cd release party saturday

David Boone is releasing his new CD A Tale of Gold this Saturday at the Wilma Theater. Not too many local musicians have what it takes to put on a show at the Wilma. What makes David Boone so special? Well, he's a damn good songwriter for one and an amazing self promoter. For the rest of the answers, I sat down with David via the interweb to find out what makes him tick.

NewWest.Net: Who were your biggest musical influences growing up?
David Boone: I grew up in a somewhat "sheltered" environment early on, but my dad would occasionally sneak me out to his '79 Ford and play me Jimi Hendrix's Are You Experienced, Janis Joplin and Elvis Presley. Aside from that, I would have to say church hymns. I learned a good bit about melody, harmony, emotion and dynamics from the old hymns, so I guess technically, Fanny Crosby was my biggest influence. Later in life, I got into Dylan, Prine, Hank Williams Sr., Patsy Cline and then the grunge era hit, and I was pleasantly intrigued with that throughout my teenage years. [more]

Rawk and roll train wreck!

The Riverboat Gamblers are easily the most exciting live rawk and roll band I've ever seen. Their live show is like watching a planned train wreck. Their music is super high energy punk rawk, and they're bringing it to Salt Lake City, Boise, and Spokane next week. I sat down with lead singer Mike Wiebe via the interweb and asked him some questions. [more]

first the stones, now...

Rock legend Elton John will perform in Missoula and Bozeman on consecutive nights in late September as part of his "Rocket Man: Number Ones" tour, the AP reports.

Elton and his band will play the Adams Center at the University of Montana in Missoula Friday, September 28th, and the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse at Montana State University in Bozeman Saturday, the 29th. In Missoula, that's homecoming weekend. Tickets go on sale next Wednesday, September 5th at 10:00 a.m.

Click here for UM ticket information, here for MSU information.

Missoula's new old school

If my memory serves me right, the first time my band ever played with the Victory Smokes it was Nov 12th 2006. They were a bunch of young kids who talked the owners of the Raven Cafe to let us have shows. I remember enjoying their set but thinking to myself that they should play a little bit more. Soon after that show the Raven started having multiple shows a week and it seemed like the Victory Smokes played them all. Soon enough that young bunch of kids made a kickass rawk and roll band.

Two years later the men of the Victory Smokes are putting out a full length album entitled Walkie Trash Talkie. They recorded the album themselves at the University of Montana and mixed and mastered it at Habbilus Studios in Missoula. I’ve heard four songs off the ten song album and I was completely blown away. Not only are the Smokes putting out a new album but they are going on an insanely long tour of two and a half months. I’m been on a five week tour and I thought I was going to go crazy. I can only imagine what twice that long would do to a man. You have a couple chances to see these guys before they disappear for awhile. Check them out before they hit the big time and forget who all of us are.

Friday August 17th- CD Release show @ The Badlander
Saturday August 18th- All ages CD Release show @ Dauphines
Friday August 28th – Tour kickoff show w/ Get Set Go @ The Loft

Colin Hickey is New West’s Events Editor. Keep an eye out for his “MVP Events” or check here to find your own: www.MissoulaEvents.net. [more]

Missoula Rock City!

Missoula’s biggest rawk and roll fest is back for its sixth year. Total Fest VI is this weekend and it promises to be bigger and better than ever. With more than 40 bands playing in just three days this festival is gaining momentum every year. Bands from all over the world send in their demos almost a year in advance to get a chance to play on one of Total Fest’s stages. This year Total Fest makes its way back downtown to The Badlander and The Palace. TF has always made sure to have an all ages option available to its concert goers. This year The Palace will be that place. Besides the rock show TF also has a record swap at the Big Dipper parking lot of Saturday afternoon. Bring out your old records and trade them to a friend for his old ones.

Here’s a list of bands that will be playing at Total Fest this weekend.

Two Year Touqe, Birthday Suits, Riddilin Que, Lozen, Mika Miko, Trashies, Flee the Century, The Sherlocks, Four Horsemen, Knockoffs, Cicadas, Squalora, Vile Blue Shades, Jacktop Town, Touchers, Pine Hill Haints, Old Time Relijun, Narrows, Kingdom of Magic, Belt of Vapor, Fitz of Depression, Fleshies, Akimbo, Thrones, Basic Practicalilies, The Bugs, Dandelion Junk Queens, Deny the Dinosaur, The Reddmen, Noise Noise Noise, The Pasties, Wham City, Reptil Dysfunction, The Trucks, Yogoman Burning Band, Arrows to the Sun, Mountain High, KLED, Madraso, Mahamawaldi, Nudity and Le Force!

Tickets for Total Fest are $35 for the whole weekend. Individual tickets are $15 a day. For more, visit www.myspace.com/totalfest [more]

A celebration of creativity

It’s Sweet Pea Festival time again, a gala we look forward to every year.

When you scroll down BozemanEvent.net, it becomes overwhelming how many activities are happening at the 30th annual Sweet Pea Festival of the Arts — more than 45 different theatrical, musical and dance performances are listed over three days.

And this doesn’t include the Tater Pigs and other delectables that we look forward to every year served by local non-profits. And perusing the arts & crafts vendors tucked under the trees of the rolling green Lindley Park.

This truly is a homegrown festival that started in 1978 by a group of dedicated Bozemanites to stage a “celebration of creativity.” Over 20,000 people attend Sweet Pea festival, which is almost half the population of Bozeman alone. It’s an annual pilgrimage for folks returning to Bozeman where they once called home, tourists visiting or an ideal time to invite the parents for a visit.

Here are just a few of the creative highlights of the Sweet Pea weekend: [more]

colin hickey, ladies and gentlemen

Thursday night New West’s resident rock star Colin Hickey (aka “Monty Carlo") and his band The International Playboys will play their final show, at the Badlander in Missoula.

The announcement from the band’s website:

“317 Shows, 11 tours, 3 Albums, 1 EP, 1 7in, 1 Zombie Movie, 5,000+ Stickers, Countless #’s of Posters, 1 Broken Leg, Over 90,000 Miles, 4 Drummers, 200+ Chicken Fried Steaks and 50+ Pairs of Pants with Ripped Crotches later The International Playboys are calling it quits.  Captain Sextasitc aka ‘White Chocolate Thunder’ is moving to Boulder Colorado to start a money tree farm.  Our last show will be August 2nd at the Badlander with special guests Volumen.  Come see us play every song we’ve ever known plus more.  This is a gala event and the crowd is urged to dress up.”

Click here to read last week’s Indy story by Erika Fredrickson all about the band, its history and revelry.

The Playboys will take the stage at 10:00, after the Volumen warm things up, and champaign and fried chicken will be served. We’ll see you there.

Hello little tomato(s)

After much deliberation, I, Sara of the Cactus Records, have decided that the death of the music industry can easily be equated to that of Old Yeller.

Imagine this with me for a moment please:
A stray dog shows up and causes some trouble. A young boy becomes friends with the pooch and he's allowed to stick around the ol' homestead. Soon enough the dog proves his worth, after saving the young kid's bum a few times.

Then, the dog gets rabies from a wolf and the boy who'd befriended the dog has to off him.

Ok, now imagine this: [more]

Two ladies adventure on the road, backstage & groovin'

Last weekend, a scattered caravan of dancers, rockers, hikers, campers and Dionysian festival-worshippers loaded up their trucks, campers and sporty fuel-efficient coupes and headed to the Grand Targhee Resort for the Third Annual Grand Targhee Music Festival.

Although better known for hosting a bluegrass festival each summer, Grand Targhee Resort and Bozeman-based Vootie Productions have also presented the newer festival, a three-day showcase of Americana, roots, rock funk and blues for the past two years.

The following story is about taking off in the summer season, traveling through the abundant scenic beauty of the Northern Rockies with the added incentive for groovin’ to the eclectic beats at Targhee Music Festival with two Livingston Weekly staffers: New Orleans transplant Jen Eames and former Memphian Reilly Neill. [more]

Paul's New CD: Yes

The responsibility of reviewing music by Paul McCartney is enough to rattle this Beatles-era middle-aged mom, but listening to “Memory Almost Full” was inspiring enough to sally forth.

From the almost silly simplicity of “Dance Tonight” to the Lennon-like “Vintage Clothes” to my favorite, the jaunty “Ever Present Past” the sheer variety of musical styles and instrumentation make the CD great fun and, in a way, a trip back in time.

We who were young during the Vietnam war – and the protests, and Richard Nixon, and one of the best/worst decades in American history – may react to Paul's songswith a certain sadness, nostalgia and a longing for youth. (The Paul in the photo is the Paul of my era.) [more]