Jesus and Mary Chain Plan New Album, Add Dates

Photo by Eirik Lande

Seems all your prayers for more Jesus and Mary Chain dates have been answered. The recently resurrected feedback-mongers have marked a quintet of October U.S. shows into their fall planners, which will have the brothers Reid and co. searing ears from Vegas to 'frisco.

This once again puts the band in close proximity to ScarJo, so who knows what will come of that (if anything). But while we can't promise indie-savvy starlets, we can promise fellow blast-from-the-past Evan Dando on all dates, plus the Mark Lanegan-boosted Soulsavers thrice providing support. 2007: the year flannel has its revenge?

The Chain-gang must first fulfill a handful of gig duties in Europe. Then it's time to record a brand new album, RIGHT GUYS?? Actually, yes, as according to this here press release, the band has confirmed it will soon return to the studio to get cracking on LP #7. No word yet where or when or what or with whom, but still, hooray! [MORE...]

Hold Steady/Art Brut Tour Dates Announced

We've already raised our glasses to the notion of Art Brut and the Hold Steady touring in tandem, but we practically spilled our usual pre-lunch cocktails when we found out what a massive tour it is.

Damn near every night for a month, from Minneapolis to a quick move to L.A. and a lot of everywhere in between, the bands will swap licks, quips, and late-night tour bus viewings of the Nanny Diaries to their heart's content.

In a press release, Craig Finn said, "We are super happy to be touring with Art Brut. I believe Eddie Argos to be one of the finest current lyricists in Rock. I believe he completely understands the place for both humor and honesty in rock'n'roll."

Cheers to that, eh? [MORE...]

Holy Fuck Sign to Beggars Group Label Young Turks
Tour With Wolf Parade

Toronto troublemakers Holy Fuck have signed to new Beggars Group label Young Turks for the release of the creatively titled LP, the follow-up to their 2005 self-titled debut album. LP was mixed by Eli Janney of Girls Against Boys and Dave Newfeld of Broken Social Scene.

LP will come out on October 23, and the band will build anticipation for the album via a North American tour with fellow Canadians Wolf Parade. Those dates begin September 6 in Victoria, British Columbia, and the band will hit the European tour trail later in the fall. [MORE...]

Case, Bejar, Mirman, Cross Spice Up Newman Wedding
New Pornos add Euro dates

Supergroup? How about superwedding? Sorry ladies (and dudes), as of "a recent Saturday," New Pornographer Carl Newman is officially off the market. And while normally we'd let our favorite indie rockers go about their marryin' in peace and private, this particular ceremony just so happens to have been written up in The New York Times.

The Times also reports that groom Newman and bride Christy Simpson, a marketing manager at Newman/New Pornographers label Matador, were hitched to the tune of Neko Case belting out a bunch of "songs about love gone wrong."

It was typically surreal for a ceremony that also included Eugene Mirman as master of ceremonies, David Cross in whale-print pants, and fellow Pornographers Dan Bejar, Kathryn Calder, Blaine Thurier, and John Collins in attendance. Mates of State even performed at the afterparty, which soon spun karaoke-ways, with Newman doing Phil Collins' "Against All Odds" and Neko and Kathryn teaming for Pink's "Get the Party Started".



The lovely photos you see here come courtesy of Simpson's MySpace. Word is the bride also served as muse to Carl on Challengers, which drops (officially) this week.

Wish the newlyweds well this fall: The New Pornos have add a honeymoon's worth of European dates, tucked between the two previously reported legs of their North American tour. [MORE...]

GZA Does Liquid Swords in NYC, Jamie Lidell Opens

Photo by Karra McDonald

When GZA unloaded his arsenal of Liquid Swords at last month's Pitchfork Music Festival, it was a mission that some might've characterized as impossible. As he proved, wrecking shit from the tale of the Shogun Assassin through "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth", and all the Wu-phemera that followed, when he swings his swords, nonbelievers are all choppable. So it shall be again, when GZA takes Swords to the place where stars are born, performing the album in full once again on September 15 at Brooklyn's McCarren Park Pool.

