Breaking Artist: Jack Peñate

Curious about the small-scale ska resurgance that seems to be happening on the other side of the pond? Check out our latest Breaking artist, ska-pop troubadour Jack Peñate, who sounds like Jeff Buckley with a pompadour and checkered Vans for dancing. Read up on the Londonite’s harsh encounters with sticky-fingered fans and reasons for going it alone (”A solo artist can’t break up, and he can’t have a reunion either”), plus watch the video for “Torn on the Platform” here.

Published: 2007-12-27 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Breaking

Lunchtime Poll: In Which You Save Ska From Itself

Today we are rocking out to this super cool Sire Records boxset, Just Say Sire. When “Mirror in the Bathroom” by the English Beat came on we were reminded of how fucking awesome Two Tone ska was. You are in charge of heading off the tragic downward spiral of one genre. You can, for example, make sure that the English Beat doesn’t give way to the Mighty Mighty Bosstones ten short years later. What musical genre to you save from senseless tarnishing at the hands of misguided zeitgeist-chasing bands?

Published: 2007-05-04 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Lunchtime Poll

Led Zeppelin Book Press Conference, “Dick in a Box” Wins an Emmy, Gwen Stefani Says No Doubt May Return to Their Ska Roots

Led Zeppelin has scheduled a press conference for this Wednesday in London, Billboard reports, fueling speculation that the band is preparing a reunion announcement. Early last week hysteria over an alleged Zeppelin show advertisement in London led to reports that the group had placed the 02 arena on hold for a night. Though Robert Plant previously laughed off reunion rumors, the band has yet to issue a comment about the latest developments. Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg’s SNL skit-song “Dick in a Box” won an Emmy for Best Original Music and Lyrics at the Creative Arts Emmys on Saturday. American Idol also nabbed its first-ever Emmy for its charity special “Idol Gives Back.” The primetime awards (which may be “Dick”-free) air next week. A cut from Hanson’s latest album became the most requested song on Chicago’s alternative radio station Q101 after DJs played “The Great Divide” for three weeks without disclosing its artist. After it was revealed, the track saw a 95 percent increase in digital downloads. Gwen Stefani is hinting that No Doubt could return to its roots and make a ska record when they re-enter the studio together this fall. Stefani also indicated she is “coming to the end of my own chapter” with her dance records. Starz Cinema will premiere Too Tough to Die: A Tribute to Johnny Ramone on September 15th, the third anniversary of the Ramones guitarist’s death. [Photo: Wilson/Getty]

Published: 2007-09-11 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Morning News Roundup

Breaking Artist: The Rumble Strips

Click here to be instantly transported to our Breaking Blog, where you can read up on souful Brit-pop quintet the Rumble Strips, a band (with a horn section) who originally bonded over Captain Beefheart and Tom Waits while growing up in a tiny English town, but soon developed a taste for reggae, ska, rockabilly and harmonies. Check out the video for the group’s “Alarm Clock” and get a little insight into everyguy frontman Charlie Waller’s Jonathan Richman-inspired lyrics.

Published: 2007-12-06 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Breaking

Grascals, Trischka, Stringdusters Are IBMA Winners

Who didn't win was as big a story as who did at the International Bluegrass Music Association awards show Thursday night (Oct. 4) at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry House. Although nominated, perennial IBMA prizewinners Alison Krauss, Rhonda Vincent, Ricky Ska

Published: 2007-10-05 Provider: CMT - Country Music TV

The Aggrolites - Reggae Hit L.A.

Artist: The Aggrolites Review: This L.A. band does ska and reggae rather expertly -- and without the boneheaded, party-hearty schlock that infested the Cali version of those genres in the Nineties. The Aggrolites' third album is long on well-crafted summertime jams like "Free Time" and more tender songs like "Let's Pack Our Bags." That said, Reggae Hit L.A. feels like a ho-hum rehash -- well done, but not particularly interesting unless you're seeing them live, are a big fan of the genre or need some barbecue music. Rating: 2.5 Stars

Published: 2007-06-01 Provider: Rolling Stone

Don't Mess With The Dragon by Ozomatli

The fourth album from the Los Angeles band blends latin music with rock, ska, hip-hop, and other genres. [Alternative, Rock, Latin]

Published: 2007-04-13 Provider: Metacritic

"Super Taranta!" by Gogol Bordello

The latest record from this New York-based but globally-minded gypsy-punk outfit will probably encounter listeners in two categories: those who already stalk the band, rabidly awaiting their next show; and those who are waiting to be converted or are simply on the fence. First, the good news for the uninitiated and the non-believers: Gogol Bordello play a volatile fusion of global sounds and their magpie vision is well-realized here. Eastern European melodies and thrashing punk riffs trade jabs with occasional touches of ska or dub, building into brilliantly crazed jams. For all the high-octane eclecticism, what immediately shines through is singer Eugene Hutz's pipes. He belts 'em out like a Russian Shane McGowan, drunk on vodka, jet lag and righteous indignation. The skinny on Gogol Bordello is that all their sonic madness is all the more, well, mad in concert. Those who've already been won over by their live gigs can take heart, Super Taranta! comes close to matching that

Published: 2007-07-18 Provider: Artist Direct

News Ticker: Velvet Revolver, “Grand Theft Auto IV,” The Specials, Bjork

Slash has hinted that even if singer Scott Weiland decides to leave Velvet Revolver, the rest of the band may stick together. “There will be a third album,” Slash said, “We don’t know how or when but the core four guys will continue.” Video game Grand Theft Auto IV will feature a link-up with the Amazon Music Store that will allow players to download tracks from the game’s 150-song soundtrack via an in-game mobile phone. While the soundtrack listing has not yet been released, DJ Green Lantern will have his own radio station. Ska legends the Specials are talking reunion almost thirty years after the original lineup disbanded. “We’re still trying to put dates together,” singer Terry Hall said. “I think it’s taken me 30 years to realize we could do it really well.” Remember that strange Bjork photo we showed you last week? Check out those images in motion in Bjork’s colorful new video for “Wanderlust.” [Photo: Getty]

