Archive: 2004

Marlon Brando, the stage and screen actor whose performances in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” “On the Waterfront” and “The Godfather” earned him plaudits as one of the greatest actors of all time, has died, his attorney told The Associated Press. He was 80.

Brando died in Los Angeles. The cause of death is unknown.

Brando shot to fame in the late 1940s with his groundbreaking performance in Tennessee Williams’ play “A Streetcar Named Desire” as the brutal, animalistic yet shy Stanley Kowalski.

Brando, a devotee of the Method, gave a raw, vital performance under Elia Kazan’s direction that had critics swooning. Using the technique, fostered by the Russian director Konstantin Stanislavsky and popularized at Lee Strasberg’s Actors Studio, actors draw on their own psychology and experience in creating roles.

Brando’s first film, “The Men” (1950), earned raves, but it wasn’t until the 1951 film version of “Streetcar” that he became a major movie star. Three years later, Brando won his first Oscar for his performance as ex-boxer Terry Malloy in “On the Waterfront,” also directed by Kazan. One of his lines from the film, “I coulda been a contender,” has been widely imitated.

His roles in “Streetcar,” “Waterfront” and “The Wild One” (1953) established him as an icon of the 1950s. Over the course of his career, he was nominated for eight Oscars, winning two — for “Waterfront” and “The Godfather” (1972).

He followed his early ’50s films with hits in “The Teahouse of the August Moon” (1956) and “Sayonara” (1957), but his career went into decline in the 1960s, particularly after his mannered performance as Fletcher Christian in 1962’s big-budget flop “Mutiny on the Bounty.”

His career revived, however, with perhaps his most famous role, that of Don Corleone in “The Godfather.” Director Francis Ford Coppola had only Brando in mind for the role, a decision not favored by producers, who almost fired the filmmaker over the decision.

Coppola was rewarded when the film became a huge hit — it was the highest-grossing movie of all time until “Jaws” came along — and Brando’s quietly regal, brooding performance as a Mafia kingpin was the film’s centerpiece.

The actor followed up “The Godfather” with a role in a different kind of film, Bernardo Bertolucci’s “Last Tango in Paris” (1973), in which he played a depressed American expatriate who strikes up a charged affair with a young Paris woman (Maria Schneider). Brando and Schneider were nakedly fearless, both physically and emotionally; the film was rated X upon its release.

Source CNN.com.

Snoop Dogg will return to recording with the fall release of the tentatively titled new album “R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece.” The set will be issued jointly on the rapper’s own Doggy Style imprint and the Neptunes’ Star Trak label, through Geffen Records.

Snoop is collaborating with the Neptunes on the album, as well as Gap Band founder Charlie Wilson. Although unidentified, other producers with whom the rapper/actor/ubiquitous media presence has previously worked will also be involved, as will “some surprise superstar appearances.”

“Masterpiece” will be the follow-up to the 2002’s “Paid Tha Cost To Be Tha Bo$$” (Doggy Style/Priority). That album featured the Neptunes-produced cuts “Beautiful” and “From tha Chuuuch to the Palace,” plus guest appearances by Jay-Z, Nate Dogg, DJ Premier, Redman and Ludacris, among others.

“Bo$$” debuted at No. 3 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 12 on The Billboard 200. It has sold 1.16 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. “Beautiful,” which featured vocals by the Neptunes’ Pharrell and Uncle Charlie Wilson, peaked at No. 3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and Hot Rap Tracks charts and No. 6 on the Hot 100.

As previously reported, Snoop will be hitting the road later this month on Linkin Park’s Projekt Revolution tour.

As an actor, the rapper was most recently seen piloting the film “Soul Plane,” and as infamous pimp Huggy Bear the big-screen version of the 1970s television cop drama “Starsky & Hutch.”

Next up is video director Marc Klasfeld’s feature film debut, “The L.A. Riot Spectacular.” Snoop serves as the narrator of the satirical look at Los Angeles in the wake of the 1992 Rodney King ruling, which also features Emilio Estevez, Christopher McDonald, Charles Durning, Jonathan Lipnicki and Shay Roundtree, as well as cameos by porn stars Ron Jeremy and Tabitha Stevens.

Source billboard.com.

The White Stripes have gone on the offensive against a filmmaker they say has released an unauthorized documentary about the duo. “Nobody Knows How To Talk to Children,” which was recently screened at the Seattle Film Festival, was shot by George Roca over the White Stripes’ four-night stand in 2002 at New York’s Bowery Ballroom.

“He wanted to videotape the entire event, stage performance and backstage goings on for his demo reel,” the band writes on its official Web site. “We said yes to his request provided he and his crew agreed to the following conditions: 1) it had to be all shot in black and white 2) the cameramen had to wear uniforms (white lab coats in fact), 3) no camera people were allowed to talk to anyone (this was to present a sense of easiness around the building so that people would be more themselves instead of being intimidated with a camcorder taping them the whole time) and 4) the White Stripes own the footage 100%.

“George Roca agreed to all of these terms. He signed a contract along with his co-workers stating that the White Stripes completely own the footage, and nothing could be done with this without our permission.”

When a rough cut of the film was later sent to Jack and Meg White, they felt it needed additional work and asked to give their input as to its content. “He said OK,” the site says. “With the last three years of intense touring and work schedule, this did not happen. And in fact the White Stripes pretty much saw this project — when done properly — as something we would probably release 10 years from now, not a month after it happened.”

In May, Roca requested permission from the Stripes and their management to screen the film. “For many reasons, we said no,” the band says. “We told him no formally, had lawyers tell him no. We sent him a very nice E-mail telling him no. So despite being told no, George Roca decided to take it upon himself to simply release it to festivals with no approval or permission from the White Stripes, no releases and no licenses, not in keeping with the contract that he signed.”

Roca has been sent a cease-and-desist order to block further screenings of the film. Meanwhile, the Stripes say they have their own concert DVD, shot earlier this year in Blackpool, England, ready for release at the end of the year.

The band will return to the live stage with several August festival appearances, beginning Aug. 1 at Japan’s Fuji Rock festival and wrapping Aug. 28-29 at the U.K.’s Reading and Leeds event.

Source billboard.com.

With only frontman Bryan Ferry absent, “6PM” is the closest thing to a new Roxy Music album fans are likely to hear. It will be released July 19 in the United Kingdom on Expression Records through Ryko/Hannibal. North American release plans are not finalized.

Other guests include Robert Wyatt and Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour. The dozen songs include “Wish You Well,” a tribute to music writer/author Ian MacDonald, who committed suicide in August 2003. The track features Chrissie Hynde on harmonica.

“Everyone on [the album] knew Ian,” Manzanera tells Billboard. “He gave Chrissie her first job on [British weekly music magazine] NME in the mid-’70s, and I’d known him since we were at school together in the early ’60s. I even used some old lyrics he wrote.”

Manzanera is working on two other albums, according to his official Web site. The first is dubbed “Coroncho,” a collaboration with Colombian artist Lucho Brieva. Of the concept, the site says it stems from “two Latino males, their trials and tribulations, good and bad points, loves and hates, political correctness and incorrectness but ultimately, their good humour, good heart and ability to dance.”

Also in the pipeline is a collection of four unused songs from “6PM” in tandem with other previously unreleased material. This as-yet-untitled album should see the light of day by the end of the year.

Source billboard.com.

Set out on fulfilling their mission of songs that sounded like songs, instead of placing jam noodlings over words, the Stockholm Syndrome have broken forth with a record that aches of pain and soul, However, Holy Happy Hour still has its moments of sunshine.

On 6/16, at NYC’s Crash Mansion, a colorful New York cross-section of
religious Jews, Dead Heads, and diehard Allman Brothers fans came together to celebrate the wonderfully diverse sounds of guitar virtuosos, Oteil Burbridge and Yosi Piamenta.

Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, Eric Clapton performed the second show of his three-night stand in support of his recent release, Me and Mr. Johnson, a tribute to the blues legend, Robert Johnson. The legendary guitarist, once called

Blues Traveler fans in several U.S. cities have a unique opportunity this summer to see the group for free and possibly win a trip to the band’s concert in Prague, Czech Republic.

As part of the “Picture Yourself in Prague” contest, the band will perform free club shows in Denver, New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Atlanta. Tickets will be distributed to adults of legal drinking age on a first-come, first-served basis except in NYC, where they’ll be given out at noon the day of the show.

The concerts take place between July 3 and August 5 and are sponsored by Czech brewer Pilsner Urquell. The company will provide special disposable cameras for fans to take “original, creative” photos featuring Blues Traveler or the beer.

