Slash in happier times

After years of working with overzealous ego-maniacs, Slash has decided to step away from band work to focus on an album of collaborations. Due to Saul Hudson’s standing as, uh, Slash, one would expect that Slash & Friends, his forthcoming release, would be stacked with a who’s who of rock royalty. True to form he’s wrangled the likes of Dave Grohl, Flea and Alice Cooper. However, the long-locked axe wielder was straight up denied by Jack White! Well, not really. White said he’d play drums or guitar with Slash, but no vocals. Slash seemed pretty bummed, noting “He was one guy that I wanted to work with.” That couldn’t have made Grohl or Flea feel all that hot. The denial marks the first time since Slash was six years old that somebody said “Hmm, Slash, thanks for the invite but I think I’m just gonna chill, play with some legos, work on my side project, my big time band, my record label and a few movies I got asked to do, but thanks anyway for the invitation.” If you see Slash today on the street, give the man a hug. (via NME)

In this whirlwind of a recession-affected music climate, Jack White easily takes the cake in putting together some ridiculously sweet promotions and conceptual ideas to coincide with his musical projects these days. However, in the case of his Third Man Records, the records and novelty stores that have popped for very brief periods in a couple select locations, it can’t help but feel like all for nothing sometimes. These cool stores are open and warm our hearts for less than a week, only to become surreal memories of things we must have dreamed up. So it’s good to see that the L.A. Third Man venue at least gets to live on in name for this live Dead Weather EP that was recorded there in August. The EP features four album tracks and a cover of Pentagram’s “Forever My Queen.” The iTunes download will also score you four videos from the band, and if you happen to be in London on Friday you can talk about them in the new brief Third Man location for the day and a half that it will be in existence. We’re not even sure if record store clerks have time to become pretentious in a day and a half… (Via: P4K)

Currently on tour in Europe with his 378th band the Dead Weather, Jack White made a surprise stop at Dublin’s Trinity College last night. But he wasn’t there to perform, acting instead as a surprise guest lecturer to the University’s Philosophical Society, a group that according to NME, once counted Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker and JB Yates as members. White was bestowed with honorary membership, spoke “candidly” on music and waxed philosophic (obviously) on the idea of authenticity. Names that came up? Dylan. Waits. Spears? “I don’t know if Bob Dylan and Tom Waits are as authentic as I think they are,” White said. “Perhaps they’re not…Sometimes you start thinking that maybe Britney Spears or someone like that who’s doing exactly what they want to do in the way that they best know how, is more authentic than any of those people you could mention.” Serious brainlight!

Keeping up with all of Jack White’s projects is a job in and of itself. When not hanging out with The Edge and Jimmy Page, dressing up like Elvis and giving advice to Dewey Cox and playing drums in that band Dead Weather, White’s been making serious moves with his Third Man Records imprint. Just recently, the King of Detroit blew fan boys minds when announcing the Vault, a super elaborate fan club that gives members limited edition LP’s, swag, and whatever else White connjurs up.

The latest word from Third Man finds White unveiling two, super rare outtakes from the very first White Stripes release, the “Let’s Shake Hands” b/w “Look Me Over Closely” 7-inch. The alternative takes of the songs will be exclusively available to members of The Vault. If you find yourself longing for the scuzzy garage blues of the early Stripes, signing up for The Vault may not be a bad idea, especially since membership closes next Thursday, October 22nd.

You know, in addition to constantly churning out new jams and bands for us to sit with and think on, Jack White gives us a lot to write about as well. The latest: NME is reporting today (via the Detroit News) that White recently donated $170,000 to restore Clark Park, the Detroit baseball park where he played as a Michigan youth. According to Morris “Mo” Blackwell Jr, White’s former coach, White was no slouch on the diamond: “He was good” Blackwell Jr. told the Detroit News. “Smooth left-handed swing.” That last bit needs to be the name of the next White Stripes full-length.

Jack White’s having an awfully good year: the Dead Weather record was a ruler, he joined forces with the Edge and Jimmy Page for rock god documentary It Might Get Loud and now, Rolling Stone is reporting that White has been recording some tracks with Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. Richards, who has been attempting to “gather the boys together” to start writing and recording the new Stones record next year, said simply: “I enjoy working with Jack. We’ve done a couple of tracks.” But when asked if White might be producing the new Stones record, Richards responded rather wryly, “I couldn’t fuel that rumor any more than to say Jack and I are in touch.” So hey, there are two quotes that lead us close to nowhere. What do you think a White-produced Stones record might sound like? Any different?

A clip from the documentary It Might Get Loud, which comes out in L.A. and New York this Friday, has been released on the Interwebs, and further demonstrates the fact that Jack White bridges the gap between man and god. In order to test White’s stripped down, fast approach to music, director Davis Guggenheim challenges him to write and record a song on camera, and he does it. In under ten minutes. And the song, “Fly Farm Blues,” can now be purchased on iTunes. We can only expect that more feats of guitar-shredding. song-smithing greatness from Mr. White as well as The Edge and Jimmy Page lie within Get Loud. (via MTV)

We stumbled across this yesterday. We fell out of our roll-y chairs shortly thereafter.

