Well it’s about time. Fourth Crooked Vulture and Queens Of The Stone Age collaborator Alain Johannes is releasing a solo album, entitled Spark, on August 31st.
Thanks to our buddy The Audio Perv, we have the opening track, Endless Eyes, which has been haunting us ever since Alain performed it live about a foot from our faces at Spaceland a couple of weeks ago, armed only with a cigar box guitar.
Spark will be the first release to come from a new partnership between Joshua Homme’s Rekords Rekords and Dangerbird Records. Homme describes the ethos thusly:
“It’s about the creation and releasing of music, period. I wanted to put out releases without being asked any questions. That’s why Rekords Rekords started. More than ever, now is a great time to make music for the sake of making music. Single, shmingle, just make a fucking piece of art.”
Of Alain, and Spark, Homme gushes:
“Because Alain plays, produces, records and sings, there’s no plumbing between his feelings and what the music sounds like… The rollercoaster of Spark’s very fragile beauty is the reason I started playing music. There are some things that can’t be explained with words. I like to ask, ‘Can someone play it to me instead?’ This record is such a great example of what cannot be said but what is so true.”
And so we await, with full confidence.
Just as good as it was at Spaceland. Can’t wait for the rest.
Bad Ass!
Cigar box guitar more commonly referred to as the Cigfiddle
duly noted.
when we talked to josh in austin… we walked into the trailer, and first thing i saw was the instrument, in the corner. i had seen alain perform with it before, but seeing it then up close, i realized (or suspected) i had seen the handiwork before. i asked if it was one of jag’s: http://jagshouse.com/cbg_boxes.html
his answer was yeah, though i’m not positive he was saying “yes it’s one of jag’s” necessarily, because it was a casual yeah, to the effect of “yeah, the guy that makes them lives right by our studio and…” at which point, the publicist interrupted with some important memo or something and then we had to start the interview. anyway, total useless meta, but it’s an awesome little toy, i’ve always wanted one, and it was made by a guy that lives by josh.
I believe that is most definitely the guy. They sold at least one (maybe two) signed by everyone after the Natasha show on eBay.
I’ve seen it in person, it’s a real nice instrument.
cool song, i was a doubter when he first started playing with queens after oliveri left be he has proven me wrong over the years since! amazing musician.
his vocal delivery really sounds like Elvis Costello sometimes.
Awesome song.
Digging the shit outta this.
Alain Johannes is a really talented man. He’s been behind some of the greatest music made in the last decade, and it’s great to listen to him flying solo. Endless Eyes is an amazing song, it’s gooooooood. Go Alain, go! And I’m lovin’ that Cigar Box guitar, I want one!
[...] smashing tambourines next to drummer Matt Cameron as Johannes (who’s about to launch his own solo album) shreds next to lead guitarist Mike McCready. It was sloppy and the sound on the video may be [...]
any news about his concerts in south america on october?
can´t wait to see it live.