Spinner http://www.spinner.com Spinner http://www.spinner.com/media/feedlogo.gif Spinner http://www.spinner.com en-us Copyright 2013 Blogsmith, LLC. The contents of this headlines and excerpts feed are available for limited commercial distribution. You may repost this feed to your site provided you link back to the original story, do not edit the material, and do not remove this copyright notice. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/ Simon Townshend: The Who's Plans, Touring With Heart and Having David Bowie Babysit You http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/17/simon-townshend-the-who-heart-david-bowie/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/17/simon-townshend-the-who-heart-david-bowie/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/17/simon-townshend-the-who-heart-david-bowie/#comments Filed under: , ,


Simon TownshendSimon Townshend Facebook

Simon Townshend read his older brother and Who guitarist Pete's memoir, "Who I Am," and does recall the part he wrote about on page 177 when he declared "I'm going to do this," meaning become a rock musician. He was eight years old, put in the care of David Bowie at London's Royal Albert Hall as the Who rocked out onstage.

"I do remember that. I did read his book," Townshend, 52, tells Spinner. "He sent me a draft before it was released. He wanted the whole family to have a copy and I was really keen to read it straight away to be honest, which I did and I learned a few things about him and his breakup with his wife and stuff that perhaps I didn't know before.

"But, yeah, I remember the Bowie thing. I sat on his knee and watched the Who. He was lovely. Those memories, they are priceless for me -- priceless." ]]> Pete TownshendPeteTownshendSimon TownshendSimon Townshend musicSimonTownshendSimonTownshendMusic Karen Bliss 2013-03-17T12:10:00 00:00 Pete Townshend, 'Who I Am': The Who Guitarist Talks Crazy Upbringing, Trashing Hotels, Online Predators http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/08/pete-townshend-the-who-who-i-am/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/08/pete-townshend-the-who-who-i-am/ http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/08/pete-townshend-the-who-who-i-am/#comments Filed under: , ,


Pete Townshend The WhoDon Emmert, AFP

Pete Townshend talks the way he writes -- in minute detail. An articulate, intelligent and well-informed 67-year-old, Townshend's decades-in-the-making autobiography "Who I Am" is not just an art student-to-rock star account of his life but includes historical context and self-analysis. A life-long diarist and note-taker, the book covers so much, but still not enough: the creation of the Who and their music, struggles with substances, marriage, fatherhood, spirituality, boating -- in other words, the facts.

But woven throughout the 500-plus pages are references and passages about the profound impact a brief period in his childhood had on his whole life -- a suspicion he had been sexually abused. Years of therapy has not helped. To this day, he lacks clarity on what happened. ]]> mod englandmod movementModEnglandModMovementpete townshendpete townshend modPete Townshend the whoPete Townshend whoPeteTownshendPeteTownshendModPeteTownshendTheWhoPeteTownshendWhoThe Whothe who modTheWhoTheWhoModWhowho i amWhoIAm Karen Bliss 2013-03-08T12:00:00 00:00 Soundgarden Smoke at Toronto Club Show http://www.spinner.com/2012/11/19/soundgarden-toronto-2012-setlist/ http://www.spinner.com/2012/11/19/soundgarden-toronto-2012-setlist/ http://www.spinner.com/2012/11/19/soundgarden-toronto-2012-setlist/#comments Filed under: , , ,


C Brandon, Getty Images

Soundgarden's hot-ticket club show at Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre Friday night (Nov. 16) for a capacity-crowd of 1100 wasn't the only thing smokin'. Frontman Chris Cornell even noticed the perpetual waft of weed, enough to mention it onstage, first three songs in at "Spoonman" and again, after another four songs, before "Loud Love."

"You're gonna keep smoking dope? It gets to the point where you're as high as you can be," he said. "To keep going is almost a waste of money." He didn't bring it up again, but was fairly chatty throughout the night, which ended two hours on the nose after 24 songs, including such classics as "Outshined," "My Wave," "Blow Up the Outside World," "Rusty Cage," "Burden in My Hand" and Soundgarden's biggest, most enduring hit, the No. 1 "Black Hole Sun."

