News

Go-Betweens’ principal Grant McLennan died yesterday (May 6) in his sleep at his home in Brisbane, Australia, according to the influential Australian rock act’s official Web site. He was 48. No cause of death has been announced.

With longtime partner Robert Forster, McLennan led the Go-Betweens to critical, if not commercial, success with such albums as 1983’s “Before Hollywood” and 1988’s “Sixteen Lovers Lane.” After the band split in 1989, McLennan recorded with the band Jack Frost and released four solo albums.

The Go-Betweens reunited in 2000 for the album “The Friends of Rachel Worth,” which featured backing from members of Sleater-Kinney. Ever since, the group has enjoyed a productive period of recording and touring, as its influence became more apparent on such groups as Luna, the Clientele and Belle & Sebastian.

The band’s most recent release was the CD/DVD “That Striped Sunlight Sound,” released in January via Yep Roc Records. Its last show was Jan. 16 at the Sydney Festival.

Source billboard.com.

On March 17, 1973, a band in musical transition named Pink Floyd hit the Top 200 chart with the release of its new album, “Dark Side of the Moon.” It entered the chart at No. 95, the top debut that week. And then a funny thing happened: It never left. Or almost never, anyway.

More than 14 years later — 736 weeks to be precise — in July 1988, it finally fell off The Billboard 200. Add in a later run on that chart and another 759 weeks on the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart, and Pink Floyd, with this issue, reaches the staggering plane of 1,500 weeks on the charts.

It’s difficult to contextualize just how singularly dominant a chart — and cultural — force the album has been. The runner-up for time served on The Billboard 200, Bob Marley and the Wailers’ “Legend,” is several years behind, and Floyd’s lead in total chart weeks is greater Marley’s by an almost 2-1 margin.

Label sources say “Dark Side” has sold roughly 40 million copies worldwide and still routinely moves 8,000-9,000 copies on a slow week. In fact, the album still often outpaces the low end of The Billboard 200, and every song on the more than 30-year-old record still gets radio play, with some among the most-played songs at classic rock stations monitored by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.

Source billboard.com.

moe. has announced the initial lineup for their 7th annual moe.down festival held in Turin, NY labor day weekend each year. Among the artists scheduled to perform are:

Umphrey’s Mcgee
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
The Avett Brothers
Apollo Sunshine
Toubab Krewe
Before Cowboys
Mike Rocklin

Early Bird Tickets ON SALE NOW for $80 at moeticketing.musictoday.com

Fats Domino, the headliner for Jazz Fest’s final day, canceled his performance several hours before he was to take the stage Sunday, organizers said. Festival organizers declined to say why the 78-year-old Hall of Fame performer would not play. Last week, he had canceled an autograph session for his latest album “Alive and Kickin’,” saying he was fatigued and wanted to rest up for the Jazz Fest performance.

Source yahoo.com.

Quite a few new faces will grace the lineup of Jam Cruise 5. The fourth annual floating festival is proud to announce that Derek Trucks Band, Drive-By Truckers, Los Amigos Invisibles, Tea Leaf Green, ALO, New Mastersounds, and Hot Buttered Rum will join Jam Cruise favorites Galactic and Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Jam Cruise also welcomes first timers Perpetual Groove, Zero (featuring Steve Kimock), Greyboy Allstars, and Deep Banana Blackout. Each artist will play multiple shows during the cruise and will be accessible for autograph signings, casual interaction, and other activities including music workshops, solo musician performances, and a special Artist Jam Room. Additional artists, including late night DJ performers, will be announced shortly. Stay tuned to www.jamcruise.com for complete details.

For its fifth adventure, Jam Cruise has outdone itself with a superior lineup and luxurious ship, the MSC Opera. The boat will leave port from Fort Lauderdale, Florida on January 2, 2007, floating for five days and five nights with stops in the Turks and Caicos Islands and a special private island, Cayo Levantado in the Dominican Republic. 650 cabins are already pre-booked – official onsale begins June 1, 2006.

Since its first journey in 2003, Jam Cruise has revolutionized the music festival experience by blending the community, spontaneity and good times of a music festival with the convenience, luxury, and adventure of cruise travel. The MSC Opera first sailed in 2004 and features swimming pool and whirlpool, a gym and sauna, mini-golf course, internet caf

On June 6, Move By Yourself, the sophomore release from singer/songwriter/pro-surfer Donavon Frankenreiter will be released on Lost Highway, his first for the label.

Move By Yourself is the next step in the natural progression of an artist looking to spread his wings. Move By Yourself is somewhat of a sonic departure from the Southern California native

My Morning Jacket, one of the hottest bands in the rock circuit, joins the Mountain Jam Line Up direct from their arena hopping tour with Pearl Jam. They will be filling the slot right before Gov’t Mule that until now has been listed as Very Special Guests. Tickets for Mountain Jam are going fast, especially camping tickets.

