Jeff Ament's RNDM Plot New Material, Live Shows

Jeff Ament, Joseph Arthur, and Richard Stuverud of RNDM

Less than a week after Hurricane Sandy hit New York City, RNDM played one of their first shows at Brooklyn's 500-capacity Music Hall of Williamsburg. "There were no subways running," says bassist Jeff Ament. "You're watching the devastation on TV and thinking 'Should we even be playing a show? Partly because we're a new band and partly because of Sandy, some of those early shows there were super light turnouts. We're a baby band in every aspect, and we've been getting used to certain elements."

After spending the last 20 years filling arenas with Pearl Jam, Ament is starting over with RNDM (pronounced "R-N-D-M"). He formed the group last year with friends – songwriter Joseph Arthur and drummer Richard Stuverud – with the stripped-down sound of groups like Nirvana and the Jimi Hendrix Experience in mind. "I'm a big fan of power trios where there's only three instruments. I think there are aspects of those bands working here," says Ament. Adds Arthur, "It's a pure rock & roll band."

Video Premiere: Jeff Ament's RNDM Get Animated With 'Throw You to the Pack'

The musicians have been friendly since Arthur opened for Ament's project Three Fish in 1999. They stayed in touch until Ament called Arthur to sing on his solo track, "When the Fire Comes," off his latest solo LP, While My Heart Beats. "I was like, God, I hope I don't blow our friendship because I'm over-reaching my bounds," says Ament. "But within an hour, he responded and said, 'Man, I love this song.'"

In April, Ament invited the band to his Montana home to sing on some demos. "I started using this Brian Eno trick," says Arthur, "Which was like to just record me while I'm hearing it for the first time, and singing whatever initial ideas I have . . . For me, it's liberating, because I'm so used to being the master of my own ship," adds Arthur. "The art work and a lot of the visual concepts of the band have all come from him, and so it's nice to have someone with that much creative force like being in a band with them and they're bringing all these ideas that are great."

They recorded 20 tracks in four days, including the funky stomp "Williamsburg" and the upbeat rocker "Hollow Girl," which explodes into a pummeling, Crazy Horse-like instrumental collision. "It really does feel like a brand new band," says Ament. "Not a brand new band when you're almost 50, but a brand new band when you're 20 when everybody had tons of energy. It really has that feel."

After a fall tour last year, the band is considering adding more winter dates and recording some new material. "We've been on the road and we don't hate eachother," Arthur says with a laugh. "We're talking about putting out an EP, because we have eight tracks left over from the initial session. And now we've got six more. I don't really know when we'll put it out, but there's talk about some kind of EP or something soon."

RNDM's long-term schedule may depend on Pearl Jam's; the band recently had a meeting with Brendan O'Brien and followed up on sessions a year ago in Stone Gossard's studio and has announced apair of summer dates. "There's a lot of ideas kind of floating around right now," says Ament. "I mean, the cool thing about taking a year away from [Pearl Jam] is, you know, we could almost start from scratch and it wouldn't really be that big of a deal, you know? I hope it comes out this year at some point. But, if it doesn't, we have another RNDM record ready. If RNDM's my band for the next year, I'm stoked." 

How does the Pearl Jam bassist feel about turning 50 in March? "I can't say that I'm really freaked out about it, just because I feel like my life's just awesome right now," he says. "I mean, I had a day off yesterday, you know, I went and skated with a bunch of my buddies in L.A. which, you know, included a bunch of old pros. It's hard to be bummed about it. You know?"

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Jeff Ament's RNDM Plot New Material, Live Shows

Jeff Ament, Joseph Arthur, and Richard Stuverud of RNDM

Less than a week after Hurricane Sandy hit New York City, RNDM played one of their first shows at Brooklyn's 500-capacity Music Hall of Williamsburg. "There were no subways running," says bassist Jeff Ament. "You're watching the devastation on TV and thinking 'Should we even be playing a show? Partly because we're a new band and partly because of Sandy, some of those early shows there were super light turnouts. We're a baby band in every aspect, and we've been getting used to certain elements."

