For the first time ever, bear witness to two of psychedelic metal’s greatest pioneers, each representing their own generation of fans, and together, blowing minds and eardrums nation-wide.
On April 6th, this beautiful trek will kick-off in Philadelphia, PA and extend through major Northeast cities (including New York and Boston), up to Montreal and Toronto, through the Mid-West, and back to the Southeast. Courtesy of Solid PR and Wonder Booking (and sponsored by Revolver Magazine and Steaz Organic Energy Drink), who, after witnessing the two bands perform a groundbreaking performance together @ 2006’s CMJ Marathon, made this passing thought a reality for all to see.
More information:
BLUE CHEER:
"The single most powerful band I’ve ever seen" - The Doors' Jim Morrison about Blue Cheer
"Most critics point to Sabbath and Zeppelin as influences for current metal bands such as Wolfmother and Mastodon. But Blue Cheer's unrelenting rawness, interesting use of distortion and love of blues has as much to do with those sounds as anyone else." - Columbus Alive
"The sheer kerrang and ballast of Blue Cheer’s cover of Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues” quickly struck a chord with the unwashed masses of the era, and helped put the danger back into rock ’n’ roll." - The Montreal Mirror
"Before I knew what was happening, the band picked me up and body slammed me with their sound. Blue Cheer was a revelation. More than anything, they showed me how heavy things were and made me wonder why things weren't as heavy now." - LiveNewOrleans.com
"The Who ripped these guys off!" - Pitchforkmedia.com
"Fathers of metal, godfathers of grunge, garage gods, the first ever loudest band in the world... many attributes, one name: BLUE CHEER." - Jambase.com
BLUE CHEER are the legendary cult heroes of all things rock n' roll. Formed in the late 1960's in San Francisco, the band helped blaze the trail of heavy metal music in America. A "power trio" named after a brand of LSD created by Owsley Stanley (Grateful Dead), the band broke through to the masses in 1968 when their cover of the song "Summertime Blues" climbed to #14 on the Billboard top 100 (the song appeared on the band's debut release "Vincebus Eruptum" and would later be covered by the Who in 1970).
While going through several lineup changes through their career, BLUE CHEER went on to release a catalogue of stellar albums that would go on to impact the world of heavy music (and many largely successful bands) forever, including "Outsideinside," "New! Imroved! Blue Cheer," "The Original Human Being," "Oh! Pleasent Hope," and also performed w/ legends such as the MC5, Jefferson Airplane, Vanilla Fudge, Ike & Tina Turner, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Clear Light, Captain Beefheart, and more. After a temporary split in 1971, the band reunited in '79 and toured the world w/ the likes of The Yardbirds, Biohazard, Danzig, Mucky Pup, and other heavy bands of great stature at that time.
Currently, the band is together and active, and within this past year, have toured the US w/ the likes of Witch (featuring J Mascis), Dead Meadow, Goblin Cock, and others, as well as performing at Vice's 2006 Intonation Festival (alongside the likes of Bloc Party, Ghostface Killah, The Boredoms, Dead Prez, Annie, High on Fire, and others.), and 2006's CMJ Music Marathon in New York City.
The current Blue Cheer lineup features 2/3 of the original band, Richard "Dickie" Peterson on lead vocals and bass, and Paul Whaley on drums. The two are joined by Duck MacDonald on guitar and have plans for an upcoming release in the Fall of 2007.
