In stores Friday: Local H's 'Lifers'

Alt-rock duo Local H have shared the stream for their upcoming album LIFERS via Billboard. Featuring contributions by an array of respected friends and guests —including Juliana Hatfield, John McCauley of Deer Tick, and legendary rock engineer Steve Albini

LIFERS is the first album from Local H in five years, and the release coincides with the group’s 30 year anniversary. LIFERS will be released this Friday, April 10 through AntiFragile Music. Physical Pre-Orders of the album are available here.

States member Scott Lucas:

"It feels kind of weird to have a record coming out while all of this is happening. The only thing that I’ve ever seen that’s been anything close to this is 9/11. Our fourth record was supposed to come out that month in 2001, but after THAT day it got pushed back to the following year. Tour dates got cancelled. A bunch of shit got shut down. At the time, those delays and setbacks felt like everything. Like it was the worst thing that could happen to us. It was childish and more than a little selfish — and I’m ashamed to admit that I even felt that way. 

"And now, even MORE shit has been shut down. More people are going to be directly affected. And what’s worse, we can’t gather together and try to make sense of it — not in the way we used to be able to. We can’t go out and see our friends. Most of us can’t even visit our families. On top of that, people are losing their jobs. People are losing their LIVES. So once again, I’m a little ashamed. I’m ashamed to ask anybody to pretend that our little fucking record means anything in this time of great and collective tragedy.

"But you know what? If nothing else, sticking to the schedule and insisting on releasing this record on time has certainly helped keep us sane. All the small mundane tasks that go into promoting a new record —the bios, the interviews, the FaceStagram updates and TwitTube posts (ESPECIALLY when we can’t play live in front of actual people!) —that’s been a lifeline for us. It’s given us a reason to get out of bed. Maybe it’s not much, but it’s something. And we’re grateful for it. We’re also grateful for the feedback that we’ve received and the sense of connection that it’s given us. Even if it’s been transmitted through a screen — it’s felt real. (And we surely can’t be the only band out there that’s felt like this.)

"So yeah, it’s weird and it’s silly and it can seem like none of what we’re doing actually means anything. But I’m glad we have a record coming out while all of this is happening."

He continues:

“When the re-release of the White Album came out a few years ago, I became re-obsessed all over again. One aspect that really hit me about it (this time) was how it’s not really a concept record — but it feels like a concept record. I wanted to do that with LIFERS. This might be a concept record about the end of the world. Or it might just be a party record with loud guitars and cowbells.”

Since the band’s formation in 1990, they have released 8 studio albums, some EPs and live effort, a well-received series of “Mix Tapes” featuring cover songs, and singles that include “Eddie Vedder”, “Hands On The Bible”, “California Songs” and the rock radio staple “Bound For The Floor”.

In addition to all of that, guitarist/vocalist Lucas and drummer Ryan Harding have maintained a near constant international touring schedule. 

Track listing:

01. Patrick Bateman 

02. Hold That Thought

03. High Wide And Stupid

04. Turn The Bow

05. Beyond The Valley Of Snakes

06. Sunday Best

07. Winter Western

08. Demon Dreams

09. Farrah

10. Defy And Surrender

11. Innocents

Drake White ready to reach for the 'Stars'

Drake White unveils his new EP Stars on April 24 through White's imprint, Reverend White Records. Listen to the lead track: "Eat, Drink & Dream."

Recorded with producer (and fellow country Top 40 songwriter) Jaren Johnston, White says "Mix 'Em With Whiskey" is "top-shelf soul country for me...the lyric is smooth, but the guitar bites. It’s one of those jams that is a pleasure to perform, and it'll have everyone singin' and sippin’ in just one listen."

Stars also includes "Luckiest Man" — which Drake describes as "a song that explores the more buttery side of things, and feels like you're easing down the road in an old Bronco" — and anthemic "Eat, Drink & Dream," which he calls "country-cool rocket fuel."

Overall, Drake feels "there's been a revival in my heart and my soul...I feel an overwhelming sense of joy and gratitude towards my maker, my life, and the simple things. People are going to hear that in my new music. They're going to see it in my shows. The excitement never left me; it's just greater now. I walk onstage these days and feel so thankful to be there — to be able to to do what I love to do."

