Ok Go, Bareilles, Dashboard go bananas

March 29, 2009

OK Go, Bareilles, Dashboard Go Bananas
Kristi Kates 3/30/09

In another mixing of music and commerce, a number of indie-pop, classical, and rock musicians are set to become the faces of Banana Republic’s 2009 spring/summer ad campaign. The national commercial series will feature print ads, window displays, and billboards with the musicians wearing the company’s clothing. Among the artists set to model Banana Republic’s latest duds are popsters OK Go, Sara Bareilles, and Dashboard Confessional, plus saxophonist David Sanchez and edgy classical violinist David Garrett...
Singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw is prepping to release a new set of “low-key” songs, dubbed Free, on March 31. DeGraw said that he “kept production minimal” in order to dispel with the usual “bells and whistles” and focus instead on the songwriting. Ten songs are tracklisted in the new set, which was recorded with a variety of DeGraw’s musician pals and collaborators; he also includes a cover of Chris Whitley’s song “Indian Summer.” DeGraw kicks off a North American tour next week in Portland, Oregon...
Pearl Jam have been constructing their upcoming new album in steps; from songwriting to recording some instrumental tracks last summer, putting demos to tape last December, and doing even more songwriting during a recent band trip to Montana. This is said to be the longest that the band has spent recording an album since their 1996 set, No Code, which was also tracked with their current producer, Brendan O’Brien; Pearl Jam is confident that the album will hit stores some time in 2009...
Franz Ferdinand, who have been critically acclaimed recently for their live performances, are taking those live shows on the road for a series of U.S. dates this April and May. The band will be playing plenty of tunes from their new album, Tonight, and they’ll be rocking stages in Seattle (4/13), Minneapolis (4/28), Chicago (4/30), Detroit (5/3), and Toronto (5/4), among other cities...

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK:
Michigan’s own Madonna will crank up her tour again this summer, adding another tour leg, which is an unusual move for the Queen of Pop. But with high demand for Maddie’s shows, she’ll play more dates in the U.K. and Europe throughout the summer season. Check out http://tickets.madonna.com for more info on her current and upcoming tour schedules...

MINI BUZZ:
The Foo Fighters have already been busily writing songs for the follow up to their latest album, Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace...
West Coast punk-rockers The Bronx have confirmed the rest of the dates for their headlining tour; they’ll be rockin’ shows in Minneapolis (4/12), Chicago (4/13), Detroit (4/14), Philly (4/21), and Hoboken, New Jersey (4/22) among other stops...
The Crystal Method will offer up their newest album via Tiny E Records on May 12, complete with guest appearances from Peter Hook and Matisyahu...
Camera Obscura’s new album, My Maudlin Career is now due out on April 21, with tour dates in the UK and U.S. to accompany...
Kings of Leon plan to follow-up their U.S. breakthrough set, Only by the Night, with a new album set to arrive in fall of 2010...
Although several music festivals, including Scotland’s Hydro Connect Fest and the U.S.’s Langerado Fest, have been cancelled in the current downtrodden economy, several others are pushing forward, including All Points West (New York City), the Mile High Fest (Denver), and Michigan’s own Rothbury Music Fest, which will return on 4th of July weekend...

ON CD: Peter Bjorn and John’s Living Thing... So Many Dynamo’s The Loud Wars... Gavin DeGraw’s Free... Keith Urban’s Defying Gravity... Burn Halo’s Burn Halo... and Leonard Cohen Live in London... ON DVD, everyone’s live this week:... James Brown: Live at the Boston Garden 1968... Chris Botti Live in Boston... Leonard Cohen Live in London (the DVD)... and Stevie Nicks - Live in Chicago... and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.
Questions, comments, rants, raves, suggestions on this column? Send ‘em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com


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