I met Prince tonight...[REST IN PEACE PRINCE 4/21/16]

4/21/16 1:58PM
CNN Link 

Rest in Peace Prince.

Not much time to write up an extensive memorial/thoughts/homages etc. But the intiail below recollection tells a lot. I'll never forget those 2 minutes or whatever I exchanges words with him that afternoon at Cheapo back in 2009.

Very sudden and his music and legacy will live on. 
Beyond CNN and the globe though, it is all over the media here in Minnesota.  
Another icon gone in 2016, and especially from my childhood. With Michael Jackson and even Whitney Houston to a point, it leaves only Madonna left of the pop icons of my childhood. Aside from some I found later of course like Sting and Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, etc.

I never did get to see him live unfortunately, but this brush with him from 7 years ago is still rather significant.

2/23/10 10:09PM

He's debuting a new song "Cause and Effect" on 89.3 on Friday Morning

likely around 8AM. Thankfully, that's not the day I am going to Aspen (I don't believe).

Of course 89.3 is mentioning it like they won the lottery or something. I mean sure, it's cool of him. But as I posted there, it was pretty fucking cool of 93X to DEBUT "Musical Chairs" last October from Fair to Midland.

The ass-kissing of testimonials for that station has probably contributed to my health issues over the last couple of weeks. All I wanted to do is hear a Local Natives song live, a band I ORIGINALLY REQUESTED on that station going BACK to NOVEMBER (when their debut album "Gorilla Manor" was released originally) and frankly, could be given some due for knowing about them far ahead of so many others including pukefork and 89.3

But I swear to god, people are acting like their lives depend on 89.3, and their redundant and mostly tripe-filled playlist. Jeezus. And ya know, had they at least given me an interview back before they launched or heck, even some due for Local Natives or something else, I wouldn't loathe them as much. There are a few cool people there, but their listenorship are a bunch of lemmings. I'm sorry, but they are. Radio K does the same thing, and a lot better. And they're college kids. Radio K actually will play Death Metal or Post Rock. And Radio K actually answers their fucking studio-phone line, lol. Not answering the studio-line, among other things, is what 89.3 shares with KQRS.

No, I'd consider pledging to 89.3:

if they gave me my own weekly radio show.

I'll repeat. 89.3, GIVE ME MY OWN WEEKLY SPECIALTY RADIO SHOW WHERE I CAN PLAY PROG EPICS, FULL-ALBUM PLAYBACKS, TECHNICAL DEATH METAL, AND THE LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF ARTISTS YOUR STATION IGNORES, and then I may give you some money back.

I might even *think* about it if I was able to

a) attend 1 of the "meetings" and voice my interest in their playlist changing.

b) actually noticing it happening.

Sorry, but I may (consider) pledging to Radio K soon, but 89.3 ain't getting a penny of my $ as long as it's set up how it is, along with my past lack of receiving a deserving interview to dj there.

11/17/09 11:37PM


brush with stardom of a sort. As I posted on some of the forums. My schedule this afternoon/evening

4:30pm leave work
5:00pm go to the Hennepin Library
5:30pm: Dinner at Davannis
5:45pm: I hit Cheapo up quickly, with the intention of leaving by 6:15pm for the Edina Theater for "Untitled."
5:50pm: see Prince looking at the "Recent Arrivals" bin, which includes 2 or 3 of his cds, at least 1 was marked "$5.95 SKUF"

I saw him and and 1st didn't believe it was him. He had some girl with him browsing. So I figured, why not go up and ask him 1 quick question. The 1st thing that came to mind was Jellybean Johnson.

background: I saw Jellybean Johnson I wanna say September 2004 sit-in for a 1-hour jam with Paul Peterson of "The Family" as well, with Victor Wooten unmatchable live band. Jelly threw it down on GUITAR.

I knew he had played with Prince, okay, but I had no idea when I asked Prince, that he played DRUMS and not the guitar I saw him on with Victor. Looking back on that, I feel kind of stupid, but I explained to Prince that I knew JBJ from his guitar performance with Victor.

The rest of the time I spent at Cheapo, I was trying to cram-in my memory, many of the titles I had looked for at the St.Paul Cheapo within the last couple of weeks, with no luck (I just remembered now, Hammock was 1 in fact). But Prince ended up heading over to the Classic Rock section soon after that, and I was going back and forth in the Modern Rock and Metal sections which are near the Classic Rock section. But to say I was distracted would be accurate.

So, that was it. It probably would have been dumb to ask him, but if I had my druthers I'd have wanted to ask him about any or all of the following.

a) Apes and Androids
b) Kevin Gilbert..the Chris Cornell attempt didn't do much though, and CC was actually a bit more relevant given the Jeff Buckley relationship, King's X/Doug Pinnick and timing of his career and Kevin's/age etc. I also happened to be wearing a KG t-shirt today.
c) Dean Magraw..this might have been a more obvious 1. Dean actually is probably pretty close in age to Prince, thus came up around the same time. They both have a love and influence for Jimi Hendrix. And chances are, Prince knows Dean. With Dean's recent cancer, it would have been all the more fitting. But who knows.
d) Jeff Buckley..mainly the fact Jeff's birthday was today. It's too bad Cheapo didn't have some JB on the intercom. They had the Rolling Stones though, which it might have been interesting to ask Prince, what his opinion on was.

but no, I really didn't want to bug him, as his personality is kind of *touchy* I guess I might say, just from things I've read and heard. Maybe he's more laid back, mellow, and has more of a sense of humor than I realize. But most things with him seem serious. Who knows about tonight. But he said "thanks" when I told him I'd leave him alone after that question. He sounded serious enough, so it was probably wise of me to not appear anymore starstruck or fanboy-ish than i did. But I can't deny, trying to browse with him there after that was weird. Like, I almost felt as if I shouldn't be browsing near him or something, lol.

