Blogs
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Ask Stereophonics Your Questions: Gigwise Q and A You have all week to put them to the band...
By Gigwise on 5 November 2009
Ahead of the release of Stereophonics' seventh studio album 'Keep Calm and Carry On' we're giving you the chance to put YOUR questions to the band.
Simply write a short question in our comments section below and we'll choose the best ten to put to the Kelly, Richard, Javier and Adam next week.
We'll then run a full feature featuring Stereophonics' answers.
The wittier, more incisive or funnier they are then the better the chance your questions have of being picked.
Fire away below:
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The Silent Years' Joshua Epstein On His 10 Favourite Detroit Songs From MC5's 'Kick Out The Jams' to Deastro's 'Toxic Crusaders'....
By Joshua Epstein on 22 October 2009
Here is a list that I have compiled of 10 of my favorite bands (and tracks) from Detroit. They range in era, genre, and popularity -- but to me they tell the story of Detroit.
The Hard Lessons: 'Sound The Silent Alarm' - The Hard Lessons is a trio that's current and just came out with a new record called "Arms Forest". They have so much energy in their live performances it's amazing. This video was filmed in Florida at a crazy guy's film studio (who insists on doing camera introductions for videos for some reason) but it looks awesome and feels hilarious.
Child Bite: 'Bone/Sleep' remix by Scott Allen (Thunderbirds Are Now!) - Child Bite is another current fixture of the Detroit scene and their brand of spazz rock is highly entertaining. This particular song was remixed by Scott Allen, who plays in the band Thunderbirds Are Now! Thunderbirds are pretty much defunct aside from the local show now and again, but when I was first starting The Silent Years they were the biggest band in Detroit.
The Temptations: 'Get Ready' - Detroit has been at the forefront of 3 different genres: Techno, Garage Rock and Motown. I am a fan of Motown before all else, and The Temptations were one of the best groups around. They still do shows around town too! This is them in their heyday though, and they were incredible.
Deastro: 'Toxic Crusaders' - Randy Chabot A.K.A. Deastro is one of my buddies. He is a young and talented songwriter and has really grown quickly. This video is from a live performance on KEXP (which is a great public radio station from Seattle). He and I have worked on a few things together and I hope to do more because he is an immense talent.
Brendan Benson: 'Metarie' - Brendan is one of the nicest guys in rock and roll, and while he's now in Nashville with Jack White, I'm fairly sure he still has his house here which would then make him a Detroiter. Anyhow, this song was recorded in Detroit! It's a great one.
Black Milk: 'Give The Drummer Sum' - Black Milk picked up where J. Dilla left off and is producing some insane stuff. He's very inspiring and I hope to meet him soon and do a few tracks together. I love hip hop and have always wanted to do some hip hoppy material.
Smokey Robinson and The Miracles: 'Shop Around' - As I said prior, I'm a Motown Detroiter, and this is one of the all time greatest songs. Smokey Robinson is the best songwriter in Detroit... There, I said it.
MC5: 'Kick Out The Jams' - Long before garage rock as we know it in the modern sense, these dirty ass punks from Detroit made a lot of noise and did it unarguably well.
Eminem: 'My Name Is' - Eminem is one of the biggest artists in the world and he calls Detroit home. Every engineer in any studio in Detroit can tell you a funny or scary story about him. I realize it's going back a ways, but this track is infectious.
The White Stripes: 'Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground' - This video is one of the best ever made. I love the song, Meg is one of nicest people anyone could ever meet, and the video is fantastic. What more can you say? They started as a garage band and crossed over to all genres. Jack White can do no wrong
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10 Acts I'd Hate To See Headline Glastonbury Avoid these bands at all costs please Eavis'...
By David Renshaw on 6 October 2009
So Glastonbury is apparently edging nearer (isn't it only October?!) but with all the tickets snapped up already we are looking forward to an extra special line up for the festivals 40th anniversary. Obviously the dream line-up discussion is a pub staple and one that Gigwise have looked over here but what about the potential pitfalls?
Having attended festivals with dud headline bands (Razorlight I'm looking at you) I know the importance of having a great band to round off the days festivities. With that in mind lets have a look at the acts who could potentially headline the Pyramid Stage next June but who really shouldn't for all of our sakes.
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10 Headline Acts Perfect For Glastonbury Michael and Emily Eavis, please take note...
