By Eric Lochridge

If Elton John and Taylor Swift aren’t exactly up your alley, the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center has just announced a concert that should do the trick.
Alternative-rocker act The Offspring will perform at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 26, in the Ice Arena at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.
Tickets for the concert, which includes openers Alkaline Trio and Street Dogs, go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, April 3. Floor admission is $39.50, and balcony seating is $29.50.
They are available at the civic center box office, The Silverado in Deadwood, by phone at 605-394-4111 or 1-800-GOT-MINE, or online at www.gotmine.com.

By Eric Lochridge

Pearl Jam reissued its seminal debut album “Ten” this week. The “Legacy Edition” I downloaded from iTunes includes the remastered version of the 1991 album and version remixed last year by Brendan O’Brien. There are several other variations in formats and bonus extras available, including vinyl copies.

The original mix had the songs drenched in reverb. The new O’Brien mix lifts that and brings a stunning clarity to some of my all-time favorite songs. “Ten” is among the albums — along with Nirvana’s “Nevermind — that sparked the Seattle grunge revolution in the early 1990s.

By Eric Lochridge

The recent release of Spearfish trio Violent Hippie’s debut CD, “Smokethisbaby,” comes after months of soul searching in the wake of the death of the band’s drummer.
Shawn Funk was killed Sept. 11 when his car collided with a horse on the roadway.
With “Smokethisbaby” nearly finished, the other two members of the band, Chris Cady and Tom Gorder, were at a loss over what the band’s next step should be.
“That night I had brought the final mix home from the studio,” Cady said.
But with the band’s future suddenly in limbo, taking time to grieve a friend took precedence over deciding whether to proceed with the CD or with the same moniker.
“There was definitely back and forth on it,” Cady said. “I really still wanted to press this CD. Our plans were kind of to release it in the fall and do some support touring on it.”
Ultimately, Cady and Gorder saw some signs that told them to continue.
A primary factor was how Funk’s family felt.
“Shawn’s parents are more than behind us on it,” Cady said. “Shawn was all about the music, and he wouldn’t want us to stop. He was a pretty passionate person when it came to the arts.”
Then, Cady and Gorder unexpectedly found themselves with a new drummer.
“We just kind of fell into meeting this kid, Jeff Ringle,” Cady said. Ringle had helped the band out with some shows and expressed a willingness to commit to the band.
“Me and Tom decided that we still wanted to press this CD,” Cady said. “And Jeff’s more than willing to do a full-time commitment with it. We’ll see where the next year takes us.”
The immediate future looks promising. “Smokethisbaby” features all-new material, no holdovers from either of Cady’s last two bands, Sweatband and Brother Otis — although the signature sound is intact.
“I’m digging it,” Cady said. “We had a lot of fun doing it. I think you can hear that on the CD. We wanted to keep it fairly raw and keep it true to the three-piece sound.”
Fifty percent of the lifetime proceeds from sales of the CD will go to the Shawn P. Funk Art Foundation. Violent Hippie’s next local shows will be at 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 3 and 4, at the Back Porch in Spearfish.

Call Eric Lochridge at 394-8321 or e-mail eric.lochridge@rapidcityjournal.com.

By Eric Lochridge

The Journal is looking for a few Elton John superfans to talk to for a story about the rock icon’s upcoming concert in Rapid City. E-mail Eric Lochridge at eric.lochridge@rapidcityjournal.com or call 394-8321.

By Todd Williams

It’s always been a question of mine. How is it that some folks, even one’s with immense talent and who unabashedly refuse over-production (ahem, Paul Westerberg) manage only to put out an album every so many years and other folks, such as Ryan Adams, put out multiple albums in a single year.
You can claim quality, but it took Guns ‘N Roses about 15 years to bring “Chinese Democracy” into being, and although it isn’t the worst thing I’ve ever heard, it certainly isn’t a masterpiece.
And then, there’s the peculiar case of Jack White. White isn’t content just to put out multiple albums in one year, he has to now have multiple bands as well. Already the driving force behind the White Stripes and a key member of the much beloved Racounteurs, White has unveiled his hand in a third band, The Dead Weather.
All I can say is, wowza. I can’t wait to hear what they sound like.