2003

Dave Matthews mentions his recently completed solo debut reveals a side of the singer/songwriter that his fans have not yet seen. Matthews says “Some Devil,” due in September on RCA, includes some of his most introspective material to date. “This was very, very, very, very personal,” he says. “It was a good soul-searching thing for me to do. I think the songs are more introspective in many ways.”
The album features an as-yet-untitled track co-written by Matthews and Phish’s Trey Anastasio, who also adds guitar work to the record. Steve Harris, who produced Dave Matthews Band’s last studio effort, “Busted Stuff,” played on “Some Devil” and co-wrote and arranged some of the songs with Matthews.
Matthews says there’s really no comparison between the songs on “Some Devil” and those on his band efforts. And as the album nears release, he says that he’s excited, but he is being cautious not to get his hopes up: “Like most of what I’ve done, it’s done, and so now I just move on from it. I’m excited, I hope people like it, but I try not to get too excited because what if everyone f***in’ hates it? Then I can let it go like an empty beer can. That’s the way I look at it now: My part in it is done, and I hope people like it. But in case they don’t, I’m gonna try not to invest too much in it that I might be disappointed.”
Source Billboard.com.

The Flaming Lips came to the rescue of the Witnness festival in Kildare, Ireland, replacing the White Stripes on the main stage last night (July 13). The Stripes had to cancel at the last minute after frontman Jack White broke his finger in a minor car accident in Detroit (apparently, the car’s airbag caused the damage).
In tribute, the Lips played their gig attired in White Stripes-inspired red and white outfits. They also began their set with a cover of the group’s hit “Seven Nation Army” and performed a new song called “Thank You Jack White for the Fiber Optic Jesus That You Gave Me.” As usual, the band was joined on stage by about 20 people dressed in animal costumes, beneath which were members of Irish bands the Divine Comedy and Snow Patrol, as well as several prominent media figures.
Source Billboard.com.

moe. will play a 2 night-stand at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, IL Halloween weekend (10/31 and 11/1) hosting “The Headbangers’ Left Ball: An Evening of Heavy moe.tal” on Halloween. A limited number of tickets go on sale through moe.ticketing on August 5th.
Also announced, the band will play two nights at New York’s Beacon Theater on November 28th and 29th, over Thanksgiving weekend. Tickets for the Beacon Theatre will also go on sale through moe.ticketing on August 5th.
Source Moe.org.

Did Bob Dylan plagiarize? It

Ween will be out on their first world tour in three years in support of their upcoming 15 track album “Quebec.” The band will be hauling through parts of the midwest, into the northeast, and back down the east coast until they reach the northeast again in mid-August. Ween then plans on touring America extensively thru the winter of this year (probably 4 tours of 3-4 weeks). The band will also be planning a number of in-store concerts and quite a few live webcasts of select shows on their new Ween Amp system which is a piece of software that will connect you with one click to weenradio, ween.com, the ween forum, the ween irc chat channel, and a peer to peer file trading program that will enable the listener to download the concert you saw the night before.
For more information on everything Ween, visit Ween.com.

The debut release by the Finger, Ryan Adams and Jesse Malin’s not-so-secret punk band, will arrive in the U.S. Sept. 23 on One Little Indian Records.
The first part of the set “We Are F*** You,” surfaced earlier this year in the U.K. after California-based Broadway Jungle label pressed 1,000 vinyl copies. The second half, “Punk’s Dead Let’s F***,” was recorded later, bring the final tally to 20 tracks, a slew of which clock in at less than a minute-and-a-half.
The U.K.-based One Little Indian (which recently opened an office in the U.S., where the label is distributed by Navarre) has combined both on the disc, import versions of which are currently selling for more $30 on Amazon.com.
Adams (guitar) and Malin (bass) are respectively listed on the album as Warren Peace and Irving Plaza (the latter being the name of a New York concert venue). They are joined on the set by a pair of fellow New York-area pals: painter/singer Colin Burns (listed as “Jim Beahm”), who handles vocals, and Johnny T. (listed as “Rick O’Shea”) on drums.
Source Billboard.com.

Icelandic Sugarcube-turned-worldwide-sweet-sensation Bj

Terminally ill singer-songwriter Warren Zevon will be the debut subject of a new VH1 series, “Inside Out,” which launches Aug. 24.The program will chronicle the veteran musician’s struggle to complete “The Wind,” his forthcoming album for Artemis Records, due Aug. 26. Zevon was diagnosed with the terminal lung cancer mesothelioma in August 2002.”Inside Out: Warren Zevon” will feature appearances by Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Brown, Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood, and is hosted by actor Billy Bob Thornton. Following Zevon through his personal journey with the illness, the program also explores the creative process behind the upcoming album, shares poignant interactions with many of his fans, pulls excerpts from his personal diary and contains clips from his last live performance on “The Late Show With David Letterman.”
Source etonline.com.

Pearl Jam will play an extra hour-long set prior to opening act Sleater-Kinney at its show Friday (July 11) outside Boston. It’s the third of three non-consecutive performances at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, Mass., during which Pearl Jam is attempting to play each of the nearly 100 songs in its current repertoire without repeats.
At the first two shows last week, the Eddie Vedder-led group was restricted to a total of 50 songs due to an area noise curfew. According to a source, the additional Friday set will likely be a more stripped-down affair than usual, potentially allowing for revamped versions of rarely played tracks from Pearl Jam’s vast back catalog.
Doors to the venue will open at 5:30 pm ET, with Pearl Jam taking the stage at 6:30. Sleater-Kinney will play at 7:30, and Pearl Jam will return for its usual full set around 8:45. The two groups perform tonight at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Source Billboard.com.

Tenacious D has compiled its short-lived HBO series, music videos, short films, a 90-minute concert from London’s Brixton Academy and a tour documentary for the double-DVD set “The Masterworks.” The project will be released Sept. 9 by Epic.
The Brixton Academy show features such D favorites as “Wonderboy,” “Explosivo,” “Kielbasa,” “F*** Her Gently,” “Tribute” and “Rock Your Socks.” The DVD’s second disc will include videos and “making of” featurettes for “Wonderboy” and “Tribute,” TV appearances on “Mad TV” and “Crank Yankers” and in-studio footage.
For a true glimpse behind the scenes, “The Masterworks” also offers the 30-minute feature “On the Road With Tenacious D,” shot by Liam Lynch. “I toured with them for three months so I had like 60 hours of video of us playing ‘Grand Theft Auto,'” he says.
Lynch and Tenacious D’s Jack Black are hard at work on the script for a feature film, “Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny.” Lynch hopes shooting will get underway before the end of the year. In the meantime, Black will appear in the film “Envy” with Ben Stiller, due Aug. 22 in U.S. theaters.
Source Billboard.com.