Singer/songwriter Caroline Smith and her band The Good Night Sleeps are playing a handful of live dates in the US throughout September and October. The shows are promoting the band’s second album, ‘Little Wind’, which will be released on September 20th.

Catch them at the following venues:

9.16 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *
9.17 Northfield, MN @ The Cave
9.18 Omaha, NE @ O’Leavers
9.19 Fort Collins, CO @ The Hangar
9.20 Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive ^
9.22 St. Louis, MN @ Off Broadway
9.23 Ames, IA @ The Space for Ames
9.24 Iowa City, IA @ The Mill
9.25 Lawrence, KA @ Replay Lounge
9.26 Tulsa, OK @ Soundpony
9.27 Little Rock, AR @ White Water Tavern
9.28 Indianapolis, IN @ Earth House Collective
9.29 Chicago, IL @ Schuba’s #
9.30 Milwaukee, WI @ Club Girabaldi #
10.01 Madison, WI @ The Terrace #
10.04 Columbus, OH @ Woodlands Tavern
10.10 Boston, MA @ The Middle East
10.11 Brooklyn, NY @ The Rock Shop
10.12 New York, NY @ Cake Shop
10.13 Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool
10.21 Providence, RI @ AS220

* w/ Dark Dark Dark, Dead Man Winter, and Daredevil Christoper Wright
^ w/ Ivan & Alyosha
# w/ Dead Man Winter

A promotional documentary about legendary indie band The Smiths made in 1992 has been posted online.

The documentary was given to the press in 1992 as part of the promotion for their ‘Best of’ release, and since believed to be lost.  The film has now resurfaced as part of the promotion for Rhino’s complete remastering of the band’s back catalogue.

See the film at the NME website, here.

While Johnny Marr has lovingly remastered all four of The Smiths’ albums (The Smiths, Meat Is Murder, The Queen Is Dead and Strangeways Here We Come), their sole official live album (Rank) and the three compilations of non albums singles/session takes etc (Hatful of Hollow, The World Won’t Listen and Louder Than Bombs), none of the reissues in the campaign will contain any bonus materials.

There are still various unreleased materials circulating amongst fans, including various instrumental demos and a completely alternate version of the debut album produced by Troy Tate.

Duff McKagan is about to start work on the film version of ‘The Taking’, with Seattle documentary film maker Jamie Burton Chamberlin.

The movie is to be constructed of serveral vignettes, each based on the lyrics from McKagan’s most recent work of the same name.

In a 2010 interview with the West Seattle Herald, Chamberlin said the movie “will be a contemporary version of, say, The Beatles’ ‘Hard Day’s Night’ meets Led Zeppelin’s ‘The Song Remains the Same’, with aspects of documentary, music video, and live performance, all interconnected by an underlying motivation. The album will serve as the soundtrack.

“Everything will be shot in Seattle and the Northwest. We hope to use locations in West Seattle and other familiar settings to create these vignettes that develop organically within them.” 

Meanwhile, it is said that McKagan hopes to push the movie and get it screened on the festival circuit to gain exposure beyond his music fans.

Duff McKagan’s Loaded will be playing a handful of US shows in the remainder of August.  More shows announced soon.

Read a review of ‘The Taking’ (album) here.
Read a review of ‘Sick’ here.

Despite reports from various news sources yesterday that the original line-up of Black Sabbath had reunited and were planning a new album and tour, it appears that this news was just a rumour.

Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has issued the following statement:

“I’m saddened that a Birmingham journalist whom I trusted has chosen this point in time to take a conversation we had back in June and make it sound like we spoke yesterday about a Black Sabbath reunion.

“At the time I was supporting the Home Of Metal exhibition was merely speculating shooting the breeze on something all of us get asked constantly, ‘Are you getting back together?’

“Thanks to the Internet it’s now gone round the world as some sort of ‘official’ statement on my part; absolute nonsense. I hope he’s enjoyed his moment of glory, he won’t have another at my expense.

“To my old pals, Ozzy, Geezer and Bill, sorry about this, I should have known better.”

The last time the four original members released a full album together was in 1978.

The creation of that album, ‘Never Say Die’ wasn’t without it’s troubles.  Frontman Ozzy Osbourne left the band briefly during that time and was temporarily replaced by ex-Fleetwood Mac man Dave Walker.  Walker’s time with the band was so shortlived, he only made one public appearance as a member of the band, performing the then new song, ‘Junior’s Eyes’ on Birmingham’s ‘Look East’ news programme.

With the 2011 Sabbath reunion firmly denied, it seems as if the new material Sabbath were working on with Rick Rubin in 2001 is destined to be unheard…

Marking their return after a long hiatus, punk/emo trio Blink-182 are set to release their new album on September 26th.

Speaking about the new album, the band have claimed that the new record is very diverse, even containing bits of “prog rock”.
The lead single, ‘Up All Night’, released a few weeks ago polarized fans, and it sounds like the new full-length record will continue the trend.

The tracklisting for ‘Neighborhoods’:

‘Ghost On The Dance Floor’
‘A La Mode’
‘This is Home’
‘Snake Charmer’
‘MH 4.18.2011’
‘Even If She Falls’
‘You Too’
‘Up All Night’
‘After Midnight’
‘Natives’

Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks:
‘Kaleidoscope’
‘Fighting The Gravity’
‘Heart’s All Gone’