From the beautiful opening drone of ‘Caribou’ to the hypnotic, looped madness of their 15-minute take on ‘Planet of Sound’, Frank Black and collaborators Two Pale Boys have managed to capture the off-kilter magic of old Pixies classics while pulling them into their own gorgeously surreal soundworld.
Frank Black has confirmed that he's playing a 'precore' show tomorrow, Saturday February 9th,
at the Bandstand on St. Stephen's Green. Kick-off is 5pm.
When indie godhead Frank Black hooked up with several veterans of the Nashville session scene the results were thrillingly different to his work with The Pixies
Frank Black is something of the Paul McCartney of the alternative set - one quarter of a hugely influential band but struggling to recapture that muse throughout a patchy solo career.
On top of scoring a Top 5 hit with Elbow's latest album, singer Guy Garvey recently absconded to Nashville to record with Richard Hawley and Frank Black.
With hopes of a new Pixies record fading away (possibly a blessing in disguise), Black Francis/Frank Black returns instead with something like his 75th solo album. His own stuff has varied in quality for sure, yet ‘Captain Pasty’ is a bit more like it, a snarling punk rock record with that trademark voice still intact. Completely hatstand of course, but good to have around.
I could never figure out why so many scribes creamed themselves over the Pixies. To me they were mediocrity incarnate, musically limited and hardly bursting at the seams with lyrical wisdom.
Black Francis talks to Hot Press about his friendship with U2, his relationship with the rest of the Pixies and why he's reverting back to his original stage-name.
Tanya Donelly has returned with a new album, Beautysleep, which features the cream of Boston's musical talent. But Peter Murphy discovers that the ex-Belly vocalist's pregnancy at the time of recording forced her to re-evaluate her singing technique
Shouting and snarling about corpses, unbirthday host Frank Black sounded like a nutter on a street corner with a knack for associative wordplay (check out the extraordinary verbal dexterity of ‘Brick Is Red’). Kim Deal, then posing as Mrs. John Murphy, pounded close by, before freaking out the guests with primal scene anthem 'Gigantic', a childhood tale pervy enough to recall the films of Brian De Palma.
Jackie Hayden travelled to Nashville, Tennessee for a once-off invitation-only gig starring Frank Black, Guy Garvey of Elbow and Richard Hawley at the Jack Daniel’s Distillery as part of the celebration for Mr Daniel’s birthday.
One of the great rock mavericks, Moris Tepper, makes a rare visit to Ireland for gigs in The Lobby, Cork (June 26) and Boom Boom Room, Parnell Street, Dublin (27).
Along with the music, beer and scoffing, there was some serious talking done at the Electric Picnic. Shilpa Ganatra was taking notes as The Chalets, Flaming Lips, JJ72, Bob Mould, James Blunt, Tommy Tiernan, Declan O’Rourke and The Devlins were subjected to a public grilling by the Hot Press journalistic elite. And John Walshe.
placebo have probably garnered more column inches in the British press for frontman
brian molko s effeminate appearance than for their music.
colm o hare meets the men who want to be a band that parents hate .
MAZZY STAR are still going strong, but HOPE SANDOVAL has also got a side project up and running. She tells NICK KELLY all about
HOPE SANDOVAL AND THE WARM INVENTIONS and her collaborations with everyone from The Chemical Brothers to Bert Jansch
Black Francis' chaotic St. Stephen's Green appearance is quickly becoming the stuff of legend. See what he had to say to Hot Press' Roisin Dwyer and Elaine Hughes beforehand.
Over the past number of years, Today FM has consistently supported Irish music, playlisting records by local artists and doing in-studio sessions on a regular basis. in the process the station has played an important part in the increasingly impressive chart and sales achievements of irish acts.
An Irish band who don’t entirely fit in at home, Relish can console themslves with a great new album Karma Calling, and an international fanbase that stretches from the U.S. to Japan.
An Irish band who don’t entirely fit in at home, Relish can console themslves with a great new album Karma Calling, and an international fanbase that stretches from the U.S. to Japan.
Want to know how to get the most out of Witnness? Email your questions/tips/profound insights via the form below (it can be anything from transport queries to what-to-bring hints to who not to miss on the bill) and await response from the online community
As The White Stripes prepare to unleash another work of scuzz-bucket genius, frontman Jack White talks about his Catholic upbringing and explains why, as a teenager in blue collar Detroit, he fell hopelessly in love with the blues.
A new album, an exclusive gig and opinions on Velvet Goldmine, the Internet and life, love and happiness. STUART CLARK meets the legendary DAVID BOWIE.
To coincide with the release of the Today FM DJ’s double-CD compilation tracking the history of alternative rock in Ireland, Tom Dunne talks to Jackie Hayden about the state of Irish music, singer-songwriters versus guitar bands and the role of Irish radio.
It’s Christmas time and, as far as the hotpress journalistic elite are concerned, there’s not a turkey in sight. JOHN WALSHE, COLIN CARBERRY, CHRIS DONOVAN, EAMON SWEENEY and BARRY O'DONOGHUE report on the Irish acts who are going to be huuuuuuuuge!
over the next 12 months.
Well when you've conquered the world, what else can the biggest band on the planet do except go into space? BONO and LARRY discuss matters cosmic and personal with Olaf Tyaransen
After the cult success of their first album, Bows And Arrows is the next offering from The Walkmen, the New York outfit formed from the vestiges of Jonathan Fire* Eater and The Recoys.
I think Kings Of Leon must like the Pixies. With the headline act, rock couldn’t be any cooler, even with Kim Deal in your mum’s pink jumper and beige trousers. But for the newly-shorn KOL, the same nonchalance hasn’t worked out quite the way they planned
A?l ?d$sive video interview with the golden boy of power-pop, FRANK BLACK, the man who in his days as frontman of The Pixies bestrode the realm of alt-rock like a giant guitar-wielding colossus. To describe our Frank as 'seminal' doesn't even come close.
It's time for the birthday JD Set to celebrate Jack Daniel's birthday, where britrock legends Brett Anderson, Carl Barat and John McClure join forces for a unique collaboration - and talk bout media manipulation, Jade Goody and, aaah, premature deafness!
THE INTERNET has already been utilised to flog every kind of consumer good imaginable, from cut-glass cutlery to left-handed monkey wrenches. Now, even portable commodes have got their own homepage, in the shape of the Bumper Dumper website.
The Bumper Dumper is a stand-alone toilet which can be taken on field trips such as hunting and fishing expeditions, or even on off-roading excursions.
"No more searching for the perfect bush to squat behind," says the on-site blurb. "No more squatting and finding out later it was poison ivy! No more falling off the unstable porta potty! No more concern for germs from public facilities!
"When you have to go . . . you CAN! And with the privacy curtain, you might forget that you are miles from home."
http://www.myfreeoffice.com/rsenterprises/ n
Annual article: With Compass Records taking over the Green Linnet catalogue, the Nashville label has now become one of the biggest traditional imprints in the business.
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.
