Trey Anastasio will release “Seis de Mayo”, an album of all-instrumental compositions written and recorded over the past couple of years on April 6 on Elektra Records. The seven tracks are performed by a variety of ensembles — string quartets, brass quintets, small and full orchestras — and though some of the titles may be familiar to Phish fans, the settings are radically different. The orchestral version of “Guyute”, debuted by the Vermont Youth Orchestra two years ago, is performed on “Seis” by Seattlemusic, a 66-piece orchestra. “Prologue” — previously integrated into Phish’s “Pebbles and Marbles” — performed here as the orchestral miniature Anastasio originally scored in his basement. “The Inlaw Josie Wales”, a solo guitar piece from Farmhouse, has been reconfigured for guitar and string quartet. The introduction to “Discern” has been restored to its intended horn-based format. And “All Things Reconsidered,” first heard on Phish’s “Rift”, is at last a fugue for string quartet. In addition, “Andre the Giant” opens the album with Trey on guitar, Mike Gordon on bass, performing with musicians playing the djembe and balifon, an African gourd instrument that sounds something like a marimba. “Coming To” is an orchestral Dixieland fantasio for horns and strings.
The album will be available for pre-order the beginning of March.
Source: Phish.com
Wilco and the Flaming Lips are the latest bands to sign on for the fifth Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, according to the former’s official Web site and the latter’s official message board. The event will be held May 1-2 at the Empire Polo Field in Indio, Calif. An announcement of the full lineup is expected imminently; tickets go on sale Feb. 14.
As previously reported, the roster of acts also includes Radiohead, the first performance by the Pixies since 1993, Kraftwerk, the Cure, Air, Dizzee Rascal, the Thrills, LCD Soundsystem, Electric Six, Sahara Hotnights, Kinky, the (International) Noise Conspiracy, Prefuse 73, T. Raumschmiere, Sidestepper, …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, !!!, Atmosphere and rap act Eyedea & Abilities.
For Wilco, the announcement comes just days after the departure of multi-instrumentalist Leroy Bach for reasons that have not yet been revealed. The group is at work on the follow-up to its acclaimed 2002 disc “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,” expected in late spring or early summer via Nonesuch. Coachella is the lone upcoming date on its schedule at present.
The Flaming Lips wrap their run on the Big Day Out tour of Australia and New Zealand tomorrow (Feb. 1) in Peth, Australia.
Source billboard.com.
Phantom Planet is still trying to find their identity. After two moderately successful albums of melancholy, California pop rock, Phantom Planet has taken a cue from some of their East Coast counterparts and released a self-titled LP of straightforward, guitar driven rock. Offering their best Strokes imitation, Phantom Planet has concocted a solid post-punk/post-grunge album that becomes more engaging upon each listen.
A war-worn Bosnian girl and a cowboy who throws like a girl. No, that’s not the beginning of a joke or the character set in a new misfit comedy, but an indicator of the brilliant variety of songs brought by a folk foursome-enigmatically from Virginia-called Eddie from Ohio.
Teitur, a self-professed troubadour from Denmark’s Faroe Islands is a songwriter first and foremost, as he manages to blend voice and poetry into a polished acoustic realm – think Badly Drawn Boy or Coldplay with a splash less rock and roll. But it’s his acoustic confessional lyrics, with a knack for gentle pop harmonies that make Poetry and Aeroplanes, a collection of twelve stark confessional pangs, a cozy listen.
According to Guitar World magazine, the No. 1 metal guitarist is Tony Iommi, the God-fearing axeman with pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath.
Six musicians claimed the next four spots: Metallica (news – web sites)’s James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett tied at No. 2; AC/DC siblings Angus and Malcolm Young at No. 3; Randy Rhoads (news), the late sideman for Ozzy Osbourne, at No. 4; and Eddie Van Halen (news), of the foursome that bears his name, at No. 5. Hendrix was No. 12, six places behind Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page (news).
The list appears in the magazine’s March issue, which hits newsstands next week.
According to Guitar World editor-in-chief Brad Tolinski, the criteria for the list were purity and innovation. He said Iommi never strayed from a basic formula of B-tuned guitars played very loudly, plenty of power chords and slower rhythms.
“He’s essentially the guy that created most of the conventions for heavy metal,” Tolinski said. Iommi’s “shining moment” is the track “Warning” from the band’s self-titled 1970 debut album, according to the poll.
If Black Sabbath started the heavy metal ball rolling, then Metallica kept it alive, Tolinski said, pointing to the 1984 track “Creeping Death” as the band’s stand-out.
Page’s relatively low No. 6 ranking raised some eyebrows since Led Zeppelin also helped pave the way for heavy metal. But Tolinski said Page would be the first to admit that his playing also incorporates blues and folk. Similarly, Eddie Van Halen has always had a foot in the pop world, he added.
Hendrix, who died in 1970, introduced some of the genre’s conventions, but Tolinski termed him more of a “futuristic blues player” than a heavy metal guitarist.
Source yahoo.com.
As My Morning Jacket took the stage and opened with the Latin sounding “Mahgeeta,” the band’s distinctive sound -led by James’ howl- made an immediate dent. As the five-piece carved into additional songs from It Still Moves, it became clear, that unlike the pre-mentioned LP, which takes numerous spins to “get,” the live electricity set by My Morning Jacket makes them a simpler catch in person.