I was just thinking..damn, a guy like him, whose worth millions of dollars. I dunno, at least 10's if not 100's of millions if he never overspent, invested well, etc. he could bail Cheapo out. Seriously, it's pretty sad. I don't think he cares enough though. He'd feel it's like pity $ or something. Cheapo should struggle and survive on their own.

But it does sort of break my heart, knowing that. I dunno, maybe if it ever becomes bad enough, which I sure hope it won't, he and maybe others like Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis, they would prevent it from dying. But maybe they also see the whole cd sales as a dying industry, too much so, that it's not worth it, as a business decision it's almost a certain, big loss. But vinyl?

That was the other thing that surprised me. I figure Prince would be looking for VINYL, so he should have been downstairs. maybe he had been, or was going to go down there. Or maybe he was at Cheapo only for his friends. Who knows, questions that'll I'll never know, but are kind of fun to think about I suppose.

John, you missed out. Hopefully another time.

Nicholas Krgovich - On Sunset (2013-2014)

I kind of dove blindly into this album within the last 24 hours, but I'm enjoying a lot about this. The track below "Along the PCH on Oscar Night" I heard on Radio K yesterday while at work and it forced me to write it down and look more into this guy's music.

I suppose part of why I found this appealing is some of the vibe and song structures remind me of stuff like Apes and Androids, Emanuel and the Fear, or maybe closer to say NewVillager and some others (Antony and the Johnsons, TV on the Radio) with a lot of orchestral layering with pop melodies, lush vocal harmonies.

While the jury is still probably ultimately out for this guy and his music, I can at least say there seems to be a lot of thought put into this album and his music. It seems more about the Art rather than the entertainment approach. A lot of smooth, slick sounding basslines and rhythms.

edit: wow, the outro to "At Pershing Sq." is very moody and cool!





1. On Sunset 00:17
2. The Backlot 03:58
3. Along the PCH on Oscar Night 04:24
4. Cosmic Vision 04:44
5. Let's Take the Car Out 04:16
6. City of Night 03:23
7. Rock's Dream 04:11
8. You're Through 04:41
9. The Mansion 03:44
10. At Pershing Sq. 04:41
11. Moon's Soft Glow 05:08

Face-Twitter-Book Post of the day...The Dear Hunter > Deerhunter

I Would love to hear music from @therealTDH on @TheCurrent and @RadioK today because they sort of have a new album out today. But I imagine Pigs will fly first.

edit:

of all dates, tonight, on the release date of Migrant, Deerhunter appears on Jimmy Fallon. Ironies, lol.

http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/episode-guide/

There's even a Facebook group/campaign to get The Dear Hunter on the show, lol.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/TDHforLateNight

I just want to add also that Deerhunter sucks ass. Their music is fucking boring, and  it has and probably always will be a disgusting add-on thing to mention every time I say the name The Dear Hunter to someone unfamiliar with The Dear Hunter, to have to distinguish between the two bands.

It would be wonderful if Bradford Cox would retire the name Deerhunter once and for all, and stick to his other projects like Atlas Sound and the music under his own name.

But the fact there's today and yesterday the many mentions on twitter and the blogosphere about Deerhunter, the very day/week that Migrant comes out, almost makes me wonder if it was intentional. I mean certainly, Cox and Deerhunter I'm sure would never admit to any idea of a planned thing such as that, but they appear on Fallon the very day of Migrant smells of some pathetic conspiracy. And even if not, it adds fuel to my Deerhunter (and Deerhunter vs The Dear Hunter) hating fire. And how TDH continue to be ignored and not receive the deserved exposure/credit that they/Casey in a lot of ways deserves (although of course there's the counter argument that the longer they stay underground, the better I suppose..that doesn't stop me from being annoyed that there's all this name dropping of the vastly inferior band with a similar name).

RadioTapes.com : Minnesota Radio History Site

http://www.radiotapes.com/

I stumbled across this site last night and found myself in a big nostalgia mode. Although it doesn't seem to include much if anything about KFAI or Radio K that I can tell. But being that I grew up listening to WLOL and Hines and Berglund and a bit of KDWB, and then later KQRS.

I also came to learn Tom Barnard was known as "Catman" on his old WDGY days, in which he often sounded more *black* than his deep pipes have ever given the impression to me (not meaning to stereotype).

I honestly had NEVER heard Barnard like that, and never would have guessed it was him after hearing some of those "Catman" voices from the 70's.

I guess Barnard has a PODCAST in which he does on his own now, that includes working with his old KQ Morning show producer Tony Lee. I may end up spending some time checking that out as well soon.

Steven Wilson Band Spring 2013 Tour Dates (incl Minneapols)

12/31/12 9:35AM
http://first-avenue.com/event/2013/05/stevenwilson

On sale: Friday, January 11 at noon CST

$22.50

So, there it is. I still would be surprised if many of those media sources say much about it, or still even list it. And by some chance they do, what are the odds they refer to his band as "Prog"? not a guarantee.

How much 1st Ave is involved beyond that listing is not clear either. But maybe, just maybe, if PT comes back and/or this show does well, those folks will take note and book them in the Main Room next time. But let's see how well this is promoted 1st, and how well the ticket sales go. I worry the ole WALKUP thing may occur and thus, it won't be viewed as well as it should.

Personally, 2 things have come up since in that as well for me:

a) this show falls on my girlfriend who-hates-most-prog 's Bday. But, given how late this and some others factors, hopefully my schedule will allow both celebrating with her and this show.

b) I suggested to Bend Sinister that they open. Joseph Blood of the band actually messaged me on Facebook and sounded intrigued by the idea. Now, whether the others involved are, and the logistics work out are totally unclear. But it certainly can't hurt to mention.

12/28/12 8:09PM


This announcement just came out earlier today, and I posted it on facetwitterbook, but not in here given I was flying home from Arizona just after it got announced.

