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Gotta love this quote…I think we’ve got a certain power that a lot of bands don’t have, and we’re pretty tight. Dinosaur’s a lot more of a machine at this point."
Dinosaur Man Readies Witch’s Brew
J Mascis gets behind the kit for hard-rocking side project
Dinosaur Jr. singer/guitarist J Mascis might have recently finished a successful reunion tour with his band — and lined up another round of dates next month — but that hasn’t stopped him from delving into other projects. His latest, a Seventies-inspired hard rock band called Witch, finds Mascis teaming with longtime friend Dave Sweetapple, as well as Asa Irons and Kyle Thomas, members of the Vermont-based folk outfit Feathers. Witch will release their self-titled debut on March 7th.
In a change of roles, frontman Mascis gets behind the drum kit for his new group. "It’s my first instrument, so it’s fun for me to play," he says. "And if I’m going to play drums, I just like to play whatever I feel like — I don’t want to be like a drum machine."In another departure, Irons and Thomas find themselves leaving the airy folk of Feathers behind to rock . . . hard. For folks used to the likes of the autoharp and the dulcimer — and who have opened for new folk royalty like Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Sufjan Stevens — this is new territory. "I’m not a big fan of the autoharp," jokes Mascis.
He and bassist Sweetapple had seen Feathers perform several times, "and we just thought it was kind of odd that they were so mellow, yet they were so young. We thought, ‘You’re only, like, twenty-something-years-old. Don’t you want to rock?’" So together, they formed the new outfit, eventually cutting a record with producer John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr., Son Volt).
Mascis says Witch’s hazy sound, which has earned comparisons to Black Sabbath, was mainly inspired by Los Angeles Eighties metal band Saint Vitus. Their lyrics, penned by Thomas, are packed with mystical references. Mascis, now an elder statesman of indie rock, says, "It seems like a lot of the kids in that scene know a lot of really obscure stuff."
Witch plan to tour behind the album, but, for now, Dinosaur Jr. is the priority. Mascis claims the band even plans to write new material.
"We’re playing pretty well, and, since we grew, we learned how to play together," he says of Dinosaur. "I think we’ve got a certain power that a lot of bands don’t have, and we’re pretty tight. Dinosaur’s a lot more of a machine at this point."
Dinosaur Jr. tour dates:
3/29: Dallas, Gypsy Tea Room
3/30: Austin, Stubb’s Barbeque
3/31: Houston, Warehouse Live
4/1: New Orleans, House of Blues
4/2: Tallahassee, FL, the Moon
4/3: Jacksonville, FL, Freebird Live
4/4: Myrtle Beach, SC, House of Blues
4/5: Washington, DC, 9:30 Club
4/6: Carrboro, NC, Cat’s Cradle
4/7: Asheville, NC, Orange Peel
4/8: Atlanta, Variety Playhouse
4/9: Nashville, City Hall
4/10: Memphis, Young Avenue Deli
4/11: Indianapolis, IN, the Vogue
4/12: Columbia, MO, Blue Note
4/13: Lawrence, KS, Liberty Hall
4/14: Boulder, CO, Fox Theatre
4/16: Salt Lake City, UT, the Depot
4/18: Eugene, OR, W.O.W. Hall
4/19: San Francisco, Great American Music Hall
4/20: San Francisco, Great American Music Hall
4/21: West Hollywood, CA, the Troubadour
4/22: West Hollywood, CA, the TroubadourBRIAN ORLOFF
Wow, Saint Vitus. It’s not everyday you hear that name dropped…
Guess I’ll be seeing them open for Dinosaur in DC. I’m psyched.
am i missing something? how would witch open for dinosaur jr? is j going for gold in some sort of rock medal? he’d be shattered!!
"lookitssam " wrote:Oh, nevermind. I thought those were dates for Witch.Yeah, I did the same thing, I read the first line of the piece
"J Mascis gets behind the kit for hard-rocking side project"
and then I scrolled down and went, Whoa…………dates,
then I went
wait a minute, 4/7,4/8 I know those dates………………….
those are the days the "Machine" is playing.heres some dates for Witch shows…
3/18 Redrum Annex (SXSW) Austin TX
3/22 Black Cat Washington DC
3/23 NorthSix (Record Release Show) Brooklyn
3/24 Abbey Lounge w/ Black Helicopter Cambridge MA
3/25 Iron Horse w/ Believers Northampton MA
4/29 Wesleyan College w/ Believers & College Girls Gone Wild Middletown CTI ran those Witch dates by the band’s press guy and he isn’t confirming the SXSW date. Don’t know if that is ’cause the date is on the sly or not, but I thought I’d throw the info into the mix.
They’ve been listed at SXSW for awhile now, might just be the date thing. Got those dates off teepeerecords.com
looks like the Witch date @ SXSW is Friday March 17th @ The Dirty Dog
"rambleon " wrote:i like the pic … [img]http://i.realone.com/assets/rn/img/5/0/4/8/9308405-9308411-slarge.jpg[/img]J., you sexy witch
Looks like an earlier show is happening on March 18th…
[img]http://www.arthurmag.com/images/news/happening.jpg[/img]
T H E * H A P P E N I N G
Sponsored by: Pabst Blue Ribbon, Built By Wendy & Converse
With additional support from: Domino Recording Co., Monkey Drive Screen Printing, Cherry Tree Records, Bellwether MFG, Kick Ball Records and more..
MARCH 18th Noon to 8 PM
THE FRENCH LEGATION MUSEUM
802 SAN MARCOS STREET
http://www.frenchlegationmuseum.org/”>http://www.frenchlegationmuseum.org/Featuring
THE MAGIC NUMBERS
WITCH (feat. J Mascis and members of Feathers)
MAZARIN (feat. members of Blood Feathers)
GRIS GRIS
LAVENDER DIAMOND
NOISETTES
MIKE WEXLER
NETHERS
ARCHIE BRONSON OUTFIT
COLOSSAL YES (feat. Utrillo from Comets on Fire)
TRALALAPLAY IT SAFE: GET ON THE LIST
E-mail: rsvp.thehappening@gmail.comCool, very Stoner Rock interpretation of Witch’s S/T Album Cover @ yaris-sxsw.com/artists
Apparently the pic will be on display thru the SXSW festival, auctioned off after with money donated to a music related non profit group.
Heres the pic by Arik Roper…
[img]http://www.yaris-sxsw.com/images/art_5.jpg[/img]
ps-theres that whole Yaris-SXSW.com/yaraisaward contest deal, for the band to watch at SXSW, could win a laptop for yourself and the band you choose, ? mention Witch…
Got the new Witch cd saturday, it really rocks hard. If youre into early Black Sabbath youll love it.
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