1st Five Queen Albums RE-ISSUED
QUEEN: FIRST FIVE ALBUMS RE-ISSUED ON ISLAND RECORDS - MARCH 14th 2011
“We aimed for the top slot and we were not going to be satisfied with anything less.” Freddie Mercury
March 2011 sees the re-release of Queens first five albums - one of the most exciting and influential back catalogues of all time. Recorded in the maelstrom of the early 1970’s London music scene Queen created a groundbreaking and unique soundtrack that remains globally influential today. Theatrical, imaginative, diverse, melodic and unpredictable they had a sound and a look all of their own. Sitting alongside their contemporaries like Led Zep and David Bowie, Queen set the standard for British rock in the 1970s and became one of the most influential, thrilling, glamorous and downright rock ‘n’ roll bands of all time.
“Queen”, “Queen II”, “Sheer Heart Attack”, “A Night At The Opera” and “A Day At The Races” have been specially re-mastered and each will be released as a standard CD as well as a deluxe 2 disc set which will feature new bonus content. Each deluxe album will be released on iTunes featuring bonus tracks plus additional sleeve notes, unseen pictures and videos.
From the pure raw rock of “Queen” through to the majestic anthems on “A Day At The Races”, the first five albums highlight the diverse talent, musical ambition and already global success of a band made up of some of the best songwriters, musicians and performers of all time.
‘Queen’, recently nominated by Dave Grohl as his favourite album of all time, was recorded in the same studio that David Bowie was recording Ziggy Stardust. Because they didn’t have any money, the album was recorded on Bowies downtime, so Queen were literally recording at 3AM after Bowie had gone to bed. ‘Queen’ is their heaviest album, influenced by The Who, Hendrix and Led Zep and contains some of their hardest rocking songs, and also some of their most imaginative.. Like all subsequent Queen albums, no two songs sound the same and there are mixtures of light and shade, the band teasing one minute with a lullaby, then blowing your head off.
‘Queen II’ is the real beginning of Queen as we know it. It’s the first time we hear the multi layered overdubs, the harmonies, the varied musical styles (ballads, folk, blues, thrash metal, pop and rock, it’s all there). It also includes their first hit single ‘Seven Seas of Rhye’, which led to the first of many iconic performances on Top of the Pops. The band recorded ‘Queen II’ in just over a month in 1973 ahead of its release in 1974. The album cover was shot by legendary photographer Mick Rock and inspired by a Marlene Dietrich portrait. The image was later brought to life in the revolutionary Bohemian Rhapsody video.
Funeral Party: The Golden Age
Funeral Party: Finale: 24TH JANUARY 2011: JIVE
East LA three-piece Funeral Party are pleased to announce the release of brilliant new single “Finale” on January 24th. Their eagerly awaited debut album “The Golden Age Of Nowhere” will also grace us with its presence on the same day. A UK tour in support of the release will take place at the start of the year (full dates below).
The trio formed late one night in a park in their hometown of Whittier, California, an East Los Angeles suburb comprised of mostly working-class enclaves. A post-punk dance- craze revival was emerging, Funeral Party began gigging every weekend drawing more than 800 kids at random backyards across East Los Angeles. Quickly achieving a mythic status in the LA underground, Funeral Party attracted the attentions of Lars Stalfors, engineer for Mars Volta, who invited the band to record in Volta’s studio.
The Funeral Party phenomenon is already creeping onto our shores after the bands first two singles took the UK by storm. With early playlist adds from Radio 1, 6 Music, Kerrang and XFM, as well as grabbing press attention across the board means the trio have firmly established themselves as ones to watch for the future. Funeral Party are set to take 2011 by storm, they dismiss any attempts at categorization, and have created a visceral music that encapsulates experiences of youth universally.
JANUARY
Mon 24th – London, Bush Hall (New To Q Session) / Tues 25th – Bristol, Fleece / Wed 26th – Oxford, Academy 2 / Thurs 27th – Manchester, Academy 3 / Fri 28th – Glasgow, King Tuts / Sat 29th – Aberdeen, Tunnels / Mon 31st - Belfast, Stiff Kitten
FEBRUARY
Tues 1st – Dublin, Academy 2 / Thurs 3rd – Newcastle, The Cluny / Fri 4th – Leeds, Cockpit / Sat 5th – Nottingham, Bodega / Sun 6th – Norwich, Arts Centre / Tues 8th - Birmingham, Academy 3 / Wed 9th - Brighton, Audio / Thurs 10th – London, Cargo
http://www.myspace.com/funeralparty
Southeast of Los Angeles, beyond the Hollywood sign and Scientology centres and porn-bodied beach bunnies, lies the city of Whittier. Here, life is a little tougher. Here, if you happen to form a band as a means of escape, you may see someone getting stabbed in front of the stage you’re playing on.
