The Cult

[mrlee]

does Ian sing backing vocals on the Iggy Pop track "Shades"?

[FunkyMonkey]

The Cult: Interview with Ian Astbury: Cult Culture

?by Andrea Seastrand, September 9, 2009

Astbury on 2009?s Love Live tour and the album?s longevity:

Reception?s been amazing. It?s a really intensely partisan crowd we?re playing in front of. It?s amazing to see how people are so invested in a record. It?s really gratifying. The audience is really engaged. And one thing about the album is that the art and images inspiration behind it are still pretty much the same source of influences I have now.

I think it?s there?s simplicity to the songs. They?re not overblown. They?re very simply arranged and the chord structures are pretty simple. They sound fresh and youthful and were performed in incredible earnestness. There?s no contrivance on the record; what you hear is what was going on. Sometimes as you progress in your career you get a little more professional or whatever and lose a little bit of that naivet?. That?s one of the aspects of this album that makes it so endearing.

Continue reading here: http://www.theaquarian.com/2009/09/09/the-cult-interview-with-ian-astbury-cult-culture/

[Falcon]

Some video from last night in NYC can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/ThexVoidxRemains#

[FunkyMonkey]

Another great photo. 

To be young and in ?Love?

The Cult?s lead singer on revisiting the legendary album he made in his 20s

September the 10th, 2009

So if the band is not in it for the stroll down memory lane, and they?re only kind of in it for the money, what?s next? A new album?

?It?s a dead format; we don?t have the attention span for albums,? he says. ?The idea of going into a studio and spending a year-and-a-half creating a body of work which you put out as a body of work is pointless. By the time you put it out, it?s already been leaked. ? It?s a year-and-a-half worth?s of work down the f?ing tubes. We need to put out bite-sized chunks.?
 

 For someone who is performing an album in its entirety that his band made almost 25 years ago, Ian Astbury is adamant that the Cult?s ??Love? Live? tour not be seen as a remember-when show.

?I f?ing hate nostalgia,? says the singer. ?It f?ing makes me sick.?

So what is he getting out of playing a group of songs from 1985 that bridged psychedelia, hard rock and the first re-awakenings of the ?60s?

?These songs were written in a very earnest way, and the music I listen to now really reminds me of myself when I was 23,? he says. ?You have to go away from yourself to discover yourself.?

As the conversation winds on, and Astbury talks about his current self (a persona who has lately been spending a lot of time on humanitarian causes and working in film), we reach the broader subject of bands performing albums in their entirety in the down economy and whether the two correlate.

?Absolutely,? he says. ?We?re at the point in our career where we have this body of work, a legacy that we can exploit, in a way. We?re kind of between the old world and the new world in the sense that the music industry is dead, while we?re finding our feet, and we still want to move forward and we still want to be out here performing.?

The Cult initially performed ?Love? in full at a show in London last year as a one-off.

?Once we mentioned that we were doing the show, people started throwing their hats in the ring, saying, ?We?d love to have you here,? and we thought, ?OK, why not???

Plus that connection to his 23-year-old self has been somewhat of a revelation for him.

?The performances have been pretty intense,? he says. ?It?s been a very positive experience.?

http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/09/10/21/2649-81/index.xml

[Falcon]

More vids from last night in NYC..Including "Sun King" mrlee..

http://www.youtube.com/DREAMTIMENYC

[Falcon]

The Cult initially performed ?Love? in full at a show in London last year as a one-off.

Not true.

[FunkyMonkey]

^^Hopefully the rest is accurate.

THE CULT Singer Says Album Is 'A Dead Format' - Sep. 13, 2009

Fan-filmed video footage of THE CULT's September 6, 2009 performance at the House of Blues in Houston, Texas can be viewed below (courtesy of "reaganomics78").

THE CULT is performing its entire 1985 album, "Love", on the current tour. However, frontman Ian Astbury tells Metro that he doesn't want the "Love Live" tour to be seen as a remember-when show.

"I fucking hate nostalgia," says the singer. "It fucking makes me sick."

"These songs were written in a very earnest way, and the music I listen to now really reminds me of myself when I was 23," he continues. "You have to go away from yourself to discover yourself."

