Exclusive: Bassist Zak Sally Leaves Low

In an official statement, Sally wished his former bandmates the best, and didn't rule out future collaborations. "I sincerely hope that someday we can sit in the basement and make music together, but for now, there are more important things than music," he said, adding "On a personal level, I can't hope to express what the folks who have helped, supported, and listened during my 12 year tenure in Low have meant to me. This band has been my entire adult life, and I had a hell of a ride. Thanks for everything." Low responded with a message of their own:

"It is with sadness and regret that we have accepted Zak's resignation from Low. After 12 years together, we have a lot of great shared memories and musical moments. Zak's contributions to the band and his friendship have been invaluable, and we wish him and his family the best."

This is not the first time Sally has parted ways with the band. He jumped ship back in the spring of 2003, only to rejoin when Low was asked to open for Radiohead on their summer tour.

Low currently have only one performance scheduled, a "special holiday concert" at Minneapolis' First Avenue on December 9, but they promise more touring, and recording, in 2006. As for Sally, he is currently busy with his printing press, La Mano 21, which has several projects in the works.

Low: http://www.chairkickers.com/
Sub Pop: http://www.subpop.com/
La Mano 21: http://www.lamano21.com/

Spoon Begin American Tour Today

The 21-day jaunt kicks off in Memphis and sees Britt Daniel & his merry retinue rubbing shoulders (and quite possibly post-gig spooning??) with the likes of Mary Timony, Bright Eyes, American Music Club, and yes, Super Diamond, who are in fact a Neil Diamond cover band. I'd insert some hysterically snide remark here, but that pretty much speaks for itself.

Balance these on yr nose:

10-26 Memphis, TN - New Daisy Theater *
10-27 Louisville, KY - Headliners #
10-28 Urbana, IL - Foellinger Auditorium #
10-29 Detroit, MI - St. Andrews Hall #
10-30 Las Vegas, NV - Vegoose Festival +
11-01 Toronto, Ontario - Phoenix Theatre #
11-02 Montreal, Quebec - Club Soba #
11-03 Boston, MA - Avalon #
11-04 Northampton, MA - Pearl Street #
11-05 New York, NY - Nokia Live #$
11-06 Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw #$
11-08 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club $
11-09 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel $
11-10 Columbia, MO - Blue Note $
11-11 Omaha, NE - Orpheum Theatre %
11-12 Boulder, CO - Boulder Theater $
11-14 Salt Lake City, UT - Velvet Room $
11-16 San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre $
11-17 Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern Theatre $
11-18 San Diego, CA - Cane's $
11-19 Mesa, AZ - Grand Cayenne Music Fest ^
12-08 Minneapolis, MN - 400 Bar

* with Super Diamond
# with Mary Timony
+ with the Arcade Fire, the Flaming Lips, Sleater-Kinney & the Magic Numbers
$ with American Music Club
% with Bright Eyes, David Dondero & Willy Mason
^ with the Black Heart Procession, Mates of State, the Album Leaf & Earlimart

* Spoon: <a

Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo Collaborates on DVD

On November 29, Ranaldo will add another piece of art to his long list of accomplishments, when Plexifilm releases the DVD version of Drift, an ongoing collaborative project between Ranaldo and his wife, visual artist Leah Singer. The pair have been working together under the Drift blanket since 1991, performing largely improvisational events in which Ranaldo soundtracks Singer's manipulated images.

By using two modified projectors, Singer can mess with speed, stop images, and adjust material as she sees fit, very similar to what DJs do with turntables. So it's basically an exercise in mixing up film on the reels of steel (sorry...) while Ranaldo provides the soundtrack in his incomparable style. The pair have performed throughout the globe whenever their respective busy schedules permit.

Drift the DVD is accompanied by a 112-page full-color art book of images and words, featuring a conversation with Ranaldo and Singer and texts by filmmaker Jonas Mekas, writer/musician Alan Licht, artists Sam Durant and Tom Leeser, and curators Roland Spekle and Lea Rekow. Your film school friends will love this.

