Human Bell Tour, Play Dates With Boredoms

Human Bell-- the guitar-slingin', no singin' Baltimore duo featuring Arbouretum tender Dave Heumann and former Lungfish-er Nathan Bell-- rang in the new year with a top-notch pun and a self-titled debut LP.

But as spring rolls around, their self-styled reverberations will sound through clubs (and record stores) the world over. Indeed, Human Bell are doing that touring thing this very instant, with gigs in the States this month to be followed by a trip to Europe and the UK the next. Quite a few of the pair's U.S. dates find them ushering their Thrill Jockey labelmates Boredoms around the country. Show those Boredoms a good time, gentlemen, and maybe they'll come back more often! [MORE...]

Learn the Way of the Wu
Enter for a chance to win one of 10 custom-designed RZA sampler/synthesizers

How does the Wu do it? Over 15 years on, the Staten Island ruckus-bringers remain one of the most formidable forces in hip-hop, while the wide-ranging influence of RZA's distinctive production touch cannot be understated.

RZA recently played teacher to a handful of eager Wu protégés at a Hollywood Guitar Center during the unveiling of the Roland RZA/Forat MV-8800, a sampler/synthesizer custom-designed by RZA and audio technician Bruce Forat.

Now you, the Pitchfork faithful, have the opportunity to win one of these unique music-making machines. All you need do is sign up for the Pitchfork email list, which will not only guarantee you Pitchfork updates and assorted fun absolutely free of charge, but will also enter you in a drawing for one of RZA's MV-8800s-- one of only 10 in existence.

Sign up and enter to win HERE.

And that's not all! The winner will also receive round-trip airfare to Los Angeles and two nights' accommodations so that he/she may rendezvous with the RZA himself and receive a personal MV-8800 tutorial session. This sweet contest is presented by our friends at Guitar Center.

We know what you're thinking-- not another email list! But believe us, this one is well worth your while. Of course your email address will not be sold or otherwise used without your consent. Details on that and all the captivating fine print you crave lie just below the jump. And HERE.

Sign up between March 11 and March 24 to be entered to win. And click "MORE" for photos of the MV-8800 and RZA's Hollywood Guitar Center tutorial session as well. [MORE...]

Devin the Dude Starts Smoke Sessions Mixtape Series

Devin the Dude is taking a break from taking it easy to issue Smoke Sessions Vol. 1, a brand new mixtape and Dude's first release for the BCD Music Group since leaving his label of 14 years, Rap-A-Lot, earlier in 2008.

As its name would suggest, Smoke Sessions Vol. 1 is the first in a planned series from Devin and his Coughee Brothaz crew. The inaugural installment arrives April 1 and features collaborations with a bunch of Devin's constant companions, including a ton of Coughee Brothaz and Todd Fisher's crazy ass. Expect more from this lot soon.

Devin's currently gearing up for SXSW, and has scattered dates planned through May. [MORE...]

Issac Brock Guests on New Love as Laughter Album
Album also happens to be coming out on Brock's label

Brooklyn five-piece Love as Laughter will soon bring to fruition their partnership with pal and Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock's Glacial Pace Recordings. The band's fifth album and first for their new label is called Holy, and Glacial Pace will release it in June.

Holy features guest contributions from TK Webb, Robin Peringer (ex-Band of Horses, Modest Mouse), Tommy Mandel (who has played piano with the Clash, Dire Straits, and Bryan Adams), and Brock himself, who plays guitar on "Paul Revere" and "All Parts of Me".

Of his own involvement with Holy, Brock said, "I'm so happy with this record. It makes me feel great in the way I always imagined running a label and helping put out badass music would feel. I really am proud to have had anything to do with this."

Love as Laughter have one date scheduled right now-- a set at former label Sub Pop's SXSW showcase on Friday, March 14 at Bourbon Rocks.

In other Glacial Pace news, the label's first signing, singer/songwriter Mason Jennings, has left the imprint for Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records. [MORE...]