The cameras will be collected after the shows and the pictures judged. One finalist from each city will be chosen to compete for the grand prize: a five-day, four-night trip to Prague for the winner and three guests.

The spring 2005 vacation will include a tour of the company’s brewery and, of course, tickets to Blues Traveler’s Prague concert.

Blues Traveler’s new album, Live On The Rocks, comes out July 13, the day of the NYC stop. In addition to the free shows, they’ll play a number of regular-price gigs this summer, culminating in an August 6 headlining performance for Atlanta’s On The Bricks concert series.

Source pollstar.com.

Joe’s Corsage, the first in a series of unreleased Frank Zappa recordings, is available at zappa.com. The album consists of demos from 1965 — the year before Zappa’s Mothers of Invention released their debut album, Freak Out! — with bits of interviews interspersed throughout.

“We wanted to stay as close to the bone as we could,” says Gail Zappa, Frank’s widow. “Frank Zappa was a composer, and he had a bad habit, which was writing music. To support that habit, he became a bandleader and began playing other things that he liked to hear in different context, and you can hear that throughout his music.”

Joe’s Corsage (the title a play on Zappa’s 1979 multi-part concept album, Joe’s Garage) is the beginning of an avalanche of unreleased material, which will include complete albums like the guitar-solo-based Trance-fusion and the synth-heavy Dance Me This, as well as live recordings and “other little nuggets the fans know about and have been waiting for.” Zappa died of cancer in 1993.

“We’re sitting on forty album projects in various stages of completion,” says Gail Zappa, who adds that the material was put on ice due to a ten-year deal with Rykodisc. “That period ends in October, so we’ll open the doors to the vault.”

Source rollingstone.com.

In a show of consummate solidarity, The Walkmen and Modest Mouse, two bands that were scheduled to be on the entire Lollapalooza tour, have confirmed a Summer tour together. Touring on the strength of their second studio album, Bows And Arrows, and its powerful first single, “The Rat”, The Walkmen have also confirmed headline dates on the days they will not be playing with Modest Mouse.

The dates for the tour are below:

7/13: NEUMOS, SEATTLE
7/14: BERBATIS PAN, PORTLAND
7/16: SENATOR THEATER, CHICO (W/ MODEST MOUSE)
7/17: THE WARFIELD, SAN FRANCISCO (W/ MODEST MOUSE)
7/18: AVALON, LOS ANGELES (W/ MODEST MOUSE)
7/19: THE WILTERN, LOS ANGELES (W/ MODEST MOUSE)
7/20: GALAXY THEATER, SANTA ANA
7/21: CASBAH, SAN DIEGO
7/23: CELEBRIY THEATER, PHOENIX (W/ MODEST MOUSE)
7/25: EMOS OUTSIDE, AUSTIN
7/28: FIRST AVENUE, MINNEAPOLIS (W/ MODEST MOUSE)
7/30: AXIS, BLOOMINGTON W/ MODEST MOUSE (NOT CONFIRMED YET)
7/31: EAGLES BALLROOM, MILWAUKEE (W/ MODEST MOUSE)
8/01: HIGH NOON SALOON, MADISON
8/02: BLUEBERRY HILLS DUCK ROOM, ST LOUIS
8/03: THE INTERSECTION, GRAND RAPIDS
8/04: BLIND PIG, ANN ARBOR
8/05: LEES PALACE, TORONTO
8/06: LITTLE BROTHERS, COLUMBUS
8/07: BEACHLAND BALLROOM, CLEVELAND (this is in the ballroom)
8/08: SOUTHGATE HOUSE, NEWPORT, KY
8/10: ICE GARDEN, ROSTRAVER, PA (W/ MODEST MOUSE)
8/11-14: pending w/ Modest Mouse

Mile 8

On the heels of the best selling book Fast Food Nation, and recent suit
filed against McDonald’s, claiming that the company’s food led to obesity,
Morgan Spurlock chows the unthinkable in the documentary film Super Size Me.

While The String Cheese Incident was sorry to hear that promoters and
organizers decided to scrap the plans for Lollapalooza 2004, the band is
in no way discouraged by the hesitancy of a hurting concert industry. Just
back from a hugely successful Bonnaroo weekend and their own sold-out
Horning’s Hideout shows in North Plains, Oregon, SCI sees plenty of
vitality within the music scene. As bassist Keith Moseley explains,
“Despite what the industry is saying, we still believe people want to see
live shows.”

