Q. First off let me say that I haven't been so excited about a new artist in awhile...
I have to imagine that there is that same excitement everywhere you go with the reception of the new album (Mirrors)?
A. The reception so far has been exciting but we've only been able to see it over the internet, so it feels a bit impersonal. We are just starting to travel again so it should be interesting to see what parts of the country are responding to it at this point.
Q. Your voice is such a powerful and clean voice, it is refreshing to hear rock being made successfully without the in your face sound and attitude, that I admittedly like in a band, but you guys prove that there is pleasure outside of that brand of rock-n-roll. How did the band find itself, and find a sound that had been lost in the decades of rock?
A. I have only been singing for about 4 years now so I feel like I'm still at the beginning of exploring the range and testing the limits of my voice. I'm constantly reminded there's much to learn and experiment with, so who knows what it will be like on the next record. That being said, with this first album, we felt after playing together for two years we had settled into more of a sound we were comfortable with pursuing. We wanted the record to sound big but not over produced. There was also a constant struggle to maintain subtlety but still work in some big statements. We didn't just want to bathe things in reverb and effects and call it a day....we wanted to try to craft something affected but striking at the same time. I feel like our live shows are more intense than the album but we wanted that way. With the album we wanted it to have a layered feeling so that over time a listener could continue to peel back and find something new. I don't know if we'll have the same process for every album but this is what we were striving for with Mirrors.
Q. On the single "Monte Carlo" off the new album you can definitely hear the Fleetwood Mac sound behind the harmonizing and up tempo acoustics offset with the wining of the lead guitar accompanying, are there any other artists that helped influence the making of this album?
A. For some of the more acoustic material, Mark Kozelek has always been a big influence. His bands, Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon have been mainstays over the years for my brother and I. As far as other songs, there were different touchstones that ranged from Smashing Pumpkins, to Kurt Vile, to Led Zeppelin, to Ennio Morricone. It may just depend to what we are listening to at the time and what inspires us to write.
Q. Being a Washington D.C. based band, do you know of any local politicians that are really digging your sound right now? If not then I may need to pool together a group of readers for lobbying.
A. There may be some out there, I'm just not personally aware. I do know that Barack Obama follows us on twitter.
Q. What should my readers be looking forward to from you guys? Any big shows or festivals lined up for this spring/summer?
A. We have a tour that's posted on our website right now that hits a lot of major cities throughout America. We are working on some other things for later in the spring and summer but don't want to announce anything yet. People can also sign up with our email list to stay up to date or just check back with us in a month.
Thanks again for your time, I hope to catch you guys on the road at some point! -- Rebeleven Music
The Bonnaroo lineup has once again impressed as it hosts the who's who of bands in this years festival. The festival has kept the lineup under tight security only giving clues that would give even the best code crackers a run at their money, but today the festival has finally given fans what they've wanted. It's hard to say who is headlining among this list as bands such as Buffalo Springfield reuniting with Neil Young, Steve Stills, and Richie Furay all in tote, and appearances from Gregg Allman as well as Robert Plant and his Band of Joy. Though the list really could end there and attract enough attention to fill the hippy haven, other artists will include the Album of the Year winning Arcade Fire, Widespread Panic, The Black Keys, My Morning Jacket, Mumford and Sons, String Cheese Incident, The Strokes, The Decemberists, Ray Lamontagne, Iron & Wine, Primus, Allison Krauss, Florence and the Machine, Cold War Kids, The Walkmen, Wanda Jackson, Sleigh Bells, Amos Lee, The Sword, The Drums, The Black Angels, Justin Townes Earle, Ryan Bingham, Band of Skulls, Kylesa, Loretta Lynn, Smith Westerns, Jessica Lea Mayfield, and Hayes Carll! If that doesn't make your heart pump harder and blood flush to the extremeties to that create life then I'm not sure if you're alive. For the complete lineup including many more pop artists visit http://www.bonnaroo.com/Artists.aspx that is if the site can stay up long enough due to the flood of fans on the site!
Arcade Fire wins the big award of the night taking home Album of the Year at the 53rd Grammy Awards last night
"The Suburbs" - directed by Spike Jonze
Bob Dylan accompanied by Mumford & Sons and Avett Brothers at last nights Grammys
Grammy Winners Continued
Best Alternative Music Album - The Black Keys (Brothers)
Best Traditional Folk Album - Carolina Chocolate Drops (Genuine Negro Jig)
Best Contemporary Folk Album - Ray Lamontagne (God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise)
Best Compilation Soundtrack Album - Crazy Heart (Various Artists)
Best Song Written for Motion Picture/TV/other visual media - Ryan Bingham "The Weary Kind"
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals - The Black Keys "Tighten Up"
Best Metal Performance - Iron Maiden "El Dorado"
Best Rock Instrumental Performance - Jeff Beck "Hammerhead"
Best Rock Song - Neil Young "Angry World"
Best Rock Album - Muse (The Resistance)
The Strokes release new single "Under Cover of Darkness" giving fans their first taste of their upcoming album (Angles) which is set to be released March 22nd
The Kills (Allison Mossheart of The Dead Weather and British guitarist/Kate Moss-Counterpart Jamie Hince) debut their new music video for the sing "Sattelites" off the album "Blood Pressures" due out April 5th
Foo Fighters tune in on a heavier new sound for their new album giving fans a taste in their new music video for "White Limo" featurting Lemmy from Motorhead
Also available at http://www.foofighters.com/us/front are teasers for additional songs off the unnamed album
The new Radiohead album (The King of Limbs) that has been through the rumormill for the past three years, has just been anounced now available for presale on the digital dowload versions of the album due this weekend, February 19th.
The presale will include an option of buying a "newspaper album" version including
•Two clear 10" vinyl records in a purpose-built record sleeve.
•A compact disc.
•Many large sheets of artwork, 625 tiny pieces of artwork and a full-colour piece of oxo-degradeable plastic to hold it all together.
•The Newspaper Album comes with a digital download that is compatible with all good digital media players.
•The Newspaper Album will be shipped on Monday 9th May 2011 you can, however, enjoy the download on Saturday 19th February 2011.
•Shipping is included in the prices shown.
•One lucky owner of the digital version of The King Of Limbs, purchased from this website, will receive a signed 2 track 12" vinyl.
