Administrators sam_webmaster Posted October 15, 2009 Administrators Share Posted October 15, 2009 http://www.arthurmag...rooked-vultures MUSIC IS NEVER WRONG A visit with Them Crooked Vultures' Josh Homme and John Paul Jones Interview by Jay Babcock Posted: October 15, 2009 Them Crooked Vultures is a new band comprised of guitarist-vocalist Joshua Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss), bassist John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), drummer Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana) and guitarist Alain Johannes (Eleven), with Jones and Johannes also playing other instruments. These guys really don't need an introduction so you won't be getting one here. What's interesting is what they're doing: Vultures have spent much of this year together, writing and recording music in a Los Angeles studio, and are now touring without having officially released a note of the music they've recorded. No album, no single, no YouTube video, no leak, no official photos, no nothing: the only way to hear Them Crooked Vultures is to see them live. In some ways, it's an echo of the Eric Clapton-Steve Winwood-Ginger Baker supergroup Blind Faith, who did a similar thing in 1969, touring ahead of their album's release, selling out tours on the strength of their collective pedigree. But unlike Blind Faith, who hedged their bets by including renditions of songs from their old bands, Vultures are performing 80 or so minutes of new Vultures music every night: no Zeppelin covers, no Queens jams, no standards. As Homme says onstage on the night I first see them play, it's a "social experiment" as much as a musical one, and to the audience's credit, there was not a single shouted request that I could hear for something other than what the band was playing: Vultures' blind faith is being rewarded. Perhaps this is down to a collective solidarity with the idea of the independent musician, or a real interest in simply unfamiliar music by trusted faves—or maybe it's because most of the songs presented on Monday night were strong on first listen, and if listener's fatigue inevitably set in at some point due to the continued ear-pummeling, then you could just stand there and behold the wonder of 63-year-old John Paul Jones, shoulders bobbing, at the helm of his instrument, smiling with pleasure at Dave Grohl as yet another propulsive, post-"Immigrant' Song"/"In the Evening" bassline locked in with Grohl's powerhouse thumping and a distinctively Homme guitar riff. Interestingly, Grohl's drumkit was not on the riser usually associated with big-time rock bands, which I'm sure disappointed some Foo Fighters fans, but it had the crucial benefit of placing the musicians nearer each other, allowing them to create a more cohesive sound in the midst of so much volume; as John Paul Jones said after the show, "I can feel Dave's kick-drum that way," and from his smile, you know that's as much for his benefit as the audience's. Smiles. The amount of smiling between the Vultures onstage, as well as the sheer caliber of playing, reminded me of Shakti, the Indian-Western supergroup led by English master guitarist John McLaughlin and Indian tabla genius Zakir Hussain that fuses classical Indian music with Western jazz. I'm not talking about laughs between songs, or witty stage banter, although with Josh Homme at the microphone you're always going to get that, but the smiles that occur in the midst of the music: the joy that emerges spontaneously in the midst of collective creativity, usually marking some new discovery or progress, or a new threshold being crossed, or something just feeling fundamentally good. In the last two decades of loud guitar music, this kind of uncontrived on-stage joy has been far too rare—outside of Ween shows, of course, and gee wasn't that the Deaner himself backstage with the champagne on Monday night? Anyways. Josh, who I've interviewed before, and who headlined the second night of ArthurBall in 2006 as half of The 5:15ers (a duo he has with longtime collaborator Chris Goss), invited me to talk with him and John Paul Jones in the band's dressing room just prior to their set at Philadelphia's Electric Factory on October 12, 2009. Here's how the conversation went… Arthur Magazine: Josh, when you put out the last Queens of the Stone Age record [2007's Era Vulgaris] you were talking about the era that we were living in, that our generation was one that had almost too much possibility—over-possibility, that it was a period of decadence, and so forth— Josh Homme: That's right. The Soft Pink era. Arthur: [laughs] So what era are we in now? Homme: We're in the Moist Towelette Wiping era, post-orgiastic feeding. I was talking to my wife and she said, I wish we didn't have to have cel phones anymore. And I said, like