Afghan Whigs

Afghan Whigs Break Up, Label Pondering Live Record

6 Feb 2001 05:22:00 EST

Soulful rockers say nine-year geographical distance finally took its toll; Columbia considering releasing a disc from the band's most recent tour.
By Teri vanHorn

Afghan Whigs'
Greg Dulli
Photo: MTV News

For the Afghan Whigs, the long-distance relationship just wasn't working.

The soulful rockers, who formed 14 years ago while attending the University of Cincinnati, have called it quits after six albums.

"It was a blast," the band said in a statement issued Tuesday (February 6) through Columbia Records. "We'd like to thank everyone who took the ride with us and let us ride with them." With the members living in different states for nine years, the "distance, which for so long kept the band fresh, began to work against them," the statement said.

Singer/songwriter Greg Dulli, who is recording his second Twilight Singers album, lives in Los Angeles. Bassist John Curley and drummer Michael Horrigan live in Cincinnati and guitarist Rick McCollum lives in Minneapolis. "The band [mates] remain friends and, apart from the often cruel and unsentimental banter between members, still plan to call each other on holidays," the statement said.

Columbia Records is contemplating releasing a live record culled from the band's most recent tour, said Tim Devine, senior VP of A&R at the label.

Though the Afghan Whigs never achieved mainstream success, their mixture of soul and moody rock garnered them a large cult following and steady critical acclaim. Their albums were: Big Top Halloween (1988); Up in It (1990); Congregation (1991); Gentlemen (1993); Black Love (1996) and 1965 (1998).

"I'm beyond crushed," fan Justina Wilson wrote in an e-mail after being contacted through a Web site devoted to the Whigs. "They were one of best rock bands of the last ten years. It sucks." Dulli is working in Los Angeles on the follow-up to Twilight As Played by the Twilight Singers (2000). The band originally included Harold Chichester (Howlin' Maggie) and Shawn Smith (Pigeonhed, Satchel, Brad), but neither musician is participating in the new album, a Columbia Records spokesperson said. Dulli originally recorded the material on the first Twilight album in summer 1996 in New Orleans with a number of local musicians, but the project was put on hold when the Whigs signed to Columbia.

After the release of 1965, Dulli returned to the recordings, enlisting the help of British remix team Fila Brazillia, which has remixed Radiohead, Busta Rhymes and The Orb. Columbia finally released the album in September.

The other members of Afghan Whigs have not announced any recording plans.

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Afghan Whigs

Dulli's Twilight Singers Set Tour Dates

25 Sep 2000 04:00:00 EDT

Twilight Singers' Greg Dulli

The Twilight Singers, the project fronted by Afghan Whigs singer Greg Dulli, will be heading out on the road in mid-October to support the band's new album, "Twilight As Played By The Twilight Singers."

The live band will include Dulli and co-anchor Harold Chichester (Howlin' Maggie). In an online chat earlier this month, Dulli reported that the group's third key member, Shawn Smith (Satchel, Pigeonhed, Brad), will not be participating. According to Smith's official Web site, a new Pigeonhed album is under way.

Expected to join Dulli and Chichester are Whigs drummer Michael Horrigan on bass and new Howlin' Maggie members Carlton Smith on drums and Lance Ellison on guitar. The tour will be a brief one due in part to the pending release of Howlin' Maggie's next album this winter.

The Afghan Whigs are also well into writing a new record that the band hopes to record in California later this year and release in 2001.

The Twilight Singers' "Twilight" was released on September 12 (see "Afghan Whigs' Dulli Readies Twilight Singers"). Tour dates for the band are as follows:

10/13 - New Orleans, LA @ Tipitina's
10/14 - Atlanta, GA @ Cotton Club
10/15 - Cincinnati, OH @ Top Cat's
10/17 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
10/20 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
10/21 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre Of Living Arts
10/22 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
10/24 - Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
10/25 - Chicago, IL @ Club Metro
10/26 - Minneapolis, MN @ 400 Bar
10/29 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox
10/31 - San Francisco, CA @ Slim's
11/1 - Los Angeles, CA @ Knitting Factory

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Afghan Whigs' Dulli Readies Twilight Singers

28 Apr 2000 06:00:00 EDT

Greg Dulli

Afghan Whigs singer Greg Dulli is readying his long-delayed Twilight Singers side project for release on Columbia this summer.

