Lindsey Buckingham is going out on tour in May out west. There will be more shows added as time goes on. This is a one man show by Buckingham. It is just him and his guitar. Not a Stevie Nicks in sight. For those who somehow are unaware he is a really good guitarist. This fact may come out more in his solo work.

He will play Fleetwood Mac material too of course.

Who says I never post stuff for the old folks? Not that you young whipper snappers shouldn’t head out to see these shows--especially you guitar playing youngsters. You might learn something.

Follow up for more dates at www.lindseybuckingham.com.

Tour
5/3    Solana Beach, CA        Belly Up Tavern
5/4    Los Angeles, CA        The Wiltern
5/5    San Juan Capistrano, CA    Coach House
5/6    Thousand Oaks, CA      Fred Kavli Theatre/Thousand Oaks Civic Arts
5/8    San Luis Obispo. CA        Fremont Theatre
5/9    Fresno, CA            Tower Theatre
5/10   Carmel, CA            Sunset Central Center
5/11   Santa Cruz, CA            Rio Theatre
5/13   Sacramento, CA        Crest Theatre
5/14   San Francisco. CA        The Fillmore
5/15   Redding, CA            The Cascade Theatre
5/17   Bend, OR            Tower Theatre
5/18   Portland, OR            Aladdin Theatre
5/19    Seattle, WA            The Neptune
5/21    Spokane, WA            Bing Crosby Theatre

A Light Sleeper are a band out of Chicago. They play a sort of hypnotic, ethereal music that will appeal to a pretty wide swath of musical tastes. I hesitate to use the word “jazz” because, to me, modern jazz calls up images of people who think music is a math problem and their stuff sounds like they stuffed a pygmy marmoset into their saxophone and are playing it with a chainsaw.

But I digress.

This band is not about that at all. There are just whiffs of jazz from an earlier, less horrible era. They have more in common with, as I noted, ethereal ambient. They are playing instruments and singing rather than pushing a button which brings a new angle to the style. This is not to slag on those who push buttons or ride the nob. I admire those skills to.

There is more to this band than ambient too. There are hints of genres ranging from classical to klezmer here—and all in three tracks. Worth a listen. I found it relaxing.

A Light Sleeper have a new ep out on Another New Calligraphy entitled Brevity. You can hear it via their Soundcloud Page (below), stream it HERE  or buy it HERE (I assume a physical copy…?).

A Light Sleeper will play live on April 8 at the Beat Kitchen—always a nice place to see a show, have some drinks, maybe something to eat…

Reptile Youth, out of Denmark, are actually lizards adn have just released a single--Speeddance (part of this sentence is not true). This is the duo's first single and it is available digitally and as a 7 inch (via hfn music). The single has a remake of the song by Norwegian outfit, Deathcrush, as well as a remix by Canadians, My Favorite Robot. It is all very international.

Reptile Youth plan a full length later in the year. Their release says they were founded in 2009. They toured China. And yet….this is their first single.

Have a listen to the track and a look at the video.

The Cribs have a new video for their single, Come On, Be A No-One, made with Patrick Stanton while one a U.K. tour. The band are not fond of making videos but they like this one. The video premiered at the Noisey Youtube channel. Noisey.com set up shop in March to coincide with SXSW with an aim to discovering undiscovered bands.

There is an album upcoming and they are heading out on tour as well. You can win tickets at their Facebook page.

Javelin are heading out on tour—mostly opening for Sleigh Bells—but also doing the odd headliner. The band was at SXSW and have recently released two limited 12 inches, Javelin and Javelin 2. Only 500 copies of each were released. They will come out digitally April 17.

The group consists of cousins George Langford and Tom Van Buskirk. They produce their own music and work mixing and producing for others (Cee-Lo, Future Islands, Warpaint, Health, Darwin Deez). Their multi-genre debut full length, No Mas, was followed last year by the Canyon Candy EP. A new full-length is in the works.

Tour (w Sleigh Bells)
*Javelin only (Headlining)   

4/3 San Diego, CA - 4th& B
4/4 Pomona, CA - Fox Theatre
4/5 San Francisco, CA - The Warfield Theatre
4/7 Portland, OR - Roseland Theatre
4/8 Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo
4/11 Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Bowl * 
4/12 Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot
4/13 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
4/14 Omaha, NE - Slowdown
4/16 Oklahoma City, OK - Diamond Ballroom
4/17 Dallas, TX - Granada Theatre
4/18 Houston, TX - Warehouse Live

The Bellwether Syndicate are a new group about to play their first gig (in Chicago). These are not folks unaccustomed to bright lights. William Faith—of seminal dark rock act Faith & the Muse— plays lead guitar and sings, Mike Skull plays bass and Philly Peroxide is on keyboards. Lastly, and certainly not leastly, Scary Lady Sarah is on guitar and vocals. Dark music enthusiasts the world over will likely be aware of Sarah as a DJ. This is her first foray into making music in many years.