Gigantic ArtSpace in New York City will host a Drift installation from November 4 through January 14, displaying prints, lightboxes and drawings as well as the film itself. Ranaldo and Singer will perform live at GAS on November 16.

In other Sonic Youth news, the sixth volume in their SYR series, titled Koncertas Stan Brakhage Prisiminimui, will be released on December 6 on SYR Records (a division of drummer Steve Shelley's Smells Like Records). As previously reported, SYR 6 is a live recording of a Sonic Youth performance with percussionist Tim Barnes that took place in April 2003 at Anthology Film Archives in New York City. Portions of the disc's proceeds will benefit Anthology Film Archives.

Sonic Youth: http://www.sonicyouth.com/
Leah Singer: http://www.leahsinger.com/
Plexifilm: http://www.plexifilm.com/
Gigantic ArtSpace: http://www.giganticartspace.com/

Doves to Tour UK in December

According to their official website, the Manchester-bred group will play ten dates between December 3 and 15, which will put a cozy night cap and PJs on their jam-packed year of activity supporting their early-2005 release Some Cities-- one of the best grow-on-you discs of the year.

Fans can drag all their Chris Martin-allegiance-pledging friends to the following dates. Some cities, indeed:

12-03 Reading, England - Hexagon
12-04 Bath, England - Pavillion
12-06 Manchester, England - Apollo
12-07 London, England - Hammersmith Apollo
12-08 Poole, England - Lighthouse
12-10 Llandudno, Wales - Conference Centre
12-11 Newcastle, England - Academy
12-13 Douglas, Isle of Man - Villa Marina
12-14 Preston, England - Guildhall
12-15 Glasgow, Scotland - Barrowlands
12-20 Carlow, Ireland - Music Centre
12-21 Dublin, Ireland - Olympia

Doves: http://www.doves.net/

Patti Smith Celebrates Horses With Reissue, Shows

November 2005 marks the 30th anniversary of the classic release, and Smith is throwing a healthy birthday party for the album with a double shot of year-end Horses-themed activity. Kicking off the proceedings is a new two-disc expanded release of the album via Arista/Columbia/Legacy, which will arrive in U.S. stores on November 8.

Horses/Horses will include the original '75 album on the first disc, with a cover of the Who's "My Generation" tacked onto the original eight-song running order. The second disc is a live performance of Horses in its entirety, recorded at the Royal Festival Hall in London on June 25, 2005. The performance features Smith backed by guitarist Lenny Kaye, drummer Jay Dee Daugherty, bassist Tony Shanahan, as well as legendary Television guitarist Tom Verlaine and, um, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea. Kaye, Daugherty, and Verlaine all played on the original album. Flea did not.

Songs about your dreams of horses:

>>Disc 1
01 Gloria
02 Redondo Beach
03 Birdland
04 Free Money
05 Kimberly
06 Break It Up
07 Horses / Land Of A Thousand Dances / La Mer (De)
08 Elegie
09 My Generation

>> Disc 2
01 Gloria
02 Redondo Beach
03 Birdland
04 Free Money
05 Kimberly
06 Break It Up
07 Land: Horses / Land Of A Thousand Dances / La Mer (De)
08 Elegie
09 My Generation

That same lineup will mark the anniversary with a pair of shows at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Howard Gilman Opera House on November 30 and December 1, performing Horses and other favorites. Prior to those bashes, Smith will play a trio of West Coast dates with guitarist Kaye, before joining U2 in New York City as openers on the Nobel Prize-losing band's tour in support of their latest LP, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Wake up mom and dad, it looks like the punks have finally made the big time!