The band includes Harold Chichester (Howlin' Maggie) and Shawn Smith (Pigeonhed, Satchel, Brad). The material was originally recorded in the summer of 1996 in New Orleans with a number of local musicians musicians, and the album was put on hold when Dulli and the Whigs split with their previous label, Elektra.

A spokesperson for Columbia told MTV News that Dulli recently spent five weeks overseas in Kingston-Upon-Hull working on the material with the U.K. duo Fila Brazillia, which has remixed Radiohead, Busta Rhymes, and The Orb, among others.

The spokesperson said the album, which was at one time titled "Twilight," currently remains untitled. The tentative release date has been set for August 29.

The Twilight Singers are expected to tour to support the album.

The Afghan Whigs' first album for Columbia was the 1998 release "1965." The band toured through to the fall of 1999 and is expected to regroup once the Twilight Singers release runs its course.

Meanwhile, the lawsuit lodged by Dulli against the owners and employees of the now-defunct Liberty Lunch in Austin, Texas, appears to have faded away. A source close to the band told MTV News that with the club closing down and the parties involved being financially strapped, the case is not being pursued.

Dulli launched the action after he suffered a serious head injury during an altercation with an alleged staffer at the club following a Whigs performance late in 1998 (see "Afghan Whigs Greg Dulli Recovering From Head Injury").

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Afghan Whigs

Afghan Whigs Reschedule Postponed Tour Dates

14 Jan 1999 04:30:00 EST

After frontman Greg Dulli's head injury sidelined the band for a month, Afghan Whigs are preparing to return to the road early in February.

Dulli suffered a skull fracture during an altercation in a bar in Austin, Texas back in December (see "Afghan Whigs Greg Dulli Recovering From Head Injury"), and has been recuperating at his home in Seattle.

The Whigs will resume their tour on February 9 in Cincinnati, and will proceed to make up a number of the dates that were postponed as a result of Dulli's injury.

Here's how the new Afghan Whigs itinerary looks:

2/9 - Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart's
2/10 - Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall
2/12 - Syracuse, NY @ Styleen's Rhythm Palace
2/13 - Providence, RI @ Met Cafe
2/14 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
2/15 - Johnstown, PA @ Crow Bar
2/17 - Philadelphia, PA @ TLA
2/18 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
2/19 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
2/20 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
2/21 - New Haven, CT @ Toad's Place
2/23 - Old Bridge, NJ @ Birch Hill Nightclub

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Afghan Whigs Take Club, Media To Task Over Austin Altercation

31 Dec 1998 01:15:00 EST

The Afghan Whigs are now telling their side of the story regarding the Austin altercation that saw frontman Greg Dulli hospitalized with a skull fracture earlier this month.

Dulli was knocked down following their performance at the Liberty Lunch December 12 and spent several days in intensive care at an Austin hospital (see "Afghan Whigs Greg Dulli Recovering From Head Injury"). Dulli and the Whigs filed a lawsuit against the club and several employees December 17. On December 29, they posted a note on their website (www.afghamwhigs.com) refuting Austin media reports and the club's version of the events point by point.

The accounts offered up by the two sides differ dramatically. According to reports in the Austin media quoting the club's management, Dulli, supposedly angry over an earlier encounter with a club bouncer, was said to have approached the man while wielding a two-by-four, insulted his appearance and told him they had some "unfinished business." Dulli was subsequently knocked down in self-defense and hit his head on the cement floor.

The lawsuit, however, which according to Austin Chronicle columnist Ken Lieck reads like a Dukes of Hazzard episode complete with oddly named characters, drunken brawls and "Civil War-based prejudices," contends that Dulli was coming out of the club's washroom armed only with a cigarette. The papers say he was blindsided and knocked to the ground by the staffer referred to only as "Taitor" in the documents. The suit alleges he was also kicked and punched while on the ground by another bouncer referred to as "Porkchop" and that his injuries were the direct result of the two men's actions. Another band member is said to have attempted to help Dulli and was also assaulted by Porkchop.

