Guitarist Scott Gorham had this to say, “It’s been a very tough time of late for myself and the band, firstly with drummer Tommy Aldridge’s injury and now the subsequent decision for John and the rest of the group to go their separate ways. I can only apologize to everyone who has supported us over the years, but we will be back up to full speed soon!”

Filling the slot left by Thin Lizzy on Saturday’s Main Stage will be Jackyl. Director of Operations Dave Giencke said, “After Thin Lizzy’s cancellation, we wanted to bring in a band that has consistently been one of the fan favorites!” “Jackyl’s energy and stage presence is like no other band who has ever performed at Rocklahoma and they promise to step up even more!”

Frontman Jessie James Dupree added, “I was equally disappointed that Thin Lizzy cancelled their tour. I am a huge fan of theirs and wanted to make it down to Rocklahoma see them perform. Since I was going to be there anyway and there’s an open slot, it made sense to have Jackyl perform.” “Jackyl Stock 09, let’s get it on!”

Can’t say this news excites me, but there are a significant number of fans rejoicing the addition. I was never a Britny Fox fan prior to seeing them last December and they completely blew me away. Guess I’ll suck it up and give these guys a chance.

MP3: Jackyl - “Down On Me”

This week in music. Back by popular demand. Instead of band news, here are political, social and editorial perspectives on music from various web sources. Let’s take the blue pill, shall we?

!) Last weekend played host to one of the world’s biggest music festival: western England’s Glastonbury. The Boston Globe compiled an album of 33 amazing pictures of the festival.

@) Emusic created a list of this year’s most underrated albums. Included is one of my favorite albums of the hour by Here We Go Magic.

#) Mentalfloss’ Danny Gallagher compiled a list of songs to play when torturing. Bookmark this in case you get the chance to waterboard Dick Cheney. Here it is!

$) Indie-Rock in Iran???? Yes. They are called Hypernova. Check the video interview on lp33.tv to see how “you can’t take music away from people” and how they came about under a regime that banned dancing and music.

Heartbeat Radio was recorded in Lerche’s hometown of Bergen, Norway, and his newly adopted home of Brooklyn, NY. The album was produced by Lerche with Kato Ådland…it was mixed by Joe Chicarelli (White Stripes, My Morning Jacket, The Shins). In addition to his backing band, The Faces Down, a large group of musicians and contributors were brought into the studio to build upon Sondre’s knack for pop sonics recalling The Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac, Prefab Sprout and XTC.

Tracklisting:
1. Good Luck
2. Heartbeat Radio
3. I Cannot Let You Go
4. Like Lazenby
5. If Only
6. Pioneer
7. Easy to Persuade
8. Words and Music
9. I Guess it’s Gonna Rain Today
10. Almighty Moon
11. Don’t Look Now
12. Goodnight

While nothing has been cleared to share from the new album at this point, here’s a little something to listen to until then…
MP3: Sondre Lerche - “Say It All”
MP3: Sondre Lerche - “Two Way Monologue”

Tracklisting:
1. Energy
2. Go!
3. Strawberryfire
4. Tidal Wave
5. Please
6. The Rainbow
7. Seems So
8. Same Old Drag (check out video above)
9. The Bird That You Can’t See
10. Shine A Light
11. 20 Cases Suggestive Of…
12. Ruby
13. Signal In The Sky
14. Can You Feel It?
15. Winter Must Be Cold
16. Sun Is Out

Here’s one that didn’t make the grade…
MP3: Apples In Stereo - “Thank You Very Much”

Fool’s Gold is an LA collective consisting of Luke Top: Bass, Lead Vocal, Lewis Pesacov: Guitar, Big Search: Guitar, Vocal, Jimmy Vincent: Guitar, Garrett Ray: Drums, Amir Kenan: Keyboard, Percussion & Vocal, Mark Noseworthy: Sax, Percussion, Brad Caulkins: Sax, Percussion and Percussionists: Orpheo Mccord, Erica Garcia, Michael Tapper, Salvador Placencia.

The collective’s influences are listed as benga bass, ju-ju jams, lingala licks and soukous soul. I’m not sure what any of that means, but after listening to the first track cleared from their self-titled debut I’m telling you it rubs me in all the right ways. Speaking of their debut, it will be released on September 29th via IAMSOUND.

OK, back to the imagination request…imagine Vampire Weekend is Jonah and Paul Simon’s Graceland is the whale. The whale’s waste is sorta what Fool’s Gold sounds like (or something). Getting the picture? No?! The hell with it then, just listen…

MP3: Fool’s Gold - “Surprise Hotel”

The Jaguar Club will be throwing an album release party on August 29th at Union Hall in Brooklyn. Several of the trio’s favorite bands will be sharing the stage that evening: Coyote Eyes, Spanish Prisoners, and pow wow!

If you’re interested in attending, advanced tickets have gone on sale and the band are going to be giving away a special lyric & photo booklet to the folks who pick up a copy the new album that night and buy their tickets in advance. Confirmation number/email from Ticketweb will be required, so print a copy and present it at the merch table, please.

Tickets are $8 and available through Ticket Web.

MP3: The Jaguar Club - “Sleepwalking”

Park The Van Tour Dates:
07-22 Missoula, MT @ Badlander
07-23 Spokane, WA @ the Blvd.
07-24 Portland, OR @ Someday Lounge
07-25 Seattle, WA @ ToST
07-27 San Francisco, CA @ Café du Nord
07-28 Big Sur, CA @ TBA
07-29 Sacramento, CA @ TBA
07-30 Costa Mesa, CA @ Detroit Bar w/ Golden Boots + Eagle Winged Palace
07-/31 Hollywood, CA @ Hotel Café + Golden Boots
08-01 Long Beach, CA @ DiPiazza’s (Floating Action only)
08-02 San Diego, CA @ Bar Pink (free) + Golden Boots
08-03 Phoenix, AZ @ the Trunkspace + Golden Boots
08-04 Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress + Golden Boots
08-06 Austin, TX @ Stubbs Jr.
08-07 Houston, TX @ Super Happy Funland
08-08 New Orleans, LA @ the Hi-Ho Lounge

MP3: Generationals - “When They Fight They Fight”
MP3: Floating Action - “50 Lashes”

Sarah Guild recently too time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions for the site…

Give us a little background about the band, please. What events led to its creation? Who are the members?
The New Collisions definitely didn’t happen by accident. Scott and I had dropped out of college together, dissatisfied with the life and options that it presented. We then went through a longish phase of roaming about, trying this and that. We lived in the south, in England, around the northeast, a bunch of places. Music was always a big part of our lives, so we finally decided to settle somewhere and start a serious music project–something that had pop music at its core, but could also draw on everything we loved: fashion, film, art, performance, an explosion of culture. A project, in other words, that could embrace and even push culture–like U2, The Beatles, Blondie–our idols. We officially launched The New Collisions about six months ago, and things have moved very quickly since then. The members are myself–Sarah Guild–on vocals, Scott Guild on guitar, Alex Stern on bass, Casey G on keyboards, and Zak Kahn on drums.

Who are some of the band’s biggest influences?
Though we’re a very new, we were pegged early on as a new-wave act. A lot of influences do come from that era–that period between 1978 and 1983 when punk, post-punk and straight pop were combining to create a new kind of popular music, driven equally by guitar and synth, with an eye to pre-psychedelic 60s pop. I’d say our big influences are The Cars, Blondie, Missing Persons, The Go Go’s, R.E.M., but also The Kinks, The Ronnettes, The Beach Boys, The Beatles. Energetic and melodic music really defines where we’re at and where we want to go. We don’t want to be pegged as an 80s throwback band, because our goal is to make great and timeless pop music. That can’t be confined to one era.

Speaking of influences, The Cars’ Greg Hawkes plays on your EP. How did that come about?
Now that was an accident. Well, almost. We had been searching for a good keyboard player and coming up with nothing. Every time we put up a post, we mentioned Greg Hawkes from The Cars, who embodies the kind of hooky lead synth that we want for our music. Finally, after a few weeks, we googled Greg Hawkes out of curiousity. It turned out that he had a myspace page and lived within 10 miles. So we wrote to him, he wrote back, then he came out to a show, and it went from there. It’s pretty incredible!

Spin Magazine said you’re “The hottest Boston band right now.” Have any labels expressed interest in working with the band at this point?
It’s all happening quickly, but yes, we’ve started discussions with different labels. Beyond that (for the moment anyway) “our lips are sealed!”

Boston’s been a hotbed on numerous occasions, but it’s been somewhat silent for a while now…who are some bands we should take note of making a noise on the scene?
There are some great bands in the local scene right now. We moved to Boston almost on a whim (we knew some people here and thought it was as good a place as any to get started), but we arrived at a perfect moment. It isn’t getting much press yet, but I predict that a true dance-pop explosion will happen here within the next year or so. The electro band Passion Pit just blew up into a national act and are on the cover of NME this month. Though they harken from a much later period of New Wave than us, people are slotting us as the ones to follow in their footsteps. I’d definitely draw attention to Yes Giantess, Televandals, Freezepop, and The Sterns as being at the forefront of this emerging scene. We’re friends with these folks and I feel like we’re all creating an imporant moment–music that is unabashedly fun, danceable, and hooky (like the greats of the 60s and 80s), incorporating older influences but also making something distinct and new. I would say that there’s a real message to this music as well.

If you were making a mixtape for our readers, what are the first three songs you’d choose (from other artists) and why?
I would actually choose some local tracks, because I’m a firm believer in what is happening here right now. I’d suggest “The Reeling” by Passion Pit–an incredible song with a killer video. Next, “This Will Only Hurt For a Minute” by The Sterns. In my opinion, this is a great pop song that deserves global attention. Last, “30 Lives,” by The Motion Sick. The less said about this song the better–it is so simply and infectiously brilliant that you have to hear it for yourself. It also has a show-stopping video.

Tell us something about the band we wouldn’t find doing a Google search.
Hmmm…. Though most people focus on how our music is dancey and fun, we also put an insane amount of work into the lyrics, trying to say something important about our generation, the struggles of our time, all the stuff you feel like mulling over on the dance floor… :) It’s dumb and self-defeating to explain your own poetry, but (in our humble opinion) there’s a lot there. You can’t hear it in the beat or melodies, but Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen are huge influcences on the words, the phrasing, and what we try to communicate about life, love, and the great beyond.

MP3: The New Collisions - “Beautiful And Numb”
MP3: The New Collisions - “Parachutes On The Dance Floor”

Kasabian’s November UK tour dates:
Tue 10th - NEWCASTLE, Metro Radio Arena - 0844 493 6666/ www.livenation.co.uk
Wed 11th - ABERDEEN, AECC - 0844 499 9990/ ww.gigsinscotland.com
Thu 12th - GLASGOW, SECC - 08444 999 990/ www.gigsinscotland.com
Sat 14th - LONDON, Wembley Arena - 0844 815 0815/ www.livenation.co.uk
Mon 16th - LIVERPOOL, Echo Arena - 0844 800 0400/ www.livenation.co.uk
Wed 18th - NOTTINGHAM, Trent FM Arena - 0844 412 4624/ www.livenation.co.uk
Thu 19th - BIRMINGHAM, NIA - 0844 338 8000/ www.livenation.co.uk
Fri 20th - MANCHESTER, MEN - 0844 847 8000/ www.livenation.co.uk
Sun 22nd - CARDIFF, International Arena - 0292 022 4488/ www.livenation.co.uk
Mon 23rd - SHEFFIELD, Arena - 0114 256 5656/ www.livenation.co.uk
 
Tickets go on sale 9am Friday 3rd July priced at £25 (subject to booking fee) and are available from www.livenation.co.uk
 
MP3: Kasabian - “Running Battle”

“On a struggle to avoid any narrow descriptions to the kind of music they’re playing, the guys from Kilivitz had gone as far as describing themselves as either “Venusian Rock played on the Third Gear” or simply “Third World Rock.” As of now, they’re located in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and as opposed to what you may expect, there’s nothing exotic (or thirdwordly, if you’ll excuse the just made-up term) about the songs they’ve been putting out.

Their latest single “Captain Cool” was described by spanish website Pabelia as “featuring a bass line that might remind you of The Stranglers, maybe even of Australian group Radio Birdman, a voice sounding like someone who could be John Freeman and a general sound that brings back the feel of punk rock bands from the later 70s.” They also offer the (wise) following piece of advice: “make the effort and include this band in your already wide list of bands to keep an eye on.”

The band is about to start recording their debut album, and they promise the best is yet to come. Take the advice and keep an eye out for whatever’s next - you never know when they might be coming to your town.”

MP3: Kilivitz - “Captain Cool”