Mountain Jam 8 Lineup Announced
Steve Winwood and Gov't Mule head list of acts. Mountain Jam, the annual festival at the base of Hunter Mountain in
New York's Hudson Valley, has announced the lineup for its 8th year. The
four day music fest that Warren Haynes helps stage welcomes Steve
Winwood for the first time and welcomes back a number of favorites of
past Mountain Jams. Joining the Spencer Davis Group.
Traffic and Blind Faith veteran and the guitarist from the
Allman Brothers Band at the 8th Jam will be Ben Folds Five,
The Roots, Michael Franti & Spearhead, The Word, a
group that includes Robert Randolph, John Medeski of
Medeski, Martin & Wood and North Mississippi Allstars members,
Dawes, Guy Clark Jr. and more than two dozen other acts.
Mountain Jam 8 takes place May 31-June 3.
MountainJam.com
Buffett's Virtual Slice Of Paradise
Margaritaville Online game makes debut.
Parrotheads with iPads and Facebook accounts can now waste away day and
night in a virtual Margaritaville with the release of a
Jimmy Buffett themed freemium social game. Margaritaville Online
presents gamers with the means to collect incentives as they navigate
between palms and umbrella drinks in a world conjured by geeks in a Key West
state of mind. If the the
video trailer for the game is any indication, the avatars and settings
in this particular Margaritaville are totally tame in
appearance and behavior. Even the pirate depicted briefly doesn't appear to
have a single sinister or disheveled pixel in his body, so it looks like it
is designed for the mild rather than the wild Parrotheads. Maybe a future
spin-off will come along for people hoping to hang out all night with
characters like Hemmingway and Jack Sparrow.
PocketGamer.com
Springsteen US Dates Announced
19 Wrecking Ball Tour dates roll out. Bruce Springsteen has announced the opening round of US dates for his
next tour. Bruce and the E Street Band are expected to add
more North American dates after wrapping up a series of European concerts
and festival appearances during the summer months. The pre-European tour
concerts in the US will kick-off March 18 with an appearance at the Phillips
Arena in Atlanta, GA on March 18 (tickets on sale 2/4), and run through a
May 2 appearance at Newark's Prudential Center in his home state (on sale
Friday, 1/27). Other cities in the opening round of US dates include
Greensboro, NC (3/19), Tampa, FL (3/23), Boston (3/26), Philadelphia (3/28 &
29) Washington, DC (4/1), East Rutherford, NJ (4/3 & 4), New York City
(Madison Square Garden 4/4,6 & 9), Detroit (4/12), Buffalo (4/13), Albany,
NY (4/16), Cleveland (4/17), San Jose, CA (4/24) and the New Orleans Jazz &
Heritage Festival (4/29)
RollingStone.com
Crazy Horse Rocks Again
Neil Young reconvenes his backing band. Neil Young, who is reportedly close to ready to put out album with
his semi-regular backing band Crazy Horse, apparently plans to get
right to work on another album with the group. ThrashersWheat.org, a site
that keeps close tabs on Young, verified rumors that Neil
intends to do more work with the band he first hooked-up with at about the
time he was parting company with the Buffalo Springfield. In
the decades since, Young has recorded some or all of several projects
with Crazy Horse, including After The Goldrush,
Tonight's The Night and Rust Never Sleeps.
NME.com Music-News.com
Tyler's Anthem Another Boston Massacre?
Aerosmith front man struggles through Anthem.
It's a good thing Steven Tyler had forgiving hometown fans on his
side when he launched into a version of the Star Spangled Banner
that would probably have not gotten an American Idol contestant past
the preliminary talent screening. Yeah, it was cold, none of his band mates
were backing him and the song is a struggle for even the best of singers,
but Tyler's stab at the song before kick-off of the Ravens - Patriots
AFC title game Sunday
(1/22) had plenty of Aerosmith fans wincing and wondering.