Funeral Party? Quite literally sometimes. Which makes the band’s sudden leap this summer from cult local Whittier heroes to Radio One playlist-busting pop stars all the more remarkable.
The nucleus of the band, Chad, plus guitarist James Torres and bassist Kimo Kauhola, (they’re now a five-piece, with keyboardist Tim Madrid and new drummer [DIDN’T CATCH HIS NAME!!]) were high school friends, who drifted into the Whittier backyard scene after leaving school. Basically, with little money about, and with nowhere to spend it anyway, locals began having parties in their backyards, and bands naturally began to form to play them. “There was a cool feeling in the air that something new was finally on,” remembers Chad, “You’d go to these backyards and see all these bands, and there was just a cool movement. There were so many different types of people there – you’d have your gangsters, your punks, and they’d all be mixed up in one backyard.”
The three friends decided to get a band together, mainly out of that classic reason that stirs young men onto great things: jealousy. Chad says, “We wanted our share of it. We just used to act crazy to get noticed. Our main agenda was just to be as in your face as possible.”
That was a mere two years ago. Word spread fast about the band mainly due to the mania of their live shows, but also to the way they quickly transcended the hardcore and metal on the scene, and wrote catchy, dance songs which touched on influences like The Cure (their got their name from a song on ‘Faith’), At The Drive In, and even The Human League.
The immediate result of the development of their “disco-punk” sound was that Lars Stalfors, engineer to the Mars Volta, asked them to record at their studio. “We met Lars at a backyard show and he was like, “I want to record your band NOW.”
After the resultant sessions came ‘NYC Moves To The Sound of LA’, which turned into a big local hit. They got signed to an indie label before Jive nabbed them and thrust them, via the propulsive single ‘Just Because’, onto UK radio stations. A series of eye-catching gigs on both sides of the Atlantic followed, before the band bagged a crucial support slot to Julian Casablancas. Julian would tell the crowd “we were the future.” Now Funeral Party’s debut album, ‘Golden Age of Knowhere’, is about to cement their status as just that.
The album was recorded back at Mars Volta’s studio, though this time, they, “were in the main studio, not the storage room.” Lars Stalfors was producing again, and it seems his role was mostly keeping the Funeral Party boys in order.
Dave Sardy (Oasis, LCD Soundsystem) mixed the album, and the result, from the future indie dance classic ‘New York City Moves To The LA Sound’ to the epic glam-punk of ‘City’, it’s an album that shakes your hips as well as grabs your balls. For Chad, the key track is one of their earliest songs, ‘Where Did It All Go Wrong’, “It’s the first song we ever had where the audience sang it back to us.”
‘Golden Age of Knowhere’ is a rollicking ride and is set to make Funeral Party one of the hottest bands of 2011, and an unmissable live draw. A support slot with 30 Seconds to Mars on their UK tour will give people the first sign that they belong in front of big crowds. “We want to show people something new, and give audiences something that can remember,” Chad says.
Funeral Party are here to restore your faith in rock bands.
WE//ARE//ANIMAL: Black Magic
WE//ARE//ANIMAL self released ‘Black Magic’, the follow up to their Beggars released debut single ‘1268‘. ‘Black Magic’ is a raw as hell beast of a track which is set to continue their climb to notoriety. In Snowdonia, North Wales Owain Ginsberg used to trek up to quarries and forests with nothing but an 8 track recording machine and his guitar for company.
Next came actual, physical band members in the form of the Hamer brothers (CASTLES), Sion Edwards on drums and Liam Simpson on keys. The strength of their demos alone attracted attention and by the time their debut single came out they found themselves playlisted on Radio One, NME Radio and XFM. Their live shows live up to the bands name and bagged them slots with Radio One’s Big Weekend in Bangor and the SWN festival amongst others.
