An Automatic Night at Necto

The Detroit area has become almost like a second home for the longtime industrial dance act VNV Nation. But Detroit fans were a little surprised when the band passed up Detroit on the first leg of their fall tour. But for the fans, the wait is over as the English based group is headed to this area on the second leg of their tour.

The guys in VNV Nation have been pumping out some very danceable industrial music since the mid-90’s and have gained a sizable following in the genre. Celebrating the release of their eighth album, “Automatic”, VNV Nation scored some success with their latest, scoring top 10 debuts for the album in a few European countries. Where as past albums like “Matter + Form” and “Judgement” have had an industrial lean to them, the music on “Automatic” seems more destined for clubs and songs like “Control” and “Nova” proved that the guys can easily straddle the line between dance music and the harder edge of industrial music. But when listening to songs like “Streamline” and “Radio”, they definitely step into more of the synthpop style that may have been missing from previous album.

The upcoming VNV Nation tour will be a bit different than past tours, as the VNV Nation does a full live set, as well as a DJ set to end the show as well. So fans will get the best of both world while the band tours through a March 17^th finale in Arizona. But a little bit before the end, VNV Nation returns to Michigan when they play at Necto in Ann Arbor. The venue is a bit more intimate than past venues, so it’s sure to be tight, sweaty and tons of people dancing all in the same breadth.

VNV Nation plays at Necto in Ann Arbor on Wednesday, March 7^th. Tickets are $15 and are available at www.necto.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.vnvnation.com.

Yellow Ostrichs in Strange Lands

It can be amazing on how things expand musically from your first to second album. Back in 2009, Alex Schaff started the Yellow Ostrich project in his Wisconsin bedroom. A year later, he moved to New York and released the debut album under the Yellow Ostrich name, entitled “The Mistress”. The reviews from the indie blogosphere for the album was significant and was able to get Schaff out on the road to promote pretty heavily in 2010 and into 2011.

But Schaff knew he was outgrowing the one man sound when it came time to record the sophomore release. Instead of trying to solider on as a one man army, Schaff enlisted utility-man instrumentalist Jon Natchez and drummer Michael Tapper, formerly of We Are Scientists to round out the newly formed trio. The fruits of the expanded lineup are shown on the band’s new album, “Strange Land”, due out March 6^th. Taking it up a notch sonically from the debut, the band tries out a wide range of instrumentation on the new album, but at the core- the drums and soaring harmonies shines through on songs like “Elephant King” and “I Got No Time For You”.

As the group grows and goes on tour together, Yellow Ostrich has a busy schedule for the month of March with a U.S. tour. The centerpiece of their tour are playing four nights at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, which will have the band in different venues just about every night. However, if you aren’t headed down to Austin and want to see the guys a little closer to home, Yellow Ostrich plays the Pike Room on Wednesday. March 7^th. Also on the bill are Pittsburgh duo 1,2,3 for a night of bouncy pop.

Yellow Ostrich plays at the Pike Room on Wednesday, March 7^th. Tickets are $10 are available at www.ticketweb.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.yellowostrich.com.

March Hard Rock/Metal Calendar

The Faceless/Dying Fetus- March 6^th- The Loft (Lansing): This tour will be criss-crossing the area that week as the Faceless unleashes new lead vocalist Geoff Ficco and prepares for their next album. Dying Fetus and Goatwhore will be a part of this intense bill. Make sure to check out Goatwhore’s new album “Blood for the Master” and my interview in the next few days with James Harvey of the band. (Tickets are $13, available at ticketweb.com).

Deicide- March 9^th- Blondie’s : Glen Benton brings his searing anti-religious and establishment metal in his yearly trip to Detroit. Things will be wild inside the brutally fun confines of Blondie’s. Make sure to check out longtime Wisconsin metallers Jungle Rot and my interview with them in the next few days. (Tickets are $20, available at ticketmaster.com).

Black Tusk- March 10^th- I-Rock Nightclub: The Georgia band received rave reviews for their latest album “Set The Dial”, which draws comparisons to fellow Savannah bands Kylesa and Baroness, but has a far more straight forward delivery. (Tickets are $12, available at irocknightclub.com).

Iced Earth- March 16^th- Crofoot Ballroom: I’ve been hit or miss on Iced Earth over the years, but even I’ve gotta admit that their latest album “Dystopia” is one of their better efforts over the years. Bringing in Into Eternity’s Stu Block to carry the vocal hold has paid off for this album. Make sure to check out the thrash-astic Warbringer opening the show. (Tickets are $20, available at ticketweb.com).