One went so far as to suggest on Twitter that John Madden could have
done it better on harmonica - even if he played it through an orifice other
than his mouth!
You be the judge.
(Video)
UltimateClassicRock.com
Janis Joplin Re-Issue Doubles '70 Disc
Pearl expanded edition adds unreleased material. Janis Joplin did not live to see the release of Pearl,
the studio album that featured the former Big Brother & The Holding
Company leader with her new group the Full Tilit Boogie Band that
was released at the start of 1971. The album lead off with Move Over
and included her definitive version of the Kris Kristofferson song Me And Bobby Mcgee as well as the irreverent Mercedes Benz
and the songs Cry Baby, Get It While You Can and
Half Moon, a song co-penned by John Hall of Orleans.
On April 17 Legacy will introduce a double disc that includes studio
outtakes, alternate versions of some songs included on the original release,
a live version of Tell Mama and segments of dialog between
Joplin, band members and producer Paul Rothschild. Nine of the
songs on the collection have never been released before.
AntiMusic.com
Steven Tyler Buys Piece Of Paradise
Aerosmith front man drops $4.8 mil on Maui home. Steven Tyler has reportedly added a Maui retreat to his real estate
portfolio. The Aerosmith front man and American Idol judge,
who recently confirmed plans to marry his long-term girlfriend, Erin
Brady
(story),
is getting the 3k sq. ft. 2 bedroom home a million and a half less than what
it was listed for. The secluded home nestled in a hillside overlooking the
Pacific near Wailea includes an infinity pool and a wall within the home
that is an aquarium. Tyler will be performing with country star Carrie Underwood
for the filming of a CMT Crossroads special that will be televised
the day before the Super Bowl. WSJ.com TheBoot.com
Insurance Company Sues Neil Young LLC
Fire involving LincVolt car sparks lawsuit.
LincVolt. LLC, the outfit Neil Young created for his electric/biodiesel
hybrid conversion of a 1959 Lincoln Continental, is being sued by Unigard
Insurance over a 2010 fire in the warehouse the car was stored in
(story).
The $500,000 claim seeks compensation for the owner of the building in San
Carlos, California. The suit contends negligence on the part of LicVolt,
LLC for what it describes as '...an extreme departure from what a reasonably
careful person would do'. The 3 alarm fire in the early morning hours of
Nov. 9 damaged the experimental car and destroyed a considerable amount of
Young memorabilia along with several of his guitars and amps.
MercuryNews.com
Guitar Greats To Honor Blues Man
Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck Beck and more volunteer.
Blues man Hubert Sumlin passed away in early December. While the
name might not be widely recognized outside of Blues circles, Sumlin
was revered by a lot of household name guitar greats and band members.
Keith Richards and Mick Jagger stepped-up to insist that the
Rolling Stones cover the expense of providing first class funeral for
Sumlin (story).
On February 24, the Apollo Theater in New York will host a tribute to
Sumlin that is attracting plenty of six string masters, among them
Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Derek
Trucks, Doyle Bramhall and Guy Clark Jr. They will be
joined by Dr. John, Levon HelmIvan Neville, with many
more expected to be announced soon.
WheresEric.com
Roger Waters Married For 4th Time
Pink Floyd veteran weds in quiet ceremony.
A seven + year engagement finally moved to the next level Saturday
(1/14)
when Roger Waters married long term partner Laurie Durning in
a small ceremony on Long Island. The Pink Floyd bass player revealed
the news during an interview with Howard Stern on Wednesday (1/18).
The marriage is the fourth for the Floyd veteran. Waters also
revealed that he is considering a musical based on the 1979 Wall album - something he says requires a good deal of thought because of the
complexity of staging something so large scale in the relatively tight
confines of the average musical theater. As for prospects that the
remaining members of Floyd will perform together again, Waters
said, 'I don't think David (Gilmour) is interested
in doing anything', and added 'It's not acrimony that prevents us
from getting together and doing it... we've got some cash , we don't have to
do it. And so it's like 'Is this what you really want to spend your time
doing? And the answer certainly from my point of view is no'.
Spinner.com
Rock Hall Announces Grateful Dead Exhibit
Special exhibit honoring SF band opens April 12.
The Rock Hall Of Fame inductions are actually slated to take place in
Cleveland this year and the museum announced that the induction week will
also feature the opening of its latest special exhibit - Grateful
Dead: The Long, Strange Trip. The Hall's Jim Henke says the
exhibit will convey a sense of why the Dead transcended the
limitations of being just a band and '...wrote their own rules and
created a community unlike any band before or sense' - (Phish and
NIN fans may take issue).
The exhibit will include original album cover and poster art, manuscripts
from classic songs, a portion of the group's famous 'Wall Of Sound' PA
system, unusual artifacts including notes written by audience tape guru
Dick Latvala, GD items from the collection of the late Owsley 'Bear'
Stanley, drums and keyboards used on tour and 5 Jerry Garcia
guitars and two belonging to Bob Weir.
The Mickey Hart Band will perform at the exhibit opening event on
Wednesday, April 11. The exhibit opens to the public the following day.
PRNewswire
Legal Fallout Escalates Over U2 Project
Producers file suit against Spider-Man director Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark has managed to become a SRO
Broadway success story despite the unprecedented technical and financial
problems it encountered during its long slog to an opening. While the
musical still has to run for years before turning a profit for investors,
the extravagant musical has been drawing packed houses, even though many
critics had little good to say about it. Even if investors fail to recoup
their investment dollars, lawyers look to make plenty of money over the
jousting going on between the producers and the production's former
director, Julie Taymour. Taymour, who is credited with much of
the success of The Lion King, was dismissed from the project months
before its opening. She later filed suit claiming those responsible for her
dismissal had fabricated allegations about her in order to oust her from the
production and that they violated her creative rights by using many of her
ideas in the final production without compensating her. Now, producers of
the musical featuring music composed by Bono and The Edge of
U2 have initiated a counter suit against Taymour, claiming
that she 'Refused to develop a musical that followed the original,
family-friendly Spider-Man story' and calling Taymour's story
line 'hallucinogenic'.
BBC.com
Sammy Blows Off Van Halen Song
Count the Red Rocker as unimpressed with new song.
The only lasting impression Tattoo, the new song from Van
Halen, seems to have made on former lead singer Sammy Hagar is a
negative one. Asked about the advance song from the new Van Halen
album A Different Kind Of Truth
(2/7), The Red Rocker remarked 'I personally don't think
that what they have just released, what I have seen and heard, is that great
at all', and goes on to tell Cack Blabbath, 'It should be
better than it is... God bless them but I was expecting a lot more.'
Hagar, currently on a brief tour of Europe promoting his band
Chickenfoot, also promised not to ever perform any of the songs he
recorded with VH with his current group.
HenneMusic.com
Mellencamp Pays Tribute To The Greatest
Performs at 70th birthday event fore Mohammad Ali.
The image of Mohammad Ali in his prime is indelibly etched in the
mind of anyone who saw him in the ring in his prime. His devastating
combination of speed, power and cunning will likely never be seen in the
ring again. His outspokenness on discrimination, Vietnam War and other
issues on the front burner of society at the time he was heavy weight
champion of the world also made him a figure whose influence gained him
attention from supporters and detractors with little or no interest in the
sport he dominated. John Mellencamp qualifies as someone who
appreciated Ali for what he accomplished both in and out of the ring.
Mellencamp's son, Huck, is an accomplished and ranked boxer
(story),
and John himself has never flinched about speaking out and performing
on behalf of causes he believes in. So it was fitting that Mellencamp
would be invited to entertain the great boxer and the 350 invited guests at
the center named in the fighter's honor in Louisville, KY over the weekend.
We haven't found anyone spilling details about what John played or
had to say, but will pass it along if we come across it.
