A Jimi Hendrix tribute tour involving multiple guitarists that has been a big draw for the last couple of years could have company on the road soon.  Reports have Jason Bonham, son of ZepJohn Bonham,  putting together a multi-media and live music tribute to Led Zeppelin.  News of the plan comes as another project Bonham was involved in seems to be in trouble due to conflicts between the managements of the musicians involved, according to producer Kevin Shirley.  That group involved Deep Purple and Black Sabbath veteran Glenn Hughes, Derek Sherinian from Dream Theater on keys, drummer Jason Bonham and guitarist  stick master Joe Bonamassa. (story)
RockRadio.co.uk

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The Universal Music Deluxe Editions series has mined musical archives and come up with some  gems. Tuesday (4/27) the label served up two releases showcasing Eric Clapton.  A Rarities edition of the Cream album Disraeli Gears adds 9 demos and session outtakes to a mono mix of the original 11 album tracks. The 461 Ocean Boulevard Rarities Edition is an oddly titled release.  The disc features 11 songs recorded live the same year (1974) EC released the studio album with that title, but only a couple of tracks - Let It Grow and I Shot The Sheriff - from the studio album are among the 11 tracks on the concert disc.  The Deluxe Edition, recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon on consecutive nights in early December of '74, counts a medley of The Sky Is Crying, Have You Ever Loved A Woman and Ramblin' On My Mind as one song.
Where'sEric.com
 
  1. Smile 
  2. Let It Grow 
  3. Can't Find My Way Home
  4. I Shot the Sheriff 
  5. Tell the Truth 
  6. The Sky Is Crying /
      Have You Ever Loved A Woman /
      Ramblin' On My Mind  
  7. Little Wing 
  8. Singin' the Blues 
  9. Badge 
 10. Layla 
 11. Let It Rain

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Mick Jagger and other members of the Rolling Stones are expected to attend a special screening of Stones In Exile at the Cannes Film Festival in southern France in May.  The hour long documentary about the 1972 Stones album Exile On Main Street that Jagger co-produced is not an award contender, but special screenings that draw stars are a staple of the event and tend to generated good PR - something Mick seldom misses the opportunity to take advantage of.  The seaside resort city is buzzing with speculation the Stones will perform while there.  The Exile On Main Street album gets a May re-release with 10 previously unreleased tracks from the sessions.
Independent.co.uk
 
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When Bruce Springsteen was growing up, Joey Dee and the Starlighters was a big draw in north Jersey and across the river, where the band created a sensation in the early 1960's as the house band at the Peppermint Lounge in Manhattan.  David Brigati, an early member of the group, would eventually be joined in the Starlighters by his brother Eddie, guitarist Gene Cornish and keyboard player Felix Cavaliere. With the addition of Jersey born drummer Dino Danelli, that trio later became a big draw themselves as the Young Rascals, the tight, pop-soul band whose Good Lovin', a #1 song of 1966, touched off a string of hits that made the Rascals one of the most successful east coast bands of the mid-late 60's.  Saturday (4/24) the Rascals got back together for the first time in 40 years.  The occasion was a benefit Little Steven from the E Street Band had a hand in organizing for the Kristen Ann Carr Fund, a cancer research charity named in honor of of the daughter of Bruce Springsteen manager Barbara Carr.  The reunion, staged at the Tribecca Grill in Manhattan, appropriately started out with I've Been Lonely Too Long, followed by a dozen of the band's biggest songs, including It's A Beautiful Morning, Groovin', You Better Run and People Got To Be Free.  The biggest, Good Lovin', they saved for last, and brought Bruce Springsteen and Van Zandt out to do it with them (watch).  An E Street Band version of the song will be included in the London Calling: Concert in Hyde Park DVD that comes out June 22. (story)
Undercover.com.au
 
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On The Rural Route 7609 finally has a release date.  The John Mellencamp career spanning retrospective box set (7609 refers to the span of years covered on the collection) will drop on June 15.  Songs on the 54 song collection are sequenced according to artistic considerations instead of in chronological order, like most similar projects are.  Alternate takes of a number of songs are included in the collection, along with some relatively recent material and several previously unreleased archived titles.  A total of 17 songs on the set have never appeared on a Mellencamp album.  The collection is packaged with a 72 page book with commentary and stories about each song from interviews that John did with Anthony DeCurtis, who also composed an introductory piece about Mellencamp and the project for the book.  Mellencamp, who is doing a few concerts north of the border during the summer, plans to do an extensive tour late in the year after the release of No Better Than This, an album he recorded in a number of endangered historic buildings in various parts of the country. (story)
Mellencamp.com
 
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The torrid start for the Tampa Bay Rays continued Saturday (4/24) when a 7 run outburst in the 8th inning broke open a tight game against the division rival Toronto Blue Jays.  The 9-3 win gave the first place Rays a 16-2 record on nights when the team includes a concert after the ball game.  Saturday's music was provided by John Fogerty.  Fogerty, whose 1985 baseball song Centerfield still gets pumped out of stadium sound systems all over, had a blast entertaining fans at the Trop, Tweeting 'tonight...you guys were awesome! Thanks for great night!'  The team has 10 concert nights on the 2010 home schedule.  ZZ Top will be in the house May 1 when the Rays face the Kansas City Royals.
MLB.com

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An outstanding Dire Straits concert filmed at the Hammersmith Odeon that has long been available in VHS is finally migrating to dvd and Blu-ray.  The 1983 performance captures the band in peak form in a set that featured extended versions of several songs, including Once Upon a Time in the West, Expresso Love, Romeo & Juliet, Sultans of Swing, Tunnel of Love and Solid Rock.  The 10 tracks have been restored and remixed in 5:1 surround sound, and the original video footage has been upgraded to HD.  In addition to the Hammersmith set, the dics include an hour long BBC Arena documentary from 1980 and and televised performances of Sultans of Swing and Tunnel of Love.  Preview it here.
AddictedToVinyl.com

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Nashville paid tribute to Levon Helm last week (4/22) when Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Gillain Welch, Buddy Miller, Robert Hunter and a number of other musical admirers joined the veteran drummer on the stage of the historic Ryman Auditorium to participate in a 70th birthday tribute to the former Band member.  Levon, who turns 70 May 26, will be joined by a number of special guests when his band appears  on the final day of Mountain Jam, Sunday, June 6 at Hunter Mountain in New York. Musicians already confirmed for that celebration set include Warren Haynes, whose group Gov't Mule will play both Friday and Saturday, Steely Dan's Donald Fagen, Ray Lamontagne and Steve Earle.  Other performers lined up for the 6th year of the three day festival at the base of the ski area on the eastern edged of the Catskill Mountains include Haynes' fellow Allman Brothers Band mate Derek Trucks, who will perform with wife Susan Tedeschi in their new band, Alison Kraus & Union Station, Dave Mason, Dark Star Orchestra, Toots & The Maytals, Drive-By Truckers, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals and many, many more.  Helm, who was unable to sing for a number of months after undergoing a precautionary biopsy follow-up to his treatment for throat cancer, has recently been able to lend his signature voice to some of the great songs he sang with the Band and material for his highly acclaimed recent albums Dirt Farmer and Electric Dirt.
NashvilleScene.com  MountainJam.com
 
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Calling a new band a supergroup just about guarantees it will not be around long.  Blind Faith, the band the tag seems to have been coined for, was over and done after one studio album and tour.  A recent outfit some touted as supergroup worthy (a stretch in our opinion) could be finished before their debut album and tour.  The group, comprised of Deep Purple and Black Sabbath veteran Glenn Hughes, Derek Sherinian from Dream Theater on keys, drummer Jason Bonham and guitar whiz Joe Bonamassa, is on the verge of falling apart, according to producer Kevin Shirley, who blames management for the discord, according to his Facebook page. If the band really comes apart before doing a tour, fans that took in a St. Patrick's Day Joe Bonamassa concert can lay claim to having seen the only public performance by the band - a two song surprise encore that ended the concert in Riverside, CA. (story)
Blabbermouth.net

The Allman Brothers Band got its start in Jacksonville, Florida.  But Macon, Georgia was where the band lived during the years of its great triumphs and tragedies.  It was while based in Macon that the Allmans expanded Southern Rock's appeal from something with regional roots to something with national and then international appeal.  It was also where Duane Allman and Berry Oakley died in motorcycle accidents almost exactly a year and a few blocks apart as the 1970's began.  Whether the bitter part of the bitter sweet association with Macon kept the band from performing there regularly is unknown.  But reception the band got and the emotional chord it struck with band members when they did their first concert in Macon in nearly 20 years on Friday (4/23) left no doubt about how strong the emotional ties between the band and the community remain.  The band opened its 3 1/2 hour set at the Macon Auditorium with the consecutive opening songs from their 1969 debut album - Don't Want You No More and It's Not My Cross To Bear.  Set two opened with Gregg Allman leading the crowd in Melissa and also included appearances by former ABB guitarist Jack Pearson, Tommy Talton of Cowboy and Berry Oakley Jr.  While in town, band members also participated in official opening ceremonies for the Big House, a former band residence that has been converted into a museum.
Macon.com
 
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Bruce Springsteen brought his 85 year old mother to share the honor as he accepted the Ellis Island Family Heritage Award on Ellis Island in New York harbor Thursday (4/22).  The daughter of Italian immigrants, Adele Springsteen stood in for Bruce when his former high school inducted him into its Hall Of Fame four years ago.  This honor Bruce felt really belonged to her. The chairman of the foundation, former Chrysler Motors exec Lee Iacocca, made the presentation.  Springsteen is the first Rocker to receive the honor.  NBC News anchor Brian Willimas, a big fan and friend of the Boss, was the emcee for the afternoon ceremony, which was held in sight of Lady Liberty. Springsteen's great grandmother passed through Ellis Island in 1900 in the fall of 1900.  In accepting the honor, Bruce noted, 'You can't really know who you are and where you're going unless you know where you came from.'
CrainsNewYork.com   NBC.com  Backstreets.com

