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JANUARY - MARCH 2009 |
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JANUARY 2009
ROCKinsights™
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1/4/2009
New Notes |
John Lennon MBE
Forty years ago, the
MBE (Most
Excellent Award of the British Empire) the Queen presented John Lennon
in 1965 was returned to Buckingham Palace with a note from Lennon protesting
UK involvement in Africa, its support of the Vietnam War and... "against
Cold Turkey slipping down the charts". For years, according to a story
by clickliverpool.com, the award and note were stored in a cabinet of the
Royal Household and are now in a vault inside St. James' Palace.
The Liverpool Beatles Appreciation Society is mounting an effort to
have the award displayed for the public on the mantle it once occupied in a
house Lennon lived in with an aunt or at a new Liverpool Museum.
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1/5/2008
New Notes |
Sundance Premier For Doors Movie
Doors drummer Ray
Manzarek promises that When You're Strange is a much more legit
look at the Doors than the Oliver Stone feature film, which Mazarek
dismissed as "Oliver Stone in leather pants". Director Tom DiCillo's
determination to make his Rockumentary about the short-lived but prolific
group the real deal earned him access to plenty of previously unavailable
footage, including private moments. The first screening comes at
the Sundance Film Festival January 17.
A soundtrack is expected once the film goes into wider distribution later
this year. |
1/5/2008
New Notes |
Free Beatle Downloads Halted
Optimism that Beatle songs would finally be
added to iTunes got zapped near year's end when talks on terms apparently
stalled. A Norwegian web operator thought his site could legally fill
the breach thanks to a waiver on download restrictions on songs in streamed
programs if music does not exceed 70% of the overall content. It turns out
there were other licensing issues that would have made only lawyers happy,
so the plug on the plan was pulled.
Learn more here. |
1/6/2008
New Notes |
Aerosmith Ready to Rock
A brief New Year
greeting from Joey Kramer and Tom Hamilton on the
Aerosmith web site hints that the band plans to convene soon to start
work on its 15th studio album. The stick man raved about the 2 hours
he and Hamilton spent playing together yesterday
(1/5),
and said he can't wait for the whole band to get together in the studio and
on the road. During Aerosmith down time, Kramer and Hamilton keep
their edge playing with some of Beantown's best, including members of the
J. Geils Band and blues harp master James Montgomery.
1/7/2008 |
1/7/2008
New Notes |
John Fogerty Virtual Guitar Lesson
Apple's '09 edition of GarageBand includes a
feature that offers guitar and keyboard lessons. In addition to nine
free sessions on each, aspiring players willing to pay an additional $4.99
per lesson can get virtual instruction from a roster of stars, among them
former Creedence Clearwater Revival leader John Fogerty
and Police front man Sting. GarageBand '09 is included in the
iLife suite of applications from Apple. 1/7/2008 |
1/7/2008
New Notes |
Manager Renews and Dismisses Zeppelin Rumors
One of the bigger Rock rumors of
late last year got new legs with comments made by Q Prime management's
Peter Mensch to BBC Music 6. Mensch, whose firm
represents Jimmy Page, defended the notion that the guitarist and bass
player have every right to tour and record without Robert Plant if
the lead singer chooses to hold out against the plan. While he avoided
the mine field over what name they would use, he left little doubt that he
believed it will happen, saying "John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page
enjoy playing with each other and Jason Bonham is a really
good drummer so why not? We just need to find a singer", a process he
said would be "...long and difficult". He did an about face
in a subsequent interview with Music Radar, saying "The whole thing
is completely over..." and claimed there are "...no plans for them to
continue. Zero."
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1/8/2008
New Notes |
LincVolt Enters Efficiency Contest
Neil Young loves big, comfortable cars so much that he
couldn't resist demonstrating that a colossal car that consumed enough fuel
to drain entire oil fields could be
converted into one of the most energy efficient cars in the world.
Meet the
LincVolt. Nearly 20 feet
long, the 1959 Chrysler Lincoln Continental is one of the biggest
cars Detroit ever produced. It is also sure to dwarf other contenders
for the
Auto X Prize, a competition with a 10 million dollar prize for the most
energy efficient car. Open to vehicles capable of running at the
equivalent of 100 miles per gallon, the Auto X Prize will conduct qualifying
later this year. The winner will be announced after a transcontinental
run from California to Washington in 2010.
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1/9/2009
New Notes |
Van Halen Cars On Auction Block
Eddie Van Halen wants someone with more time to drive them to own a
couple of his favorite cars.
Barrett-Jackson will auction 2 1956 Chevy's owned by the VH
guitarist in Scottsdale, Arizona. High bidders on the Chevy 210
and Nomad also get EVH Wolfgang® Guitars. According to
Barrett-Jackson and the
Van Halen web sites, the 210 is a custom built Pro Street rod with a 454
big block that produces 600+horsepower. The guitarist says "...of all
the cars I have owned over the years, I hung onto the '56 Sedan and Nomad
because I was closely involved in restoring and building them, so they are
very special to me. |
1/10/2009
New Notes |
Two Busted In Gregg Allman House Burglary
A 26 year old man and 18 year old woman face
charges of stealing items from Gregg Allman's home south of Savannah,
Georgia. The Savannah Morning News reports that two safes
containing collectable coins and
a pistol were taken from the home on December 27, along with some concert
recordings. All items except the gun were recovered. Gregg was
in New York at the time of the burglary. |
1/11/2009
New Notes |
Styx Helps Steelers Seal Deal With Two
Anthems
For years, the Pittsburgh
Steelers have blasted Renegade by Styx from the PA at
Heinz Field to work fans into a frenzy. The team amped it up for
the playoff game Sunday (1/11)
against the Chargers by having Tommy Shaw and the band on hand
to do it live during half time. The group also handled the National
Anthem before kickoff. Frigid temperatures, a smothering Pittsburgh
defense, Ben Roethlisberger, Styx and the raucous crowd were
too much for the Chargers. The
Steelers won convincingly in a game not nearly as close as the 35-24
final score. |
1/11/2009
New Notes |
Springsteen Wrestler Song Scores Golden
Globe
Mickey Rourke knew just the
guy to pen a great song for his movie about a hard luck wrestler, so he
called his friend Bruce Springsteen to ask if he would do it.
Tonight (1/11),
Bruce rose from the table he and Rourke shared at the Golden Globe Awards
in Hollywood to accept the top honor for Best Original Song in a motion
picture from Sting. In accepting, Bruce gave all
the credit to Rourke and passed along hish happy birthday
wishes to E Street Band sax man Clarence Clemons. Peter
Gabriel, nominated for his contribution to the animated hit movie
Wall-E, also attended the awards. |
1/12/2009
New Notes |
Foreclosure on Black Crowe House
The Stamford Advocate
reports that a house Black Crowes founding member Rich Robinson
owned in the New York City suburb of Fairfield County went into foreclosure
Saturday (1/10).
The 6500+ square foot English Tudor style
home in North Stamford, Connecticut was valued just over 1 million dollars
had almost half that amount in tax liens according to the
article. The home was bought by Robinson and his former wife Emma
5 years ago.
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1/12/2009
New Notes |
Mellencamp, Springsteen & Bono in DC 1-18
The lineup of entertainers
confirmed for the giant celebration in Washington the Sunday before the
44th President takes office will include John Mellencamp, Bono, Bruce
Springsteen and James Taylor. The Inaugural
Committee announcement Monday (1/12) also confirmed that HBO will
provide coverage of the event, which will be staged before the Lincoln
Memorial for a crowd expected to number in the hundreds of thousands.
Grateful Dead members are slated to play the election day Mid-Atlantic
Inaugural Ball Tuesday, and will be joining the Derek Trucks Band,
Warren Haynes of the Allman Brothers Band and Gov't Mule
at that event. |
1/13/2009
New Notes |
Raising Green To Promote Going Green
Allman Brothers Band and Rolling Stones
keyboard player Chuck Leavell plays the blues and thinks green.
He and Joel Babbit got the attention of a major financial web site
when they collecting over 10 million dollars to finance a web site focusing
on environmental initiatives. Leavell tells Bloomberg.com that
one mission of the
Mother Nature Network
is to raise awareness of programs and projects that do a good
job presenting green ideas in terms people who "...are not scientists or
experts" can understand. |
1/13/2009
New Notes |
Cheap Trick To Tackle Beatle Classic On
Strip
If things stay on track, Cirque's
Love will have company recreating Beatle classics in Las Vegas.
Reviewjournal.com says Cheap Tick is being inked to a long-term
commitment by the Las Vegas Hilton for performances of Sgt. Pepper's.
First to last note concerts showcasing the 1967 album with which the
Beatles again recharted the course of Rock could begin as soon as
March and continue throughout the year.
Some will dismiss it as, well, a cheap trick, but a true appreciation of the
Beatles came through in a lot of Cheap Trick songs, so don't discount
the ability of Robin Zander and Rick Nielson to do an
impressive job if this comes together.
MORE
CHEAP TRICK INSIGHTS
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1/14/2009
New Notes |
Jeff Beck Gains Rock Hall of Fame Nod
Enshrined as a member of the
Yardbirds in 1992, guitarist Jeff Beck enters the
Rock Hall of Fame on April 4, 2009 as a solo artist. Beck
replaced
Eric Clapton in the Yardbirds early in 1966, but left after a
short time to join forces with Rod Stewart in the Jeff Beck
Group. Stewart signed a solo contract in '69 and later joined
Ron Wood in the Faces, while Beck withdrew from the scene before
returning to record a series of outstanding solo projects, starting with the
1975 tour de force
Blow By Blow. Gaining entrance with the guitar great will be
Metallica, Bobby "It's All Over Now" Womack, Little Anthony & The
Imperials and in a move sure to continue the Hall's tradition of
angering rock purists,
Run DMC.
A Bruce Springsteen exhibit From Asbury Park To The Promised Land
opens at the Hall at the start of April./2009
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1/15/2009
New Notes |
Nick Mason Stops Traffic In London
One fast car brought thousands to a standstill in
London yesterday (1/15)
as Nick Mason drove
the car crowned "world's greatest race car" in a
recent poll to the Royal Auto Club.
iolmotoring.co.za has the story about the Pink Floyd
drummer's drive through London in the Maserati 250F. The
Italian classic was nominated for the Octane Magazine poll by racing
great Sterling Moss, who drove one to victories in both the Monaco
and the Italian Grand Prix in 1956. Mason, a car
fanatic in his own right,
recently gave a few of his favorites some exercise on an English
track.
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1/15/2009
New Notes |
Serious Knee Problem Sidelines Joe Perry
Joe Perry had knee
replacement surgery about a year ago to relieve a chronic orthopedic problem.
Today (1/15)
the Aerosmith web site reported the guitarist underwent emergency
surgery in Boston because of what the site calls "unforeseen complications"
related to the original surgery. Earlier, the Venezuelan newspaper El Universal ran
a story saying
the promoter of a festival Aerosmith was scheduled to play in Caracas
on the opening day
of February was notified the band had to cancel. With Perry
out of action, Aerosmith looks to be on hold indefinitely. |
1/16/2009
New Notes |
Mott the Hoople Returns
Ian Hunter
is confirming a plan to reunite the original
lineup of his influential early 70's band Mott The Hoople.
After four albums, Mott the
Hoople was on the verge of calling it quits in 1972 when friend and fan
David Bowie gave them All The Young Dudes to record. The
single became a sensation, and the band held together until Mick Ralphs
left to sign on with Bad Company at the start of 1974 and Ian
Hunter and left to form a duo with Mick Ronson, who had joined
Mott just a few months earlier. The band has a couple of London
shows in the works for the fall. Hunter says on his
web site "...I'm doing it just to see what it's
like. Short of war, death, famine etc. ...it's ON." |
1/16/2009
New Notes |
Bail-Out Blues Inspire New Neil
Young Song
You didn't think a multi-billion
dollar boondoggle like phase one of the 'economic stabilization' program
would get a free pass from Rock's version of Michael Moore, did you?
The new song Fork In the Road
is Neil Young's commentary on the mess.
Watch the video.
The Canadian Press says an official from Warner-Reprise
confirms the song is the title track to a new album the label expects to
release March 31 - and it will result in another delay for the looooong anticipated
Archives box set, which had been slated for release Feb. 24.
Billboard confirms that Neil
contributes axe work to several songs on a new release from soul icon
Booker T Jones due out in the spring.
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1/17/2009
New Notes |
Astral Weeks East
The Hollywood Bowl Astral Weeks
concerts Van Morrison performed in
November left audiences and critics in awe. Even those expecting
to be impressed were blown away - and the notoriously demanding
Morrison was so happy with the shows that he made certain the
live CD (Feb 10) has absolutely no post production tweaks or overdubs.
