American Songwriter » Drew Litowitz

Os Mutantes Coming To A Town Near You

Drew Litowitz — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:04:59 +0000

We’ve already told you all about how Brazilian tropicalia pioneers Os Mutantes are getting ready to release their first studio effort in 35 years, Haih or Amortecedor. Now, the psych-rockers have announced plans to follow-up their critically acclaimed 2006 reunion tour with yet another. The group’s live show has been heralded by artists from the Flaming Lips to David Byrne for its high-energy, progressive qualities. Constantly shifting styles, time signatures, and moods, Os Mutantes have been regarded as one of the most captivating live bands in the world. Kurt Cobain even pleaded with the band to reunite and open for Nirvana on a tour in the mid 90s, to which they declined. The Urban UK retroactively mentioned the upside to Cobain’s unsuccessful efforts: “In a way, Kurt Cobain was lucky that Os Mutantes turned down that support slot - Nirvana getting out-rocked by a bunch of mad, middle-aged Brazilian hippies would have been a sight to behold.” Band leader Sergio Dias has expressed his excitement for the upcoming tour, during which he will be able to do what he does best: "I love playing this music live," Dias says. "It is the best thing possible. When we were playing at the Pitchfork festival it was like looking at yourself when you were a kid trying to mumble the words to I Wanna Hold Your Hand in English and not understanding the words. There weren't many Brazilians there but the kids were singing our songs in Portuguese. Playing with this band live is amazing. I cannot describe anything better other than maybe going into space. It keeps me young." The tour is sure to be as phenomenal as anything the band has done before, showcasing the unique sound and the profound influence that the group has had on the modern music scene. The band, however, says that they do not intend to simply dwell on the past. Via the press release: “The reunited Mutantes offer something far more intriguing than mere psychedelic nostalgia. While the ingenious genre blending Tropicália spirit remains intact on Haih or Amortecedor, it's clear the Mutantes are not looking to the past, but ahead into further uncharted musical terrain.” Whichever way they do decide to look, it should be a pretty good view. North American Tour Dates: 08-28-09, Los Angeles California, The Echoplex 08-29-09, San Francisco California, Outside Lands Festival, 09-01-09, Redway California, Mateel Community Center 09-02-09, Portland Oregon, Aladdin Theater 09-03-09 Vancouver, BC, The Commodore Ballroom 09-04-09 Bellingham Washington, The Nightlight 09-05-09 Seattle Washington, Bumbershoot Festival 09-19-09 Yosemite California, Symbiosis Fest 09-24-09 Denver Colorado, Cervantes 09-25-09 Omaha Nebraska, Waiting Room 09-26-09 Minneapolis Minnesota, Cedar Cultural Ctr 09-30-09 Cleveland Ohio, Beachland Ballroom 10-04-09 Boston Massachusetts, Sommerville Th. 10-08-09 New York New York, Webster Th. 10-09-09 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, Mr. Smalls 10-10-09 Columbus Ohio, Capitol Th. 10-11-09 Lexington Kentucky, WRFL Fest 10-13-09 Tampa Florida, Skipper's 10-14-09 Ft. Lauderdale Florida, Culture Room 10-16-09 Atlanta Georgia, Variety Playhouse 10-17-09 New Orleans Louisiana, Tipitina's 10-18-09 Austin Texas, La Zona Rosa

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Leonard Cohen Announces New US Tour