Two trailers playing side-by-side. Loaded guns, expletives and dirty cigarettes.

A full video premiere is scheduled to take place on Cinemax on July 11th at 9:55 PM EST. Horehound is out July 14th. We have to call the cable dude now. Thanks, bye.

UPDATE: Stream Horehound here for the next 24 hours only. (via The Fader)

Interview by Joseph Tirabassi
Photography by John Francis Peters

You wouldn’t expect such an ungodly racket to come out of these three. The members of Screaming Females are regular, unassuming folk who just so happen to conjure a riotous free-for-all of gnarled guitars and furious rhythm. They’re like an angrier, punked-out take on the ‘60s power trio model, only without the paisley shirts. The band’s most recent album Power Move is led by Marissa Paternoster’s snarling howl and breakneck guitar solos, a skill set that’s made fans of Henry Rollins, J. Mascis, and some dude named Jack White. They’ll head out on the road with White’s new band the Dead Weather starting July 13 in Washington, DC. But don’t let the bright lights of the marquees fool you – the band is steeped in the D.I.Y. ethos, as drummer Jarrett Dougherty takes over the managerial role by doing all the legwork that’s usually reserved for a team of interns. Heck, Paternoster even acts as home tattoo artist to bassist Mike Rickenbacker. They keep everything in the family.

Since the last time you talked to the Tripwire, a lot has happened – the album came out, and you lined up the Dead Weather tour, how did that come about?

Jarrett: We did a Spring tour for our new album, one of the days we played was in Nashville at this club called the End, which is one of those long-lasting, slightly skuzzy but good sound rock clubs and our good friends in this band JEFF the Brotherhood are from there and run a label out of there called Infinity Cat that released a 7” we did with them

Mike: Buy the 7”

Jarrett: We played a show there on the tour and leading up to it there was some press in the local paper, and people were getting excited about the show. And this guy comes up to us after the show and said, “Hey my name’s Ben, I help run this record label” and Marissa and I are both thinking ‘oh great, it’s one of these guys.’ You get those guys that come up to you after the shows and say “I’m gonna make you guys huge!” But then a second later, he’s like “wow, I probably sound like a complete idiot.” And he talked to us about how he helps to run Jack White’s label Third Man Records. He told us about the studio and office that they’d built down there and if they’d known we were coming, how they’d love to have us in there but they had no idea who we were. So he and Jack [Lawrence] the bass player from the Dead Weather and the Raconteurs were just there hanging out, they come to see JEFF sometimes. Ben was just like “let me tell you, I am a jaded motherfucker and that was awesome.” And he was just sort of thinking out loud, “maybe you should play some shows with Jack’s new band.” A few days later we got a call from the booking agent asking us if we wanted to do the tour.

Is it kind of intimidating to meet Jack White? He seems like he might be one of those guru types.

Matt: I might piss myself.

He’s one of the few musicians around that is still into guitar solos. Marissa, what makes you like the guitar solo as opposed to just strumming chords like a lot of current bands?

Marissa: I think if you can take a good guitar solo, then there’s no reason not to.

Do you ever worry about overplaying?

Marissa: I make an honest effort not to.

Jarrett: When musicians use chops just for the sake of playing more, it’s rarely good. When you play something just because it’s flashy, you become like Dream Theater or something. But I think that’s what people like about Marissa’s soloing, is that it actually says something. It’s not there just to fill space, it’s not some plugged-in studio musician. It emotionally has content.

Do you improvise a lot on stage?

Marissa: Yeah, there’s only like two or three songs where I play the same thing, but all the other ones are made up on the spot.

On stage, what is your [Mike and Jarrett] relationship when Marissa is going crazy on the guitar?

Jarrett: On those parts, I try to think about holding back as much as I can so that it’s just a platform for her to play off of. But there are parts where we are all doing a full-band improvisation, which is a completely different thing than her improvising over a solid base. Everyone has to work together, because if everyone plays as much as they can at that point, it’ll sound like a big mess. So you have to listen to see who’s taking a lead at this moment or that moment.

You guys tour incessantly. Do you find life easier on tour, or when you’re back at home?

Mike: It’s a different kind of easy. On tour, I have something to do every day, something very specific and productive, and at home I don’t do anything productive.

I was watching the Flaming Lips documentary “The Fearless Freaks” and one of them is talking about when they’re on the road, it’s cool because you’ve got somewhere to sleep every night and people feed you most of the time. But then when you get home, you have to go back to flipping burgers or frying fish or whatever. Do you guys work day jobs?

Mike: I do.

Jarrett: Not currently. We definitely have for most of the time we’ve been a band. But right now I’ve been managing to stay unemployed by working really hard on the band stuff and eking by on a little bit of savings. But I don’t really find life particularly easy ever. People think ‘playing in a band – that must be fun.’ And fun is part of it, but I’ve never thought, ‘I’m in a band, life will be easy.’ But it’s at least something that I feel fulfilled with at the end of the day with all the work I put into it. It’s either I put a lot of work in for someone at a corporation and make a lot of money. Or I put a lot of work into the band and have a lot of setbacks and not make any money off of it, at least I’ll feel good about what comes out of it.