Their recently recorded debut album IDOLISE has been given an official release in Japan in September with ‘Art Union Recordings’ and is pencilled in for a UK release sometime towards the end of the year.
2010 Tour Dates: You Missed Them!
http://www.myspace.com/weareanimal
Get a free track here:
http://soundcloud.com/sainted-pr/black-magic-we-are-animal
Elsewhere: Out Of The Box
Elsewhere, a progressive-punk trio from Boston is the product of a rare musical mutation that combines the energy and raw angst of punk with the ambition and creativity of progressive rock. Presently, the band is releasing the future EP of the year and next great rock project entitled “1981” backed by the singles “1981” and “Before The Stars Align”. World domination will commence imminently…
The trio consists of guitarist/vocalist Michael Aroian, drummer Craig Morrison and bassist Marc Ubaldino-a trio of atypical rockers with corporate day jobs who bring the duality of their existence to the stage with their high-energy live performances. This contradiction between image and sound pulls the listener into a state of emotional release through thought-provoking music. The truly progressive part of Elsewhere’s music is that it also has a pop sensibility that people can appreciate and relate to on an entirely different level.
Influenced by a wide array of bands such as Rush, the Police, Duran Duran, and the Sex Pistols, and described as a more guitar driven version of The Killers (and a fatter version of 30 Seconds To Mars), Elsewhere has developed a smooth, electric and groove-oriented sound that transcends the wavering music trends of the day. The new EP will prove to be a much-anticipated follow-up to the well received (yet commercially pathetic) albums Outbound and Perception, both released during a simpler time. Regarding the two lead tracks, the raunchy yet radio-friendly single “Before The Stars Align“ is more of an over the top power-pop song, while the lead track “1981“ demonstrates a nod to that progressive and new wave aesthetic Elsewhere continues to pursue. Through airplay on national radio shows, appearances on film (“Mr. Sadman”) and TV (“Live Through This”), and performances throughout the Northeast.
Elsewhere is continuing to attract interest from radio, club audiences, magazines, music supervisors and record labels. Most importantly, unlike bands that have come before and after them, they have not stopped and continue to pursue ways to create and disseminate their music to the masses despite the broken model that is today’s music industry…
** Shake Verdict: It’s not very often that I get to hear ‘Un-discovered’ artists and they jump ‘Straight Out Of The Box’ for when that happens it’s magic, and it happened with Elsewhere. The minute the needle hit the groove my ears pricked up, my feet started to move and a big smile was on my face by the end of the song, so I played it again, then I jumped to track two and it happened again…
I contacted the band for some more info and then played them on my weekend radio show (where both tracks sounded great on-air) and I’m looking forward to hearing more from their new EP and other futureclassics, I also hope that they can find their way over to the UK in 2011 for they are one of ‘those’ bands who sit mid-atlantic, American-English. The best of both worlds. They best buy some shades, because their future is so bright… Jj: 2010
Quotable Quotes (Sorry, I couldn’t think of anything else more catchy):
“Elsewhere: One of Boston’s Best Unheard Bands…Elsewhere combines the upbeat punk attitude for which Boston is known with a progressive rock groove and a new-wave resonance, which combined helps to makes each of their songs radio-friendly.” – puregrainaudio.com, September 1st, 2010
Link: http://puregrainaudio.com/the_skinny/elsewhere-one-of-boston-s-best-unheard-bands
“One listen to the new-wave inspired ‘1981’ clearly shows they’re headed big places” – AOL Radio Blog, August 31, 2010 Link: http://www.aolradioblog.com/2010/08/31/free-music-tuesday-drummers-and-the-city-of-boston-step-up/
“Quite possibly one of the best bands nobody in Boston has ever heard of.” – Instant Magazine, June 1998
“There is a lot to like here.” – The Noise, November, 2010 Link: http://www.thenoise-boston.com/content/blogcategory/3/17/
Early Winters: In From The Cold!
Traveling across the globe exploring four separate solo careers, the four members of Early Winters have gathered sonic souvenirs to share with each other and their listeners. Made up of U.K.-bred singer Carina Round, Canadian artist Justin Rutledge, L.A. producer/musician Dan Burns and Zac Rae of the band Pedestrian, the formation of the band started as an informal writing session that blossomed into an expansive musical partnership.
