Posted in Whathaveyou on August 27th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Got a record, got a tour. Washington-based heavy rockers Mos Generator continue their road-dogging ways in support of their 2018 album, Shadowlands (review here). Issued through Listenable Records, its take on the band’s trademark straightforward, classic style leans a little bit darker and a little bit more progressive than it has in the past, but Mos Generator are still Mos Generator beneath it all, and with stops along the way at Descendants of Crom in Pittsburgh and Doom and Stoned in Indianapolis, this run of headlining dates should be all the more of a success. These shows run into October and I can’t help but wonder if they might be headed back to Europe early next year sometime, either for a winter tour or maybe Spring fests? They seem to get around so much these days it’s hard to keep track of where they’ve been and where they’re headed next.
The answer to that question, incidentally, is everywhere.
From the PR wire:
MOS GENERATOR: Heavy Rock Power Trio Confirms US/Canadian Headlining Tour In Support Of Shadowlands Full-Length
Washington-based power trio MOS GENERATOR will bring their heavy riffing to stages this fall on a US/Canadian headlining tour. Set to commence September 21st in Port Angeles, Washington and run through nearly two-dozen venues upon its conclusion October 13th in Portland, Oregon, the journey includes stops at Descendants Of Crom Fest in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as well as Doomed & Stoned Fest in Indianapolis, Indiana. The latest tour follows the band’s month-long US trek earlier this year which included sixteen dates supporting Fu Manchu as well as an appearance at the 2018 edition of Hellfest in Clisson, France. See all confirmed dates below.
Comments MOS GENERATOR founding guitarist/vocalist Tony Reed, “This will be our first time out on the road with the new album Shadowlands at the merch table. We were hoping to have them on the Road Rats tour with Fu Manchu in May but that didn’t happen, so we’ll make it up to you here and make sure to bring plenty. We will be playing a large majority of the new material as well and that’s a treat for us. This is also our first tour across Canada. There are some hard drives, but we are excited to get to those territories.
MOS GENERATOR released their Shadowlands full-length in North America earlier this year via Listenable Records. Shadowlands was recorded in three sessions – June 2017, November 2017 and January 2018 – at the HeavyHead Recording Company in Port Orchard, Washington and comes swathed in the cover art of Adam Burke (Pilgrim, Satan’s Satyrs, Hooded Menace, Artificial Brain et al).
Find physical ordering info at THIS LOCATION. For digital orders go HERE.
MOS GENERATOR – Tour Of The Shadowlands 2018: 9/21/2018 Little Devil’s Lunchbox – Port Angeles, WA 9/22/2018 Bremerton Raceway – Bremerton, WA 9/23/2018 The Shakedown – Bellingham, WA 9/24/2018 The Palomino – Calgary, AB 9/25/2018 Bulldog Pizza – Winnipeg, MB 9/27/2018 Coalition – Toronto, ON 9/28/2018 House Of Targ – Ottawa, ON 9/29/2018 Descendants Of Crom Fest – Pittsburgh, PA 10/01/2018 Bugjar – Rochester, NY 10/02/2018 Pauly’s Hotel – Albany, NY 10/03/2018 Soliday’s – Niagara Falls, NY 10/04/2018 The Sanctuary – Detroit, MI 10/05/2018 Doomed & Stoned Fest – Indianapolis, IN 10/06/2018 Reggie’s – Chicago, IL 10/07/2018 Riot Room – Kansas City, MO 10/09/2018 Streets Of London – Denver, CO 10/11/2018 Press Club – Sacramento, CA 10/12/2018 The Alibi – Arcata, CA 10/13/2018 High Water Mark – Portland, OR
Those who cite retro heavy rock as a European-only phenomenon have obviously never dug into Stone Axe‘s 2009 debut, Stone Axe I. The album, with its striking, vinyl-ready cover art and 10-track/38-minute run, was created with the express mission of paying homage to heavy ’70s rock and roll. And that’s precisely what it did, capturing the warmth of production and a live-in-the-studio feel that remains one of the best American executions of the style regardless of the band’s seemingly permanent dissolution. With the hooks of songs like “Black Widow,” opener “Riders of the Night,” “The Skylah Rae” and “There’d Be Days,” Stone Axe proffered memorable craft the whole time through, keeping a mellow groove beneath even its most active moments despite changes in instrumentation and mood. Live, the band included the rhythm section of bassist Mike DuPont and drummer Mykey Haslip, but in the studio it was just vocalist Dru Brinkerhoff and guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Tony Reed.
