A super villain was prepared to destroy all the healthy foods in the world, until one hero, actually, several heroes stuck together to save the world’s vegetables! Together, Dr. Brownie, Onion Man, Captain Americauliflower, Black Bean Widow, Mighty Corn, and Zuchin-eye are…The Aveggies!
One day, like, in 20 years, we’ll all sit back and marvel (heh!) just how subversive Sesame Street became this decade.
The five Denmark-based members of The Bottle Boys just recorded a video performing Johnny Cash‘s hit songs “Folsom Prison Blues” and “Ring of Fire” using beer bottles as instruments. Yes, I know you likely tried to do a song before on beer bottles and didn’t get past the first chorus, but these guys are great. They said:
The songs are a perfect combination of great melodies and a really cool and down to earth groove underneath. We wanted to honour Cash’s style with a really simple look in our video, where we can just focus on what it is really about: the music!
Furthermore Johnny Cash’s songs let us experiment with different ways of playing on the bottles and lets us bend a lot of the notes to get closer to the way of singing all the blue notes. And in this video we even introduce a brand new thing: the bottle pluck. Even though it looks quite straight forward playing bass on the headrack and plucks on the table, the multitasking was quite challenging in the beginning. But we don’t play bottles because it is easy, but because it is hard!
…and here are the originals for you to celebrate The Man In Black.
Refused are fucking alive. There’s no escape. The Iconic Swedish hardcore band are releasing Freedom, their first new album in 17 years on June 30 via Epitaph. Listen to the first new song “Elektra” now:
Pre-orders for Freedom, including a limited edition exclusive CD package that includes a 28 page hardbound book, exclusive artwork with gold foil stamping, and a double sided poster is available at refusedstore.com.
In 1998 Refused released their iconic album The Shape of Punk to Come. It was also the year that the band broke up and declared “Refused Are Fucking Dead“. Fourteen years later, the band reignited in 2012 for a Coachella performance. The group started contemplating new music within the first four months of the reunion tour, a process greatly aided by the fact that drummer David Sandström, guitarist Kristofer Steen, and bassist Magnus Flagge had already been writing together informally for several years under the auspices of a new, vocal-less band.
The Shape of Punk to Come has become one of the most influential albums in decades, fusing punk, metal, hardcore, techno, jazz, emo, and hip-hop into a meld of intricate, politically charged punk that has graced ‘best of’ lists since its release. Refused’s most critically acclaimed album exploded on the scene with the jaw-dropping hardcore anthem “New Noise,” which helped change the game forever by influencing a range of genres to this day.
Frontman Dennis Lyxzén states, “It’s not a reunion anymore. “This is one of the most radical things we’ve ever done, both musically and lyrically.”
Drummer David Sandström adds, “Nobody wanted us to fuck with the image of the band who makes a great album and splits up. Nobody wanted us to dilute it. That actually provoked us.”
Freedom explodes out of the speakers with opening track “Elektra,” as Lyxzén throat-shredding declaration that “nothing has changed” catapults Refused into the 21st century. Production for Freedom was overseen by Nick Launay (Gang Of Four, Public Image Ltd., Nick Cave, and Arcade Fire. “Elektra” and “366” were produced and co-written by fellow Swede and longtime Refused fan Shellback, who has scored eight No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 with artists such as Taylor Swift and Pink.
Refused returns to the US with a performance at the Punk Rock Bowling festival in Las Vegas on May 24, followed by a sold out small club tour this spring. Additionally Refused will tour with Faith No More this summer. Full tour dates are below.