Leonard Cohen Announces Tour

As promised all the way back in January, Leonard Cohen-- singer/songwriter, poet, and recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee-- has announced a world tour (via NME).

In addition to his previously reported stop at Glastonbury, Lenny will hit cities in Canada, the UK, Scandinavia, and Europe throughout June and July.

It's rumored that more dates, including a North American trek, are in the works, as is a new album. [MORE...]

Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip, "Shalt" Come to U.S.

"Thou Shalt Always Kill"-- the funky and somewhat fresh self-help book in song form from British electro-rap duo Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip-- has finally come to America to offer a little bit (okay, a lot) of friendly advice.

The tune, coupled with the duo's "Beat That My Heart Skipped", hit this continent for the very first time digitally today from Cold Sweat Records. Lay down that Coca-Cola product and that Nestlé product and pick up the track right now on the internet.

And, hey, while they're busy traveling through the wires, Dan Le Sac and Scroobius Pip will hit the States in physical form for a handful of live dates this week (plus Coachella in late April). There'll be UK dates aplenty and some festival action as 2008 goes on, and there's talk of a full-length LP by the end of the year as well. Don't overextend yourselves, fellas! Remember, you're just a band. [MORE...]

Photos: Be Your Own Pet [Portland, OR; 03/07/08]

Photos by Nilina Mason-Campbell

Self-domestication advocates Be Your Own Pet have been out there encouraging the kids to Get Awkward, as you know. Those kids can take the lesson home beginning March 18 in North America (via Ecstatic Peace/Universal) and March 17 in the UK (via XL).

This past weekend found the rabble-rousing quartet in fine form at Portland, Oregon's Doug Fir Lounge. They head to SXSW tomorrow, then see what kind of trouble they can stir up in Europe over the weeks beyond. Quite a few new dates have entered BYOP's itinerary since our last dispatch, so have a look below.

BE YOUR OWN PET









[MORE...]

Breeders' Kelley Deal Writing Book About Knitting Bags
She's crafty, she's just my type

We already knew that Kelley Deal rocked. The Breeders, her band with sister Kim, has been making some of the coolest music on the planet on and off for years.

And they aren't stopping any time soon: As previously reported, the new Breeders album Mountain Battles is out April 8 (the day before in the UK) on 4AD. It will be preceded by the single for "We're Gonna Rise", out March 17.

But did we know that Kelley Deal's bags rocked? No we didn't. Well, apparently they do, and she's writing a whole book about it! Bags That Rock: Knitting on the Road With Kelley Deal will be published by Lark this October. Here's the description:

"Tag along with Kelley Deal as she gives you a privileged backstage pass to her cool rock'n'roll world and her knitted bag obsession. Knitters of all skill levels will get to explore Kelley's stylish choices of fibers and gear and get the lowdown on bag-specific features. Get all the basics on felting, embroidery embellishments, and 20 fabulous projects, each with its own 'remix' variation."

Hot damn. Kelley Deal can kick my ass with a guitar and with a pair of knitting needles? I didn't think the Breeders could get any awesomer than they already were, but I think they just did. [MORE...]

Jeff Tweedy, Colin Meloy, Iggy Pop on "Lil' Bush" DVD
Kevin Federline set to join their illustrious ranks

Remember "Lil' Bush", the Comedy Central cartoon show starring a tiny, boxy, juvenile version of our President? You might recall that said show featured a cavalcade of rock star voices during its first season: Jeff Tweedy (as God), Colin Meloy (as the smart version of Lil' Bush's brother Lil' Jeb), Iggy Pop (as Lil' Donald Rumsfeld), Frank Black (as Satan), Henry Rollins (as a veteran), and Dave Grohl and the Red Hot Chili Peppers as themselves.

Well, now you can enjoy these vocal performances accompanied by funny drawings in the comfort of your own home. Today, Comedy Central releases the DVD Lil Bush: Resident of the United States: Uncensored: Season One: The Invasion Begins. (If there were any more colons in that, it would be a Coheed and Cambria album title.) The DVD extras include deleted scenes, interviews, a "tour of the White House", and segments from "The Colbert Report", "South Park", and "The Sarah Silverman Program".

