“Classic Man,” the 2015 debut single from Nigerian-American MC Jidenna, caught everyone off guard. The song found him teetering between rapping and singing about elegance, politeness and Nat “King” Cole, and the melody felt irresistible. Then there’s the look: He rocks thrift-wear tailored to a T. The song eventually went double platinum and earned a Grammy nomination. Jidenna followed it with a few more club bangers before releasing his debut album, The Chief, earlier this year. A tribute to his father, a Nigerian chief, the record is peppered with African rhythms and themes.
Jidenna and his band recently visited NPR to perform three reworked selections from The Chief. They excitedly explored every nook and cranny of the Tiny Desk in search of props, eventually settling on a toy, the magic microphone, a tambourine and a bottle of whiskey. Jidenna bounced straight through “Trampoline” to “Long Live the Chief,” in which he explains why his threads are always so sharp:
You can either sink, swim or be the captain
Get the last word I’ma get the last laugh in
Now they say, “Jidenna, why you dressing so classic?”
I don’t want my best-dressed day in a casket
Finally, the band pauses, glides into the arresting harmonies of “Bambi,” and finishes charming the socks off the entire room.
Set List
“Trampoline”
“Long Live the Chief”
“Bambi”
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club announced their forthcoming album Wrong Creatures, out on January 12th, 2018 and released the first single “Little Thing Gone Wild”.
The widely acclaimed California-based band consists of Peter Hayes (vocal, guitar, harmonica), Robert Levon Been (vocal, bass, guitar), and Leah Shapiro (drums). They’ve been crafting perfectly honed, bluesy, psychedelic garage-rock since 1998 and return with their 7th studio album. These rock and roll stalwarts have been praised by NPR for their “gutsy rock ‘n’ roll” while Rolling Stone has called their sound “expansive” and Entertainment Weekly has called it “deeply hypnotic narco-blues.”
Wrong Creatures was produced by Nick Launay (Nick Cave, Arcade Fire) and is available for pre-sale beginning today in all digital music stores and directly through the band’s online store. “Little Thing Gone Wild” is available for purchase as an individual track beginning today and everyone who pre-orders the album will receive the song immediately. In addition to the CD & Digital album version, Wrong Creatures will also be available for pre-order in a deluxe box format, which, in addition to the exclusive colored vinyl LP, comes with a custom BRMC harmonica made by Höhner, and more. The deluxe box is available exclusively through the band’s online store – Click here to see everything the deluxe package includes.
Recorded in Los Angeles, Wrong Creatures takes a journey throughout rock’s history, taking unlikely twists and turns, both peppered with historic influences but also having one foot firmly in the present. Their biggest focus remains in developing their own musicianship, never resting on their laurels, preparing to enhance the live experience they can offer fans. “We caught some cool performances on this record,” says Hayes.
Wrong Creatures is an exercise in getting back to the core of BRMC’s alchemy. From the Cave-esque murder balladry of “Haunt” to the garage punk of “Little Thing Gone Wild,” it runs the gamut of classic rock, allowing the band to flex every muscle in their armor. They remain opaque about the songs’ greater meanings, fearful of past misunderstandings. “I find myself writing about death a lot,” says Hayes. “I find myself having a discussion with death, which sounds dark. For me, it’s dark humor.” Talking about mortality allows Hayes to explore life’s great mistakes and regrets. Channeling them through rolling riffs and dirge-laden rhythms, however, extolls the demons within. It’s a great catharsis for the band, and it’s a great unifier for their audience who can also seek solace in the emotional heft.
Ultimately, the band are survivors during an era where rock’n’roll can often be overshadowed by garish pop and domineering hip-hop. Black Rebel Motorcyle have learned how to cut out all the noise and concentrate on what matters. “We are truly an island – insular and our own thing,” says Been.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club also announced their North American tour which will be kicking off on January 15, 2018 with dates in Washington DC, Boston, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and more. The trio will also be hitting Europe and the UK for select tour dates this fall beginning October 23. Pre-sale for the North American tour dates begins today and general on-sale begins on September 15th –Purchase here. The band has partnered with Plus 1 for the tour in which $1 from each ticket will be donated to War Child, a worldwide organization that supports programs aiding women & children dislocated and impacted by war, political unrest, terrorism and poverty.
North American Tour Dates:
January 15 San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
January 16 Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
January 18 Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
January 19 Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater
January 20 Houston, TX @ House of Blues
January 21 New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
January 23 Tampa, FL @ The Ritz Ybor
January 24 Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution Live
January 26 Orlando, FL @ The Beacham
January 27 Charlotte, NC @ The Underground
January 29 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
January 30 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
January 31 Boston, MA @ Royale
February 2 Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
February 5 Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
February 6 Toronto, ON @ Rebel
February 7 Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
February 9 Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
February 10 Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
February 11 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
February 12 St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall
February 13 Kansas City, MO @ The Truman
February 15 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
February 16 Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall
February 18 Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
February 19 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
February 20 Seattle, WA @ The Show Box
February 22 Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
February 23 Pomona, CA @ The Glass House
February 24 Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre
Actually, that headline might be a lie. Bob Dylan continues his Never Ending Tour with a month’s worth of shows, leaving the potential for more in mid-November, and don’t rule that out, either. Dylan’s endless touring schedule started on June 7, 1988. During the course of the tour, musicians have come and gone as the band continued to evolve. The tour’s name was cemented when journalist Adrian Deevoy published his interview with Dylan in Q Magazine no.39, December 1989:
AD: ‘Tell me about this live thing. You’ve gone straight into this tour again — one tour virtually straight into the next one.’
BD: ‘Oh, it’s all the same tour.’
AD: ‘It’s the Never Ending Tour?’
BD: (unenthusiastically) ‘Yeah, yeah’.
But then again, in the sleeve notes to his album World Gone Wrong (1993), Dylan wrote:
Don’t be bewildered by the Never Ending Tour chatter. There was a Never Ending Tour but it ended in 1991 with the departure of guitarist G. E. Smith. That one’s long gone but there have been many others since then: “The Money Never Runs Out Tour” (Fall of 1991) “Southern Sympathizer Tour” (Early 1992) “Why Do You Look At Me So Strangely Tour” (European Tour 1992) “The One Sad Cry Of Pity Tour” (Australia & West Coast American Tour 1992) “Outburst Of Consciousness Tour” (1992) “Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down Tour” (1993) and others, too many to mention each with their own character & design.
See? What do I know?
Bob Dylan 2017 Tour Dates:
October
13 – Valley Center, Calif. @ Harrah’s Resort SoCal – The Events Center
14 – Las Vegas, Nev. @ The Cosmopolitan Hotel – The Chelsea Theatre
17 – Salt Lake City, Utah @ Eccles Theater
18 – Salt Lake City, Utah @ Eccles Theater
21 – Denver, Colo. @ 1STBANK Center
23 – Omaha, Neb. @ CenturyLink Center
24 – Ames, Iowa @ Stephens Auditorium
25 – Saint Paul, Minn. @ Xcel Energy Center
27 – Chicago, Ill. @ Wintrust Arena
28 – Grand Rapids, Mich. @ Van Andel Arena
29 – Bloomington, Ind. @ IU Auditorium
Canadian Music Week is your chance to perform in front of thousands of industry insiders from Canada and around the world. Talent buyers, booking agents, festival programmers, music publishers, A&R reps, managers, music supervisors, and more are all at your fingertips, looking for the next big thing. You can be one of them, but only if you submit.
All accepted bands will receive access to attend CMW’s Music Summit 2018 (valued at $799 CAD) which gives you access to panels and discussions as well as the mentor’s café, where you can connect with industry experts from around the globe (if your band is not accepted to play, one (1) member of the band will receive a pass to attend the CMW Music Summit). You’ll also get a two-year membership to CAAMA (Canadian Association for the Advancement of Music and the Arts), and reduced rates at hotels on per band basis and subject to capacity.
Application Deadlines for CMW 2018 is January 7th, 2018. Go here to submit for stardom!
In celebration of Gorillaz’ September 16th headline set at the Meadows Music & Arts Festival at New York’s Citi Field, G Foot—the new collection of clothing and accessories designed by Gorillaz co-founder Jamie Hewlett—will be setting up a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it pop-up store September 15th and 16th in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
The G Foot pop-up store experience will allow fans exclusive access to clothes and accessories not available anywhere else, taking Gorillaz offline and into the streets.
Among the exclusive items on sale at the G Foot pop-up will be a limited edition Gorillaz New York T-shirt created exclusively for the store and available only as long as quantities last during the store’s two-day run.
The multi-piece G Foot capsule collection showcases the iconic style created by Hewlett to take Gorillaz band members 2D, Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs and Noodle into the real world, and encompasses classic pieces including X and Y.
G Foot Creative Director Remi Kabaka said, “G Foot is a post-skate wear collection reminiscent of class acts like Silas, Eley Kishimoto or LaurenceAirline . Positive vibrant brands, with no shame in their game.”
The G Foot collection is available at an affordable price range and includes brand new, limited edition items alongside pieces only previously available to fans at Gorillaz shows.
The Gorillaz Meadows headline performance kicks off the next leg of the Humanz tour that began its sold-out North American run July 8 in Chicago. The tour has played Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco and more to the largest and most enthusiastic U.S. crowds Gorillaz has seen to date—and critical response has been equally enthusiastic.
Spire Studio is a portable, wireless, professional-quality recording studio designed to keep you in the creative zone. Use the Spire Studio’s built-in Wi-Fi network to pair with the Spire app, and start recording, editing, mixing, and sharing your music with the world.
To celebrate Peter Hook’s (Joy Division, New Order, Peter Hook and the Light) new band memoir Substance: Inside New Order, he and old friend and bandmate Andy Rourke (the Smiths, D.A.R.K.), sat down to talk old times. Their amazing chat takes in Johnny Marr and Andy’s adolescent love of Joy Division, Hooky’s ongoing legal battle against New Order, Morrissey and Johnny Marr’s autobiographies, Hook’s longstanding personal issues with Bernard Sumner (a.k.a. Barney) and so much more.
We all know Phil Collins’ 1981 track “In the Air Tonight” and we especially know what happens around the 3:19 mark. It’s that drum fill. Joseph Prein created a version of that, and here you get three versions of the drum fill, played at regular speed and two other versions at 99.9% and 100.1% of the correct speed. The track lasts 70 minutes. Which is all you’ll need, even if you’re Phil himself. Fascinating stuff, though.
These three demo tracks were recorded when Depeche Mode were known as “Composition Of Sound”. An unreleased track, “Radio News”, is included on this demo tape. Lyrically, the other two songs are identical, though Dave sings “the ice machine, ice machine” twice during the end of “Ice Machine”, as he similarly does during early live shows until the end of the song. Fletch surprisingly plays bass during these tracks. At least two early Composition Of Sound / Depeche Mode demo tapes existed in 1980: a 4 track tape (containing Photographic, Television Set and two unknown/unnamed songs) with Vince singing, recorded before the arrival of Dave in the band. – a 3 track tape (containing Ice Machine, Radio News & Photographic) with Dave singing, recorded after the arrival of Dave in the band. The second demo tape was recorded during the summer of 1980. Dave will make his live debut with the band on June 14, the fourth gig of Composition Of Sound.
