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Noteworthy Now Archives for 2010-07

Zeppelin Songs On Plant's Set List

If Led Zeppelin fans ever get the chance to see the band again it will not be in the kind of intimate concert halls Robert Plant is touring with the Band Of Joy. (story) Those lucky enough to catch this limited tour are being treated to some material from Plant's past.  Substantially reworked versions of Tangerine, Down To The Sea and a segment drawn from In My Time Of Dying were worked into the sold-out Band Of Joy concert in Tampa's Ruth Ekerd Hall Friday (7/30).
www2.tbo.com

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Lennon Time Capsules In Cleveland

30 years after his death, the Rock Hall Of Fame is preparing a trio of time capsules filled with artifacts relating to John Lennon to bury on the grounds of the Cleveland music museum.  The cylinders will be placed underground on October 9, Lennon's birthday, and reopened on that date in 2040, the day marking the 100th anniversary of his birth.  Fans of the former Beatle can submit items they think should be included in one of the time capsules to the museum until September 15.  Yoko Ono has endorsed the project and will presumably provide some personal items that belonged to John to include in one of the capsules.
PostChronicle.com

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Steven Tyler Idol Judge?

If there is one thing we've all learned it's never to discount possibilities involving Aerosmith, so rumors that  Steven Tyler might fill a judging chair on American Idol have developed legs like his daughter Liv's.  With Ellen DeGeneris out after a single season and Simon Cowell jumping ship for a producer/judge gig on a UK talent show import FOX has picked up, at least a couple of seats are in play for Idol.  An idle Tyler would have been more likely to pick-up the Idol role.  With Aerosmith back together, on tour and said to have a studio album in the offing, a network TV obligation might be a stretch.  Still, Tyler has the personality and credibility the show is in desperate need of with the departure of Cowell, so the offer he gets could be just too good to pass on.
LATimes.com

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Black Crowes Web Series

The Black Crowes plan to fold their wings for an extended period after the current tour and the relaese of Croweology, a double album of acoustic music that includes new arrangements of a number of the band's best songs (story).  Between now and the long hiatus another project Chris Robinson has been involved with will hit the web.  20 Years Of Tall Tales, a nearly month long webisode series filmed at Robinson's LA home by John Vanover, will premier its daily online run on August 3. 
TubeFilter.tv

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Miller Time For Farm Aid

There's a certain irony that the annual concert to raise money and promote appreciation for family farmers, a group that does back breaking work for comparatively little pay, will take place in a major league baseball stadium, the workplace of athletes  that receive mind boggling money for playing a game.  A Monday (8/2) announcement is expected to confirm that Farm Aid 25 will take place October 2 at Miller Park, the home of the Milwaukee Brewers. Maybe that's appropriate since the entire Brewer roster probably earns less than the bullpen of the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.  Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp will be on-hand at the stadium to announce the first Wisconsin site and first baseball stadium to play host to the event.
JSOnline.com

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Kinks Studio On The Block

Local developers are said to be eyeing a studio Ray Davies of the Kinks owns after ads appeared promoting the property as a '...formerly famous recording studio offering fantastic potential for development'.  The studio and land in the Crouch End section of London is listed for a price in the neighborhood of $3 million.  The studio joins a growing list of former recording sites being dumped by their owners as ever more compact digital equipment makes the big sound and mixing consoles once required for producing music obsolete.
HornseyJournal.co.uk

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BTO Bridge Honor Sought

A new bridge in Winnipeg, Canada due to open in 2013 is the subject of a petition being promoted by a Canadian radio duo that wants the span named in honor of  Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Saying Randy Bachman and Fred Turner have '...represented Winnepeg to the world for over 30 years with their straight-ahead, industrial strength Rock n' Roll', Greg Glatz and Marlo Boux of station CJOB are calling on the mayor and other officials to officially name the bridge Bachman-Turner Overdrive.  More than 350 signatures were collected in the early going.  One factor that could make officials apply the brakes; Tim Bachman, Randy's brother and an early member of the band, is facing charges for having had sex with an underage girl (story).
Chrisd.ca

Lennon Killer Parole Hearing Nears

Yoko Ono has submitted her letter opposing any parole for the man who murderd her husband on a New York City street almost 30 years ago.  Mark David Chapman has a parole hearing scheduled to take place during the week of August 9.  Ono's attorney, Peter Shukat, told the Daily News his client is again on record with the parole board as opposing any release of Chapman, who shot John Lennon to death on December 8 of 1980 as he and Ono were on the sidewalk outside of their New York City apartment building.  The lawyer declined to comment on whether the letter provided to the parole board was the same one she had submitted on prior parole review occasions for the killer, who drew a 20 - Life sentence for the murder.
HollywoodReporter.com

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Ron Wood Art Exhibit In Ohio

When Ron Wood doesn't have a guitar or a younger woman in his hands, the Faces and Rolling Stones guitarist often opts for a paint brush.  His works, and the drawing power of his name as well as some of the potenial subject matter convinced an Ohio museum to give Wood an 8 week special exhibit.  The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown will feature works by the English musician from September 21 - November 21.  In all, about 60 pieces done by Wood will be featured in Ronnie Wood: Paintings, Drawings and Prints.
NYTimes.com

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Jagger, Scorsese & HBO

Mick Jagger, director Martin Scorcese and noted writer Terence Winter, who worked on the Sopranos and has teamed with Scorcese on the HBO series based on Atlantic City, NJ called Boardwalk Empire, are said to be working on an 'epic' production that sets out to do nothing less than be a comprehensive history of Rock.  The Stones front man reportedly envisioned the end product being a film but the scope of it was so daunting and exciting that Scorcese and Winter evidently convinced him that a series could do it more justice than condensing it to the extent a film would require.  Jagger, who turned 67 Monday (7/26), has not yet seconded Ron Wood's contention that rumors about the Stones planning to retire after a 2 year world tour (story) are false, although Entertainment Weekly claims that a spokespersonn for the Stones has dismissed the accounts.
ArtistDirect.com   Deadline Hollywood Daily

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Cars Gearing Up For Reunion?