"We're at the point in our career where we have this body of work, a legacy that we can exploit, in a way. We're kind of between the old world and the new world in the sense that the music industry is dead, while we're finding our feet, and we still want to move forward and we still want to be out here performing."

Regarding the possibility of a new THE CULT studio album, Astbury says, "It's a dead format; we don't have the attention span for albums. The idea of going into a studio and spending a year-and-a-half creating a body of work which you put out as a body of work is pointless. By the time you put it out, it's already been leaked. ? It's a year-and-a-half worth's of work down the fucking tubes. We need to put out bite-sized chunks."

Video: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=126893

[FunkyMonkey]

The Cult bring Love
A live review of The Cult in Charlotte

September 14, 2009

by Doug Walters

Generation XL was in full effect on Tues. Sept. 8 when one of its most beloved bands, The Cult, hosted a middle-aged rocker summit in downtown Charlotte. A capacity crowd clad in standard-issue concert black crammed into Amos' as Ian Astbury and the gang played Love, their timeless 1985 masterpiece, in its entirety.

The Living Things from Las Vegas took the stage at 9 p.m. and rocked moderately for 40 minutes to a polite reception. They had some decent songs, and they were pretty tight, but they were little too stiff for the rock 'n' roll thing they were going for. I gave them the benefit of the doubt because their singer looked so much like Charleston's all time favorite rock star, Jody Porter.

They took the stage around 10:30 p.m., ripped into "Nirvana," and proceeded to rock the place straight through the whole album for an ass-kicking one hour set. After a short intermission, they came back and played a handful of hits from later albums ? pulling mostly from Electric and Sonic Temple, including "Love Removal Machine" and "Fire Woman."

The band was in top form. Even from their well-oiled laurels, The Cult still rocks balls. Guitarist Billy Duffy looked and sounded great on his beloved white Gretsch Falcon. The thick, dark, textured thing is right where he has always belonged and it was great to hear him work those tones again. Ace backing band Chris Wyse (on bass), Mike Dimkich (on rhythm guitar), and the talented John Tempesta (drums) could not have sounded better. But Astbury was the man of the hour, with that unmistakable tone and perfect vibrato nice and loud.

There doesn't seem to be very much connection between Duffy and Astbury these days. They didn't even make eye contact the whole night, but they both seemed sincerely inspired. Even though it was nothing new, The Cult rocked hard. The set sounded phenomenal, and reminded me how truly great Love is. Hearing it performed lived reminded us how well it flows. It made for a perfect set.

[Falcon]

Vids from last night in Toronto..

Vids from last night:

LRM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt9De-hsywE

DLR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBuOsbC0pOI

Fire Woman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Tg2gFmt-R0

Revolution
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MITHEds4kdU

Rain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkaUKH4PMPs

Black Angel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXZUbwmkZ-4

The Phoenix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN53YMdSVwM

[Falcon]

Being a long time Cult fan, I've seen/heard/read actions/comments by Ian Astbury that range everywhere from very insightful to flat out goofy and borderline condescending to everyone from the media to his own audience. 

He's a different breed of cat no matter how you cut it, front man syndrome to the nth degree.

That said - check out the video below of "Sun King" from at Toronto's Massey Hall gig 9/14.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QyjDa1-GAw

Pretty God damn cool.

[FunkyMonkey]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QyjDa1-GAw

Pretty God damn cool.

Thanks for posting...that is pretty cool.  Unexpected.

[mrlee]

awww the kid looks so confused n half pooing himself. n hes like "arm my arms cannot rock anymore".

but besides that. thats real cool, i bet that kid felt on top of the world!

[FunkyMonkey]

The Cult Shreds in NYC for Fashion Week

Eyes and ears feasted Thursday, Sept. 10, at the Gramercy Park Hotel?s Rose Bar, for a special installment of the DeLeon Tequila-sponsored Rose Sessions during New York City's Fashion Week. Thursday night, the Cult ripped through a set complete with tunes like "Love Removal Machine" and "She Sells Sanctuary" for models like Bar Refaeli, Helena Christensen, and Gemma Ward, who rubbed elbows with actor Josh Hartnett, hip-hop impresario Damon Dash, singer Lykke Li, actress Sienna Miller, and Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford!

