New York’s most influential avant-garde rock band Sonic Youth announced today that they will begin their summer tour with a show at the legendary New York City club CBGBs on June 13th. Sonic Youth spent much of the 80s performing at CBGBs and last played there in 1992. 25 years later the band returns to the site where it all began in support of their new Geffen Records CD Rather Ripped which will be released on June 13th.
Sonic Youth will continue their summer tour with various headlining dates, a stop at the Bonnaroo Arts & Music festival in Tennessee, west coast dates with Pearl Jam, Lollapalooza in Chicago, and will announce more late summer dates shortly. Joining the band on the road will be their touring bass player, Mark Ibold from Pavement.
Rather Ripped was recorded in the waning hours of 2005 into the dawn sunshine of 2006 at the venerable sear Sound studios in New York City. Partially mixed there and at Hoboken, NJ’s Water Music by John Agnello it exhibits Sonic Youth in positive vibration mode. Twelve songs of forward motion and harmonic /melodic surprise. Rather Ripped also see the band return to their nucleus formation of Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley.
Earlier this year saw the reissue of three of the most daring, innovative and compelling soundvisions in modern music--Sonic Youth’s landmark 1982 debut album, its legendary twisted pop opus under the pseudonym Ciccone Youth and band member Thurston Moore’s sole solo album.All remastered, Sonic Youth,. The Whitey Album and Moore’s Psychic Hearts were reissued by Geffen/UMe March 14, 2006