Here’s a little afterno…er, evening delight for ya!

A few people found The Faint’s lead single, ‘The Geeks Were Right’ - off their soon-to-be-released album, Fasciinatiion - to be a little pedestrian compared to some of their earlier work. I didn’t (I dig it), but certainly this remix from Does It Offend You, Yeah? should silence such complaints. DIOYY take the original and lather it up with their signature remix brand of lo-fi electro-stompitude. The end result sort of sounds like the original had it gone through a wood chipper.

If you missed it, be sure to check out my interview with lead singer Todd Fink here.

MP3: The Faint - The Geeks Were Right (DIOYY REMIX)

- Sean

Right, I need to get a few bands off my chest at the moment. With the Hydroconnect giveaway running I have decided to do a Smash or Trash Video styleee!!!! I actually like all these artists but let me know who you wanna hear more of and I will post away.

- Mark

Walter Meego are 7 shades of fabulous! And lo and behold, they’re actually from the USA (kind of a surprise when most 70’s/80’s-tinged synthrock tends to come out of Australia these days).

This is one of those bands I’ve been inexplicably sitting on for far too long. Here’s a brief background:

Justin Sconza (vox) and Colin Yarck (beats/synthesizers) met in college at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois. Justin grew up in Beverly. Beverly is on the south side of Chicago. Justin, who writes many of Walter Meego’s songs has said in interviews his style comes mostly from jazz and oldies, as well as the the Beatles and Nirvana. Colin grew up in Park Ridge, which is on the north side of Chicago. Both the guys in Walter Meego have said they were influenced by American pop music from the early 1990s.

You’ve probably heard their track ‘Forever’ in that Heineken beer commercial. It’s beyond catchy. Their debut Voyager hit stores back in May, without a terrific amount of fanfare (from what I could see). That’s odd to me, because this is clearly in a similar category to Midnight Juggernauts, Cut Copy and Van She, though I’d say they incorporate even more classic pop elements. Of all the modern revivalists, I think Walter Meego have the greatest mainstream crossover potential.

And hey, I love them even more because they’re actually coming to AZ! Although they’re playing at Modified, which isn’t the best format for this kind of music. Still! I predict they will return and demand will ensure they play a bigger venue.

Do yourself a favor and pick up the album: Amazon InSound

MP3: Walter Meego - Forever

Tourdates:
Sep 04 The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern Toronto Ontario Canada
Sep 05 Mojo’s Jamestown NY US
Sep 06 Bug Jar Rochester NY US
Sep 07 Syracuse University Syracuse NY US
Sep 10 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland OH US
Sep 11 Subterranean Chicago IL US
Sep 12 7th Street Entry Minneapolis MN US
Sep 14 Jackpot Saloon Lawrence KS US
Sep 16 Hi-Dive Denver CO US
Sep 17 Kilby Court Salt Lake City UT US
Sep 18 Neurolux Boise ID US
Sep 20 King Cobra Seattle WA US
Sep 22 Doug Fir Lounge Portland OR US
Sep 24 Rickshaw Stop San Francisco CA US
Sep 25 The Echo Los Angeles CA US
Sep 28 The Casbah San Diego CA US
Sep 29 Modified Phoenix AZ US
Sep 30 Plush Tucson AZ US
Oct 03 Stubb’s Bar-B-Q Austin TX US
Oct 04 Rudyard’s Houston TX US
Oct 07 The Social Orlando FL US
Oct 08 Club Downunder Tallahassee FL US
Oct 10 The Drunken Unicorn Atlanta GA US
Oct 11 Local 506 Chapel Hill NC US
Oct 12 Black Cat Washington DC US
Oct 14 Ottobar Baltimore MD US
Oct 15 Johnny Brenda’s Philadelphia PA US
Oct 18 Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub - Downstairs Cambridge MA

- Sean

So Sean kinda stole my thunder on The Joy Formidable with the posting of the ‘Austere’ video last week! They first worked onto my radar last year and I have seen them a couple of times live since -totally brilliant. I caught up with the band up at the guest bar for an interview at Latitude.

