I had the pleasure of writing a feature for Cincinnati’s CityBeat on my experience recording a cover of Tom Petty’s “Walls” with my band Plastic Ants. The session happened to coincide with the final days of Ultrasuede, the studio space in which we’ve recorded all of our albums to date, so the story turned into a dual tribute of sorts. Hope you enjoy. And don’t miss the amazing video for the song directed by our friend Mike Sweeney.
The latest album by Plastic Ants is now available. Hope you enjoy.
Discover more at ThePlasticAnts.com.
It was my great pleasure to chat with Annie Zaleski about my well-spent ’90s serving as an editor at “Alternative Press.” Annie is my former intern and longtime friend, and these days a widely published and well-respected writer and editor. I couldn’t be prouder of her.
Thanks for a great interview, Annie. And happy 30th birthday, AP. Long may you serve the outsider kids in the black tees and hoodies.
You can also check out this trailer for the magazine’s exhibit in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame And Museum, as well as the documentary shown in the space. You might recognize a few of the talking heads. Cheers!
EXHIBIT TRAILER
FULL STORY
Background note: I originally interviewed Zakk in 2006, for the cover of the now-defunct Guitar Edge magazine.
The wicked? They’re still not getting much rest these days. Especially not Zakk Wylde.
On an average weekday, the guitar slinger rises early in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles, lifts weights, and then heads to the studio where he and producer Michael Beinhorn (Ozzy Osbourne, Soundgarden, Red Hot Chili Peppers) are putting the finishing touches on what will be Black Label Society’s 8th album, Shot To Hell (Roadrunner).
Then, around the time most mortals enjoy dinner, Zakk heads to Ozzy Osbourne’s estate, where he works well beyond the witching hour in the Ozzman’s home studio. Thus far they’ve written and recorded 20 or so new songs, according to Zakk. The best of those cuts will appear on the as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2001’s Down To Earth, tentatively due later this year.
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My new deal. Grab a FREE issue at TheFireTheftProject.com. Hope you enjoy.
One Break Coming Up, Or How Diamond Dave Saved Summer
Background note: Apparently I once interviewed David Lee Roth. At a time when he was still on the outs with the Van Halens and touring with Sammy Hagar. Probably for Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer. And he did not disappoint. Quite awesome.
David Lee Roth laughs uproariously at his own ingenuity. In mid March, while the rock world waited patiently for Van Halen to do the right thing and welcome the singer back into the fold, Diamond Dave was busy doing what he does best–thinking outside the box while practicing those whirling kicks. Word was that Roth and Sammy Hagar–who replaced Roth in 1985, then quit Van Halen himself in 1996–couldn’t stand each other. Who would believe they could ever share a stage? Why, Diamond Dave, of course.
“I wanted to create something that wasn’t predicted, yet when you saw it, it was patently obvious,” he says of his co-headlining tour with the Red Rocker. “It’s kind of like the wheel. I didn’t think of that either, but when I saw it I said, ‘But of course–no corners!’”
Roth stops to laugh uproariously again, as he does after almost every sentence. Read the rest of this entry »
The deluxe vinyl version of “Falling To Rise” is finally ready for take off. Grab your copy at PlasticAnts.Bandcamp.com (includes instant digital download) or a high quality digital download at iTunes.com. To celebrate the launch, we put together this micro-film with a few talented friends. Hope you enjoy.
The deluxe clear vinyl and digital formats of Plastic Ants’ “FALLING TO RISE” are NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER on BANDCAMP via the band’s own Requisite Recordings label. Only interested in digital? You can also pre-order high-quality “Mastered for iTunes” files on iTUNES.
The full album will be officially released on September 23, but by ordering now, you’ll immediately receive high-quality digital files of four songs: “Falling To Rise,” “Across The Falls,” “Sympathetic Strings” and “Not Much Makes Her Cry.”
The band’s full-length debut brings together classical and rock musicians, including singer-guitarist Robert Cherry, bassist John Curley (Afghan Whigs), drummer Joe Klug (Wussy) and keyboardist-singer Guy Vanasse, plus guest performances by singer Lisa Walker (Wussy) and cellist Amy Gillingham.
The album was produced by John Curley and the band at Ultrasuede, in Cincinnati; mastered by Dave Davis at The All Night Party, in Cincinnati; and cut to lacquer by Jeff Powell at Ardent, in Memphis. Jeff Johns designed the album artwork, featuring a cover photo of one of the last Convair 880 jets in existence, shot by John Curley.
We hope you enjoy the music as much as we enjoyed making it. Cheers, Plastic Ants.
Modest Proposals
“Can’t someone just make them stop?” beseeches Courtney Taylor-Taylor from the stage. “This is Detroit—isn’t it legal to just shoot them?”
The Dandy Warhols are under attack . . . from Mahogany Rush. This is Detroit. Somehow these things happen. The present is always challenged by the spirit of 1976. The Portland psych-pop combo is playing the Shelter, a downtown basement residing beneath Saint Andrew’s Hall, a larger venue that tonight hosts Mahogany Rush. You may remember the hard-rockin’ trio from such classics as “Dragonfly,” “Hey, Little Lover,” and “Requiem For A Sinner.” (No? Me neither.) In the Me Decade they were eternally third on the bill at seemingly any given stadium-rock show. Tonight they’re finally playing above another band—literally—and their amplified kick-drum is thumping through the floor between pauses in the Warhols’ set.
“Wait. They’re hippies, right?” Taylor-Taylor thinks he’s found a solution. “Why doesn’t someone go up there and give ‘em some acid? Then they’ll just sit on the floor and talk about themselves. There can’t be more than 14 of them onstage. It wouldn’t cost that much . . . ”
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