BY ARTHUR SHKOLNIK In 1978, three budding musicians (and one complete lunatic) began playing casual punk shows throughout San Francisco’s North Beach area. That band was The Dead Kennedys and little did they know the music they produced would propel them down a long and arduous path to worldwide notoriety. The DKs officially broke up a year before I was born in 1986, when creative disputes between vocalist Jello Biafra and guitarist East Bay Ray led to a split between the musicians and Biafra, who served not only as the primary lyricist and voice of the band, but also as […]
EARLY WORD: Duffy’s Cut Live
[Illustration by TIM DURNING] Dead Men Do Tell Tales Wed. October 13 8 PM Pen & Pencil Club 1522 Latimer St. Philadelphia, PA 215-731-9909 FREE There is an old saying that goes: under every mile of railroad track is a dead Irishman. Locally speaking this is almost literally true. Out near Malvern, under mile 59 of what was then the Pennsylvania Railroad and is today SEPTA’s R-5 line, lie the bodies of 57 Irish railroad workers. What killed them remains mystery that — 178 years later — appears to be on the verge of being solved. The official record says […]
RIP: Solomon Burke, ‘The Bishop Of Soul,’ Dead At 70
CNN: Soul singer Solomon Burke has died at the age of 70 in the Netherlands, his Dutch representative said Sunday. Burke died of natural causes after arriving at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, his family said in a statement posted on Burke’s website. He was in town to perform for a sold-out show with the Dutch band De Dijk. “This is a time of great sorrow for our entire family. We truly appreciate all of the support and well wishes from his friends and fans. Although our hearts and lives will never be the same, his love, life and music will continue […]
CONTEST: Win Tix To See Mavis Staples Tonite!
Mavis Staples is to gospel music what Aretha Franklin is to soul music — the queeen. We have a pair of tickets to see her perform tonight at World Cafe Live with the also awesome Jolie Holland. Because time is short we are going to make this easy: What somewhat famous rock guy produced You Are Not Alone, her just-released comeback album on Anti? First reader to email us at FEED@PHAWKER.COM with the correct answer wins. Please include a mobile number for confirmation. Good luck and godspeed! Mavis Staples: First Lady of Freedom Songs from Tiffany Hopkins on Vimeo.
CONTEST: Win Tix To See The xx At The Merriam
We have a pair of tix to giveaway for Mercury Prize winners The xx at the Merriam Theater next Tuesday! First reader to email us at FEED@PHAWKER.COM with the name of the school where the band met wins. Good luck and godspeed! UPDATE: We have a winner! Sepideh Etminan-Rad was the first person to email us with the correct answer to our xx trivia question: The band members met at The Elliot School. Thanks to all for playing and stay tuned for more groovy giveaways. RELATED: There’s a singular bleakness to their debut album, which sounds like it’s been made […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
LCD Soundsystem, Making Time, Last Night by JONATHAN VALANIA BY PELLE GUNTHER If Daft Punk met an indie rocker and had one beautiful electro indie child, LCD Soundsystem would most definitely be that child. The concert was held in the Philadelphia Naval Yard at the Naval Cruise Terminal. It was like something out of a raver’s dream, giant warehouse, full of DJ’s, dance music, lights and people, most of whom were tripping a little, even if it was just from the sheer noise and wild light shows. Coming off their very successful new release, This Is Happening, the band had […]
CONTEST: Win Tix To See Chrissie Hynde
Proto-Riot Girl, scourge of McDonalds, ex-Mrs. Ray Davies, ex-Dude From Simple Minds and, of course, the great Pretender — Chrissie Hynde works harder than a one-legged man at an ass-kicking contest at, well, kicking ass. She brings her latest project — JP, Chrissie & The Fairground Boys — to the Keswick on Thursday. We have two tickets to give away to the first person to correctly fill in the blank on this Pretenders’ lyric: “Don’t harass me can’t you tell I’m going home I’m tired as hell, I’m not the kind I used to be I got a kid I’m […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
GOLD SOUNDZ: Pavement, The Mann, Last Night, BY TIFFANY YOON DAN DELUCA: The quality of Pavement’s shows was always determined by Malkmus’ mood, and on this night the 44-year-old Portland, Ore., auteur was gracious and engaged, and willing to deliver rarities such as the early single “Box Elder” and choice cuts such as the hummable Smashing Pumpkins-dissing “Range Life.” He was also keen to remind people that Pavement is a great guitar band. Crooked Rain’s “Elevate Me Later,” an early set highlight, was Exhibit A. But it was not all about Malkmus. Kannberg’s songs “Kennel District” and “Date w/IKEA,” were […]
CONTEST: Win Tix To See Pavement At The Mann
UPDATE: We have a winner! Congrats to Vince Pennline who was the first to email us with the correct answer to our question about what happened to ‘the second drummer’ — he drowned, of course, as per the lyrics of “Cut Your Hair.” Thanks to all for playing, and stay tuned for more groovy concert ticket giveaways on a Phawker near you. After years of speculation, the most important American band of the Nineties is returning to the stage with the lineup of Mark Ibold, Scott “Spiral Stairs” Kannberg, Stephen Malkmus, Bob Nastanovich and Steve West reuniting for dates around […]
UPCOMING: Win Tix To See Pavement At The Mann
They play the Mann Center on Friday and tomorrow we’ll be giving away a pair of tickets. Stay tuned…
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR “[Jimmie Dale Gilmore‘s] voice would make even Hank Williams cry,” Nicholas Dawidoff once wrote in The New York Times Magazine. Gilmore, a singer from West Texas, writes songs that would be described as alternative country. But he sings honky-tonk country classics on his album Come on Back , which he discussed in a 2005 interview with Terry Gross. The album, a tribute to Gilmore’s late father, contains versions of his father’s favorite songs like “Walkin’ the Floor Over You” and “Pick Me Up on Your Way Down.” “[Pick Me Up] represents an entire style that I really associate […]
RAWK TAWK: Q&A With Marah’s Dave Bielanko
BY JONATHAN VALANIA All you youngin’s are probably too new here to remember all this, but there was a time back around the turn of the century when Marah — a scrappy little roots-y, beer-lovin’ band of street-urchins from South Philly-by-way-of-Conshohocken — was being groomed to be the second coming of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band circa The Young, The Innocent & The E-Street Shuffle. Marah was always essentially the brothers Bielanko — Dave, the rakish, boozy street poet with the soulful rasp and the uncanny capacity to channel the heart of the common man and Serge, the […]
EARLY WORD: Night Of The Igguana
EDITOR’S NOTE: In honor of Iggy & The Stooges playing the House of Blues in Atlantic City on Friday, we have dug into the vaults to retrieve our coverage of the last time they came through town back in 2007. This includes a review of their Electric Factory concert and an in-depth interview with founding member/guitarist extraordinaire Ron Asheton, who sadly passed away in 2009. The current line-up includes Mike Watt on bass (filling in for deceased bassist Dave Alexander), Scott Asheton on drums, and guitarist James Williamson who first replaced Ron Asheton back in the early 70s for the […]