The Dream Syndicate slates new album for May

Exciting news. I loved seeing the band live with Matthew Sweet in LA last year. And what an interesting cover (I just couldn't shrink the size for this post)...

Los Angeles’s The Dream Syndicate's These Times, due May 3 via Anti- Records, is their second album of new music since a 2012 reunion nearly thirty years after they first influenced California’s Paisley Underground scene.

Watch mysterious creatures move through the psychedelic “Black Light” in the album’s first new song and video HERE.

“When I was writing the songs for the new album I was pretty obsessed with Donuts by J-Dilla,” lead singer and songwriter Steve Wynn explained. “I loved the way that he approached record making as a DJ, a crate-digger, a music fan wanting to lay out all of his favorite music, twist and turn the results until he made them into his own. I was messing around with step sequencers, drum machines, loops—anything to take me out of my usual way of writing and try to feel as though I was working on a compilation rather than ‘more of the same’. You might not automatically put The Dream Syndicate and J-Dilla in the same sentence, but I hear that album when I hear our new one.”

The Dream Syndicate recorded These Times once again at Montrose Studios in Richmond, Virginia. Co-produced by John Agnello (Phosphorescent, Hold Steady, Dinosaur Jr.), Wynn wrote all of the song’s lyrics in the studio after the band finished tracking, so that the words would be dictated by the sound rather than the other way around. This process contributed to the urgency of the album’s title.

“These Times. That’s it. It is all we’re talking about, all we’re thinking about. There is no avoiding the existential panic of a world that’s hurtling somewhere quickly, evolving, and shifting course by the hour. It seems like a lie to not address or reflect the things that we can’t stop thinking about—the whole world’s watching indeed. The lyrics are just a mirror of the dread, panic, mania, speculation, melancholy and ultimately shrugging abandonment that just might follow. It’s just all about where we are.”

Tour dates:

5/10 – Washington DC – U Street Music Hall
5/11 – Sellersville, PA – Sellersville Theater
5/16 – New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
5/17 – New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
5/18 – Somerville, MA – Once
5/30 – Milwaukee, WI – Collectivo
6/1 – Chicago, IL – The Hide Out

Johnny Marr returns for more US concerts

Glad to discover this news. I only caught a festival set from him last year and definitely would like to see the full experience...

Smiths’ guitar legend Johnny Marr, winner of British GQ's 2018 "Man Of The Year" Lifetime Achievement Award and NME’s “God-Like Genius” award has announced he is returning to North America in the spring. Tickets are on-sale at JohnnyMarr.com and a full list of dates is below.

Last year, Marr released the critically acclaimed album Call The Comet. Recorded with his band in Manchester at Marr’s Crazy Face Factory, Call The Comet follows his previous UK Top 10 albums The Messenger (2013) and Playland (2014).

Says Marr: "Call The Comet is my own magic realism. It’s set in the not-too-distant future and is mostly concerned with the idea of an alternative society. The characters in the songs are searching for a new idealism, although there are some personal songs in there too. It’s something that people like me can relate to.”

Tour dates:

04/27 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse

04/28 - Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre
04/29 - Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre
05/01 - Montclair, NJ @ Wellmont Theater
05/03 - Providence, RI @ Fete Music Hall
05/04 - New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall
05/06 - Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
05/07 - South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground Ballroom
05/08 - Portland, ME @ Aura
05/10 - London, ON @ London Music Hall
05/11 - Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrews Hall
05/13 - Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre
05/14 - Milwaukee, WI @ The . Pabst Theater
05/15 - Kansas City, MO @ Voodoo Lounge at Harrah's
05/16 - Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre
05/18 - Las Vegas @ Brooklyn Bowl
05/19 - Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
05/20 - San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
05/21 - Los Angeles, CA @ John Anson Ford Ampitheatre

The Rembrandts are back

Blue Elan Records

The Rembrandts—the pop-rock duo of multi-instrumentalists and songwriters Phil Solem and Danny Wilde, have signed a new record deal with Blue Élan Records and are set to release their new studio album, Via Satellite, on Aug. 23. Before the album hits, the duo will preview the new songs at this year’s SXSW Festival in Austin – on March 15 at Lambert’s BBQ.

Via Satellite is The Rembrandts first studio album in 18 years. In the years between Lost Together and Via Satellite, both Solem and Wilde have remained busy working musicians. The former, who moved from Minneapolis to Nashville in recent years, has written for and produced a variety of artists and done some commercial work. Wilde co-wrote several songs on the Gin Blossoms' 2018 album, Mixed Reality, and released an album with that band's Jesse Valenzuela, Prairie Wind.