Track listing (with songwriters):

1. Luckiest Man (Ben Burgess, Josh Kerr, Alysa Vanderheym, Cary Barlowe)

2. Mix 'Em With Whiskey (Ryan Beaver, Rodney Clawson, Adam Hambrick, Andrew DeRoberts)

3. Eat, Drink & Dream (Drake White, Tommy Cecil, Greylan James)

4. My Favorite Band (Drake White, Ross Ellis, Dan Fernandez, Michael Whitworth)

5. All Would Be Right With The World (Drake White, Tommy Cecil, Matt Alderman)

Long awaited studio return of Dramarama

New Jersey alternative rock quintet DRAMARAMA will release their first full-length album in 15 years, COLOR TV, on May 1 via Pasadena Records. It features a dozen songs that lead vocalist/songwriter John Easdale wrote over a 20 year period.

“Up To Here,” the debut single from the forthcoming album, is available today on all digital platforms. Listen HERE

COLOR TV upholds a longstanding band tradition of covers, with the Bob Dylan rarity “Abandoned Love” and Elliot Smith’s “Half Right.”

Pre-order album HERE

The band’s iconic alt-rock radio hit “Anything, Anything (I’ll Give You)” is still one of the most played songs in alternative radio history, 35 years after release.

“We’re still here after all these years,” John says. “Three of us graduated high school together, the others have been with us almost 25 years. We have a lot of shared history. It’s hard to separate our personal lives from the music. I hope people enjoy it. We’re very proud to have our place.”

Track Listing:

1. Beneath The Zenith
2. Up To Here
3. The Cassette
4. Swamp Song
5. It’s Only Money
6. Abandoned Love
7. What’s Your Sign
8. Everyday
9. Hold Me Tight

10. The Only Thing

11. You, You, You

12. Half Right

Plain White T reissue expanded 'All That We Needed' this week

Craft Recordings announces the release of an expanded edition of Plain White T’s’ acclaimed 2005 album, All That We Needed. This special 15th-anniversary digital reissue includes five previously unreleased live acoustic renditions of songs from the album, including “Hey There Delilah,” “Revenge,” “Breakdown,” “Take Me Away,” and “All That We Needed.”

Currently available for pre-save, All That We Needed will be available across all major streaming and digital platforms on April 10. As an early treat, the band have dropped an all-new lyric video for their No.1 hit single, “Hey There Delilah,” available now on YouTube. In recent weeks, the GRAMMY® Award-nominated single has been embraced by a new generation of listeners, who have been putting their own, timely twist on the song, and offering some much-needed smiles, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

On the heels of their reissue, Plain White T’s will also appear as guests on ABC’s newest addition to the hit Bachelor franchise, The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart. Fans can catch their episode on Monday, April 13th at 8:00 pm EST / 7:00 pm PST on ABC.

The third studio album from Plain White T’s, All That We Needed, was the Chicago quintet’s breakthrough, and included the original recording of their hit song, “Hey There Delilah.” All That We Needed also marked the first Plain White T’s album to feature the band’s current line-up of singer Tom Higgenson, lead guitarist Tim Lopez, rhythm guitarist Dave Tirio, bassist Mike Retondo, and drummer De’Mar Hamilton.

For their sophomore effort with Fearless Records, the group turned to producers Ariel Rechtshaid (HAIM, Vampire Weekend, Usher) and Loren Israel (Jimmy Eat World, Less Than Jake, Sugarcult).

After its release in January of 2005, All That We Needed's third single “Hey There Delilah” was re-recorded and augmented with a string section from cellist Eric Remschneider. The single peaking at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Globally, the song hit No.1 in Canada, No.2 in the UK, and entered the Top Ten in territories around the world. Bolstered by the single, All That We Needed was certified Gold by the RIAA.

“Hey There Delilah” – which has since gone on to sell over four million copies in the US alone – was named one of the “10 Best Songs of 2007” by Time magazine, and one of the “100 Greatest Songs of the ’­00s” by VH1. In 2008, the single was nominated for two GRAMMY® Awards (Song of the Year, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal).

In 2018, the band released their eighth studio album, Parallel Universe.

Click here to watch the “Hey There Delilah” lyric video

Click here to pre-save the expanded All That We Needed digital album

Track list - All That We Needed (15th Anniversary Edition):

1. All That We Needed

2. Revenge

3. Take Me Away

4. My Only One

5. Sad Story

6. Breakdown

7. What More Do You Want?

8. Lazy Day Afternoon

9. Anything

10. Sing My Best

11. Faster

12. Last Call

13. Hey There Delilah

14. Take Me Away (Live Acoustic)

15. Breakdown (Live Acoustic)

16. Revenge (Live Acoustic)

17. All That We Needed (Live Acoustic)

18. Hey There Delilah (Live Acoustic)

Josie Cotton to reissue her tribute to B-movie music

“Josie Cotton makes the unlistenable unforgettable,” wrote filmmaker/actor/artist John Waters about her upcoming album INVASION OF THE B-GIRLS on which she covers the theme songs of campy cult films.

