Primus’s new album Primus & The Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble is set to be released October 21. But for the fans that buy the vinyl, keep a look out for a very special golden record! Thousands of milk chocolate colored vinyl will be sold but only 5 lucky fans will get the golden one! The ‘golden ticket’ will get fans Primus tickets for life!
The band also released a promotional video for their new album, which includes their “chocolate” records being made, and with the band’s cover of Willy Wonka’s “Golden Ticket”.
You can order the vinyl from the official Club Bastardo store, Amazon, or your local record store.
If you have yet to hear the collective talent from the funkiest group in the world, you’re sadly missing out. Although they’ve been around now for damn near twenty years, Lettuce is that elusive band that once you hear, you don’t know how you’ve lived without. Everything from their extremely tight and infectious rhythms thrown down by drummer Adam Deitch and bassist Jesus Coomes, to the offset melodies that just reek of funky hooks is what makes this band so dope. No matter where you look, there’s a diverse mix of talent who all bring their own flavor to their otherwise flavorless name. Maybe that’s part of the thing that gets people. With a somewhat unsuspecting name, you’re instantly gripped by the music that just feels so right.
This Thursday, Lettuce is making their way to the area as they make a stop at Water Street Music Hall in Rochester. The band played Buffalo earlier this year in February, and for the sold out crowd that was present, there wasn’t a still body in the place. From wall to wall, the band seduced the audience through nothing but sound and their feel-good energy.
The band began their fall tour at the beginning of October and over the course of the last couple of weeks has excited their devoted fans as they’re feeding off of the energy and excitement of playing some new music. Their last record, Fly, was released back in 2012, and to say people are eager to hear something new from this group would be an understatement. Already, the band has played at least three new songs on this tour, so fans should expect something they’ve yet to hear. The band is locking in and the new material has provided fuel to this funky fire. If you’ve been following their live journal, you know the guys are feeling it with segments like the following:
Schmeeans (guitar): We came, we saw, we raged. And we had a great show, we played a brand new song for the very first time tonight, never ever done before, can’t ever be the first time again. Only one first time baby.
Neal (keyboard/organ): The coolest thing about tonight is if you’re in Baton Rouge tonight and you witness this show with Lettuce and Gramatik at The Varsity, we are dropping brand new music that’s never been heard, and I think people are gonna bug out cause we’re bugging out. We’re having such a great time and this is only day three. This is gonna be an incredible tour.
Deitch (drums): Tonight in Tuscaloosa was off the chain. We added a new song that we’re calling for now “The Big Anthem,” and it felt really big and powerful for the first time, we’re really excited to have added that. And then we played another song that Shmeeans and I wrote in Harlem entitled “Chief,” played that again and it was even better tonight. The new songs are infusing a lot of energy into our sets, and when we’re excited you know the crowd’s gonna be excited, so we feel like they got it tonight.
Want to know how fresh this material is? Check out Krasno’s log in the diary about a new song he heard a day prior to playing:
Krasno (guitar): It’s always fun to play new stuff super fresh, its way fresh for me because I didn’t play it till today pretty much.
Casual fan or dedicated one, there’s no reason why this tour specifically isn’t one of the most exciting the band has ever been on and luckily Rochester’s in their sights. Their Emo’s show in Austin, TX last week was streamed, and while it was choppy, the new music was somehow crisp and full of that typical Lettuce RAGE. If you don’t have your ticket yet, you’re going to want to grab one quickly here.
Nineties alt-rock stalwarts Smashing Pumpkins have announced a December 9 release date for their 8th studio effort Monuments to an Elegy. Produced by Howard Willing (from the Adore sessions), Elegy features the lineup of founding member Billy Corgan along with guitarist Jeff Schroeder – who joined in 2007 – and new drummer Tommy Lee. Yes, THE Tommy Lee of Motley Crue fame.
The announcement also includes a first chance for fans to check out the single “Being Beige”, a melancholy song that will remind fans of sessions from the record bearing that name.
Regarding Mr Lee’s ubiquitous presence on the album, Billy had the following to say – “The songs, in demo form, had a strut, and so the suggestion was made that we ought to get someone who ‘plays like’ Tommy. Jeff Schroeder said, ‘why not get the real deal?’ Tommy brings the power and grace he’s known for, which gives the music a vibrancy that is both immediate and unmistakable.”
Fan’s may pre-order the album now on iTunes. A second album – Day for Night – is already in the works. No touring plans were announced as of yet. Stay tuned!
