Posted in Whathaveyou on July 4th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
If you’re in Europe and you’ve been waiting to see on which Fall festivals 1000mods‘ name inevitably popped up, they’re headed in a different direction. The foremost ambassadors of Greek heavy rock will travel to the US to record in Seattle with Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Isis, etc.) at the helm as producer. The band’s 2016 album, Repeated Exposure To… (review here), was one that allowed them to greatly expand their reach in terms of touring, coming to America for the first time in 2017 and touring Australia also for the first time just this past Spring, so clearly they’re looking to rise to the occasion of a follow-up and where it might take them. Antarctica, I guess? Do they have shows there? Probably.
Let’s assume an early-ish 2020 release depending on their label situation and tour schedule — February or March doesn’t seem unreasonable — and just start looking forward to it now in order to save time later. No substitute for efficiency.
Here’s what they had to say:
It’s been almost 3 years since “Repeated Exposure to…” was released! We’ve spent those 3 years on the road playing gigs and performing at festivals around Europe, USA, Canada, Mexico and Australia, including our last show in Athens, Greece last week at Release Festival with Alice In Chains, Fu Manchu, Puta Volcano and Monovine. It has been a hell of a ride and now with a few shows left till the end of the summer, we are ready to try and make something way different than we are used to!
So, from October 21st until November 14th we will be at Seattle, Washington state, USA to record our 4th album with producer Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Pearl Jam, Isis, Minus the Bear, Soundgarden, etc). The recordings will take place at London Bridge Studio and Studio Litho, two of the most legendary and iconic studios of the world, where lots of bands and artists we look up to, have recorded over the years.
This is gonna be so much fun and we are all so grateful that we will live that experience!
Stay tuned!
Peace, 1000mods
1000mods is: Dani G. / Bass & Vox Giannis S. / Guitars George T. / Guitars Labros G. / Drums
Last year, I was fortunate enough to be asked to stand among the presenters for Greek heavy rock forerunners 1000mods‘ first US tour, and no joke, it was an absolute honor. Over the last decade-plus, the four-piece have become an essential piece of the European heavy underground, and their 2016 album, Repeated Exposure To… (review here), only worked to increase their profile, it was the best-case-scenario to watch that manifest in their conquering new territory and places they hadn’t been before. Had nothing to do with me, but on a watching-hard-work-pay-off level, it was a joy to see.
The trend continues in 2019 as 1000mods come closer to wrapping the cycle for Repeated Exposure To… by hitting Australia for the first time. They’ll head that way in April to appear at the Mojo Burning Festival on April 6 in Brisbane, and with dates slotted for before and after, they’ll cover a good amount of ground on the 10-day run. The Obelisk isn’t the only presenter, of course, but to even have a logo on the bottom of the poster for this one is humbling, and I thank Beats Cartel for the opportunity.
Listen to 1000mods. Go see 1000mods. It’s as simple as that.
I wanted to include the full tour announcement here for posterity, so you’ll find that below, but specifically note that tickets are on sale now. Links are provided with the dates.
Go go go:
GREECE’S 1000MODS ANNOUNCE FIRST EVER AUSTRALIAN TOUR
TIX ON SALE NOW
Greece’s 1000mods bring their psychedelic onslaught to Australia this April, touring nationally on the back of a Mojo Burning festival appearance.
Having risen from smokey basements to packed arenas, leaders of the now-legendary Greek heavy rock scene 1000mods offer inspired, powerful and uniquely fresh tunes having shared the stage with some of the world’s largest acts including The Black Keys, Mastodon, The Black Angels and Graveyard. The last few years have included a slew of sold out venues across Central Europe, Scandinavia, Britain, the US, Canada and Mexico on the back of their thick and heavy analogue sound and relentless touring schedule.
