New Sounds: The Birds Of Satan

No, don't worry, nothing scary. Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, like his band mate Dave Grohl, has a hard time sitting at home. And so he made an album with some friends and they call themselves The Birds Of Satan. It's a bit of a prog rock project with some traces of Queen and David Bowie of course, since this is Taylor's project! The album will be out on April 15. Listen below.





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Rock Werchter 2010 Day 3: Perfect Festival Day

We were looking forward to this day since it had some nice bands lined up and it promised to be cloudy. But again the sun was forcing us out early. And before we knew it we went through our daily regular routine and made it to the festival site early.

Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
The first one up is Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. After his relaxed performance in June we decided to come up close to the stage again and got a top spot in front of the stage. They again were having lots of fun although this stage was a bit too big for them. But it's always a treat seeing a drum player like Hawkins beating the crap out of his kit.

Das Pop (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)
Belgian band Das Pop had no trouble filling the main stage as they brought lots of inflatable palm trees to add to the tropical feel. Ironically the sky had filled with clouds and the monsoon rain had started. No problem for these guys because with a lively and energetic set they put a smile on every one's face. Some palm trees even made it into the crowd. Haven't seen them afterwards anymore. They would look great with my hammock at home. By the end of the show the rain had stopped, things had cooled down and we had perfect festival weather for the rest of the day.

Yeasayer (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
I don't know what to think of their albums. They have so many ideas and styles that sometimes you feel a bit overwhelmed. But so many people were praising their live performances I really wanted to see them. Live on stage this overwhelming feeling of too many ideas was gone completely. Instead I was overwhelmed with all the creativity. They played a very tight set that was well balanced with all their different styles. Everyone was loving it and this was definitely a pleasant surprise. Time to pick up their albums again and see if I can absorb it better this time. And of course turn up at their live gig in Paradiso at the end of October.



Porcupine Tree (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
One of the bands I definitely wanted to check out was Porcupine Tree. Their complicated music sometimes makes me listen in admiration and other times makes me tired. But things can be so different live on stage. First I listened outside the Pyramid Marquee and watched them on the big screen. But shortly after they sucked me into the tent to watch it up close. Great musicians were putting down breath taking music with great effort. And everyone was watching with their mouths open.

The Ting Tings (Ronald Says 6 out of 10)
What is left after the big hype? New bands have taken their place as the hippest band on the block. What is left isn't enough to lay down an entertaining show on the main stage today. Of course everyone is dancing to their few hit songs including mega hit 'That's not my name'. But besides that that they didn't have much to offer.

Florence + The Machine (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
This lady is creating her own hype. She seems to draw bigger and bigger crowds and I still don't know whether to like it or not. Her singing works better for me in some songs like 'Dog Days Are Over' than in others where it's starting to get on my nerves. Fact is that she's killing it in the Pyramid Marquee today with an energetic set that sends everyone out with a blush on their cheeks.

P!nk (Ronald Says 5 out of 10)
She may look a bit out of place on a rock festival but most festivals like to surprise us sometimes. She still drew a big crowd because everyone wanted to see the killer show that was promised. And she was off to a flying start. Dropped from a cage that was lifted above the crowd she kicked off with her first song. An impressive stage set representing a carnival with lots of visuals supported her. But she also showed that she doesn't have many good songs. Apparently she feels like that herself too since she played many cover songs and not even that good. Combined with an overacting band I couldn't watch it anymore. The carnival started to look spooky and in the end we had been watching an expensive cover band. Even the flying wasn't real.



Rammstein (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
If you want overacting and a show that will blow you off your socks leave it to these guys. They have taken overacting to the next level. Is it theater with music or music with theater? Their show has all the known ingredients: lots of fire and fireworks, scary looking greasy musicians and bombastic metal riffs. But all with a wink of course. Their music with repeating distorted metal chords isn't all that great and many songs sound a alike. But no one wanted to miss a spectacle like this.

With all that fire we were longing for some fried chicken. So we were off to get one and swallow it down with some more beers. My body was already protesting with every muscle and joint aching. Nothing a good night sleep can't fix!

