Christian Death is a common name in the underground scene. A deathrock/punk rock band formed in 1979 by Rozz Williams is now Valor’s and Maitri personal journey and music project. Christian Death is known for being one of the pioneers of the ‘deathrock’ genre, which is punk rock with horror elements among other visual delights. Chistian Death had seen several line ups and changes over the years and despite the dispute over the name, Gitane Demon was among the members that shared the stage with this creative artists where both Wlliams and Valor developed at some point.
NECRO SEXUAL TOUR

This is the first Christian Death Tour in year introducing a new album and a line line up.
Now is your chance to see them live at the Galaxy in Santa Ana, a show not to be missed!

It’s great news to hear about this Necro Sexual Tour after such a long period of silence from Valor and company. Secondly, after hearing the samples of The American Inquisition I had the feeling that this was going to be a really great album, and a return for the band. The album’s concept is focused on the illness of society: drugs, former US President Bush, evangelical religion and how self centered society is. It is more deathrock than anything they have done in a very, very, long time and it seems like they have moved away from metal a bit, which is a good thing! Metal fans who like their last few albums might be dissappointed because it sounds like their old school deathrock material. Still they might play their Christian Death classics for the hardcore fans pleasure!

Galaxy Theatre
3503 S. Harbor Blvd.
Santa Ana, CA 92704
(714) 957-0600

Band Members:

Valor – vocals, guitar, violin
Maitri – vocals, bass guitar
Nate Hassan – drums
Chains Lenihan – guitar

www.myspace.com/christiandeath
www.christiandeath.com

Café Tacvba

August, 22 2008 at Greek Theater
Located in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California.

Cafe Tacvba es sin duda una de las bandas mas vanguardistas que se han mantenido claros en su propuesta musical, lejos de formulas y siempre avidos de nuevos retos. A mas de 15 años de haberles visto por primera vez en el famoso “LUCC” (La ultima carcajada de la combancha) en Mexico, los Tacvbos no han dejado de ser aquella technopolka y punk agropecuario con el que se dieron a conocer en los 90’s si no que se han expandido a otros horizontes cada vez mas eclecticos. Sino…

Una de las caracteristicas de Ruben ahora autodenominado “Sizu Yantra”, un personaje de pequeña estatura es su afan de cambiar de apariencia en cada nuevo material que lanzan, es un gigante en el escenario con su estilo camaleonico unico, lejos de protagonismos y falsas pretensiones. Enrique Rangel “Quique”, Emmanuel Del Real “Meme”, Ruben Albarrán y Joselo Rangel han estado juntos por mas de 3 lustros desde sus inicios en la ahora super contaminada ciudad Satelite donde les veiamos tocar de antro en antro acostumbrandonos a esa evolucion casi obligada de los Cafeta, como los conoce sus admiradores en la capital mexicana. No por nada se han convertido una de las bandas de culto que hay que conocer de cerca para entender que la globalizacion no solo es de tipo comercial o economica, si no tambien cultural y musical, SINO es prueba de ello, sino vayan a comprobarlo este viernes al Greek Theater.

Ya luego hablaremos al respecto…

Biografia

Café Tacuba fue fundado en 1989 en los suburbios norteños de la ciudad de México por los estudiantes de diseño Rubén Albarrán y Joselo Rangel, su hermano Enrique Rangel y su amigo Emmanuel del Real. ¡Al fin!, fue la frase repetida por sus admiradores al lanzamiento su primer, omónimo álbum Café Tacuba en 1992. El cuarteto se había dedicado a tocar tanto que sus canciones eran ampliamente conocidas y gustadas, pero no se habían acercado a ninguna de las compañias disqueras que los vigilaban con distancia. Y hasta Warner Music, que los contrató, quedó sorprendida cuando, a dos semanas de la aparición del mismo, rebasaron las 40 mil copias con las que la empresa se hubiera dado por satisfecha ese año.

Café Tacuba ameritó doble disco de oro en México y fue invitado internacionalmente en los festivales Lollapalooza (Irving Meadows, CA.), Street Scene (San Diego), Viva Chicago y llegaron hasta Rennes, en Francia, en el festival Trnas Musicales de la Salle de la Cité, MIDEM (The Music Show) en Cannes y en La Dolce Vita de Lausanne, Suiza.