Monuments to an Elegy track listing:
1. Tiberius
2. Being Beige
3. Anaise!
4. One and All
5. Run2me
6. Drum + Fife
7. Monuments
8. Dorian
9. Anti-Hero
Capital Region, consider this your “Courtesy Call.” Get ready to throw up your “Rawkfist” Upstate N.Y. Thousand Foot Krutch is bringing their fall “Born This Way” tour to the Capital Region. The tour was named after the lead single off their brand new eighth studio album OXYGEN : INHALE. Supporting acts for the 19-date tour will be We As Human, Righteous Vendetta, and in select cities, Like A Storm.
TFK was formed in Canada in 1995. The band started seeing success in 2002 with the current lineup of Trevor McNaven, Joel Bruyere and Steve Augustine. Country megastar Carrie Underwood is a huge fan and performed the song “Let the Sparks Fly” live on stage with the boys at Winter Jam in Tulsa, Oklahoma. TFK has toured with many big names in rock music such as Breaking Benjamin, Skillet, Red and Chevelle.
The band’s sound is a fusion of Christian Rock meets Rap Metal, mixing melodic and high energy songs with slick verses and very catchy choruses and hooks.
TFK with Carrie Underwood
Ready to “Strike Back” and help support the tour is Memphis, Tennessee’s We As Human. The band has been touring relentlessly all year and it looks like they are not ready to stop yet. The band has recently toured with Black Stone Cherry and were part of Rock On The Range, K-Rockathon, Rocklahoma and were also on last years Carnival Of Madness.
Righteous Vendetta will bring “The Fire Inside” every venue on the tour. After Vendetta’s song “This Pain” was played on Sirius/XM Octane, the Wyoming natives have hit a lot of rock music fans radars and have also appeared on numerous tours. They’re an awesome up and coming rock band.
Clifton Park you better “Move” and get your tickets before everything “Falls Apart“. TFK will make their rare appearance in the area on Wednesday Oct. 22 at Upstate Concert Hall. Doors open at 7pm and show starts at 8pm. Advanced tickets are $17 and $20 day of show. You can purchase tickets at all Ticketmaster locations, the club box office 371-0012 and Northern Lights Smoke Shop.
Rochester will also see the tour on Tuesday Oct. 21 at The California Brew Haus. Tickets for this show can be purchased through ticketfly for $20. The event is 18 and older.
Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2014 songwriter Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens) is streaming his latest album Tell ‘Em I’m Gonehere. The album which was Co-Produced by acclaimed producer Rick Rubin will drop October 27.
This marks Yusuf Islam’s first album since 2009’s Roadsinger. Tell ‘Em I’m Gone is a mix between original material and covers.
As previously reported, Yusuf Islam is embarking on the “Peace Train…Late Again” Tour. The tour will start overseas in Europe in November, but will reach the United States in December at select cities. No dates in New York as the New York City show December 7th is cancelled. Closest stops from the Upstate NY region will be December 1st in Toronto, December 4th in Philadelphia, and December 7th in Boston.
Yusuf Islam released the following statement on his official website:
“Unfortunately I will not be performing in NYC this time around but I am looking forward to playing for fans in Philadelphia on December 4 and hope to return to NYC at a future date. My fans will understand and I thank them for informing me about the extortionate tickets prices already being listed on some websites. I have been a longtime supporter of paperless tickets to my shows worldwide and avoiding scalpers. Unfortunately NY has a state law that requires all tickets sold for shows in NYC to be paper, enabling them to be bought and sold at inflated prices. I’m sorry about not being able to now play in NYC but hope to find an opportunity that aligns with my support of this issue in the near future, God willing. Looks like the Peace Train is going to arrive at New York a little bit later than expected.”
North American tour dates as follows:
Dec 01 • Toronto Massey Hall
Dec 04 • Philadelphia Tower Theatre
Dec 07 • Boston Wang Theatre (New Date)
Dec 09 • Chicago Chicago Theatre
Dec 12 • San Francisco Masonic Auditorium
Dec 14 • Los Angeles Nokia Theatre
Hard Working Americans may sound redundant as a band name, but the newly formed super group offers refreshingly unique takes on classic hits. On October 28, the band releases a rockumentary The First Waltz through Melvin Records and Thirty Tigers. Justin Kreutzmann directs the film which chronicles the band’s formation, first show in Boulder, Colorado, and release of their self-titled album in 2014.
Todd Snider brought the band together in 2013. An admirer of the jam band scene’s virtuosic musicianship and fan of the poetic lyricism in Americana music, Snider needed to marry these two musical worlds. From this desire, Hard Working Americans was born. Snider recruited Widespread Panic’s bassist Dave Schools, Chris Robinson Brotherhood’s Neal Casal, Chad Staehly of Great American Taxi on the keys, Duane Trucks on the drums and pedal-steel guitarist Jesse Aycock to form the powerhouse group.