If only Joey Ramone was alive to see this..:

11-11 Seattle, WA - Crocodile Café *
11-14 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall *
11-15 West Hollywood, CA - The Troubadour *
11-21 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden #
11-22 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden #
11-30 Brooklyn, NY - Howard Gilman Opera House $
12-01 Brooklyn, NY - Howard Gilman Opera House $

* with Lenny Kaye
# with U2
$ Horses shows

Smith has even more reason to celebrate in 2005, as she has been selected as this year's recipient of the Woman of Valor Lifetime Achievement Award by the ROCKRGRL Music Conference. The conference, an offshoot of ROCKRGRL Magazine, will take place in Seattle on November 11-12, with Smith receiving her award at an honorary dinner on the first night, and delivering the keynote address on the morning of the second day.

Speaking about the punk poet's selection for the award, conference founder Carla DeSantis said, "Patti has always been such a force and inspiration to so many women. We are thrilled to be honoring her contributions."

As previously reported, Johnette Napolitano (Concrete Blonde), Bonnie Raitt, and Ann Wilson (Heart), among others, are scheduled to appear at the conference.

Patti Smith: http://www.pattismith.net/

Le Tigre's JD Samson Forms Side Project With BARR

More shows are promised follow early next year, according to the band's MySpace page. And hey, when was the last time a MySpace page steered you wrong?! Dates:

10-27 Brooklyn, NY - Warehouse *
10-28 New York, NY - Cake Shop #
10-29 Philadelphia, PA - Space 1026

* with Holy Hail (featuring Cat from Fannypack), the Gossip
# with Lucky Dragons, The Redcoats Are Coming, Wrists & Pistols

Face Time With Son is a collection of minimal, atonal originals and oddball covers of the likes of George Michael, Tracy Chapman, and Dave Matthews. Freak out the frat guys:

01 These Days
02 All for the Night
03 Dancing Nancies
04 Blood Blood Blood
05 The Good Wife
06 Kids in the City
07 Broken Heart
08 Candy
09 Love Song
10 Confidence
11 Faith
12 Revolution

The band members continue to busy themselves with other projects, of course. According to the Le Tigre website, the 2006 version of Samson's "JD's Lesbian Utopia" pin-up calendar will be available soon. Fowler's latest BARR album, Beyond Reinforced Jewel Case, came out on 5RC/Doggpony on October 11, and he will tour the nation with fellow party experimentalists XBXRX and Hawnay Troof in November. Dates:

11-14 San Francisco, CA - ATA *
11-16 Denver, CO - Rhinoceropolis *
11-17 Columbia, MO - The Ranch *
11-18 Bloomington, IN - TBA *
11-19 Chicago, IL - Open End Gallery *
11-20 Akron, OH - Lime Spider *&
11-21 Brooklyn, NY - TBA *
11-22 Northampton, MA - Flywheel *#
11-23 Baltimore, MD - Talking Head *@
11-25 Atlanta, GA - Larry's Bar *
11-26 Mobile, AL - Picklefish *
11-27 Pensacola, Fl- Sluggos *
11-28 Houston, TX - Andrew *
11-29 Austin, TX - Emo's * $
11-30 Lubbock, TX - TBA *
12-01 Flagstaff, AZ - TBA *
12-02 San Diego, CA - Che Café * %
12-03 Los Angeles, CA - The Smell *

* with XBXRX, Hawnay Troof
& with Nautical Almanac
# with Thurston Moore, Bomb Treb
@ with Chromatix
$ with Old Timerz, Sneeze
% with Sex Affection

New England Roses: http://www.myspace.com/newenglandroses
Le Tigre: http://www.letigreworld.com/
Barr: http://www.barrbarr.com/
Doggpony Records: http://www.dnp006.com/

Hot Chip Coming to America

Blazin' out Yo la Tengo, hey-ey:

01 Take Care
02 The Beach Party
03 Keep Fallin'
04 Playboy
05 Crap Kraft Dinner
06 Down With Prince
07 Bad Luck
08 You Ride, We Ride, In My Ride
09 Shining Escalade
10 Baby Said
11 One One One
12 A-B-C
13 Hittin Skittles
14 From Drummer to Driver

Best song titles since Fall Out Boy, dontcha think? More should be coming soon, as Hot Chip are currently finishing up production on their still-untitled sophomore album. Although that record will not come out until spring 2006 on Astralwerks and DFA, the former label will issue the album's first single, "Over and Over", on the same date as Coming on Strong, November 29. The band also plans to issue a limited 12" entitled The Barbarian EP that month. It will include four new songs, two of which won't appear on the next album.

