To mark the release of their 7th studio album Revolver Soul, the crazy chemical- country collective Alabama 3 will include a stop in Tripod, Dublin on November 21 on their Soul Revolver Tour.
The miniscule number of you who bought their last album, La Peste, will know that the Alabama 3 have decided to tone down the Southern preacher bit and concentrate on the tunes. It's an attempt to get away from the "novelty band" image, which has resulted in savage critical maulings in the UK, and collective head scratching on the other side of the Atlantic.
Alabama 3 are known for their love of a good time. On their latest album, these rhinestone spangled bad boys let their inner funk monster off the leash.
What is it about this mob that fails to persuade? Their steel peddle revivalism comes on like pastiche, yet it’s subtle, tender pastiche, delivered with intelligence and reverence. There are hints of Beck, glimpses of vintage Nick Cave and tremors too of music that is older, sadder, wiser.
Fancy taking a trip down to Dr John’s bayou, with Andy Weatherall’s decks appeal, Nick Cave’s religious fervour, and Johnny Cash’s outlaws as your inlaws?
This Is The Tomb of The Juice is Michael Pyro & co.’s first album, and it’s a ballsy, gritty collection of songs, the kind of record that announces the summer, oscillating between aggressive Alabama 3 rantings and über-cool James Brown blues funk.
Still scratching your head over The Sopranos’ enigmatic final curtain? To help you make sense of it – and to look back over its eight years – we talk to Frank Vincent, aka wiseguy Phil Leotardo.
He loves Natasha Bedingfield and Charlotte Hatherley, but has no time for Franz Ferdinand, Donnie Darko and hammock-sized bras. Lisa Coen wakes Ian McCulloch from his slumbers and finds the Echo & The Bunnymen legend in wonderfully morose form.
A new organisation of musicians has written to Barack Obama protesting against the use of music to torture detainees. Also: a closer look at the individuals behind the recent An Bord Snip report, which recommends systematic fleecing of the poor in order to keep fat-cats in the style to which they’re accustomed.
Having built up a solid reputation on the gigging circuit, blues outfit Ali and The DTs have just released their debut album. Harp player Christian Volkmann discusses the details of their unique sound with Colm O’Hare.
The fourth series of RTÉ Two's highly-acclaimed Other Voices, presented by John Kelly, was recorded over an extraordinary eight days during the madcap run-up to Christmas, in the thoroughly invigorating coastal environs of Dingle. Hot Press reporter Craig Fitzsimons was there to soak up the phantasmagoria, as some of the hottest talent from Ireland and abroad descended on the tranquil Kerry town to make heavenly music.
JOHN WALSHE talks to JIM WHITE about his amazing life – from dropping acid and modelling for Vogue to surfing for Jesus – and his amazing album No Such Place
It’s been a busy year for Republic of Loose. With several Irish tours in the bag, they have spent the last few months gearing up for the UK release of their album Aaagh!.
Preparing for his band's cataclysmic appearance at
this year's Trinity Ball in typically languid fashion,
SPIRITUALIZED mainman JASON PIERCE talks to STUART
CLARK about college days, high-altitude gigs and why he's
not too desperate for a new guitar. Pix: PETER MATTHEWS.
Moby Comes Out To Play
IT S NOT often a Grammy nominee saunters into the Hot Press offices in the midst of the controlled explosion that is production weekend. But then, Moby s one of those freaks of nature a pop star who seems interested in what goes on around him rather than employing people to block it out.
In a rare interview, DJ, Sabres Of Paradise mainman and all-round geezer andrew weatherall tells stuart clark about why he won t be working with Primal Scream again, comes clean about his Van Morrison obsession, and does his best not to slag off Kula Shaker and Mansun.
From the biggest international names to the most dynamic local creations, festivals make Ireland a good place to be in summer, even when the sun refuses to put in an appearance
He’s spent the past few years hanging out with Kate Moss and Primal Scream, but now it’s time for Irvine Welsh to look up some old pals. Yup, Begbie, Spud, Renton and Sick Boy are back in Porno, an XXX-rated tale which makes Trainspotting look like Harry Potter
Few bands have managed to divide
critical opinion quite so spectacularly as Kula Shaker. Mystic musical saviours to some, prog rock nightmares to others, the one thing that everybody s agreed on is that mainman Crispian Mills gives exceedingly good quote. Interview and
periodic bewilderment:
Stuart Clark
A year ago they were being paid fifty quid a gig, now they’re one of the biggest rock ‘n’ roll bands on the planet and about to take the Oxegen main stage by storm. A pun loving Stuart Clark discovers how Franz Ferdinand have become Top of the Fops.
Ahead of his show at the comedy tent, Ireland's favourite comedian Tommy Tiernan dropped by the Hot Press Chatroom last night to answer the fans' questions.
Other Voices, the RTE series featuring acclaimed bands playing in an intimate venue in Dingle, Kerry, will kick off its fourth year with a series of recordings in December.
As of today, we at hotpress.com will be bringing you the full story from Oxegen 2008, including interviews with some of the biggest hits of the weekend.
Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova and The Pogues have been officially confirmed for Oxegen, along with the full day-by-day schedule for the July festival.
The first batch of acts for Scotland's T In The Park Festival have been announced, giving a strong indication of who'll be coming to Punchestown this year.
Driven along by their now trademark keys, ‘Last Of The Big Time Benders’, ‘Sing Song Sung’ and soon-to-be-released single ‘I Built A Gun’ are as good a triumvirate of tunes as you’ll hear from any young(ish) Irish band.
The organisers of Oxegen '08 have revealed that the three day festival is now completely sold out. Plus, they've announced the day by day line-up so far...
The Irish music industry has spawned a number of official bodies and companies, who provide invaluable services especially relevant to artists going the independent route. But what do these operators actually do? Here, we present a handy run-down on the key bodies and expert companies out there waiting to serve you.
Budget cuts almost spelled the end of Other Voices. But the team behind the Dingle music institution rallied around – with the result that this year’s line-up is arguably among the strongest in the history of the show
RTE2 have plenty of live music action to keep us placated for the next few weeks - here's the line up of bands and when to catch them. For more about the Other Voices series, click on the link at the very bottom.
Jesus Christ And The Church Of Gnostic Rock. Peter Murphy on the good, clean, but mostly dirty, fight for the soul of the Devil s Music. Part One: The Old Testament.
Hard-Fi and Clash legend Mick Jones join Hot Press for a Jack Daniel's-fuelled weekend in the heart of the American south.
Music Review | Live
19% | 7 Sep 2006
They said it couldn’t be done, but this year’s Electric Picnic achieved the impossible by being even more joyous, vibey and action-packed than its predecessors. Hot Press was in the thick of things as 200 acts and 30,000 music lovers descended on one very big house in the country.
