It has been a strange few months to say the least!!

It all started with an appearance by The Almighty Defenders at Coachella. We played early in the afternoon on a decent sized stage and really had a lot of fun. I think it went pretty well. And we got to hang out with a LOT of friends and some random ‘celebrities’, which is always good for a laff. Then came the first show in a slew of Almighty Defenders/ Black Lips/ King Khan & BBQ shows, starting in San Francisco . Now, a lot has been posted about this ‘notorious’ show where Khan morphed into GG Allin for a night. I, personally, had a great time playing THAT part of the show, after we dealt with a lot of weird soundman-ego shit earlier in the night. In the end, that made it all the sweeter. And now both Khan and I are ‘banned’ from San Francisco. So much for its liberal façade. Tho, admittedly, I overreacted to some dumb shit.

A couple weeks later, we toured as The Almighty Defenders with Black Lips and The King Khan & BBQ Show thru Europe. It was one of the most rewarding and fun tours I have ever been on, reinforcing, at that time, an amazing bond between not only Khan and I, but also amongst us and the Black Lips. We hadn’t all toured together since like 2005 or something, but the bond was still there. So many hijinks and stories that I will cherish for a long time. Cannes was particularly fun. We stayed with our buds from Jalouse magazine during the famous film fest – a crazy mansion in the hills. Awesome. We played two shows at two chic clubs, getting kicked out of the first after Chris Tucker introduced us. The second was where the well-documented ass-shots of Khan and Lindsay Lohan happened. She is actually a nice person. Anyway, this particular tour culminated in an appearance at Primavera Sound, arguably the best festival of its kind in the world. It was a fantastic time and a perfect way to end what I know now to be the last tour of its kind.

Khan and I were very excited at this point to get to Australia, to play shows in Melbourne and Sydney. The shows in Sydney were set to take place at the Sydney Opera House, of all places, in a festival curated by Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson! We were hand-chosen by them as genuine fans of our shit. I have no way to describe how that felt. I obviously never would have thought that these people whose art and music I respected greatly would fly us in and ATTEND our shows. Anyway, Melbourne was cool, but I saw pretty much instantly how these shows were being treated. The band itself was hardly the focus, and that was frustrating. So we roll into Sydney and played the shows. Instead of being FUN and a means for us to showcase our band by playing for some ‘heroes’, it became very strange and unpleasant very quickly. Regardless of what has been said in numerous press releases, etc… my personal account is a lot different. I really don’t fault the Opera House for being angry. I was angry. What could have been awesome was left a shambles, in a maelstrom dumb ideas. That is MY account of it and to go into details would be silly, at this point. Drama, drama. The band was OVER. We argued over stupid shit and there were TERRIBLE moments, etc… But when the smoke cleared, the decision was fine and made sense. We were too close to hate each other and it was the right time.

Unfortunately, due to travel restrictions and tickets booked to go here and there, I still wanted to get to Asia to try to do some of these shows so I could get back to Canada without some kind of financial disaster to bury me further. At zero hour, Khan and I talked at length, and he felt he could do the Asia shows after the initial Hong Kong show, which was agreed would be me alone. He had family to visit in Shanghai and would play there, as well as the following 4 dates, and then we would leave on a high and reconvene for one last hurrah as The King Khan & BBQ Show in Calgary at Sled Island. See, The King Khan & BBQ Show as people know it was OVER at this point, friends or no, because we had a grander plan to continue this thing after some time off in a new, hyper-surrealist, psychedelic, rock’n’roll mindfuck of Satanic Buddhism. The name: Jumbo Lions.

China went ‘smoothly’ enough: a few fun shows, GREAT people and a CRAZY amount of fun that I, personally, never foresaw. It was very, very, very open. Nuts. And the sights? Man… Crazy. But things got very uncomfortable again. Once more, I am not going to critique anyone’s behaviour, etc… I think it is unfair. But things were unpleasant. Yet, we decided to soldier on to South Korea.

