Hey kids! Everyone's favourite uncle, Brother Ali, will make his network television debut tonight on - is there any other late-night show, really? - Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Not only does Coney Cone Cone have the tightest band in show business, but the show's musical guests are better booked than anywhere else. So watch Brother Ali tear it up, repping Rhymesayers Entertainment, tonight! Check local listings yadda yadda yadda.
I wish he was mine, but sadly, Snowball belongs to a US family, and dances his little cockatoo butt off. Ta da!
The D conducted an early-morning freezing-cold interview with Minneapolis rapper Brother Ali today; it will be posted when time permits, along with some other long-lost-but-now-found material from Strike Anywhere, Comeback Kid and more. We were supposed to have something with Sights & Sounds(new on Smallman Records, featuring CBK singer Andrew on guitar/vocals), but that fell through because rock stars are unpredictable, shady characters at best. Next time.
Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong is psyched that Al Gore won hisself a Nobel Peace Prize: "People aren't just talking about [global warming], we're really starting to live it. And I feel that Al Gore has been very influential in bringing this into the mainstream. Kudos to you, Al Gore." In other news, the former US veep will return to Futurama in the upcoming Bender's Big Score. Sick! [punknews]
What is with the RIAA lately? The Recording Industry Association of America apparently persists in listing affiliations to record labels that have no wish to be affiliated with the organization, removing names upon request only to re-add them later when the website is retooled. Get over yourselves.
The Reason headline a bill also featuring Sights & Sounds(featuring alumni from Comeback Kid) and Sick City tonight at Mavericks, 221 Rideau St. in downtown Ottawa. 6:30pm, ten bones. See you there chumps. Brother Ali and Blueprint rap a lot tomorrow night at Babylon. See you there, chumps!
The legendary Bob Mould(Husker Du, Sugar) has signed with Anti- Recordings; the man who's dabbled in electronic and dance music will play guitar rock for his label debut, backed by, among others, Fugazi's Brendan Canty on drums. Check out Bob's Myspace for his older stuff. [punknews]
Today's is-the-music-industry-collapsing? piece: voila!
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones announced earlier today on Boston radio that they'll be doing five shows for the days immediately following Christmas Day in their home state of Massachusetts. No mention was made of a tour or other happenings; just these five shows for now. But we can hope!
Your rainy-Tuesday eastern-Ontario Brockville update for October 9th.
Yours truly gets to see Tegan & Sara tomorrow night in Ottawa; the show has been sold out for months. Don't ask him how he does it.
In a bit of celebratory news, my brother Dan and his new wife Mira were married in Hamilton, ON this past Saturday. The happy couple have abandoned their blogs to create a new joint venture right over here. Two better people don't exist, and we wish them the very best.
On a sad note, prayers are asked for the wife and family of the D's webmaster Brody; his father-in-law has been diagnosed with cancer, and the prognosis is not good. We ask for your thoughts and prayers and general best wishes. Thanks.
And now, the news.
Your Essential Listening for today is Tooth & Nail Records' newest signees, Oregon's A Dream Too Late; reminiscent of a happier Copeland perhaps. Listen here!
Trustkill Records won't be too happy with Throwdown's Dave Peters and his recent statements on record labels - or will they? "If you're supporting disc sales, you're keeping the old model around longer," Peters said. "If you wanna really support a band, 'steal' their album, help bury the label, buy a t-shirt when you show up at their show and sing every word." Done and done. [hxc]
Speaking of labels, Nine Inch Nails are no longer at all affiliated with one, and Trent Reznor couldn't be happier about it. "I've waited a LONG time to be able to make the following announcement: as of right now Nine Inch Nails is a totally free agent, free of any recording contract with any label." We'll see where The Dark One takes it from here...
Worship, in the eyes and minds of Impending Doom(perhaps the most brutal band in the history of Facedown Records), has been replaced by "gorship." Yes. To hear about this new fad sweeping America, check out the band's interview in Decibel magazine. The revolution continues. The band, by the way, will kick off a cross-USA tour with Too Pure To Die in November.
Underoath continue to mess with the minds of the fans who want the same record, over and over again: keyboardist and all-around good joe Chris Dudley said recently, "We aren't quite sure how the [new] songs are shaping up quite yet because it's so early, but as they are now, some of them are heavier than Define the Great Line, some are not. It's kind of all over the place." In a related story, the band are also presently filming footage for a high-definition DVD out sometime next year.
Two vastly different bands I quite like, Strung Out and Edison Glass, have both been robbed of a large amount of belongings while on tour in the last week. Am I the only one thinking that there is a network of thieves out there who are conspiring to aim solely for touring acts?
Despite the opinion of some that they don't have much left in the tank based on their hugely-grossing reunion tour this summer, The Police may in fact be working on a new studio album. I'd still give it a listen. [buzzgrinder]
Puddle of Mudd have a new independent release out as of last week. I for one didn't know they were still a functioning unit. An Ottawa guy apparently wrote 'Drift and Die' and had it stolen from him by some A&R weasel. This story remains unconfirmed though.
Stolen straight from buzzgrinder: the jury's verdict in the Recording Industry Association of America's case against Minnesota native Jammie Thomas has been handed down. She was found guilty of sharing files illegally and has been ordered to pay $9,250 a piece for 24 songs, totaling $220,000. She was the first of the people sued by the RIAA to go to court, and this does not bode well. Apparently music is, was and will always be a commodity worth suing over. Sad.
Apparently Fred Mascherino's side gig The Color Fred is so important that he's left his main thing, a little band called Taking Back Sunday. TBS soldier on.
The popular-music climate is changing - Every Time I Die will appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Halloween. Wow.
They were forced to cancel their appearance in Ottawa with Sworn Enemy earlier this year, and now look at 'em: Suicide Silence, MTV-banned video and all, hit #94 on the Billboard 200 last week. Good on 'em.
Life In Your Way are incredible.
After apparently logging 246 shows in support of Saturday Night Wrist - which didn't stop the album from tanking - Deftones have returned to Sacramento, CA to begin work on album number six. Prolific, if not always consistent. [theprp]
This just in from the D's girlfriend Carly: in a surprise move, Bon Jovi have announced via their official website that they'll be playing Ottawa out at Scotiabank Place November 17th as part of a Canadian tour. Tickets go on sale at the usual outlets this coming Saturday. Are you living' on a prayer? Do you give love a bad name?? Be there!
Blast from the past: Arrested Development will release their first album since 1992's hit 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days In The Life Of... with the upcoming Since The Last Time, due out October 30th on Vagabond Records & Tapes. Amazing! [Paste]
Radiohead continue to break new ground: the band's new album In Rainbows will be exclusively available through the band's website - not that this breaks new ground, but the price does: fans can pay virtually whatever they want. According to MSN, fans will be presented with a blank price box in which they can enter any amount, from roughly two cents(one British pound) upwards. Hooray innovation.