And how's this for a little bonus P4K Fest '07 flashback action? Stylish young lad Jamie Lidell will join the Genius on the bill. The show's going down as a benefit for Open Space Alliance, and it's organized by JellyNYC, the folks keeping hipsters off the streets on Sunday afternoons in the summer.

Jamie's got a couple dates in Europe in a few weeks, and GZA's out rocking bells with the Wu. All that, after this.

Thanks to BrooklynVegan. [MORE...]

Morrissey Announces Fall Tour

Photo by Paparazzi by Appointment

Morrissey will continue to make up for his summer throat ailment with newly re-scheduled dates in Baltimore and New York City this fall. And while he's at it, he's thrown together a whole tour, according to Morrissey fansite True to You. It starts September 20 in Tijuana, and includes multi-night residencies in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and NYC (guess he felt pretty bad about canceling that Madison Square Garden show). Kristeen Young will open all dates.

There's still no word on make-up shows for residents of Holmdel, New Jersey or Northampton, Massachusetts. [MORE...]

Twilight Sad Open for Pumpkins, Add U.S. Dates

Photo by Kathryn Yu

Ach! The Twilight Sad are giving us plenty to swoon about lately, as their fall tour stretches its proverbial legs like one of their titanic tunes. The big news is a handful of new U.S. dates around the September/October turnover at a few snug spaces that may or may not contain that giant sound of theirs. But the even bigger news is this: on Wednesday in Glasgow, they'll open for Billy Corgan and his Smashing Pumpkins tribute band. Can the Carling Academy contain both the Sad's searching songs and Billy's overripe melon? We'll find out soon enough. [MORE...]

Jose Gonzalez Tour: Now With More Dates

Yes way, José. While you were busy blinking, six-string serenader José González went and added a whole bunch of dates to his upcoming tour in support of In Our Nature, out September 25 on Mute. Seems peregrination is in young José's nature.

The man still intends to trek across the States in late September/early October, with classical guitar virtuoso James Blackshaw (but not Savath & Savalas) in tow. Alas, now he'll have barely three days to explore the Mall of America in Minnesota before jetting off to the UK for another leg of shows (with Blackshaw once again)-- and he's already planning to return to this continent in late November.

Meanwhile, if there are two things America loves, it's football and television, which might go some way towards explaining the success of the "Friday Night Lights" TV program (spun off from the actually-pretty-great film of the same name). González lends "Storm" to the Friday Night Lights Original Television Soundtrack, which also boasts pump-up jams from the likes of Explosions in the Sky (who scored the original film as well), Spoon, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Iron and Wine with Calexico, Outkast, Chris Brokaw, and Drive-By Truckers.

The soundtrack is out now on Artists Addiction Records, aka the same label that saw fit to put the Hold Steady on the Nanny Diaries soundtrack. [MORE...]

The Faint Remix NIN for Year Zero Remix Album

Scuttlebutt 'round the internet today suggested that Nine Inch Nails' latest not-halfway-bad Year Zero LP would get itself remixed, repackaged, and issued at an indeterminate date in the future. (The hubbub stems mostly from this post on the NIN tour blog and this image.) That's swell for Trent, but we figured we'd wait until we knew a little bit more about just who exactly is tinkering with the tracks before filling you in.

Then diligent reader Matt Bovett tipped us off to an entry on the Faint's news page, which suggests that they'll be among the ones slapping a fresh coat on Year Zero. Indeed, 'tis true: their manager confirms that the Faint remixed "Meet Your Master", and that it "sounds really great, by the way." We hope so-- their slightly-more-lighthearted goth sensibilities should provide some much-needed levity to Trent's permabrood.

Still no word on any other contributors or a tracklist for Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D (or, if you will, "Halo 25").