This is where things went to shit. Hahahaha! Ridiculous. We played the first night and things just exploded onstage. I have never been treated so poorly in my life by anyone, but at that point I think I realized that there was something behind all of it that was uncontrollable, so I just tried to keep calm. I am luckily very resilient. I can’t say the same for a local promoter’s trashed apartment. At this point, ya, we weren’t talking. We were not friends. It was awful. Khan was going home. I talked to the main Korean organizer and I decided to finish the last two shows on my own, as he was pretty down about doing the legwork and money and this and that. So I played the next show alone and it was pretty awesome. People were impressed, mostly because the way the organizer’s press spun things about Khan. I will address this later. So, I bussed to Seoul where I would meet the organizer and go play the last show and end this all on a decent note. He told me he was happy, cuz he didn’t want to lose ALL of his money. I understood that. I also knew a few friends coming from Japan and other parts of Korea. I was excited and relieved. So when I arrived in Seoul, I tried to contact the dude and figure stuff out and he was just 'too busy'. He was telling me how Khan was being ‘crazy’ in the other town and that people were fed up, etc… I mean, I told him that we hated each other and were not friends anymore and I just wanted to get this done. He wanted to meet me at the club. So, I show up at the given time and waited. And waited. And then lo and behold, who shows up but this guy WITH Khan. What I didn’t know at this point was that the guy had, when reposting press for the show, decided to throw lines in like ‘maybe they will play songs together’ and ‘Khan will be there signing autographs’, etc… Like, WTF? After I told him repeatedly that the band was over. After he heard stories from Busan. So he tried to pull off what I perceived to be a sneaky ‘reunion’ scenario. Maybe I was wrong, but that is how I saw it. Khan just needed to rest, not be at this show and deal with this shit. I just needed to play a show and feel good before splitting.  Instead, this dude is talking to me and apologizing and telling me how it was all a coincidence etc… I wasn’t about to do this and be a fucking puppet. I am sure to be further criticized for this, but I really thought the whole thing was underhanded. The organizer guy was crushed and scared and crying and whatever, but was a cool guy (I thought) and was trying hard to make shit happen in Korea. I felt REALLY bad, but I am stubborn. We cabbed it to his place and I got my bag and I got drunk and angry and sad and all that good stuff with some friends. I stayed up all night and then went to Cambodia to get well. BUT…

That NIGHT the organizer was telling people as they came to the show a bunch of insulting shit and blaming me for all the bad stuff, etc… while keeping Khan at the club to get cred or something, who knows. The guy went from being a dude to posting shit on boards and even on our shit saying how I was a paranoid asshole who was jealous of Khan, essentially. I will address this now. Again. In the beginning of this band, The King Khan & BBQ Show, I guess we never really thought people would be so dumb and constantly confuse us with The Shrines (who definitely DO rule, and deserve all the accolades they get), or misspell the bandname (ex: King Kahn & The BBQ Show) or dissect our lives in ruinous ways. We just knew the two of us made music together that we loved. I admit fully that it saddened me at first when I started getting overlooked (not for image, but I AM proud of the songs I had written and sang, etc…), but I UNDERSTAND that Khan is an AMAZING entertainer and musician. He deserves attention. I also am pretty introverted and have terrible karma, so that’s ok. And these were two personalities we CHOSE for this band: Khan the crazy, positive guy and me the negative curmudgeon. We tried to harness that yin yang to make powerful music through magick. But what started happening is that media people enjoyed tipping that balance that we enjoyed mostly in the beginning of our band by focusing in on parts instead of the whole. I get that, but it is kinda lame, given that this was a band. I didn't crave attention, nor was I jealous, but I believed in THE BAND as a UNIT and thought we were special and this shit was hurting the band. This kind of press makes negative things happen to some folks. The band’s balance was destroyed. I am PROUD of all the music I have made, but I am not and never was seeking popularity or ‘celebrity’. So fuck off.

Anyway, I left and spent 10 awesome days traveling by myself in Cambodia and Thailand. Just reading, walking, looking, absorbing… Spiritually, a great trip. Peace of fucking mind. I understood what was important and felt fucking great.

That has carried over to the now. I am very at peace.

Khan and I are still friends. We are brothers and just needed a break from each other. He is resting and we are both getting our bearings straight. Maybe Jumbo Lions will appear in a year or two… Who knows?

2 Comments

Alright!

