andPOP » new band

Tommy Lee Back in Business

Stephen Baldwin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:39:59 +0000

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The rock star turned tattooed porn star spectacle is getting back to music with his new project, Beserk, CHARTattack.com reports.

The nu-metal group will include the drummers from Velvet Revolver, Incubus and The Red Hot Chili Peppers, along with Godsmack singer Sully Erna.

Bezerk will perform on January 8th at the Guitar Center Drum-Off ’09 Grand Finals at Los Angeles’ Wiltern Theatre.
The group will highlight the $40,000 drum-off including five undiscovered drummers who will battle for money and respect through the approval of a judging panel.

Oasis is Back… Sort Of

Sara Harowitz — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:05:39 +0000

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Now that the long-time popular band Oasis are officially finished, lead singer Liam Gallagher is finally free to start a new band. And he’s doing so… with the members of Oasis who aren’t his brother Noel, reports rollingstone.com.

Bassist Andy Bell, drummer Chris Sharrock, and guitarist Gem Archer are currently working with Liam on new songs. In an interview with an Italian radio station, Liam promised fans that this new revamp of “Oasis,” which will perform under a different name, will return with music and performances soon.

“I’ll be back doing that, playing live, within a couple of months,” Liam said. “I’ve just done a tour, I always miss singing songs. I miss the people.”

Noel Gallagher left Oasis in late August, following a backstage fight with his brother before a performance at a French music festival. In the Italian interview, Liam revealed that the argument started when Noel poorly treated a guitar that was given to Liam as a present from his wife. In angry response, Liam took one of Noel’s guitars and smashed it.

“I didn’t smash the guitar on him,” Liam said. “I wish I had, man.”

“To be quite honest, I think Noel wanted out,” Liam continued. “We had an argument – but we’ve had bigger ones, about more important people. Basically, I think he wanted out, wanted something different, but he hadn’t got the bollocks to tell the band or the fans.”

Liam singularly wrote Oasis songs such as “Songbird,” “I’m Outta Time,” and “Little James,” but the music he creates in his new band will definitely be different without the intense yet creatively brilliant song relationship with his brother.

To really drive home the point, Liam repeated one more time, “Oasis is done.”

Under The Rock: Ryan Gosling Makes Weird, Beautiful Music

Emma Renda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:55:42 +0000

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Just when I thought Ryan Gosling couldn’t get any sexier. Well, he’s in a band now. Not just any band – a duo with his best friend (and sister’s ex-boyfriend) Zach Shields called Dead Man’s Bones featuring, throughout the entire album, the Silverdale Conservatory Children’s Choir.

The result: songs with titles like “My Body is a Zombie for You” (the chorus of which is shouted by the aforementioned children), set to ominous piano-folk and the Roy Orbison-esque voice of Gosling. The mood is something like the Billy the Kid scene from I’m Not There, and if that reference is too obscure, let’s just call it Halloween. In the video for the band’s first single, “In the Room Where You Sleep”, the choir is outfitted in an array of costumes from skeleton to pirate to ghost.

Gosling has clearly gotten into character yet again – he and Shields created their own label, Werewolf Heart, that will release the debut Never Let a Lack of Talent Get You Down this summer. (Werewolf Heart has also taken on upcoming releases from Ima Robot and The Goat.) And just this week, Dead Man’s Bones announced plans for a North American tour in October, with stops in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, and will include a local talent show before each performance.

Dead Man’s Bones has apparently been a work in progress for a few years, according to Gosling’s first ever interview for the band with Pitchfork.com. And the children’s choir have been there from the start.

“We’d rather see a high school play as opposed to a Broadway show any day,” Gosling told Pitchfork. “Not that Broadway shows aren’t great, but there’s just something about a high school play…you’re not distracted by the achievements, you get to watch the process, the will to make something.”

