News

Former Smashing Pumpkin drummer, Jimmy Chamberlin’s new band, The Jimmy Chamberlin Complex has announced a five city, eight date national showcase tour, performing material from their upcoming Sanctuary release “Life Begins Again”. This is Chamberlin’s first tour since performing in Billy Corgan’s band Zwan.

The band on all tour dates includes Jimmy Chamberlin (drums); Billy Mohler (Bass, Vocals, keyboards and guitar); Sean Woolstenhulme (Guitar, Vocals) and Adam Benjamin (Fender Rhodes).

TOUR DATES

1/10 Los Angeles, CA Knitting Factory
1/13 New York, NY Mercury Lounge
1/15 Chicago, IL Double Door
1/18 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
1/19 Philadelphia, PA Pontiac Grille
1/20 New York, NY Mercury Lounge
1/24 Los Angeles, CA Knitting Factory

On Friday, December 10th, The Slip played a set at the SIRIUS Satellite Radio studios in NYC. This exclusive, one hour long, in-studio set will first be aired on Christmas Eve (12/24) at noon and 9pm on SIRUS Channel 17. Following these airings, songs from the set will be in rotation on a number of channels, only on SIRIUS.

In more band news, The Slip’s NYE show at the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River has Sold Out. Tickets are still available, however, for Lupo’s @ the Strand on December 29th in Providence with John Brown’s Body. This show is a food/coat drive. The RI Food Bank is taking donations, so the band encourages fans to bring 3 cans of food and/or a jacket to get a free signed poster. On Tuesday, December 28th, The Slip will be at Southpaw in Brooklyn with local rockers Dirty on Purpose.

The Slip won The 2004 Heineken USA / ASCAP Foundation Grant for Best Pop/Rock Song in Boston for “Children of December” – more info can be found at ascap.com.

The Slip has launched a download portal with DiscLogic. The Slip’s two-CD set “Instant Live: The Paradise, Boston, MA 10/2/04” (which was made available the night of the show) is now available in Newbury Comics stores and through their online store newburycomics.com.

Finally, The Slip’s Brad Barr will be performing solo at the NYC Knitting Factory on January 13th in the Tap Bar.

Noted blues guitarist Son Seals died yesterday (Dec. 20) in Chicago of complications from diabetes. He was 62.

Born Frank Seals in Osceola, Ark., he started his musical career by mastering the drums by his early teens, taking over guitar and leading his own band before reaching his 20s. Moving to Chicago in 1971, Seals played regular gigs on the city’s South Side with such legendary artists as Junior Wells and Buddy Guy.

Seals made his recording debut in 1973 with the “The Son Seals Blues Band,” released by Alligator Records, which in 2002 issued a career retrospective, “Deluxe Edition.”

Among many honors, Seals was the winner of W.C. Handy Blues Awards in 1985, 1987 and 2001. He was nominated for a Grammy in 1980 for his participation in the live compilation “Blues Deluxe,” recorded at the Chicagofest event with Muddy Waters, Koko Taylor and others.

Seals, who made his last public performance appearance in October in California, is survived by a sister and 14 children. At deadline, funeral arrangements had not yet been announced.

Source billboard.com.

Paul Westerberg has confirmed his first tour dates in support of his latest Vagrant album, “Folker.” So far, eight West Coast shows are on tap, beginning Feb. 17 in Vancouver and wrapping Feb. 26 in Anaheim, Calif. According to his official Web site, the artist will be backed by His Only Friends, also known as the Painkillers.

The former Replacements frontman has played a handful of shows in his Minneapolis hometown since the September release of “Folker,” including three last month at the Pantages and an October appearance at a benefit for Soul Asylum’s Karl Mueller, who is battling cancer.

Westerberg told Billboard.com this fall that being home with his six-year-old son has taken precedence over extended time on the road. “It’s slowed down my traveling and it’s made touring or the question of touring more difficult, because he doesn’t like it when I leave and it makes it tough for me,” he explained.

“I’ve gotta find a new word for ‘tour,’ he added. “Will I tour? I don’t know. Will I appear? Yes. I will be appearing places. Whether its television or big shows or little shows, I don’t quite know yet.”