And of course the big part of this is the fact his band is actually coming to Minneapolis for the 1st time ever, and Steven is coming back to Minneapolis for the 1st time since Porcupine Tree played a 500+ sellout at the Fine Line in May of 2005.

Now of course I'm happy to see his band, even though his solo work has not blown me away like a lot of Porcupine Tree, or even some of the 1st 2 Blackfield records. But he has a different band, different from PT obviously, but also different from the band he went out on tour with a few years ago. But this tour is to support his new album The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories), which if I recall features among others, drummer Marco Minneman and Guthrie Govan who may be worth going to this show alone for,



But, the other thing just to bring up about this show/tour is I am likely WAY OFF BASE here, but for some reason, Steven's band does come here now after the many remarks I've made (along with others online of course) about how the promoters haven't booked Porcupine Tree and now his band in town here. Although, as much as I'd like to believe my online voice did have something to do with that; I suspect some of the reasons why his band is coming here is because it is NOT Porcupine Tree.

1) Whatever the promoters that never brought PT back here thought, in this case, the NAME Porcupine Tree does not exist in this booking, thus it's a totally new artist to test out in our (fly-over-land at times) market.

2) Whoever is promoting this show in Minneapolis, which I don't know yet, but I don't think it's Sue McLean as it's not listed on Sue's website, may not know how often Steven's bands have skipped coming here, nor of course the 2 shows in 2003 (with Opeth) and 2005 500+ in attendance (Sellouts, albeit much due to WALKUPS, but none-the-less, SELLOUTS still)

3) This is not being held at First Ave, The Varsity Theater, and/although thankfully not Station 4, The Cabooze (nor The Entry for that matter) due to Steven's name is not as big as Porcupine Tree. If PT were coming here, I suspect The Fine Line  and the promoters WOULD NOT BE OFFERING THEM ENOUGH MONEY (meaning Steven's band, and people who work for his band ala The Agency Group) to play there. In other words, if Porcupine Tree were coming back, they really ought to be paid what a HEADLINER at FIRST AVE or at least THE VARSITY THEATER would get. Perhaps The Cedar Cultural Center as well. Gawd I'd love to see some of those lemming hipsters try and show up to see Steven and his band play those 15 minute epics and have them complain, lol. But in truth, The Cedar would actually FIT rather well for Steven's band. As would a jazz club, although I'm certainly glad The overpriced work of The Dakota didn't try and book his band as I bet the tickets would be like $50, lol.

The venue that would have been ideal for this show probably would have been The Triple Rock (or The Whole Music Club at the U of MN) but maybe given PT did play The Fine Line back 8 and 10 years ago they were the venue Steven's people remembered.

4) One other obvious reason why this show ended up here and not skipping us, is the shear fact Steven's band doesn't have back-2-back shows/nights in Chicago like on 2 or 3 of those PT tours in the past. Why that is, again, might be due to his name not being as big as Porcupine Tree, thus those promoters who booked Porcupine Tree at The Park West back-2-back shows (like Marillion last Summer) were a little gun shy given the name of the act is STEVEN WILSON and not PT. Also the fact Steven's music has not received much distribution in the States, if any. I imagine the KScope folks may have to get some kind of distribution deal with a NA distributor to have that happen. Maybe with the new record that'll happen. But as far as I know, the only copies I've seen of Grace For Drowning and Insurgentes were special orders. And the live albums/dvds? I haven't seen any of them show up at Cheapo or The Electric Fetus at this point.

All in All, it is quite good news about this show and tour, a 17-date tour of North America, which I recall his other North American tours maybe being about 5-10 shows max.

Another point to add, that may be not clear on with myself and Steven Wilson's live shows. I do want to see him, but I HAVE SEEN HIM, with PT 5 times, so this show/tour and seeing him and would have seen PT the past 6 or 7 tours of the US, while it is and would have been nice. I AM MORE PASSIONATE ABOUT HIS BANDS COMING TO MINNESOTA FOR OTHER FANS IN MINNESOTA WHO NEVER HAVE SEEN HIM/PORCUPINE TREE LIVE.

I'll repeat

I AM MORE PASSIONATE ABOUT HIS BANDS COMING TO MINNESOTA FOR OTHER FANS IN MINNESOTA WHO NEVER HAVE SEEN HIM/PORCUPINE TREE LIVE.

But also I am PASSIONATE ABOUT PROG BEING VISIBLE, and BEING VISIBLE IN MINNESOTA.

Because let's be honest, outside of the 1st generation of progressive rock (Yes, Rush, Genesis, Pink Floyd, etc) the biggest progressive rock has become is Dream Theater and maybe acts like Tool and The Mars Volta to an extent. Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson represent the closest thing to having prog and prog within prog-circles (NOT college prog like dredg, Fair to Midland, The Dear Hunter, Coheed, etc) get mainstream. I mean Steven has been nominated 2 or 3 times for Grammys (5.1 mixes I recall), he's worked with a lot of huge names in Classic and Prog Rock (Tull, ELP, King Crimson..even Rush to a smaller extent), and so if progressive rock ever receives more of a mainstream level of recognition, Steven and PT are maybe the closest it may ever get.

Now will 89.3 start playing his music or Porcupine Tree (or Blackfield even which might be the most accessible)? Pretty much no chance. Radio K? almost no chance as well. But if Steven is going to make his solo band really his longer term focus like it seems, he may by just some freak chance, find he makes music (or even just 1 shorter song) that the mainstream grabs on to. Although his solo music seems extremely far from songs like "Trains" and "Lazarus" it seems rather unlikely. But, I suppose pigs may find themselves flying one day too.

I will predict though the only media source that will list his show at The Fine Line on May 4th will be Vita.mn. Citypages won't give a shit, nor will the music journalists for the Strib and Pioneer Press (although if Ross Raihala did, I'd be less surprised than the likes of the 2 Strib columnists. And this show is being held in Minneapolis too, lol). Nor will 89.3 list it on their calendar, however, perhaps I can try and add a submission manually like I at least tried to for the Coheed/BTBAM/Russian Circles show.