If the latter name is familiar, it should be. Reed partnered with Brinkerhoff and launched Stone Axe after putting his prior outfit, Mos Generator, to rest in indefinite-hiatus style following 2007’s Songs for Future Gods, which, like Stone Axe I, was released through Roadburn Records. Mos Generator‘s own classic heavy rock influence was one thing, but Stone Axe brought it to another level entirely. Listening to the Led Zeppelin-style blast of “Sky is Falling” and the telltale Thin Lizzy bounce of the subsequent “There’d Be Days” — as well as that in closer “Taking Me Home” — Stone Axe did nothing to mask the direct lines they drew to titans of ’70s heavy, in the Mellotron finish of “My Darkest Days” and the infuriatingly catchy blues rocker “Black Widow,” the band evoked a sense of melancholy beneath a harder-driving atmosphere, but the album never lost its sense of class either in theme or delivery. “The Skylah Rae” told a tale of humans leaving Earth on a giant ship that shared its name with the title, and side B brought about some considerable turns in momentum, whether it was the boogie of “Rhinoceros” or the swagger of “Diamonds and Fools.” Penultimate groover “Return of the Worm” brought a perfectly-paced rhythmic nod to bear and topped it with Brinkerhoff‘s boozy vocals, which were no less classic than any other element put to use, be it instrument or production. The dude absolutely killed on vocals. Just nailed it.
And in many ways, it’s the Brinkerhoff/Reed partnership that’s essential to understand when it comes to Stone Axe. Consider that, at that point, Reed was coming off playing guitar and handling vocals in Mos Generator, and that he was also prone to not only recording the band’s albums but releasing them as well. I don’t know who penned the lyrics for Stone Axe, but even if he did, for Reed to step out of the frontman position and relinquish that to anyone else must have been a significant sacrifice for a band that was still ostensibly his as he was writing the songs and playing guitar, bass, drums and whatever else. Stone Axe was a significant turn away from Mos Generator precisely because Reed brought Brinkerhoff on board as the vocalist in order to better capture that classic rock feel, which, again Brinkerhoff‘s voice seemed to be made to bring to life.
And speaking of life, how about those live-recorded tracks on Stone Axe I, huh? Well, no. It would’ve been impossible with just Reed handling all the instruments. Natural sounding cuts like “My Darkest Days” and “Diamonds and Fools,” that easy groove in “Black Widow” and “The Skylah Rae” would’ve had to have been tracked one instrument at a time — probably the drums first, then bass, guitar and whatever keys after. Then Brinkerhoff would be able to sing over the final tracks. Yet Stone Axe I in no way sounds pieced together in this way. It sounds like players in a room hashing it out. Stone Axe I did a better job capturing a live feel than a lot of albums that are recorded live, and it’s a credit to Reed as a producer that that was the case. The material lends itself to an organic vibe, to be sure, but it would’ve been easy for the songs to come out staid and lifeless, and they’re anything but.
Like its 2010 follow-up, Stone Axe II (review here), Stone Axe I was reissued via Ripple Music after Reedsigned with the label in 2010. I got to write the liner notes for the second record. A slew of releases were hinted at in that announcement, including a third full-length — which at one point they even started writing — but the band’s last studio outing would be a split with Germany’s Wight on Fat & Holy Records in 2012, the same year Ripple put out both Stone Axe‘s Captured Live! Roadburn Festival 2011 and Mos Generator‘s return long-player, Nomads(review here), the success of which effectively relaunched that band, which would go on to revamp its lineup and become the full-time touring act they remain until now. In the meantime, Reed channeled his love of classic heavy into a solo covers release called The Lost Chronicles of Heavy Rock, Vol. 1in 2015, which he’s newly pressed onto CD ahead of a quick run of Midwestern Mos Generator shows next month that will take them to the Stoned Meadow of Doom festival.
