Wednesday Intermezzo: Flyin’ With The Stones

Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell is the rare professional conservationist who spends years of his life traveling on gas-guzzling planes. Leavell, who is best known to us for his monumental piano solo on the studio version of Jessica, visited five continents with the Stones on their recent “A Bigger Bang” tour. Chuck explains how he would pass the time by drafting setlists and arrangements in an article he wrote for the NY Times.

Hopefully this batch of links will help you get over the midweek hump:

• The Felice Brothers’ self-titled debut finally hits stores on March 4th
• Radiohead’s In Rainbows tops the UK album charts this week
• House’s Hugh Laurie gives his best Beatles and Dylan impressions
• Susan Greenbaum got the idea to cover Carole King’s Tapestry from Phish
• Peter Gabriel hands distribution of his Real World record label to Ryko
• Stereogum’s OldStand examines Rolling Stone’s December 1977 edition
• Gongzilla hosts their first NAMM Jam featuring Jim Loughlin, Jeff Pevar and Charlie Hitchcock next Friday
• Willie Nelson does a pretty poor job covering Dave Matthews’ Gravedigger
• Monitor Mix ponders the meaning behind some politician’s campaign music

Finally, stars of baseball and rock ‘n’ roll came together on Sunday night for the eighth annual Hot Stove Cool Music benefit in Boston. Where else can you see Little Feat, Theo Epstein and Peter Gammons all on the same stage? That must’ve been one helluva Dixie Chicken.