a naïve jerkoff, Well you don't have to have them. That was my answer. And she was, Yeah, we do. Everyone you know does. That's what we do. There's been a societal push for it. I thought about it, and yeah it's really only been about six years or seven years, of this almost…attack. I'm not trying to be [old man voice] 'Get off my lawn!' about it, but it's very strange… I've definitely come to the mind that the lamest invention in the history of mankind is the Internet. It has all the promise of something great—as a lure to stick porn up your ass. That part is great—don't get me wrong, I like jerking off as much as the next guy—I'm a musician [laughs], I'm a guitar player! But I just find it strange. That shiny pretty light: I can't help but stare at it either, you know? Arthur: You know the Borg from Star Trek? I just feel like everybody wants to be assimilated, bit by bit. We're all carrying machines around— [Dave Grohl walks up, shirtless] Except for this guy. Homme: [to Grohl] What are you doing, just walking around naked? Dave Grohl [assuming persona of the blissfully ignorant, positioning Grohl groin distressingly near Arthur correspondent's face]: What are you guys talking about? How's your interview? Homme: Getting a little hot right now… [Grohl wanders off talking about his belly button.] Arthur [regrouping]: You were talking about gazing at the light of the computer screen. Doesn't that go back to sitting round the campfire, and then the first shadow puppets, and then you have the projected image in the movie theater— Homme: Well it all makes sense, how it gets to where we are now…this grand thing that we're all… [pauses, redirects] Whenever someone says, 'We're all one,' I've always been like 'No we're not, and that's what's great, so stop saying that or everyone's gonna start believing you.' But yeah, as we all look at the same projection on the wall, we do become one, and I started to realize the horror of that. And I make no attempt to try to alter it from being that; my thing is more about trying to apply some principles of magic—how to walk between the raindrops—and take advantage of a situation like that, because it's the only choice you have. Arthur: In terms of getting around this alienated, Internet-age thing, you guys are doing something really interesting right now with this band, You're insisting on a live, immediate experience and by playing music that no one's heard before. Homme: My years of reading P.T. Barnum is finally coming into play. [snaps fingers] This notion of saying nothing, of keeping a secret, and doing it in a way that's not elitist but that's like, You wanna come in here and hear? [whispers] We have a secret. That's all that I can tell you. But you're involved. You know? Homme: And I like this notion of people having to listen. And for us to work out our things too: I mean, this is certainly the hardest music I've ever played! Not intentionally, but it was written in the studio, and it's, Ah, ah, oh! [gestures trying desperately to play guitar notes] But it's been great. Sold-out tour… Arthur: : Do you even have to put out an album? Homme: No. Not necessarily. That's an excellent… That's why I asked for you! That's an interesting… [looks at John] Arthur [repeating question]: Do you have to put out an album, at all? John Paul Jones: Ah… [laughs] Arthur: I don't mean to corner you— John Paul Jones: [laughs] Theoretically, no. I mean— Homme: That's a really interesting idea, actually…. John Paul Jones: [considering] Yeah. I take the idea that when we do put the album out, that it be an entirely different set of songs—[Josh laughs]—so that nobody will ever know what they're about to hear. Homme: I think that's an extremely intelligent and highly manipulative idea, but I'm too stupid for stuff like that, to take it to that length. Because really, I want people to get excited about it. Although I hate the notion that we all should be one, I do like to gather, you know? [laughs] I like to be the reason behind someone's good time. Or a part of someone's good time. Because my actual desires are exactly what the internet and all these things are catering to: I like dumb, bonehead stuff—done eloquently. Like my grandpa used to say, You can always pretend to be stupider than you are, but you can never pretend to be smarter than you are. And this notion of scraping the bottom on purpose? That's exciting. That doesn't mean I'm smart—it just means I'm not touching the bottom at all times. And so, putting out records is a way to share that… Arthur: I guess you could put out vinyl only— Homme: Yeah. We are putting out a double record for sure on vinyl. There may even be a third half-side… Arthur: You could put engraved art on the rest… Homme: Yeah, like a picture disk…. [chuckles] Arthur: You don't need my suggestions, you've always got secret stuff you put in there… Homme: I love the trail of breadcrumbs. Because you should be able to be a bonehead and get it and then also, if you're someone that listens deeper then just going to the bank, you know, then there should be something there for you. And really, that's who I'm always playing to. That way you have something to [whispers] whisper about… Arthur: I like this idea of wanting to be the reason, or a part of, somebody having a good time. Homme: Even though I don't feel like a joiner, it's good to feel like you're being part of a community. I certainly like that. And I'll take the 'ignorance is bliss' community over anything, because I long for the days of being both! [laughs] Arthur: The funny thing is your Queens songs are not good-times songs, lyrically. Homme: I know, I know— Arthur: [playfully] What's your problem? Homme: Uh….You know what— Arthur: You know what I mean? You're inviting all these people to come down here and have a good time but you're singing… It's always been darkness with you! Homme: Yeah, I don't know… The thing is that… Music is the best way that I know to say the things that are difficult to say in English. Words get in the way sometimes. They're so goddamned… interpretive? [laughs] Just… say, the difference between "badass" being a badass and having a bad ass is just so overwhelming, it's so hard to reconcile…. But music is never wrong. You might not like it, but it's never wrong. It's such a great way of explaining stuff. Arthur: I guess what I'm getting at is, Do you wish you could be Jesse [Hughes, Josh's partner in party-rock band Eagles of Death Metal]? Homme: Well, I am Jesse. Arthur: [laughs] I always forget that. John Paul Jones [to Homme]: There's definitely a little Jesse in you— Arthur: I mean Jesse the lyricist. Homme: Well, I am. Arthur: I forgot that too. Homme: Jesse is the most vain and insecure person I know. I love him. He changes costumes literally six or seven times a day. It's great as a viewer to see that many outfits. However…he and I have always worked really closely together and I think that's why this musical schizophrenia has developed. Arthur: [laughs] I'm just saying, you don't wear a cape onstage, and Jesse does. Homme: No. But I do wear the underwear. At all times. [laughter But] I think, really, I want to be in a band that plays the greatest mixtape of all time, basically, but it's difficult to fling so many styles at people, even though they're listening to all styles of music. Arthur: You've always talked about that, actually… Homme: That's my dream. That radio station called The Good Shit. John Paul Jones: It used to be like that. FM underground radio used to be like that. They'd play Zeppelin and they'd play Otis Redding immediately afterwards. Homme: Because that makes a hundred percent sense. Because they're both good. This notion that they have to sound similar is crazy to me. Arthur: Someone pointed out to me, you know how computers will draw up a playlist of songs or artists you haven't heard from what you have. But whatever you plug in there, especially if it's a diverse group of distinctive artists—Otis Redding, Captain Beefheart, Diamanda Galas—if you run the algorithm enough times, all it does is move you to the center. It doesn't run around the edge. It keeps trying to find similar things in terms of style until it gets down to a mush. Homme: That's a vanilla-ator. [laughter] Arthur: People keep saying, you can just sit at your Borg terminal and the internet will help you. You don't have to have a record store, you don't have to have a magazine, you don't have to have a radio deejay— Homme: But I want one. I miss my music stores, and the record stores, and the cool hobby stops that sold spikes where you couldn't get 'em… When I was on tour, that's where I would go, in order to find out what to do if you didn't want to be a tourist. That's how I was never a tourist wherever I went. Now, honestly, for the life of me, I don't know what to do when I go on tour. Because I've already seen every museum in every city I've ever been in, and many of them four times. I want to try to live Art, not just watch it. And I don't know where to start, now that those cool hobby stores are gone. I have to take up hiking or some shit, just to get high! [laughs] Maybe mountain climbing… John Paul Jones: I carry a mandolin and a fiddle. Homme: That's like a bomb risk, though. You go to an airport with a fiddle… Arthur: John, I've seen those old posters with Led Zeppelin doing shows with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band opening, or… John Paul Jones: Yeah. Or Led Zeppelin and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Arthur: Yeah! How did those artists go over with your audience? John Paul Jones: Great, because that's what they were used to hearing on the radio. They'd heard all this stuff. It wasn't strange to them. Homme: This notion of Wolfman Jack, playing the songs that HE liked to play… Arthur: Or John Peel. John Paul Jones: Or JJ Jackson in Boston at WBCN. Homme: Consistency is king to me: you can always put it out, you can never take it back. These people, you start to trust their taste. So off the back of their success, of playing whatever they think is good, that consistency, program directors take over and dictate the same thing. With the success, they get this extra power and use it to kind of usurp, that hacks away at the very root of what got them there… John Paul Jones: I think it also has a slightly insidious effect, people listening to the radio now. Young bands, a lot of them, don't actually know what else is out there. They don't actually get to hear this other music. So they're in turn making music being influenced by bands that are almost exactly like themselves. It's self-perpetuating, it's just more of the same things. Homme: The snake eating its tail. John Paul Jones: Yeah, exactly. Homme: And what you get is almost… It keeps getting more of the same until that's all it is. Just 1…1…1…1…1…1… John Paul Jones: In the sixties, the music that the Beatles, the Stones, us, used to listen to, we had BBC National Radio. And basically, you would hear everything. Homme: You had to! John Paul Jones: You had to, because there was nothing else. So. It'd be Ray Charles, then Hank Snow, then the Everly Brothers, then Count Basie. You'd hear the whole fucking lot. You couldn't choose. There was no specialization in English radio, which is the reason—well, one of the reasons—why English music was kind of interesting in those days. Homme: Because of this autocracy—but with taste. I love that. It's almost snooty: [in posh accent] 'We'll be the most diverse station in the world.' Arthur: John Peel: he wasn't elitist—he just wanted to turn you on. John Paul Jones: Yeah, something excites him and he wants to share it! Arthur: Is that even possible nowadays? Homme: Yeah, of course. But that Rubik's Cube, how to solve it fast, I don't know. No one's got an amalgam, we can't put all of our turns together and get it done either. That's what's so crazy. Like I said, it's just that I miss those things. I wish they could co-exist. John Paul Jones: Well, you've got magazines, still. Homme: They're barely hanging on. John Paul Jones: I read The Guardian, and it has a music section every week or every other week, and you know, you can really go through it and find a bit of rock, a bit of classical, a bit of jazz, a bit of new music. Again, though, I trust the opinions of certain writers. Ah, he likes it, I'll check it out. And THEN use the internet. [laughs] Homme: Well to get deeper, which it's great for. YouTube is fucking amazing. To be able to watch every Fear video… John Paul Jones: Yeah, if you know what to look for, then the Internet is useful. Homme: Whatever got filmed makes it on there somehow. Like how to take bacon and make it into a car. [laughter] Arthur: What's the most frustrating thing about being in this band? Homme: Learning some of the songs,. Learning the song "Reptiles" is frustrating. It's not even that the parts are difficult, it's that they're so contrary, there's so many…where I feel like… [looking at JPJ] You're a trained organist: that's five things playing at once! I'm a guitarist, that's two things. John Paul Jones: But you're singing at the same time, I could never do any of that. Homme: And they both have to be done with feeling, or it's just not that good. So being able to let both sides of your brain do stuff, that's been the frustrating part for me. Arthur: Josh, you go back a long ways with Chris Goss [Masters of Reality, Goon Moon, etc] there's a weird parallel/connection between you guys, as usual. You've both worked with guys from an older generation: you're working with John, and Chris worked with Ginger Baker [Cream, Blind Faith, etc.] at one point— Homme: Ginger's the only guy who ever called me 'boy.' [laughter] If I may tell a story… [laughs] I was selling pot for a brief moment then. I brought them some weed. They were in the studio, and there was a pool table. And he said, You play pool. I said Yeah. You have pot? I said yeah. He said, Roll us a joint, boy. And I was thinking to myself, [muttering] youmotherfuckerI'mgonna. So we played pool for five bucks a game, and after I'd taken 45 bucks off him, I said, You're not very good at pool but you're really stoned…old man. [laughter] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joao Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Thanks everyone for all the news, interviews (it's a blast listening to these guys!) and