Justin, Dan and Carina got together to write a track that led to an instant placement of “Turn Around” on the hit CBS show Ghost Whisperer. After adding in Zac to complete the quartet, Early Winters was born. It wasn’t long before their songs were popping up online and added into heavy rotation on KCRW, CBC, and CJTR. They shared their poignant tunes for the first time live last year in Canada in front of packed houses opening for Justin.
Since all four were on the road and in the studio, in order to finish their debut album they had to get creative. Continuing to write songs via video chat and Skype, they finished the album from each corner of the world Carina from her home base in Los Angeles, Justin from Toronto, Dan from Tokyo where he was recording and performing with the legendary Japanese artist Utada, and Zac from New Zealand where he was recording with Tim Finn (Split Enz, Crowded House).
The final result is a well-traveled package. Early Winters is finally poised to share their far-flung emotions and transcontinental harmonies with the U.S. during their release of their debut 7″ and a residency at The Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles in March.
The band has received airplay on KCRW, CBC, and CJTR. “Spanish Burn” was featured as KCRW’s Today’s Top Tune” on January 21. The band’s self-titled debut 7″ and five-song digital EP will be released on March 8.
The band will begin a residency at the Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles on March 9. Visit the Early Winters Tour page for all dates and more information. Carina Round has enjoyed success as a solo artist, having released four acclaimed albums (including her 2004 Interscope debut “The Disconnection”), supported Ryan Adams and Coldplay, and toured with James Blunt and Annie Lennox. Justin Rutledge has also found success as a solo artist, having released four acclaimed albums, been nomination for a Juno Award, and opened for Dolly Parton. Dan Burns is an established producer / engineer / mixer / songwriter. His credits include Andrew W.K., Diddy, Lenka, Michelle Branch, and Rob Zombie. Zac Rae is also a member of the band Pedestrian, which has toured with Damien Rice and Our Lady Peace, and he is credited as a musician on releases by Annie Lennox, Kris Allen, Macy Gray, and Meiko.
Northern Cats: North Rising!
Northern Cats is a music company like no other.
The brainchild of two music industry professionals, we have a goal. To nurture, develop and guide up & coming artists through the pitfalls of the ever changing music industry. Our products and services can be purchased individually or as part of our highly recommended package schemes. We are always interested to hear from up & coming artists of all levels and profiles, so feel free to contact us for more information.
Northern Cats Development offer’s artists advice, guidance and carer advancement. Artist Development is not just about making a plan. It is a service that entails, continued support and guidance, working as a team, to get your music, recordings and live show to a professional standard, with the aim of releasing music, attracting record companies, publishing houses and booking agents, as well as helping you the artist to create a business and income from your music. Our aim is to help talented artists seek a path that suits the individual or project, with a tailor made action plan and continued support, that will ensure any strategy is seen through to fruition.
Development packages include, Album and Single Recording / Business Advice / Marketing / Pre Production / Social Media awareness / Song Development / Production
With over 15 years experience in music production, Northern Cats have the skill, knowledge and ability to meet any of your recording and production needs.
Working out of our own studio facility in Stockport, Cheshire, which over the years has been home to many International recording artists, musicians and acts such as: Happy Mondays, Badly Drawn Boy, Shaun Ryder, Peter Hook, Mani, Andy Rourke, Johnny Marr, Doves, Cherry Ghost, and Starsailor. We have recorded and produced demos, EP’s, singles and albums for hundreds of new up and coming acts. Recording new and undiscovered music is something that excites us as a company; so what ever level you feel that your music is at please don’t hesitate to get in touch as I’m sure we will be able to help.
Remember that without new music, there would be no music industry. We have recording packages and services to suit all levels and budgets including: Recording / Production / Pre - Production / Programming / Re-mix / Mastering
We can also supply producers, engineers, session musicians, vocalists and string and brass arrangers. Northern Cats have contacts with both residential and non-residential studios in both the U.K and Western Europe. We also have portable recording facilities to record live shows and also not to limit the recoding process just to the traditional studio environment i.e. Barns, Churches, Stately homes literally anywhere that suits the vibe and mood of your music
Who are we
Andy Fletcher: Event Management & Promotion - Festival Organiser - Producer – Musician - Artist Manager – Live Sound Engineer
Andy started promoting live music events in 2005 fresh from studying HND Music at university. He has promoted and worked on various size events from small intimate local events, to large national touring events. Andy is a curator and director of Manchester newest and brightest Urban festival “Hungry Pigeon”, which for the first time ever in Manchester’s history, brought a live outdoor Music events to Piccadilly Gardens. Having learnt his craft over the past 10 years Andy has produced and arranged music to a popular and degree level. He has an extensive knowledge of different musical instruments, music theory and computer technology.
