Backing up last year

The Denver area’s renowned Red Rocks Amphitheatre is the subject and benefactor of a new CD compilation to be distributed through Best Buy. All proceeds from “Red Rocks Volume I: Carved in Stone” — which features songs by Indigo Girls, Phish, Dave Matthews Band, the Allman Brothers Band, Blues Traveler, and more — will go to the Preserve the Rocks Fund, which is dedicated to the restoration and upkeep of the venue.
“Carved in Stone” features 10 songs recorded between 1994 and 2002 and also include contributions from Rickie Lee Jones, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, String Cheese Incident, and Little Feat. Seven of the album’s recordings are seeing their first-ever commercial release on the compilation.
Here is the track list for “Red Rocks Volume I: Carved in Stone”:
“Bittersweet,” Big Head Todd & the Monsters”The Best of What’s Around,” Dave Matthews Band”Ghost,” Indigo Girls”Simple,” Phish”Hate To Lose Your Lovin’,” Little Feat”Close Your Eyes,” String Cheese Incident”Give,” Widespread Panic”Alone,” Blues Traveler”Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More,” Allman Brothers Band”Company,” Rickie Lee Jones
Source Billboard.com.

New Orleans funk ensemble Galactic is recording a new full-length album and has enlisted producer Dan “The Automator” Nakamura to lend his talents in the studio. “Working with this band in New Orleans gives me a whole different palate of flavors,” said a statement from Nakamura, who has worked with the likes of Gorillaz, Prince Paul, and Kool Keith.
“Dan is the perfect producer for us right now,” added Galactic bassist Robert Mercurio. “We were already headed in this direction, and it’s great to have a producer who can run with that.”
The fruit of this collaboration — due in the fall on Volcano Records — will be Galactic’s first studio album in three years. It will be the follow-up to 2000’s “Late for the Future,” which debuted at No. 4 on Billboard’s Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. In September 2001, the group released the live document “We Love ‘Em Tonight: Live at Tipitina’s,” which debuted at No. 3 on the same chart.
In addition to previously announced appearances at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Manchester, Tenn.’s Bonnaroo festival, the band is also hitting a number of other fairs and package concerts this summer, including performances at Cityfest Live in Charlotte, N.C., the All Good Festival in Masontown, W.V., Jubilee Cityfest in Montgomery, Ala., and the 1000 Lakes Festival in Detroit Lakes, Minn.
Source Billboard.com.

Wilco will be placing a new six-song EP available on their web site

Dance clubs, concert halls and even outdoor festivals are in danger of being put out of business due to a new piece of legislation that passed in Congress on April 10th. According to the bill, any individual who owns or operates a venue where audience members are using drugs could be sent to jail or subjected to steep fines. The bill was tacked onto the Amber Alert Act, concerning child abductions

Blues legend, BB King and his trusty sidekick Lucille are still going strong and will release Reflections, his first album in three years on June 10th. King celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of his first recording later this year. The 13 track recording contains 12 covers, including songs by Lonnie Johnson and Clyde Otis, as well as a remake of King

Is one stage big enough for both Kiss and Aerosmith? Probably not, but they will attempt to combine their sixty years of combined musical history on one stage with a joint summer tour in ampitheaters across the U.S. beginning August 2 in Hartford, CT and wrapping up Oct. 18 in California. Special guest Saliva, will open the shows. For a full list of dates, visit Pollstar.com
In other Aerosmith news, the band is about to head in the studio to record their next album that will consist mainly of blues songs. About two thirds of the material are covers songs, while the rest will be original blues tunes. Blind Willie McTell’s “Broke Down Engine,” Little Walter’s “Temperature,” and “I’m Ready,” famously recorded by both Willie Dixon and Muddy Waters, are among the songs being worked up by the band. The yet untitled record is scheduled to hit stores in September.
Source Billboard.com.

In case you missed out or got sold out of the recent Dave Matthews/Tim Reynolds acoustic tour, an extra show has been announced for May 5th at the Mullins Center in Amherst, MA. This is a benefit for The Tiger Kloof School in South Africa. Tickets go on sale to the general public on April 26th, while you can also obtain tickets through the band

Instead of congregating at conventions, book fairs and on the Internet, science fiction fans will get their own shrine dedicated to the art, literature and film of science entertainment, courtesy of billionaire Paul Allen. Tentatively named the Science Fiction Experience, the exhibit is slated to open in the summer of 2004 within the confines of Allen’s Experience Music Project (EMP) in the shadow of Seattle’s Space Needle. “Science fiction shows us that change is constant and exhilarating,” said Microsoft Corp. co-founder Allen, who is funding the project. Flanked by science fiction props such as Captain Kirk’s original command chair from the “Star Trek” television series, classic science fiction books and movie banners, Allen said the $20 million non-profit endeavor would provide “entertaining and thought-provoking exhibits” for visitors. Allen, a philanthropist who has invested in everything from cable television to professional sports teams since leaving Microsoft in 1983, has funded several cultural projects in his hometown of Seattle, including the EMP, a Jimi Hendrix-inspired music museum and the Cinerama, a restored 1960s-era movie theater with a giant, curved viewing screen. Allen said he expects the Science Fiction Experience, which will be built in a newly vacated space within the EMP, to pull in 150,000 to 200,000 more visitors to the building every year. Science fiction author Greg Bear of Seattle will chair an advisory board to the museum and said that respect for the genre has been long overdue. “Science fiction is one of the greatest untold stories of science and art today,” said Bear, winner of two Hugo awards for novels such as “Eon” and “Queen of Angels”. Among the items on display will be a complete set of autographed first editions of the Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov, a collection of “Astounding Science Fiction” magazines and artwork depicting the future.
Source CNN.com.

Ween’s highly anticipated next studio album will be called “quebec,” but guitarist Dean Ween (real name: Mickey Melchiondo) says a few wrinkles still have to be ironed out before the 16-song set sees the light of day. “I can’t give you a definitive release date right now,” he wrote on the band’s official Web site. “We were in negotiations with a record label and things fell apart, setting us back even further.”
“I have no idea how this will affect our summer touring plans just yet as we planned on having the record out by June at the latest. It is still possible that this may happen,” he continued. “As for the record itself, it is heavy, dark, psychedelic and musically intricate at times, and musically really f***ing cheap at times as well. All and all it’s a great record that we put a lot of time and love into and it was produced by Andrew Weiss, mostly recorded in his living room.”
Source Billboard.com.