Also tickets? Ticketmasochist has the show listed for sale, but no way in hell am I considering paying those disgusting fees, at least before checking with The Electric Fetus, which I called and they said they should have tickets for sale, but they are unsure when. I'm thinking maybe 1 of the next 2 or 3 Fridays. I may even try going down there tomorrow and asking about them again.

http://stevenwilsonhq.com/sw/tour-dates/

03/01/13 Manchester, Lancashire Academy 1 United Kingdom
Address: Manchester University Union, Oxford Road.
03/02/13 Glasgow, Lanarkshire ABC Glasgow United Kingdom
Address: 300 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow.
03/04/13 London, Greater London Royal Festival Hall United Kingdom
Address: Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road.
03/08/13 Paris, Paris Le Trianon France
Address: 80 Boulevard de Rochechouart.
03/10/13 Cologne, Köln Live Music Hall Germany
Address: Lichtstraße 30.
03/11/13 Melkweg, Amsterdam Rabozaal Netherlands
Address: Lijnbaansgracht 234.
03/12/13 Antwerpen Arenberg Schouwburg Belgium
Address: Arenbergstraat 28.
03/14/13 Hamburg CCH Saal 2 Germany
Address: Am Dammtor / Marseiller Straße.
03/16/13 Stockholm Filadelfiakyrkan Sweden
Address: Rörstrandsgatan 5.
03/18/13 Oslo Sentrum Scene Norway
Address: Arbeidersamfunnets Plass 1.
03/19/13 Copenhagen VEGA Denmark
Address: Enghavevej 40.
03/21/13 Berlin, Hasenheide Huxley’s Germany
Address: Hasenheide 107-113.
03/22/13 Essen, Altendorfer Straße Colosseum Germany
Address: Altendorfer Straße 1.
03/23/13 Frankfurt, Neu-Isenburg Hugenottenhalle Germany
Address: Frankfurter Straße 152.
03/25/13 Stuttgart, Siemensstraße Theaterhaus Germany
Address: Siemensstraße 11.
03/26/13 Munich, Theresienhöhe Alte Kongresshalle Germany
Address: Theresienhöhe 15.
03/27/13 Zürich Volkshaus Switzerland
Address: Stauffacherstr. 60.
03/28/13 Milan, Assago Teatro Della Luna Italy
Address: Via G. Di Vittorio, 6.


04/16/13 Tampa, Florida The State Theater United States
Address: 687 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg. On Sale Soon
04/17/13 Atlanta, Georgia The Variety Playhouse United States
Address: 1099 Euclid Avenue Northeast.
04/19/13 Glenside, Philadelphia Keswick Theatre United States
Address: 291 North Keswick Avenue. On Sale Soon
04/20/13 Washington, Washington D.C. Howard Theatre United States
Address: 620, T Street Northwest.
04/21/13 Buffalo, New York Town Ballroom United States
Address: 681 Main Street. On Sale Soon
04/23/13 Toronto, Ontario Phoenix Concert Theatre Canada
Address: 410 Sherbourne Street.
04/25/13 Montreal, Quebec Club-Soda Canada
Address: 1225 Saint-Laurent Boul. On Sale Soon
04/26/13 New York City, New York Best Buy Theater United States
Address: 515 Broadway. On Sale Soon
04/27/13 Boston, Massachusetts Berklee Performance Center United States
Address: 136 Massachusetts Avenue. On Sale Soon
04/30/13 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Mr Small’s United States
Address: 400 Lincoln Avenue. On Sale Soon
05/02/13 Cleveland, Ohio House of Blues Cleveland United States
Address: 308 Euclid Avenue. On Sale Soon
05/03/13 Chicago, Illinois Park West United States
Address: 322 West Armitage Avenue. On Sale Soon
05/04/13 Minneapolis, Minnesota The Fine Line United States
Address: 318 North 1st Avenue. 
05/06/13 Boulder, Colorado Boulder Theater United States
Address: 2032 14th Street. On Sale Soon
05/09/13 San Francisco, California The Fillmore United States
Address: 1805 Geary Boulevard. On Sale Soon
05/10/13 Los Angeles, California Club Nokia United States
Address: 800 West Olympic Boulevard. On Sale Soon

05/14/13 Mexico City Teatro Metropolitan Mexico

Guante & Big Cats - You Better Weaponize (2012)

I finally got around to checking out this record after hearing a few different tracks on Radio K over the last few weeks. There was enough about it, I needed to check it out. And I may be getting a head of myself a little bit with this, but I am being reminded of when I discovered Immortal Technique and Revolutionary Volume 2 back in 2008.

Guante aka "El Guante" I have known about, for nearly the same amount of time as I have Immortal Technique. Except for the fact, I never remembered to pursue his music. But I can't forget, I want to say after talking to someone about Immortal Technique back on OKCupid who told me I might like El Guante. But she also said how El Guante thought IT wasn't very good or something. He had no flow?

Anyway, but finally hearing him on this, I think one big reason I do enjoy him, is he does remind me of Immortal Technique in some ways. Mainly in his articulate sense of preaching and posturing. I find his words and points, at least realistic and well informed. I suppose where he differs, are for one, his use of things about Minnesota. Which I suppose I have a bias since I am from there as well.

Also he doesn't seem as negative or as much about being pissed off, but concerned in a more down to earth manner.

I guess I'll give this more time, but just immediately, I can say I enjoyed nearly every track. The music (or "beats" as they say..frankly, I think the term "beats" should be done away with, and just use "rhythms" or "tones with rhythms" or something else), along with the pop-culture references, including a ton involving Minnesota.

The lines about every kid in the crowd looks like Jeremy Messermith and getting your song on The Current by the time your 30 had me rolling on the floor laughing out loud, haha.