‘FREEDOM’ TRACK LIST:
REFUSED SHOW DATES:
May 24 – Jun 05 Refused US club tour
Jul 30 – Aug 7 with Faith No More
May 02 Grozerock, Meerhout, Belgium
May 22 Ruhrpott Roden Open Air Festival, Hünxe, Germany
May 24 Las Vegas, NV – Punk Rock Bowling festival
May 25 Santa Ana, CA – The Observatory
May 26 West Hollywood, CA – The Roxy Theatre
May 28 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
May 29 Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
May 30 Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
May 31 Chicago, IL – Double Door
Jun 01 Boston, MA – The Sinclair
Jul 02 Gdynia, Poland, Opener Festival
Jun 03 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
Jun 04 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
Jun 05 Washington, DC – Rock & Roll Hotel
Jun 20 Amnesia Rock Fest, Montebello, QC, Canada
Jun 27 Provinssi, Seinäjoki, Finland
Jul 02 Gdynia, Poland, Opener Festival
Jul 11 Rock im Ring Festival, Collalbo, Italy
Jul 16 Resurrection Fest, Viveiro, Spain
Jul 17 Slottsfjell, Tonsberg, Norway
Jul 18 Bukta Tromso Open Air Festival, Tromso, Norway
Jul 30 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade Music Park
Jul 31 Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater
Aug 01 Philadelphia, PA – Mann Center
Aug 02 Columbia, MA – Merriweather Post Pavilion
Aug 04 Boston, MA – Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
Aug 05 New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Aug 07 Toronto, ON – Ricoh Coliseum
Aug 28 Leeds Festival, UK
Aug 29 Pure & Crafted Festival, Gräfenhainichen, Germany
Aug 30 Reading Festival, UK
Neil Young has announced that he will perform a benefit concert in Edmonton, AB on Friday, July 3 at Rexall Place. The “Honour The Treaties” concert will raise money for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) Legal Defense Fund. Also performing are Canadian legends Blue Rodeo, in their first Edmonton appearance since their triumphant closing set at the 2014 Edmonton Folk Music Festival.
“The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) are honoured to be joining iconic Canadian musician Neil Young on another Honour the Treaties concert supporting our legal defense fund,” commented Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.
“The ACFN are continuing our legal challenges to stop out of control Tar Sands development from destroying our traditional territory and rights as Indigenous peoples. With the support of Neil Young and fans we are creating more accountability from our governments for the safe guarding of our lands, rights and future generations in Alberta, Canada and beyond. Our people, our climate and our planet can no longer afford to be economic hostages in the race to industrialize the earth. We must act now for the future generations.”
The ACFN refer to themselves as K’ai Taile Dene, meaning “people of the land of the willow.” A Legal Defense fund was set up to support the ACFN’s legal challenges against oil companies and government that are obstructing their traditional lands and rights. As people of the land, the ACFN have used and occupied their traditional lands in the Athabasca region for thousands of years, hunting, trapping, fishing and gathering to sustain themselves and continue spiritual cultural rights passed down through generations. The ACFN’s legal challenges will ensure the protection of their traditional lands, eco-systems and unique rights guaranteed by Treaty 8, the last and largest of the nineteenth century land agreements made between First Nations and the Government of Canada, are upheld for the benefit of future generations.
Tickets for the Edmonton concert will range from $45.00 through $175.00 and will be limited to 4 tickets per person. Tickets will go on sale Friday, May 1 at 10am and will be available at www.livenation.com, Charge-By-Phone 1-855-985-5000 and in-person at all Ticketmaster Outlets.
Producer and musician Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Garbage, Foo Fighters, Green Day) looks back at his long career, from early days at Smart Studios and the smash success of Nirvana’s Nevermind, to making music with his own band Garbage.
Alice Barker was a chorus line dancer during the Harlem Renaissance of the the 1930s and 40s. She danced at clubs such as The Apollo, Cotton Club, and Zanzibar Club, with legends including Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. Although she danced in numerous movies, commercials and TV shows, she had never seen any of them, and all of her photographs and memorabilia had been lost over the years.
After years of searching Tenfresh found three “Soundies” Alice appeared in and were finally able to show them to her — she had never seen herself in motion in her life!
Check out this German Shepherd mom forcing her puppy to take a nap. Sounds about perfect right now, doesn’t it?
https://youtu.be/upo1NXApnjc
Last week, April 23, 2015, an historic event took place at the Ed Mirvish Theatre. Around midday, 926 people with guitars packed the orchestra level of the theatre and together with cast members of ONCE performed the show’s Oscar-winning song, “Falling Slowly.”
Young and old, professional and amateur, students and doctors and lawyers and teachers and clergy, all were brought together by the magic and power of music. Just as the characters in ONCE are transformed through music, so too was this diverse crowd of people.
Led by the show’s leading man, Ian Lake, and conducted by Brandon McGibbon, who plays Svec, the crowd performed the song three times. To hear their beautiful playing and singing sent shivers up the spines of all listening. To paraphrase the song’s lyrics, they raised hopeful voices and made it now. Falling slowly, they sang the melody and we all sung along.
ONCE continues performances at the Ed Mirvish Theatre until June 28, 2015.
Some of the biggest stars in country music turned out for a red carpet event Thursday, April 23, to commemorate the grand opening of the George Jones Museum, celebrating the life and work of one of the icons of country music. More than 800 people turned out for the gala event.
