‘A Brooklyn-based art project/punk band’ is a description bordering on the kind of fodder that lives in the world of Portlandia – on first glance. Japanther, the longtime DIY-oriented duo of Matt Reilly and Ian Vanek, do often play their accessible punk rock in unique situations: an 84-hour performance art piece and giant dinosaurs appearing alongside them at shows are just two of many situations that the veteran act can claim to fame.

Behind the theatrics, which ‘keep them interested’ according to Vanek, is a down-to-earth noise rock band happily existing within the confines of Brooklyn’s DIY scene twelve years since they began.

“You’re so vicious Death By Audio, I love it here,” says lead singer Reilly before jumping into another song at the start of their high-powered set Sunday night at the grungy, art-filled Williamsburg warehouse space. The packed crowd –  the majority of whom arrived early for the Olympia, WA-based noisy shoegaze act Broken Water (who just released an album on Japanther’s record label, Tapes Records) – consumed Japanther’s short but raw songs from the start.

Village Voice awarded them the ‘Best Live Entertainment’ award in 2011 and it’s not until you experience the excitement of Reilly belting out heartfelt lyrics over fuzzy garage pop licks live that you’ll truly understand. Interspersed within their hour-long set, Reilly and Vanek fulfilled their community duty of pumping up their fans to care for beaches rocked by Sandy last fall, start something new and just do-it-yourself. “You don’t need a million dollars to be a millionaire,” says Vanek to an attentive crowd.

That same crowd also cleared out the front half of the room with a rowdy session of moshing and crowd-surfing, but that’s just the nature of a Japanther show. The prolific duo released another LP, “Eat Like Lisa, Act Like Bart” yesterday and announced a summer tour. They play Brooklyn, NY next on July 11 at Rare Form and Cambridge, MA on July 14 at Cambridge Elks Lodge.

The post Brooklyn noise rock vets incite crowd appeared first on Metro.us.

My first indication that Lissie is a down-to-earth kind of chick is that, when I call her to check in before her stops in New York and Boston on a tour in preview of her new album (dropping sometime in September) she’s waiting in line at a gas station bathroom. She asks me, with a throaty laugh, if it would be cool if I called her back when she’s done. Never mind that most touring artists travel on pimped out tour buses with bathrooms nicer than those in some Allston apartments I’ve frequented. When I call back — having waited what I hope is sufficient time to allow Lissie to do her business — she confirms this assessment, having just shot a music video in her hometown of Rock Island, Illinois for the second song on her upcoming album, “Further Away ‘Romance Police.’”

What’s the video about?

I feel like where you’re from has such a big part to do with who you are. I don’t want to ruin the surprises, but we just walked around to lots of different sites that were memorable and special to me. A friend of mine is a police officer and once it got dark he turned on his police lights which made some really cool lighting.

What’s your process for writing this album been like?

I’ve had quite a bit of downtime. I needed a break because I was just getting kind of worn out, but was also anxious to make a new record and hadn’t really done a ton of writing when I was on the road. So he last nearly two years I’ve been writing and kind of spending time at home and cultivating some of my other interests.

What kind of other interests?

I just got a road bike and I’m not like a super awesome pro yet but I really got into riding my bike. About 20 miles is the most I’ve written but I’ve kind of become addicted to it. It’s not something I can really do when I’m on the road. And I live in a really beautiful place — I have a dog, I take him out and we go for long walks. I really just like being outdoors, and that was one thing from the first album cycle — it’s like you’re always on a plane, or in a car, or inside a venue, so when I’m home I’m never inside. But I’ve really gotten addicted to so many TV shows. I’ve gotten really into wine (laughs) I drink a lot of wine. I like red because it’s just kind of calm, this warm rush over you…

Melty.

Yes, melty, exactly.

So what TV shows are you into right now?

Oh, it’s like what shows am I NOT into? I love “Game of Thrones,” I’m really excited about “Arrested Development” coming back. I also like Nashville a lot, it’s very good. I made my first record in Nashville and I think they do a good job of showing the city. I watch everything. “The Office,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Modern Family.” I just watched “House of Cards” on Netflix, that’s amazing. So yeah, basically I spend a lot of time drinking wine and watching TV. (laughs) Oh! I also can swim a mile now. And I’ve been spending time with my family back in the Midwest.

Speaking of the Midwest — and Midwestern values — do you feel like you’ve changed since gaining some fame and moving to California?

I wouldn’t say I feel like the same person but I don’t think that that’s because anything has changed. I think as you get older you kind of come into your personality and learn from life experiences. I guess in a way I put out the single “Shameless” because it’s me proclaiming that I don’t want to have to be anything other than myself or be underhanded or desperate or shady to find success. Even if I wanted to be all Hollywood I wouldn’t know how to do it. I don’t think I’m socially awkward but I don’t really know how to be mysterious, or manipulative, I don’t really know how to manipulate people’s energy. And I’m glad that I don’t know how to do that.

Have you ever been asked to compromise yourself like that?

Not that it was asked of me, but I’ve seen that other people have done it. Say, you and some other girl really liked a guy and she was just going to be throwing herself at him all night. And you feel like, well, I’m not going to do that. And maybe she gets to go home with him. But I don’t want to stoop to that level. I just want to be myself and if he doesn’t come home with me then he’s not the right one for me.

That’s a cool metaphor for fame.

Thanks! I’m glad it made sense. I think in the song, too, I even acknowledge it. Like, why does it bother me, “why do I react so angrily, it’s just my insecurities acting up.” Because there’s also something where, if you are in a situation, and two people are going for the same thing, my inclination is to sort of retreat a little bit, where I’m like (puts on a bratty voice) “well, I don’t even care, I didn’t want to be part of this stupid club.” (laughs)

What do you prefer playing, big fests or club shows?

I think when I was starting out doing festivals I really liked them because it was new to me and it was really exciting. There were so many bands, and you got the cool backstage area where you got to go see music, and you got to talk to people, and it’s very social. I think that used to be very fun for me. Whereas now, it’s still fun but it’s also really exhausting because you have to preserve your strength a little and it’s too tempting at a festival to just be like ‘oh, I’m just going to have a blast’ and then feel like ‘oh, I can’t sing now because I talked too much.’ But I really like club shows because people are there to see you, and I’m still in a place where we get to play kind of intimate shows, and you get the feeling of who your crowd is and connecting with them.

How would you self-describe your genre?

When I started out I was a singer-songwriter, with an acoustic guitar, and kind of had some folk tendencies — but I kind of wrote pop songs. This next record is not as much showing off my folk sensibilities, I mean they’re still there, but I’ve been playing with my band so much over the past few years and we really kind of rock out. So I think this record is a little more consistently rock/pop. You’ll detect some faint traces of folky, kind of country, gospel-ish vocals, potentially, but the music is pretty much rock music.

I think this is an interesting time for folk music, like how the Lumineers were up for a Grammy — I thought that was sort of unusual.

I did too! I mean I like that song, and I like them — so I don’t mean this in a bad way — but I almost feel like that trend has sort of ended. I think the Avett Brothers and Old Crow Medicine Show started it, and were doing it, and it wasn’t mainstream. And then Mumford & Sons really brought that into the mainstream consciousness. Which is really great, because it opened the doors for a lot of bands to be successful, but I’m not sure that that’s where it will stay.

Right. Well, what do you think is going to be the next wave?

My prediction is that the guitar solo is kind of coming back. And I want to be part of that.

Really?

I’ve been listening to a lot of the Hall & Oates Pandora station, and that music has kind of been resonating with me again. It’s kind of dramatic music, and it’s kind of a little cheesy, and it’s got the epic guitar solos. But I think it’s so emotionally evocative, it makes you really feel like ‘YEAHya!’ So I really feel like there’s going to be a Hall & Oates-esque revival, but who knows?

I was actually about to ask you what I’d find if I looked at your Recently Played playlist on your iPod…

My obnoxious answer is that I really don’t listen to music because it, like, stresses me out. I know that sounds terrible. But I had this shift happen where I used to listen to a lot of music and I used to write a lot just for fun and I of course still love music and still love performing, but it’s taken on a different kind of role in my life now that I have to think about it differently. But one album that I was listening to a lot was Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska”. And I love Lana Del Rey’s album. I think she is someone who I wasn’t really feeling her vibe, because I was just being a bitchy girl. I think I was like, ‘oh she’s glamorous, I don’t like her.’ (laughs) I didn’t want to like her. But then I got her album and I love it, I love the entire thing. It’s like she’s creating a whole world, it’s not just music. I feel like it’s very evocative of another era or something. It haunts you. She’s a good storyteller, I don’t know how much of it is like a character, but I feel like she could write a novel and I’d want to read it.