"We are individuals, and we do have our own unique sounds, but it's the harmonies, the interweaving of the melodies, that really make the Rembrandts sound," says Wilde.

Many know The Rembrandts as the pop-rock duo who co-wrote “I’ll Be There For You” otherwise known as the “Friends Theme” song, which garnered a Grammy nomination, spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart, topped the charts in Canada and Scotland, and continues to find new audiences thanks to Friends reruns. But before that song, there were other Top 40 hits like "Just The Way It Is, Baby", "Johnny Have You Seen Her," "Someone," "Burning Timber" and "This House Is Not A Home.”

After going their separate ways in the late 1990s, the pair reunited for a proper Rembrandts album, 2001's Lost Together."We just got tired of not seeing each other, and we got together and made another record, which we had just a helluva good time doing," Solem says. "It was just like starting over. It was very au naturel.”

Track listing:

How Far Would You Go
Broken Toy
Me and Fat
Count on You
Traveling From Home
Come To Californ-i-ya
Now
Off of the Edge
You’d Think I’d Know
On My Own

Dierks Bentley concert review: Ontario, Calif.

photo courtesy of Green Room PR

"What an honor it is to spend Valentine's Day with you," said Dierks Bentley, before the life-affirming Top 10 single "Woman, Amen," off his 2018 album The Mountain. The country star also alluded to the special day prior to his passionate delivery of "I Hold On."

During "Amen," two backing musicians pounded extra drums for added percussive heft. Images of legendary female country singers like Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Tammy Wynette and Patsy Cline that flashed on the backdrop in salute were a nice touch.

The excellent 90-minute, 20-song concert at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif. opened with rousing recent hit "Burning Man" as the singer hopped around the stage. Hoisting a beer and slapping high fives with fans near the general admission stage area, Bentley mentioned the Inland Empire locale and asked where sun went on the rainy day. Then he started the hedonistic "Somewhere on a Beach."

Bentley prefaced the contemplative "Living" (from The Mountain) by talking about appreciating the small things in life. Family excursion photos were projected behind the backing band. Several songs, such as the moody "Black" and "Riser" almost verged on alt-rock due electric guitar sounds that bore a distinct tone reminiscent of U2's The Edge (no complaints here).

Playing an arena close to a major airport came in handy for Bentley. Earlier that morning, he'd been in Nashville at a music industry event with opening act Jon Pardi (whose terrific 50-minute set provided a sneak preview of a new album due later this year). They apparently returned around 5 p.m. Displaying no signs of jet lag, the headliner was still energetic as ever.

Canadian singer Tenille Towners (another opening act) held her own while serving as Bentley's duet partner on "It's Different for Girls" (in place of Elle King on the recording). Then he walked back to the smaller B-stage while singing "Am I the Only One" and did the usual shotgunning a beer with an obviously stoked male fan.

Switching gears, Bentley performed romantic ballads "Come a Little Closer" and "Say You Do" on acoustic guitar. Pretty much everything else was upbeat crowd pleasers: Pardi joined for fun Dwight Yoakam and Joe Diffie covers; "What Was I Thinking," "Sideways" and encores of "Drunk on a Plane" and "Free and Easy" quickly whipped the near-capacity audience into a frenzy.

The U.S. tour continues, with various breaks, into September. For complete routing, go to dierks.com        

Tour news: Beck, Cage the Elephant and Spoon this summer

Grammy-winning artist Beck (who just picked up a couple more last Sunday for Colors) has confirmed a return to the road in the form of a co-headlining tour with Cage The Elephant—with support from Spoon—beginning in July.

Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, February 15th at 10am local time at LiveNation.com. Citi cardmembers have access to purchase presale tickets now until Thursday, February 14th at 10:00 p.m. local time through Citi’s Private Pass program. For complete presale details visit www.citiprivatepass.com.

On this tour, Beck and Cage The Elephant have partnered up with PLUS1 and $1 from every ticket sold will be donated back into each city they are playing in, supporting local food security initiatives as they work towards ending hunger in their communities.

Having already WOWed listeners twice in 2019—first with “Tarantula” from Music Inspired by the Film ROMA, and more recently with “Super Cool” from The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part—Beck is excited to once again take it to the stage.