You started by playing house shows in people’s basements, moved up to clubs, and now you’re going on tour in these huge places with the Dead Weather. Are you excited to hear yourselves in these big rooms?

Mike: Every time I’ve been to a big venue, it always sounded bad.

Marissa: At least it’ll sound good for us in the monitors.

Are you worried about losing the intimacy you have at a house show?

Jarret: Not as much as the performance aspect, for myself. It’s cool when you play someone’s house, you can hang out and they’re like “look at this movie I just got.”

Mike: Like Son in Law.

Jarrett: [Laughs] But with these places you have to show up really early and you don’t know anyone there and you have to sit in some weird dressing room and stare at each other for a while, but actually performing, the reaction you get from a big room is just like a small room, but with more people.

Do you get to put out a tour rider?

Jarrett: We actually do.

Mike: I wanted a case of Pellegrino.

Jarrett: We asked for a case of beer, a case of water, a fruit and vegetable platter and four vegetarian dinners. I figure that’s pretty reasonable. At first we were like “I guess we’ll do a rider,” but people told us, “no you have to do it, it’s in their budget. If you don’t do it, they’ll just get to keep more money.”

You should be hitting them up for champagne.

Mike: I don’t even like champagne, but I’ll take it.

Marissa: We could just open it and go “yeaaaaaaaaaa!”

Jarrett: I was trying to figure out what a rider looked like so I looked it up online and I found the Killers’ rider. They get a different bottle of booze depending on what day of the week it is.

Mike: Don’t they have like 500 beers a night or something?

Jarrett: Yeah.

Mike: That’s so cool.

Jay-Z only wants a certain kind of blacked out SUV to pick him up from the airport and it has to be exactly 70-odd degrees in the room.

Jarrett: Does he carry a thermometer with him?

He probably has a temperature man. Since you’ve been getting more attention, has it been weird having all these people from New York, Chicago, LA, places like that looking in and saying “oh, what’s going on down there in New Brunswick?”

Jarrett: It seems to be a pretty common question. “Tell me about New Brunswick, New Jersey!”

I think that a lot of people not from the city think that there’s no scene, but bands like Bouncing Souls are from there.

Mike: And Lifetime.

Jarrett: The Ergs! are from New Brunswick.

Mike: Thursday! [Laughs]

Jarrett: New Brunswick is a strange city. As an outsider, if you roll through it, you’d think that there’s absolutely zero culture.

Mike: Not a thing worthwhile.

Jarrett: Yeah, not a thing worthwhile. But I think that’s what made the scene strong in a lot of ways. It’s also rough because it’s the type of place where people move in and out of constantly. But for me, my life was changed seeing a basement show in New Brunswick. I would have never ended up in a band if I hadn’t seen that first band playing in a basement.

What band was that?

Jarrett: It was this band called Atomic Missiles. They were amazing, one of my favorite bands for a long time. Them and this other band Plastic East. They played basement shows all the time when I was first hanging out in New Brunswick before I moved there. They weren’t the most popular bands. There were some cooler, hipper basement bands, if you can imagine that. But these bands were so wild. They didn’t play anything like I’d heard on TV or on the radio or even like Spin Magazine, or whatever my underground source was at the time. So New Brunswick is cool. It would be so good for the scene though if there was an all-ages venue. A legal venue, which there isn’t. There has been one in the past.

Mike: The Elks Lodge won’t even let us do a show there.

Jarrett: It’s cool though because it’s made us do everything ourselves. Managers, record labels, publicists, they’re not coming to New Brunswick to find out about bands. So if you want to release your album, you have to do it yourself, unless you know Joe Steinhardt, who runs Don Giovanni. When we wanted to go on tour, we would ask this band the Ergs! who had done national tours eight or nine times. We’d go to Joe and ask him where to play and he’d start pointing at a map and check out friends to call.

I was reading this thing recently about how your environment shapes your art or shapes your music. Do you think that the city shapes the sound? Would Screaming Females be the same in a different town?

Jarrett: I can give a very specific example. There’s a big Hispanic population in New Brunswick, so there’s reggaeton blasting all the time and my window used to be right on the street. So at all hours of the night, I’d hear that [beatboxes reggateon beat]. On the new album there’s a reggaeton beat on one of the songs. I specifically played that, because for weeks, all I would hear is [beatboxes reggaeton beat].

Marissa: How are you going to write that?

I don’t know. My onomatopoeia skills aren’t great.

Jarrett: Do you guys think it’s more than that…

Mike: I think we’re the product of the sum of ourselves.

Marissa: We practice in a deep dark hole, in a basement. Years and years of practicing in a deep dark hole.

Do you guys live together?

Jarrett: We do now. All in the same room, no heat or air conditioning. [Laughs]

Marissa: We pee at the same time.

Mike: There’s actually just a hole in the floor where we pee.