Line up includes; Gov

Pete Francis, singer, songwriter, producer and former Dispatch front man, in collaboration with New York musician and songwriter Craig Dreyer, is set to release his fourth solo CD Everything Is One on his own Scrapper Records. The CD, an independent release, will be available June 6, 2006 on Francis

As the Black Keys ready their fourth album for a fall release, the Akron, Ohio-based rock duo will open six shows on Radiohead’s summer tour. The group will support in Montreal (June 10-11), New York (June 13-14) and Chicago (June 19-20); Deerhoof will open the final six shows in California.

Radiohead’s members have been Black Keys fans for years; guitarist Jonny Greenwood was spotted side-stage during the group’s performance at the 2004 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. “Obviously, we’re blown away,” guitarist/vocalist Dan Auerbach tells Billboard.com about the tour.

Source billboard.com.

Phil Lesh & Friends has announced their summer tour dates, kicking off June 18th at the Bonnaroo Music Festival and running through the eastern half of the United States. Although it hasn

It started at 10 a.m. with the sound of thunder and rain.

You could call him a singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, ethnomusicologist, two-time Grammy-winner, world-class musical collaborator, musicians’ advocate, world traveler, fisherman, or cigar aficionado. These titles are all accurate, yet none convey the warmth, humor, and soulfulness of Taj and his music.

Look for Taj on these dates to tour with The Taj Mahal Trio – Taj on guitar, piano, and banjo, Bill Rich on bass and Kester Smith on drums. These musicians have been playing together on and off for more than 30 years. Together, they draw on a long, shared history of Taj’s music.

“The Trio allows the music between voice and guitar to happen with the smallest amount of accompaniment – bass and drums,” says Taj. “That leaves a lot of space to be filled. The guitar is not submerged but right up front in the music. It’s a challenging place to play.”

Current tour dates include:
May 03 Community Center at Fort Lewis College Durango CO
May 05 Tulsa Blues Festival Tulsa OK
May 07 Tampa Bay Blues Festival St. Petersburg FL
May 23-28 Blue Note New York NY
June 02 The Auditorium Eureka Springs AR
June 18 Johnson’s Beach: Russian River Blues Festival Guerneville CA
June 02 Red Rocks Amphitheatre Morrison CO
September 02 Detroit International Jazz Festival Detroit MI
September 03 Big Top Chautauqua Bayfield WI
September 09 Wild River Music Festival Saint Paul MN
September 14 The Pabst Theater Milwaukee WI
September 15-16 Wildwood Springs Lodge Steelville MO
September 21 Van Duzer Theater Arcata CA
September 23 Laxson Auditorium Chico CA
September 29 Lancaster Performing Arts Center Lancaster CA

Les Claypool’s “Electric Apricot: Quest for Festeroo,” pokes fun at the jam band scene that has embraced Claypool of late, and features cameos from Phish’s Mike Gordon, the Dead’s Bob Weir, Warren Haynes, actor Seth Green and “South Park” co-creator Matt Stone.

“The whole notion is, this band has been kicking around Northern California for a good number of years, and they finally get a couple of big breaks,” Claypool says. “One of them is the chance to put out a record, and other is that they get booked for the Holy Grail of jam band festivals, which is Festeroo.”

Claypool is negotiating for a distribution deal to bring the film to a wider audience. “There have been some offers for straight to DVD, but we really want to do an art house theatrical release,” he says.

Read more at Billboard.com

Michael Franti will release a new album and documentary DVD July 25 via Epitaph’s Anti- label. The latter is a chronicle of his travels to Baghdad, the West Bank and Gaza Strip titled “I Know I’m Not Alone.” Although originally expected to bear the same name, the CD has been dubbed “Yell Fire!”

“I went to Iraq as a listener,” Franti told Billboard.com in February of the trip that inspired both projects. “I just got tired of watching the news every night and hearing generals and politicians talking about the economics and the politics of the war, and never explaining the human cost of the war. I just wanted to go there and listen to people.”

A mix of reggae, hip-hop and soul, “Yell Fire!” includes appearances by Pink and reggae riddim kings Sly & Robbie and was produced by Franti and Mario Caldato Jr. (Beastie Boys, Jack Johnson) and mixed by Mark Needham (the Killers).

Source billboard.com.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers revealed details of the first three North American legs of their World Tour in support of STADIUM ARCADIUM. These much anticipated shows will kick off Friday, August 11 in Portland, OR.

The band unveiled the tour information during a 90-minute national radio broadcast, live from New York City, which previewed songs from STADIUM ARCADIUM, their much lauded two-CD set releasing Tuesday, May 9.

Concert tickets will go on sale Saturday, May 13 (except for Boise, which goes on sale May 12). However, fan club members can purchase tickets starting Sunday, May 7. Additionally, those pre-ordering the album via iTunes can purchase tickets on the album release day, May 9.

The opener for Red Hot Chili Peppers will be The Mars Volta.

The first three North American legs of the world tour are:

August 11 in Portland, OR at Rose Garden.
August 15 in Boise, ID at Taco Bell Arena.
August 16 in Salt Lake City, UT at Delta Center.
August 18 in Denver, CO at Pepsi Center.
August 21 in Phoenix, AZ at Glendale Arena.
August 22 in San Diego, CA at Sports Arena.
August 24 in Oakland, CA at Oakland Arena.
August 27 in Fresno, CA at Selland Arena.