While his 2017 album Colors (Capitol Records) has enjoyed some of the most positive reviews of Beck’s peerless career, as well as two GRAMMY awards (Best Alternative Music Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical), live performance has always been Where It’s At (sorry) for modern music’s consummate chameleon.

Beck is also featured on the track “Night Running” from Cage The Elephant’s recently announced fifth studio album, Social Cues, out April 19th via RCA Records.

Austin’s Spoon, continue their Hot Thoughts touring. That album follows Spoon’s streak of three consecutive Top 10 albums—Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007), Transference (2010) and They Want My Soul (2014).

Prior to the start of their co-headline The Night Running Tour, both Beck and Cage The Elephant will be appearing at the Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta. See all tour dates with confirmed openers for each date below.

Tour dates:

07/11/19 - Ridgefield, WA - Sunlight Supply Amphitheater *^
07/13/19 - George, WA - The Gorge Amphitheatre *^
07/16/19 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheater *^
07/17/19 - Irvine, CA - Five Point Amphitheater *^
07/19/19 - Las Vegas, NV - Park Theater *^
07/20/19 - Chula Vista, CA - North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre *^
07/21/19 - Phoenix, AZ - Ak-Chin Pavilion *^
07/23/19 - Denver, CO - Fiddler's Green Amphitheater *^
07/26/19 - Austin, TX - Austin 360 Amphitheater *+
07/27/19 - Dallas, TX - The Dos Equis Pavilion *+
07/28/19 - Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion *+
07/30/19 - St. Louis, MO - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre *+
07/31/19 - Chicago, IL - Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island *+
08/02/19 - Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center *+
08/03/19 - Detroit, MI - DTE Energy Music Theater *+
08/04/19 - Indianapolis, IN - Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center *+
08/11/19 - Toronto, ON - Budweiser Stage *&
08/12/19 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center *&
08/13/19 - Darien Center, NY - Darien Lake Amphitheater *&
08/15/19 - Mansfield, MA - Xfinity Center *&
08/16/19 - Gilford, NH - Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion *&
08/17/19 - New York City, NY - Forest Hills Stadium *
08/20/19 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center *&
08/21/19 - Camden, NJ - BB&T Pavilion *&
08/22/19 - Columbia, MD - Merriweather Post Pavilion *&
08/24/19 - Raleigh, NC - Coastal Credit Union Music Park *&
08/25/19 - Charlotte, NC - PNC Music Pavilion *&
08/27/19 - Birmingham, AL - Oak Mountain Amphitheatre *&
08/29/19 - Tampa, FL - MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre *&
08/30/19 - West Palm Beach, FL - Coral Sky Amphitheatre *&

* - w/ Spoon
^ - w/ Starcrawler
+ - w/ Wild Belle
& - Sunflower Bean

Out now: 'Orphans' by Michael McDermott

Michael McDermott’s new album Orphans (Pauper Sky Records) explores similar terrain as its critically acclaimed predecessors Willow Springs and Out from Under, but its 12 songs have an extra power that drives the set forward. As the title suggests, this is a collection of compositions that were initially abandoned, but refused to leave McDermott’s mind.

“Some songs won’t go away,” McDermott explains. “On all of my records there’s this stack of songs that won’t make it—and they disappear for good. It wasn’t the case this time. This isn’t an outtake album. I have an album waiting to go, but these songs were too loud in my heart, they kept waking me at night. These songs are orphans, in much the same way I’ve felt in the last three years.”

While shaping and crafting these tunes that refused to be forgotten, the singer-songwriter was additionally attracted to the theme of “orphans,” having experienced a personal period of displacement while touring for his past two albums. “Since the success of Willow Springs, i’ve been on the road an awful lot,” he notes. “My parents gone--now three years--and being away from my own family left me feeling quite the ‘little boy lost’…orphaned.”

It’s a morose lens, but one that ultimately works on a universal level throughout the entire diverse tracklisting, which traverses various styles. “Tell Tale Heart,” the album’s rocking opener, harkens back to some of McDermott’s earlier work musically, with his classic lyrical approach. The song’s title comes from an Edgar Allen Poe story of the same name, deftly dropping in references such as Dorian Grey and IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands.

“Meadowlark” embraces McDermott’s aforementioned feeling of distance from and longing for home, as does the harrowing “Black Tree Blue Sky,” which contains such lyrics as: “I’ve been so out of my mind, that I woke up, in different states/Somehow checked into cheap hotels, with negotiated rates.”

