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TAS Interview: Clinic

Posted 1-12-11 by , Alisa Ali
Tags: Clinic

Eclectic Liverpool rockers (and now popsters) Clinic, whose sixth album Bubblegum has remained a constant presence on the TAS Top 20 album chart for months, will release a 12-inch vinyl and digital single of the album's title track on January 31 on Domino Records. The band's surgical-masked frontman Ade Blackburn spoke to The Alternate Side's Alisa Ali not too long ago to discuss the quartet's decision to drift into a gentle pop direction on the new album.

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TAS New Year's Eve Special: Dave Sitek of Maximum Balloon

Posted 12-29-10 by , Rita Houston
Tags: Dave Sitek, Maximum Balloon, TV on the Radio

New Year's Eve might be the equivalent of the Superbowl for working DJs; it's a daunting responsibility to provide the perfect party soundtrack as 2010 segues to 2011 (let alone the pressure of sensing what to spin leading up to midnight and beyond).  WFUV's Rita Houston caught up with Dave Sitek of Maximum Balloon and TV on the Radio and they discussed, among sundry things, the art of the DJ.  Dave, who did a club DJ tour in lieu of touring behind Maximum Balloon,  also chatted about the making of his solo album, the immediate future of TV on the Radio and played us some of his favorite, unusual tracks.

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Breaking Bands: Which New Faces Will Cause A Commotion In 2011?

Posted 12-28-10 by
Tags: Bonjay, Car On The Moon, Creep, Dom, Hannah Peel, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Katie Costello, Let's Buy Happiness, Sherlock's Daughter, Tennis, The Chapman Family, The Rassle, The Vaccines, Twin Sister, Wise Blood, Yuck

As we boot 2010 out the door and get ready to begin not only a brand new year, but a freshly minted decade, what up-and-coming bands and artists will make their mark on 2011? The Alternate Side staff gazed into the future and picked the musicians who we thought (well, hoped) might make an impact in the next twelve months and beyond; our many choices range from Denver's husband-and-wife duo of Tennis to the brash British pop of The Vaccines to Long Island's ever-cool quintet, Twin Sister.

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TAS Interview: Moshi Moshi's Summer Camp, James Yuill And The Wave Pictures Give Us Their Christmas Wrap

Posted 12-16-10 by
Tags: James Yuill, Summer Camp, The Wave Pictures

One of our favorite holiday compilations of the year is the new EP from the Moshi Moshi label, A Christmas Gift For You, which features cool Yule tunes from Summer Camp (taking on The Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping), Slow Club, James Yuill with Rod Thomas, The Wave Pictures and more. The Alternate Side caught up with Summer Camp, Yuill and bassist Franic X from The Wave Pictures and learned how their holiday season was panning out ... and what they were anticipating for 2011.

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TAS Favorite Albums And Singles Of 2010

Posted 12-9-10 by
Tags: Arcade Fire, Broken Bells, Corinne Bailey Rae, Field Music, Foals, Grinderman, Junip, Massive Attack, Paul Weller, School of Seven Bells, The Black Keys, The National, Twin Sister, Underworld, Wild Nothing, Yeasayer

Along with mistletoe, mulled wine and overused credit cards, one of the more dependable signs of December is the inevitable discourse on the best albums and singles of the year. The Alternate Side staff has compiled a list of favorites and earworms of 2010, our own personal soundtrack guiding us through the last twelve months.

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TAS Interview: The Walkmen's Walter Martin On Homecoming 2010

Posted 11-30-10 by
Tags: The Walkmen

The Walkmen return to New York for their homecoming 2010 gig this Thursday, December 2 at Terminal 5 with Brooklyn's School of Seven Bells and Denver's Tennis. The Alternate Side caught up with bassist Walter Martin over email to hear all about their gig in Lisbon playing tracks from their new album Lisbon and what rock legend they wouldn't mind finding wrapped up - well, roped up - under the Christmas tree this year.