The suit is apparently lodged against Taitor, Lunch owner J'Net Ward and manager Mileah Jordan, and includes charges of slander based on the statements made by Ward and Jordan.

The band's website takes the Austin media to task for extensively quoting Ward and Jordan and not researching the real facts of the case.

"The club's story about Greg attacking anyone with a 2 x 4 is a pathetic attempt to cover up the reprehensible conduct of their employees," reads the post. "Repeating something over and over again doesn't make it a fact."

The document, signed "the Afghan Whigs," questions why the employee, said to be off duty by the club, was allowed to stay on the premises after the club was closed. It indicates that the club's management was aware there had been trouble earlier between the employee and the band, and that the club had assured the band that the employee would be sent home.

It asks that if the employee was innocent, why the club tried to distance itself from him by claiming things like he was off duty and they didn't know his last name. According to the site, the club allowed the two employees involved to leave without talking to the Police. The post also says that although the club managers told Police that they had taken possession of the bat or stick allegedly carried by Dulli, they were unable to produce it.

The post also contends that the club's bartender refused to call 911 after Dulli had obviously been seriously injured, and that it took a non-staff person to summons the emergency medical service.

Meanwhile, the site says that Dulli's health is slowly improving and that the band hopes to resume touring in February 1999. They plan to make up most of the seven shows missed after Austin, return to some cities they have already played and add some new tour stops before heading to Europe in March.

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Afghan Whigs

Afghan Whigs' Dulli On The Mend, No Charges Yet In Club Fight

16 Dec 1998 06:50:00 EST

Greg Dulli

Afghan Whigs singer Greg Dulli was released from an Austin hospital on Monday and is expected to spend time at home in Seattle recuperating before heading back out on the road. Dulli was hospitalized following altercation at a nightclub in Austin Friday night. (see: Afghan Whigs Greg Dulli Recovering From Head Injury).

The band's official website says all dates through to the end of the year have been cancelled including three shows in New York this week and a New Years Eve appearance at Bogart's in the band's original home base of Cincinnati. However, a spokesperson at Bogart's says that performance has not been cancelled, as they're still hoping Dulli will be recovered sufficiently to perform.

A police spokesman in Austin says they expect to spend several more days interviewing witnesses before they know whether any charges will be filed in the case. A source at the law office representing the stagehand involved in the fight with Dulli confirms that the police have been talking to their client. The firm is taking the position that they're not expecting charges to be laid because their client was acting in self-defense. They contend Dulli had been armed with a two-by-four prior to being knocked to the ground. Dulli reportedly hit his head on the floor and suffered a fracture to the base of his skull.

The Liberty Lunch nightclub, the scene of the altercation, told an Austin newspaper that they were backing the self-defense story, but in any case, the stagehand, a contract worker, had already signed out for the night, thus the club was not responsible for his actions.

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Afghan Whigs

Afghan Whigs Greg Dulli Recovering From Head Injury

14 Dec 1998 12:00:00 EST

Greg Dulli

Afghan Whigs singer Greg Dulli was hospitalized in intensive care early Saturday morning following an altercation at an Austin bar.

The band had just performed at the sold-out, 1200-seat Liberty Lunch when Dulli fought with a member of the club's crew. The Austin American-Statesman quotes Whigs bassist John Curley as saying Dulli suffered a skull fracture in the incident.

The Dallas Morning News reported that an emergency medical team had responded to a call that said Dulli had been "knocked to ground, hit his head and was awake but not alert." Dulli, 31, was listed as being in good condition, Sunday. The hospital would not release any details, but posts on the band's official website indicated that Dulli had been moved to a private room and was recognizing visitors.

Curley told the Austin paper that the disturbance began Friday evening when bandmembers arrived at the club for a sound check and began knocking loudly on the front door, which was locked. A stagehand and several other club employees who answered the door were allegedly upset that the band had knocked so loud, and angry words were exchanged. The bad feelings continued throughout the course of the night and erupted in a brief scuffle between Dulli and the stagehand at approximately 2:15 a.m. local time. Dulli reportedly fell backward and struck his head on the concrete floor of the club.