The latest model of the Cars, the Boston band that roared onto the scene at the end of the 1970's and produced a string of very successful albums in the 80's, included only half of the survivng members of the original lineup, with Todd Rundgren, Kasim Sulton and Prairie Prince joining Cars guitarist Elliott Easton and keyboard player Greg Hawkes. The four surviving original members may be planning a reunion, a rumor that grew legs when Hawkes responded to a question posed by the Boston Globe about the possibility by saying, 'I hate to be vague, but I really can't say.'  Bass player Ben Orr died of cancer in 2000, but Easton, Hawkes, drummer David Robinson and original lead vocalist Ric Ocasek appear together in what appears to be a recent studio picture captioned with 'Anyone in the mood for a reunion by the Cars' on a Facebook page linked to the band.
Spinner.com 

Pedal Steel Legend Passes

Ben Keith was said to have had a temperament as sweet as the sounds he could coax out of a pedal steel guitar.  The legendary picker died earlier this month, a quiet exit for a guy who had a profound presence on some great recordings, including the Neil Young masterpiece Harvest.  Young and Keith met for the first time in a Nashville recording studio in early 1971 when Neil was working on what would become one of the defining albums of his prolific career.  Keith, who said during an interview that he arrived in the studio unable to pick-out which of the musicians gathered there he was working for, had to have someone point-out Young and introduce the two.  He would go on to play with Neil over the next nearly 40 years, appearing on close to 20 Neil Young albums between sessions he also logged with The Band, Ringo Starr, Warren Zevon, David Crosby and Graham Nash, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson and many others.  Keith, who was 73, died at Neil Young's California ranch of a heart attack, according to film director Jonathan Demme.
ThrashersWheat.org CBC.ca

Symphonic Dead

Bob Weir of the is working with a symphony orchestra based near his home just north of the Golden Gate Bridge on a program of material featuring songs from the Grateful Dead catalog. The 41 member Marin Symphony and Weir will perform the songs once he  and composer-arranger Giancarlo Aquilanti finish working out arrangements for the final selection of songs from the vast collection of material they have to draw from.  The guitarist is also working with a smaller group of musicians in the orchestra to develop a set of improvised music that will be presented in a benefit concert to raise money for the Symphony and its educational programs.
StarkSilverCreek.com

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Young & Dead Vinyl Coming

News last week that working with Neil Young has provided therapeutic benefits to Daniel Lanois as the producer recuperates from a serious motorcycle accident (story) is followed by word that four songs from the album will premier in multimedia form at the stroke of midnight on Oct 2 at the Nuit Blanche festival in Toronto.  Young has also announced that four previously unreleased albums (3 studio, 1 live) being included in his next archive release are being largely 'rebuilt' for release in vinyl form in what he has dubbed a Special Release Series. Young, a steadfast proponent of analog recording, has more company these days, with increasing number of artist opting to offer non-digital recordings of new releases in lp format and re-releases of older albums on vinyl.  Rhino will release remastered vinyl of  five Warner Brothers Grateful Dead albums in a box set Settember 21.  The set includes the self-titled 1967 album, Workingman's Dead, American Beauty, Anthem Of The Sun and Aoxomoxoa.  Orders placed through Dead.net will include a picture sleeve 45 of Dark Star backed with Born Cross-Eyed and a repro of a poster WB put out promoting the first album.
Spinner.com  Toronto Sun  Neil Young,com   Dead.net  JamBase.com
 
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Clapton Release Expected This Year

Details about the next Eric Clapton album have not surfaced yet, but cover art has.  Reprise Records revealed the photo for the cover of the next studio recording, which the guitarist's long-time label says is expected to be completed in time for release before the end of the year.  The portrait shot shows a color shot of EC wearing spectacles against an all black background.  The similarly straight-forward title for the release is Clapton.
WheresEric.com

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German Festival Tragedy Claims Another

Panic among fans being herded into a tunneled area leading into a European techno-music and dance event  Saturday (7/24), triggered a stampede that claimed its 21st victim Wednesday (7/28).  19 died on the scene or shortly after being removed from the site. Reports put injuries in the massive crowd in and around the Love Parade near Duesseldorf in western Germany in the hundreds.  The tragedy apparently resulted when police, concerned that the site was already too crowded, tried to block a gathering crowd from entering. 
N-TV.de  Pollstar.com

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Fogerty Does Anthem In Cooperstown

Playing the custom made guitar modeled after a Louisville Slugger made for him after he released his mid-80's baseball anthem Centerfield, John Fogerty got to perform the song live in Cooperstown, NY before a number of the baseball players he idolized growing up Sunday (7/25).  After doing the song, which has been played at the opening of the annual Baseball Hall Of Fame induction ceremonies over the past several years, Fogerty donated the one-of-a-kind instrument to the baseball shrine, where it join's 2010 inductees Andre Dawson, manager Whitey Herzog, umpire Doug Harvey, broadcaster Jon Miller and baseball writer Bill Madden.  That the guitar was able to be played at all is a minor miracle.  It spent days submerged in the aftermath of the spring flood in Nashville that Fogerty said claimed all of his guitars. (story) He told those gathered under threatening skies in the beautiful countryside of Central New York that the guitar was the only instrument of his salvaged from the flood.  He noted that the restoration still left the guitar looking more weathered than it had before being damaged, which is fitting for an instrument that will share display space with well worn equipment from famous moments in the history of the game he continues to love. 
BaseballHallOfFame.org  MLB.com
 
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Stones Prepare Final Tour?