Among those seen walking the red carpet were Naomi Judd, Ricky Skaggs, Lee Greenwood, Moe Bandy, Joe Stampley, T. Graham Brown, John Rich, T.G. Sheppard, Dierks Bentley, and Lorrie Morgan. Country music great Jan Howard strolled the museum and shared first-hand stories of the years she knew Jones. But the biggest star of the evening was Jones himself and a musical legacy spanning more than 50 years.
The museum is the result of years’ worth of effort by Jones’s wife, Nancy, who announced the museum’s creation last fall. The grand opening corresponds to the second anniversary of Jones’s passing, April 26. The new museum is a world-class exhibition that documents Jones’s life and cements his position in the history of country music.
“I was so touched to see how all of George’s friends came out tonight,” said Nancy Jones. “George always thought he didn’t have any friends and he’d tell me to build a museum but no one would come. Well, here we are, and everybody came!”
An American music icon, George Jones was born in Saratoga, Texas in 1931, into a family that included eight siblings. Over the course of a career spanning fifty years, Jones recorded a string of hit songs, including “White Lightning,” “The Race is On,” “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” and “I Don’t Need No Rockin’ Chair.” He and his wife, Nancy, married in 1983. His storied career includes more than 150 hits, 15 of which hit #1 on the charts. Jones died in 2013 at age 81.
Also among the museum’s first attendees was Jones’s sister, Helen Scroggins. Now 93, she is the last remaining of eight Jones siblings. Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, and Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey were among the dozens of celebrities, government officials, and hundreds of music industry professionals who turned out to honor Jones and his legacy.
Spanning more than 44,000 square feet, the George Jones Museum features exhaustive displays of memorabilia and photos, video displays and interactive experiences. The museum also includes a 40-seat, rocking chair theatre that shows clips from Jones’s television broadcasts, concert appearances, and interviews.
In addition to the displays of Jones memorabilia and history in the museum and a lobby gift shop, the George Jones Museum includes two restaurants, a public exhibition space and event center, and a roof-top bar that overlooks the Cumberland River and LP Field, home of the Tennessee Titans.
The museum opened to the public Friday, April 24. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for children ages 6-15. The George Jones Museum is located at 128 Second Avenue North, just one block off of Broadway.
Jamaican imprint Tad’s Record replenishes the roots reggae music movement with its latest release Roots Reggae Revivalists Vol. 1 – Various Artists, available worldwide in both digital and physical formats on April 24, 2015. Featuring the biggest names in reggae music currently, Roots Reggae Revivalists Vol. 1 sets the roots soundtrack for the year and is the only album where you will find all of your favorite reggae stars shining bright.
Jammed with 14 roots reggae gems, the compilation features the biggest songs from the top stars of the genre currently, including Chronixx with “Give Me A Try,” Tarrus Riley and Kabaka Pyramid with “Fly The Gate,” Sizzla with “Burn Schism,” Jah Cure with “Territory” and “Struggles,” I-Octane with “Jah Jah Mission,” Richie Spice with “Bad Weather,” Jesse Royal with “Singing the Blues” and I-Wayne with “Reggae Music/ Long Live Reggae,” just to name a few of the masterpieces on this must-have collection for roots reggae music lovers.
“Roots reggae music is back to take its rightful place,” states Tad Dawkins, President of Tad’s Record. “In the past three years, the reggae genre has shifted and we now see an abundance of quality roots music coming out. Roots Reggae Revivalists Vol. 1 presents top roots artist such as Chronixx, Kabaka Phyramid, Jah 9 and many more, and is a great album to release during this time.”
Roots Reggae Revivalists Vol. 1 is now available worldwide from all major digital retailers including iTunes and Amazon, and physical albums are available from selected stores globally, from Tad’s Record. For more information, please visit tadsrecord.com.
Tads Logo
TRACK LIST
1. Tarrus Riley and Kabaka Pyramid – Fly The Gate
2. Iba Mahr – Babylon Debating
3. Jah Cure – Territory
4. Chezidek – Damage
5. Jah Bouks – Black Bwoy/ Let Mi Go
6. Jesse Royal – Singing the Blues
7. Sizzla – Burn Schism
8. Richie Spice – Bad Weather
9. Chronixx – Give Me A Try
10. I-Octane – Jah Jah Mission
11. I-Wayne – Reggae Music/ Long Live Reggae
12. Jah Cure – Struggles
13. Fanton Mojah – Dem Neva Know
14. Jah 9 – Avocado
