Hi everybody! I’m back from my two week vacation! Did you miss me? What, you didn’t know I was gone? Fuck you in the face!

Well anyway, I missed some of you, mainly the hideously unattractive and socially awkward noise rock aficionados that read my stupid column for jerks. So it gives me great pleasure to report that Pissed Jeans will released its third album on August 18. King Of Jeans, the group’s second full-length for Sub Pop, is the follow-up to 2007′s Hope For Men, a damned modern classic of sleazy gutter-level rock inspired and emboldened by the tradition of David Yow and The Jesus Lizard. Though I have yet to hear any of this new material, I anticipate nothing short of fucking awesomeness from tracks with lascivious titles like “Human Upskirt” and “Request for Masseuse”.

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As reported here previously, on Tuesday March 24, 3/4 of the incomparable Soundgarden reunited onstage at a Seattle concert venue. Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron, and Ben Shepherd tore through a short but potent set that featured three classic tracks: “Hunted Down”, “Nothing to Say”, and “Spoonman”. On the microphone was none other than MR. TAD DOYLE, the Seattle legend that previously brought us TAD and HOG MOLLY, two heavy ass projects that demolished any attempt to define the so-called grunge sound. (His latest endeavor BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH continues in that awesome tradition.)

Some reporters would have hounded absent frontman Chris Cornell for comment (full disclosure: I sent him an unanswered tweet), but being me I knew the man I really needed to talk to was Tad himself. Thankfully, he was gracious enough to reply to my inquiry and we efficiently arranged a call. If I learned anything from my twenty minutes on the line with him last week, it’s that your musical heroes can sometimes turn out to be totally awesome, down-to-earth people. Tad Doyle is a rock star devoid of ego and bursting with passion and sincerity under an otherwise laid-back personality. As you’ll discover for yourself below, he totally fucking rules.

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OK, so far it seems like a one-off thing, but how incredibly awesome must it have been for Seattle concertgoers to witness 3/4 of Soundgarden reunited onstage together with Tad Doyle this past Tuesday night? (Thanks to fellow twitterer Mark Carrass for alerting me to this. Social networking fucking rules.) Sure, the (literally) massive grunge veteran doesn’t have the vocal range of Chris Cornell, but watching this sweet video footage of the band playing “Nothing To Say” makes it evident that that’s beside the point. You wont have to dig much deeper on YouTube to catch the clip for “Spoonman” featuring former Cornell cohort Tom Morello on rhythm guitar. Fortunately, no Audioslave songs were performed.

Mr. Cornell could not be reached for comment (I tried!), as he is currently in Chile in support of his latest solo album which nobody seems to like.

-GS

[Gary Suarez feels as if a weight has been lifted. He also writes for Brainwashed and usually manages the consistently off-topic No Yoko No. Say, why don't you follow him on Twitter?]

Noise rock and the phenomenon known as “grunge” have intertwined histories, with seminal acts like the Melvins and Big Black serving as tremendous influences on many of the latter subgenre’s heavyweights. And none weighed more than the ubiquitous Tad Doyle, a behemoth of riffage and physical girth that rocked the fuck out with his band TAD.

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Fans of seminal early ’90s Seattle band TAD will be delighted to know that the long-awaited TAD documentary will be coming out on DVD in early 2008. If you like your rock and your frontmen heavy (Crowbar aside), this one is not to be missed. [Idolator]

-VN

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