RainDogToo

I don't know how many fans there are on here, but I thought I'd create a thread for their upcoming album.

Brimming with confidence and creativity, Arrow sees Heartless Bastards pushing their distinctive sound forward with their most eclectic, energetic collection thus far. The album – the Austin, Texas-based band’s first release with Partisan Records – is marked as ever by singer/guitarist/songwriter Erika Wennerstrom’s remarkable voice, at turns primal and pleading, heartfelt and heroic. Songs like “Parted Ways” and the searing “Low Low Low” expertly capture the Bastards’ multi-dimensional rock in all its strength and spirit. Following upon the difficult introspection of 2009’s acclaimed third album, The Mountain, Arrow stands as a powerhouse new beginning for the Heartless Bastards.

“The Mountain was me going through some things after being in a relationship for nine years,” Wennerstrom says. “This album is kind of like me being comfortable again.”

Arrow serves as the recorded debut of the Heartless Bastards’ current iteration, their latest and greatest line-up since Wennerstrom first convened the band back in 2003. Drummer Dave Colvin and bassist Jesse Ebagh – both of whom played on the Bastards’ first-ever demo recordings – returned to the fold in order to play live behind The Mountain. Soon after embarking on tour, Wennerstrom decided to put more meat on the band’s raw bones by enlisting guitarist Mark Nathan, who had ostensibly come aboard to handle the live sound.

“I wanted to add another guitar,” Wennerstrom says, “so I asked Mark, ‘What do you think of joining the band?’ and he was into it. I’ve always planned on being a four-piece, but it just takes a while to find somebody that you feel you click with. I’d rather have it be stripped down than just have somebody there for the sake of having them there.”

The expanded line-up brought additional color and dynamism to the Heartless Bastards’ already colorfully dynamic rock ‘n’ roll. With their sound honed to a razor’s edge by night after night of playing live, the Heartless Bastards were soon ready to record for posterity. But having spent so much of the past year on tour, Wennerstrom knew she needed some downtime in order to turn her musical ideas into fully-fledged songs. In Fall 2010, she embarked on the first of what would be several solo road trips designed to clear the cobwebs and help focus her songwriting. Wennerstrom visited friends and family in Ohio, hung out at All Tomorrow’s Parties in the Catskills, spent alone time in Arkansas, a lake cabin in the Allegheny Mountains and at a ranch in West Texas.

“It was really nice,” she says. “I didn’t feel like I was getting much done, but I realized that a lot of that experience ended up being reflected in the songs. I didn’t get a lot of the writing done right then, on that trip, but I feel like getting out there really helped me later on.”

2011 saw the Heartless Bastards hitting the highway once more, taking the opportunity to road-test Wennerstrom’s new songs on a bare-bones “acoustic” tour as well on a series of dates supporting Drive-By Truckers. The band set to work on Arrow just two short days after their return to Austin, a revved-up, well-oiled rock ‘n’ roll machine.

“We just went right in,” Wennerstrom says. “There’s a definite sound that comes from a band that’s been on the road and I really feel like it’s translated on the album.”

The band spent the next month with producer Jim Eno at his Public Hi-Fi home studio. Eno – known far and wide as the drummer in Spoon – guided the Bastards through the recording process, helping them to infuse their myriad influences and ambitions into the songs.

“Jim was really great to work with,” Wennerstrom says. “He asked me what kind of approach I wanted to take towards each song and we’d take it in that direction. It was like, what were you thinking for each song, as far as inspiration?”

Arrow showcases the depth and breath of the band’s indelible sound, with songs like “Got To Have Rock and Roll” and “Down In The Canyon” lighting upon spaghetti western film scores, Seventies soul, psychedelia, funk, blues, glam, and mudhole-stomping hard rock. Two years of nearly non-stop touring resulted in an astonishing musical telepathy among the Heartless Bastards, with all four players intuitively able to craft Wennerstrom’s songs into maximum form.

