News

Indie-jam rockers moe. will open on select dates of The Who’s first world tour in 20 years. The upstate New York quintet joins together with the rock legends for the following concerts:

9/25/06 Chicago, IL, United Center
9/26/06 Des Moines, IA, Wells Fargo Arena
9/29/06 Auburn Hills, MI, Palace Of Auburn Hills
9/30/06 London, ON, John Labatt Centre

moe., known for well-crafted songwriting and dynamic jam explorations, is gearing up for moe.down 2006 – the band’s annual Labor Day Weekend event which draws thousands of fans from all over the world to Turin, NY’s Snow Ridge Ski Area. The band will release MOE. LIVE FROM THE FILLMORE, its first DVD, October 3. moe. will also tour this summer and fall performing new songs from their first album in four years, which will be released January 23, 2007. Both will be released on moe.’s Fatboy Records.

The Who will perform songs from their new mini rock opera, WIRE & GLASS, material from their upcoming studio album along with their greatest hits and rarities, certain to please long time fans. The new album, provisionally called “WHO 2,” and the band’s first since 1982’s IT’S HARD, is scheduled for an October 23 release.

“We’re looking forward to reconnecting with our American fans and hopefully seeing some new ones coming along too,” said The Who frontman Roger Daltry.

And speaking on the topic of fans, moe. guitarist Al Schnier fondly recalls his own musical coming-of-age with the legendary band: “I remember as a kid playing my tennis racket, way before I ever played guitar, and jamming to The Who… and listening to Townsend’s EMPTY GLASS in our family room over and over again… seeing The Who when they were touring for IT’S HARD. The Clash were opening – who are also heroes of ours – and we’re worthy?! This is a BIG deal for us.”

Following the release of their fourth critically acclaimed full-length, Z, My Morning Jacket is about to release what is surely to become their quintessential body of work: Okonokos, a 2-disc live recording and concert film capturing MMJ in all their glory.

Okonokos, conceived by Jim James, and it is as much a question as it is an answer. It is an enigma wrapped around a riddle. Okonokos is whatever you want it to be.

The live concert was created with the aid of the trailblazing lighting designer Marc Brickman (well-known for his work with Pink Floyd), and filmed by director Sam Erickson. Okonokos: Double Live Album was mixed by Michael Brauer (Bob Dylan, Coldplay) and mastered by pre-eminent engineer Bob Ludwig.

This concert film, done in 5.1 surround sound, will be screened in select cities this fall.
Be on the lookout.

Omaha indie rock act Cursive has more than three months of touring coming up in support of its latest album, Happy Hollow.
The group’s European itinerary includes gigs in Austria, Belgium, the UK., Ireland, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands and France. After finishing in Paris September 6, Cursive will head to Japan for gigs in Osaka and Tokyo.
A lengthy U.S. trek will follow, starting September 22 in Fargo, N.D. Opening acts for the nine-and-a-half-week tour will include The Thermals, Ladyfinger, The Detachment Kit, Chin Up Chin Up, Eastern Youth, and The Cops.
The schedule is packed through November 27, with the final gig scheduled for Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Okla.

Source pollstar.com.

Everyone Orchestra is hitting East Coast stages in October with an exciting edition assembled from a rotating cast of all star musicians, including EO founder/conductor Matt Butler, Phish drummer Jon Fishman, guitar legend Steve Kimock, string wizard Jamie Masefield (Jazz Mandolin Project), saxmen Jeff Coffin (The Flecktones) and Peter Apfelbaum (Hieroglyphics Ensemble; Trey Anastasio), bassist Reed Mathis (Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, SKB), hammered dulcimer player/percussionist Jamie Janover (Zilla), guitarist Scott Law, keyboardist Asher Fulero and more.

What makes Everyone Orchestra performances stand out from other jam band collaborations is the conducting and audience participation. Butler facilitates the jams using giant cue cards, hand signals and more which direct the musicians and audience alike in flowing, playful and incredibly dynamic co-creations.