A few weeks back I posted something a bit too early, but here it is now, all allowed and green-lit! The King Khan & BBQ Show will be in AUSTRALIA in June for a show in Melbourne and the VIVID LIVE at the Sydney Opera House, curated by none other than LOU REED and LAURIE ANDERSON!! Ridiculous! Here is an early link:
http://vividlive.sydneyoperahouse.com/
There is more to this than it seems, even! Exciting!

Wednesday 2 June, 8pm
Corner Hotel, Melbourne
*Tickets available from the Corner Box Office (57 Swan St Richmond 12-8 Mon-Sat), phone bookings on 9427 9198, online bookings www.cornerhotel.com. Also available at Missing Link and Polyester Records*

Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House
Thursday 3 June, 10pm
The Studio, Sydney
*Bookings: 02 9250 7777 or www.sydneyoperahouse.com*

And so it seems that in conjunction with these cool shows, there will also be a few ASIAN shows, too. Our booking agent sam@windishagency.com is putting some stuff together all over ASIA. If you have any ideas, let him know!
And watch out for The King Khan & BBQ Show on tour this Sept./Oct. in North America (as well as Primavera Sound and Sled Island in Calgary!)!! New show!! More retardation!!
Speaking of KKBBQ, here again are the tourdates for The Almighty Defenders in the coming months. In Europe (and maybe elsewhere? nah...), it's The King Khan & BBQ Show followed by Black Lips which then culminates in The Almighty Defenders!!! Quite a stagefull!

April  17    Indio (CA) - Coachella Festival
April  20    San Francisco (CA) - The Great American Music Hall
May  12    Lyon (FR) - Festival Des Nuits...
May  13    Brussels (BE) - La Botanique
May  14    Amsterdam (NL) - Melkweg
May  15    Berlin (DE) - Festsaal Kreuzberg
May  18    Hamburg (DE) - Uebel Und Gefaehrlich
May  19    Copenhagen (DK) - Loppen
May  20    Malmo (SW) - Kb Kulturbolaget
May  21    Oslo (NO) - John Dee
May  22    Stockholm (SW) - Strand
May  23    Goteborg (SW) - Sticky Fingers
May  24    Munster (DE) - Gleis 22
May  26    Paris (FR) - La Machine
May  27    Limoges (FR) - CCM John Lennon
May  28-30   Barcelona (SP) - Primavera Sound Festival
June 30th-July 3rd Calgary (AB) - Sled Island Festival

www.myspace.com/thekingkhanbbqshow
www.myspace.com/thealmightydefenders

As for myself, yes... The new MARK SULTAN lp/cd, '$' is out on the 13th on Last Gang Records.



As predicted, people just assume it is some kind of 'sock-hop, fuzz garage rock' or whatever or are upset it isn't straight-up. Can't win! Hahaha, do people actually listen when they review? Here is one positive one (though a bit much). I am hoping more will follow, hahaha.

"Mark Sultan, one of the godfathers of the ever-growing genre of doo wop garage rock is back with a rock and roll force that will explode your head leaving only the bloody stump that is your neck because you rocked out too hard. Mark Sultan, otherwise known as BBQ of The King Khan and BBQ Show, has been in the garage punk world for years and this is his second solo release. With a voice as charming and soulful as Sam Cooke, he brings in multiple influences such as garage, doo wop, punk, rhythm and blues, psych, and country music into his songs. Standout tracks include, "Icicles", a six minute long psychedelic masterpiece lead by Sultan's fuzzy guitar trails, "Ten of Hearts", a heart drenched doo wop ballad truely displaying Sultan's beautiful voice, "Status", a rock and roll stomper that would be guaranteed to bring the house down, "I Get Nothin' From My Girl", Sultan's closest representation of a sixties garage pop tune, and "Nobody But You", a psychedelic garage album closer about a girl with big brown eyes that Sultan has brought back to his home, which features echoed vocals crossed with delayed freak guitar riffs. $ has to be the greatest garage record release this year if not one of the greatest ever. Once again BBQ has shown us how to truly rock and roll in these overly musically complex modern times reminding us that it's still important to dance once in a while until our heads explode off."