The second season of "Lil' Bush" starts on Thursday, March 13. Iggy returns as Lil' Rummy, and OMIGOD Kevin Federline cameos as Karl Rove, as well as his dreaded rap alias, MC Rove.

Here's a picture of Iggy on set, getting into character. Fun fact: Donald Rumsfeld is known to only wear shirts when cameras are around.

Man Man, Blitzen, Fleet Foxes Play Gas Food Lodging
With Why?, Cadence Weapon, Born Ruffians, Elf Power, Panther, Cryptacize

Believe it or don't, cramming five folks and a drumkit into a rusted-out van and playing for dozens of people at $6 a pop does not the most financially lucrative career make. Still, they do it, these rockers, cuz they've got love for the game. And Baton Rouge, Louisiana's Spanish Moon club has got love for them. So, for a handful of bands headed to/from Austin for this week's South by Southwest, Spanish Moon is offering a stage, a crowd, and a paycheck to be spent (er, ideally) on SXSW-related expenses. They call it the Gas, Food and Lodging festival, and it's going down tonight (3/10) through March 18.

Tonight, Spanish Moon will play host to Athens, Georgia's We vs. the Shark and D.C's Middle Distance Runner. Tomorrow sees a Canadian invasion from Cadence Weapon (full disclosure, Pitchfork knows Rollie) and Born Ruffians. South by Southwest kicks off Wednesday, but you wouldn't know it from the Moon's humpday lineup, featuring Man Man, Blitzen Trapper, Fleet Foxes, and the Extraordinaires. Thursday and Friday find the bands (hopefully) on their merry way to south Texas, but Elf Power return to Baton Rouge Saturday to help them help themselves. A couple nights later, Why?, Panther, and Cryptacize will do what they do on the Spanish Moon stage, and the whole she-bang comes to a close on March 18 with Legendary Shack Shakers. [MORE...]

Dark Meat Sign to Vice, Reissue Indians, Tour Like Mad
Performing The Stooges' Funhouse in its entirety at SXSW

A lot of those ragtag, loose-knit bands from Athens, Georgia get slapped with the "collective" label, but dang it if Dark Meat-- the 17-piece bluesy psych orchestra with the sorta rude song titles-- don't deserve it more than most.

The big ol' band laid a tasty slab of rock on us in 2006 in the form of their album Universal Indians, released on Athens label Orange Twin. Now, they've signed to Vice Records, who will reissue Universal Indians with a trio of bonus tracks. The new Indians sports "One More Trip" and "Three Eyes Open", both recorded live in California's Joshua Tree National Park, plus "Universal Indians", the band's tribute to free jazz sax legend Albert Ayler. The newly expanded edition of the disc will arrive on CD April 8 and LP April 22.

And while they're doing their thing on a grand scale, Dark Meat will embark on a positively gargantuan tour of the U.S. It will include many stops at SXSW, most notably a March 12 set at the Orange Twin showcase at Spiro's, at which they will perform the Stooges' Fun House album in its entirety.

I'm also told that Dark Meat travel in a bright green 35-foot bus! Somehow, even that doesn't seem like it'll cover it. [MORE...]

Reinvigorated Wilderness Touring, Recording

Photo by Brian Gossman

Quiet as it's been kept, a couple years have passed since Baltimore's pithy art-rock troupe Wilderness, fresh from the release of their Vessel States LP, announced they'd be taking a hiatus. But, just like that, Wilderness are back, with a few shows, a new art-inspired work, and soon enough, another album. Welcome back, Wilderness! It's like you never left.

First up is a gig March 10-- hey, today!-- at New York's Seventh Regiment Armory. Their hour-long set of all-new material will be a collaboration with visual artist Charles Long, as part of the Whitney Biennial. Long will oversee video projections during Wilderness' performance.

Wilderness will use this new work as the jump-off for an album they'll record in April. But not before hitting the road for a smattering of shows. [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.)