Previous Clients include – Arctic Monkeys – Athlete - Pete Docherty – Reverend & The Makers – The Kooks – Detroit Social Club - The Jessie Rose Trip to name just a few.
Dan Broad: Producer - Engineer - Session Musician - Recording Artist
Having worked in the music industry for over 15 years, Dan has established himself as a Producer / Engineer by working with a whole host of household names at Manchester recording studio, Moolah Rouge. As well as worked on the 2007 Happy Mondays album Unkle Dysfunktional as a mix engineer, Dan is currently writing and performing with the Happy Mondays across the UK & the rest of the world.
Dan has a BA HONS in Popular Music after graduating from Salford University in 1991 & currently holds endorsement deals with Roland, Line 6 and SE Electronics and has work with the following record companies: EMI; Heavenly; Sony/BMG Sanctuary Records; Chrysalis; Epitaph; Warner Dance; Ministry Of Sound; Hed Kandi; Freestyle; Moving Shadow.
Previous/Current Clients include – Happy Mondays, Badly Drawn Boy, I Am Kloot, Cherry Ghost, Doves, Peter Hook, Black Grape, Johnny Marr & The Cribs
Topman CTRL: Live! / CH4
Topman CTRL: Liverpool: December 2010
Oh how in this the 1st year of the next decade of the new century we have seen Brands shift their focus from being what they are and what they do to where they want to go!
No more is that true than at Topman where they have embraced modern culture and especially music and artists to showcase their clothing range, and it makes perfect sense to me, artists wear clothes, they play gigs in clothes! Topman sells clothes, has a radio station in it’s stores… Next move… Join it together… Do it Live…
So on a freezing Tuesday night we head into Liverpool to a cool underground venue called ‘The Shipping Forcast’ which is packed so tight it could go on holiday…
First up Liverpool band ‘Hot Club De Paris’ with their juxtaposed sound and funtime lyrics and in-between song banter such as “I’m going to stay in bed and wank all day on benefits…. Hold on, No I want to be a rich wanker.” All good fun and with their ‘Scouse’ sense of humour both delivered and taken in equal measure, their songs are short, sharp and concise, like a poke in the eye with a stick. They can be often difficult to listen to because of their off-kilter approach, none of this however makes them any less engaging or essential, and an impressive live performance from an ever improving Liverpool band.
Second order of the day comes from ‘press darlings’ Frankie & The Heartstrings who play tonight following a 2-page NME feature from the week before, and I have to say that the hype is justified. They certainly fall into the ‘retro-now’ sphere, with an 80s kick-back done by sons of Britpop, so imagine Duran Duran playing Smiths songs with Pulp but in this century… I know you can’t, which is why you have to see this band as they are - infectious to the core - with songs that not only live in your head for hours after, but their image, delivery and the sheer bloody heart attack of their live show leaves you wanting more and essentially needing to own an album by them. I hope to be able to do both sooner rather than later!
Headlining tonights ‘CTRL’ are The Futureheads, not sure when they last played a room this small, but I have to say I’m glad they did. The jam-packed crowd jumped, swayed and sang along to every word, with the band themselves on fine form. They have a recent album that seems to have slipped through the cracks, and that’s a shame because they don’t play a bad song tonight. Opening with ‘Chaos’ closing wth ‘Jupiter’ they bookend a frantic set that includes both old faves and future classics. I was suprised I have to admit, like many, I had thought of the band as ‘past their sell by date’ when in fact nothing could be further from the truth. I saw the band tonight in a new light, but also as fresh, vibrant and having much to offer in the years ahead…
So overall tonight a great package with good sound in a good venue. Praise is due to everyone from the girl on the door to the bar staff, and here’s hoping that not only do we see and hear more from ‘CTRL’ but that they can move to bigger venues in the city, and take this idea from backstreets to mainstreet… Topman… Top Night Out… Jj 2010…
My Major Company: A New Way!
My Major Company Achieve First Fully Funded UK Act
MyMajorCompany.co.uk opened its doors on Thursday 21st October and within four days pop/rock act IvyRise have raised £100,000, the amount required to become My Major Company’s first fully funded UK act. This incredible feat proves that UK has a real apatite for this new and unique format.