By Scott Colothan on 5 October 2009
Celebrating its landmark 40th anniversary, Glastonbury 2010 could potentially be, to use Michael Eavis' well-worn phrase, “the best yet”. With all tickets selling out within 12 hours yesterday - a marked change from relatively sluggish sales in the two previous years - there seems to be a buzz of expectation for a monster year.
While the clichés are rolled out with monotonous regularity saying that Glasto is all about the “experience and unique atmosphere” rather than just the line-up, I reckon those phrases should be banished for next June's spectacle. Glastonbury 2010 needs to deliver headline acts monumental enough to match its landmark anniversary. At a whopping £200 a ticket, the recession hit British public deserves its money's worth too.
Here are ten acts that I believe would make perfect headline acts for Glastonbury 2010 – some are realistic while others are very far-fetched. I'll live in hope though...
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Micah P. Hinson on The Beatles, Elvis and Leonard Cohen A track-by-track guide to his new covers album...
By Micah P Hinson on 25 September 2009
This week, Micah P Hinson released his covers album ‘All Dressed Up And Smelling Of Strangers Volume 1 and 2’ via Full Time Hobby. Featuring his takes on classic songs such as The Beatles' 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps', Leonard Cohen's 'Suzanne' and Frank Sinatra's 'My Way', it's a stunning collection. Here, Micah himself explains exclusively to Gigwise why he picked each song the record:
Slow And Steady (originally by Pedro The Lion) - I was raised in a religious family, but when a dear friend of mine died in a strange car accident, I wasn't able to find a God anywhere who could help support my faulted spirit. Listening to David Bazan’s songs was probably the only thing that kept me connected to the idea of spirituality and the existence of a higher power.
This Old Guitar (originally by John Denver) - John Denver played an enormous part in my childhood. I remember being really young and getting my father to show me how the guitar picking patterns went.
Kiss Me Mother, Kiss Your Darling (originally by Letta C. Lord (lyricist) and George F. Root (composer)) - “This is the oldest American folk song I know. The words are sad and fascinating.”
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Your New Favourite Band: The Antlers Heartbroken loner from New York...
By David Renshaw on 22 September 2009
Until Arcade Fire bother to get in the studio and record another album of epic melodrama it seems we're going to have to make do with scrabbling around in the dust that they have left behind and hoovering up those influenced by the Canadian Funeral dwellers. Luckily for us the dust contains great bands like The Antlers.
Noah and The Whale set the bar high in 2009 by channelling Win Butler et al and now we have The Antlers who combine the loner confinement heartbreak of Bon Iver with the bombastic volume of Arcade Fire in a fragile but explosive cocktail. The band originally started as a solo project for singer Peter Silberman when he moved in to a Brooklyn (where else?) apartment to get away from his friends and family. Whilst locked away in his apartment he wrote the majority of the album 'Hospice', a concept album about illness, dysfunction and death. Eventually the intensity of everything got too much for Silberman and he recruited a band of like minded misery guts to help him record 'Hospice' and play it live.
Despite the band citing Sylvia Plath as an influence (Apparently not much of a disco diva) The Antlers have an uplifting quality to them and 'Hospice' is genuinely joyous at times. The fact that Silberman has found the strength in his solitude to craft these massive pop songs is a testament to his ability and with songs as good as 'Bear' and 'Two' in their arsenal there is no reason this band couldn't go on to emulate the recent success of Fleet Foxes or more pertinently Grizzly Bear. The Antlers are certainly a big deal in America where 'Hospice' was originally released independently but was soon snapped up by the Les Savy Fav owned label Frenchkiss as the band, by their own admission couldn't cope with the requests. Due to popular demand the album is now on its second re-release and continues to grow in hype and popularity.
The Antlers currently have no plans to tour the UK but 'Hospice' is available to buy and the band play the industry meat market CMJ in New York in December.
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Brand New: 'How It Feels When Your Album Leaks' Guitarist Vinnie gives his view on illegal file sharing...
