W♥M

Lita Ford Interview

Time Capsule track listing: Intro Where Will I Find My Heart Tonight Killing Kind War Of The Angels Black Leather Heart Rotten To The Core Little Wing On The Fast Track King Of The Wild Wind Mr. Corruption Anything For The Thrill Tour Dates 08/06/16 Detroit, MI Chene Park 08/10/16 Hamburg, NY Erie County Fair 08/11/16 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom 08/14/16 Alcatraz Metal Festival 08/26/16 Rock The Valley Music Fest 09/04/16 Septemberfest 09/05/16 Milwaukee, WI Milwaukee Harley 09/09/16 Allegan County Fair 09/17/16 SiriusXM's Hair Nation Fest 09/24/16 Farm Rock 10/06/16 Dallas, TX Gas Monkey Live! 10/08/16 Colorado Springs, CO Pikes Peak 10/09/16 Salt Lake City, UT Rockwell 10/11/16 Tempe, AZ The Marquee 10/12/16 San Diego, CA House Of Blues 10/14/16 Reno, NV Silver Legacy Resort Casino 10/15/16 Sacramento, CA Ace Of Spades 10/17/16 Spokane, WA Knitting Factory 10/18/16 Calgary, AB MacEwan Hall 10/19/16 Edmonton, AB Winspear Centre 10/21/16 Billings, MT Shrine Auditorium 10/22/16 Minot, ND North Dakota State Fair 10/23/16 Duluth, MN Pioneer Hall 10/25/16 Kalamazoo, MI Kalamazoo State Theatre 10/26/16 Toronto, ON Phoenix Concert Theatre 10/28/16 Montreal, QC Metropolis 10/29/16 Utica, NY Stanley Center 10/31/16 Sellersville, PA Sellersville Theater 12/10/16 Versailles, OH BMI Speedway 12/11/16 Annapolis, MD Rams Head On Stage 03/11/17 HRH AOR Read More The Runaways We spent a lot of time talking about the Runaways. Well maybe it was mostly Cristina talking about the movie, since I haven't seen it. But it was good, the whole thing reminds me of The Fabulous Stains. …

The We♥Music interview with legendary guitarist and singer Lita Ford.

Lita Ford began her career playing lead guitar for The Runaways. This group was created in the mid-1970s when manager/producer Kim Fowley teamed up with rhythm guitarist Joan Jett and drummer Sandy West to form a band consisting entirely of teenage girls who could really rock.

After the breakup of The Runaways in 1979, Lita became a solo artist and 80s hard rock icon.

In 2014, she received Guitar Player magazine’s Certified Guitar Legend award.

How did you first become interested in playing guitar?
There wasn’t any one thing in particular that made me want to play. Playing was in my blood.

Did you have a teacher, or are you self-taught?
I went to a teacher for a couple of weeks. My mother hired him from a strip mall down on the corner, but he wasn’t teaching me the ballsy things that I wanted to learn.

Were you encouraged to play the guitar by the people around you?
Oh-so very much!

What was it like growing up in Los Angeles?
Los Angeles was very different then. Growing up was a blast, but scary.

How did you deal with Kim Fowley as a manager?
Kim was colorful and without him, there wouldn’t be The Runaways.

How did/do you handle sexism on tour?
Read my book. (Living Like A Runaway: A Memoir by Lita Ford).

What is your fondest memory touring with The Runaways?
Touring with The Ramones and hanging out with the Sex Pistols.

What is your fondest memory touring as a solo artist?
I had some awesome guitars.

Are you still in contact with Cherie, Joan and other surviving members of The Runaways?
We are all living separate lives.

Did you already know you could be a lead singer when you played lead guitar for The Runaways, or did you discover that after the band broke up?
I discovered this the moment I had to become the lead singer, so I reinvented myself.

Did you ever work with Kim Fowley again once you decided to pursue a solo career?
Not until just before he died.

What was it like recording your first solo album?
It was a lot of work. I had to put together an entire team of people, who were going to work together and kick ass on something unique.

What was it like working with Ozzy Osbourne on Close My Eyes Forever?
Ozzy is a character. He is very funny, very talented and a great singer.

Lita Ford photo: Josh Vittek

How did you first meet Halestorm?
We were put on tour with each other by Halestorm‘s agents and some promoters, which was a great idea.