See more pictures over here:
Rock Werchter 2010 Day 3 Pictures

Rock Werchter 2010 Day 1 Review >
Rock Werchter 2010 Day 2 Review >
Rock Werchter 2010 Day 4 Review >

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Taylor Hawkins Showing His Skills

Telling from the number of people at the main stage of the Melkweg many people either don't know Taylor Hawkins or are not interested in seeing him play with his Coattail Riders. Or may not like his music. Around 100 people did want to see the Foo Fighters drummer playing with his own band. I was a bit worried because of their latest album which isn't too great. Because of the few people I could get up real close to his nice sparkle finish drum kit with the hawk on the front.

Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders at Melkweg Amsterdam, Wednesday June 2 2010 (Ronald Says 7 out of 10)

The back of the stage holds the same image as the new album's cover. The rest of the stage holds the musician's instruments and that's it. They like to keep it small and simple so much is clear. They kick off the show with the album's opening track 'Not Bad Luck'. It sounds so much better than on the album. The song gets a lot more body and the harmonies sound normal. This will be typical for the rest of the songs. They all sound better live. The Coattail Riders show they are skilled musicians and seem to be enjoying themselves. Hawkins himself is relaxed and keeps telling how thankful he is that we are showing up. He looks like a really down to earth and likable person which is admirable for someone who's playing in one of the biggest rock bands in the world.

Hakwins isn't a great singer. His vocal range is limited although he does have a pleasant voice. He doesn't have a lot of power and it sure isn't helpful that the vocals aren't loud enough in the mix. But in the end his drum skills are stealing the show. The drum kit is positioned at the front of the stage like all musicians. When he's playing his face is showing his usual restrained look. You can see he is used to playing big arena's by the powerful way he's hitting his kit. Still it's all very tasteful. The way he can combine drums and vocals is impressive since some drum parts are kind of progrock and are pretty complicated. He even makes one of my favourite songs from the first album 'Get Up I Want To Get Down' look like a piece of cake. They end in style with a great version of 'Way Down' which is the best song on the album.



Although the album may not be too great Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail riders show that they can put down a good rock show. They are obviously enjoying themselves a lot and this tour is probably like a big vacation to them. What a way to see something of the world and earn a bit of drinking money on the side. See you at Rock Werchter guys!
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Taylor Hawkins Just Having Fun

Best known as the drummer of Foo Fighters, Taylor Hawkins is using their sabbatical to play with his own band Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders. They released their self-titled debut a few years ago which was the result of them having fun and jamming together. Now they release their second album 'Red Light Fever' that looks like a more serious attempt.

Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders - Red Light Fever (Ronald Says 6 out of 10)
Hawkins has proven to be a skilled drum player with the Foo Fighters where he has the difficult task of playing drums with Dave Grohl who I consider to be one of the best rock drummers around. And he's doing a good job at it. Now they have taken a break and Grohl is having fun with Them Crooked Vultures Hawkins is playing with his hobby band again. But it looks like he means serious business with it: he found heavy weight musicians Roger Taylor and Brian May to guest star on the album and also Dave Grohl is helping his band mate out. This time they have spent more time producing the album and it's promoted more heavily than their debut. They are even on a small tour and recently crossed the pond to play over here in Europe.

So does all the work pay off? Not really. Although you can hear where it's all coming from (Hawkins said it was like "me having sex with my record collection"): classic rock mixed with Foo Fighters and also not surprisingly Queen since he has always named them to be one of his major influences. But where the first album was a more spontaneous result of their jam sessions, this album is trying to go beyond that and causes it to sound more forced. Harmonies sometimes sound more like Alvin and The Chipmunks or Queen on speed (album opener 'Bad Luck'). Hawkins isn't a great singer but still has a pleasant voice to listen to. And then most of the songs sound like they aren't finished yet and are too full of ideas.

It isn't all that bad since the album has some good songs (album opener 'Bad Luck' and 'Your Shoes' for instance) as well. It all does sound like they had great fun at it but you never get the idea that it is supposed to be more than that. And of course Hawkins still put down some great drum grooves on the album (like in 'Never Enough') and with the help of those brilliant guests there's still much to enjoy. Especially fans of classic rock probably will have lots of fun listening to the record.

Hopefully they will display all that fun this Wednesday when I go to see them in the Melkweg and make the songs sound better live on stage.
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