By
Nate Douglas
on September 25, 2008 3:14 PM|Permalink
When listening to a song and I instantly visualize myself at the concert, pushing through to the front of the crowd, beer in one hand, the other arm vigorously pumping in the air, while screaming the lyrics at the top of my lungs...this song gets added to my Fist-Pump Anthem playlist. I like my fist-pumpers southern-fried, heavy on the guitar, and smothered in awesome. Here are some of the best fist-pumpers I’ve heard in 08 ... so far:
Please chime in with your favorite fist-pump anthems, as I’m always looking for another reason to dislocate a shoulder.
“Technology, it needs me,” Whigs' singer Parker Gispert sang on their first album, Give ‘Em All a Big Fat Lip. Now the technology of Blogspot.com returns the favor, allowing the band to chronicle adventures of historical crime solving and foot-long corn dogs on its new blog that documents the (mostly) off-stage antics of the recently begun summer tour for its latest album, Mission Control.
No longer will you have to wonder just exactly what those Athens, Ga. boys do away from home when you find out they’ve already come this close to solving the decades-old mystery of who shot John F. Kennedy. They also like to eat (with twice-daily trips to the Waffle House in addition to the aforementioned corn dogs) and opt out of playing shows in favor of painting portraits of naked women (?!?!). This could be the beginnings of a beautiful (and well-documented) summer tour.
Check them out when they blog into your town on these dates:
May 8 - San Antonio, Texas @ White Rabbit 9 - Dallas, Texas @ The Loft 10 - Austin, Texas @ Antone's 13 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ Modififed 14 - Flagstaff, Ariz. @ Studio 111 15 - Las Vegas, Nev. @ Beauty Bar 17 - Bakersfield, Calif. @ The Dome 18 - Santa Barbara, Calif. @ KJEE Radio Summer Round Up 21 - Portland, Ore. @ Lola's at Crystal Ballroom 22 - Boise, Ind. @ The Bouquet 23 - Spokane, Wash. @ Big Easy 24 - George, Wash. @ Sasquatch! Festival 27 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ Club Sound 28 - Aspen, Colo. @ Belly Up 29 - Boulder, Colo. @ Trilogy Lounge
June 3 - San Luis Obispo @ Downtown Brew 4 - Los Angeles, CA. @ The Echo 7 - San Fransisco, CA. @ LIVE 105 BFD 08
July 4 - London, UK. @ 02 Wireless Festival 5 - Rock Werchter Festival @ Werchter, Belgium 20 - Denver, CO. @ Mile High Music Festival
By
Christina Hansen
on February 5, 2008 5:11 PM|Permalink
Hometown boys made good The Whigs will join the Drive-By Truckers for a month-long tour after performing at this year’s South By Southwest music conference in Austin, Texas.
The Athens, Ga.-based trio recorded and self-released its debut album Give ‘Em All A Big Fat Lip in 2005. The album and the band’s live shows garnered rave reviews, and caught the eye of ATO Records founder Dave Matthews. The Whigs signed with ATO in 2006, and re-released Fat Lip under the ATO banner later that year.
The Whigs will be touring in support of their latest album Mission Control, which was released last month. The band’s tour with the Drive-By Truckers will be somewhat of a reunion after the two co-headlined the 2007 AthFest.
The tour will kick off March 16 in Newport, Ky., and wrap up March 29 in Asheville, N.C.
Dates:
March 16 - Newport, Ky. @ Southgate House 18 - Millvale, Pa. @ Mr. Small's Theatre 19 - Toronto, Ont. @ Opera House Concert Venue 20 - Montreal, Qc. @ Cabaret Music Hall 21 - Northampton, Mass. @ Pearl Street 22 - Boston, Mass. @ Paradise Rock Club 25 - New Haven, Conn. @ Toad's Place 26 - New York, N.Y. @ Terminal 5 27 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ The Fillmore @ the TLA 28 - Richmond, Va. @ The National 29 - Asheville, N.C. @ The Orange Peel
By
Alex Smith
on January 24, 2008 11:26 AM|Permalink
photo by Chris Crisman
Hometown: Athens, Ga.