Mindless Self Indulgence- March 16^th- Fillmore Detroit: It’s been a few years since Mindless Self Indulgence has toured and released an album. Always the wild and offbeat show, MSI will reintroduce itself to their fans and I’m sure there will be plenty of talk about. Always a good time. (Tickets are $25, available at livenation.com)

Andrew W.K.- March 24^th- St. Andrew’s Hall: This show is always like a workout, but everybody doing a mixture of throwing up the horns, dancing and headbanging at the same time. It’s also gonna be a good time when the man in the white shirt and white jeans plays my favorite album of 2002 in it’s entirety, “I Get Wet”. (Tickets are $20, available at livenation.com).

UFC 144 Preview & Fearless Predictions

A lot’s changed since the last time the UFC came to Japan for UFC 29. Last time, Chuck Liddell was only a middleweight and Matt Hughes was an up and comer in his division. Even though it’s been since 2000, it seems like it’s taken a century to bring the UFC back to Japan for UFC 144. But the UFC’s return, much like it’s return to Brazil last year, features a stellar six fight main card.

In the main event, a big championship bout takes place as Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson fight for the Lightweight Championship. Also, Rampage Jackson looks for redemption as he tries to pound out a win over the hoping to be resurgent Ryan Bader in a Light Heavyweight matchup. Also, Jake Shields is also in need of a win as he takes on Japan’s favorite son, Yoshiro Akiyama.
There are a ton of other fights, including match ups with Yushin Okami and Cheick Kongo, but let’s focus in on the main three fights of UFC 144. Let’s not wait any further and get down to the analysis and picks.

Lightweight Championship Match: Frankie Edgar (14-1) vs. Ben Henderson (15-2): It’s been since late 2009 since Edgar has fought someone not named Gray Maynard or B.J. Penn, but by beating those two men in multiple matches, Edgar has made a name for himself in the division and is firmly established as the champ now. Meanwhile, Ben Henderson has slowly been moving up the ladder for a while, but his epic fight with Clay Guida (that most UFC fans missed the first time out), it made “Bendo” first in line for the title. It’s gonna be interesting to see what style wins out here: Edgar’s grinding takedowns or Henderson’s slug it out mentality. Part of me has been very skeptical of Edgar’s dominance over the division, and part of me wants to pick Henderson to bloody Edgar up. However, Edgar is a very smart guy in the ring and probably won’t keep going toe to toe for five rounds. Frankie should find the win by a mix of punches and takedowns.
Pick: Frankie Edgar wins via unanimous decision.

Light Heavyweight Match: Rampage Jackson (32-9) vs. Ryan Bader (13-2): Both of these guys are looking for redemption and a win here would be big. Before he beat Jason Brilz in the fall, Bader had lost two straight to Jon Jones (no surprise there) and Tito Ortiz (still shocked over that one). But he seems like he could be on his way back up the division ladder. Meanwhile, Rampage looked in the shape of his life fighting Jones in the fall, only to fall in the 4^th Round. There were doubts before the fight that Rampage’s heart just wasn’t into fighting anymore, but it was obvious he gave it his all in that fight.

With that loss, there could be a letdown factor for Rampage and those doubts could come creeping into fans’ minds again. It's possible to think that his devoted Japanese fans from his Pride days could help, but you have to think that Rampage had a part of him die after that fight and may start looking to life after fighting. He’s had a stellar career, but I think this may be the beginning of the end for Rampage. It’s been a while since we’ve seen the killer instinct in Rampage (other than the Jones fight), and I’m going with Bader in a mild upset.
Pick: Ryan Bader fights via unanimous decision.

Middleweight Match: Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-4) vs. Jake Shields (26-6): Yet another story of redemptions for both men. Akiyama has lost three straight is in desperate need of a win. Shields has lost two in a row, after a tough title match loss to Georges St. Pierre and a puzzling loss to Jake Ellenberger in September. But I think that Shields was under duress, with the death of his father days before the fight. I think you see a more focused Shields here and I don’t see this one lasting long and Shields keeping Akiyama on the mat and ending it there.
Pick: Jake Shields wins via submission in the first round.

For a full fight card, check out www.ufc.com for more details.

Slow Club Finds Paradise

Testing the boundaries of noise pop and atmospheric rock, the English duo Slow Club brings the sound that has been growing legions of fans in their native land and seeks to spread the word here in the States now as well. Starting out in 2006 in Sheffield by the duo of Charles Watson and Rebecca Taylor, the band saw it’s first bit of exposure in 2009 when they released their debut, “Yeah So”, which garnered the attention of television here in the States.

Beyond numerous commercials, the group’s music has been a favorite of American television- ending up on shows like “Chuck” and “Gossip Girl”. The good fortune spread from the first album lead into the band’s sophomore album, “Paradise”, released back in September. The mission started on “Yeah So” seamlessly continues on their “Paradise”, where the group wows on tracks like “Two Cousins” and “If We Were Still Alive”. It’s easy to see the intense, yet mellow vibes the group brings forth on this album.

