Quarter Notes: Blurbs & Briefs from Sound Bites

- In this issue: Kurt Vile and the Violators; Dead & Company; Neil Young; and Smashing Pumpkins

VIOLATORS’ ROB LAAKSO DIES AT 44: Rob Laakso, guitarist and keyboard player for Kurt Vile and the Violators, has died from cancer at age 44, NME reports.

GOD SAVE THE CHILD THAT RINGS THAT BELL: The Cornell chimes masters will play a concert of Grateful Dead music starting at 6 p.m. May 8 in the run up to Dead & Company’s concert at the university’s Barton Hall.

NEIL YOUNG TO TOUR?: Neil Young said his recent return to the stage for Stephen Stills’ autism benefit and Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday “made me want to play more,” in a note on his website.

“Maybe July,” said Young, who hadn’t performed since 2019

A SMASHING CHRISTMAS: Smashing Pumpkins have recorded a Christmas album, NME reports; no mention of a title or release date.

5/7/23

Kurt Vile Remembers the Violators and Swirlies Guitarist Rob Laakso

The multi-instrumentalist died last week of cholangiocarcinoma. He was 44 years old. from RSS: News https://ift.tt/eFNkSiI via IFTTT

Kurt Vile Remembers the Violators and Swirlies Guitarist Rob Laakso

The multi-instrumentalist died last week of cholangiocarcinoma. He was 44 years old. from RSS: News https://ift.tt/M5RgVi7

In Memoriam: Rob Laasko (1979 - 2023)

Rob Laakso (1979 – May 4, 2023) was an American musician, record producer and engineer, best known as the recording partner of indie rock musician Kurt Vile, and as a multi-instrumentalist in his backing band The Violators. Laakso was also a multi-instrumentalist who has played in the shoegaze band Swirlies, among others. Born in Massachusetts in 1979, Laakso was a graduate of Emerson…

View On WordPress

I found this on NewsBreak: Rob Laakso (Kurt Vile & The Violators, Swirlies) Dead At 44

I found this on NewsBreak: Rob Laakso (Kurt Vile & The Violators, Swirlies) Dead At 44

Rob Laakso, Kurt Vile and the Violators Multi-Instrumentalist, Dead at 44

Rob Laakso, a longtime guitarist and multi-instrumentalist in Kurt Vile and the Violators, died on Thursday, May 4. His spouse Mamie-Claire Cornelius confirmed his demise following a battle with cholangiocarcinoma, a uncommon and aggressive type of bile duct most cancers. Laakso was 44. “I’m misplaced with out you however I promise I’ll discover our means and I promise to make you proud,”…

View On WordPress

Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile have collaborated on a forthcoming album and just announced a US tour for 2017. Their back up band is called Sea Lice and includes Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney, Wild Flag), Rob Laakso (The Violators, The Swirlies, Mice Parade), Stella Mozgawa (Warpaint) and Katie Harkin (Sky Larkin, touring member of Sleater-Kinney and Wild Beasts). They are set to play three shows in Chicago; Oct. 26 at (surprisingly) Rockefeller Chapel, Oct. 27 at Thalia Hall and Oct. 28 at Empty Bottle.

Kurt Vile - Tiny Desk Concert

US singer / songwriter togerther with Rob Laakso performs three songs for Tiny Desk Concert, the three songs they performed are, Bassackwards, Loading Zones and Peeping Tomboy.

whenever rob laakso put on the wah pedal last night i was like stopp lol

Kurt Vile and the Violators – SummerStage – July 25, 2019

It was a great Thursday to get outside when Kurt Vile and the Violators put on a fantastic show on an absolutely beautiful night at SummerStage.

Photos courtesy of Silvia Saponaro | silviasaponaro.format.com

@silvialovesmusic

Kurt Vile announces first full-band shows with The Violators in over a year, because he’d been napping in the interim