The list of Everyone Orchestra alumni reads like a who

Most people leave a concert with a ticket stub and fond memories of the show. Fans who attend selected Bruce Hornsby’s concerts this fall will take home a lot more than that.
Hornsby has scheduled a series of solo piano dates starting October 2nd in Minneapolis. As a thank you for their continuing support, ticketholders in most cities will take home a free copy of his recently released 4 CD career retrospective, Intersections: 1985 – 2005.
According to Hornsby’s Web site: “Bruce has arranged for each ticket buyer in the series of special solo dates to receive a copy of Intersections along with the price of their ticket (the box set has a retail value of $49.95) and we will have your copy for you at the show (hang onto your ticket stubs!).”
Both the tour and the box set focus on the diversity of Hornsby’s music. The three time Grammy winner has worked with a wide variety of artists including Ornette Coleman, Willie Nelson, Chaka Khan, and the Grateful Dead over the course of his 20 year career.

Source pollstar.com.

In support of her new, highly praised Anti- album, Springtime Can Kill, acclaimed singer/songwriter Jolie Holland will embark on a five -week North American tour on October 11. Launching in Pittsburgh, PA and running through November 15th in San Diego, CA, Holland

Blur/Gorillaz principal Damon Albarn has formed yet another band, the Good the Bad and the Queen. He is flanked by former Clash bassist Paul Simonon, former Verve guitarist Simon Tong and Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen in the group, which will release its Danger Mouse-produced debut album next year via Parlophone in the United Kingdom.

Beforehand, the Good the Bad and the Queen will make its live debut Oct. 28 as part of the BBC’s Electric Proms festival at the Roundhouse Main Space in London. At the show, the group will play its as-yet-untitled album from start to finish.

billboard.com.

Vegooe organizers have announced additional artists to the line-up, including a performance by Phil Lesh & Trey Anastasio. The two recently paired up this summer for a co-bill in which Anastasio frequently sat in with Lesh’s band.

Other notable additions include Ben Folds, Mike Patton’s Peeping Tom, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and The Yard Dogs Road Show.

More artists announcements are expected. See vegoose.com for the latest.

According to a short post on its Web site, the reunited Smashing Pumpkins are recording their first album in seven years with producer Roy Thomas Baker, who is best known for his work with Queen but resurfaced last year to produce the sophomore album from the Darkness.

Beyond frontman Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, it is still unclear who else is involved in the new incarnation of the Pumpkins. The group is now being managed by Irving Azoff, who also works with Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and the Eagles.

Corgan stunned fans in June 2005 when he took out a full-page ad in the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times announcing his intentions to “renew and “revive” the Pumpkins, who split acrimoniously in 2000.

In 2004, he broke his silence about why the band dissolved, lashing out at guitarist James Iha and bassist D’Arcy Wretzky for walking away from an endeavor he described as “essentially my entire life… a dream I still believe in.”

[ Source billboard.com.

Seventy-three-year-old music icon Willie Nelson collaborates with 31-year-old singer/songwriter Ryan Adams on his new album, “Songbird.” Due Oct. 31 via Lost Highway, the 11-track set was produced by Adams, whose band the Cardinals back Nelson throughout. Veteran harmonica player Mickey Raphael also appears.

The track list features covers of Gram Parson’s “$1000 Wedding,” Christine McVie’s “Songbird,” the Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter favorite “Stella Blue” and Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”

In addition, Nelson reworks his own “Rainy Day Blues” (which opens the album), “Sad Songs & Waltzes” and “We Don’t Run,” as well as tackling the traditional “Amazing Grace.”

Nelson is in the midst of a tour with John Fogerty and also has headlining dates on tap through a Sept. 15 appearance at the Austin City Limits festival. On Sept. 30 in Camden, N.J., he will join Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews and Jerry Lee Lewis for Farm Aid in Camden, N.J.

Source billboard.com.

YouTube Inc. said on Tuesday (Aug. 15) it is talking with record labels to post thousands of music videos online, aiming to move beyond being a site for sharing home videos to a provider of mainstream entertainment like Yahoo and others.

YouTube, which sprung out of nowhere a year ago to now claim over 100 millions views a day, is negotiating for rights to post current and archive music videos on its site, and said any commercial model it decides on will offer the videos free.

“What we really want to do is in six to 12 months, maybe 18 months, to have every music video ever created up on YouTube,” co-founder Steve Chen told Reuters. “We’re trying to bring in as much of this content as we can on to the site.”

He said YouTube intends to differentiate itself from pay-to-view or download services like Apple Computer Inc.’s iTunes and Time Warner Inc.’s AOL Music, or others like Yahoo Inc.’s Yahoo Music, which is supported by an advertising revenue share model with record labels.