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TAS Interview: Spencer Stephenson of Botany

Posted 11-29-10 by
Tags: Botany, Sleep Whale, Spencer Stephenson

Texas electronic artist Spencer Stephenson has drummed for Sleep Whale, performed alone as Abacus and now works solo under the moniker Botany, dipping gently into the chillwave movement, but giving it his own sample-heavy spin. Earlier this month he released his debut EP Feeling Today on Western Vinyl. But as Stephenson told The Alternate Side's Alisa Ali, the five-track sampler is just a taste of what Stephenson has planned for his first album.

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TAS Interview: Bill Janovitz of Buffalo Tom

Posted 11-24-10 by
Tags: Buffalo Tom, Mean Creek, Soda Frog, The Russians, Tom Waits, You Can Be A Wesley

Along with Pavement and Dinosaur Jr., Buffalo Tom were among the bands that defined one of the most significant, non-grunge, American alternative sounds of the Nineties, crafting a raucous thrash with wiry tenderness. The trio took a nine-year hiatus at the end of that decade, reforming in 2007 for Three Easy Pieces. Their next album, Skins, drops next February on their own label, Scrawny Records, and The Alternate Side had a chance to catch up with frontman Bill Janovitz to talk about this invigorating new chapter in the band's long life.

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TAS Interview: Allo Darlin'

Posted 11-10-10 by
Tags: Allo Darlin'

One of the standout bands of last month's CMJ Music Marathon was the UK's Allo Darlin', a crafty group of indie popsters who have released one of the best debut albums of the year. Their self-titled opus, out now on Fortuna POP!, features the ukulele talents and sweet crooning of Aussie-bred songwriter Elizabeth Morris who artfully manages to pen sweet, honest songs about Woody Allen, Henry Rollins and Polaroid photos. The Alternate Side caught up with Elizabeth and her bandmates Mikey Collins and Bill Bottling to learn more about one of London's brightest new bands.

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TAS Interview: Radiohead's Phil Selway

Posted 11-4-10 by
Tags: Lisa Germano, Peter Broderick, Phil Selway, Radiohead, Wilco

Radiohead drummer Phil Selway might have spent part of the year recording an eighth album with his bandmates, but in August he also released his dreamy, contemplative solo debut, Familial,  on Nonesuch Records and Bella Union. The Alternate Side's Alisa Ali  caught up with Selway on the phone not long ago and discovered that even a member of one of the most influential rock bands of all time can't tear his kids away from "The X Factor."

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Frightened Rabbit's Scott Hutchison Talks To TAS And Duets With Craig Finn

Posted 11-1-10 by
Tags: Frightened Rabbit, Plants and Animals, The Hold Steady

Frightened Rabbit played Terminal 5 this past Saturday, October 30, and frontman Scott Hutchison gave us the scoop on Halloween eve hijinks and why The Hold Steady's Craig Finn is a little like Kiki Dee. Plus, video of Scott and Craig singing "Don't Go Breaking My Heart."

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TAS Interview: Karl Hyde of Underworld

Posted 10-26-10 by
Tags: Karl Hyde, Rick Smith, Underworld

British dance and electronica innovators Underworld kicked off their too-brief North American tour last night in Washington D.C., supporting their new, collaboration-driven album Barking.  The Essex-based duo of composer/producer Rick Smith and vocalist/guitarist Karl Hyde play New York's Roseland Ballroom on October 27, but first, they make their Stateside television debut on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" tonight, October 26. The Alternate Side caught up with Karl and chatted about the fresh approach which sparked Barking, painting and his truly inimitable (and ever-expanding) record collection.

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CMJ Spotlight: The Luyas

Posted 10-21-10 by
Tags: The Luyas

One of the just-can't-miss bands playing at this week's CMJ Music Marathon is Montréal's The Luyas, who create an angular, yet ethereally serene brand of orchestral-leaning rock. The Luyas, whose lineup includes former (and current) members of Arcade Fire and Bell Orchestre, play tonight and tomorrow in New York and then launch a brief December tour with The Antlers. The Alternate Side caught up with singer Jesse Stein who told us of the band's CMJ plans, working with Owen Pallett and why their sophomore album will mark a shift for the band.

