May 10, 2009, 6pm
Rumba Cafe
2507 Summit Street
(614) 268-1841
$12 in advance / $15 at door
ages 18+, under 21 pays $2 surcharge at door
The Sadies
http://www.myspace.com/theSadies
Led by brothers Dallas and Travis Good, the Toronto-based Sadies honed a distinctive sound, taking influence from traditional country, surf music, and garage rock. After earning notice and adding backing singer Neko Case, the group issued their debut LP, Precious Moments, in 1998. Tremendous Efforts followed in early 2001, teaming them with Breeders/PJ Harvey producer Steve Albini for the second time. A year later, Stories Often Told marked their first album without Albini, placing Blue Rodeo’s Greg Keelor in his position. The Sadies produced themselves on 2004’s Favourite Colours, with Keelor, Nick Luca, and Chris Shreenan-Dyck handling the engineering duties; Robyn Hitchcock made a guest appearance as vocalist and lyricist on one track. After gaining more notoriety while backing Neko Case on tour — which resulted in a live album, The Tigers Have Spoken — the Sadies recorded an album in collaboration with R&B legend Andre Williams, one with Mekons frontman Jon Langford, and then released a live album of their own, In Concert, Vol. 1, in 2006. Soon after, in September 2007, Yep Roc released the band’s rousing seventh studio album, New Seasons. - ©1992-2008 All Media Guide, LLC
John Doe (of X)
http://www.theejohndoe.com/
As one of the founding members of the Los Angeles punk band X, John Doe was one of the most influential figures in American alternative rock during the early ’80s, but when he launched a solo career in the early ’90s, he decided to pursue a rootsy, country-rock direction instead of continuing with punk. X’s latter-day albums exhibited a rockabilly and country influence, but it wasn’t until Doe’s 1990 debut, Meet John Doe, that he recorded a pure country album.
Meet John Doe was recorded during a hiatus in X’s career. Following the release of the 1988 live album Live at the Whisky a Go-Go the band temporarily parted ways. Initially, Doe concentrated on the acting career he began in 1986 with Oliver Stone’s Salvador, appearing in Road House and the Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls of Fire in 1989. The following year, Meet John Doe was released on DGC to positive reviews, yet it didn’t appeal to an audience outside of X’s cult, peaking at 193 on the pop charts. Later in 1992, X began playing live again and Doe’s solo musical career went on hiatus, although he continued to act in movies like Pure Country, Liquid Dreams, Roadside Prophets, Wyatt Earp, and Georgia.
Following X’s 1993 reunion album, Hey Zeus!, Doe signed a solo contract with Rhino/Forward. In summer 1995, Doe released Kissingsohard, a harder and punkier album than his debut. A few months after its release, X released the live semi-acoustic set Unclogged, which would turn out to be their final album. The band split up a year later, but their original lineup (with Billy Zoom on guitar) reunited for a series of live shows in 1998 and toured periodically. Doe continued to focus on his solo career when not occupied with X or his acting career: Freedom Is… was released by the SpinArt label in 2000, the semi-acoustic Dim Stars, Bright Sky appeared on Artists Direct in 2002, and the subtle but aggressive Forever Hasn’t Happened Yet arrived via Yep Roc in 2005. It was that same label that reissued Doe’s 1998 KRS EP For the Rest of Us under the name For the Best of Us, the new version containing five additional songs that had been recorded during the same sessions. Doe stayed with Yep Roc for his next album as well, 2007’s A Year in the Wilderness. - ©1992-2008 All Media Guide, LLC