Dates:

April    16    Los Angeles (CA) - Spaceland
*keep in mind that this one will be a one-man band show!*

Same with here:
June 30th to July 3rd - Sled Island Festival!!! in Calgary, Alberta

That being said, I am trying to get a tour together for the US later in the year with a new 4-piece band that I have scraped together to support '$'. Pretty stoked! Frontman time!

www.myspace.com/marksultan
www.facebook.com/marksultan
www.marksultan.com

I guess that leaves The Ding-Dongs! Well, the album has been delayed. It's kinda my fault and I appreciate the patience of the AWESOME folks at Norton Records. Look for it in a few weeks... the beginning of May, if I am not mistaken. The delay may be sad to us, BUT me and Bloodshot Bill are in the middle of finalizing a Western Canadian jaunt right after sled island. I just started booking yesterday, and some shows are getting confirmed, but just in case, if you see a town you think you can help with, let me know. The actual dates will come together in the next few days, but here is the list:

Banff/Canmore/Revelstoke
Banff/Canmore/Revelstoke
Vancouver/Victoria
Victoria/Vancouver
Kelowna
Jasper
Edmonton
Saskatoon
Winnipeg
Regina
Lethbridge
Calgary

And in case you missed it, here's our infomercial again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzqBJLOx4PU

www.myspace.com/officialdingdongs
www.nortonrecords.com

That's it for now! more dates and expect more news soon!

Go to older news for other shit!

7 Comments

Hey Hey Hey!

The new Mark Sultan album, '$' comes out on Last Gang Records on April 13th!!


Song listing:

01. Icicles
02. Donʼt Look Back
03. Ten of Hearts
04. Status
05. I Get Nothin From My Girl
06. Go Beserk
07. I Am the End
08. Miseryʼs Upon Us
09. I'll Be Lovin' You
10. Waiting For Me
11. Just to Hold You
12. Catastrophe
13. Nobody But You  





Here are some Mark Sultan/BBQ tourdates:

March   4     Marghera (IT) - Pop Corn
March   5     Torino (IT) - Spazio 211,  w/ Mojomatics  
March   6     Cesena (Italy) - Officina 49
March  10    Stockholm (SW) - Debaser/DFB
March  11    Goteborg (SW) - Mitt andra hem
March  12    Tranås (SW) - Rocksyndikatet
March  14    Helsinki (FI) - Bar Loose
March  17    Moss (NO) - House Of Rock
March  18    Tromsø (NO) - Bastard
March  19    Bergen (NO) - Hinsides
March  20    Oslo (NO) - Revolver
March  24    Calgary (AB) - Broken City
March  26    Toronto (ON) - Double Double Land 
April    16    Los Angeles (CA) - Spaceland
Dates in Spain, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Brazil and Israel coming SOON!

Also as Mark Sultan, expect my contribution to a Nolan Strong tribute. I do ‘The Wind’. I am not sure when it comes out, but people like Demon’s Claws, Lenny Kaye, Wreckless Eric and Reigning Sound have all recorded songs for it.
I am RIGHT NOW at Outside Inside Studios outside of Venice. Just recorded about 6 songs.
www.myspace.com/marksultan

On March 29th, you can also expect the release of ‘The Ding-Dongs’ self-titled LP on Norton Records. Bloodshot Bill meets BBQ!!! Straight-up R’n’R / Rockabilly smashers!
Maybe you haven't seen the teaser, so here it is:




I'm hoping for a few Ding-Dongs summer shows, so check back soon.
www.myspace.com/officialdingdongs

As promised, here are the Almighty Defenders 2010 tourdates, so far:

April  17    Indio (CA) - Coachella Festival
April  20    San Francisco (CA) - The Great American Music Hall
May  12    Lyon (FR) - Festival Des Nuits...
May  13    Brussels (BE) - La Botanique
May  14    Amsterdam (NL) - Melkweg
May  15    Berlin (DE) - Festsaal Kreuzberg
May  18    Hamburg (DE) - Uebel Und Gefaehrlich
May  19    Copenhagen (DK) - Loppen
May  20    Malmo (SW) - Kb Kulturbolaget
May  21    Oslo (NO) - John Dee
May  22    Stockholm (SW) - Strand
May  23    Goteborg (SW) - Sticky Fingers
May  24    Munster (DE) - Gleis 22
May  26    Paris (FR) - La Machine
May  27    Limoges (FR) - CCM John Lennon
May  28-30   Barcelona (SP) - Primavera Sound Festival

