Dave Clark Five Singer Mike Smith, R.I.P.

Mike Smith, lead vocalist, keyboardist, and sometime songwriter for British Invasion act the Dave Clark Five, passed away outside London yesterday (February 28) at the age of 64, according to reports in The New York Times and elsewhere.

Smith died of pneumonia, stemming from a spiral cord injury he suffered a few years ago that left his lower body paralyzed. The Dave Clark Five were among the selections for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, and Smith was planning to attend the induction ceremony in New York City on March 10.

Though their notoriety was relatively short-lived, the Five produced quite a few instantly-recognizable hits in their day, including "Because" and "Catch Us If You Can". For a time in 1964 the quintet-- named after drummer, manager, and founder Dave Clark-- was considered a viable threat to the Beatles' reign over the pop charts, and they had played "The Ed Sullivan Show" a dozen times by 1966.

Following the Dave Clark Five's breakup in 1970, Smith continued working in music, and had been performing with Mike Smith's Rock Engine in recent years.

Born Michael George Smith in 1943 in Edmonton, England, the beloved musician is survived by his wife.

Blur's Rowntree to Seek Parliament Seat
Drummin' up support (zing!)

Rock'n'roll and politics just keep getting cozier and cozier, eh? What with all the music-makers coming out in support of the U.S. presidential candidates and, you know, Bono's continued existence.

According to NME.com, the Cities of London and Westminster Constituency Labour Party have selected (former?) Blur drummer Dave Rowntree to run as the Labour candidate for a seat in Parliament, presently held by Conservative party member Mark Field. The seat is a Conservative party stronghold, but if anyone can beat Field, it must be the guy who played drums on "End of a Century", right? Makes sense to me.

The London Times reports that Rowntree "accused Mr Field of failing to speak up for the poor in the constituency. He added that encouraging the greater involvement of young people in politics would be high on his list of priorities if he were elected."

The Times quotes Rowntree as saying, "We are about to have a whole generation of non-voters."

Rowntree has been pining for a gig like this for a while now, perhaps due to the fact that his other job isn't exactly keeping him real busy. As you'll recall, Rowntree ran for a local council election last year in London, though he was defeated by another Conservative rival. NME also reports that Rowntree is studying to become a barrister. Hey, just like these folks! Oh, right.

In other Blur news, well, lunch was nice, but it doesn't look like dinner's in their future. Damon Albarn will perform with Africa Exprez at the Olympia Theatre in Liverpool on March 6, and there's all kinds of Gorillaz stuff going on. Alex James is blogging up a storm over at The Independent, and Graham Coxon is playing a benefit for Crisis Consequences, a charity that helps the homeless, at London's Roundhouse, this Sunday, March 2.

Vampire Weekend Drummer Injured in Hit-and-Run
VW statement: Chris Tomson "100% fit, despite some bangs and bruises."

Photo by Jason Bergman

From illness to injury, Vampire Weekend's winning streak seems to have hit a few snags. Drummer Chris Tomson was struck by a car outside a London hotel last night (February 28), according to an NME.com report and confirmed by Vampire Weekend's publicist.

Tomson was rushed to Royal London Hospital, and a follow-up NME.com story indicates he was treated for head and neck injuries. The driver who hit Tomson, meanwhile, reportedly never stopped.

Here's the official statement from the VW camp:

"Vampire Weekend's Chris Tomson was the victim of a hit-and-run accident last night while walking in London. He has since been released from the hospital and declared 100% fit, despite some bangs and bruises. The band was in the UK for some shows and promo and will be returning to the U.S. this weekend."

A Vampire Weekend in-store gig at Rough Trade tonight has been cancelled, but the band's upcoming North American dates, UK return (including ATP vs. Pitchfork), and fest dates beyond are all still on. [MORE...]

CSS Line Up World Tour

CSS! Ladies (and gentleman), it has been a minute. You're looking well, I see. And you're bounding into 2008, that's for sure, lining up festival appearances and remixing Sunny Day Sets Fire and so forth. (They also contribute a remix to "I Go to the Doctor!", the new single from fellow Brazilian dance band Tetine, out now on Soul Jazz.)

And now I'm told you're heading on a big ol' world tour this spring and summer? Seems like a fine thing for a band such as yourselves to do. You'll be in New Zealand, Australia, Europe, the UK, Japan, and New Jersey? My, what a journey. Any chance you'll be able to squeeze in a little studio time so you can grace us with some new tunes in the near future? No pressure; just making conversation. You do your thing, and we'll be here waiting. [MORE...]

The B-52s' Cindy Wilson Talks New Record
"We go to a lot of places in our imaginations, from outer space to the bottom of the ocean to the Funplex and the 'Love Shack' to all over the place."

With "Love Shack" as ubiquitous a staple of weddings and Bar/Bat Mitzvahs as "Y.M.C.A.", it's easy to forget that the B-52s are an American new wave institution, a pioneering dance-rock band that helped usher in the alternative era. It's also easy to forget that it's been 16 years since they released a new album.

But don't call the B-52s defunct or their new album, Funplex, a reunion record. As Cindy Wilson was happy to inform us, they'd been playing shows together for years before hooking up with producer Steve Osborne (New Order, U2, Happy Mondays) to record the album.

With Funplex set to come out March 25 on Astralwerks and tour plans in the works for headlining shows and dates with Cyndi Lauper (oh, the hair color!), Wilson talked to us about the record, her band's imagination, and the importance of a good backbeat.

Pitchfork: 16 years is a long time without a new album. Why did you guys decide to return now?

Cindy Wilson: Oh gosh, I've had so many people ask me, "What are y'all doing?" but in reality, we've been performing, I guess under the radar. We've been making a good living playing around and doing corporate [gigs] and playing some summer tours, but we came to a point where, if we were really going to continue doing it, we had to have some new material out. It's really stuff that we started writing slowly, and by the end of the recording we were thrilled to have a strong bunch of songs. So now we have a great record that's coming out, and it just makes touring that much more fun.

Pitchfork: How was the recording process different this time around?

CW: The technology, of course. I mean the electronics, you could put the levels together a lot easier than it used to work. There were so many people, and we were trying to fit all our ideas together, and so technically the differences are huge.

Pitchfork: You seem to like it, which is interesting because a lot of people bemoan the decline of analog equipment and methods.

CW: Well I can understand the difference of the sound. There's a real physical aspect to it that you can really hear, and I think Steve [Osborne] did an amazing job adding textual sounds and refining it. But yeah, a lot of people are analog freaks [laughs].

Pitchfork: Did your dynamic as a band change during the recording?

CW: Well, we decided when we were writing that we would take the best parts of the B-52s and the worst of different things and use them. We all wrote together. It was very much like a focus group. Steve Keith [Strickland] brought us this amazing modern music that was danceable and lush and would shape us as a band into the 21st Century. So we used this music, and all of us were like jamming in recording. It was very hard to write that way, but if you have the patience, it's very rewarding. [MORE...]

The Gossip Announce Live CD/DVD Release
Wham!, Aaliyah covers included

Before they finish the studio album follow-up to 2006's Standing in the Way of Control, late-blooming dance punks the Gossip will release a document of their sweat-soaked live antics.

Titled Gossip: Live in Liverpool, the CD/DVD contains footage from a show on July 9, 2007 in, yes, Liverpool, England. The CD and the DVD each feature a slightly different tracklist (though both include the band's covers of Wham!'s "Careless Whisper" and Aaliyah's "Are You That Somebody?"). The DVD was filmed by director Lance Bangs (Pavement, Sonic Youth, Kanye West, R.E.M., Mike Watt).

Columbia Records/Music With a Twist will release Gossip: Live in Liverpool on April 15.

Of course, the Gossip also have a handful of flesh-and-blood live dates in the next couple of months. [MORE...]

Pitchfork Seeks Web Developer

Pitchfork seeks an enthusiastic web developer with webmaster/content management experience to work full-time as a multi-faceted technologist in our Chicago or Manhattan office to maintain and develop multiple high-traffic, Drupal-based sites. Work environment is creative, fast-paced, and Mac-based with competitive pay and benefits. Most day-to-day tasks deal with the development and maintenance of a frequently updated e-zine. Job requires round-the-clock availability (when needed).

All candidates must possess:

* Expert level knowledge of PHP, MySQL, Apache and Unix/Linux
* Intermediate level experience with Drupal, JS, and jQuery
* Passion for standards-based XHTML/CSS layout

* Webmaster/Content Management experience
* Experience administering large-scale sites
* Strong non-technical communications skills
* Knowledge of video codecs and compressions a plus

Interested parties should send a resume to jobs@pitchforkmedia.com, along with a link to your portfolio, and references from previous clients/employers.

Hives Challenge Vancouver Canucks to Hockey Game
What the puck?!

We know damn well that Sweden's Hives rule the live stage, but what about the ice rink? Determined to find out, the photogenic fivesome journeyed late last week from one frozen northerly land to another, Canada (where, okay, they also happened to be touring), to put a hockey challenge before three Swedish members of the NHL's Vancouver Canucks.

The February 22 afternoon contest at General Motors Place went down just prior to the Hives' gig that evening at the Commodore Ballroom, and was organized (and documented) by record-making liaisons Canadian Recording Services.

Somehow, amid the clattering of sticks, the swooshing of air, and the slicing of ice skates, the Hives managed to put up five against the highly-trained Canucks. But, alas, it would not be enough, as the professionals-- though outnumbered-- emerged with a 6-5 victory over their garage-rocking opponents.

It has been said that this victory gave the Canucks the mental boost they needed to prevail over the Detroit Red Wings the following night, and who are we to doubt it? Hopefully they got some free Hives tickets out of the deal too.

The Hives face off in Minneapolis tonight (February 28) and return to the home continent in late March. By the way, guys, if you'd like to challenge Pitchfork HQ to a game of foosball while you're here in Chicago tomorrow, BRING IT. [MORE...]

Black Swans Hit the Road

Though their trademark touring vehicle-- a Ford Taurus of some vintage-- isn't proving as reliable as its reputation, a busted mid-sized sedan isn't enough to keep those Black Swans from flocking to the road.

The Columbus, Ohio-based gothic folk troupe will head out in trio formation for several weeks' worth of dates around the States. Packing guitar, bass, violin, and plenty of copies of last year's strange yet sweet Change! LP in the replacement rental car, the Swans take off tonight in their hometown. Remember, each copy of the limited edition vinyl version of Change! is totally unique, as the cover artwork is hand-painted by mentally challenged members of Arc North Workshop. [MORE...]

The Pica Beats Sign to Hardly Art

Photo by Joseph P. Traina

Sub Pop offshoot Hardly Art has opened its doors to the newest members of its family: the Pica Beats. They're a Seattle group headed by Ryan Barrett, who self-released his debut album All Mysteries Solve Themselves last year.

On Beating Back the Claws of the Cold, the Pica Beats' forthcoming first album for Hardly Art, the band incorporates less traditional instruments like oboe and sitar into their five-person attack.

Beating Back the Claws of the Cold doesn't have a release date yet, but the Pica Beats do have a trio of hometown tour dates scheduled for March and April. [MORE...]

Cribs Recording With Johnny Marr, Touring
Putting out a bunch of singles for "I'm a Realist"

Call it robbing the cradle if you wish: Wakefield, England's the Cribs sure do attract the attend of older fellas. First, it was Lee Ranaldo, who appeared on their 2007 effort Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever.

Now, Smiths guitarist-- and, more recently, Modest Mouse guitarist-- Johnny Marr is linking up with the young act for some recording and possibly a little road trip. Turns out Crib bassist Gary Jarman met Mr. Marr at a party in Portland (where both are now living), got buddy-buddy real quick-like, and decided to write, perform and record together. No word on what form the sessions will take, but there's talk of an EP, an LP, and even the possibility of Johnny taking a little time away from the Modest Mouse to tour with the Cribs.

When they're not hanging out with rock royalty, the Cribs are putting out singles for "I'm a Realist" from Men's Needs. No, really: there are two out this week! In the UK, Wichita Recordings issued "I'm a Realist" backed with a cover of the Replacements' "Bastards of Young" (produced by Bernard Butler-- hey look, another old dude!) on Monday the 25th, making one wonder if there's a Westerberg in the Cribs' future.

Warner's U.S. single looks forward a bit, matching "Realist" with two new tunes, a live video for "Our Bovine Public", and the Postal Service remix of "I'm a Realist" we Forkcasted on Wednesday. That one's available only on iTunes at the moment, which sorta means another single for the song is planned for March 4 when it hits other digital retailers.

And, when they're not releasing singles for "I'm a Realist", the Cribs are gearing up to tour North America! The band will hit Mexico City March 8 before heading to the States, popping in at South by Southwest for a spell in between club dates. Hey, I hear Thurston's gonna be there if you guys need a fifth...

Oh wait... what's this? There's ANOTHER "I'm a Realist" single? A 7" backed by the Postal Service remix? And it's only going to be available on the North American tour? Jeez. [MORE...]

Tilly and the Wall Deliver New Single

You Tilly and the Wall fans-- and Lord knows there's no shortage of ya-- are already patently aware that Tilly and the Wall have a new album, their third, due this summer on Team Love, right? You were? Well, were you also aware there's a non-album single called "Beat Control" on the way from this Tilly lot, due March 4 digitally or on a limited edition 7" you can order from the Team Love website? Or that you can get said limited edition 7" on Tilly's forthcoming tour? Or that Flowers Forever, Derek Pressnall's new-ish side project, have a brand spankin' new self-titled LP and a couple live dates of their own? You knew that stuff too, huh? Here, why don't you write the music news, and I will listen to the fun pop rock and take all of the drugs. Wheee! [MORE...]

Do you have a news tip for us? Anything crazy happen at a show you attended recently? Do you have inside info on the bands we cover? Is one of your favorite artists (that's not somebody you know personally) releasing a new record you'd like to see covered? You will remain completely anonymous, unless we are given your express permission to reveal your identity. (Please note that publicists, managers, booking agents, and other artist representatives are generally exempt from this rule, but will also be granted anonymity if requested.)