IvyRise are the perfect example as to why this new format really works. Overlooked by the current record label infrastructure, this incredibly hard working act have been championed by My Major Companies open A&R’ing policy. The band have built an incredible fan base which has translated in to this amazing level of investment.
MyMajorCompany.co.uk gives fans a voice and allows them to choose which artist to launch, supporting them financially and artistically from the very start, not to mention giving fans the chance to make money on the music they love.
Once the fans have spoken, MMC have a highly skilled and experienced team of music industry experts, MMC’s CEO is the former CEO of Warner International, in place to make an artists dream reality. It is unlike any other artist investment sites; the total investment is not used for an unspecified or one-off purpose, fans have the ability to get involved in every stage in the development of THEIR act.
MMC have pioneered a truly unique model that has already been a huge success in France. One fan investment of €6000 resulted in a repayment of a staggering €118,000, over 19 times the original investment. The act, Gregoire, has had a number one album and single in France, and has now sold in excess of 1 million records, all released through MMC. Gregoire also offered his investors the opportunity to be in the video for his number one single ‘Toi+Moi’.
Gregoire is by no means MMC’s only success in France. Released in January, Joyce Jonathan had already reached gold status by March. More recently an artist named Alex Kassel had his single playlisted on one of France’s most influential radio stations within four weeks of him appearing on the site. In less than a month, this unknown artist has become one of the hottest new artists in France. MyMajorCompany France now has 28 fully financed artists with a community of 98,500 registered users.
MMC’s UK Debut Artist Roster - Apples / Clay / Hearts Under Fire / Ivyrise / Millers Daughter / Some Velvet Morning / The Chain / Sets / The Draytones / Citadels
New York Dolls Interview
Photo: Chris Becke
The Making of The New Album WALKING BACKWARD IN HIGH HEELS
By Mick Burgess
Back in September 2010, Syl Sylvain was interviewed when the New York Dolls were recording their latest album at Blast Studios in Newcastle, England. During the recording of the album, the band also performed three sold out concerts at local Newcastle venue, “The Cluny” on September 4th, 5th and 6th.
You’ve got the whole world to choose from, so what brings a bunch of New Yorkers over to sunny Newcastle to record new material?
I guess its work you know, and Newcastle has been such an incredibly nice, hospitable place for us. They come out of the pubs to see us when we’re walking down the road. We played three nights at The Cluny and we were so well received. There’s such warmth and open hearts round here, that it’s the place to be. For any musician, you go to where you are wanted the most and right now for us its here in Newcastle. One of the main reasons that we are here is because of Ged and Eric at Demolition Records up here in Newcastle. They had so much faith in us and just loved what we were doing and they really wanted us to come over to do the record.
Is this the first time you’ve recorded in England?
No, no, we’ve recorded here many times before throughout the ages but it’s our first time in Newcastle. You’ve been over for a few weeks now, how have you found life in England compared to the States? It’s just so friendly over here. There is such a warm hand that people give out to you no matter where you are from.
Have you been able to sample any of the local delights or have you been pretty much hard at work the whole time you’ve been here?
We haven’t really had that much time to get out of the studio but as busy as we have been we have been stepping out here and there. I have been into the City Centre for a little while which was fantastic. I just love Newcastle.
What about a football match? That’s big up here in Newcastle…
Oh, no I haven’t been to one yet. That would be like a vacation for us. We just didn’t have the time to do that unfortunately. Maybe next time?
The main reason that you are here is to record a new album which is the follow up to last years Cause I Sez So. This will be your 5th studio album in almost 40 years so in New York Dolls terms this is pretty fast work since your last one. Are you in a rich vein of writing form at the moment?
It is a prolific time for us but having said that as a writer, you’re always bustin’ out a tune, at least one that you want to hear. I still like to write. The way I hear things coming out, I think it’s the most creative record that the New York Dolls, and me and David in particular, have ever done. We’ve worked with a lot of great people and I’m not putting anybody down and I’m not trying to compare it with earlier versions of The Dolls but as far as song-writing goes I think that these are the best songs that we have ever come up with.
As far as style goes Cause I Sez So was probably the most varied New York Dolls release to date and in many cases was quite a departure from your rock`n`roll roots. Will you be spreading your musical net widely again or will you be keeping things simple and direct?
