June 16, 2004

Pearl Jam’s first full acoustic concert is heading to CD next month. The 24-track, double-disc “Live at Benaroya Hall October 22, 2003” was taped at the Seattle venue as part of a benefit for local aid organization Youthcare. The album will be issued to retail via a one-off distribution deal between the band and BMG; Pearl Jam split last fall with longtime label Epic Records.

A special edition of the album, featuring a poster with a band photograph taken at the show by Charles Peterson, will be available for pre-order June 21 exclusively via Pearl Jam’s official Web site. In addition, PearlJam.com will be the exclusive outpost for a four-LP boxed set edition of the concert, also bundled with the poster.

“Live at Benaroya” finds Pearl Jam debuting “Man of the Hour,” its Golden Globe-nominated contribution to the film “Big Fish,” plus the non-album track “Fatal,” which appeared on the rarities album “Lost Dogs.” “Around the Bend,” the closing track from the 1996 album “No Code,” had not been performed since 1998.

Other oddities featured on the set include covers of the Johnny Cash-popularized “25 Minutes to Go,” the Ramones’ “I Believe in Miracles” and Bob Dylan’s “Masters of War.” The band ditched the acoustic set-up for a plugged-in, show-closing rendition of “Yellow Ledbetter.”

“This was one of those special shows,” says Pearl Jam manager Kelly Curtis. “But because it was not part of the 2003 tour bootleg series and fans were asking for it, and because of the unique nature of the performance itself — it being the band’s first full length acoustic show — it felt like a show we should give fans the chance to own.”

As previously reported, Pearl Jam may play some fall shows in swing states in the run-up toward the U.S. presidential election. Last month, the quintet’s site said, “it’s possible the band may head back to the studio towards the end of the year to begin work on their eighth album.”

Here is the track list for “Live at Benaroya Hall”:

Disc one:
“Of the Girl”
“Lowlight”
“Thumbing My Way”
“Thin Air”
“Fatal”
“Nothing As It Seems”
“Man of the Hour”
“Immortality”
“Off He Goes”
“Around the Bend”
“I Believe in Miracles”
“Sleight of Hand”
“All or None”
“Lukin”

Disc two:
“Parting Ways”
“Down”
“Can’t Keep”
“Dead Man”
“Masters of War”
“Black”
“Crazy Mary”
“25 Minutes to Go”
“Daughter”
“Yellow Ledbetter”

Source billboard.com.

Steve Earle wears his politics on his sleeve on his new studio album, “The Revolution Starts… Now,” due Aug. 24 via Artemis. The 11-track set finds the outspoken singer/songwriter advocating his most blatant anti-government stance on the guitar-driven “F the CC.” Earle pulls no punches in his assault on the Ramones-esque track, which boasts the chorus, “F*** the FCC /f*** the FBI / f*** the CIA / I’m living in the motherf***ing U.S.A.”

The album kicks off with the brief call-to-arms cut “The Revolution Starts…,” which ends suddenly before segueing into “Home to Houston.” A full version of the song, titled “The Revolution Starts Now,” closes the set.

Elsewhere, National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice comes directly under fire in “Condi, Condi,” while Earle also airs his frustrations on “Gringo,” “Rich Man’s War” and the spoken word track “Warrior.”

Lest fans thing Earle is operating with a one-track mind, he eschews politics and bares his tender side on the mid-tempo “Comin’ Around,” a duet with longtime friend Emmylou Harris. “Revolution” also includes the heartbreaking ballad “I Thought You Should Know.”

The artist and Ray Kennedy produced “The Revolution.” Kennedy has collaborated on several Earle’s albums since 1997’s “El Corazon” (Warner Bros.)

In advance of the album, Earle will be on tour beginning with a June 22 show in San Diego. Along with his own headlining shows, he’s also slated to take part in a pair of Gram Parsons tribute concerts. As previously reported, those events will also feature performances by Norah Jones, Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakam, the Mavericks’ Raul Malo and Jim Lauderdale.

Here is “The Revolution Starts… Now” track list:

“The Revolution Starts…”
“Home to Houston”
“Rich Man’s War”
“Warrior”
“The Gringo’s Tale”
“Condi, Condi”
“F the CC”
“Comin’ Around” (featuring Emmylou Harris)
“I Thought You Should Know”
“The Seeker”
“The Revolution Starts Now”

Here are Earle’s upcoming tour dates:

June 22: San Diego (Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay)
June 23: Saratoga, Calif. (Mountain Winery)
June 25: Reno, Nev. (Robert Z. Hawkins Amphitheater)
June 26: Laytonville, Calif. (Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival)
June 28: Portland, Ore. (Aladdin Theater)
June 30: Seattle (Woodland Park Zoo Amphitheatre)
July 2: Jacksonville, Ore. (Britt Pavilion)
July 3: Quincy, Calif. (High Sierra Music Festival)
July 9: Santa Barbara, Calif. (Santa Barbara Bowl; Gram Parsons Tribute)
July 10: Los Angeles (Universal Amphitheater; Gram Parsons Tribute)
Aug. 8: Portland, Maine (State Theater)

Source billboard.com.

In a recent posting on pitchforkmedia.com – the following information has been reported about an upcoming box set/DVD from guitar drone/ethereal wonder kinds My Bloody Valentine.

Like the wives of wartime veterans hoping/dreading for a letter to arrive in the postbox, so too does the music community await breaking news concerning the pending itinerary of the late, great My Bloody Valentine. Finally, a message has arrived.

As previously reported here at the Fork, MBV announced the release of two box sets for release in late 2005 or early 2006, along with a DVD. And although it takes a fuckin’ year (or more) for My Bloody Valentine to do anything, all internet rumors started by impatient chatroom-loitering indie nerds about the projects being aborted is a bunch of poppycock. They’re still on, motherfuckers!

The first box, most likely, will be limited to a few thousand copies and will contain live tracks from the band’s early years, ’84-’87. With his meticulous impulse for perfection twitching, frontman Kevin Shields personally ensured that every MBV show was recorded through the soundboard for future listening, thus providing him with months of material to remaster and include in box sets. The second box, a three-disc collection of live tracks from ’87-’92, also contains material culled via the soundboard method. One can only imagine the thousands of tracks, variations, remixes, and retakes plaguing the mind of this perfectionist genius even as you read this. OCD, perhaps?

News on the upcoming DVD has been spare until now, but we have some more info from another ambiguous but reliable source from a MBV fansite. Along with all of My Bloody Valentine’s music videos, the DVD is reported to contain a combination of three live shows along with assorted television interviews and homemade footage. The original format for all this Bloody goodness was originally akin to Nirvana’s video, Live Tonight Sold Out, combining all the aspects of the film into one cohesive narrative stream; but since we live in more modern times (and one of the user-friendly aspects of that invention that we call the DVD is the menu), the whole Nirvana idea as been scrapped.

The future of My Bloody Valentine has been speculated upon since, well, as far back as I can remember. Will there be another album? Is the band getting back together during the wake of all this re-releasing and film-scoring and bonus-material-unearthing in some Pixies-esque sudden tour kind of way? Will My Bloody Valentine headline the next Lollapalooza? Sadly, according to our unreliable source, the answer is NO! Although the rumor-mill turns onward, MBV haven’t been in the studio together writing new songs or tweaking the nitty-gritty out of some amazing unheard track. Sheilds’ attention has been on the box set; and again, according to Mr./Mrs. Anonymous, he doesn’t see a reuniting of the band: “My Bloody Valentine belong in the late 80s/early 90s. Kev knows that… and he wants them to stay there.”

For most musicians who make a living on tour, summers are pretty predictable. Get on the road, play every amphitheatre that will have you, do some festivals, maybe perform at some fairs, enjoy the air conditioner during the club and theatre dates. Play the hits and the fan favorites, night after night, watching the days get longer and then shorter again.

Then there’s Robert Earl Keen. It seems like he’s always on tour but he manages to keep his schedule and his show anything but stereotypical. He just performed at the second day of Bonnaroo and the massive, eclectic festival is a perfect metaphor for his 2004 tour – huge and all over the place.
Keen’s booking agent, Brian Hill at Monterey Artists, told Pollstar the singer/songwriter has “found his inner hippie,” a discovery that will take Keen from free-spirited Bonnaroo to a handful of dates opening for the Dave Matthews Band. He’s also playing some smaller, super-cool festivals (Great Texas Mosquito Festival, Rhythm & Roots, Strictly Bluegrass) that audiences will be talking about for months to come. There are plenty of club dates on the calendar as well.

“My set list changes every day.” Keen said. “If we’re in a theatre, I’ll do more acoustic numbers, maybe do four or five solo numbers and then bring the band back in. If it’s a big festival, we turn it up and hit the gas pedal.”
During soundcheck, Keen said he tries to get the vibe of the place, tailor the set to the situation, and figure out how to have as much fun as possible in the process.

And it is an ongoing process. Keen’s current concert itinerary runs through the very end of the year. He’s made an art of writing songs about anti-heroes, eccentrics and regular folks in weird circumstances; his audience includes those people. But no matter who you are or where you see him, Keen’s doing
what he can to make sure you enjoy the show.

You know the guy that yells out “Free Bird” at every concert he attends? “Oh, yeah,” said Keen, “He comes to our shows, too. And we have a version of ‘Free Bird’ if it’s needed. We just want everyone to go home happy.”

Source pollstar.com.

Warner Bros. is eyeing a July 20 release date for “B-Sides,” an EP of non-album tracks from Irish singer/songwriter Damien Rice. The seven-track set features the first North American release of live versions of “The Professor,” “Woman Like a Man” and “Delicate,” the original demo for “Lonelily,” the B-side “Moody Mooday,” and both a 1997 demo and instrumental version of “Volcano.”

Rice enjoyed breakout success with his 2003 album “O,” which won the 2003 Shortlist Music Prize. The set topped out at No. 4 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart and has sold 268,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

On June 25, the artist will release a new single, “Lonely Soldier,” featuring Christy Moore. Proceeds from the sale of the track will “go to the Irish anti-war movement to help promote a greater awareness of the futility of war,” according to Rice’s official Web site.

Rice will advance his political leanings Saturday (June 25) at the When Bush Comes To Shove concert at Dublin’s Point, featuring Moore, the Revs, Kila, Mary Black and others. The free event aims to raise “awareness of the issues involved in the protests against [President George W.] Bush, particularly highlighting opposition to the U.S. war and occupation of Iraq.”

The only other date on Rice’s schedule at present is a June 26 appearance at the U.K.’s annual Glastonbury Festival. A new run of U.S. dates is expected to get underway in the fall.

Source billboard

Hollywood Records / Good Records recording artists The Polyphonic Spree have been added to the main stage lineup on this summer’s star-studded Lollapalooza tour. The blockbuster traveling festival, which begins July 15th at the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, WA, will see the choral symphonic pop group playing the second night in each market and sharing the stage with the The Flaming Lips, Wilco, the String Cheese Incident and Gomez, among others. In between Lollapalooza dates, The Polyphonic Spree will co-headline a tour with Gomez and opening act The Thrills beginning July 16 in Vancouver, Canada. The tours will see a new Polyphonic Spree, as the band plan to turn in their trademark white garb for vibrant Technicolor robes. Says DeLaughter of the change, “We’ve earned our colors.” See below for tour dates and venues.

The Polyphonic Spree, who recently wrapped up an arena tour with headliner David Bowie, are gearing up for the release of their highly anticipated second album Together We’re Heavy, which hits retail on July 13. Hollywood / Good Records have announced plans to issue a specially low-priced double double-disc set that includes a DVD loaded with special features. Simultaneously with the CD release, Hollywood Records / Good Records will issue a limited-edition gatefold/double-vinyl LP set.

The highlighted content includes live versions of fan favorites “It’s The Sun,” “Light & Day,” “Hanging Around,” “Soldier Girl” and “When The Fool Becomes A King” (all pulled from Japan’s 2003 Summersonic Festival); concert recordings from the band’s 2003 gig at Metro in Chicago; an exclusive interview with DeLaughter; animated and concert version videos of hit single “Light & Day”; and the “Quest for the Rest” game, in which animated Spree members search for the rest of the band in exotic environments.

The guitarist with pioneering punk rock band the Ramones is fighting a losing a battle with cancer in a Los Angeles hospital, Rolling Stone magazine reported on its Web site on Tuesday.

Johnny Ramone, 55, whose real name is John Cummings, was diagnosed with prostate cancer four years ago, and it has now spread throughout his body, Rollingstone.com quoted the band’s drummer, Marky Ramone, as saying.

“Johnny’s been a champ in confronting this, but at this point I think the chances are slim,” Marky Ramone said in the report. “John never smoked cigarettes, he wasn’t a heavy drinker and he was always into his health. It just proves when cancer seeks a body to penetrate, it doesn’t matter how healthy you are or how unhealthy you are. It just seeps in and there’s nothing you can do.”

The Ramones, famed for playing their high-energy, unpolished songs at breakneck speed, rose to fame in New York City in 1974, paving the way for such British punk rock icons as the Sex Pistols and the Clash.

The band made its mark with such tunes as “Blitzkrieg Bop,” “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue” and “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker,” but it never achieved the same commercial success as acts that followed in its path. The Ramones officially retired in 1996.

The band’s singer, Joey Ramone (ne Jeff Hyman), died in 2001 of lymphatic cancer, while bassist Dee Dee Ramone (Douglas Colvin) died from a drug overdose the following year.

Source yahoo.com.

Col. Claypool’s Bucket Of Bernie Brains — bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Buckethead, drummer Brain and keyboardist Bernie Worrell — will release its debut album, “The Big Eyeball in the Sky,” Sept. 7 via Claypool’s Prawn Song imprint. Claypool describes the band as “a traveling, oversized sock-puppet show spawned by the characters of a Tobe Hooper film and scored by Danny Elfman on bad acid.”

“The majority of the lyrics on this record were written at the onset of the Iraq confrontation” Claypool says, “so it was very difficult not to be influenced by the frustration and confusion that was felt by myself and the people around me — though somewhat dark, I tried to cloak my angst, conveying thoughts through the eyes of colorful and satirical characters.”

CCBBB will embark on its first tour in October.

Source billboard.com.