40 Nights of Rock & Roll

Welcome, friends, to the web log for upcoming documentary “40 Nights of Rock & Roll," a film by director Scott Sloan & former Paste magazine editor Steve LaBate.

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Check out this rad drums & bass promo for Mutemath's forthcoming album, Odd Soul. Should be out this October!

RELATED... Watch this clip from Mutemath's Armistice Live DVD

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Meet Steve LaBate and Scott Sloan, Film-Making Rock 'n Roll Road Warriors

Two gentlemen, one Jeep, a mighty stretch of pavement, and one rock show every night for forty nights on the road. That's the basic premise behind 40 Nights of Rock & Roll, the documentary that Steve and Scott of Southgate Studios are creating after an epic cross-country quest. Scott and Steve give great interview, so we won't waste time with a boring intro. Let's just say that we may have to steal Steve's sangria-soaked party at the Wren's Nest idea...

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40 Nights of Rock Archive: Day 24 video blog - Of Montreal

Scott and Steve arrive at the Granada Theatre in Dallas to interview Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes and film the band's set. In this video blog, we catch the band's stage props being unloaded, a clip of "Rapture Rapes the Muses" live at the Granada, and Barnes meeting with fans after the show.

RELATED LINKS

Watch the video for Of Montreal's "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse"

Free mp3 download! Of Montreal's "Coquet Coquette"

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NASHVILLE, TN—Finally unhindered by his wife Tipper's 25-year-long household ban on violent and sexually explicit music, former vice president Al Gore, 62, reportedly embraced his newfound independence this week by listening to the albums of the heavy metal band W.A.S.P.

"For the first time in decades, I get to play the kind of music I like without someone nagging me about what a bad influence it is," said Gore, sitting on the floor of his living room as he cued up the song "Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)" on his stereo. "And I get to crank it up as loud as I want."

"These guys are kicking some serious ass," added the two-term U.S. Senator. "Check out this guitar break coming up—it's nasty." ...

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On ragged Sunday afternoon, Scott and Steve find themselves at a honky-tonk called The Cedar Shake in Texarkana.

A family band called Four Wheel Drive is playing a benefit for a woman with lung cancer. At first, everyone eyes the strange travelers suspiciously, but by the end, they're all loading the boys up with plates of potluck BBQ and mugs of frosty cold beer.

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40 Nights of Rock Archive: Day 22 Video Blog - Smoke Up Johnny

A tour of Little Rock's White Water Tavern, followed by a performance from local legends Smoke Up Johnny at the Thick Syrup Records anniversary show.

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40 Nights of Rock Archive: Day 21 video blog - Stardeath and White Dwarfs

Our dynamic duo journeys through picturesque Southeastern Kansas, marveling at the rolling green hills, puffy white clouds and endless blue skies. Once in Tulsa, they catch an electrifying rock show from Stardeath and White Dwarfs at historic venue Cain's Ballroom. Afterward, Steve tries to recreate the zombie-fighting lamp magic he discovered in Cleveland, but the mojo is gone. Scott wields knife menacingly.

RELATED LINKS

Listen to "Smoking Pot Makes Me Not Want to Kill Myself" by Stardeath and White Dwarfs

Watch this cool crowd-shot clip of Stardeath and White Dwarfs performing "Those Who Are From the Sun Return to the Sun" while opening for The Flaming Lips in Portland. Hell of a bass solo.

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SIGUR RÓS - "GLÓSSÓLI"

Gorgeous. Jonsí's whisper vocals evoke as much wonder and emotion as the video’s final, memserizing leap of faith.

RELATED LINKS

Watch Jonsí's video for "Go Do"

Watch the 40 Nights Day 5 video blog, and get a behind-the-scenes peek at Jonsí's stage being set up at the House of Blues in Boston.

