News

Stereolab Box Set On The Way

Stereolab has inked a new partnership for its Duophonic label with Too Pure, the label for which it released its earliest EPs. The first release under the deal will be the Feb. 22 reissue of the group’s 1992 compilation “Switched On.” A new album from frontwoman Laetitia Sadier’s Monade project, “A Few Steps More,” will follow on March 8.

Also in the planning stages is a three-disc boxed set, “Oscillons From the Anti-Sun,” which will arrive in mid-year. As previously reported, the collection will feature two discs worth of EP and rare tracks, plus a DVD of videos and performances.

In addition, the band has begun work on its next studio album, which will arrive in 2006 and be supported by a North American tour.

Stereolab split last year with longtime North American label Elektra. Its last album for the label, “Margerine Eclipse,” debuted at No. 6 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart.

Source billboard.com.

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Turf Cams To Give Super Bowl View From Ground Up

Fox Sports’ coverage of the Super Bowl on Feb. 6 will be able to include pictures from miniature cameras embedded in the field, network and NFL officials said Tuesday.

This is the first time such images will be available during an NFL telecast.

Fox unveiled the devices, which have a lens the size of a pencil eraser, during last summer’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game and used them during the playoffs and World Series (news – web sites). Three of the cameras – dubbed “diamond cams” – were implanted in the grass in front of the home-plate area. Another was buried in the grass just in front of the pitcher’s mound. They had no impact on play.

For the Super Bowl, Fox will deploy at least 12 “turf cams” in various positions on the playing field, all within the hash marks, Fox executive vice president of production Bill Brown said.

Brown said each embedded camera would be attached by cable to a small electric box buried in the field. The only thing protruding above the surface will be the camera lens. The cameras will be placed at a slight angle so they can bounce back up if a player falls on them.

“A normal game has 150-160 plays. We’re hoping to get five plays within the view of these cameras,” Brown said. “If the camera is at the line of scrimmage, after the ball is snapped you can see what it’s like to be there when NFL linemen collide at the snap of the ball.”

Fox personnel implanted the cables for the cameras when the turf at Alltel Stadium was replaced Jan. 3-4 after the Jacksonville Jaguars (news)’ last home game. Brown said up to four more turf cams might be added Super Bowl week.

“The technology has become so good there’s no reason not to approve it,” NFL public relations vice president Greg Aiello said. “The players are not going to notice it. It’s another technical innovation that has our support.”

Aiello said league officials would use the week before the game to make sure the cameras won’t interfere with place kicks.

Fox’s turf cams will become part of the NFL’s video review system of calls on the field if images from one of the cameras can aid in the decision. “If Fox puts it on the air, then it’s fair game for instant replay,” Aiello said. “But it has to be put on the air for viewers to see.”

Source yahoo.com.

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Sleater-Kinney To Release Seventh Album In May

Veteran indie rockers Sleater-Kinney will release their seventhalbum, The Woods, on May 24th. The follow-up to 2002’s One Beat was produced by David Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Weezer) and will be the band’s first on Seattle’s Sub Pop Records.

The Olympia, Washington, trio — vocalist/guitarist Corin Tucker, guitarist Carrie Brownstein and drummer Janet Weiss — has scheduled a string of live dates prior to the record’s release, including a performance at this year’s South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas.

A complete tour in support of the release is expected in June.

Current Sleater-Kinney tour dates:

2/14: Bellingham, WA, Western Washington University
2/25: Bellingham, WA, Night Light Lounge
2/26: Vancouver, the Commodore Ballroom
3/2-3: New York, Mercury Lounge
3/16: Austin, South by Southwest Music Festival, Venue TBA

Source rollingstone.com.

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Bonnaroo 2005 Lineup Announced

Superfly Productions and A.C. Entertainment have announced the initial lineup for the 2005 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. The fourth annual three-day camping and music festival will be held on June 10-12, 2005, on the same 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, 60 miles south of Nashville. A list of confirmed acts follows, with more to be announced before the on sale and in the weeks ahead to round out the festival’s 60-plus acts.
Tickets for the 2005 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival will go on sale Saturday, January 29th at 10:00 AM Eastern Time through www.bonnaroo.com.

2005 Bonnaroo Confirmed Artists (many more to be announced):
Widespread Panic (2 shows)
Dave Matthews Band
The Allman Brothers Band
Jack Johnson
Alison Krauss & Union Station
Modest Mouse
Gov

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Kings Of Leon Set Tour Dates For ‘Heartbreak’

Tennessee-based rock act Kings Of Leon will hit the road in North America later this month in support of its sophomore album, “Aha Shake Heartbreak.” Already out in the United Kingdom, the RCA set is due Feb. 22 in the United States.

As previously reported, the band will be in Park City, Utah, on Friday (Jan. 21) playing an ASCAP-sponsored showcase at the Sundance Film Festival. A handful of other West Coast dates will follow before the band heads to Japan for the Sonicmania Festival, which will also feature Good Charlotte, Marilyn Manson, the Mars Volta and Dogs Die In Hot Cars, among others.

On the day of and the day after the set’s release, Kings Of Leon will be in New York to play the city’s Irving Plaza and Webster Hall, respectively. Eastern and Midwest U.S. dates follow, with a sole Canadian stop March 2 in Toronto.

Here are Kings Of Leon’s tour dates:

Jan. 21: Park City, Utah (Harry O’s)
Jan. 25: Seattle (Neumo’s)
Jan. 26: Portland, Ore. (Aladdin Theater)
Jan. 28: San Francisco (Slim’s)
Feb. 5: Tokyo (Makuhari Messe)
Feb. 6: Osaka, Japan (Intex)
Feb. 17-18: Nashville (Exit/In)
Feb. 22: New York (Irving Plaza)
Feb. 23: New York (Webster Hall)
Feb. 25: Philadelphia (Theatre Of Living Arts)
Feb. 26: Washington, D.C. (9:30 Club)
Feb. 27: Boston (Paradise Rock Club)
March 2: Toronto (Opera House)
March 3: Chicago (Metro)
March 5: Minneapolis (Fine Line Music Cafe)
March 8: St. Louis (Mississippi Nights)
March 12: Austin, Texas (La Zona Rosa)
March 13: Dallas (Gypsy Tea Room)
March 17: New Orleans (House Of Blues)
March 18: Atlanta (Coca Cola Roxy Theatre)
March 19: Birmingham, Ala. (Workplay Theatre)

Source billboard.com.

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Brian Wilson, Elvis Costello Sign On For South By Southwest

The revival of Brian Wilson’s long dormant “Smile” album will be the subject of an all-star panel discussion at this year’s South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas. Wilson will be on hand for the March 18 panel in Austin, Texas, alongside longtime lyricist Van Dyke Parks, producer Mark Linette and author David Leaf.

Leading the list of newly confirmed acts is Elvis Costello, who will be making his first appearance at South by Southwest. Also new to the lineup are Ambulance Ltd, Lou Barlow, the Soundtrack Of Our Lives, Bloc Party, Vic Chesnutt, the Dears, the Donnas, Kathleen Edwards, Hot Hot Heat, Isis, Kings Of Convenience, Ulrich Schnauss, Magnolia Electric Co., Sleater Kinney, Nada Surf and Stephen Malkmus.

They join previously confirmed artists such as Robert Plant, Doves, Beth Orton, Fatboy Slim, Mavis Staples and Billy Idol.

Source billboard.com.

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Glastonbury Festival Taking 2006 Off

Glastonbury, Britain’s biggest open-air rock festival, is to take a year off in 2006 to give a rest to both the long-suffering villagers and organizer Michael Eavis’ cows. The festival renowned for mud and merriment in the genteel countryside of the west country has been held at Eavis’ farm since 1970.

“It’s a good chance for the cows, the farm, the farm workers and the villagers to recover,” Eavis said. “It’s been tough on the cows. This will be like a fallow year in farming terms.”

When Glastonbury was first held on Eavis’ farm near Pilton in Somerset, about 1,500 hippies paid one pound each to hear a handful of bands, including Marc Bolan’s T-Rex.

From small beginnings, the event expanded rapidly, but as the festival grew in popularity, so did the problems. Villagers were soon complaining that their tranquil corner of England had been hit by vandalism, theft, litter and deafening noise.