This album seems to be poking fun, or exposing all the bad stereotypes about Generation Y and the Internet disease. And honestly, the way he's doing it, more people should hear it and it might make the whole Web and online-music culture improve.

He has a lot of guests on here, as well as many other records I have yet to hear. Maybe his other work is better? I don't know. But I hopefully will get around to checking it out along with spending a fair amount more time with this.

The people kissing the ass of P.O.S. and Brother Ali should give this a shot. Even the likes of Sims and Sage Francis, I find Guante (or El Guante) more my speed. It's great to discover an artist from my hometown doing more arty Hip-Hop. I'm not surprised by it, as Guante is a champion slam poet, which I'd be surprised many if any of the Doomtree artists can also claim.

1 To Young Leaders 3:22
2 Until There's Nothing Left (feat. Toki Wright & Crescent Moon) 3:34
3 Lightning (feat. Chastity Brown) 4:38
4 Underground Sex Party (feat. Kristoff Krane) 3:46
5 Other (feat. Chastity Brown, See More Perspective, Chantz Erolin) 3:55
6 Fireworks 3:51
7 Everything Burns 4:40
8 Straight Outta Genosha 3:34
9 Break (feat. Kristoff Krane) 4:20
10 A Leap of Faith Into a Bottomless Pit 3:22
11 The Invisible Backpacker of Privilege (feat. Chantz Erolin, Truth Be Told) 3:44
12 A Pragmatist's Guide to Revolution 4:12
13 Asterisk 2:06

Coheed + Between TBAM + Russian Circles Winter 2013 Tour

1 link

Dates:
Feb 04 2013 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
Feb 05 2013 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
Feb 07 2013 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
Feb 08 2013 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit
Feb 09 2013 – Chicago, IL – Congress Theatre
Feb 10 2013 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
Feb 12 2013 – Des Moines, IA – Val Air Ballroom
Feb 14 2013 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
Feb 15 2013 – Salt Lake City, UT – SaltAir
Feb 17 2013 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
Feb 18 2013 – Vancouver, BC – Vogue Theatre
Feb 19 2013 – Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo
Feb 21 2013 – San Francisco, CA – Warfield Theater
Feb 22 2013 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
Feb 25 2013 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
Feb 26 2013 – The Marquee – Tempe, AZ
Feb 27 2013 – Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theatre
Mar 01 2013 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s
Mar 02 2013 – Houston, TX – Bayou Music Center
Mar 03 2013 – Dallas, TX – Palladium Ballroom
Mar 05 2013 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
Mar 06 2013 – Saint Petersburg, FL – Jannus Live
Mar 07 2013 – Lake Buena Vista, FL – House of Blues
Mar 08 2013 – Miami Beach, FL – The Fillmore
Mar 10 2013 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte
Mar 11 2013 – Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
Mar 14 2013 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
Mar 16 2013 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall*
(NYC going on sale the following week)

This isn't exactly the newest of news, as I recall seeing this at least a few days ago in an email from the Coheed email list. What I wasn't aware of, was it coming to Minneapolis. And 1st Ave, lol. Now Coheed has played there a few times I recall, but Between the Buried and Me?

Hey local Minnesota Music Media and Hipsters:
Your favorite venue is going to have a genuine, self-indulgent/wanky PROG METAL band play in the MAIN ROOM. Yeah, Opeth have been at First Ave, The Mars Volta as well, and The Dear Hunter played there once as an opener. But overall, as far as Prog and ProgMetal, and not really Pitchfork-approved, this is finally something.

Maybe since Dream Theater was there in 1997 or King's X in 2002?. Porcupine Tree never played there, nor did Fair to Midland. dredg? nope. It's a long list of bands who arguably were big enough, but that place refused to book.

I suppose it would mean a lot more if BTBAM were actually headlining there. But so be it.
Some predictions to make, right now, on November 8th, 2012:

-Citypages WILL NOT include this show in their "Sunday the 10th Live Music" feature.They may not even list in their music calendar as they have failed to do so multiple times with recent shows (Gotye and Mayer Hawthorne to name 2).
-It will get no mention (nor music from Coheed and BTBAM on the air of course) on 89.3, nor Radio K (although Radio K does play Russian Circles, but Coheed and BTBAM? maybe like 10 years ago, lol).
-Vita.mn will be the only publication that will include a story/write up about it.
-Chris Riemenschneider and Jon Bream might mention it, but not favorably
-If there is a sizable crowd, some of the local stores will finally start carrying BTBAM Vinyl.

Now, the truth for me is, while I wave the flag and fight for these bands, and Coheed and BTBAM new albums I like some of, it's not like I've rekindled my love for their latest music as much as I would have liked.

But I have still not seen Coheed live, and it's been awhile (Progressive Nation 2008) since I've seen BTBAM.

Russian Circles? meh..I suppose they are better live, but they have just mellowed too much (or sounded a bit too much like Explosions in the Sky) since Enter. But I did see them, and recall enjoying that show.

And the show in looking at the Calendar, is on a Sunday night, which barring some kind of blizzard, is in my favor as I loathe trying to go downtown Minneapolis on a weekend evening. I may have to ask for the next day or morning off though.

edit:

lol @First Ave about Between the Buried and Me
 http://first-avenue.com/performer/between-buried-me
 (or the blurb they passed along from some guy who writes for Alternative Press).

Between the Buried and Me have not made a name for themselves through playing it safe. Pushing the envelope of heavy music with each successive release, they have continually evolved in thrilling new directions while maintaining the honesty and integrity that has connected with so many listeners. With The Parallax II: Future Sequence, the first concept album of their career, the North Carolina based unit have delivered their most complex, ambitious, and accomplished work to date. "We're certainly not the average metal band - we write what we want to write, and we've never really tried to fit in anywhere," states guitarist Paul Waggoner. "With this record we held nothing back. We were excited to experiment and see where it took us, and working with a concept was a really interesting new challenge."

apparently the writer doesn't consider Colors (nor The Great Misdirect, or even Alaska) a concept album, lol. ewwwkay.

