Friday, November 16th, 2001

Ben Johnson reports:
Surely many of you have heard about Billy Corgan's new post-Smashing Pumpkins band Zwan. Rumors have been circulating for some time about a new Corgan project, but earlier this week the hair-deficient rocker made it official. What makes this particularly newsworthy is that, along with ex-Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlain, the band features some high-profile indie rockers. Chavez guitarist Matt Sweeney is already confirmed as an official member, but the mystery lies with Zwan's bassist, known only as "Skullfisher."

Over the course of the past week, rumors have popped up on message boards proclaiming that Skullfisher is really ex-Slint guitarist David Pajo, whose latest solo album as Papa M, Whatever, Mortal, was recently released on Drag City. If Skullfisher is indeed David Pajo, all we can say is, he's got some explaining to do. Zwan will play the first of four California dates tonight at the Glass House in Pomona. More dates are below. You can also check "The True Poets of Zwan" website for confirmation if you're like us and can't believe any of this is really happening.

In other Pumpkins-related news, ex-Whiskeytown frontman Ryan Adams has joined forces with former Smashing Pumpkins James Iha and Melissa Auf Der Mar, as well as walking punchline Evan Dando. Each artist will form one essential part of a larger, more powerful being known as The Virgins, which either denotes the megastore for whose bargain bins the album is destined, or is just a really dumb band name. If nothing else, the Virgins should produce some good conversations during set breaks, as Adams and Dando are said to swap Winona Ryder stories, and Iha and Auf Der Mar try to determine whether Billy Corgan or Courtney Love look better in a skirt. They will record their debut album at Iha's Manhattan studio, though they haven't yet announced whether they will tour to support whatever results.

Remember when Ryan Adams used to play with people like Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, and Emmylou Harris? You know, the halcyon days of one freakin' year ago? That was enjoyable. I guess Welch and Rawlings were too busy this year making a new album that crushes Gold like a grape to be bothered.

Anyway, here are the dates and locations at which the True Poets of Zwan will appear, by moonlight. Consult ancient spell tome for latitude and longitude coordinates, moon phases and Pajo invokation:

11-16 Pomona, CA - Glass House
11-18 Santa Ana, CA - Galaxy Theatre
11-20 San Diego - Canes
11-21 Los Angeles - Roxy

.: Zwan: http://www.zwan.com

Brock Kappers reports:
Aereogramme, Matador Records' latest "next big thing," has just released their new album and will be hitting the road to support it. Aereogramme's lineup consists of Clark B from Ganger, plus three other saucy Scots. Their sound is described as "sharp dynamic songs that go from gentle beauty to rampant intensity." The new album, titled A Story in White, contains ten new tracks, plus three tracks from the their previously released EP, White Paw, which was issued last year in the UK on Chemikal Underground. The Scottish group will be supporting indie rock's grandparents Superchunk for the majority of the tour, followed by shows with random samplings of other entertaining ensembles, such as the Icarus Line and Mazarin. Be on the lookout for neckbeards and flannels.

11-17 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick (w/Superchunk)
11-18 Toronto, ON - Opera House (w/Superchunk)
11-20 Montreal, QUE - Cabaret (w/Superchunk)
11-21 Somerville, MA - Somerville Theater (w/Superchunk)
11-23 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom (w/Superchunk)
11-24 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom (w/Superchunk)
11-25 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero (w/Superchunk)
11-26 Washington, DC - Black Cat (w/Superchunk)
11-27 Carrboro, NC - Go Rehearsal (w/Icarus Line)
11-28 Atlanta, GA - MJQ Concourse (w/Mazarin)
12-01 Asheville, NC - Vincent's Ear
12-02 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
12-03 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
12-04 Boston, MA - Middle East Upstairs
12-05 Philadelphia, PA - The Khyber
12-06 Pittsburgh, PA - Millvale Industrial Theater (w/Aspera)
12-07 Cleveland, OH - The Grog Shop (w/Boxstep and Dakota)

.: Matador: http://www.matadorrecords.com
.: Chemikal Underground: http://www.chemikal.co.uk

Josh Levin reports:
The And/Ors, everyone's favorite two-conjunctions-separated-by-a-forward-slash quartet is in sunny San Diego "recording, recording and recording a little bit more," planning for the release of an EP in early 2002 with a new full-length soon after. But no, that's not all: the And/Ors are also touring, touring, and maybe even touring a little bit more if they're in the right mood, in support of the fact that it would probably be nice if they had some more money. So go to the show and get the answer to the question: "Do they sound more like Big Star or Guided by Voices?" Or you could just ask someone who cares about that sort of thing.

11-18 Austin, TX - Emo's (w/the Gloria Record)
11-19 Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon
11-20 New Orleans, LA - TBA
11-21 Tallahassee, FL - The Cowhaus
11-23 Chapel Hill, NC - Room 4
11-24 TBA
11-25 Washington, DC - The Black Cat
11-26 Boston, MA - The Middle East
11-27 Hoboken, NJ - Maxwells
11-28 Asbury Park, NJ - The Saint
11-29 Brooklyn, NY - Luxx
11-30 Philadelphia, PA - TBA
12-01 Cleveland, OH - The Grog Shop
12-02 Detroit, MI - TBA
12-04 Chicago, IL - Fireside Bowl (w/Wrens)
12-05 Indiana - TBA
12-06 Fort Wayne, IN - The Firehouse
12-07 St Louis, MO - The Rocket Bar
12-08 Kansas City, MO - TBA
12-09 Denver, CO - 15th Street Tavern
12-11 Albuquerque, NM - Launch Pad
12-12 Arizona - TBA

.: Better Looking Records: http://www.betterlookingrecords.com

Matt Wavrin reports:
Neurot Recordings will soon be releasing a compilation of songs taken from the recordings of the Beyond the Pale festival held in San Francisco on August 16-19th of this year. The festival was put together by Steve Von Till of the indie metal band Neurosis and his wife Kristin to coalesce independent and diverse artists from the U.S. as well as overseas.

The compilation will feature some of the highlights of the festival, including performances by Isis, Thrones, ex-Swan (not Zwan) Michael Gira, Tarentel, Zeni Geva, Shellac, Zoviet France, Tribes of Neurot, Scott Kelly, Steve Von Till, K.K. Null, Amber Asylum, and Oxbow. No specific release date has been set as of yet, as the label is still trying to coordinate with the bands and get mix tracks approved. However, a release by the end of the year is expected.

.: Neurosis: http://www.neurosis.com
.: Neurot Recordings: http://www.neurotrecordings.com