The rockumentary begins with a folksy version of “The Star Spangled Banner” and pans in to Snider lighting up a joint. “We smoke grass all day, don’t go to church every day… I have a dream—catcher hanging in my fucking rear-view,” Snider quips. “I’m also a flag-waving, country-loving American patriot and I feel like patriotism has been stolen from people like me. And it’s for that reason I called my most talented hippie buddies and convinced them… we’ve got to take that flag back for the silly.”
Snider formed the band for Americans like me and—most likely—you. They’re here for those of us that get our hands dirty for our money and fly our freak flags just below the stars and stripes. We’re proud to be Americans, and we’re equally proud of our freedom to express individuality.
According to Staehly, “It’s about great songs that fell through the cracks… [Snider] spent years gathering up these stray songs, a real humanitarian effort.” It’s also about the people who fell through the cracks—the blue-collared Americans who march to their own beat and love doing so.
The album Hard Working Americans features 11 covers from the likes of old-school country artist Frankie Miller, satirical pop pianist Randy Newman, and southern rock singer Kevin Kinney. Snider refers to the tracks as “a bag of what I’d call perfect songs, all of them written by my friends.”
The First Waltz will be available on October 28. View the official trailer below.
Consider the Source has been hard at work, creating a massive three-part album that is sure to be as exploratory as the Sci-Fi/Middle Eastern Fusion band has been in their tenure together. The album, a three-disc sonic journey entitled World War Trio, will be the groups first release in four years and was successfully funded by a strong Indiegogo campaign. The trio is strategically planning on staggering the release though with disc one being released on Halloween this year and discs two and three arriving in the Fall of 2015. The first track, “Put Another Rock in That Bag (Single Edit)” is out now.
The first release will coincide with a stop in Albany, NY at the Parish Public House where they will play it in its entirety before heading to Buffalo the following night. The EP will contain a six-movement, 25-minute prog-rock epic, titled “Put Another Rock in that Bag”. For longtime fans, the EP will be a different flavor from a band that has been known to touch on various genres. This release focuses on their progressive rock side, featuring a section written by Jan Zehrfeldt of Panzerballet, while still intertwining that virtuosic fusion fans have come to love.
Today, the band released the single, “Put Another Rock in that Bag, pt. 1”, which displays a preview of the six-part beast that is looming in just two short weeks. After listening myself, I can say that Consider the Source has taken a CONSIDERable step forward in terms of composition, talent, and overall cohesiveness. Visit their site here to download the single right now for free! And if you just can’t wait for your browser to open another site, click the YouTube video below to watch now featuring cover art from the new album.
If you want to catch Consider the Source on tour this Fall, check out their tour dates below:
10/31 – Albany, NY – The Parish Public House 11/1 – Buffalo, NY – The Waiting Room
11/4 – Lansing, MI – The Loft
11/5 – Kalamazoo, MI – Shakespeare’s Lower Level
11/6 – Covington, KY – The Madison Theater
11/7 – Chicago, IL – Tonic Room
11/8 – Indianapolis, IN – The Mouse Trap
11/9 – Columbus, OH – Scarlet and Grey
11/12 – Harrisburg, PA – The Abbey
11/13 – Baltimore, MD – The 8 x 10 11/14 – Brooklyn, NY – The Knitting Factory
11/15 – Northhampton, MA – Pearl Street Nightclub
11/20 – Portland, ME – Big Easy
11/21 – Boston, MA – The Church
11/22 – Providence, RI – The Spot
11/28 – Greensboro, NC – The Blind Tiger
11/29 – Knoxville, TN – The Concourse
12/2 – Boone, NC – The Local
12/3 – Greenville, SC – Gottrocks
12/4 – Greenville. NC – Peasant’s Pub
12/5 – Asheville, NC – New Mountain Theater
12/6 – Savannah, GA – The Barrel House South
12/7 – Charleston, SC – The Pour House
12/10 – Boca Raton, FL – Funky Biscuit
12/11 – Jacksonville, FL – 1904 Music Hall
12/12 – Longwood, FL – Hourglass Brewery
12/13 – Tallahassee, FL – Side Bar Theater
12/14 – Dunedin, FL – Dunedin Brewery
12/17 – Atlanta, GA – Terminal West
12/18 – Raleigh, NC – Southland Ballroom
12/20 – Philadelphia, PA – Ardmore Music Hall 12/31 – Kerhonkson, NY – Rock N Roll Resort “The Ball Drop”
Every rocker/ninja’s favorite band, Kung Fu, kicks off its fall tour this weekend and Upstate New York gets two of the first three shows.