Whoa, WHAT YEAR IS THIS? For a while there, it seems like hazy, dreamy, snooze-folk troubadour Kurt Vile got just a little TOO hazy, dreamy, and snooze-y for his own good; because he totally must’ve nodded-off for all of 2017 (okay, yes, he woke up for a little while in October because he had to piss and eat that Nutty Bar he’d left on the counter) and missed all of his band The Violators’ phone calls! OH SHIT: now he’s just rolling over and looking at his iPhone and realizing it’s 2018! And it’s been kind of a long while since he’s been on the road with his faithful pals Rob Laakso, Kyle Spence, and Jesse Trbovich. Accordingly — and since Mr. Vile is nothing if not a consummate professional — he’s brushing his hair, combing his teeth, putting on a fresh track suit, and scheduling the heck out of some US tour dates. Now, it’s a little last-minute, so it’s going to be a somewhat short run. (But hey: better than hitting the snooze button again, right?) So here’s the deal: kicking off on June 13 in Morgantown, WV, a shortish run of June dates will culminate at Mountain Jam Festival on June 17. Then, after a quick nap (duh), the band will head south on July 10 and start chillaxin’ its way through Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky’s Forecastle Festival. The full list of tour dates can be viewed by Y-O-U down below “right now,” if hurrying is your bag (that’s cool). Word to the slow-and-steady among you, though: tickets for the shows go on sale THIS FRIDAY (March 23); so, ya know: if you wanna go, DON’T SLEEP. Tour datezzzzz…zzzz…zzzzzzzz… 06.13.18 - Morgantown, WV - Metropolitan Theatre + 06.14.18 - Lancaster, PA - Tellus 36 + 06.15.18 - New Haven, CT - College Street Music Hall + 06.16.18 - Jersey City, NJ - White Eagle + 06.17.18 - Hunter, NY - Mountain Jam Festival 07.10.18 - Charlottesville, VA - Jefferson Theatre * 07.11.18 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle * 07.12.18 - Asheville, NC - Orange Peel * 07.13.18 - Louisville, KY - Forecastle Music & Arts Festival 07.14.18 - Chattanooga, TN - Signal * 07.15.18 - Knoxville, TN - Mill & Mine * 07.17.18 - Charlotte, NC - The Underground * + = Connections * = Dylan Carson http://j.mp/2FOoudk

Rob Laakso, Kurt Vile & the Violators and Swirlies Guitarist, Dies at 44

The longtime musician was diagnosed with Cholangiocarcinoma, an aggressive form of cancer from RSS: News https://ift.tt/eguW5s7 via IFTTT

Rob Laakso, Kurt Vile & the Violators and Swirlies Guitarist, Dies at 44

The longtime musician was diagnosed with Cholangiocarcinoma, an aggressive form of cancer from RSS: News https://ift.tt/75nTz8K

PROFILE : Swirlies

Who makes up the Swirlies?

For some years, it's been some combination of Damon Tutunjian, Adam Pierce, Rob Laakso, and Deb Warfield, Elliott Malvas, and me.  All except Elliot have been in the band since the 1990s. We only get Rob on board here and there these days, as he is busy playing with Kurt Vile. Seana Carmody, one of our original members, joined us on our 2015 tour. We live all over the place, so we're really only a functioning band for about two weeks every two years. Since 2009, the drill has been that we practice for a day or two and then play shows for a week or so, then head back to regular life.  It’s been happening in odd years only.

How did the band start?

Damon and Seana were in a Go-Gos cover band formed by a guy who played in Boston punk bands in the 1980s and was pretty active in that scene. The cover band idea was discarded almost immediately, and they instead played some of the punk guy's songs as Raspberry Bang. That lasted about six months around 1989/90. Only one 7 inch was released. Then Damon asked me to play, as Damon and I had known each other since high school, and that's when Swirlies started. That would be the fall of 1990.

Any major influences/inspirations?

We made a mixtape for The Voice of Cassandre in 2016 -- that gives a sense of what we were listening to when we started the band: https://www.mixcloud.com/greggringo/swirlies-mixtape-n-376/listeners/

Where did the name come from?

Our first drummer [Ben Drucker] floated it in practice one day. He was a student at MIT, and we practiced in the legendary (and now defunct) Senior House dormitory. There was little deliberation because we were still young and carefree at the time.  I think we thought it was funny that it was crude (toilet humor) and flowery at the same time. It feels a little foolish now, but it's nowhere near the most foolish decision we made back then.

Do you guys have a favorite song or album that you made?

Not really. Damon prefers songs from the ...Salons LP and later, and a select smattering of earlier songs. That's what we played on the last tour. Except for our LA show, when our silly synth setup (a midi controller and laptop with a Yamaha CS-80 emulator on it) fell over and went black. We did more of the early songs last night, plus our traditional SSD cover (Glue). Le Bag has become a band favorite. I still like Pancake (especially the "inviting-people-to-play-the-broken-radio-on-stage" part), but Damon hates playing it (though he claims not to mind the recording).

The band's line-up has rotated quite a bit. Do you think that has changed the sound or dynamic?

Probably no more or less than other bands with rotating line-ups. The recordings have always been Damon-driven, and have been getting consistently stranger as time has progressed.

‘Strictly East Coast’ versus the other albums, stands out as more experimental and electronic. How was making this album different than the others?

That started as our "completing our contractually-obligated third album cheaply and without offering many original songs" album. We were fortunate to receive some interesting remixes from DJ Spooky, DJ Carlos "Soul" Slinger, and a few other luminaries of the time. Our drummer Adam made that happen. He and his roommates from Port Chester, NY made a few of the other remixes. Symphony of the Sneaky Flutes and Sea Wolf came straight from Damon's heart. So it worked in the end - but it was mostly borne out of a desire to be done with something.

What was the transition from being on a label to being on your own label (Sneaky Flute Empire) like?

It's been perfectly matched to our odd year schedule and declining productivity. Being "on a label" didn't work out so well for us (as we've complained about ad nauseum in recent months), but it's time to set that bitterness aside and move along.

Do you enjoy playing live or recording more?

Since we haven't recorded together in a studio since 2003, let's say "playing live."

What are you all listening to right now?

The clacking of a computer keyboard and the hum of a fluorescent light.

The album art is always amazing, who has created the covers?

Many different people. All of them contain some to a lot of my bits or Damon’s (drawings, collages, or photos). Years ago, Ron Rege Junior provided artwork and usually did the layouts, and he did all of our old t-shirts and posters. Kerri Bennett worked on the Blondertongue collage with Ron (and the recent Blondertongue vinyl reissue contains a poster I made with a key to the cover artwork.) Rudi Reitberg worked on the Salons/Strictly East Coast double LP design with me. Damon and his sister Kara did the Yes Girls CD. Ron did the Cats of the Wild Volume 2 art. Since then, it's been mostly me and Damon doing it -- the Swirlies' Magic Strop series, any recent poster. We've recently had design help from Viktor Höber (Kollektivet/Plan B), Damon's friend in Sweden. Ron did t-shirt designs for us last year and for our recent tour, that was nice.

Any upcoming or new projects?

Everyone in the band is actively recording or playing their own or other people's music. Damon recorded/collaborated on an LP with a solo artist called Majken in Sweden recently and plays bass in a band there called I am Super Ape (and may or may not be working on Swirlies songs). Rob plays with Kurt Vile, and has lately been performing as one of the Sea Lice (Kurt Vile/Courtney Barnett's backing band). Deb plays in Gold Muse in Boston. Elliott has a band called You're Jovian. Seana plays in the band Reindeer in Boston. Adam has a studio in the Hudson Valley, NY area (Kirton Farm Studio), and probably is playing drums on something somewhere. I’ve been recording some uncomplicated songs and have some Richmond County Archives releases planned (and may or may not be working on Swirlies songs.)

If you could send a message to the world, what would it be?

Never leave your Yamaha CS-50 at home.

Check out Swirlies on their site: http://rcarchives.com/swirlies/index.htm

Interview by Anna Zeltins

www.garamondemagazine.com

IG:@garamondemagazine

Feb. 6, 2019 | Bob Boilen -- Kurt Vile exudes a casualness at the Tiny Desk in his style and body language that is so unlike most anxious artists who come to play behind my desk. Sure, he's done this Tiny Desk thing before, with Courtney Barnett. But even then, I remember thinking that he's got something else on his mind — and it made me laugh this time around when Kurt played his opening tune, "Bassackwards," and sang these words: "I was on the beach but I was thinking about the bay / Got to the bay but by then I was far away." That idea of being one place and thinking about another, for me, also connects to the way he plays guitar. He seems distracted, yet the complex guitar lines he so nonchalantly plays, along with his musical mate Rob Laakso, are effortlessly beautiful and lyrical. After they played two new tunes from Kurt Vile's latest record, Bottle It In, Kurt goes solo on an older, self-described "juvenile" song from long ago, recently revived during his Courtney Barnett collaboration last year. "Peeping Tomboy" has its own schizophrenic issues as Kurt sings, "I don't wanna change but I don't wanna stay the same / I don't wanna go but I'm runnin' / I don't wanna work but I don't wanna sit around / All day frownin'." On the surface, it all can seem just chill. But there's a lot of rumination in these songs — and even when he's gazing into the overhead office lights, I think he got his mind on the stars and the world at large. Set List "Bassackwards" "Loading Zones" "Peeping Tomboy" Musicians Kurt Vile - vocals, guitar Rob Laakso - guitar Credits Producers: Bob Boilen, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Kaylee Domzalski; Production Assistant: Brie Martin; Photo: Cameron Pollack/NPR