British Hot Chip fans who have already purchased their copy of the group's debut at their local record shop will have the good fortune of catching them on tour with fellow dance-punks Mylo and LCD Soundsystem, starting today and continuing through December. Not afraid of hitting up several cities more than once, Hot Chip are as brash and irreverent as ever, you can bet on it:

10-26 Edinburgh, Scotland - Corn Exchange *
10-27 Glasgow, Scotland - Barrowlands *
10-28 Leeds, England - Leeds University *
10-29 Manchester, England - Manchester University *
10-31 Belfast, Ireland - Spring & Airbrake Festival *
11-01 Dublin, Ireland - Ambassador *
11-02 Birmingham, England - Academy *
11-04 Norwich, England - UEA *
11-05 London, England - Brixton Academy *
11-19 Aberdeen, Scotland - The Tunnel
11-20 Glasgow, Scotland - Optimo at Sub Club
11-21 Newcastle, England - Club NME at Digital
11-24 Sheffield, England - Fuzz Club
11-25 Liverpool, England - Evol at Korova
11-26 Nottingham, England - Stealth at Rescue Rooms
12-03 Glasgow, Scotland - Barrowlands #
12-04 Manchester, England - Ritzy #
12-06 Leeds, England - Blank Canvas #
12-07 London, England - Brixton Academy #
12-10 London, England - Horseshoe Tavern $

* with Mylo
# with LCD Soundsystem
$ with Grovesnor, Elysian Quartet

Hot Chip: http://www.hotchip.co.uk/

An Albatross Spaz Across U.S.

In the meantime, the band has a handful of shows lined up for this month and next, with more US dates to proceed in January and February, and a European jaunt to follow after that. Screw Trebek:

10-30 Washington, DC - DC9 *#
10-31 Providence, RI - TBA *$% Mahi Mahi
11-01 Middletown, CT - Wesleyan College *%@
11-02 Philadelphia, PA - The Khyber *$+
11-04 Brooklyn, NY - Exit *&
11-05 Brooklyn, NYC - Palace Tavern *%!
11-06 Poughkeepsie, NY - Vassar College *
11-14 New York, NY - The Mercury Lounge ^

* with DMBQ
# with The Apes
$ with Green Milk From the Planet Orange
% with Get Hustle
@ with The Mai Shi
& with Bad Wizard, USA Is A Monster, Kites
+ with Birds of Maya
! with Genghis Tron, Shellshag
^ with Quintron and Miss Pussycat, Harry Merry

An Albatross: http://www.analbatross.com/
Ace Fu: http://www.acefu.com/
GSL: http://www.goldstandardlabs.com/

Sleater-Kinney Cancel European Tour

A statement on Sleater-Kinney's website explained, "Her doctor has advised that she not travel/tour for prolonged periods of time until the condition stabilizes and further tests are conducted." Uh oh.

According to NME.com, Sleater-Kinney are aiming to reschedule the tour dates for Spring 2006 because, as previously reported, they'll be in the UK curating one day of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival. Until then, we regretfully advise Brownstein to stay out of the woods-- those pine needles can send any nose running. Zing!