En 1994 Café Tacuba hace un reconocimiento musical del carácter cíclico de la cultura. Retomado con toda energia vanguardista que da pie a su renovada reproducción fonográfica 1994: Re Reciclaje Repetición Reiteración Resistencia (revés) Re acopió 20 canciones que, grabadas bajo la producción de Gustavo Santaolla, presentan un inédito collage musical -tan diverso que fue comparado con el “álbum blanco” Beatle- repleto de diferencias culturales y personales que remiten a sonidos de cepa y raíz en un disco lleno de gratas sorpresas que se va descubriendo conforme transcurren y -prueba de lo añejo- que rejuvenece como buen vino al escucharlo. Re Recibió Disco de oro por sus ventas y el video de la canción Ingrata fue designado Mejor Video de 1994 en los MTV Video Music Awards.

Con espíritu ilimitado a cualquier proyecto donde abrirse a nuevas perspectivas musicales, café tacuba dió a conocer en 1996 Avalancha De Exitos, siete versiones de temas ajenos con arreglos libres y propositivos, que dieron pie a la más intensa etapa de actividad para el grupo. Producido también por su inseparable productor Gustavo Santaolla, grabado en México y postproducido en Los Angeles, su primer sencillo Chilanga Banda se oyó, analizó, usó de referencia, bailó y redefinió: “…mi compañero mata la bacha y canta: ‘La Cucaracha’…!. El urbano e impactante video de este sencillo fue designado como mejor del año en los MTV Video Musical Award de 1996.
La década de los noventa supone la consolidación para un rock mexicano donde Café Tacuba es el grupo que mejor la encarna, convirtiéndose en la formación más relevante del rock alternativo.

http://www.myspace.com/cafetacvba

Cafe Tacvba

With an unpredicatble spectacle that’s equally eye-candy and ear-charming, this great audio-visual band makes all stereotypes to fail. Re-defining the old-school labels of synth-pop, Gram Rabbit Rocks!. An intense hybrid of sounds a la Devo and NIN with a little darky twist that still is fresh, upbeat and sticks to you. A show not to be missed!

Twisted synth-pop quartet GRAM RABBIT announce upcoming dates in California, Utah and Idaho this summer, with more to be added. The first date will be this week’s special Independence Day show at the band’s hometown club Pappy and Harriet’s, presented by Los Angeles radio station KCRW. From the unlikely haven of Joshua Tree, California, GRAM RABBIT synthesizes an original blend of rock, country and techno, featuring socio-politically charged lyrics with a playful edge.

Drawing comparisons to Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart and the Queens of the Stone Age in an early feature written by Los Angeles Times’ Richard Cromelin, GRAM RABBIT have been critical darlings and concert favorites for years since their first appearances. They have received significant airplay on INDIE 103.1 Los Angeles, and have been championed by nationally-renowned station KCRW. The band has mesmerized crowds at Coachella – where their CDs sold out at the event’s Virgin Megastore stand – as well as San Diego’s Street Spirit festival, and London’s Wireless festival.

The LA Weekly declares, “Gram Rabbit offer up in spectacle exactly what they do in sound: music that reminds you of everything from eerie desert twilights to Carter-family country and then again sounds like nothing you’ve ever heard.” In a special blog, suicidegirls.com editor Helen Jupiter writes, “Gram Rabbit is the music I’d been looking for, even though I didn’t realize I was looking.”

Live performances find lead singer Jessica Von Rabbit decked out in dishy stage costumes and bunny ears – if not a full rabbit mask – alongside guitarist/vocalist Todd Rutherford, also dressed to the nines; the two appear as if the evil descendants of folk couple Ian & Sylvia. The founding members are joined on stage by Ethan Allen on guitar and Hillary Hack on electronics. Shows have been known to include audience participation, scantily clad dancers, and a rotating lineup of backup musicians. The band reports that the upcoming shows will include “ear candy, eye candy, and a pot of strange brew.”

Gram Rabbit will be playing material from their latest release, Radio Angel & The RobotBeat, produced by guitarist Allen (Kristin Hersh, 50 Foot Wave, Luscious Jackson). The album features the appropriately titled “I Wear The Ears,” a call-to-arms track with a slowly sinister electronic beat augmented by clock tower bells, string samples and Rabbit’s devilish command to “Activate your frontal lobe/disengage your anal probe.”

In regards to the new shows, Jessica offers up a couplet, “We’re hot and weird with that desert soul/but in the end we’re still rock and roll.”

