The Zutons are:
Russell Pritchard
Sean Payne
David McCabe
Abi Harding and
Boyan Chowdhury

Formed in Liverpool in 2001, The Zutons name came from The Magic Band guitarist Bill Harkleroad, better known as Zoot Horn (or "Zuton") Rollo. Originally a four-piece, Payne's girlfriend Abi began joining The Zutons on stage for a couple of songs mid-set, and then soon became a full member, contributing vocals and sax.

The Zutons' debut album, Who Killed The Zutons?, reached #9 in the UK album charts and was nominated for the 2004 Mercury Music Prize.

Their latest album, Tired of Hanging Around, was released on April 17, 2006 and reached #2 in the UK album charts.

See them at a town near you! (if you live in a town far, far away from me)

08/02/06 - Hamburg, Knust
08/03/06 - Berlin, Lido
08/04/06 - Haldern, Festival
08/05/06 - Munich, Atomic Cafe
08/26/06 - Creamfields, Festival
09/02/06 - Jersey, Live Festival
11/11/06 - Southend, Cliffs Pavillion
11/12/06 - Newport, Centre
11/13/06 - Doncaster, Dome
11/15/06 - Glasgow, Barrowland
11/16/06 - Glasgow, Barrowland
11/19/06 - Swindon, Oasis
11/20/06 - Plymouth, Pavillions
11/21/06 - Brighton, Dome
11/23/06 - Manchester, Apollo
11/25/06 - Lincoln, Engine Shed
11/27/06 - Wolves, Civic Hall
11/29/06 - Portsmouth, Guildhall
12/01/06 - Norwich, UEA
12/02/06 - London, Roundhouse
12/03/06 - London, Roundhouse
12/07/06 - Belfast, Ulster Hall
12/09/06 - Liverpool, University

Listen

01 - Zuton Fever
02 - Pressure Point
03 - Havana Gang Brawl
04 - Dirty Dancehall
05 - Remember Me
06 - Railroad
07 - Long Time Coming
08 - You Will You Won't

*Bonus

09 - Why Won't You Give Me Your Love?
10 - Valerie
11 - Crazy (Gnarls Barkley cover)

The Zutons Official Site, on Myspace.

Labels: Live

The Decemberists, live at Rudyard's in Houston Texas, 15 October 2003. This was the same year in which the 5 Songs EP and Her Majesty The Decemberists were both released, their debut album Castaways and Cutouts was reissued, their guitarist Chris Funk suffered injuries from a motorcycle accident that left him unable to participate in the tour, and five days after this gig their friend Elliott Smith lost his life. A crazy time for this band, that's for sure.

Listen:

01 - Leslie Anne Levine
02 - The Bachelor And The Bride
03 - The Gymnast, High Above The Ground
04 - Engine Driver
05 - The Soldiering Life
06 - Up The Junction
07 - Sixteen Military Wives
08 - The Legionnaire's Lament
09 - Clementine
10 - Red Right Ankle
11 - Grace Cathedral Hill
12 - Los Angeles, I'm Yours
13 - The Chimbley Sweep
14 - Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect

See The Decemberists on their Fall Tour:
10/17 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
10/18 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
10/19 - San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theater
10/21 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
10/22 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater
10/24 - Austin, TX - Stubb's
10/25 - Dallas, TX - Gypsy Ballroom
10/26 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
10/27 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
10/29 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
10/30 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
10/31 - Northampton, MA - Calvin Theater
11/1 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
11/3 - New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom
11/4 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theater
11/5 - Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis
11/6 - Toronto, Ontario - Kool Haus
11/7 - Pontiac, MI - Clutch Cargo
11/9 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Theater
11/10 - Columbus, OH - Lifestyle Communities Pavilion
11/11 - Chicago, IL - Riviera Theater
11/12 - Minneapolis, MI - First Avenue
11/14 - Denver, CO - Paramount Theater
11/16 - Missoula, MT - Wilma Theater
11/17 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theater
11/18 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom

The Decemberists Official site, Myspace, eMusic.