East coast fans get the chance to experience Astral Weeks live
Feb. 27 & 28 when Van brings the show to The Theater at Madison
Square Garden. Those not lucky enough to score the hottest ticket
of the year so far can wait for the DVD, due later in the year.
1/17/2009
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1/18/2009
New Notes |
Ground Control To Bowie Imposter
A Twitter post purporting to be from
David Bowie in 'snowy Berlin' where he was supposedly working on a new
album has been shot down by his
web site. DavidBowie.com
says he doesn't have a Twitter account - and also
discredits rumors that Bowie would perform Ziggy Stardust at
Coachella in April. While
Rock's 'Thin White Duke' won't be at the California festival, Roger
Waters apparently will. According to the festival site, Waters
will do Dark Side Of The Moon on the closing day
of the event.
Bowie recently
put together iSelect Bowie, a
compilation of personal favorite songs from his albums. His last disc
of new material was Reality, released in
2003. |
1/18/2009
New Notes |
Inaugural Festivities Amp Up Capitol
Bundled, hooded and huddled, the masses defied bitter cold
and wind to gather in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington this afternoon
(1/18). Brief but inspirational
performances from Bruce Springsteen, U2, John Mellencamp and Stevie Wonder
highlighted the event. With the Lincoln statue and a red robed gospel
choir behind him and the president elect in front, Springsteen launched into The Rising. He and Pete Seeger later got massive crowd
to join in on Woody Guthrie's This Land Is Your Land. U2
chose Pride (In The Name Of Love), with its Martin Luther King
reference generating a roar from the crowd. Mellencamp offered up
Pink Houses and Stevie Wonder
helped the throng ward off hypothermia with a rousing version of Higher
Ground. 1/18/2009 |
1/21/2009
New Notes |
Joe Perry Recovering From Surgery
The Aerosmtith guitarist
sends word from the hospital via
Aeroforce One that he is doing well bouncing back from his recent
emergency
knee surgery in Boston. Perry says he won't let being on
crutches prevent him from getting into the studio as soon as possible with
his band mates to start the new Aerosmith album, and he looks forward
to getting back on his motorcycle and on stage in the summer without the
pain he has endured for the past couple of years.
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1/21/2009
New Notes |
New President Up Late With The Dead
The line-up of Grateful Dead
members that opens the
Evening With The Dead tour in mid-April rocked the newly elected
president and guests at the Mid-Atlantic Inaugural Ball.
Relix has details on the seven song performance, which paused after
four tunes for VP Joe Biden to greet the crowd. The President
took the stage to speak after Box Of Rain. Phil Lesh
managed to work in a DC performance to help Minnesota Democrat Al Franken
off-set costs of the recount and expected legal challenge to his
declared victory in a Senate seat race.
1/2009 |
1/22/2009
New Notes |
Wrestler Title Song Out Of Oscar
Contention
The Academy's decision this
morning (1-22)
to leave the Golden Globe winning song by Bruce Springsteen
off the list of nominees in the Best Music (Song) category gives Peter
Gabriel a 1 in 3 chance to win with Down To Earth from Wall-E.
That's right, According to the Academy's web site, there are only three
contenders. Hardly seems like Bruce got left off the card due to
space, which makes his song's absence seem even more like a slam. That could
make Mickey Rourke's acceptance remarks for any award he might land
at the February 22 ceremony (ABC) more interesting. |
1/22/2009
New Notes |
U2 Song Out
The full disc won't drop until
March 3 in the US and the first song from No Line On the Horizon
wasn't supposed to be available for weeks
(Feb. 15),
but
Get On Your Boots has been turned loose early.
Meantime, a Prefixmag.com report
says a duo that released an obscure album a couple of years ago using the
same photo by Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto is
objecting to U2's use of the picture. |
1/23/2009
New Notes |
Behind The Scenes At Woodstock
Michael Lang, an organizer of the defining
musical event of its era, will let readers experience the original
Woodstock Festival from his unique perspective in a new book due out a
month before the event's 40th anniversary this summer. Ecco, a
division of Harper/Collins, will publish The Road To Woodstock on
July 14.
The oral history includes his account of a forerunner to Woodstock Lang
helped stage, the Miami Pop Festival, which included performaces by
Jimi Hendrix, Steppenwolf, Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention, Blue Cheer
and others. |
1/23/2009
New Notes |
Faces Reunion Update
The idea of Rod Stewart
rocking with Ian McLagan, Ron Wood & Kenny Jones instead of crooning
with a string section got people excited when reports surfaced
last November that Stewart was up for
a Faces reunion
. News of the reunion
was scarce until this week, when a London newspaper site reported Stewart & Wood had written enough songs for an album
while traveling together over the holidays. That story is being
dismissed as rubbish by a lot of people in the know, including Ian McLagan
who sends word that "The
rehearsals were a lot of fun, everybody was in fine form, but nothing's
happened since November. Don't believe anything you read about an album in
the works, or a tour being planned.... I'll be happy to announce good news,
or any news, if and when there is some.”
McLagan is currently on tour in Europe
with
James McMurtry and will open a side
tour with his own band Feb. 21 in Memphis. 1
/17/2009 |
1/24/2009
New Notes |
J. Geils Band Reunion
It could turn out to be just a one-off, but blues-rockers in Beantown are
jacked up about the J Geils Band getting back together to
play an opening
party for the new Boston House Of Blues. Boston.com has confirmed
the group's show
February 19, the night before the official opening date for the new 2,400
capacity club in the shadow of Fenway Park on Lansdowne Street.
Having replacement doors ready would be a good idea - because these guys are
sure to blow them off!
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1/24/2009
New Notes |
McCartney Scheduled For Colbert Report
Paul McCartney
is slated to appear on the Comedy
Central late night Colbert Report Wednesday,
1/28.
McCartney's recent album Electric Arguments was released under the
name The Firemen. The use of an alias was easy to understand given
how little anything on it sounded anything like the Beatles, Wings
or his solo albums. If Colbert shares the opinion of a lot of
people about the sound of The Firemen, Paul might think about wearing
an asbestos suit. The show airs at 11:30 Eastern, following The
Daily Show With John Stewart. |
1/25/2009
New Notes |
Red Rocker Suing Developer
A suit filed by Red Head Inc.,
the business that handles Cabo Wabo Cantina affairs for
Sammy Hagar, is taking the developer
and operator of the Fresno, California Cabo franchise to court claiming "mismanagement". The
Fresno Bee reports through its web site that the nearly 80 page suit
contends that the conduct of the defendant has damaged the Cabo Wabo
brand and "the name and likeness of Sammy Hagar"
Hagar issued a release in December saying he cancelled the lease with
Fresno Rock Taco LLC due to breach of agreement. The club
continued to operate as The Barrel Room, but is now closed "for remodeling"
and has "postponed" concerts by Eddie Money and Elvin Bishop.
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1/28/2009
New Notes |
38 Special Rocks Media Party
Things couldn't have been better
for 38 Special Wednesday night
(1/27). The band was rocking the
kind of packed house you would expect for a free concert with an open bar
and several dozen Hooters Girls making the rounds with drink trays.
The scene was the NFL Super Bowl Media Party at Tampa's
Cuban Club.
Everything would change a few hours later when band members learned of the
death in Florida of close friend and Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboard player
Billy Powell (story below). |
1/28/2009
New Notes |
Skynyrd's Billy Powell Dies
According to reports in the
Florida Times Union, keyboard player Billy Powell of Lynyrd
Skynyrd passed away soon after placing a 911 call from his condominium
in Orange Lake, Florida just after midnight
(1/28). Although the cause of
death has not been determined, Powell evidently was aware of possible heart
trouble. According to paper's web site, a police official said Powell
had an appointment with a cardiologist scheduled for Monday but did not keep
it. The Skynyrd web site is confirming Powell's passing.
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1/28/2009
New Notes |
More Rockers Sign On For Oscars
Don't count on Bruce
Springsteen accepting an invite to perform at the Academy Awards after
his title song for The Wrestler got
passed over when nominations for Best Song were passed out, but there
will be some rockers on stage that night. U2, Robert Plant and
Paul McCartney have reprotedly agreed to perform at the awards
ceremony Sunday, Feb. 8 (8pm Eastern,
CBS).
Plant will team with Alison Krauss. Their collaboration,
Raising Sand, was nominated for 5 Grammys. McCartney has
enlisted Foo Fighter Dave Grohl to play with him at the ceremony, and Bono &
company will likely showcase something from
No Line On The Horizon, the U2 studio album slated for
release March 3. |
1/28/2009
New Notes |
Mountain Jam Adds Allman Brothers Band
Gov't Mule, the band
fronted by Allmans guitarist Warren Haynes, has been a mainstay of
the festival from the start. Haynes signed on as a co-presenter this
year, and brings the Allman Brothers Band to the party - fitting for
an event that shares its name with the epic instrumental from the band's
1972 double album
Eat A Peach. Tickets are on sale for the fifth edition of the
festival, May 29-31
at Hunter Mountain ski area (map),
near Tannersville, New York. Joining Gov't Mule and the Allman
Brothers in the
Mountain Jam lineup are Derek Trucks, Ray Lamontagne, Richie
Havens and dozens of other acts.
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1/29/2009
New Notes |
Dead Spread Video Tour Preview
Depending on who you ask, You
Tube is a great or terrible thing for music. Fans love it,
while most people 'in the biz' see it as a threat to maintaining creative
control over what gets released. Some bands realize that they
can use it to their advantage as a
virtually no-cost way to direct connect with fans. A
You Tube posting about
the Dead reunion concert and their upcoming tour is a great example of how
the medium can be an ally of musicians.
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1/30/2009
New Notes |
Aerosmith Bass Player Guitar Hero To Kids
Tom Hamilton wants to get to work
on the new Aerosmith album as soon as Joe Perry rebounds from
his recent
emergency surgery. The Aeromsith bass player is putting some of
the down time to good use. The Boston Herald reports Hamilton
and his wife visited the Franciscan Hospital for Children to give
patients autographed copies of the new Guitar Hero release. The
couple is also donating a week's use of a vacation home they own to an
auction being conducted to benefit the hospital.
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FEBRUARY 2009 ROCKinsights™ |
2/1/2009
New Notes |
Clapton On Manfred Mann Singer's Project
Starting All Over Again, a new album from
Paul Jones due March 10, includes guitar work from Eric Clapton
on two tracks. Jones was lead vocalist for Manfred Mann during
the British Invasion period and sang several of their biggest songs,
including Do Wah Diddy, Come Tomorrow and Pretty Flamingo.
He recorded a few solo projects after leaving the group in 1966, and
later acted in film, television and on stage.
The album is produced by Carla Olson, who has worked with John
Fogerty, Don Henley, Ry Cooder, Mick Taylor, Texas guitarist Eric
Johnson and others.
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2/1/2009
New Notes |
Springsteen Shares MVP
A dramatic finish and the best ever half time show
made Sunday's NFL title game in Tampa one for the ages.
Pittsburgh's game winning TD reception with 35 tics on the clock and The E Street Band's
concentrated romp through Tenth Avenue Freeze Out, Born To Run,
Working On A Dream, and Glory Days made the game one of the few to live up
to the pre-game hype.
The Boss is on a roll - a
Golden Globe for The Wrestler, a riveting appearance at the We Are One pre-inaugural concert in
DC, a new album, U.S.
(Dates) and European E Street Band tours in the works,
and a
Making of Working On A Dream feature on VH1 and VH1 Classic.
Bruce expressed regret in the game day edition of the New York Times about the decision to release a Greatest Hits
package exclusively through Wal-Mart, calling it a case of "...having
dropped the ball". Angry fans let him hear how disappointed they
were by the deal. Our take? Most real fans won't bother buying a Greatest
Hits package no matter where it is sold. ACDC and The Eagles
giving WM the exclusive on albums of new material was a lot worse. So
was Bob Dylan selling Forever
Young for use in the soda commercial that ran during the football
coverage! Get our take on Working On A Dream
here. |
2/2/2009
New Notes |
Margaritaville Google Ocean
Mapping
The Global Warming crusader and the world's
leading Frozen Concoction expert were both on hand for Google's
introduction of the latest innovation to its interactive online global
imaging software, Google Earth.
The San Jose Mercury News account said
Jimmy Buffett and Al Gore joined climatologists,
oceanographers and mouse potatoes at the
reception in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park
Monday
(2/2)
for the roll-out of
Google Ocean. Packed with features a sailor, seaplane pilot, Manatee
protector, ocean conservationist and "...guy who loves to play in the water"
will love, Google Ocean includes detailed 3-D views of ocean floors,
water temps, protected areas and massive amounts of ocean life data.
But can it calculate the swimming distance to the newest
Margaritaville Cafe, which opened the same day in Waikiki, Hawaii?