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Joni Mitchell has been frequently bitter and dismissive about the music industry, but seldom has she lashed out against another artist like she did in a recent LA Times interview.  Bob Dylan was her target this time, Mitchell calling him out, saying, 'Bob is not authentic at all.  He's a plagiarist, and his name and voice are fake.  Everything about Bob is a deception.'  She casts Jimi Hendrix in a kinder light, saying she, Hendrix, and Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell used to 'sit up all night listening to tapes of our shows', and calls Jimi 'the sweetest guy'.  Joni Mitchell suffers from a medical disorder called Morgellons, which she describes as '...a terrorist disease', likening it to living with the 'delusion of parasites', she says it causes 'fibers in a variety of colors to protrude out of my skin like mushrooms after a rainstorm'. Living with that could go a long way toward explaining why she's bitter.
LATimes.com

Grateful Dead fans attending the Furthur Festival at the Calaveras County Fairgrounds in Angels Camp, CA May 28-30 are in for a memorable Memorial Day weekend.  GD veterans Phil Lesh, Bob Weir and the rest of Furthur plan to perform six Grateful Dead albums in their entirety during the course of the group's concert sets.  Furthur headlines Saturday and Sunday, and will do three sets each night.  Saturday album sets will feature American Beauty, Workingman's Dead and Anthem Of The Sun.  Sunday they will deal out Aoxomoxoa, Terrapin Station and Blues For Allah. The group will also do an open soundcheck on Friday night.  Other performers at the festival include Hot Tuna and a couple of groups involving members of groups Weir and Lesh had together before reuniting  in Furthur. Ratdog veteran Mark Karan will perform with Jemimah Puddleduck, and Larry Campbell, Jackie Greene and Teresa Williams from Phil Lesh & Friends will each perform with their own bands.
FurthurFestival.com   JamBands.com
 
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Already reeling from reports of massive debt, EMI suffered another blow when Paul McCartney announced plans to transfer the publishing rights to his solo and Wings projects to Concord Music Group.  Terra Firma, the private equity firm that bought the prestigious EMI label three years ago for close to $7 billion, reportedly lost close to $3 billion last year.  Early in 2010, rumors surfaced that the label was considering the sale of Abbey Road Studios to raise cash - something the label denied.  (story) More recently, EMI came out on the losing end of a suit  filed against it by Pink Floyd.  The legendary album band prevailed in a case claiming the digital sale of individual tracks from from Pink Floyd albums was a violation of the group's contract. (story)  In contrast, the outlook for Concord has never been better.  In addition to the boost it gets by obtaining the McCartney re-release and publishing rights, the Concord Music Group, created when jazz label Concord and Fantasy Records combined in 2004, also recently acquired Rounder Records, the highly regarded Americana, Roots and Acoustic label.
Mirror.uk.co
 
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At a time when just about all of the prominent American bands originated in or had migrated to big cities, The Allman Brothers Band was building its reputation as one of the great American bands while based in the small Georgia city of Macon.  Macon was also the home of one of Capricorn Records, the label the ABB, Marshall Tucker, Elvin Bishop, Wet Willie and several other Southern Rock musicians recorded for. The Allman Brothers Band will do its first concert in Macon since December, 1991 Friday (4/23) at the Macon City Auditorium.  How badly have they been missed? It took all of 5 minutes for the 2,700 tickets to sell-out. The decision to play the auditorium instead of the much bigger Macon Coliseum reflects the desire to make the night special for the band and audience. Gregg Allman equates the sound and atmosphere of the Coliseum to a '15,000 seat men's room'. While in town, Gregg, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe will officially open the Big House, the former residence of band and family members on Vineville Ave. that recently completed its conversion into a museum celebrating the legacy of the ABB.  Gregg, who previewed the museum during a private tour in February, was impressed, saying, 'I was amazed there was so much memorabilia made abut the Allman Brothers.  There was so much of that stuff, and I don't have any of it!'  The return to Macon comes just before the band heads to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
Macon.com
 
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If Yes can get away with touring without Jon Anderson, then Supertramp can mount a 40th anniversary tour without Roger Hodgson.  That appears to be the gamble co-founding member Rick Davies is prepared to take.  Hodgson issued a statement calling the idea that Supertramp would elect to stage a reunion tour without even contacting him about it 'misleading and disrespectful'.  The decision makes Davies the only original member involved in the tour. Hodgson, who left the band in 1983, says his offers to Davies to do some dates with him during breaks in his own tour have been rejected.
Jam.Canoe.ca

