The Damned’s Paul Gray rejoins the band in time to record their new album.

BRITISH PUNK ROYALTY THE DAMNED REVEAL
UPCOMING ALBUM DETAILS AND MORE
TONY VISCONTI SET TO PRODUCE NEW DAMNED ALBUM SET FOR RELEASE 2018 
FORMER BASSIST PAUL GRAY REJOINS BAND 
 
Photos: Dod Morrison
As reported in early spring, legendary punk band The Damned signed a new label deal with Search & Destroy and announced plans for their 11th studio album. Now the band is pleased to announce that preparations are underway.
The band’s raw, primal and macabre energy will see its match in the studio this October in Brooklyn, NY with famed Producer Tony Visconti who for over five decades has produced some of the world’s most influential artists and their greatest albums (David Bowie, T.Rex, Morrisey, U2, The Stranglers, Iggy Pop and Thin Lizzy). On Engineer duties is four time Grammy-winning Producer /Engineer/Mixer Kevin Kline, who has also worked with Bowie and has spent the last several decades compiling an impressive list of credentials featuring premiere pop artists Peter Gabriel, Elvis
Costello, Burt Bacharach, Bryan Ferry and Brandon Flowers.
The New York Observer proclaimed, “The Damned are a band of infinite depth and a wide variety of pleasures… high-quality blurs of melodic punk, Beach Boys-ish flowery psych-pop, chiming, bittersweet post-punk, Moody Blues-ish bombastmopherics, spiraling goth and soaring faux soul, all brilliantly executed…”
It’s rather fitting that the band who in 1976 launched an alchemic, heady new British rock sound collaborates with one of the most important and influential producers in the history of rock.  “We want to do the unexpected,” noting that the new album will offer some of the old and a lot of the new. “We’ve never been predictable and well, neither has Tony. There will be a measure of experimentation and we know he’ll do his best to artistically challenge us. He’s been at the top of our producer list since we first started thinking about recording the album, dream come true he’s on board!” The as-yet-unnamed new album will be their first new album for nearly ten years and is the follow up to, ‘So, Who’s Paranoid?’ which came out in 2008.
This news also comes with a change in The Damned’s line up. The Damned  announce the bitter sweet news of the departure of bassist Stu West. “We had a great time with Stu on this long journey. We have infinite respect for him and are forever grateful for his contributions to The Damned. As a result of this mutual understanding, we respect his decision, support him wholeheartedly and wish him the best of luck and success.”
Furthermore, The Damned reveal that once again they will reunite with their former bass player Paul Gray (Eddie and the Hot Rods/Johnny Thunders (New York Dolls, Rob Tyner (MC5)/UFO), who was an essential part of the Damned during the 80s and who played bass on previous Damned albums “The Black Album” and “Strawberries”. Gray will be joining the Damned in the studio this fall.
A dizzying mix of dedication, creativity and stubborn will continues to fuel Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible, Monty Oxymoron, and Pinch.  While The Damned’s 40 year journey has been challenging, rewarding and shocking at best, they continue to reign as Punk’s original connoisseurs and feel very positive about what lies ahead in the future.  That evidence will be heard on their new album and in venues worldwide as the blitz continues on their Evil Spirits Tour set to rock intimate venues through out the UK this January.
The Damned ‘Evil Spirits’ 2018 UK Tour Dates:
26 January Newcastle O2 Academy
27 January Dundee Caird Hall
28 January Glasgow O2 Academy
30 January Leeds O2 Academy Leeds
31 January Manchester Academy 1
1 February Birmingham O2 Academy
3 February Leicester O2 Academy
4 February Nottingham Rock City
6 February Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall
7 February Southend Cliffs Pavilion
9 February Cardiff Great Hall
10 February Bristol O2 Academy Bristol
11 February Bournemouth O2 Academy
13 February Southampton O2 Guildhall
14 February Bexhill De La Warr Pavilion
17 February London O2 Forum
About The Damned:
Formed in 1976, The Damned really need no introduction…  As well as releasing the first ever British punk single and album, they also broke further new ground as the first UK punk act to tour America. The Damned still receive their dues in the US, where they are often cited as a major influence on many future rock acts, including bastions of the nascent US hardcore scene such as Black Flag and Bad Brains plus heavy metal heavyweights such as Green Day, The Offspring and Guns ’N’ Roses. The band recently celebrated four decades together with a deluxe reissues package and a world tour.
About Search and Destroy:
Raw Power Management oversee a roster of internationally successful acts which include: Bring Me The Horizon, At The Drive In, While She Sleeps, Of Mice and Men, Don Broco, Mallory Knox, and others.  The company’s record label Search and Destroy is home to, among others, Bullet For My Valentine & Atreyu.  Search and Destroy is a joint venture with Spinefarm Records / Universal.
Follow The Damned:

Slow Magic releases another hot single – “Drum.”