After spending the last 20 years filling arenas with Pearl Jam, Ament is starting over with RNDM (pronounced "R-N-D-M"). He formed the group last year with friends – songwriter Joseph Arthur and drummer Richard Stuverud – with the stripped-down sound of groups like Nirvana and the Jimi Hendrix Experience in mind. "I'm a big fan of power trios where there's only three instruments. I think there are aspects of those bands working here," says Ament. Adds Arthur, "It's a pure rock & roll band."

Video Premiere: Jeff Ament's RNDM Get Animated With 'Throw You to the Pack'

The musicians have been friendly since Arthur opened for Ament's project Three Fish in 1999. They stayed in touch until Ament called Arthur to sing on his solo track, "When the Fire Comes," off his latest solo LP, While My Heart Beats. "I was like, God, I hope I don't blow our friendship because I'm over-reaching my bounds," says Ament. "But within an hour, he responded and said, 'Man, I love this song.'"

In April, Ament invited the band to his Montana home to sing on some demos. "I started using this Brian Eno trick," says Arthur, "Which was like to just record me while I'm hearing it for the first time, and singing whatever initial ideas I have . . . For me, it's liberating, because I'm so used to being the master of my own ship," adds Arthur. "The art work and a lot of the visual concepts of the band have all come from him, and so it's nice to have someone with that much creative force like being in a band with them and they're bringing all these ideas that are great."

They recorded 20 tracks in four days, including the funky stomp "Williamsburg" and the upbeat rocker "Hollow Girl," which explodes into a pummeling, Crazy Horse-like instrumental collision. "It really does feel like a brand new band," says Ament. "Not a brand new band when you're almost 50, but a brand new band when you're 20 when everybody had tons of energy. It really has that feel."

After a fall tour last year, the band is considering adding more winter dates and recording some new material. "We've been on the road and we don't hate eachother," Arthur says with a laugh. "We're talking about putting out an EP, because we have eight tracks left over from the initial session. And now we've got six more. I don't really know when we'll put it out, but there's talk about some kind of EP or something soon."

RNDM's long-term schedule may depend on Pearl Jam's; the band recently had a meeting with Brendan O'Brien and followed up on sessions a year ago in Stone Gossard's studio and has announced apair of summer dates. "There's a lot of ideas kind of floating around right now," says Ament. "I mean, the cool thing about taking a year away from [Pearl Jam] is, you know, we could almost start from scratch and it wouldn't really be that big of a deal, you know? I hope it comes out this year at some point. But, if it doesn't, we have another RNDM record ready. If RNDM's my band for the next year, I'm stoked." 

How does the Pearl Jam bassist feel about turning 50 in March? "I can't say that I'm really freaked out about it, just because I feel like my life's just awesome right now," he says. "I mean, I had a day off yesterday, you know, I went and skated with a bunch of my buddies in L.A. which, you know, included a bunch of old pros. It's hard to be bummed about it. You know?"

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Beanie Sigel Celebrates New Album With Older Material at New York Show

"We 'bout to get dark for a minute," Beanie Sigel warned the rambunctious crowd in New York City's SOBs Thursday night. "If you scared, say you scared. It's a exit over there." 

Of course, no hip-hop fan would miss a moment this precious: weeks before he's to serve a two-year prison sentence for tax evasion, Beans celebrated the release of his fifth studio album This Time, dropping August 28th on the revamped Ruffhouse Records – the iconic Nineties hip-hop label responsible for classics like The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. "I was sought out by [Ruffhouse CEO] Chris Schwartz," Beans explained to Rolling Stone after the show. "He believed in my movement, he believed in our flavor. We listened to the music and had a couple meetings. He believed in what I was trying to accomplish and goals that I had." 