Published: 2008-03-31 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Afternoon News Roundup

In the Studio: Albert Hammond, Jr. Falls Down, Gets Up and Reinvents Himself on Second LP

While the Strokes remain on a nice long break, guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. figured he’d use his spare time to get another solo album out. “I wanted to show a different side of me,” says Hammond. For the follow-up to Yours to Keep, he re-teamed with his band–drummer Matt Romano, guitarist Marc Eskenazi and bassist Josh Lattanzi and engineer Gus Oberg–for five weeks at New York’s Electric Lady Studios last fall. Hammond’s goals included crafting “shorter and harder” tunes, like the ska-tinged “Miss Myrtle,” as well as instrumental numbers, like “Spooky Couch.” For “Boss Americana,” Hammond and Oberg used “the Van Halen technique” for miking Romano’s drums, connecting two kick drums by a long tunnel made from a blanket. And for the Cheap Trick-style power-pop song “In My Room,” they plugged three amps into one another to achieve an enormity of sound in stark contrast to the first disc’s bedroom vibe. “When we started, I would collapse with fear,” Hammond says. “But it’s amazing how people around you help you get back up, and that gives you the freedom to go weird places.” Related Stories: Smoking Section: Coldplay, Counting Crows and Albert Hammond Jr. Ask a Rock Star: The Strokes, Andrew Bird, The Pierces Vent on the “Sopranos” Finale Albert Hammond, Jr.: Not at All Stifled By the Strokes. Really.

Published: 2008-01-29 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, In the Studio

Smoking Section: Jack Johnson, Vampire Weekend and James Blunt

Reminder! Today is the last day to email Austin Scaggs questions about the art of the rock & roll interview and what really goes on behind the scenes. Send those queries to askscaggs@rollingstone.com, then check back Wednesday, September 5th, for answers. The last time we saw Jack Johnson, in May 2005, he was paddling into a wave on the North Shore of Oahu. (Thewaves were so scary that the S.S. was forced to boogie-board, which is known as “tea-bagging” along the Pipeline.) Since then, Johnson has been chillin’ out there with his wife and sons. But the music bug has bitten him again. He tells us that his third album, currently titled Sleep Through the Static — will be released in February. It’s the first record ever to be recorded at L.A.’s Solar Powered Plastic Plant (Zack de la Rocha is in there now), and Johnson and his band have broken form by incorporating electric guitars, as well as recording outside of Hawaii. “We tracked a lot of stuff in Los Angeles,” he says, “then we took a couple months off. Now we’re back in Hawaii, and hopefully we’ll finish it in a couple of weeks.” Johnson would get crackin’ right now, but his studio is too cluttered: “I’ve been changing it from being my kids’ playroom back into a recording studio.” * * * * Please allow the S.S. to introduce our favorite new band, Brooklyn badasses Vampire Weekend, consisting of four Columbia grads (three from ‘06, one from ‘07). Singer Ezra Koenig reports they dig drum beats and guitar tones from Kenya, Jamaican ska and Brit melodic geniuses like Elvis Costello and Ray Davies. Somehow it all adds up to the best danceable indie-rock grooves since the Strokes’ Is This It. Buy their limited-edition EP, or snag its three cuts on iTunes, before they make a splash with their debut in January. When we spoke to them, VW were on their way to London to seal a record deal and play a secret s

Published: 2007-08-31 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Smoking Section

Coachella 2007: Sheffield’s Final Word

Like any festival, except more so, Coachella has three things that suck: getting in, getting out and being there. Lord, the torments we endure for music. But this weekend, the music was more than enough, gathering most of the planet’s best fit-and-working bands in the desert heat. Coachella ‘07 was the place to hear amazing new bands I never heard of (The Feeling), bands I always kinda liked but not enough to bother seeing live (Arcade Fire), bands I previously wrote off but was totally wrong about (Klaxons). A quick highlight loop: Best of the fest: LCD Soundsystem, by far. The current six-person touring lineup is the most bloodthirsty live band around, with the guitarist from Hot Chip and the drummer from The Juan McLean propelling “All My Friends” and “North American Scum” far past their already-mindblowing studio versions. Best show I’ve seen all year, besides the one they did last month at New York’s Bowery Ballroom. They had Coachella’s happiest crowd too, gyrating in the Sahara Tent under a giant mirror ball. I can’t think of another band I would say this about, but if I took somebody to this gig and they didn’t have the best time of their life, I would assume they were profoundly fucked in the head. Hottest decade: The Nineties were EVERYWHERE. What was this, the Tibetan Freedom Fest? Rage, Bjork, the Chili Peppers, the Lemonheads, techno, trip-hop, punk, glow-sticks, Perry Farrell cameos… there was even a shitty ska band! (Sorry, didn’t stay long enough to get their name.) Nobody would have been surprised to see Tupac in the Mojave Tent. Best surprise: Arcade Fire. They paced it brilliantly, saving their best songs for a serial climax — I had no idea I liked them so much, but for the last five or six songs, starting with “Wake Up,” every intro made me go, “hey, THIS one.” “Rebellion (Lies)” was one of those corny sundown festival experiences whe

Published: 2007-05-01 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Coachella 2007