Drew Litowitz — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:22:32 +0000

Considering the fact that Leonard Cohen’s most recent tour was his first in 15 years, the man has been quite busy on the road. He’s also been busy in some other respects: releasing a live album and speaking out on others’ covering “Hallelujah.” But he’s not quitting anytime soon. Cohen has just announced that he will perform yet another string of North American shows. After concluding his current tour of Europe, Cohen will give us in the States another chance at seeing the legendary Canadian do his thing. Cohen will hit select cities all over the country, including good old Nashville. The jaunt will end in San Jose at the HP Pavillion. Tickets for some of the dates will be available via Ticketmaster on August 3rd. If you want to see Cohen, now is the time. He may go into another 15 year hibernation. Don’t miss your chance. Leonard Cohen 2009 Tour Dates: 07/22 - Dublin, IE @ The O2 07/23 - Dublin, IE @ The O2 07/26 - Belfast, UK @ Odyssey Arena 07/30 - Libson, PT @ Pabillion Atlantico 07/31 - Leon, ES @ Leon Arena 08/03 - Venice, IT @ St. Mark’s Square 08/05 - Istanbul, TR @ Harbiye Open Air Theatre 08/06 - Istanbul, TR @ Harbiye Open Air Theatre 08/11 - Palma De Mallorca, ES @ Palma Arena 08/13 - Vigo, ES @ Festival Castrelos 08/15 - Girona, ES @ Festival Jardins de Cap Roig 08/16 - Colmar, FR @ Foire aux Vins de Colmar Festival 08/18 - Vienne, FR @ Theatre Antique de Vienne 08/20 - Nimes, FR @ Arena of Nimes 08/22 - Monaco, FR @ Sporting Club 08/23 - Monaco, FR @ Sporting Club 08/26 - Wiesen, AT @ FestivalgelÃƒÂ¤nde 08/28 - Bratislava, SK @ Incheba Expo Arena 08/29 - Prague, CZ @ O2 Arena 08/31 - Budapest, HR @ Arena Plaza 09/02 - Belgrade, RS @ Belgrade Arena 09/04 - Bucharest, RO @ Piata Constitutiei 09/12 - Madrid, ES @ Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid 09/13 - Granada, ES @ Coliseo Atarfe 09/15 - Zaragoza, ES @ Pabellon PrÃƒÂ ncipe Felipe 09/17 - Bilbao, ES @ Bilbao Exhibition Centre 09/21 - Barcelona, ES @ Palau Sant Jordi 10/17 - Sunrise, FL @ Bank Atlantic Center 10/19 - Tampa, FL @ St. Pete Times Forum 10/20 - Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre 10/22 - Philadelphia, PA @ Spectrum 10/23 - New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden 10/25 - Cleveland, OH @ Allen Theatre 10/27 - Columbus, OH @ Palace Theatre 10/29 - Chicago, IL @ Rosemont Theatre 11/01 - Asheville, NC @ Thomas Wolfe Auditorium 11/03 - Durham, NC @ Durham Performing Arts Center 11/05 - Nashville, TN @ Tennessee Performing Arts Center 11/07 - St. Louis, MO @ Fox Theatre 11/09 - Kansas City, MO @ The Midland by AMC 11/12 - Las Vegas, NV @ The Colosseum at Caesars Palace 11/13 - San Jose, CA @ HP Pavilion

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Conor Oberst May Be Done With Bright Eyes

Drew Litowitz — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:44:06 +0000

For a while, few people even knew the name Conor Oberst. For many, the label Bright Eyes means a lot more than the songwriter behind the moniker. But of late, Oberst has dropped the pseudonym in favor of his birth name, enlisted his own Crazy Horse (The Mystic Valley Band), and eased into a twangier, roots rock mindset. And now it's starting to look like Oberst may be closing the door on Bright Eyes altogether. "It does feel like it needs to stop at some point. I'd like to clean it up, lock the door, say goodbye," Oberst told Rolling Stone last month. According to Saddle Creek president Rob Nansel, Oberst feels restrained by the associations with his earlier work under the Bright Eyes handle: "I think he feels like Bright Eyes has a certain association, for better or worse," he tells the Omaha World-Herald (via Pitchfork). "I think he's trying to distance himself a little bit from what that means to people." According to Oberst’s home town news source, The Omaha World-Herald, Conor has one more Bright Eyes record left in him. Nansel went on to say that Oberst has plans to work on the album at the start of next year, slated for a 2010 release. Until then, fans will have enough Oberst related material to tide themselves over with the upcoming album from supergroup Monsters of Folk, comprised of Oberst, Jim James, M. Ward, and Bright Eyes producer Mike Mogis. That group has just offered up a sneak peak into their forthcoming effort in the form of “Say Please”. Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band still have some dates left on their summer tour as well. - Drew Litowitz

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Pixies Bring Doolittle Tour To Europe — America Could Be Next

Drew Litowitz — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:01:22 +0000

A little while back, news surfaced that the Pixies would tour Europe in honor of 20th anniversary of their seminal sophomore album, Doolittle, performing the classic album in its entirety and the record’s B-sides. This was good news for European Pixies fans, but what about the devoted American fanbase? In an interview with Spin, Frank Black divulged some exciting news regarding that front. According to Black, The Pixies will bring the Doolittle nostalgia to North America this fall. He even went on to name a few of the cities which will be included on the run: Oakland, L.A., Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Boston, New York, D.C., and “maybe Montreal.” For their hometown show in Boston, Black even mentioned a possible venue: “I believe we’re doing the Wang center in Boston.” Though no dates have been confirmed just yet, the tour looks pretty promising. And if you miss out on the Doolittle fun, Black also mentioned that the group may do the same for Bossanova’s 20th anniversary next year. In the meantime, you can catch Frank Black and his wife Violet Clark on tour as Grand Duchy, and get ready to shell out a good amount of cash for the deluxe Pixies box set, Minotaur in October.