Mick Jagger has shown a flair for drama that has earned him a reputation as the PT Barnum of Rock & Roll.  Staging the Rock & Roll Circus in 1969, announcing a mid-70's Stones tour while the band played on a flat-bed rolling down 5th Avenue in New York... the Stones have seldom missed an opportunity to do something over-the-top to draw the world's attention to their next escapade.  We will expect no less if suggestions that the band is preparing a final tour before retiring from the road prove valid.  Reports that the Stones are in cahoots with Live Nation for a massive two year farewell tour that will kick-off in 2012.  If true, the global jaunt is sure to shatter results for the legendary band's last world tour.  The Bigger Bang tour, which also ran for about 2 years, brought in more than a half a billion dollars.
The Sun   GigWise.com

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Ron Wood's Ex Selling Estate

Ron Wood's dalliance with a young Russian waitress cost him his marriage and may be about to cost him a lot more.  Jo Wood has put the London mansion the two shared in the swish Kingston Hill section of London to the tune of nearly $20 million.  The main house and out buildings on the just over 2.3 acre estate have so many rooms that defining how many bedrooms it has is apparently difficult.  RealEStalker lists it as having between 9 and 13 of them, but pegs the number of bathrooms at 8 and says the property also sports 3 kitchens.  The 11,500 square foot main house is supplemented by a guest cottage, a lodge and an swimming pool enclosed in a 3,400 square foot structure.  The former couple still jointly own a multi-million dollar residence in Ireland.
RealEStalker.com

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Drums Beat For Little Feat Drummer

DRUM Magazine will convene a bunch of percussionists August 13 at the San Jose Repertory Theatre in the Bay Area to beat up a storm on behalf of fellow drummer Richie Hayward.  The Little Feat drummer has been on an extended medical leave from the band due to liver cancer. (story)  The event, which aims to be one of the biggest gatherings of drummers ever staged in California, will feature clinics and performances from a number of great stick men, including David Garibaldi from Tower Of Power.  Several drum manufacturers are donating kits and gear to be raffled off during the event.  The DRUM Magazine Rhythm Night launches the 21st annual San Jose Jazz Festival, an event that attracts upwards of 100,000 fans during a three day and night run spread across dozens of stages set-up in the Silicon Valley city south of San Francisco.
PRNewswire.com

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Music Helps Lanois Recovery

Six weeks after a motorcycle crash nearly cost him his life (story), producer Daniel Lanois is on the mend and sounds buoyed by the music Neil Young has been giving him for an album the two had started working on just before the accident.  Crediting the fact he had a full-face helmet on as quite possibly having saved his life, Lanois still suffered a head-to-toe range of injuries that will require a lot of patience and perseverance to overcome or come to terms with.  Still, he told Nick Patch in an interview run by the Toronto Star, 'I'm lucky to be alive.  It could have been spinal.'  Of Young's new music, Lanois says the project they are working on does not include a band, but he calls the songs 'rocking', and believes they constitute 'some of his best work in some time', going on to say, 'We've really hit the motherlode.'
TwentyFourBit.com   Toronto Star

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Food Poisoning Fells Elton

A Wednesday (7/21) sold-out Elton John concert at the Tucson Arena in Arizona got bumped ahead 24 hours to allow the singer to recover from what was described as a case of food poisoning. A press release issued by the Tucson Convention Center relayed Elton's apology for the delay and assured ticket holders that doctors had given the Rocket Man a green light to make the date up Thursday.
AZStar.net

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Garcia Story Coming To Theaters

A movie drawing on Dark Star, the oral history based book about Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead'sEric Eisner early life, is being developed under the production guidance of , son of the former Disney Studios head and Hollywood power broker Michael Eisner.  The full length film, which has the backing of tinsel town figures with Cold Mountain and Little Miss Sunshine in their resumes, will focus primarily on the guitarist's pre-Dead days.  Topper Lillen gets screenplay credit for a story that director Amir Bar-Lev calls a '...daring script' that '....steadfastly resists cliche'.  We'll believe it when we see it.
Variety.com

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Peter Gabriel Enlisted As Talent Judge

TV Talent shows with judges more preoccupied with the hairstyles and teeth quality of contestants have competition in the UK starting in the fall from a new show that should put a lot more stock in actual talent than appearances.  The Source will conduct talent screenings and be produced at The Factory, a music club run by Peter Hook.  And the judges will reportedly include Peter Gabriel and Ian Brown, the former lead singer of the Stone Roses.  Producers promise no Simon Cowell type judging will be used to evaluate the bands on this show  .  Hook laid it one the line, saying, 'Those other talent shows are bullshit. they're just made for TV not for the music'.  The top band will score a payout of around $12,500 and get a record deal that will split music sale proceeds 50/50 with the group.
MenMedia.co.uk   Manchester Evening News

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Marketing 101 Grateful Dead Style

Brian Halligan and David Meerman Scott have business chops - and love the Grateful Dead.  The two bring both passions together in a soon-to-be published book.  Halligan calls that the seminal  San Francisco band's approach to rewarding the loyalty of its fan base is a '...giant case study in doing marketing right.'  Their new book, Marketing Lessons From The Grateful Dead cites a number of ways that the band's conscious or karmic decisions that challenged conventional wisdom in the music business contributed to the longevity of the band when it was together and continue to play a role in the ongoing projects former members are involved in.  Recognizing the benefits of building a means of keeping in direct contact with fans, the Dead developed a mailing list that helped them build, inform and reward a loyal fan base more than a decade before the concept of database marketing went mainstream.   Letting fans record and swap concert tapes created a viral marketing momentum to ticket sales that allowed the group to derive a more revenue from touring - something all groups are now desperate to do to offset the decline in music sales.  The book, published by Wiley (a name Garcia would appreciate), comes out August 2.
B2CMarketingInsider.com

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Fagen, McDonald & Scaggs Combine

The Dukes of September is one of the more intriguing tours taking to the road - and is the kind of tour that is bound to become increasingly common as the core members of different groups decide their combined drawing power gives them the opportunity to do shows in venues they would have a hard time filling as solo acts.  As Ringo Starr, who has used the revue format over multiple years for his All Starr Band (this year including Gary Wright, Edgar Winter and Rick Derringer) can attest, it's a lot of fun for the musicians and gives audiences the chance to hear refreshed versions of the best material each artist has been involved with, along with great covers all of them like.  Donald Fagen of Steely Dan, former Doobie Brothers vocalist Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs comprise the Dukes of SeptemberFagen calls the revue type of show '...the most fun kind of show to do.'  He logged a good amount of time working in that atmosphere while filling-in as a vocalist with the Levon Helm Band in the aftermath of a throat biopsy a year ago that left the Band drummer under doctor's orders not to sing for a number of months.  One cover done with the Helm Band that Fagen hopes to do with the Dukes is the Grateful Dead's Shakedown Street, a song he calls, '...a fantastic song with a beautiful lyric'.  McDonald, who contributed background vocals on the  Steely Dan albums Katie Lied, Royal Scam, Aja and Gaucho, told the Newark Star Ledger's Jay Lustig that I've Got News For You from Ray Charles is a song he hopes to work into set lists for the tour that starts August 19.  Fagen enlisted McDonald, Scaggs and others for a similar revue he mounted in the early 90's using the name New York Rhythm and Soul Revue.  An album recorded live at the Beacon Theater in New York was released in 1991.
NJ.com