What’s it like touring with them?
They are warm and down to earth people, with a lot of energy. ;-)

Are there any female guitarists in today’s music scene that particularly catch your attention?
Lzzy Hale. But her true gift from God is her voice.

Lita Ford’s autobiography, Living Like A Runaway: A Memoir is now available everywhere, as is her latest album, Time Capsule. If you feel transported back to the 80s when listening to this aptly named album, it’s no surprise; that’s exactly when these previously unreleased songs were recorded. This hard rock blast from the past features many special guests including Dave Navarro of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rick Nielsen and Robin Zander of Cheap Trick, and Gene Simmons of KISS.

Lita is currently touring with Halestorm.

dena ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

SXSW 2015: Only Real

Read More Childhood Brody caught up with London's Childhood, who is currently in Brighton to play some shows at the Great Escape. The new group started off as a duo (Leo Dobsen and Ben Romans-Hopcraft) ....

Brody caught up with Only Real at British Music Embassy, Austin (20 Mar 2015) for SXSW 2015.

Niles almost didn't make it to SXSW, having lost (but eventually found) his passport.

Brody: "They sound like the Beastie Boys, Jamie T. Believe the hype."

Only Real: "Sound like the House that Jack Built. Y'know, if you like it, you love it. If you love it... then I like you."

Originally debut "Days In The City" on LuvLuvLuv Records, Only Real's major label LP Jerk At The End of The Line will be available on March 30th, 2015, via Harvest Records... however, the US will have to wait until late Summer 2015. The record was produced by Ben H Allen in Atlanta and Dan Carey (Franz Ferdinand, Childhood) in London.

Only Real's tour dates:

16 Apr 2015 I.BOAT Bordeaux, France
18 Apr 2015 Unknown venue Rezé, France
20 Apr 2015 Hospice D'havré Tourcoing, France
21 Apr 2015 Badaboum Paris, France
22 Apr 2015 La Lune Des Pirates, France
26 Apr 2015 Broadcast Glasgow, UK
29 Apr 2015 The Jericho Oxford, UK
30 Apr 2015 100 Club London, UK
03 May 2015 The Ruby Lounge Manchester, UK
06 May 2015 The Hope & Ruin Brighton, UK
07 May 2015 The Louisiana Bristol, UK
08 May 2015 Southampton - Joiners
09 May 2015 Birmingham - The Rainbow

Only Real at British Music Embassy, Austin (20 Mar 2015)

vu + brody ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

W♥M236: Fuzzy Machete #1 Fan

W♥M236: Fuzzy Machete (31 mins) Read More Fuzzy Machete Our friends Fuzzy Machete are celebrating their album release party for Number One Fan at the Cabooze this February 26th, 2015. ...

Number One Fan is the debut album from Minneapolis' Fuzzy Machete. Tara and Krissandra stopped in W♥M Radio to talk about album and their upcoming CD release party, set for next Thursday, February 26th.

Fuzzy Machete at the Cabooze
Thursday 02/26/15, 8pm ($5)

08:00pm Lolo's Ghost
09:00pm Sunday Islands
10:00pm Fuzzy Machete
11:00pm Tollund Moses

Topics:

Secret origin of the band

Ever-rotating band members

Band name

Vanity Theft and Hunter Valentine and Sick of Sarah

Lolo's Ghost, Sunday Islands, and Tollund Moses

Song of the show is "Marathon" from Number One Fan.

Bonus:

Television shows: Six Feet Under, Breaking Bad, Veronica Mars, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Game of Thrones, Walking Dead etc.

Vu is the fictional manager to the fictional band, The Pajamapants... or 'the Jammies' for short. The band tour around the country and solves crimes in their pajama pants.

--
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Archive of this show at archive.org. More information on podomatic.com. Recording of this podcast was made possible by Skype, CallGraph, and Audacity.

