PHOTO: THANKS SIDE ONE DUMMY!

A little while back SideOneDummy asked to use some of my Horrible Crowes photos to decorate their offices. Got this sweet care package from them the other day. Thanks guys!

PHOTOS: THE HORRIBLE CROWES @ BOWERY BALLROOM

 

Given The Horrible Crowes frontman Brian Fallon's strong belief in the sanctity of the live performance, I almost feel guilty for posting these photos. The man is not naive, he's well aware we live in the Youtube age. Yet he confesses a yearning to go back, to when the only way to see your favorite artist was by standing in front of their stage. 

In a short few years, Fallon has gained a reputation as a dynamic live performer and superb songwriter. His latest project, The Horrible Crowes, is a collaboration with guitarist Ian Perkins and will undoubtly only add that reputation. Their debut release Elsie is a fully realized album of moody and soulful "night music." Fallon's influences are again worn on his sleeve - the album has it's share of nods to Tom Waits, Van Morrison, and U2. But he takes the best parts of each of those acts and manages to form something new and exciting while at the same time familiar.

The band's performance this past Thursday at Bowery Ballroom was the first of only two US dates. I really don't want to give anything away for fear of ruining what the band may have in store for the lucky folks attending the LA show. I will say you are in for a treat. The band is tight, the music is right, and there's couple of choice covers to round out the night. Enjoy.

Check out more photos from: The Horrible Crowes @ Bowery Ballroom - NYC. 9/8/11.

MUSIC NEWS: The Dropkick Murphys, Brian Fallon, & The Bouncing Souls

Every year my friends and I head up to Boston for St. Patties day. It is a three day shitshow of drunken revelry. Aside from consuming obnoxious amounts of Guinness, the main reason for the trip is to attend one or many of the Dropkick Murphys annual St. Patties day performances. Looks like this year we will have a little more to be excited for.

On March 1st, The Dropkick Murphys will release Going Out In Style, their first record in four years.

From kikaxemusic.com:

For Going Out In Style, Dropkick Murphys even enlisted the vocal talents of the legendary Bruce Springsteen — whom they first met at a DKM gig in New York and later collaborated with onstage at one of Springsteen's Boston shows. Springsteen swaps verses with [Ken] Casey for a spirited take on the old standard "Peg O' My Heart."  "It has a classic old fifties rock and roll feel," says Casey. "Both of my grandmothers are named Peg. One grandmother, Peg Casey, is always saying, 'When are you going to do that song? Your grandfather always sang it to me!' The time signature changed, so hopefully they still appreciate it when they hear it."

The collaboration is a perfect intergenerational bridge for fans and band alike. Dropkick Murphys have always strongly resonated with audiences young and old due to their working class ethos and cathartic sonic revelry.  "It links two generations," says Casey. "We're spanning a lot of years of music here, yet our songs share similar themes, stories, and values."

Rolling Stone interviewed bassist Ken Casey about the new album and his band's collaboration with the Boss:

"All we said was 'we thought it would be great to trade off on verses,'" Casey says. "You don't really give the Boss instructions."

Rolling Stone also has a preview of the new DKM track "Memorial Day."

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The Bouncing Souls have teamed up with Side One Dummy Records and screenprint designer El Jefe to release a 19x25 limited edition Misfit's inspired poster as part of the new "Artist On Artist Poster Series."

Future bands to be featured in the series include The Gaslight Anthem and Flogging Molly.

Side One Dummy will also feature The Bouncing Souls as part of it's Complete Control Sessions record release series. Each 10" record will feature a sleeve custom designed by El Jefe and exclusive recordings from the bands.

The El Jefe designed El Jefe print is available for pre-order now at the Side One Dummy Records store and El Jefe Design.com. Stay tuned here for more info on the Complete Control Sessions record release series.

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The Gaslight Anthem's frontman Brian Fallon revealed his new side project The Horrible Crowes on his personal blog, Cassettes In The Mailbox.

"Anyway, so here's the deal... the "night time music" is myself and Mr. Ian Perkins, and what we're doing is writing songs and making demos at the very moment. We hope to put out a full length record sometime this year, before it gets cold again, I don't know with whom, or when exactly it will come out. But the point is, it's coming out. We're calling ourselves The Horrible Crowes...

... Now how's this going to work with Gaslight, well it's easy, see, every time I write a creepy Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Mark Laneghan type song, I get an idea for a ripper which goes straight to Gaslight. So we're writing for both now, but Gaslight isn't planning on recording until the fall, for a 2012 release. Now I can't sit still so I'm doing this for fun, nothing more. We might do a few shows with the Crowes, maybe select cities in the US, Can, and Europe/UK, but not major touring like Gaslight does. This is my "for me" record, Gaslight is my baby, no mistake...

... I always said I never would do a "solo" record so that's why I found a partner in crime in Ian. So it's not going to be the acoustic Brian Fallon road show. There's organs, pianos, even (gasp) strings!!! There's drums, everything. So don't expect a folk record. Here's a good description, if Tom Waits, the National, the Afghan Whigs, Bon Iver, and Nick Cave made a band with Percy Sledge that'd be called The Horrible Crowes." 

You can keep up with The Horrible Crowes by checking out their blog and Facebook page.

PHOTO CREDIT: All images included in this post belong to their rightful photographer but I don't know who you are. If any of these are your photo, please contact me and I will credit you or remove the image should you want.