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40 Nights of Rock Archive: Day 20 video blog - Capgun Coup

After hanging at the ballpark with Paul Westerberg in Minneapolis, Scott and Steve head south and west toward Omaha. At dinner, Scott is nearly poisoned to death when he deviates from his standard burgers/tacos/pizza diet and eats a bowl of vegan, cashew-butter-laced tomato soup at a local health-food restaurant. That'll teach him to ignore his best instincts. But Scott cures himself the old fashioned way - with straight whiskey - and the 40 Nights crew presses on, interviewing lo-fi Omaha rockers Capgun Coup outside Brothers Lounge. (WARNING: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS PROJECTILE VOMITING)

RELATED LINKS

Watch the video for Capgun Coup's "A Liar in Texas in a Green Room in Memphis"

Like surf, psychedelia, booming big-beat drums and squalling guitars? Read more about Capgun Coup here.

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40 Nights of Rock Archive: Day 19 video blog - Paul Westerberg at the new Twins Stadium

It's not every day you get to sit on the dugout of an empty major-league ballpark and shoot the shit about rock & roll with your all-time favorite artist. But sometimes the stars align. This video is just a tiny teaser of our Westerberg segment, but he says much in just a few seconds... "What is rock & roll? Not to be intimidated by anyone else's rules and standards. To express yourself. Not necessarily to be offensive on purpose, but if it's required..."

RELATED LINKS

40 Nights Photo Archive: Paul Westerberg at Target Field

Watch Paul Westerberg's "Dyslexic Heart" video

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40 Nights of Rock Archive: Day 18 video blog - Baroness

The fellas travel to Madison, Wisc., to film super-badass, ultra-melodic, guitar-shredding metal heroes Baroness at the Orpheum Theatre. Afterward, over cheeseburgers and $2.50 cuba libres at the Plaza Tavern & Grill, Scott outlines his idea for 40 Days in a Cubicle, a much less fun 40 Nights of Rock spinoff.

RELATED LINKS

Watch Baroness' video for "Wanderlust"

Listen to Baroness' "The Gnashing"

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RED FANG - "WIRES"

Now this is how you make a rock video. Brand new awesomeness from Red Fang. Maybe the coolest band ever.

RELATED LINKS

Watch Red Fang's equally badass "Prehistoric Dog" video

Listen to "The Gnashing" by fellow Relapse Records artists Baroness

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40 Night of Rock Archive: Day 17 video blog - Conspiracy of Owls

After a night of battling zombies, Steve demonstrates a magical power he never knew he possessed. Then he and Scott head to Detroit Rock City where they interview Conspiracy of Owls' Bobby Harlow and John Krautner (formerly of The Go). Bobby vents about his needy cat.

RELATED LINKS

Listen to "Tower of Diamonds" by Conspiracy of Owls

Watch the video for "Ancient Robots" by Conspiracy of Owls

Listen to "A Silver Song" by Conspiracy of Owls

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40 Nights of Rock Archive: Day 16 video blog - Reverend Horton Heat

Sixteen days in, and the road is starting to unravel our dynamic duo. Zombie-vampire paranoia sets in at a rest-stop and, later, a hotel on the outskirts of Cleveland. But the 40 Nights crew presses on, visiting This Way Out, a subterranean record shop beneath the super-rad Beachland Ballroom, and then filming a performance from punkabilly king the Rev. Horton Heat.

RELATED LINKS

Watch the Rev perform his classic happy-hour anthem "It's Martini Time"

"Official word from the depths of Rockabilly Hell..."

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From an old Those Darlins photo shoot. Love this pic.

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40 Nights of Rock Archive: Day 15 video blog - Those Darlins

Scott and Steve arrive at Hocking College in picturesque Nelsonville, Ohio, for the Nelsonville Music Festival where they are scheduled to film garage rockers Those Darlins. Unfortunately, Nikki Darlin has broken her arm in an early morning tumble down a hill, so the band is forced to cancel its performance that day. Still, the interview goes on, with all the Darlins piled in bed at a nearby cabin, watching Grease on TV and sipping straight whiskey. This video blog captures our arrival at the festival, and the immediate aftermath of our interview, during which Nikki tends to her broken arm and drummer Linwood Regensburg does a very sexy, specially choreographed modern-dance number commemorating 40 Nights of Rock & Roll.

RELATED LINKS

40 Nights Photo Archive: Those Darlins hole up in a cabin near the Nelsonville Music Festival.

Listen to "Screws Get Loose" by Those Darlins, and read Steve's review of their new album