W♥M235: Bud Petal (15 Feb 2015) Sally, Bud W♥M234: London Grammar and Until the Ribbon Breaks (04 Feb 2015) Vu, John W♥M233: S*M*A*S*H (3 January 2015) Vu, Edward Borrie W♥M232: Morrissey v Bowie (28 December 2014) Vu, Emily, Cristina W♥M231: Santa in the Ghetto (21 December 2014) Vu + Cristina W♥M230: Best of 2014 Albums (20 December 2014) Vu + Emily

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

W♥M233: S*M*A*S*H

W♥M233: S*M*A*S*H (23 mins) Read More S*M*A*S*H Just a quick note on that S*M*A*S*H / NxtGen Split Single Launch, taking place 29 March 2014 at The Portland Arms in Cambridge. As I suspected, the lyrics …

I have long championed S*M*A*S*H in my days as a radio DJ in the early 90s, so I can't begin to tell you how excited to speak with singer/songwriter Edward Borrie on W♥M Radio.

Note: All the questions were from memory/on the fly, so please excuse me if I got some information or some dates wrong. Regrettably I am pretty sure I do not have all the singles/EPs, but I have a lot of them (see photograph at the bottom). S*M*A*S*H was not known at all at the time, and I only discover the band when my friend Melinda was KFSR's music director at the time gave me a copy of Self Abused album for review. I would later obsessively track down any singles and EPs I could get my hands on. Remember, this was before the internet, so getting the right information was hard to come by.

Topics:

The beginning of S*M*A*S*H, circa 1984.

First single was Real Surreal 7"

US Tour in support of Self Abused (Hi-Rise Records) album.

Sub Pop Records released Barrabas/Turn On The Water 7"

Sleeper's "Lady Love Your Countryside", a nod to S*M*A*S*H's "Lady Love Your C***" (which in turn, was a nod to Germaine Greer).

The rare Rest Of My Life single (released January 1996).

The second album Icon.

"I Want to Kill Somebody", 20 years later.

The 2014 EP S*M*A*S*H: (Without Regret) - EP is on iTunes now for $3.99.

Vu's S*M*A*S*H Collection

Keep up with S*M*A*SH on Facebook. See also smash.weheartmusic.com.

Here is a photograph of some S*M*A*S*H singles and vinyl in my collection. I also just bought (Without Regret) via iTunes, so I can't really show that off.

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____
Archive of this show at archive.org. More information on podomatic.com. Recording of this podcast was made possible by Skype and CallGraph.

W♥M232: Morrissey v Bowie (28 December 2014) Vu, Emily, Cristina W♥M231: Santa in the Ghetto (21 December 2014) Vu + Cristina W♥M230: Best of 2014 Albums (20 December 2014) Vu + Emily W♥M229: Hating You For Christmas (15 December 2014) Vu + Emily W♥M228: Christmas Will Be Magic (08 December 2014) Vu + John W♥M227: Reissues Reissues Reissues (25 November 2014) Vu + Emily

