Whiskeytown

Ex-Members Of Pumpkins, Hole, Whiskeytown, Lemonheads Are Virgins

8 Nov 2001 10:14:00 EST

Ryan Adams, Evan Dando, Melissa Auf Der Maur, James Iha to form rock supergroup.
By Corey Moss

Auf Der Maur, Adams, Iha, Dando (clockwise from top left)
Photo: Virgin, Lost Highway, MTV News

Former members of the Smashing Pumpkins, Hole, Whiskeytown and the Lemonheads have formed a new rock supergroup of sorts called the Virgins.

Ex-Lemonheads singer Evan Dando, ex-Whiskeytown singer Ryan Adams, ex-Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha and ex-Hole bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur are scheduled to record an album together this winter, according to a spokesperson for Iha at his label, Scratchie Records.

The Virgins, the brainchild of Adams and Auf Der Maur, will record at Stratosphere Sound, the new Manhattan recording studio owned by Iha, Fountains of Wayne/Ivy guitarist Adam Schlesinger and Ivy's Andy Chase. The album will be released on Lost Highway Records, home of Adams, Lucinda Williams and other alt-country acts.

Iha is also lined up to record his second solo album in the spring, the spokesperson said.

Adams released his second solo album earlier this year (see ), while Dando has been touring solo and made headlines in May when Auf Der Maur's former bandmate Courtney Love took the stage at one of his gigs (see "Courtney Love Sings, Strums, Flashes During Surprise Performance").

The spokesperson for Iha said it was too early to say if the Virgins will tour behind their album.

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Squirrel Nut Zippers, Whiskeytown Kick In For Carolina Charity

4 Nov 1998 02:00:00 EST

Jimbo Mathus of the Squirrel Nut Zippers

Squirrel Nut Zippers and Whiskeytown are giving a bit back to the North Carolina area that helped shape them by donating tracks to a recently released benefit CD titled "The Garden Place; Songs By Our Friends."

The Zippers kick in a live version of "I've Found a New Baby" and Whiskeytown offers up the studio track "Me and My Ticket" for the album, which also features Carolina acts like Hobex, Two Dollar Pistols, and Portastatic.

Proceeds from the CD will benefit Chatham County Family Violence and Rape Crisis Services as well as the emergency housing facility Garden Place. In addition to housing, the Garden Place offers both victims and batterers an opportunity for counseling.

The Carolina indie label Yep Roc Records and it sister company Redeye Music Distribution (which handles the back catalog of Southern singer gone mainstream Shawn Mullins) are distributing the CDs nationally.

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Whiskeytown Widens And Repaves "Street" With Additional Songs

1 Sep 1998 12:00:00 EDT

Whiskeytown

Looks like frontman Ryan Adams will have the last word about the final state of Whiskeytown's 1996 indie debut, "Faithless Street," and he has dramatically altered the sound shape of the album for its September 29 re-release.

Since signing with Outpost Records and releasing an album, "Stranger's Almanac," last year, Adams has complained about the muddy sound of their first album, and the inclusion of certain songs that he now considers inferior.

The new and improved version of "Faithless Street," which was recorded back in 1995 in Apex, North Carolina, will feature new artwork, remastered tracks of most of the original album, and nine previously unreleased songs.

The new tracks originated from two different sessions, including those from the "Faithless Street" album, and from another studio session in 1996 -- just before the band began recording "Stranger's Almanac." One song that won't be included in the revamped album is "Oklahoma," which Adams says he was never fond of and was placed on the original version of "Street," despite his objections.

The new material includes: "Desperate Ain't Lonely," "Tennessee Square," "Lo-Fi Tennessee Mountain Angel," "Empty Baseball Park" "Here's to the Rest of the World," "Factory Girl," as well as demos of "Excuse Me If I Break My Own Heart," "16 Days" and "Yesterday's News," subsequent versions of which would later appear on "Almanac."

Whiskeytown has undergone several line-up changes while out on the road during the past year, and will break in a new line- up tonight at Boulder's Fox Theater.

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Whiskeytown