Marissa: We eat out of a trough. Communal living. It enhances our artistic experience together.

It makes you real.
[Laughter]

Where did you record Power Move?

Marissa: [Speaking like a radio commercial] We recorded Power Move at The Hunt Studios! In Millstone, New Jersey. Check out www.thehuntstudio.com or e-mail info@thehuntstudio.com. 732.567.5125. [Laughs]. No, actually though, I was an intern there, I got school credit. Now I’m not in school, so I just hang out there with the engineer Eric and he’s my BFF. I help him with projects and he helps me with projects, and I bring stuff in to him. It’s the coolest studio in the world. It looks like a meth lab on the side of the highway. It’s filled with all kinds of weird bugs and dead rats. There was a vulture on the roof one day, and I was scared because you could hear it walking on the ceiling. But it’s very professional. There’s just some wildlife. [Laughs]

I guess it doubles as a petting zoo?

Marissa: If you want to pet weird, dead rats.

Did you track the album live?

Marissa: Yeah.

Jarrett: We have three full lengths. The first one we recorded it to a computer, we did it ourselves, tracking everything separately. I love the way it sounds, especially as a first big project recording. But over and over again, we kept hearing from people that it didn’t capture our live chemistry or whatever. So I guess for our second record the idea was to shut people up and we went in to a studio and recorded live to analog tape. We pretty much just set up the amps, set up the drums and put microphones in front of them, did it, then maybe added a few handclaps and one or two guitar overdubs and that was it. So the album could be really jarring at times, which we really liked about it when it first came out, but it’s super sparse. It felt kind of empty, even though it’s loud. For the new record we wanted to do something different. So working with Eric was amazing, he would basically allow us enough time as we needed, even though it only ended up being a week. He did everything he could within the confines of three people playing in a room together to allow there to be different sounds and really cool sounds. It’s similar to the second record, except we changed things every day, we moved amps every day, did all kinds of stuff like that.

There seems to be something that sticks with people from Jersey. It’s this pride, begrudging or not. My mom is from Atlantic City, and she left there when she was in her 20s, but she’ll still get mad if we ever make fun of Jersey.

Mike: It’s quite a place.

Jarrett: I know that New Jersey lacks a lot in the way of culture, in terms of contemporary art and whatnot, or like being supportive of it. In California, there’s all these little towns with arts centers and small labels…

And handmade jewelry

Jarrett: [Laughs] Yeah, and everyone is saying “hi!” and waving to you.

Marissa: I don’t want to talk to anybody.

Jarrett: That’s why New Jersey’s the perfect place to be.

Marissa: I just want my cannoli and I want to get out.

Jarrett: People make fun of Jersey, and at first you blow it off, but then four five days into the tour, you’re just like “shut up!”

One headbutt and a broken nose later, and it’s a done deal. Have you gotten any weird fans come up to you?

Marissa: We probably shouldn’t talk about them.

Mike: They are in touch with the blogosphere.

Jarrett: It’s for our safety.

Mike: What about the guys that ask Marissa to marry him?

Marissa: A couple of guys with goatees will ask me to marry them every so often. We get touched inappropriately.

Jarrett: That only happens to Mike.

Mike: And I hated it.

Marissa: “I don’t even fucking know you!”

By doing a lot of the grunt work yourselves, the benefits are obvious – you can do whatever you want. But what are some of the limitations?

Jarrett: The limitations were becoming more apparent. That’s why we decided to go with Don Giovanni on this one, and they got a publicist to work on it who had been a fan of ours for a long time and was always checking in on us. There’s only so many hours you can spend on one thing and I spent pretty much all my time on this band, but you still can’t get everything done. Like for the Dead Weather tour, there’s paperwork, we’ve never had to deal with fucking paperwork at shows. Now, it’s like contracts and riders and stage plots. Hours and hours each day I would learn how to write a band contract for this tour. We’re at the point now where we’ve had too many people we’ve had to deal with we can kind of pick out who to trust.

You can tell who’s bullshitting you.

Jarrett: Yeah, like a publicist – their job is to basically be a hype man for the album, and if they don’t care about it, they’ll do a crappy job. But if they’re legitimately into the album, they’ll do everything they can. As you go along, you find people who have been at it a little longer and are giving you what turns out to be more than advice, it comes from experience. One night I e-mailed Steve Albini really late at night and he responded.

Whoa, Steve Albini?

Jarrett: Yeah! I was just asking about managers and booking agents and this guy really knew what he was talking about. The way he broke it down was awesome. It wasn’t any moral issue, it was basically “Don’t let these fuckers steal your money. People start businesses every day, band’s a pretty easy business to run. You don’t need someone to tell you how to run it.”

What have you been listening to recently?

Jarrett: I’ve only been listening to reggae and Talking Heads albums.

Oh, what reggae stuff have you been into?

Jarrett: Steel Pulse and the Congos and King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown by Augustus Pablo and King Tubby.

Have you seen the movie “Rockers?”

Jarrett: No! I’ve been meaning to see it! The Harder They Come is amazing. Mike, what have you been listening to?