The festival was cancelled in 2001 after crime and crowd-control problems a year earlier. It was reinstated in 2002 with tightened security, including a giant “super-fence” and relations with the locals have improved markedly.

Eavis had additional good news to offer 150,000 fans that pour into the site every year for three days of rock’n’roll excess — he has found a spring on the farm that will supply enough water to quench thirsts and clean mud-spattered bodies.

But he insisted: “The mud really only arrives once in every five years. We would like to coincide our next year off with a wet year.”

Glastonbury 2004 was headlined by Oasis, Muse and former Beatle Paul McCartney. Eavis declined to say who will headline this year’s festival, to be held June 24-26, although he says the main acts are all confirmed.

Source billboard.com.

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Velvet Revolver Sets Spring Tour, Fall Album

Many doubted that the potentially combustible combination of Scott Weiland and former members of Guns N’ Roses could last more than one album, but Velvet Revolver are hoping to have the last laugh. Guitarist Slash says that, after a worldwide tour, the supergroup plans to get cracking on its second record in the fall.

“As soon as we get off the road, we want to start getting the next record done and get it out,” he says. “We don’t want to lose momentum.”

The group already has plenty of material to follow up its 2004 chart-topping debut, Contraband. “We’ve got tapes and tapes of stuff that we’ve been writing at soundcheck,” Slash says. “There should be more than an album’s worth of material. And then there’s all the stuff we wrote before we did the first record that we never really touched.”

Slash also thinks that, with the orientation phase of the band over, their sophomore effort should come together more easily. “When we did this first record, it was like a bunch of kids in a sandbox all thrown in at one time,” he says. “Now we’ve managed to play together as a band, grow as a band and get to know each other as a band.”

Velvet Revolver’s U.S. tour dates:

3/24: Centennial Gardens, Bakersfield, CA
3/25: Compaq/Bill Graham Civic Center, San Francisco
3/26: Forum, Los Angeles
3/28: Cox Arena, San Diego
3/29: America West, Phoenix
3/31: TBA, Las Cruces, NM
4/1: American Airlines Arena, Dallas
4/2: Reliant Arena, Houston
4/4: UNO Arena, New Orleans,br> 4/7: American Airlines Arena, Miami
4/8: TD Waterhouse, Tampa
4/9: Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville
4/11: Gwinett Center, Atlanta
4/12: Cricket Arena, Charlotte, NC
4/14: Constant Convocation Center, Norfolk, VA
4/15: Patriot Center, Washington, D.C.
4/16: TBA, New York City
4/18: Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, NY
4/19: Cobo/Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit
4/21: Savvis Center, St. Louis
4/22: US Cellular, Milwaukee, WI
4/23: Target, Minneapolis, MN
4/25: Magness/Pepsi Center, Denver
4/26: E Center, Salt Lake City, UT
4/29: Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, BC
4/30: Key Arena/Everette Arena, Seattle, WA

Source rollingstone.com.

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2005 Warped Tour Lineup Taking Shape

The Offspring is the latest act to sign on for the 2005 Vans Warped Tour. Beyond the California rock act, which is making its first Warped appearance, the 11th annual trek will also feature the Transplants, Thrice, My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy. Dates and venues will be unveiled next month.

It is unknown if the Offspring will be touring in support of a new studio album. The group’s most recent was 2003’s “Conspiracy of One,” which debuted at No. 9 on The Billboard 200.

Warped, which claims to be the longest-running music and extreme sports festival in the world, celebrated its most successful year in 2004. Attendance was 652,000, up 26% from 2003.

“We’ve learned not to mess with the brand too much,” tour founder Kevin Lyman said in October at the What Teens Want Conference in Los Angeles. “The formula when we started was to have a backyard party, and that’s what this tour is all about. After 10 years we’ve kept that same atmosphere.”

Lyman said the 2005 tour will include a Samsung-sponsored Adult Day Care area, where kids can drop off parents and have fun on their own. But he notes he has also added a stroller section.

The goal for this year, he said, is to expand the appeal to the third generation. “Live touring and events are in a bad state right now. If we can get 11-year-olds in the trend of going to shows, we’ll be in better shape in the future.”

Source billboard.com.

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