The night opened with rich sets from Denzil Porter and Ka, both New York scraps that boasted rich, menacing narratives of street tales from White Plains Road to New Lots Avenue. Porter filtered an authentic uptown edge through a smirking charisma – think Big L meets Big Sean: "If the cops lookin' at you sideways, start running especially if it's Friday/'cause on the Plains they ain't looking for a crime, they looking for overtime, even the cops know that crime pays." Ka, from the Brownsville public housing development in Brooklyn, warmed the crowd with gritty tales more in line with Beanie's trademark paranoia: "Is this gon' be the summer the cops get me/shots rip me, tryna' push whips off lots swiftly?" he pondered as 1970s documentary footage of New York gang violence looped behind him. 

Despite the heavy New York presence, Philly was back on the map once Beanie hit the stage. Dressed in all black, Beans launched into a string of early hits from his reign with Rocafella, recalling more pleasant times when he was Jay-Z's right hand man, the first of many Philadelphia spitters Hov once championed as the future of rap. Sigel rattled through cuts like "You, Me, Him and Her," "Reservoir Dogs" and "Flipside" and put a throng of diehard Mack Mitten fans into a frenzy. On stage, a tag-along wore a t-shirt that said "Grind + Hustle = Grustle." A bottle of Hennessey swung in a fan's clutch. 

Beans also saluted fellow Philly upstart Meek Mill, dancing to his summer anthem "House Party" during the middle of his set. "When I look at Meek I see myself reincarnated," he said later backstage. "When I came in the game I said 'Two decades and three years I'm still in order, I done stabbed sticks, killed bricks, drowned drops of water.' Meek said 'I'm only 23, look at me, I'm a boss.' So we was the same age coming into the game. I acquired a lot of things, accomplishments in the game in such a short period of time. Movies, clothing lines, sneakers. So advice I'd give to Meek is just to stay on top of his game because I didn't see an end to it, and everything must come to an end." 

New material was scarce during the set, save a few impromptu verses spit a cappella to the crowd's delight. "The album will be out in two weeks, so I know it's gon' get bootlegged by next week," he said backstage. "That was my way of tweeting or facebooking or whatever they do." He also previewed bars from his latest single "The Reunion" featuring his old running mates State Property. "We had plans to do another State Property album, so we planned to launch that off my album with the new record 'The Reunion' to set up for the State Property album coming next," he said backstage. "Right now I'm trying to concentrate on the album I'm working on with Scarface called Mack & Brad." 

Beans promises This Time is a special project, harking back to "when hip-hop was real." "Before, people was checking your background, you had to be who you said you was," he explained of the change he's observed in the culture. "Nowadays you could be a postman for 15 years and decide to start rapping and be the biggest drug lord in the rap game. I talk about not only what I see but what everybody sees every day. My hood ain't no different from any other hood, every other ghetto. That's where my music comes from."

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Eve Unveils New Material With Rock the Bells

Before Eve hit the stage at Rock the Bells in San Bernardino this past Saturday at the tour's kickoff, the rapper promised Rolling Stone she was there to make an impression. "If you weren't my fan, I'm gonna make you a fan once I leave the stage," she told us. "That, to me, is exciting."

She performed a few new songs, including "She Bad Bad," from her forthcoming Lip Lock album, her first since 2002's Eve-Olution, which at the time was her third straight top 10 album. After a decade's absence from recording, during which she focused on acting (including her own sitcom, Eve), she views this new album as a rejuvenation of her career.

"I've been telling people – and this is the truth – I almost feel like a new artist myself," she said. "I'm so excited about my new music. I love performing anyway, I feel comfortable on stage. It does feel like a rebirth."

She gave Rolling Stone a preview of some of the tracks and collaborators on Lip Lock, due next year. The album features Snoop Dogg on "Mama in the Kitchen," a song produced by Swizz Beatz ("Obviously I had to have Swizz on there," she said). And Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta appears on "Make It Out of This Town."

"He sounds amazing on it," she said. "It's a very positive record – everyone can relate to it. It's just one of those records when you're down and out and you feel like you can make it, God is with you. You have that plan – just keep your eye to the sky. It's a very positive, uplifting record."