Slow Magic Shares New Single “Drum”
Listen Here

New Album Float Out October 6th On Downtown/Interscope

Catch Him On Tour Now

Slow Magic is sharing a new single, “Drum,” from his new album, Float, coming out October 6th on Downtown/Interscope.

“I spent a week in Stockholm last summer recording the drums for the whole album,” he explains. “I always play drums live along with the songs, but Float is my first time recording live drums directly. I decided to keep it simple, just two toms and one cymbal. I wanted to capture the simplicity and limitation of using only a couple of drums.”

“After recording the drums, the record really came together and started sounding complete,” he continues. “A few months later at home I was listening back to the drum mixes and started building something completely new with them. That’s what ended up being the song ‘Drum.’”

“Drum” follows previously released singles “Mind” (feat. Kate Boy) and “Light” (feat. Tropics), both of which are sampled on “Drum,” along with every other song from Float. “I wanted to make a song that reminded people of their animal instinct.”

Slow Magic is currently touring the world in support of Float headlining his biggest rooms yet. “I’m planning a lot of new things that I haven’t done before. There will be a completely revamped live show with a ton of new music. I’m hoping people that have been to my show and people that never have will all feel like they are experiencing something they never have imagined.” A full list of dates is below.

Listen To Slow Magic’s “Drum”:
https://soundcloud.com/slowmagic/drum

Listen To “Light” Feat. Tropics:
https://soundcloud.com/slowmagic/light-feat-tropics

Listen To “Mind” Feat. Kate Boy:
https://soundcloud.com/slowmagic/mind-1

Slow Magic Tour Dates:
9/13 – Paris, France @ Batofar
9/14 – Milan, Italy @ Circolo Magnolia
9/15 – Rome, Italy @ Monk Club [tix]
9/19 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Sugar Factory [tix]
9/20 – Brussels, Belgium @ Beursschouwburg [tix]
9/21 – Liege, Belgium @ Reflektor [tix]
9/23 – London, UK @ Oslo [tix]
9/24 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Lille Vega [tix]
9/27 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Debaser [tix]
9/28 – Berlin, Germany @ Gretchen [tix]
9/29 – Barcelona, Spain @ Razzmatazz [tix]
9/30 – Madrid, Spain @ Costello Club [tix]
10/25 – Austin, TX @ Empire Control Room [tix]
10/26 – Dallas, TX @ Trees [tix]
10/27 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall [tix]
10/28 – New Orleans, LA @ Varsity Theatre [tix]
10/29 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade (Hell Stage) [tix]
11/2 – Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero [tix]
11/3 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere [tix]
11/4 – Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall [tix]
11/5 – Boston, MA @ Royale [tix]
11/8 – Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmount [tix]
11/9 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern [tix]
11/10 – Detroit, MI @ The Magic Stick [tix]
11/11 – Grand Rapids, MI @ The Stache [tix]
11/12 – Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club [tix]
11/15 – Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge [tix]
11/16 – Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar [tix]
11/17 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre [tix]
11/18 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall [tix]
11/30 –Vancouver, BC @ Venue [tix]
12/1 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox [tix]
12/2 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom [tix]
12/3 – Eugene, OR @ WOW Hall [tix]
12/6 – Arcata, CA @ Arcata Theatre [tix]
12/7 – San Francisco, CA @ Warfield Theatre [tix]
12/8 – San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park [tix]
12/9 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory [tix]
12/10 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Novo [tix]

Slow Magic online:
https://www.facebook.com/slowwmagic
https://twitter.com/SlowwwMagic
http://instagram.com/slowmagic
https://soundcloud.com/slowmagic
http://pitchperfectpr.com/

Live: Buddy Guy and Quinn Sullivan – Elkhart, IN – September 09, 2017

My wife and I caught Buddy Guy at the Lerner Theatre in Elkhart, Indiana.  It was our first show at the Lerner, even though we’ve lived a 30-minute drive from Elkhart for over 20 years.  I don’t know how this happened, but we got some good seats (after a ticket mix-up at the box office) and settled in for the opener – 17-year-old blues guitarist wunderkind Quinn Sullivan.