Described as having live ‘flawless flow’ (Soundgaze), the Greek Stoner lords have become known for remarkably passionate stage performances and soccer stadium-like crowd sing-a-longs amidst international festival appearances at Hellfest Open Air, Desertfest (Athens, Belgium, London and Berlin), Up in Smoke, Riff Ritual and many others including a recent sold out home show (3500 capacity) at renowned Athens venue Theatro Vrachon (PIC). This is a Rock band on the verge of international stardom who are widely considered to be the new-found power of the European (some say “worldwide”) heavy rock scene.
Album releases Super Van Vacation, Vultures (2014) and Repeated Exposure To… (2016) have netted the band one hundred thousand fans and kudos world wide, chalking up over 30 million track views on YouTube.
The 2019 Australian Tour, covering shows in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Geelong, Adelaide, Perth and Scarborough, marks the first time the band have ventured onto Australian shores, a task not taken lightly by the band or promoter Christian Tryhorn of Beats Cartel who says of the upcoming tour “We’re long term fans of 1000mods and are excited to now be in the position of bringing them into the country for the first time. Their raw power and riffage is some of the best in the world, each album gets better with every listen! Can’t wait to show the people of Australia one of the best live acts in Europe”.
1000mods will also be a part of an upcoming feature length documentary entitled ‘Greek Rock Revolution’, a tale of the rising Rock scene in Greece amidst nation-wide economic turmoil. The documentary will be released in March and also features Tuber, Naxatras, Puta Volcano, Planet of Zeus and more.
Heavier than life, psychedelic, trippy, hauntingly melodic and dangerously addictive, catch 1000mods live in Australia for the first time ever, travelling East to West for Beats Cartel and HEAVY Mag. With tour help from Young Henrys, Maric Media, Orange Amplifiers, The Obelisk and Tuff Cuff Records.
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 14th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Well this looks fucking awesome. No question that the rise of the Greek heavy rock scene over the course of the last decade has been a boon to the European underground. Greece can now stand toe to toe with Germany, Sweden or any of the other continental hotbeds of heavy, and along with Italy, has become essential the character worldwide of heavy rock and roll. The feature-length documentary Greek Rock Revolution puts this emergence in the context of the country’s social condition, the effect that austerity and rampant unemployment has had on the art being made, as well as the prejudice of those outside not caring about the scene or the important work being done there by bands covered in the trailer at the bottom of this post like 1000mods, Tuber, Naxatras, Puta Volcano, Villagers of Ioannina City, Planet of Zeus and the elder statesmen in Nightstalker. There seems to be plenty of concert and interview footage, and yeah, it looks fucking awesome. I’d spend 95 minutes watching this thing, happily. I hope I get to review it.
As a side note while we’re on the topic of Greek heavy, I’ve got a track premiere for BUS going up tomorrow from their new album that marks their debut on RidingEasy Records, so that release will be another fascinating instance of a Greek band reaching a wider international audience.
Greek Rock Revolution is directed by Miguel Cano. Here’s the press release that came with the trailer:
The official trailer for the upcoming Greek Rock Revolution movie is now live! The documentary film will have a length of 95 minutes, featuring 1000mods, Tuber, Naxatras, Puta Volcano, Villagers of Ioannina City, Planet of Zeus & Nightstalker In the recent years these bands have gained a massive support in Greece and global recognition elsewhere, with circles in Europe and North America starting to speak very seriously about the Greek Rock Scene.
Last September, Spanish Film Director Miguel Cano interviewed all bands and filmed their live concerts and rehearsals in Thessaloniki, Chania, Serres, Athens, Patras, Chiliomodi and Ioannina. The Filmmaker sees in Greece resemblances with historical cultural momentum in Mississippi back when the blues was born or in Seattle when the grunge flourished: a long-lasting unstable social situation boosting artistic expression through a common feeling of non-conformity.
As the Director of Metal Hammer Greece, Kostas Chronopoulos states in the film, “it’s not easy to fight all for your own, you need to feel part of something which is there for you. And rock ‘n roll is here for us.”
Greek Rock Revolution is now on its last phases of post-production and it is expected to be released in March of this year. The goal is set first on screening the film in International Film Festivals, and then bring it to the wide audience in TV, cinemas and online platforms.
