New Record, Tour from William Elliott Whitmore

More news. William Elliott Whitmore is releasing a new record in February. Actually, it’s coming out on the same day as Alela Diane’s new record (February 17^th). Titled Animals in the Dark, it’s sure to be a wonderful set of songs. Whitmore, who is thirty this year, has a voice that sounds like the blues musicians of yore. Whitmore is a storyteller, first and foremost, so expect Animals to have a host of interesting characters.

Whitmore is also on tour all of January. The dates are below.

• 1/9 - The Fillmore - Detroit, Michigan
• 1/10 - Town Ballroom - Buffalo, New York
• 1/11 - Middle East - Cambridge, Massachusetts
• 1/12 - The Bowrey Ballroom - New York City, New York
• 1/13 - The Bowrey Ballroom - New York City, New York
• 1/14 - BlackCat - Washington, D.C.
• 1/15 - Trocadero - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• 1/17 - Rock Island Brewing Company - Rock Island, Illinois
• 1/23 - Varsity Theatre - Minneapolis, Minnesota
• 1/24 - Waiting Room Lounge - Omaha, Nebraska
• 1/25 - Bluebird Theatre - Denver, Colorado
• 1/27 - Slim's - San Fransisco, California
• 1/28 - El Rey - Los Angeles, California

William Elliott Whitmore:
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/williamewhitmore
Website: http://www.williamelliottwhitmore.com

New Record, Shows from Alela Diane

A few years ago a friend of mine turned me on to a singer/songwriter by the name of Alela Diane. At first, all of the music I had from her consisted of four tracks that are still available for download from Daytrotter.com and one or two stray tracks. Since then, Diane has recorded four more tracks for Daytrotter, and I acquired her album The Pirate's Gospel. Diane's voice and music remind me of the romantic stories I've heard about the old west. Washing clothes by hand, drawing water from a well, chopping firewood... Songs like "The Pirate's Gospel," "Can You Blame the Sky?" and "Pieces of String" are haunting and beautiful. I can only hope that some of the Daytrotter songs, especially "Age Old Blue" made it onto the new record (I haven't been able to find a track listing).

I mention all of this because Diane has a new record coming out on February 17th called To Be Still. Diane has said that on the new record she experimented much more with instrumentation and percussion. Judging by the tracks Diane has on her myspace, the added instrumentation is a good thing. Check out the Daytrotter version of "White As Diamonds" and then listen to the version on myspace: the differences are striking, but wonderful. You can preorder the album on either CD or vinyl from Beggars Group USA, here.

In addition to all of this, Diane will be on tour starting February and going through mid-April. The US and Canadian dates are below. For the European dates, see her myspace page. Note that her first show after the release of the record is right here in Minneapolis!

• 2/18 - Cedar Cultural Centre - Minneapolis, Minnesota
• 2/19 - Empty Bottle - Chicago, Illinois
  
• 2/20 - Magic Stick - Detroit, Michigan
  
• 2/21 - Horseshoe Tavern - Toronto, Canada
  
• 2/22 - La Sala Rosa - Montreal
  
• 2/24 - Bug Jar - Rochester, New York
• 2/25 - Pearl Street Nightclub - Northampton, Massachusetts
• 2/26 - Paradise - Boston, Massachusetts
• 2/27 - Bowery Ballroom - New York City, New York
• 2/28 - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, New York
• 3/1 - First Unitarian Church - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• 3/2 - Black Cat - Washington, D.C.
• 3/4 - 40 Watt Club - Athens, Georgia
• 3/5 - Orange Peel - Ashville, North Carolina
• 3/6 - Mercy Lounge - Nashville, Tennessee
  
• 3/7 - The Bottle Tree - Birmingham, Alabama
  
• 3/8 - Hi-Tone Cafe - Memphis, Tennessee
  
• 3/9 - The Opolis - Norman, Oklahoma
  
• 3/10 - The Jackpot Saloon - Lawrence, Kansas
• 3/12 - Hi Dive - Denver, Colorado
• 3/13 - Kilby Court - Salt Lake City, Utah

Alela Diane:
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/alelamusic
Website: http://www.aleladiane.com/
Blog: http://aleladiane.blogspot.com/

Building Better Bombs on Tour

Twin Cities hardcore outfit Building Better Bombs (featuring P.O.S. of Doomtree on guitars and screams) are going on a short tour of the East Coast. Their debut album Freak Out Squares was on my Top Ten Best releases of 2oo7. Squares is a brutal 27 minutes of noise and beats, but it's oddly refreshing and definitely worth picking up. The tour begins tomorrow at the Turf Club in St. Paul.

• 12/11 - Turf Club - St. Paul, Minnesota
• 12/12 - Ronny's - Chicago, Illinois
• 12/13 - Garfield Art Works - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• 12/14 - 941 Theater - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• 12/15 - Oasis Pub - New London, Connecticut
• 12/16 - Fontana's - New York City, New York
• 12/17 - Mars - Providence, Rhode Island
• 12/18 - Death By Audio - Brooklyn, New York
• 12/19 - The Summit - Columbus, Ohio
• 12/20 - The Cinemat - Bloomington, Indiana
• 12/21 - Frequency - Madison, Wisconsin

BBB also have two shows lined up in mid-January:

• 1/9 - Haunted Basement - Des Moines, Iowa
• 1/10 - Nutty's - Sioux Falls, South Dakota