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2/2/2009
New Notes |
Allmans Beacon Shows Online
The Allman Brothers Band
added another 5 nights to their run of
March dates at New York's Beacon Theater. Those still
not able to score tickets but willing to drop $100 have the option of
watching all of the shows online at
moogis.com.
Band Museum Makes Progress
Dylan and The Band
had Big Pink. 710 Haight Street was the home and social center
for the Grateful Dead in San Francisco. Both are in private hands
these days, but visitors to Macon, Georgia will soon be able
to experience The Big House, the 18 room house the Allman Brothers
Band lived, wrote and played in from 1970-73. The Big House
Foundation hopes to open the three story Tudor style house on Vineville
Avenue as a band museum before the end of this year
- the group's 40th.
Street Singers, Soul Shakers, Rebels With
A Cause: Music From Macon, a 300 page book that chronicles the city's
musical history, is being published this week.
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2/3/2009
New Notes |
Holly Tribute Draws Former Hollie
Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young braved the
sub-zero temps in Iowa on his birthday to perform at a concert marking the
50th anniversary of the plane crash that claimed the life of Buddy Holly.
Chuck Leavell (Allman Brothers Band & Rolling Stones), Kenny
Aronoff (John Mellencamp drummer), Dave Mason (Traffic), Los
Lobos and Delbert McClinton also made the trip to play in the
packed Surf Ballroom for a crowd that included Holly's widow and
surviving members of his band, along with fans, friends and relatives of
Ritchie Valens and JP Richardson who also perished in the crash
commemorated as "...the day the music died" in the Don McLean song
American Pie.
DesMoines Register
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2/3/2009
New Notes |
Keith Moon Honor Scrum
Keith Moon would have a
good laugh over the debate about whether he is worthy of a plaque. Who
fans were convinced the Heritage Foundation acted out of concern for
its image when it rejected a request to honor the Who drummer with a
plaque at the former site of London's legendary
Marquee Club. Independent UK
reports the issue has been settled by having a third party sponsor the
honor, which is expected to be unveiled by Pete Townshend and
Roger Daltrey on the site in March.
|
2/4/2009
New Notes |
Buffalo Springfield Drummer Dies
The Los Angeles Times
reports that Dewey Martin was found dead in his Van Nuys,
California apartment of apparent natural causes on Sunday
(2/1). Martin, Neil Young,
Stephen Stills, Richie Furay (Poco) and Bruce Palmer formed the
Buffalo Springfield in 1966 and put out just three studio albums
before disbanding. Despite the limited output and commercial success,
the group's influence on other musicians and the subsequent success of
Young and Stills paved the way for the group's 1977 induction
into the Rock Hall Of Fame. A joint statement from Neil Young,
Stills and Furay (Palmer died five years ago) praised
Martin for giving encouragement and guidance to his younger band mates,
as well as being "...one hell of a drummer".
|
2/4/2009
New Notes |
Ticketmaster & Live Nation Reportedly Talk Merger
Coverage in the Wall Street Journal
(2/4) indicates that the emerging
rivalry that began when Live Nation expanded into ticket sales could
end soon. In an article with major implications for the concert and
touring business, the paper reports the two companies are in talks that
could lead to the emergence of a single giant promotion, production,
management, music distribution, venue operating and ticket selling operation.
A report from the Star-Ledger in posted on nj.com says a New
Jersey congressman has called for in investigation on how and why
Bruce Springsteen tickets allegedly were available to resale agencies
moments after going on sale Monday. The Boss wants answers
too. The
Springsteen web site posted a message from Bruce and the band blasting
Ticketmaster for "abuse of our fans and our trust" - and asserting
that a merger of the two companies is the "...one thing that would make the
current situation even worse"
|
2/5/2009
New Notes |
Eddie Vedder Does Cher
A headline sure to get attention. Turns out Vedder - or
someone that is a dead ringer for him - was just caught on camera doing a
send up of I Got You Babe and some other songs at a karaoke bar in
Mesa, Arizona. You Tube yanked it, but
azcentral.com found another posting that was still active at the time of
this post. According to the site, the Pearl Jam front man
was in Mesa to attend a Chicago Cubs Fantasy Camp. The baseball
equivalent of karaoke in some respects, the fantasy camps give fans the
chance to hang out and play ball with retired MLB players.
Vedder and former White Sox player and musician Jack McDowell were busted
together for supposed public drunkeness in New Orleans in November, 1993,
the year McDowell earned the Cy Young Award as a pitcher for the
cross-town White Sox.
|
2/5/2009
New Notes |
Bon Jovi Added to Jazz & Heritage Festival
If the idea that Run DMC and Madonna belong in
the Rock Hall Of Fame makes sense to you, the notion that Bon Jovi
belongs in the
New
Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival lineup might not be too big a
stretch. In the nearly 40 years since its inception the event has expanded
the scope of artists it has welcomed, but Bon Jovi has to rank as the
last band anyone would expect to get the call. But Southern Hospitality
understandably warmed to the Jersey rockers after Jon Bon Jovi
donated a million dollars for aid to nearby Houmua, Lousiana in the
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Also in the lineup of concerts
that span the last weekend in April and first one in May: Neil Young, Joe Cocker,
Jacob Dylan, Dr. John, Los Lobos, John Mayall, Bonnie Raitt, the Dave
Matthews Band, Johnny Winter and Sonny Landreth.
|
2/7/2009
New Notes |
Aerosmith Almost Back In The Saddle
Guitarist Joe Perry's
health scare caused the cancellation of a
South American festival appearance by Aerosmith and threatened to sideline the
band for an extended period. Perry told ABC Radio in a story relayed from
Aeroforce One that the band got together in the
studio last week. He confirms that Brendan O'Brien, a one time
member of the Georgia Satellites who has worked with Bruce
Springsteen, Pearl Jam, The Black Crowes & many others, will produce the
new album, which they aim to have done before hitting the road in June.
Good news for fans wishing the band would get back to basics and Rock like
they did early on - Perry says they want this album to re-capture
"spontaneity" and "...on-the- spot energy". Amen to that!
|
2/8/2009
New Notes |
John Mellencamp Signature Guitar
Long recognized for making some of
the finest stringed instruments in the world, Martin Guitars has had
little trouble finding musicians willing to authorize the company to make
guitars designed to their specifications. Recently, John Mellencamp
joined the ranks of musicians with a Signature Model Martin Guitar.
It's impressive company - Rockers with Signature Models available from
Martin include Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, Jimmy Buffett, Peter Frampton,
Robbie Robertson, Steve Miller, Mark Knopfler, Stephen Stills and
David Crosby.
Some of the proceeds from the sale of the two
Mellencamp models available will be donated to Farm Aid, the
orgainzation to support family farms John is a staunch supporter of
with Neil Young, Willie Nelson and others.
Each guitar includes Mellencamp's autograph between frets at the bass of
the neck. |
2/8/2009
New Notes |
Grammy's: U2 Opens, McCartney Rocks,
Plant Scores
Not many bands without a song or
album even eligible for a Grammy could crack the awards show
performing lineup. U2 not only did, but got to open
the annual music industry mutual admiration orgy. Jumping at the
chance to showcase the lead song from
No Line On The Horizon (due
March 3), Bono and the band
unleashed a barrage of sound and visual effects that jacked-up a lot of the
crowd, and left others looking like a concussion grenade had gone off next
to them.
Paul McCartney, on the eve before
the 45th anniversary of his his first Ed Sullivan Show appearance,
discarded the predictable Beatles-Wings medley to go with a rip
roaring, full rendition of I Saw Her Standing There, with Foo
Fighter Dave Grohl proving why he is one of the best drummers in
Rock.
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss stunned Coldplay (7
nominations) and
rapper Lil Wayne (8 nominations) by sweeping all 5 awards the
duo was in contention for, including Album of The Year honors with
producer T-Bone Burnett
for
Raising Sand.
Much of the event was the usual sideshow of artists with little
in common trying to act like they cared about much of anything
that was going on except themselves - and not doing a very convincing job of it.
|
2/10/2009
New Notes |
Johnny Depp Will Narrate Doors Film
The director's narration of
When You're Strange, the Doors documentary screened for the first
time at the Sundance Film Festival a few weeks ago (story), will be re-recorded by
Johnny Depp according to Screen Daily News.
Director Tom DiCillo made the announcement while attending a
screening of the movie at the Berlin Film Festival this week.
A
U.S. commercial theater release date is expected to be announced soon for
the movie, which earned honors at Sundance and has been
praised by Jim Morrison's former band mates.
DiCillo directed Elvis Costello in Delirious, a film
released in 2006 that is now available as a DVD. |
2/10/2009
New Notes
|
McCartney To Reopen Hard Rock Vegas
Venue
The Hard Rock poured 60
million dollars into the lavish makeover of The Joint, the concert
venue at the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The now
state-of-the-art 4,000 seat facility reopens April 19 with a performance by
Paul McCartney.
With no seat more than 155 feet from a stage framed by three
massive screens and 38 flat panel displays throughout the hall projecting
close-circuit images of the performers, the concert experience at The
Joint promises to be plenty intense.
McCartney will be arrive in Vegas straight from an opening day
appearance at the Coachella Festival in California April 17.
|
2/11/2009
New Notes |
Sabbath Veterans Return
Members rotated in and out of
Black Sabbath so often that keeping track was like keeping a score card
at a baseball Spring Training game. Founding members Tommy Iommi and
Geezer Butler got back together in 2006 with Ronnie James Dio,
who replaced Ozzy in 1979, and drummer Vinny Appice, who took
over for drummer Bill Ward in 1980. After recording some new songs to add
to a Sabbath compilation of the Dio years, they toured as Heaven &
Hell - the title of a 1980 Sabbath release. The tour
went so well that the four returned to the studio recently to record an
album of new material. The band says The Devil You Know
(Rhino, April 28)
"...stands up to anything we've ever done." |
2/11/2009
New Notes |
Bruce Books UK Festival
The E Street Band is slated
to make its first appearance at Bonnaroo, the massive festival staged
on Tennessee farmland in mid June. Bruce and the band follow that up
by playing the
Hard Rock Calling concert in London's Hyde Park on June 28.
The festival site confirms the booking and reports that the Dave Matthews
Band will also appear, along with additional acts to be announced.
Previous Hard Rock Calling concerts have presented Eric Clapton,
The Police, The Who, Roger Waters and Aerosmith. Clapton
also played the park as a member of Blind Faith in 1969 - the short
lived group's only UK concert (DVD)
and in 1996 when The Who performed
Quadrophenia there. Waters and Pink Floyd did free
Hyde Park concerts in both 1969 and 1970. |
2/11/2009
New Notes |
Good Night Goes Bad for Bad Company Drummer
Jaz Lochrie, drummer in a recent incarnation of Bad Company,
returned from a night out (2/4) to find his apartment ransacked and several
things stolen. The South London Press coverage of the burglary
lists a safe containing jewelry and documents as missing, along with
personalized items Lochrie received from musicians, including Elton John.
The Bad Co. line-up changed frequently even before vocalist
Paul Rogers left to tour and record with Queen. Mick Ralphs
was the only remaining original member in recent years. The core lineup,
minus Boz Burrell who died in 2006, played one date together in 2008.
|
2/11/2009
New Notes |
Free Dave Mason Mini-Concerts
Audio company JBL is
sponsoring free performances by Dave Mason in Best Buy stores
in the Mid-West (dates/locations).
The series of appearances feature Mason songs from his years with Steve
Winwood in Traffic as well as material from his many solo albums
- including the most recent,
26 Letters 12 Notes.
For JBL, the events
are an opportunity to showcase the sound quality of the company's
EON Sound Reinforcement Speakers.
Mason, whose career includes stints working with Fleetwood Mac, Eric
Clapton, Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix, credits
JBL for giving him the chance to bring his music to fans with the best
possible sound and in a "...unique and very intimate atmosphere". |
2/12/2009
New Notes |
Piano Man & Rocket Man at Wrigley Field
The host site of the NHL Winter
Classic open air hockey game in January shifts into special event mode
again on July 21 as Chicago welcomes Billy Joel and Elton
John to the 'friendly confines' of Wrigley Field.
Jimmy Buffett became the first musician to convert baseball's second
oldest stadium (Boston's Fenway Park is 4 years older) with a double header
of performances in September, 2005.
The Joel + John tour will close out nine days after the Wrigley date at one
of the newest baseball stadiums, Citizens Bank Park in
Philadelphia. |
2/12/2009
New Notes |
Clapton & Winwood Team to Tour
The legendary musicians have played together a number of times since their
brief time in Blind Faith, but Eric Clapton and Steve
Winwood have not been paired on a full tour - until now. The two
wrapped up three nights at Madison Square Garden with the
announcement of a 14 city US tour in June [dates].
Opening night will be at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ on June 10.
