Axl Rose Responds to Dr. Pepper Proposition

Axl Rose photo by George Chin

As mentioned yesterday, should Axl Rose and whatever twisted form Guns N' Roses currently exist in somehow manage to squeeze out the oft-delayed Chinese Democracy by the end of 2008, we'll all be sippin' on the sweet nectar of rock'n'roll... as well as our very own complimentary can of Dr. Pepper. And it seems news of this prescription for productivity reached all the way to the hideyholestudio, as Mr. Rose himself posted a statement on the matter on the Guns N' Roses website. Observe:

We are surprised and very happy to have the support of Dr Pepper with our album "Chinese Democracy," as for us, this came totally out of the blue. If there is any involvement with this promotion by our record company or others, we are unaware of such at this time. And as some of Buckethead's performances are on our album, I'll share my Dr Pepper with him.

What a nice guy.

You'll note that there's no real indication of cooperation with Dr. Pepper's proposal, however. But the very fact that Axl is even thinking about it has gotta mean something, right? Right? Perhaps, but I wouldn't bet any more than a can of pop on it.

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Photos: Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige [Baltimore, MD; 03/26/08]

Photos by Kyle Gustafson

From the top of the charts (and their game) to the "Heart of the City", Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige brought it to Baltimore's 1st Mariner Arena last night. The unimpeachable pairing will continue to look pretty and rock crowds on a Super Bowl scale through early May. Look for them next in Uniondale, New York tonight.

Also, fans in Montreal should note that a Z/J. gig scheduled for May 9 at Bell Centre has been cancelled. Bummer! As consolation, we encourage you to crank "Can't Knock the Hustle" and quickly scroll through these photos right here.

JAY-Z AND MARY J. BLIGE









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Shearwater's Meiburg Talks Rook, Birding, Okkervil
"One time in Florida I nearly whacked Bill Callahan in the face! I was like, 'Look! Look! There's a white ibis!'"

"It's funny, I keep trying to get away from the birds but they keep coming back to me," Shearwater's Jonathan Meiburg, a "semi-retired" ornithologist, admits. And indeed, birds abound in Shearwater's oeuvre, from the band's moniker to song titles like "Sing, Little Birdie" to album names like Winged Life and the latest, Rook.

Rook will alight on record shelves June 3 thanks to Matador. It's the Austin quartet's fifth full-length overall and first all-new release for the indie giant, although Matador did reissue an expanded edition of Shearwater's 2006 set, Palo Santo (originally released on Misra), in spring 2007.

"Rooks are very interesting birds," Meiburg muses. "They're very clever, very social, and when you see a group of them by the side of the road in Europe they always look like they're planning something [laughs]. They always look like you just interrupted a meeting."

Yet Rook isn't just for the birds. Meiburg chose the title for its sound ("it's got the nice 'k' at the end of it") and its multiple meanings, from the card game to the verb form of the word: "To rook also means to steal something, and-- maybe not so much as magpies-- but rooks will often take little items out of your garden, or shiny things. They have a reputation for mischief."

Theft of another, more dire sort plays into Rook's 10 tracks. "There's this theme of environmental destruction that runs through the record and of worlds being lost," Meiburg recounts. "Not purely literally but also metaphorically."

Environmental degradation makes for uncertain times, and this idea also manifests itself sonically on Rook. "I really wanted you to not know where the songs are going; some of them stop very abruptly, others go on and on. As you listen to it I just wanted you to have no real sense of security about what the next song was going to do."

Meiburg also invites us to consider Rook in naturalistic terms. "The record, I keep thinking of it this way: I thought of Palo Santo as a series of islands, like this weird archipelago leaning over the sea, and then [Rook] begins on the open sea and dives to explore sunken continents.

"Just to get ridiculously pretentious about it," he adds with a laugh.


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Bloc Party, BOH, CSS, Manu Chao Show Off...Shoes!

Talk about meta! The Shoes (Les Chaussures if you will) are an electro-pop duo from France. The Shoes have a new single out now on the UK's 50 Bones imprint called "Knock Out". Not just any single, the limited edition "Knock Out" 7" comes bundled with one-of-a-kind Polaroids depicting...wait for it...shoes! That's right people, shoes!

And not just any shoes: shoes worn by people in bands you might happen to like. Among the indie celebs showing off their sneaks: Bloc Party, Band of Horses' Ben Bridwell, CSS, and Manu Chao ("El Chapu" in the photo below).