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Heat Takes Toll On Heartbreaker

The Tuesday (7/20) concert by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at Blossom Music Center in Ohio got put on-hold after Mike Campbell was ordered by doctors to take a few days off after the guitarist passed out on stage during the band's show Sunday in St. Louis.  Campbell briefly lost consciousness during the Heartbreaker's set in Maryland Heights, MO.  The concert was halted for about ten minutes while medical attention was give to Mike backstage.  Trooper that he is, Campbell returned after being revived to play three more songs before the band shut things down for the night.  Diagnosed with heat exhaustion, doctors strongly advised that he take some time to hydrate and to regain strength before returning to the stage.  The band's next show following the postponed Cleveland concert is Thursday (7/22) at the Palace of Auburn Hills, near Detroit.  That show is expected to go off as scheduled.
News-Herald.com   TomPetty.com

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U2, AC/DC, Springsteen Top Tour Earners

The cost of keeping the massive 360o tour on the road ate up a good bit of the take, but U2 easily took the top spot in tour earnings over the past 12 months, taking in $130 million to best the AC/DC Black Ice world tour total take by more than $15 million.  Bruce Springsteen was the other Rock act in the top 5 on the annual list compiled by Forbes.  To date, 2010 has not been a year to celebrate for most musicians as the sluggish economy has hurt concert attendance for most acts and venues. (story)
Forbes.com   Freep.com

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Zappa Opus Headed For Release

What The Hell Was I Thinking? is an apt name for a project that has taken more than a decade to evolve to the point that it might actually get released.  Dweezil Zappa's instrumental opus to his father, Frank Zappa, is taking final form after Eddie Van Halen, Malcolm and Angus Young of AC/DC, Queen guitarist Brian May, Steve Vai, Steve Morse, and Yngwie Malmsteen recorded parts for the 75 minute piece.  Zappa told the Huffington Post that the project could eventually be taken on the road, although he admits it is very unlikely he'd be able to get more than a few of the 30+ guitarists he has gotten contributions from for the recording to commit to a tour.
Blabbermouth.net

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Hendrix, Doors, Beatles Items To Auction

A painting by Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison's hand written lyrics to LA Woman are expected to attract high bids at an auction being conducted by Cameo Fine Art Auctioneers in the UK on August 3.  The signed acrylic depiction of a snake and a trio of eyes that was painted by the guitar great in 1967 was included in a Hendrix exhibit at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York nearly 20 years ago.  The yellow sheet with the lyrics to the title song for the 1971 Doors album is the actual piece of paper Morrison used as his reference in the studio when the Doors recorded the song.  Also in the sale is a collection of photos of Beatles members in their homes taken by a 15 year-old paper girl that managed to muster the courage to knock on Paul McCartney's door, who later gave her the addresses for John, George, and RingoSue Baker, now 59, marvels still at '...how friendly and ordinary they were', and that such famous musicians were kind enough to allow her to visit with her friend and younger brother.
GetReading.co.uk   Cameo-Auctioneers.co.uk
 
MORE JIMI HENDRIX INSIGHTS   MORE DOORS INSIGHTS  
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Abbey Road Piano Up For Grabs

A Challen upright piano housed at Abbey Road studios and believed to have been used by both Pink Floyd and the Beatles during recording sessions at the famed studio goes up for auction on August 15.  The piano is thought to have been used when Pink Floyd was working on  Dark Side of The Moon and Wish You Were Here sessions, and to be the one that appears in Tomorrow Never Knows and Paperback Writer by the Beatles. Instruments that can be authenticated as having been used during actual recording sessions or in concert by artists always sell at a premium over ones that may simply have been an instrument in an artist's collection.  With or without proof of its use on actual recordings, the very fact this piano has been verified as having been in the studio during the sessions has made auction authorities confident that it could bring up to $230,000.
PaulFraserCollcetibles.com

MORE BEATLES INSIGHTS    MORE PINK FLOYD INSIGHTS

Janis Joplin Role Cast

Amy Adams has been selected to play the legendary singer in a biopic pic being made by Fernando MeirellesAdams, who at 36 is one year shy of a decade older than Joplin when she died, will have to deliver one hell of a performance to pull off playing JanisMeirelles, the Brazilian director that earned an Academy Award nomination for City Of God and a Golden Globe nod for The Constant Gardener, has been working behind the scenes to bring this project forward for some time. Adams, an actress that got her first big break by nailing a Best Supporting Actress nomination when she portrayed Ashley Johnsten in the indie surprise hit Junebug in 2005 and starred in the 2007 Disney movie Enchanted, seems like an unlikely choice to capture the range of emotions Janis could evoke on and off stage.
CinemaBlend.com

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Encore for Gilmour & Waters

The recent one-off that put David Gilmour and Roger Waters on the same stage for the first time in 5 years (story) will apparently have at least one encore.  Billboard.com reports that Gilmour's resistance to performing with Waters seems to have softened enough in the aftermath of their appearance together last weekend during a benefit concert to get 2/3 of the existing Pink Floyd members together again for at least one performance of The Wall during the Waters tour that is scheduled to open in September.  Which concert that reunion will take place at and whether drummer Nick Mason will join them have not been revealed.
Billboard.com

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Bono Aims To Be 'Fighting Fit' For Tour

Admitting that he still has a way to go before his band resumes the tour delayed when the singer underwent emergency back surgery (story), Bono vowed in a video on the band web site to be 'fighting fit' when U2 returns to the concert stage in three weeks.  16 North American concerts were postponed in the aftermath of the operation to remedy what doctors in Germany described as 'sudden partial paralysis'.  The Edge and Larry Mullen joke that they came close to recruiting a replacement for Bono and keeping the dates, drummer Mullen saying 'no one's indespensable' while the camera shifts to Bono.  The silver lining to the episode is that Bono discovered he can write good songs while flat on his back, something he did a lot during what he called his period of 'forced indolence', some of which the band has already been developing early takes on in a studio.  The group's first post-surgery date will be August 6 in Turin, Italy.  US and Canadian dates have been rescheduled for next summer.
Guardian.co.uk   U2.com