Did you watch her SNL debacle?

After I saw that, and saw how mean people were being, it made me like her more. Because, you know what, not everyone that is good in the studio is necessarily good live. I think my problem for a long time was that I’m kind of better live than I am in the studio.

That’s not a terrible problem to have.

But that doesn’t make me a better artist or more of an artist. I also like how Kristen Wiig went on as her and defended her, I thought that was really cute. I love Kristen Wiig. Oh, I like the new Tegan and Sara album. That’s kind of my feeling about pop music even, like they’re onto something, they might be a little bit ahead of the trend. I feel like their kind of pop music is going to be considered credible again because it makes you feel good…it’s fun to listen to. I’ve gotten into exercising again, taking care of myself, and I couldn’t really get myself motivated to run — and then I put on the Tegan and Sara record and I was like ‘ok, I can run.’

Yeah, they’re great. And they’ve been great for awhile. It’s funny how one hit song can suddenly propel an artist into the public consciousness — I hope it lasts for them.

It’s a tricky thing. When I look at what I’d like my career to be like, I’d just like to be respected and financially stable, it’s pretty much all I can ask for. And anything else is kind of a pleasant bonus. Even at the level I’m at now — I mean, I got a cold, I keep getting sick because I think I’m not used to being busy, and I have interviews, and have to do a show… and I think to have an overnight hit and be on that trajectory would be so stressful. Maybe I’m afraid of success or something, but I’m kind of really happy where I’m at right now.

I love your cover of Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness.” Who would you want to cover one of your songs, if you could pick anyone?

I think it would be cool if Asap Rocky covered me. I guess he did cover me, he sampled me, but somebody in a totally different genre. Like Metallica, but that would never happen. (laughs) I love Metallica.

Haha ok. What else?

Just that if people aren’t sure, just come to our show! I can probably give you, like, a 90 percent guarantee that they’ll enjoy themselves. (laughs)

GO SEE HER:

New York
June 3 @ 8 p.m.
Bowery Ballroom
6 Delancey St., New York
$18
ticketmaster.com

Boston
June 5 @ 9 p.m.
Brighton Music Hall
158 Brighton Ave., Allston
$18
ticketmaster.com

The post Q&A: Lissie on red wine, wishing Lana Del Rey would write a novel, Metallica, and not being able to be “all Hollywood” appeared first on Metro.us.

Up until a few years ago, a world-class music festival was missing from New York City. That’s when Jordan Wolowitz and his friends took it upon themselves to create one.

The idea was simple: great music and a good venue located in New York City. Wolowitz left his job in December 2010 and eight weeks later announced Governors Ball.

When the festival first launched in 2011, it was only a daylong concert series with Girl Talk headlining. By the following year, it was a two-day festival with Beck and Passion Pit as the main acts.

“The trend is that it takes a couple of years to build a successful music festival,” Wolowitz says.

This year, Governors Ball is on its way to becoming a city music festival that rivals that of Chicago’s Lollapolooza, Wolowitz says.

“What you’re seeing [this year] is where we wanted to be,” Wolowitz says. “It’s a diverse and contemporary music festival.”

There’s a lot of buzz around this year’s headliners. Kings of Leon are releasing a new album, and for many this will be their first time seeing Guns N’ Roses live. As for Kanye West, well, he’s just everywhere. 

The festival offers an array of activities other than music. A focus point of this year’s festival is the food.

“Everyone agrees that whey they go to a festival and are hungry, the only options are hot dogs and nachos,” Wolowitz says.

This year, New York City staples like Rickshaw Dumpling Bar, Luke’s, Num Pang, Little Muenster and Bareburger will be some of the food vendors on site.

During daylong music festivals, breaks are needed. Other activities on the island include a silent disco, a photo booth, lawn games and ping-pong tables.

“We want this to be a full-day activity for people,” Wolowitz says. “While I would love it for everyone to love all acts performing, people need a breather to do other things.”

While there are some big-name bands playing, the festival is also a platform for younger artists to promote themselves to wider audiences.

“Governors Ball is a festival for die-hard music fans, for casual music fans, and for those who like experiencing the arts and culture,” Wolowitz says. “It’s a place where you can go experience the best music that’s out there while immersing yourself in New York City culture.”

For more information on tickets, transportation and more go to governorsballmusicfestival.com.

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

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In a move that will come as a shock to exactly nobody, before performing two new tracks on “SNL” on Saturday, Kanye West announced that his new album (dropping June 18) will be called “Yeezus.” Are we the only ones who are starting to find Yeezy’s God Complex sort of tiring? We get it, you’re a big deal. Like, the hugest deal. If, however, those pesky gay rumors the tabloids are circulating turn out to be true, there may be a case for an immaculate conception situation with Ye and Kim K’s unborn spawn.

The post The Word: Kanye’s second coming of Yeezus appeared first on Metro.us.

Malmo in Sweden was hosting the grand final of the 58th Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday.

Here are some facts about the contest:

* The first contest took place in 1956. It was originally conceived in Monaco by Marcel Bezencon and based on the Italian Sanremo Festival, held since 1951. Switzerland won the first contest.

EUROVISION RECORDS:

* Ireland’s Johnny Logan won the contest three times. In 1980 and 1987 he sang the Irish entry, and in 1992 he wrote the winning entry for his compatriot, Linda Martin.

* ABBA is the winner that has gone on to have the most international success. The Swedish band won the contest in 1974 with “Waterloo”.

* Norway has come last most often – in 1963, 1969, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1981, 1990, 1997, 2001 and 2004. However, it has also won three times – in 1985, 1995 and 2009.

* Ireland has won seven times; Luxembourg, France and the United Kingdom five times; Sweden and the Netherlands four times.

* In 2008 and 2011, a record 43 countries participated. Morocco has taken part in the contest only once, in 1980.

* In 2011, Lena, the winner of the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, decided to defend her title on home ground in Germany – something only two people have done in the history of the contest.

* The most covered song in the contest is Domenico Mudugno’s “Nel Blu Di Pinto Di Blu”, also known as “Volare”.

* English has been the main language of 24 winning entries. French is also popular, with 14 victories. Dutch and Hebrew songs have won three times each.

WHAT HAPPENED IN 2012:

* Sweden’s Loreen won the 2012 contest in Azerbaijan before an international TV audience of 100 million, days after angering Azeri authorities by meeting rights activists critical of the host country’s human rights record.

* The 28-year-old won with the song “Euphoria”, dancing barefoot as she sang. After the show, traditionally heavy on kitsch, bizarre costumes and dramatic presentation but low on politics, Loreen steered clear of any controversial statements.

Sources: Reuters/Eurovision Song Contest Website

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The phrase ‘chamber pop’ is often thrown around in indie rock circles, but Brooklyn-based six-piece Friend Roulette have the resume to show that they’re worthy of the title.

The core of the group met years ago as freshmen at New School’s jazz conservatory. “It was summer camp… we all moved to New York and we played with a lot of groups. My philosophy was to do everything,” reminisced lead vocalist and violinist Julia Tepper.

She met co-founder Matthew Meade (guitar/vocals) at the conservatory, who eventually ‘started hating jazz,’ but still holds true to his classical roots. He excitedly mentioned that he spent the previous night at Carnegie Hall to hear a rendition of renowned modernist composer Charles Ives’ pieces.

Friend Roulette blossomed in the summer of 2010 and they do fit into Brooklyn’s alt. rock landscape regardless of their background. “We’re not pimping rock and roll…,” Meade begins. “But, we feel like were still a part of it,” Tepper says.

Their debut album, “I’m Sorry You Hit Your Head,” which comes out on Goodnight Records on May 28, does follow a decidedly pop structure. Expansive tracks reveal intricate melodies and rhythms, and this underscores the production of the album. Most of the tracks are layered with violins, bass clarinet, electronic wind instrument (EWI) and drums. “Our recordings are an ornate, decorative, dynamic take [on our songs],” Tepper explains.

Their live performance displays their loud side, as their NYC shows often have two drummers and two electronic bassists backing them up.  “The orchestration on the record is made up for by our intensity live,” says EWI/bass clarinetist John Stanesco.

“We like both [live and recorded settings] a lot. We can take the opportunity to showcase ourselves as a group in both settings,” Tepper says. At the same time, they have to adjust to the logistics of pop music. “We were all trained to be jazz musicians [and gig often]. This whole play two shows a month thing is really a bummer,” Stanesco says.

Catch Friend Roulette’s intensity live at their album release show on May 23 at Mercury Lounge.

The post Au naturale chamber pop appeared first on Metro.us.

Lee Field and the Expressions are a soul-lover’s complete package. A tight band, velvet crooning, and great songs are the best way to start out a weekend of partying in the park.

