Category: Interviews

Ken To Tour Australia; Reveals Posies To Re-Issue First 4 Records

Taylor

Ken Stringfellow was interviewed by Sydney Unleashed ahead of his Australian tour next month, and had news regarding the first 4 Posies records:

For news, we will see over the next year the re-issue of the Posies first four albums with expanded content, quite a bit never before heard and that’s *after* we released a 4-CD box set of outtakes in 2000. We found even *more* stuff. Plus the albums will get remastered, pressed on vinyl, etc.

If you follow Ken’s blog, you already know that he and Jon Auer are recording new Posies songs.

Dates for Ken’s Australian tour:

April 11 – KS solo, Petersham Bowling Club, Sydney AUSTRALIA
April 13 — KS solo, Grace Darling Hotel, Melbourne AUSTRALIA
April 16 — Coronet Blue (KS on keyboards), the Vanguard, Sydney AUSTRALIA

Upcoming Ken Stringfellow Shows – Finland, Norway, and NYC

Taylor

More dates on Ken Stringfellow’s ‘Danzig In The Moonlight’ tour have been announced for October:

Oct 9 – Ken Stringfellow @ Telakka, Tampere FINLAND
Oct 10 – Ken Stringfellow @ Kerubi, Joensuu FINLAND
Oct 11 – Ken Stringfellow @ Bar Loose, Helsinki FINLAND
Oct 12 – Ken Stringfellow @ Dynamo, Turku FINLAND
Oct 14 – Ken Stringfellow @ Revolver, Oslo NORWAY
Oct 27 – Ken Stringfellow @ Jazz Foundation Loft Party, New York City USA (only US date this year)

The Rocksucker blog is publishing an extensive interview with Ken on the making of ‘Danzig In The Moonlight’ – you can read part 1 here, and part 2 here.

Posies Press Round-Up

Taylor

The Posies appeared on Seattle’s 107.7 The End last week – check out their session here, with performances of “The Glitter Prize” and “Licenses To Hide.”

The Line of Best Fit asks Ken & Jon the same questions in separate interviews, for an interesting take.

Extensive interview with UberRock.

Jon talked to MTV music book club Jerzy Kosinski’s “Being There”

Jon shares the inspiration for the title of BLOOD/CANDY with Stereo Subversion:

It’s actually kind of from a poem by this guy named Thax Douglas. He’s this kind of local poet in the Chicago area that would come to rock shows and he would write poems for the bands about the bands at their performances. One of the phrases he used to describe us was something about blood candy. I think he was talking about how there is this totally sweet, harmonious side to what we do, but also there’s a lot of passion. There’s also more of a darker undercurrent than just maybe what the melodic, harmonious side might imply.

Spinner covers what to expect on the upcoming tour, and the Philadelphia Examiner asks about influences behind the new album.

Spanish-language interview from the Heineken’s website.

Gail Worley reviews BLOOD/CANDY as her ‘Rad CD of the Week’, and UK Music Review gives it 9/10

Stereogum premieres the first single “The Glitter Prize,” and it’s also featured on Spin’s October playlist.

‘Blood/Candy’ Interview On Huffington Post

Taylor

Read all about the Posies new album ‘Blood/Candy’ in this exclusive interview on Huffington Post, by Tony Sachs.

The idea for a new album came about during the Frosting On The Beater anniversary tour in 2008, and according to Stringfellow, a meeting with Rykodisc in ’09 really set the wheels in motion. “They were enthusiastic enough to say, ‘Hey, we should really make this happen, and soon.’ And we were like, ‘Sounds like a great idea.’ Starting last year, we had the idea to start recording by this spring, knowing that we had to write some songs.”

Blood/Candy is the first Posies album for which Auer and Stringfellow actually wrote material in advance of the recording sessions since Amazing Disgrace in 1996. “One of the things I was hoping to do on this record,” says Auer, “was go back to the idea of Ken and me writing most of the songs, versus the last recording we did, where we kind of cobbled things together in the studio with everyone. I just felt like we needed to have that time to prepare and actually sit down and write.” As a result, Stringfellow says, “I would say that I feel the songs on this one a bit deeper… there’s stuff from way down in there that I think gives it a little more soul.”

Click here to read the entire interview.

‘Blood/Candy’ tracklist:

1. Plastic Paperbacks
2. The Glitter Prize
3. Licenses To Hide
4. So Caroline
5. Take Care Of Yourself
6. Cleopatra Street
7. For The Ashes
8. Accidental Architecture
9. She’s Coming Down Again!
10. Notion 99
11. Holiday Hours
12. Enewetak

Links

Taylor

For the most up-to-date information, follow @theposies on Twitter!

End Of Week Update: June 6th, 2009

Taylor
  • New shows added this week:

    7/16 – Ken Stringfellow DJs Arola Nights @ Arola Restaurant @ Hotel Arts. Barcelona, SPAIN
    10/28 – Ken Stringfellow @ Club Castro, Skopje, MACEDONIA

  • Ken has joined Twitter – follow his updates @KenStringfellow.
  • Magnet asks artists to name their favorite American power pop songs, and Chris Walla (of Death Cab for Cutie) chose “Solar Sister.” Here’s what he had to say:

    It’s their finest moment, the perfect balance of bombastic, tricky cheapness and vocal creme fraische. I can’t understand half the words, but it doesn’t seem to matter that much. I learned more about singing harmonies with this record in my car than I did in three years of choir.

  • Also in Magnet: ‘Frosting On The Beater’ makes their list of Top 15 American Power-Pop Albums, and they’ve republished a 2002 article on the subject of power pop, with comments from Ken.
  • Press for next weekend’s shows in NY: The New Yorker & Ken is interviewed by the Brooklyn blog 24/Seven.
  • Not Lame and American Songwriter review ‘Smoking Kills’.
  • Lastly – Ken is playing with The Sad Knights in Lauzerte, France tonight, and the show will be streamed online at La Grosse Tambouille, 23h France time.

New Dates For Jon’s Upcoming Tour

Taylor

Jon has added four shows to his tour next month:

Feb 27th & 28th: Mojo’s, North Fremantle, Perth, Australia
March 2nd: Schooner Tavern in Auckland, New Zealand
March 3rd: MVP in Wellington, New Zealand

For the full schedule, see the tour page or Jon’s Myspace.

Jon was interviewed by an Australian site – check out the interview here: Jon Auer -2007: The Year of Bitch Slapping, Ben Lee, Paris Hilton and Our Demise.

Jon’s cover of Husker Du’s “Green Eyes” is featured on the free CD (titled “Love Will Tear Us Apart”) February 2007’s issue of Mojo.

Here is an mp3 of Jon’s interview on the Phil Jupitus Breakfast Show from December 5th last year – download it now. Thanks to IdiotJed for the mp3!

Pre-Order Jon’s New Album

Taylor

Jon Auer’s solo album ‘Songs from the Year of Our Demise’ will be released on May 2nd in the US, and it is now available to pre-order from Pattern 25 (both US & non-US) for $14. You can also get an autographed copy before the release date – follow the link above to place an order.

In addition, here is an interview Jon did with an Australian paper recently.

Seattle Weekly Feature

Taylor

Twenty Questions
Seattle Weekly plays Jukebox Jury with the Posies.

The dB’s: “Black and White” (1981) from Stands for Decibels (IRS) and Flamin’ Groovies: “I Can’t Hide” (1976) from Shake Some Action (Sire)

Ken Stringfellow: [as dB’s play] Is this the song we left off Failure? [laughs] Is that the dB’s?

Jon Auer: It could be Mitch Easter– or Don Dixon–produced. It definitely has the Mitch Easter sound of the early R.E.M. recordings.

Stringfellow: [dB’s drummer] Will Rigby wanted to be in the Posies. [Flamin’ Groovies begins] Is that the Brian Jonestown Massacre? [laughs]

Read the full article here