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Animal Collective Sample the Grateful Dead

Drew Litowitz — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:53:55 +0000

Since the group’s inception, Animal Collective have developed an interesting reputation. To some, they're seen as avant-garde electronica’s answer to jam music. Their live shows consist of tunes which lapse into one another and wander with purpose. And though the music of Animal Collective may seem to be the product of an entirely different planet than that of jam band forefathers the Grateful Dead, the Baltimore natives are undeniably influenced by the Dead style and mode. They prove it with every one of their live shows. So it would make sense that the boys have made music history by being the first artists to gain rights to the first ever officially licensed Grateful Dead sample. The unreleased track, tentatively titled “What Would I Want Sky” has been fluttering all over the internet in the form of live recordings and radio sessions for months. The song features a sample of the Dead’s “Unbroken Chain,” more specifically a few snippets of vocals spliced together to form the song’s title. It’s an interesting sample, and makes for yet another mind bending Animal Collective song. Evidently, AC fans aren’t the only ones who might think its good. According to Leg Up! Management, Dead bassist Phil Lesh has endorsed the song by expressing his love for it. Noah Lennox and Brian Weitz, better known as Panda Bear and Geologist, respectively, had this to say to the Onion’s A.V. club regarding the song: “BW: And “What Would I Want Sky” is something that Dave wrote for Merriweather and sent Noah and I, but we didn’t have time to work on parts before we got to the studio, and then one day a week, the engineer would like to have a day off. But we would usually go into the studio anyway and work on the songs that we had never played live, and some that didn’t make it on the record. “What Would I Want Sky” is one we just never got to. We just didn’t have enough time, so we worked on it in Lisbon in January. We all went to Lisbon to hang out for a week, and that’s when we made a full-band version of that song. DP: Hopefully, we’re gonna do a kind of Brother Sport EP at the end of the year, with the extra tracks and maybe “What Would I Want Sky.” I think that would be sweet.” Maybe Animal Collective hasn’t exactly registered with Deadheads just yet, but by the looks of it they’ll be tuning in shortly.

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Monsters of Folk Offer Up “Say Please”

Drew Litowitz — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:06:38 +0000

Monsters of Folk, the much talked about collaboration between My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst, M. Ward and producer Mike Mogis has unleashed a taste of their self-titled September 22nd release. The upcoming effort’s second track, “Say Please” is available for free download at monstersoffolk.com. The track is everything it should be, given the four responsible for it. Oberst, Ward, and Jame's alter-ego "Yim Yames" all share vocal spots, before Mogis joins in with a little shredding. It's got more of a classic rock feel than it does a folk one. Apparently Yimmy is taking the Jack White in Dead Weather route as well, as he sits in on the drum set for this one. It’s hard to believe, but the track really does sound like the synthesis of each individual player’s stylings. It’s a good preview to a long-in-the-works project that’s going to have to live up to a ridiculous amount of hype. Keep ‘em coming.

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Thom Yorke Covers Mark Mulcahy: “All For the Best”

Drew Litowitz — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:30:10 +0000

Thom Yorke's upcoming cover of Miracle Legion's "All For the Best" is now streaming at Stereogum. The track is the Radiohead frontman’s contribution to Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy, out September 29 on Shout! Factory. And what a contribution it is. Yorke’s cover of the Miracle Legion’s “All for the Best” is breathtaking. Though the original may be slightly removed from the grandiosity of most Radiohead tunes, its doesn’t stop Yorke from bringing his own blend of minimal electronic based rock to the song. The track takes the skittish drum machines and eerie synths found on Yorke's solo debut, The Eraser, and drops an explosion of feedback-heavy guitars into the mix. Though the name Miracle Legion may not ring a bell for everybody, the Connecticut band is one of the many musical endeavors of songwriter Mark Mulcahy, a somewhat enigmatic figure in American Alternative music. Mulcahy has released dozens of albums, under either his own name or with the various bands he has fronted. Some may be completely unaware of his music, while others might simply know him as a member of the house band, Polaris, from Nickolodeon’s cult television show The Adventures of Pete and Pete. A year ago, Mulcahy tragically lost his wife. Since the sad news surfaced, 21 artists have offered up exclusive covers of the man’s tunes for a tribute album, which will help earn money for Mulcahy's twin daugthers. Mulcahy’s music meant a lot to some pretty important musicians. Here's the track list. 01 Thom Yorke - "All For The Best" 02 The National - "Ashamed Of The Story I Told" 03 Michael Stipe - "Everything's Coming Undone" 04 David Berkeley - "Loves The Only Thing That Shuts Me Up" 05 Dinosaur Jr. - "The Backyard" 06 Chris Harford & Mr Ray Neal - "Micon The Icon" 07 Frank Black - "Bill Jocko" 08 Vic Chesnutt - "Little Man" 09 Unbelievable Truth - "Ciao My Shining Star" 10 Butterflies Of Love - "I Have Patience" 11 Chris Collingwood (Fountains Of Wayne) - "Cookie Jar" 12 Frank Turner - "The Quiet One" 13 Rocket From The Tombs - "In Pursuit Of Your Happiness" 14 Ben Kweller - "Wake Up Whispering" 15 Josh Rouse - "I Woke Up In The Mayflower" 16 Autumn Defense - "Paradise" 17 Hayden -"Happy Birthday Yesterday" 18 Juliana Hatfield - "We're Not In Charleston Anymore" 19 Mercury Rev - "Sailors And Animals" 20 Elvis Perkins - "She Watches Over Me" 21 Sean Watkins - "A World Away From This One" 20 additional songs, including one by A.C. Newman, will be added to the digital release. There’s also talk of a few concerts taking place in London and New York, to coincide with the tribute. You can check out Mulcahy’s originals over at his MySpace page.