A couple of the shows may be chock full of surprises, let's say... More shows TBA!
www.myspace.com/thealmightydefenders

And for The King Khan & BBQ Show, we wanna thank everyone for coming out to our just completed european tour. It was great. And thanks to everyone for their hospitality, etc...
These are shows we can announce, for now:

March  25   Vancouver (BC) - Biltmore Cabaret
May 29-30  Barcelona (SP) - Primavera Festival
and there is Sled Island in Calgary and a few more surprises!
www.myspace.com/thekingkhanbbqshow

Check older news for weird photos and links.

See ya soon!

0 Comments

Oh the humanity! I'm back in Montreal from another tour! It was a lot of fun, aside from overstated shit. Great to play with Those Darlins and Dum Dum Girls. Sometimes prefab hype caught up with us and people who don't care about music judged us for not being 'crazy' enough - glad you don't like it. Sometimes we were just bummed and tired, though. I wanna thank everyone for supporting us and having fun. The shit that went down in KY really put us through the ringer financially, as friends and as a band and happened not as you think, no matter what you read from whomever's lips or fingers. Really. I'm mostly sad not everyone saw us play with entertainer, 'Leo Chips'. That was fun and just starting to work. The 'show' was finally starting to come together (hence the name, 'The King Khan & BBQ SHOW'). Oh well. But there is good news - a lot of people enjoy the new KKBBQ album, 'Invisible Girl'. Thanks so much! We'll try to tour again or make up lost dates sometime in the future. My new album, entitled '$' is coming out sometime soon. No idea when. Or how, at this point, but I do know that there was one song from it - Nobody But You - floating around... Maybe the In The Red myspace page? Speaking of In The Red, they put out a new single of mine a few weeks back: 'I Am The End' b/w 'Catastrophe'. These are non-LP versions. The new Bloodshot Bill & Mark Sultan album is done! It took a while to iron out the last mixes or whatever,more than a year in the making, but it will be out soon on Norton Records. Tours: The King Khan & BBQ Show will be in Europe in February. Dates coming soon. The Almighty Defenders will be playing sporadically at festivals in both the US and Europe from now until the summer, and both bands will tour together with Black Lips in around May for one fun European jaunt. Keep your eyes peeled. I will also be on tour, hopefully, in the US opening for the Black Lips. With my new band. Standing and singing the whole time. More rockers and dancers. I think that's it for now! MARK SULTAN

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The King Khan & BBQ Show tour dates!! Check: www.myspace.com/thekingkhanbbqshow there are a few that are left to be determined. as well as a couple of kids show that we will add on there. that should be cool! this will all be to play some of our new album 'INVISIBLE GIRL' which drops in a couple of weeks. we may have a couple limited edition LPs for sale in portland! supporting us for most of the tour and at various points are Dum Dum Girls and Those Darlins! here is the best part: The King Khan & BBQ Show have been working on a new live show (aside from playing a bunch of new songs) which harkens back to the original intent of our band. it should be really fun! this also means the inclusion of our old pal Leo Chips into the fold. you'll see!! it's gonna be extravagant! check in to the myspace now and again for news! also, look for The Almighty Defenders in both Portland and also on the 25th at Maxwell's in Hoboken! And maybe another show for CMJ? who knows? My new Mark Sultan is also DONE and will be out in February. I decided to hold off on its release cuz too much shit is coming out. But a single on In The Red of non-LP cuts will rear its ugly head in a couple of weeks! see you on tour!