Other featured footwear comes courtesy of former Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins, KavinSky, Busy P, the Cribs, Mystery Jets, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, MGMT, Jackson (of Jackson and His Computer Band fame), Inspiral Carpets, Metronomy, Blood Red Shoes (appropriate!), and a certain "Barry", apparently "Gwen Stefani's maintenance man." What, no Lee "Scratch" Perry?

And that's not all! Each of these unique Polaroids-- and there are some 300 in all-- is autographed. Who needs music anymore when you have gimmicks like this one?


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Hercules and Love Affair Announce Tour

Now that Brooklyn producer Andy Butler has unveiled Hercules and Love Affair to the world with the international release of his Best New Music garnering self-titled LP, it's time for the record's bongos and basslines to breathe amidst the open air of festivals and the dark stink of clubs. This spring and summer, Hercules and Love Affair will make that happen on the group's UK and European tour.

We say "group" because Herc's live configuration is a full eight-member band. Unfortunately, Antony isn't one of those members, but we trust Butler & co. to come up with a creative solution for the vocals. Maybe Antony can do them via satellite!

The first show of the tour is May 23 in Brighton, and soon, Hercules and Love Affair will announce even more dates across the world.

Still no word on an American release for Hercules and Love Affair, however. Fingers crossed! [MORE...]

A.A. Bondy Re-Releases Debut on Fat Possum, Tours

Fat Possum, a label heavy on rootsy songwriters, will give the debut album from rootsy songwriter A.A. Bondy a wider U.S. release than it got last year on Superphonic. The tracklist for this new edition of American Hearts remains the same as the original, and Fat Possum will issue the record on April 15.

Leading up to that release date is Bondy's U.S. tour with the Weakerthans and Christine Fellows, which kicks off tonight (March 26) in Ann Arbor. Near the end of the tour, on April 11, Bondy will also make an appearance on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien". [MORE...]

Hold Steady, Vampire Weekend Hit Great Escape
With Okkervil River, No Age, Black Lips, Iron & Wine, Black Mountain, Sunset Rubdown

It's not just gonna be just some passable journey, a solid holiday, or a merely adequate jaunt. No, if the lineup has any say in the matter, the Great Escape Festival really oughta live up to its name. Cramming a couple hundred bands into 25 venues around Brighton, England May 15-17, the music festival and industry convention gathers artists, industry types, and lucky bystanders for three days of shop-talk, gin-and-tonics, and tinnitus. (Hey, sounds familiar!)

Among those who have reserved a spot at the Great Escape are the Hold Steady, Vampire Weekend, Black Lips, No Age, Okkervil River, Iron & Wine, Black Mountain, Sunset Rubdown, Yeasayer, the Twilight Sad, Bon Iver, Times New Viking, Fujiya & Miyagi, Crystal Castles, Saul Williams, the Futureheads, Born Ruffians, the Black Angels, Frightened Rabbit, Vashti Bunyan, These New Puritans, Lightspeed Champion, the Teenagers, Future of the Left, the Mae Shi, Envelopes, We Are Wolves, the Ting Tings, Glasvegas, Tunng, School of Language, Cut Off Your Hands, Jennifer Gentle, the Wombats, Hot Club de Paris, Matt & Kim, Kelly Stoltz, Cadence Weapon, Pete and the Pirates, Silje Nes, the Subways, Ida Maria, Nina Nastasia, Samamidon, Late of the Pier, the Fratellis, Laura Marling, Vetiver, AIDS Wolf, the Rascals, Plants and Animals, Telepathe and Johnny Foreigner.

There will also be panels and lectures about various music business topics. Escape greatly, folks; just don't forget those business cards!

Zach Condon-Boosted Alaska in Winter Debut Hits U.S.

Native New Mexican Brandon Bethancourt's nom de musique is Alaska in Winter, and that would be just another inscrutable band name if it weren't for the fact that Bethancourt actually began recording his debut album, Dance Party in the Balkans, in an Alaskan cabin one winter.

However, he returned to New Mexico to finish the record, and once back home, he recruited some noteworthy friends to help him out. Among them are Beirut's Zach Condon and A Hawk and a Hacksaw's Heather Trost. The former contributed vocals, trumpet, and ukulele to various Dance Party tracks, while the latter added violin.

Dance Party in the Balkans came out last year in the UK on Regular Beat Recording Co., but it made its U.S. debut this week via Milan Records. The U.S. release is a digipack featuring alternate mixes and bonus tracks not available on the original.

What's more, Regular Beat will press Dance Party's Condon-assisted "Close Your Eyes - We Are Blind" onto a UK split 7" due April 7. The B-side, "Trop Exprés", comes courtesy of Regular Beat labelmate Marianne Dissard and features Joey Burns of Calexico.