The band is excited to launch a busy summer season with two performances
at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado with The Allman Brothers Band on
July 9 and 10. Both shows are already sold out.

The complete String Cheese Incident summer tour dates are as follows:

Sun Jul 4 Detroit Lakes MN 10,000 LAKES FESTIVAL
Fri Jul 9 Morrison CO RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATRE
Sat Jul 10 Morrison CO RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATRE
Fri Jul 16 Garberville CA BENBOW LAKE
Sat Jul 17 Chico CA THE SENATOR THEATER
MonJul 19Tahoe CA CEASARS TAHOE
TueJul 20San Francisco CA WARFIELD THEATER
WedJul 21San Francisco CA WARFIELD THEATER
FriJul 23Los Angeles CA THE WILTERN
Sat Jul 24 Las Vegas NV THE JOINT
Sun Jul 25 Las Vegas NV THE JOINT
Thu Jul 29 Kansas City MO UPTOWN THEATRE
FriJul 30Omaha NE OMAHA MUSIC HALL
Sat Jul 31 Cedar Rapids IA PARAMOUNT THEATER
SunAug 1Milwaukee WI EAGLE’S BALLROOM
FriAug 06Terra Alta WV JERRY GARCIA’S BIRTHDAY BASH
Sat Aug 07 Terra Alta WV JERRY GARCIA’S BIRTHDAY BASH
SunAug 08Terra Alta WV JERRY GARCIA’S BIRTHDAY BASH
Thu Aug 12 Pittsburgh PA CHEVROLET AMPHITHEATRE @ STATION SQUARE
Sat Aug 21 Raleigh NC ALLTEL PAVILION @ WALNUT CREEK
Tue Aug 24 Houston TX
HOBBY CENTER FOR THE PERMORMING A

Rapper/singer/songwriter Everlast will show off tunes from his new album, White Trash Beautiful, on North American stages this July and August.
He’ll do a West Hollywood show at the Conga Room July 1, two weeks before the tour kicks off in earnest at Tequila in Calgary, Alberta. Alt-rocker Buddahead will open on the jaunt, which runs through early August.

White Trash Beautiful is Everlast’s first album since 2000’s Eat At Whitey’s, and finds him further exploring the guitar-based songwriting he first exhibited on the multiplatinum Whitey Ford Sings The Blues.

“A lot of what’s on this album is growing up,” he said. “When I was 19, let’s get drunk and jump around was my emotion, but I’m 34 now.”

Citing influences such as Johnny Cash and Hank Williams, he explains his broadening musical tastes as a natural part of growing up.

“When I was 20, I found rap and it was a form of rebellion. Now I’m reaching back to the things I shunned because it was my parents’ music.”
The album is his third solo effort since House Of Pain broke up, but his fourth overall: He recorded a lesser-known debut, Forever Everlasting, in 1990 when he was a member of Ice-T’s Rhyme Syndicate outfit.

Source pollstar.com.

Having been graced by such collaborators as Elvis Costello, Tom Waits and Richard Thompson on its latest album, “The Ride,” Los Lobos returns the favor on the seven-track mini-album “Covered.”

Due Aug. 3 via Mammoth/Hollywood, the set finds the Latin rock act interpreting material by Costello (“Uncomplicated”), Waits (“Jockey Full of Bourbon”), Thompson (“Shoot Out the Lights”), Bobby Womack (“More Than I Can Stand”), Thee Midnighters (“It’ll Never Be Over for Me”), the Blasters (“Marie Marie”) and Ruben Blades (“Patria”).

Source billboard.com.

A set of early 1960s Thelonious Monk performances grace the upcoming set “Monk ‘Round the World.” The second release to stem from a partnership between Thelonious Records and Hyena is due Aug. 10 and includes a bonus DVD capturing the jazz pianist/composer at London’s Marquee Club in 1965. Basketball great and devout Monk fan Kareem Abdul-Jabbar contributes liner notes.