“Los Angeles, A Lifetime Ago,” creates a snapshot of a period in McDermott’s life that, like his songs, he can’t expunge from his mind. “I lived in L.A. for a while, wasn’t the best time of my life,” he relates. “I slept in bushes and my drug dealer lived in a tree, made a mess of things….what else is new?”

This deeply personal degree of songwriting dances throughout the entire set, providing a theoretical “anchor” for these musical “orphans.” McDermott acknowledges his writing prowess, but “I don’t like talking about writing too much,” he cautions. “It’s sacred to me, and I feel like i’m doing it a disservice by discussing the mystery and wonder of it all. I just try and coexist with it, honor it, be humbled by it, keep my eyes down and do my work.”

The musician prides himself on “doing work,” having honed that ethic growing up on the Irish Southside of Chicago. It’s a quality he’s clung to, even throughout a tumultuous career that’s taken some twists and turns. His early success in 1991 with 620 West Surf on Warner Brothers Records catapulted him into the limelight in his early 20s--a rollercoaster ride he wasn’t quite prepared for, and that sent him on a road of self destruction. Narrowly avoiding a prison sentence, McDermott battled addiction for the next 10 years. However, with the help of his singer-songwriter sideman Heather Lynne Horton and their child, McDermott pulled himself out of the addictive cycle now been clean and sober for four years.

With his newfound lease on life, McDermott is optimistic about the future and hopes that the examination of his “orphans” on this particular album will help others find the connection we all need to thrive. “We all have addiction issues,” he states. “Consumerism, porn, food, tv, social media, tweeting, texting, sexting, twerking, working,…it’s endless. I feel a shift coming on though, that people are going to start turning inward to find freedom. Inward to start finding protection. Inward to start finding connection.”

McDermott will be touring behind Orphans throughout spring of 2019. For his most recent dates on his schedule, check www.michael-mcdermott.com. 

Out now: 'Stand Tall' by Jason Ringenberg (of Jason & the Scorchers)

The history of popular music is filled with stories of nature inspiring great works. This happens to be the case for Americana music legend Jason Ringenberg’s latest album, Stand Tall, which was conceived in one of the most awe-inspiring places on earth.

Stand Tall was literally inspired by trees--and, as the title suggests, very big ones at that. The album was penned in June 2017 while Ringenberg was commissioned as the artist in residence at Sequoia National Park in northern California. There, the National Park Service provided him with the unique opportunity to occupy a remote mountain cabin for a full uninterrupted months’ time, in order to write and work on his music.

“I found that spending so much time alone in that primal wilderness did wonders for my songwriting,” said Ringenberg, and indeed, this is reflected on Stand Tall, a record filled with characters on a mission. Ringenberg’s point-of-view subjects bounce from time period to time period, ranging from John the Baptist (“John the Baptist was a Real Humdinger”) to John Muir (“John Muir Stood Here”) to a disillusioned Confederate conscript (I’m Walking Home”)--and even his own personal experiences, in particular opening for the Ramones on a string of Texas dates in 1982 (“God Bless the Ramones”).

While the album was written in California, Ringenberg returned to his old haunts in the backwoods of Southern Illinois in order to record the songs. Utilizing the core rhythm section from his first rock band, Shakespeare’s Riot, plus a rural tin-roofed studio helped him dig deep into his musical heritage to create the exact sound he wanted.

In order to flesh out his aural plans, Ringenberg enlisted the help of some of Nashville’s finest Americana musicians, such as Richard Bennett (producer of Steve Earle’s Guitar Town), Fats Kaplin (Jack White’s bands), Steve Fishell (the Emmylou Harris Hot Band), and Robert Bowlin (fiddle player for Bill Monroe).

The chemistry of those artists, combined with songs written in a place of profound natural beauty, has undeniably produced one of the most authentic records of Ringenberg’s career. “Writing songs while standing under 2000-year-old sequoias does tend to give you a leg up,” admits Ringenberg.

Ringenberg is no stranger to making inspired records that have resounded on the alt-country and Americana scenes; whether as a solo artist, under the name Farmer Jason, or with his acclaimed outfit Jason and the Scorchers. As far back as 1984 Rolling Stone magazine said that his Fervor record (with Jason and the Scorchers) “single-handedly rewrote the history of rock ‘n’ roll in the South.”