Posted in Bootleg Theater on December 21st, 2018 by JJ Koczan
At the time Greek heavy rockers 1000mods released their debut album, it would’ve been difficult to understand what it was working to engage. Listen to songs like “7 Flies” or “El Rollito” and “Set You Free.” Listen to “Alice in Navy” and “Johny’s.” Then listen again. Then listen to the five crucial longer pieces: opener “Road to Burn,” “Vidage,” “Track Me,” and the closing duo of “Abell 1835” and the title-cut. Then listen again. On its surface, Super Van Vacation (review here) is a kickass rock record. But as we move inexorably nearer to the end of this decade, I can’t help but think of the impact this record has had.
Super Van Vacation was issued as 10 songs and an overwhelming 65 minutes by Kozmik Artifactz and CTS Productions, and its influences speak for themselves — a strong dose of Kyuss and Fu Manchu, a little bit of Colour Haze thrown into the start of “Track Me,” some earlier Dozer and Lowrider to go around — but more than seven years on from its release, think about the generation of heavy rock that’s come forward. This decade has seen an entirely new league of bands from around Europe and the world at large. It has been a generational shift, fostered in no small part by social media (and yes, I include Bandcamp in that), and as the genre has found a new audience, that audience has proven more receptive to acts from just about everywhere. Not that Greece doesn’t have a history of heavy rock and roll — there’s been Greek psych for as long as there’s been psych, and plenty of Greek metal and rock as well — and Greece has one of the strongest histories of folk music to be found anywhere in Europe. But in thinking specifically about heavy rock, about international desert rock, especially at the start of this decade, Greece could hardly hold a candle to, say, Sweden, or Germany, or the UK when it came to the overall vibrancy of its riff-loving underground. 1000mods seem to have represented a moment of change taking place.
What I mean to say is that Super Van Vacation worked on different terms than a lot of what was happening at the time, and by manifesting inspiration from acts abroad, it entered a conversation that was immediately international in its scope. This wouldn’t have mattered if the quality of the material was lacking, but digging into “Vidage” or “Abell 1835” or the ultra-groove of “El Rollito” — which seems to have been titled for precisely what its rhythm was doing vis a vis roll; it’s more than the little one its name might suggest — 1000mods showed that not only was this new generation happening at that moment, but that it was capable of introducing the burgeoning audience for heavy rock with a grade of craft worthy of what had come before it. Almost inevitably, then, bassist/vocalist Dani G., guitarists Giannis S.and George T., and drummer Labros G. became torchbearers of the Greek underground, which over the next few years would undergo a renaissance of its own, and they’ve lived up to that position with touring and subsequent releases. I won’t say they put Greece on the heavy rock map, because nobody’s ever “first” at anything if you dig deep enough and it would just be too convenient a narrative, but they were the right band from the right place at the right time, and that in itself is a significant accomplishment, before you even get down to hearing any of the songs.
Furthering this multinational engagement was the fact that Super Van Vacation was recorded by Billy Anderson, whose legacy as a producer is unmatched in heavy with a CV that includes classic records for Sleep, Neurosis, Acid King and the Melvins, among many, many others. Given the geographical disparity — Anderson on the US West Coast, 1000mods in Chiliomodi, about an hour and a half (depending on traffic) west of Athens — the choice could only have been purposeful, and that too speaks to a conscious decision on the band’s part to broaden their reach. Super Van Vacation wasn’t just about being Chiliomodi’s own Truckfighters. It was about bringing 1000mods to the attention of an multinational heavy underground that, as it turned out, was ready and waiting to receive them. Right record, right time. The fact that they tour their asses off in the years following didn’t hurt them either, certainly. But a Greek band with an American producer and a German label pressing their debut album as a 2LP? This is not a group of minor ambition, and Super Van Vacation realized their goals of positioning them as more than just a local or national act while also showing their potential staying power on that grander stage.
