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
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
Wilco will be placing a new six-song EP available on their web site
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.
Is one stage big enough for both Kiss and Aerosmith? Probably not, but they will attempt to combine their sixty years of combined musical history on one stage with a joint summer tour in ampitheaters across the U.S. beginning August 2 in Hartford, CT and wrapping up Oct. 18 in California. Special guest Saliva, will open the shows. For a full list of dates, visit Pollstar.com
In other Aerosmith news, the band is about to head in the studio to record their next album that will consist mainly of blues songs. About two thirds of the material are covers songs, while the rest will be original blues tunes. Blind Willie McTell’s “Broke Down Engine,” Little Walter’s “Temperature,” and “I’m Ready,” famously recorded by both Willie Dixon and Muddy Waters, are among the songs being worked up by the band. The yet untitled record is scheduled to hit stores in September.
Source Billboard.com.
While Boston typically plays second fiddle to New York when it comes to live theatre, Shear Madness playing at The Charles Playhouse, Stage II, is the longest running non-musical in the country with 3,225 consecutive performances.
What started as an annual birthday celebration for Frank Zappa, has matured into the most popular Zappa tribute act in the world. Founder, Andre Cholomondeley, has spearheaded his zealous interest and enthusiasm for his inspirational figure into a well-oiled music machine assembling parts consisting of original members from prior Zappa recordings and tours.
In case you missed out or got sold out of the recent Dave Matthews/Tim Reynolds acoustic tour, an extra show has been announced for May 5th at the Mullins Center in Amherst, MA. This is a benefit for The Tiger Kloof School in South Africa. Tickets go on sale to the general public on April 26th, while you can also obtain tickets through the band
Instead of congregating at conventions, book fairs and on the Internet, science fiction fans will get their own shrine dedicated to the art, literature and film of science entertainment, courtesy of billionaire Paul Allen. Tentatively named the Science Fiction Experience, the exhibit is slated to open in the summer of 2004 within the confines of Allen’s Experience Music Project (EMP) in the shadow of Seattle’s Space Needle. “Science fiction shows us that change is constant and exhilarating,” said Microsoft Corp. co-founder Allen, who is funding the project. Flanked by science fiction props such as Captain Kirk’s original command chair from the “Star Trek” television series, classic science fiction books and movie banners, Allen said the $20 million non-profit endeavor would provide “entertaining and thought-provoking exhibits” for visitors. Allen, a philanthropist who has invested in everything from cable television to professional sports teams since leaving Microsoft in 1983, has funded several cultural projects in his hometown of Seattle, including the EMP, a Jimi Hendrix-inspired music museum and the Cinerama, a restored 1960s-era movie theater with a giant, curved viewing screen. Allen said he expects the Science Fiction Experience, which will be built in a newly vacated space within the EMP, to pull in 150,000 to 200,000 more visitors to the building every year. Science fiction author Greg Bear of Seattle will chair an advisory board to the museum and said that respect for the genre has been long overdue. “Science fiction is one of the greatest untold stories of science and art today,” said Bear, winner of two Hugo awards for novels such as “Eon” and “Queen of Angels”. Among the items on display will be a complete set of autographed first editions of the Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov, a collection of “Astounding Science Fiction” magazines and artwork depicting the future.
Source CNN.com.
Incorporating movement into a photograph translates into the continually expansive and inventive video medium. In “Epic Moments,” at the Firehouse Center for the Visual Arts in Burlington, VT, Kristin Humbargar has realistically translated everyday experiences into black and white films of symbolism and depth.