Here are Paul Westerberg and His Only Friends’ tour dates:

Feb. 17: Vancouver (Commodore Ballroom)
Feb. 18: Seattle (Showbox)
Feb. 19: Portland, Ore. (Roseland Theatre)
Feb. 21: San Francisco (Great American Music Hall)
Feb. 22-23: Los Angeles (Henry Fonda Theatre)
Feb. 25: Tempe, Ariz. (Marquee Theatre)
Feb. 26: Anaheim (House of Blues)

Source billboard.com.

Chevelle will headline the tenth annual Winterfresh SnoCore tour, topping a line-up that includes Helmet, Crossfade, Future Leaders of the World and Strata. The thirty-two-city tour kicks off on January 22nd in Vail, Colorado, and draws to a close two months later with a March 13th date in Orlando.

Chevelle’s Loeffler brothers — drummer Sam, guitarist Joe and singer Pete — have been touring in support of their latest LP, This Type of Thinking Could Do Us In, which debuted at the top of the charts and features the Ritalin anthem “Vitamin R (Leading Us Along),” an inside joke about a hyperactive pal.

“The song is based on our friend’s first endeavor into the whole drug thing,” says Sam. “He was all jacked up all the time, and we laughed at him — that’s really what the song is about. I think people want it to be serious, like we’re making a statement about how the drugs they prescribe cause all these problems, but it’s really not.”

Winterfresh SnoCore tour dates:

1/22: Vail, CO, 8150
1/23: Salt Lake City, In the Venue
1/24: Las Vegas, the Joint
1/25: Phoenix, Marquee Theatre
1/27: San Diego, Soma
1/28: Anaheim, CA, the Grove
1/29: Los Angeles, House of Blues
1/31: San Francisco, Fillmore
2/1: Reno, NV, New Oasis
2/3: Seattle, Moore Theatre
2/4: Spokane, WA, Big Easy
2/5: Boise, ID, Big Easy
2/7: Denver, Ogden Theatre
2/8: Wichita, KA, Cotillion Ballroom
2/10: Minneapolis, Quest
2/11: Milwaukee, Rave
2/12: Chicago, Congress Theatre
2/14: St. Louis, Pageant
2/15: Cincinnati, Bogart’s
2/16: Columbus, OH, Newport Music Hall
2/18: Detroit, State Theater
2/19: Toronto, TBA
2/21: Cleveland, House of Blues
2/22: Albany, Northern Lights
2/23: Burlington, VT, Higher Ground
2/25: New York, Spirit
2/26: Providence, RI, Lupo’s
2/27: Worchester, MA, Palladium
3/1: Hartford, CT, Webster Theatre
3/2: Philadelphia, Trocadero
3/4: Sayreville, NY, Starland Ballroom
3/5: Washington, DC, 9:30 Club
3/6: Poughkeepsie, NY, Mid-Hudson Civic Center
3/8: Baltimore, Sonor
3/9: Norfolk, VA, NorVa
3/10: Myrtle Beach, SC, House of Blues
3/12: Fort Lauderdale, FL, Revolution
3/13: Orlando, FL, House of Blues

Source rollingstone.com.

PJ Harvey sensationally revealed onstage in Paris this weekend that she is quitting playing live.

The star was performing in front of 350 competition winners at Studio 287 in northern France when she announced: “This is the last show I will ever play.”

The comment came in the wake of the likely last ever live show from The Libertines on the same bill.

The comment also echoes the statement made by David Bowie back in 1973 at London Hammersmith Odeon. It later transpired he was only retiring his alter-ego Ziggy Stardust.

PJ Harvey played a set featuring songs covering her entire 13-year career, including ‘Victory’, ‘Me Jane’, ‘Shame’ and the closing ‘Meet Ze Monsta’.

Source: nme.com

Spearhead, Camper Van Beethoven and Ozomatli are among the artists contributing tracks to the Sublime tribute album, Look At All the Love We’ve Found, due next summer. Sublime came to an untimely end when frontman Brad Nowell died of a heroin overdose in 1996, just two months before the California ska-punks’ breakthrough album.
Along with Blackalicious MC Gift of Gab, Spearhead take on “What I Got,” Sublime’s signature hit. “I decided to do the song because I am a fan,” explains Spearhead’s Michael Franti. “There was a sincerity about Brad’s voice and lyrics that I always identified with. It is such a tragedy when there is a band that has as much promise as Sublime, and it gets cut off so short. I remember feeling the same way about Nirvana.”