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Hendrix Sneakers In Converse Rock Line

Jimi Hendrix joins the Grateful Dead, AC/DC, Pink FLoyd, The Doors and other Rockers represented in a musicians line of sneakers the footware company has produced.  The Converse X Jimi Hendrix Experience Music Collection includes a trio of Chuck Taylor treads sporting images of Hendrix on their high-top sides.
SoleRedemption.com   Converese.com

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Jagger Goes Old School

Parents attending their grade schooler's music program at a Dartford, UK school recently found themselves taking in the show with Mick Jagger.  The Stones front man dropped in for a surprise visit at a performance center named in his honor.  Jagger last visited the school for the grand opening of the Mick Jagger Centre in 2000.  The facility recently got a tune-up to the tune of well over $1 million.  Mick's father, Joe Jagger, was a former Pys Ed teacher at the school his son also attended.  Mick talked about his fondness for the school - despite having gotten beaten up once by a group of kids, and thanked those who had put so much effort into the massive upgrade that adds a new foyer and dance studio to a facility that already has a theater and recording studio, saying. 'I really appreciate your words of praise but to be honest, my role's probably the easiest of all of them.'
KentOnline.co.uk

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Joe Perry Escapes Serious Injury

After a year of illness, injuries and turmoil, Aerosmith finally seemed to be enjoying some hard earned positive momentum when news broke Thursday (7/15) that Joe Perry had been involved in an accident near Boston.  Police reported that Perry's motorcycle was hit by a car on Rt. 44 in Middleborough, MA during the afternoon.  Perry's bike was apparently struck from behind by a sedan being driven by a grandmother of 6.  He wastransported to the Morton Medical Center in nearby Taunton, where he was reportedly treated for a minor back injury and released.  Ironically, the accident took place on the anniversary of the date Joey Kramer of the band's Ferrari went up in flames at a Boston area gas station.  No wonder they put out an album titled Nine Lives!  One can only hope Tom Hamilton doesn't blow out his elbow throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park Friday (7/16) before the Red Sox meet the Texas Rangers
Boston.com   Boston Herald

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Richards Wife Overcomes Cancer

Patti Hanson, the 54 year-old wife of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, has gone public for the first time with some details of her three year battle against cancer.  In an article in Vogue magazine, Hanson said that a diagnosis of a bladder tumor in 2007 was followed by a prognosis that she had less then three years to live after chemotherapy failed to knock it out.  Opting for a radical surgical approach, Hanson had her bladder replaced by one doctors fashioned using a portion of her intestine. An upbeat Hanson called cancer a 'friggin monster', but said her new bladder '...is better than the real thing.'  That could mean fewer trips to the ladies room if and when the Stones tour again.
Mirror.co.uk

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Rent Ozzy's Beach Estate

A 4,500 square foot five bedroom home Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne bought in 2003 for around $5 million can be yours for the rest of the summer at a rate of $40,000 per month.  The master suite extends the full width of the second floor of the three story brick building, offering a panoramic view of the Pacific.  A spacious marble bathroom and walk-in closet adjoins the expansive bedroom.  Privacy from the noise and gawkers along the stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway that runs within a few feet of the beach retreats of plenty of actors, musicians and other celebrities is provided by a courtyard surrounded by tall vine covered walls.  A fountain helps mask the traffic noise. A terrace occupies part of the third floor, where the beach and ocean can be surveyed from a hot tub.  The Couple unloaded their Beverly Hills mansion in 2007, reportedly collecting more than $11 million for it from pop star Christina Aguilera.  They then picked up a 10,000 square foot home in a very exclusive and private gated community in nearby Hidden Hills, California.
RealeStalker.blogspot.com

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Vedder Puts Pearl Jam On Shelf

Comments Eddie Vedder made as the last show on the Pearl Jam 2010 schedule concluded Sunday (7/11) at the Optimus Live Festival in Lisbon made sent a message to the Seattle band's fans that the end of this tour means a long break is in store for the group.  Responding to worries the break might be permanent, band publicist Nicole Vandenberg pointed out to Seattle Weekly that Vedder followed up 'Thank you for coming to our last show' by adding 'Not our last ever, but our last in a long time', and called the remark the kind of thing the front man says '...at the end of all tours, because the tour has ended.'  She went on to write in her e-mail response to the SW request for comment, 'The remark may have gotten a little lost in translation.'
SeattleWeekly.com

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Fan Challenges Rush Rain-Out

A July 7 cancelation of a Rush concert scheduled at Charter One Pavillion in Chicago has resulted in a class action lawsuit being filed by a fan against the band and promoter Live NationChristopher Langone contends that the decision to pull the plug on the concert constituted a breach of the terms of the tickets he bought, which he says was promoted as a rain or shine event.  He is seeking a refund of the price he paid for six tickets plus his travel and lodging expenses for flights from New York and hotel.  The announcement that the show was being canceled did not come until nearly an hour after the scheduled start time.  The decision was reached after concert officials concluded that conditions would continue to be stormy for the remainder of the evening.  The suit calls attention to the fact that the White Sox managed to get a complete home baseball game in the same night of the scheduled concert.
TicketNews.com

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Buffett's 'Bama Beach Party

Throngs and thongs packed a beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama Sunday (7/11)  that has had a shortage of both since the Deep Horizon oil rig started fouling Gulf waters about 100 miles off shore nearly two months ago.  The attraction was a free concert organized by Pascagula, MS native Jimmy Buffett to help turn back the tide of negative publicity hurting tourism in the region in the aftermath of the giant BP oil spill.  Around 35,000 created a festive Mardi Gras vibe on the beach during the nearly 4 hour concert that featured Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band and a host of other artists.  The concert, originally scheduled for a week ago, was shifted to Sunday as a precaution in case Hurricane Alex presented a threat to the area.
AL.com

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Two Floyd Members Play Together