Another of her favorites is "Eve." "It's definitely left, it's a different kind of record," she said of the song that bears her name. "I remember that day clearly just because I was exhausted and I did not want to go to the studio. And as soon as the producer put the track on I was like, 'Oh, this is fucking ridiculous, I have to write for this record.' It's like a punch in the face, but in a good way."

 The fact that Eve is doing two dates with Rock the Bells – her debut on the bill – is a sign of her comeback for fans. "Obviously Rock the Bells has been around for a long time and it's a respected music festival to be on, so I definitely wanted to do it," she said. "I felt like it was the perfect time to reach my core audience."

On Saturday she performed both on her own and with longtime friend DMX, their first time onstage together in more than a decade, she guessed. For Eve, being around the mix of peers like Nas and newcomers like J. Cole was inspiring.

"The kind of artists that they pick are substantial, which makes for a great show," she said. "I'm just happy to see it all. And I do keep up with some of the newer artists that are out. I think Kendrick Lamar is amazing. He's really, really dope and doing the West Coast proud."

Though she has turned her attention back to music, she continues to do some acting, including a cameo on the NBC series Whitney. She also has a role in an upcoming independent film called Bouncy Killer. She laughed when asked about who else is in it with her. "I don't think you would know anyone who's in it," she said.

However, she was very impressed with the movie, which she described as Mad Max-esque: "It's kind of like how Mad Max was back in the day, with the makeup and all the cars. It's set in the desert, and I got to play queen of the gypsies. I had this elaborate makeup on," she said.

Most importantly, she got to "kick ass" on set, which she's never done. "I got to knife-fight, which I've never done in a movie, so that was fun," she said. "I absolutely thought that they were gonna use my double most of the time, because I didn't have any time to train. The girl who I fought had, like, three months of training, and I had two days. But because of the way the director shot they barely used my double, so I basically had to learn on set a lot of stuff. I was hurting at the end of that day, [but] it was fun. I love stuff like that."

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Beanie Sigel Celebrates New Album With Older Material at New York Show

"We 'bout to get dark for a minute," Beanie Sigel warned the rambunctious crowd in New York City's SOBs Thursday night. "If you scared, say you scared. It's a exit over there." 

Of course, no hip-hop fan would miss a moment this precious: weeks before he's to serve a two-year prison sentence for tax evasion, Beans celebrated the release of his fifth studio album This Time, dropping August 28th on the revamped Ruffhouse Records – the iconic Nineties hip-hop label responsible for classics like The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. "I was sought out by [Ruffhouse CEO] Chris Schwartz," Beans explained to Rolling Stone after the show. "He believed in my movement, he believed in our flavor. We listened to the music and had a couple meetings. He believed in what I was trying to accomplish and goals that I had." 

The night opened with rich sets from Denzil Porter and Ka, both New York scraps that boasted rich, menacing narratives of street tales from White Plains Road to New Lots Avenue. Porter filtered an authentic uptown edge through a smirking charisma – think Big L meets Big Sean: "If the cops lookin' at you sideways, start running especially if it's Friday/'cause on the Plains they ain't looking for a crime, they looking for overtime, even the cops know that crime pays." Ka, from the Brownsville public housing development in Brooklyn, warmed the crowd with gritty tales more in line with Beanie's trademark paranoia: "Is this gon' be the summer the cops get me/shots rip me, tryna' push whips off lots swiftly?" he pondered as 1970s documentary footage of New York gang violence looped behind him. 

Despite the heavy New York presence, Philly was back on the map once Beanie hit the stage. Dressed in all black, Beans launched into a string of early hits from his reign with Rocafella, recalling more pleasant times when he was Jay-Z's right hand man, the first of many Philadelphia spitters Hov once championed as the future of rap. Sigel rattled through cuts like "You, Me, Him and Her," "Reservoir Dogs" and "Flipside" and put a throng of diehard Mack Mitten fans into a frenzy. On stage, a tag-along wore a t-shirt that said "Grind + Hustle = Grustle." A bottle of Hennessey swung in a fan's clutch. 