Quinn Sullivan

Sullivan first played on stage with Buddy Guy when he was seven years old.  He shreds like he’s been playing for far longer than seventeen years.  He played a few cuts from his three albums, as well as a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing.”

Buddy Guy came out to meet a rowdy crowd (many of whom had done plenty of pre-game drinking) and got right down to business by breaking a guitar string on the first note.

Buddy Guy with replacement guitar.

Once a replacement guitar was brought to him, he proceeded to shred through “Damn Right I Got the Blues” and then played around with classics like “Rock Me Baby,” “Fever,” “Hoochie Coochie Man,” and “Who’s Making Love to Your Old Lady?”

Guy had plenty of fun stories as well, including one lively rant about genetically engineered chickens and tomatoes (“When I was a kid, a tomato was like cotton.  You could make a sandwich out of it.  Now you get a tomato and you could play baseball with it.”) and how you should buy produce that still has bugs on it (“Because it hasn’t been sprayed with stuff you shouldn’t eat.”).

One wild part of the show was when he played a guitar solo using a drum stick and a shirt.

Playing guitar with a shirt and a drumstick. Really.

Trust me, it worked.  It worked quite well, in fact.  He was flailing his guitar with a T-shirt and playing Cream riffs while doing it.  He also walked through the crowd, shredding and singing the whole time.

He brought his son, Greg Guy, and Quinn Sullivan back onstage for the end.  His back-up band was, just like the last time I saw him, killer.  They can play seemingly any tune and stop on a dime.  Greg Guy and Sullivan played along during Buddy’s hit “Feels Like Rain” and then tore through Clapton and Hendrix covers to end the show.

Buddy Guy (right) watches his son, Greg, and Quinn Sullivan carry on the blues tradition.

The show was close to three hours total, and a fun performance that had everyone cheering and hollering.  Buddy Guy is eighty-one years old now, so don’t miss him if he comes close.  He’ll probably tour until he drops dead, but make sure you see him shred.  There aren’t many living legends anymore.

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation Austin festival to return in 2018.

File this under: Best News You’ve Heard Today.  Austin, Texas’ annual Levitation Festival returns April 26-29, 2018.

The flagship Levitation festival (the others are in Chicago, Vancouver, British Columbia, and Angers, France) was cancelled this year after the organizers, the Reverb Appreciation Society, took a heavy loss due to the 2016 Austin festival being cancelled due to storms and flooding.  Make up shows were quickly scheduled, but many attendees got shut out of those thanks to ruthless ticket scalpers.  The RAS bounced back a bit this year with their Angers festival, but fans hoped the Chicago, Austin, and Vancouver shows would return soon.

There’s no word on the Chicago festival (which is usually the first of the four and held in early spring), but the announcement of the Austin festival’s return is great news and a good omen for the other Levitation shows.

Tickets for Austin aren’t on sale yet, but don’t wait too long to score them.  The demand will be greater than normal.  See you there.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]

Goodbye Honolulu – No Honey

Toronto garage / psych-rockers Goodbye Honolulu (Max Bornstein – drums, Fox Martindale – guitar and vocals, Jacob Switzer – guitar, bass, and vocals, Emmett Webb – guitar, bass, and vocals) bring infectious energy on their debut EP No Honey.

The EP is five fast tunes starting with the catchy, bass heavy hit “Back to Me” – a clever song about the lead singer realizing everyone he knows hates him.  He’s on a quest for the good ole days when he wasn’t such a hipster elitist, even if that means he’ll just be “drinking beer and smoking lots of weed.”

“Mother to a Brother” hits hard like a long lost Weezer B-side.  The guitars on “Where You Wanna Go” somehow blend garage rock with a bit of reggae chops during the verses.

The title of “Bloody Hands” seems appropriate for how hard the entire band plays on it.  It reminds me of early Wavves tracks with its slight surf-vibe.  “Typical” closes the EP with jangly psychedelia as the singer laments his routine of loser behaviors such as drinking too much and then calling a former lover.

No Honey is too short, but so are all good EPs.  They leave you wanting more.  Say hello to Goodbye Honolulu (Am I the first to make that bad joke?).

Keep your mind open.

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Elephant Stone’s “Remix of Fools” now available for pre-order.

Montreal’s Elephant Stone have a remix album of their Ship of Fools record, entitled Remix of Fools, now available for pre-order.  Two of the tracks are instant downloads once you pre-order the full album.

