Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Bob Mould will roll out new album, ‘Sunshine Rock,’ via Merge Records on Feb. 8

Bob Mould in action during the "Beauty and Ruin" tour in Seattle. (Cat Rose photo)


By Andy

We never get enough of Bob Mould.

Last year at around this time, he cranked out a sterling, abrasive electric solo set at the Crocodile in Seattle and we traveled with him along his path of soaring tunes from Husker to now.

Mould basked in the high points and dealt with some flaws — just as we all do — when his pedals crashed on him for a bit, but he rammed them back into working order accompanied by a smile and a smirk and continued on his quest to knock out a memorable show. We all won that night.

Today, Mould has unleashed a new song, “Sunshine Rock,” from the album of the same name that will fall into our welcoming hands on Feb. 8 on Merge Records, three years after his last release, “Patch the Sky.”

In his recent blog post, Mould noted that he gets nervous whenever he sends a new song into the world. How will it be received by fans? That's coming from a veteran songwriter. I'm on board with this. My take is that if we're not nervous about what we're passionate about, we wouldn't be real or true to ourselves. It's an everyday thing for me and uplifting to know that it applies to us all. Keep creating!




According to a Merge press release, “Ever-evolving artist Bob Mould — whose face belongs on the Mount Rushmore of alternative music — decided to ‘write to the sunshine,’ as he describes it, not because he likes the current administration. It comes from a more personal place — a place found in Berlin, Germany, where he’s spent the majority of the last three years. Here Mould would draw inspiration from the new environments.”

Mould is, of course, joined again by powerhouse musicians Jon Wurster on drums and Jason Narducy on bass.

Here’s some snippets from his revived blog’s post today, his first since 2009:

“I hardly recognize this grave new world we live in. I’m a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of bringing all of you up to speed on 2009-2018 in one sitting, so I’ll jump ahead to the current headline…

“NEW ALBUM! I hope you’ve noticed there’s a new album on the way. It’s called Sunshine Rock and I am really thrilled about how it turned out. I started writing this over two years ago — thousands of words and hundreds of melodies which became dozens of songs, twelve of which you will be able to hear on February 8. But hey, you can hear the title track now!”

He adds at the end:

“The vinyl is in production. CDs will be ready soon. Music has been sent to all digital outposts. There’s no turning back. Rocket has left the launchpad.

“I’ll be your astronaut. You know we won’t get caught. We’re headed straight into the sunshine rock.”

Here’s a list of Mould’s tour dates for February-April of 2019:

02/14/19 Washington, DC— 9:30 Club w/ Titus Andronicus
02/15/19 Philadelphia, PA—Union Transfer w/ Titus Andronicus
02/16/19 Boston, MA—Paradise Rock Club
02/18/19 Toronto, ON Canada—Phoenix Concert Theatre
02/19/19 Pittsburgh, PA—Mr. Smalls
02/21/19 New York, NY—Brooklyn Steel w/ Titus Andronicus
02/22/19 Chicago, IL—Metro
02/23/19 Chicago, IL-Metro
02/25/19 Fort Collins, CO—Washington's
02/26/19 Denver, CO—Gothic Theatre
03/01/19 Los Angeles, CA—Teragram Ballroom
03/02/19 San Francisco, CA—The Fillmore
03/08/19 Hamburg Germany—Gruenspan
03/09/19 Berlin Germany—Columbia Theater
03/11/19 Düsseldorf Germany—Zakk
03/12/19 Leuven Belgium—Het Depot
03/14/19 London United Kingdom—Electric Ballroom
03/15/19 Leeds United Kingdom—Brudenell Social Club
03/16/19 Edinburgh United Kingdom—The Liquid Room
03/17/19 Manchester United Kingdom—Academy 2 Manchester
03/30/19 St. Paul, MN—Palace Theatre
03/31/19 St. Paul, MN—Turf Club
04/02/19 Dallas, TX—Granada
04/03/19 Austin, TX—Mohawk
04/05/19 Portland, OR—Wonder Ballroom
04/06/19 Seattle, WA—Neumos
04/07/19 Vancouver, BC Canada—Rickshaw Theatre

Sunday, October 14, 2018

Monster Magnet, Electric Citizen and others bring the heavy to Seattle / Cat Rose photos

Monster Magnet, above, and Electric Citizen. (All Cat Rose photos)




First time we witnessed Monster Magnet in the flesh was in 1995 at the Great America amusement park in Santa Clara, Calif., alongside Corrosion of Conformity, Sugar Ray, Ugly Kid Joe and the Toadies.

With the sun out in full force on that day and rockers with their kids in tow, MM's Dave Wyndorf either was or wasn't in top form (depending on one's point of view) when he greeted the crowd with, "I'm fucking tripping!" before the band launched into its heavy set.

Last Wednesday was our chance to get back in the MM skull-hammer groove at El Corazon in Seattle. This time, Wyndorf hurtled onto the stage and screamed, "Yeah, this is the way I fucking like it," to the already revved-up crowd.

Yeah, they tore it up again and we were especially stoked on song No. 3, "Twin Earth," which was our go-to MM blaster whenever we got the party started at our Green House in San Jose back in the day. Cowbell fans unite!

We last saw Electric Citizen in 2014 at El C. with Fu Manchu and continue to be mesmerized by their heavy duty rock action that takes you on a trip throughout the years and across copious musical realms. They continue to snatch up new fans on a daily basis and are rolling stronger than ever.

Dark Sky Choir and Year of the Cobra sunk their teeth into mammoth riffs and melody that perfectly set the stage for Monster Magnet and Electric Citizen.

Cat Rose stood her ground amongst the sweaty throng to grab these photos. Thanks to Laura Dolan from Electric Citizen for the photo pass.



MONSTER MAGNET































ELECTRIC CITIZEN








































DARK SKY CHOIR















YEAR OF THE COBRA














Sunday, October 7, 2018

Top-notch tunes with the Descendents in Seattle / Cat Rose photos

The Descendents in Seattle. (All Cat Rose photos)



"Toil away, and at the end of the day, you can look back on a game well played."

That was the Descendents for you last Friday at the Showbox Sodo in Seattle alongside pals A Wilhelm Scream and Audio Karate.

From "Suburban Home" to the closer "Pep Talk," the Descendents touched upon each of their stellar releases -- along with a treat in "Lucky" -- and gave people hoarse voices, including Milo's, as a result of letting loose throughout the lengthy set.

Here's Cat Rose's photos of the Descendents and A Wilhelm Scream:


DESCENDENTS








































A WILHELM SCREAM