MAKU Sound System, from Queens, blends Colombian rhythms with a spectrum of U.S. party music creating a young, global sound for fans of ska, punk, and cumbia alike.

Jovanotti is Italy’s hip-hop icon with a string of hits in the 90s and a recent rebirth at Bonnaroo where he won over U.S. fans. Now he lives in Gotham and he’s the only artist playing Googa both days, joining an Eataly pop-up Sunday.

Pearl and the Beard is a personal favorite, a trio that plays Americana laced with soulful harmonies and marching drums.

Red Baraat brings traditional Indian drums, vocals and clarinet to the New Orleans second line, an idea that keeps the crowd moving with an eastern twist.

Last year’s Hall & Oates are a tough act to follow but Kool & the explitive-ing Gang are sure to bring it. Disco classics include easy-listening ballads like “Cherish” and show stoppers like “Celebration” and “Ladies Night.” Kool & the Gang have all the makings of Great Googa-ism.

Credit: Googa Mooga

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It’s been awhile since hip-hip artist Eve released an album — we haven’t heard much from the Ruff Rider’s First Lady since 2004’s “Eve-loution” — which had a lot of people wondering if she’d fallen off her game. Turns out, she’s been busy working on her personal life. She currently lives in London with her boyfriend of three years, British EDM artist and producer Max Cooper. Lucky for fans, love has not slowed E-V-E down one bit. Having spent the last few years touring around Europe, she’s headed back to states with her newest album “Lip Lock,” which was dropped yesterday.

Her first single, “Make It Out This Town” (an unlikely collabo with Gabe Saporta of Cobra Starship) has yet to earn a spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 list — and perhaps with good reason. After a long-term hiatus from the States, returning to the scene while the Minaj empire is still thriving, Eve would have done well to have come out swinging, with a tougher single to let everyone know she’s still got it. And here’s the thing: she does.

“Lip Lock,” in full, shows a new side to Eve. Powerhouse rap and R&B names both old and new — including Chrisette Michelle, Missy Elliott, and Snoop Lion (nee Dogg) — feature on the album. And while a handful of heartfelt tracks span the album (check out “Never Gone” and “Forgive Me”) don’t think for minute that Eve’s gone soft. Her cocky wordplay on every verse is still as strong as when she first came out in 1999. “Mama in the Kitchen”, “EVE” and “She Bad Bad (Remix)” are hot singles that command respect.

Listeners looking for the Eve of Ruff Ryder-fame may not find her. However, a fan who is willing to explore a new — and perhaps improved — Eve will appreciate a new album with an evolved style that’s fitting for her re-introduction to the airwaves. In her recent interview on Power 105.1 with The Breakfast Club, Eve describes herself as “feeling like a new artist”.

We’re thinking that “Lip Lock” can hold its own with this release, as no other female hip-hop artist is set to release an album at the moment.

The post All hail the First Lady: Eve is back in the game with a new, just-dropped album appeared first on Metro.us.

Earl Sweatshirt

With a name inspired by Blanket Jackson, Odd Future’s Earl Sweatshirt is street credible to the level of sewers. Videos have the feel of Old Dirty Bastard as a Gummo character. Test him and he may ollie right up on you. Like the rest of the Odd Future family, Earl is a young beast on a skateboard infecting the crowd with a silly blend of humor, decrepit gore and violence and adolescent machismo. His show will be a (lowlife) highlight of DT:NYC.

Ratking

When Ratking played an in-store performance last fall, frontman Wiki was all New York street kid, missing front teeth in a ragged, dirty T-shirt, dogfighting with the microphone. His energy was massive and his spitfire flow delivered what the crowd expected — a raw, exposed street kid on the verge of disaster, if not already swimming in it. With heady lyrics coming out of a body that looks about 15, Wiki and the rest of Ratking are the future, through an Armageddon lens.

Trash Talk

The band Trash Talk is skate punk thrash in the vein of Black Flag and Bad Brains. Sweat and bass and pounding riffs with a crowd that brawl-moshes through their set and stays hungry for more Trash. From backyard parties in Los Angeles the boys bring their brand of street grime under palm trees to Gotham.

Kilo Kish

Like posh street wear, Kilo Kish manages to be fashion friendly and street credible all at once. See Metro’s Kilo Kish: Downtown pretty.

Sky Ferreira

Sky Ferreira has a lot of pop in her sound but there’s a serious element of concrete jungle in her eyes while she melodically laments a broken heart. Maybe it’s the black lace and bleach job but there’s something lowbrow about her glazed-over, jaded expression that screams street savvy. With sticky hooks and a tight band she plays DT on Friday night.

Visit thedowntownfestival.com for tickets and schedule

Odd Future’s Earl Sweatshirt is street credible to the level of sewers. Credit: Odd Future

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Whether you’re tailgating before the show or rocking out inside the venue, summer concerts are a ready-made soundtrack that is just awaiting your participation to build memories. Here are the biggest and best bets for your concert dollar.

Hot 97 Summer Jam
While we usually use this space to lightly make fun of a concert bill, there’s just so many great acts on here that we need to use all of the space to tell you who’s playing: Wu-Tang Clan, Chris Brown, Kendrick Lamar, 2 Chainz, Miguel, Wale, Fabolous, A$AP Rocky, French Monatana and Joe Budden!
June 2, MetLife Stadium

Paul McCartney
Ellen DeGeneres once introduced Sir Paul at the Grammys by saying, “The next performer needs no introduction.” True to her word, she left the stage and let it be for one of the last living Beatles. We’d like to do the newspaper equivalent.
June 8 and 10, Barclays Center

One Direction
If seeing the New Kids/98 Degrees/Boyz II Men show bummed you out, go see a boy band that includes actual boys.
June 28 and 29, Nikon at Jones Beach

Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars has turned his “Unorthodox Jukebox” into a 1980s time machine, which works out just fine for his opening act, Fitz and the Tantrums, who have also set the dial for the 1980s with their brand new “More Than Just a Dream.” Wear your neon jams and join them.
June 29, Barclays Center

Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z: 20/20 World Tour
Arguably the biggest tour of the summer, it remains to be seen how Jay-Z and JT will split the stage on The 20/20 World Tour. We can only hope that there are 20 songs from each artist, rather than a staged recreation of the best moments of ABC’s most popular investigative journalism TV show. That said, it would be awesome if they did that for the first few shows and then switched it up by the time they got here.
July 19 and 20, Yankee Stadium

Americanarama Festival of Music
For a genre that takes itself a little too seriously when at its worst, these three giants of Americana prove that a sense of humor is necessary to separate the wheat from the chaff. By calling their tour Americanarama, Bob Dylan, Wilco and My Morning Jacket are having a good ole time.
July 27, Nikon at Jones Beach

Justin Bieber
Who would have thought at this time last year that the Justin Bieber tour would become the equivalent of the Rolling Stones’ 1972 tour in terms of rumored debauchery? We can only hope he’s still around for his own 50 and Counting tour in 2060.
Aug. 2, Barclays Center

Beyonce
Beyonce was going to release a new album this year. Remember that? Seems like she might not have remembered either, as Mrs. Carter sets out on the Mrs. Carter Show World Tour before her new songs have even hit the market. It’s kind of like when it’s the end of the school year, and absolutely all of your friends are psyched to be done with exams, but you’ve still got one left that you totally forgot to study for. But in this case, Beyonce can just say, “I’m Beyonce, I don’t have to take the final.”
Aug. 3, 4, 5, Barclays Center

Under the Influence of Music Tour
Wiz Khalifa, A$AP Rocky, B.o.B. and Trinidad James are a stellar lineup, but we have to wonder: Now that marijuana is pretty much totally legal, when are musicians going to stop giving their tours titles with little winking references to weed?
Aug. 6, Nikon at Jones Beach

Kenny Chesney
One thing that has not changed in America for the past 100 years: Cowboys are still really good at herding large groups of mammals into confined open-air structures. Eric Church, Eli Young Band and Kacey Musgraves round out this rootin’-tootin’ bill.
Aug. 10, MetLife Stadium

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To hear Youngblood Hawke’s Sam Martin talk, you might imagine him some kind of environmentalist, rather than the frontman of a swiftly rising indie-pop outfit. “I think it’s important to conserve nature and take care of our earth, because we’re blessed and fortunate to have it,” he says. “I feel like one day we’re going to look, and it’s going to disappear on us, and we’re going to wish that we had lived a little bit differently.”

He’s talking about the inspiration for the music video for the band’s single “We Come Running,” which was filmed entirely underwater and features the band members swimming alongside live sharks. “At the time there were a lot of shark attacks in California and we wanted to shed light on these animals because they were getting slaughtered by the millions,” he says. “We wanted to show people that they weren’t these man eating killers. They attack surfers occasionally because they think they’re fish … but once they know what you are, they’re not evil manhunters. We can’t keep slaughtering these animals at the rate we’re doing it because we’re going to completely wipe them out. And the ocean would die.”