The last episode of season seven of Cold Case will include a first.  The May 2 finale of the hit crime show that frequently showcases Rock artists features So Divine (Aladin Story), a previously unreleased track the Rolling Stones recorded during the Exile On Main Street album sessions. The track is one of ten additional songs included in the May 18 re-release of the groundbreaking album many consider to be the band's best album.  Co-writer of the episode Greg Plageman, a self-professed Stones junkie, says the song '...has that grit and swagger you expect from the Stones.'  It should be a good fit for an episode that takes its title from another Stones title,  Shattered.  The story line includes a desperate race to locate the lead character's strung out sister.  We haven't heard So Divine yet, but Memo From Turner, the amazing song Jagger did featuring Ry Cooder on guitar for the Performance soundtrack the year before Exile was recorded, would have been a good fit too.
CBS.com
 
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Pete Townshend has always been willing to come straight out and say what he thinks about any number of things.  Merchandise sold on the Who web site is apparently no exception.  In a response to questions submitted by fans, the Who guitarist says 'You wouldn't catch me wearing any of the glamorous items they sell on this web site.' 
Express.co.uk

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Used to playing arenas and stadiums filled with devoted fans, Bruce was not certain what kind of a reception to expect when playing for 100,000+ fans that did not necessarily buy tickets to see the E Street Band.  The Working On A Dream tour gave him the chance to find out.  Rising to the challenge, Bruce and the band delivered tour-de-force sets at Bonnaroo and Glastonbury.  The Hard Rock Calling concert in London's Hyde Park proved to be one of the defining concerts of the two year tour.  The set started in bright daylight and ended well after dark, and well after even those who questioned whether the band belonged in the lineup were glad they were.  For most, it was a done deal from the opening barrage of set opener London Calling, the Clash anthem. The Hard Rock Calling performance yielded riveting versions of songs included in most set lists during the tour and great takes on some rare gems, including Good Lovin' from the Rascals.  A DVD containing 26 songs from that concert plus the version of The River done at Glastonbury and Wrecking Ball, the tribute to Giants Stadium recorded at the Meadowlands venue a few months before it was demolished, comes out June 22.
Backstreets.com

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London Calling: Live In Hyde Park

 1 London Calling
 2 Badlands
 3 Night
 4 She's the One
 5 Outlaw Pete
 6 Out in the Street
 7 Working on a Dream
 8 Seeds
 9 Johnny 99
10 Youngstown
11 Good Lovin'
12 Bobby Jean
13 Trapped
14 No Surrender
15 Waiting on a Sunny Day
16 Promised Land
17 Racing in the Street
18 Radio Nowhere
19 Lonesome Day
20 The Rising
21 Born to Run
22 Hard Times - Come Again No More
23 Jungleland
24 American Land
25 Glory Days
26 Dancing in the Dark

The River (Glastonbury Festival)
Wrecking Ball (Giants Stadium)

With the regular residents of Fenway Park off to their worst start in decades, the multi-year streak of sold out home games for the Boston Red Sox could be history by August.  But on an August night the the Sox take the field against the Rangers in Texas, Fenway will be be packed to the rafters with fans of other hometown favorites.  Tickets for the J. Geils Band and Aerosmith concert at Fenway August 14 (story) went on sale Saturday (4/17).  By mid day Sunday they were gone.  The appearance below the Green Monster will be the first time the two legendary Boston bands have shared the stage in their long histories.  Peter Wolf, lead singer with the Geils Band, was a DJ on another long time Boston institution, WBCN.  A building next door to Fenway that was once home to the pioneering album Rock station has been converted into a Red Sox themed restaurant and sports bar by Sox TV announcer and popular second baseman Jerry Remy.
NESN.com  JerryRemys.com

MORE AEROSMITH INSIGHTS   MORE J. GEILS BAND INSIGHTS  
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News out of the Black Crowes online nest is that the 'next epic phase of Crowedom' will be the last - at least for a while.  Croweology, a double album featuring acoustic remakes of songs the band has released on previous albums, will come out during the summer.  The 20+ songs the full band finished recording early this year represent '...where we've been, where we are and where we are going'.  Where it appears the band is going is on hiatus.  A Monday (4/19) post on the Crowes web site says that after a Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys tour, the Black Crowes plan a 'lengthy hiatus'.  Chris Robinson thanks fans for '20 years of cosmic rock n roll. 20 years of keeping it weird. 20 years of chasing horizons', and announces the album and tour by writing, 'This year the music is only for you as we celebrate what hase been, what is now and whatever will be.'
BlackCrowes.com

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Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys tour

