Archive for June, 2012

Buzz Osborne is dishing it out as fast as he can.

“I’m feeding my dogs at the moment,” the Krusty-maned Melvins singer-guitarist explains down the line from his L.A. home. “It’s all about dogs in my house. We have four — Itchy, Coco, Buster and Gigi — and they’re not about to wait for me to finish an interview.”

Melvins fans aren’t about to go hungry anytime soon either. As usual, the Seattle-born sludge-metal gods have a feast of tasty projects on the burner, including: Their new album Freak Puke; a Canadian tour by their streamlined new Melvins Lite configuration; a record-setting tour of all 50 U.S. states (and D.C.); and a slew of surprises for their 30th anniversary in 2013.

While his hounds chow down, the 48-year-old Osborne — a former schoolmate of Kurt Cobain — took us through the band’s upcoming menu. Let’s dig in:

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Not only has Canadian ’80s pop heartthrob Corey Hart (I Wear My Sunglasses at Night, Never Surrender) resurfaced in Canada for the first time in 14 years with a club remix of his old song, Truth Will Set U Free, but there is also a new video to accompany it.
Turns out, it stars everyone he knows.
“The video is also very moving,” the Montreal-raised Hart, 50, told QMI Agency in Toronto where he’s performing on the Pride stage at Wood and Church at 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 30.
“Everyone in the video is someone that I know personally. My four children are in the video. The video has a lot of humanity in it.”
Hart plays a taxi driver in the clip directed by Irish Grammy winner Meiert Avis (U2, Paramore, Evanescence) in Barcelona while Hart’s passengers are the actual people he knows.
Also in the video is Kingston, Ont. deejay 1Love (Paul Todd) who wrote to Hart last October asking if he could use the song for a club remix and got the whole ball rolling.
Hart wrote the original tune for his 1988 fourth album, Young Man Running, about three gay friends who were struggling with their sexuality.
Other than Toronto, Hart’s only other date so far is July 7 at Pride in London, England.
Hart and his wife, one time Quebec pop star Julie Masse, are raising their four kids between homes in the Bahamas and Spain.

Bloc Party have booked a block of Canadian shows.

The British indie-rockers will return to these shores in fall to promote their tellingly titled fourth album Four.

Frontman Kele Okereke, lead guitarist Russell Lissack, bassist Gordon Moakes and drummer Matt Tong preview their Canadian trek with an appearance at Montreal’s Osheaga festival in August, then follow up with a handful of shows in major cities in September. See below for a list of dates and locations. Respected California punks Ceremony will open the September shows.

Tickets for the newly announced dates go on sale Friday June 29 at Ticketmaster, priced between $35 and $46, depending on the city, venue and seating. Fans can also purchase a digital bundle which includes a concert ticket and a copy of Four, which comes out Aug. 21. See www.arts-crafts.ca/blocparty for details.

Bloc Party Canadian tour dates:
Aug. 5 | Montreal | Osheaga Music & Arts Festival
Sept. 10 | Toronto | Danforth Music Hall
Sept. 23 | Winnipeg | Burton Cummings Theatre
Sept. 25 | Edmonton | Event Centre
Sept. 26 | Calgary | MacEwan Student Centre
Sept. 29 | Vancouver | Vogue Theatre

darryl.sterdan@sunmedia.ca
@darryl_sterdan
facebook.com/darryl.sterdan

Music Monday 3 – Japan! from JordynMarcellus on 8tracks.

With a population over three times the size of Canada, Japan’s music scene is of course surprisingly diverse. While we don’t normally get a chance to hear the sky-high melodies and bizarre guitar theatrics often accompanying Japanese rock, here’s an eight-song mix showing some independent acts out of Nippon.

Track list

1) Soulcrap – Too Hot’ Road

2) Tenniscoats — Mosha Mosha Mo

3) Molice – Fatima

4) Usagibunnyboy – 素敵な生活

5) The Suzan - Devil

6) Post Modern Team – Heartbreak

7) House of Tapes – Starting Point

8) PICNICWOMEN – Boooogieeee

Metric are making Synthetica a reality for fans.

The Toronto synth-rockers have just announced a tour that will take them to 10 Canadian cities in November.

Singer Emily Haines, guitarist James Shaw, drummer Joules Scott-Key and bassist Joshua Winstead begin their jaunt in Victoria on Nov. 9 and work their way east to Toronto’s Air Canada Centre on Nov. 24. See below for a full list of cities and venues.

Tickets go on sale Friday June 29 at Ticketmaster, with presales beginning today (see www.ilovemetric.com for details). They’ll set you back between $29.50 and $40 including taxes, with four-packs going for $140. The shows will be all-ages, with general-admission access on the floor and reserved seating in the stands.

Fellow Canadian popsters Stars — who release their new album The North in September — are the opening act.

Metric’s fifth album Synthetica was released June 12 and debuted at No. 2 on the Soundscan chart. The disc’s first single Youth Without Youth has spent a record eight weeks at No. 1 on the alternative radio chart.

Metric’s Synthetica Canadian Tour Dates:
Nov. 9 | Victoria | Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
Nov. 10 | Vancouver | Rogers Arena
Nov. 12 | Kelowna | Prospera Place
Nov. 14 | Calgary | Stampede Corral
Nov. 15 | Edmonton | Rexall Place
Nov. 16 | Regina | Brandt Centre
Nov. 17 | Winnipeg | MTS Centre
Nov. 19 | London | John Labatt Centre
Nov. 23 | Kingston | K-Rock Centre
Nov. 24 | Toronto | Air Canada Centre

darryl.sterdan@sunmedia.ca
@darryl_sterdan
facebook.com/darryl.sterdan