After a few small tours on this side of the Atlantic, Slow Club takes another chance as they have dates through March 12^th in San Diego. But well before that, the band hits Pontiac as they take over the Pike Room for an evening of mood-pop and checking out how “Paradise” sounds as fully textered as it does on the album.

Slow Club plays at the Pike Room at the Crofoot Ballroom on Tuesday, February 21^st. Tickets are $8 and are available at www.ticketweb.com. Additional band info and tour dates can be found at www.slowclubband.com.

Interview w/ Jimmy Euringer of Mindless Self Indulgence

Mindless Self Indulgence always had quite the bizarre sense of humor, and it was easy to chuckle when the band discussed times with hookers and cocaine, as well as screwing around with friends’ girlfriends. But with those silly premises, the group has quite catchy beats and frentically paced songs that has given them a large cult following of fans.
But things have been quite quiet in the MSI world since the release of their 2008 album “If”.

With various members taking time off to have children and take some time away, things seemed like maybe MSI wouldn’t get back off the ground again. Fans can rejoice as MSI has recently re-released their first album, “Tight” and now repackaging it with b-sides and remixes under the “Tighter” moniker. It’s the first sign of what should be a busy year for the group. Mindless will be on their first tour in a few years through April, and then going into work on their next album.

For front man Jimmy Euringer, or better known as “Jimmy Urine” to his fans, he’s been keeping busy. Not only has he been working with his other band, the Left Rights, Jimmy has been developing and composing music for the upcoming video game “Lollipop Chainsaw”, out later this year.

As the band was gearing up for their tour, Jimmy took the time to talk with me (and in a first, actually pronounced my last name correctly- which is no small feat in itself) and discuss what he’s been up to since the last album and how the band has survived in this topsy-turvy industry.

Here’s my interview with Jimmy:

AM: What was the inspiration behind re-releasing “Tight” many years after it’s initial release?
JE: Whatever you want to call it, remastered, reissued- “Tighter” was the perfect album to reissue about there was such a small amount when it was first released. Originally, we only released 5,000 copies and some of them are selling on Ebay for something like 150 or 200 bucks a copy. So, we decided to put some b-sides and some audio commentary. It’s us listening to the album and commenting on what we were thinking at the time. I think “Tight” was the one album we’ve had that deserves a re-release at this point.

AM: What did you like and dislike about the initial version of “Tight”?
JE: There’s nothing I really disliked about the album. There were a few moments that I listened and thought “what the f--- am I thinking?” (laughs). But it shows just how ass-backwards we work as a band. We like what we do, but we do things so screwed up that it’s a hard formula for other bands to go and recreate the way we do things. I mean, who uses these old arcane machines that we used on that album? (laughs). I think bands aren’t dumb enough to try and do things the way we did things.

AM: What have you been up to in the meantime since the last album?
JE: Besides re-issuing “Tight”, we did a comic book in the past couple of years about Mindless and I’ve been involved in a game that’s coming out on Playstation 3 called “Lollipop Chainsaw”, which should be out in the late spring or early summer.

AM: What is the plot of “Lollipop Chainsaw”?
JE: The plot was written by James Gunn, who wrote movies like the remake of “Dawn of the Dead” and others. But the basic plot of the game is there’s this teenage girl named Juliet, who’s a cheerleader and her town is under attack from zombies. She gets a chainsaw and just starts killing them all and has to get through 5 major bosses to win, all very punk rock looking bosses. I did a voice for the first major boss in the game. It’s super goofy and over the top, but it’s a lot of fun.

AM: Has there been any new material developed for the new album yet?
JE: I’m always writing new music, no matter what sort of things I do. I could be writing a pop song and think “Oh, if I do this and say this- this could easily be a Mindless song”. I’m always finding way to take a song and make it sound like a Mindless song. But over time, I think the tempo and quality of the type of the song changes, but the writing is usually the same. But we always end up going with the idea of writing crazy s--- because we have the freedom because we do have to adhere to MTV. But after the tour, we’ll try to get back into the studio and start working.

AM: How do you think MSI thrives in this chaotic industry and what sort of niche does the band provide?
JE: We all know the industry has taken a crap over the past several years, but we had an idea that this was gonna happen. One way we survived was to do one off deals with labels, saying to them “let’s do one album, and if you like it, maybe we’ll do another. If not, no problem either”. We didn’t want to sign our life away and do multiple albums on a label or get suckered into one of those 360 deals. We like being in our own little world and being independent. We’re kinda like GWAR or the Cramps, you always know what you’re gonna get with Mindless like you do with those bands. I see us as a mom & pop record store these days.

Mindless Self Indulgence plays at the Fillmore Detroit on Friday, March 16^th. Tickets range from $25 to $35 and are available at www.livenation.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.mindlesselfinduglence.com.