The charismatic aura surrounding Jim Morrison was so captivating both on stage and off that films focusing on the lead singer of the Doors were inevitable.  The fact they continue to be made 40 years after his death is testament to what a unique and compelling character he was.  When You're Strange, the documentary produced using actual footage of Morrison, earned strong reviews at the Sundance Festival in advance of its general release this month (story).  Another movie based on the Doors lead vocalist is already in the works.  Robert Saitzyk is reportedly in the development stages of a film with some parallels to the last days of Morrison's life.  Since much remains unknown about what transpired in Paris during the period leading up to his death, this as yet untitled production is apt to be so conjecture based that the portrayal will not claim biographic legitimacy.  Oliver Stone took a lot of flack after directing a 1991 movie with Val Kilmer cast as Morrison that was panned for misrepresenting scenes involving Morrison and other band members.  Saitzyk is expected to present the lead character and story line of his movie just as having been inspired by Morrison.
CinemaBlend.com

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An unexpected delay in the release date for Mojo, the new studio album from Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, has resulted in the band's tour getting pushed back a month and 3,000 miles. Instead of a May 6 opening night in Raleigh, NC, the band will start out in early June in northern California. The original opening 10 dates on the tour will be rescheduled for September and October.  The waiting is more than the hardest part for a few fans who posted angry messages to a fan forum on the Petty web site.  Some who planned to attend the  original opening dates on the tour are riled up that what they consider Petty's petty basis for the delay stands to leave them on the hook for non-refundable travel expenses.
TomPetty.com
 
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Bruce Springsteen made an unscheduled appearance during the Rosanne Cash concert Thursday (4/15) at Duke University. Bruce, who joined Cash in the studio on her 2009 album The List,   accompanied her on Sea of Heartbreak.  Cash was all twitter on her Twitter account, posting, 'I'm the luckiest girl.  Bruce Springsteen came to my show and sang with me tonight. Not TOO exciting!' The guy who sings he '...learned more from a 3 minute record than he ever learned in school' hits another campus May 6 for a culture meets academia session with students at Fairleigh Dickinson University in NJ.  Springsteen joins celebrated Rock critic Dave Marsh at WarmFest, which is described as a words and music festival.  Rockers eager to audit the afternoon session Jersey Rain: Robert Pinsky & Bruce Springsteen in Conversation and Performance with John Wesley Harding in Dreyfuss Theater will be disappointed to learn it is the only event in the series not open to the public.
WarmFest.wordpress.com    NJ.com

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Ozzy Osbourne takes to the road this summer for a tour in support of Scream, the studio album out June 15.  In addition to announcing dates for the upcoming trek, Osbourne is expected to reveal plans next week to revive OzzFest.  The 10th solo studio album from the former Black Sabbath front man marks the recording debut of Gus G, (Kostas Karamitroudis), who took over for Zakk Wylde after a war of words put an end to Osbourne's long association with Wylde. (story)  The current edition of Ozzy's band also has Adam Wakeman, one of two professional keyboard playing sons of longtime Yes member Rick Wakeman.  Oliver Wakeman tours with Yes members and last year spent time on the road with the Strawbs, the group his father was in before replacing Tony Kaye in Yes in the early 70's.
MusicNewsNet.com

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Levon Helm has put one of his drum kits up for grabs to help raise money to cover medical expenses for fellow drummer Richie Hayward.  The Little Feat member is battling liver cancer.  The illness has sidelined Hayward for several months. (story)  The autographed sunburst Yamaha kit used by the former drummer for the Band, himself a cancer survivor, includes bass, snare, rack and floor toms, a trio of Zildjian cymbals, and all the hardware and cases. 500 tickets for a May 22 drawing are available through the Levon Helm web site.
LevonHelm.com

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Three artists whose intense but tragically brief careers and lives ended at the age of 27 within a 10 month period as the 1970s began are honored in Strange Kozmic Experience, a Special Exhibit at the Grammy Museum in LA.  The display features artifacts and memorabilia from Jim Morrison of the Doors (When You're Strange), Janis Joplin (Kozmic Blues Band) and Jimi Hendrix (Jimi Hendrix Experience).  Among the items on loan from the families and other collections including the Hard Rock, the Rock Hall Of Fame and the Experience Music Project are Joplin's custom painted 1965 Porsche, hand written lyrics and letters, stage outfits, instruments, album an poster art, Morrison's poetry books, artwork by Joplin, archived interview material and much more from the artists themselves, together with a display of instruments owned by artists who influenced them, including Muddy Waters, Albert King, Odetta, Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf and BB King.  Portions of the exhibit are expected to tour other cities and countries after the LA run concludes Feb. 13, 2011.
GrammyMuseum.org
 
MORE JIM MORRISON INSIGHTS   MORE JANIS JOPLIN INSIGHTS  
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Palm, the company once widely recognized as the leader in portable electronic organizers and communications devices, has lost a huge chunk of market share to Apple devices and smart phones running the Google Android operating system.  Despite disappointing results for the company's heavily promoted Pre smart phone, share prices have risen in anticipation of a sale of the company.  Plenty of shareholders will still take a beating, but one of the biggest investors in Palm stands to make a bundle.   Elevation Partners, a private equity firm  Bono of U2 has close ties to, is believed to have invested $425 million in the company between 2007 and 2008.  The pre-sale rally the Palm shares have staged could put Elevation on the high side of a $75 million gain.  Even if a sale does not play out that favorably Elevation is expected to make out far better than most.  The ownership stake and preferred shares and warranties it is believed the firm has should put it in the best position for a significant share of any profit realized no matter what the outcome. Wall Street Journal   Fudzilla.com
 
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The Coconut Telegraph is buzzing with news of a new double live collection of songs from Jimmy Buffett that drops Tuesday. (4/20)  Encores includes 22 show closing favorites from JB and assorted members of the Coral Reefers along with a few special guests recorded during the 2008-2009 tour.  Buffett, who opens another tour Thursday (4/22) in Tampa, describes the new live recording as '...a collection of well known and not so well known songs that I think provide a happy ending to a musical meal.' More than half of the tracks on the collection feature just Jimmy and his guitar.  In addition to a healthy helping of his own songs, Buffett serves up versions of Bob Dylan's Blowin' In The Wind, Wildflowers from Tom Petty and a John Prine song perfectly suited to the Margaritaville state of mind, Big Old Goofy World.  Sample clips from all the songs at Margaritaville.com.

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Joe Perry spent some down time during the Joe Perry Project UK tour fulfilling a dream.  The guitarist spent an afternoon in Portsmouth soaking up military history.  The Aerosmith veteran, a life long military history buff who uses Admiral Perry as his Twitter ID, started his big day out at the D-Day Museum before heading to the docks to spend time on and below decks of the HMS Victory, flagship of British Naval legend Admiral Nelson.  Perry posted, 'I felt transported back in time while I was visiting his ship.  I have wanted to do this for years.'  Dockyard officials were equally impressed with having Perry on board, calling his visit, 'one of our best celebrity spots on site.'
Portsmouth.co.uk   Twitter.com/AdmiralPerry

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Dickey Betts decided that living out of a suitcase for close to 40 years was long enough.  Shortly after playing a New York City date on his 66th birthday last December, the former Allman Brothers Band guitarist announced it was time to see what life was like living out of a bureau.  Apparently 4 months was long enough.  Betts announced a trio of Northeast dates with Great Southern in July. With tour dates booked that far north it's a safe bet Betts will play a lot more dates before he unpacks again.
DickeyBetts.com

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180,000 tickets for the 2010 Glastonbury Festival sold in two hours 6 months ago - before a single act had been announced (story).  The remaining tickets, priced around $270, were gone just over an hour after going on sale Sunday (4/11).  The June 25-27 event headlined by U2 also includes Jackson Browne, Ray Davies,  and Stevie Wonder in its lineup of hundreds of musicians.  First held in 1970 and '71, the Glastonbury Festival did not resume as an annual event until 1978.  It now encompasses a wade range of performing arts presented on close to  dozen stages on the 900 acre site. Organizers were recently granted an extension to continue holding the festival at the farm in southwestern England through 2016.
GlastonburyFestivals.co.uk

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Jack Bruce is excited about a new project, but is not willing to reveal any details about it yet.  One thing is for sure - if it involves Eric Clapton or Ginger Baker it will not be together.  The former Cream bass player told BBC 6 that he has no intention or interest in another reunion of the legendary power trio.  Cream got back together in January of 1993 to play when the group was inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame and did 2005 reunion dates at Royal Albert Hall and Madison Square Garden.  As for his new project, Bruce calls it '...the most exciting project I've ever been involved in.'

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Roger Waters returns to The Wall, making the double album Pink Floyd released in 1979 the focal point of his next tour. (dates)  The 35 date trek across North America opens in Toronto September 15 and then works east - west, recreating the songs that made the release one of the biggest selling albums of all time @ more than 20 million copies.  Waters, whose redesigned web site broke the tour announcement Monday (4/12), blogs that he decided to reprise The Wall on tour to confront the 'isms' that he overcame in his younger years that remain barriers to others, to commemorate those he calls 'all the innocent lost in the intervening years' and to call for an end to the 'dog eat dog ritual slaughter that is our current response to our institutionalized fear of each other.'
RogerWaters.com   RollingStone.com

 
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Max Weinberg got unexpected time on his hands when NBC axed Conan O'Brien as host of the Tonight Show.  The drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band fell into  anchoring the house band for O'Brien after meeting him when a cabbie dropped Weinberg off on the wrong corner in Manhattan, giving him the chance to ask the newly signed late, late night host what his band plans were for Late Night With Conan O'Brien.  With Bruce off the road and Conan sidelined, Weinberg is using the opportunity to fulfill a dream by forming a Big Band.  The 15 piece Max Weinberg Big Band delivers hard charging, brass fueled, drum driven arrangements of Big Band standards, with Weinberg hammering things home Buddy Rich style. The group plays an ALS benefit concert at the Count Basie Theater in Red Hook, NJ June 11.
Miamiherald.com MaxWeinberg.com

