Music News

[Ethereal]

Figured we could use a thread dedicated to music-related news stories. Stuff that is not exactly thread worthy. Anything worth-while could still have it's own thread. No need to be vital or anything, but feel free to post whatever you want.

Jonny Craig has just been kicked out of Emarosa.

Surprise, surprise. haha.

Exclusive: Jonny Craig no longer in Emarosa

April 11, 2011 | by Tim Karan

Altpress has exclusively learned that embattled vocalist Jonny Craig is no longer a member of Emarosa. The band are not breaking up and they will still be playing their scheduled set at Bamboozle. A statement released by the band reads: "As of today, Jonny Craig is no longer a member of Emarosa. This decision has been a hard one to make, but we feel it is in the best interest for the band going forward."

Craig joined Emarosa in November 2007 after he was kicked out of Dance Gavin Dance. He appeared on Emarosa's 2008 debut, Relativity, and their self-titled follow-up in 2010.

The vocalist—who recently rejoined Dance Gavin Dance—has endured a turbulent few months. In February, in the midst of a public struggle with substance abuse, fans began accusing Craig of orchestrating an elaborate internet scam in which he accepted thousands of dollars for laptops he never sent. Later that month, Craig entered a North Hollywood detox facility and has since been released. Rise Records and the Artery Foundation Artist Management promised they would repay the fans Craig swindled.

Emarosa haven't said what they plan to do about filling Craig's spot, but we'll keep you posted as more details emerge. Former Tides Of Man vocalist Tilian Pearson filled in for Craig on tour when he was in detox. Craig tweeted, "i got no hard feelings to any of the dudes in @emarosa I AM more then happy to be with DGD and working on my solo shit.hope they can keep up." He also said that he's recording vocals for two new Dance Gavin Dance songs this week.

[source]

 

[Ethereal]

Also, and this is not really new-new, and most of you probably don't give a shit, but there is a leaked demo from Saosin that appears to be showcasing Tilian Pearson from Tides of Man as the new lead singer. Obviously Cove Reber was kicked out some time ago.

 

[B-Buzz]

 

[Nuttkase]

Good idea for a thread. If it stays alive I'll vital it in a few weeks.

I never really followed the stories much because I'm not a fan of any of the bands he was in but Jonny Craig is a Grade A faggot from what I have gathered. By faggot I mean a douche, not literally a faggot.

 

[RedStorm]

 

[B-Buzz]

RX Bandits Announce Breakup

RX Bandits have announced that they will break-up after this summer's U.S. tour. You can read the statement below. RX Bandits will be performing at this year's Bamboozle Festival. This will be one of their last appearances in the area so be sure to catch them. No dates have been announced for their final tour. RX Bandits formed in 1995 and have released six albums including 1998's Halfway Between Here and There and 2001's Progress. Their last release was 2009's Mandala.

It is with an incredible sadness that I relay this news. The band that started it all for me and who were so instrumental in the creation of what has now become Sargent House. The one, the only, the great loves of my musical life, RX Bandits have decided that this Summer’s US tour will be their last together. It is so hard for me to fathom that it I will not be able to witness one of the most incredible live bands I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing beyond these final shows. Just typing this is so hard, my emotions are so intense, no words could express what this band means to me and how much I have loved them. I feel immensely honored to have been part of their lives and to have witnessed first hand what they have achieved.

Below is the statement from the band themselves, which is short, not out of disrespect or care but I think more from being at a loss for words in how to explain to fans so dear and so loving that they are simply closing an incredible chapter in all their lives, and that they are okay with it. It is just too hard to sum up any other way then to simply say thank you. RX Bandits, you are truly one of a kind.

“Dear friends,
We would like to express our love and appreciation for all that you’ve done for us and how much a part of our growth you have been. We have all mutually decided that this summer will be our last tour. We love each other and love you all and hope to see you at the shows.”

Much love & respect,

Rx Bandits

 

[Ethereal]

Never got into Rx Bandits but I know a lot of people who are going to be disappointed.

 

[B-Buzz]

Thee Oh Sees Announce New Album

The San Franciscan garage-punk noisemakers Thee Oh Sees have been steadily cranking out slabs of messy psychedelic spaz for years. Their new album comes just a year after their last one, Warm Slime, and a few months after the band knocked me on my ass at SXSW. The 16-track new album comes bearing the awesome title Castlemania, and In the Red will release it on June 14. That's the cover art above. Shout out to that old plastic smiling toy phone-- having a big year after scoring a cameo in the daycare center scene in Toy Story 3.