Indeed, Martin says that if he weren’t making music he’d probably be working in the great outdoors, “maybe a tour guide in a national park or something.” Luckily for Martin (if not visitors to Yellowstone) he’s otherwise employed — making infectious, up-tempo electro-rock with one of his best college buds, producer Simon Katz.

Martin and Katz have been collaborating musically ever since the two decided to move from their college town of Boulder, Colo., to L.A. and start their first band, Iglu & Hartly. The band enjoyed moderate success, scoring a Top 5 hit in Europe, before dissolving suddenly — and painfully, says Martin — due to strained relationships with the other band members. “Simon and I felt like we didn’t really have a voice in the project … and it wasn’t a happy environment for us to be in anymore,” he says. “When you’re making music, but it’s not the music you want to make, there’s really no point. We felt like we could no longer express ourselves, and everything just fell apart.”

The two took the considerable angst of that loss and channeled it into the songs that would become Youngblood Hawke’s debut album, “Wake Up.” “We were really in a dark place and I think, looking back, we really wrote these songs to cheer ourselves up,” he reflects. “We were sitting in our living rooms, dead broke, trying to figure out what to do with our lives. We’d invested eight to 10 years of our lives [in Iglu & Hartly] and then one day it was completely gone. I think it was important to lift ourselves up, I think it was a cathartic experience. We were writing to make ourselves feel better. Definitely the songs have kind of an upbeat feel but I think that if you listen to the lyrics it gets really dark at points.”

When asked to describe the band’s sound, Martin hesitates. “I feel like describing music is like trying to describe a color,” he says. “There’s rock, there’s dance, there’s definitely synth, and there’s some pop elements to it, definitely. But I think what separates us is that we have some weirder lyrics that we balance out with the pop choruses.”

Martin might find their genre difficult to define, but he clearly articulates the band’s unofficial mission statement. “We’re all kind of excited about life,” he says. “In a live show we just like to give people a great experience. I feel like, they come to a show and buy a ticket, they should walk away feeling like we gave all of our effort to entertain them. We walk offstage and we have nothing left. We like to leave it all on the stage for the audience.”

When asked if he ever fears the specter of the one-hit wonder, a fate that befalls many young bands who burst onto the scene with that one catchy hit single and just as quickly fade away, he’s quick to dismiss it. “I feel confident in our album and our songwriting abilities. I think we’re just fortunate to be in this position right now, we’re taking it one day at a time,” he says. “Some bands don’t even get a song. We’re going to continue to write and evolve and get better, so I don’t think that’s something that really freaks me out at all.”

Youngblood Hawke stops in Boston and New York on a club tour before hitting the festival circuit this summer.

NEW YORK
May 13, 8 p.m
Santos Party House
96 Lafayette St., New York
$13-$15
ticketweb.com

BOSTON
May 14, 9 p.m.
Brighton Music Hall
158 Brighton Ave., Allston
$12
ticketmaster.com

The post Youngblood Hawke soars high and swims in the deep appeared first on Metro.us.

Every summer New Yorkers look forward to the mostly free Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival.

The concert series held annually in Prospect Park’s bandshell highlights a variety of artists to please the taste of all music lovers.

This year, Celebrate Brooklyn! is bringing some of us back to high school by showcasing the Barenaked Ladies, Ben Folds Five and Guster on July 30. This is one of the shows that will require a ticket.

For those nostalgic of the early 2000s, Shaggy, of “It Wasn’t Me” fame, will perform on August 9.

Other performances to look forward to include Belle and Sebastian on July 11, Beck on Aug 4 and the live score of to Oscar-nominated Beasts of the Southern Wild by Dan Romer, Benh Zeitlin, & The Wordless Music Orchestra on August 8.

They Might Be Giants will bring Celebrate Brooklyn! to an end on August 10.

For the full summer lineup click here.

See you all in Brooklyn this summer.

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

The post Celebrate Brooklyn! summer lineup released appeared first on Metro.us.

Oh dear god, no. We thought the recording industry had reached its lowest pit of scum-sucking despair when it allowed Rebecca Black’s “Friday” to enter the world. Then we thought that actually maybe “My Jeans” had that topped and we could close the book on this thing.

We thought wrong. Because today we heard Patricia Krentcil a/k/a “The Tanning Mom’s” new song a/k/a ”the aural equivalent of sucking pus from a homeless man’s infected big toe while listening to feral cats mate in a meat grinder.” It’s called “It’s Tan Mom” (points for cleverness!) and it is a rap song.

Well, it’s a rap song if your definition of the genre extends to a middle-aged woman who has tanned herself the color of motor oil — and apparently sun-fried her brains — slur robotically (a sonic feat we didn’t even know was possible, dubbing this strange new genre #drunkrobotgaze) about — you guessed it — gettin’ tan.

Choice drunken robot slurred lines include: “I’m sexier…than…the Teen….Mom….and….Octo….Mom.”

Also, she’s a pretty good rhymer: “I want you to get away….from me…every day.” “My name is tan mom, tanning is the bomb.”

Also, this is the worst thing. And you can purchase it for a mere $0.99 on iTunes as of right now.

We give up.

The post The Tanning Mom releases rap “song” — ears everywhere bleed appeared first on Metro.us.

The post VIDEO: Andrew the Pizza Guy [deep] dishes on Daft Punk in Funny or Die spoof appeared first on Metro.us.

One of the best parts of living in a big city is getting the opportunity to attend tons of free promotional events sponsored by venues, brands and other organizers. When music aficionado Andy Meyers moved to NYC in 2008 to attend NYU’s music business graduate program, he realized that there were tons of free shows in NYC but there wasn’t a regularly updated, centralized listing for these free concerts.

By the end of ’09, he began his own outlet, which has since grown to become one of the premiere outlets for free show listings in NYC. Metro’s Locally Amped sat down with Meyers to chat about MyFreeConcert and the music scene in New York.

Metro: How did MyFreeConcert begin?
Andy Meyers: I originally began it because I didn’t want to email friends [about events.] I told them, ‘if you want to go to things I like, I’ll post it to my page.’ I met a couple of people who thought that it was a great idea. For a year and a half, it was very basic and I kept it kind of indie. But, then I started getting partnerships with bigger brands…

Metro: Since then, it’s definitely developed as you now often feature giveaways for shows at Terminal 5, Webster Hall, bigger shows at Madison Square Garden and music festivals around NYC. How did those opportunities come about?
A.M.: Our main approach is that we’re really consumer-friendly and brands are willing to throw down. They want email addresses and exposure. We do lots of giveaways via social media — Twitter’s gone huge. If we can help them, they can help us.

Metro: So, you began the site while you were in the NYU graduate Music Business program. How did that program help you to start the site?
A.M.: It put me in the right atmosphere. For part of the program, you write a thesis and I thought that that [MyFreeConcert] could be a good project. A lot of the people there that I met were like-minded, as we were all kind of working in the music industry. In class, I used some concepts and had active discussions about the site with my classmates. It definitely helped immensely.

Metro: What are your responsibilities at MFC on a day-to-day basis?
A.M.: I’m a content person: finding things, getting social media done, putting the proper emphasis on shows. I work with four others, but I founded the site.

Metro: What’s the most difficult part of the job?
A.M.: One problem is deciding how to use my time. We work with other PR companies, Bowery Presents, blogs that reach out to me and people posting events. Everyone is emailing me to come to their show — and it’s overwhelming at times, especially when there’s a lot of work to be done.

Metro: At the same time, you also get lots of perks as you’re able to attend lots of shows and events for free. What are your favorite venues in NYC for live music?
A.M.: Brooklyn Bowl and Bowery Ballroom. Brooklyn Bowl because they always get solid acts and it just has a great vibe. Bowery Ballroom because it’s probably the best place to see some really huge acts.

Metro: What do you have planned for MFC in the future?
A.M.: We want to do more coverage, including photos and reviews. We’ve also started hosting shows in Manhattan.  We’re working with BuzzChips, who book the bands, and we will start hosting shows at a new venue called Subculture in June. You’ll definitely want to stay tuned as there are a lot of neat things we’re working on as summer starts.

Check out the MyFreeConcert site for comprehensive free concert listings and follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

The post Making a business out of free concerts appeared first on Metro.us.

Boston rapper Slaine — who some might know better from his burgeoning Hollywood career (The Town, Killing Them Softly) — spoke out about the connections some are drawing between deceased bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s musical tastes and his violent actions, in an interview with MTV on Friday. “Millions and millions and millions of kids listen to hip-hop and they don’t blow up bombs at public events to kill innocent women and children,” the La Coka Nostra rapper, whose son and son’s mother were at the marathon that day, said. True dat.