Videos: http://www.spinearth.tv/report/the-cult-shreds-in-nyc-for-fashion-week

[Falcon]

More on the Rose Bar one off..

http://www.starzlife.com/20090911/starzlife-was-there-deleon-tequila-and-the-cult-rock-the-rose-bar/

STARZLIFE WAS THERE: DeLeon Tequila and the Cult Rock the Rose Bar
StarzLife
 
By Grant on September 11, 2009 at 2:41 pm 0 1578 Buzz up! (1)

Wild scene at NYC?s Rose Bar last night as basically every famous person in New York showed up to drink DeLeon tequila and catch a set from UK rockers the Cult. (If you don?t know who the Cult are but have listened to KROQ for a combined total of more than thirty minutes in your life, you know who the Cult are.)  The event also marked the 3-year anniversary of the Rose Bar at the Gramercy Park Hotel, where the doorman runs the tightest list in town.

Sienna Miller arrived with two guys and sat front and center, rocking along until she eyed Josh Hartnett, after which she flew out of her seat to give him a kiss.  Sienna?s date(s) for the evening looked a little annoyed as the notorious party girl gushed, but Josh had no problem with her affections ? he seemed as please to see her as she was him.

The crowd of good-looking, leather-clad, black eyelinered, hard rocking celebs included Hugh Grant, Helena Christensen, Nicky Hilton, Alek Wek, Carlos Leon, Monet Mazur, Bar Rafaeli, and Devon Aoki, among others. They enjoyed $150 bottles of DeLeon tequila ? fitting for the rock-themed evening, some drank straight from the bottle. Definitely a who?s who of the NY scene and THE it party of Fashion Week.

[Falcon]

A new Ian interview, translated from Croatian promoting their upcoming LOVE/LIVE gigs in Europe can be found here:

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=hr&u=http://www.muzika.hr/clanak/22837/interview/ian-astbury-the-cult-love-je-bio-vizija-buducnosti.aspx&ei=lL27SoHPHN7RjAfcvfXOCw&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhttp://www.muzika.hr/clanak/22837/interview/ian-astbury-the-cult-love-je-bio-vizija-buducnosti.aspx%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

[FunkyMonkey]

They have a video coming out...

Owl is the brainchild of bassist/singer Chris Wyse (The Cult) and through this band he is able to create music exactly the way his true vision dictates. Joining Wyse is childhood friend/drummer Dan Dinsmore (The Clay People), and guitarist Jason Mezilis (Your Horrible Smile). Their self-titled album boasts an eclectic mix of sounds and themes crafted outside the norms of the traditional modern rock record format. Wyse concludes, ?True artists don?t wait around for the industry to tell them what they?re supposed to play. The artist has to be the hub around which everything else revolves. Owl is all about the music.?

Interview:
http://www.mishmashmagazine.com/VideoPlayer/TabId/111/VideoId/142/Owl-Interview-Performance.aspx

Performance:
http://www.mishmashmagazine.com/VideoPlayer/TabId/111/VideoId/144/Owl-Perform-Alive.aspx

[Falcon]

Fans got a "Lil" extra last night following the "PURE CULT" portion of the LOVE/LIVE gig in Valencia last night..

Crowd going ape shit, Duffy throwing shapes...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7_VeR6oV5g

[Falcon]

More from Valencia, blistering versions of:

Nirvana
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X1UHQ4Lc5w&feature=channel_page

Fire Woman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXLTr3qWi4I&feature=channel

Love Removal Machine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBO5uBbEg4c&feature=channel_page

[FunkyMonkey]

^^Thanks, it looks like it was a good show.  Here is one more that was just added...

THE CULT (HOLLOW MAN) 27-09-09

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajp6TySlNEk

[Falcon]

The Cult's homecoming gig at London's Royal Albert Hall is now (per www.thecult.us) officially sold out..

A bit surprised at how well the LOVE/LIVE Tour has done, I've never been totally on board with the idea..

Go figure...