Again, this wouldn’t have been possible at all if the songs weren’t there. But thinking about its double-vinyl structure now, the way it functioned so that sides A, B and C all feature a track north of eight minutes long — “Road to Burn,” “Vidage” and “Track Me,” respectively — and the way the album culminated with “Abell 1835” and “Super Van Vacation,” it’s all the more masterful a construction. I won’t take away from the tightness of the songwriting on the shorter tracks and particularly in the album’s earlier going with “7 Flies,” “El Rollito” and “Set You Free,” but with the longer tracks spaced out as they were, 1000mods were never too far from offering their listeners a real chance at immersion into what they were doing, and they had the tonal depth, the hooks and, in reserve, the spaciousness to make sure they got there. It was almost deceptively multifaceted.
Having already by then toured through Europe and the UK, 1000mods released their second long-player, Vultures (review here), in 2014 and followed that with Repeated Exposure To… (review here) in 2016, the latter through their own label, Ouga Booga and the Mighty Oug Recordings — a name that, while cumbersome, speaks to their taking what’s been done before and making it their own; the reference being to Kyuss “Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop” — which also oversaw a reissue of Super Van Vacation that same year. The debut was also previously reissued on vinyl through CTS in 2014, and has sold through multiple pressings. Rightfully so, frankly, as clearly it’s a record to which time has been kind and for which the context has only become richer over the course of the years since it first arrived.
1000mods toured ridiculously hard for Repeated Exposure To…, but if one takes a every-two-or-three-years pace for them and new material, they’d be due for a full-length sometime probably later in 2019. We’ll see if we get there, but either way, it’s worth considering how far they’ve come since their start in 2006 and how much they’ve contributed to the sphere of modern European heavy rock. Seems to be plenty at this point, and there’s no indication they’re stopping anytime soon.
As always, I hope you enjoy.
Thanks for reading.
—
I was pleased with the response to the Top 30 of 2018 list that went up yesterday, which if I’m honest is probably a first. Usually I break my ass putting those things together — keeping track of records in a list all year, fretting for weeks about the order, spending days on the actual writing and the inevitably adjusting the list even after it’s published — and then the first thing I see is someone being like, “Hey you stupid bastard you didn’t include Band X.” I got one comment about a lack of Latin American releases included. Okay. And people have picked out individual things that didn’t get make it for one reason or another — some of which I’ve added to honorable mentions — but by and large the tone has been civil. That’s all I could really ask.
But that’s been nice. So thank you for that.
Next week is Xmas. I’ve been dreading it, honestly. The Patient Mrs., The Pecan and I will spend Xmas Eve here in MA, watching Die Hard and Die Hard 2 at home in our traditional Xmas Eve fashion. Then Xmas Day we head south to Connecticut for family dinner, and then the next day it’s on to New Jersey, where we’ll stay the remainder of winter break until her Spring semester starts — I guess that’s three-plus weeks until about Jan. 17 or so. I’m trying to set up getting a tattoo in that time — it’ll be my first — and beyond that, looking forward to being back there, but I feel like Xmas is the hurdle I have to jump to make it happen. Least favorite holiday? Maybe. There’s some stiff competition there.
For whatever it’s worth, I hope you make the most of yours and enjoy it as much as possible.
Because of holiday and travel, posts will be somewhat sporadic, but I’m hoping to get at least something up every day except perhaps Xmas Day itself since I anticipate being busy with Pecan whatnot and travel. I’ve got a bunch of news catchup happening Monday, and nothing slated for Tuesday, though I’m sure something will come along, but Wednesday is the next review. It’s Horehound. Next week reviews are Horehound, T.G. Olson and Øresund Space Collective. Happy Xmas to me.
But yeah, I hope the holiday anxiety isn’t too much for you as it will invariably consume the entirety of my being pretty much from now until early January.
I have some other writing to do this weekend — a bio for a vinyl release, an update to the PostWax liner notes that I turned in last weekend — so I’ll be around. If we don’t talk before, though, have a good holiday and get through it the best you can. Tell your family you love them. That’s what matters. And if you can, listen to some decent music. The rest is extraneous bullshit.