The post VIDEO: Don’t blame hip-hop: Boston rapper Slaine talks Boston Marathon bombings appeared first on Metro.us.

You know the old saying, “I would watch that man conduct the phone book”? Well maybe we paraphrased slightly, but it certainly applies to Steven Reineke, the music director of the New York Pops and the principal pops conductor for both the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in Canada and the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. Reineke, who is also a composer himself, is most widely known for his effusive dance moves and obvious passion onstage as he brings to life a wide variety of popular scores. We caught up with the charismatic conductor earlier this month following a tribute to Stephen Schwartz, celebrating the acclaimed composer’s 65th birthday as well as the 10th year of his Broadway megahit, “Wicked.” You can see Reineke bring his musical magic to Carnegie Hall on April 29 at 7 p.m. as he leads the Pops’ 30th birthday gala, closing out the 2012-2013 season (www.newyorkpops.org).

Do you believe that there’s a disconnect between today’s younger audiences and formal musical performances?

No, I don’t believe so, [not] for a Pops concert. It’s certainly my mission to welcome a younger demographic into the concert hall, and we’re seeing evidence that that’s happening. We definitely have subscribers in an older age bracket who have been around supporting the orchestra for the last 30 years. The programming we’re doing – [like] a Stephen Schwartz concert — will attract a lot of people. But when we even do Rodgers and Hammerstein or Lerner and Loewe, I pair that with some of the great young talent that’s out there today. And that brings in a lot of younger audience members. We’ve done a number of shows that have brought in younger people as well. I like to do something for everybody.

When you were young, were you already into musical theater?

I was. I was always into all kinds of music from a very early age. I started to play music when I was 10 years old. Musical theater really hit me early in high school, when I really found a great love of that. But there are so many types of music that I love.

And were you a fan of Stephen Schwartz?

Oh yeah, I was a big fan of Stephen Schwartz. I knew all the “Godspell” music early on, because that musical was very popular. In college, I was a trumpet major and I played trumpet in the pit orchestra of our college production of “Pippin,” and I remember how much I just fell in love with that musical. That’s always been one of my all-time favorites, so I said: “Who is Stephen Schwartz?” I really wanted to know everything about him and everything he wrote. There’s so much great music. And we hadn’t heard from him for a while when he moved to Hollywood and started doing all those Disney films. I didn’t know if he was going to write another musical, and then — boom! — here comes “Wicked,” which is his masterpiece. It’s just absolutely brilliant.

Have you seen the revival of “Pippin” that’s now on Broadway?

Yes, I went to see the new “Pippin” a couple weeks ago. I really loved this new production of it. It’s not updated musically; there was one other performance where they tinkered with the music to make it sound more modern, but I liked the fact that they kept the sound of “Pippin” from its original production. But the visuals and the storytelling and the way they added the circus performers is stunning.

Do you enjoy conducting the same kind of music you enjoy composing?

Yes, I always love conducting one of my own pieces — it’s always a great, great thrill. To conduct all different types of music everything from ballet scores to film scores to big band jazz to movie music, everything takes a little bit different skill set and different nuances and that’s always a great challenge.

Do you have any advice for youngsters who want to get into the field?

Pick another job. [Laughs] No, not really. The best advice for being in the arts in general is perseverance. We all get shot down a lot in the arts. When you’re younger you hear a lot of times “you’re going to be a starving artist” or “you should really get a degree in education so you have something to fall back on.” I never liked that philosophy. You really have to know in your heart of hearts that you love this and you have to be prepared to hear no a lot of times, and get up the next day and still go out there and try to make it. Because then one day you’re going to get that “yes” you’ve been looking for.

I think it’s evident that in your heart of hearts you have a passion for this. What else do you ascribe to your success? Because people are really drawn to you personally.

Oh boy, I don’t know exactly what that is. I do try to break down the barriers between the audience and the orchestra and the performers so that it feels pretty much – even when we’re in a large hall, like Carnegie Hall or when I’m directing the NSO at the Kennedy Center, that I like it to feel a lot more intimate like we’re just doing music in a living room – like I often do – for friends. So I want it to be very welcoming and inviting to people but I don’t know, I get told all the time that I just have great dance moves when I’m up there, so that helps at times.

Speaking of NSO – you’re taking the Schwartz concert down there?

That is correct – you can come to Washington, D.C., where we’ll be playing three performances of [the Schwartz tribute] at the Kennedy Center.

What’s up next?

This is the end of our season, so I’m really excited for our 30th anniversary gala. It’s going to be such a star-studded cast — and by honoring Frank Loesser, Jule Styne and Danny Kaye, we have an incredible canon of music to pick from.

Does that mean you get a break?

We have a little bit of a break. I don’t have much of a rest, because I also conduct the NSO and the Toronto Symphony [Orchestra]. And my summers, I guest conduct all over the continent. But the NY Pops will have a little bit of time off as we gear up for next season to open in October.

Anything else?

I’m ready for a cocktail.

The post Steven Reineke: A personality that really Pops appeared first on Metro.us.

For a long time music lover, especially one who has scoured indie music blogs for nearly a decade, it’s a surprise to come across a universally praised act which isn’t new to the scene. I first heard the name Phosphorescent, the alter ego of Matthew Houck, buzzing on my Twitter feed last month and quickly assumed that ‘they’ were a new rising act.

Matthew Houck has been producing music under the Phosphorescent pen name since 2003, though he recorded and toured as Fillup Shack beginning in 2000. He had a long, tired journey to get to his sixth album, Muchacho, which was his first to hit the Billboard 200 last month. The persistent performer finished off the US leg of his album release tour last Thursday at a sold-out Bowery Ballroom – and he finished it off with a vengeance.

The nearly 90 minute set, a mix of material from his last three albums, showed that indie folk can thrive in a more traditional form even in the era of pop-leaning Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers. Backed up by a raucous five-piece band, Houck hit country tones and ‘70s rock riffs to an open-minded, diverse crowd.

Shaped and grizzled as Houck is, the solo artist’s voice has a warmth akin to Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon or  The Tallest Man on Earth. The set hit a sweet spot with his synth, violin and pedal-steel guitar-laden single “Song for Zula,” which would rightly turn up as a single on alt. rock radio in a perfect world.

The introspective “A Picture of Our Torn Up Praise” helped lead the way into a three-song encore that seemed to last much longer. Houck did  push his luck on “Wolves,” an unaccompanied piece which he looped his voice on top of itself over and over again electronically.

The duet which followed, a cover of Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter’s “Storms Never Last,” was a full-on ode to country. The duet showed off one of his backing musicians’ sweet, tender voice for the duet.  “Los Angeles” finished off the night, a bluesy tune which is a bit more standard contemporary indie folk fare.

Phosphorescent hits the hearts of Pitchfork-wielding critics. Yet, Phosphorescent’s live set showed that he certainly isn’t serving up standard buzz ‘meat.’ The sold out, enraptured crowd ate it up.

The post Longtime performer Houck successfully stretches folk live appeared first on Metro.us.

“Will’s here,” says an assistant.

No kidding. His laugh —familiar from 100 episodes of “Fresh Prince” — booms across the Hollywood soundstage, as he arrives to meet me. Despite being the single biggest star on the planet, with a net worth of $200 milion, Smith still comes off as happy-go-lucky — and happy to laugh at his own jokes.

His son, Jaden, follows behind, serious, yet gracious. A box-office draw in his own right, after “The Karate Kid,” the 14-year-old toplines their new film “After Earth,” set 1,000 years into the future. In it, his trainee braves a planet overgrown by wild creatures, to save his injured father, played by Smith.

The film’s eco-message made them the perfect Special Guests for our Earth Day edition. In an intimate, hour-long chat, the two discussed working together, how to fix the planet, and the inevitable: life with mom. That very week, Jada Pinkett Smith posted a Facebook missive, clarifying earlier statements about her and Will’s “open relationship,” calling it instead a “grown relationship.”

Smith talked about that as best he could, given that his young son was sitting right there with him.

You guys work together, live together — but online, I see videos of Jaden skateboarding, talking about girls—

Jaden: Um-hmm. Um-hmm.

So I wondered—

Will: Wait. [To Jaden] You be talking about girls a whole lot?

J: In interviews, Dad. About them. I’m not online, like, “Hey, girls, hello!” [Mimes taking a photo of himself] Tweet!

Will, how aware are you of what Jaden’s doing?

W: Not much at all. Not much at all. That’s what I like him to think. [Laughs] I have a group of Men in Black that keep up pretty good.