People will often set aside petty differences in order to do something worthwhile on behalf of a good cause.  That goodwill brought together two band mates that as recently as a few weeks ago it seemed might never perform together again (story).  The setting was Kiddington Hall in Oxfordshire, England, where Saturday night (7/10) David Gilmour and Roger Waters of Pink Floyd played together for 200 people on hand to raise money for an orgainzation seeking to help chart a more positive course for young Palestinians.  The appearance marked the first time the two had performed live together since the Live 8 concerts in 2005.  Playing in a band that included Andy Newmark on drums, Jonjo Grisdale and Harry Waters on keyboards, Guy Pratt on bass and guitarist Chester Kamen, Gilmour and Waters performed Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2), Comfortably Numb and Wish You Were Here and .  Don't we all!
Mog.com

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Fogerty Bat Cooperstown Bound

A one-of-a-kind baseball bat guitar built for John Fogerty that went on the DL after being damaged in flooding this spring in Nashville (story) has been restored in time for the former Creedence Clearwater Revival leader's appearance at the Baseball Hall Of Fame inductions in Cooperstown, New York July 25 (story)Slugger, a bat designed for Fogerty by Philip Kubicki in celebration of his baseball anthem Centerfield,  sustained heavy damage when surging waters from the Cumberland River inundated a storage facility that was serving as temporary holding space for a collection of instruments belonging several noteworthy musicians.  Fogerty and the rare instrument will be reunited for the first time when he performs the song at the induction ceremony, after which the guitar modeled on the Louisville Slugger will remain on display among the most treasured artifacts of the game.  Fogerty says the instrument '...means a lot to me.  It symbolizes two of my great loves, baseball and the guitar', and, '...I think Slugger will be happy at the Baseball Hall Of Fame.'
BaseballHall.org   Examiner.com

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Santana Proposes On Stage

One of the longer lasting marriages in Rock came to and end in the fall of 2007 when Deborah Santana filed for divorce 34 years after she and guitarist Carlos Santana tied the knot.  Friday (7/9) near Chicago, Carlos paused after his drummer and girlfriend Cindy Blackman completed a solo four songs into his set at the MidWest bank Amphitheater to ask her to marry him.  Blackman, appearing to be blindsided by the marriage proposal, agreed and the bride-to-be gave Carlos a kiss.  The spiritual guitarist released a statement saying, 'Cindy and I are blessed to have found each other', and calling love, '...a gift from the universe', he vowed to have their marriage serve as a force to help '...tip the balance toward more love in the world'.
Santana.com

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Bonham Vows Silence On Zep Tribute

In what will rank as one of the more impressive feats in music if he pulls it off,  Jason Bonham has vowed to keep the names of the musicians joining him in his tribute tour to Led Zeppelin under wraps until they walk out on stage in the fall.  Speaking with MusicRadar.com, the son of the original Zep drummer sounded determined to prevent fans and critics from pre-judging the Experience Zeppelin tour based on the backgrounds of the players, who Bonham indicated he already has chosen.  The drummer plans a 30 date tour (the number of years since his father died) that will include massive screens showing footage of Led Zeppelin on and off stage as well of family footage of his father.  He also plans to travel with his own custom lights and sound to be certain that every concert delivers the rich multi-media experience he considers essential to the project.  While not pressed to divulge which Zeppelin songs would be done on the tour, Bonham did say that his favorite song to play is Kashmir, and called Rock And Roll the '...song I always find difficult to do properly.'  Putting this project together and on the road without irritating the members of Black Country Communion, his other newly formed band (story), won't be easy either.
MusicRadar.com

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Fender Finally Honors Hendrix

The Fender Guitar Hall Of Fame has only been in existance for three years but other than Leo Fender himself, we can't think of anyone more entitled to a place in the Hall year one than the guitar great whose name is practically synonymous with Fender instruments, James Marshall HendrixHendrix gets the inexplicably delayed honor on August 13 in Tempe, Arizona.  Janie Hendrix, CEO of Experience Hendrix, the entity that manages all licensing matters relating to Jimi's name, will accept the honor on behalf of her late step-brother. Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and engineer-producer Eddie Kramer are also expected to attend.  Hendrix, who played an inverted right-hand strung Stratocaster, single handedly reinvented what could be done both musically and physically during his brief but prolific career.
Fender.com

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Bob Weir Hung-Up at Border

Canadian border authorities at the Thousand Islands crossing in upstate New York delayed Bob Weir Tuesday (7/6), subjecting the Furthur guitarist to further questioning after computer records alerted them to arrests when he was a member of the Grateful Dead.  Had he been refused entry, the band's set the following night at a festival in Ottawa might have been scuttled - making it the second lost show in a week.  A Burlington, VT concert scheduled for Monday (7/5) was hastily replaced by a Pennsylvania concert after the museum hosting the Vermont show on its grounds canceled the sold-out concert over security concerns (story)Weir was allowed to go to a nearby Holiday Inn while the authorities reviewed matters relating to the long-ago and far away busts.  The one they seemed most interested in was a July 2 1980 arrest in San Diego, when Weir and drummer Mickey Hart were jailed on charges of resisting arrest.
Relix.com points out that several songs during the band's set Wednesday at the Cisco Ottawa Blues Fest may have been inspired by the snafu. In addition to set staple Truckin', with its verse that refers to a New Years Eve 1970 arrest on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, the band busted out several other tunes with law breaking lyrics, among them Mama Tried, Don't Ease Me In, Wharf Rat and the 1965 Bobby Fuller Four rave-up hit that Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers sometimes do live, I Fought The Law.
OttawaCitizen.com   Relix.com

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Concert Business Hits The Wall

The fact that a lot of concert tickets got sold a long time before the severity and duration of the economic downturn became apparent helped the live music business defy gravity for several months after the recession began.  The helium is out of that balloon now.  Promoters desperate to fill seats and amphitheater lawn space are resorting to steep discounts in the hope that they can recoup a decent amount of the lost dollars at concession and merchandise stands if the reduced prices produce bigger crowds.  In addition to suspending service charges for the entire month of June, Live Nation has been selling lawn seats for some amphitheater shows for just $10 and doing reserved seat four-packs to some concerts for as little as $80.  Jason Garner of Live Nation told the Wall Street Journal that canceled tours and anemic sales for many of the ones that are on the road this summer serve notice that 'When 40% of tickets across the industry are going unsold, you have to have honest talk about ticket prices.'  That is a discussion many artists and agents are reluctant to have.  With album sales tanking and even digital downloads showing recent weakness, tours have gone from being a marketing exercise to promote new albums to being the most important income stream many artists have.  Unless the economy rebounds a lot stronger and faster than it has to this point, many artists will have to decide whether keeping their fees as high as they are makes sense if the result is playing to half empty venues.
WSJ.com