There's also a potentially amazing (but mostly unsubstantiated) rumor going around that Trent's going to turn Year Zero into a TV show, a gesture that would immediately make him into the second creepiest person on television. That Rachael Ray's gonna be tough to unseat.

The Faint have a couple tour dates on the way in late September, including a gig opening for the Chemical Brothers in Denver. Nine Inch Nails, meanwhile, are out now in Europe, with plenty other continents to follow. [MORE...]

Prefuse 73 Adds Dates to Preparations Tour

Guillermo Scott Herren, aka Prefuse 73, has added a ton of U.S. dates to his fall tour in support of his forthcoming album Preparations. The tour now extends into the month of December, though Prefuse has a slew of dates much earlier than that as well, including some newly scheduled shows in Brazil.

Herren's next show is a DJ set in Boulder, Colorado on September 7. Even more dates and support acts are forthcoming, so prepare accordingly. UPDATE: The support acts are Voice of the Seven Woods (not to be confused with School of Seven Bells, who collaborate with Prefuse on new single "Class of 73 Bells") and DJ Nobody's project Blank Blue.

Preparations comes out October 23 on Warp. [MORE...]

Time for Yet Another Neil Young Album

Neil Young must be where Ryan Adams gets it. The man just does not stop working, whether it means releasing live albums, the graphic novelization of Greendale, or taking part in benefit shows, a la his forthcoming September 9 appearance at Farm Aid at NYC's Randall's Island.

Now, we can add even more music to that seemingly endless list, since Young recently unveiled a few scant details about his next studio full-length.

Titled Chrome Dreams II (inspired by a lost album from 1977 that went by the same title sans "II"), the album will feature three previously written songs and seven new ones, and is over 60+ minutes long. And two of those songs clock in over ten minutes, one at 13:00 and another at 18:30.

Though it appears Chrome Dreams II will come out on Reprise, the album's release date is still unknown.

Thanks to reader Ben Lovell for the heads-up.

Girls Rock Camp Is Awesome

A few weeks ago, I did something I've never done before: I joined a rock band.

I played bass. My band was called Roxboro High. There were five of us: two bassists, a guitarist, a drummer, and a singer. We wrote an angry punk rock song called "Do the Math" and we played it live on stage at Studio B in Brooklyn, which you might recognize from quite a few Pitchfork News tour stories. Afterwards, a woman came up and thanked us, because her eight-year-old daughter had moshed for the first time while we played.

All of this happened over the course of three days, during something called Ladies Rock Camp, which took place under the auspices of-- and acted as a fundraiser for-- the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls. Willie Mae is the Brooklyn branch of an international network of camps for young girls [aka under 18] who want to learn how to rock out. The campers learn how to play various instruments, write songs, and perform on stage, as well as learn the ins and outs of the music business. Ladies Rock Camp was for those of us who happen to be older than 18, but still want to jam.

It was one of the coolest things I've ever done in my entire life. Like most of the women at Ladies Rock Camp, I've never wanted to be a "real" musician, but pretending to be a rock star for three days was incredibly, incredibly fun. Now, I'm a 26-year-old jaded hipster who has worked in the music industry since I was 18. Can you imagine how amazing this experience would be for a 12 or 10 or eight-year-old girl? Not just fun, but truly empowering and mind-expanding?

Though I highly recommend it, going to Ladies Rock Camp isn't the only way you can support the Rock Camp for Girls. There are branches all over the country, and even in Europe, all inspired by the original camp in Portland, Oregon, which now offers classes year-round. (See links below.) Volunteer, donate money or instruments. Tell your sisters/daughters/friends/cousins to sign up!

Or go to one of the camper showcases that are held at the end of each session. The Girls Rock! Chicago showcase is this Saturday, August 18, at noon at the Metro. The Willie Mae showcase is next Saturday, August 25, at 5:30pm NOON at the Highline Ballroom in New York City.

Don't you wish this existed when you were a kid? [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.)