J: This is what I’ve realized: No matter what I do or how I do it, he knows 100 percent of what’s going on.

W: [Laughs]

J: There’s no point in hiding anything because he knows. Whether he acts on it or not, he knows.

How do you know he knows?

J: I just know that he knows. [Both laugh]

W: I heard Jaden’s friend one time, they were sitting around, talking about something and I came in the room and said, “Hi” and walked out of the room and paused for a second and I hear the friend saying, “Dude, I’m telling you, he knows! He knows!” [Both laugh uproariously]

J: He knows, bro.

When was the last time you were punished, Jaden?

W: We don’t do punishment. The way that we deal with our kids is, they are responsible for their lives. Our concept is, as young as possible, give them as much control over their lives as possible and the concept of punishment, our experience has been — it has a little too much of a negative quality. So when they do things — and you know, Jaden, he’s done things — you can do anything you want as long as you can explain to me why that was the right thing to do for your life.

J: It works pretty well.

But most teenagers aren’t naturally introspective. Jaden, do you find yourself asking yourself deep questions about your behavior and acting accordingly?

J: Yeah. Other teenagers go to parties and sometimes I be like, “Why am I here right now?” And most of the time, I just leave right then and there. Some things I don’t like to do, that other teenagers do. Everyone thinks that since you make movies, you go to parties, and I like to party, but not normal teenage parties.

Are you missing out on a good ol’ fashioned American childhood?

J: Not at all. I go out and skate every night. Hang out with people, skate, hang out with more people, skate to their house.

W: [To Jaden] What do you see as the purpose and point? So you’re not going out and partying — what’s the purpose, what’s the point, what are you doing?

J: It’s not like I don’t want to go to parties because I need to study and go to college; I just don’t wanna go. If they’re gonna play house music, I’m maybe interested, but if it’s some random place and they’re playing Waka Flocka Flame….

You’re anti-generic.

J: Exactly.

Will, how and when did you and Jada decide Jaden could handle a full-fledged movie career?

W: You can never be certain. You have an idea, you can feel your kids, but until the things in their lives start to unfold and the things they cause begin to have effects, you can never totally see. But we felt that because they were choosing a business that we were both successful in, then at a minimum, we could give good advice.

You used the phrase “they were choosing” but did they choose? Jaden, you were going to the red carpet when you were in diapers.

J: It was not going to the red carpet so people could see us, it was going to the red carpet because we had free tickets.

W: [Laughs] That’s what our life was. The family has a movie so they’re going.

J: It started with our mom is going to the red carpet, she doesn’t want to leave us with somebody so she’s going to bring us. Then it got to us walking. And then it got to us starring in movies.

Jaden, your music is trippy. It’s far from Will’s feel-good beats. Is that consciously your own thing?

J: I mean, people are already telling me I look like him, that I talk and walk like him. If I rapped like him too, people would be like, “Let’s go on the Fresh Prince Tour.”

Fresh Prince and Fresh Prince Jr. — I would go to that tour.

J: I had to go way left with it because if I came out with a song with me and a bunch of girls in a car with sunglasses on [the Pacific Coast Highway] going ,”Yeah!”, they’d go, “That’s the average thing to do.” Instead I came out with the video for “The Coolest” and people were like, “Whoa! The camera’s going upside down.”

Will, can you even connect to his music, at your age?

W: At 14, his mind is so much deeper and more complex than my mind was at 14 years old. Lyrically, where he goes and what he creates and how the things are conceptually is beyond what I could create at 14 years old.

Or even later in your career: “Miami” is not telling a complex story.

W: Right. Poetically, he’s beyond where I ever go to with my music. My strength is ideas. And record structure. I knew how to make records in the way you get to the hook when the crowd wants it.

J: That’s what you’re really good at. You could go anywhere and be like, “When I say hip, you say hop,” and they’ll all say it! If I go up there, I’ll say, “All right guys, I’m gonna read you a Shakespearean sonnet real quick, here I go.” [Both laugh]

The funniest part to me is the music, the old school sound of the music that I have in some of my songs is like what his old school beats used to sound like. It’s just different. We’re the opposite, but similar in some ways.

The DNA.

W: That’s my seed. Remember where you came from.

Jaden, would you produce Will’s album?

J: If you decided, like, “All right Jaden, I’m serious, I want to make an album”…

W: Oh, if I was serious?

J: I mean, you have movies to make. Businesses you want to start. You’re a busy man.

W: I see how it is.

Jaden may be too big for you, Will.

W: I know, I know. He’s very serious and very focused and has a very rare combination of talent, desire, willingness and means. Which verrrrry, very rarely do those things come together and converge in the proper timing. So I’m excited to see what he decides to do with his life.

Jaden, what happens when you’re 18 and Will kicks you out of the house.

J: We’ll probably work together ‘till he retires and he probably won’t retire.

W: [Laughs] No we’ve been talking about, he’s been thinking about becoming an emancipated minor.

J: Just thoughts that pop into my head.

They made a movie about that — a girl divorced her parents.

J: Really!

Rent that, get some tips.

W: [Laughs] No, it’s not like that. More the idea that, I want him to have as much command and freedom if he is willing to accept responsibility. Those are two concepts that are inexorably bound. So he’s a very responsible young man so he’s entitled to the maximum freedom. [To Jaden] I said “inexorably.” You heard that? Someone Google that for Jaden.

Justin Bieber, who you’re both friends with, has been in the press for some growing pains. Did you learn anything from his last six months?

W: I talk to Justin once a week and Justin is suffering from immature adulthood in the media and surrounding world. Justin’s not doing anything that a normal 19-year-old wouldn’t want to do and wouldn’t need to do to become a man. The transition from boyhood to manhood is a very difficult transition that he’s handling on a world stage better than 95 percent of the people who talk s— about him.

Bieber’s on Twitter. Jaden, you’re on Twitter. Will, what’s up?

J: He doesn’t have one. Usually there’ll be people who have a Twitter. He doesn’t have one. He likes Facebook.

W: I got 44 million people on Facebook. I’m just saying. I don’t know how many people you got on Twitter.

J: I knew you were going to say that.

W: I’m just saying, I don’t know how many people you got. How many people?

J: Four million.

W: Four million. Yeah. I got that after my first number.

J: I feel like people on Facebook will just randomly follow just anybody.

W: [Laughs hysterically]

Jada’s on Facebook.

W: Oh!

J: Oh!

Will + Jaden: Ohhhhhh!

W: Oh, Mommy be going in!

J: My mom goes in on Facebook! She goes in!

Is she aware other people can read what she writes?

[Both laugh loudly]

J: She’ll be like—

W: She’ll call a family meeting.

Will + Jaden: [Doing Jada impression] “I’m posting this on Facebook!”

J: [continuing impression] “I don’t care what people say. If we get hit for this, this is what the truth of the world is.’”Uh, okkkkay mom. She’ll be on the phone with a manager, “I don’t care what they said, I’m posting this on Facebook.” I think she should write a book.

W: Jada is very serious and opinionated and she loves Facebook because it’s the only place she’s ever had where she’s felt like all of her can be received. She’s struggled her whole life where only a part of her is OK.

In her posts, she can take a generality and break it down into a truth. She posted recently about you having a “grown relationship.”

W: A “grown relationship.” [Looks down]

Anything to add?

W: She put some serious, hardcore truth out there. [Pauses] And I think, the five minutes we have left, aren’t gonna be enough to cover it. [Laughs]

OK, onto the Earth Day issue then?

W: Yes! Earth Day! Please!

Click to read Will and Jaden Smith’s take on what the world will be like in 2043, when Jaden is Will’s age.

Click to read ’1,000 years in the future: Melting point’

• 
  View Video

  Two Smiths, One Big Issue: Will Smith & Jaden Smith to curate Metro

The post Will and Jaden Smith: Metro’s special guests on life ‘After Earth’ and more appeared first on Metro.us.

A record store that has been a Greenwich Village mainstay for 46 years and was once featured on an episode of “Seinfeld” closed its doors on Saturday, to be replaced by a frozen yogurt chain.

Bleecker Bob’s Golden Oldies, named after owner Robert Plotnick, is reportedly being pushed out by its landlord due to financial woes. The ideally situated 2,000-square-foot space on W. 3rd St. has been sold to the Chicago-based chain store Forever Yogurt.

JK Kitzer, Bleecker Bob’s girlfriend, has managed the store for the last twelve years, since Bob was paralyzed in a stroke. She told DNAinfo.com that Bob doesn’t yet know that his beloved store is gone.

“I’ve been kind of breaking down this week asking friends if I should tell him — 50 percent say yes, 50 percent say no,” Kitzer said.

The post Famed record store Bleecker Bob’s closes after 4 decades appeared first on Metro.us.