The Seattle grunge legends - Cornell, guitarist Kim Thayil, bassist Ben Shepherd and drummer Matt Cameron - which reformed in 2010 after 13 years and kicked off their reunion tour at the city's 16,000-capavcity Molson Canadian Amphitheatre last July, just released their first studio album in 16 years, King Animal. ]]> chris cornellChrisCornellsoundgardenSoundgarden TorontoSoundgarden Toronto club showSoundgarden underplay Toronto Karen Bliss 2012-11-19T16:50:00 00:00 Our Lady Peace's Raine Maida on Why They Opened Their Own Fitness Studio http://www.spinner.com/2012/10/30/our-lady-peace-gym/ http://www.spinner.com/2012/10/30/our-lady-peace-gym/ http://www.spinner.com/2012/10/30/our-lady-peace-gym/#comments Filed under:


Our Lady Peace

For much of their career, Our Lady Peace had the perfect practice space. Unlike the massive warehouses that house dozens of rehearsal rooms in Toronto, the multi-platinum rock band own a private, 3000-square-foot. two-level building downtown.

For 15 years, singer Raine Maida, drummer Jeremy Taggart, bassist Duncan Coutts and guitarist Steve Mazur wrote there, honed their songwriting there, recorded there, rehearsed there -- and generally rocked out until the wee hours of the morning, if they so chose. Until the area gentrified and the band found themselves answering one too many knocks at the door asking them to knock it off, as kids in adjacent homes were trying to sleep.

The solution? Say goodbye practice space, hello boutique gym. Union Studio is the joint effort of Maida, Coutts, Taggart, Christie Ness (formerly of GetSpun) and John Kawaja (of Taylormade-Adidas Golf).

Spinner talked to Maida about this unexpected new business venture. ]]> Duncan CouttsJeremy Taggartmusic gymsmusical workoutsour lady peaceOur Lady Peace gymOurLadyPeaceRaine Maida Karen Bliss 2012-10-30T11:30:00 00:00 Sheepdogs Weigh in on Stage Collapses: 'This Seems to Have Happened a Lot' http://www.spinner.com/2012/06/20/sheepdogs-stage-collapse-black-keys/ http://www.spinner.com/2012/06/20/sheepdogs-stage-collapse-black-keys/ http://www.spinner.com/2012/06/20/sheepdogs-stage-collapse-black-keys/#comments Filed under: ,


Frazer Harrison, Getty

Playing on an outdoor stage or any temporary stage for that matter may never be the same for bands.

Before the Sheepdogs were set to rock out at East Zwick's Park in Belleville, ON -- on an evening bill with Three Days Grace, Metric and Arkells on June 16 -- the Saskatchewan-reared band heard news of the stage collapse that afternoon before the Radiohead/Caribou concert at Toronto's Downsview Park which killed one person (now identified as Radiohead's drum tech Scott Johnson, 33).

"Before we got onstage, I was looking up at the stage and looking all around, and who was around," guitarist Liot Hansen tells Spinner. "It would be quite a tragedy if something like that did happen and we were there. Let's hope those things are limited in the future." ]]> Radiohead stage collapseSheepdogsstage collapseThe Sheepdogs Karen Bliss 2012-06-20T15:30:00 00:00 'Metal Evolution' Director Sam Dunn Talks Alice Cooper, Satan and Canada http://www.spinner.com/2011/11/25/metal-evolution-sam-dunn-alice-cooper/ http://www.spinner.com/2011/11/25/metal-evolution-sam-dunn-alice-cooper/ http://www.spinner.com/2011/11/25/metal-evolution-sam-dunn-alice-cooper/#comments Filed under: , , ,


VH1 Classic

There is not much Banger Films' Sam Dunn and Scot McFayden don't know about metal. The Juno-winning Canadian filmmakers began their historical and psychological dig into the oft maligned music genre with the intelligent and respectful 'Metal: A Headbanger's Journey' in 2005 and followed it with the socio-political culture-crossing 'Global Metal' in 2008.

The focused 'Iron Maiden: Flight 666' and 'Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage' came next, and now a comprehensive 11-part made-for-TV series, 'Metal Evolution,' which premieres on MuchMoreMusic Friday (Nov. 25) at 10PM EST (and airs weekly on VH1 Saturdays at 10PM EST in America).

Spinner talked with Dunn about metal, Alice Cooper, Satan, and babies (yeah, babies).

You have a Masters in anthropology. How have you applied that degree to your filmmaking career and choice of subject?

It's really most relevant to the first film, 'Metal: A Headbanger's Journey,' which was told through that lens of me, as one half metal fan and one half anthropologist. Because we wanted to find a way to create the film that wasn't just going to appeal to a metal audience, we thought, 'Well treating metal as a tribe and as a culture could be a way to pique people's interest. So it gave us an opportunity to broaden the audience for the show and tell a story about it that wasn't just a big pat on the back for heavy metal, but was rather an exploration of the culture and the controversy and the misunderstandings around metal music. ]]> alice cooperAliceCoopermetal evolutionMetalEvolutionsam dunnSamDunn Karen Bliss 2011-11-25T13:00:00 00:00 Top 10 Canadian Hard Rock Bands of All Time http://www.spinner.com/2011/08/25/top-10-canadian-hard-rock-bands/ http://www.spinner.com/2011/08/25/top-10-canadian-hard-rock-bands/ http://www.spinner.com/2011/08/25/top-10-canadian-hard-rock-bands/#comments

Getty Images

Canada rocks - from its landscape to its multiculturalism to its beer and music. Compiling a list of great Canadian hard rock bands of all time is a daunting assignment that will invite many criticisms and this list is not without ifs and buts. But the task is the fairly definable "hard rock" genre, meaning no metal, no punk, no screamo, no industrial and no straight-up melodic rock. So that cuts out a range of Canadian rockers: Max Webster, Alexisonfire, Headstones, Nickelback, Prism, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Loverboy, even Anvil and Helix. It also eliminates solo acts. So with that caveat, here is Noisecreep's list of the 10 all-time best Canadian hard rock bands in no particular order.
]]> April WineBilly TalentConey HatchFrank Marino Mahogany RushGoddoI Mother EarthMahogany RushRushSagaTriumphTrooper Karen Bliss 2011-08-25T11:00:00 00:00 Sam Roberts Band Bassist Battles Horrific Infection, Barely Escapes Amputation http://www.spinner.com/2011/07/28/sam-roberts-band-bassist-infection-amputation/ http://www.spinner.com/2011/07/28/sam-roberts-band-bassist-infection-amputation/ http://www.spinner.com/2011/07/28/sam-roberts-band-bassist-infection-amputation/#comments Filed under: , ,


Sam Roberts BandOopey Mason

It looks like a prop from a horror movie, but the photo Sam Roberts Band bassist James Hall posted of his arm on his personal Facebook page is very real. Fascinating to see such open wounds up the entire length of an appendage, repeat visits to the site were a morbid curiosity for many.

"That's why I put it up there," Hall tells Spinner. "A few friends are like, 'Dude, I look at that picture every day.' When the doctors took the bandage off, they were like, 'You better brace yourself,' and luckily I had a bit of morphine in my system. It just totally blew me away so I took a picture."

Hall has since been posting progress-report pics, as it heals up. Meanwhile, Tim Fletcher, formerly of the Stills, has been filling in with the Sam Roberts Band, playing on such prime gigs as a Canada Day show in Ottawa for which Prince William and new bride Kate were in attendance, and a late-afternoon slot at Montreal mega-festival Osheaga this weekend (July 30).

The most immediate natural question -- and excuse the expletive -- is WTF? What on earth happened? ]]> sam robertsSam Roberts BandSamRobertssamrobertsband Karen Bliss 2011-07-28T16:00:00 00:00 Lindi Ortega Finds Inspiration From Singing Backup for Brandon Flowers http://www.spinner.com/2011/06/24/lindi-ortega-brandon-flowers-little-red-boots/ http://www.spinner.com/2011/06/24/lindi-ortega-brandon-flowers-little-red-boots/ http://www.spinner.com/2011/06/24/lindi-ortega-brandon-flowers-little-red-boots/#comments Filed under: , ,


Lindi OrtegaLast Gang Records

Lindi Ortega might call her music alt-country, but it's more mourn-country: fabulously dark, playful and cool. The Toronto singer-guitarist first reaped accolades from the four-song 'Drifter EP,' released on iTunes in 2008 and widespread in 2009 on Interscope/Cherrytree. But a song could've been written about what happened next -- delays, delays before being dropped from her label. No matter. She's since signed with Last Gang, the label responsible for helping to launch Metric, and just released a new album, 'Little Red Boots,' earlier this month. Spinner spoke with Ortega about weathering the storm, singing back-up for Brandon Flowers of the Killers, and hunting for her cowboy.

Was 'Little Red Boots' done before you took the gig singing backup for Brandon Flowers?

Yes, it was. There were a lot of legalities [involved in] getting out of the deal with Interscope so [I was] just waiting to get out of that. When the opportunity to tour with Brandon Flowers as a backup singer came up, I didn't really have anything going on at that time, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to get out there and experience that side of things with him; get a different perspective, learn a little bit. It was great. ]]> Brandon FlowersBrandonFlowersKillersLindi ortegaLindiOrtegaTheKillers Karen Bliss 2011-06-24T13:00:00 00:00 Jill Barber on the Royal Wedding and Marrying Her 'Own Prince' http://www.spinner.com/2011/05/24/jill-barber-royal-wedding-mischievous-moon/ http://www.spinner.com/2011/05/24/jill-barber-royal-wedding-mischievous-moon/ http://www.spinner.com/2011/05/24/jill-barber-royal-wedding-mischievous-moon/#comments Filed under: , ,


Jill BarberIvan Otis

Vancouver songstress Jill Barber has never read a Harlequin romance novel, but her orchestral, sultry jazz-pop epitomizes that dreamy, idealistic view of love. It's almost certain a man has thrown on her music to get his date in the mood. On her latest album, 'Mischievous Moon,' most of the songs are about being totally open for love.

"I like to say that I'm a hopeful romantic as opposed to a helpless one," Barber tells Spinner. "I get caught up in the fantasy of it." ]]> grant lawrencegrantlawrencejill barberjillbarber Karen Bliss 2011-05-24T16:30:00 00:00 Sam Roberts Band's New Album 'Collider' Inspired by Children's Toys http://www.spinner.com/2011/05/13/sam-roberts-band-collider/ http://www.spinner.com/2011/05/13/sam-roberts-band-collider/ http://www.spinner.com/2011/05/13/sam-roberts-band-collider/#comments Filed under: , ,


Sam Roberts BandUniversal Music Canada

Sam Roberts Band's new album, 'Collider,' is a rhythmic, sax-injected rock 'n' roll expedition. Their rock has always been vibey, enabling Roberts and bandmates guitarist Dave "Nuge" Nugent, guitarist/keyboardist Eric Fares, bassist James Hall and drummer Josh Trager to trip the songs out live. The album was produced in Chicago by Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron and Wine) and features Califone's Ben Massarrella on percussion, Antibalas' Stuart Bogie on saxophone and Land of Talk's Elizabeth Powell on background vocals.

But the songs all took shape first in Roberts' basement, a menagerie of children's toys and recording gear overseen by Winnie the Pooh.

After touring behind your last album, 'Love at the End of the World,' did you plow headlong into writing or were you too burnt out to think?

I was really looking forward to writing after the next record. I don't know why. Sometimes I am burnt out, I have to admit, and it takes me months and months before I even want to consider sitting down to work on a song. But after 'Love at the End of the World,' I was really amped up to get in there and start writing. What I was going to be writing, I had no idea. ]]> sam robertsSam Roberts BandSamRobertssamrobertsband Karen Bliss 2011-05-13T14:00:00 00:00 Jill Barber Basks in Indie Rock Glow Despite Diana Krall-Like Sensibilities http://www.spinner.com/2011/05/09/jill-barber-mischievous-moon/ http://www.spinner.com/2011/05/09/jill-barber-mischievous-moon/ http://www.spinner.com/2011/05/09/jill-barber-mischievous-moon/#comments Filed under: , ,


Jill BarberIvan Otis

Jill Barber would not be out of place on a bill with Diana Krall or any number of jazz artists. Yet this sultry singer, whose music conjures up a bygone era of long gowns, elegant ballrooms and Clark Gable romance, is embraced by the indie rock world. Her last album, 'Chances,' was long-listed for Canada's coveted Polaris Music Prize, voted on by more than 200 members of the media.

Barber, currently touring theaters across Canada in support of her new album, 'Mischievous Moon,' understands exactly why she is covered in media outlets that normally would stay away from adult contemporary music and jazz.

"Because I came up in that [indie] world and that's where I'm coming from -- not musically but in my soul as a musician," Barber tells Spinner. ]]> jill barberJillBarber Karen Bliss 2011-05-09T11:00:00 00:00 Jeff Beck on Les Paul, Rod Stewart and John Mayer as the 'New Eric Clapton' http://www.spinner.com/2011/03/30/jeff-beck-interview/ http://www.spinner.com/2011/03/30/jeff-beck-interview/ http://www.spinner.com/2011/03/30/jeff-beck-interview/#comments Filed under: , , ,


Jeff Beck, Les PaulDario Cantatore, Wireimage | Scott Wintrow, Getty Images

Jeff Beck's new DVD, 'Rock 'n' Roll Party Honoring Les Paul,' is a tribute concert recorded on what would have been the father of the electric guitar's 95th birthday.

Les Paul, who also sold millions of albums as a musician with his wife Mary Ford in the '50s, literally changed the face of rock 'n' roll with his invention of the solid-body electric guitar. When he passed away on August 12, 2009, tributes poured in publicly from Slash, the Edge, Keith Richards, Richie Sambora, Brian Wilson, Pat Metheny, Billy Gibbons and more. But Beck -- a guitar legend himself -- went a step further on June 9 by putting on a show in Paul's honour at New York's Iridium Jazz Club, where the legend had held down a Monday night residency for over a decade.

Spinner spoke to Beck about the special tribute project and the legacy of Les Paul. ]]> Billy GibbonsBillyGibbonsJeff BeckJeffBeckjohn mayerJohnMayerles paulLesPaulPatMethenyRichieSamborarod stewartRodStewartrolling stonesRollingStonesronnie woodRonnieWood Karen Bliss 2011-03-30T16:00:00 00:00 Nicole Atkins Has 'Mondo Amore' for Canadian Friends Like Feist http://www.spinner.com/2011/01/26/nicole-atkins-mondo-amore-feist/ http://www.spinner.com/2011/01/26/nicole-atkins-mondo-amore-feist/ http://www.spinner.com/2011/01/26/nicole-atkins-mondo-amore-feist/#comments Filed under:


Nicole AtkinsGary Wolstenholme, Redferns

In a roundabout way, if wasn't for an opportunity to sing with Canada's Feist, Nicole Atkins may not have got back up on her feet so quickly and into a recording studio to make her new album, 'Mondo Amore.'

The New Jersey singer-songwriter behind 2007's 'Neptune City' was hired a few years ago to sing backup for Feist on 'Late Show With David Letterman,' which led to a significant Canadian connection. Feist recruited a 15-piece choir for her Indie-Rock All-Stars, comprised of members of Broken Social Scene, the New Pornographers, Grizzly Bear and the National.

"I think [Feist] knew a couple of the guys from the National," Atkins says of the Brooklyn, NY-based band with whom she shares management. "Her manager called my manager to get the National to sing in the choir, and then her manager was like, 'Oh, you work with Nicole, too. You should get her, too.' So I did it and it was really fun. It was like band camp." ]]> AC Newmannew pornographersNicole Atkins Karen Bliss 2011-01-26T12:00:00 00:00 Dallas Green on Shad Collaboration: 'He Raps Better Than Most People Speak' http://www.spinner.com/2011/01/17/dallas-green-on-shad-collaboration/ http://www.spinner.com/2011/01/17/dallas-green-on-shad-collaboration/ http://www.spinner.com/2011/01/17/dallas-green-on-shad-collaboration/#comments Filed under: , , ,


Dallas Green (City and Colour), ShadPatrick Lemieux | Chromewaves

Dallas Green had always wanted to team up creatively with rapper Shad, but juggling his band Alexisonfire and solo project City and Colour leaves little room for anything else. But after Green heard Shad's album, 'TSOL,' the guy made sure he made time.

The result is the new 'Shad & Dallas: Two Songs,' which is, quite literally, two songs, the new co-write 'Live Forever,' and a remix of Shad's 'Listen.'

"Shad put out an amazing record called 'TSOL,' and back when he was still doing pre-production, he sent me a song that he wanted me to sing on, but I never really had the time," Green tells Spinner. "Our schedules didn't connect well because we [Alexisonfire] were in Australia, I think, when he sent me the song and we went right into a Canadian tour.

"So when I finally got the record, I was just so blown away by it and I really wished I'd have somehow made time or figured out how I could get on the record. I came up with an idea -- why don't we do some kind of a remix of the song he wanted me to sing on originally." ]]> AlexisonfireCity and ColourCityAndColourDallas GreenDallasGreenShad Karen Bliss 2011-01-17T15:00:00 00:00 Peaches Christ Superstar Wraps Up One-Woman Show in Toronto http://www.spinner.com/2010/12/22/peaches-christ-superstar-toronto/ http://www.spinner.com/2010/12/22/peaches-christ-superstar-toronto/ http://www.spinner.com/2010/12/22/peaches-christ-superstar-toronto/#comments Filed under: ,


Peaches, Jesus Christ Superstar (live)

Of course, Tim Rice gave his blessing. As bizarre a concept as it may seem, Toronto's own electro superstar Peaches respectfully, exhaustively, adeptly pulled off a one-woman version of the famed lyricist's 1971 rock-opera 'Jesus Christ Superstar' for a hometown crowd at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Tuesday night. She sang every character and unveiled a voice -- one often masked in "regular" Peaches music -- that was nothing short of wow!

In 'Peaches Christ Superstar,' Peaches was back to being Merrill Nisker, the theatre-loving musical adventurer her parents, relatives, junior and high school friends (many in attendance) remember from her youth in the suburbs. Those who knew her then, and later in folk trio Mermaid Café, alt. jazz-rock outfit Fancypants Hoodlum and experimental quartet, the S--- (all progressively more "out-there"), knew she had something special: guts, determination and creativity.

It is that triumvirate of traits that led to 'Peaches Christ Superstar.'

Perhaps worried about a raunchy, campy, over-the-top Peaches treatment, the rights holders initially put the kibosh on her plans. She vented on Twitter, and word spread to traditional media and soon to the ears of Rice himself: the guy who had the guts, determination and creativity in the first place to write songs based on the ultimate superstar, Jesus. He gave his blessing and the show was resurrected. ]]> andrew lloyd webberandrew lloyd weberAndrewLloydWebberAndrewLloydWeberChilly GonzalesChilly GonzalezChillyGonzalesJesus Christ SuperstarJesusChristSuperstarpeachesTim RiceTimRice Karen Bliss 2010-12-22T13:00:00 00:00 Decemberists' Colin Meloy Says His 'Adventure' Novel is in 'Editing Stage' http://www.spinner.com/2010/12/10/decemberists-colin-meloy-novel-wildwood/ http://www.spinner.com/2010/12/10/decemberists-colin-meloy-novel-wildwood/ http://www.spinner.com/2010/12/10/decemberists-colin-meloy-novel-wildwood/#comments Filed under: , , ,


Decemberists, Colin Meloy

Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy has let his imagination run wild for many of his songs, inspired by Irish myths, Japanese folk tales, even Shakespeare. The last album was a complete narrative, a rock opera. It begs the question if he has a novel up his sleeve.

"Funny you should mention that, but I've just finished a novel that is in the editing stage," Meloy tells Spinner.

That the man who toured heavily behind 2009's 'The Hazards of Love' then wrote and recorded upcoming album, 'The King is Dead' (out Jan. 18), also managed to squeeze a novel in is quite an accomplishment.

"It's a collaboration with my wife, Carson [Ellis], who is an illustrator and does all the artwork for the Decemberists," says Meloy. "We've been working on it for a while. It's called 'Wildwood.' It's a middle reader adventure story; it's for older kids -- that's all I can probably say about it now." ]]> colin meloyColinMeloydecemberists Karen Bliss 2010-12-10T14:30:00 00:00 Elvis Costello Hits Bernie Taupin Art Party, Wins TV Award, Performs With Feist http://www.spinner.com/2010/11/15/elvis-costello-bernie-taupin-geminis-feist/ http://www.spinner.com/2010/11/15/elvis-costello-bernie-taupin-geminis-feist/ http://www.spinner.com/2010/11/15/elvis-costello-bernie-taupin-geminis-feist/#comments Filed under: ,


Elvis Costello and Bernie TaupinLiss Gallery

Elvis Costello, in Toronto for Canada's Gemini Awards for the television industry, made an unexpected visit to a private party to launch Bernie Taupin's art exhibit at Toronto Liss Gallery. "I just happened to hear about it last minute," Costello told Spinner. Costello wound up winning Best Talk Series for 'Spectacle,' his musical talk show co-produced by Elton John and husband David Furnish.

Taupin, Elton John's lyricist for the past 43 years, paints grand abstracts with titles like 'Yo-Yo' (price tag: $9750) and 'Corporation Department' ($13, 250). The exhibit opened Friday night and runs for the next three weeks.

"I really liked that one 'Red Shroud,' the smaller canvas down there," Costello said. "I just said to [Taupin], with all the songwriting, that he would have the time [to paint] and he has young children like me, as well," says Costello. "I've managed two paintings in 30 years and I wouldn't call what I do painting; it's a bit like what I do at the piano." ]]> Bernie TaupinElvis CostelloElvisCostelloFeistRon SexsmithRonSexsmith Karen Bliss 2010-11-15T11:30:00 00:00 Scissor Sisters Recruit Dave Grohl, Adam Lambert, Katy Perry for Viral Videos http://www.spinner.com/2010/10/08/scissor-sisters-dave-grohl-adam-lambert-katy-perry/ http://www.spinner.com/2010/10/08/scissor-sisters-dave-grohl-adam-lambert-katy-perry/ http://www.spinner.com/2010/10/08/scissor-sisters-dave-grohl-adam-lambert-katy-perry/#comments Filed under: , ,


Scissor Sisters

Scissor Sisters aren't afraid of a little scandal. In fact, the New York dance-pop group welcome it on their outlandish monthly comedy videos 'Scissor Sister News.'

Whether it's Dave Grohl breaking down in tears as a guest on the October show, announcing his $75 million lawsuit against the band for frontman Jack Shears' wardrobe malfunction (apparently Grohl draws the line at free-flowing testicles), or American Idol fav Adam Lambert getting busted by pop tart Katy Perry for locking lips with a relationship-bound Shears on the September installment, it's obvious that the Scissor Sisters thrive on faux controversy.

"We're really proud of those [skits]," Scissor Sisters multi-instrumentalist Babydaddy (real name Scott Hoffman) tells Spinner. "We have a few people around us who film various stuff, and then it's actually my brother [Ben Hoffman] who writes it and plays Lester himself." ]]> Jack ShearsScissor Sisters Karen Bliss 2010-10-08T16:00:00 00:00 City and Colour's Next Album Promises More Piano and More Rock http://www.spinner.com/2010/09/30/city-and-colour-next-album-dallas-green/ http://www.spinner.com/2010/09/30/city-and-colour-next-album-dallas-green/ http://www.spinner.com/2010/09/30/city-and-colour-next-album-dallas-green/#comments Filed under: , ,


Dallas Green, City and Colour

The next City and Colour album will stretch out from the haunting acoustic singer-songwriter style that has made Dallas Green's solo project just as popular as his intense melodic-hardcore band Alexisonfire.

Green -- who headlined the massive Molson Amphitheatre last month in his homebase of Toronto -- has demoed 14 songs, and plans to record the follow-up to 2008's 'Bring Me Your Love' in January.

"I've got lots of different songs," he tells Spinner. "There are a lot of musically unusual songs. There's a lot more piano on these songs, keyboards and stuff. And there are a couple of songs almost I would say a bit rockin' [laughs], if that makes any sense, not in a heavy metal kind of way, but just a little bit more upbeat than what you're used to hearing from me."
]]> CityAndColourDallasGreen Karen Bliss 2010-09-30T10:30:00 00:00