PRE-ORDER the EP today and get instant downloads of both singles: http://smarturl.it/RemixOfFools

WATCH ‘Love Is Like A Spinning Wheel’ (Xavier Boyer Remix) here: https://youtu.be/teO4UmdGLLQ

WATCH ‘The Devil’s Shelter’ (Young Galaxy Remix) here: https://youtu.be/_cpXRAjRT-U

Don’t forget to catch them on tour across Europe! Paris, Leicester and an Acid House Ragas (check out this live recording) London date just added!

9/16 Angers, FR @ Theatre le Quai TICKETS | FB EVENT (ES + Acid House Ragas classical set)
9/17 Paris, FR @ SuperSonic FREE/GRATUIT FB EVENT
9/18 Le Havre, FR @ McDaid’s Live FB EVENT
9/19 Leiden, NL @ Gebroeders Nobel TICKETS | FB EVENT
9/20 Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso TICKETS | FB EVENT
9/22 London, UK @ O2 Forum TICKETS | FB EVENT
9/23 Liverpool, UK @ Baltic Triangle TICKETS | FB EVENT (ES + Acid House Ragas)
9/25 Leicester, UK @ The Soundhouse
9/26 London, UK @ The Social FREE | FB EVENT (Acid House Ragas only)
9/27 Theossaliniki, GR @ Rover Bar 
9/28 Arta, GR @ Miles Bar 
9/29 Athens, GR @ Death Disco FB EVENT
12/3 Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups TICKETS
12/4 Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall TICKETS
12/5 Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line TICKETS
12/6 St Louis, MO @ Off Broadway TICKETS
12/7 Nashville, TN @ High Watt TICKETS
12/8 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl TICKETS
12/9 Raleigh, NC @ Stag’s Head Music Hall TICKETS
12/10 Richmond VA @ Capital Ale House TICKETS
Om shanti om,
Rishi

Kauf’s new single, “Limestone,” is out now.

Limestone Artwork

Insomniac shares ‘Limestone’

The next single from Kauf’s Regrowth LP, Limestone, has been premiered by Insomniac as their track of the day and by KCRW on Morning Becomes Eclectic!

“The chorus comes from something my boyfriend and I have proudly said to other people—that ‘we never fight,’ which is true. We don’t yell or get into big, heated arguments, but that’s definitely not the only sign of problems in a relationship….and the line ‘tongues tied in the limestone’ specifically refers to how your whole romantic history, and even before that with your family and friends etc, can all contribute to an inability to be fully honest sometimes” – Kauf.  Read more over at Insomniac
Listen Here – Spotify has supported the release by adding it to their massive Chill Vibes playlist.  If you’re a Spotify user, please save the track to a playlist to help boost its rank.

The album is finally all set for release on Oct. 13th!  We are happy to announce that Kauf’s own label, One Half, has partnered with INgrooves for distribution and is looking forward to releasing other artists in the near future.

You can pre-order Regrowth and pre-save it on Spotify HERE!
500 limited copies of deluxe double vinyl with bonus remixes from Fort Romeau, Ambassadeurs and Thomaas Banks, 1000 limited CDs, and tees are available on Bandcamp – cover art by Kauf through a process of hand painting a sculpture he created. All merch includes a digital copy of the album.

If you’re in the LA area, come check out Kauf’s album release show @ The Echo on Oct 10th.

Remixes of Limestone to come from Baile and Thomaas Banks of Psychemagik as a follow up to his otherworldly remix of Relocate.  Thank you all for your patience and support as we finalized everything for this release.  We are very excited to share so much new material!

Vinyl Pre-order

ORB releases new single, “A Man in the Sand,” ahead of upcoming album due October 6th.

ORB

‘A Man In The Sand’ single released today
New album ‘Naturality‘, released October 6th, 2017
Performing intimate shows this week
Announced on national ‘Gizzfest’ tour Nov-Dec 

Photo by Jamie Wdziekonski
Geelong’s finest proto-metal band ORB have released the latest single and video clip from their upcoming record ‘Naturality’ out October 6th, 2017 on Flightless Records.

‘A Man In The Sand’ is accompanied by an absolutely stunning clip created by Alex McLaren and starring ORB lead singer Zak Olsen with various stop-motion paper cut outs. WATCH NOW.

ORB are playing some very special intimate shows over the next few weeks to road test new material before they perform on the national Gizzfest run in November-December.

Old Bar, Melbourne: Saturday September 9th
With School Damage & Living Eyes

Freda’s, Sydney: Wednesday September 13th
With Natalie de Silver

Freda’s, Sydney: Thursday September 14th
With GodK

Bar Open, Melbourne: Friday September 15
With Planet Slayer & Girlatones

All shows are $10 on the door only.