“I’m so in synch with this band,” she says. “Songs seem to go where I want them to go and it doesn’t take a whole lot of time. Even though I’m not very communicative, they know me well enough and get it.”

Kicking off with the widescreen vision of “Marathon,” the album is more wholly fleshed than anything in the Bastards’ prior oeuvre, while simultaneously securing the band in all their straight-on, unadorned majesty. Arrow is the glorious sound of a four-piece rock ‘n’ roll outfit in full flight, with little outside accompaniment bar conga player Matthew “Sweet Lou” Holmes’s performance on the evocative “Skin and Bone.”

“It’s a pretty stripped-down album in a lot of ways,” Wennerstrom says. “There’s really not a lot added to these tracks, they’re really mostly live takes. We talked about adding things, but when we listened back, we thought, ‘I don’t know if this really needs more.’”

With Arrow complete, the Heartless Bastards are now itching to get back out there. Inveterate road warriors, the band is at their electrifying best while on stage, making deep connections with both their audience and their music.

“It can be hard at times,” Wennerstrom says, “but I love it. I love playing on stage. It’s that hour and a half, that time that we’re up there, that I love most. There’s a lot of sitting around, trying to find things to fill in the time, but then we finally start to play, it’s so worth it and rewarding.”

Arrow sees the Heartless Bastards doing what all great bands do – furthering their artistic scope with each successive effort. With its impressive range and undeniable vigor, the album flies straight, honest and true, the finest distillation yet of this extraordinary rock ‘n’ roll band’s fiery, unforgettable sound.

“I feel like this is the strongest record I’ve ever done,” Wennerstrom says. “I feel like playing with these guys, us all being so connected, really helped make it so fully realized. I’m really, really happy with it.”

Release Date: February 7, 2012

Track List:

01. Lonesome

02. That Old Black Hole

03. These Days

04. How Long Must I Wait

05. Get Away

06. Do The Trick

07. Vampire

08. Heavy Light

09. Big Girl

10. Over Here, Over There

11. Warrior Man

12. Turning The Century

Dr. Dog Be The Void

 

Beloved Philadelphia band Dr. Dog are poised to release a staggering burst of vital rock ‘n’ roll with their new record Be The Void. The album hits stores this February 7th via Anti-Records and is the raucous follow up to the group’s critically lauded Shame, Shame.

 

While the band’s previous records boasted meticulously crafted symphonic pop, this time around the band turns up the guitars and delivers a truly great cathartic rock ‘n’ roll album played with near reckless abandon and passion.

 

With the addition of new drummer Eric Slick and electronics-percussionist-guitarist Dmitri Manos, the band entered the studio (Meth Beach) with a renewed sense of enthusiasm and confidence, tracking the songs live to perfectly capture the rough and tumble energy of their renowned live show.

 

“We would just get in the pocket and go with it because it sounded great,” bassist-vocalist Toby Leaman explains. “There wasn’t this endless deliberating. We just went with our gut feelings on things.”

 

“It was reminiscent of when we were starting out and were these fearless weirdoes in a basement, so confident and reckless and bold,” guitarist-vocalist Scott McMicken adds. “It was really liberating.”

 

The songs on Be The Void flawlessly combine Dr. Dog’s adventuresome and expansive arrangements with a far leaner and meaner primal sound. The beats are harder, the guitars louder and edged with a warm distortion. “Guitars stopped being problematic and started becoming very exciting to us,” McMicken explains.

 

From the rollicking re-imagined blues of the disc’s title track to the searing guitars of “Vampire,” the frenetic punk urgency of “Over Here Over There” and the beautifully fuzzed out rock of “Warrior Man,” Dr. Dog’s Be The Void is a truly great rock ‘n’ roll record and the unmistakable sound of a band whose moment has arrived.

Dr. Dog spent the entire summer holed up at Meth Beach, the band’s recording studio, hard at work on the upcoming release Be The Void (slated for February 7, 2012 on Anti-).

