Flosstradamus Launch Tour, Play Gigs With Kid Sister

Second City partystarters and occasional masher-uppers Flosstradamus are about to turn roughly two-dozen muthas out on a summer tour that'll see them in the U.S., Canada, and Norway. Quite a few of the bills are shared with kitsch duo Chromeo, but you're not obliged to stick around for that. You will, however, want to check out ace fam Kid Sister, who'll link up with Floss for a few dates in the dirty come August. After all, just about wherever they go, she goes.

In other Flosstradamus news, they recently heard an indie song and a hip-hop a cappella they thought would go well together. More details when we get 'em. [MORE...]

Roskilde Diary: Wednesday [Brandon Stosuy]

Photos by Jane Lea

Dirty Boots

Pitchfork is spending the week in Denmark at Roskilde, Northern Europe's largest music festival. The lineup is packed-- from Against Me!, Arcade Fire, and Arctic Monkeys to Beirut, Björk, and Boris through the Who, Wilco, X-Alfonso, and Zyklon with Machine Head, Mastodon, Matmos, and My Chemical Romance nestled somewhere near the middle of the alphabet-- but the first thing you notice are the muddy boots and the people attached to them: there are dirty boots discarded next to trashcans, crusty punks wearing crustier army boots, duck-printed baby boots, teenage girls in increasingly stylish boots increasingly covered in mud. I don't think I've used the word "galoshes" since I was a kid, but I've started keeping a notebook of the amount of times I've mentioned it here in Roskilde (so far, 73).

Noah's Ark

It's been raining off and on for a week. Yesterday a notice was posted at the official Roskilde website asking folks to please leave their cars home-- "the parking areas are flooded." Mix that sort of saturation with tens of thousands of campers stamping through the grounds and it's no wonder folks are tearing off their clothes and partaking in good-spirited mud fights. After the soil washes off, you see the beer... again, lots of it. I was told on-site beer prices have gone down this year, but it remains a tradition (Roskilde started in 1971) for concertgoers to purchase cheaper libations at grocery stores prior to entering and to lug them along into the concert grounds with their sleeping bags and backpacks-- I spotted one girl carrying six or so cases of canned beer; others walk by with hand trucks; some load dozens onto the graffiti-covered train that takes you a stop closer to the grounds. At this point, I've carried no more than two beers at a time.

"Warm-Ups"

The main festival officially begins today but the "warm-ups" started on Sunday at Pavilion Junior-- basically up-and-coming Scandinavian bands like the techy, tongue-in-cheek Norwegian trio Ungdomskulen or off-kilter, CocoRosie-colored chanteuse-pop vocalist As In Rebekkamaria (aka Rebekkamaria, who also performs in Danish/Swedish Glitterhouse crew, Lampshade). By the end of Monday, approximately 45,000 folks had already arrived. No idea where the headcount's at now.



A "Self-Sufficient" Neighborhood

We landed a couple days early to get situated. A depressing aspect of festivals is cutting it too close and never getting to see anything but the festival grounds. As a corrective, we headed twice to Copenhagen, where it was somehow always sunny. Denmark's capital city is a short walk and half-hour train ride from the hotel. Before heading down into the festival mud, we met up with some friends and their kids at Tivoli, a huge, overlapping amusement park, where we rode one of those free-fall things, sucked down ice cream, and drank Big Gulp-sized beers while our friends' kids drove a mini-rollercoaster. Afterward we went to a couple restaurants, wandered the brick streets, noticed that everyone in Copenhagen has a bike that nobody seems to lock when not using, and forgot to check out Christiania, the communal "self-governing" neighborhood in the city (i.e. pot brownie central).

I bring up Christiania because a) we really did forget to stop by, and b) the Roskilde festival has that same "self-governing" feel: It's this separate, enclosed space that's more self-sufficient than any festival I've attended. Basically, it's a very loud carnival: cinema (hey, the Tenacious D movie...), art installations, skate ramps, traveling choral groups, the campground and cooking area, an orange bar that only serves orange-colored drinks, volleyball, swimming, and, of course "a rap battle zone."