IrishTimes.com
Joe Perry Does Double Duty On Leno Show
Aerosmith guitarist with Tyler and another Idol judge. The Tonight Show With Jay Leno gets American Idol
judges Stephen Tyler and Randy Jackson backed by Tyler's
Aerosmith band mate Joe Perry on Friday night
(1/20).
The unlikely combination comes on the week Idol launches its new season and
suggests that Perry has gotten over his resentment about Tyler
letting the TV talent show trump his commitment to Aerosmith. Guess
the 200+% spike in Aerosmith album and digital download sales since
Tyler landed a judging seat on the show made forgiving him a lot
easier for Perry. Joe will be back in the late night musical
guest slot with the NBC comedian on Monday, Jan. 30 to perform Man Of
Peace in support of Amnesty International.
Blabbermouth.net
Springsteen Comes Through At Benefit
Makes 9th appearance for Light Of Day concert. Bruce Springsteen continued to be a reliable artist for the
Light Of Day cause when he appeared at the Paramount Theater in
Asbury Park, NJ Saturday night
(1/14),
making it the ninth time he has performed in the twelve years the event to
raise money to fight Parkinson's Disease has been held. The concerts, which
began in smaller clubs but shifted to the theater after Springsteen's
regular appearances drove ticket demand through the roof, have been nearly
instant sell-outs. Last night's was no exception. The official lineup
included Southside Johnny, Garland Jeffreys and David
Bromberg, but the clamor for tickets based on expectations that Bruce
would perform left hundreds of fans willing to pay hundreds for tickets
out in the cold. Those lucky enough to get in got quite an evening of music
even before The Boss came out during Willie Nile's set to join
him on the song One Guitar. Nile was followed by
Southside Johnny And The Poor Fools, an outfit that included E
Street Band violinist Soozie Tyrell. Springsteen took the
stage on his own for an acoustic version of Incident On 57th Street
and then turned things over to Joe Gruschecky and David
Bromberg before reappearing to join Grushecky and his
Houserockers on Darkness On The Edge Of Town. A dozen more
songs followed, including Adam Raised A Cain, Johnny 99,
Because The Night, The Promised Land, Thunder Road
and Light Of Day (with E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg)
in a set that did not wrap up until after 2am. (Videos)
WickedLocal.com RollingStone.com
Styx Picks Up Pace In 2012
Veteran band back with DVD, Tour & TV. Styx is gearing up to make 2012 a busy year. A Grand
Illusion/Pieces Of Eight live DVD is due out Jan 31. The first
month of the new year also finds the Mid West arena rock veterans featured
in a pair of TV specials. The one that airs Sunday
(1/15)
features figure skaters including Johnny Weir and Nancy Kerrigan
doing their thing on ice to the music of Styx. The following Sunday
(1/22), HDNet channel will broadcast a 2006 concert the band recorded
in a performance with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra of Cleveland
in 2006. The first leg of the band's 2012 road schedule opens Saturday
(1/14)
in Ft. Worth, Texas for a 13 date run that concludes in Silver Springs,
Florida on March 10.
UltimateClassicRock.com
Springsteen Lashing Out?
Reports of an angry Boss emerging.
The growing disparity in opportunity and income in the US is weighing on
Bruce Springsteen according to a source that claims to have heard some
of the new material on what will be Bruce's next album. A
Hollywood Reporter account on the as yet untitled album says it will
make an angry statement about corporate greed and governmental indifference
to the plight increasing numbers of Americans confront. Describing the
songs on the album as including, 'unexpected textures - loops, electronic
percussion' and a range of influences involving everything from hip-hop
to traditional Irish folk, the album sounds to be a departure that many
Springsteen and E Street Band fans may find challenging to warm
to. There is a good chance that we'll learn more about the album and
possibly hear it around the time that The Boss delivers the keynote
address to musicians and industry types at the SXSW music conference
in Austin, TX on March 15.
Billboard.com