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Big Day In Big Apple For Ringo Starr

Ringo Starr made a day and night of it in New York on his 70th birtday.  The Beatles drummer dropped by the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square for a reception and to cut a large birthday cake that was no piece of cake for pastry chefs to put together, thanks to 100+ temps in the Big Apple.  Then it was off to Radio City Music Hall for a concert with his All-Star Band, where Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono made a rare appearance together to extend their birthday best to RingoMcCartney and Starr appeared together on the Radio City stage just over a year ago at a benefit concert (story).  What made this occasion historic was that it marked the only time members of the Beatles had played the song Birthday from the Double White album together live.  Also making the scene were George Harrison's widow Olivia, Keith Richards, Steve Van Vandt, Nils Lofgren and Max Weinberg of the E Street Band, Mick Jones of Foreigner, ELO and Traveling Wilbury member Jeff Lynne and Wilbury veteran Roy Orbison's widow Barbara.
ShowBiz411.com

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Winds Tear Down Frampton Yes Stage

A huge tent designed to withstand high winds was no match for a sudden storm that struck the Lucky Star Casino near Concho, Oklahoma Tuesday (7/6).  The tent and the stage in it  that Peter Frampton and Yes were scheduled to perform on that night were both destroyed in a matter of moments.  Six crew members suffered injuries in the collapsing structure.   A marketing manager for the company putting the stage together described the storm as containing a sudden downshear that brought the structure and stage down '...in an instant.'  A veteran member of the crew working on the stage had already ordered others to evacuate the site when he noticed some people at the other end had not been able to hear him.  As he ran toward them, a large pole broke loose and swung violently in his direction.  He managed to push a woman out of harm's way but got hit by the pole himself, suffering a broken leg.
NewsOK.com

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Giants Detail Jerry Garcia Day

The San Francisco Giants home game on August 9 went from just another ballgame on the NL West schedule to being one of the hipper days in franchise history several weeks ago when it was announced the team would honor Jerry Garcia on the night they play host to the Chicago Cubs.   Now, more details about what the Giants have planned to honor Captain Trips at AT&T Park  on the anniversary of his death are being revealed.  In addition to a special seating section and Garcia bobbleheads we caught a whiff of a few weeks back (story), Jerry's daughter, Annabelle, gets the honor of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.  Bob Weir and drummer Mickey Hart will lead the crowd in Take Me Out To The Ballgame - backed by 7,000 kazoo playing Deadheads during the 7th inning stretch.  Bobby 'Ace' Weir is a fan of the game and its history.  More than a decade ago, he and Taj Mahal laid some early groundwork for a musical based on the life of  legendary pitching ace Satchel Paige, a guy as talented and innovative on the mound as Garcia and the Dead so often were on stage.    Grateful Dead publicist Dennis McNally, who knows more about the Grateful Dead than just about every Deadhead and more about baseball than possibly even some baseball commissioners, says the project got put on the backburner by Weir. Fans of both the band and the game can hope it will not fade away.
SignOnSanDiego.com
 
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Doobie Brothers End Decade Of Silence

The Doobie Brothers will put an end to more than a decade without an album of new studio material in September with the release of World Gone Crazy.  The album reunites the California band with  producer Ted Templeman, the man at the controls for the band's first 10 albums. The September 28 release will include one Doobies song familiar to long-time fans.  Nobody, a song that was included on the group's 1971 debut album, has been redone for World Gone CrazyWillie Nelson also makes a guest appearance on the album.
Billboard.com   DoobieBrothers.com

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Defiant Davies Stays On Stage

Ray Davies reportedly defied attempts by stage managers of the Hop Festival in England to get him off the stage.  Concerned that letting the former Kinks front man and his band continue to play would force them to have to cut-short the set by another famously prickley performer, Bob Dylan, organizers had asked Davies to reduce his stage time during the Hop Farm Festival in Kent Sunday (7/4).  Davies responded by making some derisive remarks about it, at one point telling the 30,000 on hand, 'Fuck it, I'll play for as long as I want', and adding in an apparent swipe at Dylan, 'I don't live in a gated community like some of the acts here tonight.'
DailyExpress.co.uk

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Who Considering 2011 Tour

Previous suggestions that the Who might call it quits due to Pete Townshend's hearing problems were followed by Roger Daltrey raising the possibility that he would carry on without the guitarist. The Who without Keith Moon and John Entwistle was already problematic for some.  Using the Who name without Townshend would be as tough a sell as Mick Jagger trying to convince fans that a band without Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ron Wood should be considered the Rolling StonesDaltrey now tells Billboard that he and Townshend are talking about mounting a 2011 tour that the singer describes as 'a new show'. or perhaps a run of dates featuring Quadrophenia.  Telling the industry source that he and Townshend share the conviction that musicians and other artists should '...go all the way through life 'til you can't do it anymore', Daltrey said they are looking into ways to minimize the discomfort and damage continuing to play live would result in to Townshend during a Who tour.
Billboard.com   TheWho.com
 
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Everything But Beatles Apple Plans

Frustration over the lack of legal downloads of Beatles songs will only grow with the announcement last week (story) that all John Lennon solo albums and this week that albums by other Apple Records recording artists are being remastered and released in digital download form.  That does make for a crop of interesting reissues from the 1968-1973 roster of musicians on the EMI distributed label started by the Beatles, among them the 1968 debut album by James Taylor (with Paul McCartney and George Harrison on Carolina In My Mind), four releases by Badfinger, a couple from Billy Preston, and releases by Jackie Lomax, Mary Hopkin, and even the Modern Jazz Quartet.  The Apple reissues are due October 26.  Lennon solo albums come out three weeks earlier.
PRNewswire