Focusing on performances featuring longtime saxophonist Charlie Rouse, the audio disc boasts recordings from Copenhagen’s Odd Fellow Palaet in 1961 (“Rhythm-A-Ning”), California’s Monterey Jazz Festival in 1963 (“Epistrophy”), and the Alhambra in Paris in 1964 (“Blue Monk,” “Ruby, My Dear”). Also included are performances tracked in Sweden in 1961 (“Bemsha Swing”) and an undetermined European location in 1964 (“Hackensack”).

Sanctioned by the Monk estate, the releases are overseen by Thelonious Records founders T.S. Monk (the artist’s son and a performer in his own right) and Dr. Peter Grain and Hyena’s Joel Dorn, who produced the set. The collaboration seeks to issue legitimate versions of recordings that have been bootlegged for years, as well as make available previously unreleased vault performances.

Source billboard.com.

Almost 20 years after forming, and with half a dozen records under their belts, Five Eight turns out a self-titled effort that is neither ground breaking nor a complete disappointment.

For their final New York City stunt, Phish performed higher than ever before, playing a free mini-set on top of the Late Show with David Letterman

When Ray Charles passed away June 10, he left more than his music behind in memory of his talent and influence. The Universal Pictures movie “Ray” (formerly titled “Unchain My Heart: The Ray Charles Story”) will also serve as testament to Charles’ legacy. Jamie Foxx portrays Charles in a performance already garnering Oscar buzz. “Ray” opens Oct. 29 in U.S. theaters.

The film’s music supervisor and music editor, Curt Sobel, has given Billboard an exclusive insider’s story about the project. “Ray Charles OK’ed the script, and he was 100% supportive of what we were doing in telling his life story,” he says.

Although Foxx did much of his own singing, Charles’ vocals are a huge part of the movie. Sobel worked with the singer to re-record many of his classic songs. “If there were [original recordings] that were unavailable, or if they didn’t match the script, we had Ray come in and do the songs,” says Sobel. “Jamie only sang on the set, not in the studio. We felt that many of the older songs needed to have Ray’s vocals.” Rhino/Atlantic/Warner Strategic Marketing will release the soundtrack Aug. 24.

Taylor Hackford directed “Ray,” which covers Charles’ life from 1935 to 1979. James L. White and Hackford wrote the screenplay. “The way the script was written, they told Ray’s life through the songs,” Sobel says. “You’ll hear a song like ‘Hit the Road Jack’ in a scene when Ray has a fight with his mistress Margie.”

As for Foxx’s portrayal of Charles, Sobel says, “Every scene Jamie is in, he nails the Ray Charles persona and soul. It’s a magnificent performance.”

Making the film was a labor of love, Sobel adds. The picture was an independent production until Universal signed on in March for distribution, long after filming wrapped last year. Prior to that, the movie had been in development for 16 years. “We had budgetary constraints,” Sobel says. “Everyone took a paycheck cut for this picture.”

Sobel says his favorite memories of working on the film include his initial meetings with Charles. “I was there the first time Jamie met Ray,” he recalls. “Jamie was tongue-tied at first, but Ray was so warm and giving of himself. They ended up sitting at pianos side by side and playing music and telling stories. I happened to bring a digital video camera with me to record those meetings. We made a ‘making of’ documentary, which will probably end up on the ‘Ray’ DVD. I deeply regret Ray’s passing; it’s an incredible loss to the world.”

Source billboard.com.

Irish rock act the Thrills will release it sophomore album, “Let’s Bottle Bohemia,” Sept. 14 via Virgin. The first single from the Dave Sardy-produced release will be “Not for All the Love in the World,” a ballad that has been featured in the group’s recent live shows.

As previously reported, the set will feature guest appearances by R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck and Brian Wilson collaborator Van Dyke Parks. It’s the follow-up to 2002’s “So Much for the City,” which reached No. 14 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart and has sold 97,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Although the full track list has not been announced, songs recorded for the set include “The Irish Keep Gate Crashing” and “Found My Rosebud,” frontman Conor Deasy told Billboard.com in March. Also confirmed to appear is the cut “What Ever Happened To Corey Haim?”

The Thrills were booked to play dates on the Lollapalooza tour this summer, but in the wake of its cancellation, has lined up a handful of shows with the Polyphonic Spree and Gomez. Those dates get underway July 16 in Vancouver and wrap Aug. 12 in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Thrills will also play the U.K.’s V2004 Festival on Aug. 21-22.

Source billboard.com.