Cooper Temple Clause are back with some tour dates, and they are:
March:
21st – Cork Cyprus Avenue
23rd – Dublin Whelans
24th – Belfast Speakeasy
25th – Glasgow QMU
26th – Aberdeen Lemon Tree
27th – Newcastle Northumbria University
29th – Manchester Academy 2
30th – Birmingham Irish Centre
31st – Leeds Met University
April:
2nd – Norwich Waterfront
3rd – Bristol Academy
4th – Portsmouth Pyramid Centre
5th – London Shepherds Bush Empire
Sick Of It All will be touring Europe and have announced UK dates amongst the gigs.
The band, supporting their latest album Death To Tyrants, will be supported by Wisdom In Chains. The dates for the tour are:
April:
11th – Musicbox Manchester
12th – Trillian’s Newcastle
13th – Underground Stoke
14th – The Dome London
15th – Nexus Southampton
Download Festival announces My Chemical Romance, Linkin Park and Iron Maiden as headliners.
The event, held at Donnington and taking place on June 8th, 9th and 10th, will see MCR top the bill on Friday, Linkin Park on Saturday and Maiden closing it up on Sunday. My Chemical Romance’s Frank Lero said “There really are no words to describe that honour. I just can’t wait to play”.
Bruce Dickinson said “Our fans know that Donington is a special place for Maiden (they headlined the Monsters Of Rock festival there three times) and we are all looking forward to getting back there for a fourth time”.
The tickets for the event go on sale today.
Sham 69 arguments continue to rage on.
The 70s punk band have fallen out about who left the band, with both sides saying its the other that has left.
Jimmy Pursey, the frontman and founder of the group has claimed Dave Parson, the guitarist, had left the band, but Parson retorted by saying Pursey was the one who’d been sacked and that they’d carry on without him.
The band’s current drummer, Ian Whitewood, recently said “Sham 69 have left Jimmy Pursey”, saying the frontman was sacked because he wasn’t interested in playing live shows. It is reported that Parsons and Whitewood will start auditioning new singers before relaunching the new Sham 69.
The Police are apparently ready to start rehearsing, confirmed rumours of their comeback.
The band have reportedly booked rehearsal space, with some people saying it is to practise for the Grammy Awards which will be held in LA in February.
It is expected that Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers are to be in the studios rehearsing in Vancouver.
Clap your hands say Farquhar! Regan Farquhar that is, better known as LA’s acclaimed emcee, Bus Driver. This month sees the welcome follow up to 2005’s nitro charged “Fear Of A Black Tangent“, in the form of what sounds like another surge of funk rap bliss, “RoadKillOvercoat“.
Kill Your Employer has been doing the rounds in his maliciously frantic live shows and been on the receiving end of the prop stick. Regan’s vocal skills shine on this. Syllables jumping at you faster than a cat with a dollop of mustard shoved up its arse, oxymoronically soothed by BD’s uniquely recognisable jeer.
Lather that amongst an electro fuelled, throbbing bass line, spiced with dance floor beats that loosen up the sockets and you get a clean ass beauty such as thus. This Bus Driver aint stopping for no sucker.
Bearing similarities to the French ensemble, TTC, the production, which was taken upon by Nobody and Boom Bip, swings the momentum from poppy club rap, to psychedelic trips and then jolting you back again without settling. It’s this unpredictability and innovative flair that makes Bus Driver have that certain ‘je ne sais quoi’. Mais certainement tres bien merde (‘But definitely hella good shit’ you uncultured swine). RoadKillOvercoat is released on 30th January on Epitaph records. Get to it quick like Mayfair in Monopoly.
Questions over the departure of 9th Wonder from Little Brother have been answered.
In a recent interview, Pooh from Little Brother stated that 9th Wonder and the group have parted way but insisted there were “no hard feelings and no beef”.
He went on to say “this is just a decision that had to be made so all three of us could move forward and continue to provide the world with dope music”.
In related news, Little Brother are now no long on Atlantic after having asked to be released. LB’s manager said that they weren’t happy with how things were going at Atlantic and that the label didn’t want to deal with it either, so the release was a mutual decision.
Seattle’s Pretty Girls Make Graves have split up.
The band, who took their name from a song by The Smiths, confirmed the end of the road after their drummer left the group. A statement on the website said:
“We are sorry to announce that our upcoming tour in May will be our last. [Drummer] Nick [Dewitt] quit the band and the rest of us feel like it wouldn’t be right to continue on without him. The five of us feel very lucky to have met and worked with some truly amazing people over the years. Thank you all so much.”
Iggy Pop will make an appearance at the Texas based festival this year.
Iggy has been added to the Question & Answers bill for the South By South West festival, which will take place in March.
This precedes the release of the new Iggy Pop & The Stooges album, which is called The Weirdness.
White Stripes looking for a new deal following the end of their time at V2.
The American version of V2, which is now a catalogue label, is no longer the home to the band, so they are shopping around for a new deal.
The reports are that their manager is currently speaking a number of labels about a one album deal worth a few million dollars and that Warners and Interscope are interested.