April 7, 2004

Paul Atkinson, who played guitar in the British invasion band The Zombies and later became a successful music industry executive who signed such acts as ABBA, died Thursday, said his publicist Susan Clary. He was 58.

Born in Cuffley, England, Atkinson had lived in Los Angeles for the past 20 years.
He started his music career with The Zombies, which had hits in the 1960s with “She’s Not There,” “Tell Her No” and “Time of the Season.”

Later, he went on to work as an artists and repertoire executive, signing acts including ABBA, Bruce Hornsby, Mr. Mister, Michael Penn, Judas Priest and Patty Smyth.

In January, Atkinson received the Recording Academy’s President’s Merit Award at a tribute and benefit concert in his honor at the House of Blues in Los Angeles.

The event included a reunion of The Zombies.

Source CNN.com.

Walther Productions has announced the initial lineup for the 8th Annual All Good Summer Music Festival taking place July 9-11, and will include three full days of music and camping situated on the luscious, rolling green fields of Marvin’s Mountaintop in Masontown, WV.

The lineup will deliver 40 hours of music on one central stage with no overlapping sets. Initial artists include:

Medeski Martin & Wood, Keller Williams, The Greyboy Allstars feat/ Karl Denson, Zak Najor Elgin Park, Chris Stillwell, + Robert Walter, Leftover Salmon, The Disco Biscuits (late night/early morning set), Dark Star Orchestra, North Mississippi Allstars, Steve Kimock Band, Soulive, Ekoostik Hookah, Umphrey’s McGee, Jazz Mandolin Project, Del McCoury Band, Ozric Tentacles (late night/early morning set), Deep Fried feat/ George Porter Jr., Matt Abts (Gov’t Mule), Johnny Neal (Allman Bros.) + Brian Stoltz (Funky Meters), The Hackensaw Boys, The Bridge and Libby Kirkpatrick

On sale date is Friday, April 9 @ NOON EST. Early-Bird Tickets will be offered for a limited time only, while supplies last through www.allgood.musictoday.com, www.sciticketing.com, www.jambasetickets.com or charge by phone by calling 1-800-594-TIXX.

For complete information, visit the official web site at walther-productions.com.

The Beastie Boys blend politics with party time on “To the 5 Boroughs,” the New York-based rap trio’s first album since 1998’s “Hello Nasty.” The 15-track set is due this summer via Capitol, to be preceded by album-opening first single “Ch-Check It Out.” The group is expected to tour in support of the release and has already confirmed Aug. 7-8 appearances at Japan’s Summer Sonic Festival.

“To the 5 Boroughs” is loaded with political commentary as expected, including calls to vote President Bush out of office and critiques of U.S. foreign policy. On “Time To Build,” Adam Yauch (MCA) raps, “We’ve got a president we didn’t elect / the Kyoto treaty he decided to neglect / and still the U.S. just wants to flex.” On “That It’s That All,” the group demands, “’cause George W’s got nothing on me / we’ve got to take the power from he.”

The set frequently pays homage to the trio’s New York surroundings, best heard on “An Open Letter to NYC.” In front of a chopped-up sample of the Dead Boys’ “Sonic Reducer,” the group finds solace in the city’s post-September 11th resiliency: “Since 911 we’re still livin’ / and lovin’ life we’ve been given / ain’t nothing gonna take that away from us / we’re lookin’ pretty and gritty ’cause in the city we trust.”

But the Beasties wisely don’t skimp on their trademark goofball humor, with references to such pop-culture figures as Fred Sanford, the Keebler Elves, Ron Popeil, Herman Munster, Jabba the Hut, Foghorn Leghorn and “Three’s Company” landlord Mr. Furley. Each member shines on “Rhyme the Rhyme Well,” a trade-off track in the vein of “Pass the Mic.” “Hey, could you please pass me the peas / and let me get a tissue if you think you’re gonna sneeze,” raps Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock).

“To the 5 Boroughs” features largely programmed backing tracks, with only a handful of live instrumentation. Mix Master Mike’s scratching highlights “Shazam!” and “Right Right Now Now,” while the boomimg bottom ends of “The Brouhaha,” “Rhyme the Rhyme Well” and “All Life Styles” evoke shades of the group’s classics like “Shake Your Rump” and “Root Down.”

“‘Licensed to Ill’ was where we were at the time — drinking beer and acting silly,” says Mike D. “‘Paul’s Boutique’ was moving to L.A.; that was a whole different fantasy. ‘Check Your Head’ was getting back to three of us. This album is really New York City; all of us living here.” Adds MCA, “Having fun in troubled times.”

In other news, Yauch is producing a new studio album by pioneering hardcore act Bad Brains, according to the Beasties’ official Web site. “Now I need to get [guitarist Dr. Know] to play some guitar solos on some stuff and then finish mixing it. It’s kind of circling above the airport right now.”

Here is the track list for “To the 5 Boroughs”:

“Ch-Check It Out”
“Right Right Now Now”
“The Hard Way”
“Time To Build”
“Rhyme the Rhyme Well”
“Triple Trouble”
“Hey F*** You”
“Oh Word?”
“That It’s That All”
“All Life Styles”
“Shazam!”
“An Open Letter to NYC”
“Crawl Space”
“The Brouhaha”
“We Got The”

Source billboard.com..

A documentary on the late Joe Strummer will debut next month at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.

The Progressive rock icons Keith Emerson (Emerson, Lake & Palmer) and Rick Wakeman (Yes) and funk legend Bernie Worrell will be among the artists on hand for an upcoming celebration of Robert Moog in New York. Set for May 18 at B.B. King’s in Times Square, the event will also boast performances by DJ Logic, Particle’s Steve Molitz and the NYC Reggae Collective, among others. Tickets priced at $45 are available through Ticketmaster.

Moog began experimenting with music in the early 1950s, building theremins and developing electronic instruments while studying engineering physics. He unveiled the Moog Modular synthesizer at the Audio Engineering Society Convention in 1964. The more common and smaller Minimoog was introduced in 1970 and became a staple of the prog rock movement.

The inventor’s accomplishments are also celebrated in writer/director Hans Fjellestad’s documentary “Moog.” The film features interviews with Moog as well as the musicians who have come to worship him as a cult hero. The Plexifilm-distributed feature, which features original music by Stereolab, the Neptunes, Worrell, Devo and others, will is slated for a limited summer U.S. theatrical run.

Source billboard.com.