Tag Archives: foo fighters

Watch the trailer for Dave Grohl’s Sound City film

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Dave Grohl’s directorial debut, Sound City, will premiere at Sundance this year, with a wider release in February. Here’s the 10-cent description:

The film tells the story of Sound City, the legendary Van Nuys recording story, and was inspired when Grohl purchased the Neve 8028 recording console built in 1972 from the studio (and his personal connection to Sound City began in 1991 when Nirvana recorded Nevermind there). The recording console is considered to be the crown jewel of analog recording equipment and has captured such artists as Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Cheap Trick, Guns and Roses, Fear, Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, Slipknot, Nine Inch Nails, Metallica, and many other legends.

Favorite Albums of 2011: Chip Midnight

The biggest struggle when putting together this list is how to rank the albums. What exactly is the difference between a #1 and a #2 album? Without doubt, Viva Brother’s “Darling Buds of May” was the song I listened to the most in 2011 and the album it comes from is pretty damn good. But is it my favorite album as a whole? The Damnwells have consistently put out great material and I’m sure I listened to No One Listens to the Band Anymore more, front to back, than any album on the list but did I do that because it’s the best album of the year or because I know the guys personally and listening to them makes me happy?

So, I decided the best way to do it is to list the albums alphabetically, showing no favoritism and not being forced to rank anything. A few comebacks, a few previous favorites, a couple of new UK bands, some metal, some country, some hair metal. Pretty typical for me.


AA Bondy – Believers (Fat Possum)
Not as barebones as early solo material, not as scuzzy as his ‘90s alt-rock band Verbena, AA Bondy split the difference on this moody, late night listen.
Listen: “The Heart is Willing”


Anthrax – Worship Music (Megaforce)
The legendary NYC thrashers pick up where they left off the last time Joey Belladonna sang lead vocals (1990’s Persistence of Time) on 2011’s best (and most surprising considering some internal issues Anthrax had with short-timer vocalist Dan Nelson) metal album.
Listen: “In the End”


AWOLNATION – Megalithic Symphony (Red Bull Records)
I would never have checked out this band had my old friend Christopher Thorn (Blind Melon) not been playing guitar. A complete 180 from Blind Melon’s sound, AWOLNATION’s slickly-produced techno-soul-pop shows a wide range of diversity from one track to the next.
Listen: “Soul Wars”
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Lollapalooza 2011 – Day 3

I feared the big crowds at Lollapalooza, had no interest or desire to be stuck in the middle of tens of thousands of drunk and sweaty people. I got over that fear and decided to make the most of it, all culminating in Foo Fighters closing set on Sunday night. After a torrential downpour caused Lollapalooza to come to a halt in the early evening (at least it did on the south end of the park, delaying the Arctic Monkeys set), there was some question about whether or not the Foo Fighters would even have time to play.

As a veteran of Woodstock ’94, I’ve encountered muddy festivals and after the rain had ended (not permanently), the field in front of the Music Unlimited stage was nothing but a muddy, soupy mess. This actually allowed me to get much closer than I probably could have had it not rained. I met a couple who had come from Colombia and a guy who had come from Singapore (!!!!) just to attend Lollapalooza. All 3 were having the times of their lives and were excited for their first Foo Fighters show ever.


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Ten songs I want to hear at Lollapalooza this weekend

Feels a little weird to be calling this the 20th anniversary of Lollapalooza even though the festival did make it’s debut in 1991. There was a period of inactivity and the reformatting of the concept, going from a traveling alternative rock circus to an annual 3-day festival in Chicago that features many mainstream acts.

That being said, there’s plenty to see this coming weekend at Grant Park. Last week I spotlighted two lesser known acts performing this year – Midnight Conspiracy and Kyle Lucas & Captain Midnite over on Lollapalooza.com.

Here are ten songs I want to hear at Lollapalooza this weekend.

My Morning Jacket – “Victory Dance” (performing Saturday, 8pm, Bud Light stage)

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Them Crooked Vultures @ The LC (10/6)

PromoWest has booked some big huge shows in 2009 but even they realize that Tuesday night’s Them Crooked Vultures is, if not the biggest, maybe the most anticipated – just one of 10 U.S. dates. The (truly) super-group featuring Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) started recording material for a debut this past summer though they’ve talked about working together since 2005.

This being the internet age, rumors of a release date for Them Crooked Vulture’s debut spring up on a daily basis but I haven’t been able to find an official release date (many are suggesting we’ll be able to hold a CD in our hands by late November – just in time for the holiday gift-giving season).

So … while the resumes of the members speak for themselves, is this project really worth plunking down $47.50 (plus services charges) to see considering you won’t know any of the songs and you shouldn’t expect to hear any songs by the bands these guys come from? Based on early reviews, it is worth is – TCV supposedly deliver an onslaught of RAWK and live up to the “supergroup” tag way more than a band like Velvet Revolver does.

If you want to do a quick cram session and get a (live) preview of what you’ll hear, there are a few bootlegs floating around. Here’s one from the Austin show this past weekend (can’t vouch for the quality). While I haven’t heard this one -the stuff I’ve heard definitely has a QOTSA vibe as can be expected.

WORD OF WARNING (from the Promowest website): NO CAMERA’S ALLOWED DURING THIS PERFORMANCE, INCLUDING CELL PHONES. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT TAKING PICTURES YOU WILL BE ASKED TO DELETE THEM. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT A SECOND TIME, YOU WILL BE ASKED TO DELETE THEM AND ESCORTED OUT OF THE BUILDING. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION.