News

This months Q magazine features an lengthy interview with R.E.M. as well as an very positive review of their new album,'Accelerate' due out April 1st on warner brothers records.
The magazine also comes with a CD with tracks picked out by the band. Needles to say Peter buck came up with some very interesting tracks, a new 'Young Fresh Fellows' track (from the album that will come out later this year) a 'Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3' track(from the upcoming new album), 'Tuatara' track from last years 'East Of The Sun' and the original 'Myrna Loy' track that was available on 'The Minus 5' album 'I Don't Know Who I Am'. And long time Minus 5 colaborator 'Ken stringfellow' can be found with a track of his new band 'The Disciplines'.

The She Bee Gees – I really want to like this band, but can’t seem to do so. Maybe its their material, I tend to only know one song they do each set: Massachusetts. Maybe some of the other more well known songs are harder to sing. I’d really like to hear them try “To Love Somebody.” The three instrumentalists are quite good and their voices blend together well. However, the gal in the middle always sounds flat to the point of being distracting.

Casey Neil and the Norway Rats is a really fun band. It usually features Casey Neil on guitar, Little Sue on Guitar, Adam East on Bass, Jenny Conlee on keyboards, Lewi Longmire (portland’s answer to Kurt Bloch) on guitar and Ezra Holbrook on drums. Tonight, Jenny and Lewi were absent. I really like their song and would like to see them more often. They finished the set with a cover of “I knew the bride when she used to rock n roll.”

I’ll take this opportunity to admit that my knowledge of Nick Lowe is limited. Before Saturday night I knew about 6 songs, maybe.

The line up was great. Jim Sangster on guitar and keyboard, Graham Black on drums, John Ramberg on Guitar and switching to bass for a few songs, and someone on bass – I didn’t catch his name but I think he was in the Picketts. What did that leave for Scott to do? He played acoustic guitar on a few songs, but for the most part he was a frontman.

And what a frontman! He was jumping around and dancing. His drink rarely left his hand and with all the movement the stage was flooded by the end of the show. I think his microphone started cutting out toward the end of the show, so he knocked it over and stole Jim’s. Jim’s didn’t work either. The soundman figured out that the two center monitors were going out and re-arranged the other monitors. Scott stole John’s microphone and wound up singing “What’s so funny bout Peace Love and Understanding” through two microphones.

It was a really great show, too bad they only play every ten years or so.
-Jane Mcdonald

---

And for those of us who weren't able to make it to the shows, YouTube user CForce33 has uploaded a couple of songs of the Seattle show.
Go check them out if you haven't already: Lowe Beats in Seattle.

Legendary underground cult artist Robyn Hitchcock reveals his creative process as never before in ROBYN HITCHCOCK: SEX, FOOD, DEATH... AND INSECTS.

This Sundance Channel original production chronicles the origins of Robyn's forthcoming album (and features eight brand-new songs), the formation of his band the Venus 3, and their U.S. tour. Famed for his twisted rock lyrics that are at once blithe, scathing and deep, Robyn is one of England's most influential songwriters and performers--and has a body of work spanning over 20 albums and three decades. Joined in music and conversation by friends and bandmates like, Peter Buck, Bill Rieflin, and Scott McCaughey (REM, Minus 5), Chris Ballew (Presidents Of The USA), John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), Nick Lowe, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Morris Windsor (Soft Boys, Egyptians), and Ruby Wright, Robyn’s creative genius runs wild in a free-flowing musical interview that gives us an unprecedented glimpse into his mind and craft.

FEATURES OVER 20 LIVE PERFORMANCES - INCLUDING 8 NEVER-BEFORE-RELEASED SONGS: Afterlight / Star of Venus / Born on the Wind / Evolve / I Often Dream of Trains / John in the Air / Flanagan's Song / Cradled ‘til Dawn / Sickie Boy / Adventure Rocket Ship / Somebody / Uncorrected Personality Traits / My Wife and My Dead Wife / Queen Elvis / Creeped Out / NY Doll / Underground Sun / The Authority Box / Belltown Ramble / Ole! / Tarantula / 16 Years


DVD Features: "Evolve," "John In The Air," "Star of Venus," and "Afterlight" Complete Rough Versions plus Conversations About Robyn's Songwriting Technique; Acoustic Rooftop Performance of "Ole Tarantula"; Music Video for "Adventure Rocketship"

Just found these pictures at the bottom of my mailbox, send by me by Geoff. Must have somehow forgotten about these, but don't wanna keep them from you all, so here they are. Many thanks to Geoff for sending these, and deep apologize for putting them up so late.

R.E.M. - Accelerate
Once again Scott lends his skills to the new R.E.M. album, due out on April 1st(no joke). With the first single "Supernatural Superserious" out February 11th. Album includes many songs they tested out last year in Dublin during a week of rehearsal gigs.

Living Well's the Best Revenge
Man Sized Wreath
Supernatural Superserious
Hollow Man
Houston
Accelerate
Until the Day is Done
Mr. Richards
Sing for the Submarine
Horse to Water
I'm Gonna DJ

More info on R.E.M. HQ and you get a daily teaser video till the album release date on Ninety Nights.

John Wesley Harding & The Negative Quintet - Songs of Guilt and Inexperience
From JWH mailing list

"A happy new year to all from Wes, safely back in the USA after a minor skirmish with Maxjet airlines who decided to fold rather than bring him back home. a few words: it's 2008 and the new album is done - but we must be patient. A lot of love, care and attention, from many people, have gone into the making of the record and I want it to have the best release possible, for about a million reasons, none of them worth a dollar. I made a truly terrible decision for "Adam's Apple", and I must make sure that the new album - which is called "Songs of Guilt and Inexperience" - doesn't suffer the same indignity. I'd rather put it out myself. So, patience, for all of us. And for those who simply can't wait, there will be a preview (of the song 'Love or Nothing') on the cover mount CD of a soon-forthcoming issue of Mojo, curated by Peter Buck. If you get to hear that, you're one-twelfth of the way there. Another consideration is that the Minus Five, with whom I made the record, are touring as their lesser known side-project REM for most of the year. Obviously, it would be fun to do some gigs together when the album is finally out, as we had originally intended. Robyn Hitchcock also has an album due for release, recorded with The Minus Five - he calls them The Venus Three, I call them The Negative Quintet.
More info johnwesleyharding.com, wesleystace.comor MySpace

Coleman Barks - ...
from Barret Martin's myspace page
... I got booked to do four albums back to back, all of which turned out magnificently well, considering their diversity. The first was with Coleman Barks, the famed Sufi poet and elder statesman of Mystical Truth. Coleman wrote "The Essential Rumi" and numerous other poetry books that I have read over the years. He's 71 years old now, and an old friend of mine from Athens, GA, back when I played with REM. So, Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey, guitarists of REM, and Kai Riedl of the band Macha came down to Santa Fe and we recorded close to 20 song-poems with Coleman. We basically made up the music on the spot to fit with Coleman's poems, although admittedly, we all came prepared with song ideas or at least riffs and rhythms, so that we could appear to be spontaneous, even if we are actually, dare I say, "professional"?
Rahim Alhaj, the Grammy-nominated Iraqi oud player came down for a few songs too, and he and Coleman bonded quite tightly. Coleman's album will be released in the late spring on Fast Horse (my label) and I think the album will really affect people, largely because of its beautiful Americana poetry, Sufi mysticism, and a helluva lot of humor that might actually shock some of the people who revere Coleman as a saint. Coleman is no saint, but he is a brilliant, warm, humorous bear of man. We love him dearly, and so will you. ...
More info about Barret at MySpaceand barrettmartin.com.
More info about Coleman Barks at colemanbarks.com.


More releases that might come out this year: A new Young Fresh Fellows album, The Baseball Project Record with Steve Wynn, the 2nd Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3 album and another Minus 5 album.

Part two of the Tuatara double album(East of the sun/West of the moon) is out for awhile on Fast Horse Recordings now. While "East Of The Sun" the vocals where mostly done by men, this time around on "West Of The Moon" the spotlight is on the women,they include Adama, a British-Nigerian soul singer from London, Gina Sala, a featured vocalist with Cirque De Solei, and American singer-songwriter Jessy Greene. A few of the men from East Of The Sun remain however, with John Wesley Harding, Scott McCaughey, and Coleman Barks each contributing a song or two.

You can pre-listen to the album here.
And you can order either the physical CD or any track of your choice in the Fast Horse record store.



tracklist:
1 Bird's Eye View
2 Los Angeles
3 Wrong Turn
4 Are You Feeling Me
5 When The Love Is Gone
6 The Old Carving Knife
7 God's Meditation
8 Playing And Being Played
9 So Fine
10 Never Look Back
1 Bang Bang
12 An Invisible Bee
13 The Shifting Sands
14 Kali Rides

By Barbara Mitchell
The Portland Tribune, Jan 11, 2008

If you’ve been to a local show by the Decemberists, Death Cab for Cutie or Wilco over the past four years – or if you’ve witnessed on stage Robyn Hitchcock, John Wesley Harding or KMRIA, the Pogues cover band featuring members of the Decemberists, during that same time period, you’ve probably wondered who the cool-looking guy is with the unruly hair, huge grin and sunglasses.


BY JIM CLARK

If you’ve seen the Minus 5, a Northwest supergroup of sorts that typically includes R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, you already know that the individual in question is Scott McCaughey – one of the hardest-working and most beloved members of the Northwest music community.

Team Photo, L-R: Peter, Steve, Adam, Linda and Scott

The people from KEXP blog had a little chat with Steve Wynn about "The Baseball Project"(Steve Wynn, Scott McCaughey, Peter Buck, and Linda Pitmon). While there isn't a release date set for their upcoming album baseball-themed album, they can however already preview the rough mix of on of the songs, “Pasttime” which features lead vocals by Scott.
Go listen to it here

As many of you probably already noticed, we have updated our forum software to version 3.0 of the phpBB software. While i tried my best to make sure everything from the old board is still there, i can never be sure. so if you have any problems with the site(login in, pm's, post, search, uploads, ideas, improvements etc...) please let me know by email or post your comments here.

The Lowe Beats (Nick Lowe tribute band) is coming back together to do two shows in February to commemorating Yep Roc's 30th anniversary re-issue of Nick's first solo album "Jesus of Cool".
The band includes
Scott McCaughey - vocals
John Ramberg - guitars
Jim Sangster - guitars
Hugh Jones - bass
Graham Black - drums.

The Lowe Beats live at a venue near you:
Feb. 22, Tractor Tavern, Seattle
Feb. 23, Dante's, Portland

Merry Christmas

And a

Happy 2008

THIS SATURDAY, DEC. 8... At the new East End Club (formerly the Rabbit Hole, 203 E. Grand):
WRECKLESS ERIC & AMY RIGBY... do not miss these brilliant knuckleheads, together, double dynamite! If you don't know their stories, well, I really don't know where you've been (to quote somebody or other). Opening this show will be the NEVADA LUNATICS (Scott McCaughey, Steve Wynn, and Linda Pitmon), debuting some of our new songs about baseball. Really. For more info, check out: www.myspace.com/eastendpdx, www.wrecklesseric.com/

Some videos have surfaced from the shows last weekend:
On YouTube these two from the fellows are availble:

-The Little Things

-Rock 'n roll Pest Control!

and over at synchronicitylive.com you can check out the entire show of the Fellows and some of The Tripwires

-The Tripwires @ The Tractor Tavern

-The Young Fresh Fellows @ The Tractor Tavern

Friday November 9 - The Tractor Tavern, Seattle, WA

Tipwires:

Break it all
Lesson pony
arm twister
monument
I don't care
zig zag
I hear this music
South Charleston Place
I was afraid
Dismantled
sold your guitar blues
grizzly bear
big electric light

Young Fresh Fellows:

Have Love Will Travel
Rock N Roll Pest Control
Suck Machine (new song?)
White Wine Saturday Morning (made up on the spot)
Universal Trendsetter
Guilty Ones (new song?)
Taco Wagon
Picture Book
Sitting On A Pitchfork
Sentimental Journey
Final Tractor (new song?)
Hang out Right
Why I Oughta
Sharing Patrol
I Got My Mojo Working
I Don't let the Little Things Get Me down
99 Girls
Shake Your Magazines (new song?)
When I'm Lonely Again
One day you die
My Friend Ringo

Encore:
She's a Mod - Done by the Tripwires
Backroom of the Bar
Ain't It Allright
Strychnine
How much about last night do you remember
she's a book


Saturday November 10 - The Towne Lounge, Portland, OR

Tripwires:
Friday
Lesson Pony
Arm Twister
Monument
South Charleston
Johnny Get Gone
I Don't Care
Never Ever
I Was Afraid
Ned Beatty
Dismantled
Sold Your Guitar Blues
Grizzly Bear
I Hear This Music
Zig Zag
Big Electric Light
Crawling From The Wreckage

Minus 5: (Not in order) (w/John on guitar, Jim "jimmy talent" Talstra on bass and Ezra Holbrook on the drums)
Dear Employer
Little Black Eff
Lonely Coffin
Out There On The Maroon
Albuquerque
The Night Chicago Died, Again
Twilight Ditillery (with John Wesley Harding)
Time Bomb High School
Teenage Idol
With A Gun
Aw Shit Man
You Don't Mean It
Strychnine
Mary Lou
Original Luke
I'm not bitter

encores:
Ghost Tarts
Cigarettes Cofffee and Booze
Sometimes good guys don't wear white (jim sangster on bass)
She Belongs to Me (with JWH)
Strychnine
Ballad of John & Yoko (with JWH)

Return of the Tripwires:
She's A Mod
Break it All
Have Love, Will Travel (with Michael Maker)

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin has a lot on his plate, what with his rush to alter existing media-ownership rules in favor of giant media conglomerates. He'll be in Seattle on Friday for the sixth and final public hearing on media ownership, which will examine the prudence of relaxing current stipulations. Jet lag is tough, but the crowd Martin will encounter here is likely to be even tougher.

The Seattle proceedings were announced at the last minute, giving citizens little time to prepare arguments. Many question whether Martin is sincere in his assessment of public opinion — which, when it comes to further media consolidation, is decidedly negative.

Scott McCaughey adds his many talents to the new Breakup Society album, "Nobody Likes A Winner". Scott does lead vocal on the track “By A Thread” and adds keys, guitar and harmonies to several other numbers.

The album will be released November 13 through Get Hip Records.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Nobody Likes A Winner
2. The World Will Change Our Love
3. How Failure Saved Me From Myself
4. Strictly Biological Heart
5. 13th Angry Man
6. This Little Tragedy
7. Another Candlelit Night
8. By A Thread
9. No One Wants To Be Remembered
10. Lower Expectations
11. The Day Before The First Day Of The Rest Of My Life
12. I Didn't Mean To Wreck Your Day
13. Forget The Past
14. This Doesn't Matter

On November 12th "Makes You Look Around", The Tripwires debut album will finally hit the shelfs of the music shops. (Though you can order your copy already Nov. 8th at www.paisleypop.com.)
The Tripwires is the new band of Minus 5 guitarist John Ramberg, formerly know of "The Model Rockets". Another famous face in the band is Jim Sangster, bass player from the Young Fresh Fellows. While his Brother Johnny plays guitar and Mark Pickerel keeps the beat steady on the drums.
The Tripwires will play two record release parties, one in Portland and one in Seattle along with the Fellows and The Minus 5.

The Tripwires:
Nov 9 - The Tractor Tavern, Seattle, WA (w/The Young Fresh Fellows)
Nov 10 - The Towne Lounge, Portland, OR (w/The Minus 5)

From "The Village Voice" interview with Steve Wynn

....
And the recording project after that:
Steve Wynn: “I’m doing a baseball record. I’ve wanted to do this for a long time, a record entirely about baseball, touting specific players or incidents, things like that. I’ve been talking about this for a long time now, thinking of ways to do it, and I met up with Scott McCaughey from R.E.M., Young Fresh Fellows, the Minus Five. We met up about half a year ago and I told him about it and it turns out he’s as big a baseball fan as I am and he flipped out, so we’re going to get together, Scott and myself and Peter Buck and Linda (Miracle 3 drummer Pitmon), and do the record in December in Portland because Peter’s got a studio there. It’s pretty convenient. And again, we’re going to write a lot on our own before we get together and then collaborate once we’re there. I’ll probably come back from Slovenia and watch the World Series and write during the entire Series.”
...

You can read the rest of the interview here.

The United Nations calls it "the world's greatest humanitarian crisis." The US calls it genocide.

The people of Darfur have suffered for 4 years in a crisis that has left over 400,000 dead and 2.5 million displaced from their homes.

There is something you can do to help them: GO TO A CONCERT on November 10.

MySpace has brought its bands together to help send aid to the people of Darfur.
Join us('The Minus 5') at our show in Portland, Oregon at The Towne Lounge and a portion of your ticket purchase will go directly to the ROCK FOR DARFUR cause.

More than 30 other bands have united with Rock for Darfur shows that span the globe—all on November 10. So if our show isn't in your neighborhood, then go to "http://myspace.com/rockfordarfur" to find one that is.

Help us send a strong message to the world that this crisis must end now.

For more information on the conflict in Darfur, "http://myspace.com/rockfordarfur"

Scott & Peter

Rest of the World
In A Lonely Coffin
The Town That Lost Its Groove Supply
John Barleycorn Must Live
With A Gun
Teenage Idol (Ricky Nelson)
Moonshine Girl
Desperate for Someone
Out There on the Maroon
Cigarettes, Coffee and Booze
The Old Carving Knife (from forthcoming Tuatara lp)
Aw "Shucks" Man

With Mark Olson (Jayhawks) and Tim Easton

I Still Miss Someone (Johnny Cash)
Dear Employer
11 Months and 29 Days (snippet of Johnny Paycheck hit)
Carmelita (Warren Zevon)

With Tim

Hang Out Right

Mark comes back

Ballad of John & Yoko (Beatles)

The last time Scott McCaughey visited Lexington, he stood before 10,000 people at Rupp Arena.

The jovial Seattle songsmith will be the first to admit that they weren't entirely there to see him. The feverish October 1995 turnout was for R.E.M., the Georgia alt-rock institution of which McCaughey (pronounced McCoy) has long been an auxiliary member. McCaughey played keyboards, sang a bit, added some rhythm guitar here and there, and generally grinned like a kid having the time of his life, all night long.

Scott McCaughey is involved in so many music projects, it's amazing he has time to finish them all.

The Seattle singer and multi-instrumentalist formed acclaimed alt-rock band Young Fresh Fellows in 1983. A friendship with R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck led them to start up The Minus Five (initially a loose collective), in 1993. Buck invited McCaughey to tour with R.E.M. a year later; he's been an adjunct member ever since.

The pair are also regulars in experimental group Tuatara - which just put out "East of the Sun" (Fast Horse) - and Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3.

On 2006's stellar "The Gun Album," The Minus 5 has crafted its strongest effort yet with guest appearances from Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), Colin Meloy (the Decemberists), Sean Nelson (Harvey Danger), Ken Stringfellow (the Posies), John Wesley Harding and others.

I caught up with the jovial McCaughey (pronounced "McCoy") at his home in Portland last week.
Q: This is your first Inland Empire appearance. I was surprised to see The Minus 5 on the bill.
A: From looking at the concert program, they seem to book mostly tribute bands and we do mostly originals, but we're a class act and hopefully people enjoy it. We'll try to keep my obscene stage patter to a minimum (laughs).
Q: For the most part, the latest CD is more accessible than previous efforts. Was that a conscious decision?

A very long and interesting interview is up at Namedropper Media. Scott talks about Ian Hunter, Led Zeppelin, his first album he bought, future recording and tour plans with his various band and a whole lot more.

All picture and setlist scan by Geoff Vickers

The Fellows played an early set at the Seafair festival in Seatlle yesterday , while the hydroplane boats were racing on Lake Washington, the small crowed enjoy a pretty great set of old and brand new songs.

It's been awhile since the Minus 5 put a show together, but all you Northwesters are in luck, The Minus 5 comes out of hibernation for a couple of shows.
First up is the show at McMenamin's Edgefield in Troutdale,OR on the 22nd of August. where they are playing after Wilco, so who knows what will happen during those two sets. At the end of the month the band goes over to California for a double header. First on August 31 the play the Lake Arrowhead Village in Lake Arrowhead. Lake Arrowhead Village is located in Southern California, less than a two hour drive east of downtown Los Angeles, in the San Bernardino mountains. The best part of the show is that it is a FREE show and it starts at 5:30 p.m. sharp. A perfect opportunity to bring out the entire family. The day after they play Spaceland in LA. A familiar place where many Minus 5 and RH&The V3 gigs took place.
A week after the band meets again in Portland at Dante's for the Northwest Music Fest on September 8, with The Blakes, Loch Lomond, Patterson Hood of The Drive By Truckers and Richmond Fontaine on the same bill.

Aussie rockers "You Am I" get praised in the latest issue of "The Stranger" by a who's who of Seattle musicians—members of Soundgarden, the Presidents of the United States of America, Mudhoney, the Makers, The Young Fresh Fellows and the Posies, among others.

Here is What Scott and Kurt had to say:

Scott McCaughey—the Young Fresh Fellows, the Minus 5, R.E.M.

I think Kim Thayil of Soundgarden first told me about You Am I. First time I saw them was at CBGB—the Fellows might have been on the show or I might have just gone to see them on a night off, I can't remember. I was blown away by the songs and the energy. I figured they were destined to near-immediate hugeness. I guess it never quite materialized over here and it's hard to fathom. The latest album [2006's Convicts] shows how much they still have to offer—killer songs with the early Replacements often coming to mind and still slipping in that masterful Ray Davies melodic flair. What's not to love?

Kurt Bloch—Fastbacks, the Young Fresh Fellows, Sgt. Major

They were playing on a Sunday night, I think, at the Off Ramp... I suppose no one had even heard of them around here at that point, 1994, but if they were friends of Soundgarden and from Australia (home of good times and all things rock), they'd be worth a try. And they were! I recall Live at Leeds–era Pete Towns-hend fronting AC/DC's rhythm section, with total kill songs to boot.

You can read the original story as posted in The Stranger here. For more info on You am I go to their site.

The implied purpose of most supergroups is that the resulting new band consolidates everything you like about each member's respective band into a musical juggernaut that everyone can like. Very rarely does that work as advertised, however, which is probably why Tuatara works where so many like groups have floundered. The members of Tuatara—who include R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, Minus Five frontman and Young Fresh Fellow Scott McCaughey, and Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin—play against type, rock guys making spacious instrumental music intended for film soundtracks.
...

DeSoto records finally released their kid-friendly music compilation called "Play". Young Fresh Fellows Donated the track "Picnic". You can Order a copy of the CD in the web store of DeSoto records, or download it straight from iTunes.

Tracklist:
Anna Oxygen: Born to Shake
Channels with Damon Locks: Always Check for Holes
Georgie James: The Grizzly Jive
Sgt. Major: Nellie the Elephant
Mudhoney: I Like to Make Noise and Break Things
Mock Orange: Holiday Dinner Song
Mirah and Tara Jane O'Neill: Green Up Time
Young Fresh Fellows: Picnic
Mary Timony: Clap Your Hands
Soccer Team: I'll Never Fear Ghosts Again
Supersuckers: Rubber Biscuit
The Cassettes: Truck on (Truck)
Ben Davis & The Jetts: Bouncin' Party
Visqueen: Centerfield

Compilations CDs will forever be known as the tombstones that speckle the audio graveyard of unsold and ignored music. Most are haphazardly assembled collections that hold no central theme, like a poorly put together mix CD without the personal touch.

Released by local label Arena Rock, Bridging the Distance (in stores April 17, with a digital version including six extra songs available online) is a complete exception to the idea that compilations are a waste of record store shelf space. Benefiting local nonprofit organization p:ear, the album is made up of some of Portland's finest bands, all of which take on the brave task of covering classic songs. The tracks are a vibrant example of the rich variety of music, and generosity, our town has to offer. In their own words, a few of the bands that took part in the compilation explain themselves.

From Yeproc:
My pal Scott Ferril in Minneapolis has completed this cool little video of "Aw Shit Man."

Best,
Scott McCaughey

1 June Racecourse "Wychwood Festival" Cheltenham, UK
2 June Primavera Sound Barcelona, Spain
9 June Ha! Gent, Belgium
10 June Paradiso Amsterdam, Holland
11 June Tivoli Helling Utrecht, Holland
13 June Debaser Stockholm, Sweden
14 June Sticky Fingers Gothenberg, Sweden
16 June Norwegian Wood Oslo, Norway
17 June TBC Finland

Tuatara is back after a long silence, the band recorded around 28 songs last year, and the first batch of them will be presented on June 2007. "East Of The Sun" is the first part of a double disc with the second one being released in October 2007. While all the pervious Tuatara albums where instumental only, this time the songs feature lots of guest vocals including: Mark Olson and Gary Louris of Jayhawks fame, Dean Wareham from Luna, Victoria Williams, Mark Eitzel of American Music Club, John Wesley Harding, Jessy Greene, Adama, Coleman Barks and Scott McCaughey.

No reason to wait till June to hear the record, it is already streaming from the Fasthorse Jukebox

More Info:
Tuatara home page
MySpace
Fast Horse Recordings

Tuatara is celebrating ten years as a band with the release of our fifth studio album titled "East Of The Sun". The album will be released in June of 2007, but you will be able to hear various songs from the 15 song album posted here on our My Space page, and also on the jukebox page of our regular website: Tuatara.com.

We recorded and mixed the album at Studio Litho in Seattle, our home base so to speak. Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey and myself wrote the music, and then we sent the instrumental tracks to the various singers who wrote their own lyrics and then sang them. I was producing the sessions and playing drums, keyboards, and percussion, which kept me quite busy for most of the last half of 2006!
...

This is not my first "Live At The Croc" compact disc experience. Who could forget the Minus-5-doing-MC5 "High School" mayhem (for "the kids") from The World of Dr. Illteams collection? Or the Young Fresh Fellows' "John Agar's Revenge" from Bite Back: Live At The Crocodile Cafe? Commander Anderson indeed finds his finger on the Two-Guitars-Bass-&-Drums button and presses it with purposeful confidence, and it sounds like THAT. After Sgt. Major Kurt Bloch jackboots it into hyperdrive with some slapback tube sauce and bootleg Tang crystals...

Sex, Food, Death and Tarantulas is the new EP from Robyn Hitchcock, the auteur of the highly-acclaimed album Ole! Tarantula, contains six live unreleased tracks including the Soft Boys classic, "Give It to the Soft Boys," Hitchcock solo gems like "Sometimes a Blonde," and the Venus 3's "(A Man's Got to Know His Limitations )Briggs." Also included is two videos for "Adventure Rocketship" from Ole! Tarantula - one live action video and a wistful stop motion animation rendering. In addition to the these extras overflowing from the Ole! Tarantula sessions and tour, keep an eye out for a documentary profiling the psych-popster to air on the Sundance channel which will debut at the SXSW film festival.

...

Scott McCaughey did another solid opening set in Birmingham. As in New Orleans, he played mostly keyboards and was accompanied by drummer Joe Adragna (of the band The Junior League). Although tonight was just their second time performing together, to their credit, Scott and Joe changed up the set a fair bit. Tonight, one of the nuggets we got was The Old Plantation off the Down With Wilco record.

And the Hank Williams cover was also a nice surprise. I can't remember if Scott mentioned Joe telling him that Hank Williams died in Birmingham (which turns out not to be true) or if Joe said that he just spent one of his last nights in Birmingham, not far from the Alabama Theatre (which is true). Either way, it was a neat rendition of the song.

At any rate, the "Minus 2" set went this way:

The Town That Lost Its Groove Supply
My Life as a Creep
Cemetery Row
The Old Plantation
Daggers Drawn
Original Luke (Scott on baritone guitar)
I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive (Scott-guitar) [Hank Williams]
Rifle Called Goodbye
Aw Shit Man (Scott-guitar)

-Paul
Via ViaChicago.org.

Tonight was the first show on this tour that I've gotten to see with Scott McCaughey opening, and since I haven't really seen a lot written about Scott's opening sets, I figured I'd at least post what he played tonight.

It was a treat to hear some songs off the Down With Wilco record, especially Daggers Drawn. And it was totally awesome to hear his version of So Much Wine. Apparently Scott's been playing with different local people each night, so his sets have been changing at least a little bit from night to night. At tonight's show, he had Joe Adragna (of a New Orleans band called The Junior League) with him on drums and background vocals. Scott played mostly keyboard, somewhat surprisingly. On a few numbers, he also played baritone guitar.

Anyway, here was his set:

Rifle Called Goodbye
Twilight Distillery
Daggers Drawn
My Life As A Creep
Original Luke (Scott-guitar)
So Much Wine (Scott-guitar) [Handsome Family]
The Town That Lost Its Groove Supply
The Days of Wine and Booze
Aw Shit Man (Scott-guitar)

-Paul
Via ViaChicago.org.

NEW YORK, Jan. 18 -- Robyn Hitchcock: Sex, Food, Death ... and Insects, a Sundance Channel original production, debuts on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 at 10:00 pm et/pt. Directed by John Edginton (The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story), the hour-long documentary follows British singer/songwriter Hitchcock and band The Venus 3, featuring Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Bill Rieflin (Ministry, REM), and Scott McCaughey (Minus 5, REM, The Young Fresh Fellows), as they spend a week in July of 2006 recording an album of new material at Hitchcock's house in West London. The film captures Hitchcock at work as he adds to his stockpile of wonderfully wry and twisted rock songs. The musical equivalent of black comedy, Hitchcock's songs express a fundamentally dark worldview, energized by droll wit, surreal imagery and a dynamite vocabulary

Robyn Hitchcock and The Venus Three:

Main Set
Adventure Rocket Ship
City of Shame
Ole Tarantula
Sally Was A Legend
New York Doll
The Afterlight
Somewhere Apart
The Underneath
Television
Vibrating
Flesh Number One
Creeped Out American Girl
The Authority Box
Driving Aloud
Madonna of the Wasps
Jewels for Sophia

Encores (with Morris Windsor)
Queen Elvis
See Emily Play
Kingdom of Love
Queen of Eyes
Listening to the Higsons

Thanks to Dime.

Robyn and the venus 3 were joined in Oxford by Mike Mills and Michael Stipe of R.E.M. in the encore.

Adventure Rocket Ship
Afterlife
Sally Was A Legend
Ole Tarantula
City of Shame
If You Were A Priest
NY Doll
Somewhere Apart
Flesh #1
Television
Not Dark Yet
Authority Box
Creeped Out
Driving Aloud (Radio Storm)
Madonna of the Wasps
Jewels For Sophia
Kingdom of Love

1st Encore (enter Michael Stipe & Mike Mills who played Peter Buck's rickenbacker)
Electrolite
Arms of Love
I'm Gonna DJ (new REM song, Mills switched to bass, Scott on guitar)
Listening To The Higsons (Buck on drums, Rieflin bass, Scott guitar, Stipe backing vox, Robyn ditched his guitar)

2nd Encore (with Mike Mills)
Give It To The Soft Boys
Eight Miles High

You can download the torrent of this gig here at dimeadozen.

What a fantabulously wonderful night last night, even my husband declared it's one of the best gigs he's been to. It was a bit short as this venue has a strict 10pm curfew as it becomes a nightclub and people were already queuing outside to come in, so they did all the encores in one sitting to save from wasting time in leaving the stage etc. and there were some huddled discussions about what they could fit in with Bill who appeared to be the only one wearing a watch and was giving them sound checks.

Scott McCaughey (with occasional assistance from those more qualified) will perform the opening set on the mid-sized chunk of Jeff Tweedy's forthcoming southeastern U.S. jaunt. Most likely billed as "McCaughey Minus 5",
the dates are:

JAN. 20 -- Dallas TX, Granada Theater
JAN. 21 -- Marfa TX, Liberty Hall
JAN. 23 & 24 -- Austin TX, Hogg Auditorium, UT
JAN. 26 -- New Orleans LA, House of Blues
JAN. 27 -- Birmingham AL, Alabama Theater
JAN. 29 -- Atlanta GA, The Tabernacle

We reported about this a year ago, seems there is finally a date set for it

from DeSoto Records:

Well, we've been working on this children's compilation record for going on three years and I'm happy to report that it finally has artwork (by the incredibly talented Ian Nagy) and a release date! It is packed with wonderful, upbeat songs that we find as enjoyable as our five-year-old Nick does: you'll laugh, you'll dance, you'll get down on the ground (thanks for the lyric, Mary Timony!). In stores and online here, April 17, 2007!

Bands on PLAY include: Anna Oxygen, Young Fresh Fellows, Mock Orange, Visqueen, Channels w/Damon Locks, Soccer Team (featuring our own mailorder guru Melissa Quinley and Ryan Nelson of Beauty Pill/The Most Secret Method fame), Mirah w/Tara Jane O'Neill, Sgt. Major, Mary Timony, Mudhoney, Supersuckers, Georgie James (John Davis, formerly of Q and Not U, w/Laura Burhenn), The Cassettes, Ben Davis.

YepRoc Records just announced 7 new dates for Robyn Hitchcock with the Venus 3. The tour mainly focus on the South with stops in Nashville, Birmingham, Greenville,...


18 March: Belcourt Theater, Nashville, TN
19 March: The Nick, Birmingham, AL
20 March: Smith's Olde Bar, Atlanta, GA
22 March: Handlebar, Greenville, SC
23 March: Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC
25 March: Ram's Head - Matinee, Annapolis, MD
26 March: World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA

Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 are the musical guests on NBC's Late Night With Conan O'Brien at 12:35 pm (ET) tonight. They will be performing their latest single, "Adventure Rocket Ship."

And on Saturday the 25th, they will play an exclusive In-Store performance at Easy Street records(Queen Anne) in Seattle at 3pm. Later that night they will finish up their North-American tour at the Crocodile Cafe.

Various dates have gone on sale now at some ticket sites in the UK. The scheduled tour would take place from January the 8th till the 21. So far 3 dates been announced:

January 8th: Waterfront, Norwich

January 9th: Carling Academy 2, Birmingham

January 11th: Carling Academy Islington, London

January 12th: Fleece, Bristol

January 13th: Manchester University, Manchester

January 14th: The Boardwalk, Sheffield

January 18th: The Classic Grand, Glasgow

For more info and updates see this thread in the forums

* Thanks to Mathijs, Lucy and Sabine for the info

Last week the Australian/New Zeeland tour of Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 ended, here are a few interviews and reviews: The Sydney Morning Herald, Review of the Sydney Show, dB Magazine, The Beat and The New Zeeland Herald.
The Katoomba show from October 19th is now available on DimeADozen.
...

The boys left Tokyo earlier this week after playing a few great concerts there. You can see some pictures and read some reviews about it here in Tadd IGARASHI blog. You can also read some updates with pictures that Mathijs posted in our forum. Mathijs also was able to record all the shows he went too in Tokyo and will upload them to DimeADozen in the coming days and week. It will also include a DVD from the fan boat party that took place on the last day.
First show is now up at dime.

If You Were a Priest
Sally Was a Legend
Tarantula
Queen of Eyes
Adventure Rocket Ship
N.Y. Doll
I Often dream of trains
Vibrating
Birdshead
Flesh Number One (Beatle Dennis)
Beautiful Queen
Somewhere Apart
Creeped Out
Madonna of the Wasps
(A Man's Gotta Know His Limitations) Briggs
Driving Aloud (Radio Storm)
Encores
Aw, Shit Man
Cigarettes, Coffee, Booze
give it to the soft boys
Queen of Eyes
Acid Bird
8 Miles High
Destroy You

thanks to Thanks Alot we can enjoy the Minus 5 set from Dante's in Portland earlier this week. Along with the usualy songs from the setlist, they also play a nice version of Secret Agent Man.

PURGe blogger went all the way from Pittsburgh to Spain for the Azkena Rock festival, you can read his lengty review, with a great read about the fellows in his blog.

And Scott busy as always, guested during a secret Decemberist gig on their cover of Jefferson Airplane’s “Wooden Ships.” Read the full recap here.

The Minus 5 that will roll into Portland for a show at Dante's may not resemble the group that would have played in town a decade ago.

Back then, The Minus 5 was a true side project for frontman Scott McCaughey, who spent most of his time in the critically acclaimed band the Young Fresh Fellows.

It gave singer/multi-instrumentalist McCaughey a vehicle for songs that were too introspective and restrained to fit the exuberant power pop of the Young Fresh Fellows.

Over The Sea
Mary Lou
Dear My Inspiration
The Town That Lost Its Groove Supply
Out There On The Maroon
Secret Agent Man
I'm Not Bitter
Courage Is The Smallest Bird
Hillbilly Drummer Girl
Lies Of The Living Dead
With A Gun
This Rifle Called Goodbye
Twilight Distillery
Timebomb Highschool
Lyrical Stance
In A Lonely Coffin
Aw Shit, Man
Strychnine

The Minus 5 were in fine form, and there was a camera crew on hand to capture their show (along with Kurt, Mary, Jennifer and I bouncing and singing along maniacally) I never did find out who or what they were filming for, but if anyone does, I wouldn't mind seeing it.

I snagged a setlist. It's kind of innacurate order-wise but it's fairly close.

Over the Sea
Aw Shit Man
Rest O World

For thos who will be attending the concerts of Robyn and The Minus 5, here is the complete itinerary



06 Oct - FAB acoustic gig
Robyn and Minus 5
http://www.fab-web.net/

07 Oct - FAB
Robyn and Minus 5 with Morgan Fisher
http://www.fab-web.net/

08 Oct - FAB
Robyn and Minus 5 with Morgan Fisher
http://www.fab-web.net/

09 Oct -
Bob Dylan Summit - Robyn and Scott with other Japanese artists
http://www.flying-dc.com/bds/dylan.html

10 Oct - Fan party on the boat/Tokyo Bay
Robyn and Venus 3 with Glenn Tilbrook
http://www.mplant.com/robyn/boat/index.html

You can find an amusing comic/storyboard for the Adventure Rocket Ship song here

"I didn't really think I was starting a band."

Call these the famous last words of Scott McCaughey: founding frontman of the dead-but-not-buried Young Fresh Fellows, R.E.M. sideman-extraordinaire for more than a decade, supporting cast member of Tuatara and backing musician for Robyn Hitchcock — in short, a busy, busy man who has somewhat accidentally led a rotating cast of musical characters through seven full-length albums, a handful of EPs and countless tour dates under the catch-all moniker of the Minus 5.

Young Fresh Fellows
Azkena Festival
Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain 8-31-06

Rock 'n' Roll Pest Control
Middle Man of Time
I Don't Let the Little Things Get Me Down
Taco Wagon
Picture Book
How Much About Last Night Do You Remember?
99 Girls
Still There's Hope
Two Guitars, Bass and Drums
Equator Blues
I Got My Mojo Workin' (And I Thought You'd Like To Know)
Hillbilly Drummer Girl
My Friend Ringo
Fan Club
Backroom of the Bar
Ain't It Alright (NRBQ)
Sittin' On A Pitchfork
Your Truth, Our Lies
Topsy Turvy Theme
Young Fresh Fellows Theme
Strychnine

Pictures can be found here and here on flickr
*EDIT 17 September 2006
Even more pictures here (thanks to Karen Hoffmann)

So. The need machine. eh... I said they were like Spinal Tap, minus the funny. Fitz said if it were 1982 they would have been really innovative.

The Paul Lynde Fan Club. There's really only one word: awesome. Actually, say it about 5 times and you'll get the awesomeness that is the Paul Lynde Fan Club. They play in a straightline (dead moon style) with the drummer as the lead singer. They have songs about Diebold, Freaks and Geeks, Yoda, and one called Nuge On (Get Your). It was their CD release party, so we bought the record and tried to convince the band to come to Portland.

The Fellows. Last night marked the first time I ever saw Tad's Wok live. By the end of the night, he had some red marks on his face.

"Little kids bring zucchini and stay all day" is one of the best lines in rock

Robyn Hitchock and the Venus 3

OLÉ! TARANTULA:
1. Adventure Rocket Ship
2. Underground Sun
3. Museum of Sex
4. Belltown Ramble
5. Olé! Tarantula
6. (A Man’s Gotta Know His Limitations) Briggs
7. Red Locust Frenzy
8. ‘Cause It’s Love (Saint Parallelogram)
9. The Authority Box
10. N.Y. Doll

Release dates:

US on October 3 through Yeproc Records [CD & LP]
Europe on October 2 through Proper Records [CD]
Japan on September 13 through Oak Tree Records [CD]

The Japanes record comes with an extra track: Embryo Twirl.

9 August - Woodland Park Zoo Amphitheatre, Seattle, WA

Hillbilly Drummer Girl [Young Fresh Fellows]
In a Lonely Coffin
Out There on the Maroon
I'm Not Bitter
Got You
Hotel Senator
Cigarettes Coffee and Booze
With A Gun
...

Some good soul was so kind to tape the Minus 5 show last weekend at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle. You can download the show here. It's a very good audience recording. Please don't make any MP3 version of this recording available for download or sharing.

The John Wesley Harding show from the same night is also recorded, but by John request this can only be shared after the new album comes out(7 new songs were debuted), so we will have to wait till early next year until this recording surfaces.

John Wesley Harding, Robert Lloyd & Minus 5
5 August 2006 - Tractor Tavern, Seattle, WA

01. Top of the Bottom @
02. The People's Drug *
03. In Paradise *
04. The Red Rose and the Briar
05. Sleeper, Awake
06. Do Not Fear the Dark
07. Here Comes the Groom *
08. Save a Little Room For Me *
09. Still Photo *
10. Humble Bee *
11. My Favourite Angel (false start)
12. My Favourite Angel !$
13. Love or Nothing !$
14. Oh! Pandora !$
25. Daylight Ghosts !$
26. Congratulations (On Your Hallucinations) !$
17. Someday, Son !$
18. The End !$
============
19. Twilight Distillery !^


Wesley Stace (vox, guitar)
* w/ Robert Lloyd (mandolin, accordion, keyboard)
@ w/ Lloyd, Peter Buck (bass, guitar), Scott McCaughey (backup vox, guitar)
! w/ Lloyd, Buck, McCaughey, Kurt Bloch (guitar), Bill Rieflin (skins)
^ w/ John Ramberg (backup vox, guitar)
$ First time played

In A Lonely Coffin
The Forgotten Fridays
Out There on the Maroon
I'm Not Bitter
Cigarettes Coffee and Booze
Hillbilly Drummer Girl [Young Fresh Fellows]
With A Gun
Got You
My Life As A Creep
Courage is the Smallest Bird
Carmelita [Warren Zevon]
Hotel Senator
Lies of the Living Dead
Time Bomb High School [Reigning Sound]
Aw Shit Man

The Tripwires, the new band of John Ramberg(vocals/guitar), with Jim Sangster from the Young Fresh Fellows and Sgt. Major on Bass, Johnny Sangster on guitar/ vocals and Mark Pickerel on drums finally have a website: www.thetripwires.com. You can find some links about the members, see some pictures and find out where they play next. They also have a track "I hear this music" up for download. And at their myspace website you can listen to 3 more. So check them out when you can, and hopefully we see a CD release pretty soon.

Scott & Peter

Aw Shit, Man
There Is No Music
Ambiguity Song (Camper Van Beethoven cover?)
Backroom of the Bar
Old Carving Knife (apparantly, a new Tuatara song)
The Town That Lost Its Groove Supply
Cigarettes, Coffee, and Booze
Odds n Ends
World Of Eggs
Find A Finger
All The Time
I Wish I Was Your Mother

The Young Fresh Fellows will play on Saturday August 19 at The Crocodile Cafe in Seattle. Opening bands will be "Paul Lynde Fanclub" and "The Need Machine". Later in the month the Fellows will also be playing the Spanish "Azkena Festival" in Vittoria, Spain.

“What makes this record for me is the musicians I was able to gather,” says Robyn Hitchcock of Olé Tarantula, a surreal vision and Technicolor celebration of life — from its inception and the whole catastrophe of it — till its groovy decay and inevitable last breath.
“To me, the whole record is sadness cloaked in fun. But under that fun, more sadness,” says Hitchcock.

Such seeming contradictions are what make Hitchcock a credible narrator to his incredible kingdom of song, the one he’s built on a foundation of dreamlike, whimsical, tragic comedy and set to gorgeous and slightly askew melodies for the last 30 years. In Hitchcock’s universe, adventure rocket ships, exploding, twist-off heads and crawling things are the norm, as are supersonic harmonies and an ever-present chiming guitar sound. Through the years, those heavenly refrains, the harmonicas and the hilarity conspired and drew a blueprint for alternative pop as we know it. Is it any wonder he attracts stellar company when he settles in to make a record?

A few more gigs have been added to the summer schedule of the Minus 5, the boys will open for Los Lobos while they visit the Pacific Northwest during their current world tour.
Dates are as follows.

9 August - Woodland Park Zoo Amphitheatre, Seattle, WA -- SOLD OUT!
10 August - Cuthbert Amphitheatre, Eugene, OR
11 August - Bite of Oregon, Portland, OR*
*Festival date

Another date has been added to the Japanese tour in October. The Minus 5 and Robyn Hitchcock will now also play on the 6th at the FAB Club in Tokyo. Note that this will be an acoustic gig.

After Japan Robyn Hitchcock and the Minus 3 will fly to Australia and play a couple of dates there

October '06
Friday 13 Fly By Night - Fremantle - WA
Saturday 14 The Gov - Adelaide - SA
Monday 16 The Spiegeltent - Melbourne - Vic
Tuesday 17 Melbourne Uni - Vic
Wednesday 18 The Basement, Sydney - Vic
Thursday 19 The Clarendon, Katoomba - NSW
Friday 20 The Rose, Torquay - Vic
Sat 21 St Andrews, St Andrews - Vic
Sunday 22 The Northcote Social Club, Northcote - Vic

My sister and I arrived back early this morning from Colchester. We finally got see, not one, but two Minus 5 shows. Our first ones and we had a wonderful time - the shows were fabulous.

Because we were staying over, we managed to have a few drinks, well a lot of drinks actually, at the Dingwalls show. The set list included Ghost Tarts of Stockholm, The Town that Lost It's Groove Supply, Hotel Senator, My Retrival of you, Rifle Called Goodbye, In a Lonely Coffin, Out There on the Maroon, I'm Not Bitter (my favourite), My Life as a Creep, With a Gun, Courage is the Smallest Bird, Where Will You Go, Dear My Inspiration, You Don't Mean It, All the Time, Mary Lou, Lies of the Living Dead, Days of Wine and Booze, Aw Shit Man - and Teenage Kicks was indeed played too at some point.

There are 2 people here who won't forget this day.

Another sunny day in scorching scandinavia. I take advantage of the buffet breakfast to sneak a cheese roll and hard boiled egg into my bag for the train trip and then head out for a quick walk around time, stopping for a hoover cake and espresso at the 'old biddies cafe' in the Haga.

Arriving at the station i realise i have no money, so i change my danish remnants for swedish so i can have another espresso while i wait and also treat myself in the buffet car as we hurtle towards Norway. It's all planned. Sally had skipped sweden to cruise from copenhagen to oslo and will have found a place to eat, the train gets in around 4.45pm, so it'll be off to the hotel, meet sally, then food and gig. Perfect.

I went to the Wireless Festival in Leeds yesterday - predominantly to see the boys and my husband was keen to see The Who.

We had a fabulous day, the boys were on the second stage which was inside a big marquee, but the sound and lighting looked rather better than the main stage. We could see them setting up at the side of the stage when previous bands were on and Bill was setting up his own drum kit, then Scott and Peter were wandering in and out of the tent and onto the stage etc. and they watched Bob Mould from the side of the stage.

Robyn Hitchcock & The Minus 3
London - Wireless Festival - Hyde Park
June 22nd 2006

01 - If You Were A Priest
02 - Acid Bird
03 - Ole Tarantula
04 - Adventure Rocket Ship
05 - Sally Was A Legend
06 - Beautiful Queen
07 - Queen Of Eyes


This set was recorded by Matthijs van Geldere and is being shared on the torrent site dimeadozen.org

Cigarettes Coffee and Booze
My Life As A Creep
The Town That Lost Its Groove Supply
Myrna Loy
Wouldn't Want To Care
One Bar At A Time
Desperate For Someone
Moonshine Girl
That Smell (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)
With A Gun
I Still Miss Someone
Aw Shit Man

Scott and Peter at Mississippi Studios opening for Tim Easton

Here are a couple of solo dates Scott will be doing in the next couple of days and weeks. On June 1 Scott will be doing support for Tim Easton at the Mississippi Studios in Portland.
On June 16 he will be performing in San Francisco's 12 Galaxies at "Parkerpalooza" which features Kelley Stoltz (with special guests Spiral Stairs and Scott Mcaughey), Oranger, Enablers, Scott Mcaughey, Ezee Tiger and Cheetah Speed (ex Zen Guerilla).
And on August 4 he will be the support for John Wesley Harding at the Mississippi Studios.

-A second and final Minus 5 date in the UK has been added, they will perform at the "Colchester Arts Centre" in Colchester on July 11. We reported previously The Minus 5 will play Dingwalls in London on July 10, and this is right after the tour of the Minus 3 backing up Robyn Hitchcock.
-Robyn and the Minus 5 will also going to Japan later this year, playing two shows in Tokyo on October 8 and 9 at the Fab Club.
-On August 5, The Minus 5 will be opening for John Wesley Harding at the Tractor Tavern
in Seattle.
-And last but not least, the Young Fresh Fellows will be playing the Azkena Festival in Vittoria, Spain on August 31. And It’s really confirmed this year.

After the "Robyn Hitchcock and the Minus 3" tour "The Minus 5" will perform in London. John Ramberg will fly over for this show and join the band for their show at Dingwalls, which was the scene of a legendary concert in 2001 by the Four Croakers (Scott McCaughey, Ken Stringfellow, Robyn Hitchcock and Mike Mills.) There might be a second date added on July 11, but that still has to be decided upon.
More info on the Japanese tour of Robyn Hitchcock and The Minus 5 will follow later. Also stay tuned for a possible Robyn Hitchcock and The Minus 3 tour in Australia.

Two evenings with Bill Rieflin and Peter Buck: Last week at the Tractor, the two full-time members of R.E.M. powered the Minus 5, fronted by former Young Fresh Fellow Scott McCaughey, through a set of non sequitur originals and garage-rock classics. The energy level was a notch or two below a furniture-breaking party, but it was probably the best frat-rock being played anywhere in Seattle that night.

This past October, the pair joined to create a much different sound when Rieflin's Slow Music sextet played three sets at the Crocodile. Rieflin, a veteran of the Telepaths and the Blackouts, not to mention industrial rockers Ministry, gave up his seat behind the drum kit to Matt Chamberlain to explore echoing piano chords and synthesizer textures, while Buck's folky clangor gave way to something more subtle, and King Crimson/Bowie vet Robert Fripp added "triggered sounds" to his trademark guitar whir. The sense of open space in the music recalled—without sounding like—'70s Miles Davis, or the long, inexorable build of an Art Ensemble of Chicago performance.

Seems they will be playing in October in Japan, according to the Music Plant website. Two dates are listed, October 7 in Nara and October 8th in Tokyo. Both those dates will be with Robyn Hitchcock.

Mississippi Studios is a cool place. Think about seeing a concert in your living room with about 100 of your friends. Its got a very small stage and an eclectic mix of theater chairs, benches, church pews, and bar stools. PBR is just two dollars and out in the backyard they show popeye cartoons on the side of the building next door.

When not busy with his band Young Fresh Fellows or his other band R.E.M. or his other band Tuatara, Scott McCaughey keeps himself busy with his side project, The Minus 5.

For each of its seven albums, he has recruited an entourage of rock elites, including most recently Jeff Tweedy, Colin Meloy, Sean Nelson, Ken Stringfellow, Kelly Hogan, Glen Kotche, John Wesley Harding and on and on and on.

Basically, those who cannot get enough of making music have found their way into the studio to try to keep up with the restless McCaughey (pronounced "McCoy").

Then there's the touring. Again, McCaughey keeps it real by recruiting rock veterans from his private cabal, most often Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Bill Rieflin (Ministry, KMFDM) and John Ramberg (Model Rockets).

by John Kenyon - PopMatters

It was 1989, and the Replacements seemed poised for stardom. The band's second major label disc, Don't Tell a Soul, was slick and radio ready. They were on MTV, occasionally on the radio. Finally, the only band that mattered was about to break through.

With that in mind, it seemed unbelievably cool that, in the liner notes for the disc, in small type at the very bottom, were the letters "LLYFF." Newcomers who liked the cut of Tommy Stinson's jib in the video for "I'll Be You" probably thought it was some sort of record company code. But for longtime fans it was a code of another sort: "Long Live Young Fresh Fellows." That band of Seattle goof-rock misfits had accompanied the 'Mats on a recent tour, following the ultimate endorsement issued by Paul Westerberg two years earlier, telling Creem: "If you think we're good, they're the best band in the world."

from robynhitchcock.com

June
22 Hyde Park Wireless Festival London
23 TBA
24 Cannon Hill Park 'Open Air MAC Theatre' Birmingham
25 Harewood House Wireless Festival Leeds
July
4 Loppen Copenhagen
5 Tredgarn Accelerator Festival Goteborg
6 Rockerfeller Oslo
7 Peace & Love Festival Accelerator Stage Borlange, Sweden
9 Oxfordshire Folk Festival Cornbury

Now that the tour is over, new dates are coming in. The way it looks, there will be another European tour of Robyn Hitchcock with the Minus Three. And this time they will not limit themselves to the UK, but seems they will go as far as Scandinavia, with one date already confirmed, July 6th Rockefeller Music Hall, Norway. And possibly 2 more dates in Sweden to follow. In the UK they will not only play the Wireless Festival, but now also The Cornbury Festival have confirmed them for Sunday July 9th.

Last week Scott was interviewed backstage at their Philadelphia show for the Philly-based internet radio station Y100Rocks.com. The interview will air this Tuesday(April 4th) afternoon at 3pm ET, and you can listen to it here

And here are some pictures that people send me in the last few weeks of the Minus 5 tour.
Thanks to all contributors

In A Lonely Coffin
The Forgotten Fridays
Out There On The Maroon
I'm Not Bitter
Cigs, Coffee & Booze
Courage Is The Smallest Bird
Little Black Egg
...

REMhq

R.E.M played a blistering version of "Country Feedback" near the end of the Minus Five's show at the Georgia Theatre in Athens tonight. Mike, Michael and Bill joined Peter on stage after a brief intermission in the Minus Five's set and, along with Scott McCaughey and Bill Rieflin who played percussion, treated the crowd to the "Out of Time" track which has become a live fan favorite over the years. Mike played keyboard while Bill played bass.

In A Lonely Coffin
The Forgotten Fridays
Out There On The Maroon
I'm Not Bitter
My Life As A Creep
Dear My Inspiration
With A Gun
...

1. Ghost Tarts Of Stockholm
2. The Town That Lost It's Groove Supply
3. Out There On The Maroon
4. I'm Not Bitter
5. Hotel Senator
6. Twilight Distillery
7. Retrieval Of You
...

Alan Sculley - Flagpole Magazine

The Minus 5 that rolls into Athens for a show this week at the Georgia Theatre may not resemble the group that would have played in town a decade ago. Back then, the Minus 5 was a true side project for frontman Scott McCaughey, who spent most of his time in the critically acclaimed band the Young Fresh Fellows. The Minus 5 gave singer/ multi-instrumentalist McCaughey a vehicle for songs that were too introspective and restrained to fit alongside the exuberant power pop of the Young Fresh Fellows.

In recent years, the Young Fresh Fellows have gotten together only for occasional live shows (although McCaughey says there is talk of making a new Fellows album). As a result, the Minus 5 has undergone a personality makeover that McCaughey says has blurred the once clear musical distinction between the two bands.

By ED MASLEY - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

There's always been a playful "Let the Bad Times Roll" philosophy guiding the records once-and-future Young Fresh Fellow Scott McCaughey has written for The Minus 5, a pop collective he started as a side project with R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck in 1993.

But there may be a darker-than-usual vision at work on the Minus 5's new album. And it goes beyond the handgun on the cover or the gunplay in the lyrics. The opening track of the self-titled effort, a devastating breakup ballad titled "Rifle Called Goodbye," sets the stage for a brutally honest account of relationships going to hell, from the furious blues-punk attack of a track whose title can't be printed here to "My Life as a Creep," in which he wraps the album's sweetest melody around the lyric "I just hope one day you understand I'm not supremely evil and I can be better than I am."

Washington Post

To those who were turned away at the door at Iota, where the Minus 5 played to a sold-out crowd Saturday: Not to be cruel, but it was a night of insanely infectious power pop delivered by a quartet that played together as tightly as a fitted bedsheet. Beatlesque harmonies, melodies played under melodies -- and a killer rhythm section more familiar with arenas than honky-tonks: drummer Bill Rieflin from Ministry and REM bassist Peter Buck.

And the cult favorite Silos opened.

You should have got there earlier.

Singer-songwriter Scott McCaughey, who founded the Minus 5 in 1993 as a side project from Young Fresh Fellows, played his electric guitar and sang "My Life as a Creep," "Days of Wine and Booze" and "Retrieval of You" (aka the "D.J. Minimart" song) with old-fashioned rock-and-roll fervor. Guitarist John Ramberg seemingly could do no wrong as he blended furious riffs from the poppy '60s with those from the post-punk '90s. Rieflin kept the beat fast and fun, and Buck was the calm in the storm, playing basic, dynamic rock bass with an unwavering grin that was as infectious as the music.

The night got off to a swift and powerful start with the Silos, the seminal alt-country band founded in the mid-1980s by singer-songwriter Walter Salas-Humara. The trio was made up of just bass and drum and Salas-Humara on electrified acoustic guitar and vocals, but the sound filled the room with catchy melodies and thoughtful lyrics.

-- Buzz McClain

According to the eFestivals site, Robyn Hitchcock and the Minus 3(Scott Bill and Peter) will return to the UK to play the Wireless Festival on Thursday the 22nd June in London and in Leeds Sunday 25th June.

Other acts performing the same day in London are David Gray, KT Tunstall, Violent Femmes, Fun Lovin' Criminals, The B-52's and Missy Higgins. In Leeds they will join The Who, Flaming Lips, Super Furry Animals, The Zutons, and Eels.

More date will most likely follow.

Thanks to Mathijs for the news

AUSTIN, Texas - Scott McCaughey is feeling sinister.

Taking to an outdoor stage on a sunny afternoon at the South by Southwest Music Festival, the leader of the Minus 5 is dressed in black, from cowboy hat down. The frizzy-haired, 51-year-old rocker smiles from behind dark shades and a devilish Van Dyke. The words emblazoned on his guitar strap - Doctor of Evil - suggest he's up to no good.

McCaughey (pronounced McCoy) will bring the Minus 5, including R.E.M.'s Peter Buck on bass, to World Cafe Live in Philadelphia on Wednesday.

In Texas, he performed before a multigenerational crowd in the backyard of the Austin roadhouse Threadgill's, at the Roky Erickson Ice Cream Social, held to honor the leader of the Thirteenth Floor Elevators, who, McCaughey proudly says, once autographed his Les Paul.

Another recording of this tour made it out in the open. This time the Cleveland show of last week got posted on etree this time. Thanks to taper Benjamin Galizio. Highlights are a version of 'Boeing Spacearium' and a cover of Neil Young's 'Don't Be Denied'.

23 March 2006 - Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH
Setlist:
Dear My Inspiration
The Town That Lost Its Groove Supply
Twilight Distillery
Boeing Spacearium >
Courage Is The Smallest Bird
...

The Minus 5 are well underway in their tour through the US, and now that John Ramberg joined the band again they are back in full rocking mode. As you can judge by the setlists and live bootlegs on Dimeadozen.

Dogstar provide us with the set list for 400 Bar in Minneapolis

In A Lonely Coffin
Dear My Inspiration
You Don't Mean It
Out There On The Maroon
Hotel Senator
Forgoten Fridays
Where Will You Go?
The Days Of Wine and Booze
...

As modest as he is, Scott McCaughey would be the first to tell you that he's nothing special. Certainly, it can be argued that there's plenty of musicians around that can somehow re-create the melodies swirling about in their noggins well enough for other people to appreciate them, too. But how many musicians do you know of serve as sidemen in one of the world's most popular bands almost as an afterthought to fronting three critically acclaimed groups of their own? I know of just one.

For someone old enough to remember the Topsy Turvy days with a smile, it's sobering to think that McCaughey, utility infielder for Athens, GA/Seattle, WA barnstormers R.E.M. and an eternally Young Fresh Fellow, has been making brilliant records for almost 25 years now; even he would have trouble counting them all.

When McCaughey finally decides to sit a spell (in about 30 years), his new endeavor - the self-titled Yep Roc CD The Minus Five (aka The Gun Album) - will probably be near the top of the huge pile of discs at his feet. With R.E.M. on a year-long hiatus, McCaughey, Peter Buck, Bill Rieflin and John Ramberg have seized the opportunity to reassemble as the Five, with a fantastic, Beatles-meet-Buffalo Springfield-meet-the Byrds disc in tow that features a wet-dream team of guest contributors.

Just off the plane from a UK jaunt with Robyn Hitchcock, McCaughey recently rang me up to tell me all about it. The Minus Five has always seemed to me to be Seattle's version of the Golden Palominos. It kind of started that way, for sure. I guess we've had less trade-off on the lead vocals than the Palominos, because I've mostly sung 'em. Though I do try to get other people to sing a song now and then, I succeed about once per album. It started out with me recording with whomever - my friends, people I'd meet on the road - but it's more like a real band now, with other people added in here and there.

The Minus 5 didn't show at Opal Devine's by 4 pm and the Gram parson's Tribute was long over, so we left. If they showed up later well, then we just missed them.

We did manage to get into the Continental Club last night.

Set list, with probable errors as I've had about 5 hours sleep.

In a Lonely Coffin
Out there on the maroon
Hillbily Drumer Girl
Little Black egg
Cigarettes Coffee and Booz
My Life as a creep
Twilight Distillery
Hotel Senator
With a Gun
Dear Employer
I'm Not Bitter
Lyrical Stance
Days of wine and booze
I Still Miss Someone
Aw Shit Man
Lies Of The Living Dead
Strychnine

They had to quit at 2:15 a.m. when the bars close. John Ramberg was not there due to a death in the family. They had various other guitarists and vocalists help out during the show. Don't know all the names - Steve Wynn (Winn?) was one. Someone from Elf Power too.
-Lucy

Brewery Records has just released a Nick Lowe tribute CD, LOWE PROFILE: A Tribute to Nick Lowe, a 2 disc release that covers songs from his Brinsley Schwarz years, his recordings with Rockpile, and his solo releases, up through and includi