Beans also saluted fellow Philly upstart Meek Mill, dancing to his summer anthem "House Party" during the middle of his set. "When I look at Meek I see myself reincarnated," he said later backstage. "When I came in the game I said 'Two decades and three years I'm still in order, I done stabbed sticks, killed bricks, drowned drops of water.' Meek said 'I'm only 23, look at me, I'm a boss.' So we was the same age coming into the game. I acquired a lot of things, accomplishments in the game in such a short period of time. Movies, clothing lines, sneakers. So advice I'd give to Meek is just to stay on top of his game because I didn't see an end to it, and everything must come to an end." 

New material was scarce during the set, save a few impromptu verses spit a cappella to the crowd's delight. "The album will be out in two weeks, so I know it's gon' get bootlegged by next week," he said backstage. "That was my way of tweeting or facebooking or whatever they do." He also previewed bars from his latest single "The Reunion" featuring his old running mates State Property. "We had plans to do another State Property album, so we planned to launch that off my album with the new record 'The Reunion' to set up for the State Property album coming next," he said backstage. "Right now I'm trying to concentrate on the album I'm working on with Scarface called Mack & Brad." 

Beans promises This Time is a special project, harking back to "when hip-hop was real." "Before, people was checking your background, you had to be who you said you was," he explained of the change he's observed in the culture. "Nowadays you could be a postman for 15 years and decide to start rapping and be the biggest drug lord in the rap game. I talk about not only what I see but what everybody sees every day. My hood ain't no different from any other hood, every other ghetto. That's where my music comes from."

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Beyonce Working on New Material With Diane Warren

Jason Merritt/Getty Images For BET; Larry Busacca/Getty Images For The Recording Academy

Diane Warren is working with Beyoncé on new material, The Associated Press reports. The songwriter, who wrote "I Was Here" on Beyoncé's latest album, 4, played a few songs for the singer last week in New York, where Beyoncé was in town performing at the United Nations for World Humanitarian Day.

Comparing the collaboration to working with Meryl Streep or Robert De Niro in film, Warren marveled at how natural it felt to work with Beyoncé. "Some people come in my studio and I'm like, 'Oh God,' and you've got to fix them up and it's just hard," she said. "Some of the people that get deals, you just can't understand. But then when you work with a Beyoncé or so sadly Whitney [Houston]. . . it's so beautiful."

Warren – who counts Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," Celine Dion's "Because You Love Me," Toni Braxton's "Un-Break My Heart," and Starship's "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" among her songwriting credits – has also been working with Dion, Kylie Minogue, John Legend, Emeli Sande and former Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland, among others, and has written a song that's "probably going to be Aerosmith's single."

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Beyonce Working on New Material With Diane Warren

Jason Merritt/Getty Images For BET; Larry Busacca/Getty Images For The Recording Academy

Diane Warren is working with Beyoncé on new material, The Associated Press reports. The songwriter, who wrote "I Was Here" on Beyoncé's latest album, 4, played a few songs for the singer last week in New York, where Beyoncé was in town performing at the United Nations for World Humanitarian Day.

Comparing the collaboration to working with Meryl Streep or Robert De Niro in film, Warren marveled at how natural it felt to work with Beyoncé. "Some people come in my studio and I'm like, 'Oh God,' and you've got to fix them up and it's just hard," she said. "Some of the people that get deals, you just can't understand. But then when you work with a Beyoncé or so sadly Whitney [Houston]. . . it's so beautiful."

Warren – who counts Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," Celine Dion's "Because You Love Me," Toni Braxton's "Un-Break My Heart," and Starship's "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" among her songwriting credits – has also been working with Dion, Kylie Minogue, John Legend, Emeli Sande and former Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland, among others, and has written a song that's "probably going to be Aerosmith's single."