Dear 89.3, Radio K and others..

I am a volunteer at KFAI, I know about pledge drives. But I guess I can't help but still raise the question when hearing your drives on the air.

How often do they play my favorite musician of all-time, Kevin Gilbert?
How often do they play my favorite band of all-time Marillion?
How often do they play one of my favorite bands of the last 5 years, The Dear Hunter?

The same might be asked of Citypages, The Electric Fetus, both the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press music sections, even Vita.mn to a lesser degree. Did Citypages include much about the upcoming Kimbra headlining show that is SOLD OUT at The Varsity Theater? no, not really. They found Mike Snow to be more significant of a concert to feature next Tuesday. Why? I'm not sure, but perhaps because he's playing at First Ave?

The Book of Right On - How Many Ways Can You Say That You're Speaking (2012)

They just shared one of the songs from this they played last night "You'll Get Nothing and Like it" (and you can hear me utter "The World Needs Ditchdiggers too" hehe)





This is the title of their upcoming 2nd full-length record, that David, their singer mentioned last night at the show at The Cedar Cultural Center. I'd love to write an extensive review of the show right now, but I also have 50 blurbs to write for the Index. I will say, it was awesome to see them at a venue like The Cedar, and the new music that is expected to be included on this upcoming record of theirs sounds rather promising. Some instrumental songs, at least one being rather funky/groove-oriented. When this gets released? well, they have 1 more show scheduled for February 11th at Cause Spirits and Wine Bar, but more or less what David and maybe some of the others I was able to chat with said, they are going to focus on finishing this record after that point.

In other words, if all goes planned, the record could be done the 1st half of 2012, and come out sometime in the Summer or possibly earlier.

The Book of Right On are probably my favorite local band now (no disrespect to Between Two Skies, but I rarely see them, and their album may never come out ala Bubblemath) after seeing them last night.

one or two other opinions to add;

-I guess their name is taken from a Joanna Newsom song. Not a big deal to me, even though I'm not a fan of Joanna Newsom. I would be curious if Joanna Newsom has ever heard of them. Maybe she could play some harp with them sometime. Just as long as she keeps her voice off the mic.

-Some descriptions are calling them "punk" well, I guess having heard their music enough, including 2 shows and their previous/debut album All These Songs About Music, I'd say they have very-little to no punk rock in their sound. The bombastic nature I guess might fit, but they are so meticulous and busy with many layers, parts, etc punk really seems almost the last thing I hear in their music. Now "prog" on the other hand, without question is apparent. But it'll be interesting when this record comes out, what some of the other bloggers and media sources say. Prog, punk, jazz, funk or whatever. I really hope they could become a lot more visible with its release, especially if they have just 1 tune that 89.3 and Radio K is interested in playing.

The Book of Right On Facebook
The Book of Right On Reverbnation Page

Jimmy Gnecco News: (The Heart re-release/Weathervane)

Interesting interview, 1st off the frequent praise of Mercy and stressing how still not enough people even heard it, which I would totally echo, in fact I probably haven't echoed enough even on this blog. Mercy is a 5-star record that Rick Rubin's name is on as the producer (for what that actually means), yet even with Rubin getting a Grammy Nomination for its mix I recall, it really never got talked about like it should have. Hip4k I don't think even reviewed it, nor did 89.3 or Radio K ever play anything off of it. But they still could of course. Will they? I probably have a better chance getting my own Technical Death Metal show on 89.3, than that happening.

But also in that interview, it's good to hear info about his current work. The Heart is being re-released and re-arranged, and initially coming out in Europe. The way he describes the difference in the songs, and adding strings, layers, electric guitar, has me pretty curious (even tho I'm a huge fanboy anyway, The Heart didn't end up as great as I hoped last year. Maybe revisiting it would help).

And then the info that I was just reading about this project Weathervane here on the Ours forum, and Weathervane made music for the soundtrack for the film Head Hunters. If I'm getting this all correctly.





Sample of a song/interview here with Paul and Jimmy.

This musician Paul Waaktaar-Savoy I guess is one of if not the main creative force behind a-ha.

I'm curious what this may lead to as that song is pretty good, albeit a little different than Ours and Jimmy's solo music.

Brute Heart - Lonely Hunter (2011) (1.0)

Soft Abuse Record Label info

Brute Heart (Crystal Myslajek, Jackie Beckey & Crystal Brinkman) craft tense, dense, trance-inducing sounds with primarily bass, drums, viola & voice (all three sing). Informed by the fringes of post-punk, art rock, dark folk & other idiosyncratic strains, Brute Heart’s warm, mysterious music evoke recollections of Dog Faced Hermans, Family Fodder, and ESG, as well as contemporaries Quix*O*Tic and Grass Widow.

Lonely Hunter is Brute Heart's second album, and it showcases an eerie ability to shift through several rites, all towing the line between familiar and alien: swaths of extended Eastern-influenced melodies inform primal dervishes, hypnotic & danceable punk movements are cloaked by occult mysticism. Coaxed by the haunting echo of viola and the trio’s spoken / moaned / sung vocals, the nine songs on Lonely Hunter unravel in a multitude of ways, listen after listen…



01. Eclipse
02. Blindfolded [mp3]
03. Hunter
04. Serpentine
05. No Darkness
06. Satellite
07. Charmed One
08. Evil Eye
09. Open Window

Release Show is 1-week from Saturday where I presume I'll be picking up my copy of this up.

3/21/11 12:24AM
Brute Heart on Facebook

Brute Heart on myspace

In 2007, Crystal M and Jackie discovered Crystal B was born with a special gift of rhythm. They joined forces to form a three-headed creature they eventually named Brute Heart.

The record contains a wide breadth of colorful tones, tinged with emotions that words can't translate. Howls, hoots, aahs, and a rapid rhythmic snare create delightful ruminations unspoiled by pretension, driven only by instinct, experimentation, and a hunt for spatial parameters. Their sultry and intense delivery recalls a younger Grace Slick, making for a surrealistic and hypnotic experience that lacks any trace of rock bombast or overindulgence. -Warren Wills, City Pages


Brute Heart pushes further into quiet instrumental minimalism/abstraction, not just as an expression of artifice, but of worldview. These people have found a sound and learned to communicate to one another with it... -Doug Mosurock, Dusted Magazine

This ("Lonely Hunter") is the title of their upcoming, 2nd record, which will be released or at least available, presumably, at a "CD release" show at The Turf Club on May 14th, 2011.

Wow, I have kind of a lot to do here, and of course not enough time or energy to. But I'll do what I can for now.

Brute Heart I saw last evening (March 19th, 2011) at The Kitty Kat Club in Dinkytown (on or near the University of Minnesota Campus). I'd never seen them, never been to The Kitty Kat Club (which, maybe would be worth adding more to that for another post in this blog), nor was I familiar with the other 2 bands I saw (The Great Confinement and The Funeral and the Twilight) , and the 3rd (Aura Soul Spark) I didn't arrive in time to see.

So, given this is a posting about Brute Heart, I will not elaborate about the other groups, namely The Great Confinement, much more, but to say I was certainly glad I saw them, and I mean to say more soon in here about them as well (and more of their gigs coming up I hope).

But Brute Heart are a 3-piece, all-female band who formed a few years ago (2007 as that little bio states) in Minnesota. And, I've really fallen for their music in the brief amount of time I've taken it in. Why now and not a few years ago? exposure of course.

But the story with them is/was (assuming I've yet to write much if anything about them in here. I recall on twitter, for those who may have seen, but I don't think in the actual blog here), back in December or early January, I think January it was, a friend of mine who works at the Cafe that is attached to where I work, told me about them after seeing them at a show at the Hexagon Bar.

I have of course been on a huge Warpaint obsession, you could say, for the majority of the last two years, and I'd introduced some of Warpaint's music to him. And he suggested this band Brute Heart were like, or would appeal to me since I enjoy Warpaint so much.

And, I can't or couldn't deny why. Yeah, Brute Heart are a little bit like Warpaint. Both groups are all female, and both have a hypnotic sense with their music. Both are pretty rhythmically driven.

But Brute Heart differs in some ways, and last night's show probably more so made me notice. For one, Brute Heart have this great mystical, tribal, or almost Middle-Eastern element to their music. Warpaint don't exactly incorporate that.

Brute Heart also use vocals more as a timbre and texture than as a lead melody. Even the emphasis on melody specifically, takes a backseat to the mood and trance-like approach. And I suppose part of that comes out even more live.

Their music probably would work well with (female) Bellydancers, :)/;)

But Brute Heart are also a group who doesn't actually use guitar, but instead Violin, some more lead-like bass lines, and a bit of piano. And those haunting vocals. That, the Grace Slick-comparison actually seems to make more sense now to me. Jackie Beckey and/or Crystal Myslajek seemed to channel. I want to say it was more from Crystal, but my memory isn't perfect. Maybe both?

So, they released their debut LP Brass Beads in 2009. And I recall they gained some attention from places like City Pages and Radio K. Although I don't recall ever hearing them on the air there, including Off-the-Record (Radio K's local show on Friday Afternoons), but I probably just never noticed it.

But it's good to know they have caught somewhat of a following already. And now with this upcoming, 2nd record, Lonely Hunter, 2011 might become a pretty big year for them. And that show being on May 14th (same weekend/2nd-evening-show-of Dean Magraw's Red Planet at the Artist Quarter, and dredg/The Dear Hunter in Chicago), it's not too far away.

I should spend some more time with Brass Beads soon, but I certainly am more than anxious to hear this new album of theirs, especially after they had my jaw drop multiple times last night.

edit: and I must confess having yet to hear Brass Beads, as I forgot what I have been listening to primarily from them was not it, but a Daytrotter Session, which is great. So based on that, a separate review of Brass Beads should come soon, as I purchased a Vinyl copy of it at the show, which includes a download card. I'm not aware if Brass Beads has even been issued on compact disc anyway. So if you are someone who wants to hear it, either purchasing it on Vinyl or digitally may be your only option at this point. But Lonely Hunter, that may not be the case since the May 14th show is a "CD Release" show.

I'd say along with the likes of The Galactic Cowboy Orchestra, Lehto & Wright, Cloud Cult, and Greg Herriges, this band may be the most intrigued by a local artist since maybe Between Two Skies 5 years ago. They may become one of my favorite Minnesota artists. I'm *that* impressed/intrigued by them. They're doing prog, like Warpaint or whoever else you can compare them to, but in their own way.

They seem to create an atmosphere I've yet to really hear specifically. Their approach to vocals for one, really is unique. And they carry that less-is-more approach I sense. Nothing seems overdone, but yet nothing is too simple to seem boring.

I guess I'll know more in the coming weeks/months.

Oh, and perhaps I'll run into at least 2 of the members at the Warpaint show (Crystal Brinkman, Brute Heart's drummer, mentioned to me she was going out of town this week), at the Varsity Theater on Wednesday, which of course is right around the corner from where I saw them last night, The Kitty Kat Club. Funny how that happens/Small World.

Jimmy Gnecco - The Heart (2010)

4/13/10 7:56PM

July 20th is the drop date.

cmj article (which I scratch my head why Radio K has an ad there. Radio K has NEVER played Ours before as far as I know)

Jimmy Gnecco, frontman for the alternative rock band Ours, has announced plans to release his first solo album, titled The Heart. The label Bright Antenna will put out the album on July 20, and its first single, "Bring You Home," will hit radio June 22. In addition to self-producing The Heart, Gnecco performs every instrument heard on the album—guitar, bass, keyboards, drums and others. He also supplied the 13 tracks with his impassioned, melancholic vocal that fans of Ours have come to love.