Mike: I’ve been listening to the college radio station to see if they play us. They did once today. Then I call and request us.

Do you change your voice?

Marissa: [muffled] This is not Mike.

Mike: [Laughs] I don’t know. I like music. You?

Marissa: Dressy Bessy and nothing else.

Jarrett: And you went to that PJ Harvey concert.

With John Parish?

Marissa: Yeah. I went with my dad.

Mike: I just got ABBA’s greatest hits.

Marissa: I have this Madonna song you’re going to like.

“Hung Up?”

Marissa: [hums melody] I love Madonna though.

Have you been recognized at all around New Brunswick?

Jarrett: It happened to Mike.

Mike: Most of the times, people identify us as those fags.

Marissa: We’ll get out of the van at like 1am coming home from a show and these mongoloid cavemen with their mini Heineken kegs and the girls with the tube tops…

Mike: “…are you fags homeless, ‘cause you look like shit!”

Marissa: Good call on the “fags.”

Are those prison tats on your knees?

Mike: No, those are Marissa tats.

Marissa: We have lots of prison tats. Lots of stick and pokes.

Mike: I like this one [points to a tattoo of an ice cream cone]. I like ice cream. Put that in there.

My roommate has been trying to convince me to do it.

Marissa: I could do it for you.

That’d be great. What do you need? India ink…

Marissa: Yeah, India ink, needle, thread, pen or pencil.

Jarrett: You have to boil the needle.

Marissa: A new one. Don’t boil a used needle you find.

As big of a nerd as I am, I had to look up on the internet how to do it. It ran through the supplies and at the end of the list is a bottle of tequila.

Marissa: Yeah, make sure you get really drunk. It hurts really bad. Way worse than a real tattoo.

I think my parents hate my tattoos. They just don’t invite me to the beach any more.

Mike: We’re going to the beach tomorrow. Long Beach Island.

Jarrett: Mike has Marissa’s head tattooed on the back of his leg.

Mike: I need to get a Jarrett tattoo.

Marissa: I’d need to put glasses, and long hair, and a beard. Maybe I should get a can of oatmeal.

Our main squeeze Jack White is now offering a subscription service to his constantly humming Third Man Records. By signing up for one of two membership options, fans can join—dun dun dun— “The Vault”. For the $7 a month premium membership (with a 3-month minimum) you can be the first to get your paws on exclusive treats: pre-sale concert tickets, streaming video content and video broadcasts from all Third Man artists, official chat rooms, photos, writings and messages from Third Man artists, and pay- per-view live concerts of Dead Weather, Raconteurs, White Stripes and more.

The $20 a month platinum membership includes all of the premium membership digs as well as exclusive subscription service-only releases and a Third Man 12″ LP, a 7″ and a T-shirt (not sold in stores!) Premium memberships can be purchased year-round while the platinum setup’s only going to be available for consumption until July 21st.  White promises plenty of archived never before seen and heard footage, photos and music in the vault. And they also plan on updating “ALLLL THE TIME.” That’s FOUR Ls! Get your wallets out. (via The Daily Swarm)

—Maia Stern

The 100-year-old man in a pale, young man’s body known as Jack White recently stated his beef with MySpace and the internet in general in a cantankerous interview with The Ampersand about his new supergroup the Dead Weather:

“Do I really need a MySpace page for this f–king music? Do I really need to do that? There’s a part of me, that just out of spite, says I don’t want to do it because it’s so antithetical to what I do,” Mr. White said.

“I just question what it all means. If a million people see your webpage, how many people actually buy something, buy a record or a song? Feels to me, if you give them a chance to fast forward, rewind, or click off to the next web page, they will do it. But if you take away that opportunity, you will frustrate a percentage of people, but others will get off the couch and go buy the vinyl at the store.”

We question it too, Jack. Oh wait, no we don’t because we just read that quote on the internet. The internet also told us that the Dead Weather is playing on old-timey television on Conan O’Brien’s program The Tonight Show tomorrow night. The internet also puts millions of pictures of adorable kittens at our fingertips. And it allows us to talk to grammy through live video. So does the Dead Weather need a MySpace page? Maybe not. But the internet is definitely neat.

The first mental images to come to the brain of the average Joe or Jane when mentioning Omaha, Nebraska, would likely be cornfields as far as the eye can see, Johnny Carson, steaks, a world zoo, Mutual of Omaha Insurance or tortured songsmith Conor Oberst. Now, if you happen upon a fan of the whacked out sub-genre of rock that I like to call surf Billy garage rock, Omaha conjures one prominent spector: the band that is Brimstone Howl.

With one of the many severe thunderstorms to shit on Missouri in the last few weeks raging outside my office window, I felt it was the opportune time to stay up into the wee hours of the morning, risk electrocution at my computer and review Brimstone Howl’s latest We Came In Peace. Actually, the conditions are perfect for a critique of this record; the weather is violent and unrelenting, reminiscent of those old Hammer Studios horror flicks from the 1950s and 1960s, add to that the creepy Jim Diamond of Detroit garage gods The Dirt Bombs production (Peace sounds a bit like it was recorded at the bottom of a metal trash can in a well at the very back of an immense cavern) and Peace, though ironically named, could easily be its soundtrack.