Keith Richards could have another Stone in tow when shooting starts for the next Pirates of the Caribbean.  The Daily Express reports that series star Johnny Depp is lobbying to have Mick Jagger join his band mate as a pirate elder. Depp, whose portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow in the first Pirates movie drew on his admiration of Richards, is more than ready to be back at the helm of the Black Pearl, saying, 'I love Captain Jack so much I'd do Pirates 7 if asked.' 
DailyExpress.co.uk

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The first Led Zeppelin US tour kicked-off almost a month before the release of the group's self titled debut album served notice that the band would become much bigger than most of the groups it was opening for.  The mighty Zep blew the doors off just about every headline act, no doubt resulting in some awkward scenes backstage and irate phone calls to managers.  Audio from one of the early dates on the tour, a December, 30 1968 concert at Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA posted on YouTube gives a pretty good indication of just how intense Zeppelin was just a couple of months after its first official gig as a band.
 MusicRadar.com
 
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Prospects for Aerosmith staying together never looked worse than they did a few weeks ago. So how did one of Rock's most enduring bands manage to save itself this time?  Tom Hamilton tells the Boston Herald it had a lot to do with Steven Tyler getting clean and sober and band members coming to the realization during a February meeting that "...for everybody, the coolest thing would be to resolve things'. The session, which Hamilton described as one all involved arrived at 'all lawyered up', produced a surprisingly fast consensus that dissolving the band was the one outcome nobody wanted.  After that was clear, things got resolved pretty quickly.
BostonHerald.com

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A digital countdown on the Rush web site was posted to tip fans to the time to get details on the group's Time Machine tour.  The Canadian power trio's return to the road starts June 29 in Albuquerque, NM.  Fans north of the border got only 4 of the nearly forty dates announced so far, three in Ontario and one in Quebec.  The US dates will cover 33 cities, winding up in West Palm Beach, FL in early October.  With west coast and mid west cities included in the US lineup, it's surprising not to see more Canadian cities represented. They could get slotted in off dates, or a separate Canadian tour could follow.  The band also announced plans to perform the Moving Pictures album during the tour. (dates)
Rush.com

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A Billy Joel+Elton John date at Fenway Park fell through after Joel decided not to continue the Face 2 Face tour (story).  Red Sox officials have called on two hometown Rock MVPs to share the stage below the Green Monster instead this summer.  Peter Wolf and Steven Tyler made it official Wednesday night (4/7) during the Yankees-Red Sox game,  announcing that Aerosmith and the J. Geils Band will appear in concert for the first time together on August 14 at Fenway.  Tickets for the Rock double header in Boston go on sale April 17.  The historic ballpark has played host to concerts by the Police, the Rolling Stones, Jimmy Buffett and Paul McCartney. 
RedSox.com

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Record Store Day was cooked up to draw attention to the fact that some independent brick and mortar record stores have managed to survive the tsunamis of WalMart, Napster and the subsequent waves of legal music downloads that drove a stake through the heart of all but the most stubborn or unique stores.  Several artists are stepping up to offer special songs for sale on April 17, including the Rolling Stones, who plan to put Plundered My Soul, a song recorded during the Exile On Main Street sessions, out as a 7" single.  The flip side (when's the last time you saw that term in print) will be a remixed version of All Down The Line from the landmark album the band recorded in 1971.
Spinner.com

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Although a firm release date has not been announced, indications are that the long anticipated retrospective box set John Melencamp has been working on should be out by summer.  A post on his web site promises On The Rural Route 7609 will be out before Father's Day.  Unlike most career spanning collections, the song sequence on it will not have a chronological order.  Instead, Mellencamp is said to have opted to group them according to the context of each, and to sequence them as he would a new album.  Included in the collection are alternate takes of several songs, a few relatively recent compositions and several previously unreleased titles.
Mellencamp.com

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A pending divorce trial involving a New Jersey couple over allegations the wife had an affair with Bruce Springsteen has been averted with an agreement to settle matters using arbitrator to set alimony and child support terms.  Whether the claim had any merit or not, the announcement that Arthur and Ann Kelly had elected not to go to trial had to come as a relief to Springsteen, who the husband alleged became a romantically involved with his wife after the two met at a Red Bank fitness club.  Springsteen has steadfastly refused to address the claim since issuing a to-the-point denial several months ago.
NYPost.com

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Just days after learning that three Jimmy Vaughan songs will be covered by Steve Miller on his first studio album in 17 years (story) comes word that the Fabulous Thunderbirds veteran will also be out with a similar project - his first album in nearly a decade.  Blues, Ballads & Favorites pays tribute to several R&B and Blues players the Texas guitar great admires, with Jimmy Reed, LaVern Baker, Little Richard, Lloyd Price among them.  One original, the instrumental Comin' & Goin', is on the 13 song collection that closes out with a version of Funny How Time Slips Away, the Willie Nelson classic.  Vaughan and his band open a tour Thursday (4/8) in Satellite Beach, Florida.
MusicNewsNet.com