TOUR DATES:

Friday, July 4: Performance – 9:00PM

KCRW Presents

Pappy & Harriets
Pioneer Town, CA
Tickets – $10.00

Sunday, August, 24: Performance – 2.30PM

Indie 103.1 FM Presents

Sunset Junction
Los Angeles, CA
Tickets – $15.00

Tuesday, September 2: Performance – 10:00PM

Burt’s Tiki Lounge
Salt Lake City, UT
Tickets – $8.00

Wednesday, September 3: Performance – 6:00PM

Alive After 5 – The Grove Plaza
Boise, ID
Tickets – Free

www.gramrabbit.com
www.myspace.com/gramrabbit

LATIN ALTERNATIVE MUSIC CONFERENCE (LAMC) ANNOUNCES ARTIST LINEUP AND PANEL SCHEDULE

Free Central Park SummerStage Concert (Saturday, July 12th) Features Mexican Rock Songstress Julieta Venegas and Monterrey’s Electro-Rockers Plastilina Mosh Along With Chilean Buzz DJ Bitman

Free Celebrate Brooklyn @ Prospect Park Concert (Friday, July 11th) Features Brazilian Girls, Miranda! And Ticklah

Additional LAMC Artists Include Pacha Massive, Mexican Institute of Sound, CuCu Diamantes (Yerba Buena), Ticklah, Emmanuel Horvilleur, Sussie 4, Ximena Sariana, Zigmat And Forro In The Dark.

The Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC) has announced this summer’s concert and showcase lineup. Among the highlights are a free Central Park Summer Stage concert on Saturday, July 12th featuring Mexican rock songstress Julieta Venegas, Mexican electro-rockers Plastilina Mosh and Chilean buzz DJ Bitman. LAMC’s annual concert at Celebrate Brooklyn will take place the evening of Friday, July 11th in Prospect Park, and this year’s lineup will feature Argentine electro-pop band Miranda!, New York City’s own melting pop band Brazilian Girls and dub master Ticklah (Easy Star All-Stars + Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra). Additional LAMC events include an Experimental Film Night in Brooklyn, Music and Film Night @ Central Park SummerStage, Indie Showcase @ The Mercury Lounge, Terra showcase @ Bowery Ballroom, Cyloop/Gibson Acoustic Showcase @ SOB’s, and the Pepsi Blue Carpet Bash Closing Party.

(SEE FURTHER BELOW FOR FULL ARTIST LINEUP AND SCHEDULE)

With a warm welcome from the Big Apple, the biggest event in the world for cutting-edge Latin music will return to the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City from July 8th – 12th. Discounted registration for LAMC is available for only $249 at www.latinalternative.com (discounted rate expires on June 1st ). Featuring leading artists as well as many of the music industry’s most prominent decision-makers, the ninth annual LAMC is a “must play” event for developing and established acts alike.

“Major music events like the 9th Annual Latin Alternative Music Conference draw music fans from around the world to New York City,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “Through the work of the Latin Media and Entertainment Commission, New York has been able to attract and retain major Latin events generating millions in economic activity for our City. As we continue to showcase the talent and rich cultural diversity of Nueva York, hosting events like the LAMC helps us as we stake our claim as the Latin media and entertainment capital of the world.”

With past conferences averaging more than 1,250 music industry attendees and 25,000 concert fans each year, LAMC 2008 promises to be an exciting year yet again. This multi-day conference provides networking opportunities with the genre’s leading artists, label executives, journalists, marketers, managers, retailers and programmers. It is the most extensive Latin music conference to date.

LAMC will be returning for its second year in Mexico City and Buenos Aires on September 5th and September 22th-24th, respectively.

Tuesday, July 8th:

- 8:00pm – 11:00pm: LAMC Underground Film Night at 282 North Henry Gallery (Brooklyn)
Featuring ¿Habrán Esperanzas?, a film by Felipe Monsalve With DJ set to be provided by special Guest DJ
Presented by Zune

Wednesday, July 9th:

- 3:00pm – 5:00pm: LAMC Registration @ The Roosevelt Hotel

- 5:00pm – 8:00pm: LAMC Music & Film Night at Central Park Summerstage featuring Bragging Rights: Stickball Stories, a film by Sonia N. Gonzalez, with musical performance by CuCu Diamantes (of Yerba Buena) and prelude by Andres Levin.

- 8:00pm – 1:00am: LAMC Indie Showcase at The Mercury Lounge
Co-Presented by GoTV, Gibson, Discmakers, and Myspace Latino
Performances by Zigmat (New York), Che Sudaka (Barcelona), Allá (Chicago), Forro in the Dark (New York), Guajiro (Puerto Rico/Miami) plus special guests!

Thursday, July 10th:

- 9:00am – 5:00pm: LAMC Registration, Panels & Exhibits @ The Roosevelt Hotel

- 11:00am – 5:00pm: Panel Day One at The Roosevelt Hotel featuring topics:

WIDENING LATIN MUSIC’S GLOBAL REACH: How new tour markets and new technologies are creating opportunities at home and abroad Presented by Cyloop

CAN I OUTSOURCE MY RECORD LABEL (OR NOT)?: New business models in a changing marketplace

HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE: How the U.S. Latin listener hears new music
Presented by Batanga

- 6:00pm – 8:30pm: LAMC Acoustic Showcase at SOB’s Co-Presented by Cyloop and Gibson
Performances by: Che Sudaka, Udi E Geral, Chana, Emmanuel Horvilleur, Zigmat, Very Be Careful, plus special guests!

- 9:00pm – 1:00am: LAMC Bowery Ballroom Showcase Presented by Terra
Performances by: Pacha Massive, Emmanuel Horvilleur, Sussie 4, Mexican Institute of Sound, Ximena Sariñana, plus special guests!

Friday, July 11th:

- 9:00am – 5:00pm: LAMC Registration, Panels & Exhibits @ The Roosevelt Hotel, Mezzanine Level

- 11:30am – 5:00pm: Panel Day Two at The Roosevelt Hotel featuring topics:

BLOGUEANDO: How Latino-oriented and indie music blogs and bloggers are helping artists connect with new audiences and brands

FROM UGLY BETTY TO TIGER WOODS: Licensing opportunities for new Latin sounds

- 2:00pm – 3:00pm: Moses Avalon Q&A session

- 7:30pm – 11:00pm: LAMC/Celebrate Brooklyn Show at Prospect Park Bandshell Presented by ZUNE
Performances by: Brazilian Girls, Ticklah and Miranda!

Saturday, July 12th:

- 3:00pm -7:00pm: LAMC/Central Park Summerstage Show at Rumsey Playfield Presented by MTV Tr3s
Performances by: Julieta Venegas, Plastilina Mosh and DJ Bitman

- 8:00pm – 10:00pm: Pepsi Blue Carpet Bash/LAMC Closing Night Party Sponsored by ZUNE, Pepsi and others
Come out and celebrate with the spirits and sounds of some of Latin Alternative’s hottest artists!

For more information on the Latin Alternative Music Conference please visit:
www.latinalternative.com

MERLINMOON LANDS AT THE CRASH MANSION WITH ITS LATEST MUSICAL OPUS STONED BY DREAMS

Los Angeles – April 21, 2008 – Take all the alluring elements of ’70s rock, entwine them with the soul and philosophy of a Venezuelan born artist Alex Deep, and watch them shape shift and fuse into one single entity… Merlinmoon. The musician, who came out of the mystical tropics of Venezuela via Boston and now resides in Los Angeles, will be performing at the Crash Mansion (1024 S. Grand Ave.) in Los Angeles on May 17 in support of the forthcoming release Stoned By Dreams. Doors open at 8 p.m.; tickets are $20 dollars. (310) 358-1881.

Deep created his first EP Poppy Fields in Boston and soon moved to Los Angeles to work on his full-length debut with producer Ronan Chris Murphy. The result of the musical alchemy is the golden epic, Stoned By Dreams, which mines the stars for inspiration and the grand design of life for truths. The music is psychedelic-alternative rock to be performed in arenas for fans that listen to albums through headphones. The opus of the album, “Days of Rage Into the Light” clocks in at nearly 20 minutes and is layered deeply with sounds reminiscent of Pink Floyd that are sobered by Merlinmoon’s philosophy, before an upbeat coda returns the song to a celebratory climax. One can picture Merlinmoon as a whirling dervish onstage, entrancing the audience to follow his path. Other songs, like “If I Could Be the Wind”, “Fall Into Place”, and “Under Next Year’s Sun” deal with love and loss in a more straightforward song structure. The themes may be familiar to fans of classic rock, but the direction that Merlinmoon takes the songs is more cerebral. He invites you to listen to the philosophy while relishing tin the guitar solos and lush instrumentation that round out the music, which is always recorded in analog on vintage gear to capture the sensibility of ’70s rock. Think Porcupine Tree merged with The Doves peppered with psychedelic bits .

“This record has a great equilibrium between my philosophy and my life,” says Merlinmoon. “I know what I want to listen to in a record, and I don’t want the record to talk about the same thing because it would be like a day without a night, a flat rollercoaster without excitement.”

This album incites its listeners to rejoice life, and revel in its elemental magic. “My hope for this album is that it gives people the courage to wake up and start living.”

www.merlinmoon.com

UPCOMING TOUR DATES

Sat May 17
Los Angels, CA
Crash Mansion

Fri May 23
Las Vegas, NV
Ice House

Fri May 23
Sacramento, CA
Kennel Club

Sat May 24
Reno, NV
Tonic Lounge

Thu May 29
Santa Barbara, CA
Whiskey Richards

Sat May 31
San Diego, CA
O’Connell’s

Nacido el 6 de septiembre de 1943 en un pueblo llamado Great Bookman a unas 20 millas de Londres, Inglaterra, George Roger Waters es la piedra filosofal junto a Syd Barret para conjurar Pink Floyd en 1966. Apenas con veintitantos años de edad, ya habia una propuesta original de corte melancólico y de sentimientos profundos, influenciada por una infancia tristre y sórdida al haber perdido a su padre en la segunda guerra mundial magistralmente representada en la pelicula ¨Pink Floyd The Wall¨ que genialmente dirigida por Alan Parker.

A mas de 40 años de un recorrido incansable, Waters interviene en proyectos nunca antes vistos. Precisamente meses antes de participar en Coachella, unos de los festivales musicales mas esperados en el sur de California, a traves de un buen amigo recibe la oferta de tocar en Buenos Aires, Argentina para participar durante un congreso de música que pretende inspirar a niños de escazos recursos. Paralelamente interviene con una sinfónica juvenil en la ciudad de Venezuela, trayendo esperanza a cientos de jovenes y niños que aspiran a ser músicos. ¨Hay mucho talento y también mucha necesidades en Latinomamerica¨ aseguró Roger Waters con un aire de compasión al referirse a estos paises donde proximamente estará presentándose.

Coachella es apenas una muestra de los que Waters esta haciendo actualmente y para sorpresa de muchos está mas activo que nunca ayudando a los que mas lo necesitan y sobre todo derribando muros de incomprensión e indiferencia, haciendo un homenaje póstumo a su obra maestra ¨The Wall¨ donde ya los muros son cosa del pasado.

Doña Migraña

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The ALAS organization announced its plans to hold two large, free concerts in Mexico City and Buenos Aires on May 17th to aid impoverished children in Latin America. Among the artists confirmed to perform are Alejandro Sanz, Shakira, Ricky Martin, Juanes, Los Tigres del Norte, Mana, Miguel Bose, Juan Luis Guerra, Babasonicos, Calle 13, Gustavo Cerati, Jorge Drexler, Roger Waters and more.

http://www.fundacionalas.org

George Roger Waters was born on September 6, 1943. He was born in Great Bookham, in Surrey, which is near a town called Dorking, about twenty miles south of London. Many of his songs are about the Second World War, in which his father, Eric Fletcher Waters (to whom The Final Cut was dedicated) died during the British invasion of Anzio, Italy. Waters describes his childhood in Musician Magazine, 1992.

Roger Waters started playing on “The Abdabs” (1965). The Abdabs mostly played rhythm and blues songs. Juliette later married Wright, and she, Noble, and Metcalf all quit the band. Waters then brought in Bob Close and Syd Barrett for guitars, then later Close left, leaving the original recorded Pink Floyd lineup. In late ‘65, they became “The Pink Floyd Sound,” then just “The Pink Floyd.” The name Pink Floyd came from albums by two blues artists, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council, that were in Syd Barrett’s collection. It had often been said that using the name came to Syd in a vision.

The Floyd began to attract attention in mid-1966, frequently playing such underground hangouts as The UFO Club and The Marquee Club’s Spontaneous Underground. It was during this time that they made the transition from playing psychedelic R&B covers to doing their own songs; almost exclusively Syd Barrett compositions. As Floyd biographer Miles has said about this period, “The Floyd were the loudest band anyone had ever heard at that time. They were also the weirdest. They were the underground band.”

The Floyd’s growing underground popularity led to a single, “Arnold Layne,” released in March of 1967. It entered the British charts at #20, resulting in national media exposure for the band. Their followup single, “See Emily Play,” stayed on the charts for 7 weeks, reaching #6. The Pink Floyd’s first LP, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, also remained on the charts for 7 weeks, and also reached #6.

The success that followed their first two singles and Piper proved to be too much for Syd, as the vast quantities of drugs he was taking in, the blind worship of his fans, and other factors all made him unpredictable on stage and in the studio. The other members of the group decided to bring in an additional guitarist to cover for Syd, and thus David Gilmour was asked to join the band.

With the addition of Gilmour and Syd’s declining state, it was shortly decided that the band could carry on without him, and so one night they simply didn’t pick him up on the way to a show.

Pink Floyd went on recording, releasing A Saucerful Of Secrets, Ummagumma, Atom Heart Mother, and doing a few sountracks. It was during this time that they began to show the talent that would lead to the creating of DSOTM. Meddle was in a way a precursor to DSOTM and included a full side-long track called ‘Echoes.’ Pink Floyd began playing portions of Dark Side Of The Moon before it’s release in late ‘72 and early ‘73. Dark Side of The Moon, of course, went on to be a phenomenal success and still remains a fairly high selling album (it would still be on the Billboard top 200 if the rules allowed it).

Following the incredible success of Dark Side Of The Moon, Pink Floyd found themselves in a difficult position. They had achieved the goal of every rock group, but now they were left adrift. At this time they began experimenting with everyday objects music. That is, all the music was to be played with everyday objects such as bottles, washing boards, etc… After some experimentation with this, the band scrapped the idea and began work on what was to be Wish You Were Here.

At this time Roger noted that during the sessions, the band didn’t really seem to be there. In a way that is what Wish You Were Here is referring to. There are also some rather obvious jabs at the music industry. Wish You Were Here was released on September 15, 1975, but the band didn’t tour immediately.

When the band did tour in early ‘77 their set consisted of WYWH as well as two constantly evolving songs from what was to be Animals. They released Animals on January 23, 1977. During this tour, Roger Waters received his impetus for the creation of The Wall. The pure greed of doing stadium shows sickened him. The last show of this tour was when Roger actually spat on a fan in contempt.

Following the tour, Roger and the band took a break of sorts. It was during this time that Roger wrote both The Wall and The Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking. He brought both to the rest of the band and informed them that he wanted to do one with the band and do the other as a solo project. The band rejected ‘Pros and Cons’ as being too personal and they began work on The Wall.

The Wall was recorded in about a year with Bob Ezrin constantly mediating and creating disputes with Roger Waters. The end result was a masterpiece by most accounts. The following tour of The Wall was found to be too expensive to do in many cities, so several cities were chosen as sites for several shows (the US had shows in New York and Los Angeles). These shows are considered by many Pink Floyd fans who attended to be the best concerts ever put on by Pink Floyd.

Following the tour of The Wall, Waters went to work on his next work, The Final Cut. This album served as a vent for Roger’s anger about the death of his father. The rest of the band wasn’t really involved in its production. It has been stated that the rest of the band considered the album to be a bunch of discards from The Wall. Dave Gilmour only sings on one song (‘Not Now John’). This non-contribution of the other members of Pink Floyd extends to most of the musical background as well. This is probably the reason why TFC doesn’t sound much like any other PF album. During the recording of TFC it became pretty obvious that the band could not produce together anymore.

In 1983, following The Final Cut, Roger Waters unofficially left Pink Floyd in order to pursue a solo career (Incidently David Gilmour attempted a solo career at that time as well). Waters released The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking (which had been rejected as a possible Pink Floyd album) on May 8, 1984 and immediately followed it with a tour. This tour didn’t do near as well as Waters had anticipated and so many tour dates were cancelled.

In mid-85, he decided to terminate his personal management deal with Steve O’Rourke, who was pressuring him to make another Floyd album. He left the group officially, thinking it was dead — or at least, that it certainly wouldn’t / couldn’t produce without him. Obviously he was wrong on whether they would/could produce without him. An extremely pro-Roger article was written at the time by Penthouse Magazine. Just about this time, Roger was finishing up his work on the music for the film “When the Wind Blows” and was finishing up his second solo album.