Scheduled for release on May 1 via her label Kitten Robot Records, it was originally released on CD only in 2007. Remastered, the album includes for the very first time the single “Female Trouble” from John Waters' infamous and celebrated 1974 cult classic of the same name. The single will be released to DSPs for purchase and streaming on April 18 in advance of the album's release.

Along with new artwork and packaging, Invasion of the B-Girls finds Josie revisiting the themes from obscure and ofttimes subversive midnight movies (see listing below).

“I was obsessed with science fiction movies since childhood, a lot of which you could call B-movies, but seeing Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! as an adult was a kind of Come-to-Jesus moment for me," explains Josie about her inspiration to cover these forgotten “classics." "The whole world of B-movie culture opened up... the demented humor and in-your-face irreverence toward society all spoke to me. And the best ones all seemed to be from the 1960s and 1970s for some reason."

Produced by Josie Cotton, Geza X (Black Flag, Dead Kennedys), and Bill Rhea, Invasion of the B-Girls includes liner notes written by John Waters. Among the guest performers on the album are David Kendrick, Paul Roessler, Geza X, Kenny Lyon and Tower of Power's horn section which appears on the single “Female Trouble.”

As an artist who experienced a huge surge in popularity with such singles “Johnny Are You Queer?,” "Jimmy Loves Maryanne," and “He Could Be The One”, Josie saw the exciting potential in digging deep into these annals of pop culture cinema and pulling out some fun covers for Invasion... “You kind of have to abandon your idea of what is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ in this genre. The acting and writing and cinematography are horrendous yet wildly entertaining. It’s the same feeling I got watching bad science fiction when I was a little girl... minus the sex and violence. It’s an acquired taste if ever,” she laughs.

From the first track “Get Off the Road” from She Devils on Wheels (1968, dir. Herschel Gordon Lewis) to “Who Killed Teddy Bear?” from the film of the same name (1965, dir. Joseph Cates) and “Shiawaseo Yobo” from Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964, dir. Ishiro Honda), Invasion of the B-Girls is very cinematic.

"I first got the idea one night when I was watching Ghidora the Three-Headed Monster,” she recalls. “I had seen that movie so many times, but there is a moment in that movie when these tiny twin princesses who live in a flower are singing the most heartbreakingly beautiful song to Mothra... pleading with her to save the world. It was strange and beautiful and funny and sad all at the same time.”

From a Godzilla-sized seed grew a sprout that eventually turned into Invasion of the B-Girls.

“It suddenly occurred to me that I could do a whole record of theme songs from B-movies,” she says excitedly. “So I went on a search and watched an insane amount of movies for about a year. That’s the time frame I was indoctrinated into the cult of Russ Meyers. My criteria was it had to be a ‘great’ song from a ‘bad’ movie… ‘bad’ meaning ‘good’ and ‘great’ meaning it was a fantastic 'song'.”

Re-emerging last fall with the release of a new single “Ukrainian Cowboy,” Josie reignited a music scene that had been in the dark for too long. Her previously unreleased album Everything Is Oh Yeah! was well received.

Track Listing:

1. “Get Off The Road”

Film: She Devils On Wheels

Year: 1968

Director: Herschel Gordon Lewis

2. “Girl In Gold Boots”

Film: Girl In Gold Boots

Year: 1968

Director: Ted V Mikels

3. “Who Killed Teddy Bear?”

Film: Who Killed Teddy Bear?

Year: 1965

Director: Joseph Cates

4. “Green Slime”

Film: Green Slime

Year: 1968

Director: Kinji Fukasaku

5. “Black Klansman”

Film: The Black Klansman

Year: 1966

Director: Ted V. Mikels

6. "Female Trouble"

Film: Female Trouble

Year: 1974

Director: John Waters

7. “Run Pussy Cat”

Film: Faster, Pussy Cat! Kill! Kill!

Year: 1965

Director: Russ Meyer

8. “Days Of Now And Then”

Film: Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls

Year: 1970

Director: Russ Meyer

9. “Shiawaseo Yobo”

Film: Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster”

Year: 1964

Director: Ishiro Honda

10. “Goodbye Godzilla”

Film: “Return Of Godzilla”

Year: 1985

Directors: Koji Hashimoto & R.J. Kizer

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever detail sophomore album

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever's second album, Sideways to New Italy, is out June 5 on Sub Pop; the new single is “She’s There.”

The Aussie band, comprised of singer-songwriter-guitarists Tom Russo, Joe White, Fran Keaney, bassist Joe Russo and drummer Marcel Tussie, took inspiration from the New Italy a village near New South Wales’s Northern Rivers – the area Tussie is from. A blink-and-you'll-miss-it pit-stop of a place with fewer than 200 residents, it was founded by Venetian immigrants in the late-1800s and now serves as something of a living monument to Italians' contribution to Australia, with replica Roman statues dotted like souvenirs on the otherwise rural landscape.

