By Art Michalski, on February 20th, 2012
 Slow Club hits the Pike Room tomorrow night. Testing the boundaries of noise pop and atmospheric rock, the English duo Slow Club brings the sound that has been growing legions of fans in their native land and seeks to spread the word here in the States now as well. Starting out in 2006 in Sheffield by the duo of Charles Watson and Rebecca Taylor, the band saw it’s first bit of exposure in 2009 when they released their debut, “Yeah So”, which garnered the attention of television here in the States.
Beyond numerous commercials, the group’s music has been a favorite of American television- ending up on shows like “Chuck” and “Gossip Girl”. The good fortune spread from the first album lead into the band’s sophomore album, “Paradise”, released back in September. The mission started on “Yeah So” seamlessly continues on their “Paradise”, where the group wows on tracks like “Two Cousins” and “If We Were Still Alive”. It’s easy to see the intense, yet mellow vibes the group brings forth on this album.
After a few small tours on this side of the Atlantic, Slow Club takes another chance as they have dates through March 12th in San Diego. But well before that, the band hits Pontiac as they take over the Pike Room tomorrow night (February 21st) for an evening of mood-pop and checking out how “Paradise” sounds as fully textered as it does on the album.
Slow Club plays at the Pike Room at the Crofoot Ballroom on Tuesday, February 21st. Tickets are $8 and are available at www.ticketweb.com. Additional band info and tour dates can be found at www.slowclubband.com.
By Art Michalski, on February 17th, 2012
 Hip-hop collective Doomtree hits Wolverine territory on Wednesday at the Blind Pig. When it comes to hip-hop from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, the collective known as Doomtree are the behemoth of the scene there. Starting sometime around 2005, rapper P.O.S. helped formed the seven person group and began to find the members for the crew.
Finding guys like Sims, Cecil Otter and spoken word poet Dessa (whom we covered a few months back for her solo album), Doomtree was born and released their self titled debut in 2008. Pulling the best from the Minneapolis scene, Doomtree created an eclectic brand of hip-hop, fused with punk, jazz and other various genres. After an intriguing mash up album of Wu-Tang and Fugazi tunes last year, as well as various solo albums- Doomtree re-entered the studio to work on their sophomore album. The album, “No Kings”, was released in November.
”No Kings” shows once again that Doomtree plays by only their own rules and creates perhaps a fuller album this time around. Check out a song like “No Way”, which has a punk-ish bass line and aggressive rhymes that is guaranteed to sound nothing like the hip-hop on radio. That aggressive, in your face nature of the music is also seen prominently on cuts like “Punch-Out”. Also, Dessa’s spoken word owns the song “String Theory”, making a diverse album that much more diverse.
Continue reading Doomtree Sees No Kings in Ann Arbor
By Art Michalski, on February 14th, 2012
 Wayne Static will either hammer Harpo's...or get hammered. Not sure which one yet. At the end of 2009, fans of Static X seemed to be getting a little worried it was decided that the band was going on hiatus after 10 years of heavy touring and recording. With the other members of the band doing various projects, band namesake Wayne Static focused in on his new band, Pighammer, at the time. Over the next year or so, Static began to write and record the material for his first solo album.
Early in the process, Static dumped the band name Pighammer and decide to release the album under his own name and use the “Pighammer” name for the name of the album.
The album was released in October and delivers some variations on what fans loved most about Static X. The so-called “evil disco” is there, but the solo material seems to have more of a danceable tribal groove to it. Songs like “Assassins of Youth” and “Static Killer” are custom built for driving fast and cranking it loud. If you were a big fan of Static X, the material on “Pighammer” shouldn’t be anything that would make you scratch your head and should be an instant fan. The album had a decent debut upon it’s release, entering the Billboard Charts within the Top 100 in it’s first week.
Continue reading Wayne Static Hammers Harpo’s
By Art Michalski, on February 14th, 2012
 Daryl and the rest of These Hearts head to Wyandotte this Friday. When reading that the band These Hearts were from Fargo, North Dakota, I sat there and tried to figure out what sort of scene, if any there was in Fargo. With the obvious reference to the Coen Brothers movie of the same name aside, I never really knew much about the town. But for bands like the quartet These Hearts, they have parlayed that small but growing scene into something major.
Releasing selling 3,000 copies of their self-released EP “Mistakes and Second Takes”, the band caught the eye of Victory Records, who signed the band and gave them the first shot at major success. The band released their debut, “Forever Ended Yesterday” back in October and if you have a listen, you get a good taste of power hooks and heavy riffs along the lines of the getting massive A Day To Remember.
But as any band starts out, plenty of touring and paying your dues takes place. And the guys in These Hearts don’t take that for granted. When I spoke with guitarist Daryl Van Beek before a show in Georgia, he discussed how the fans help make the shows and life on the road better for them. In the interview, we also discussed where they see their biggest followings and traveling to shows from Fargo when he was younger.
Here’s my interview with Daryl:
Continue reading Interview w/ Daryl Van Beek of These Hearts
By Art Michalski, on February 8th, 2012
 After 14 years away, this album should have sucked a lot worse than it does. Good job Van Halen! I will admit: I came into the first Van Halen album in 14 years with a ton of reservations. In fact, saying a ton would likely be an understatement. No one is going to sit here and dispute Van Halen’s place and contribution in hard rock history, but there were a lot of issues I had going in. First off, replacing Michael Anthony with Eddie Van Halen’s son Wolfgang was and is appalling to this very day. I can just imagine Eddie telling his son what to play and how to play ever single note and it sends shivers down my spine. David Lee Roth does have some dumb charm to him, but it tends to grow old real quick these days. And when word got out that the new album is a collection of old demos the band had been sitting on since the late 70’s, you tend to think that all creativity has been thrown out the window and the band is truly living on past glory.