What they love us for is “Personality Crisis”, “Looking For A Kiss”, “Trash” and stuff like that but we’ve already done that. We don’t have to make records. We have a name which we can use and perform probably for the rest of our lives. That’s not the kind of musicians and performers that we are. We’re doomed to write songs whether they are good or not, are well received or not, or flop like they did in the beginning.
We were told that we didn’t know how to sing, we didn’t know how to write and we couldn’t tune a guitar so why even bother, but you know what? We thought we looked pretty damned good doing that, even if it was a big crash. We had the last laugh though. It’s like those guys that’ll say “You only had one hit” but at least we got there once!!
We never really wanted to be stars, that was never in our minds, not that we never had that conversation, but we just became that. We thought it would be nice to last for two weeks as we just wanted to entertain ourselves. The norm of the day was so mundane. Stadium Rock `n` Roll became more like opera and nothing to do what we thought Rock `n` Roll should be.
As musicians, we cannot help but do something that’s important to us, and that is to write new music. We may feud and fight and try to make the best out of things. It’s sometimes a love and hurt situation, but we come up with new music that represents what we are about today and at this moment we want to do a record that shows many different sides to the band.
Before you entered the studio in Newcastle did you have any ideas or demos already prepared or has everything been written from scratch?
We had a lot of ideas and we’ve had a long time to work on them….about two weeks, or as you say, a fortnight! We came as prepared as possible as we all have different commitments with performing and solo careers so we didn’t have that much time really, but it’s not the time that’s important, it’s how much you can pour out of your soul.
How do you tend to write? Do you all bring ideas to the table and knock them around until a song develops or do you tend to jam together and develop ideas that come from these?
That’s very close to how we do it. A lot of time there’s the hand signals saying “Yeah, that’s great” or “No, that’s shit”. We work through a lot of ideas by improvisation and we learn a lot through live performance. We did the shows at The Cluny where we played through some of our new songs, some of them were more complete than others. We played them, worked on them, and improved them by playing them live and seeing how they worked and made changes where we thought necessary.
New York Dolls New Album/Tour
Blast Records is proud to announce the signing of the legendary NEW YORK DOLLS and the release of their fifth full-length album, “Dancing Backward in High Heels”, released in the UK on Monday 14th March 2011, followed by a full pan-European release on Friday 18th March 2011.
The follow-up to 2009’s “Cause I Sez So” was recorded in September 2010 at Blast Recording Studios in Newcastle, England with producer Jason Hill (Louis XIV/The Killers) and features original NYD members, David Johansen (vocals) and Sylvain Sylvain (guitar) with Brian Delaney (drums), Jason Hill (bass) and original Blondie guitarist Frank Infante.
The CD will be packaged with a bonus DVD filmed during the recording of the album, incorporating previous unseen footage and “live” audio tracks from the bands three sold-out performances at The Cluny venue in Newcastle, on September 4th, 5th and 6th 2010.
Sylvain Sylvain stated about the new recording: “I think this is the most creative record that the New York Dolls, and me and David in particular, have ever done. We’ve worked with a lot of great people and I’m not putting anybody down and I’m not trying to compare it with earlier versions of The Dolls but as far as song-writing goes I think that these are the best songs that we have ever come up with”.
Click HERE to read Sylvain Sylvain’s exclusive interview The making of the new album - “Dancing Backward in High Heels” written by Mick Burgess.
NEW YORK DOLLS originally formed in 1971, the New York Dolls are best known for influencing a generation of artists in New York and London who went on to form the first punk rock and heavy metal bands. Largely influenced themselves by the rock and roll of the Rolling Stones and the Stooges as well as the glam rock made by David Bowie and T. Rex, the legendary original Dolls line-up only recorded two ground-breaking, seminal albums, New York Dolls and Too Much Too Soon, before disbanding in 1976.
After reuniting in 2004 (at the behest of Morrissey, the head of the band’s UK fan club in the 1970s), the band went on to record a pair of critically acclaimed records - 2006’s One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This and 2009’s ‘Cause I Sez So.
www.nydolls.org
www.facebook.com/nydolls
www.myspace.com/newyorkdolls
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Shakenstir Photo Supplement |
DPK: Digital Press Kit |
Simple Minds |
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