The finale will come on the last day of the month at the Hollywood Bowl. |
2/12/2009
New Notes |
Peter Gabriel Nixes Oscar Performance
The Best Song ranks were
thin to begin; after the Motion Picture Academy revealed that the
Golden Globe winning song Bruce Springsteen wrote for The
Wrestler [story]
failed to make the list, only three songs were left to vie for the Oscar
[story].
Now, Deadline Hollywood Daily says Peter Gabriel notified the
presenters that their decision to condense the nominated songs into medley
to save time means he will not perform. The site quotes Gabriel's withdrawal
notice as saying the 65 seconds allotted for his portion of Down To
Earth from Wall-E is not "...sufficient time to do the song justice". |
2/12/2009
New Notes |
U2 The House Band For David Letterman
Paul Schaffer isn't moving
out, but he is moving over to make room for U2. In an
unprecedented arrangement, the Irish Rockers will be special guests on
Late Night With David Letterman the entire week of the release of
No Line On The Horizon.
Look for Bono, The Edge and Larry Mullen
@ 11:30 Eastern on CBS starting Monday, March 2.
This marks the group's first visit to the show since October of 2001.
It should prove interesting, especially if Dave decides to sing one of the
band's songs - Eddie Vedder walked off the show in 1996 when
Letterman starting singing the Pearl Jam song Black. |
2/14/2009
New Notes |
Simon & Garfunkel Reunite For Beacon
Re-opening
Paul Simon re-opened New
York's Beacon Theater last night
(2/13)
following a 16 million dollar makeover of the 80 year old landmark.
Newsday.com reports that Simon treated the celebrity studded full
house to an hour and a half of material covering his entire career. He then
welcomed the other half of the partnership that wrote and recorded together
for thirteen years to the stage to join him on The Sounds Of Silence, The
Boxer and Old Friends. Among those on hand for the first of
Simon's two sold out shows were Paul McCartney and Jon Bon Jovi.
The Allman Brothers Band takes up residency in the Beacon next
month for a series of 15 dates [story].
|
2/14/2009
New Notes |
Bob Seger Adds Guitar Hero® Songs
Players waiting to wail on Old
Time Rock and Roll, Her Strut and Get Out Of Denver will
get their chance February 26 with the release of the Bob Seger Track Pack
for Guitar Hero® download. |
2/14/2009
New Notes |
Yes Cancel Tour Dates
After electing to tour without lead vocalist
Jon Anderson who was sidelined by medical problems [story], an undisclosed illness involving
another Yes member
has caused cancellation of some concerts on the tour schedule, according to a
post on Yesworld.com. The band hopes to be able to do the final
five dates on the tour, 2/25 - 3/3. No official word yet on whether the
cancelled shows will be made up.
Steve Howe, Alan White and Chris Squire recruited Benoit
David, a Canadian singer in the Yes tribute band Close To The
Edge, to fill Anderson's role, and the son of keyboard player Rick
Wakeman to join them on the road. |
2/15/2009
New Notes |
Bill Kreutzmann Keeps The Beat
Bill Kreutzmann has not let
plans to rejoin his former band mates on the road stand in the way of other
interests. The Grateful Dead drummer has teamed with Allman
Brothers Band and Aquarium Rescue Unit bass player Otiel
Burbridge and Max Creek guitarist Scott Murawski in a band
performing as BK3.
An exhibit of Kreutzman's adaptive photographic art work also
opened to coincide with a series of Colorado BK3 live appearances.
The exhibit runs through the end of February as as part of the Art of
Rock & Roll series at the Walnut Street Gallery in Ft. Collins.
|
2/16/2009
New Notes |
Mellencamp Video Shoot on Indiana Campus
Security and logistics
requirements of many performers would have required a lock down, but the
John Mellencamp video shoot at the Indiana University Bloomington
campus Monday (2/15)
was so stealth that hardly anyone was even aware it was happening.
WTHR-TV reports the filming of the video for A Ride Back Home from Mellencamp's latest album,
Life, Death, Love & Freedom, took place in a tiny campus chapel.
Classes were in session on President's Day, but disruption to the campus
routine was so minimal that most students did not find out Mellencamp had
even been there until he was long gone. |
2/16/2009
New Notes |
Ozzfest Off The Rails In '09
Good news for Ozzy fans =
bad news for Ozzfest fans. According to the Ozzfest web site, Ozzy
Osbourne has begun work on a new studio album in southern California and
will not tour until it is complete. That adds Ozzfest to the list of
festivals that have been scaled back or cancelled this summer. Most
have been casualties of the economic squeeze.
|
2/17/2009
New Notes |
Jeff Beck Hits The Road After Cleveland
Induction
Jeff Beck enters into the
Rock Hall Of Fame as a solo artist on April 4 in Cleveland. Two
nights later he will open a 13 date US tour in Scranton, PA. The tour
[dates]
returns to Cleveland for a House of Blues show on April 15, and ends
on the left coast with an April 23 performance in the Fox Theater in
Oakland.
Beck and Eric Clapton entered the RHOF together as members of the
Yardbirds in 1992. Beck replaced Clapton in the
group in 1965. The two guitar greats make joint concert
appearances at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan Feb. 21 & 22.
|
|
|
2/18/2009
New Notes |
Morrison Adds Royal Albert Hall Astral
Weeks Shows
Response to the Hollywood Bowl
performance of Astral Weeks was so favorable that Van
Morrison added New York City shows in The Theater at Madison Square
Garden [Feb.
27 & 28]. London's Evening Standard reports Morrison
will stage the show in London on consecutive nights in Royal Albert
Hall. The April 18 & 19 concerts are expected to include the same
band and orchestra that accompanied Morrison in the Los Angeles and New York
concerts. Morrison joins actor Robert De Niro, another rare visitor
to late night TV entertainment, March 2, the night Jimmy Fallon
takes over Conan O'Brien's role as host on The Late Show
(NBC).
A CD from the Hollywood Bowl shows [review]
was released Feb. 10. A DVD is also in production. |
2/19/2009
New Notes |
Vodka Maker Blocked From Using Hendrix
Name & Likeness
Experience Hendrix, the
Seattle based LLC that owns the music, licensing and trademark rights of the
late guitarist, was awarded a 3.2 million dollar judgment
(2/17) in a
trademark violation suit against a company seeking to sell vodka under the
brand name Hendrix Electric. The 2007 law suit brought by
Experience Hendrix charged that Dieffenbach, LLC engaged in an
"unauthorized, tasteless promotion" that infringed on Jimi Hendrix
trademarks.
|
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|
2/20/2009
New Notes |
Led Zeppelin Coaster To Roll Again
The Hard Rock Park in
Myrtle Beach fell on hard times soon after opening and filed for bankruptcy
last September [story].
Themeparkinsider.com reports a buyer has been found for the park. FPI
MB Entertainment, apparently acquired the property, which may have cost as
much as 400 million to build, for as little as 25 million. Still up in the
air - whether the new owners can reach an agreement with Hard Rock
Entertainment to keep the Hard Rock name on the park.
|
2/20/2009
New Notes |
U2 Release Escapes
Rolling Stone
magazine reported
(2/21)
the online leak of the new U2 release, No Line On the Horizon.
According to the magazine's web site, all of the songs became
available online through a MySpace page. The magazine cites a
Forbes story it says traces blame for the leak to the band's own
record label, saying the Australian branch of Universal Music
erroneously allowed an Aussie digital music site to make the tracks
available for purchase for "about two hours" several days ago.
So much fodder about the new project has been funneled to traditional media
outlets and pumped into viral marketing channels in recent weeks that it is
impossible to know whether this was a true leak or a publicity ploy
sanctioned by the band. Either way, it's out there.
|
2/20/2009
New Notes |
Derek Trucks Recruits Players
Musicians that want to collaborate
with guitarist Derek Trucks get their chance thanks to Indaba
Music. The site has made the song Get What You Deserve from the
latest Derek Trucks Band' album, Already Free, available to
musicians to add their personal touch to.
Contributors that Trucks and producer Doyle Bramhall judge to
have the the best ideas will be rewarded with equipment from instrument and
equipment manufacturers. Entries can be submitted until March 10
through
this link.
|
2/21/2009
New Notes |
Russian Rockers Enlist Kiss, ZZ Top
Members
Guitarists Billy Gibbons of
ZZ Top and Paul Stanley from Kiss are among the players
the Russian band Pushking recruited to play on its new album,
Pushking-Duets. The group, which has put out more than 15 albums,
also got Alice Cooper, former Deep Purple members Ian
Gillan and Glenn Hughes and Rainbow vocalist Joe Lynn
Turner to guest on the 19 song collection.
|
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2/22/2009
New Notes |
Alice Cooper Cancels Golf Tournament
13 is not a lucky number for the
Alice Cooper Celebrity AM golf tournament. The annual charity
event will will not tee off as scheduled this spring. A post on
Alicegolf.com, the tournament web site, says the decision not to hold
the event was based on the economic downturn. Past tournaments, held
on Cooper's home course in Phoenix, managed to attract everyone from Dan
Quayle and Pat Boone to Gilby Clarke of Guns N' Roses
and Cheech Marin from Cheech & Chong.
Proceeds from the tournament have supported The Rock, a center in
Phoenix where teenagers can get together for creative and athletic
activities. |
2/22/2009
New Notes |
Musicians Honored On Caribbean Island
Beatles producer George
Martin opened AIR Studios on the island of Montserrat in
1978. Martin's name and the Caribbean setting made it an instant
success. Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, The Police, The Rolling Stones
Jimmy Buffett, Elton John would all record there before Hurricane
Hugo devastated the island, destroying the studio in 1989.
In 1997 the island's Soufriere Hills Volcano erupted, dealing another
disastrous blow to Montserrat. Martin staged a benefit concert in London's
Royal Albert Hall that included Jimmy Buffett (who recorded
Volcano on Montserrat), Eric Clapton, Sting, Elton John, Mark Knopfler
and Phil Collins.
Caribbean Net News reports the island has built a Wall Of Fame in
tribute to the musicians who performed at the concert. Bronze hand
casts of George Martin, McCartney, Knopfler and Elton John
were on the wall when it was unveiled recently at the Montserrat Cultural
Centre. Organizers hope to have hand casts of all of the musicians that
played at the benefit eventually included.
|
2/23/2009
New Notes |
Ticketmaster & NJ AG Reach Settlement
Thousands of frustrated fans filed
complaints against Ticketmaster the day tickets went on sale for
Bruce Springsteen US tour dates [story].
The New Jersey Attorney General's office announced
(2/23)
a settlement was reached requiring the ticket vendor to discontinue the
practice of forwarding some online purchase requests to TicketsNow.com,
a Ticketmaster owned subsidiary broker that prices tickets above
face value. Ticketmaster is also required to conduct a random
drawing to award 1,000 of those who filed complaints the chance to purchase
2 tickets for one of the May Springsteen concerts at the Izod Center
in East Rutherford, NJ at face value. Those not selected will receive a $100
voucher and the right to buy tickets to a future Springsteen concert in the
state before they go on sale to the general public. Additionally,
those forwarded by Ticketmaster.com to TicketsNow.com within
five hours of when tickets went on sale are to be reimbursed by
Ticketmaster the difference between the face value of tickets and the
price charged by TicketsNow.com.
A number of Bruce Springsteen collectables, some dating back to
the early 70's are in a auction that concludes this weekend. [view]. |
2/23/2009
New Notes
|
Judge Rejects GOP Attempt To End Jackson
Browne Suit
Jackson Browne won a round
in his suit against John McCain and the Republican party for
unauthorized use of his music during the presidential campaign. A PR
Newswire release reports a US District Court in California denied
motions (2/23)
to dismiss the lawsuit Browne filed after learning Running On Empty
was used in a McCain campaign ad. The songwriter maintains
unauthorized use of the song was a copyright violation and amounted to a
false endorsement that violated his right to control his publicity.
The McCain/GOP side claims the use of music in a political campaign ad is
protected under the First Amendment or the Fair Use Doctrine. |
2/24/2009
New Notes |
Quadrophenia Set To Tour UK Theaters
A stage adaptation of the
brilliant double album by The Who opens a six month run of dates
around Great Britain, starting with a week of performances at the Royal
Theatre in Plymouth on May 9.
The 1973 release chronicled the rough and tumble Mods vs Rockers scene in
London and Brighton in the 60's. Creating onstage anything that comes
even close to the intensity of the original songs and imagery of
Quadrophenia is a huge challenge - but Pete Townshend believed in
the production enough to sign on to provide the score.
|
2/24/2009
New Notes |
Pink Floyd Sneakers Crack Converse Lineup
While its parent company spends
millions to make Nike sneakers look like something other than
sneakers, Converse plods along, producing cool sneakers for
people that don't need to 'be like Mike'.
Last fall, Grateful Dead treads were added to the collection. Last
month brought of a series of Converse styles based on The Who.
This month Ozzy made his rubber and canvas debut. Pink Floyd
will make its mark with styles celebrating Dark Side Of The Moon,
Wish You Were Here and The Wall in March. |
2/25/2009
New Notes |
Cheap Trick & Def Leppard To Tour
A coast to coast mostly open-air
venue tour featuring the two bands opens in June in New Jersey and ends in
early September on the west coast.
In an interview posted on the Cheap Trick
web site,
drummer Bun E. Carlos talks about his side project dubbed Tinted
Windows, a group that includes James Iha, a founding member of
Smashing Pumpkins, that will release a self-titled debut album April 21.
Carlos also says a new Cheap Trick album is complete, but no
release date has been decided on.
Trick is also one of the bands taking full advantage of YouTube by
posting dozens of videos and performances, some dating back to the mid-70's,
on the
Cheap Trick YouTube channel.
MORE CHEAP TRICK INSIGHTS |
2/25/2009
New Notes |
U2 Spiderman Production Will Spring In 2010
The Broadway production with creative input
from veterans of Bram Stoker's Dracula, Young Frankenstein, The Lion
King, The Magic Flute and Across The Universe is scheduled for
previews next January and an official premier Feb 18, according to
Playbill. Bono and The Edge share music credits for
Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark.
The band could use some Super-hero mojo sooner to fend off the ire of
some Irish over the band's reported attempt to dodge taxes by moving its
song publishing arm to another country. Irishtimes.com reports that protests are
being staged in Ireland against U2 for transferring
business and accounts to the Netherlands to avoid paying Irish taxes on
royalties earned from the group's music, a move made in
2006 after Ireland dropped a tax exemption on artist royalties
earnings.
David Bowie and members of the Rolling Stones were labeled tax exiles
in the 1970's when Bowie relocated to Germany and the Stones
headed to
Southern France. |
2/26/2009
New Notes
|
Little Feat Fan Excursion, Jamaica
Feat fans filled the beautiful
Grand Lido Resort in in Negril, Jamaica for the annual Little Feat
Fan Excursion January 23-27. The long weekend had no shortage of
highlights, with formal and informal performances by the band, joined this
year by special guests Coco Montoya, Miles Tackett, son the
band's Fred Tackett, and Feat alum and Pure Prairie League
member Craig Fuller.
Ginelle Cloar recaps the event in a great report for
Jambase.
Recordings of three of the concert sessions are available through
Munckmusic.com. |
2/27/2009
New Notes |
Drummer Chronicles Decades Touring and
Recording
Books by band members are suspect
because no writer wants to throw someone he has to share close quarters with
in a tour bus under a bus. Ones penned by ex band members can be
skewed by the long hang time of resentment over any number of band issues.
Enter Joe Vitale. A drummer for hire, Vitale has
recorded and toured behind dozens of bands in 40 years, including Joe
Walsh, Crosby, Stills & Nash, The Eagles, Peter
Frampton, Boz Scaggs, Ringo Starr, and former Rolling
Stones and Who bass players Billy Wyman and John
Entwhistle.
Backstage Pass, the 488 page book Vitale wrote with is wife, Susie,
chronicles in words and pictures many of his favorite moments from decades
of touring, recording and just hanging out with these and other great
musicians, including Van Morrison, John Lennon, Keith Richards and
Ronnie Wood.
The book is available through
Atlas Books.
|
2/27/2009
New Notes |
Buffet Backed Jamaican Finishes Thousand
Mile Dog Sled Race
It's no Margaritaville -
especially in February, but Fairbanks, Alaska was, in spirit at least, in
the early hours of the 26th. At 6:24 a.m.
Jamaican musher Newton
Marshall guided his dog sled team across the finish line of the 1,016
mile Yukon Quest. After a grueling race that forced ten
competitors to drop out, finishing 13th
was as good as winning it all for a
guy who hadn't even seen snow before arriving in Minnesota two years
ago to start training for the event.
The owner of Melville's Chukka Caribbean Adventures, an outfit that
does mushing tours using carts in Jamaica, put the project together. He said
the effort wasn't taken seriously by many people before Jimmy Buffett
backed the team with both enthusiasm and dollars.
Fairbank Daily News Miner
|
2/27/2009
New Notes |
U2 Delivers 4 Song Set from BBC Building
Rooftop
U2 played on the roof of
the BBC Broadcast building in London tonight
(2/27).
News.bbc.co.uk estimates 5,000 people, many tipped to the
possible gig through various fan sites and blogs, crowded the streets and
the windows and roofs of surrounding buildings to witness the four song set
that included Get On Your Boots and Magnificent from the new
album, along with Vertigo and Beautiful Day. U2
shot the video for Where The Streets Have No Name while the band
played live on an LA rooftop in March of 1987. The Beatles
famous London rooftop concert was staged in London in August, 1969. A less
publicized live set by the Grateful Dead atop the Chelsea Hotel
in New York City took place two years earlier.
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2/28/2009
New Notes |
David Crosby Sailboat Still On Market
Months after first being
offered for sale, Mayan, the classic 1947 schooner David Crosby has
owned more than 40 years, is still waiting for a new skipper. The
nearly 60'
sailboat that sleeps eight was upgraded at a cost of more than half a million
dollars four years ago. An ad for the boat in Rolling Stone
Magazine has a quote from Crosby saying he wrote "...many of my
best songs aboard her". Conspicuously absent from the ad is the cost to a
sailing CSNY fan to take the helm of the Mayan. The boat is listed at
an even one
million dollars by Bob Craven Yacht Sales in Santa Barbara,
California.
|
|
MARCH 2009 ROCKinsights™ |
3/1/2009
New Notes
|
Neil Young Defends Label Decision
Few artists have as combative a
relationship with their record company as Neil Young during his long
association with Warner Bros./Reprise. Another skirmish flared
up briefly when he criticized the label for ordering the removal of WB
artist videos from You Tube before consulting with the bands.
In a statement posted on his web site, Neil is now endorsing the action.
Pointing out the decision was based on the on the contention that other
labels receive bigger payments than WB, Young is calling for the Google
owned video site to lead the way in setting up a standard basis of
compensation to record companies and artists for videos streamed online.
As they used to say in the biz, 'stay tuned for further developments.' |
3/1/2009
New Notes |
Site Alleges Guitarist's Wife Might Spill
Stones Secrets
A story posted on People.co.uk
(3/1)
suggests that the wife of Rolling Stones member Ron Wood has
told friends that she could spill stories the band would rather not have
told if things get nasty in the couple's anticipated divorce proceedings.
The report says a friend of Jo Wood claims she is "...ready to play
dirty" if things are not settled fairly. Sources say the couple has
been estranged since the veteran guitarist took up with Ekaterina Ivanova,
a young Russian born waitress last fall.
|
3/2/2009
New Notes |
Doobie Brothers Welcome Back Drummer
After being sidelined by injuries
suffered in a taxi cab accident in New York last summer, Michael Hossack
is back keeping the beat for the Doobie Brothers. A post on the
band web site welcoming the drummer back also reports the band has 15 songs
done for a new album. Longtime Doobie Brothers producer and
friend Ted Templeman is working with the band again. In
addition to just about every Doobie Brothers album, Templeman's
production credits include releases by Van Halen, Aerosmith, Eric
Clapton, Van Morrison, and Little Feat. |
3/3/2009
New Notes |
Woodstock 40th Reunion
Rolling Stone Magazine is
reporting that Michael Lang, a key player in the 1969 festival on a
farm near Bethel, New York, is putting together plans for a Woodstock
40th anniversary concert in mid August. The original site has hosted
loosely organized concerts on or around the anniversary in past years.
Two large scale festivals at other New York State sites used the name: a
1994 event in Saugerties, a neighboring town of the actual village of
Woodstock, and a 1999 debacle at a former Air Force Base outside of Rome,
New York. That concert's lineup drew elements a lot more interested in
moshing, hell-raising and arson than 'Peace Love & Music' and ended
with rampaging fans torching the site and several reported assaults.
Presumably Lang, who has a new book about the original festival
[story],
intends this year's event to have a more in common with the original
festival. A line-up and location have not been announced, but a
performing arts center did open recently adjacent to Yasgur's Farm,
the site of the 1969 three day concert. |
3/3/2009
New Notes |
U2 PR Barrage Escalates
Lots love 'em. Plenty
hate them. And U2 is on a mission to make sure that even people who
could care less about the group know about
No Line On The Horizon
[Review]. The coverage onslaught began with the
pre-inaugural We Are One
concert in DC 1/18 [story]
and never let up. The group performed at the Grammys in LA
[story], at
its UK counterpart awards show, The Brits and at one in Germany. The quartet
then took over a BBC channel before doing a 4 song set on the roof of the London
broadcast center [story].
The strategy to sustain the buzz: a full week guesting on the David
letterman Show the week of the release
[story],
announce a tour with more affordable tickets, and reward fans and radio
stations that supported them early with the chance to see U2 in
venues as small as ones they played when they first arrived in the US.
WBCN has announced a March 11 date in
Boston. A similar show is rumored for Fordham University in
New York.
|
3/4/2009
New Notes |
Phil Collins Alamo Fixation
Former Genesis drummer
Phil Collins has had a fascination with, of all things, The Alamo
since seeing a movie about Davy Crockett and the battle at the outpost when
he was a child. According to the San Antonio Express News
[article],
Collins is in the Lone Star State for the anniversary of the famous
siege and will speak to the Alamo Defenders Descendants Association Friday
(3/6). Collins, who has amassed quite a collection of Alamo and other
historic battle artifacts, told the paper "Basically, now I have stopped
being Phil Collins the singer. This has become what I do". He did,
however, let on that he may revert to being the other Phil Collins
to record an album of cover songs of his favorite tunes from the 1960's. |
3/4/2009
New Notes |
Hendrix & Queen Song Packs For Guitar Hero®
Ringtone and game licensing
revenue has helped musicians counter some of the loss of income from
declining album sales. There have been more than 37 million downloads
from the list of 550 songs available through Guitar Hero®.
Recently, Bob Seger made a trio of tunes available to the
legions of Guitar Hero® shredders
[story].
Queen and the estate of Jimi Hendrix have reached deals to
have tunes available for the set lists of the console game players. The
second Hendrix Track Pack contains Freedom, Angel
and the version of Foxey Lady from Woodstock. Brian
May fans can rip to We Are The Champions, Fat Bottomed Girls
and C-lebrity, a song from
the album Cosmos that came out a few months ago.
PR-Newswire
|
3/4/2009
New Notes |
Roger Daltrey Honored by University
Who front man receives
James Joyce Award from University College in Dublin (3/3).
Daltrey joins an unlikely group to share the award, which is given out by
the Literary and Historical Society. Past recipients, according
to the Press Association and listed on the Who web site,
include Beatles producer George Martin, comedian Will
Ferrell, authors Salmon Rushdie and the creator of Harry
Potter, JK Rowling.
Beatles Degree Offered
Liverpool's Hope University
students can earn a MA degree in the Beatles. The university's
web site describes the 48 week course as concentrating on the
Beatles, but encompassing popular music, songwriting, recording
technology, as well as the Beatles overall impact on the city of Liverpool. |
3/4/2009
New Notes |
Rare Beatles & Rolling Stones Photos on
Display
Photographs from a collection of more than 3,500
pictures taken by a tour manager for both the Beatles and the
Rolling Stones taken between 1964 and 1966 are on
public display for the first time. The
Not Fade Away Gallery
in lower Manhattan will feature the rare prints through April 14.
The images, captured by the late Bob Bonis, tour manager for both bands during their
first US tours, include scenes on stage,
backstage, relaxing and spoofing. The collection is being described as
one of the most remarkable archives of its kind. The photos were
discovered after 40 years in storage at the bottom of a duffel bag of
memorabilia Bonis collected while working for both groups. |
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3/5/2009
New Notes |
Garcia Gets Apped
Mosaic Legends
worked with Bay area photographer Jay
Blakesberg to create a Photomosaic®
App for the iPhone®
and iTouch®
featuring
Jerry Garcia. The image of
the Grateful Dead guitarist is comprised of hundreds of tiny tiles,
each a mini-thumbnail of a photo including Garcia that the App
includes a full screen view of.
The company has collaborated with several renowned photographers to create
Photomosaic®
presentations that
feature the Rolling Stones, The Who, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, U2, Santana,
David Bowie, Eric Clapton and others. |
3/5/2009
New Notes |
New Dylan Expected In April
Bob Dylan and Neil Young
are both getting more prolific with age. April 7, Neil will release
an album he reportedly conceived and recorded in a span of days.
Fork In
The Road was inspired by the Linc-Volt, the 2.5 ton 1959 Detroit
dinosaur he helped convert [story]
into a car that will compete for world's most fuel efficient vehicle title
[story].
Rolling Stone Magazine reveals that Bob Dylan will also have a
new project out in April (date TBA). The RS web site says the release was under
the radar of even Dylan insiders. An excellent post by
David Fricke contains lots of info on the album,
Together Through Life, which sounds like it
has elements of
John Wesley Harding, but with a rougher edge.
|
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3/6/2009
New Notes |
Joe Perry Amp Up For Grabs
Guitars emblazoned with the
signature of Rockers are pricey but plentiful. Want something really
unique? How about a tour-tested amplifier belonging to Aerosmith
axe master Joe Perry? It's yours - for the highest bid.
And Joe will even sign the Gibson Goldtone GA30-RVS if you want.
The amp, which has been used on tour and on Just Push Play, is
just one piece of gear Perry plans to make available to fans. Bidding
was north of 3K with a couple of days remaining before the close on E-Bay®.
|
3/6/2009
New Notes |
Fordham U2niversity
New York City's Fordham University
served as the set for ABC's Good Morning America on Friday morning
(3/6).
News of the 'secret' performance
had been in wide enough circulation for plenty of students to brave the
early morning cold to catch a 6 song set that was evenly divided between new
and older tunes.
The semi-announced show capped off a week in Gotham for U2 for
five consective nights with David Letterman
[story]
that included
Bono and the boys shoveling snow from the city's biggest storm of the
season for the benefit of a bit on the show and having a stretch of 53d
Street renamed U2 Way - for about a New York minute - by Mayor
Bloomberg. |
|
|
3/7/2009
New Notes |
Springsteen Exhibit at Rock Hall Of
Fame
Cleveland has always been one of
Bruce's favorite cities. 'The Buzzard', radio station WMMS, was big
on The Boss early. He did legendary shows in the 70's at The Agora
Ballroom, played one of his first stadium shows at the 70,000+ seat
Municipal Stadium in 1985, and returned to it years later in the lineup
for a big benefit concert for the Rock Hall Of Fame. The Hall
inducted Bruce in 1999, but he has never, as far as anyone knows, set foot
in the museum itself. That is something the Hall would love to change.
Three days before this year's induction - which is finally taking place in
Cleveland, a Springsteen exhibit opens in the Hall. The special
exhibit documents his entire career, starting with early Jersey bands
Steel Mill and the Castiles, includes several of Bruce's battered
axes, handwritten lyrics, concert memorabilia and the 1960 Corvette he
splurged on when Born To Run made a ride like that possible for a
working class guy from Jersey.
From Asbury Park to the Promised Land opens April 1 and will run
through spring 2010. Several of the items included in the display can
be previewed at
backstreets.com.
|
3/8/2009
New Notes |
Grateful Dead 365
Few groups have more shelf space dedicated to
them in the music section of book stores than the Grateful Dead.
An ambitious new book on the band by Holly George-Warren is the
latest addition. At 700+ pages,
Grateful Dead 365 provides a thorough chronicle
of the "long, strange trip" in words and photos. An editor of the Rolling Stone
Encyclopedia of Rock and author or collaborator on several Rock titles
including Garcia in 1995, George-Warren knows her subject,
which helped her get clearance to use great pictures from several top Rock
photographers in the book.
She also recenly completed work on
The Road To Woodstock with promoter Michael Lang
[story].
|
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3/9/2009
New Notes |
Music Experience Bows In London
A new museum celebrating British
musicians of the last 60 years opens today
(3/9)
in south east London. The British Music Experience web site
lists displays from the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, The Who, The
Beatles, Queen, the Sex Pistols. More recent arrivals include Oasis,
Amy Winehouse and Coldplay.
The BME has interactive exhibits and spaces, including one that
gives visitors the chance to join bands in performance, a feature that is a
favorite at the
Experience Music Project in Seattle. |
3/9/2009
New Notes |
Keith Moon Plaque Unveiled at London Club
A small plaque honoring Who
drummer Keith Moon was finally unveiled yesterday
(3/9)
on the brick facade of the former home of London's Marquee Club by
Roger Daltrey. The honor was proposed some time ago, but got
sidelined by controversy [story]
before finally receiving approval. The event was also attended by
Kenny Jones, who took over as drummer following Moon's death in the fall
of 1978.
Keith would be relieved to know the decision to honor him was controversial
- and glad to know the Heritage Foundation plans to add the Monty
Python bunch next.
The Heritage Foundation
|
3/9/2009
New Notes |
U2 Tour Set
The fast and furious pace of U2
developments continues into a new week with the group's official
announcement of the U2 360° Tour.
The European leg
opens June 30 in Barcelona, Spain and will include stops in 14 cities.
North American dates kick off on September 12 at Chicago's Soldiers Field.
The tour name reflects the plan to present the band 'in the round', a
configuration that puts more concert goers closer to the band than the
traditional set-up. The U2 web site also confirms that a
cylindrical video projection displaying images from the performance will
encircle the stage.
No Line On The Horizon ruled sales charts around the world its first
week out. But in a measure of how badly album sales have slipped and hard
economic times, the total sold was only around 1/2 of the 840,000 copies the
band's last studio album moved in 2004, that despite a tremendous
promotional push for the new release that had the band doing free performances
[story]
and a full week as musical guests on the David Letterman Show on CBS
[story].
|
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3/10/2009
New Notes
|
Rock Fantasy Camp Enlists Aerosmith Front
Man
Aspiring lead singers attending the spring
Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp in LA get the chance to learn from one of the
all time greats. Steven Tyler has signed on for the April 29
-May 3 session that also features Todd Rundgren, GNR and
Velvet Revolver member Duff McKagan, Elliott Easton from
the Cars, Alan White of Yes, and Bruce Kulick
from Kiss. Campers will record in the legendary Capitol
Records Studios and play live at the Whiskey A Go Go on
Hollywood's Sunset Strip.
PR Newswire
|
3/10/2009
New Notes |
Allman Brothers Band Opens Beacon Run
After taking last year off, the
Allman Brothers Band resumed its annual residency at the Beacon Theater
(3-09).
The first of the group's 15 shows, all of
which are being web-cast [story],
featured guest appearances from Taj Mahal and Band drummer
Levon Helm. The tour schedule on the web site of Dickey Betts
site, the estranged former guitarist with the band, showed March 9 as an
off night between stops near New York City his current tour with Great
Southern. Whether that was coincidental or left open on his
schedule in the hope he might get invited to join his former group we don't
know - but it did not happen. With Betts booked through the 21st and
heading west, It's not likely to happen until end of the run. Given the
often strained relationship between Betts and some members of the ABB, don't
bet on it happening at all. |
3/10/2009
New Notes |
Clapton - Winwood Live Sets
Eric Clapton and Steve
Winwood open a US tour in June [story].
The Blind Faith bandmates are also due to release double CD and DVD sets
recorded during their three Madison Square Garden concerts together
in February '08. Disc 1 of the DVD features 20 tracks. The
second disc includes documentary footage and photos of Blind Faith,
Traffic and Cream, along with behind the scenes preparations
for the MSG shows and an acoustic soundcheck. 21 songs are included on the
double CD.
Pre-orders can be submitted through each artist's web site.
EricClapton.com
|
3/11/2009
New Notes |
Time Running Out On Hendrix Home
The reported failure of a
developer to rehabilitate the small house Jimi Hendrix lived in for a
few years of his childhood could be the end of the line for the sadly
dilapidated structure. According to the Renton Reporter, city
officials have ruled that the house must be moved off the lot it occupies
across the street from the guitarist's grave site by March 27 or face
demolition. The boarded up one and a half story house was moved to the
Renton site in 2005 by the current owner. Prior to that, the house had
already been shifted from its original Seattle address to another location
in the city. The developer claims to have spent more than $150,000
moving the house, which he paid $5,000 for in 2001.
|
3/11/2009
New Notes |
Margaritaville Escapes Key West Fire
Just weeks after the opening of
the newest Maragritaville Cafe in Hawaii, the flagship site in Key
West almost went up in flames. The Miami Hearld reported the
fire consumed businesses on Duval Street adjacent to the restaurant, but
left the restaurant Jimmy Buffett opened with a partner in 1987
unscathed.
Margaritaville Cafes operate in several states and in Mexico, Jamaica, the
Cayman Islands and Grand Turk. The singer's sister, Lucy Buffett,
runs a very successful restaurant in Gulf Shores, Alabama named Lulu's,
and wrote
Crazy Sista Cooking, a cook book featuring her favorite recipes.
|
3/11/2009
New Notes |
Woodstock Movie Re-Release
With a new book [story]
and an anniversary concert [story]
in the works, news of an expanded edition of the movie documenting the big
kahuna of all festivals as its 40th anniversary approaches is as surprising
as, well, tie-dye breakout at a Grateful Dead concert. Warner
Brothers has announced a June release for an Ultimate Collector's
Edition of Woodstock, the 1970 movie about the three day festival
staged in a time and place where and when anarchy actually worked.
The collection, available in regular and Blu-ray formats with 5:1 digital
surround sound mix will include additional performances by more than a dozen
artists in two extra hours of footage. A third hour features
interviews with director Martin Scorcese, concert promoter Michael
Lang and many others.
VH1 is also well along in its planned 40th Anniversary feature coverage.
|
3/11/2009
New Notes |
Fans Fume Over McCartney - Ringo Starr
Tickets
The prospect of a reunion of the
two remaining Beatles had buyers primed to get their hands on tickets
for a benefit concert featuring Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr
April 4th at New York's Radio City Music Hall. Frustrated fans say
tickets were being posted on resale ticket broker sites even before they
went on sale. The Daily News reports that 3/4 of the tickets for the
concert to raise money to provide transcendental meditation to poverty
stricken children were made available through a Beatle fan club in
advance. Some angry fans unable to get tickets through Ticketmaster
claim the remaining 1,200 seats were reported as gone less than 10 seconds
after the on-sale time Monday (3/9). |
3/11/2009
New Notes |
E Street Band Tour Rehearsals Start
Bruce Springsteen
has returned to a familiar place to get
himself and the band road-ready for the upcoming tour
[dates].
Asbury Park's Paramount Theater was used to prepare for his 2005
tour. Yesterday afternoon (3/11),
the band was back on the stage of the 3,600 seat theater to work on 5 songs,
according to a post on allasburypark.com.
The Working On A Dream tour opens In San Jose, California
on April first. U.S. dates close with shows May 21 & 23 at the Izod
Center in East Rutherford, about an hour up the Garden State Parkway and
Jersey Turnpike from Asbury Park.
|
3/12/2009
New Notes |
U2 Small Theater Show Extends Promo
Onslaught
U2 continued its campaign
for the ears and attention of the record buying
public with a free concert in a theater in a Boston suburb last night
(3/11).
It was one of those shows thousands may claim to have been at - but only
around 800 got into the Somerville
Theater, according to Boston.com. The hour long set was broadcast
live. Afterwards, band members fielded questions from the audience
while sitting in director's chairs on the small stage. The lack of
older songs and the unsuccessful attempt to get an encore from the band were
the only disappointments of the night for those who got lucky or were well
enough connected to witness the event. Ticket
hopefuls and the media
converged on the scene early for the latest event in a PR campaign that has
included a rooftop concert in London
[story],
a free outdoor show in New York City
[story],
a full week with David Letterman
[story]
and awards show performances in LA
[story],
London and Germany.
|
3/12/2009
New Notes |
Sting's Wine Line
The front man for the Police
spends a lot of time tending fields, gardens and vineyards on his
Tuscan estate. Starting this fall, red wine will join the olive oil, honey,
jams, chestnuts and vegetables have been produced for years on the property,
which is just south of Florence, Italy. 30,000 bottles of Chianti aand
Toscano wines produced from grapes grown on the nearly 750 acre estate will
go on sale in September after a two year fermenting process.
Sting made a presentation to friends and neighbors about his love of
organic farming during a session Tuesday
(3/10)
in a theater near the property, his web site reports. |
3/12/2009
New Notes |
Defense Rests Without Putting Spector On
Stand
Phil Spector, the producer
whose "wall of sound" resulted in some of the biggest hits of the
1960's, did not take the stand before the defense rested Thursday
(3/12)
in his re-trial on charges he shot and killed a woman trying to leave his
home in 2003. The LA Times reports that defense lawyers contend
circumstances suggest the victim, a 40 year old woman, may have taken her
own life. An earlier trial ended with a hung jury in 2007.
|
3/13/2009
New Notes |
Bad Company Back Together
Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke and Mick Ralphs
announced plans through the Bad Company web site
to perform together. Where, when and how often remains unknown - or at least
a Company secret, for now. Various lineups have played as Bad Co.
in recent years. The group came together in 1973 from Free
(Rodgers & Kirke) Mott The Hoople, (Ralphs) and bassist Boz
Burrell, who was briefly in King Crimson. Rodgers
parted company in 1982, resurfacing two years later in The Firm with Led
Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and Chris Slade from
Uriah Heep. The original Bad Company lineup reunited
briefly a decade ago. Burrell died in 2006, and Rodgers became
lead vocalist in Queen for a tour and the 2008 album Cosmos Rocks.
|
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3/14/2009
New Notes |
Rod Stewart Garage Sale
The global economic nosedive has
turned things inside out and upside down for everyone. One measure of its
effect on musicians could be the increase in reunion tours of everyone from
Simon & Garfunkel (rumored) to Devo (firm). Another is
the up-tick in auctions. No telling how many or which of the latter relate
to the economics vs just wanting less stuff - but some pretty impressive
auctions have gone down recently, including the sale of several shotguns
owned by Eric Clapton [story]
and a couple of cars belonging to Eddie Van Halen
[story].
Rod Stewart opened some space in his garage Thursday
(3/12)
with the sale of his 2007 Lamborghini and 2005 Ferrari 575
Superamerica through a London auction house.
Edmunds.com
|
3/15/2009
New Notes |
Springsteen's Daughter Captures Riding
Crown
E Street Band preparations
for the Working On A Dream tour
[story]
did not prevent Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa from
being on the the scene to see
their daughter take first place in her division at an equestrian event in
West Palm beach, Florida (3/14). One of the top junior riders in the country,
seventeen year-old Jessica Springsteen turned in a flawless performance
under the watchful eyes of the entire US Olympic team, according to an event
report filed by the South Florida Sun Central. |
3/15/2009
New Notes |
The Beatles: Rock Band Release
A September 9 release date is
being confirmed on Beatles.com for an interactive console gaming
experience that promises much more than just being able to jam with the
band. Even if it falls short of providing gamers a crush of adoring teenage girls wanting to rip their clothes off, The
Beatles: Rock Band will give virtual band members the chance to play
instruments and use equipment based on models John, Paul, George &
Ringo played through the various phases of the Beatles.
The game's makers also aim to deliver an experience that "...takes players
on a journey through the legacy and evolution of the band's legendary
career" while playing the game, which will be available for
Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii platforms. |
3/16/2009
New Notes |
Satriani, Hagar & Anthony Join Forces
Guitarist Joe Satriani,
Van Halen alums Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony and
one-time Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith jammed in a
Vegas club about a year ago.
It felt and sounded good enough
that the four followed through with studio sessions. Satriani
now relays word through his web site that the group, under the name
Chickenfoot, will release a CD this spring, do some festival appearances
in Europe during the summer, and put plans in gear for a fall US tour. |
3/16/2009
New Notes |
Rothbury Festival Blends Generations
Michigan's
Rothbury Festival is adding veteran drawing power to its lineup for
the event's second year. The Dead, Bob Dylan, the Black Crowes, Gov't
Mule, Willie Nelson and reggae masters Toots & The Maytals join
an eclectic list of dozens of acts that includes everything from the
innovative metal mayhem of Les Claypool from Primus to the
traditional bluegrass of Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys.
The July 2-5 gathering takes place in Rothbury, Michigan - a 3
hour drive from both Chicago and Detroit.
Columbia Records has confirmed that a new Bob Dylan album,
Together Through Life, will drop April
28. Bob and his band open a 5 week European tour next week
(3/22)
in Sweden.
|
3/16/2009
New Notes |
Zeppelin Classic Goes Classical
Kashmir, one of three 8+ minute epics on
the 1975 double album
Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin, gets a cover version
from Escala, a quartet of classically trained Brit beauties.
One look at the ladies makes it easy to understand why guitarist Slash
(Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver) agreed to join them in the studio. On the
unlikely cover combos, this ranks with the Judas Priest cover of
another 1975 song, Diamonds & Rust, by folk singer Joan Baez.
Escalamusic.com |
3/16/2009
New Notes |
Woodstock Artifacts Return To Site
The museum at the performing arts
center near the site of the original Woodstock festival opens for the
season Thursday (3/19).
March 28 the Museum at Bethel Woods
will open a special exhibit marking the historic concert's 40th anniversary.
The Times-Herald Record says stage clothing worn by Jimi Hendrix,
Joe Cocker and Sly Stone will be on display, along with guitars
Neil Young and Pete Townshend played on the massive stage in
August of 1969. Some of the items have been made available from the
Hard Rock Cafe collection. Festival flashbacks will take many
forms this summer, including a new book
[story],
an expanded re-release of the 1970 movie about the event
[story], and an expected
anniversary concert [story].
|
3/17/2009
New Notes |
Dylan In Doghouse Over Outhouse
Malibu, California homeowners are
fuming over fumes they say come from a porta-potty used by security guards
for the Point Dume compound Bob Dylan owns. A blog report on the
LA Times web site quotes irate neighbors who claim repeated attempts to
get Dylan to address the problem have been ignored. One
protested the singer's disregard for them by saying "Mr. 'Civil Rights' is
killing our civil rights". Ouch. Others claim what's blowin' in the
wind has made neighbors ill. Attempts to contact Dylan and his attorney for
their side of the story went unanswered, according to the report. |
3/17/2009
New Notes |
Syd Barrett Art Funds Projects
Before being derailed by drugs and
inner demons, Syd Barrett created brilliant music that defied every
convention. No short time member had as profound or enduring an impact on a
band as Barrett with Pink Floyd. His sister, Rosemary,
recently established a trust named after her late brother. The mission of
the Syd Barrett Trust is to raise money to fund arts projects for
people suffering from mental illness. Much of Syd's artwork was lost
or destroyed, so the Trust was thrilled when a classmate of Barrett's
presented it with a dozen sketches and paintings Barrett did in college.
The originals are being auctioned. Prints are available and are also
included in a new book.
Syd Barrett Trust
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3/17/2009
New Notes |
Skynyrd Returns To Studio
The resilience of Lynyrd
Skynyrd was tested early and often, starting with the October, 1977
plane crash that took the lives of Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, his
sister, Cassie, and the band's tour manager. The band recently
lost keyboard player Billy Powell
[story].
Some good news out of the Skynyrd
web site - the group has landed a new recording contract with a
Roadrunner Records label and is in a Nashville studio working on
its first studio album in six years. |
3/17/2009
New Notes |
Loggins & Messina To Tour
Kenny Loggins
& Jim Messina are putting together
their second tour in recent years. A 2005 series of Loggins &
Messina concerts led to the release of
Live: Sittin' In Again at the Santa Barbara Bowl. Loggins
and former Poco mainstay Messina were together for the first
half of the 1970's before parting ways in 1976.
The tour opens on The Cape, August 20 in Hyannis, Massachusetts.
logginsandmessina.com |
3/18/2009
New Notes |
Springsteen, Mellencamp, Vedder, Haynes Honor Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
has influenced and inspired a lot of
musicians during his nine decades. He was committed to protecting the
environment long before a lot of them were ever played a note. On May
3, the folk singer's 90th birthday, dozens of them will be in Madison
Square Garden to pay tribute to the man for both of those gifts -
and to raise money to support Clearwater, the conservation group he
founded and named after his Hudson River sailing sloop. Performers
lined up to play include Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Eddie Vedder,
Warren Haynes, Steve Earle, Taj Mahal, Richie Havens, Arlo Guthrie, Kris
Kristofferson and Emmylou Harris. |
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3/19/2009
New Notes |
Odd Neil Young Cover On Even Stranger CD
No, we don't mean a photo of Neil
on the cover - but a cover version of Hurricane by comic Adam
Sandler. That alone is strange enough. What's really weird is that
he does it straight. The song is included on a compilation that makes about
as much sense. A Revolution In Sound is a Warner Bros. Records 50th
anniversary compilation of cover songs by its artists. Given it's
roster of current and former artists, a few editions featuring compatible
artists would have been very cool. Instead, they did just one, which makes
listening experience only a schizophrenic would enjoy. Young
himself, who records for WB's Reprise label, gets credit for sitting
this one out.
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3/19/2009
New Notes |
Springsteen On Daily Show
The incredibly quick wit of Jon
Stewart can intimidate even the guests he likes, so it's hard to know
whether musicians just don't get invited to appear on the Daily Show
or they do but are afraid to go on. Bruce Springsteen became just
the 4th musical guest on the show tonight
(3/19).
Having Springsteen seated across from him appeared to make Stewart
as ill at ease as Bruce was - and possibly even more uncomfortable
than Bruce when he
began to tell Springsteen what a big influence he had on his life and
career. In spite of the awkward moments, the session made for good TV.
View it now.
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3/19/2009
New Notes |
Springsteen On Daily Show
The incredibly quick wit of Jon
Stewart can intimidate even the guests he likes, so it's hard to know
whether musicians just don't get invited to appear on the Daily Show
or they do but are afraid to go on. Bruce Springsteen became just
the 4th musical guest on the show tonight
(3/19).
Having Springsteen seated across from him appeared to make Stewart
as ill at ease as Bruce was - and possibly even more uncomfortable
than Bruce when he
began to tell Springsteen what a big influence he had on his life and
career. In spite of the awkward moments, the session made for good TV.
View it now.
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3/20/2009
New Notes |
John Mellencamp Sees Son Win Bout
Hud Mellencamp
won his Golden Gloves boxing match at an Indiana armory Thusrday night
(3/19)
with his father, John Mellencamp,
looking on. The Jconline.com story credits the strong left hook of
the 14 year old with sealing the deal against his second round opponent.
The win means the young fighter advances to the championship bout in the
Senior Division for 132 pounders on April 16.
Hud's father could be hitting the road this summer for a tour with Bob
Dylan and Willie Nelson that includes stops in minor league
ballparks. Dylan and Nelson did a similar series of
dates a few years ago.
Mellencamp has posted a piece expressing his take on the state of the
record industry on his
web site.
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3/21/2009
New Notes |
Mighty Max's Son Will Fill In With E
Street Band
NBC
gave the drummer for house band on Late Night with Conan O'Brien time
off to
tour with his other group -Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. With
O'Brien taking reins of the Tonight Show from Jay Leno, the network wants
Max Weinberg available more. That gives Weinberg's son, 19 year-old Jay, the thrill of
providing the backbeat for Bruce Springsteen on at least some of the
dates on the upcoming tour. Bruce thanked Conan for continuing
to grant Max time off to tour with the E Street Band in a
statement that concludes, "We promise to return him in one piece".
Newark Star-Ledger
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3/22/2009
New Notes |
Ron Wood & Jimmy Page welcome Beck &
Womack to RHOF
Jeff Beck
and Bobby Womack will be presented by
Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and Ron Wood from the
Rolling Stones at the Rock Hall Of Fame induction in
Cleveland Saturday (4/4).
Beck, who was inducted as a member of the Yardbirds in 1992,
replaced Eric Clapton in the Yardbirds. Page later
joined the group himself. Womack, a prolific songwriter, penned
It's All Over Now, the first chart topper the Stones
recorded.
He wrote a number of Wilson Pickett hits and was a member of Sam
Cooke's band before beginning his own recording career.
Rollingstone.com |
3/22/2009
New Notes |
More Hendrix On The Way
News there is more Jimi Hendrix
material in the pipeline is never a complete surprise despite the staggering
number of posthumous releases already available. True, some of the
material released to date has been marginal - but advances in audio and
image restoration mean some still archived recordings and footage could
sound and look better. Guardian.co.uk reports that a film sot
in 1969 of Hendrix both on and off stage is being prepared for
release on DVD. Janie Hendrix, sister of the guitar great, tells the
Guardian that two more CDs are planned for this year, along with a
concert DVD of a Hendrix performance at Royal Albert Hall in 1969.
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3/23/2009
New Notes |
'09 Shaping Up As Busy For CSN
David Crosby, Stephen
Stills and Graham Nash are hardly kickin' back this year.
The trio is currently in the studio working on a new release of cover songs
with producer Rick Rubin. June 2, Rhino will issue a CD
of demos recorded in 1968 & '69. The following night, CSN opens
a US tour in St. Louis. On the 18th of June they will be honored with The
Rascals Felix Cavalieri and Eddie Brigatti and Jon Bon Jovi
& Richie Sambora as 40th
anniversary inductees at the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in New York
City. They close out the month by opening a series of European dates
at the massive Glastonbury Festival in England on June 27.
crosbystillsnash.com
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3/23/2009
New Notes |
Woodstock Veterans on Panel
Several of the original festival's
organizers and performers participated in a panel discussion about the 1969
event and the prospects for a 40th anniversary concert this summer.
Stu Cook, bassist with Creedence Clearwater Revival, Gregg
Rolie and drummer Michael Shrieve, who played in Santana
at the original festival, joined sound engineer Eddie Kramer and
organizer Michael Lang Saturday
(3-21)
at the annual South By Southwest (SWXW) music industry gathering in
Austin, Texas. Lang said a 2009 Woodstock reunion
concert may hinge on getting enough sponsors to make it a free event.
sxsw.com |
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3/23/2009
New Notes |
Neil Young Archives
The release of the first of four massive collections of
archived Neil Young has been delayed several times. Most recently, it was
sidetracked by
Fork In The Road, a CD of new songs due April 7.
Plans now call for a June 2 release for
ARCHIVES 1963-1972,
the
10 DVD collection that includes 2 concert discs, 128 songs, the Journey
Through The Past movie and a hardcover book.
|
3/24/2009
New Notes |
U2 Stadium Tour Sales Strong In Europe
European economies hit the skids
with the rest of the world's - but the downturn has not been severe enough
to leave any seats empty for the U2 360° Tour.
Dates on sale so far have sold out - most in record time, resulting in the
addition of extra shows in some cases. The 160,000 tickets for two shows in
Dublin's Croke Park were gone in under two hours. The band is
in Morocco working on a video for Magnificent.
Irishtimes.com |
3/24/2009
New Notes |
Springsteen Holds Open Rehearsals
As he has in the past, Bruce
Springsteen returned to the fabled boardwalk that provides the backdrop
for many of his early songs to do a rehearsal set with a live audience.
The big difference last night (3/23)
- the Asbury Park Convention Hall show was official E Street Band
concert debut of Jay Weinberg, the 19 year old son of band
mainstay Max Weinberg. (Backstreets.com, which never misses a
beat when it comes to Bruce, notes that the younger Weinberg played drums on
Born To Run at a Giants Stadium concert last summer). Jay will
fill-in on an as yet unspecified number of tour dates so his father can be
on the NBC set more often when Conan O'Brien moves into
the Tonight Show host role. Max has been keeping the
beat for Bruce since 1974, when he replaced Vini 'Mad Dog' Lopez.
The
Asbury Park Press was on the scene last night and reports that
Jay earned a thumbs up from his father. The band will be in
session on the boardwalk again tonight.
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3/24/2009
New Notes |
Astral Weeks Turn To Astral Months
Van Morrison will follow-up
his critically acclaimed Astral Weeks performances in Los Angeles
[story],
New York City [story]
and London
[story]
with encore performances where
they began. Morrison has announced that performances of the
1968 career touchstone release will return to California on May 2 & 3 at the
Greek Theater on the University of California Berkeley campus and at
the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles on May 7, 8 & 9. Tickets for
every performance have sold out almost instantly. The CD recorded
during the Hollywood Bowl shows has been a top seller since its
release [review],
and a DVD culled from those shows and the New York City concerts is in
production.
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3/25/2009
New Notes |
Costello And Burnett Match Up Again
Few artists and producers have a
command of musical interests and styles as broad as Elvis Costello
and T-Bone Burnett. Their careers intersected when Burnett
signed on to produce Blood & Chocolate and King Of America
for Costello in 1986, a role he also filled in 1989 on Spike.
Ten years later finds them together on
Secret, Profane & Sugarcane, the new Elvis Costello album due
out June 2. The only non-acoustic instrument on this roots music
project is Burnett's electric guitar.
Elviscostello.com
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3/25/2009
New Notes |
Dead Offer Up Front Seats Through Charity
Auction Site
Two of best seats in the house for
every stop on the Dead tour are reserved for the highest bidder
- uh, we should specify that means the person bidding the most money,
through the online site charityfolk.com. The announcement on
the site web site of the Rex Foundation, the charity the Grateful
Dead organized in 1983 to honor their late road manager, Rex Jackson,
and support creativity in arts, science and education, says packages will
include limited edition concert posters signed by group members. The
tour opens April 12 in Greensboro, NC and wraps up with a performance with
the Allman Brothers and Doobie Brothers at The Gorge in
Washington State on May 16 [dates
and more info]
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3/26/2009
New Notes
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Rare Tapes Up For Bids
The London based Fame Bureau
will conduct an auction at the end of April featuring reel to reel
recordings made by the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix.
The Stones tape captures a 1972 rehearsal in southern California.
The 66 minute session includes 5 songs - Can't You Hear me Knocking?,
Don't Lie To Me, Gimme Shelter, Jumping Jack Flash and Rocks Off.
The recoding of Hendrix is an amazing get. It features Jimi
working through songs that would later appear on
Electric Ladyland, the iconic 1968 double album
that included the guitar great's electrified take on All Along
The Watchtower. The tape has a version of Tears Of Rage,
the song Dylan and Richard Manuel wrote that was
included on
Music From Big Pink,
the 1968 debut album from The Band.
The original Hendrix publishing contract and his personal draw-string
pouch will also be included in the April 28 auction. In 2008, The
Fame Bureau handled the sale of the first guitar Hendrix ignited
on stage. Get details on the auction
here. View video about the Hendrix tape
here.
Famebureau.com
(3-26-02) |
3/26/2009
New Notes |
Rock Band Breaks 1 Billion In Sales
There are still battles to win
signing rights to artists - but the combatants have changed. Instead of
record companies, the scramble is now between the titans of the virtual band
world, Guitar Hero®
and Rock Band®
- and the payoffs to artists can dwarf what they earn from album sales.
That point was driven home when the makers of Rock Band sent out a press
release today (3/26)
proclaiming over a Billion
dollars in sales in North America alone in the last 15 months. With a
Beatle edition for Rock Band®
due in September
that promises major advances in function and features
[story],
gamers and
accountants should stay limber. |
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3/26/2009
New Notes |
Inside Look At The Who From Down Under
Pete Townshend
granted a very candid
interview to Kathy McCabe of the New South Wales Daily Telegraph
while The Who were in Sydney, Austrailia. Among the revelations in session: he agreed to tour in
2002 to help John Entwistle get out of debt. The bass player's death
the day before the tour was to open caused him to sense Entwistle's
"...mischievous and wonderful sense of irony". He feels a need to
perform even though he has no financial need to. He likes to buy a 'stupid
car' before a tour starts so he has it to look forward to at the end.
He and Roger Daltrey have no plan in place for the band -
things just do or don't happen. And the best wind mill guitarist, next to him, is a woman who won an air
guitar contest he judged - who married Roger Taylor of Queen,
prompting Pete to quip "Bloody Drummers!".
New South Wales Daily Telegraph
(3-26-
02) |
3/27/2009
New Notes |
Controversy builds Over Malibu Home Plan of U2 Guitarist
Malibu, the Pacific shoreline
community just north of LA that is the zip code of choice for many
entertainers, has another controversy developing. U2 guitarist
The Edge has some residents and environmentalists riled up over his
reported plan to level off a hillside overlooking the ocean to build a
complex of structures. The Daily Mail claims to have obtained
an architectural model of the mansion and other buildings included in
development plans for the property, which was purchased in 2006.
Residents closer to the Pacific have been raising a stink over the stench
they claim is coming from a prota-potty used by security guards on the
grounds of the compound Bob Dylan owns
[story].
3-30-09 |
3/27/2009
New Notes |
Eagles Members On New Paul Carrack Release
The fine voice of Paul Carrack
helped produce hits for Ace, Mike & The Mechanics, and
Squeeze. His song writing has also gained him the recognition of
plenty of musicians. Carrack's new album,
I Know That Name (May 5, 429
Records), features guest appearances
from Timothy Schmidt and Don Henley of the Eagles.
3-30-09
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3/27/2009
New Notes |
Demolition Of Jimi Hendrix Home Begins
A large dumpster sat beside the
home Jimi Hendrix lived in during part of his childhood yesterday as
workers began prying up the roofing of the small structure. A last
ditch attempt to prevent its demolition appears to have come up short,
according to the
Renton Reporter. The owner of the house had been given a
deadline of March 27 by the city of Renton, Washington to move the building
from the site it occupies across the street from the cemetery where Hendrix
is buried. [story].
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3/29/2009
New Notes |
Rockers Practice What They Preach
Good economic times or bad,
Bruce Springsteen always supports and encourages fans to contribute to
grass-roots efforts to fight hunger. Assisting community food banks
trying to meet the rising need in these difficult times will be a priority
during his new tour.
Boston.com reports Bruce has provided tickets for his concerts in
that city (4/21&22)
to the
Boston Food Bank to auction online. He will also match dollar for
dollar donations between 5 and 10 thousand dollars. Some of the best
seats for the U2 360° and Dead tours
(story below)
are being held out for auction to benefit various charities.
330-09
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3/29/2009
New Notes |
Free Dylan Download
The Bob Dylan
web site is offering free downloads of Beyond Here Lies Nothin',
one of the songs on Together Through Life, the new album due out
April 28. The download will be available through midnight on Tuesday
(3/31/).
Fans have until midnight tonite (3/30)
to register through
Amazon for the chance to win a trip for two to catch Dylan in concert in
London on April 26. The trip includes roundtrip air, hotel and concert
tickets. 3-30-09
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3/31/2009
New Notes |
Bad Company Reunion Firms Up
Our earlier report [story]
of a possible reunion involving 3/4 of the original Bad Company
lineup has been confirmed by Paul Rodgers. In an interview with
Billboard, the lead singer says that he, Mick Ralphs and Simon
Kirke will tour during the summer. Lynn Sorenson, who has
played bass in Rodger's solo band, replaces the late Boz Burrell.
Guitarist Howard Leese of Heart is aslo slated to join the
group for the tour, which has under a dozen dates currently planned.
3-31-09
MORE BAD COMPANY
INSIGHTS
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3/31/2009
New Notes |
New Doobie Brothers Wines Introduced
Bruce Cohn, longtime
manager of the Doobie Brothers, also has a talent and passion for
producing wine. The newest trio of wines in his Collector's Series is
a set made from premium Bordeaux
grapes that bear the names and
cover art of Doobie Brothers albums. The 2006 vintage Cycles,
Brotherhood and Sibling Rivalry wines were created in memory of
Keith Knudson, drummer for the band who passed away in 2005 from
pneumonia. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the wines will
be donated to veteran's groups, a cause the band has a long history of
supporting. Earlier this month, Sting announced plans to release wine
produced from grapes on his Tuscan estate in Italy
[story].
3-31-09
Doobiebrothers.net 3/31/09
MORE DOOBIE BROTHERS INSIGHTS
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3/31/2009
New Notes |
Dead Take Manhattan
Repeating a feat Elvis Costello
pulled off almost 30 years to the day earlier
(4/1/79),
members of the Dead did shows in three different New York clubs last
night (3/30).
An acoustic set at the Angel Orensanz Center for
the Arts opened the trio of shows,
followed by a plugged in set at the Gramercy Theater. An 8 song, jam
infused two hour set for 3,000 at the Roseland Ballroom closed things
out. All of the shows were free, with tickets distributed through a
radio station and an online lottery. The barnstorming session came the night
after Bob Weir and Phil Lesh joined the Allman Brothers
Band during the final set of that group's 15 show marathon at the
Beacon Theater (story below).
The Dead return to the city April 23 to appear on the David
Letterman Show. 3/31
Deadnet.com
MORE GRATEFUL
DEAD INSIGHTS
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3/31/2009
New Notes |
Phil Lesh & Bob Weir Join Allmans for
Beacon Finale
The Allman Brothers Band run at the Beacon Theater
in New York City drew to a close Sunday night
(3/29). The last set of the 15 show series opened with
Bob Weir and Phil Lesh of The Dead joining the ABB
on Sugaree, I Know You Rider and Franklin's Tower. The
occasion also reunited the group with former keyboard player Chuck
Leavell.
The band's 40th anniversary made 2009 a stellar year for guest musicians at
the annual residency (on hiatus last year while Gregg Allman recovered from
Hepatitis). Guests players included Eric Clapton
(2 nights), Billy Gibbons
of ZZ Top, Johnny Winter, Levon Helm, Los Lobos, Boz Scaggs, Taj Mahal,
Buddy Guy, Bonnie and daughter Bekka Bramlett, members of
Phish, the Asbury Jukes Horns, Randy Brecker, Lenny White, Susan
Tedeschi, Robert Randolph, John Hammond, Sheryl Crow, Cowboy's Tommy Talton
and Scott Boyer, and Jimmy Hall of Wet Willie.
Notably absent again this year was guitarist Dickey Betts, in spite
of having been in the region and apparently free on the opening night of the
run [story].
3-31-09
MORE
ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND INSIGHTS
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3/30/2009
New Notes |
JJ Cale Joined By Tom Petty at LA gig
Since JJ Cale is not fond
of life on the road, the chance to see him play live is
a relatively rare treat. The 150 or so packed into a small LA club
Saturday night (3/28)
for the second of two sold-out shows got an
even better treat when Cale brought Tom Petty and Mike
Campbell out to join him. Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist
sat in with JJ on Crazy Mama, After Midnight and I'd Like
To Love You, Baby - a Petty request. Cale,
according to the Spinner.com account of the night, confessed to never
having played it live, but agreed to after Petty coached him through it
backstage. 3-30-09
Spinner.com
MORE TOM PETTY INSIGHTS
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