There are many moments of eerie greatness to be found here. The songwriting, delivery, setup and all around raw slickness of the songs are not unlike the gems on the classic Nuggets compilation. Every track has flashes of this, all made nearly perfect by the manically fantastic lead guitar savagery of Nick Waggoner. His wicked slide and effects drenched flamethrower is especially prominent on the track “Child Of Perdition”, a roadhouse jam that bows to Chuck Berry as much as it does X’s Billy Zoom. In fact, it could quite possibly be some of the best playing in rock and “They Call Me Hopeless Destroyer” is open nerve blues like Jack White used to play before he spread himself thin jamming in 47 different bands. Complimenting the guitar chops is vocalist/ guitarist John Ziegler. What stands out most for me about Zeigler on this record is not his playing, though it is topnotch, is his vocals. He is a strange alien creature mix of the late Lux Interior, John Doe and the swagger of a juvenile delinquent from The Blackboard Jungle if said delinquent would have had access to LSD and William S. Burroughs novels.

Perhaps the best thing about Peace is that, with it, Brimstone Howl are at the very least attempting to bring rock back to its blues, rebellious and bare boots, raw roots. Just like The Ramones did in the 1970’s, Howl borrowing from 1960’s groups like The Shirelles, The Shangri-Las and The Ronettes to hone a sound that is as much a tribute as it is original. Goddamn, there’s even a song on the disc named “Shangri La”. If that isn’t a apparent case of fandom I don’t know what is.

The only crystal clear ape of any bands on this disc is the track “Easy to Dream”. If they could have gotten Sweet Lou Reed to do (I won’t say sing) the lines, it could have been sold as a companion piece to “Venus In Furs” and The Doors exorcism that is “The World Will Never Know.” But is that a crime? Borrowing from your heroes? Burying you enemies in flattery? Brimstone Howl are one of the best of the new crop of garage punks that loot and pillage music history like so many guitar wielding Vikings. It’s clear that they walk in the footsteps of their forefathers but luckily they don’t seem content to merely be a cover band like some others that shall remain nameless here.

The drumming of Calvin Retzlaff is pounding, stick splintering playing at it’s finest. He is Dick Dale with a drum set instead of a Strat. The first sound the listener hears on Peace is the steady, lightning fast, flaw free time and it only gets more aggressive with every progressive track thereafter. The bass of Chauncey Patton is as dense as a trucker’s midnight cup of coffee. In short, the band is in top form, showing an improved confidence since 2007 Guts of Steel. They mix the different elements within the band expertly. There’s slower tracks (“Easy To Dream”), speedy blues numbers (“Catamite Blues”, “They Call Me Hopeless Destroyer”) and the just plan weird random tune (“The World Will Never Know”).

Brimstone Howl are like the strange friend that lives in his mom’s basement and talks at length about UFOs, The Twilight Zone, going to Buenos Aires and government conspiracies. As you sit there listening you think to yourself, “this cat is totally fucked in the head. I should split.” But you don’t. You sit there, you listen, you get sucked in because, after awhile, it starts making sense. That’s what it’s like listening to We Came in Peace. This Omaha band is the crop circles, Bigfoot, ghosts and alien abductions of rock; a far out phenomenon that gathers steam and a flock of new believers the more their name is whispered. Brimstone Howl… Brimstone Howl…… Brimstone Howl……..

The Kills’ frontwoman Alison Mosshart has issued a statement regarding the British tabloid rumors that she and Jack White recently engaged in a fist fight in New York.

According to Mosshart [via NME], there was no fight between the Dead Weather compadres, and called the rumors particularly grotesque.

“I don’t usually bother responding to ridiculous fabricated tabloid rumors, but this one is particularly grotesque,” Mosshart was quoted as saying. “The stories circulating from a UK tabloid of a ‘fist fight’, or Jack punching me, or the two of us ‘being at each others throats’ are untrue.

“I’m just wrapping up a tour with The Kills and then I’ll be back with The Dead Weather for the release of the album and a tour. It’s a really great group of people to work with and I can’t wait for everyone to hear the album.”

Still no word on whether White’s wife Karen Elson is the identity behind Mildred and the Mice, but at least this squashes one nasty rumor.

We hate reporting rumors, at least until confirmed or reported by someone else (you know, so we don’t take the blame). Which is why we didn’t flinch when we saw tweets about a possible alcohol-induced fight between the two iconic members of The Dead Weather. Until we saw it reported in the British tabloids, then we knew it was legit.

In case you didn’t catch the sarcasm, it was implied. Even so, there does seem to be a bit of legitimacy to this story, although we highly doubt Jack got all Kiefer on Alison. According to the Sun, a source told them that “Jack and Alison went on a mammoth all-day session when they met up in New York. They sunk a lot of alcohol and ended up at each others’ throats. It was a one-off scrap and they both feel really ashamed.” They went on to report that “they are over it now and have promised each other they won’t get into that state again.”

