The Witzard

3/15 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle 3/16 Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick 3/17 Toronto, Ontario @ Wrongbar 3/18 Montreal, Quebec @ Le Gymnase 3/19 New York, NY @ Santos Party House 3-20 Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel 3/21 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brendas 3/28 San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar 3/29 Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex 3/30 San Francisco, CA @ 103 Harriet 4/01 Portland, OR @ Branx

"OutKast inspired me. They are a massive, massive influence - one of the biggest I have. I think they’re the best producer/rap outfit ever. Their attitude to production is so free. When they’re making something, it seems like whatever works for the vocal is justifiable. There’s a track called "Royal Flush" where André [3000] does this verse... He just cleans up at the end of it! There’s something about how the voice works with his music that inspired me to allow the voice to dictate where the music goes; in which direction. Because OutKast seemed to have developed a way of letting their voices dictate." - James Blake to Clash 's Miguel Cullen

Tassho Pearce is an up-and-coming MC hailing from Honolulu, Hawaii. Along with 2DopeBoyz , he has released a song a week since November. They're calling the effort #AlohaFridays (drawing inspiration from Kanye's now infamous G.O.O.D. Friday model). Week 11's track is a freestyle/remix of Pharrell's "Bad Day," a song crafted as part of his original Despicable Me soundtrack. Tassho is also rumored to have been [secretly] working on new material with Kanye's G.O.O.D. Music camp. His mixtape "Hi.Story" will supposedly be released on the final Friday of the campaign.

Hasan Salaam + Rugged N Raw = Mohammad Dangerfield The rapper/producer team-up's [self-titled] debut album has a tentative release date of Feb. 22, 2011. A pre-album mixtape, $FREE.99 (FreEP) is available now .

Hot on the heels of a Too $hort -assisted promo video-single, here goes Single #1 from Wiz Khalifa 's March 29th release, Rolling Papers . The weedless, lady-loving tale is a nice break from Wiz's go-to source material. The set will be his official "major label debut" (since "Black and Yellow" s success came after the 2009 Warner Bros. album), with release/promotion being handled by Atlantic Records . Rumored featured artists include friends Rick Ross, Curren$y, Snoop Dogg, and Too $hort.

Bryan Greenberg certainly knows what it takes to "make it in America" as a successful actor, starring in such roles as Jake Jagielski on the TV show "One Tree Hill," along with numerous films. An NYC resident himself, he was a great fit to star in HBO's 2010 hit, "How to Make It In America," appearing alongside Victor Rasuk, Scott "KiD CuDi" Mescudi, and Lake Bell. Though he has/is currently acting, Greenberg is no stranger to the world of music; His first album dropped in 2007 ( Waiting for Now ) and his sophomore effort, We Don't Have Forever , was released last week. So, it shouldn't be shocking that he and CuDi teamed up to take on the slower-paced song that is "You Can Run" - A style that CuDi fans are definitely used to. No one should be surprised by CuDi broadening his "musical horizons," as he's set to release a rock album in the coming future. The track is a good mix of Greenberg's Ben Folds-e...

"Alone" [Stones Throw] In the years following the release of his 2008 debut, Welcome , James Pants' sound has steadily evolved at a progressive rate each year. In between annual staple collections Seven Seals (2009) and New Tropical EP (2010), Mr. Pants also put out various mixtapes, beat CD-R's, "library music" compilations ( All the Hits ), 7"/12" singles, and crafted more "commercial" collaborations - with the likes of Mayer Hawthorne and Dâm-Funk. April 19th will usher in Album #3 for Stones Throw Records, a self-titled set which was formerly christened "Love Kraft." Fine details on the new album are still scarce, as Stones Throw literally JUST announced it's release date/let loose the most recent track ( "Alone" ) several hours ago. Though one can imagine that Pants will effectively meld all of his previous influences/stylings, creating 2011's "New, (H)It Sound." "Kathleen" [Alter...

Between albums, Chaz Bundick released a number of assorted (side-)projects; These including - "Sides of Chaz," LES SINS Lina 12," split tour 7"s with friends, and the Toro Y Moi non-album 7" single "Leave Everywhere." "Still Sound" is the first single from said Album #2, Underneath the Pine . Carpark will release Chaz' new collection on Feb. 22 in the US. Seemingly, Toro Y Moi 's new record will build on the sound of Album #1, while taking Experimental, Surf Rock, and Dance/Funk elements from the array of side-projects and influences alike.

- Official SMKA "Press Release" (Info): " Jarren Benton meets SMKA: Huffin Glue with Hasselhoff is the third project in the, “(Artist) meets SMKA” series. This project showcases one of the livest, craziest, and perhaps most slept on MC in the Greater Atlanta Area. Simply put, he is the most interesting man in Decatur. He may look a little like Justin Bieber - in the right light - but don’t be fooled, he will kill you. We hope you enjoy this project as much as you would huffing glue with Hasselhoff on the set of Baywatch."

Tony Cook - On The Floor (Rock-It)

The newest video from Dylan Banti ("Cloud Nothings") deals with heavy topics such as love, lust, and loyalty in a playful, fun(ny) manner. All the while, without seeming at all "raunchy" or "controversial." Cloud Nothings ' self-titled debut Long Player is available now in both the US and the UK, on Carpark/Wichita respectively.

Surfer Blood (John Paul "JP" Pitts, TJ Schwarz, Thomas Fekete, Kevin Williams, and Marcos Marchesani) were indeed one of the "Break-Out Bands" of 2010. Mixing the sounds of Weezer and Pavement, the band crafted their own brand of signature Florida beach-inspired Lo-Fi Surf Rock. Astro Coast , their Kanine Records debut was released back on Jan. 19th and quickly became one of my favourite albums of the year. Now, roughly one year later, the dudes are gearing up for a joint US Tour with ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead . - [Main dates listed below.] Surfer Blood will soon release a Kanine EP (tentatively titled "Third Eye Blind" ), which will then be followed by their major label debut, 2011's LP #2 for Warner Bros . 04-29 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom 04-30 Boston, MA - Middle East 05-01 Montreal, Quebec - Le Tulipe 05-03 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace 05-04 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick 05-05 Columbus, OH - Basement 05-06 Lansing, MI ...

Urban Outfitters - Online Exclusive ($175).

#Thegoronniesessions is a collection of new/unreleased/re-tooled TiRon & Ayomira tracks. [Full?] Comp. now available over @ The Cafeteria Line's bandcamp . - It's seemingly being added onto on a semi-regular basis. Be on the look-out for Ayomari's new project, "Colors" TBR soon. And keep the TiRon MSTRD, 2011 (A capella) Remixes flowing, Inter-web DJ's!

Being one of the most versatile drummers in modern music, over the years, ?uestlove has flexed his skills with everyone from Jay-Z-Fiona Apple (pre-Fallon/Roots gig). Even in lieu of their recent wide-spread success, The Roots have still remained those "hometown boys from Philly" and ?uest that "geeky music fanboy." He seems so knowledgeable of his craft, as well as the historical significance of his influences and in the process, mastering the technique(s) of recording. Due in part to their mainstream success/cult following, The Roots have indeed been put in a number of precarious ["industry party"] situations throughout their career. And man, does ?uestlove have some great, funny stories to tell! The Funky Drummer's new blog, ?uestlove's Celebrity Stories is tailored to said highly-entertaining tales. A companion book, "Mommy, What's a ?uestlove?" is set to be released within the next year or so; The Grand Central Publishing col...

Last week it was A Day to Remember on Kimmel, this week it's Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti (tube debut) on Fallon . Visually, it was 2011's equivalent to David Bowie/Jobriath appearing on National TV in the '70's. Jimmy Fallon seems to be a true music fan, and he's had a lot of great acts on during Late Night 's brief run. A few of my "WHAT!? AWESOME!" Fallon moments include Neon Indian, Pavement, The Specials, Beastie Boys, and Sunny Day Real Estate. Kudos, Mr. Fallon [and The Legendary Roots Crew]! The newest Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti album, Before Today , was released on 4AD back in Summer 2010. Shortly after the collection was issued, Pink also released a self-titled 12" [Tour] EP with Added Pizzazz . The Avant-Jazzists were previously featured on Before Today's opening cut, "Hot Body Rub."

"Just thought I’d do something different. Off a project I’m doing called "A Bitch Named Karma" … Only 10 new songs and its a pretty dark project. Still doing Latin Marksman 2 but in the middle of recording for it, I started doing more conceptual and dark material. That eventually led to "A Bitch Named Karma." I’m 7 songs deep already this is the first song I recorded for the project, last year. The Mixtape will feature Crooked I, Atmosphere , Sha Stimuli, Saigon and production from Scram Jones, Madlib , J Cardim, Veterano, along with with some hungry young talented cats. I tried to do the late great Johnny Cash justice. I wanted to do a whole mash up project with Johnny Cash material but decided against it cause I didn’t want to look like I was trying to gain exposure off his name. Hopefully I did this song some justice cause Johnny Cash is one of my favorite artist of all time." - A nice little track explanation, straight from the man himself, Nino Bles...

Visual accompaniment to the lead single from Destroyer's upcoming album of the same name - Kaputt . Check out Pitchfork's recently posted "Director's Cut" featurette (in-depth interview) with first time music video director, Dawn Garcia. And be sure to pick up Dan Bejar 's Album #9 this coming Tues., Jan. 25th (Merge USA).

"Here is a track from Madlib & J Dilla, from their never-realized second album:" Jaylib - Louder (Blast Your Radio Theme) by stonesthrow " Jaylib was formed in 2002, as Madlib & Dilla recorded separately in Los Angeles and Detroit. Their one album, Champion Sound , was released in 2003. When J Dilla moved to Los Angeles, he, Madlib and J Rocc began doing shows together as Jaylib, performing together for the first time at the Madvillain record release party in April 2004. Madlib and Dilla collaborated primarily through the exchange of beat tapes, occasionally reworking each others material, or chopping the same beat in a kind of recorded call-and-response."

San Diego, CA native Rob Crow (Pinback) actively moonlights as "Lord Phallus," Goblin Cock 's Leader/Guitarist. Other members of the veiled and cloaked Doom/Stoner/Drone Metal 7-piece include "Larben the Druid" (Lara Benscher), "Bane Ass-Pounder" (Dave Drusky), "King Sith" (Sam Mura), "Braindeath" (Anthony Fusaro), "Loki Sinjuggler" (Adam Ekroth), and "Phuck Tard" (Mike Goldfarb). Making the utmost sinister use of guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, keytars, and banjos, Goblin Cock has crafted 2 albums-worth of evil tracks. Musical backings which are then paired with ridiculous/campy lyrical accompaniments written about comic books, Sesame Street resident Mr. Snuffleupagus, and fetish artist Tom of Finland. Both 2005's Bagged and Boarded and Come with Me If You Want to Live (2009) were originally penned entirely in Elvish Runes. According to a July 2010 interview , Rob Crow is an active member of roughly 15...

Peter Bjorn and John 's new album, Gimme Some , will be released on March 29 in the US through label imprint, StarTime International. "Breaker Breaker" is the first taste of the 11-track collection. In an EXCLUSIVE interview with SPIN's Will Goodman , [leadsinger] Peter Moren broke down the song's meaning: "It's a lightning-bolt pop-punk jam with gritty guitars, fuzz-bomb bass, and a rising melody with interlocked vocals and synths. "That's one of John's songs," says Moren. "He told me it was about a journalist that he hates [laughs]." Lines like, "I don't even know you / But your words just cut me like a knife," says Moren, are "basically about people with a lot of prejudice against certain ideas... John was angry at something he read. Maybe it was a bad album review!" The song, Moren adds, will be particularly fun to play live. "It's this short, power-pop jam. It's all about the ener...

Released a mere 3 years after their previous studio effort The Real Thing (and attached hit single "Epic" ), Faith No More unleashed Angel Dust in the Summer of 1992. Serving as the album's lead single, "Midlife Crisis" is like an updated, post-'80's version of Ziggy Stardust's iconic tale; Hence, it details the Rise & Fall of a Popstar. Frontman Mike Patton has said that the song's basis doesn't so much concern a literal "midlife crisis," but is "more about creating false emotion, being emotional, dwelling on your emotions and in a sense inventing them." Recorded/played live under the working title of "Madonna," the track seems to be loosely molded around Miss Ciccone's MTV/public image. Structurally, "Midlife Crisis" also references a couple other Pop Culture staples. Namely tracks by Simon & Garfunkel and the Beastie Boys [1970's "Cecelia" and 1989's "Car Thi...