US punkers Leftover Crack take to the road this month to play shows in the UK, Europe and Russia. Although its been a decade since they last released a studio album, reports suggest they are currently writing.
YES – Heaven & Earth
The first Yes studio album in a decade – 2011’s ‘Fly From Here’ – came under fire from various quarters. Since the core of the material first took shape in the early 80s, some (unfairly) lambasted the release for scraping the barrel for ideas, while others were less specific, wheeling out their beliefs that “no Jon Anderson = No Yes”. Neither short-sighted opinion held much water, since the album featured some of the best material the band had committed to record since the mid 90s, possibly even before. Benoit David did a great job vocalising both the new material and those ideas laid down by Trevor Horn and band some decades previously; Steve Howe sounded very comfortable in his role as guitarist – happy not to overplay his role (as he perhaps had done on some other Yes work) – while bandleader Chris Squire’s bass work appeared impeccable throughout. As with the often maligned ‘Drama’ of 1980 and the pop-oriented ‘90125’ from 1983, this more than showed that whatever the incarnation, there can be enjoyable results.
Tommy Ramone (January 29, 1952 – July 11, 2014)
On July 11th 2014, legendary drummer/producer Tommy Ramone lost his fight with bile duct cancer at the age of 62. As a founding member of the pioneering punk band Ramones, Tommy helped usher in a whole musical movement, his band launching a wave of copycat acts throughout the decades that followed.
DREE PATERSON – A Louder Side Of Me EP
On this debut release, Dree Paterson displays a hugely polished talent and appears adept at a variety of musical styles. If we were to be cynical, we could view this as a “musical CV” since her chosen styles are so disparate on occasion. She seems more than content to deliver several musical ideas and see which sticks…almost to try and gauge which will be most commercially viable, as if she’s not bothered with which one she finds success – as long as someone with the right connections likes one of them, that’s a good start. Even the title of this show reel, ‘A Louder Side of Me’, sounds like some kind of exercise in public relations…
Cherry Poppin’ Daddies: European tour dates
US swing merchants Cherry Poppin’ Daddies head to Europe this coming September for live shows. Promoting their ‘White Teeth, Black Thoughts’ release, Steve Perry and co make a rare appearance in the UK at London’s Jazz Cafe on 30th September.