concerts reviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Crave Online exclusive interview with Josh Homme: by Johnny Firecloud Oct 03, 2009 We've got an exclusive three-and-a-half minute interview segment with frontman Josh Homme of Them Crooked Vultures from Day One of Austin City Limits 2009! If you don't know the band, you certainly know the members: Dave Grohl, centerpiece of the Foo Fighters, is back behind the kit for his first full-time drumming gig since Nirvana ended with a shotgun blast; Homme heads up the awesome rock outfit Queens of the Stone Age, and even your parents know who John Paul Jones is - he's the bassist from Led F*cking Zeppelin. So far, nobody's been able to get much information on the band, aside from the handful of shows they've played around the world since official word first broke of the band's existence back in August. All of that changed yesterday afternoon, as yours truly sat down with Josh to ask the questions everybody wants to know about. http://www.craveonli...view-clip-87695 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imPLANTed Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 I'm afraid if I went to one of their concerts, all I would do is stare at JPJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeppFanForever Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 I'm afraid if I went to one of their concerts, all I would do is stare at JPJ. Ahhhh, you have a crush on him! Thats sweet! ROF! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators sam_webmaster Posted October 16, 2009 Administrators Share Posted October 16, 2009 Them Crooked Vultures Blast Through Jams at New York Debut 10/16/09 "It's a lot of new music," said Them Crooked Vultures frontman Josh Homme onstage at the Roseland Ballroom for the New York debut of his supergroup with Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones last night. "It's not often you get to hear a bunch of music that you have no idea what's gonna happen." Debuting in public seems like a coup in the age of instant leaks and message board spoilers. And Them Crooked Vultures got nothing short of a hero's welcome for a show where the only material anyone knew was from spotty camera phone YouTubes and exactly 137 seconds of studio music floating around. They packed the enormous Roseland on name alone with tickets that went for $54.50; they sold tons of merch without a single leaked song to their name; they had a father and son team already running around in matching Them Crooked Vultures T-shirts. Clearly the cult of personality loomed the largest. Homme, the only guy in the band who hasn't had a record sell 10 million copies, did his best to humanize the event and defuse the tension with his dry banter. "This is Mr. Dave Grohl on drums," he said to a rush of applause before quipping, "Oh, they've heard of you." Homme seemed genuinely shocked after he got cheers for "Nobody Loves Me, and Neither Do I," adding, "You know this one?" His intimate attitude was perfect because the band was playing it close, too. These weren't rock demigods out to mesmerize a crowd with their oversized personalities and monolithic jams; these were a couple guys fresh from the practice space, still ironing out the kinks, still looking at each other while they play to figure out where they're going. When they busted into a new set list addition, the alt-metal neck-snapper "Reptiles," Jones had to face Grohl to keep its tricky scissor-kick rhythms from falling apart. Otherwise they were tight as a button, if not a little indulgent. Six-minute space-blooz dirges still seem a little odd in the hand of lean popsters like Homme and Grohl, but consummate Zepper Jones felt right at home — and the crowd completely ate up all his art-rock affectations. He playing a completely ripping, honest-to-God bass solo in the middle of "Scumbag Blues," his fingers running up and down the neck like a caffeinated 17-year-old who just learned how to play "Good Times, Bad Times." At the end of the scuzzy, Kiss-like rager "Daffodils," he played a two-minute barroom piano solo by himself, and the crowd went nuts. For the demented lounge of "Interlude w/ Ludes" he brought a keytar out from the side of the stage, which was maybe the first time a keytar has gotten applause at Roseland in 20 years. Maybe even a little hyper-aware of all the jamming, Homme cut the tension once again by the show's end. "You still love us now? Only four hours left." - Christopher R. Weingarten http://www.rollingst...new-york-debut/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 Them Crooked Vultures Roseland Ballroom in New York City October 15th 2009 Gallery of seven photographs from Kenami: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36599047@N06/sets/72157622471585091/show/with/4015742361/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deborah J Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 Jay Hudson (89X Detroit) sits down with Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) and Josh Homme (Queens of The Stone Age) to talk about their new group "THEM CROOKED VULTURES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 Them Crooked Vultures Roseland Ballroom in New York City October 15th 2009 Music Review | Them Crooked Vultures Quite the Lineup: A Band Without an Album but With a History (or Three) By NATE CHINEN New York Times Published: October 16, 2009 Them Crooked Vultures had already been bashing away for about an hour at the Roseland Ballroom on Thursday night when Josh Homme, the band's lead singer and guitarist, finally issued a disclaimer. "It's a lot of new music," he said, mock apologetically. Then he added, mock hopefully: "It's not often you get to hear a bunch of music and you have no idea what's happening." Right? Well, sure, sort of. An ensuing roar signaled complicity more than consensus: since playing its first show this summer, this hard-rock supergroup has spawned a cottage industry of video bootlegs online, giving fans time to get acquainted, even before a lick of music is released. As Mr. Homme must have expected, lusty cheers arose in response to some of the titles he announced, like "Mind Eraser" and "Dead End Friends." This crowd was hardly fumbling through the dark, even if that would have fit the menacing bluster of the tunes. Beyond that, what sort of surprise could this have been? Them Crooked Vultures is unswervingly faithful to its pedigree: along with Mr. Homme, best known as the frontman of Queens of the Stone Age, it features Dave Grohl, the former drummer in Nirvana, and John Paul Jones, the former bassist in Led Zeppelin. That their output delivers a punch to the gut can only be seen as the fulfillment of a promise. The band doesn't feel like naked derivation, but its parentage is hammered home with every fat and bruising riff. Dozens of those cropped up in Thursday's show, which was all the better for it. "Nobody Loves Me and Neither Do I" amounted to a Zeppelinesque bombshell of heavy-gauge blues-rock; "Scumbag Blues" dropped some head-wagging funk, punctuated by a thumb-slapped bass interlude. "New Fang," one of the more buoyant tunes, hinted at Southern boogie rock, with slide work by the band's rhythm guitarist, Alain Johannes. In roughly every song there was a heavy emphasis on chromatic tension, offbeat syncopation and tyrannical propulsion; Mr. Homme's guitar solos were mostly brief and to the point. His singing was just as brusque, even when he flipped into his sturdy falsetto. He's a no-nonsense frontman, allergic to spectacle and averse to extraneous gestures. At times this made him seem dwarfed by his backing, as when he mumbled through a minor-key stomper called "Caligulove." But then melody isn't the core strength of this band anyway. That would be rhythm, which in the hands of Mr. Grohl more often seen lately on guitar and at the microphone with his band the Foo Fighters becomes a thunderous force. What was missing on the whole was a semblance of vital messiness: the band had been too efficient, too terse, maybe even too tight. But a shuffle called "Warsaw" ended the show on the right sprawling note. Unraveling in the middle and racing to a feverish end, it caught the volatility that a band like Them Crooked Vultures tempers at its own peril. How it will sound on the band's self-titled studio debut, due out soon, is anyone's guess. Link with photos: http://www.nytimes.c...ex=&ei=&partner= Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 Them Crooked Vultures 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. October 14th 2009 Them Crooked Vultures will land in D.C. amid hype Brandon Linton Live Music Examiner October 12, 2009 Them Crooked Vultures, a supergroup made up of Foo Fighter Dave Grohl, Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age and Jon Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, will bring their massive hype to the 9:30 club for the most buzzworthy gig in the area this week.Grohl, Homme and Jones recorded an entire album in secret, and little was known about the project until the unveiling of the "Them Crooked Vultures" moniker and subsquent moments notice gigs. The band has also been leaking teaser videos via their YouTube channel. Though the only studio recorded music that anyone has heard have been clips of the songs on YouTube, there is tremendous hype for the project and all shows on the band's tour are sold out. Although, as many are aware, there is no such thing as a sold-out show most of the time, and some tickets can be purchased for close to face value here. http://www.examiner....in-DC-amid-hype Them Crooked Vultures at 930 Club Review Michael Bogart DC Live Music Clubs Examiner October 16, 3:40 PM What. A. Show. Them Crooked Vultures officially pummeled the 930 Club crowd on Wednesday night, blasting their way through more than 70 minutes of honest-to-God rock that pierced ear drums like the snare of Dave Grohl's hammering. John Paul Jones looks and sounds amazing at 63 and holy hell we all just saw John Paul Jones wail away a mere 20 feet away. Josh Homme was crisp and clean while Alan Johannes successfully supported the sick sounds of TCV as he shared the stage with living legends. The band came out around 9PM to a fairly subdued but completely anticipating crowd of mostly 30-something males in black t-shirts. From the first licks to the last, TCV rocked a cohesive and complimentary sound that left ears ringing for days. Fan favorites 'Scumbag Blues', 'Nobody Loves Me and Neither Do I', and 'Elephants' were tight, overwhelming, and flat-out as nasty as the teasers released might indicate. 'Caligulove' is exceptional as well, with JPJ stepping on to what looks like an electronic organ to tease out some Dracula-like refrain. 'Gunman' may have been the looping highlight of the entire evening, while tracks like 'Dead End Friends' laced the (over)sold-out crowd like a thick metallic glaze of aural heaven. Grohl seems perfectly in his element behind the drums and he and JPJ may be the answer to contemporary rhythmic imperfection. All three primary TCV members appear in peek musical condition. There are no egos it seems, no singular artist reaching harder and farther for the spot light or recognition. There's no need. These guys sound incredible and are all accomplished without any obvious impending success TCV and their studio album will have. Homme's use of the trippy telecaster throughout the set keeps the bouncing exoticism of an otherwise teeth-grinding tirade spacey and stoned. To be sure, it was an incredible performance by the preeminent rock supergroup. Forget Chickenfoot: if you want to rock, wake up with TCV. Their album release is going to flat-out sell. http://www.examiner....930-Club-review Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nech Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 Saw the show at Roseland and was very happy with it. Just bummed that most of my pics didn't come out. I didn't bring a good camera as had heard of some of the other venues being quite strict. And I guess it must have been my Badgeholders sweat shirt or something I did actually get the frisking of a lifetime. All the way down to a nice crotch grab. Hmmm, maybe he just liked me ?1 ; ) So much so that I commented to our gang of reveler " I feel violated yet somehow all tingly and invigorated at the same time" While everyone seems to be trouncing the opening act Mini Mansions, other than their opening number ( which did indeed suck ) they showed some potential with their Beatlesque Genesis Floyd mutations. I kinda dug their take on Boldie's Heart of Glass. I posted up my lengthy detailed review on FBO and you can always go to the archives and read it there if interested ( see my sig for links )...I won't bore you with it here. One cool thing, I ended up walking out of there with one of Davey Grohl's drumheads which his tech was so kind to give me after the show. neato. I took a picture of it accompanying me home from the show. What other little pics did come out from my cell are here: http://s198.photobucket.com/albums/aa165/FBO_bucket/TCV/ When they come your way...definitely go see them and bring your ear protection. It was LOUD baby! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 I would hope this has something to do with a simultaneous release of a cd and live dvd. Update: CD Japan emailing reports: SICP-2468 Them Crooked Vultures/Untitled CDA 2400 yen US$26/91.83 Release Date:2009/12/02 Description:Highly-anticipated album release from super rock group Them Crooked Vultures, a special unit made up of Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana), Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin). Includes bonus video footage in CD-Extra format. Japanese exclusive edition includes a bonus track (subject to change). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nech Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 ^^ Ha, maybe it'll be footage of me trying to unstick my feet from the flypaper floor at Roseland! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 ^^ Ha, maybe it'll be footage of me trying to unstick my feet from the flypaper floor at Roseland! Some of their European festival dates were professionally video recorded but I've seen no evidence to suggest any North American gigs were. Edit: With the exception of their performance for the Austin City Limits television program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dharmabum Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Short review of the Roseland Show: Extremely intense music. Definitively felt like I had my ass kicked afterwards. The music was unrelenting and harder than what I usually listen to. That said, it was a great show. Overall, my favorite song was Scumbag Blues, which I thought was magical. As were the moments when JPJ took the spotlight and injected some Zeppelin-esque grandeur into the mix. Definitively looking forward to the album and another show once I've become more familiar with the songs. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pagemeister Posted October 21, 2009 Author Share Posted October 21, 2009 THEM CROOKED VULTURES: First Single To Arrive Next Week According to FMQB, the first single from THEM CROOKED VULTURES — which consists of FOO FIGHTERS frontman Dave Grohl on drums, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE singer/guitarist Josh Homme and LED ZEPPELIN bass player John Paul Jones — is called " " and it will arrive at radio stations on Monday, October 26. The band's self-titled debut album will be in stores on November 17 via Interscope Records. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pagemeister Posted October 22, 2009 Author Share Posted October 22, 2009 THEM CROOKED VULTURES: Debut Album Track Listing Revealed THEM CROOKED VULTURES — which consists of FOO FIGHTERS frontman Dave Grohl on drums, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE singer/guitarist Josh Homme and LED ZEPPELIN bass player John Paul Jones — will release its self-titled debut album will be in stores on November 17 via DGC/Interscope Records. The first single from the CD is called "New Fang" and it will arrive at radio stations on Monday, October 26. "Them Crooked Vultures" track listing, according to Billboard.com: 01. No One Loves Me & Neither Do I 02. Mind Eraser, No Chaser 03. New Fang 04. Dead End Friends 05. Elephants 06. Scumbag Blues 07. Bandoliers 08. Reptiles 09. Interlude with Ludes 10. Warsaw or the first Breath You Take After You Give Up 11. Caligulove 12. Gunman 13. Spinning in Daffodils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taker328 Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Is this the album art for their record? It's from the interscope website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kashmir330 Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 I can't wait to hear it. Listening to the live stuff has been great but actually having the album in my hands will be even better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Is this the album art for their record? It's from the interscope website. Certainly plausible, for as I understand it Josh Homme owes Interscope an album release under his recording contract. So far as I know none of them have been willing thus far to publicly confirm if Interscope is the label handling the release, but it would seem any band politics has since been resolved and Interscope it is. If that is the final album design those graphics (color scheme) do compliment the TCV (& even QOTSA) promotional videos already released. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 THEM CROOKED VULTURES ALBUM OUT NOVEMBER 17 Them Crooked Vultures have confirmed November 17 as the release date of its eponymous debut album in the United States and Canada on DGC/Interscope Records and Sony/BMG elsewhere. “We’ve been doing a lot of stuff real kind of secretive, and we actually made a pact to not know when it’s coming out, the band guys. I’m betting…well it’s going to be before the end of the year…we kind of have a little running bet on what the date is. And I intend to win that bet, because I’m going to cheat.” - Josh Homme, October 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 The other night the marquee of The Wiltern in Los Angeles displayed "Them Crooked Vultures Nov 17" sparking rumours of a Los Angeles gig to promote the release. It has since been removed without explanation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glicine Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 It's about time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrycja Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Is this the album art for their record? It's from the interscope website. Looks like it, Taker. We're getting cd or vinyl + t-shirt package choices, nice! http://store.themcrookedvultures.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bismarck Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Here it is, for your ears only http://www.soundfoundry.net/new%20fang.mp3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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