Collaborations
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John with The Mars Volta in a MTV Overdrive clip
(Thanks to Melissa and flipzoso for the heads up!) Look at the following MTV Overdrive clip of The Mars Volta’s Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala carefully, as John appears in it as well, in the pro-footage of when he played L’Via L Viaquez with the band on either August 04th or 50th, 2005 in Long Beach. MTV Music Videos MTV Shows Entertainment News
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A review of Calibration with a huge bit on John!
The Maneater recommends Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s Calibration as a worthy listen and, (not) surprisingly, they said that Glosa Picaresca Wou Men is the most listenworthy track on it. Another common collaborator of Rodriguez-Lopez’s, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ guitarist John Frusciante, brings forth the best effort on this album. Oddly enough it is not for a guitar solo, but for lead vocals on “Glosa Picaresca Wou Mên.†His haunting vocals fade in and out only revealing certain lyrics, such as “I know where I’m at/I know where I’m at.†Maybe Frusciante knows, but anyone listening has no clue where they are. You can read the whole review here. And here’s another one,…
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Calibration out today in USA! Listening party on MySpace and more.
The long-expected and much promoted solo effort of The Mars Volta’s guitarist and mastermind, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, is finally seeing the light of the day in USA today. Beta Records’ MySpace page will host a listening party at 7 PM PST (GMT -9), so if you can make it there, click on their link for more information. I assume the “live TV” module on their page would broadcast it, though. N20 records posted numerous bulletins prompting fans to physically buy the CD. However, it’s not possible in everyone’s case and I sense many people are interested solely in one song, so I listed all possible links for you. Purchase links: You…
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More press bits on Bedlam (a long one)
And, if you haven’t got The Bedlam In Goliath yet, click here for information on how to obtain it. So…the initial dillema of where John exactly is on the album hasn’t been exactly solved, as it’s more complex than it looks like. Here’s what Omar Rodriguez-Lopez said to Harp magazine; which will hopefully clear everything up for people wondering where John is on The Bedlam In Goliath: “John’s our secret weapon,†Rodriguez-Lopez says. “He’s always willing to allow me to utilize him in whatever way we want. On this record, he learned and memorized, down to the nuances and the odd way of picking, certain solos that I did, and…
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The Bedlam In Goliath is out today!
The eagerly expected new CD of The Mars Volta is out today and, as it’s been the case ever since their 2003 debut album, John is a contributor. According to an interview that Omar Rodriguez-Lopez gave to the February issue of the eminent German magazine Musikexpress, John learned all solos by heart and can be heard through the right speaker, which makes the sound atmospherically thighter… and weird. It’s still unclear which exact track he’s on, so if anyone has the album yet, please do read the credits and help out. To buy the album the old-fashioned way, go to your local record store or, if you live in the…
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Two of John’s collaborations on an eminent radio’s charts!
(Many thanks to wonderful Tihana for heads up!) The Balkans-wide famous Croatian radio, Otvoreni Radio‘s playlist is full of John’s collaborations. And you can help make it even better, by voting, if that’s your idea of popularising music and making it heard and discovered by new people. For the last week, the absolute number one on the foreign charts has been (surprise, surprise!), Wu-Tang Clan’s excellent The Heart Gently Weeps, featuring Dhani Harrison, Erykah Badu and our man. At the same time, the new entry on the position 27 is Dave Gahan’s Saw Something, yet another song featuring John. To vote for any of the songs and ensure their higher…
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More on John & Omar collab and the future…
According to Calibration’s MySpace project page, the album will be out in USA on 05th February and 25th February is the release date for Europe. To remind you again, John is one of the guests on this piece, he contributed his vocals to the song Glosa Picaresca Wou Men, to which he also contributed the lyrics. You can help promote Calibration in your part of the world by downloading the flyer [right click, save target/link as…], printing it out and giving it to people whom you want to get interested in it. Simply said, spread the word! Also, this is what Omar Rodriguez-Lopez said in an interview with Dutch magazine…
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Dave Gahan’s “Saw Something” and an end-of-the-year poll
Dave Gahan’s song, Saw Something is finally accompanied by a music video. It was too optimistic to think John could be in it because he plays the guitar solo on the track; but this is a great way for those who have not heard the song yet to finally hear it and decide if John’s solo matches the end of the video. Enjoy! https://youtube.com/watch?v=NxTNsc3U53c And, while we’re at it, a poll. What was your favourite collaboration John did in 2007? If you can’t remember what some of the songs on the list are, look further through this news item for explanations. If Gravity Lulls, I Can Hear The World Pant…
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Even more positive reviews on 8 Diagrams
…and one negative, but very interesting to hear, as everyone’s entitled to their own views. ‘The Heart Gently Weeps,’ the album’s most discussed track, is a symphony of weird. Red Hot Chili Peppers’ guitarist John Frusciante drips acid – damaged licks over a dribbling keyboard approximating the melody of the Beatles’ ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps.’ And Badu sings the gauzy hook as if she’s just awakened from a nap. (tuscaloosanews.com) Yes, that was different…back to the regular ones. The strangest track on this strange album is “The Heart Gently Weeps,” an interpretation of the Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” featuring a vocal chorus by Erykah Badu and guitars…
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RZA gives John two thumbs up for playing for free
In an interview for this week’s issue of Rolling Stone, RZA of Wu-Tang clan was talking about recording 8 Diagrams, and the different principles in the world of hip hop and rock. He praises John, as well as Dhani Harrisson, because they didn’t even ask for a honorar. What was Dhani Harrison like to work with? Dhani is superorofessional. Sometimes, to get Ghostface or U-God in the studio, I’ve got to send a car for them – sometimes I have to send money! Dhani paid for his own ticket from London, put himself in a hotel and stayed two days in the middle of doing his own project. He don’t…