Gonna punch out for a bit as I expect The Pecan up momentarily. Quick plug that if you haven’t yet, please add your list to the Year-End Poll, and if you can’t remember what came out this year, there are more than 100 records talked about in my own list, so that might be a place to start.
Thanks again for reading and have a great and safe weekend. Forum, radio and merch.
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 11th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
After making their first of hopefully multiple runs of the US earlier this year on a tour presented in part by this very site — and yes, that is 100 percent me bragging on it; let there be no confusion — Greek heavy rock forerunners 1000mods will be back out in Europe to follow up their April tour with a healthy dose of festival dates and more. They’re hitting Hellfest, Rock im Wald, SonicBlast Moledo and more besides, as their profile continues to grow and their 2016 album, Repeated Exposure To… (review here), continues to justify the fervent support it’s received. All the same, one has to wonder if maybe they’re starting to eye the process of their next full-length, if maybe there’s work being done behind the scenes to but a new collection of songs together. One imagines they’ll have plenty to draw from with all that time on the road, and their future prospects seem brighter than ever as they win more and more hearts and minds to their riffy cause.
Dudes know how to rock and roll. I guess that’s what I’m saying.
Shows are presented by Sound of Liberation. Dates are from the PR wire:
1000MODS ANNOUNCE EUROPEAN SUMMER TOUR 2018!
THE hottest band of the current heavy rock scene, 1000mods, have just announced to return back on stage in Europe this summer! Following up to their successful April 2018 tour, with numerous sold-out shows all over Europe, their latest Into the Spell tour featured 16 dates in Scandinavia, Baltic countries and Eastern Europe and took the band to a next level. But 1000mods never stand still, and will be heavily touring again this summer! Says the band:”We are really stoked to get back on the road this summer, playing some of the best european festival and some headline shows as well. See you on the road!”
Known for their commitment to vintage equipment, thick and heavy analog sound and remarkably passionate stage performances, make sure to catch 1000mods live on the following dates, including festival and selected club shows presented by Sound of Liberation:
18.06 Hellios 37, Cologne (DE) 20.06 The Underworld, London (UK) 21.06 Doornroosje, Nijmegen (NL) 23.06 Hellfest, Clisson (FR) 30.06 Under The Sun, Shinos (GR) 25.07 Metaldays, Tolmin (SI) 26.07 P.M.K, Innsbruck (AT) 27.07 Rock im Wald, Neuensee (DE) 28.07 Beatpol, Dresden (DE) 29.07 Free & Easy Festival, Munich (DE) 30.07 Rockhouse, Salzburg (AT) 04.08 Rapido Molino Music Fest, Preveza (GR) 11.08 Sonic Blast, Moledo (PT) 13.08 Rocklette Palp, Bagnes (CH) 25.08 Bucovina Rock Castle, Suceava (RO) 30.08 Street Mode Festival, Thessaloniki (GR) 01.09 Black Bass Festival, Aquitaine (FR) 21.09 Theatro Vrachon, Athens (GR)
1000mods is: Dani G. / Bass & Vox Giannis S. / Guitars George T. / Guitars Labros G. / Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 10th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Alright, book my flight. I’ll crash on somebody’s couch; I don’t care as long as there’s wifi. SonicBlast Moledo 2018, you’ve won my heart. 1000mods, Causa Sui, Samsara Blues Experiment and The Atomic Bitchwax on the same bill? By the beach? Plus Atavismo and Earthless and Nebula and Naxatras and Conan are playing? Come on. It’s like the people who put this fucking thing together all sat around a table and said, “What’s gonna make that dickweed from that shitty American website really wish he could come to Portugal in August?”
Note: I’m not actually narcissistic enough to believe that happened — though if it was going to, it would definitely be that phrasing — but yeah, wow. It’s pretty hard to stare at this lineup and process it as something I have zero chance in hell of experiencing for myself. What a bummer. If you make it to Moledo, I hope you fucking treasure it. Because you should.
