The Saratoga Springs, NY duo of Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel, known collectively as Phantogram, released their debut LP Eyelid Movies on Seattle, WA’s Barsuk Records earlier this year.
Following a massively successful SXSW (where they received “Best Of” nods from USA Today, Spin, and NPR) Phantogram will continue to tour in support of the release (which Spin called “mesmerizing” and gave four stars, and Relix called “music for a cinematic dreamscape”) throughout the year. To kick off the tour season, they have a run of dates lined up with The Antlers, headlining shows at Hoboken, NJ’s Maxwell’s, and NYC’s Bowery Ballroom, and Sasquatch Festival over Memorial Day weekend.
2010 promises to be a banner year for Phantogram. Stay tuned, there’s surely more to come!
Part 2 of the trainwreck Kim Fowley interiew on The Runaways, starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning
Transcript:
Kim Fowley’s new experimental movie as writer/director is called Black Room Doom on myspace.com/blackroomdoom.
Kim Fowley makes moveis for Japan and India as a filmmaker in something called mobile society, movies about inventory in the digital marketplace. If you go on Mobile Society on Google, there’s 15 million hits that explain the concept. Therefore, I’d be like the guy who first made nickelodeons going into silent films if you wanna do a squawman comparison. For all the girls watching this who wanna play a guitar, it’s possible. For all the guys who think they are the only ones who play rock and roll, you’re incorrect. Rock n Roll is a lifestyle and an attitude and a contact and a priviledge. Don’t abuse it. Kim Fowley is on facebook, twitter, myspace and youtube, if you wanna talk to me, that’s how you find me. I’m open to everyone who has something I can invest in. Yes, I’m rich and famous. In reverse, noone knows me but my banker knows me because I own the bank I bank in and I own the property on it. Therefore, sometimes being a clown pays dividends. Notice the t-shirt. Order it if you like. And by the way, thank you very much for your time.
It goes downhill from here. Watch it for yourself. Kim Fowley is always entertaining.
Watch the movie, in theaters nationwide on April 9th, 2010
Kim Fowley interviewed about the Runaways Movie Part 1
Transcript:
What was it like seeing your life recreated?
-Michael Shannon is the new Christopher Walken, he lived up to his potential by delivering the performance of a lifetime.
How did you work with the cast to ensure they had a sense of who they were portraying in the film?
I never met the cast. I only met Michael and Miss Stewart. I never met anybody else. I was not allowed on set because I’m a disruptive human being.
Are the challenges of breaking an all girl band today different than they might have been in the 70s?
Men hate women, women hate women, other women hate other women. Nobody cares, nobody is interested UNLESS the female is an icon, the female is a goddess. The female as our mother earth. The woman who gave us birth and says goodbye on the deathbed. If we can put all that together with guitars, It’s all possible to sell.
The Runaways paved the way for a lot of bands that have come since. Who would you say that the really paved the way for?
Guns n Roses in Los Angeles, The Bangles and The Donnas and The Go-Gos and probably Black Room Doom.
Describe the first meeting you had with Michael after he decided to take on the role.
Well I don’t know why he decided to take on the role but when I met Michael I told him I had 28 personalities and I used all 28 to keep The Runaways from looking out the window and paying attention to drill instruction cause that’s how I saw myself. As General Patton or Clint Eastwood in Heartbreak Ridge, teaching girls how to be female warriors with guitars. Michael studied. He’s a good student. He made me credible. I was terrified that Carrot Top was gonna play me. Michael transcended the printed page.
Are there any other stories from your life that other people would find as fascinating as this?
How much time do you have? Okay I’ll do it soundbyte style. Kim Fowley was the son of b movie actor Doug Fowley, who did Mr. Moto, Charley Chan and Hopalong Cassidy, played the director in Singing in The Rain. Mom was Shelby Paine, who was the cigarette girl in the Big Sleep, the One on The Left with Bogart and Bacall. Kim Fowley had polio in 1946, then Kim Fowley had it again in 1957, Kim Fowley is a cancer survivor in 1994 with prostate. 2004 with melanoma skin, basel cell in 2008. Currently I have something called positional vertigo. I, ladies and gentlemen am a functioinal cripple. I use this cane as a weapon in case any of you want to be my assasin, be careful. I’m bored, I have a 164 IQ. I learned how to talk at 10 months. I learned how to write at a year and a half. I retired when I was 24. I’m 70 years old now and the last girl I dated was 20.
(The interview goes downhil from here. Watch Part 2 for more)
This story just posted on Blabbermouth
Photo of Slash’s new touring band — featuring the VELVET REVOLVER/ex-GUNS N’ ROSES guitarist alongside vocalist Myles Kennedy (ALTER BRIDGE), bassist Todd Kerns (SIN CITY SINNERS, STATIC IN STEREO, AGE OF ELECTIC), rhythm guitarist Bobby Schneck (WEEZER, GREEN DAY) and drummer Brent Fitz (ALICE COOPER, VINCE NEIL)
The video below was just posted to Slash’s Youtube channel and features a different bass player – Dave Henning (Big Wreck)
Slash’s solo album is due out on April 6. To kick off the release, Slash will be the featured performer at Revolver Golden Gods Awards, with several of his album collaborators making special guest appearances. Slash will also make a series of late-night performances with talk show hosts Jay Leno, George Lopez and Craig Ferguson.
Slash TV dates to watch (check local listings):
* Tuesday, April 6 – “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” (NBC)
* Thursday, April 8 – “Lopez Tonight” with George Lopez (TBS)
* Thursday, April 8 – Revolver Golden Gods Awards ceremony from Hollywood (airs May 22 on VH1)
* Friday, April 8 – “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” (CBS)
The first single from the set, called “By The Sword”, features vocals from WOLFMOTHER frontman Andrew Stockdale.
The guitarist uses a different guest vocalist on each track, including Fergie, M. Shadows, Kid Rock, Chris Cornell, Dave Grohl, Lemmy Kilmister, Iggy Pop and others.
In March of 1969, a one-year-old Sumner Estes was
home at his apartment in Morgantown, WV. and completely
unaware that his life was about to change. Read the rest of this entry →
An exclusive interivew with Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning on the set of The Runaways
Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning star as Joan Jett and Cherie Currie in The Runaways, the music-fueled, coming of age story of the groundbreaking, all girl 1970s rock band. written and directed by Floria Sigismondi, Apparition will release the film on March 19, 2010 at select theaters.
Pearly Gate Music just don’t stop. After playing at just about every day party possible at this year’s SXSW festival (including Brooklyn Vegan, Rachel Ray/Daytrotter, and Toby Rascal and HBears day parties) the band returned to home just in time to jump on a couple Northwest dates with Xiu Xiu and tUnE yArDs.
Today, the band is excited to announce they’ll be joining the Daytrotter Barnstormers tour this spring (with Ra Ra Riot, Delta Spirit, Nathaniel Rateliff and Free Energy) before hitting the Midwest and east coast with Frog Eyes and Beach Fossils this June.
In anticipation of these upcoming dates, we’re happy to give you a sneak peak of the tremendous, confident and delicate debut full length, Pearly Gate Music (May 18th / Barsuk Records) with a link to one of the album standouts, “Big Escape”. (For those of you that love the wax, a limited-edition “Big Escape” 7” single (with album outtake “Sleeping with Bears” on the b-side) is in-stores already).