September 14 in Vancouver, BC at GM Place.
September 16 in Calgary, AB at Pengrowth Saddledome.
September 17 in Edmonton, AB at Rexall Place.
September 19 in Saskatoon, SK at Saskatchewan Credit Union Center.
September 20 in Winnipeg, MB at MTS Centre.
September 25 in Toronto, ON at Air Canada Center.
September 28 in Montreal, QC at Bell Centre.
October 1 in Quebec City, QC at Pepsi Coliseum.

October 17 in East Rutherford, NJ (New York show) at Continental Airlines Arena.
October 20 in Boston, MA at Fleet Center.
October 21 in Albany, NY at Pepsi Arena.
October 23 in Philadelphia, PA at Wachovia Center.
October 26 in Atlanta, GA at Gwinnett.
October 30 in Columbus, OH at Nationwide Arena.
October 31 in Cleveland, OH at Quicken Loans Arena
November 2 in Grand Rapids, MI at Van Andel Arena.
November 3 in Detroit, MI at Palace of Auburn Hills.
November 5 in Minneapolis, MN at Excel Arena.

Shot over two years and in seven countries, the feature-length documentary “Whiskey on a Sunday,” due JULY 25 on SideOneDummy Records, is an intimate portrait of the Irish-infused rock band Flogging Molly. The 106-minute film tracks the eclectic group of musicians from their bar-band roots to their current success, including footage of them in the studio recording their latest album, “Within a Mile of Home,” on tour, at home, and concludes with a triumphant sold-out homecoming performance at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles.

“Whiskey on a Sunday” is an intriguing, heart wrenching and informative look at the candid and charismatic Flogging Molly family. It showcases the seven unique individuals that make up the band, from former pro skater turned accordionist Matt Hensley to the lone female, the reserved and gentle fiddle/ tin whistle player Bridget Regan. But ultimately the film revolves around singer/ guitarist Dave King and his life. Throughout the film King pours his heart out about growing up in war-torn Dublin, his father’s premature death and his exile in the United States, where he wasn’t allowed to return to Ireland to see his mother for eight years. It’s this compelling subject matter that he draws on for his lyrical content.

The DVD will be accompanied by an album comprised of acoustic recordings, live tracks and a new studio recording, “Laura,” which is featured in the film.

Wilco has announced their summer dates. The tour will kick off June 28th in Calgary and end August 6th at Lollapalooza in Chicago, IL. Tour dates are below. Also, due to popular demand, Wilco is extending their online CD sale at their website.

JUN-28 CALGARY, ALB McEWAN HALL
JUN-29 EDMONTON, ALB JUBILEE AUDITORIUM
JUL-01 WINNIPEG, MAN BURTON CUMMINGS THEATRE
JUL-02 DULUTH, MN DULUTH ENTERTAINMENT CONV. CENTER
JUL-07 LONDON, ONT CENTENNIAL HALL tba
JUL-08 TORONTO, ONT MASSEY HALL tba
JUL-10 MONTREAL, QUE METROPOLIS
JUL-12 HALIFAX, NS ALDERNEY LANDING
JUL-13 FREDERICTON, NB PLAYHOUSE
jul-15 OTTAWA, ONT OTTAWA BLUESFEST
JUL-16 FLORENCE, MA PINES THEATER
AUG-06 CHICAGO, IL LOLLAPALOOZA

Over the past nine years, the partnership between Gruene Hall and KNBT 92.1 FM has raised almost $250,000 for local charities. This year

One of last years most exciting additions to the Bonnaroo experience will be back again in ’06, the Caf

The Indie Acoustic Project has announced the winners of the IAP’s “Best CDs of 2005” Awards. The winners in each of 15 categories were selected from among the 3 finalists in each category.

Acoustic Ensemble: Clumsy Lovers – The Smart Kid
Alt Country: Nickel Creek – Why Should the Fire Die
Alternative Rock: Rolla – La La Land
Americana: Ben Winship & Brian Wicklund – Big Twang
Celtic: Dun an Doras – Rua
Instrumental: Peter Ostroushko – Minnesota
Best Lyrics: Thea Gilmore – Songs from the Gutter
Multi-Genre: Alison Brown – Stolen Moments
Rock: The Nadas – Listen Through the Static
Roots: Biscuit Burners – A Mountain Apart
Singer-Songwriter-Female: Aimee Mann – The Forgotten Arm
Singer-Songwriter-Male: Dana Cooper – Made of Mud
World Music: Africa: Moh Alileche – North Africa’s Destiny
World Music-Eurasia and Global Beat: Wajdi Cherif – Jasmine
World Music-Latin: Various – Afro-Latin Party (Putumayo)

The Indie Acoustic Project is dedicated to giving recognition to outstanding works of innovative acoustic (or mainly acoustic) music that have never gotten the acclaim that they deserve. The IAP website at indieacoustic.com also features information on the Best CDs of 2004, 2001-2003, and the 50 Best Indie Acoustic CDs of the 1990s.