Gadzooks:
SONICBLAST MOLEDO 2018
Stoner Doom Psych Heavy – Sea Beach Camping Pool Surf Skate
With the dates settled for August 10th and 11th, the eighth edition of SonicBlast Moledo is stoked to announce Causa Sui, Samsara Blues Experiment, 1000mods, Mantar, The Atomic Bitchwax, The Black Wizards, Solar Corona and Greengo! They join the previously confirmed acts Earthless, Kadavar, Nebula, Conan, Ufomammut, Naxatras, Purple Hill Witch, Atavismo and Ruff Majik!
They could be simply described as Psychedelic Rock, however Causa Sui goes far beyond the term. With more than eight albums released, the Denmark’s group creates a distinctive musical universe with diverse influences such as Krautrock, Progressive Rock, Stoner or Jazz, in order to achieve unique instrumental feats. Their first performance ever in Portugal, for one of their rare concerts during the year, could not be more expected.
Six years after their debut in Portugal, right at the second edition of SonicBlast, the German trio Samsara Blues Experiment is preparing to make the long-awaited return to Moledo. Considered one of the greatest precursors of the European Psychedelic Stoner, the group brings now with them their latest album “One With The Universe,” one of the most acclaimed records within the genre last year, which shows the band’s full maturity and their way to outdo themselves.
Formed only by two elements, the German Mantar view their sound as a brutal sonic destruction, where genres like Doom, Black Metal and Punk unite in a primal rage. On the road since 2013, the duo has released three albums, one of them being recorded live, demonstrating the hard work they’ve done over the past years. Their concerts are known for being absolutely demolishing and intense, which manage to elevate the duo name to another level. Forget about Rock ‘n Roll, this will hurt!
Recognized as one of the most important bands within the Stoner Rock universe, 1000mods return to Portugal with the aim of showing the overwhelming power of their fuzz. Hailing from southern Greece, the quartet already counts with three EP’s and three albums, several European tours and a North American tour. From their live concerts, we can only expect one thing; an astounding and memorable experience.
Present at the festival back in 2014, the power-trio The Atomic Bitchwax, visit us again to spread a great amount of “Super Stoner Rock”. This time, the North Americans Finn Ryan, Chris Kosnik and Bob Pantella (also from Monster Magnet) bring with them their seventh studio album “Force Field”, a refreshing and stimulating record, where Psychedelic influences and Rock n ‘Roll are never missing.
The Black Wizards are no longer unknown to the majority fans of the Heavy Rock subculture, whose immense work evidences their enormous value and dedication to their music. With their undisputed talent, they can skillfully play blues, psychedelic or sheer rock n’ roll, as it’s well demonstrated on their latest album “What the Fuzz”.
From Barcelos to Moledo, Solar Corona arrive moved by cosmic psychedelia and spacey grooves. Now counting with a new rhythm section, the trio certainly knows how to induce each listener into a increasingly hypnotic atmosphere, which will guarantee a monumental musical journey.
Born between the union of massive fuzz noise and greenish fumes, the duo Greengo practices a Sludge Stoner Metal filled with massive riffs, dominant vocals and trembling sonic vibrations, capable of shaking any stage where they appear.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 30th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
I know I said as much at the time, but I was deeply, deeply honored to have The Obelisk among the presenters for Greek heavy rock forerunners 1000mods‘ first US tour. It was something I didn’t expect to happen and for a band like them, who’ve so clearly conquered Europe and are looking now to branch out, it was humbling to have even some small role in that. I hear it went well. I hear they’re hoping to come back. All the better. Nothing follows up one tour quite like another tour.
It’s in that spirit, I suppose, that the four-piece have announced the run below for April. Dubbed ‘Into the Spell,’ it finds them continuing to support 2016’s Repeated Exposure To… (review here) ad playing in Poland, Lithuania, Finland, Sweden, and so on. They’ll also be at Hellfest and more this summer, as you can see in the list of dates below posted on the social medias by Sound of Liberation, which booked the gigs.
