Kasabian: "Empire" Video
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Aloha formed in the fall of 1997 when Eric Koltnow returned to Bowling Green, OH, to find guitarists Tony Cavallario and Matthew Gengler conspiring to form a band. He was down for playing with one condition: he was bringing his vibraphone. Anthony Buehrer filled the drum stool. They recorded and released a seven inch. They lugged a vibraphone around the country in little pieces wrapped in old, filthy blankets. One day the band found themselves with a gig but no drummer. That's when Cale Parks came to visit, learned the set, time signatures, changes and all, in about three hours. They played that night knowing that nothing was ever going to stop them. Soon Aloha was in the studio, knowing only that the music coming out of the monitors was what they'd always hoped to hear. Aloha then wooed Matt from Polyvinyl Records into a deal with these demos. After a fall in Cleveland and a frantic month in the studio, Aloha released That's Your Fire in May of 2000. They then took their non-stop, mallet-whacking, yelling, making-shit-up-on-the-spot show on the road,proving their songs were not post-rock studio creations but living, breathing pop rock anthems. 100+ shows later, the band recorded their follow-up LP, Sugar in 2002. After a fall tour which found Aloha playing a handful of shows without a vibraphone player, a lull in the touring schedule turned into an end of an era. Months expired. In May 2003, Tony, Cale and Matth got together with friend and collaborator T.J. Lipple in his grandpa's empty house in Altoona PA, and formed the recharged Aloha you hear today. That fall the band entered the studio to record some new songs, two of which became the Boys in the Bathtub 7". The band is currently planning a spring tour and another stint at Inner Ear (where T.J. works) to record their third LP.
When Brit Danilel was in his metal band, Requiem, the melody for "Sister Jack" was furest from his mind. Now Spoon beings us a hand-clapping sing-along with spacey guitar riffs and a beat that will make you stomp your feet all night long.
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Tom Meighan / Sergio Pizzorno / Chris Edwards / Ian Matthews Stardate: Summer 2006. As these words are being written, Kasabian are jetlagged, but happy. Three days ago, they returned from Mexico City, where a disused supermarket full of saucer-eyed devotees treated them like returning heroes. "They even sang along to the keyboards in Processed Beats," exclaims Serge Pizzorno. And then when we did the new stuff. It was..." Pizzorno is rarely lost for words. When he is though, here's Tom Meighan to pick up the baton "...legendary. I've never felt a force like it." Can a record be legendary before it has even come out? You might think you know Kasabian. After all, the dissolute Glimmer Twins of the post-Britpop firmament made no secret of their sources on that eponymous first album. A couple of years after Meighan and Pizzorno met in Leicester, aged 11, it was 1993 and Oasis were making the rock'n'roll dream seem like a goal attainable to a generation of schoolkids. Recorded at the now-mythical farm where they arrived for a party and never got around to leaving, Kasabian's eponymous debut bypassed most critics and connected dramatically with an audience that recognised them as one of their own just as Oasis had done with Meighan and Pizzorno in 1993. Kasabian sold over 700,000 in the UK and the band were the undisputed victors of last year's festivals, putting in bristling performances at Glastonbury, Reading/Leeds and T In The Park. But if a debut album is all about showing your influences, this is the point where Kasabian truly show us who they are. The first thing you'll notice about Empire is that no other band in the world could have created it. The confidence is perhaps understandable given the lack of fanfare with which they managed to instantly shift 8000 tickets for their Ally Pally show last year. But the scale of its vision though is something else entirely. Asked a while back to describe the album's eponymous opener, Meighan's instant response was, "Marc Bolan smoking crack with Dr Who." "No other band apart from Radiohead would have the balls to put in a tempo change like that," adds Pizzorno. Under the circumstances, you decide it's impolite to tell him that Radiohead didn't get actually around to it until their third album. This time around the demonic amyl throb of Serge's electronic soundscapes feed into the very core of Kasabian's music. The flood of ideas is unstoppable. Propelled along by handclaps and Ian Matthews' inspired Studio 54 style drum fills, the filthy analogue glambience of Shoot The Runner will be inescapable between now and Christmas. Last Trip, appropriately, comes on like a postcard from the furthermost outpost of a 4am bender Meighan's brittle, anxious exhortations leading the way over an arrangement which recalls a beefier version of Suicide's primitive electro-pulse. Three songs in and Empire already sounds like an index of rock'n'roll possibilities. When it comes to taking the credit for their music, Kasabian rarely need to be encouraged. In this case though, they're swift to acknowledge the invaluable input of producer Jim Abbiss who, according to Meighan, "was very good at dealing with situations in the studio." Was that necessary? One imagines that when a double act like Meighan and Pizzorno disagree, they must really disagree. "Actually, we bicker," says Meighan, "But it's only ever when we're drunk. You know that Hot Chocolate song, It Started With A Kiss? Well, with us, it ends with a kiss, but starts with a bottle. But Jim kept our heads clear, so that there was no anxiety, like 'what the fuck are we gonna do next?'"
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Woodford, Woodford, Woodford... As well as being one of Australia's premier cultural events, the Woodford Folk Festival can be a life changing experience. The entertainment, the environment and the people all make it a modern day magical week, where tens of thousands of festival-goers spend their Christmas/New Year holidays every year. For browndog productions, filming the woodford festival was our biggest challenge yet. We filmed the event independently, in our own style, with the blessing of the Woodford Committee. The result?.... With more than 50 hours of footage this amazing two-hour best-of-DVD truly brings to life the Woodford experience - even if you weren't there, it's just like being there! Artists include: Missy Higgins, Xavier Rudd, The Waifs, Linsey Pollak, Cat Empire, Sam Saunders Band, John Butler, Doch, Happy Side Show, Gadget, Ash Grunwald, Butterfingers, Tenzin Choegel, Waiting for Guiness, Elation, Jukebox Glitch, Kafka, Elixer, Sars, Conan The Bubbleman, Sensitive New Age Cowpersons, The Fire Ceremony, New Year Sunrise Concert. "In all my years of running this festival I have never seen anything like this. You have broken through a barrier here, not just in terms of capturing our festival but capturing music on film." Bill Hauritz, Executive Director of Woodford and Founder of the festival (1987). This totally independent browndog release, comprising of 20 individual live vignettes is a superb 130 minute DVD, featuring some of Australia's biggest artists set against the backdrop of Queensland, Australia's beautiful Glass House Mountains. "It makes me want to go!" has been said by virtually everyone who has previewed it.
A music video for the song "Cloud Filled". This video was shot in Seattle, WA and was made in 2004. I create music videos for my solo project (MINI LiFE) as well as other bands. I also work on soundtracks for indie films. This video along with a slew of others will be released this Christmas all around the internet so keep a lookout for them. -O