Photographer Richard Corman called her “the pied piper of the Lower East Side” because when she sang and danced, others followed. And that was still a year before the release of her first album, when the rest of the world got to meet Madonna Louise Ciccone for the first time.

Now, for the first time, they’ll get to see his photos too. Corman’s street-style photos of a fresh-faced, 24-year-old Madonna taken when she was living on the Lower East Side in the 1980′s were revealed to the public on Thursday in a free exhibit at the W Hotel in Times Square.

The photos show Madge dancing on a rooftop with neighborhood kids and sporting an early version of the unique style she would become famous for: bright red lips and torn jeans, dripping with studded bracelets and chains.

The exhibit, organized by Rock Paper Photo, will be open to the public until May 12.

The post Never-before-seen photos of 80′s Madonna revealed in free exhibit appeared first on Metro.us.

 Take a look inside Elle magazine’s fourth annual Women in Music celebration at the Edison Ballroom in New York.

The post PHOTOS: Elle’s Women in Music event in New York City appeared first on Metro.us.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs will release their fourth album, “Mosquito,” next week. And with it comes a new look from the band’s chameleon of a front woman Karen O. For one, she’s now blonde. And she’s into crystal-encrusted Elvis Presley style suits, the latest in a long line of wonderfully weird stage outfits designed by her bestie, the designer Christian Joy. We look back at some of our favorites (fishnets! zigzags! giant headdresses!) from Yeah Yeah Yeahs gigs past.

The post Our favorite Karen O looks appeared first on Metro.us.

Get pumped, Brooklyn music lovers: the lineup for Brooklyn’s Northside Festival has been announced.

The festival will go from June 13 to June 20 and feature 350 bands and over 40 films.

This year’s festival will kick off with an Entrepreneurship and Technology Expo (NExT) on June 13 and 14.

A free outdoor public innovation expo will take place in McCarren Park and will be open to the public free of charge, and then an entrepreneurship conference will be held at Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn Brewery, and the Wythe Hotel.

Speakers will include Charles Adler, the co-founder of Kickstarter, and Jason Goodman, the CEO and co-founder of 3rd Ward, among many others.

Word is also out about a mysterious demonstration that festival sponsor Jameson will be conducting, but specifics are hazy so far. It will involve the man responsible for Jameson Black Barrel’s flame-charred barrels, a fifth-generation Master Cooper named Ger uckley, flying in from Middleton Distillery in Ireland.

Two free, ticketed outdoor shows in McCarren Park on June 15 and 16 have been announced. The June 15 headliner will be The Walkmen. June 16′s main act is yet to be named.

Other musical acts appearing at the festival are Mac DeMarco, Black Flag, Har Mar Superstar, Lambchop, Lower, Lushlife, The Luyas, White Fence, Ava Luna, Chelsea Wolfe, Dead Stars, Destruction Unit, Kisses, The Karma Exchange, Rush Midnight, Swans, Twin Sister, The Veda Rays, The Void Union, Intronaut, Jonathan Toubin, Crazy Pills, Iceage, Drunken Rampage, The Courtesy Tier, The Casualties, and WHY? among many, many others.

Northside Film released its screening lineup, which includes a documentary about Le Tigre called “Who Took the Bomp? Le Tigre on Tour.” Kerthy Fix and Kathleen Hanna will be onsite for a Q&A after the screening.

Early bird badges can be purchased for $65 through April 30.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post Northside Festival music lineup announced appeared first on Metro.us.

Singers Miranda Lambert and Luke Bryan led the winners at the Academy of Country Music awards on Sunday, while leading nominees Taylor Swift and Hunter Hayes came away empty-handed in a night honoring top achievers in country music.

Swift, 23, lost out on all five categories she was nominated in, including Female Vocalist of the Year and the fan-voted Entertainer of the Year, a surprise for the country music favorite who won the award for the last two years.

Newcomer Hayes, 21, who was nominated in six categories, also went home empty-handed.

The night’s top award Entertainer of the Year went to the show’s co-host Bryan, 36, a surprise to the charismatic host who said he had only just started headlining shows.

“What I always wanted to be is just a country singer who got to ride on a tour bus and perform every night. … This is the defining moment of my life, it means the world to me and I’ll never take it for granted,” Bryan said tearfully.

Lambert, 29, picked up four awards in three categories, including Female Vocalist of the Year, beating Swift, Carrie Underwood, Kacey Musgraves and Martina McBride.

Lambert also won Song of the Year for “Over You,” written with husband Blake Shelton, who was co-hosting the ceremony, and thanked her peers for recognizing her songwriting talents.

“As a songwriter, having your songs and your lyrics recognized by your peers is pretty much as good as it gets. … Thank you for accepting me as a songwriter and not just as a singer, that means the world to me,” Lambert said.

Shelton, who married Lambert in 2011, thanked his wife for making him a better songwriter.

“I used to think I was a decent songwriter until I started hanging out with her (Lambert) and she taught me so much,” Shelton said in his acceptance speech, pulling his wife in for a big hug.

Jason Aldean bested Bryan, Shelton and one of the night’s top nominees Eric Church for the Male Vocalist of the Year award, while Church picked up Album of the Year for his 2011 chart-topping record “Chief.”

LIVELY PERFORMANCES

The three-hour show televised on CBS featured performances from old and new names in country music including Church, Dierks Bentley, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Lambert, who performed “Mama’s Broken Heart.”

“The Voice” judge Shelton joined co-host Luke Bryan to kick off with a rendition on Shelton’s “Boys ‘Round Here,” on which they were also joined by Sheryl Crow.

Oklahoma native and former “American Idol” winner Carrie Underwood, who was nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year, performed her single “Two Black Cadillacs” while fellow “American Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson sang “Don’t Rush.”

Following ACM awards tradition of pairing veteran and new artists together, Tim McGraw and Keith Urban sang with Swift on “Highway Don’t Care,” while Brad Paisley and John Mayer teamed up to perform “Beat This Summer,” ending with a crowd-rousing guitar riff.

Hayes performed with Motown legend Stevie Wonder on Hayes’ new single “I Want Crazy” and Wonder’s song “Sir Duke.” Wonder closed out the show with his classic track “Signed. Sealed. Delivered.”

Singer Reba McEntire introduced a tribute to late television host and producer Dick Clark, with country music artists George Strait and Garth Brooks singing Brooks’ “The Dance” and Strait’s “Cowboy Rides Away.”

Newcomer duo Florida Georgia Line, formed by Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard, picked up the fan-voted award for New Artist of the Year and performed their hit single “Cruise” on the show.

Husband-wife duo Thompson Square won Vocal Duo of the Year, while Alabama group Little Big Town won Vocal Group of the Year.

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Every now and then you’ll see a listing for a band you like, but the words “DJ set” will be encased in a set of parentheses after the band’s name. These two words serve as an obvious warning so you won’t be disappointed if you’re expecting the band to play their own hits live. But those two words don’t properly warn you that you may also be disappointed by the band’s DJ skills.

“It was literally a room-clearing set,” remarks Wavves singer Nathan Williams about one such stint he did in Toronto this past weekend. There is more than a trace of excitement in his voice as he recounts the gory details.

“People were booing us,” he says. “It was actually a really good DJ set, but they didn’t like it. We played Powerman 5000, Korn, Bobby McFerrin, Sugar Ray. … I think with this one in particular, they wanted us to play like Ratatat or some indie dance music, so we decided to go for an experimental set, and then we did karaoke over all of the songs.”

There’s always been a fun snottiness about Wavves and this prank is typical of Williams’ approach.

“You’ve gotta keep people on their toes,” he says.

When asked to open up about topical specifics of “Afraid of Heights,” the new Wavves album, Williams offers little insight.

“I try not to think about almost anything that I write,” he says. “I prefer it to just come out and be whatever it is, almost like stream of consciousness.”

If it sounds like he’s coming across like a punk, he is. But that’s fitting enough. And like Wavves’ music, there’s something affable about this smug punk delivery. When asked how his band are treating the live performance of the occasionally more sophisticated songs of “Afraid of Heights,” it’s telling what he shares first.

“They’re harder to play drunk,” he says.

The Coast is clear?
When asked if he thinks people will read into any relationship lyrics about his own public relationship with Best Coast singer Bethany Cosentino, Williams counters that there are no lyrics about relationships on the current album.

“People are going to think whatever they’re going to think and you can’t change that,” he says. “It doesn’t matter anyways.”

The post Wavves of mutilation appeared first on Metro.us.