Members [L-R]: Parker Gispert, Tim Deaux, Julian Dorio
Fun fact: To record their first album, The Whigs bought all of the recording equipment off of eBay, and then sold it all back once they’d finished.
For fans of: The Replacements, The Strokes, My Morning Jacket
"Rock is probably as unpopular as it’s ever been right now—I can’t really see a small band like us really getting involved in any roller-coaster ride, but ya never know.” Modest talk from Parker Gispert, lead singer of one of the more hotly touted bands of the moment, The Whigs. Since releasing their self-recorded debut Give ’Em All A Big Fat Lip in 2005, the trio has toured incessantly and garnered the kind of kudos most bands dream of. Specializing in a blend of brash garage rock with a heartfelt Southern charm, the band has earned comparisons to everyone from Guided By Voices and Elvis Costello to alt-rock underdogs The Replacements. Flattered but unfazed, Gispert doesn’t take the comparisons seriously. “We’d never listened to The Replacements,” he says.
Barely into their mid 20s, Gispert and his bandmates all took to music at an early age. “I started playing guitar early in high school,” Gispert says, “and I took piano when I was super young. We all just like to play things, and if there’s an instrument sitting around, you kinda find yourself sitting down and trying to figure out how to make a specific noise. We can all pick up stuff and play it.” As such, the band’s high-decibel bluster is somewhat deceptive. Beneath the chunky riffs and Gispert’s endearingly unpolished vocals are lushly produced tunes with complex arrangements. So complex, in fact, that drummer Julian Dorio was cited as “Drummer of The Year” by Esquire. “They’re going to do a thing on him in Drum magazine,” Gispert laughs, “which we find pretty hilarious. It’s not like we’re Rush.”
Released on Dave Matthews’ ATO label, The Whigs’ sophomore album, Mission Control, finds the band upping the rock ante and cranking the volume. Their future looks promising. “Who knows what’ll happen?” Gispert muses. “I’m young and in a band. We get to play every night, and as long as I can keep that lifestyle going, it seems like a much more fun idea than working a desk job.”
By
Cristina Martin
on October 25, 2007 1:45 PM|Permalink
As previously reported, Athens natives The Whigs have been keeping busy with their North American tour. But if you haven’t been able to catch them yet, the guys just happens to be extending their travels all the way through Dec. 6 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Mission Control is still set for release on Jan. 22.
New dates:
November 4 - Spearfish, S.D. @ The Back Porch*
6 - Boise, Idaho @ The Bouquet*
7 - Portland, Ore. @ Roseland Grill*
8 - Eugene, Ore. @ John Henry’s*
9 - Seattle, Wash. @ University of Washington*
12 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Café Du Nord*
13 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Spaceland*
15 - Austin, Texas @ Stubbs*
16 - Dallas, Texas @ Club Dada*
17 - Shreveport, La. @ Sharpie’s*
29 - Detroit, Mich. @ The Crofoot+
30 - Toronto, Ontario @ EL Mocambo+
December 1 - Buffalo, N.Y. @ Mohawk+
3 - Boston, Mass. @ TT the Bears+
4 - New York, N.Y. @ Knitting Factory+
6 - Cleveland, Ohio @ Beachland Tavern+
with Wild Sweet Orange*
with The Redwalls and Johnathan Rice+
By
Palmer Houchins
on October 10, 2007 2:39 PM|Permalink
You may think that the real news here is that Athens, Ga. trio, The Whigs, has announced its new album, Mission Control, will drop Jan. 22, 2008, courtesy of ATO Records, as well as a two-month tour alongside ex-Trucker Jason Isbell and Merge’s The Broken West.
But what you may have missed is that during a “secret” tour kick-off show at Athens dive Tasty World, Blues Traveler frontman and harmonica impresario John Popper joined the band onstage for an encore song. More importantly, Popper was wearing an Aces Bar & Grille t-shirt.
(WTF, mates? Does this mean Popper hangs out at Aces, the neighborhood bar down the street from my house? Will he play “Hook” at next week’s trivia night? Wasn’t the Weather Channel featured prominently in the video for “Hook?”)