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Women Guitarist Christopher Reimer's Solo Material Gets Posthumous Release

Christopher Reimer of Women performs at The Harley in Sheffield, England.

Friends of Christopher Reimer, the guitarist for the Canadian post-punk band Women who died in his sleep February 21st, have made available The Chad Tape, a collection of music Reimer was working on before his death, Pitchfork reports.

The Chad Tape comprises tracks Reimer had completed for a solo project of ambient music, which fellow Calgary musician Chad Van Gaalen had offered to release.

Although the project remains incomplete, Reimer's friends assembled the songs and are planning a posthumous cassette release, complete with artwork and writing from Reimer himself. While there will be a limited number of cassettes released, the music is also available to stream and purchase digitally on Bandcamp. 

Proceeds from The Chad Tape will go to the Chris Reimer Legacy Fund, which helps provide children with scholarships in music and dance education.

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Skrillex Contributing New Material to Disney's 'Wreck-It Ralph'

Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Samsung

Skrillex will contribute new material to the score of Disney's upcoming animated movie Wreck-It Ralph. The collaboration was announced on July 12th at Comic-Con in San Diego, California. Wreck-It Ralph is scheduled for a November release and tells the story of Ralph, a video game baddie who wants to become a good guy. The film stars John C. Reilly as Ralph along with Sarah Silverman, Jane Lynch and Jack McBrayer.

Earlier this month, Skrillex announced that he will be providing original music for Harmony Korine's upcoming film Spring Breakers, set for a 2013 release.

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Skrillex Contributing New Material to Disney's 'Wreck-It Ralph'

Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Samsung

Skrillex will contribute new material to the score of Disney's upcoming animated movie Wreck-It Ralph. The collaboration was announced on July 12th at Comic-Con in San Diego, California. Wreck-It Ralph is scheduled for a November release and tells the story of Ralph, a video game baddie who wants to become a good guy. The film stars John C. Reilly as Ralph along with Sarah Silverman, Jane Lynch and Jack McBrayer.

Earlier this month, Skrillex announced that he will be providing original music for Harmony Korine's upcoming film Spring Breakers, set for a 2013 release.

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Fiona Apple Previews New Material At SXSW Show

It takes a lot to stand out at SXSW, where any given night offers roughly 8,621 bands to see and 367 food trucks at which to refuel between sets. But a Fiona Apple show is a draw in any context. Until last night in Austin, Apple hadn't performed in five years outside of her homebase of Los Angeles, where the singer-songwriter joins her musician friends onstage every so often at the tiny Largo nightclub. Last November, she played with the composer Jon Brion and hinted that new material was in limbo, saying, "I can't remember any of my new songs because they've been done for a fucking year."

Apple's first LP in seven years is now slated for release in June (the elaborately titled The Idler Wheel is wiser than the Driver of the Screw, and Whipping Cords will serve you more than Ropes will ever do), and she's engaging in a brief tour that kicked off with a pair of appearances at SXSW, starting with an NPR-hosted showcase at Stubb's on Wednesday.

The much-ballyhooed performance all but guaranteed that a throng of festival-goers would be streaming into the venue by the time doors opened at seven. At about dusk, Apple took the stage and opened with "Fast As You Can," from her 1999 album, When the Pawn...; for those who have seen her at Largo, the slightly muddled sound and breadth of the crowd was overwhelming at times. It was overwhelming for Apple, too. At one point, she yelled at the audience, "You're not real."  But the exictement for her new material outweighed logistical issues, and Apple soon settled in to a groove. She played three new tunes – "Valentine," "Every Single Night," and the sensual "Anything We Want," where she played percussion and sang ruefully, "I kept touching my neck to guide your eye to where I wanted you to kiss me when we find some time alone." Given Apple's penchant for intricate arrangements, the songs felt remarkably straightforward.

As for old fan favorites, there were several highlights, from "Criminal" and "Carrion" to "Sleep To Dream" and "Extraordinary Machine." But this show was all about the promise of what's to come, and Apple's performance only heightened the anticipation.

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