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Russell Gets Elton Back To Basics

He may never fully redeem himself in the eyes and ears of early fans he drove away long before he began cavorting around with the likes of Lady Gaga, but Elton John is taking a big step in the right direction.  Details are emerging about the project he recorded with Leon Russell we first announced several weeks ago (story), and they sound very encouraging. Elton pronounced in a recent interview that the record represents a new direction for him, saying, 'I don't have to make pop records anymore.'  During an interview Monday (7/5), Elton said neither the world nor he is screaming for another Elton John record '...unless it's going to be different.'  Calling fellow keyboard player Leon Russell his idol, Sir Elton sounded like the chance to team his writing partner Bernie Taupin with Russell, Neil Young, Brian Wilson and producer T-Bone Burnett and record an album in a real straight-forward, roots fashion represented just the kind of different album he wanted to be involved in.  The Union will get an October 19 release. As for the Christmas album John told UK radio host Paul Gambaccini his record company wants him to make, John said, '...I just told them to fuck off'.  Maybe the Bitch really Is Back.
Billboard.com
 
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Richards Stones Jagger In Print

There may be some pressure being applied for Keith Richards to tone down some details about Mick Jagger in the guitarist's new book about the Rolling Stones. Life, which is due to be published in October, is causing concern with people involved in managing the band according to some reports, including one in the Daily Mail that quotes an unnamed source as saying revelations about Mick Jagger could prove to be 'explosive' if the book comes out in its current form.  Keith recently expressed frustration toward Jagger for keeping him sidelined by being unwilling to commit to when the band would record or tour next. (story)
DailyMail.co.uk

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Kevin Spacey Joins McCartney Live

A UK fund raiser for the Old Vic Theatre this week gave those attending what is likely to be a duet that will never be repeated.  As Paul McCartney and his band got ready to start Hey Jude, the former Beatle dedicated the song to actress Judi Dench, who was in attendance. No sooner had he done that than Kevin Spacey jumped onto the stage to sing along with Sir PaulSpacey serves as the artistic director for the venerable VicMcCartney said after the set, 'When Kevin strong-armed me into doing it, as he does, we were only too pleased to show up and step up to the plate.'  Also on hand for the festivities was Peter Blake, the man who designed the Sgt. Pepper album cover.
MTV.co.uk

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Comedian Takes On Kinks Movie

There hasn't been much news about the project since comedian Bobcat Goldthwait said last year he wanted to make a movie based on the Kinks album Schoolboys In Disgrace, so we were surprised to hear that the movie plan is still on track.  Ray Davies has signed on as executive producer and has been helping Goldthwait get the financial backing needed to get the movie into production.  The movie about the rebellious schoolboy turned supervillain Mr. Flash the Kinks based songs on the the 1975 album on will be what Goldthwait calls the story of a '...charming criminal and a realistic high school musical for all the kids who hate sugary, sweet, unrealistic high school musicals'.  No mention of whether 3D is involved - but the idea of a full-on food fight in 3D is right up Bobcat's alley.
HollywoodReporter.com   SlashFilm.com

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Suit Over Early Song Targets Zeppelin

The possibility Jake Holmes would take legal action against Led Zeppelin over his contention that the band fialed to credit and compensate him for writing Dazed And Confused finally became a case this week.  Legal papers filed Monday (6/30) claim Holmes, who recorded the song in 1967, also registered for a copyright on it that same year.  The story Jimmy Page first heard the song when Holmes opened for the Yardbirds at a show that summer in New York City have benn around for years and were substantiated when  Jim McCarty, a Yardbirds band mate of Page, said the group  bought a copy of the Holmes album the following day to work-up a version of it with the future Led Zeppelin guitarist '...contributing the guitar riffs in the middle.Led Zeppelin recorded Dazed And Confused for it's ground breaking debut album, which listed Page as the author of the song.  Why Holmes took so long to seek restitution is unknown.  The lengthy delay potentially cost him millions.  If he wins the suit his retroactive earnings will be limited to the past 3 years.
Perfect Sound Forever Magazine  GuitarNewsDaily.com

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Plant Sprouts Up In Chicago

Robert Plant treated audiences to surprise appearances this week in Chicago.  Plant joined Los Lobos during their set at the Taste of Chicago food and music festival on Tuesday (6/29).  The night before that a small group of people got to experience a real rarity when Plant did an impromptu performance in the lobby bar of the James Hotel.  The bartender said anyone thinking they might have just stumbled across a Plant look-alike knew they were in the presence of the 'real deal' as soon as he started to sing.  The former Led Zeppelin front man was in town to shoot a video the Los Lobos song Angel Dance, which will appear on his Band of Joy album that is due out in the fall (story).
ChicagoTribune.com

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Lennon Remasters In The Works

If it seems hard to grasp that it's been 30 years since John Lennon died, try wrapping your mind around the idea that he would be turning 70 this year - and probably speaking out against the Supreme Court decision to limit handgun restrictions had a deranged man not gunned him down outside of his New York City apartment building.  On October 9, the date he was born, the John Lennon solo catalog will be reissued.  In addition to the remastered versions of all albums, Double Fantasy, the album released the year he was shot, will include a second discwith multiple production tracks removed from the songs.  Yoko Ono said  listening to John's 'amazing vocals' with far fewer instruments surrounding it than on the original album was emotionally difficult for her.  The remastered versions of his seven solo releases can be bought individually or in a Signature Box Set with bonus material that bumps the disc total to 11 CDs.  While Beatles albums and songs still haven't been cleared for digital sale, the Lennon collection will be available as downloads starting October 5.
LATimes.com

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Ferrari Builds EC A Road Rocket

Quattroroute, an Italian magazine, has reported that Eric Clapton has made a personal request that Ferrari make him a 458 Italia model with the higher end V12 power plant featured in the company's 599 GTB Fiorano. The standard engine in the 458 Italia packs 578hp into the engine compartment, but Ferrari designers are apparently confident they can honor the guitar great's request to cram the additional 40 horses he will gain with the bigger engine into the car.  Clapton has been a good customer for Ferrari and is a friend and fan of Ferrari race car driver Felipe Massa.
4Wheelsnews.com   Autospies.com

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