Meanwhile, White is rumored to be releasing a single by his model wife Karen Elson. The White Stripe has just launched his own label, Third Man Records, and in addition to releasing The Dead Weather record Horehound on July 13, he is also planning to bring out a track by unknown star Mildred and the Mice — who is speculated to be his spouse.

Rumors and speculation abound today!

As we’ve made note of, Jack White has been extremely busy this year. And it’s only going to get busier as his new band, The Dead Weather, have just confirmed dates for their first ever tour in support of their first ever LP.

The four-piece, consisting of celebrated musicians Dean Fertita, “Little” Jack Lawrence, Alison Mosshart and Jack White will release their debut album Horehound — the first record to be recorded at White’s new Third Man studios and record label in Nashville, TN — via Third Man/Warner Bros Records on July 14.

Limited pre-sale tickets will be available starting Wednesday, May 13 noon EST and those fans purchasing pre-sale tickets will also have the opportunity to pre-order Horehound at a discounted price.

The Dead Weather tour dates
06.11.09 – Louisville, KY (City Block)
07.13.09 – Washington, DC (9:30 Club)
07.14.09 – Washington, DC (9:30 Club)
07.16.09 – New York, NY (Terminal 5)
07.18.09 – Boston, MA (House Of Blues)
07.19.09 – Ottawa, Canada (Ottawa Blues Festival)
07.21.09 – Montreal, Canada (Olympia De Montreal)
07.22.09 – Toronto, Canada (Kool Haus)
07.24.09 – Detroit, MI (The Fillmore)
07.25.09 – Columbus, OH (The LC Pavillion)
07.27.09 – Minneapolis, MN (First Avenue)
07.28.09 – Chicago, IL (Vic Theatre)
07.29.09 – Chicago, IL (Vic Theatre)
07.30.09 – Nashville, TN (War Memorial Auditorium)
08.17.09 – Denver, CO (Ogden Theatre)
08.18.09 – Salt Lake City, UT (The Depot)
08.20.09 – Seattle, WA (Paramount Theatre)
08.21.09 – Vancouver, Canada (Commodore Ballroom)
08.22.09 – Vancouver, Canada (Commodore Ballroom)
08.23.09 – Portland, OR (Roseland Theater)
08.25.09 – Los Angeles, CA (Wiltern Theatre)
08.27.09 – Pomona, CA (Glasshouse)
08.29.09 – San Diego, CA (San Diego Street Scene)
08.30.09 – San Francisco, CA (Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival)
10.04.09 – Austin, TX (Austin City Limits Festival – Zilker Park)

Jack White is getting around these days. White recently had the opportunity to work with one of his all-time influences; the Dex Romweber Duo — whom White notes as one of the best kept secrets of the rock ‘n’ roll underground. The results of this union will be released as a 7″ in late May on White’s new label, Third Man.

White and the infamous rockabilly musician Romweber teamed up last week and threw down some tracks in White’s Nashville home. White produced the track and it was engineered by Vance Powell. According to an interview with Sara Romweber, the drummer for the duo, the collaboration between the two was a long time coming, saying, “At one point, Dex was in the room with his guitar and Jack was behind the control board. Jack had the biggest smile on his face and he said, ‘You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear that guitar tone in my studio.’”

Along with the release of the new 7″, Dex Romweber is also heading out on the road with the Detroit Cobras for a U.S. tour, and is also releasing his latest record, Ruins of Berlin.

Meg White is getting hitched. The White Stripes drummer will be tying the knot with Patti and Fred Smith’s son, Jackson (you guessed it) Smith of Back in Spades, later this month in Nashville, Tennessee.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the couple have been engaged since early this year, but they are planning on keeping the wedding small, so it can be just about the two of them. White and Smith have set the date for May 22
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White’s marriage to Smith will be her second, since she was previously married to her band mate, Jack White, for four years, up until 2000. White also ran into some controversy two years back, after she allegedly appeared in sex tape that was spread around the internet. The video was later proven to be an undeniable fake.

Right now the White Stripes are on a hiatus, while Jack and Meg focus on their own separate projects, but it is worth noting that according to the Detroit Free Press article, Jack will be attending the wedding.

A British Ice Cream commercial for Magnum Temptation ice cream (yeah, we know, what a name for a big old chocolate ice cream bar; we couldn’t believe it either) has been caught ripping off the White Stripes’ “My Doorbell” in their new ad. 

According to Pitchfork, Jack White and his people have yet to say anything concerning the obvious copy-cat of their song. This wouldn’t be the first time White would be used in commercial marketing for food products. “Love is the Truth”, written by White, was used in a Coca Cola commercial that was aired in Australia and the UK. So could it be that Jack White is just letting the makers of those Magnum frozen, chocolatey delights butcher the lyrics of “My Doorbell” with something trite and British? We’re not really sure, but we have to say, those Magnum ice cream bars do look pretty appetizing… regardless of the name and all.

See the commercial here.