5 Comments

It's been a while! I'm sitting here in Berlin. Here's some quick news. Ok. In order: In a week or so, Vice is gonna be dropping the new 'Almighty Defenders' LP. Pretty cool! This is me, King Khan and The Black Lips. 11 songs, I think... A few songs have been circulating. Here's a link to a rare live performance of 'Cone of Light': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlOfXATlCtM I think there is a video coming soon, too. It was an absolute pleasure to perform at Faiz and Viola's wedding. Anyway, catch us at that Scion festival and some surprise festivals later on. Also appearing at that festival with be The King Khan & BBQ Show. Our new album comes out in November on In The Red, Speak n Spell and Noiselab but NOT Paperbag, as rumoured. 12 songs. I'm happy with it. I think you'll dig it if you like our other records - it's samey-good, but different (?!). We played a bunch of festival shows this summer in Canada, and it was great. Hope we do it again. And thanks to the folks at Denimzine for getting me and Khan out to Stockholm for a show last week!! Our North American tour starts in late October and continues until early December. And we will finally be doing or first European tour in a LONG while early next year. Stoked! Let's see... my new 'Mark Sultan' album is FINISHED and is pretty awesome, actually! More experimental shit, more pop even. I'm sure people will diss it. A single will be out in October on In The Red. I also am in the process of finishing an album I last year with Bloodshot Bill. Great straight-up rock'n'roll smashers. Bill rules! See ya soon! MARK

2 Comments

Ok, well... NXNE was really fun. It was a treat seeing so many good friends. I wanna thank everyone who came out to see 'The Almighty Defenders'. Ya, it was obvious we didn't practice since the recording, but we logistically couldn't have... Still cool to hear people enjoyed it and had fun. I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy the album. And thanks to everyone who came to see 'The King Khan & BBQ Show'. THANKS TO JENA FROM 'SUNDAY SINNERS' for singing some songs with us!!! Here are some quick announcements for some shows we will be playing this coming week or so! come out! CALGARY: SLED ISLAND FESTIVAL!!! Mark Sultan: Thursday, June 25th - 9:30 at the Marquee Friday, June 26th - 9:15 at Tubby Dog The King Khan & BBQ Show: Thursday, June 25th - midnight at the Legion Friday, June 26th - midnight at Dicken's WINNIPEG JAZZ FESTIVAL!!! The King Khan & BBQ Show: Sunday, June 28th - 10pm at the Pyramid Cabaret VANCOUVER JAZZ FEST!!! The King Khan & BBQ Show: monday, june 29th - 9pm at the Biltmore Cabaret OTHER NEWS: Listings up soon for Ottawa, Mexico and Canada's Maritimes!!! The Almighty Defenders new LP drops in September The King Khan & BBQ Show's new LP drops in October Mark Sultan's new LP drops in November The King Khan & BBQ Show will be on tour in North America from late October until early December. www.myspace.com/thekingkhanbbqshow www.myspace.com/marksultan www.myspace.com/thealmightydefenders

2 Comments

here are dates for some seemingly private shows at mystery venues.... i dunno who can come exactly, but maybe if we hear from people, we can arrange something: 6.02.09 SAO PAOLO, BRAZIL 6.04.09 BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA 7.09.09 MEXICO CITY, MEXICO TBA www.myspace.com/thekingkhanbbqshow www.myspace.com/marksultan www.marksultan.com write us! marksultan @ yahoo.com

2 Comments

OK So, you can see some confirmed King Khan & BBQ Show dates this coming summer... lots of strange festivals in a few countries... might even be adding some South American dates - maybe even some extra Mexico treats in some weird format... the confirmed dates (so far) can be seen on their myspace page: http:​/​/​www.​myspace.​com/​thekingkhanbbqs​how also, Mark Sultan will be on tour with King Khan & The Shrines late April thru early June, both with his three-piece band imcarnation (featuring Choyce from Les Sexareenos/CPC Gangbangs/Red Mass and Simon Wojan from Cloudland Canyon/King Khan & The Shrines) as well as 'BBQ', the one man band. check his myspace and check the show details out: http:​/​/​www.​myspace.​com/​marksultan and... there is at least one Almighty Defenders show this summer. a myspace page will be up soon with songs as well as details. Almighty Defenders = Black Lips + The King Khan & BBQ Show See ya!!

