April 22, 2003

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