Labels: Live

Listen:

10 - I Could See The Dude
11 - Don't Make Me A Target
12 - I Summon You
13 - They Never Got You
14 - The Way We Get By
15 - Isolation
16 - Sister Jack
17 - Stay Don't Go
18 - Fitted Shirt > Car Radio
19 - 10:20AM
20 - The Two Sides Of Monsieur Valentine

Labels: Live

Here's a live set by Britt Daniel, the front man of one of the best bands to come out of Austin, Spoon. Recorded March 29, 2006 at San Francisco's Swedish American Hall.

Spoon's upcoming concert schedule

Fri 08/11/06 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre
Sat 08/12/06 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre
Sun 08/13/06 Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
Mon 08/14/06 Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
Tue 08/15/06 San Diego, CA - Embarcadero Marina
Sun 09/03/06 Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival

Spoon @ eMusic, Myspace

Listen:

01 - Advance Cassette
02 - Anything You Want
03 - The Beast & Dragon, Adored
04 - Everything Hits at Once
05 - Metal Detektor
06 - Telephone My Heart
07 - Me and the Bean
08 - The Delicate Place
09 - The Agony of Lafitte
10 - I Could See the Dude


Part two, soon to come.

Labels: Live

Here's a Big List of Band Name Origins someone sent my way. Below are a handful that I found interesting.

...AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD - Taken from a prayer to Mayan corn gods. The first four lines say: Sever for us all ties ; Between the now and what is to be ; We will act as your sword, oh Great Itzamna ; And you will know us by the trail of dead.

JARS OF CLAY - The bands favorite Bible Verse, 2 Corinthians, 4:16.

JUDAS PRIEST - from the BOB DYLAN tune "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest".

PINK FLOYD - Named after Georgia blues musicians Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.

SONIC YOUTH - Named as a tribute to the MC5’s Fred “Sonic” Smith and reggae star Big Youth.

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS - They took the name from a friend's ventriloquist act, which was named after a film starring George C. Scott, which in turn was inspired by a section of Don Quixote. Don Quixote's trusted servant asks why he is preparing to attack several windmills with his lance. Don Quixote replys, "Because they might be giants."

TOAD THE WET SPROCKET - From a Monty Python sketch making fun of silly band names.

VELVET UNDERGROUND - The name of an S&M book by Michael Leigh (released in 1963). A band member found a copy on a sidewalk in New York.

Labels: Stochastic

What to watch for in Austin:


Jurassic 5
Tuesday, August 1st
Stubb's
7:00PM
Tix

(mp3) - Work it Out



Ghostland Observatory
Saturday, August 5th
Emo's
8:00PM
Tix

(mp3) - see previous posts





Eels
Wednesday, August 9th
La Zona Rosa
8:00PM
Tix

(mp3) - Saturday Morning




Bloc Party
Thursday, August 10th
Stubb's
7:00PM
Tix

(mp3) - see previous posts




Horns of Happiness
Monday, August 14th
Emo's
8:00PM
Tix

(mp3) - Coal Wasted Avalanche





Birdmonster
Thursday, August 24th
Stubb's
9:00PM
Tix

(mp3) - Resurrection Song

Labels: Local

Fun Facts About the United Kingdom:

- The UK was established in 1801 by the Act of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain.

- The UK is made up of four constituent countries: England, Scotland, Wales on the island of Great Britain, and Northern Ireland.

- The governmental system in the UK is a constitutional monarchy, and I'm not even going to go into that.

- The main religion in the UK is Christianity. It has one of the lowest levels of worship in the world, with less than 8% of people actually attending any form of worship on a regular basis.

- Education is mandatory from ages five to sixteen.

- Their flag is awesome.

and

- The Top 10 All Time Selling Albums in the UK:
The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Oasis - What's the Story Morning Glory
Michael Jackson - Bad
Abba - Gold
Queen - Greatest Hits
Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Simply Red - Stars
Madonna - Immaculate Collection
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

While we're on the subject, here's a little playlist of UK artists.