Radio K.A.O.S., released on July 15, 1987, was his next album and dealt with a typically Roger type topic…soap opera politics. This album was a departure from the normal music that Waters usually produced in that it had a lot of synthesizers and sampling. Roger has stated that he made some mistakes on this album and was pushed into things that he would, on hindsight, have stayed away from. The album was again followed by a tour which had troubles selling out gigs.

Although Waters had stated that he wasn’t interested in doing any more stadium shows, he ‘changed’ his mind when the Berlin Wall came down. The Wall – Live in Berlin was to be a celebration of freedom as well as a sort of coming out party for Waters. Many well-known artists decided to work with Waters on the concert and the concert was broadcast live on July 21, 1990. From eye witness accounts as well as from those who were lucky (or unlucky) enough to see the live version, the concert was a jumble of errors. The low-lights being a span of silence early in the show and the infamous Sinead O’Connor rendition of ‘Mother.’ The concert was immediately (directly following the show) gone over by the artists involved in the concert and particularly bad portions were dubbed over or taken from rehersals. Proceeds from the album as well as the video have gone to ‘The Memorial Fund for Disaster Relief.’

Fans had a fairly short wait for the Roger’s next album, Amused to Death. Amused to Death was released on September 1, 1992 and was immediately touted by Roger as being on par with The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon. Although the album didn’t sell as well as anticipated and received mixed reviews, Sony must have agreed with him as they produced the album in a gold format. Waters stated that if the album sold well (3 to 4 million US sales) then he would tour. Unfortunately, only a few stations broadcast his first single ‘What God Wants’ and the second single ‘Three Wishes’ was scrapped by the record company to ‘cut their losses.’ This lack of publicity cut into album sales and so Roger didn’t grace us with his presence. All in all, I find this album to be his best musically and lyrically since leaving Pink Floyd and I would highly recommend its purchase.

http://www.roger-waters.com/

ICONIC ARGENTINE RASTA PUNK ROCKERS TODOS TUS MUERTOS RELEASE ‘GREATEST HITS’ TODAY

Leading rock bands like Rage Against The Machine and Foo Fighters have praised Todos Tus Muertos for their tremendous musical influence. Their music has been out of print In The United States for almost 10 Years and will be available at digital outlets for the first time.

Sample Select Tracks From The ‘Greatest Hits’: here and Revisit The Classic Groundbreaking Video For Punk Anthem: Mate

“Riddled with controversial messages and island rhythms, Argentine polyglot rockers Todos Tus Muertos have been making a political multi-genre scene, a la The Clash in Britain, since their inception in 1985 .” -CMJ

Nacional Records released the new greatest hits album by iconic Argentine rasta punk band Todos Tus Muertos today, February 19th. The album is a collection of the group’s timeless tracks as well as several bonus songs. Highlights include “Dale Aborigen”, featuring Manu Chao as well as members of Los Fabulosos Cadillacs and Los Autenticos Decadentes. Todos Tus Muertos are renowned for their influence on top rock acts such as Rage Against the Machine and Foo Fighters. Todos Tus Muertos (“All Your Dead”) was born in Buenos Aires in 1985.

The group named itself in honor of the tens of thousands murdered by former Argentine dictator Jorge Rafael Videla. They quickly broke onto an unsuspecting Latin American music scene with a unique mixture of social messages and massive doses of punk, ragga, reggae and raw energy.

After being named the Best International Group by the leading 1990s Latin-rock magazine La Banda Elastica , Todos Tus Muertos gained attention around the world. Renowned for their explosive live shows, Todos Tus Muertos have toured across North America, South America, Europe and Asia throughout their storied career. Their music has influenced scores of new artists across the Americas.

‘Greatest Hits’– Tracklisting:
1. Andate
2. Rasta Vive
3. Sé Que No / Requebra
4. No Te La Vas A Acabar
5. Todo Lo Daría
6. Tu Alma Mía / Adelita
7. Mate
8. Asesinos Profesionales
9. Jah Lion
10. Mandela
11. Hijo Nuestro
12. Políticos
13. Dale Aborigen
14. Lehenbiziko Bala
15. Trece
16. Incomunicado
17. Mandela Dub
18. No Más Apartheid

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