Mark: So Hi! I love Austere - what’s the inspiration behind the song?

TJF (Ritzy): It’s kind of autobiographical in a way, it was written in Wales when we were on the cusp of what we are doing now. We were messing around trying to see how high we could go which is pretty fuckin scary.

TJF: (Ryhdian) Someone asked us this before…we sort of had the bare bones down and I was reading some Oscar Wilde at the time. It kinda of doesn’t come from one thing it’s an amalgamation of things. The austerity thing you were talking about me is that right? Theres a bit of our relationship bit of everything really…

Mark: There’s a lot of Oscar Wilde and things of that sort of vein in the video dont you think?

TJF: Yea, yea it’s quite Dickensian, Victorian if you like. It’s all homegrown with friends and stuff.

Mark: I really like it.

(more…)

1)How did you all end up coming together as a band?

Bruce and I (Danny) were in a band called Nylon Pylon prior to this. We signed a deal with London Records and then 2 years later got dropped. The band split and we continued to write tunes together. During this period when we were ready to start gigging them, we were working with Nathan in a guitar shop, having known him in and out of bands in Manchester for ages we asked him if he wanted to play bass. He then suggested Fee. The Whip was born.

We have all sort of know each other for years though due to all being in other bands that have played with each other in the past.

2)You seem to have been touring almost non-stop this year. Any chances of a more extensive North American tour?

Yes!! We are working on a load of dates as we speak it’s looking like Oct time so keep your eyes peeled!!

3)Have you begun any preliminary work on a follow-up to ‘X Marks Destination’? Tested out any tracks while you’ve been out on the road?

Bruce and I have been writing new material now for a couple of months and will be doing for the next few too!! Not road tested any yet but should be by the time we get to America in Oct.

4)Do you design the artwork for your singles/albums within the band?

The Artwork was designed by an company suggested by the label. We worked with them - coming up with suggestions for images and the shapes. We think it looks like we sound.

5)I recently DJ’d with Peter Hook and when he heard ‘Trash’ he immediately asked for a copy of it. Are you guys New Order fans? Are there any specific bands you find yourself drawing inspiration from?

Yeah New Order are a very important Manchester band and being from Manchester you can’t help but be influenced by them. But we also love a lot of the new dance music coming out at the moment. Also things like Felix da Housecat (Rocket Ride) and Daft Punk had an early influence on the band but we love stuff like Soulwax, DIM, Crookers, Bloody Beetroots, Sebastian, Presets, Goose, Surkin, Kavinsky etc. A lot of French, Italian, Belgian stuff!!

6)If we asked you to make a 5-track essential mix for our readers, what songs would be on it?

Daft Punk - Da Funk
Crookers - Love to Edit
DIM - Airbus Baby
MGMT - Electric Feel (Justice Mix)
Sebastian - Motor

7)Is there anything about you we couldn’t find on Google?

Don’t think so we are all pretty open people. We try and not hide things!!

www.myspace.com/thewhipmanchester

- Sean

My new love, Nashville-based duo Magic Wands (read more about them here) have announced some dates for their US tour:

Jul 31 2008 10:00P The Metro w/The Black Keys Chicago, Illinois
Aug 1 2008 12:00P Aug 1-3 Lollapalooza Chicago, Illinois
Aug 2 2008 10:00P Double Door w/ Foals + Battles Chicago, Illinois
Oct 3 2008 10:00P Music Hall of Williamsburg Brooklyn, New York
Oct 4 2008 10:00P Music Hall of Williamsburg Brooklyn, New York

Go see them and report back to me how they fair live!

MP3: “Teenage Love”
MP3: “Black Magic”

- Cecilia

So for all you Oasis fans out there including myself, here is a montage released today that I rather liked. At the end you get a snippet of the video for the first single due to be released from Dig Out Your Soul - dropping on October 6th - ‘Shock of Lightning’. The single is released a week earlier on 29th September. The single, by the way, is a real return to form. I know it’s not cool to big-up Oasis at the moment, but I think some hardened cynics are going to eat their words when the album comes out.

- Mark

I think anything that highlights this awful epedemic thats sweeping our youth culture and tries to do something constructive is worth a mention on our site. Celebrities such as Sway and Felix from Basement Jaxx will be supporting the event.

The campaign ‘Drop Your Knife And Pick Up A Guitar’ which will be launched at Sound, London, 1 Leicester Square, WC on August 7th from 7PM-3AM.

For any further info e mail Omar omar@soundlondon.com

- Mark

So I’m a bit biased on this - having helped book some of the artists - but this is going to be a top day out. The setting really is great, and I know the vibe is going to be laidback and how festivals used to be. Rest assured that the bands are pretty cool as well!

JELLY FESTIVAL

The festival that’s breaking the mould…

From his salad and smoothie hut, looking out over the expanse of green land that he was lucky enough to call his home, serving refreshments to the teems of visitors that flocked to his abode in South Creake to take a wander round the lovingly cultivated Maze, Ben Gardner had a vision - a wibbly-wobbly vision that would this year take the form of the Jelly Festival.

What started off with the aforementioned maze being cultivated by Ben’s father (and allegedly some meddlesome gnomes) and then opened to the public, grew to encompass live music; in its first year, ‘Mazestock’ as it was duly named, saw an influx of 600 revellers, giving Ben the encouragement to take it further. Mazestock continued for 3 years, and after a break, returns as the bigger, better, bouncier Jelly Festival.

Ben explains that the reason for the name was that he wanted it to be “appealing to kids and adults alike”, which from the day’s events that are planned, will be easily achieved. The music line up is hugely eclectic with a mix of London-based and local bands. Heading the bill is a top secret special guest DJ – but let’s just say he’s a high-calibre artist who’s played the dance stage at Glastonbury and has done a minimix for Annie Mac’s mash-up programme. Also on the bill are Nouvelle Croix, a gypsy-jazz band, who will be taking to the stage at sunset, Cass Lowe, whose live looping and guitar-tapping have seen him support Newton Faulkner, plus many more.

Aside from the music, entertainment will come in the form of sumo suit wrestling, a giant bouncy castle, 40ft inflatable slide, balloon modellers and face painting – this lot’s supposed to be for the kids, but bet your bottom dollar that it’ll be the bigger kids hogging the bouncy castle.

Supporting local businesses, to keep your bellies full and thirst quenched, there’ll be stalls for Woodforde’s ale, Norfolk cider and the quintessential summer favourite, Pimms, plus a Hog Roast, BBQ from renowned butcher, Arthur Howell and for your sweet tooth, cakes by Kate.

There’s one essential ingredient of the day that can’t go without mention is the jelly! There’ll be a jelly stall where free jelly will be handed out by some gorgeous girls, but any contributions made will be donated to the Spinal Injuries Association.

For this year, Ben wants to “create a vibe that’s acceptable for the masses, without selling out”, he says; “the aim is just to have a really nice, chilled out day”. For the future, he has grander plans and will put part of the proceeds back into next year’s festival, with ideas of using some of the farm’s space for camping, with a larger list of bands.

The festival is being held on the 2nd of August from 12noon to 11pm at Compton Hall, South Creake, nr Fakenham. Tickets are £10 in advance and £15 on the door, half price for kids under 13, free to under 3’s and are available from www. ueaticketbookings. co. uk and from Soundclash Records on St Benedict St, Norwich. For more details, go to www. myspace. com/jellyfest, or call 01328 823224.

MP3: Cass Lowe - Chino

- Mark

What’s there to say? One of my favorite songs this year.

MP3: M83 - Kim & Jessie

- Sean