Carey Mulligan stars as Daisy Buchanan and Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Jay Gatsby in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ drama “THE GREAT GATSBY,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Today writer/producer/director Baz Luhrmann reminded anybody with internet connection of his unique skill at taking old texts and modernizing them in cinematic majesty. As a new trailer for “The Great Gatsby” hit YouTube, it revealed a colorful, lush and melodramatic universe not too far from the ones he showed us in “Romeo + Juliet” and “Moulin Rouge!” One interesting difference between the upcoming “Gatsby” production and Luhrmann’s earlier works is his collaborator Jay-Z, who supervised the elite soundtrack, the lineup of which was also revealed today.

In an attempt to update the sound of Fitzgerald’s story, Jay-Z and executive music consultant Jeymes Samuel (aka Bullitts) have assembled a cast of some of music’s biggest names in an attempt to create the modern day equivalent of the Jazz Age.

As director Baz Luhrman notes, “F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel is peppered with contemporary music references specific to the story’s setting of 1922. While we acknowledge, as Fitzgerald phrased it, ‘the Jazz Age,’ and this is the period represented on screen, we—our audience—are living in the ‘hip-hop age’ and want our viewers to feel the impact of modern-day music the way Fitzgerald did for the readers of his novel at the time of its publication.”

That being said, Jay-Z and company do not disappoint. Available on Interscope Records on May 4, the album includes a collaborations between Andre 3000 and Beyonce, Fergie and Q-Tip, as well as tracks by Jack White, will,i,am and Jay-Z, himself.

The full track listing is as follows:

1. 100$ Bill – JAY Z
2. Back To Black – Beyoncé x André 3000
3. Bang Bang – will.i.am
4. A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got) – Fergie + Q Tip + GoonRock
5. Young And Beautiful – Lana Del Rey
6. Love Is The Drug – Bryan Ferry with The Bryan Ferry Orchestra
7. Over The Love – Florence + The Machine
8. Where The Wind Blows – Coco O. of Quadron
9. Crazy in Love – Emeli Sandé and The Bryan Ferry Orchestra
10. Together – The xx
11. Hearts A Mess – Gotye
12. Love Is Blindness – Jack White
13. Into the Past – Nero
14. Kill and Run – Sia

The post Star-studded ‘Great Gatsby’ soundtrack details announced appeared first on Metro.us.

Skaters are built from the remnants of the Boston band Dead Trees. But there’s a bit of map-hopping to their story. After leaving Boston for Oregon and then to L.A., losing members along the way, singer Michael Cummings and drummer Noah Rubin finally settled in New York to regroup — sonically, mentally and literally.

Forming a new band with a sound to capture the excitement of their new surroundings, they acquired Josh Hubbard (ex-Paddingtons, Dirty Pretty Things) and Dan Burke (Viva Viva), and began making demos for a free EP that began a whirlwind of good fortune.

“When we got to New York all the stuff I was writing was a totally different style,” says Cummings. “We took that and formed Skaters around a few choice songs. This is the first band where I’ve gone into it knowing exactly what sound I wanted to get out of it. With the Dead Trees there was always a confusion because I liked some many styles of music. I wrote songs because of how I was feeling. There’s more of an identity to Skaters. I think that the name, the vibe, the time, the guys — it all kind of dictates what kind of music we’ll be playing.”

Over the years, Cummings’ songs have evolved from quiet ballads to high-energy, melodic punk, but the songs have never skimped on lyrical content. After listening to their EP and upcoming single, you get glimpses of The Clash’s “Sandinista!” mixed with the feeling you had when you first heard the Strokes’ debut. These are exciting, guitar-driven songs that make you move and make you think. Their bombastic energy segues into brief emotional comedowns before jacking the songs back into danceable, head-bobbing anthems.

“They’re all New York-based songs,” says Cummings. “There’s a vibe that we want to capture. We’re a guitar-based band, but there are definitely a lot of loops and beats and electronic elements to take it out of superfamiliar territory.”

From DIY to WB
Metro learned about Skaters when the band was just a DIY dream with a motivated vision and no expectations. Cummings was gracious enough to give us their first-ever interview after their intimate Boston debut in 2011, as well as allowing this writer into the crowded confines of Electric Lady Studio last month while they were recording.

In between the two interviews, a lot has changed. Their unsuspecting beginnings, satisfied with self-release or possible indie interest, led to a mystique that had major labels intrigued, with several offers on the table before the band signed to Warner Brothers. With nothing more than their free EP and fervor for their future, the band was soon selling out shows in the UK, being played on BBC, and in the studio recording their debut with John Hill at the controls.

While Hill has gained notoriety producing music for Rihanna, Santigold and MIA, Cummings says he was the perfect fit because “deep down he’s a rocker at heart.”

The record, slated for mid-summer, will be preceded by a campaign of 7”s, a promotional endeavor that Warner hasn’t attempted in some time. The first will be released on Tuesday.

The post Skaters: From the ashes of Dead Trees comes a sound that glides forward appeared first on Metro.us.

Hey, Philly and Boston, you can’t always get what you want, but you can see the Stones this summer.
Credit: Brian Rasic

When the Rolling Stones initially announced live dates last year and called the tour to celebrate their 50th anniversary “50 and Counting,” most people assumed that there would be more dates to follow the few fall offerings. But with a band that has been together for twice as long as most chart-toppers of today have been alive, playing it safe by not announcing all of the dates at once makes more sense than having to cancel a number of them, in the event of, say, a broken hip, or the guitarist falling out of a tree. But now the band are making good on the “and Counting” part.

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  PHOTOS: Rollings Stones keep on rolling

The band announced Wednesday that they will kick off their tour in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. (Date TBA pending NBA/NHL playoff schedules.) The tour debut will be followed by performances in Oakland, San Jose, Las Vegas, Anaheim, Toronto, Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia.

The Stones were recently crowned Best Live Band at the NME Awards in London and released a new greatest hits collection, “GRRR!,” a groundbreaking documentary film “Crossfire Hurricane” and a photographic book “Rolling Stones: 50.”

“’50 and Counting’ has been pretty amazing so far,” said singer Mick Jagger in a statement. “We did a few shows in London and New York last year … and had such a good time that we thought … let’s do some more. It’s a good show. Lots of the classic stuff everyone wants to hear … with a few little gems tucked in here and there. The stage is shaped like lips and goes off into the venue so I get to run around in the crowd. It’s great fun to be able to get that close to the audience.”

“From day one at rehearsals it sounded so fresh. You could tell that everybody was dying to get their teeth into it. It was like … open the gates … let us out!” said Keith Richards, the aforementioned guitarist who has been known to fall out of trees. “’Cause man, it is the life and blood of us to play in front of people.”

Mick Taylor, who was a member of the Rolling Stones from 1969-74, will be a special guest throughout the tour.

The band will treat their generations of fans to an evening of classic Stones hits like “Gimme Shelter,” “Paint It Black,” “Jumping Jack Flash,” “Tumbling Dice,” and “It’s Only Rock and Roll,” curated with lesser-known gems, and a cover or two.

’50 AND COUNTING’ TOUR DATES

TBA Los Angeles Staples Center

May 5 Oakland Oracle Arena
On sale April 8 @ 10AM PST

May 8 San Jose HP Pavilion
On sale April 8 @ 10AM PST

May 11 Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena TBA
May 15 Anaheim Honda Center TBA

May 25 Toronto Air Canada Centre
On sale April 8 @ 10AM EST

May 28 Chicago United Center
On sale April 8 @ 10AM CST

June 12 Boston TD Garden TBA
June 18 Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center TBA

The post Rolling Stones announce ’50 and Counting’ tour dates appeared first on Metro.us.

South Korean rapper Psy plans to follow his “Gangnam Style” YouTube megahit with a single called “Gentleman” and a new dance, but is playing coy about everything else ahead of the song’s release, which was moved up a day to April 12.

The song will be available for Korean fans then, but Psy will perform it in public for the first time at an April 13 concert.

“The new song is extremely fun and … what I can tell you is the song title is ‘Gentleman,’” Psy told local television late on Monday.

“I can’t tell you about the dance but all Koreans know this dance – but (those in) other countries haven’t seen it,” Psy added, hinting at a takeoff on a traditional dance.

The music video for “Gangnam Style,” which featured the chubby Psy doing what has become his trademark “invisible horse” dance in a succession of garish jackets, is now YouTube’s most-watched clip, and has made the 35-year-old a global celebrity.

Both the singer and his manager said plans remained fluid.

“There is still more than a week left before the concert so we can’t say (the title) will be unchanged,” manager Hwang Kyu-wan told Reuters.

Psy has told his fans to turn up sporting white clothes at the upcoming concert, and posed in a variety of white garb himself, including a spacesuit and a bridal gown.

But the singer also said that stardom has taken a toll. In late March he tweeted a photo of himself covering his face at a recording studio, calling it the “pain of creation.”

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