In a press release, frontman John Dwyer says, "I guess there is a theme going on in this record. It's shit I didn't realize while making it-- songs about bad things, packaged in a summery record about getting numb to life and its little pleasures as you take it for granted with age."

According to a press release, the quartet is also about to add a new member, the singer and multi-instrumentalist Lars Finberg of the Intelligence. Oh, and this won't be the only Thee Oh Sees album this year, as another one is due in the fall.

 

[B-Buzz]

Washed Out Signs to SubPop, Album In July

Remember chillwave O.G. Ernest Greene's Washed Out project? Been a bit since we've heard anything from him, huh? Well, wait no longer: Greene's signed to Sub Pop, who will release his debut LP, Within and Without, on July 12.

The album was recorded with Ben Allen (Animal Collective, Deerhunter), and a U.S. tour is in the works as well. Check out the LP's tracklist below. You might notice that one of the tracks on there, "You and I", looks familiar; a song by the same title was released by Washed Out and Chairlift's Caroline Polachek for last year's Adult Swim singles series, and that song is available for you to listen to above (below).

Within and Without:

01. Eyes Be Closed
02. Echoes
03. Amor Fati
04. Soft
05. Far Away
06. Before
07. You and I
08. Within and Without
09. A Dedication

 

[Nuttkase]

Thee Oh Sees Announce New Album

The San Franciscan garage-punk noisemakers Thee Oh Sees have been steadily cranking out slabs of messy psychedelic spaz for years. Their new album comes just a year after their last one, Warm Slime, and a few months after the band knocked me on my ass at SXSW. The 16-track new album comes bearing the awesome title Castlemania, and In the Red will release it on June 14. That's the cover art above. Shout out to that old plastic smiling toy phone-- having a big year after scoring a cameo in the daycare center scene in Toy Story 3.

In a press release, frontman John Dwyer says, "I guess there is a theme going on in this record. It's shit I didn't realize while making it-- songs about bad things, packaged in a summery record about getting numb to life and its little pleasures as you take it for granted with age."

According to a press release, the quartet is also about to add a new member, the singer and multi-instrumentalist Lars Finberg of the Intelligence. Oh, and this won't be the only Thee Oh Sees album this year, as another one is due in the fall.

 

[B-Buzz]

Bon Iver Announces New Album

Way back in 2007, Justin Vernon self-released For Emma, Forever Ago, his first album under the name Bon Iver. Jagjaguwar picked up the release the next year, and it slowly became a massive word-of-mouth indie hit. In the years since, Vernon has launched his Volcano Choir side project, worked with Kanye West and Gayngs, and done all sorts of one-off gigs and guest appearances. But though he's done a ton of touring with Bon Iver, that main project has been largely silent ever since he released the Blood Bank EP early in 2009. And on June 21, Bon Iver will finally return when Jagjaguwar releases their self-titled sophomore album.

Vernon and brother Nate recorded and mixed the album over a three-year period at a former veterinarian's clinic in Wisconsin. Regular Vernon collaborators Sean Carey, Mike Noyce, and Matt McCaughan play, sing, and contributed production to the album. Volcano Choir members Jim Schoenecker and Tom Wincek helped out with processing, and Rob Moose, who has worked with the National and Antony and the Johnsons, helped arrange strings. The LP also features pedal steel player Greg Leisz and a horn section that includes Mike Lewis, C.J. Camerieri, and free-jazz monster Colin Stetson. The lush cover art, from Minnesota artist Gregory Euclide, is above.

We've got the tracklist below.

Bon Iver:

01 Perth
02 Minnesota, WI
03 Holocene
04 Towers
05 Michicant
06 Hinnom, TX
07 Wash.
08 Calgary
09 Lisbon, OH
10 Beth/Rest

 

[B-Buzz]

RIP Gerard Smith from TV On the Radio

We are very sad to announce the death of our beloved friend and bandmate, Gerard Smith, following a courageous fight against lung cancer. Gerard passed away the morning of April 20th, 2011. We will miss him terribly.

 

[Ethereal]

Was just about to post that. Wayyyy too young. Cancer is a fucking faggot. probably the biggest faggot ever. RIP Gerard Smith.