Track Listing For The Heart:
01. Rest Your Soul
02. Light On The Grave
03. Mystery
04. The Heart
05. Bring You Home
06. These Are My Hands
07. Gravity
08. I Heard Your Singing
09. Take A Chance
10. Darling
11. Patiently Waiting
12. It's Only Love
13. Talk To Me



4/8/10 8:14PM

the 1st single is available to stream/download (from Bright Antenna's site, the label that's releasing it).

Bring You Home

a video I guess was made for that track as well. I like it, although it's just a short little diddy.

Also courtesy of A Good Day For Airplay

here's some of the new songs live.






Dates.

May. 06 - Mississippi Studios ( Portland, OR )
May. 07 - WOW Hall ( Eugene, OR )
May. 08 - The Tractor Tavern ( Seattle, WA )
May. 11 - Walnut Room ( Denver, CO )
May. 14 - 7Th Street Entry ( Minneaplis, MN )
May. 15 - Empty Bottle ( Chicago, IL )
May. 17 - The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern ( Toronto, Canada )
May. 19 - Blind Pig ( Ann Arbor, MI )
May. 20 - Cambridge Room @ House Of Blues ( Cleveland, OH )
May. 21 - Rumba Cafe ( Columbus, OH )
May. 22 - Tin Angel ( Philadelphia, PA )
May. 24 - The Rock And Roll Hotel ( Washington, DC )
May. 25 - Bowery Ballroom ( New York, NY )
May. 27 - Paradise Rock Club ( Boston, MA )
May. 30 - The Evening Muse ( Charlotte, NC )
Jun. 01 - Vinyl ( Atlanta, GA )
Jun. 02 - WorkPlay Theatre ( Birmingham, AL )
Jun. 04 - The Prophet Bar ( Dallas, Texas )
Jun. 05 - Stubb’s BBQ ( Austin, Texas )
Jun. 08 - The Rhythm Room ( Phoenix, Arizona )
Jun. 10 - Cafe Du Nord ( San Francisco, CA )
2/27/10 10:08AM

a couple of notes about this. Vinyl & a Deluxe Edition are in the works. I haven't seen any other details really yet, but I would expect they will come out soon. Release date and things..my guess it'll be released sometime Late Spring/Early Summer (May-July-ish)

Jimmy is also playing at SXSW not surprisingly.

Bright Antenna here. We were listening to the vinyl master reference of Jimmy's new record yesterday, and, wow, if you don't have a turntable you should get one before this is released! It's like Jimmy is sitting in the room with you. Who out there is a vinyl fan? And Jimmy's will come with a download code for mp3s!

Working with Jimmy Gnecco on some additional material for the deluxe packaging.

2/8/10 11:41PM


Well here's a live video from The Mercury Lounge last Wednesday in NYC. The song "These Are My Hands" which I believe is the 1st single from this record.

More information about this record I gotta believe isn't far away as February was the original projection date. I don't think we're going to have a Mercy/Dancing For the Death... situation again given the label status.

bumpings will occur of course when info is available.

Marillion - Angelina

On Sound Opinions last week they did a show with a "radio" theme. Songs about radio and how radio was involved in the history of Rock and Roll more or less.

of course they play songs about it and also at the end they encourage listeners to call up about the show. Offer suggestions of songs as well.

well, a few years ago I was able to be a guest on Radio K's Sunday guest-project show. I forget the name. But it was obviously after I was done doing radio at KFAI, and Marillion's incredible double record from 2004, "Marbles" was released after I finished volunteering as a dj at KFAI. So I naturally never was able to play anything off Marbles on KFAI. But in this situation, it probably made sense to, given how much I had listened to it in the recent months. And what song, but "Angelina" would make a lot of sense to play as it was sort of about radio itself.

This is some kind of sync-ed foreign film/short film that uses it pretty effectively, although many of the images in here I never really have pictured with this song/



Steve Hogarth, whose Marillion's singer and lyricist (along with John Helmer occasionally) kind of explains more about it here.


it really is a wonderful track, and one very relate able to anyone whose lonely and finds comfort in something on the radio. I won't deny, I have been through that far more than I ever would like to imagine.

I was thinking of calling up Sound Opinions and suggesting this, but as I often do when I get an idea to call and leave them a voicemail, I find it's probably not worth it. I have called a few times and they never played my messages. They did once or twice, but I'd guess I've tried more than twice that many times, that the odds are they wouldn't play my message. Let alone the fact when they play the caller's messages, and they allude to a piece of music, they play a clip from it. The guys from Sound Opinions including the producers, I'd suspect have never heard this Marillion track anyway, and may not desire to even try tracking it down and cutting a short clip to include with my message. But I can't be sure, since it was in Chicago (where Sound Opinions is based) I saw Marillion twice (or once, and one time as "Los Marillios Trios") in 2004 and 2005. On the last tour they did of the US supporting Marbles.



Fuck, Marbles is such a great record. It wouldn't surprise me to see it find the legendary/legacy status that Brave has found, if it hasn't already. In 10 or 20 years, Marbles will be one of those records people cite from the 2000's. It's just perfect, and even with some extensive song lengths, the whole record flows so incredibly well, they don't feel as long as they are really. And many of the shorter songs are very accessible, that any new or non fan could easily enjoy them.

And this song, Angelina, while not my favorite part of Marbles, is as good a song the band have written in their career. Someday maybe some girl named Angelina will become a disc jockey and she'll have to use it as her theme music. Or perhaps even some female dj will take on the radio-name Angelina, just like Margarita. Hell, maybe even a drink will be named Angelina like that as well (if there isn't already one or more).