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Raz Simone Interview

Tour Dates 07/02/14 Minneapolis, MN The Pourhouse 07/03/14 Sioux Falls, SD Sioux Falls Coliseum 07/04/14 Des Moines, IA Krazee Kafe 07/05/14 Lincoln, NE Bourbon Theatre 07/06/14 Lawrence, KS Granada Theatre 07/09/14 Colorado Springs, CO Black Sheep 07/10/14 Fort Collins, CO Aggie Theatre 07/11/14 Denver, CO The Roxy Theatre 07/12/14 Grand Junction, CO Mesa Theater 07/13/14 Salt Lake City, UT Complex 07/16/14 Spokane, WA Knitting Factory 07/17/14 Boise, ID Knitting Factory 07/18/14 Richland, WA Jokers 07/19/14 Seattle, WA The Crocodile 07/20/14 Portland, OR Roseland Theater 07/21/14 Eugene, OR WOW Hall 07/22/14 Sacramento, CA Ace Of Spades 07/23/14 Santa Cruz, CA The Catalyst 07/24/14 Oakland, CA The New Parish 07/25/14 Las Vegas, NV LVCS 07/26/14 Santa Ana, CA Constellation Room 07/27/14 Phoenix, AZ Joe's Grotto Music Venue 07/28/14 Tucson, AZ The Rock 07/29/14 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theatre 07/30/14 Amarillo, TX Wreck Room 07/31/14 Lubbock, TX Jake's Sports 08/01/14 San Antonio, TX Backstage Live 08/02/14 Houston, TX Scout Bar 08/03/14 Dallas, TX Trees 08/05/14 Tulsa, OK The Vanguard 08/06/14 Kansas City, MO The Riot Room 08/07/14 Springfield, MO The Outland 08/08/14 Sauget, IL Pop's 08/09/14 Louisville, KY Diamond Pub 08/10/14 Murfreesboro, TN Social Bar 08/11/14 Tupelo, MS Good Time Charlies 08/12/14 Birmingham, AL Iron City Live 08/13/14 Mobile, AL Soul Kitchen 08/14/14 Jacksonville, FL Aqua Nightclub 08/15/14 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade Read More Raz Simone Raz Simone is from Seattle, Washington, and currently signed to Lyor Cohen's new record label, 300. Be sure to check out the show coverage later next week. … Last night I had the privilege to speak to one of hip-hop’s newest artists, Raz Simone about his new album Cognitive Dissonance. This is his second album since going solo in 2013 and I spoke with him in the build-up to his performance tonight (July 2nd) at The Pourhouse on 5th Street. I dove right in with Raz by asking him to play a game where I would mention a song title from Cognitive Dissonance and he would give me a word he most closely associates with that song. Song Raz’s response They'll Speak Words 8 Rangs Stress Natural Resources Human Bow Down Personal Struggle Don’t Shine Illuminated Thirsty Hypocritical Hometown Contrast So Far, So Far Dark Nostalgia Swim Away Stagnant Still Mobbin Push’n After that we spoke in greater detail about his music and waxed philosophical on several topics Raz brings up in his lyrics. Raz was kind enough to speak with me for over an hour so I had to edit quite a bit to fit into this article. Me: In “They’ll Speak,” you talk about how when you were a child you used to pray, but now that you’re an adolescent you became too wise to pray to God. How about now? Raz Simone: No, no. I’m not as arrogant as that. If I was out in the middle of the ocean I know I’d see how small I am in this world. Raz went on to explain how he is deeply spiritual and that he believes in God but he is also cautious about how religion can be used to radicalize people. Me: Unlike many rappers and hip-hop artists, you speak out against smoking weed in your songs. Could you explain in greater detail? RS: Yeah, I’m not saying, like you shouldn’t use at all. But some people use it like protection against the elements, numbness, a kind of comfort. Being content is great but we need drive. When I go to New York people are like Seattle has a lot of homeless. But they don’t know half of it. Look at all the couch-surfers. They’re homeless but no one looks at them like that. Me: In “So Far, So Far,” you say, “I got a lot of things on me that are not clothes.” What are those things? RS: (Laughs a little) Well, there is the obvious, like a gun or something. But the big one is baggage. You see, you have to understand, it’s like this, you know, you have a black man and you have niggas. Being a nigga is a twofold thing. There is the way you are perceived and the way you carry yourself. I have that shine the people try to stifle. And I’m not just talking about my 8 rings, which I do wear 8 rings. And you have to protect yourself from that. You see I was raised to be a protector. I’ve always been mindful of others. If you’re with me I’ll try to keep you safe. So sometimes you have to handle a gun. Like if we were going to a café or restaurant, I’d have to sit somewhere so I can see the door. Me: In “8 Rangs” you say that you’d rather die than kill but when things are going down it’s not so easy. What did you mean by that? RS: Well, you know if some young’n comes up to you with a gun what can you do? If he’s already gone that far, how much further is he willing to go? I can just say here’s my wallet, my credit cards, even my rings. It’s just not worth it. But the fact still remains you just don’t know. People talk all kinds of shit and say if I was there then this and that. But you know they don’t know. Me: Also in “So Far, So Far,” you mention how the choice is either work or prison and that most rappers are leading kids to prison. What is your message? Where are you trying to lead people? RS: I try to give the message… I’d rather see people do than talk. Preaching is not effective. You can talk an ear off and get nowhere. But when you see someone doing something, you learn from that… When I was a young’n my mom asked me why I don’t become a Christian rapper… Christian rappers only reach Christians. You’re reaching out to people that are already with you. What’s the point in that? You have to meet people where they’re at. You see, I first made music in the closet, for myself. Then it becomes a conversation. You have to perform for other people as well. You can’t just be for yourself. You can be like AGGHH and people will just not get it. So you have to do things for yourself and for others also… The greatest thing is being able to do shit so fucking dope that you wanna keep doing it… I’ve had people tell me, “Your music is like a light in the darkness,” and told me that I gave them the gift of empathy. I love connecting with people. Ironically, shortly after that time our conversation got cut off and I couldn’t reconnect.  Raz Simone may be a young’n in the world of hip-hop but he has his head squarely on his shoulders. He will definitely be in this business for a while. If you haven’t heard his music yet you need to visit his website and give a few songs a try. “8 Rangs” is anthem worthy and “So Far, So Far” is a thought provoking ride through the life of Raz Simone. There wasn’t a moment where I felt like skipping a song on his album. He speaks clearly enough so that you not only follow the beat, but also the message. Although some of his songs might get a little dark, Cognitive Dissonance is a light in the darkness. Raz Simone will be playing at The Pourhouse tonight with Rittz, Tuki Carter, and J. Plaza. Doors open at 8 pm so don’t be late. I have a feeling that tonight is going to be amazing! behzad ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Who's Bad?