The band have a kickstarter plan for the new record and a video (nearly funded). They play their debut show Friday, April 20 2012 at Bottom Lounge, 1375 West Lake St. in Chicago.

I understand as part of their performance William Faith is going to have both his feet cut off.

And yes, I originally spelled their name wrong...

Heaven are heading out on tour with Swervedriver…after appearances beginning today at SXSW. The band is a blend of psychedeia and new wave. The group is from New York and are brainchild of Matt Sumrow and Mikey Jones (along with Ryan Lee Dunlap). All have worked with other acts touring and recording.

The band have a self-titled 7 inch out and the tour will be in support of that release.

Tour
*with Swervedriver
3/14 - SXSW - Goodnight Records Showcase @ 2:15pm
3/15 - SXSW - Austin Psych Fest Party, Spiderland Ballroom @ 11:25pm
3/28 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer 
3/29 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall*
3/30 - Washington DC - Rock and Roll Hotel*
3/31 - New York City, NY - Bowery Ballroom *
4/2 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop*
4/3 - Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge*
4/6 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's*     3/7 - Los Angeles, CA - Key Club*  
 

The Forecastle Festival is an event about music, art and activism that takes place yearly in Louisville, Kentucky. The initial lineup for this year’s festival was announced earlier and is below. The festival takes place from July 13-15, 2012.  Ultimately there will be over 70 bands playing on five stages. This is a pretty big event compared to the early days as a small, free, outdoor neighborhood event.

This seems like a great line-up and Louisville really is a nice city to visit. Forget everything you saw on Justified. Kentucky is perfectly civilized.

The list below will have addition acts added and there will be art installations, environmental activities, outdoor extreme sports part, food and a slew of other activities. There will also be separate parties (with separate fees) after hours as well. Fifty cents from every purchase go to the Forecastle Foundation which is dedicated to local education and international environmental conservation. To find out more about the foundation go HERE.

For details on who plays when, costs and more head to www.forecastlefest.com.

Lineup

My Morning Jacket
Bassnectar
Wilco
Girl Talk
Andrew Bird
Sleigh Bells
Atmosphere
Neko Case
Clutch
A-Trak
Galactic
Flying Lotus
Beach House
The Head and the Heart
Stax! Soul Revue
Dr. Dog
Deer Tick
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires
Beats Antique
Real Estate
Justin Townes Earle
Washed Out
Walk The Moon
Dean Wareham Plays Galaxie 500
Wye Oak
Atlas Sound
Fruit Bats
Daedelus
Ben Sollee
Orchestre Poly-Rythmo
JEFF the Brotherhood
The Features
Mike Doughty
Tanlines
Zion I
Sleeper Agent
Floating Action
Wick-It The Instigator
James Vincent McMorrow
Wax Fang
Daniel Martin Moore
King's Daughters & Sons
Houndmouth
Cheyenne Marie Mize
The Ravenna Colt
Rachel Grimes
Nerves Junior
Cabin
Scarlet Smile
Lydia Burrell

Slam Donahue has two new tracks for your perusal at your Soundcloud Page, It’s Scary and No More Talking. Both tracks are off the soon to drop Big House Nice Dreams Mixtape which comes out March 28.

Stylistically the band are eclectic with roots in hip hop, R& B, new wave and more. Don’t let any of those labels scare you. This is accessible stuff.  A “proper” full length record comes out later this year.

Slick Shoota’s new EP, 8 Bit Beauty, comes out March 26, 2012 on Loose Squares. You can check out the track, Blaze It, and download it at Soundcloud,. Slick Shoota is from the hood ...in Trondheim, Norway. A remixer of note he works in a slew of sub-genres from jugle to garage, breaks, juke and more.

He has worked with a variety of artists, Fuzzy Logick, Joss Ryan, Falty DL, Dev79, Heartbreak, Mr. Mitch and more. Check out the music if you are into any sort of electronic dance floor styling.