"I wanted to write songs that I could use as some sort of bedrock of hopefulness to stand on, something to be proud of,” says Keaney. “A lot of the songs on the new record are reaching forward and trying to imagine an idyll of home and love."

For the “She’s There” video, directed by Nick McKinlay at Melbourne’s Coburg Motor Inn, the band “tried to convey that feeling in a dream where you need to be somewhere, and you don’t really know why, but you are determined to overcome every obstacle to get there.”

"We tried to make these little nods to our friends and loved ones, to stay loyal to our old selves," Russo explains.

Sideways to New Italy is available for preorder from Sub Pop. Preorders of the LP through megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers in North America, the U.K., and Europe, will receive the limited Loser edition (while supplies last). There will also be a new T-shirt design available.

Track list:

1.The Second Of The First

2. Falling Thunder

3. She’s There

4. Beautiful Steven

5. The Only One

6. Cars In Space

7. Cameo

8. Not Tonight

9. Sunglasses At The Wedding

10. The Cool Change

Remembering musician Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wayne: an archival interview from 2007

Yep Roc Records

In remembrance of Adam Schlesinger (pictured third from left), who passed away this week, I have reposted our April 2007 interview.

The multi-faceted musician formed the creative core of critically-acclaimed New York City-based alternative pop duo Fountains of Wayne, best known for the gold-selling, Grammy-nominated '03 single "Stacy's Mom."

He also had extensive producing, writing and performance credits for a wide range of musicians over 25 years including The Monkees, America, Ivy (for which he was a member), Jonas Brothers, Katy Perry, the Verve Pipe, Lloyd Cole, They Might Be Giants, Darlene Love, The Sounds, Fastball, James Iha and many others.

Schlesinger was nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe Award for the 1997 Tom Hanks film soundtrack "That Thing You Do!" and eventually landed a Grammy for his work on a Stephen Colbert Christmas album.

We chatted via phone from his place in Manhattan, right before Fountains of Wayne was preparing to play the Coachella Festival in Indio, Calif. for the first time. The band's fourth album "Traffic and Weather" had just come out.

Q: So, what do you think of the festival lineup on the day you perform?

A: We get compared to the Chili Peppers a lot, so we’ll have to overcome that.

Q: Do you enjoy the whole festival vibe?

A: It’s fun to meet other bands and get to play in front of a huge audience. It’s something different and definitely a novelty for us.

Q: I’ve seen you perform several times over the years and I always enjoy when you guys suddenly veer off into various classic rock riffs.

A: That was a thing that actually started on our first record when we didn’t really have enough material. We’d have to stretch to fill up a whole show [laughs]. We’ve done it ever since then. We can’t really help ourselves. We’re a cover band at heart.

Q: The new record came out last week. What is the early feedback?

A: I think people that like Fountains of Wayne would generally like this record more or less.

Q: It’s not like you’ve gone onto some weird tangent like metal.

A: No, that’s the next album. We’re just writing for that now.

Q: What was the reason for a four year gap between albums? Were you too busy with other work?

A: Yeah, it’s a combination of being busy with other things and just having lives outside the band. Also, just needing time to write and get away from it all for awhile. We could probably make it happen a little faster, but not too much. We can only put something out when we feel we’ve got enough stuff. People are always pushing us to pick up the pace and it’s not like we don’t want to, but it just always seems to take awhile.

Q: With this new album, you’ve got another batch of glowing reviews. I bet that never gets old.

A: I’m happy to have people say nice things about us; that’s fine.

Q: A few snarky reviews have said that the band’s sound is aimed squarely for radio play. Isn’t that a good thing?

A: I think that’s a weird perception about the album. I mean our first single is about a lawyer. Sometimes people mistake something that sounds really catchy with something that sounds like it should be on the radio. We don’t sound like anything like what’s on the radio. The one time we got on the radio, it was a total fluke. But for the most part, what’s on the radio has no resemblance to our music in any way.

Q: Do you think one of FOW’s strengths is you sort of have your own musical niche?

A: I do think that’s what any band strives for – something that’s your own. Obviously, hearing lots of influences. I do think we have a little thing we do that’s ours. That’s more important to us than whether we have a smash hit single every time out.

Q: With your songwriting, does Chris still tend to write about real people and you gravitate toward creating characters in the songs?

A: I don’t think it’s a hard and fast rule. Maybe there’s a few more of Chris’ songs that are autobiographical than mine. I think both of our real lives get into the songs in some indirect way.