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Pedro Martinez threw out the ceremonial first pitch and another hometown legend took the field between innings to sing God Bless America.  Steven Tyler of Aerosmith looked and sounded ready to resume life as one of the city's music icons after several rocky months battling his way back from what some described as life threatening downward spiral of substance abuse that came to a head when he took a header off a stage last August, derailing the band's troubled tour.  As recenly as a few weeks ago it looked like his days fronting the band were done.  Not only is he back together both personally and with the band, but it appears Aerosmith will do Fenway Park concerts in August with the J. Geils Band. (story)

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The Chinese government, already irate unfair trade practices allegations from Washington and claims Google has leveled against it for internet privacy violations targeting dissenters, has reportedly refused to grant clearance for Bob Dylan to appear in the country.  A representative of a Taiwan company involved with the planned Dylan tour of Asian countries said the Ministry of Culture in China refused to clear the dates planned for Beijing and Shanghai.  While a specific reason was not given, concerns Dylan would encourage political activists is assumed by most to be behind the decision, one that caused promoters to cancel the entire Asian leg of the tour.
StarPulse.com

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A little more than 30 minutes after the scheduled start time for a reunion concert in Cleveland of the E and L of ELP, ticket holders for a Keith Emerson, Greg Lake concert Thursday (4/1) were told the show was off.  It was no April Fools joke.  Management released a statement apologizing to fans and announcing that Friday (Glenside, PA) and Saturday (Ridgefield, CT) shows were also being cancelled.  While no explanation was give for the after the last minute announcement,  A writer for Cleveland Scene suggests the cause was disagreements between Emerson and Lake.  If true, it could put a planned July UK festival reunion of Emerson Lake & Palmer in jeopardy.
VintageVinylNews

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Unlike the 1991 Oliver Stone movie based very loosely on the Doors, When You're Strange: A Film About The Doors provides a genuine chronicle of the band using archival footage and true events instead of actors relying on a script many said was a product of Stone's imagination fueled by his own fantasies. Actor Johnny Depp, an avid Jim Morrison fan, jumped at the chance to narrate the movie, which earned praise at the Sundance Film Festival and will open in theaters the week of April 9. Doors keyboard player Ray Manzarek, a vocal critic of the Stone movie, gives this one a big thumbs up.  Manzarek and fellow Doors veteran Robbie Krieger will tour Europe this summer doing Doors songs backed by symphony orchestras.
MercuryNews.com

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The outdoor concert circuit is off to a structurally shaky start with news of another stage collapse.  A portion of the stage being assembled for an Elton John concert on Saturday (4/3) is in ruins near Chichen Itza, the site of historic Maya ruins in Mexico.  The partial collapse of the 260 foot tall structure sent three workers to the hospital, where one underwent surgery for a leg injury.  The stage failure follows one in Rio that came down during heavy rain and winds before a Guns N' Roses concert last month. (story)  The Elton John concert will go on as scheduled according to organizers.
AFP France24.com

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The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and Jimmy Buffett have played in the shadow of the Green Monster, but Fenway Park has yet to present a major concert featuring a hometown band.  The home of the Red Sox might play host to two great Beantown bands on the same night this summer.  Talks are reportedly underway to present Aerosmith and the J. Geils Band at Fenway on consecutive nights in August.  An expected Elton John Billy Joel date at the historic ballpark got blown out when Joel decided not to continue the Face 2 Face tour.  Geils band front man Peter Wolf has a new solo CD due Tuesday (4/6).
Boston Globe   BostonMusicSpotlight.com

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Last fall Derek Trucks was sounding like he was ready to kick things into a much lower gear and spend much of 2010 at home with his family. (story) Instead, Trucks and wife Susan Tedeschi are hitting the road with a new band.  In addition to the 25-30 dates the Trucks-Tedeschi band has planned, the pair will be finishing up work on a new album, and Derek will make some appearances on the Experience Hendrix tour. Add a puppy and two children and 2010 hardly sounds laid back.  As for what fans can expect from the new band, Tedeschi describes the new songs her husband has been writing as '...sort of Jimi Hendrix meets Joni Mitchell.' Wow.
Savannahnow.com

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After nearly two decades without a new studio album, Steve Miller plans to release two within the next 12 months.  Miller tells Billboard that both will feature covers of Blues and R&B songs he loves.  The first, Bingo, out June 15, will team Miller with Joe Satriani on the BB King song Rock Me Baby and on Sweet Soul Vibe, one of three Jimmy Vaughan songs on the disc.  In all, Miller and his band laid down 42 tracks, many of which will feature Norton Buffalo, the outstanding harp player that was a Steve Miller Band fixture for decades.  Buffalo passed away at the end of October. (story) The Steve Miller Band opens a North American tour May 21 in Henderson, NV and will tour Europe late in the year.
Billboard.com

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