Incidentally, the Silverlake Conservatory is a Los Angeles-based institution co-founded by Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The choir joined Gosling, Shields and producer Tim Anderson (of Ima Robot) in the studio every Sunday afternoon for several months. On their own, Gosling and Shields followed a strict regime in an effort to maintain the rawest feel possible for the album. Besides a three-take limit and the outlaw of electric guitars, the duo tackle instruments for their first time, including piano, cello and drums.

The stripped-down approach comes in the wake of Gosling ‘sand Shields’ past encounters with industry execs trying to tweak their incongruities and refine their production styles.

“There was always some kind of function on the computer, a filter that would assimilate the thing that you wanted, and we didn’t understand why you couldn’t just record the thing that you wanted,” Gosling told Pitchfork. “Like, why you had to do the computerized version of it, why can’t you just record it? It’s more fun that way anyway, because you have to design a way to get that sound. For instance, if you want something to sound like it was on a PA system after a wedding and there’s a few people dancing, why not just create that situation and record that?”

The songs so far available on their MySpace page maintain an untreated vibe, with snippets of children’s laughter, instrumental falters and lopsided clapping rounds. But there is an element of polish coming from a couple of guys who know what they want their music to do. “My Body is a Zombie For You” has a haunting hook the Arcade Fire could have been responsible for, and “In the Room Where You Sleep” evokes a meeting between Morrissey and Tom Waits.

It all sounds a little weird, and it is. But Half Nelson was weird and Gosling landed himself an Oscar nomination for that one.

Under The Rock: Once Upon a Passion Pit

Emma Renda — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:45:55 +0000

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Passion Pit are a lesson in modern romance. Ever since I heard their backstory – lead singer Michael Angelakos crafted the EP Chunk of Change as a Valentine’s Day gift for his girlfriend – I knew they would be more to me than just a fling in my musical lifetime. But I never imagined my first close encounter with them would pan out like a fairy tale of its own.

The show was sold out when my companion (I’ll call her Merv) and I arrived at Zaphod Beeblebrox, Ottawa’s go-to live music club. It was shocking enough that a band this sought-after detoured so far into Canada, and even more surprising that the resident’s of Ottawa had enough forethought to buy advance tickets. Not about to give up on our night, Merv and I stuck it out in line until a lush pair of hipsters were escorted from the premises, freeing up some elbow room for the two of us.

The timing could hardly have been more perfect: Passion Pit hit the stage the moment Merv and I were safely inside. They played “Moth’s Wings” and “The Reeling”, and captured the layered essence of their recordings by cramming the stage with a drum kit, synthesizers and more than one stringed instrument. Angelakos sauntered about the clutter, exuding a sort of romantic sex appeal that comes only from a hairy-chested twenty-something singing love songs in falsetto. He hardly spoke a word to the crowd until he announced the last song, “Sleepyhead”, and yet the crowd was hanging on every pulse of the music.

During the beat-heavy intro, I was struck by a cold drop on the back of my neck. It wasn’t the warm sweat trickling from my hairline, nor the condensation from the beer bottle being waved above my head by the girl behind me. It was a drip from the ceiling, releasing its own blend of perspiration - the sort of moment John Hughes would have orchestrated.

On our way to the dingy bathrooms to clean up after the show, we bumped into Jeff (bass) and Ayad (synths/samplers) who informed us Nate (drums) was hosting an after party at a yet unknown venue downtown. In our individual stalls, Merv and I stressed how on earth we were going to find this mystery location. Because after seeing Passion Pit, the only thing you want is more. Then a voice floated under the door: “Cafe Dekcuf.” And I kid you not, when we emerged to the sinks, the bathroom was empty. Spooky.

Dekcuf yielded little more than one dedicated V-necked dancer, but the bar was lined with drenched showgoers desperately trying to rehydrate. Not much of a climax, just a welcome rest following the show. But the state of the audience certainly spoke to the calibre of Passion Pit’s stage presence – all sweat, smiles and perhaps a stumble here or there – it was one of the most successful dance shows I’ve ever attended.

And here I was doubting Passion Pit would mean anything to me in two weeks time. I’m not being facetious when I say there’s a happily ever after here.