Q: The scenario in the title track “Traffic and Weather” reminds me of Will Ferrell in “Anchorman.”

A: [Laughs] Too bad that movie already came out. If they do [a sequel], we’ll have to pitch it to them.

Q: Do songs like “Fire in the Canyons” and “Seatbacks and Traytables” usually come from Chris since he’s played in country/rock music bands?

A: Those two are definitely Chris songs. Usually the songs about being depressed are Chris’ too.

Q: Where do usually get ideas from songs? From overhearing conversations?

A: Sometimes a song will be inspired by just hanging around. The idea for “Yolanda Hayes” did actually come to me while I was sitting at the DMV just bored out of my mind. I started thinking how inappropriate it would be to wait in that line for an hour and then hit on the woman when you got up there. Sometimes the stuff is taken from bits of memories.

Q: Is there a real “Hotel Majestic” that inspired the song?

A: Yeah, there is. That’s another song Chris wrote. Whenever we work in New York, Chris and Brian, because they don’t live here, they stay at hotels and that’s a hotel they’ve stayed at a few times. I guess it’s actually not so majestic. Brian went up to the guy at the front desk one time when he was checking out and said, ‘you really shouldn’t call this place the majestic. You should call it the dump.’ That’s where the first line came from.

Q: On “Planet of Weed,” there are a lot of background noises like you’re having a party while recording. What’s was going on then?

A: We put some mikes in the studio room and had a bunch of our friends hanging around. We were recording them the whole time and we cut it up in bits and pieces.

Q: Since “Welcome Interstate Managers” was your most successful album to date, did you feel any pressure in following it up?

A: Not particularly. We kind of saw that as a bit of a fluke. We don’t really know how to change our methods even if we wanted to. We just went about our business. Obviously, we’d like to keep making records. We didn’t think about it in terms of commercial success so much.

Q: “Stacy’s Mom” brought some long-deserved attention to the band.

A: Definitely. It opened all kinds of doors for us and gave us a whole new lease on life as a band. For the most part, the people that are real FOW fans, that’s not even their favorite song by a mile. They probably don’t even want to hear it. It’s probably one of those songs we’ll have to play for the rest of our lives. If people only want to hear [that song], they’re probably not going to come to a FOW show anyway. They’ll just go listen to it on You Tube or something.

Q: I'm curious what your fan base is like in Europe.

A: We have a nice fan base in England and Japan; certain pockets of Europe. We haven’t spent the time over there a lot of bands have. We’d probably be bigger over there if we put in the touring time, but it’s tough. You can only do so much.

Q: What was the experience like working on the soundtrack to the Drew Barrymore/Hugh Grant film "Music and Lyrics?"

A: It was a fun project all around. The director is a super cool guy I got along with really well. It’s fun to get to work with movie stars and get out of my own head for awhile and just write for something more specific. The songs were definitely written for the movie. That was the challenge at the time, to make it fit the script. I only wrote three songs for that movie. I had a few other songs placed in there that were pre-existing.

Q: On that soundtrack's “Meaningless Kiss,” you got ABC’s Martin Fry in to add some ‘80s pop star authenticity.

A: That was sort of just a little treat fan to myself because I’ve been a huge ABC fan for 20 years. We brought him in, partially to sing on it, but also so Hugh could watch his style and listen to his voice and pick up on his vibe.

Q: How did you and James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins end up handling the America album?

A: We had been fans for a long time. I started having an email correspondence with Gerry Beckley. That led to us working on a couple songs together and that turned into doing a whole record together. It was a really pleasurable record to make; very relaxed and spread out over a long period of time.

Q: For many people, America is a guilty pleasure.

A: I’m not guilty about it in the least. I think they just write good songs. If those songs weren’t strong, they wouldn’t still be played on the radio as much as they are. Their classic hits are still radio hits 30 years later.

Q: You got Ryan Adams, Ben Kweller and the guys from Nada Surf and My Morning Jacket to play on the covers of their own songs. Those are two of my faves.

A: Those both came out really good. I was happy to do those and get to work with those guys.

Q: Do you think the special guests lent sort of hipper credence to the album than people would expect from America?

A: (The artists were into it). It wasn’t like a Santana thing, where it was cooked up in a board room. It was really organic. It was us hanging out and saying, 'let’s invite some people down and who can we get?’ We called some of our friends and they called some. It was very casually thrown together.

Q: Got any other Stratosphere Studio projects in the future?

A: I just finished co-producing eight tracks for Motion City Soundtrack along with Eli Janney of Girls Against Boys. I’m real psyched about it.