Although their brand of wild-eyed, tuneful garage punk is unlike anything else in contemporary indie, the Black Lips have still been the talk of the underground for the past year. The Atlanta quartet's explosive, raucous stage show has earned them notoriety (and rabid fans) wherever they've played, and the recent VICE Records release of the all-live Los Valientes Del Mundo Nuevo has only solidified their rep as a ridiculously exciting gigging group. Recorded in Tijuana - that capital city of licentiousness - Los Valientes captures a group on the brink of self-immolation, playing insanely-catchy garage punk tunes with the vigor and zeal of rock and roll evangelists.
Although their brand of wild-eyed, tuneful garage punk is unlike anything else in contemporary indie, the Black Lips have still been the talk of the underground for the past year. The Atlanta quartet's explosive, raucous stage show has earned them notoriety (and rabid fans) wherever they've played, and the recent VICE Records release of the all-live Los Valientes Del Mundo Nuevo has only solidified their rep as a ridiculously exciting gigging group. Recorded in Tijuana - that capital city of licentiousness - Los Valientes captures a group on the brink of self-immolation, playing insanely-catchy garage punk tunes with the vigor and zeal of rock and roll evangelists.
"Hunting For Witches" is, perhaps, the most serious-minded track on the new Bloc Party CD; while it's as infectious and propulsive as anything Bloc Party has yet released, its condemnation of the politics of fear is unflinching. Written in response to the crackdown following the London bombings of July 2005, "Hunting For Witches" examines government and press manipulation of popular sentiment; fear, Okereke suggests, can easily turn into a desire to scapegoat dissidents and foreigners. He's talking about Britain, of course, but his is a message that will have special resonance for American listeners. Revenge becomes an excuse to set aside critical thinking, and to indulge in our baser impulses in the name of "accountability."
If you've been with HIP from the beginning, you've been sent three terrific videos from Bloc Party: one for "Banquet", another for "Helicopters", and a third for the lead U.S. single from A Weekend In The City, "I Still Remember". The three clips introduced viewers to some seriously altered states - the "Banquet" video introduced the group with a trippy, restless camera effect, "Helicopter" was an animated phantasmagoria, and "I Still Remember" used a passenger train as a visual metaphor for the impermanence of memory. The message is clear: sure, Bloc Party makes you want to dance, but theirs is head music too, thoughtful, multidimensional, and often subtly mind-expanding. And as Kele Okereke's writing has become more sophisticated and emotionally nuanced, directors have paired his songs with images that reflect that development.
Walter Stern's (David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, Spiritualized, Massive Attack) clip for "The Prayer" continues that growth. Superficially, it's the story of an evening out: a typical evening spent clubbing among a set of stylish twentysomethings. The camera finds the four members of Bloc Party relaxing on sofas in a London night spot; around them, other young men and women take to the dance floor, but they're reticent, watching the interaction from easy chairs. Their expressions are uneasy and their postures are slightly defensive - it's not that they don't belong or that they don't appreciate the comely dancers, it's that they're guarded, cautious, uncomfortable with ostentatious displays of sexuality, worried about getting burned. Ironic, then, that the song itself - which peaked at #4 on the U.K. charts earlier this year - is a wild wish for dance-floor abandon and sexual confidence. With its gigantic beat and its insistent riffs, it's a departure for Bloc Party - at once the most club-friendly track they've ever recorded and something utterly unlike anything else on contemporary radio. "The Prayer" is a song destined to further the quartet's claim to be America's favorite British rock band.
The band was formed by singer Vaden Todd Lewis (formerly of Toadies) and drummer Patrick "Taz" Bentley (formerly of Reverend Horton Heat, Tenderloin, and the Izzy Stradlin Band) in 2002.
The band can be regarded as a Texas rock supergroup since its members were all members of other Texas-based bands (of varying success and popularity) before joining the Burden Brothers. Guitarists Corey Rozzoni (formerly of Clumsy) and Casey Hess (formerly of Doosu and Jump Rope Girls) and bassist Zack Busby (formerly of Slow Roosevelt and Halls of the Machine) round out the band.
Butch Walker is a recording artist, songwriter, and record producer.
Walker grew up in Cartersville, Georgia and stood out as a guitarist and performer in several rock bands in the '80s including Bad Boyz and Byte the Bullet. In 1988, he took Byte the Bullet to LA and they were signed to Virgin Records within the year. The band changed names to SouthGang and released two albums, Tainted Angel in 1991 and Group Therapy in 1992. SouthGang was one of the first bands to tour China in the early '90s.
Afterwards, Butch took over lead vocals and with ex-SouthGang members Jayce Fincher and Mitch McLee formed several bands in the 90s including Floyds Funk Revival, The Floyds, and the popular pop-rock band Marvelous 3 which had a relatively successful hit with the song "Freak Of The Week." After the break-up of the band in early 2000, Butch then began a solo career, releasing the albums Left of Self-Centered in 2002 and Letters in 2004, finishing 2005 playing over 200 live shows across both the U.S. and Japan. Butch Walker was recently featured as a headlining artist on the My Space promoted Inaugural Hotel Cafe tour - supporting independent artists from the Los Angeles Venue of the same name.
Several of his songs have been hits for other artists, including Bowling for Soup's "Girl All the Bad Guys Want" and Avril Lavigne's #1 Hit "My Happy Ending". He has written and produced records for such artists as Bowling for Soup, Pink, Lindsay Lohan, Avril Lavigne, Lit, Sevendust, The Donnas, Hot Hot Heat, American Hi-Fi, Midtown, Puffy AmiYumi and SR-71.
In late 2005, he released his first DVD "Live At Budokan." On July 11th, 2006, his newest record was released, entitled "The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker and the Let's-Go-Out-Tonites," which he recorded with his backing band, the Let's Go Out Tonites. Butch Walker was named Rolling Stone producer of the year in 2005. He will be the producer for the new Rockstar:Supernova group.
Walker was a guest judge on the second season of the American reality television program Rock Star, during which, in consultation with Walker, Tommy Lee, Gilby Clarke, and Jason Newsted will select a lead singer for a new band, Supernova (Rock Star band), to comprise the three, the first album of which Walker will produce.
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