PRESS RELEASE #1
ORB
have respawned from last year’s Birth with a further mutated slab of paranoid heavy metal, Naturality’, out 6 October, 2017 on Flightless Records (AUS) & Castle Face Records (USA). They bring the dread with a kinetic muscularity and a pleasantly evolving synthetic strangeness, as if having eaten the wrong part of the garden, familiar things start to seem less so. The effects of these spores on your modern brain, already clogged with a steady drip of zips and zooms, are freshly heard and confusing. ORB are young and fleet-fingered, and certainly know their way around a riff, but they bring everything into an almost alien clarity both blunted and futuristic. ORB, you see, have ripened quite radically, and Naturality finds them sprouting new appendages and clawing at their enclosures. This is potent stuff, be careful. Listen to the first single, “You Are Right” now. Pre-order Naturality here.

NATURALITY Tracklisting

1. Hazlewart

2. A Man In The Sand

3. You Are Right

4. O.R.B.

5. Immortal Tortoise

6. Mother Brain

7. Flying Sorcerer

8. Rainbow’s End

Rewind Review: The Moonlandingz – Expanded (2015)

The Moonlandingz started as a bit of a joke between Sean Lennon and members of Fat White Family when then created a fictional band. That band got so much hype that art turned into reality and the Moonlandingz released Expanded in 2015.

The EP starts with the instrumental “Exorcise Your Mammary Eyes,” which I think is code for “Stop staring at my tits.” A Sean Lennon “de-mix” of “Sweet Saturn Mine” (one of the Moonlandingz biggest hits so far) is next, and the slowing of what is normally a fast, brash tune only highlights the creepiness of the lyrics (which are mostly about having sex while you’re high). “Lay Yer Head Down on the Road” is almost a carnival midway song about getting high to escape reality, even though such an action might be a bad idea.

“Blow Football with J. Carpenter” sounds like something John Carpenter would brew up on his home synthesizers. It’s creepy and futuristic at the same time. “Psych Ersatz” is equally strange, mixing images of spooky things in the shadows with psychedelic loops, beats, and echoed vocals.

The EP ends with “The Man in the Lyfe Suite – Parts 1, 2, and 3.” It’s a wild trip full of fuzzed out guitars, frantic vocals, and rollercoaster beats and loops.

Expanded was a nice appetizer for their full-length follow-up, Interplanetary Class Classics (one of my favorite albums of 2017 so far). Both are well worth your time.

Keep your mind open.

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Dion Lunadon – self-titled

As the story goes, Dion Lunadon, known to many as the bass player and co-mastermind of A Place to Bury Strangers, was feeling restless during a break in APTBS’ tour schedule. So, he poured that restless energy into his first solo album and gave the world a frantic, wild piece of noise-punk that has some fun surprises in it.

The album’s opener is a raging piece against something we all have to deal with – “Insurance, Rent, and Taxes.” The song flattens you with squelching sound and Robi Gonzalez (who used to play for APTBS). Lundaon sings, “Much too young to get any older.” on the swinging “Reduction Agent.” Lunadon reveals his love of dirty juke joint blues in the track in both the rhythm and lyrics (“I’ve got the mark of death. It won’t leave me alone.”). The organ and bass on “Fire” burns as hot as its namesake, building to a crazy blender-like frenzy. “Com / Broke” is your new favorite song for trying to beat rush hour traffic. Just be careful, as Lunadon’s lyrics do involve car crashes, fires, and self-destruction.

“Hanging By a Thread” is a post-punk (and nearly instrumental) surprise with guitars that sound like industrial saws. The industrial grind continues on “Move,” and Lunadon’s vocals sounds like the Borg has assimilated him. The drums blast the doors off the song around the 1:30 mark and you’re holding on for dear life by that point.

“Eliminator” is fierce noise-punk, and “Howl” is about Lunadon’s joy in expressing himself in the spotlight. It’s like something Lou Reed blasted out of his speakers when getting ideas for Metal Machine Music.

Believe it or not, “Ripper” is a psychobilly cut and Lunadon and crew have a blast on it. I couldn’t help but grin through the whole track. “White Fence,” on the other hand, is more fine post-punk with weirdly angled guitars and desperate vocal stylings. The closer, “No Control,” brings Lunadon’s album back into weird psychedelia before a quick, distorted fade out leaves you gasping for breath.

This debut solo record is quite a statement. It’s powerful, brash, and even fun. More debuts need to be this self-assured.

Keep your mind open.

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