Goes like this:
Back from their extended North American trip for only 20 days, the groovy 1000mods are getting ready for their next tour “Into the Spell”! On April 12th, they will hit the European roads again, as follows:
12.04 | PL | Krakow | Zet Pe Te 13.04 | PL | Warsaw | Smoke Over Warsaw III 14.04 | LT | Vilnius | Loftas 15.04 | EE | Tallinn | Rockstars 17.04 | FIN | Helsinki | Kuudes Linja 18.04 | FIN | Tampere | Klubi 20.04 | SWE | Stockholm | Kraken 21.04 | NOR | Oslo | Blå 22.04 | SWE | Malmö | Plan B 23.04 | DK | Copenhagen | Stengade 24.04 | D | Berlin | Festsaal Kreuzberg (Desertfest Warm-up) 25.04 | PL | Poznan | Pod Minoga 26.04 | CZ | Prag | 007 27.04 | HUN | Budapest | A38 28.04 | A | Graz | PPC 29.04 | A | Vienna | Arena
Summer Fests: 31.05.2018 Timisoara Revolution Festival RO 23.06.2018 Clisson Hellfest Festival FR 25.07.2018 Tolmin MetalDays Festival SLO 27.07.2018 Neuensee Rock Im Wald Festival D 25.08.2018 Suceava Bucovina Rock Castle Festival RO
100mods is: Dani G. / Bass & Vox Giannis S. / Guitars George T. / Guitars Labros G. / Drums
I think it’s fair to consider the first US tour from Greek heavy rock forerunners 1000mods the most significant arrival on North American shores of a European underground band since Truckfighters‘ first tour in 2011. I could not possibly be more thrilled to have The Obelisk have a hand in presenting this run with Tone Deaf Touring and Action PR. “Stoked” simply does not begin to describe it.
Why? Because, simply put, 1000mods are ready. It’s going to be a big change for them from what they’re used to from being on the road in Europe, the level they’re at and so on, but I honestly don’t think they’d hit the States at all if they weren’t looking to make a habit of it. Anything’s possible and this could be a one-time thing, but either way, as they support their strongest work yet on 2016’s Repeated Exposure To… (review here), they seem primed for the embrace of a new audience. Also just announced for Hellfest Open Air in France next June, they’re already veterans multiple times over of the Desertfests and have crisscrossed Europe in admirable fashion for years now. It’s great to imagine them doing the same thing in America and once again building their audience from the ground up as organically as they have elsewhere.
Kudos to the band for taking on the task, and thanks to them as well as to Tone Deaf and Action for letting this site be involved in any way at all. Support on the run comes alternately from Sierra and Telekinetic Yeti. The official announcement for the tour follows here, as seen on the PR wire, with ticket links (more to go on sale this Monday):
Grecian Stoner Rock Heroes 1000mods Announce North American Headlining Tour
Celebrated Heavy Psych Group to Bring Electric Live Set to Western Hemisphere for First Time in Decade-Plus Career
Esteemed Greek heavy rockers 1000mods have announced their first-ever North American tour dates in the form of a winter, 2018 headlining tour. Set to launch on February 2 in Mexico City, the 29 city major market trek will run through March 5 in Brooklyn, NY, showcasing a group with a worldwide fan base that is hailed for its astute professionalism, resounding hooks and highly energetic live performances. 1000mods will visit North America as part of its current world tour and in support of its most recent album, ‘Repeated Exposure To…’ Support on the 1000mods tour will be provided by Canada’s Sierra and Iowa’s Telekinetic Yeti.
“We feel more than excited to visit America for first time in our career. We have been looking for this for many years and after having amazing connection with our american fans through social media and music platforms, now it’s time to catch us live – the best way to enjoy our music,” says drummer Labros G. We feel also really glad having two amazing up-coming bands with us in order to spread the fuzz!”