On VH’s 12th album, originality may not be there because nearly every song sounds like a rehash of the old days, but there are some moments of entertaining glory that will appeal to fans. To hear Eddie’s shredding at the beginning of “China Town” will get fans excited and sounds like material from “Diver Down” and other old school VH albums. A song like “She’s the Woman” gives the album some swagger and comes off as one of the better cuts off “Truth”. Every song attempts to showcase the dynamic between Eddie and Roth, and when the band moves into the up-tempo stuff, like “Bullethead”, it seems like the VH pistons are firing once again and often.
Continue reading Album Review- Van Halen “A Different Kind of Truth”
By Art Michalski, on February 8th, 2012
 Just like old times: The Darkness come to a sold out show in Detroit when they play St. Andrew's this Friday. As the British retro rock band The Darkness released their second album “One Way Ticket” in 2005, it looked like the band’s future looked sky high. It was easy to see it that way, the guys in the Darkness stuck out like a sore thumb in the rock world, bringing a 70’s hard rock bombast that just about every band was lacking during that time and their debut album, “Permission To Land”, sold a half million copies in this country. But band infighting and drug and alcohol abuse buried the band caused the guys to go their separate ways in 2006.
With lead singer Justin Hawkins cleaning up and forming the similar sounding band Hot Leg, and the rest of the guys forming Stone Gods- most fans were hoping that the Darkness would make their return one of these days. In a recent chat, the singer Hawkins even joked about “putting out a great first album, and the second album being just ok and come back for an amazing reunion”. In a true case of foreshadowing, fans rejoiced when the band rejoined to play the Download Festival in England last year and starting slowly feeling out if the fans were ready for the second coming of the band.
Continue reading The Darkness Rise Once Again
By Art Michalski, on February 5th, 2012
 The Palace will show signs of life for the first time in a while as Megadeth leads Gigantour this Thursday. Even though it’s not a yearly thing, Gigantour, the festival conceived by Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine is always a big event for metal fans. In 2005, Megadeth teamed with Dream Theater for the inaugural run of the festival and provided an alternative to the juggernaut that was OzzFest. 2006’s tour was mostly noted for Lamb of God’s scene stealing 2nd billing spot, that left Megadeth fans like a little air had been let out of the show. But Megadeth returned in 2008 and delivered a blistering set, as well as strong sets by In Flames and Children Of Bodom.
Well, the fourth Gigantour run is upon us and delivers another solid lineup for hard rock and metal fans in the cold winter months. Here’s what you have to think about this year’s Gigantour bands:
Continue reading Gigantour For The Fourth Time
By Art Michalski, on February 5th, 2012
 Craig Finn makes his first solo apperance in Detroit at the Lager House on Wednesday. Don’t worry fans, the highly popular indie band The Hold Steady is just fine and there is no concern for a breakup. But the band is currently taking a break from the band, lead singer Craig Finn is out on the road promoting his first solo album, “Clear Heart Full Eyes”, which came out last week on Vagrant Records.
As Finn describes it on the label’s website, he recorded the album during a break from the Hold Steady last summer in a sweltering Austin. Recording the album for three weeks, Finn enlisted several other musicians to create the album. The result is way more infused with blues and bluegrass than any of the Hold Steady’s work, with songs like “New Friend Jesus” showing that bluegrass influenced. But where Finn excels as usual is in his usual Springsteen-esque storytelling. Hearing songs like “Jackson” and the garage rocking “Honolulu Blues”, Finn keeps things entertaining enough on his solo debut, but provides a clear difference musically from his day job with the Hold Steady.
This is Finn’s first venture outside of the Hold Steady since forming the band in 2002 and it’s a big step for one of indie rock’s most enjoyable figures. If you are a fan of the Steady or just a fan of the different genres he bounces back and forth between, “Clear Heart Full Eyes”, should be one on your listening list.
Continue reading Craig Finn Steady On His Own
By Art Michalski, on February 5th, 2012
 Royal Bliis bring their new album to Flint next Saturday. For a band who has been proclaimed the “unluckiest band in rock”, the guys in Royal Bliss seemed to be putting that moniker to rest in 2008 and 2009 as the band scored two Top 40 Rock singles in “Save Me” and “We Did Nothing Wrong”, from their album “Life In-Between”. But as the album and those songs started to progress, the powers that be at their record label at the time (Capitol Records) shifted and a lot of bands got lost in the shuffle, including Royal Bliss.
But instead of trying to find a new major label, the band opted to go the indie route and start work on their next album. Almost three years later, the band’s saga is reaping benefits as the band released their brand new album, “Waiting Out The Storm” on January 24th. When hearing the story of the genesis and the situation the album was born out of, it’s easy to see why the band called the album what they did.
The band is currently out on tour with West Virginia rockers Bobaflex for dates through March 6th. As the band was in Portland to record some new material that may or may not end up on a future album, or something to complement the new album, I had a chance to talk with singer/guitarist Neal Middleton about how the issues with the former label shaped the album and Neal’s experience on a certain NBC music game show.
Here’s is my interview with Neal:
Continue reading Interview w/ Neal Middleton of Royal Bliss
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