Cancelled dates:

11-08 Brighton, England - Concorde 2
11-09 Bristol, England - Fleece
11-10 Nottingham, England - Rescue Rooms
11-11 Glasgow, Scotland - Oran Mor
11-12 Leeds, England - Cockpit
11-14 Paris, France - Nouveau Casino
11-15 Cologne, Germany - Gebaude 9
11-16 Hamburg, Germany - Knust
11-17 Berlin, Germany - Maria
11-19 Barcelona, Spain - Apolo
11-20 Madrid, Spain - Arena

Sleater-Kinney: http://www.sleater-kinney.com

Exclusive: DFA to Release Holiday Mix

Us Americans will have to hold our horses until November 22, when the mix will become available as download-only release. And get this-- the whole thing is only gonna cost 99 cents (limited-time offer, folks)!

The mix was, uh, mixed by what we deem the Tim Team: Tim Goldsworthy (the half of DFA who isn't James Murphy) and Beats In Space's Tim Sweeney. It features recent releases by but four acts: LCD Soundsystem (including a never-before-released Rub N Tug mix of "Too Much Love"), Black Dice, Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom, and the Juan MacLean, tweaked by the likes of Soulwax, Cajmere, Tiga, and more.

Because "Holiday Mix" translates literally, the UK CD version will only be in stores through January 2006, so stock up on these stocking stuffers ASAP. After all, the best kind of gift is the one that sells on eBay for buttloads, right? If that ain't up your alley, there are always the "frame that mint collectible and hang it on the wall," "forge Black Dice's autographs on the album and brag," and "actually listen to it" options.

Here's the tracklist; consider it an early [insert holiday being celebrated here] present from your best buds over at Pitchfork:

01 Black Dice - Smiling Off (DFA mix/Luomo mix)
02 LCD Soundsystem - Too Much Love (Rub N Tug mix)
03 The Juan Maclean - Give Me Every Little Thing (dub)
04 The Juan Maclean - Tito's Way (Reverso 68 mix/LP version/Booka Shade mix)
05 The Juan Maclean - Give Me Every Little Thing (Cajmere mix/Xpress 2 bonus beats/Putsch 79 mix)
06 Black Dice - ABA
07 Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom - #5
08 LCD Soundsystem - Tribulations (Tiga mix)
09 LCD Soundsystem - Daft Punk Is Playing At My House (Soulwax mix)

DFA Records: http://www.dfarecords.com/

Animal Collective Plan Side Projects, Reissue

In March 2006, Animal Collective's label, Paw Tracks, will release a full-length from Terrestrial Tones, the duo of Avey Tare (Dave Portner) and his roommate, Eric Copeland from Black Dice. Should we expect double the yelping? Maybe, but we should definitely expect "experimental afro-pop" on at least part of the record, according to the label.

The 2000 Animal Collective LP Hollindagain will be reissued on Paw Tracks sometime next year, which is good news for everybody who didn't get their paws on one of the 200 original copies, which came in hand-painted (or paw-painted) sleeves.

Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) hasn't been hibernating on the solo recording front. He's got two vinyl releases in the works, one on Fat Cat / Paw Tracks, and one on UUAR, which will one day be compiled onto one CD. The UUAR release is a single entitled "I'm Not / Comfy in Nautical", which will be available on both seven inch and CD on November 22. The single was recorded in Lisbon, Portugal, Panda Bear's current home, and features "optimistic lyrics," triumphant melodies," "pitch perfect vocals" and "ambient rhythms," according to the label.

In other Paw Tracks news, Ariel Pink's House Arrest, originally released on the Ball Bearings Pinatas label, will be reissued on January 24. Pink is currently recording a new album, and plans to tour North America in February and March. The label has also signed a new band to their roster, with plans for a seven inch release in the spring, but the band is so new, they don't have a name yet. Of course, that only adds to the whole mystery thing going on.

Animal Collective are currently galloping across Europe on tour, with three measly dates in the U.S. in December. But don't worry-- a full-scale U.S. migration is scheduled for February.