San Mateo, California-based YouTube says its videos account for 60 percent of all videos watched online. The site specializes in short, homemade, comic clips created by users.

Read the full article at Billboard.biz

New York rock act Interpol has parted ways with indie home Matador Records and will sign a new deal with Capitol, sources say. The group is now being managed by Dave Holmes, whose clients also include Capitol flagship artist Coldplay.

Billboard.com understands the group will hit the studio in the fall to begin recording its third album, which is tentatively due in mid-2007. In July, the group wrote on its Web site that it had already spent six months crafting material but had yet to begin recording.

The quartet found immediate success with Matador thanks to its 2002 debut, “Turn on the Bright Lights,” which has sold 438,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Its 2004 follow-up, “Antics,” has shifted 435,000 units, and debuted at a career-best No. 16 on The Billboard 200.

Read more at Billboard.com

“You, Me and Dupree” star Kate Hudson and her rocker husband Chris Robinson have separated after six years of marriage, a spokesman for the actress said Monday.

Publicist Brad Cafarelli confirmed that Hudson, 27, and Robinson, 39, had split. He offered no details. The couple, who were married on New Year’s Eve in 2000, have a 2-year-old son, Ryder.

A spokesman for Robinson said he had no comment on news of the separation, which was first reported by People magazine on its Web site.

Hudson, the daughter of actress Goldie Hawn, became a star in her own right after playing the rock groupie Penny Lane in the 2000 film “Almost Famous,” which earned her an Academy Award nomination.

Robinson is lead singer for the Black Crowes, best known for such hits as “Hard to Handle” and “She Talks to Angels.”

Source CNN.com.

Ben Harper will release an exclusive iTunes Original package on August 15th which will include interview clips, album cuts, and tracks from an iTunes Live Session .The track listing includes five live

After completing a stint on the Vans Warped Tour just this past weekend, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts have announced a fall tour in support of their new record, “Sinner.”

With Eagles Of Death Metal as openers, the 19-day jaunt begins Oct. 12 at the Theatre of Living Arts in Philadelphia and winds up on Nov. 19, although more shows will be added. Throw Rag, Riverboat Gamblers and Valient Thorr will also open for a handful of shows each.

Here are Joan Jett/Eagles Of Death Metal tour dates:

Oct. 12: Philadelphia (Theatre of Living Arts)
Oct. 13: Boston (Avalon Ballroom)
Oct. 15: New York (Irving Plaza)
Oct. 17: Washington, D.C. (9:30 Club)
Oct. 21: Cleveland (Agora Theatre)
Oct. 26: Chicago (Vic Theatre)
Oct. 27: St. Louis (Pop’s)
Oct. 29: Denver (Ogden Theatre)
Nov. 1: Seattle (Showbox)
Nov. 2: Portland, Ore. (Roseland Theatre)
Nov. 4: San Francisco (Fillmore)
Nov. 7: Los Angeles (Henry Fonda Theatre)
Nov. 10: Las Vegas (House of Blues)
Nov. 11: Tempe, Ariz. (Marquee Theatre)
Nov. 13: Dallas (Gypsy Tea Room)
Nov. 14: Austin, Texas (Stubbs BBQ)
Nov. 17: Orlando, Fla. (House of Blues)
Nov. 18: Atlanta (Roxy Theatre)
Nov. 19: North Myrtle Beach, S.C. (House of Blues)

Source billboard.com.

TV On The Radio will kick off a fall North American tour Sept. 14 in New Orleans, two days after the release of its long-awaited Interscope debut, “Return to Cookie Mountain.”

Dates are on tap through Oct. 21 in Philadelphia and include a one-off Sept. 24 double-bill in Los Angeles with Massive Attack. As previously reported, TVOTR members are assisting Massive Attack with its upcoming album, “Weather Underground.”

In addition, TV On The Radio has joined the bill for the San Francisco-area edition of the Download Festival on Sept. 30, which will also feature Beck, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Shins, Muse and Wolfmother, among others.

