May 16-May 22
In this edition: Nathan Moore, John Fullbright, Jon Cleary, Paul Thorn, Steve Barton, Peter Gabriel and Beach House.
You Gotta See This: Rival Sons
you gotta see this
Rival Sons
Face of Light
If you’re not already paying attention to Rival Sons then you’re missing out on the slow, steady evolution of a present day rock great. Don’t blame us. DI has been pushing these guys HARD since day one. If you like rock you can feel down in the meat of you – we’re talking vintage Black Crowes kinda hum – then the Sons are for you. And one of their best attributes is a knack for midtempo ballads the likes of which we haven’t seen Chris & Rich started talking to angels. To wit, the Rival Sons’ latest video (and a nifty live version from German TV we included as treat). And you if you haven’t already picked up their latest album, Pressure And Time (an Impound Album of the Year for 2012), there’s a sweet new edition that comes with a bonus DVD of live footage from the 2011 High Voltage Festival. Pick up a copy here.
Megadeth
We have rarely seen as enthusiastic – nay, joyful – a flipping of the bird as exhibited by Megadeth bassist Dave Ellefson. He appears to enjoy wagging that special digit around as much as DI, and for that and a career of majorly kick-ass bass work we salute ya, Dave! This photo was taken earlier this month at a New Jersey tour stop by our lensman pal Joe Russo, and we’ve included Megadeth’s latest high concept video below as a bonus!
Megadeth's Dave Ellefson by Joe Russo
You Gotta See This: Knock & Rock
you gotta see this
Knock & Rock
Radars to the Sky
One beautiful thing about the Internet is how it allows great ideas to blossom by providing a hitherto unknown means of communicating and sharing them with others. Where before an artist needed a gallery, a movie studio, a publisher, etc. to share their ideas, now, with a little elbow grease and vision anyone can offer up their inspiration to anyone else willing to pay attention. It is an endlessly exciting dynamic and one whose true social impact is only partially becoming clear.
Which brings us to Knock & Rock, the brainchild of Kalen Egan, a filmmaker who is literally taking music door-to-door. The concept behind Knock & Rock is bands stroll a neighborhood and ask total strangers if they can set up in their house for an impromptu concert. It’s a simple, brave idea and the participating musicians, Egan and his partner at K&R Noelia Estrada execute the whole thing with serious charm and no little amount of artistry. Part of the appeal of the segments on K&R is the reactions of the people they play for and how they get involved in the music experience. It’s a happy reminder of when music was something people made in the flesh in real time instead of consumed as a finished, polished product. Spend a little time exploring the site’s archives and one discovers a wealth of sweet music made by sweet people engaged in bringing some surprise and song to strangers – a random act of kindness executed without randomness.
Here’s the latest installment from Knock & Rock with Radars to the Sky, and Kalen tells DI they are working on a number of segments captured at this year’s SXSW. We’ll be paying attention and so should you – a good idea like this deserves to be watered with proper attention and enthusiam.
Poundings LXXXIV
Tricknology is heavy!
If you experience playback problems, pop over to the 8tracks mix page and it should play fine.
Hey Shredder (Bass): Scott Thunes
7 questions for the low end
Scott Thunes
Scott Thunes by Andrew Quist
The first time DI laid eyes on Scott Thunes was at a Dweezil Zappa show in the late 80s. We’d missed out on seeing Frank live (where Thunes was also a sparring partner from 1981-1988) and were hoping for a little reflected glow from the nutball genius in his kid. Dweez was fine – though we’d argue he’s a hell of a lot better and more his own man these days – but what really stuck was his wild-eyed, music stalking bassist. Thunes – from that first exposure straight on through his time touring with Steve Vai, FEAR and others – exhibits a hearty, undisguised love of playing, a bouncing exuberance that’s decidedly punk rock in character but master class playing skill-wise. He’s literally the only bassist that’s ever made our heart skip the way Mike Watt does [and check out DI’s 2011 talk with the Minutemen champ here], where their chops and personalities make for a blend that gets their fellow musicians off and draws them deeper into the scrum every single time they get to plunking those low notes.
His current self-described position as “semi-permanent temporary bass player for The Mother Hips” has brought this killer musician into the fold of one of the great American rock bands of the past 20 years, a classic in a time where classics simply do not flourish as they once did. With no disrespect intended to longtime Hips bassist Paul Hoaglin [who DI adores with unreasonable passion], Thunes brings a refreshing energy to the stage, and the result is a tough, muscular sort of rockin’ that’s nigh impossible to resist. One can see how much Tim Bluhm and Greg Loiacono enjoy sparking off Thunes, and the pairing with drummer John Hofer is a touch more unpredictable – in a positive way – with Thunes. As ever, Scott Thunes remains a player that commands one’s attentions but scrubbed clean of any snobby, fusion-y ego, a scrapper with mad skills that makes music feel quite alive.
Here’s what Scott had to say to our bass guitar inquiry.
You Gotta See This: The Hives
you gotta see this
The Hives
Go Right Ahead
Few things tickle the Impound like garage dappled stomp rock performed in inappropriate outfits. So, we were simultaneously delighted both by the cool new song and the Moneybags Q. Richdude tuxedos in the latest video from Sweden’s enduring true rawk torchbearers The Hives. The tune comes from their new album, Lex Hives (arriving June 5 via the band’s own Disques Hives label), followed by a short North American tour (a longer one is planned for the fall) that begins June 19 in Washington, D.C. (see the full gig itinerary here.
And since we’re on the subject of non-rock outfits in a rawk setting, we’re including an old fave from those Louis XIV lovin’ lads The Upper Crust to further flip yo’ wigs.
May 9-May 15
In this edition: Diamond Rugs, Chelle Rose, Dave Mulligan, The Waco Brothers and Paul Burch, Mark Stewart and Pelican.