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TAS Tour Diary: Suckers

Posted 10-20-10 by
Tags: Menomena, Suckers, Tu Fawning

Brooklyn's own Suckers are usually CMJ Music Marathon stalwarts, but the band is missing the festivities this year; they're currently on tour with Yeasayer in Europe. Still, CMJ week feels slightly empty without the quartet's hometown presence, so The Alternate Side asked drummer/keyboardist Brian "Nairb" Aiken if he wouldn't mind keeping a tour diary, with photos, at the tail end of the band's recent road trip with Menomena and Tu Fawning. He did ... and frontman Quinn Walker even proposed to his girlfriend at their Webster Hall gig on October 1, much to his bandmates' surprise.

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TAS Interview: Isobel Campbell

Posted 10-12-10 by
Tags: Belle and Sebastian, Harper Simon, Isobel Campbell, Mark Lanegan, The Vaselines, Victoria Williams, Willy Mason

In August, Scottish chanteuse and cellist Isobel Campbell released her third collaborative album, Hawk, with gruff, saturnine cohort Mark Lanegan, ex of Screaming Trees and Queens of the Stone Age. The two friends launch their first-ever North American tour tonight, October 13, in Cambridge, Massachusetts and they arrive in New York this weekend. Campbell chatted with The Alternate Side on Monday about her work with Lanegan, a future project with Victoria Williams and the sweet reunion she had last week with her former bandmates, Belle and Sebastian, in Los Angeles.

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TAS Interview: Dave Sitek of Maximum Balloon

Posted 10-6-10 by
Tags: Dave Sitek, David Byrne, Maximum Balloon, TV on the Radio

Dave Sitek, guitarist/producer for TV on the Radio (and producer for dozens of other artists), recently released his self-titled solo debut under the buoyant moniker Maximum Balloon. Though "solo" might not quite be the correct word; the project's impressive collection of vocalists includes David Byrne, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O and TVOTR's Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone. The Alternate Side caught up with Sitek from Los Angeles and learned more about his Maximum Balloon alter-ego and why a real tour is so sadly improbable.

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TAS Interview: Laurie Anderson

Posted 9-29-10 by
Tags: Antony Hegarty, Four Tet, John Zorn, Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed

Genre-defying musician and theatrical innovator Laurie Anderson's boundary-blurring career has gently zigzagged from a left-field radio hit ("O Superman") to monumental stage shows (Home of the Brave) to recent collaborations with husband Lou Reed and free jazz maestro John Zorn. Anderson recently spoke to The Alternate Side about a variety of wayward topics, including her new album, Homeland, and her latest multimedia stage rumination, Delusion, currently playing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music through Sunday, October 3. 

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TAS Interview: Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy

Posted 9-22-10 by
Tags: Neil Hannon, The Divine Comedy

It's been 21 years since Northern Irish singer and songwriter Neil Hannon founded The Divine Comedy, a band which has gradually become Hannon's solo project.  A week before he embarked on a lengthy tour of Europe and the UK,  Hannon spoke The Alternate Side about his latest album Bang Goes The Knighthood, his nerves about the December premiere of his very first musical and why he's extremely happy these days ... even though he didn't receive a Mercury Prize award nomination.

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Bumbershoot 2010 Blog: The Moondoggies

Posted 9-8-10 by
Tags: Booker T., Jenny and Johnny, The Moondoggies

The summer festival season always ends on a breezy Pacific Northwest note with Seattle's long-running Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival over Labor Day weekend.  The Alternate Side asked Seattle alt-country rockers The Moondoggies, who release their sophomore album Tidelands on October 12, if they'd blog about their rainy Bumbershoot adventures. Frontman Kevin Murphy kindly obliged.

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TAS Interview: Greg Edwards of Autolux

Posted 8-26-10 by
Tags: Autolux, Can, Joy Division

Fans of the taut, cerebral music of Los Angeles trio Autolux have reason to celebrate. The band, which released their debut way back in 2004, finally released a sophomore album, Transit Transit, this summer and are in the midst of a headlining tour which brings them to the New York area for three dates this week. As guitarist and vocalist Greg Edwards explained to The Alternate Side, the six-year gap between their debut and second album wasn't quite a hiatus, but an indie label rebirth.

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