Camper, who will cover “Garden Grove,” got involved because Sublime had covered one of their songs. “There is a cover of ‘Eye of Fatima’ that’s essentially Brad Nowell by himself on acoustic guitar,” says bassist Victor Krummenacher. “It was a nice nod in our direction, and I thought that since Brad had enough respect to cover Camper, being part of this tribute album was more than fitting.”

“This was the first time we ever recorded a cover song and were proud of how it came out,” says Ozomatli leader Wil-Dog Abers of their version of “April 29, 1992.” “I always thought [Sublime] had something real.”

Others confirmed include Pennywise (“Same in the End”), Fishbone (“Date Rape”), the Greyboy Allstars (“Doin’ Time”), Avail (“Santeria”), Bargain Music (“Get Out!”), the Ziggens (“Paddle Out”), and Mike Watt with Stephen Perkins and Petra Haden (“Work That We Do”). Jack Johnson, No Doubt, G. Love and Special Sauce, and ex-Meat Puppet Curt Kirkwood have expressed interest in the project, according to organizers.

In putting together Love, Zach Fischel (head of Cornerstone RAS, an offshoot of Sublime’s longtime label, Skunk), invited artists who influenced Sublime as well as those who were influenced by them. “Sublime’s music was always diverse in its influences, and we wanted this tribute album to have the same type of diversity.”

Although their career lasted less than a decade, Sublime left their mark on the ska-punk world, issuing a pair of underground favorites, 1992’s 40 Oz. to Freedom and 1994’s Robbin’ the Hood, before Nowell’s death. The group’s third release, Sublime, was released posthumously, and became a major hit on the strength of such singles as “What I Got” and “Santeria.”

By design, Sublime bassist Eric Wilson and drummer Bud Gaugh will not appear on the album. “They’re in the loop, and they’ll definitely hear it before anyone else,” Fischel says. “We want them to just be able to sit back, relax and hear some great artists paying tribute to the music they wrote.”

Source rollingstone.com.

In 2002 – before anyone in the band had turned 20 – Brit-rock quartet The Music exploded onto the charts when their self-titled debut hit No. four in the U.K.

Shortly thereafter, the band made their first U.S. appearance touring with Aussie sensations The Vines and fellow Brits Coldplay.

Now, with their latest release, Welcome to the North, the boys have announced a new round of tour dates that will have them traveling worldwide well into March.

The school chums comprising The Music – vocalist Rob Harvey; guitarist Adam Nutter; bass player Stuart Coleman; and drummer Phil Jordan – are playing a handful of dates before they head to Japan.

The foursome will do a week’s worth of shows in Japan before they travel to Australia to perform all six dates on Big Day Out.

Those shows will span from January 21 – February 6 and will include the likes of The Streets, System of a Down, Le Tigre, Hatebreed, Kid 606, The Hives, and many others.

From there, The Music jump to yet another continent and make their 2005 U.S. debut at New York’s Irving Plaza on February 17.

That same gig also marks the date that fellow U.K. indie outfit Kasabian joins the party. They are scheduled to appear with The Music on the remainder of the tour, which has dates scheduled into mid-late March.

Source pollstar.com.

On the mounting success of their full-length debut, Funeral, eccentric Montreal pop sextet the Arcade Fire are readying for a second, more extensive tour of the States, kicking off January 13th in San Francisco and wrapping up on February 3rd in Boston.
But the band members are hoping that their newfound popularity won’t force them to behave like rock stars. “If it’s going to be, like, us wanking our little guitars in the spotlight, not seeing anyone — no, that’s not the point,” says multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Regine Chassagne. “It’s a human thing. I like to meet people after a show, and sometimes I recognize them from another show.”

The Arcade Fire (named for the fire department where a family member worked) include frontman Win Butler and wife Chassagne, Win’s younger brother Will, guitarist Richard Parry, bassist Tim Kingsbury and touring violinist Sarah Neufeld. And their eclectic sound stems from the wide-ranging tastes of their members. “I was listening to classical music and Mary Poppins and weird voodoo Haitian records,” explains Chassagne, who plays piano, accordion, drums and xylophone. “I sang in choirs, and played for a long time in a medieval band — I wore a costume, sang in old languages, played the recorder and mandolin and tambourine. I was singing jazz when I met Win.”