But, um, yeah, The Whigs. Catch them on tour during the remainder of ’07, then look for Mission Control, the Rob Schnapf-produced (Beck, Elliott Smith) follow-up to 2006’s excellent Give ‘Em All a Big Fat Lip. Oh, and this time the boys traded the cozy confines of self-recording in the basement of a antebellum frat house for the plush studio home known as Sunset Sound in L.A. Nice!
The Whigs w/ John Popper on YouTube:
Dates:
October: 9: Charlottesville, Va. - Satellite Ballroom* 10: New York, N.Y. - Bowery Ballroom* 11: Northhamton, Mass. - Iron Horse* 13: Burlington, Vt. - Higher Ground* 14: Baltimore, Md. – Fletchers* 16: State College, Pa. - Lulu's Nightspot* 17: Buffalo, N.Y. - The Mohawk* 18: Columbus, Ohio - The Basement* 19: Lexington, Ky. - The Dame* 20: Atlanta, Ga. - The Variety Playhouse* 23: Knoxville, Tenn. - World Grotto# 24: Asheville, N.C. - Grey Eagle Tavern# 25: Chapel Hill, N.C. - Local 506# 26: Philadelphia, Pa. – Khyber# 27: Washington, DC. - Rock and Roll Hotel# 30: Nashville, Tenn. - The Exit / In# 31: Cincinnati, Ohio - 20th Century Theatre#
By
Rebecca Bowen
on July 27, 2007 12:00 AM|Permalink
Having sold all their own recording equipment on eBay, the Whigs are probably glad to be recording their second album in LA’s Sunset Sound Studios on the dime of Dave Matthews. The group signed to his ATO label after independently releasing its 2005 do-it-yourself, garage-pop debut, Give ‘Em All A Big Fat Lip.
"We recorded 13 songs which are album 'candidates,'" says the Whigs' blog, "and are now moving down the road to the Sunset Sound Factory where we will record the guitar parts and vocals."
Written on the road during relentless touring, including recent performances at Bonnaroo and their hometown’s Athfest, the Whigs’ new album is being produced by Rob Schnapf, who previously worked with Beck and Guided by Voices. The expected availability date is, of course, no more specific than “early 2008.” Listen up for new material when they tour this fall.
By
Paste Staff
on March 2, 2007 12:00 AM|Permalink
Literally adding tour dates faster than we can finish this news item, the boys in Athens, Ga.’s latest great hope, The Whigs, are currently warming up the van for the road, where they’ll be at least until the end of this month.
Recently signed to ATO records, the band will start with a hometown show at the Fabulous 40 Watt club in Athens, and the tour is expected to consist of a mix of songs from their debut, Give ‘Em All a Big Fat Lip, and new songs slated for their yet to be recorded first album for ATO.
The record company, also home to My Morning Jacket and Ben Kweller, re-released the self-recorded, self-produced Fat Lip in September of last year.
The Whigs tour dates:
March 2 - Athens, Ga. @ 40 Watt Club 3 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Smith’s Olde Bar 6 - Charleston, S.C. @ Cumberland’s 7 - Winston-Salem, N.C. @ Ziggy’s 8 - Baltimore, Md. @ Fletchers 9 - Chapel Hill, N.C. @ Local 506 10 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Mercy Lounge 12 - Chattanooga, Tenn. @ Rhythm & Brews 13 - Birmingham, Ala. @ Workplay 14-17 - Austin, Texas @ SXSW 20 - San Diego, Calif. @ HOB Epicenter 21 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ TBA 22 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Café Du Nord 24 - Portland, Ore. @ Roseland Grill 25 - Seattle, Wash. @ Chop Suey 26 - Boise, Idaho @ Big Easy 28 - Lead, S.D. @ Golden Hills Resort 29 - Brookings, S.D. @ South Dakota State University 31 - Jackson, Miss. @ Millsaps College
By
Paste Staff
on July 27, 2006 12:00 AM|Permalink
Following the success of their self-released debut, Give ‘Em All A Big Fat Lip, Athens, Ga., natives The Whigs have recently announced a deal to join ATO Records. As the label plans to re-release the garage rockers’ recording on Sept. 19, the band is scheduled to kick off a North American headlining tour beginning on July 27.
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