2 Comments

'I Am The End' www.myspace.com/marksultan

2 Comments

'Status'
at
www.myspace.com/marksultan

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Well, well, well. It has been a loooong time since I bothered updating this site. I kinda forgot out it actually! Since that time, things have been going well… Toured Europe, Israel and the US a few times both as Mark Sultan and with The King Khan & BBQ Show (check the Shows section for dates you may have missed). My own band is now a 3-piece featuring Choyce (CPC Gangbangs, Red Mass) and Simon Wojan (King Khan & The Shrines, Cloudland Canyon). I like the way it’s sounding. We toured in Europe with The Black Lips and will be touring the US in the summertime with The Shrines. Should be fun. I recorded a new Mark Sultan album last September. No idea when it’ll come out due to some snags, but it’s one of the best things I have done. What I do know is that SubPop is releasing a new single in March featuring that 3-piece line-up (click the Music section). Hope you like it. I will also be at SXSW this year doing shows as Mark Sultan, BBQ and with The King Khan & BBQ Show. You can find the info in the Shows section. Aside from that, I’m gonna try to record another, newer BBQ or Mark Sultan album in the next 2 months, as well as possibly recording a song for a Nolan Strong tribute and ‘Claudette’ for a Roy Orbison tribute. OH SHIT!!! I FORGOT!! Expect a new King Khan & BBQ Show album this year. We’re really stoked on it. I dunno when it’ll be out or on what label, but it’s done and it’s great. Maybe I’ll put a new song up soon. And lastly, but not leastly, when The Black Lips got booted from India, they made their way to Berlin where they, King Khan and I formed a quick band, writing and recording an album in about 2 days. The band is ‘The Almighty Defenders’. Everyone contributed and it’s a gospel-soaked gem. Should know more about these new records soon, and as soon as I do, I’ll post the info. Keep checking the Music section for new sounds.
More soon!
MARK

5 Comments

Well, I have finally consolidated all of this news. I’m pretty stoked about this coming year! Firstly, as Mark Sultan, I will be releasing my new album, entitled ‘$’ for some reason, on April 13th. I am really happy with it. It is another side of my stuff than what I write for KKBBQ. More band-like, first of all, but also following different tangents musically, while retaining my obvious love of rock’n’roll. I’m sure I’ll catch shit for it! It is coming out on Last Gang Records, who I think will help me concentrate on Canada more than I have been. It was odd switching from In The Red, but it has all been very confusing trying to separate myself from other projects while staying on the same label(s) and doing the same things. I think Last Gang will help me branch out and will change things up a bit. Nice folks! That all being said, my last 7” was released on In The Red about two months back. Two non-LP versions of ‘I Am The End’ and ‘Catastrophe’. ITR might also be releasing a ‘BBQ’ album in the summertime! Also as Mark Sultan, expect my contribution to a Nolan Strong tribute. I do ‘The Wind’. I am not sure when it comes out, but people like Demon’s Claws, Lenny Kaye, Wreckless Eric and Reigning Sound have all recorded songs for it.  On March 29th, you can also expect the release of ‘The Ding-Dongs’ self-titled LP on Norton Records. Bloodshot Bill meets BBQ!!! We originally recorded started recording this thing a year or two ago and finally finished it up a couple months back. Straight-up R’n’R / Rockabilly smashers! In about a month, I will be starting the next ‘Mark Sultan’ album, recording in Venice (Italy) at OutsideInside. I hope to complete the album in both Brazil and Israel in the following months. The King Khan & BBQ show will be recording a couple things next month at Moon Studios Berlin, including a song for a split 7” with our pals Fucked Up. In May, a few new songs in Paris with The Almighty Defenders. Lastly, the idea of writing, recording and singing on some songs with The Shrines has been bandied about. That’d be sweet.  

The Ding-Dongs:
http://www.myspace.com/officialdingdongs
2 new songs from the album up NOW!!! As well as some horrid pics! A promo video will be coming next week! This was the original cover… I think it has since changed:  



LP Tracklisting:  

Ding-Dong Party
Don’t Ring, Come On In
Until I Die
Come On Lil Dolly
She’s A Tiger
Woman Cops
Knock Me Down
You Better Hide
Military Mama
Worried Man
What’s That Sound?!?
Crazy Dreams
Last Laugh    

Mark Sultan:
A revamped Myspace page will be appearing soon. Until then enjoy ‘Status’ from the new album ‘$’ and an alternate version of ‘I Am The End’ (which appears on this single available on In The Red Records):

  