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Bon Iver Sings the Indigo Girls’ Praises

Drew Litowitz — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:37:02 +0000

In a new article on Indyrock.com, Bon Iver's Justin Vernon passionately blogs about his love for the Indigo Girls. We've got a thing for them too. In his post he pretty much credits seeing the ladies perform at New Orleans' Jazz Fest fifteen years ago for giving him a reason to "believe." He divulges: "I have started to understand that belief is a formative phenomenon: Remembering the ride back on a New Orleans city bus that got lost for two hours, I was gazing from the window and knowing that something changed in me forever. This week might do the same: When I meet Amy Ray's hands with my own and hear her speaking voice, something I know only by listening from afar, there will be palpitations, earthquakes where the plates of my past will shift—perhaps, finally, into place." Vernon opened for the Indigo Girls on Tuesday at Santa Barbara's Granada Theatre, and will do so again this evening in Fresno and Saturday in Saratoga. Read Vernon's tale of devotion here. Justin and IG: 07-14 Santa Barbara, CA - Granada Theatre % 07-16 Fresno, CA - Tower Theatre % 07-18 Saratoga, CA - Mountain Winery %

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Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Frontman Readies Anti- Debut

Drew Litowitz — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:19:27 +0000

Following the likes of TV on the Radio’s Kyp Malone, Interpol’s Paul Banks, The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas, and Lou Barlow, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah frontman Alec Ounsworth is currently putting together a solo effort of his own. On October 20th, Anti- will release Mo Beauty, Ounsworth’s 10 track solo debut. The guest heavy record is said to feature input from Galactic’s Stanton and Robert Water of the Greyboy Allstars, among others. Back in 2006, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! came virtually out of nowhere with their much blogged about self-titled debut, prompting a slew of critics to call them the first DIY success of the digital age. But their second album, 2007's Some Loud Thunder was rather poorly received, and the band has since kind of drifted. But, perhaps CYHSY will be returning to the limelight soon. They recently performed a new song on Jimmy Fallon and are presumably working on a new album. In the meantime, Ounsworth has given us something to clap our hands and say yeah about. Mo Beauty: 01 "Modern Girl (... With Scissors)" 02 "Bones in the Grave" 03 "Holy, Holy, Holy Moses (Song for New Orleans)" 04 "That Is Not My Home (After Bruegel)" 05 "Idiots in the Rain" 06 "South Philadelphia (Drug Days)" 07 "What Fun." 08 "Me and You, Watson" 09 "Obscene Queen Bee #2" 10 "When You've No Eyes" - Drew Litowitz

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Beck Unloads Acoustic Version of Modern Guilt

Drew Litowitz — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:08:53 +0000

Apparently, Beck is excited about the one year anniversary of last year’s Modern Guilt. What does Beck do when he gets excited about something? He records a cover of it, of course. The "Devil's Haircut" singer has unleashed yet another cool feature on Beck.com, to add to his ambitious new Record Club project, entitled Videotheque, where he'll be uploading videos and short films. Currently featured is Beck’s stripped-down self-cover of Modern Guilt’s “Orphans.” Seems pretty innovative to cover yourself, but lest we forget, Dylan has been doing that for almost 30 years. Beck writes: "Modern Guilt was released one year ago this week! For the occasion we are putting up acoustic versions of the entire album recorded earlier this year after returning from the Japan tour (under severe jet lag). Tracks will be released weekly starting with this rendition of Orphans. There will be limited ep of four tracks from the session available soon. We'll also be putting up all the promotional videos from the album this week in the new section, Videotheque." Additionally, in a recent interview with Pitchfork, Beck mentioned nearly 3 other projects he has been/is currently working on. “I just finished up this record with Charlotte Gainsbourg [...] We started it last spring, last year, and we've been working on it off and on. We finished that a couple months ago. I thought it was coming out in the fall, but I don't know; the year is slipping away. I produced a song for someone's movie with Devendra Banhart. I'm working with some other people. I started recording this album. I've actually been working on it since 2007 and then I did that record with Danger Mouse. I have this other record still knocking around."

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