 

According to McMicken, the combination of recording again on the band’s home turf with increased emphasis on live takes, as well as the input from the band’s newest additions breathed new life into Dr. Dog’s music.

 

“They both bring so much new ideas and energy to the band,” he said. "It was very, very different, and I think the record reflects it. A lot less layering and manipulating. It was real refreshing, because you didn’t have to labor over things too much. You let the things that were working call the shots.

 

“We just had a lot of fun. We just kind of closed the doors and had the essence of what works with Dr. Dog, which is close-to-home, no outside forces—a lot of people who know each other well and love doing this,” said McMicken. “It was a real thrill, and hopefully the record will reflect that. All the songs are real live-ready material and are a lot easier to translate to a live show.”

 

At the end of the day, McMicken and his mates are still thrilled to be making music for a living. While several national television appearances, opening slots for bands like Wilco and The Ranconteurs and prime slots at some of the country’s biggest music festivals have been proof positive of the band’s growing popularity, Dr. Dog members are just happy to be making a living writing and recording their original music.

 

“It’s a working man’s band for lack of a better term,” said McMicken. “We don’t have jobs, and we have all these great opportunities. We get to make albums and tour.”

1. Tom Waits- Bad As Me

2. Wilco - The Whole Love

3. Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers - Teenage and Torture

4. Mister Heavenly - Out of Love

5. Man Man - Life Fantastic

6. Deer Tick - Divine Providence

Interview with Scott.

Live Buzz: Dr. Dog announced a new album coming soon. What can you tell us about it?

 

SM: It’s coming out in February. I’m really excited about it, we had a lot of fun. We made it ourselves in our studio. We got some new cool stuff to do that with and it’s faster and dirtier than anything. Talking about something from before, we kind of chased after our live sound more. I think we even got a little bit closer with this one and it’s just supposed to be a real fun album to listen to. I really like listening to it. And it’s faster.

Yeah, but it should leak sometime on January!

I'm really looking forward to this release. Toby said their main influence for the album was The Clash's Sandinista!

I think it's my favourite album this year. New Years Eve is one of his best songs ever.

I don't know if I'd say it's his best ever, but yeah, I do love it very much. That and Hell Broke Luce are my favorites on the album. Also, the bonus tracks are great too.

http://wuog.org/musi...e-out-february/

Scott McMicken of Dr. Dog Talks “Be The Void”, their new LP due out February

 

Posted by: Music Directors

Oct 26 2011 11:41 am

 

 

Today I talked with Scott McMicken of Dr. Dog to discuss their new LP, some band history, their recent lineup change and their upcoming show at the 40 Watt on November 15th . Mr. McMicken is verbose to say the least, equipped with a near endless stream of thought that can makes any interviewer’s job easy. During our 44 minute conversation, I managed to sneak in just about 6 or 7 real questions and from there Scott ran with it, filling each answer with detail after detail and a true sense of enjoyment in taking time out of his day.

 

We started out the interview talking about Be The Void, a completely finished album which Scott described as borrowing stylistically from Shame Shame, but with a hearty injection of their live shows. Instead of a more studio feel, the band lusted after “the immediacy, looseness, loudness, chaos, fast tempos and dirtier” nature of their live performances, where they leave behind any “perfectionist attitudes” in favor of spontaneous passion. It is often said that effort is the great equalizer, and Scott takes this axiom and twists it, replacing effort with enthusiasm, an ingredient that he claims when present can never fail to produce something special.

 

Another element that was added to the album came from their “new” member Dmitri Manos, a reoccurring friend that once filled in as the drummer for an entire tour, getting the nod just a day before they left on the tour. Scott described Dmitri sitting down with an iPod for hours, listening to their live performances as he crammed for his surprise performances. When asked what Dmitri’s contributions were, Scott responded with “what doesn’t he do” reflecting his multi-faceted nature as a percussionist, guitarist and producer whose ideas and tinkering shape their sound. Usually, Dmitri’s schedule working with Golden Boots, his own band, as interfered with a true collaboration, but this time after constant prodding from the band, he was able to bring his creative talents and “meatball palace” to the mix. While “meatball palace” may sound like a bad Italian restaurant, it’s actually a series of cassette tape players ran through mixing devices and pedals, providing all kinds of different psychedelic, atomspheric sounds and noises, like odd distortions of “inspirational and nature cassette tapes from thrift stores” peppered into the songs. In the end, the result is a “marriage of a classic rock sound…with a more abstract feeling,” giving the audience a different perspective where “suddenly [they] can see and hear the space around the band.”

 

With their four trip to Georgia this year (Masquerade in February, Midsummer Music Festival in June, and 40 Watt in April and soon November), their love of touring is no secret and Scott revealed some of his passions about touring, talking about how “nothing is like playing a show, the thrill of just setting it up is special and everyday the stage is your new living room.” And with close to a thousand shows under the belt, its amazing that this love can still shine through in their energetic live shows, an outpouring of repressed emotion by both the audience and the band. If you have never been to a Dr. Dog show, its hard to describe the emotional translation that occurs, from the more placid sound of the record to a volcanic crowd, resulting in an all-out party that isn’t foreign to a mosh pit or two.

 

For Scott, while he may admit its “corny,” this love of touring comes from “being with the people you love,” as touring offers the opportunity to just hang out “as a band together, without distractions,” as well as the chance to meet and form relationships with the other supporting bands. Just “observing how other bands work” is an interesting perspective and the relationships these tours have yielded have never failed to leave him “feeling strong about the [supporting act] as a band and as people.” This tour should be no different for Dr. Dog in that sense, for they will hit the road with Quiet Life and David Vandervelde, two acts that they already have deep ties with. After finding out that two of Scott’s cousins were in Quiet Life, I held back the urge to joke about nepotism issues but Scott assured me that both they and friend and former label-mate on Park the Van Records David Vandervelde were top-notch musicians they were excited to tour with.

 

What struck me most about the interview was the down to earth attitude the band and Scott seemed to carry, along with all their stories of humble origins, like their involvement with Jim James of My Morning Jacket. In this improbable tale, Scott’s girlfriend at the time slipped Jim James a mixtape that later became Toothbrush, a CD that inspired Jim James to invite Dr. Dog on tour. In our interview, Scott talked about how this catalyzed the development of the band, forcing them to “decide who was even in the band” and to ask questions like “who has a hi-hat we can borrow.” Even most of the band members materialized in chance opportunities, like meeting their current drummer Eric Slick when he was 16 and asking for an autograph from the band after a show. Or even their keyboardist Zach Miller who saw them “live in a barn” and told them “it was the greatest show he has ever seen,” a comment that Scott jokingly responded to with “well clearly you have to join the band.” Unfortunately, Zach’s guitar skills were not in demand from a band who already had two capable guitarists, so he joined the band playing keyboards mainly because “his sister or someone had a keyboard he could use.”

 

In our interview, we also discussed their symbol, three triangulated orange dots, whose evolution was from a “knee-jerk” reaction of sorts, based on the appearance of Hunter S. Dog, their aptly named dog who looked like a “glam rocker” with heavy eye shadow that resulted in a triangle between his eyes and his nose. Even the T nicknames each band member carries results from their former drummer Ted, whose nickname Today emerged from his relatives whose Pennsylvania Dutch accent pronounced his name as closer to Today than Teddy.

 

On November 15th, Dr. Dog will hit up the 40 Watt with another one of their hectic shows, a spectacle you shouldn’t miss for the world. If not even for their wonderful music, come for the packed shuffling, jumping and yelled choruses that functions as the fan’s dance party love letter to the band who is more than happy to reciprocate the love. Tickets are available online or at Wuxtry Records.

 

To hear the full interview, listen to WUOG at a date TBD. Thank you to Andrew Roach for organizing the meeting and Scott McMicken for talking his heart out.

 

-Will Guerin

On repeat.

Dr. Dog

Dr. Dog

DETAILS

Format: 7" 45

Label: Anti-

Release type:

More Info:

New music from Dr. Dog, each single colored by the band

http://www.recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/5147

Also, here's an interview with Pitchfork.

http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/8691-tom-waits/

Hell Broke Luce is simply brilliant!!!

Showing off I guess, but:

 

 

Sounding good to me so far!

Did it leak, or is it a promo copy?

Dear Tom Waits Fan,

 

Stay tuned next Monday for an e-mail inviting you to be one of the first

to hear the new Waits' record, Bad As Me. You will also get a chance

to invite a few friends to hear it too. Bad As Me comes out on October

24th everywhere.

 

ANTI-

One final thing. You made "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" ten years ago, and it remains Wilco's most successful album to date. Have you discussed any sort of reissue including material that didn't make the cut? Anything you'd want to revisit?

 

That is sort of a recent trend, isn't it? I think that there's enough stuff there that it might be kind of a cool thing, and it has been discussed a little bit. There's a whole other version of the record, like an earlier rough-mixed version of a lot of the songs that's been circulating, bootleg-style, for a long time. It would be nice to maybe have it be all in one place a little bit more officially, but there hasn't been any specific plan put in place as of yet. It's likely to happen at some point.

http://m.billboard.com/news/wilco-s-jeff-tweedy-on-the-whole-love-diva-1005373072.story

1. Art Of Almost - 10/10

2. I Might - 9/10

3. Sunloathe - 8/10

4. Dawned On Me - 8/10

5. Black Moon - 8/10

6. Born Alone - 10/10

7. Open Mind - 5/10

8. Capitol City - 8/10

9. Standing O - 8/10

10. Rising Red Lung - 10/10

11. Whole Love - 8/10

12. One Sunday Morning - 10/10

Hello Everyone,

We hope you all are well. Dave of the HB's is now the proud father of a healthy baby girl! Her name is Adel Melero Colvin.

 

The band's been hard at work on the soundtrack to the upcoming feature film Winter In The Blood. We are looking forward to collaborating on the project with Chris Funk from The Decemberists. We're setting up a studio to record on a ranch outside Marfa TX next month.

 

The new album, which will be titled Arrow will be coming out early next year. We're really proud of this record, and can't wait for it's release. We're playing several upcoming dates with the full band. One of the dates is the Ohio Film and Music Festival in Columbus. It will be our 1st full band show in Ohio in a year in half. We will be playing all the songs from the upcoming album.

 

Here's our upcoming dates:

 

FRI, OCT 7 / Columbus, OH @ Skully's for the Ohio Film and Music Festival / Buy Tickets

THU, OCT 27 / El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace

FRI, OCT 28 / Marfa, TX @ Padres

FRI, NOV 4 / Austin, TX @ Fun Fun Fun Fest / Buy Tickets

THU, NOV 10 / Corpus Christi, TX @ House of Rock / Buy Tickets

FRI, NOV 11 / San Antonio, TX @ Sam's Burger Joint / Buy Tickets

 

Once the new album comes out we will be hitting every where, so if we're not in your area for any upcoming dates, we'll be there soon.

 

Take care

Jesse, Mark, Dave, and Erika

http://mplayer.pastemagazine.com/issues/week-13/articles#article=/issues/week-13/articles/wilco-the-unbearable-lightness-of-being-jeff-tweedy

Second Waits single now out!

Listen here:

http://onethirtybpm....k-in-the-crowd/

 

umm..where? to download?

Oh no, sorry... I just meant that its been archived. Still trying to find a capture.

NPR's stream of last nights show has been posted.