Click the artist image for more.



Dirty Pretty Things - You Fucking Love It






Milburn - Belle of the Ball







Arctic Monkeys - Leave Before The Lights Come On








The Duke Spirit - Love Is an Unfamiliar Name








The Coral - Dreaming of You









The Zutons - Why Won't You Give Me Your Love







The View - Wasted Little Djs







Bloc Party - Helicopter (Breakneck Mix)







The Horrors - Count in Fives







The Pipettes - Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me





To download the playlist, click here.

Cheers.

Labels: UK

All the way from Bergen, Norway.

Where in the world is that?, you ask.

Why, it's right there on the map.


























Datarock - FaFaFa

Datarock - Princess (Morgan Z's Remix)

-The video for FaFaFa is equally good.



These tracks plus 2 more @ Datarock's Myspace

One additional track plus vids @ Datarock's Official Site

Labels: Stochastic

Take the edge off. Pour yourself a drink. No shirt or shoes required.

Once again, click the artist image for more.




















*Bonus
This is a Raconteurs instrumental that was recorded for Broken Boy Soldiers, but did not make the album.

The Raconteurs - The Bane Rendition

Labels: Mix

Here are a few links to stuff I'm enjoying that I have come across recently in the blogs. Enjoy.

Mars Needs Guitars has a live Spoon set from Sydney in 2005, great quality.

So Much Silence has Colin Meloy on NPR 's Live Concert Series, two parts. Part I, Part II.

Rbally has a White Stripes WMBR Radio Broadcast.

Cable and Tweed has a live Cold War Kids set.


Cold War Kids are awesome, and that's all I have to say about that.

Labels: Stochastic

While browsing through the emusic files one day I came across a band called Matson Jones. I had never heard of them before, and when I read their description it noted that the band features two cellists/vocalists, a drummer, and an upright bassist. As soon as I read that I knew I had to give them a listen, I mean it's not every day that you hear about an indie band jamming with two cellos and a standup bass.

After listening to a few tracks I was sold. One thing I really like about a band or artist is if they have an original sound, and Matson Jones sounds unlike anything I've heard before. Dark lyrics, with a double-cello attack, and the presence of two distict vocalists throughout many of their songs is just another added layer of sound that seems to hold everything together. Matson Jones calls the beautiful town of Ft. Collins Colorado home, and so far have two releases under their belt on Sympathy Records, their self-titled debut came in 2005, followed in early 2006 with a Four Song EP.



Listen:

Matson Jones - Good Advice
Matson Jones - Sympathy
Matson Jones - Wrecking Ball


See Matson Jones in concert on Friday July 28, 2006 at the Aggie Theater, Ft. Collins Colorado.

Official site
On Myspace
At eMusic

I remember previewing a few tracks off of this album, and then downloading a couple of songs, and apparently somehow forgetting all about the band and their songs. However, I believe some sort of external force was dropping subtle hints to get me to check out this album. First, I saw the cd on the back wall of Waterloo Records, then I saw it again later at End of an Ear, then I went home and watched Capote, and the family who is murdered are The Clutters, of course. Soon after that I bought the album and it has been in heavy rotation on the ipod ever since.



The Clutters hail from Nashville Tennessee, and their debut album T&C was released on Austin's Chicken Ranch Records in 2005. Their sound is 100% pure rock and roll with hard edges and no frills, mixed with elements of punk, garage and indie.

Listen:

The Clutters - Crack Your Heart
The Clutters - Rock and Roll
The Clutters - Busted Dreams/Broken Heart


The Clutters on Myspace

Official Site

T&C at Emusic

Labels: Albums, Rock

Recently I have been listening to a lot of electronic music. Not really A LOT of it, but at least enough to make a decent playlist of. I have never been a big fan of the genre, but some of this stuff just really grows on you after a couple of listens. I didn't even realize there was a big DJ scene in Austin until recently this year during SXSW, when there was a DJ spinning at virtually every club and record shop in town. I didn't even own any electronic music until about two years ago, when I saw Austin's own The Octopus Project open for some other band, and I bought their cd at the show. I love you Toto.


Back to the subject. I have put together a playlist of some of this electronically influenced stuff for you to check out. Give them a listen, break out some light sticks and turn all the lights in your place off if you have to. I recommend you listen to these through headphones and sube el volumen. It's so much better that way.

Click on the artist picture for more.



Bloc Party - Two More Years (MSTRKRFT mix)







Of Montreal - Wraith Pinned To The Mist...







Hot Chip - Over & Over







Ghostland Observatory - Piano Man








Prototypes - Je Ne Te Connais Pas









Le Tigre - Deceptacon








Fatboy Slim - That Old Pair of Jeans






Herbert - The Movers And The Shakers







Billy Harvey - Barnaby Jonze

Labels: Tron

Rumor has it that the Rolling Stones will make an announcement next week that they will play Austin's Zilker Park on Sunday, Oct. 22. If this show comes to fruition, it will be the first time the Stones have introduced themselves to the live music capital. How is that possible? They've been touring for 80 years and the city of Austin was never an option? Better late than never I suppose. Let's just hope Keith Richards doesn't decide to go coconut-picking again between now and October.

Info via Austin American Statesman

Mars Needs Guitars has a handful of Rolling Stones covers for your enjoyment.

Labels: Stochastic

The title of this post is a line from a song called Mr. Airplane Man, by Howlin' Wolf (a.k.a. Chester Burnett). That song was written around 1959. Thirty-seven years later, and seven years after Howlin' Wolf was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, two young ladies from Boston who share a mutual adoration for Mr. Burnett formed a band and labeled themselves Mr. Airplane Man.


The duo, which consists of Margaret Garrett (guitar, vocals) and Tara McManus (drums, keyboards), have toured with the likes of The Strokes and the White Stripes, and were heralded by the late great John Peel. Their sound has been described as ramshackle, hypnotic, punk-inspired blues-based music, so it is no surprise that they are label-mates with Holly Golightly and The Come Ons at Sympathy Records. They have released four albums with Sympathy, all of which are available at eMusic.

Mr. Airplane Man - Wait For Your Love

Mr. Airplane Man - Like That

Mr. Airplane Man - W*nderin'

At MySpace
At Last.fm
And a semi-recent article.

Labels: Albums, Rock

Sometimes I will buy a handful of albums all at once, usually more than one handful, and then never get around to listening to some of them for weeks, months, and even years. I think the reason I neglect to immediately listen to a lot of the music I purchase or download is that invariably I will fall in love with a specific band or genre, and I won't focus on anything else until I totally absorb and digest whatever band/album/genre I am focused on. One such album that I did this with was Sympathetic Sounds of Detroit, which I purchased after hearing about it from a White Stripes biography, and didn't get around to listening to until a few years later. Sympathetic Sounds, which was produced by Jack White, is a compilation of Detroit rock bands, all of whom share a similar distinctive Detroit-Blues-Garage-Alternative sound.


















Back on topic. The Hentchmen. I heard this Detroit trio for the first time on Sympathetic Sounds, and then purchased their most recent album, 2004's Form Follows Function, and it has been in rotation ever since.


















According to my investigatory journalism, The Hentchmen have been playing together since 1992, and have released 7 albums in that time on Norton/Times Beach. Their sound is a melding of garage rock, with a touch of surf and a sprinkle of pop.

The Hentchmen - Waterer Down (Form Follows Function at eMusic.com)
The Hentchmen - Anywhere (Form Follows Function at eMusic.com)
The Hentchmen - Accusatory (Sympathetic Sounds at eMusic.com)

The Hentchmen on MySpace
The Hentchmen Official Website

Labels: Albums, Rock