Hey, y'all. In my GO column today I accidentally listed the wrong date for local band Midnight Salvage Co.'s special acoustic show at Shakabrah Java, so I thought I'd correct that here. That show's actually going to be held Saturday (July 11). Check out their MySpace page here for samples of what they sound like.

So you've got your copy of the Nightgowns' rad new disc "Sing Something," right? Well, here are two good reasons to show up and support the Tacoma indie-pop outfit when you see they're playing around town, too. The fellas dropped these two non-album tracks during their May 29 set at Urban Grace Church downtown. And if I'm readin' their MySpace page correctly, your next chance to catch them live is a July 2 gig at EMP/SFM's Skychurch. Shweeet! Now ch-ch-check out these cuts.

Specks of Dust

Humans Extinct

Just added "Robots vs. Zombies" by Tacoma's Gold Teeth to the ol' Mix Tape player (down and to the right.) And wouldn't that be a killer concept for the next Robert Rodriguez flick? I'd pay money to see it, anyway.

[Note: As pointed out in the comments field, the clip sounds mangled if you listen to it using Internet Explorer, a browser that routinely annoys the @#%@%@ out of me. Sounds fine if you use Mozilla Firefox, though. Try that until I can reload.]

Can you feel it yet, people? There are just 10 days and counting till the Sonics’ first Puget Sound performance since the early ‘70s!

On Halloween at the Paramount Theatre, lead howler and keyboard player Jerry Roslie, guitarist Larry Parypa and sax player Rob Lind from the band’s most well-known lineup will be joined by Ricky Lynn Johnson and Don Wilhelm, in place of rhythm section, Bob Bennett and Andy Parypa. Manager Buck Ormsby, of Wailers fame, tells me there are still tickets left, shockingly enough.

And less than an hour ago, I caught up with Roslie, who has had so much fun since the band’s comeback shows in New York last November that he wonders why he took four decades off. “I feel kind of like I wasted 40 years of my life doing other things," he said. Click the link below to hear more of what he had to say about getting back in the saddle and touring Europe.

Clip 1: “We should have never quit.”

I guess the Sonics are proof that it’s never too late to get the band back together. And the most exciting part of my Roslie interview was the revelation that the Sonics are apparently working on new material that could see the light of day early next year!

Clip 2: Could new Sonics songs be on the way?

Stay tuned. I'll post more from Roslie and company in the days to come, and we've got a big cover story planned for GO on the day of the show. Meanwhile, you can always go back and check out my interviews with Jerry and Larry last fall.

I plucked this from a recent e-newsletter sent out by the Supersuckers' Eddie Spaghetti.

Take me out to the ball game...take me out to the crowd! You ever wonder how they decide on who gets to sing "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" at the seventh inning stretch at Major League Baseball games? Well, me too! I still can't figure it out even after being asked to do exactly that at an upcoming Minnesota Twins game this August 13th. That's right, the good people in the Twins operation have deemed it appropriate that we, The Supersuckers, will get to partake in this time honored tradition when they take on the Darth Vader of baseball, the New York Yankees, in a day game this Wednesday, August 13th.

The first pitch will be at 12:10 pm Central Time and we'll be doing a little show before then somewhere in the stadium at 10:45. If you'd like to come to this glorious event we will be hooking a few people up with tickets but it's first come first served so get your email requests into chris@supersuckers.com right away for your chance to see The Greatest invade the American Pastime in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Wednesday, August 13th, 2008. We will be rooting firmly for the Twins to kick the living crap outta those Damn Yankees so come on out and join us. It'll be lots of fun for sure!

Singer-songwriter LeRoy Bell is back and armed with the new album "A Change Is Coming." And he'll unleash his new songs Sunday evening at Tacoma's Spar Tavern.

So Tuesday I caught up with the Edmonds resident (formerly of Tacoma) to talk about ...

Part 1: ... what went into writing the new, politically oriented material.

Part 2: ... missing band mate Rick Novito, who died earlier this year.

Part 3: ... and the mystery of how he lost that gold record he earned as half of '70s duo Bell and James. (He'll get it back Sunday night at the Spar.)

Death Cab for Cutie back in 2005, when they were the official house band of “The O.C.” Hear them play the new tunes Sunday at Sasquatch.
AP

If you’re reading this blog, chances are you know who the big bands playing the main stage at Sasquatch this weekend are. R.E.M., the Cure, Modest Mouse, M.I.A., blah blah blah. And also among those big shots is Death Cab for Cutie, the band I caught up with for my festival preview for this coming Friday’s GO section.

Or rather, I called guitarist, keyboard player and producer Chris Walla, who his band mates – singer-guitarist Ben Gibbard, bassist Nick Harmer and drummer Jason McGerr – on the big stage on Sunday night, right before the Cure. And here are a few more clips from that interview; clips that actually deal with Death Cab’s new album “Narrow Stairs” and not shallow, tabloid-worthy topics, like which band member can out-bench Dave Matthews. Chyuh! What kind of jackass would ask vacuous questions like that?)

Clip 1: How recording live and in analog shaped the new album’s aesthetic

Clip 2: The new direction vs. old school Death Cab

Clip 3: Uh, “Pity and Fear” wasn’t supposed to end like that

Clip 4: Unplugged talk inspires a funny radio rant

And it's about time, if you ask me. Read more here. Or skip the back story (which ain't all that fascinatin', really) and go to the footage here.