 

[Nuttkase]

Damn, that sucks.

RIP

 

[0R0]

RIP

how old was he?

 

[B-Buzz]

34

 

[0R0]

Tennis Working on Follow-Up to ‘Cape Dory’

“We don’t want to be Jimmy Buffett.”

Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley, the husband-and-wife duo who, along with drummer James Barone, comprise Tennis, are sitting in the Swift Ranger, their 30-foot sailboat that transported them up and down the Eastern Seaboard for nine months and inspired their debut album Cape Dory.

If you know one thing about Tennis, it’s their fabled back story. Boy saves up for years to buy sailboat of his dreams. Boy meets girl. Boy and girl marry, begin their nautical journey and, influenced by ’60s girl-group pop, return home to document the experience by recording an album.

“Cape Dory was a means to an end,” Moore tells Hive during a visit aboard the Swift Ranger. “It was a way to process and convey this shared experience that meant so much to us, we felt it needed some significant documentation beyond my journal entries. Now, we hope to have more of an edge. We feel more courageous to be more bold and assertive in our writing. By the end of our tour, I started to listen longingly to more rock and roll bands and I just went, ‘I just want a guitar solo now. Something with more meat.’”

Riley chimes in: “I never played guitar solos. For me, it was like jacking off or something. But now, I want to jack off and have that solo.”

The group, currently anchored in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, returns home to Denver this weekend to begin work on the follow-up to Cape Dory, tentatively scheduled for an early 2012 release through Fat Possum, but have already started writing new tracks. Among them: “Hard Times” — a nod to Charles Dickens’ 1854 novel on education and utilitarianism — and “Little Virgin.” It’s still early in the songwriting process — they haven’t decided whether to stick with the 4-track used on Cape Dory or upgrade to an 8-track — but the group is overtly looking to shed the “sailing group” descriptor.

“It’s almost too bad that that first album was about that sailing trip because it just stuck and we couldn’t really write about anything else,” admits Riley. “The next one isn’t going to be anything about sailing. We now have a firm understanding of where the band is going, which is the first time we ever felt this way. I’m sure people think this is gimmicky on some level but to us, this is just our life. For the second album, it’s ‘Screw that. We’ll leave that behind us.’ This album is a clean slate.”

Growing up in a strict Christian household where the only music allowed was “Amy Grant and Jars of Clay,” – two mega-Christian music superstars — a chance encounter with the Shirelles‘ “Baby It’s You” on the radio last year led Moore down the rabbit hole of Phil Spector and countless ’60s girl groups. “I definitely feel like I’ll use the next album as a way to explore some of my personal changes going from my extremely Christian sheltered upbringing to this entirely opposite world,” says Moore.

Back on the Swift Ranger, surrounded by sailing books and nautical equipment, Tennis assert that this troupe isn’t simply three people making music for fun. “We’re willing to put all our eggs in one basket now and pursue this project 100% until we can’t anymore,” says Moore. “We’re going to keep making music as long as it feels right.”

 

[SickOne]

Horrible news about Gerard Smith, damn, so young. Hate that I couldn't get tickets for their LA date, sold out before I knew found out about it, venue too small & only one date. Bad news aside, looks like 2011 gonna be a great year for rock, new radiohead & tv on the radio already, new fleet foxes just out, new my morning jacket out at the end of the month, & new Wilco in the fall. New mars Volta sometime this year, might check out that panda bear & new Bon iver too.

 

[B-Buzz]

New Beirut This Summer

The last month or so has seen an increased level of activity from sonic postcard-sender Zach Condon's Beirut project; he's hitting the road for a fairly extensive tour soon and he contributed a Caetano Veloso cover to the Red Hot Organization's forthcoming benefit compilation, Red Hot + Rio 2. If you guessed that this means that there's a new album in the cards as well, then give yourself a gold star, because you pretty much nailed it.

Condon recently told HitFix that the as-yet-untitled record is set for release "sometime this summer" and was recorded this past winter in upstate New York. He told HitFix that the new album is "sunny," saying, "I write sad songs when it’s nice outside. I write warm and happy songs when I'm up to my neck in snow for three months."

 

[B-Buzz]

Twin Shadow's playing on Fallon tonight, dudes.

goddamn they were better than any live video I've seen of them. Hopefully someone recorded it