W♥M214: Who's Bad? (11 mins)

Who's Bad, the Ultimate Michael Jackson Tribute Band, is celebrating their ten years as a band. Prior to playing their sold out show at Mill City Nights in Minneapolis, last night (April 19), trumpet player/dancer/backup vocals Ray McCall took a few minutes to talk to us.

McCall spoke about how the band got started, what his favorite (and the fans' favorite) MJ songs are, what he was doing when he heard about MJ's death, and what fans can expect when they come to a Who's Bad show.

More details to come regarding their live show, but what I can confirm is that everyone in the band are massive Jackson fans and they've listened, learned, and studied his moves to try and emulate the King of Pop's performance on stage.

Don't believe me? Stay tuned after the interview to see a clip of "The Way You Make Me Feel" at Mill City Nights to see everyone dancing and smiling and having a great time.

Who's Bad are currently on tour, they may be stopping in your town soon. See full listing here. If you love Michael Jackson, you definitely need to check these guys out.

Watch the interview with Ray below:

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

SXSW 2014: Steve Lamacq Interview

Read More SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) Music is next week: March 11-16th. Since March 1st, I've received about 200 emails with the subject header of "SXSW" …

Legendary Radio DJ Steve Lamacq is back at SXSW to help introduce some of Britain's brightest new bands to America.

The man helped shaped Britpop in the early 90s, by championing some of my favorite bands like Elastica, Blur, Sleeper, etc., hints at doing another Britpop Anniversary spotlight (previously we saw "Britpop Now" and other celebrations).

Looking back, Steve Lamacq described the height of Britpop was probably in 1994 with Blur's Parklife, so celebrating Britpop in April 2014 (20 years later) made a whole lot of sense to me.

Looking forward, one of Lamacq's band pick is Glass Animals. The band will be heading back to Oxford in the next few weeks and then down under to Australia for some promotional dates.

Mar 25 O2 Academy Oxford Oxford
Apr 02 DING DONG LOUNGE Melbourne, Australia
Apr 03 Oxford Art Factory Sydney, Australia
Apr 04 The Zoo Brisbane, Australia
Apr 29 Le Nouveau Casino Paris, France

The other musician that Lamacq liked is Cousin Marnie... who sounds like an older and cooler Lorde.

Her single/video for "You've Been Fooling Me Baby" can be found on her Is Sleeping EP, which came out last August 2013.

Check out the Steve Lamacq interview with Brody at the British Music Embassy at SXSW 2014:

Steve Lamacq Interview at SXSW, Austin (03/15/14)

brody + vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

SXSW 2014: The Crookes

Read More SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) Music is next week: March 11-16th. Since March 1st, I've received about 200 emails with the subject header of "SXSW" …

The Crookes are an indie rock band from Sheffield. They are at SXSW to build awareness of the band, and to promote their upcoming third album Soapbox, coming out April 14th, 2014, on Fierce Panda (UK) and Modern Outsider (US).

The Crookes' complete SXSW Showcases:

03/12 IHeart Austin Party
03/12 Modern Outsider Records Showcase
03/13 Cheer Up Charlies (Canceled*)
03/14 Music for Listeners' Party
03/15 British Music Embassy
03/16 Joe's Crab Shack
03/16 Conscious Immateurity SX Send Off Party

* If you haven't been paying attention to the news, there was an alleged drunk driver who plowed into the SXSW crowd and killing a man and a woman. The morning after, the police blockage the area.

