2003

Late rock musicians Jimi Hendrix (news) and Duane Allman (news) lead the list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time in the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone magazine.
Hendrix, who invariably tops such polls, received a glowing tribute from Who guitarist Pete Townshend (news), who wrote that he “made the electric guitar beautiful.”
Allman was hailed by the magazine for transforming “the poetry of jamming” with the Allman Brothers Band, the Atlanta rock group he founded with younger brother Gregg in 1969.
B.B. King, who turns 78 next month, came in at No. 3. “His string-bending and vibrato made his famous guitar, Lucille, weep like a woman,” the magazine said.
Clapton landed at No. 4, followed by Delta bluesman Robert Johnson. Rounding out the top 10 were Chuck Berry, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ry Cooder , Jimmy Page and Keith Richards.
The No. 100 spot went to Kim Thayil of defunct Seattle rock band Soundgarden. Townshend himself was No. 50. Two women made the list: Joni Mitchell (news) at No. 72 and Joan Jett (news) at No. 87.
The survey is featured in the next issue, which hits streets on Friday.
Source Yahoo.com.

Fans of seminal New York hard rock act Helmet will have a little something to celebrate later this year, when Universal releases a retrospective of the group’s three studio albums for Interscope. The set is due Nov. 4, although it’s unknown whether any rare or unreleased tracks will be included.
Contrary to a published report, the group, which split in 1999, has no plans at present to reform for a tour in conjunction with the retrospective. A management spokesperson for Helmet frontman Page Hamilton was unsure how the rumor began, but confirmed to Billboard.com that Hamilton is working on a new project with late period Helmet guitarist Chris Traynor, among others. The two musicians recently played together on tracks intended for Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale’s solo debut.
According to the spokesperson, Hamilton is no longer pursuing his band Gandhi, which featured former White Zombie drummer John Tempesta and Rob Zombie bassist Rob Nicholson.
Source Pollstar.com.

Dave Matthews will make his major studio film acting debut in “Because of Winn-Dixie.” Director Wayne Wang will direct the 20th Century Fox feature. Also in negotiations to join the cast of the dramedy are Jeff Daniels and Eva Marie Saint.
Due to start shooting in late September, the film tells the story of a 10-year-old girl who moves to the small Florida town of Naomi with her preacher father (Daniels). Lonely and friendless, the girl grows close to a big, ugly, suffering dog, Winn-Dixie, whom she names after the supermarket where she finds him. Because of the dog, she winds up meeting and befriending a colorful cast of characters that becomes her extended family, including a drifter (Matthews) and a librarian (Saint).
Co-producer Joan Singleton adapted the screenplay based on the novel “Because of Winn-Dixie,” by Kate Dicamillo.
Source Billboard.com.
Matthews’ past acting credits include the independent feature “Where the Red Fern Grows.

California heartland indie rockers Grandaddy just keep announcing those dates. They’ve been touring since spring behind their latest release, Sumday, and plan to stay on the road until mid-December.
With guitarist Jim Fairchild on the mend after a May run-in with a tractor-trailer, the band will set out on the latest leg September 18 in San Francisco. They’ll have Super Furry Animals in tow through October 4, after which Starlight Mints will take over for the remainder of the U.S. dates. Then in November it’s off to Europe, where the Grandaddy fever knows no borders. They’ll make stops in at least a dozen countries, with extensive runs in France and the U.K., before finishing off at London’s Brixton Academy December 10.
For a complete list of dates visit Pollstar.com.

Akron, Ohio-based rock duo the Black Keys will spend most of the fall on a world tour in support of its Fat Possum album, “Thickfreakness.” The group will appear this weekend at the U.K.’s Reading and Leeds festivals, followed by 10 additional dates in the region through Sept. 5. A six-date tour of Australia will follow, wrapping Sept. 19 in Sydney.
From there, the group will take a few weeks off before beginning an 11-date U.S. tour Oct. 6 in Northampton, Mass. A one-off Dec. 6 gig in Oberlin, Ohio, is also on the itinerary, as is a New Year’s Eve bash at Cleveland’s Beachland Ballroom. A spokesperson says the group will likely not have time to record new material until early next year.
For a list of tour dates visit Billboard.com.

The latest Democratic drive to make sure President Bush serves just one term takes a page from the effort to oust a Democratic governor in California, calling its web site “bushrecall” and garnering support through petitions.
A new committee called the Fair and Balanced PAC plans to launch its www.bushrecall.org Web site Thursday. The PAC’s founders include Joe Lockhart, a press secretary to former President Clinton, and Mike Lux, a Democratic political consultant.
The Constitution provides no way to recall a president through a ballot initiative, as California voters have a chance to do to Democrat Gray Davis in October.
Instead, the PAC will work to defeat Bush in next year’s election, building lists of supporters through a petition drive and raising money to run ads against the Republican, he said.
“What we hope to do is to remind people that all of the things that are being said about Gray Davis as the reasons for the recall can be applied to George Bush,” Lux said Wednesday. “For example, they say Davis turned big surpluses into deficits in a matter of a couple of years. That’s the same thing that happened with George Bush.”
Source CNN.com.

Six months after the Station nightclub fire killed 100 people in West Warwick, Rhode Island, and injured hundreds more, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the club’s owners nearly $100,000, and Great White, the band whose pyrotechnics ignited the February 20th blaze was fined $7,000.
Station owners Michael and Jeffrey Derderian were cited for one “willful” violation — installing an exit door that opened in — and six “serious,” including covering the walls with flammable foam for soundproofing.
Great White’s guitarist Ty Longley was among those who died in the fire.
Source Rollingstone.com.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers entered a California studio earlier this summer to record two new tracks for an upcoming greatest hits collection. They left with fifteen. “It was the fastest we have ever recorded so much material,” says bassist Flea. “We gave it no thought, we just rocked and it worked well…[it]is among the most diverse and dynamic good-feeling shit we have ever done.”
The still-untitled greatest hits collection is due in November, but no release date has been set for the album of new material.
The Chili Peppers begin the second leg of their North American tour September 6th in Washington D.C.
Source Rollingstone.com.

Metallica will cram into New York’s 500-capacity Bowery Ballroom on Aug. 29 for a show open only to fans who will win tickets from local radio station WXRX (K-Rock). The station will begin distributing tickets Friday (Aug. 22).
As previously reported, Metallica is among the performers set for the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, to be handed out Aug. 28 at Radio City Music Hall. “We’re in town to do the MTV shindig the day before,” drummer Lars Ulrich explained via phone from Dublin. “That’s gonna be so cool. We’re gonna make that floor shake.”
The group plays the U.K.’s Reading and Leeds festivals this weekend and will return to the road beginning Oct. 25 in Buenos Aires. Metallica’s latest Elektra album, “St. Anger,” debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 1.3 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Source Billboard.com.

Michael Franti and Speahead will launch a fifteen date tour September 5th in San Diego in support of its latest album, Everyone Deserves Music, which was released earlier this summer.
Among the tour dates is a headling gig at the fifth annual 911 Power to the Peaceful Festival, a free concert and rally set for September 6th in San Francisco.
Also set for release is a retail release of Songs From the Front Porch, an acoustic album, the band has been selling on their website.