www.myspace.com/bluecheer
AN ALBATROSS:
"The quintessential neo-extremo screamo freakout outfit" - The Village Voice
“On Blessphemy, the same concert histrionics that have occasionally gotten An Albatross banned from venues bleed into their musicianship. The Zornographic jazzcore breakdowns on “Lysergically Yours, My Psychedelic Bride” verge on grindcore with precision, and the squealing dual-guitarisms on “The Trilogy: Behold the Light” would fit, for the less than half a second they appear, on Iron Maiden’s Powerslave album… before they break into a malaise of sax-y jazz, that is. Also, the band seem to have bumped their speed up a couple MPH since their last full-length.” – Decibel Magazine
“The six-piece charge through layers of maniacal noise made complete with an onslaught of assaulting guitar riffs, machine gun percussion, squiggly synths, and Gieda's volatile vocal thrusts." - Spin.com
An Albatross is a psychedelic sonic orgasm; a barrage of mechanical, jerky and discombobulated time signatures eclipsed by hectic Farfisa organ/synthesizer melodies. Not unlike sitting down with an average American family during primetime television, the music is unquestionably attention-span friendly for an ADD-diagnosed society: unbelievably short, complex, infectious bursts of polyrhythms and spirit.
After solidifying their early tour experiences and songwriting in the studio, a fledgling incarnation of the band in 2000 released the 12" EP "Eat Lightning, Shit Thunder" on Philadelphia upstart label When Humans Attack! The enhanced CD version, featuring explosive live footage that captures the unique synergism between the band and their audiences, followed soon afterwards on Bloodlink Records.
In 2002, An Albatross caught the attention of New York City’s Ace-Fu Label and forged a relationship that culminated in the 2003 release of the 8-minute merciless, aural onslaught, “We Are the Lazer Viking,” an enhanced CD EP produced by sonic savant Wharton Tiers (Sonic Youth, Helmet, Dinosaur Jr.). Quickly thereafter, the band released a follow-up split EP with Oakland’s legendary noise-rock outfit XBXRX on the Gold Standard Labs (GSL) label. September 2004 marked the beginning of the current line up featuring incendiary percussionist Edward Klinger, writhing, psychedel-evangelist vocalist Eddie B. Gieda III, rhythmic contortionista bassist Jay Hudak (who can also be seen playing bass in his side project Moon and Moon), circuit-bent breakneck speed-guitarist Jake Lisowski, and Farfisa-master, Phillip Reynolds Price.
With an unparalleled spirit stimulated by the current line-up and several recent releases in its pocket, the band set forth on an unbelievably rigorous tour schedule, crisscrossing the U.S. multiple times and making two transatlantic pilgrimages that amassed a staggering total of 600+ performances. The most noteworthy of these dates included a slot on the July ’04 French Eurockeennes Festival, a March ’05 BBC session - initiated by the late John Peel - and a support slot for the East Coast leg of the legendary Melt Banana’s 2005 spring tour as well as romps w/ metal-gods The Dillinger Escape Plan and Japan’s equivalent to Led Zeppelin, DMBQ.
The band’s performances have now acquired a quasi-legendary status, surpassing the traditional concert schema by facilitating a complete fusion of band and audience. Under the mythical banner of future-primitive/psychedelic entities like the Lazer Viking and The Electric Coyote, An Albatross’ Revolutionary Politics of Dance are executed nightly through their electrifying performances.
www.analbatross.com
www.myspace.com/analbatross23
BLUE CHEER / AN ALBATROSS Tour Dates:
Apr 6 2007 Northstar Bar Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Apr 7 2007 Rebel NYC, New York w/ Stephen Brodsky's Octave Museum
Apr 8 2007 Great Scott Allston, Massachusetts w/ Doomriders and Stephen Brodsky's Octave Museum
Apr 9 2007 La Sala Rossa Montreal
Apr 10 2007 Sneaky Dees Toronto
Apr 11 2007 The Underground Hamilton, Ontario
Apr 12 2007 Beachland Ballroom Cleveland, Ohio
Apr 13 2007 Mac's Bar Lansing, Michigan
Apr 14 2007 Schubas Tavern Chicago, Illinois w/ Del Rey
Apr 16 2007 31st Street Pub Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Apr 17 2007 Black Cat Washington DC
Apr 20 2007 BLUE CHEER @ The Roadburn Festival in Holland
Some awesome fliers from the fans:
