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Noteworthy Now Archives for 2010-06

Stones Daughter Drops Drawers

Alexandra Richards, daughter of Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, appears in the French version of Playboy wearing nothing but a pair of sneakers. The bare-almost-all photos of Alexandra, who works for a model management firm and also gigs as a club DJ, show the blonde beauty in unusual poses that were posted on MusicToob.comGeorgia May Jagger, Mick's daughter, models and has done some very revealing ad layouts (story).
NYPost.com

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Another Historic Studio Being Sold

A Manchester, UK recording studio used by the Who, Eric Clapton, Iggy Pop and many others is being put up for sale.  Revolution Studios joins a growing list of famed recording studios being sold as the availability of sophisticated and relatively inexpensive digital hardware and software and sluggish album sales drop demand for studio time. (story)  The studio, which opened 35 years ago, is being marketed as a studio, although the equipment is apparently not included in the price being sought for the building.  
Manchester Evening News   MenMedia.co.uk

ALL CURRENT STORIES

Crossroads Festival In HD

The Eric Clapton Crossroads Festival put another stellar lineup of guitar greats on a single stage last weekend near Chicago.  On July 27 close to 500 theaters in the US will screen a high-def movie filmed during the concert at Toyota Park.  Segments featuring Clapton, BB King, Jeff Beck, Buddy Guy and ZZ Top will be included in the movie.  An expanded edition DVD and Blu-Ray release is being prepared for the fall.
Variety.com

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Crue Singer Faces Crusin' Boozin' Charge

Las Vegas police reportedly took Vince Neil into custody in the early hours of Monday (6/28) on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.  A Hollywood Reporter story indicates the Motley Crue front man was held in Nevada's Clark County jail following the traffic stop.  Neil, who has a home and business ventures in Vegas that include tattooo parlors and a cantina that bears his name in a Hilton Hotel complex, had earlier been sought in connection with an altercation with a photographer.  Neil was at the wheel in 1984 when Hanoi Rocks drummer Nicholas Dingley was killed in a wreck that followed a night of heavy drinking at Neil's LA home.  He was charged with vehicular manslaughter and received 5 years of probation, was required to pay more than $2.5 million to victims of the accident and was ordered to do 200 hours of community service.
AllVoices.com

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Furthur Loses Vermont Date

Officials at the Shelburne Museum near Burlington, Vermont concluded that concert organizers had not done enough to guarantee security at sold-out concert scheduled for Monday (7/5) featuring Furthur, the group that includes former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Phil Lesh.  The band's publicist. J.C. Juanis, was quoted in the Burlington Free Press as laying blame on 'local authorities' for revoking permits - a claim state and local officials called bogus.  The decision to pull the plug on the event appears instead to have been reached by the Museum over concerns that attempts by ticketless fans to gain access to the grounds could pose a threat to historic artifacts on the site, which sits near the shores of Lake Champlain to the south of Burlington.  The band has booked a Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania show to replace the lost Vermont date.
BurlingtonFreePress.com

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Van Zandt Sheds Light on Darkness

Springsteen fans several months into an extended period during which the E Street Band won't see the light of day will find the darkness does has a sliver lining.  The hiatus has given Bruce and Steve Van Zandt time to dig deeper into a project the two have had little time for over the past two years.  As a result, the deluxe re-issue of the 1978 album Darkness On The Edge of Town getting more and more interesting.  During an interview on British radio, Van Zandt revealed that the reissue could possibly include as many as 10 additional tracks recorded during the sessions for Darkness. The E Street Band guitarist thinks that Bruce and he may tinker with a few of the songs, possibly adding some lyrics and recutting a few vocal parts - but that keeping the original feel of the album will be a priority. While no release date has been firmed up for the set, he expects it to be available before the suns sets on 2010, saying the project will '...be a really fun reissue for Christmas.'
RollingStone.com

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Buffett Beach Bash Delayed

'Surf's Up' is music to Jimmy Buffett's ears - unless it applies to Gulf Shores, Alabama on July 1.  The free concert Buffett arranged for that date in Gulf Shores (story) has been rescheduled for July 11 to avert any possibility of adding to the area's problems instead of helping out in the wake of the BP oil spill.  The delay was prompted by concerns that a tropical storm churning things up to the west could become a factor for the region.  While the storm itself is not expected to have a direct impact on the Mississippi, Alabama and Florida Panhandle, high surf is expected to be a problem along the shorelines of eastern Gulf Of Mexico states.  Buffett quipped, 'Nobody hates this more than I do but I guess, as the song says, it's hard to reason with the hurricane season.'
Margaritaville.com

MORE JIMMY BUFFETT INSIGHTS   ALL CURRENT STORIES

Mick & Bill Clinton Soccer Seatmates

Mick Jagger and Bill Clinton took in the US loss to Ghana at the World Cup in Africa Saturday (6/26). Sitting side by side during the tense soccer match, the former president and still presiding lead singer of the Rolling Stones appeared to have a lively conversation throughout the game, which saw the US bounced from the tournament when Ghana scored in the third minute of extra-time.  Jagger, an avid fan of West Ham United in the English Premier League, Mick will have no problem coming up with someone to fill Bill's seat Sunday as England and Germany, two odds-on favorites to take the Cup, tangle in the instant elimination round of 16 teams.
Zap2it.com

MORE MICK JAGGER INSIGHTS

Glastonbury Gets The Edge

U2 had to cancel plans to headline the Glastonbury Festival while Bono recovered from surgery to repair damage the singer sustained during a conditioning session leading up to the next leg of the Irish band's 360o Tour.  That did not keep The Edge from making an appearance.  Saturday night (6/26), the U2 guitarist bound on stage as Muse launched into a version of Where The Streets Have No Name, bringing a roar of recognition from the 100,000 strong crowd. See it here.
Knowing no intro was really necessary, Matt Bellamy of Muse did not bother with one as the song opened, saying simply, 'This is our friend The Edge' as the song from The Joshua Tree drew to a close.  There to take it all in was actress Kate Hudson, former wife of Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes, who is reportedly tight with Bellamy.
MTV.co.uk

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Rush Added to Hollywood Walk

Star 2112 would have been more appropriate, but Rush members Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson seemed pleased to settle for number 2414 Friday (6/25) on the sidewalk outside the Musicians Institute along the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.  Drummer Neal Peart missed the brief ceremony because he is traveling from Canada to Albuquerque for the Canadian trio's tour opener.  Lee called arriving from the suburbs of Toronto to a ceremony honoring his band in Hollywood a '...beautiful and surreal moment'.  The Mann Chinese Theater marked the occasion by screening Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, the new film documenting the band.
HollywoodReporter.com

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McCartney Streams London Set

Paul McCartney will be seen heard world wide online during his appearance in Hyde Park in London Sunday (6/27) to raise awareness and money for Born HIV Free, a charity French First Lady Carla Bruni is behind.  Not only can the streamed concert set be seen and heard in near-real time, it will also be posted on YouTube for about a month.  Bruni thanked McCartney in advance, saying, 'I want to thank Paul McCartney for donating his performance for the Born HIV Free campaign.  Through this live stream, we share our common belief in a world where all children can be born free from HIV.'  The concert set can be viewed at youtube.com/BornHIVFree.
ContactMusic.com

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Free Jimmy Buffett Tickets Vanish

One of the only positive developments since the deep water oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico turned loose an uncontrolled discharge of oil that has fouled the environment, jobs and tourism in the Gulf States was the announcement of a free July 1 concert in Gulf Shores, Alabama being organized by Jimmy Buffett. (story) There would be no need for that show if the response from BP to the disaster was as impressive as the rush for free tickets Wednesday (6/23). 35,000 were gone in 10 minutes.  The singer's attempt to offer assistance in addressing one of the environmental consequences of the disaster has met with indifference or resistance from authorities involved in the oil spill response.  Jimmy has helped Dragonfly Boat Works of Vero Beach, Florida build custom boats specifically designed to help rescue wildlife near coastal areas the spill is impacting.  Mark Castlow of Dragonfly says efforts to get the boats deployed have met with resistance he attributed to '...a political and corporate noose around the Gulf' during an interview on CNN Tuesday (6/22).  Buffett agreed to help fund construction of the boats after Castlow called his sales manager about the idea. Unlike BP, his timing couldn't have been better - when Jimbo Meador took the call he was with Buffett fishing in the Bahamas.  The flat bottom boats are equipped with bow mounted electric motors that permit them to get up close to wildlife quietly, and have solar fans and misting systems to counter the high temps in the area.  Each is also equipped with webcam enabled laptops and a web site is in the works so experts on shore and those interested in viewing the work can virtually climb aboard - if and when they get to put the boats to use.
TCPalm.com

MORE JIMMY BUFFETT INSIGHTS   ALL CURRENT STORIES

Beatles Songs Still With Jackson

Speculation that the stake the Michael Jackson estate holds in Sony/ATV Publishing might be sold to help pay down the nearly half a billion dollars in debt the reportedly singer left behind appear to be unfounded, according to a story by Bloomberg.  A lucrative portion of that holding includes some 250 Beatles songs Jackson acquired the rights to for close to $50 million in 1985.  Sony/ATV also holds rights to titles from Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley and is estimated to have an overall value in the range of $1.5 - $2 billion, making the amount the Jackson estate stood to receive if it had elected to sell enough to more than cover the remainder of the debt it is believed to hold.  The estate has collected considerable income since the singer's death a year ago, and retaining the Sony/ATV holding may put it in a better position to get approval on an expected bid to refinance a $300 million dollar loan due in 2010.
BusinessWeek.com

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Stones & Doors Candid Chronicles

Image conscious artists rarely let cameras roam freely behind the scenes unless there are guarantees that anything released requires artist and/or management approval.  It's almost unthinkable that any but a handful of acts would permit the kind of footage that comprises the majority of new DVDs about a pair of Rock's most infleuntial and important acts to ever see the light of day.  Stones In Exile, the film that documents the Rolling Stones flight to Southern France to escape astronomical taxation in the UK and the recording sessions for Exile On Main Street, and When You're Strange, a movie that chronicles the rapid rise and tragic demise of the Doors, are both filled with the kind of scenes and dialog that publicists and agents have nightmares about. 
Jim Morrison
has been dead nearly twice as long as he was alive and the collapse of the Doors was attributable to his downward spiral, so a movie as candid about what was going on during the turmoil at both ends of that saga is not as surprising as it is to have the Stones not only allow an equally if not more candid one about themselves - but actually participate and produce it!  Both movies are remarkable. 
Despite a surprisingly deadpan Johnny Depp narration, When Your're Strange captures the mayhem, tenderness and many of the other contradictions of Jim Morrison and making it easy to understand how difficult his increasingly dysfunctional state must have been for the band. Riveting concert and backstage scenes also capture the charisma he somehow maintained even as his life was unraveling.  The fact the band emerged from Southern California and that Morrison was a film student at UCLA accounts for why so much of the band's private time was caught on film.  When You're Strange also does a good job of  presenting the cultural and historical context of the period and relating it to what was happening in Morrison's head.
Stones In Exile lands you in the middle of the chaos that enveloped musicians, their lovers and surrounding cast of characters (some invited and some not) that showed up at Nellcote, the estate Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg moved into on the French Riviera after leaving England.  Most of Exile On Mainstreet was recorded in the steamy, dingy basement of the otherwise luxurious villa overlooking the Mediterranean under conditions that make it amazing a record came out of the sessions at all, but also contributed to what made it such a landmark release.
As surprising as some of the comments and scenes Jagger, Richards and Charlie Watts (who share producing credit) elected to leave in the final cut are some of the far from flattering remarks about Mick and Keith and the madness of what was going on left in interviews from members Mick Taylor and Bill Wyman in bonus footage.
While there is a lot less film footage in Exile (some of it from the notorious Cocksucker Blues) than in the Doors movie, director Stephen Kijak and producer John Battsek manage to create the impression there is much more by applying some of the techniques Ken Burns pioneered that give the feel of live action to footage that relies on still photos.
Consider both of these movies gotta see films.

Kinks Bassist Passes

Pete Quaife, the founding bass player of the Kinks, died of kidney failure Wednesday (6/23). Quaife remained a member of the group from its inception until 1969, when the stress of being in a band with two brothers that were almost constantly at odds became too much for him.  Calling Ray Davies a 'control freak' in a 2005 interview, Quaife described tension in the band as being so elevated that he was too intimidated to assert himself for fear of being '...squished with a size 16 boot had I even suggested they listen to an idea from me.'  Quaife had been in poor health for much of the past decade.
RollingStone.com  NYTimes.com

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Red Rocker Writing Bio

Fact and fiction might prove tough to sort out in a book by and about Sammy Hagar, but it's bound to be an entertaining read.  The Red Rocker himself says some of the things that are factual will be hard to believe, including the account of his dead drunk father actually dying in the back of a police car in Fonatana California.  Sammy, a brother and two sisters overcame that and a lot more while being raised by a mother who had only an 8th grade education and supported the family on income earned irnoning shirts and picking fruit.  Hagar says that his mother's '...heart, soul and creativity' helped her persevere and had a role in her four children to grow up to '...all have had good lives and no problems.'  Lots of legends surround the fun loving and occasionally Hell-raising former Montrose, Van Halen and current Chickenfoot member.  He's older and wiser, but still loves having a good time and providing good times through his music and his Cabo Wabo resorts and Sammy Hagar Beach Bars, both of which help fund his generous support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  No publishing date for Sammy Hagar Red has been set yet, but you can depend on Sammy to let the world know when Red is ready to be read.
AtlanticCityWeekly.com

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Gregg Allman Undergoes Transplant

Gregg Allman, diagnosed with liver disease related to Hepatitis C in 2007, received a liver transplant Wednesday (6/23) at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.  The Derek Trucks Band with Derek's wife Susan Tedsechi will fill-in for the Allman Brothers Band at the Crossroads Festival, the guitar driven festival organized by Eric Clapton that takes place this weekend outside of Chicago. (story)  Allman, who had been on a waiting list for a replacement liver for some time, commented, 'I feel pretty good, considering everything that's happened.  I changed my ways years ago but we can't turn back time', and said he looks forward to having the opportunity to continue making music the his friends.
ChicagoTribune.com

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The Doors - Open & Shut

When You're Strange, a film providing a fascinating perspective on the life and times of Jim Morrison and the Doors, is out on DVD and Blu-Ray after limited screenings in theaters.  That this documentary represents Morrison and the band in a much more valid light than the Oliver Stone movie about the band is one of the few things that the remaining members of the Doors have been able to agree on in quite some time.  A reminder of that came with the announcement of the title of the forthcoming book by drummer John Densmore.  The book, The Doors: Unhinged, comes out October 1. It gives a blow-by-blow account of the falling out Densmore had with Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger over that pair's plan to tour using the name The DOORS of the 21st Century.  Legal action put in play to block the keyboard player and guitarist from including 'The Doors' in the name was based partly on the contention by Densmore and those in charge of the Jim Morrison estate that the original band required all members to be in agreement on every decision relating to the group.  When You're Strange made its debut as one of the top selling DVD's this week.  A book about the bickering between the former band mates of Jim Morrison making it anywhere near the top of a best seller list would be strange - and miraculous.
Amazon.com

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Unreleased Beatles Footage Coming

73 million viewers may not seem all that remarkable in an era when the biggest televised events can attract an audience exceeding a billion. But having more than 140 million eyeballs watching grainy black & white screens was big news in 1964.  The attraction was America's first chance to see the Beatles.  As marginal as the visual quality of the telecast from the Ed Sullivan Theater was on that Sunday night in February, the sound was just as bad. Rudimentary audio capabilities were only partly to blame; an audience packed with young ladies in a state of hormonal driven hysteria screaming so loud it's a wonder no lungs landed on the stage took care of the rest.  UMe plans to release the complete performances John, Paul, George & Ringo turned in for the tuned in masses during appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 AND '65.  The May 24, 1964 appearance includes 13 minutes of previously unreleased footage, including Sullivan's interview segment with band members.  Whether the remastered 5:1 audio makes the music more audible or just results in the screams shattering your HD screen remains to be seen.  The DVD comes out September 7.
USAToday.com   TVWeek.com

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Gulf Shores Lands Free Buffett Concert

When Jimmy Buffett sang about '...all of those tourists covered in oil' in Margaritaville, crude oil was not the variety he had in mind.  Gulf Coast states fighting to defend their coastlines against the BP oil spill are also in a battle against the perception that beautiful beaches are fouled with more oil than they actually are.  Buffett, who will soon open a Margaritaville beach front hotel in Pensacola, Florida (story) and whose sister runs Lulu's, a very successful restaurant in Gulf Shores, Alabama, has already been pitching in to help provide resources to fight the spill.  On July 1, Buffett's Coral Reefer Band and a bunch of special guests stage a free concert in Gulf Shores to help turn the tourism tide against against any misconception that the Gulf isn't still a great place to visit.  Kenny Chesney, the Zac Brown Band, Sonny Landreth, Allen Toiussaint and Jesse Winchester are all expected to perform in the concert, which is slated to air on CMT.
Up north, Parrotheads were out in force last week in Niagara Falls, Ontario for the grand opening of the newest Margaritaville Cafe, the first of two locations opening north of the border.  The 14,000 square foot indoor tropical paradise overlooking the famed Falls brings the Cafe count to 17.
Margaritaville.com   PNJ.com

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Lynyrd Skynyrd Honored In DC

Lynyrd Skynyrd got the red carpet treatment in the nation's capitol last week when band members were in town to receive an honor arranged by Congressmen from Florida and Alabama.  A reception at the Capitol building honored the Southern Rock legends with the presentation of a Congressional Record tribute that credited the band for its "...accomplishments and patriotic spirit", and for what the proclamation calls the group's "...seminal impact on the development of Rock and Country music and a profound influence on the career development of many artists who followed in their creative footsteps".  The statement also thanked Skynyrd members for having performed for US troops.
LynyrdSkynyrd.com

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Dylan & Mellencamp Team Again

Bob Dylan and John Mellencamp makes for a combination both audiences and the artists themselves enjoy.  The two have announced another round of tour dates together in August, including stops in Lincoln, Nebraska (8/8), Billings, Montana (8/11), Las Vegas, Nevada (8/18) and Ontario, California (8/19).  Additional August and September dates are being firmed up and will be announced soon.  Dylan is currently touring in Europe and will take a break between  the close of that tour on July 4 in Limerick, Ireland and an Austin, Texas concert on August 4.  The one-time biker also has a stop at the Buffalo Chip in Sturgis, SD, site of the famous annual motorcycle rally.  Mellencamp is more than a little busy this year too.  Coming off the release of his retrospective box set (story), JCM has two other albums in the pipeline due out before the end of the year (story).
BobDylan.com   JohnMellencamp.com

MORE BOB DYLAN INSIGHTS   MORE JOHN MELLENCAMP INSIGHTS

Morrison's Love Shack On The Block

A three bedroom home in southern California Jim Morrison and Pamela Courson shacked up in went on the market for double the price it brought a decade ago.  The house is tucked behind the Country Store in Laurel Canyon, one of the canyons above Malibu that plenty of musicians gravitated to in the early 70's and remain home to quite a few.  The furnished home on Rothdell Trail, listed for $1.199 million, features what the real estate listing describes as "distressed floors" and "open beam ceilings" and is said to be the location Morrison sang about in the Doors song Love Street.
LACurbed.com

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Elton Takes Swipe At Santana, Costello

Elton John criticized artists that canceled concerts in Israel during his Thursday performance in Tel Aviv, telling his audience, 'Musicians spread love and peace, and bring people together. That's what we do. We don't cherry-pick our conscience.'  While not mentioning anyone specific, the message defending his decision to perform despite pressure from Palestinian rights organizers was obviously intended to slam Carlos Santana, Elvis Costello and other acts that decided to cancel concerts in the country in the aftermath of the confrontation at sea when Israeli forces intercepted a flotilla attempting to deliver supplies to Palestinians in defiance of an Israeli blockade.  The decision to go ahead with this concert made it the second controversial performance Elton had done in as many weeks.  John was the featured performer at the Palm Beach wedding of conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh on June 5. (story)
CelebrityCafe.com

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Lennon Lyrics Fetch Huge Sum

Auction experts had every reason to think that the double sided, handwritten lyrics to the closing song on Sgt. Peppers would draw some big bids.  The single sheet of paper that contains both the words to A Day In The Life and changes and notes John Lennon made as he composed the extraordinary piece sold Friday (6/18) in New York City for $1.2 million, a sum that far exceeded even the high expectations of Sotheby's experts.  Who was willing to drop more than a million on a collectible they could carry folded in their pocket?  While we now know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall, we may never know who owns the piece of paper those words were first written down on.  The high bid came in by telephone from an anonymous American bidder.  The previous record high bid for a Beatles lyric was an even $1 million, forked over for the words to All You Need Is Love in 2005.
News.BBC.co.uk

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Little Steven On Big Screen Project

Rumors of a Sopranos movie remain just that, but the guitarist that played Silvio Dante in the hit series on HBO is working with Sopranos creator David Chase as the music supervisor for a film about a Rock band in New Jersey in the 1960's.  Scoring a guy like Van Zandt to fill a role he has lived and loved ups the already strong potential for something Chase is behind to have the goods.  Little Steven says the sound he will be looking for the cast members to be able to create will be '...garage rock, like early Stones, Beatles and Kinks.'  As for Van Zandt's band, the guitarist told people attending an event at City Winery in New York's SoHo that he does not expect Bruce Springsteen to hit the road with the E Street Band for another two or three years.  If a Sopranos movie does go into production he said he's up for taking off his bandana and slicking back his hair to play Silvio again.
NYDailyNews.com

MORE STEVEN VAN ZANDT INSIGHTS   ALL CURRENT STORIES

Stones' Ex With Gangster's Grandson

Jo Wood has been doing time with the grandson of one of America's most notorious criminals - and loving every minute of it.  The former wife of Rolling Stones and Faces guitarist Ron Wood calls Peter Capone a 'perfect gentleman'.  The 70 year-old architect is the grandson of famed prohibition-era gangster Al Capone.  Jo jokes she rather '...likes the idea of being with a proper mobster', but the 55 year-old said the romance was probably over because Capone is, in her words, '...a little old for me.'  That apparently is no issue for Ana Araujo when it comes to keeping company with Ron Wood, Jo's ex.  The 30 year-old Araujo, credited with keeping the 60+ guitarist sober since hooking up with him in the aftermath of the collapse of his volatile affair with a barely 20 year-old Russian waitress that led to the end of his long marriage, has reportedly gotten her father's blessing to marry the musician.  As for Jo, she says, 'I don't need a man at all, but I love the company of men and going out on dates with them.'
Telegraph.co.uk

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BTO Guitarist Faces Charges

A woman, now over 20, filed a complaint in British Columbia that has resulted in charges against Tim Bachman for having sexual contact with a child under the age of 14.  The woman maintains that her sexual encounters with the founding guitarist of Bachman-Turner Overdrive began when she was just 11.  Tim Bachman left BTO in 1974, but participated in a 1984 reunion and played in subsequent tours involving some BTO members before takin' care of business as a real estate agent. He has no involvement with Bachman-Turner, the group that reunited his brother Randy Bachman and Fred Turner of BTO. (story)  Tim Bachman turned himself in to authorities on May 12, about a week after a warrant had been issued against him.
BCLocalNews.com

ALL CURRENT STORIES

Lofgren Heads Across Pond, Plans Album

Nils Lofgren has plenty going on to keep him busy between E Street Band projects.  His online guitar school offers instruction to electric and acoustic pickers of all ability levels through his web site, where he also reveals he is writing new material for a solo project he hopes to have ready for a 2011 release.  New to his schedule are fall tour dates in England featuring Lofgren teamed with multi-instrumentalist Greg Varlotta, a virtuoso jazz trained musician.
Pollstar.com  NilsLofgren.com

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Neil Young Album Morphs Again

Books get adapted to film all the time.  The reverse migration is rare.  Even more unusual is a movie inspired by an album ultimately spawning a book.  But anything involving Neil Young makes expecting the unexpected a good place to start.  Greendale, Young's modestly successful 2003 album about a fictional town and its residents, went on to become a movie that met with similarly subdued appreciation.  But some critics are giving Neil Young's Greendale, a new book based on the album, a much more enthusiastic response than the album or movie managed to collect.  The book, which is being produced by a division of DC Comics, is being described as a graphic novel.  Fantastic graphics saturate the pages, creating a richly visual reading experience as the characters confront issues over war,  the environment and personal responsibility, themes that occupy places in many Neil Young songs.  The choice of artist was critical enough to the project that Young himself recruited Cliff Chiang and refused to take 'no' for an answer.  Having already been advised that Chiang's schedule was too busy for him to take the project on, Young sent a message the artist himself received during half time of the Super Bowl saying he was prepared to delay the book '...until Hell froze over' if necessary to get Chaing.  It took two years for the artist to complete the panels that fill the 160 page book Joshua Dysart had written the story and dialog for based on characters inspied by Young's album.  Dysart had priase for Young's role in the lengthy project, telling the New York Times that the singer was a 'phenomenal collaborator' in bringing what he describes as, '...an American fable with strong supernatural elements.'
NYTimes.com

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Delaney & Bonnie Box Set

More than 3 hours of previously unreleased material recorded during a 1969 and '70 tour featuring a number of great players is slated for a July release by Rhino Records.  The name of the box set features the most prominent member of the the band, but the tour recordings of Delaney & Bonnie and Friends on Tour With Eric Clapton also included Dave Mason of Traffic, Rita Coolidge, bassist Carl Radle, drummer Jim Gordon and keyboard great Bobby Whitlock, who would all work with EC in Derek & The Dominos, and future brass legends Bobby Keys and Jim Price, who contributed to countless projects, among them ones with Clapton, Joe Cocker and George Harrison, who joined Delaney & Bonnie Bramlett's Friends on the last night of the tour and appeared in the credits as Mysterioso.  The collection, which comes nicely boxed in a mini tour equipment case, includes the full concert the group did at Royal Albert Hall in 1969 and both shows with Harrison that closed the tour at Fairfield Halls in Croydon.  Set lists did not differ a lot from night to night of the tour so there is plenty of duplication, and intros and crowd announcements factor into the 50+ track count - but medleys are counted as single tracks.  The end result is a collection that captures a lot of great moments in a tour most people did not grasp the historic proportions of until well after it was over.
Whereseric.com
 
 MORE ERIC CLAPTON INSIGHTS   ALL CURRENT STORIES

Unique Rock Collectible Uncovered

Auction houses have a pretty good fix on what certain items are likely to bring, but a recent discovery could prove challenging to predict a top bid for - if it can be proven to be what the furniture dealer that discovered it believes it is.  The dealer claims the chair, which was found among a lot of items he had purchased, had photos of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr attached to the seats and hair clippings he has confidence came from the members of the Beatles.  The four had been photographed at Horne Brothers Barbershop in Liverpool getting trims in 1963.  The dealer thinks the chair and authenticating clippings will bring in $15,000.  That pales in comparison with the high six-figure total Sotheby's expects to fetch Friday (6/18) for the handwritten lyrics John Lennon scrawled for A Day In The Life, but it does seem like a bargain for one of the more unique and potentially more useful Rock collectibles to come along in quite some time.
Mirror.uk.co

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McCartney Works Purple Haze Into Festival

Paul McCartney closed out the Isle Of Wight festival Sunday (6/13) with a set that included a tribute to Jimi Hendrix.  The UK festival was the last large-scale concert the guitar great did before his deathe 40 years ago.  McCartney worked some of Purple Haze into the closing portion of Let Me Roll It before telling the 55,000 gathered at the landmark event, 'I was really lucky to know Jimi and to hang out with him a little bit in the 60's.  He was a great guy.'  He said that the Beatles released Sgt. Pepper on a Friday and that Hendrix had already learned it before he saw him two days later, calling it '...the biggest tribute we had from him.'
NME.com   DailyMail.co.uk

MORE PAUL McCARTNEY INSIGHTS   MORE JIMI HENDRIX INSIGHTS

Mark Knopfler Guitar Session Contest

PureSolo.com is inviting guitarists to audition for the rare privilege of the chance to play in the studio with Mark Knopfler.  The winner of the one-on-one session with the former Dire Straits lead guitarist will ultimately be selected by Knopfler and an expert panel after PureSolo members advance the best players into the pool of finalists.  The online recording resources site lets contenders audition by demonstrating their own guitar chops by replacing what Mark played  on three songs with the lead guitarist's part taken out of the mix.  Don't have the recording equipment?  No problem - PureSolo.com provides access it through the site's interface.  Competition entries opened Monday (6/14) and will continue through August 31.  The only catch is that contestants lay out around $3 per track - but that's not bad if you consider doing so could score you not only the private session with a guitar legend, but also the flight to London from anywhere in the world and a couple of nights in one of London's finest hotels.  The runner up scores a Fender guitar from the National Guitar Museum.
MarkKnopfler.com   PureSolo.com

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Page Plans Next Chapter

With prospects dim for a Zeppelin reunion, fans may have to make-do with a Zep tribute tour Jason Bonham has plans for modeled on the successful one featuring several guitarists that is out paying homage to Jimi Hendrix. (story)  Robert Plant will do a limited number of dates this summer with his new outfit called Band Of Joy in advance of the group's self-titled debut album in September. (story)  Jimmy Page, who in the recent past has expressed a willingness to share the stage again with Plant, John Paul Jones and Bonham, has apparently decided that with his three former bandmates involved in other ventures  - Jones in Them Crooked Vultures and Bonham in the new band Black Country Communion (story) - it was time for him to get on with things too.  Page told the BBC he has been in the studio but he '...won't be just teaming up with people who are names.' He called his project something he's had in mind '...for a long time', and promised, '...quite an interesting menu of music.'  As for who's involved, Page declined to spill details based on his belief that revealing too much almost always creates unreasonable expectations.  He did say he is confident he and his yet-to-be named collaborators should have something ready before the end of 2010.
Gibson.com
 
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Claim Involving U2 Money Man In Play

While Bono recovers from back surgery in southern France, Adam Clayton is reportedly considering filing suit seeking to recover funds he is said to believe were due the band that were lost due to negligence on the part of the man described as the financial controller of the band.  Papers filed June 4 apparently name three accountants in announcing the bass player's intention to seek legal intervention on his behalf against the firm the three are involved in.  Clayton has another case in motion against a personal assistant he maintains made unauthorized use of his credit cards to take money from him. Unlike that case, the case against the accountants could reveal a lot more about U2 finances than group members are likely to be comfortable having public.
DailyMail.com   Irish Mail

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Nash & Cale Granted Order By Queen

Graham Nash and John Cale will join the ranks of those having earned Order of the British Empire honors.  The Hollies and Crosby, Stills, Nash (& Young) member responded to the announcement by saying, 'Everything I learned about being a decent human being I learned in England and I am grateful to be honored by the country of my birth.'  Cale, the veteran of the Velvet Underground, said he was stunned by the news and went on to say, 'It makes you think 'well, maybe I did something right', and now I've got to figure out what that was.'
Undercover.com.au

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Ozzy Leads Scream at Dodger Stadium

Ozzy Osbourne invited baseball fans to participate in a Guinness world record run at creating the longest, loudest scream ever Friday (6/11) at Dodger StadiumOsbourne, whose album titled Scream drops June 22, wanted to do it for more than PR value.  The event was also staged to draw attendance and attention for the benefit of ThinkCure!, a charitable organization that seeks to increase the pace of cancer research by coordinating the medical and scientific research efforts of those seeking cures.  Ozzy's wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne,  was diagnosed with colon cancer ten years ago.  An official from the famed world record organization was on hand to document the attempt, which took place in the 5th inning of the game between the Dodgers and Angels of nearby Anaheim. Hear it HERE.
Blabbermouth.net

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Axe Damaged, Slash OK

A fan hurled himself at Slash during a concert in Milan, Italy Thursday (6/10).  The former Guns N Roses member had just launched into Sweet Child Of Mine when the fan lunged at the guitarist. Slash avoided injury, but a prized axe wasn't so lucky.  The guitar neck was snapped in the scum between the stage invader and security members that intervened.  Slash took it all in stride, saying, 'It was a rowdy crowd, for sure, but amazing.  The guy who nailed me didn't take me down but he busted my poor guitar. Ah well, it was a kick-ass rock show.'

Canadian Promoter Sues Aerosmith

A concert promoter is seeking to recover $6 million in claimed losses over canceled Aerosmith concerts it had booked in western Canada during the group's ill-fated 2009 tour.  Keystone Entertainment names band members individually in the suit it recently filed in Calgary. Management and agents representing the Boston band are also in the legal crosshairs over the cancellations.  The suit is seeking $1.25 million for each of the five shows Keystone says it was contracted for, plus 90% of tour profits.  Steven Tyler fell off the stage at the Sturgis motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota just two days before the first of the scheduled series of Canadian concerts that got wiped out along with the remaining dates on the tour.  Keystone itself was the target of a suit filed against over an Aerosmith cancellation by a Canadian Football League for lost concession revenue and parking fees it would have collected. (story)  Keystone maintains that repeated attempts to get the dates rescheduled have been ignored by band representatives.
TheGlobeAndMail.com

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Bruce Wades To Back Daughter

A soaking wet field in Canada may not be their idea of an ideal spot to be on your wedding anniversary, but Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa seemed happy to be there.  The couple was at Spruce Meadows near Calgary Wednesday (6/9) to support daughter Jessica Springsteen, one of the top riders in her age group at equestrian events.  Outfitted in rubber boots and a slicker, Bruce looked ready for anything - but officials decided conditions had gotten too dangerous to go ahead with the afternoon\'s scheduled event.  Things were a lot more cozy the night before when Bruce and Patti celebrated their 19th anniversary by enjoying dinner at Rouge, one of the top restaurants in North America.  One young employee of the establishment said Bruce was great with the staff.  Asked whether she was a fan, she replied, 'I'm 18 years old! I don't really know his music. I've heard of him.'  That would be just the way the Boss, who prefers just to be another parent at events where his daughter is the performer, would have wanted it.
CalgaryHerald.com
 
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Fake Promoter Busted Down Under

HTML clipboardAn Australian woman is facing fraud charges after authorities claim she made nearly $100,000 off fans that bought tickets to a 2005 AC/DC concert that was never actually booked.  The arrest came after band representatives told police the band had never been in contact with the accused woman about any concert.  Police say the 41 year-old defendant did not limit her scam to bilking fans.  She is also charged with collecting sponsorship dollars from businesses and charities in and around Sydney for the phantom gig.
ContactMusic.com
 
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Bowie Content Out Of Spotlight

David Bowie has remained out of the spotlight for much of the last decade and is likely to remain retired from performing.  A New York Times reporter managed to coax that out of him while preparing a profile on the model Inman, Bowie's wife of 18 years.  Bowie says he is comfortable drawing, painting and collecting the work of other artists, and told the paper he has no plans to return to the road.  Inman, the daughter of a Somalian diplomat, no longer models, but remains actively engaged in running her cosmetics company and raising funds to fight AIDS in Africa.  The couple lives in the SoHo section of Manhattan and makes a point of dodging paparazzi and the press.  Considering how recognizable both are and where they live, they do a remarkable job of staying under the radar.  Bowie last toured in 2004.
NYTimes.com

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Famed Producer Seriously Injured

A motorcycle crash on Saturday (6/5) seriously injured producer Daniel Lanois.  The weekend accident was severe enough to land Lanois in the intensive care unit of an LA hospital and will sideline him for at least a couple of months.  While details about the cause and consequences of the wreck were slow to come out and lack much detail, a New York Times report cited an earlier story in the Globe and Mail that quoted an industry journalist that spoke with Lanois Tuesday as having been told by the producer that he '...got a lot of broken bones.'  Lanois, long considered one of the top producers in the world, is credited with a lot of great albums, including ones by U2 (several, including The Unforgettable Fire and The Joshua Tree), Bob Dylan (Oh Mercy, Time Out Of Mind), Peter Gabriel (So), and Robbie Robertson's self-titled solo album of 1987.  Rolling Stone reported in April that Lanois was working with Neil Young on a new project.
NYTimes.com

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Ozzy Honor At UK University

It seems odd - but so do a lot of things involving Rock's Prince Of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne.  Birmingham University has decided to re-name an academic honor after the Rocker, who dropped out of school at the age of 15.  The Ozzy Osbourne is the new name for the award given to the student in the Media and Communication - Music Industry field that makes the most progress over the academic year.  Ozzy releases Scream, his latest studio album, June 15. (story)
Gibson.com

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ESPN Scores Petty Premier

ESPN Scores Petty Premier
Mojo streaming on ESPN Music site

Need evidence of how inside out things in the music industry are?  The approach Tom Petty is taking to his tour and album release tells ya all you need to know 'bout it.  Concert tickets used to be a lot more affordable because bands undertook tours mostly to promote album sales.  With album sales in the dumper and legal digital downloads not coming even close to compensating for the earnings gap resulting from the reduced royalty payments from those sales, artists now view tour income as a much more important part of the income pie.  In the case of Tom Petty, the new album, Mojo, (6/15 release for those of you that still believe in the concept of actually buying albums) is being used as a give away to sell concert ticket sales.  Sure, some dollars for the album factor into the ticket prices - but the decision to go that route is a pretty good indication of the revised expectations when it comes to album sales.  Petty is even sweetening the deal by offering ticket buyers a live album download at the end of the tour.  That's not the only sign of how radically different things have gotten. 
 
Petty has given full album premier streaming rights to ESPN.com.  Not his own web site, not Rolling Stone, not Billboard, not Rock Insights (hey, we can dream)... ESPN.  ESPN is launching a music site within its site. Why?  Some media relations spin master is sure to have put together a clever PR package explaining what they want you to think the reason is.  Our bet is it's mostly for leverage to get artists to grant them rights to use music in ESPN coverage and programming - a proposition artists like for the promotional exposure the network gives the songs and a deal we presume has a % of linked album sales going to the network.  Product placement with a good beat. 
 
As for ESPN's music site, on first glance it's another site that  lumps together info on artists that have nothing in common, forcing visitors to wade through all kinds of irrelevant stuff about artists they don't like or have never even heard of to find the ones they do care about.  We need another site like that like a fish needs a bicycle.   Rock Insights was created as an alternative to sites like that.  You may not like all of the artists we do updates on, but at least you know who they are.  So check out the new Tom Petty album on ESPN.com or visit Rolling Stone's web site if you want to be up to speed on Lady GaGa, Madonna, Prince and the latest Nashville sensation in addition to Tom Petty and other Rock artists.  But if you want updates focusing on Tom Petty and artists you probably like if you like Petty & The Heartbreakers, bookmark Rock Insights and share the link with fiends you think will appreciate what we do.  Thanks!
 
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Bobby Whitlock Bio Arrives In Fall

During his early years in music, Bobby Whitlock was a fixture at the Stax Studios in Memphis.  It was after a Memphis club appearance by the soulful writer and singer that Delaney & Bonnie recruited him for the backup band that would also include Eric Clapton, which led to Whitlock having a strong presence on the Derek & The Dominos studio album.  He also joined Clapton during the sessions for George Harrison's All Things Must Pass, and had an uncredited role on Exile On Main Street, the recently reissued 1972 landmark album by the Stones. Bobby Whitlock: A Rock n' Roll Autobiography should be a great read for anyone interested in the behind the scenes creative process of these and other great projects Whitlock has contributed to.  Widely considered one of the finest musicians of his time by a lot of players far better known than he is Whitlock remains a good friend to most of them, including Clapton, who writes the forward to the book.
WheresEric.com

Rush Landing On Hollywood Walk

A two year campaign by Rush fans to get the Canadian band added to the Hollywood Walk Of Fame will pay off on June 25 when the group lays claim to star #2,412 on the fabled LA sidewalk.  The official announcement of the honor comes as the band prepares to embark on a new tour. (story)  Rush also recently made a couple of new songs available as digital downloads.  Randy Newman was honored with a star along the Hollywood attraction last Wednesday (6/2) during a ceremony fellow walk resident Eric Idle of Monty Python fame attended.
HollywoodReporter.com
 
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Derek Trucks Doubles Up Live

If Derek Trucks knows how to relax, he's keeping it a secret.  The Allman Brothers Band break was going to be a chance for him to take a breather, but there's not much to suggest he's kicked back yet.  Not only has he been putting finishing touches on a new album with Susan Tedeschi, but the husband and wife are doing some summer touring.  Somehow he's found time to also get Roadsongs, a double disc live recording of the Derek Truck Band, ready for a June 22 release.  A new Herbie Hancock disc, The Imagine Project, featuring Trucks and Tedeschi on the track Space Captain, also makes its debut that date. The night before both releases Trucks and Tedeschi will perform with Hancock on the David Letterman Show on CBS.
DerekTrucks.com

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Elton & Rush Together

The idea of Elton John and Canadian power trio Rush appearing on the same bill would be even less less unlikely to us than Elton appearing with Rush Limbaugh, which he did Saturday night (6/5) when the conservative wonk got married for the fourth time.  Money may not be able to buy you love, but it apparently could rent Limbaugh an appearance by a musician whose lifestyle and political views are about as close to his as the talk show host is in age to his young bride.  The EJ performance in the Palm Beach ceremony at the Breakers in the resort's Eltonesquely over-the-top Ponce de Leon Ballroom may have set Limbaugh back $1 million, according to some reports.  Karl Rove, Rudy Giuliani and Sean Hannity were among the 400 or so mostly moderate - ultra conservative guests there to wish the couple well.
Page2Live.com

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All Things Bruce Weekend In Cleveland

The Rock Hall of Fame presented a premier screening this weekend (6/5) of London Calling, the Bruce Springsteen DVD recorded at the festival in Hyde Park last summer.  The film's large screen debut was part of a weekend that included number of other events revolving around Bruce and the E Street BandThe Boss has always had a fondness for Cleveland, home of the Agora Ballroom and radio station WMMS, both early believers in his music.  The RHOF has played host to From Asbury Park To the Promised Land, an extensive special exhibit that recently got an extension to its stay at the museum on the shore of lake Erie. (story)
Backstreets.com

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All Star Tribute To Les Paul

The lineup for a New York City tribute Jeff Beck has been putting together to the guitarist and inventor largely responsible for the solid body electric guitar has been growing ever since he announced his plan for it.  A June 9 night at the Iridium Jazz Club has grown into what will be a summit of great pickers playing in tribute to Les Paul, who died last August.  On the night of what would have been Paul's 95th birthday, Jeff Beck will be joined by Johnny Winter, Steve Miller, Robbie Robertson, Warren Haynes, Nils Lofgren and Zakk WyldePaul, who maintained a regular Monday night gig at the Manhattan club almost until the last week of his celebrated life.  The room will officially be named in his honor during the event.
VintageVinyl.com
 
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Buffett Bags A Bundle On Home Sale

People that hoped to turn a profit selling homes they bought as a sure and secure investment a few years ago got a reminder of how much better things could have been if only they had bought in the right place at the right time and the right price, oh, and been famous, with a sale announced in the Palm Beach Daily News Friday (6/4).  Everyone's favorite pirate, Jimmy Buffett, made out like one on the sale of a property he bought in the area in 1994.  The 5 bedroom, 9 bathroom home that sits on 1.6 acres that Buffett purchased in 1994 for a reported $4.4 million has been purchased by an LLC in Delaware for $18.5 million.  The ocean front property includes a guest house, a tennis court and a swimming pool.  With 9 bathrooms, you almost have to figure on at least a couple of dozen frozen concoction makers being on the premises. An appreciation of more than $14 million leaves plenty of profit margin no matter how many improvements may have been made to the Mediterranean style estate a previous owner converted into a British Colonial style home.  A realtor involved in the record sale of a nearby ocean front estate that sold for $25 million in 2009 commented, 'The buyer got a pretty good deal for a unique ocean front property with more than an acre of land in a convenient in-town location'
PalmBeachDailyNews.com

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Keith Getting Impatient With Jagger

Keith Richards says the long delay in getting another Rolling Stones album and tour together has him wondering whether it's time to offer his talents to someone else.  Richards said he had sent a message to Charlie Watts asking the drummer 'Should I put an ad in a music magazine - guitar player for hire?  I've got to do something.Keith says the timing of any Stones project is ultimately up to Mick Jagger, and says, 'You can't shove the lead singer into it. I learned that many years ago.'  Richards has filled time during the extended Stones layoff by preparing for the next Pirates Of The Caribbean movie, making appearances to promote his upcoming autobiography, Life, and working on the sequel to a release put out under the name Wingless Angels in 1997 that featured Jamaican singer Justin HindsRichards met Hinds during a visit to the Island in the early 70's, falling in love with the Rastafarian spirituals and chants Hinds performed with friends and neighbors - and enjoying the fact that they, in Keith's words, '...had no idea who the Rolling Stones were.  They didn't even give a shit.' In 2005, one year before Hinds died, Richards did some recording with him.  He plans to reissue the first album along with the new work on September 23 and turn the proceeds over to the Hinds family.  The Rolling Stones guitarist also collaborated with Sheryl Crow on a reggae flavored track on her album 100 Miles From Memphis.
Guardian.co.uk      DailyExpress.co.uk   Billboard.com

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McCartney Serenades First Lady

Michelle, the one song any Beatles fan had to figure would work it's way into the evening, was one of many highlights as Paul McCartney played the East Room of the White House Wednesday (6/3) in celebration of becoming the third recipient of the Gershwin Popular Song AwardSir Paul got a lot of laughs by joking he stood to be the '...first guy ever to be punched out by a president' after lustily singing 'I love you, I love you, I love you' in the song while looking directly at First Lady Michelle Obama.  A few days ago, the former Beatle nearly did end up on the receiving end of fists when a mob swarmed over his tour bus in a dangerous part of Mexico City following his concert there. (story)  The President credited McCartney for his role in the band Obama said '...helped lay the soundtrack for an entire generation', and, 'blew the walls down for everyone else' musically.  McCartney returned the compliment by telling the President 'You have billions of us who are rooting for you and we know you are going to come through.'  Later, in reference to the Library of Congress, the Gershwin prize presenter, McCartney quipped, 'After the last eight years, it's great to have a president who knows what a library is.'  Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris and former award recipient Stevie Wonder were on hand for the evening, which ended with all, including the host and his family, crowding onstage for Hey JudePBS affiliates are scheduled to show the performance July 28.  Get a preview here.
Jam.Canoe.ca
 
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Rock Hall Taps Industry Veteran

The Rock Hall of Fame is counting on Gregg Geller to make the most of the archive annex the Cleveland music museum recently expanded into. (story)  Geller's credentials, reputation and connections are sure to add acquisition muscle when it comes to getting items to display in the exhibit halls of the RHOF itself, and for obtaining more of the kind of documents and materials it houses in the new Library and Archives facility.  His 40 year career in the music industry included Artist & Repertoire positions with Columbia, Epic and Warner Brothers Records.  The A&R position requires someone able to massage and manage the sometimes overblown egos of musicians and industry executives. Geller was also credited with signing Stevie Ray Vaughan, Elvis Costello, John Hiatt and Nick Lowe, and produced a number of very successful compilations.
PRNewswire   Rockhall.com
 

Rush Pulls Plug On Rand Paul

Using Spirit of Radio at campaign appearances is getting Rand Paul, already the subject of a lot of negative coverage for remarks attributed to the Kentucky senate candidate, in even more trouble.  An attorney representing the label Rush records for sent a letter to Paul campaign officials urging them to stop using the band's music in online ads and during campaign stops.  Robert Farmer pointed out in an interview quoted by the Louisville Courier Journal that the group's objections to the use of their music is not about Paul, saying, 'This is not a political issue... We would do this no matter who it is.'  The flare-up comes just a few days after a California judged came down on the side of Don Henley in case started over a year ago over the use of two of his songs as the basis for parodies on behalf of another political candidate. (story)
Spinner.com  Courier-Journal.com

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Plant Previews Next Post Zep Album

Robert Plant shared a few insights with Rock writers attending a preview session for his new album in London Tuesday (6/1)Band Of Joy, the group the former Led Zeppelin front man formed and recorded with in Nashville late last year, embarks on a brief US tour in a few weeks (story) even though the album is not scheduled to come out until September 14. While the album is a lot closer in tone to Plant\'s work with Alison Krauss than most of his album tracks fronting Zeppelin, Richard Smirke of Billboard suggests it does lean a little more toward Rock.  The excellent everything Zep site LedZeppelingNews.com did some digging into the origins of several of the tracks on the project.
Billboard.com   LedZeppelinNews.com
 
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Henley Beats Pol In Legal Showdown

Politicians that use songs without permission got a message from a California court Tuesday (6/1) when a judged presented a 32 page decision against a California senate candidate that made sound-alike parodies using two Don Henley songs.  Hope Of November applied lyrics slamming Barack Obama and So Cal liberals to the melody of Boys Of Summer.  After Henley contacted candidate Chuck DeVore campaign officials to request that the parody be removed from the web site a send-up twisting All She Wants To Do Is Dance into All She Wants To Do Is Tax was posted.  That got Henley fired up enough to sue the candidate for unauthorized use of the songs.  The politician countered with the claim that parodies are are sheltered against copyright infringement claims by freedom of speech guarantees.  That may be true in the case of a parody that makes fun of the original song - but not when the song is usurped to make fun of another subject, according to the judge hearing the case.  Among other cases, the ruling cited a decision against Frito-Lay for using a Tom Waits sound-alike in a commercial some years back. The snack food food company was slapped with a penalty that could keep Waits in chips and salsa for several lifetimes.
Spinner.com

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Close Call For McCartney In Mexico

In a scene reminiscent of Beatlemania but with a sinister attitude, a crowd in Mexico City swarmed around a Paul McCartney tour bus following his concert in Mexico City Saturday (5/29).  The situation was described as one that may have started with enthusiastic fans but quickly turned hostile when gang members got involved and began climbing to the roof of the bus and jumping up and down. McCartney tour security needed help from police to get things under control.
Mirror.co.uk

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Jimmy Page Remembers Bonham

Speaking with BBC 6 in advance of a special the British broadcaster aired Monday (5/31) in tribute to Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, Jimmy Page called his late band mate '...head and shoulders over everyone around him' as a young drummer. Page recounted hearing Bonham in London backing Tim Rose and realizing right away he was '...definitely the drummer to try and pull onboard' the new band he was putting together.  Bonham, who died in September, 1980 after a night of binge drinking, was more than a great power drummer according to Page, who credited his technique and vision about the role a drummer could play in a band, saying Bonzo became so admired and is remembered'...with such reverence and love because he was absolutely extraordinary.'
BBC.co.uk

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AC/DC Nearly Grounded

If plane trouble is gonna happen, on the ground beats in the air.  Playing it safe, AC/DC tour managers opted to wait for another charter rather than risk taking off from Germany for a concert in Norway Sunday (5/30) in a plane that had developed what was only described as 'a malfunction' while on the ground in Berlin.  The delay kept AC/DC from taking the Valle Hoven stage in Oslo until nearly 10pm, which allowed time for only a short set from the band before it came up against a curfew.
FemaleFirst.co.uk

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Promoter Rolls Out Fee Free June

With consumers still clutching discretionary spending dollars tight, Live Nation is seeking to loosen things up by suspending service fees on tickets bought during the month of June for concerts at summer venues it owns.  The company CEO says the fee-free deal applies to 'Every show, every ticket, every artist and every amphitheater we own.'  The multi-faceted entertainment company countered the sluggish economic situation last summer by offering steeply discounted general admission packages for many outdoor concerts and launching No Service Fee Wednesdays as a hook to get what the industry considers occasional concert goers excited about attending more shows.  Fan resistance to the idea of paying up to 20% over and above the face value of tickets in various surcharges grew dramatically during the economic downturn and remains a factor even as things begin to look up. 
Billboard.com   LiveNation.com

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