Roots welcome DJ Jazzy Jeff, Bajah to Picnic

May 16, 2010

Roots Welcome DJ Jazzy Jeff, Bajah to Picnic
The Roots 3rd Annual Picnic Event is set to take place at Philadelphia’s Festival Pier on Saturday, June, 5, so if you’re a hip-hop fan plan and have been eyeing a trip to Philly, now’s the time. The all-day concert will feature sets from DJ Jazzy jeff, Pattern is Movement, Tune-Yards, MM Jamboys, Bajah and the Dry Eye Crew, and of course The Roots themselves; The Roots will also continue their tradition of backing another legendary group for a live set (last year it was Public Enemy), so stay tuned...
Singer-songwriter Jack Johnson’s newest album, To the Sea, is now set for release on June 1, with the first single, “You and Your Heart,” already at radio as you read this. Johnson’s latest was recorded in a mere three weeks at his own solar-powered studio in Hawaii, and the musician will take his band on the road for a series of tour dates in Europe this June and July...
Indie rockers Golden Dogs have been working diligently on a follow-up album to their 2006 set, Big Eye Little Eye, and have also added two new members to their lineup, which now numbers singer/guitarist Dave Azzolini, guitarist James Robertson, bassist Dave Dalrymple, drummer Taylor Knox, and keyboardist Jessica Grassia. The band are already playing live shows together, and say that an album release date is imminent...
Danger Mouse’s long-delayed album Dark Night of the Soul, on which he collaborates with the likes of Iggy Pop and Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys, among others, was legally stopped from release by DM’s label EMI last year after it was leaked online through peer-to-peer sharing sites. Instead of the album’s music, Dark Night of the Soul was released as a blank CD with a sticker saying ‘use it as you will’ on it, accompanied by a photo book. Not quite the album fans were looking for. Now, the label dispute has reportedly been resolved, and the album is slated for (actual) release in June...
MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK:
Sigur Ros’ Jonsi Birgisson has announced that the band has embarked on a break for an unspecified length of time, and have stopped work on their new album. Birgisson says that although the band did begin recording the follow up to their 2008 disc, Meo Suo I Eyrum Vio Spilum Endalaust, they decided to trash what they’d already completed and start over at a later date. In the meantime, Birgisson has just released his own album, Go, in March; you can check it out at http://jonsi.com/...

MINI BUZZ:
Belle and Sebastian are reportedly in a Glasgow studio writing some new songs, and will trek to L.A. for the actual recording of the album...
Doves, Jack Johnson, and Mika have been confirmed to perform at this year’s Eden Sessions in Cornwall, England...
And Muse is now confirmed to headline the T in the Park show in Balado on July 9-11, along with Kasabian...
The Black Keys’ latest set, Brothers, is in-stores now, with drummer Patrick Carney saying that the album is more “personal” than previous efforts; Brothers includes songs “She’s Long Gone,” “The Go Getter,” and “Unknown Brother”...
The Foo Fighters are set to regroup for a new album this year, after band members Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohl have wrapped work on their current round of side projects...
And Arctic Monkeys spent their spring warming up with a short run of live dates, and now will be embarking on their own summer tour...

ON CD: Jamie Lidell’s Compass... Deftones’ Diamond Eyes... LCD Soundsystem’s This Is Happening... and The Black Keys’ Brothers... ON DVD: The Kinks: You Really Got Me - The Story of The Kinks... and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.


Questions, comments, rants, raves, suggestions on this column or your favorite musicians? Send ‘em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com