Watch out for giraffricorns:

10-25 London, England - The Scala *
10-27 Amsterdam, Netherlands - The Paradiso
10-28 Brussels, Belgium - AB
10-29 Ghent, Belgium - Kraak Pauze Festival
10-30 Nantes, France - Soy Festival
10-31 Paris, France - Nouveau Casino *
11-03 Rome, Italy - Circolo Degli Artisti
11-04 Bologna, Italy - Il Covo
11-08 Frankfurt, Germany - Brotfabrik #
11-09 Munich, Germany - Zerwirk-Saal #
11-10 Berlin, Germany - Volksbuhne #
11-12 Utrecht, Netherlands - SJU Jazz Podium #
11-13 Arhus, Denmark - Voxhall #
11-14 Goteberg, Sweden - Nefertiti #
11-15 Stockholm, Sweden - Sodra Teatern #
11-16 Malmo, Sweden - Chokladfabriken #
11-20 New York, NY - Webster Hall $
11-21 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall %
11-22 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre @

* with Aoki Takamasa and Tujiko Noriko
# with Storsveit Nix Noltes
$ with Amandine, Excepter
% with Octis
@ with Amps for Christ

Paw Tracks: http://www.paw-tracks.com/

Sufjan Collaborates With Half-Handed Cloud on New EP

Unless E and P stand for Ecclesiastes and Proverbs, it looks like there are some new tunes comin' atcha. Well, sort of new. According to the Asthmatic Kitty website, this EP was put together "many years ago", so like our grandparents, the Beatles, and Sufjan's second-favorite Testament, these songs are old.

Half-handed Cloud's John Ringhofer and Sufjan Stevens', uh, Sufjan Stevens, got together in Danielson Famile man Daniel Smith's basement way before all this 50 States business and recorded songs about "Friendship, Kinship, Sons and Fathers, and Broken Promises," says the AK site. Do don't expect any cuss words.

The five-songer, titled What's the Remedy EP and available only in 7" form, hits stores today. The tracks were written by Ringhofer, who also sang, played piano, organ and acoustic guitar. Good ol' Sufjey also sang, pianoed, organed, acoustic guitared, in addition to playing drums, banjo, flute, and tambourine, and producing the track. That's teamwork! The EP's cover art is a print by Ringhofer himself, a self-potrait featuring a bloody wound. Stigmata? We think notta. The cut is on his chin, but it's still pretty nasty.

Vinyl is Sufjucking cool:

Side A:

01 We're Not Getting Well
02 Took Your Tablets
03 I Got a Letter
Side B:

04 Ten Commandment Tombstone
05 Here's a List

Sufjan is currently wrapping up a tour overseas where they might not even know who John Wayne Gacy, Jr. is. Half-handed Cloud, on the other half-hand, is heading over to Europe for but one show after Sufjan takes off. We didn't know they gave frequent flyer miles for vacationing with that dude up in Heaven.

Sufjan:

10-25 Brussels, Belgium - Ancienne Belgique *
10-26 Paris, France - Point Ephemere
10-27 Amsterdam, Holland - Paradiso *
10-31 London, England - King's College
11-01 London, England - King's College
11-05 Paris, France - Les Inrockuptibles
01-14 New York, NY - Lincoln Center - Allen Room

* with My Brightest Diamond

Half-handed Cloud:

11-03 London, England - Upstairs at the Betsey Trotwood

* Pitchfork Review: Half-handed Cloud: Learning About Your Scale

Half-handed Cloud: http://www.halfhandedcloud.com/
Sufjan Stevens: http://www.sufjan.com/
Asthmatic Kitty Records: http://www.asthmatickitty.com/main.php

Do you have a news tip for us? Anything crazy happen at a show you attended recently? Do you have inside info on the bands we cover? Is one of your favorite artists (that's not somebody you know personally) releasing a new record you'd like to see covered? You will remain completely anonymous, unless we are given your express permission to reveal your identity. (Please note that publicists, managers, booking agents, and other artist representatives are generally exempt from this rule, but will also be granted anonymity if requested.)