It’s barely been a month since Jack White introduced his latest musical brainchild to the world with the invitation-only live debut of The Dead Weather in Nashville, but they’re not wasting any time — they’ve got a debut single, an album in the works and they’ll be hitting New York’s Bowery Ballroom for their first live gig next week.
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The Dead Weather features White on drums and vocals, The Kills singer Alison Mosshart on vocals, Queens of the Stone Age’s Dean Fertita on guitar and The Raconteurs’ Jack Lawrence on bass. The supergroup’s debut single “Hang You From the Heavens” is the first from the band’s debut album Horehound, due out in June on White’s own Third Man Records.

Their gig at Bowery goes down next Tuesday, April 14. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, and we don’t see them lasting — so get on it while the gettin’s good.

The Dead Weather – “Hang You From The Heavens”

You know, when the White Stripes blew up, we just thought of them as your typical indie-pop darlings. But Jack White is becoming a living musical icon, and we write that with absolutely no sarcasm. He transcends your typical mainstream musician, using his fame and means to produce a bevy of great many things music-related. Now he’s added another band to his repertoire to coincide with the launch of his new label.

White’s new band is called The Dead Weather and features the notorious front man behind the drums as he’s teamed up with vocalist Alison Mosshart from The Kills, The Raconteurs’ Jack Lawrence on bass, Queens Of The Stone Age member Dean Fertita on guitar. The foursome performed for the first time last night at the opening of White’s new Third Man Records building in downtown Nashville. Third Man Records is the imprint on which all White’s music has been released over the years, acting as the label for all of The White Stripes and The Raconteurs releases around the world. The new Third Man Records includes a brand new company HQ that will house the label’s offices as well as a vinyl record store, photo studio, dark room and performance stage.

From the press release: The Dead Weather’s performance at the opening included several songs from their forthcoming debut album, Horehound… The album will be released via Third Man in June.

Last night’s event saw around 150 fans, family and friends attend the Third Man HQ event, where their letter-pressed invitations were exchanged for limited edition 7” vinyl pressings of The Dead Weather’s debut single “Hang You From The Heavens” (b/w a stealth cover of Gary Numan’s “Are Friends Electric?”). Each of the 150 7” records were individually hand painted by the band and each included a different photo booth strip of the band members. These two songs are also available now exclusively through iTunes.

Below is the set list from last night, along with a video of the song “Hang You From The Heavens”. You can check out a video of the Gary Numan cover at The Daily Swarm.

The Dead Weather debut set list
60 Feet Tall
Hang You From The Heavens
Weapon
Treat Me Like Your Mother
New Pony

“Hang You From The Heavens”

There are a few things that could be said about The White Stripes‘ performance on Conan’s last Late Night, but we want to make this about the positivity of the night. We’ll just leave it at they play drum-less, and despite what you may be thinking, it’s not a better alternative for Meg. Nor is it as good as this cameo they had on Conan’s show last year. But still, it’s nice to watch the love in the room.

The White Stripes – “We’re Going To Be Friends” (On Conan O’Brien’s Last Late Night Show)

Coldplay might have topped the BRITs nominations list with four nods, but our choice for best week ever goes to blues man Seasick Steve. He not only became the oldest artist ever nominated for a BRIT award this week, but also announced he’s getting ready to work with Jack White.

Seasick Steve made the announcement at the BRITs nomination party. Of course, he also admitted that prior to being nominated he’d actually never heard of the BRITs. At 67 years old he takes the cake for oldest ever nominee, shortlisted in the Best International Male category. Poor Steve is up against Beck, Kanye West, Jay-Z and Neil Diamond. But apparently he tests well with the British, and has for a while now — he won the 2007 MOJO award for best breakthrough act — so we have our fingers crossed.

Other than Steve, Coldplay pulled a Grammy repeat, scoring four nominations. They tied with soul songstress Duffy (whose album beat them out for best-seller in the UK in 2008) at the top of the heap, with Adele, Elbow and Scouting for Girls close behind at three nods each.

Radiohead, Girls Aloud, Estelle and the Ting Tings grabbed two noms each, with Radiohead and the Ting Tings competing against Coldplay and Elbow for best British album.

The nominees for both the best international group and best international album awards are AC/DC, Fleet Foxes, the Killers, Kings of Leon and MGMT. The best international female category (the counterpart to Seasick Steve’s nomination bunch) features Beyonce, Gabriella Cilmi, Katy Perry, Pink and Santogold.

The BRITs are also bringing back the award for best producer, last given at the ceremony in 1998. The nominees — Bernard Butler, Brian Eno and Steve Mac — will find out their fate a little sooner than everyone else, as the award will be presented at the Music Producers Guild Awards on Feb. 12.

The rest of them will be handed out on February 18 in London. The only artist who can count on taking home a trophy is Florence and the Machine, who is the winner of the 2009 Critics’ Choice award, chosen annually by a media panel. Well, her and the Pet Shop Boys, who will be recognized in the outstanding contribution to music category. You can check out the full list of nominations here.

U2, the Pet Shop Boys, Kings Of Leon, Duffy and Girls Aloud will perform at the awards ceremony.