Though a third Stone Axe album would never manifest, it’s somehow all the more fitting that, like so much of the ’70s heavy rock movement that inspired them it would be somewhat cut short only to have the two albums go on to become cult classics as they have and no doubt will continue to do. Would I ever say never on a Stone Axe resurgence? Never. But with Mos Generator topping tour bills and playing gigs like the Main Stage at Hellfest in France, one could hardly argue Reed‘s time continues to be anything other than well spent. Stone Axe was what it was, and I’m glad there are the records to document that, because it’s worth preserving.
As always, I hope you enjoy.
—
Goodness gracious. Was it enough week for you? It was definitely enough for me. I feel like my head’s still spinning from the Quarterly Review. I have a ritual I undertake every time I finish one of those where I clear the folders off my desktop — they go in my Albums folder — and delete the header because I’m not going to use it again, and I don’t even think I have the energy to do it. Maybe tomorrow, though probably not.
My plan for tonight is to go see Sasquatch at the Saint Vitus Bar in Brooklyn. I’m hemming and hawing and of course everything depends on the baby, so we’ll see. If I leave at seven I’ll get to Brooklyn by 9, blah blah blah. I’m keeping my fingers crossed I can get my ass out of the house. Tomorrow morning it’s a drive north to Connecticut and then seeing Backwoods Payback in New London. Then Sunday it’s back to New York for Bible of the Devil. As of right now I want to hit all three shows. Next weekend I want to do the same thing. Three shows, three nights in a row, and then that’s probably my quota for the rest of the year, surprise YOB gigs if there are any and Psycho Las Vegas notwithstanding.
Depending on what I actually get to — this is an ambitious plan, I recognize — is the schedule for next week, but here’s the notes as they stand now:
Mon.: Sasquatch live review/Arcadian Child premiere.
Tue.: Backwoods Payback live review; CB3 video premiere.
Wed.: Bible of the Devil live review; Lurk track premiere.
Thu.: Sergio Ch. video premiere.
Fri. Forming the Void premiere/review.
That’s a lot of live reviews for one week. Feels like even more coming off a Quarterly Review. But again, I’m going to try. If it doesn’t pan out, there are always plenty of albums to be written up.
Thanks for reading this week if you did, and either way, please have a great and safe weekend. Maybe I’ll see you at a show. I hope so.
[Click play above to stream Shadowlands by Mos Generator in its entirety. Album is out May 18 on Listenable Records and available to preorder here.]
Shadowlands, as a title and with its gorgeous single-knight-holding-a-lance-aloft-at-a-giant-dragon Adam Burke cover art, make an easy read as a metaphor for depression. Indeed, Mos Generator‘s latest full-length — their seventh or eighth, depending on what you count amid their complex discography of compilations, live records, studio LPs, splits and so on — opens with its title-track and seems immediately to touch on the issue in lines like, “Stranded in dark corners/Trapped by gods of suicide,” and “These shadows grow so tall/Will I ever find my way?,” and yet it’s important to note that whatever Mos Generator and its founding guitarist, vocalist, main songwriter, recording engineer and perceived auteur “Mastered by” Tony Reed might be working through or working out in the lyrics and songwriting itself, Shadowlands remains a pointedly upbeat album.
Its title-track does likewise, with the group’s trademark ’70s-via’90s shuffle brought to bear with an easy fluidity thanks to the rhythm section of bassist Sean Booth and drummer Jono Garrett, who came aboard prior to the band’s last album, Abyssinia (review here), in plenty of time to develop tour-born power trio chemistry with Reed at the helm of the group. Shadowlands, the eight tracks of which make an readily apparent vinyl break with four on each side and each side ending with a seven-minute-and-20-someodd-seconds cut after one three-minute song and two four-and-a half-minute songs — because symmetry! because structure! — is the fourth Mos Generator long-player (their third for Listenable Records) since the band made their return with 2012’s Nomads(review here) and were picked up by Listenable for Electric Mountain Majesty(review here) two years later, and with the significant road-time they’ve put in over the better part of the last half-decade (they’re on tour with Fu Manchu as I write this; dates here), they sound incredibly tight and ready to take on the stylistic turns these songs present.
Don’t get scared, but yes, Mos Generator are branching out. Their foundation, as ever, is in unfuckwithable songcraft and airlock-style performances from Reed, Booth and Garrett that are nonetheless believable as a live sound. Cuts like “The Destroyer,” the rolling ’70s nod of the penultimate “Woman Song,” the opener and “Drowning in Your Loving Cup” — let alone the infectious-as-plague insistent hook of side B opener “Gamma Hydra” — are memorable standouts as Mos Generator seem remarkably to provide each time out in abundant fashion. Abyssinia, with Reed on keys in an ending section that pushed them further into classically progressive territory than ever before, is answered in the guitar work of each side’s finale here: “Stolen Ages” and “The Wind and Gentle Dogs,” as well as the tense intricacy of the almost post-punk “The Blasting Concept,” which works into and through a linear build en route to the more fluid groove of “Woman Song.”
“Gamma Hydra,” at 3:24 with its insistent but catchy verse riff, is both the shortest track on Shadowlands and a ready standout from its surroundings, but it’s for the longer-form material that Mos Generator save truly showcasing their classic progressive side on the extended cuts. The first of them, “Stolen Ages,” begins like an Endless Boogie jam before shifting into quiet guitar noodling and reemerging with at about 2:50 with chunkier riffing, leading into the push of the verse and a chorus marked out by airy guitar notes overlaid. The standout lyric comes as “Some dreams are over,” and that last line brings side A to a finish ahead of “Gamma Hydra.”
Likewise, closer “The Wild and Gentle Dogs” brings in acoustics at the start and shifts into a more foreboding feel thereafter on a long instrumental build rife with sonic detailing headed to the noise wash that caps the album. These songs both represent relatively new ground for Mos Generator, who over the last several years have shown a burgeoning affinity for more progressive influences. The ending section of Abyssinia certainly played to this, as did their live-recorded 2016 outing, The Firmament (review here), but even in the more straightforward material, these ideas seem more ingrained throughout Shadowlands. Once more, I’ll go back to the maddeningly catchy “Gamma Hydra” at the start of side B.
Not only are its rhythmic turns complicated and its shifting lyrical semi-repetitions a challenge all their own, but even on a conceptual level — if “Shadowlands” at the beginning of the album is depression, then surely “Gamma Hydra” is the accompanying mania. As much as Mos Generator have made their reputation on high-energy live performances and records of excellently composed, pure heavy rock and roll — which, by the way, Shadowlands still is — the band are clearly reaching for new sonic ground in this material. That they would be perhaps even more interested than ever in growth at nearly 20 years into their tenure is impressive enough — though admittedly, the Reed/Booth/Garrett incarnation of the band hasn’t been together nearly that long — but that they’d be able to bring these ideas forward without giving up the sense of groove, or the penchant for hooks, or the sheer command of their sound that they’ve been able to harness makes them all the more a special band.
From the hard-driving opening salvo of “Shadowlands,” “The Destroyer” and “Drowning in Your Loving Cup” down through the frenetic payoff of “The Wild & Gentle Dogs,” Mos Generator prove once again to be a group unto themselves in the quality of their work and the clearheadedness with which they execute their creative will. They’ve made huge strides the last several years to become heavy-rock-household name, and they’ve been to a large degree successful through constant road-dogging and a steady string of excellent releases, but as a fan of the band and of Reed‘s work in general, it’s hard not to still think of them as being underrated and to imagine that, as they embark on these new stylistic pursuits, their not only keep their loyal listenership with them for the journey, but be able to reach outside and turn new heads as well. At least that seems to be the idea, and Shadowlandsmakes it sound easily possible.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 26th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
So anyway, yes, I’ve already put Adam Burke‘s cover for the new Mos Generator record, Shadowlands, on my list of 2018’s best artwork. It’s got a spot. I pretty much reserve a place for Burke on that list anyway, since he seems to so constantly feature there. Sure enough, his piece for Shadowlands looks like a D&D poster I’d want to hang on my bedroom wall — I was going to say “as a kid,” but screw it, I’d hang that shit now. Look at it. It’s awesome.
And though this is usually the part where I’d pretend I haven’t yet heard Shadowlands itself, that’s awesome too. Mos Generator being Mos Generator, delivering uncompromised heavy rock with a classic edge, progressive flourish, and songwriting to stand up to any you might put next to it. That’s who they are. That’s what they do.
Well, that and touring anyway. They head out with Fu Manchu in May and have some headlining shows before. The PR wire tells all:
MOS GENERATOR: Washington Heavy Rock Trio To Release Shadowlands Full-Length Via Listenable Records This May; Live Dates With Fu Manchu Confirmed
Long-running Washington-based heavy rock trio MOS GENERATOR will release a new full-length this May via Listenable Records. Titled Shadowlands, the eight-track studio offering was recorded in three sessions — June 2017, November 2017, and January 2018 — at the HeavyHead Recording Company in Port Orchard, Washington and comes swathed in the cover art of Adam Burke [Pilgrim, Satan’s Satyrs, Hooded Menace, Artificial Brain et al].
“Right from the opening song, Shadowlands is a record that, to me, feels more honest than our previous releases,” relays founding guitarist/vocalist/principal songwriter Tony Reed. “On this record, I introduce many other styles that I enjoy but they are intertwined so subtly that it doesn’t interrupt the classic MOS GENERATOR sound. That is a balance I’ve been looking for over the last few albums and I think the presence of [drummer] Jon Garrett and [bassist] Sean Booth have a lot to do with achieving that balance. It’s a heavy rock record that breaths and if I had to describe it further I would say it mixes ’70s style heavy rock, progressive rock, and also has some weird ’80s and ’90s underground rock nuances.”
Shadowlands will see release via Listenable Records in Europe on May 11th followed by a US street date of May 18th with preorder info to be announced in the coming weeks.
Shadowlands Track Listing: 1. Shadowlands 2. The Destroyer 3. Drowning In Your Loving Cup 4. Stolen Ages 5. Gamma Hydra 6. The Blasting Concept 7. Woman Song 8. The Wild & Gentle Dogs
In advance of the release of Shadowlands, MOS GENERATOR will take on a month-long, cross country US tour. Set to commence on April 20th, the Road Rats Tour 2018 will run through May 26th and includes sixteen dates supporting Fu Manchu! See all confirmed shows below.
MOS GENERATOR: 4/20/2018 Hogfish – Couer d’Alene, ID 4/21/2018 Rocky Mountain Riff Fest – Kalispell, MT 4/25/2018 The Valley – Tacoma, WA 4/26/2018 The Haul – Grants Pass, OR 4/27/2018 Thee Parkside – San Francisco, CA 4/28/2018 Dive Bar – Las Vegas, NV 4/29/2018 Alex’s Bar – Long Beach, CA 4/30/2018 The Kraken – Cardiff, CA w/ Fu Manchu: 5/01/2018 Rebel Lounge – Phoenix, AZ 5/03/2018 Curtain Club – Dallas, TX 5/04/2018 Barracuda – Austin, TX 5/05/2018 White Oak Music Hall – Houston, TX 5/07/2018 Vinyl – Atlanta, GA 5/08/2018 Kings – Raleigh, NC 5/09/2018 Rock & Roll Hotel – Washington, DC 5/10/2018 Brillobox – Pittsburgh, PA * 5/11/2018 Underground Arts – Philadelphia, PA 5/12/2018 Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY 5/13/2018 Brighton Music Hall – Allston, MA 5/14/2018 Mohawk Place – Buffalo, NY * 5/15/2018 Grog Shop – Cleveland, OH 5/16/2018 Ace Of Cups – Columbus, OH 5/17/2018 El Club – Detroit, MI 5/18/2018 The Baby G – Toronto, ON * 5/19/2018 Bottom Lounge – Chicago, IL 5/20/2018 Total Drag Records – Sioux Falls, SD * 5/22/2018 Streets of London Pub – Denver, CO 5/23/2018 Streets of London Pub – Denver, CO 5/25/2018 Substation – Seattle, WA* 5/26/2018 The Manette – Bremerton, WA * ** MOS GENERATOR only
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 1st, 2018 by JJ Koczan
After hitting the road together last Fall, SoCal fuzz lords Fu Manchu and Port Orchard, Washington, heavy rock specialists Mos Generator are teaming up once again, this time to crisscross the entire country in Spring. Mos Generator will begin the run a few days early and include a stop at Rocky Mountain Riff Fest on April 21, and then it’s down the Pacific Coast, across the South, up to the Northeast and back through the Midwest to finish in their native Washington. Well, you knew they’d be up to plenty this year.
Back in October, founding Mos Generator guitarist/vocalist Tony Reed talked about the recording plans for the band’s next album for Listenable Records, Shadowlands. In addition to putting together the massive swath of live appearances, it seems progress has been continuing on that front as well. Below, Reed gives an update on where they’re at with the record and more.
Dig it:
2018 is already shaping up to be a great year for us. We just got done with the final writing / recording sessions for our next album “Shadowlands” and I’m in the process of sorting through the material and deciding what will be included on the album. We had the whole record in order last year and then we went out on the road for 7 weeks and decided we needed to re evaluate the kind of record we were making.
We ended up with something that had more energy than the initial tracks we thought would make up the album. It is also a more diverse album than I had envisioned. I think is due to the presence of Jono & Sean. This is the first album where it is just the three of us.
On Abyssinia, most of the songs were already written when they joined and half the songs either had me or original drummer shawn Johnson on drums. As it’s looking now I would say “Shadowlands” is a Heavy / Pop / Prog album. I’ve seemed to come to grips with my 22 year old self as well and I’m letting in songwriting styles that I have kept at bay for many years. It’s exciting.
Along with record making, we have been once again blessed in the touring department. We had a great time on the west coast with Fu Manchu last November and now we get to do an extended U.S. run with them, including many cities we’ve never been to. After that we are off tour Europe (details are in the works) and then back to the states for some shows in the fall including the Descendants of Crom and Doomed & Stoned festivals. There are still some cool announcements coming and more free music that we will be posting soon.
4/20 – Couer d’Alene ID – Hogfish 4/21 – Kalispell MT – Rocky Mountain Riff Fest 4/25 – Tacoma WA – The Valley 4/26 – Grants Pass OR – The Haul 4/27 – San Francisco CA – Thee Parkside 4/28 – Las Vegas NV – Dive Bar 4/29 – Long Beach CA – Alex’s Bar
On Tour with FU MANCHU* 5/01 – Phoenix AZ – Rebel Lounge* 5/02 – Albuquerque – NM 5/03 – Dallas TX – Curtain Club* 5/04 – Austin TX – Barracuda* 5/05 – Houston TX – White Oak Music Hall* 5/07 – Atlanta GA – Vinyl* 5/08 – Raleigh NC – Kings* 5/09 – Washington DC – Rock & Roll Hotel* 5/10 – Pittsburgh PA – Brillobox 5/11 – Philadelphia PA – Underground Arts* 5/12 – New York – Bowery Ballroom* 5/13 – Boston MA – Brighton Music Hall* 5/14 – Buffalo NY – Mohawk Place 5/15 – Cleveland OH – Grog Shop* 5/16 – Columbus OH – Ace of Cups* 5/17 – Detroit MI – El Club* 5/18 – Toronto ON – The Baby G 5/19 – Chicago IL – Bottom Lounge* 5/20 – Sioux Falls SD – Total Drag Records 5/22 – Denver CO – Streets of London Pub* 5/23 – Denver CO – Streets of London Pub* 5/25 – Seattle WA – Substation 5/26 – Bremerton WA – The Manette
Mos Generator is: Tony Reed: Guitar and Mellotron Jono Garrett: Drums Sean Booth: Bass
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 16th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Like the ace in the hole of US heavy rock that they are, Washington trio Mos Generator are currently wrapping up a round of West Coast tour dates with legends-o’-fuzz Fu Manchu. Just last month, they announced their new album, Shadowlands, was in progress toward a 2018 release, and now Stickman Records has unveiled a reissue of 2012’s Nomads (review here), which if you think about it is where all this craziness got started in the first place.
When Mos Generator issued Nomads via a then-relatively-nascent Ripple Music, it was after several years of inactivity that found frontman Tony Reed directly exploring classic rock roots in Stone Axe. I don’t know who could’ve guessed at the time the furious rate of activity Nomads would kick off, but in addition to revamping the lineup and taking the show on the road as a complete touring act, Reed has overseen the release of two studio albums and more EPs, splits and singles than I can count, and turned Mos Generator into one of the West Coast’s most essential purveyors, all while also keeping up his studio work as producer/mixer/masterer of other people’s bands and sacrificing nothing of his own standard for top-crafted heavy rock and roll. To put it mildly, it’s been quite a half-decade.
I loved Nomads when it came out, and listening back to it via the Bandcamp player now for the first time in a while, turns out I still do. Stickman‘s LP reissue comes with a slew of digital bonus tracks. Info follows as culled from their store page:
Stickman Records – PSYCHOBABBLE 094 : Mos Generator – Nomads (re-release)
We’ve reissued Mos Generator’s classic album Nomads including a slew of bonus tracks for hardcore fans.
Mos Generator has been setting the standard in excellent rock music for the better part of the last twenty years, never letting trends or paradigm shifts get in the way. Tony Reed, guitarist and vocalist of the band, heads up the project as well as writing and producing the band‘s material. When the band released Nomads in 2012, their first record in 7 years, they had already established themselves as masters of their craft, not just able to write airtight songs but to do so with the same knack for originality as their famous progenitors.
The record‘s nine songs span a wide swath of classic rock territory, beginning with the heavy lumber of the space-themed “Cosmic Ark”, moving through mid-paced headbangers like the single “Lonely One Kenobi” and even giving a nod to the 80’s with a cover of Judas Priest’s “Solar Angels”. Reed has the natural conviction of a man with music in his DNA and the chops to back it up, but Nomads is a testament to the band’s pop sensibilities as much as their ability to rock. Once these riffs get in your head, they definitely won’t be leaving any time soon.
Stickman Records is re-releasing Nomads album on colored 180gr. vinyl including a download of the album, including 8 bonus tracks from the Nomads recording sessions. Long live rock n’ roll!
Tracklist: Cosmic Ark Lonely One Kenobi Torches Step Up Solar Angels For Your Blood Can’t Get Where I Belong Nomads This is the Gift of Nature
Bonus material (included in digital download): Step Up (7 Version) Cosmic Ark (Demo) Lonely One Kenobi (Demo) Torches (Demo) For Your Blood (Demo) Can’t Get Where I Belong (Demo) Lonely One Kenobi (Video Edit)
MOS GENERATOR supporting Fu Manchu* 11/17 Tacoma, WA the Valley 11/18 Bremerton, WA the Manette Saloon
Mos Generator is: Tony Reed: Guitar and Mellotron Jono Garrett: Drums Sean Booth: Bass
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 20th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Port Orchard, Washington, heavy rock specialists Mos Generator are currently wrapping up a round of dates in Europe supporting Saint Vitus. Not a bad gig, but then neither was Mos Generator guitarist/vocalist Tony Reed producing the doom legends’ last album, so there you go. Hopefully he does the next one as well, and by that I also mean hopefully there’s a next one.
As regards Reed‘s own band, there seems perpetually to be a “next one.” Dude does not sit still, and in drummer Jono Garrett and bassist Sean Booth, he’s got a rhythm section that seems to have no trouble keeping up with these existential tempo shifts. So the Vitus tour is almost done. Then Mos Generator have a few headlining dates lined up that carry them into early next month. They come home for a couple days, maybe — maybe — get over the jetlag, and then head out supporting Fu Manchu on the West Coast for what’s gotta be one of the flight-booking-worthiest pairings I’ve heard of this year.
After that? Oh, how about putting the finishing touches on their next album, which I’m happy to reveal today will be titled Shadowlands and out in 2018? Sounds badass all the way around, right? That’s because it is. Here’s the latest from the band, direct update from Reed, dates and all:
We are going to use the off dates to re-record some of the songs for our next album “Shadowlands”. I figure after 7 weeks on the road we will be able to better capture the energy of some of the songs we recorded earlier this year. Also, I’ve been writing on the road so we will be able to work some of those ideas out for possible inclusion as well.
Headlining dates: 25.10.2017 DE Dresden-Chemiefabrik 26.10.2017 DE Erfurt-Tiko 27.10.2017 DE Osnabruck-Bastard Club 28.10.2017 DE Siegen-Vortex 29.10.2017 CH Basel-Renee Bar 30.10.2017 DE Frankfurt-Dreikonigskel 31.10.2017 CH Olten-Coq D’or 01.11.2017 IT Parma 02.11.2017 IT Abano Terme-Laboratorio IM 03.11.2017 IT Torino-Blah Blah 04.11.2017 IT Trieste-Tetris
MOS GENERATOR West Coast Tour supporting Fu Manchu* 11/7 San Francisco, CA Slim’s* 11/8 Eugene OR, Old Nick’s (w/Sasquatch) 11/9 Portland, OR Dantes* 11/10 Seattle WA Chop Suey* 11/13 Grants Pass, OR The Sound Lounge (w/ Mothership) 11/14 San Jose, CA Ritz* 11/17 Tacoma, WA the Valley 11/18 Bremerton, WA the Manette Saloon
Mos Generator is: Tony Reed: Guitar and Mellotron Jono Garrett: Drums Sean Booth: Bass
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 19th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
“The Dance of Red” is fresh off the tape deck at HeavyHead Studio. As in “Recorded and mixed in June 2017” fresh off the tape deck. The new single from Port Orchard, Washington, heavy rock specialists Mos Generator was recorded — like everything they do — by guitarist/vocalist Tony Reed. Together with bassist Sean Booth and drummer Jono Garrett, Reed has started the recording process for what will become the follow-up to the band’s last proper long-player, 2016’s Abyssinia (review here), which is set to release early next year on Listenable Records.
I guess while the three-piece had about five minutes of downtime during the tracking process, they decided to work out covers of “Red” by King Crimson and “The Dance of Maya” by Mahavishnu Orchestra. Fair enough for the band at this point — between the hardcore punk of Lies of Liberty (review here) and the proggy fluidity that surfaced near the end of Abyssinia and on the subsequent The Firmament live-in-studio offering, there’s little that’s out of their sonic wheelhouse.
The tracks are streaming now, and set up as a kind of medley. You can listen at the bottom of this post and see some comment from Reed below on how it all came together:
Mos Generator – The Dance of Red
A few months back I made an edit combining The Dance of Maya by The Mahavishnu Orchestra and Red by King Crimson for the guys to review and learn so we could possibly play it live. Both sections are dramatically abridged to try and keep the piece at around 5 minutes. Each half had their own set of challenges. Jono spent a bit of time working on playing around the 10/8 timing of the first section and Fripp always has these oddball chords that need to be deciphered but with a little time spent running it down I think we ended with a nice interpretation of two of my favorite progressive rock songs. TR – June 2017
Mos Generator – The Dance of Red a) The Dance of Maya (abridged) 2:27 b) Red (abridged) 2:31
Mos Generator is: Tony Reed: Guitar and Mellotron Jono Garrett: Drums Sean Booth: Bass
Recorded and Mixed by Reed at HeavyHead Recording Co. June 2017