Here are TV On The Radio’s tour dates:

Sept. 14: New Orleans (Republic)
Sept. 15: Dallas (Gypsy Tea Room)

Sept. 16: Austin, Texas (Austin City Limits)
Sept. 17: Austin, Texas (Emo’s)
Sept. 19: Boulder, Colo. (Fox Theatre)
Sept. 24: Los Angeles (Hollywood Bowl; w/ Massive Attack
Sept. 25: San Diego (Soma)
Sept. 26: Pomona, Calif. (Glass House)
Sept. 27: Santa Barbara, Calif. (Soho Restaurant)
Sept. 29: Sacramento, Calif. (Library)
Sept. 30: Mountain View, Calif. (Download Festival)
Oct. 2: Portland, Ore. (Wonder Ballroom)
Oct. 3: Vancouver (Commodore Ballroom)
Oct. 4: Seattle (Showbox)
Oct. 8: Minneapolis (First Avenue)
Oct. 9: Chicago (Metro)
Oct. 10: Detroit (St. Andrews Hall)
Oct. 12: Toronto (Opera House)
Oct. 13: Montreal (Le National)
Oct. 14: Boston (Paradise Rock Club)
Oct. 17-18: New York (Irving Plaza)
Oct. 20: Baltimore (Sonar)
Oct. 21: Philadelphia (Starlight Ballroom)

Source billboard.com.

The Williamsburg Jazz Festival, started in 2001 by trumpet player, Jesse Selengut, is now in it’s fourth year running and is bigger then ever. The annual jazz festival has expanded to a full week of music, and includes 23 bands and 7 venues. Beginning this year Jesse Selengut has teamed up with another Williamsburg resident, trombonist Rick Parker. Together, their bands, NOIR and Rick Parker Collective, will perform as hosts at this year’s event.

The New York Times said;

For a band that’s never toured and just released its debut album, Beirut has quite a bit of live activity lined up.
The musical project of Santa Fe-to-Brooklyn transplant Zach Condon, Beirut has tours of the Northeast, Canada and the West Coast booked with more to come.
Condon and his accomplices will launch the first round of dates at Brooklyn’s McCarren Pool August 13, staying on the road for two weeks. Four Canadian shows are set for early October, including two Montreal gigs in the same day.
Later that month, the band will hit Seattle, San Francisco and more, winding through the Southwest to finish in Austin, Texas, October 26.
A U.K. tour with Calexico is planned for November.
Beirut’s debut album, Gulag Orkestar, created a massive buzz months well in advance of its May release on Ba Da Bing! The album combines Gypsy and Eastern European folk influences with electronic and pop elements.
The group played several New York shows in June but has never been on the road.

Source pollstar.com.

Widespread Panic has expanded its fall tour with new guitarist Jimmy Herring on board. Kicking things off at Radio City Music Hall on September 14-16, Panic will continue on to Burlington, VT (9/19), Manchester, NH (9/20), Boston (9/22), Wallingford, CT (9/23), Upper Darby, PA (9/24), Charlottesville, VA (9/26-27), Charlotte, NC (9/29-30), Lexington, KY (10/1), Cincinnati (10/3), Columbus, OH (10/4), Nashville, TN (10/6), Macon, GA (10/7), Orlando, FL (10/9), Charleston, SC (10/13), Birmingham, AL (10/14), Chattanooga, TN (10/15), Evansville, IN (10/17), Bloomington, ID (10/18), Detroit, MI (10/20), Milwaukee, WI (10/21), Minneapolis, MN (10/22), Ames, IA (10/24), Sioux Falls, SD (10/25), Omaha, NE (10/26), Las Vegas (10/29-30) and Austin (11/2-4).

For more information visit the band’s website

Pianist Brad Mehldau and guitarist Pat Metheny have teamed for a collaborative album, “Metheny Mehldau,” due Sept. 12 via Nonesuch. The 10-track set features a blend of each artist’s material, including some tracks recorded with Mehldau’s trio of bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard.

Mehldau and Metheny had never played together before hitting a New York studio last December. “Those days in December were some of the most creatively satisfying days I have ever had as a musician,” Metheny enthuses. “When it was all done and it was time to listen back to everything, I was taken aback by what I heard. It seemed like we always played together.”

The album opens with a new version of Mehldau’s “Unrequited,” which previously appeared on his album “Art of the Trio, Vol. 3: Songs,” as well as Metheny’s “Ring of Life,” which features Mehldau’s trio.

The artists are planning a tour beginning next March, but beforehand, Mehldau has solo and trio performances on tap through early December. As previously reported, Metheny will recreate his recording of Steve Reich’s “Electric Counterpoint” at an Oct. 21 concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall in honor of Reich’s 70th birthday.

Source billboard.com.