The Afghan Whigs canceled performances Saturday in Dallas, Sunday in New Orleans and Monday in Atlanta. The status of the other shows on the tour remains unclear. We'll keep you posted.

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Afghan Whigs Cut Songs For Lennon, Clash Tribute Albums

23 Nov 1998 02:00:00 EST

The Afghan Whigs' Greg Dulli

While the Afghan Whigs were in New Orleans laying down material for "1965," its first album under a new deal with Columbia Records, the band also took time out to cut tracks for several upcoming tribute albums.

Fans of the Whigs may recall that frontman Greg Dulli handled some of John Lennon's vocal parts for the soundtrack to the 1993 Beatles-inspired flick, "Backbeat." Now Dulli has reprised that vocal inspiration for a cover of "Woman," slated for a planned John Lennon tribute album -- a project which is currently on hold at Capitol Records.

Another record currently in limbo is the Clash tribute album, which was originally going to be released on August 25, but which has been pushed back until sometime next year. The Whigs have recorded a version of the '70s seminal punk band's "Lost in the Supermarket" for the record, which was also to include contributions from the Mighty Bosstones, No Doubt, the Indigo Girls and Rancid, among others.

As we previously reported (see "Wilco, Sister Hazel Join Afghan Whigs, Gin Blossoms On Big Star Tribute"), the Whigs had also covered Big Star's "Nightime" for yet another tribute. Former Big Star and Box Tops frontman Alex Chilton returned the "cover favor" by providing back-up vocals on "Crazy," a song off the Whigs' new record.

The Afghan Whigs are currently taking a week-long break from its fall tour in support of "1965," but will resume its road duties at Seattle's Showbox on November 30.

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Afghan Whigs Take Road Back To "1965"

11 Nov 1998 07:55:00 EST

Afghan Whigs

Critical alt. rock faves the Afghan Whigs kicked of a tour Tuesday night in support of their sixth album, "1965."

The recently released effort, the product of a whirlwind recording session in New Orleans, is once gain earning frontman Greg Dulli and company rave reviews.

After warming up with a string of European festival dates, the band left the comfy confines of its native Ohio for the road and a date in Pontiac, Michigan Tuesday night.

Here's where to catch them next:

11/12 - Chicago, IL @ Cabaret Metro
11/13 - Chicago, IL @ Cabaret Metro
11/14 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
11/16 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
11/18 - St. Louis, MO @ Karma
11/19 - Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
11/20 - Cleveland, OH @ The Odeon Concert Club
11/21 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre Of Living Arts
11/22 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
11/30 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox
12/1 - Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
12/3 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
12/4 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
12/6 - Tempe, AZ @ Gibson's Bar & Grill
12/8 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Dv8
12/9 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
12/17 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
12/18 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
12/19 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom

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Afghan Whigs Mull Video, Prepare For Fall Tour

28 Oct 1998 12:15:00 EST

Greg Dulli

Dial-a-Decade retro moves don't come much more straightforward than the title of the Afghan Whigs new album, "1965," the follow-up to the band's 1996 record, "Black Love," and its first as part of a new deal with Columbia Records.

"1965" was recorded mostly by frontman Gregg Dulli in New Orleans, so you can imagine some of the wild times had during the making of the album. Alex Chilton, former leader of the seminal '70s alternative group Big Star, puts in a rare guest appearance on one track, and the sessions were apparently so festive that during last winter's Mardis Gras, one of the Whigs got so happy he wound up spending a night in jail.

But now that the album is out, the Whigs are trying to decide whether or not to make a video for the first single from "1965," "Something Hot."

"We're talking about doing one," Dulli told MTV News,

"I would hope [we'd do a video]," he concluded, "but if it doesn't make fiscal sense, I would probably say I'd rather use that money to go towards touring or something that's actually worth it." [28.8 RealVideo]

The Whigs will kick-off a tour in support of "1965" with a performance on November 4 in New York City as part of this year's CMJ Music Festival.

Other dates for the Afghan Whigs' fall tour: