 |
|
|||
 |
||||
 |
 |
  Local News PUBLISHED:
"We did get a couple weeks off," reports frontman Matt Thiessen. "We only had a few spot dates here and there between Warped Tour and this stuff. So supposedly we got time off. "But we did end up recording a bunch of Christmas songs and doing other things in that time off as well. So, yeah, we're kind of looking forward to getting off the road a little bit in the wintertime, when January rolls around. But for right now, it's fun." Relient K actually recorded three new holiday songs that Thiessen that will be added to 2007's "Let it Snow, Baby ... Let it Reindeer," which in turn added six new songs to the 2003 release "Deck the Halls, Bruise Your Hand." It's part of a process that Thiessen describes as "having a Christmas catalog ... that snowballs a little bit each year," though he adds the new songs will be available individually via iTunes as well as part of the entire package. Relient K is also putting together an animated video for its version of "Sleigh Ride" that depicts the band members as rabbits who steal Santa Claus' sleigh. "It's a little way of directing attention to the fact we do have a Christmas album with almost 20 songs on it at this point," Thiessen, 28, explains. "It's just kind of fun to get everybody in the mood for the holidays." Between that and a "double EP," "The Nashville Tennis EP"/"The Bird and the Bee Sides" that came out in July, it's been a productive "off" year for Relient K, which plans to start working on its follow-up to 2007's "Five Score and Seven Years" ago in early 2009. Not ever band, after all, can produce exponential more material than it would for a "real" album. "I think that's just part of who we are," says Thiessen. "When you have the luxury of not having to sit down and write and put out a new record in a year, you can still sit back and get a little creative. Our band does really well being in the studio and coming up with new stuff. In the off years we'll usually try and do something new. I don't think that'll change." Ludo's Tim Convy wound up getting a college degree -- in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Missouri -- but that was never his intent. "Even when I went to college I was looking for any opportunity to stop and play music," notes Convy, 28, a St. Louis native who was a singer and occasional "very poor" guitar player in high school and college bands. "As graduation approached, I got more and more depressed that it was time for a 'real' job." His chance came from an old high school friend, guitarist Tim Ferrell, who had formed a group with singer and songwriter Andrew Volpe and was moving to Tulsa, Okla., in order to "really go for it." But that opportunity wound up coming in a way Convy didn't expect, either. "I ended up being a synthesizer player," notes Convy, who learned to play the Moog keyboard instrument in order to make it part of the Ludo sound, a process that took him until "probably long after we recorded our first album." Both Convy and Ludo's humor-tinged brand of clever pop 'n' rock are more refined these days, and the quintet's third release, "You're Awful, I Love You," finds it moving to the major label realm. And though they were "very apprehensive," Convy says Ludo has grown comfortable with that situation, too. "We were completely realistic about our expectations," he explains. "We were growing to a point where we needed help. We were doing everything ourselves and it was really affecting our ability to write and be in a band. We wanted just a couple of guys in an office who would put our music out and spend a little money marketing it, and then the major labels started coming around... "There's a whole new set of struggles there, too. Everything has to go through 100 people as opposed to just five guys in a van. But it's OK. We're working just as much, but with the label behind us it's more potent. We're doing more damage now." Relient K, Ludo, This Providence and House of Heroes perform at 5 p.m. Saturday at Clutch Cargo's, 65 E. Huron St., Pontiac. Tickets are $17 in advance, $18 day of show. CAll (248) 333-2362 or visit www.clutchcargos.com.
------------- But Miller says gravity wasn't the real reason for the long break. "I made (his third solo album) 'The Believer' and I started having kids right during that window," says Miller, 38. "That was a solid three years I was working on 'The Believer.' And everybody was having families; even Murry (Hammond) was having a little baby in that window. "I think everybody just got over having kids and diaper-changing, and now it's like full team ahead." To get back on track for "Blame it On Gravity," the members of Old 97's reconvened in their original stomping grounds, Dallas' Lower Greenville section, where they worked with producer Salim Nourallah. And though he's starting to eyeball his next solo project, Miller -- who resides these days in New York's Hudson Valley -- says he doesn't want to see another four years between band outings, either. "The feeling of the band right now is so good," he says. "When we were younger it was more of a reckless approach, drinking and carousing. That helped in its way, but if you want to stay alive and healthy, that has to change at some point. "And I feel like the way we're getting along personal and musically, and the fact we've discovered a producer that really excites us and gets us, we want to strike while the iron is hot as much as we can and do a lot more things together. I'm really looking forward to that." Old 97's and Charlie Louvin perform at 9 p.m. Saturday at St. Andrew's Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit. Tickets are $20.50 in advance, $22 day of show. Call (313) 961-6358 or visit www.livenation.com.
---------- "I think it's been a very natural thing for me," says Guthrie, 29, who first sang on her father's 1981 album "Power of Love" and started playing guitar while road managing him on the 1997 Furthur Festival tour. "I started playing with my father, so I was really included in his music and career my whole life. "And then I've been learning and understanding and researching more and more of my grandfather's music. That's been very much part of me -- and I think Johnny (Irion, her husband) as well. We don't set out to write a song like them or like what they would do or anything like that. It comes very naturally to both of us, being who we are and what we surround ourselves with. "On the other hand, you don't have to know (about the family ties) to appreciate our music." Guthrie and Irion have tapped the family vault for a new "family album" called "Daddy's Shoes" that they'll be releasing soon; in addition to their own songs are three tracks -- "Go Waggaloo," "Bright Clear Day" and "The Fox and the Goose" -- from unrecorded Woody Guthrie lyrics. It will be their first studio outing since 2005's "Exploration," though Irion released a solo album, "Ex Tempore," last year. "We've been talking about doing another record," Guthrie reports. "We've actually done a lot of preparations for it. We know it's been awhile, and the songs are piling up, so we're anxious to make a new album. We're definitely going to do it next year." Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion perform at 4 p.m. Sunday at Callahan's, 2105 South Blvd., Auburn Hills. Tickets are $10. Call (248) 858-9508 or visit www.atcallahans.com.
-------------- Clearly the Los Angeles punk rockers don't spend a lot of time thinking up titles. "Joby (J. Ford, the group's guitarist) is a great graphic designer, and we let him dictate the vibe of the record with his artwork instead of coming up with a title for it," explains frontman Matt Caughthran, who co-founded the group in 2002. "At this point, if we can not do (a title) ever, that would be great. I enjoy it. "But if the time comes when it's absolutely a necessity to do it, maybe we'll have to come up with something. Right now, though, I don't think it's really necessary." That may seem irreverent, but then again this is a group from the West Coast that named itself after a New York City borough and that has a mariachi album set to drop in 2009. "The goal of the band is to always try to do things differently and to try to challenge ourselves creatively and visually," Caughthran, 29, says. "So when it came to the name, it just kind of made sense doing things opposite -- being from L.A. and calling ourselves the Bronx just seemed right. "I love the way it sounds. Visually it looks good. And I love the way it fits in your head. It keeps you guessing, and that's what we like to do." The Bronx performs Monday at the Magic Stick, 4120 Woodward Ave., Detroit. Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $12. Call (313) 833-9700 or visit www.majesticdetroit.com.
--------------
--------------- In 2006, the New York alternative rock quintet bowed with "Bring It (Snakes on a Plane)," which featured friends from several other bands and played over the end credits in the film "Snakes on a Plane." And "Kiss My Sass," the third single from the Cobra Starship's sophomore album, 2007's "Viva La Cobra!," which was produced by Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump and features one of those friends, Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes, whose band is riding high with its own hit, "Cookie Jar." "Obviously we've worked with Travis a lot," notes guitarist Ryland Blackington. "The first tour we ever went on was with his band, Gym Class Heroes, so we've got a lot of respect for him. He hooked us up in a lot of ways, and he also helped us come up with the name 'Viva La Cobra!' "So we're always involved with him in some way. Any opportunity we have to get him on a record we'll always go for." Ryland, 26, says that while "Viva La Cobra!" is very much an active concern, Cobra Starship has already started working on its third album. The group recently recorded tracks in New York with producers S*A*M & Sluggo and plans to return when its current headlining tour wraps at the end of January. "We worked every day for about three weeks and then just left and put a book mark in it," Ryland says. "We did this one very much from the ground up; it's still very dancey but also very poppy. We're using a lot of synthesizers and different electronic elements we haven't used before. "We'll go in after this tour to do finishing touches and vocals. We like the studio. It's fun. I always feel excited when I say 'I'm going to work' and it's going to the studio. It's a cool place to be." Cobra Starship, Forever the Sickest Kids, Hit the Lights and Sing It Out Loud perform Tuesday at the Majestic Theater, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit. Tickets are $15 in advance, $17 day of show. Call (313) 833-9700 or visit www.majesticdetroit.com. Gary Graff writes about music for The Journal Register News Service. His work can also be found at www.goanddomichigan.com, while his Classic Rock Insider reports appear at www.wcsx.com. |
TOP JOBS
TOP AUTOS
TOP HOMES
TOP RENTALS
TOP MERCHANDISE
|