Let's sort things out first. It's the Lonely H that's playing Hell's Kitchen on Saturday, not critcally acclaimed alt-rock duo, Local H. A quick scan of the Kitchen's Web site a while back had me looking for the latter's critically acclaimed new album "12 Angry Months." But the guys you can see this weekend are the ones behind "Kick Upstairs" and "Hair," albums released by Seattle's Control Group in the last couple of years. You know, it's the outfit from Port Angeles that's been generating a regional buzz with its classic rock-influenced sound since it took second place in EMP's battle of the bands competition Sound Off a few years back.

Got it? Got it! Now here's a few interview clips with singer-keyboardist Mark Fredson, and from the band's latest album. Enjoy.

Clip 1: Getting confused for the Local H, classic rock influences

Clip 2: New country flavored songs the band is working on

Clip 3: “Hair”

Clip 4: “Yeah Yeah”

Clip 5: “The Drought”

This is the Lonely H from Port Angeles. If it were Local H there would be, like, half as many dudes. Got it? See these guys Saturday night at Hell’s Kitchen.
KIRT REYNOLDS

Death Cab for Cutie's solid new album "Narrow Stairs" hit stores today. "Pity and Fear" is my favorite track, for the record. And I was debating whether I should post clips from my latest interview with Chris Walla this week or closer to Sasquatch festival, where the band will appear on the main stage later this month, or this week. So don't be surprised if a few clips about the process of making "Narrow Stairs" pop up in the next couple of days. Or you can just click here to hear what he told me a few months ago as the album was being mixed.

Meanwhile, I thought the band would be an excellent Useless Trivia Tuesday topic. So let's see how big a fan you are.

1. Which band member hails from Puyallup?

A. Ben Gibbard
B. Chris Walla
C. Nick Harmer
D. Jason McGerr

2. Most see this as Death Cab’s breakthrough album, featuring the band’s first MTV hit “The Sound of Settling” and such set staples as “Title and Registration,” “Expo ‘86” and the title track.

A. “Plans”
B. “Transatlanticism”
C. “Something About Airplanes”
D. “We Have the Facts, and We’re Voting Yes”

3. This guy recently released a solo album called “Field Manual.”

A. Ben Gibbard
B. Chris Walla
C. Nick Harmer
D. Jason McGerr

4. Ben Gibbard’s side project the Postal Service recorded a reverent remake of this ‘80s hit …

A. Gary Numan’s “Cars”
B. Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds”
C. Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus”
D. The Police’s “Message in a Bottle”

5. Gibbard collaborated with this heavyweight producer on the soundtrack for Kurt Cobain biopic “About a Son.”

A. Rick Rubin
B. Steve Fisk
C. Butch Vig
D. Nigel Godrich

6. Gibbard’s literary muse for “Bixby Canyon Bridge,” the lead track from the new “Narrow Stairs” album, is …

A. Charles Bukowski
B. Cormac McCarthy
C. William S. Burroughs
D. Jack Kerouac

7. What is the Seattle indie label that released the band’s first few albums?

A. The Control Group
B. Sub Pop
C. Light in the Attic
D. Barsuk

8. The band’s name is a reference to a song performed in what rock film?

A. “Magical Mystery Tour”
B. “This is Spinal Tap”
C. “Singles”
D. “Tommy”

9. Band members met at what Washington institution of higher learning?

A. University of Washington
B. Washington State
C. University of Puget Sound
D. Western Washington University

10. Jason McGerr is the newest band member. Who played drums before him?

A. Michael Schorr
B. Matt Cameron
C. Brann Dailor
D. Jeremiah Green

Recently, I read this in the latest e-newsletter from Supersuckers singer Eddie Spaghetti (bold emphasis mine):

I'm sure you're all wondering, "where the hell is that new 'suckers record?", well rest assured it IS coming. It's just taking a little longer than we expected to get done. Our current snag is that the producer of the new record wants to make some last minute tweaks and, well, he can't right now. He's been detained by a little Australian band called, uh, AC/DC. That's right our man Billy Bowers, who did such a stellar job on our "Paid" E.P., is an engineer for Brendan O'Brian who is producing the new AC/DC record and so he's been taken away from our project temporarily. But he assures us that, as soon as he can, he will have the mixes done and that they will rock mightily so we have to just be content with that for now. In the meantime, we will be keeping busy rocking the free world and you can come and get your fix of the new material at one of our many rock shows coming up in the near future at a location near you, I'm sure.

Then last night I ran into Supersuckers' guitarist Rontrose Heathman at the Parkway Tavern, which as many of you know is just a few blocks from his new biz, Satellite Coffee. He tells me the whole AC/DC mention has stirred up a bit of trouble since the fact that the veteran Aussie rockers were recording a new album was supposed to be a secret. Oops! And Mr. H also clarified that the new ‘Suckers disc would likely be out this summer.

Last night, I got word that Federal Way high school student Vince Mira, who's been on national television performing the Johnny Cash tribute act that's earned him the nickname "Juany Cash," will perform at the William Traver Gallery on May 17. He'll be there from 5 to 8 p.m. playing an acoustic set at for the opening reception for a new Dale Chihuly gallery. Oh, and we hear he's going to be on TV again tonight, this time on "Inside Edition."

Find more info here.