Roxor Blog

Singer Matthew Caws of band Nada Surf performs on stage during their concert at the Rock-en-Seine Festival in Saint-Cloud near Paris last year. The band is attempting a come-back with their release of “Lucky” available in stores on February 5, 2008. Caws says the record represents another step forward for the band. “We are always asking ourselves, ‘Can we make another good record?”‘ he says. “I feel like this album is strong, and I’m glad we made it.

Seattle-based Barsuk Records is in the process of developing a publicity plan, however president Josh Rosenfeld worries the Hollywood writers strike, which has sent most of the late-night TV shows into reruns, may mean missed opportunities.

“This is a band with a great licensing history, and we wanted placement on TV shows to be part of the album’s rollout,” Rosenfeld says. “We were also hoping to do the usual late-night shows, but all that is up in the air if the strike continues.”

It was a scene to behold: the café was covered in prints that Nick shot during illegal urban explorations of squats in Berlin, there was a bunch of half-naked Australians lurking out in the freezing cold practicing an esoteric Japanese dance form.

A makeshift gypsy band hidden under the concrete stairwell, an aerialist from Montreal hanging above a pair of drunken secretaries from L.A., a beat-boxing New Yorker looping himself infinitely, a pair of British buskers with Mohawks beating wildly on household objects, a collection of puppeteered Barbie dolls lip-synching to “Ace of Spades,” a roving confessional booth and a magnetic science experiment using My Little Ponies.

Oh, and then The Dolls beat the living daylights out of a piano, and a drum-set while everyone sang along.

Watch a clip of the Backstabber video

Watch a clip of the Coin Operated Boy video

Watch a clip of the Girl Anachronism video

Reel Big Fish is finally releasing its first independent studio album since leaving its former label. The self-produced Monkeys For Nothin’ And The Chimps For Free finds the members of Reel Big Fish doing things their way. In fact, it features material done their way, from quite a long ways back.

“We decided we were going to do a B-sides and rarities thing, but we didn’t have anything to release, so we were going to re-record some things that we were going to call B-sides and rarities,” explains Barrett. “But then we realized that most of that stuff no one had ever heard, so it wasn’t really B-sides and rarities, it was just new songs. But those weren’t good enough, so we wrote some new songs that were actually new, and suddenly we’re making a new album.”

After more than 15 years of conveying negative vibes, warning listeners about the dangers of being in a band and lamenting their time in the music industry, the members of Southern California ska-punk stalwarts Reel Big Fish want to let the world know of a big change: They’re finally happy.

Listen to Party Down

Gainesville, Florida five-piece Sister Hazel is planning to release a B-sides disc this summer. “BAM! Volume 1” is scheduled to hit store shelves on June 8th and is the follow-up release to the band’s latest studio album, “Absolutely,” which was released in October 2006. Since everyone in the band writes, there tends to be a lot of music that battles for space on each Sister Hazel CD. The best solution for what is a very good problem to have? “BAM! Volume 1.”

“One day we just said, ‘Let’s build a home for [these songs],’” said the band’s drummer, Mark Trojanowski. “That’s part of the beauty of being an independent artist. When you get fired up about the music, you can just skip the red tape and pull the trigger.”

Sister Hazel – “On Your Mind

Sister Hazel - ”Boy Next Door”

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MONTEREY INTERNATIONAL POP FESTIVAL, a two-CD retrospective hand-selected from the stellar line-up of performances at the historic 1967 music festival.

I used to have the album that had Hendrix on one side and Otis Redding on the other, but this collection not only features rare early performances from now music legends including Jefferson Airplane, The Who, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Mamas and the Papas and Big Brother & The Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin, but also features previously-unreleased tracks from Simon & Garfunkel and Buffalo Springfield.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the ground-breaking event held in Monterey, California, which launched the careers of many of the artists who performed.

Held in 1967 on June 16, 17 and 18, the Monterey International Pop Festival was the first major rock festival (preceding Woodstock by two years), drawing hundreds of thousands of people together. Almost every aspect of it was a “first,” including the diversity of the lineup which not only blended all ethnicities but crossed several musical boundaries including rock, pop, jazz, soul, R&B, psychedelia, folk and classical music.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the festival, a series of events will take place over the next few months. These events kicked off with a screening of the film, Monterey Pop, at this year’s South by Southwest conference which was preceded by a panel featuring Lou Adler, Andrew Loog Oldham and The Mamas And The Papas’ Michelle Phillips. In addition, there will be a special exhibit at The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and a Hollywood RockWalk induction ceremony. VH1 is also creating a documentary about the festival to air on the June 16th anniversary.

Listen:

Janis Joplin & Big Brother and the Holding Company – “Down on Me

The Jimi Hendrix Experience – “Like a Rolling Stone”

The Who - My Generation

The Virginia Beach, VA alt/pop/rock band Days Difference has been labeled “America’s answer to Coldplay” ( Is that a good thing? ) and their debut CD “Numbers” will be available everywhere June 5th.

This is the second time Days Difference will be featured on Pure Volume. Just this past Saturday, the band’s music received 18,546 plays, hit number 1 under Top Artists, and over 400 people purchased their music at I-Tunes.”Numbers” will be supported by a tour east of the Mississippi with dates beginning locally and branching out to other states in the Southeast, Northeast and the Midwest. “Numbers” was recorded at Red Cell Studio with producer Jim Anderson at the helm and is distributed by Redeye.

Days Difference believes music is about people with every song they write. “Experience, conviction, and the passions and sorrows of life really define who people are,” says vocalist Jeremy Smith. “Really, it’s the things we and the people around us go through every day that inspire us to write and play. We want to create something tangible, something our audience can relate to. That’s what we are about.” Drummer, Jonathan Smith, adds, “Our band’s name, Days Difference, is the idea that everyone should live each day like its their last. Live life to the fullest. Don’t regret not pursuing what you really love. Take risks, jump at challenges.”

Over-nite sensation (1973) and “Apostrophe(‘)” (1974) encapsulate the extraordinary musical diversity of Frank Zappa and were the two most commercially successful albums he ever released.

This classic album retrospective offers rare interviews, musical demonstrations, rare archive and home movie video footage, plus live performances to tell the story behind the conception and recording of these groundbreaking albums.

There are contributions from Frank’s family, friends and colleagues including Billy Bob Thornton, Alice Cooper, Steve Vai and Warren Cucurullo.

Frank Zappa - DVD Preview Clip

John Mayall, the “Godfather of British Blues”, returns with the Bluesbreakers for his latest studio album “In The Palace of The King”.

This new album is John’s tribute to one of his blues heroes, the late, great Freddie King. King was a blues guitar pioneer from the mid-50’s through to his tragically early death in the mid-70’s and he influenced everyone from Peter Green to Dave Edmunds to Stevie Ray Vaughan and probably most of all Eric Clapton, who produced and played on King’s final album.

“In The Palace of The King” features John Mayall’s take on his personal selection of Freddie King favorites and is a fabulous combination of two true blues legends.

Download the Palace Of The King MP3

Live In Glasgow, recorded in October of 2006 on the last date of his Sold Out UK tour (which included a date at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall),  is stunning proof that Rodgers’ voice sounds as good as ever - and that is saying something.

This CD includes brand new songs “Warboys (A Prayer for Peace)” and “Far Distant Shore,”  as well as songs he has not performed in 35 years, and many of his hits, including “All Right Now,” “Feel Like Making Love” and “Can’t Get Enough.” Soulful, bluesy, swaggering, he belts out his songs, and also plays piano and guitar.

Download Warboys 

Download I just want to see you smile

MRNORTH returns in early ‘07 with their new album “Fear & Desire,” but in the meantime band fans can enjoy a digital-only EP, “Sleeping Dogs,” which is set for release in November. The five-song virtual platter was recorded at the same time as the forthcoming album, and both came together in three different spats of creativity over the last 6 months.

For now, check out the streaming audio of So Many Things Read the rest of this entry »