Fresh off a 2006 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Blondie is back together and getting ready for the release of their upcoming ninth studio album, Panic of Girls. During a recent catch-up with Origivation writer Danny Alonso, guitarist and co-founder Chris Stein discussed getting the hang of writing music again, Lady Gaga's attractive freakishness, and "Blondie books."
"You studied cinema, you said you knew the price of fame," Glenn Donaldson sings on "Sculpture Gardens," a tune on the Art Museum's debut record, Rough Frame. When asked about that song, Josh Alper, the other half of the duo behind the recording, provides some insight into the band's off-kilter view of the world.
They've been around for eight years and five acclaimed albums, but Canada's Frog Eyes may have just figured out the power of music. Their newest, Paul's Tomb, was called "a great example of everything they do right" by one of our reviewers last month. This month, Alex Jones has gotten to the bottom of singer Carey Mercer's cathedral-like masterpiecing of the album as it came to be, with the band, as he puts it, dying after each studio session. And as Alex puts it, this process gave Paul's Tomb it's four dimensions.
Ryan Tennis is a Philadelphia-based singer/songwriter and is one of the winners of this year's Philadelphia Songwriter Project. He was recently a featured performer at the Songwriter's Project showcase during the Kimmel Center Summer Solstice 2010. He will be opening for Shawn Colvin in July of 2010 and will be performing at the Philadelphia Folk Festival in August. Origivation caught up with Ryan just before his Kimmel Center performance.
I knew when the guy next to me put Band-aids over his nipple rings. I knew during the opening act, when a dancer hung from a scarlet curtain and contorted herself into an upside-down split twelve feet above the stage. I knew by the energy that was building in the crowd before Gogol Bordello even put a pinky toe on the stage that it was going to be a wild night. And it was.
Ever go to a show stag?
A full on show, for hours, spending it with yourself-actually people watching, semi-socializing and anticipating the conversation you will have with the band you know you're about to meet?
Waiting and watching-drinking, and then waiting some more.
Under a moonlit sky, down through the winding roads of Chichester, England, a mist seems to create figures in the distance. But wait, are those people? Spirits?