Also watch there or this website for a DUMB flash video game soon! http://www.myspace.com/marksultan

And here is a shot of the new album cover:  

(artwork by the awesome J. Kornder)

CD Tracklisting:  

01. Icicles
02. Donʼt Look Back
03. Ten of Hearts
04. Status
05. I Get Nothin From My Girl
06. Go Beserk
07. I Am the End
08. Miseryʼs Upon Us
09. Iʼll Be Lovinʼ You
10. Waiting For Me
11. Just to Hold You
12. Catastrophe
13. Nobody But You  

The CD’s ‘bonus track’ is the original ‘I’ll Be Lovin You’, which was later I later revamped to fit KKBBQ’s sound.  

The King Khan & BBQ Show:
Nothing particularly new… Except for some stills and a TAME rough-cut snippet from a long-lost video for ‘Invisible Girl’ which will come out soon!! It’s worth the wait!!!

(click on the picture below to view the snippet of the video)


Buy ‘Invisible Girl’ at In The Red Records:  



http://www.myspace.com/thekingkhanbbqshow 

The Almighty Defenders:
http://www.myspace.com/thealmightydefenders  


And now the tour dates and rough touring ideas! Unfortunately, I had to bow out of a US tour with The Black Lips this spring, but we will hopefully revisit this idea sometime soon:  

The King Khan & BBQ Show:  

09.Feb.10 Prinzenbar, Hamburg (Germany)  
10.Feb.10 Gleis 22, Munster (Germany)  
11.Feb.10 Trix, Antwerp (Belgium)  
12.Feb.10 DBs, Utrecht (Netherlands)  
13.Feb.10 Paradiso, Amsterdam (Netherlands)  
14.Feb.10 Le Tipi, Liege (Belgium) 
15.Feb.10 Le Grillen, Colmar (France)  
16.Feb.10 Point Ephemere, Paris (France)  
17.Feb.10 La Vapeur, Dijon (France)  
18.Feb.10 Le Rex, Toulouse (France)  
19.Feb.10 Le Transformateur, Fribourg (Switzerland)
20.Feb.10 St.Gervais - étage, Bienne/Biel (Switzerland)
22.Feb.10 B72, Vienna (Austria) 
23.Feb.10 Forum Stadtpark, Graz (Austria)  
24.Feb.10 59:1, Munich (Germany)  
25.Feb.10 Festsaal Kreuzberg, Berlin (Germany)  
24.March.10 Biltmore Cabaret. Vancouver (BC)    

Sled Island Festival, Primavera Festival and various mystery dates TBA SOON!    

BBQ (Mark Sultan):  

4.March.10 Pop Corn, Marghera (Italy)  
5.March.10 Spazio 211, Torino (Italy) w/ Mojomatics  
6.March.10 Officina 49. Cesena (Italy)  
10.March.10 TBA, Stockholm (Sweden)  
11.March.10 Truckstop Alaska, Goteborg (Sweden)  
12.March.10 Pub Babar, Tranas (Sweden)  
13.March.10 TBA  
15.March.10 TBA, Helsinki (Finland)
16.March.10 TBA, Finland  
17.March.10 House Of Rock. Moss (Norway)  
18.March.10 Bastard. Tromso (Norway)  
19.March.10 Hinsides. Bergen (Norway)  
20.March.10 TBA, Oslo (Norway)  
24.March.10 Broken City. Calgary (AB)  
26.March.10 Double Double Land. Toronto (ON)  
16.April.10 The Echo. Los Angeles (CA)  
19.April.10 Bottom Of The Hill. San Francisco (CA)  

Brazil April/May dates TBA SOON!
Spain, Italy, Turkey & Israel May/June dates TBA SOON!    

The Almighty Defenders:  

SOOO many tourdates to announce, but I will wait until everything is 100%. What I CAN say is to expect a European tour in May, a show at Primavera, a show at Sled Island and a smattering of surprise gigs. More on that later…  

The Ding-Dongs:  

It is quite possible that BBQBB will be playing some shows this summer!   Alright! Hope to see everyone at the upcoming shows. Find me on myspace if you wanna know about the upcoming online tshirt and merch stores for all of this stuff! COMING SOON!  

MARK

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