“There’s a bunch of Eastern European bands that my brother turned me on to,” adds Butler. “He was just in the Czech Republic doing a big thing on Czech rock & roll in the Eighties.” Butler, however, is convinced that the sum of all these parts is pretty simple: “For all its eccentricities, the band is a pop band.”

For new fans, the Arcade Fire’s self-titled debut EP is only available at their shows. But one track from that record, “No Cars Go,” can now be downloaded at the iTunes music store. And for those across the pond, the group has signed a deal to distribute Funeral in the U.K. through Rough Trade Records, set to hit stores there on February 28th.

Meanwhile, the Arcade Fire have begun work on new songs at their studio in Butler’s family barn in Maine, and they’ve recently completed their first video, for the track “Rebellion (Lies).” “It’s a real video,” says Butler. “We got a grant from the Canadian government to make it!”

The Arcade Fire tour dates:

1/13-14: San Francisco, Great American Music Hall
1/15-16: Los Angeles, Troubadour
1/17: San Diego, Casbah
1/18: Tucson, AZ, Solar Culture
1/21: Austin, Emo’s
1/23: Houston, Fat Cat’s
1/24: New Orleans, House of Blues
1/26: Atlanta, Variety Playhouse
1/27: Asheville, NC, The Orange Peel
1/30: Washington, DC, 9:30 Club
1/31: Philadelphia, Theatre of Living Arts
2/1: New York, Bowery Ballroom
2/2: Brooklyn, NY, Warsaw
2/3: Boston, Roxy

Source rollingstone.com.

Widespread Panic is back. In a bold and shocking move by one of the most successful touring rock bands, Widespread Panic left the road at the close of 2003. This was the first hiatus for the band in 19 years of non-stop touring and record-breaking sold out dates throughout the country. Today, after 15 months, they announced their long-awaited return to the stage by posting their first round of tour dates on their website at www.widespreadpanic.com. Fans who have been anxiously waiting for this announcement are expected to quickly snatch up tickets for these concerts, prompting most shows to sell out almost immediately. The tour, kicking off in late March, will coincide with the release of their new live album recorded at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, SC in 2003. Widespread Panic Live At Myrtle Beach will arrive in stores February 22, 2005 on Sanctuary Records/Widespread Records.

The anticipated homecoming will kick off with three dates at the historic Fox Theatre in Atlanta. Widespread Panic first headlined the Fox in 1993 and has since sold-out every one of their 13 shows at the venue, more than any other band in the history of the theatre. Tour dates will also include three dates at New York’s famed Radio City Music Hall (their first appearance at the venue), three dates at the majestic Chicago Theater, two nights at Altel Pavilion in Raleigh, NC and back to Jazzfest in New Orleans (where they previously set an attendance record in 1999).

As an additional bonus, the spring tour will include performances at smaller, theater-sized venues to give the fans a more intimate performance experience. Widespread Panic is forgoing their usual shed-sized venues in direct response to overwhelming requests from their longtime supporters. Concertgoers will not only have the chance to see the band more up-close and personal than usual, they will also be surprised with a revamped stage show using top of the line technology.

Tour Dates:

March 24, 25 & 26 Atlanta, GA
Fox Theater

March 29 Chattanooga, TN
Civic Coliseum

March 30 Cincinnati, OH
Taft Theater

April 1 Detroit, MI
State Theater

April 2 Cleveland, OH
Cleveland Music Hall

April 3 Bloomington, IN
Indiana Univ. Auditorium

April 5 Milwaukee, WI
Eagles Ballroom

April 7, 8 & 9 Chicago, IL
Chicago Theater

April 12 Boston, MA
Agganis Arena

April 14, 15 & 16 New York, NY
Radio City Music Hall

April 17 Philadelphia, PA
Tower Theater

April 19 Washington, DC Constitution Hall

April 20 Salem, VA
Salem Civic Center

April 22 & 23 Raleigh, NC
Altel Pavilion

April 24 Columbia, SC
Three Rivers Festival

April 26 Columbus, GA
Columbus Civic Center

April 27 Tallahassee, FL
Leon County Civic Center

April 29 New Orleans, LA
Jazzfest

April 30 Dallas, TX Brady Theater

May 3 Kansas City, MO
Starlight Theater

May 5 St. Louis, MO Fox Theater

May 6 Louisville, KY Louisville Gardens

May 7 Asheville, NC Asheville Civic Center