By Vincent Accardi on 21 September 2009
During a recent interview with Gigwise Brand New guitarist Vincent Accardi had some interesting things to say to us about illegal file sharing and how it feels when you album leaks on-line. As Lily Allen has put this topic firmly back onto everyone's agenda now seems a good time to share with you another musicians thoughts on the topic. Here is what Vinny had to say,
“We were devastated when the last record (2007's Devil and God...) leaked. We were in the middle of tracking the record and half of the songs that we had been working on got out there and we didn't even know if they would be on the final record but they were out there on the internet. We were recording in Massachusetts at the time and we all went home for the weekend and the record leaked on the Friday. When I got back to the studio everyone had really miserable looks on their faces and they told me the record had leaked and we were all so upset because those were demo's and half completed so we weren't given the opportunity to present the material in the way we wanted. At least when 'Daisy' leaked it was in it's full form and that makes it slightly easier to swallow.”
“When your album leaks it feels the same as when it's released- it's just out there. I can't imagine how many kids downloaded the album but I know we downloaded it! We were backstage at Reading or Leeds and were getting all these emails saying “The record's out, the record's out” and I just went to whatever website it was and got it. We all looked at each other like 'Alright the record's out now'.”
“Everything is so out of control as far as that stuff is concerned especially as far as anyone even being near having a plan on how to prevent it or protect those affected by it. It's almost become a part of how things are, you expect your album to leak and you expect it to be copied around the world. It was probably more difficult to accept when the technology first came out but we started at the same time as downloads took off so in a way we've never know any different. It's not like we're a band who have been around for twenty years and having every album we release go triple platinum- those guys must feel it a lot more. It's never been something that's affected us, we've always gauged our success by playing live and touring. You just have to accept that it's no longer a business you can make money from, people no longer make money from selling records.”
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10 Bands To Fill The Oasis Void Who can take over the Gallaghers' mantle as Britain's biggest band?...
By Alastair Thompson on 17 September 2009
Although the demise of Oasis was as expected as the clamour for a kebab after a night on the piss, their disbandment has left a huge hole. Like them or not, an output of seven studio albums, two live albums, one B-sides collection and a 'Best Of' made them the biggest current British band up until the 29th of August that is (Rolling Stones are exempt on account of them being around too long for debate). And before anyone starts, U2 can go back to their charity-bowl begging tax haven.
‘What’s The Story’ sold nearly 4.5million copies over here alone - third in the all-time list behind Queen Greatest Hits and Sgt. Pepper’s. 'Be Here Now' too is still the fastest-selling album in British history. Admittedly line-up changes to rival the Sugababes gap-year programme and some dross ('Little James' for one) followed but name another band’s B-side that 80,000 people know every word to? Know what I mean?
And so to the point of this semi-ramble, with impending solo careers beckoning for the brothers, a re-union doesn’t look likely. Therefore, by default, who is now the biggest band in Britain? Ruling out Blur and The Verve as they have re-formed and honorary Brits Kings of Leon (see ‘Fans’ for reference), here is a run down of all the contenders (and pretenders) to the Oasis throne.
NB: Kaiser Chiefs and Razorlight missed the cut because they’re shit and for no other reason.
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Your New Favourite Band: The Drums Introducing the Californian quartet...
By David Renshaw on 14 September 2009
As the heat and relaxation of Summer gives way to the bluster and leaves of Autumn you may well be in need of one last hurrah, a final sunshine fling to wave the season goodbye. If you want a band who conjure up images of beaches, iced drinks and devil may care attitude then look no further than The Drums.
This method of mis-direction was a deliberate move however explains guitarist Jon, “I think we're all pretty miserable people so the lyrics just tend to come out that way, but we're also tired of hearing everyone complain about how miserable they are so we try to disguise a bit.” before adding “We took what we love about music and wrapped it up in a way that we didn't think anyone had ever done before. So it's sort of like we were so tired of everyone being unique we wanted to make something more familiar. ”
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First Taylor Swift, Now Kanye West's Interrupting Barack Obama The spoofs are appearing already...
By Jason Gregory on 14 September 2009
It was inevitable. But still, it's barely been 12 hours and the first spoof of Kanye West's outburst during Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards has already surfaced online.
In the clip, Kanye West takes the brave – and perhaps Hennessey Cognac encouraged – decision to interrupt the US president Barack Obama as he lays out his plans for healthcare reform.
“The reforms I'm proposing do not apply to those who are here illegally,” says Barack, before Kanye interjects: “I'm gonna let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time.”
As you can imagine, neither Barack nor his vice-president Joe Biden or house speaker Nancy Pelosi, take favourably to West's decision to butt in. But Barack being Barack, addresses the interruption in his usually calm and politically correct way.
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