Bethancourt will launch an Alaska in Winter tour in April. Once that's wrapped, he'll hole up in Berlin to record his sophomore album. [MORE...]

Numero Group Manufactures Trading Cards!

Do you like the specificity and thoroughness of the compilations Chicago's Numero Group assembles but feel lost when it comes to recognizing the names of the myriad contributors? Are you excited for the upcoming baseball season but unwilling to scour flea markets for a Jay Bruce/Evan Longoria/Clay Buchholz rookie card? Well, dear reader, if you answered "yes" to those questions, Numero Group has solved both of your problems with the creation of its Numero Group 2008 No-Hitters.

The No-Hitters is a collection of trading cards spotlighting various artists from the label's stable of soul, funk, gospel, and rock also-rans. There are a total of 90 cards in the set, and each one features a vintage color photo of a contributor to one of Numero Group's many reissues and compilations.

At random, one No-Hitter comes in the package of any new Numero Group CD or LP, and there are also a limited number of full sets available from the label's website. Cheap too!

A full list of the No-Hitters follows the jump. [MORE...]

Chinese Democracy in 2008? Free Dr. Pepper for All!
This is some seriously good marketing, yo

Axl Rose photo by George Chin

Guns N' Roses are a once-great pop-metal band with a surprisingly long shelf life, led by a reclusive, volatile frontman who's spent roughly a decade and a half and, reportedly, upwards of $13 million crafting an album/punchline widely known as Chinese Democracy.

Dr. Pepper is a syrupy, prune-like soda beverage brewed by the Cadbury Schweppes corporation.

What the two had in common before this weekend, I couldn't rightly tell you (okay, yes, both are prune-like), but as of March 25, 2008, the fate of the two juggernauts is as intertwined as Dr. Pepper's trademark mélange of 23 flavors.

According to Billboard.com, Dr. Pepper has offered every single person in America (besides famed GNR deserters Slash and Buckethead) a free can of their brew, provided Axl Rose and company release the long-promised Chinese Democracy sometime in the year 2008.

Ah, wackiness, you win again! Though, really, this is an admirable feat of marketing wizardry for all parties involved. Today, folks are once again reminded that, yes, it sure would be great to hear Chinese Democracy before Axl Rose completes his transition into plastic he-beast. Dr. Pepper aren't risking much, since the likelihood of Chinese Democracy arriving this year (hell, this decade) is as slim as it's ever been. And, hey, if Chinese Democracy does, in fact, emerge before 2009? All that sweet Dr. Pepper should help wash down the taste of bitter, bitter disappointment, after nearly twenty years spent waiting for an album that sucks. I mean, unless it's good. Har har.

There's a blog charting the progress of the big "Democracy Now" experiment, with an accompanying press release that attempts to draw some parallel between the Pep and the rocker. "It took a little patience to perfect Dr Pepper's special mix of 23 ingredients, which our fans have come to know and love," Dr. Pepper's marketing director Jaxie Alt points out. "So we completely understand and empathize with Axl's quest for perfection - for something more than the average album. We know once it's released, people will refer to it as 'Dr Pepper for the ears' because it will be such a refreshing blend of rich, bold sounds - an instant classic."

Consider our review already written.

Mad Decent's Paul Devro Visits India for Aid Workshop

Urban Typhoon is a workshop that took place March 16-22 in the Koliwada neighborhood of the Dharavi district of Mumbai, India. The workshop gathered a cross-section of artists, thinkers, activists, and business people to brainstorm ideas for improving the future of life in the notorious slum area. Add to that list of participants Mad Decent DJ and Diplo buddy Paul Devro, who made the trip in the spirit of the label's recent string of good deeds.

Mad Decent threw a party for the locals and Urban Typhoon attendees on the last day of the workshop, but if Devro's blog posts are any indication, most of his time was spent recording Koliwada residents. As he tells it himself, "When I first got to Koliwada, I was trying to explain that I wanted to write some new songs with the locals and work together and make some tracks. They didn't really understand what I meant. I think it's because they mostly listen to Akon, Sean Paul, [and] Hindi film scores, or they just sing local songs that have been there for generations. So after four days I realized that I'd have to just do it to give them the idea. So we set up a speaker on the roof of the gym, and I played a bunch of beats and instruments to my friends. Then we started getting somewhere."

Devro's posts feature plenty of pictures, a promise of video in the future, and a story about the first "Koliwada Idol". There are four of them right now, and you can check them out here: #1, #2, #3, #4.

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.)