As one organizer joked, we went from the family-centered Tivoli park to a hyped-up bunch of muddy teenagers and twentysomethings running naked sprints, guzzling cans of Tuborg and Carlsberg, "staying warm" inside and outside of tents, and drinking orange-colored drinks in that orange bar. Well, time to strap on those galoshes and dive in...

Snoop Dogg Seeks Australian Citizenship
Pimpin' hos and clockin' a grip like his name was Vegemite

As it turns out, Australia-- which, if my sixth grade history still serves, was a British prison colony for some time-- is awfully stringent about who they let in. Back in April, the island nation denied Calvin Cordozar "Snoop Dogg" Broadus, Jr. passage into its borders due to a failure of the nation's requisite "character test." But who, I ask you, is a bigger character than Snoop Dogg?

Not content to merely roll up a fat one, head to Outback Steakhouse, and simply pretend, Snoop's got designs on setting up shop in Australia as a citizen. And, through a new series of clips put on by MTV Australia, his journey from Dogg to Dingo will be documented for all to see.

As for why he's chosen Australia for this confusing flaunting of international law: Snoop claims he's tired of the fast-paced L.A. lifestyle, and believes a move to Australia will allow him to "slow it down [and] enjoy the women." To the untrained eye, Snoop's L.A. lifestyle seems to consist of getting high and making Carson Daly uncomfortable on his own television program, but I guess that's enough to take it out of a Dogg.

No word on whether this is real-- and, if so, what exactly that means-- but we'll let you know if we're still paying attention when something crazy happens.

Slim with the tilted grin's got a mess of tour dates coming at Europe this summer, which makes us question his dedication to the whole Australian thing. Hey, if Snoop wants to hang around on the beach with some ladies and make "meat pie" jokes, we're not gonna stand in his way. Et tu, Australian immigration minister Kevin Andrews? [MORE...]

Silver Jews Work on New LP, Berman Seeks Intern

Photo by Michelle Harris

The last time we heard from Silver Jews was in February, with the premiere of Michael Tully's Jews tour documentary, Silver Jew. Since then, things have been all quiet on the David Berman front, but a recent post on the band's message board by the Jews' songwriter/frontman (as confirmed by Drag City) reveals some of the details surrounding their sixth album, the follow-up to 2005's Tanglewood Numbers:

1) "The band on the record will be the band from the Wilderness Campaign [aka Berman's touring band, we presume. --Ed.]."

2) It will consist of "ten or eleven songs, two word title, name in upper left corner." [What a novel idea.]

3) "I have to record, mix and master it by August 15th, so it can come out in January. I don't know where yet. Somewhere new in Nashville."

Berman also includes a list of the new songs he has, in alphabetical order. Check them below.

Finally, he also includes an item of interest to Nashville-residing die-hards with an administrative bent: "I've been wondering for a long time if I was qualified to have a summer intern. It must depend on interest in the intern community. I have the ability to write a recommendation letter. (Alert: I have no 'connections.' I don't know ANYONE who runs a record label besides the two Dans at Drag City.) So I throw it out there: I am looking for someone who lives in Nashville who can help me with a few different SJ projects, once or twice a week. Being able to type or run a webpage would be very [helpful]. I can't believe I'm typing this but: 'writers and musicians need not apply.' I'm looking for someone on the other side. I've got enough me. I need someone else." [MORE...]

Jesu's Broadrick Does a Whole Bunch of Stuff
Procrastination, prepare to face thy Conqueror

Most intricate metal-makers can craft, what, one deck chair a day? And that's on a good day. But, by the time 2008 rolls around, intricate metal-maker Justin Broadrick will have used his 365 good days to make a whole lot more than just some weather-resistant thing to sit on.

The Jesu frontman and renaissance dude posted his 2007 to-do list on his MySpace blog recently, and, man alive, is it ever ambitious. Rather than reformat it all, I'll just save you the trouble of hopping on MySpace and running afoul of those obnoxious silent ads with the ladies in the gym:

Justin K Broadrick remix of FOG on Lex Records - imminent.
Justin K Broadrick remix of MANINKARI on Conspiracy Records - soon.
FINAL remix/collab with Fear Falls Burning - approx 20 mins, 1 of 10 collabs in ltd box - imminent.
jesu / Eluvium split ltd ed. 12" vinyl & CD on Temporary Residence & Hydra Head - very soon. [this is available for preorder now and limited to 4,000 copies, 2,000 per label; tracklist below]
jesu /Battle Of Mice split ltd ed. 12" vinyl & CD on Robotic Empire - soon.
Justin K Broadrick mix and production of ISIS 'Oceanic : Live' DVD & other formats - soon.
jesu headline tour of U.S - Oct 07
jesu new EP on Hydra Head - 4 new songs, Jarboe guesting on 1 song - Oct/Nov 07.
jesu / Mono (Japan) co headline tour of U.K - mid Nov 07
jesu / FINAL tour of Japan with Neurosis (TBC) - late Nov 07
jesu headline tour of mainland Europe with Fear Falls Burning - Dec 07
Avalanche Recordings relaunch & online shop - Aug 07
Grey Machine (Broadrick, Dave Cochrane, Aaron Turner, Diarmuid Dalton) debut album - soon.

And that's not even counting the EP he's plotting for Mark Kozelek's Caldo Verde label in 2008! Or the dates he's playing with Sunn O))) in July! Or how he was asked to tour with Tool but had to decline due to short notice! And he already did that kickass Conqueror record this winter! Dude makes it happen. [MORE...]

Explosions, Books, Pinback Rock Wall of Sound Fest
Plus: Midlake, Baptist Generals, Ghostland Observatory, Om, Peter and the Wolf, Paper Chase

September 22, deep in the heart of Texas, the likes of Explosions in the Sky, the Books, Midlake, Pinback, and others are gonna push up their sleeves, wipe the sweat from their brows, and build up a big ol' Wall of Sound.

Over 40 bands will perform at the three-stage, day-long festival at Fort Worth's LaGrave Field; others include Baptist Generals, Ghostland Observatory, Peter and the Wolf, the Paper Chase, Om, Lymbyc Systym, the Sword, and Spectrum (featuring Sonic Boom of Spacemen 3).

More bands are expected to be announced for the 2007 incarnation of the fest, which-- for the sake of your health and well-being-- hopefully won't feature any appearances from the inspiration for its name, Phil Spector.

Octopus Project Have New Album, Rather Large Tour

We're learning a lot about recent Forkcast stars the Octopus Project all the time, and we like what we're finding out so far. One might even proffer that they're wrapping their eight arms around us and sinking their tentacles in. Or one might not, because that's a terrible metaphor.

The Octopus Project recently revealed some (but not much) information on their forthcoming album, the follow up to their full-length collaboration with Pitchfork faves Black Moth Super Rainbow from last year. The new Octopus album has no title yet-- or, for that matter, cover art-- but it does have a tracklist and a release date: October 9 from Peek-a-Boo Records (tracks after the jump, you know the drill).

The Project play with Dan Deacon and Erase Errata this weekend at Brooklyn's McCarren Park Pool, and will follow that with three full months of fast food and some dudes' floors come August. Along the way-- a long, long way that includes repeat visits to several venues-- they'll get cozy with acts like Aesop Rock and Stereo Total. [MORE...]

Thurston, Boris, Ladytron Join Portishead ATP Fest
As well as Sparklehorse, A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Julian Cope

The Portishead-curated, All Tomorrow's Parties-hosted Nightmare Before Christmas fandango keeps getting fly-er, as big papa Thurston Moore, Japanese guitar heroes Boris, liquid cool Ladytron, glimmer-man Sparklehorse, cut-ups A Hawk and a Hacksaw, that Julian Cope fella, and a couple others have been added to a pretty fly bill that already includes Aphex Twin, Black Mountain, Oneida, Earth, and Portishead themselves.

Indeed, the mere notion of a possible Boris/Thurston onstage collaboration is enough to make us wanna fly to England and camp out on the beach 'til wintertime (although Mr. Moore is listed as performing "solo", so we'll take care not to raise our hopes too high). And with plenty more acts still to be announced, we're writing up our two weeks' notice now. Later, boss!

Portishead's Nightmare Before Christmas goes down December 7-9 at Butlins Holiday Centre in Minehead, England. Any outstanding pay should be forwarded accordingly.

BOAT Drag Drag Our Feet out on Tour

Sloppy, poppy Seattle act BOAT will spend their summer trolling on a tour in celebration of the release of latest album, Let's Drag Our Feet, out July 10 on Magic Marker.

They'll tool about the upper part of this nation of ours, journeying as far east as the Second City before making it home for a number of Seattle dates. They've got a couple of radio days planned too; July 6 at KEXP and July 24 at Moscow, Idaho's KUOI. [MORE...]

Two Gallants Plan New Full Length for Fall, Tour

Barely three weeks since the release of The Scenery of Farewell EP, Two Gallants are primed to release a full-length follow-up to last year's What the Toll Tells.

Saddle Creek will issue the San Francisco duo's third album, a self-titled affair, on September 25. Perhaps tellingly, it contains a tune titled "Emo Country Song".

Until then, both Gallants have a summer full of tour dates that continue tonight (July 3) in Seattle. [MORE...]

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Announce August Dates

With their Is Is EP available everywhere July 24 via Dress Up/Fiction (not just in the UK on July 23, as previously reported), Yeah Yeah Yeahs have announced another addition to their 2007 schedule: a few North American tour dates!

Instead of the mere pair of festival dates we previously reported, Karen O and co. now have, like, two weeks full of shows.

The tour begins August 1 in Lawrence, Kansas and ends August 18 at the Download Festival near Boston. Thanks to reader Sarah Powers for the tip.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O and Nick Zinner, as you may have read, also lend their talents to Squeak E. Clean's forthcoming NASA LP. [MORE...]

Boredoms Reveal 77 Drummers!
Includes Andrew W.K., David Grubbs, Alan Licht, plus people from Modest Mouse, Man Man, Lightning Bolt, Hot Snakes, Oneida, Excepter, Unwound, Enon, Gang Gang Dance, White Magic

There seems to be loads of excitement brewing over this weekend's 77-drum circle put on by the Boredoms at Brooklyn Bridge Park (going down 07/07/07, naturally). Is it the numeric synergy? A show of support for Japan's premier noise-rockers? Either way, expect the opposite of boredom at what's being billed as 77BOADRUM.

Sure, Boredoms could've chosen any djembe-dragging Joe off the street to fill in their 74 vacant spots (we presume the other three-- and the mysterious "0" spot-- are going to Boredoms members). But no; they had to get members and friends of Modest Mouse, Lightning Bolt, Man Man, Gang Gang Dance, Soft Circle, Oneida, Excepter, Aa, Blood on the Wall, Pit Er Pat, Unwound, Enon, Arbouretum, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Sightings, White Magic, No Neck Blues Band, Panthers, Celebration, Negative Approach, Tall Firs, and others, turning this into a veritable Traveling Wilburys of avant-garde percussion.

Something tells me, despite the 76 other maniacs pounding around him, Andrew W.K. will come through loud and clear. From note one. Something also tells me an enterprising production company could turn this into one of the cooler live albums/DVDs we'll see in a while.

In other Boredoms news, they've got quite a few regular tour dates after the drum thing. Scope those and the complete enumerated list of drummers below. [MORE...]

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.)