Tony Hawk's Project 8

Track 01 Zoo York City 1

Any Day

This was more of a project between a couple of roommates in 2005, then it started to actually get some attention, so we put out a few more demos on our myspace, and are working on more for a debut EP.

Tracking this stuff was some of the most challenging material.

Aurelius - Hemlock

Charizma & Peanut Butter Wolf - Devotion ('92)

Moving At The Speed Of Life . Living Legends

Black Mountain - "Druganaut" from 'Black Mountain', out 6/23/15 via Jagjaguwar
Direct:  http://smarturl.it/blackmountain2015
iTunes:  http://smarturl.it/blackmountainitunes
Amazon:  http://smarturl.it/blackmountainamazon
Indies:  http://smarturl.it/blackmountainindies

MORE INFO: http://bit.ly/BlackMountain_10thAnn

It's only a cliché because it's true, but the greatest records are timeless. Black Mountain's self-titled debut album is just such a record, its roots leading twisting paths back into the past, while always sounding like 'now', like a future still to come. The work of a small collective of musicians operating from Vancouver, Canada, far from any industry buzz but firmly in the eye of their own storm of creativity, Black Mountain's debut album was, of course, a beginning, but it also marked an ending for Jerk With A Bomb, the group that preceded Black Mountain.

Begun as the fourth Jerk With A Bomb album, Black Mountain's debut grew from skeletal sessions cut by McBean and Wells. "We laid down the bed tracks, the guitars and drums," remembers McBean. "Matt [Camirand, bass] joined, and we changed the band name after a dream of how life could be different in the B section between Black Flag and Black Sabbath. Josh's roommate Jeremy [Schmidt, keys] was lurking about. We asked him if he wanted to add some synth bleeps or whatever. He came back with all these orchestrated keyboard parts, and we said, 'Oh, you should probably join the band now.'"

They cut the album at the Hive in Vancouver, recording in "a big cement room with a tall ceiling, nice boomy acoustics, lots of natural reverb," remembers McBean, "on an 8-track reel-to-reel tape recorder." During the sessions, these elemental first Black Mountain tracks found their true shape: the wry, giddy shuffle of "Modern Music," with its Roxy Music sax and Velvets-y chug; the epic, sky-staring riffage of "Don't Run Our Hearts Around;" the hypnotic, gracefully heavy groove of "Druganaut;" the joyful rush of "No Satisfaction;" the dark, powerful blues of "Set Us Free;" the mysterious murk of "No Hits." Here was a new classic rock, its reference points arcane and clear, its sound fresh, unfamiliar and irresistible.

The album's initial success saw the band take to the road, leaving their Vancouver enclave for stages across Canada, America and Europe. "It felt like there was a real explosion of excitement at shows," remembers McBean. "The first couple of tours, we kinda were pretty shambolic. We wouldn't write setlists, we'd just feel the energy in the room and call things out, jamming on songs like 'No Hits' and 'Druganaut.' It was a good time for live rock'n'roll: DJ booths were being transformed back to drum risers, people were digging 20 minute jams and there were bands like Comets On Fire and Oneida out there who we felt kinship with. I was into Faust and Amon Duul but had no idea of the scene of modern bands doing that stuff. And then we met those bands, and it was cool. And then we went on tour with Coldplay...and the adventures continued."
Their jaunt across the world as guests of perhaps the biggest band in the world right then is a tale for another time, perhaps: the start of Black Mountain's next chapter, and all that followed. For now, savour the compact, spacey brilliance of that cosmic, heavy and subtle debut album, expanded now with a raft of delicious bonus tracks scavenged from the Black Mountain Army archives.

Black Mountain - "Druganaut" from 'Black Mountain', out 6/23/15 via Jagjaguwar
Direct:  http://smarturl.it/blackmountain2015
iTunes:  http://smarturl.it/blackmountainitunes
Amazon:  http://smarturl.it/blackmountainamazon
Indies:  http://smarturl.it/blackmountainindies

Tony Hawk's Project 8

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