Author Archives: Tankboy

In an unexpected turn of events, Queens Of The Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri and vocalist Mark Lanegan have exited the California-based rock act.

Oliveri and Queens frontman Josh Homme have been friends since high school and played together in revered underground rock combo Kyuss before joining forces in Queens, but their relationship has apparently become irretrievably strained in recent months.

“Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri have recently parted ways,” an Interscope spokesperson said in a statement. “A number of incidents occurring over the last 18 months have led to the decision that the two can no longer maintain a working partnership in the band. The Queens, continuing under frontman Josh Homme, will begin work on a new album this spring.” (full story)

Maybe my girlfriend was right when she said, “Dude, the second that Josh Homme started dating that trashy girl from The Distillers he lost all cool points and officially became un-hot.”

I dunno about that, since I think Brody nee Armstrong is quite the hottie and Josh deserves props for getting all over that, but Homme does seem to be losing his circle o’ friends and that never bodes well.

Look what happened to John Lennon. No buds. Mediocre solo discs. An annoying wife who just WOULDN’T TAKE HER FUCKING SUNGLASSESS OFF IN THE HOUSE!

Y’know, that sort of thing

The Thin White Duke — a.k.a. The Picture of Dorian Gray — has announced a whole bunch of new dates on his Reality tour.

Plus: The Polyphonic Spree are opening the first half of the newly added dates!
Minus: He?s not playing Chicago again.
Plus: Some of the new dates are in other donewaiting.com cities like Columbus and Indianapolis!
Minus: Those dates have the Stereophonics opening.

Take it from your old friend Tankboy though, if you dig Bowie at all, this is the tour to see.

I?ve seen him numerous times over the past fifteen years and this is the definitely the best show he?s put on in my experience.

(full dates here)

Leroy Bach has left Wilco.

Minus: Bach played lotsa different stuff and they’ll miss that, also he is super mellow and nice and provided a nice contrast to Tweedy’s more surly moments.
Plus: parting seems amicable.
Minus: due to amicable parting no cool black and white documentary will be forthcoming…

Why James, why?

I liked Alice In Chains. I really did. I?ve never even held it against them that they were easily one of the biggest bandwagon jumpers within the deluge of early ’90’s Seattle grunge acts. Layne Staley had a really cool voice and the group did kick out a few majorly impressive tunes (not least among them the killer ?I Can?t Have You Blues.”)

But really. Do we need this?

The legacy of Seattle rock act Alice In Chains will be celebrated on a two-disc retrospective, “The Essential,” due March 16 from Columbia/Legacy. The 29-track album features the most well-known hits from the Layne Staley-led group, a stalwart of rock radio in the 1990s and an undeniable influence on such recent acts as Staind and Godsmack, the latter of whom is named after an Alice In Chains song. (full story)

While their previous ?Greatest Hits? collection was only a measly ten songs please keep in mind that this is a group that only released three proper albums in their career. Plus, they have already released a three-disc boxed set ? along with a one-disc distillation of said set — so forgive me if I think this ?essential? collection is a bit of an overkill.

Maybe the labels would be better served by releasing new and exciting music rather than raping the memory of the deceased. Or maybe I?m just a dreamer in this big ol? crazy world.

As reported here a while ago, Urge Overkill is indeed reuniting for a flurry of shows over the next month or so. Whispers continue to insist the band may even get back in the studio for a new album if these dates go well.

Feb 3: Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, OH
Feb 5: Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ
Feb 6: The Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
Feb 8: The Middle East, Cambridge, MA
Feb 11: The Continental, Buffalo, NY
Feb 14: The Double Door, Chicago, IL
Feb 15: The Double Door, Chicago, IL
Feb 25: Kryptonite Bar, Rockford, IL
Feb 26: Shank Hall, Milwaukee, WI

Feb 27: First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
Feb 28: The Pyramid, Winnipeg, MB

I?m gonna see them in Chicago and Minneapolis. Why Minneapolis? Drinks are super cheap there! Plus, I gotta get out of Chicago for a day or two…I’m going stir crazy!

The U.S. music industry on Wednesday filed 532 lawsuits against individuals it accuses of illegally downloading copyrighted material online without paying, identifying defendants only by Internet addresses after a court ruling made it more difficult to subpoena their names.

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(full story here)

To quote Bugs Bunny: Wotta bunch of maroons!

With four nominations, the Darkness lead the field for the 2004 Brit Awards, to be held Feb. 17 at Earls Court in London. The band is up for best British group, rock act, British breakthrough act and album for “Permission To Land.” (full story)

There is a lesson to be learned here. No one will take any notice of the lesson, but there is one to be learned?

A few years ago, one of my favorite rock bands, the Dictators, posed a musical question: “Who will save rock ‘n’ roll?”

Today — as it has been for decades — the answer is “independent labels.”

Don’t take our word for it, though. We direct your attention to “Can Rock Come Back?,” a think piece by Los Angeles Times pop music critic Robert Hilburn that ran on the front page of the paper’s Sunday “Calendar” section Jan. 4. In his story, Hilburn notes the cavernous commercial gulf between the top-selling pop artists — Justin Timberlake, Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken — and the high-profile but relatively meager-selling posse of young rock bands loosely grouped under the rubric “garage rock.”

Without exception, the bands that Hilburn identifies as the shining hope for rock’s future first saw the light of day on indie labels. (full story)

Whew! Thank goodness for that!

Add Mission Of Burma to the list of regrouped groups.

Matador Records is totally psyched to announce the signing of Mission Of Burma. The new album – their first new studio recordings in 22 years – is tentatively scheduled for worldwide release in May 2004. Mission Of Burma were a Boston-based band circa 1978-1983. During their brief tenure, they released one album, one EP and two singles for the Ace Of Hearts label, all of which have been reissued on CD by Rykodisc. Demo recordings and radio sessions were later released in less impressive form by the Taang label. (full story)

This makes me NOT want to reach for my revolver…now if only Martin Swope was on-board my giddiness would reach dizzying heights!