started. In an
effort to deal with the crowd, Cults took the stage at an uncharacteristically early 10:30 p.m. (for Pilot Light) and overshadow the "permanently chill" Best Coast; Cults lead singer Madeline Follin
energetically danced around the stage as she performed the group's happy-go-lucky pop.
--Carey Hodges ]]> Sound Off Semi-Finalists Set tag:blogs.metropulse.com,2010:/live_like_this//741.145352 2010-09-02T14:48:31Z 2010-09-02T15:16:53Z The lineup for the second edition of the Square Room's Sound Off competition has been set, with 25 bands making it through the first round of cuts. The first night of the contest, on Wednesday, Oct. 2, at the Square... Matthew Everett http://twitter.com/metropulse Sound Off competition has been set, with 25 bands making it through the first round of cuts. The first night of the contest, on Wednesday, Oct. 2, at the Square Room, will feature the Ibiza-style soundscapes of electronic trio Arpetrio, alt-rockers Johnny Astro and the Big Bang and Pegasi 51, and R&B/funk ensembles Soulfinger and Dishwater Blonde. The winner of that set, based on judges' scores and audience response, will move on to the final round in March.
 
The other 20 bands will face off against each other in similar sets on the first Wednesday of each month through February, with the winners playing against each other in March. The remaining bands who made it to the cut-off round are the Big Deuce, the Black Jack of Ballarat, Bone Prophet, Brimstone Treehouse, Elliot Collett, Dave Dykes and the Grateful Heart, Jason Ellis, the Fontinelles, the Gentlemen Conspiracy, the Great Great Pines, the Hotshot Freight Train, Lions, Danielle Madison, Madre, Davis Mitchell, Gene Priest and the Cardinal Sin, Rally, Silver Jubilee, Skytown Riot, and the Theorizt. Oh, and Todd Steed is going to emcee the series.
 
The overall winner gets studio time at Rock Snob Recordings, custom merchandise, an opening spot on an upcoming AC Entertainment concert, and up to $500 in gear.  ]]> Big Boi at Knoxville Civic Coliseum, Nov. 12 tag:blogs.metropulse.com,2010:/live_like_this//741.145348 2010-09-01T12:54:52Z 2010-09-01T12:58:38Z If you don't want to drive all the way to Asheville to see Big Boi as part of AC Entertainment's MoogFest, all you have to do is wait. The rapper, one-half of the duo OutKast, who just released his long-long-long-awaited... Matthew Everett http://twitter.com/metropulse MoogFest, all you have to do is wait. The rapper, one-half of the duo OutKast, who just released his long-long-long-awaited solo album Sir Luscious Left Foot, will perform at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum on Friday, Nov. 12, to close out his current tour. No details on tickets yet.  ]]>