The Fu will provide musical therapy to Baltimore, whose Orioles just fell a step short of the World Series, on Thursday night. Friday, Kung Fu brings their high-octane funk fusion to Syracuse’s Westcott Theater before wrapping up the weekend at The Hollow in Albany on Saturday.
Like every great funk outfit, the band has a bassist, Chris DeAngelis, who will send vibrations through your bones and shake up your soul. Each show gets more than slightly Stoop-ed as Todd Stoops handles the keys and Robert Somerville will be center stage crushing the tenor sax. Adrian Tramontano is absurdly relentless on the drums and Tim Palmieri, who just added a newborn ninja to his family last week, rounds out the band on guitar.
If you’re not following Kung Fu on Facebook yet, you’re missing out. Earlier this week, the band offered free tickets and 10% commission to volunteers for manning its merch booth all weekend. Wednesday, Stoops took to the social media site to give away free tickets to anyone who asked — no contest or duties involved.
For more information or to check out Kung Fu’s new album, Tsar Bomba, visit the band’s website.
Tickets to Syracuse’s show can be purchased here. Click here to purchase Albany tickets.
And in case you can’t catch them this weekend in Syracuse or Albany, the band is heading to Western New York later in the tour for a stop in Buffalo on Nov. 13. Click here for tickets to their show at The Waiting Room.
Cut Chemist, founder of Jurassic 5 and helped to form the Grammy winning Ozomatli, with his 7″ size record partner Josh “DJ Shadow” Davis have added dates to their current “Renegades of Rhythm” tour. This “vinyl-only” tour honoring Afrika Bambaataa’s influence on hip-hop’s beginnings is spreading to new markets through November in the U.S. and Canada. The big news is the DJs are using Bambaataa’a actual vinyl collection for this tour.
Their performances are garnering critical acclaim, especially the two sold-out tour openers at Irving Plaza in NYC with Bambaataa in the audience while they spun beats from his legendary vinyl collection. Rolling Stone recently gave high praise for the turntablists, saying “Deep into their September 4th set at New York’s Irving Plaza, as DJ Shadow bent over his spread of turntables, cueing the next sequence of beats, his partner in spin, Cut Chemist, gingerly lifted a piece of 12-inch vinyl from one of his decks and held it aloft, like a round, black equivalent of the Ten Commandments. He had, in fact, just played a religious object.”
The list of new dates is expansive and includes stops at The Town Ballroom, Buffalo on 11/11 and The Westcott Theater in Syracuse on 11/10. Check the deets and beats at their websites, DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist. There is a ton of info available on each, both historical and the story of Bambaataa’s influence to them both as it’s being told through this tour.
Nov. 6 – Pawtucket, R.I. – The Met
Nov. 8 – Montreal, Quebec – Corona
Nov. 10 – Syracuse, N.Y. – The Westcott Theater
Nov. 11 – Buffalo, N.Y. – Town Ballroom
Nov. 14 – Pittsburgh, Pa. – Mr. Smalls Theatre
Nov. 15 – Charlottesville, Va. – Jefferson Theater
Nov. 17 – Athens, Ga. – Georgia Theatre
Nov. 20 – Winnipeg, Manitoba – Garrick Centre
Nov. 21 – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan – O’Brien’s Event Centre
Nov. 22 – Edmonton, Alberta – Encore at WEM
Nov. 23 – Calgary, Alberta – Flames Central
Nov. 25 – Oakland, Calif. – The Fox
Southern rockers Drive By Truckers will perform at The Egg Performing Arts Center on Sunday, October 19th at 7:30 PM as part of the American Roots & Branches concert series.
Drive by Truckers boast a mix of Southern pride, history, folklore, politics, and character studies and have quickly risen to become one of today foremost alternative country-rock bands. This will be their debut performance at The Egg in support of their new, critically acclaimed recording English Oceans. Read a review of Drive by Truckers’ latest album English Oceans by Garrett K. Woodward.
Tickets are $29.50 and are available at The Egg Box Office at the Empire State Plaza, by telephone – 518-473-1845 – or online.
Drive by Truckers start things off in NYC at the famous Beacon Theater on Friday, then head to the Electric Factory in Philadelphia this Saturday before making their way north to the Capital Region. For the full tour schedule, check out the bands website.
The band also released a promotional video for their new album, which includes their “chocolate” records being made, and with the band’s cover of Willy Wonka’s “Golden Ticket”.
Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2014 songwriter 
