This week in solo albums: Travis Barker?!?

* New this week: ex-Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft has a new solo album, recorded with several hip-hop producers. This probably isn't as terrible a move as Chris Cornell's album with Timbaland, just because Ashcroft's other solo work has been so soporific.

* Speaking of Chris Cornell, Soundgarden just put out a live album and are supposedly working in the studio, but Cornell is taking a break this spring to do some solo acoustic shows.  The one in my area sold out very quickly.

* Also new and in stores this week: Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker's solo album. Based on the performance I saw on Conan and the clips available online, Barker is just drumming and producing, not singing.

* Dinosaur Jr. frontman J. Mascis has a new solo album. It's supposed to be a bit "folky."

* While not a solo album per se, erstwhile Blur / Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn is working on a new opera about an Elizabethan-era astrologer which will premiere this summer in Manchester. That Damon, always out-Britishing everybody else.

*And my favorite solo album news of the week comes from Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, whose second solo album will come out this summer and was recorded exclusively using ukuleles. Ukulele Songs comes out May 31. Check out the sounds of Hawaii on Vedder's solo tour; get dates here.

Better than Ezra - as the band turns

Is Kevin Griffin doing a solo album? His Myspace account certainly seems to be set up that way, with a new song that doesn't sound like a demo (it's good, too, like some of the softer ballads that closed out the band's late '90s albums). But uncorroborated reports from a Kansas City show at the end of May indicate that a new BTE album may be coming in the spring.

Has Griffin shelved his solo work? Pulled an Art Alexakis and turned it into full-band material? Will it be on a label (BTE has bounced from Elektra to Beyond to Sanctuary to Artemis the last four albums, and those last three labels are now defunct), or self-released? Stay tuned for the next exciting bout of speculation on... As the Band Turns...

Toad the Wet Sprocket reunite (sort of)

I'm a little late to this party, but Toad the Wet Sprocket got back together for a brief run last week, and they'll play a few more shows in August together.

Since disbanding in 1998, Toad has played a few very sporadic reunion shows and released a live album (which was recorded in 1992). Lead singer Glen Phillips has fallen in with the Largo crowd in Los Angeles (including producer extraordinaire Jon Brion and Aimee Mann), and released four albums, the most recent of which is the EP Secrets of the New Explorers.

Toad the Wet Sprocket shows:
August 23 - The Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA
August 29 - The Canyon Club, Agoura Hills, CA
August 30 - The Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, CA

I've always liked Toad; they were one of the first '90s bands to be clearly influenced by REM (the Gin Blossoms, Hootie, etc. were a few years later), and when they made their big rock move with 1994's Dulcinea, it didn't sound forced. I tried to go see them at the House of Blues in 1998, on what ended up being their last tour, but tickets sold out about a half-hour before I showed up. Sigh.
Here's "Fall Down."

'90s stars goin' country

So I was driving through some rural areas this weekend, and I stumbled on one of those country countdown shows that are popular with small-town stations because they're cheap. And lo and behold, who was sitting at #30-something this week? Darius Rucker, lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish, with his new song "Don't Think I Don't Think About It."

However, Hootie and the Blowfish are still together, as they're touring all summer, according to this article (which says two of the Blowfish are working on solo projects as well). Most of the dates are casinos and county fairs, but they're still big enough in Georgia and the Carolinas to play big amphitheaters.
This won't be Rucker's first solo album; after Hootie's underperforming third album Musical Chairs, he recorded a soul album, Back to Then, which didn't do much on the charts. Since then, Hootie have released two more albums (the most recent in 2005), both of which did quite well on adult contemporary radio.

Think Rucker is touring with Hootie rather than a country band so that fans don't request this number?


So the Hootie guy has gone country. And he's not the only one. Jewel also has a new country song (which sounds like a regular Jewel song with extra banjo), and is one-upping Rucker by spending the summer opening for Brad Paisley and judging the NBC American Idol-wannabe Nashville Star.

Also going country: Jessica Simpson, with a song, "Come On Over," and a full album set for September. But really, given her performance in the Dukes of Hazzard movie, this move isn't that surprising.

Since three is a trend, here's some other '90s artists we'd like to see tackle a country album:

White Town: admittedly, the gender-bending is going to throw NASCAR dads off, but if he could pull it off, it'd be amazing.

Tracy Bonham: bonus points - already plays violin.
Mr. Big: Hey, it worked for Bon Jovi.
Either Save Ferris, Reel Big Fish, or the Cherry Poppin' Daddies: unsure how the horns are going to work in a country milieu, but let's give it a shot anyway.
Everclear: let's be honest, for enough money, Art might do it.
Nerf Herder: the world needs more jokey country songs, right?
Jesus Jones: the world needs more British dancey country songs (EMF works here, too).

Who do you want to see do a country album? Post suggestions in the comments.

Shirley Manson (maybe) goes solo, (definitely) heads to TV

Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson is possibly working on a solo album, as well as expanding her acting career.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the Scot will be on the second season of Sarah Connor: the Terminator Chronicles, a show I made it through about 15 minutes of before giving up on. Manson has done some modeling, but her only other credited acting work is a part in the Terrence Howard movie "ItW," which comes out later this year.

This may be a substitute for a solo album and tour, as the Scotsman reported in April that Manson's record label wasn't happy with the record she turned in (calling it too "noir"). As Idolator correctly points out, hasn't Garbage's entire career basically been "noir"?

Jakob Dylan on tour

Erstwhile Wallflower Jakob Dylan has announced dates for a summer-long North American tour, featuring a series of runs built around summer festivals. His new album, Seeing Things, came out Tuesday. What I've heard of it so far (and you can listen for yourself here) takes the concept of solo album to its logical conclusion, with very little instrumentation other than Dylan and his guitar. No idea how Dylan's band, the Gold Mountain Rebels, will factor in to these shows: will he perform the solo stuff by himself and the Wallflowers hits with the band? Will he play Wallflowers songs at all?

I've actually heard the first single off this album, "Something Good This Way Comes," a fair amount on the radio, and I like it. The whole album is very sweet and soft, with a lullaby-like quality. You can hear it for yourself on Letterman tonight and Leno July 15. He'll also be on Austin City Limits sometime later in the summer or fall, as well as the NPR program Mountain Stage.

Jakob Dylan tour dates:
June 15 - Bonnaroo, Manchester, TN
June 16 - Workplay, Birmingham, AL
June 17 - Music Farm - Charleston, SC
June 18 - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta
June 27 - Metro, Chicago
June 28 - St. Andrews Hall, Detroit
June 30 - Wood Songs, Lexington, KY
July 1 - Kentucky Theatre, Lexington, KY
July 3 - Lafayette Square, Buffalo NY
July 4 - Rothbury Music Festival, Rothbury, MI
July 5 - Western Gateway Park, Des Moines, IA
July 6 - Summerfest, Milwaukee
July 10 - Ottawa Bluesfest, Ottawa, ON
July 13 - Winnipeg Folk Festival, Winnipeg, MN
August 2 - Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI
August 9 - Edmonton Folk Music Festival, Edmonton, AB
August 17 - Folks Festival, Lyons, CO
August 30 - Bumbershoot Festival, Seattle
September 26 - Austin City Limits Festival, Austin, TX

Donita Sparks of L7 goes solo

Donita Sparks, formerly of L7, has a new band called The Stellar Moments and a new solo album, which came out in February. Former L7 drummer Dee Plakas plays on the album as well.

This is Sparks' first solo album; L7 haven't released anything since a little-remembered indie album in 1999 and a greatest-hits compilation in 2000. No word on what the other two members of L7 are doing, but Gail Greenwood, who played for Belly, then joined late-period L7, turned up playing bass for Bif Naked in 2005.

Sparks tour dates:
May 23 - Long Beach, CA - Alex's Bar
May 24 - San Diego, CA - The Casbah
June 6 - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's
June 7 - New York, NY - Highline Ballroom
June 8 - Cambridge, MA - T.T. The Bear's
June 10 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
June 11 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
June 13 - Chicago, IL - Double Door
June 15 - Pittsburgh, PA - 31st Street Pub
June 16 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar

The June 7 date is with Mudhoney!
L7 played Lollapalooza '94, which I attended, but I remember absolutely nothing about their set. Always liked "Pretend We're Dead," though.

Presented for your viewing pleasure are L7's two modern rock hits, 1992's "Pretend We're Dead":


And 1994's "Andres."


No word yet on whether Sparks is planning on playing L7 songs live, but you would have to assume she'd pull one or two out.

Spring album preview: Weezer, Jakob Dylan, more

According to Weezer's website, the band is done mixing their sixth album and it should be released in June (probably June 10). First single "Pork and Beans" goes to radio and iTunes this Tuesday (April 24). Here's the tracklist. This comes on the heels of Rivers Cuomo's home recordings CD, which I did not purchase (heard some of it was pretty good, though).
Go here for a recent photo of the band, where Rivers looks like Jake Gyllenhaal's character in Brokeback Mountain and Brian Bell looks like Desmond from Lost.

Other upcoming albums this spring:

1. Apparently the Wallflowers are no more, as Jakob Dylan is releasing a solo album May 13. (Rolling Stone claims it's not coming out until June 10). Rick Rubin produced, and a three-song teaser is up on iTunes now. He's also playing most of the summer festivals as Jakob Dylan and the Gold Mountain Rebels.
Seems like as good an excuse as any to post this. Watch as Bruce Springsteen absolutely destroys the Wallflowers at the MTV Awards (in '97?).

2. Also working on a solo album is Mark Kano, lead singer of Athenaeum. Remember Athenaeum? 1998's "What I Didn't Know?"*

Anyway, check out his MySpace blog for more info.

3. Butch Walker is recording with a trio for the first time since Marvelous 3. The group is called 1969, and Alternative Addiction has the scoop here. Bonus: they claim to have met at a party at Corey Haim's house in LA. Nice.

4. According to the new Rolling Stone (the one with Jack White and Mick Jagger on the cover), we can also expect new albums from Portishead (Third, out April 29), Barenaked Ladies (Snacktime, out May 6), Old 97s (Blame it on Gravity, out May 13), The Cure (as yet untitled, scheduled for June 3), Alanis Morrissette (Flavors of Entanglement, out June 10), a "15th anniversary edition" of Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville (out June 24), and Ben Folds (as yet untitled, out in August).

5. And don't forget the new Filter May 13 and the Gavin Rossdale solo album June 3.

*Apologies for the Veronica Mars video, but it was that or a Draco and Hermione fan fiction video. Did the band not make a legit video for this song?

Gavin Rossdale goes solo

Thanks to Tied to the '90s tipster Chris for the nuggets of info

According to Billboard, Gavin Rossdale (of Bush fame) has a solo album entitled Wanderlust coming out June 3. You can listen to a 90-second clip of the first single, "Love Remains the Same," over at Alternative Addiction. It's ballady, and the lyrics actually make sense; quite the departure for Rossdale. You can also get the full single on iTunes, if you're so inclined.

You can watch a "trailer" for the album here; sadly, I can't embed it.
This isn't the first solo release from Rossdale: he did "Adrenaline" for the XXX soundtrack in 2002, shortly after Bush broke up, but then formed a new band, Institute, with late-period Bush guitarist Chris Traynor; that band is presumably dead and gone, as Billboard reports their 2005 album Distort Yourself only sold 54,000 copies in the US.

Here's vintage-1996 Rossdale, with Bush's "Swallowed":


(as an editorial note, it pisses me off that modern-rock radio still plays tracks off Bush's first album 45 times a day, but decent tracks off the later albums like "Swallowed" and "Chemicals Between Us" have completely fallen by the wayside).

Better than Ezra on a (semi-permanent) break?

Coming on the heels of the quiet announcement that their fan club has shut down and drummer Travis McNabb's recent touring with Sugarland, someone on the Better than Ezra messageboard found a pretty good source that indicates lead singer Kevin Griffin is making a solo album.

What this means for Better than Ezra, one of my top 3 favorite bands of all time, is unclear. They've never been the type to release information via their website, so the only thing that can be gleaned there is that they've only played New Orleans dates in the last few months. It's known that Griffin moved out of New Orleans post-Katrina, while the other two guys in the band stayed. The last two record labels they were on (Beyond Records for 2001's Closer and V2 for 2005's Before the Robots) both went bankrupt, which has to be a demoralizing experience. And Griffin has built up a lucrative second career as a songwriter for hire, working with Howie Day, Graham Colton, Meat Loaf, and Blondie, among others. If he is working on a solo album, there's no indication (other than in the comments section) on his MySpace page.

Here's hoping that Griffin pulls a Matchbox 20, does his solo thing, and then triumphantly returns back to his old band.
Here's "Live Again," off of 1998's criminally-underrated How Does Your Garden Grow? It's a perfect example of just how great this band is live (trust me, I've seen them somewhere between seven and nine times).