The Crookes plays Los Angeles before returning back to the UK for some dates:

03/23/14 Los Angeles, CA Echo
04/15/14 Nottingham Bodega Social Club
04/16/14 Leeds The Cockpit
04/17/14 Newcastle The Cluny
04/18/14 Glasgow King Tut's Wah Wah Hut
04/19/14 Hull The Adelphi
04/22/14 Manchester Sound Control
04/23/14 Birmingham Hare & Hounds
04/24/14 Stoke-On-Trent The Sugarmill
04/25/14 Bath Moles
04/26/14 Southampton Lennon's
04/27/14 Bristol Thekla
04/28/14 Brighton The Hope
04/29/14 London Dingwalls

Check out the interview with Brody at The Music for Listeners Party at SXSW 2014:

The Crookes Interview at SXSW, Austin (03/14/14)

brody + vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Mogwai Interview

Read More Mogwai This is the best part, the entire soundtrack was created by instrumental Scottish band Mogwai .... Mogwai created a totally creepy atmospheric soundtrack...

Scottish post-rock band Mogwai will be in America from April through May, to tour for support of their eight studio album Rave Tapes, out now on Sub Pop Records.

Special thanks to Stuart Braithwaite for taking the time to answer these questions:

1. When I was watching the French television series The Return (Les Revenants), I immediately noticed the soundtrack by Mogwai as its own unique voice in the show. Were you given background materials for the show prior to composing the music?

Yes we were. The music from Twin Peaks and Neil Young's Dead Man was mentioned. Our own Zidane soundtrack was also cited. Other films like Let The Right One In as well as The Shining were also mentioned.

2. What is the difference between writing for a soundtrack vs an original album?

Mainly having to incorporate and be part of someone else's vision with a sound track. We are also very wary of our music detracting from the story and visuals and try to be as low key as possible. With our own records we only have ourselves to keep amused.

3. What set your latest album Rave Tapes, released by Sub Pop on January 21st, apart from your previous works?

The songs really. I don't think these songs would fit our other records. We also used quite a few instruments that we hadn't used before. Particularly the modular synthesizer.

Mogwai at First Ave (06/01/01) ticket stub

4. Bonus question: I went to your show in Minneapolis on June 1, 2001. Bardo Pond was the opener. Do you remember that tour?

I loved that tour immensely. It's always a pleasure playing with Bardo Pond. They are an amazing band. I think I bought Little Johnny Jewel by Television that day!

Mogwai will launch their upcoming U.S. tour starting at the Coachella Music Festival on April 12.

04/12/14 Coachella 04/13/14 Sacramento, CA Ace Of Spades 04/17/14 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre 04/18/14 San Francisco, CA Regency Ballroom 04/19/14 Coachella 04/21/14 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theatre 04/22/14 El Paso, TX Tricky Falls 04/23/14 Dallas, TX Granada Theater 04/24/14 Austin, TX Emo's 04/25/14 Houston, TX Fitzgerald's 04/26/14 Baton Rouge, LA Varsity Theatre 04/27/14 New Orleans, LA Civic Theatre 04/29/14 Miami, FL Grand Central 04/30/14 Tampa, FL Ritz Ybor 05/01/14 Orlando, FL Beacham 05/02/14 Atlanta, GA Center Stage Theater 05/03/14 Nashville, TN Exit / In

05/06/14 Charlotte, NC Amos' SouthEnd 05/07/14 Washington, DC 9:30 Club 05/08/14 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer 05/09/14 New York, NY Terminal 5 05/10/14 Boston, MA House Of Blues Boston 05/11/14 Montreal, QC Metropolis 05/13/14 Toronto, ON The Danforth Music Hall 05/14/14 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues 05/15/14 Detroit, MI St. Andrews Hall 05/16/14 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre 05/17/14 Des Moines, IA Wooly's 05/18/14 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue 05/20/14 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre 05/21/14 Salt Lake City, UT The Depot 05/23/14 Sasquatch! Music Festival 05/24/14 Portland, OR Roseland Theater 05/25/14 Vancouver, BC Vogue Theatre

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

W♥M205: Information Society

W♥M205: Information Society (20 mins) Read More Information Society You can hear their new 'longform single' "Land of the Blind", coming out March 4th, 2014 on HAKATAK International, on YouTube. …

Our special guest on W♥M Radio is Paul Robb from Information Society!

Information Society is back with the original lineup of Paul Robb (synths), Kurt Larson (vocals) and James Cassidy (bass, keyboards). Their upcoming album _Hello World is coming out Summer 2014 on HAKATAK International. The preceding single, "Land of the Blind" is out this week (March 4th).

It takes too long to transcribe all of Paul's answers, so these are just excerpts to get the point across:

1. The self-titled Information Society album and Hack was a departure in your sound. Why was it so different?
I get what you're saying. Keeping in mind that you came at them in the reverse order that they were created in, it might seem stranger to you than it was... A lot of what came out of the recording session of Hack, was our take on what we had been exposed over the last two or three years after we moved from Minneapolis to New York ... In '87, the whole band moved and we were suddenly officially New Yorkers, and I think that stew, and mixture of influences and sounds that we were exposed to in New York was very influential in making that potpourri kind of vibe that Hack has. And in terms of house beats, that we were just responding to what we've been exposed in the clubs.

2. Were you guys all into computers in the 90s?
Yeah, that was the essence of the band... we were always interested in the intersection between technology and humanity and the intersection between one human being and another human being and also the intersection between individual and society as a whole. It's those intermediate gray area that will always be interesting to us. We just happened to be around when the pace of technological evolution really started to speed up in the media and all aspect of life.

We started our life as a band as a media critique band. If you listen to our very earliest stuff, it was all complaining about television, and, you know, news media and things like that. Really what we were getting at was just how society mirrors itself through technology. That through line hasn't changed at all. Obviously when we started getting radio hits, we had to sort of fit ourselves in that template for pop consumption, but, you know, that too was part of the gag.

3. Cristina, one of my writers, wanted to know about the freestyle tour (without Kurt Harland). What was that like? And what was it like to reunite back with Kurt?
It's probably a more accurate to say when there was a time that that none of us were interested in pop music. We all off exploring our own interests and Kurt was doing his computer audio-thing and I was doing my music for TV. And we are still doing those things.

We got together to do a couple of shows in 2005, kind of like New York radio station shows. We hadn't played together in such a long that it was kind of fun. Enough time has elapsed that it didn't seem like 'oh god, we got to play those songs again', it was more like 'that's great, we get play those songs again!!'.

When I finally got around to writing some of the tracks [for the album Synthesizer], Kurt had just had a brand new baby and just gotten in this huge video game project that would over a year to complete. He was like, 'I can't really take the time to do another record right now.' And I said, 'I'm going to do it anyway', and he said 'that was fine, I don't care.' And he did fly in to do a couple of tracks.

We didn't really tour on that record. We played a couple of shows, y'know out of the country in Brazil or Mexico. It wasn't like a tour or anything. It was interesting experience to have the band without Kurt. But soon as he was available again, that it was the obvious choice for Kurt to be the singer again.

4. Why do you think your music translate so well in foreign countries, particularly Brazil and Japan?
Brazil, in particular, is our biggest market. I can't really answer. My stock answer is, 'they have excellent tastes in music'.

5. Tell me about HAKATAK International and also Think Tank.
Think Tank came about as a pseudonym for our band name. Our record label, Tommy Boy, wanted it to be an underground thing leading up to Hack. These tracks are instrumental, so let's just come up with a different name. So we came up with 'Think Tank'...

6. Explain the new single "Land of the Blind" and the b-side "Me And My Rhythm Box", coming out this week on HAKATAK International.
It's not going to sound like "Me And My Rhythm Box", that was just a fun cover we wanted to do in homage to that horrible/awesome movie Liquid Sky. "Land of the Blind" is probably our most traditional-sounding of all the songs in our upcoming record. That's one of the reason why we decided to release it as the first single. It's been a long time since the three of us have worked together to produce music as Information Society.

Information Society Brazil Tour 2014

Information Society will be playing Brazil next week:

March 12 - Campinas (SP) - Kiss & Fly
March 14 - Rio de Janeiro (RJ) - Circo Voador
March 15 - Volta Redonda (RJ) - Clube Nautico

"Land of the Blind" is available on bandcamp.com, more information on InformationSociety.us.

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