As the founders of the mightiest rock band in the world, wealthy beyond compare, and still musically relevant after twenty plus years, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich leave it to their gigantic egos to cruise the Metallica ship into shaky waters. Who would have imagined back in the day when you popped in your “Ride The Lightning” tape and head banged to the band
Zach Braff makes his entrance. He’s here to talk about his new movie, Garden State, which he wrote, directed and starred in during his downtime from NBC
Though Widespread Panic startled fans late last year by announcing that they were planning to stay off the road in 2004, the band’s members haven’t exactly been idle. Bassist Dave Schools, keyboardist John Hermann and drummer Todd Nance are taking advantage of the band’s yearlong hiatus by releasing a trio of side projects.
Schools kicks off the flurry of Panic activity with the August 17th release of More Talk About Tonight, his second LP as Slang, an electronic-tinged collaborative project with producer Layng Martine. The follow-up to 2000’s The Bellwether Project features guest turns from Vic Chesnutt, DJ Logic, Lori Carson and Eric McFadden.
“The initial impetus for Slang was simply for Layng and me to have a free exchange of musical ideas,” Schools says. “It was a mutual admiration society between the two of us that evolved over time to include a lot of musicians that we wanted to work with. The new CD seems to be a more fully realized and mature work.”
Hermann re-teams with Luther and Cody Dickinson of the North Mississippi All-Stars — for the past eight years, the trio has played occasional shows as the Smiling Assassins — for his third album, Just Ain’t Right,, set for release September 14th. “[It’s] a great opportunity for me to get together with these amazing musicians and lay down all of the songs that have I written on my own over the years, songs that have been living in the closet,” says Hermann. “Whenever I have time off from the road and the others are free, we get together to work on songs and play a few gigs.”
Drummer Todd Nance will release Rhythm Oil in October — his third album with Barbara Cue, a collective of Southern pals that includes John Neff of Drive-By Truckers and that began as “basically a tribute show to NRBQ that just kept on going,” according to Nance.
In other Widespread Panic news, the group will release Jackassolantern on September 28th. The live album features tracks from Panic’s Halloween concerts and includes covers such as Black Sabbath’s “Sweet Leaf,” Nelly’s “Hot in Herre” and the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil.”
Source rollingstone.com.
Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter have arrived with the release of their newest album Oh My Girl. It is a beautiful compilation of vocals and instruments that when listened to, blends the moody sounds of eerie guitar and gorgeous longing voices.
Produced by George Drakoulious (Black Crowes, Tom Petty)the trio
Carlos Santana has begun collecting songs for his next studio album. “I’m going to complete the next Santana album with [BMG chairman/CEO] Mr. Clive Davis,” the artist tells Billboard. “Right now we’re collecting songs. It’s like [the 1999 album] ‘Supernatural.’ What we did was we crafted songs like glass slippers, and then we find the Cinderellas.”
As with his past few albums, the songs will precede the collaborations with other artists. “We’re in the finding songs part,” Santana says. “I’m just supremely grateful [to everyone] from Lauryn Hill to Dave Matthews to Placido Domingo. Most people only work with one level and stay there. Where ‘I only do salsa, I only do norteno,’ and they stay there. I only play music. Period. And that gives me a different spectrum that others don’t enjoy.”
Asked when this new album will be finished, Santana replies, “When it’s done.” The set will be the follow-up to 2002’s “Shaman,” which debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 2.3 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
As for the all-Spanish-language album Santana was mulling a few years back, the project has been shelved for now.
“I would like to work with so many people,” he says. “One of my favorite bands is still Molotov. And of course Mana, Los Jaguares. And there are a lot of people [from Latin America] that we don’t even know. But it’s not in the agenda now. I think I would need to establish a different agenda with Spanish radio, Univision and Telemundo.”
As previously reported, Santana will be honored as the 2004 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year via performances by Black Eyed Peas, Matthews, matchbox twenty’s Rob Thomas, Robi Draco Rosa and Ozomatli, among others. The tribute will be held Aug. 30 at Los Angeles’s Century Plaza Hotel.
Source billboard.com.
The Dead, Phish, Dave Matthews Band and five other artists are pictured on a limited-edition print released by HeadCount, a not-for-profit nonpartisan group dedicated to registering voters.
Live music’s top photographers, Danny Clinch, Jay Blakeberg and C. Taylor Crothers, all donated the use of their work for this print, which is available at HeadCount.org, and affiliate band Web sites.
This is the first collectible item ever to feature images of The Dead, Phish and Dave Matthews Band, three of the most popular touring acts of all time. All the proceeds from the sale of these 18 x 24, full-color prints will support HeadCount
Their name is the Asher Kahn Band and they are virtually unknown in the music entertainment world.
King’s X leader Doug Pinnick has completed work on a long-in-the-works album with Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament. The duo does not have a name but the 15-track album is tentatively titled “Montana,” according to King’s X’s official Web site. Richard Stuverud, Ament’s collaborator in his side band Three Fish, also participated in the sessions. No release date has been announced.
Pinnick describes the sound as “sort of a southern rock/classic sound, a bit of the Rolling Stones vibe, a little jam band vibe some groovy/funky tunes and a few beautiful ballads.” Pinnick and Stuverud handle all the singing, while Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready recently dropped by to add guitar to seven tracks.
The “Montana” album is just one of many projects on Pinnick’s plate. He is working with Winger guitarist Reb Beach on a CD of “’80s type music” that sounds like “Bon Jovi, Dokken [and] Whitesnake sort of but with my twist for vocals,” Pinnick says. The set is tentatively titled “Devil’s Children.”
King’s X has a double-disc live album in the can, sporting “no overdubs so at times [it] is really rough but has lots of vibe,” according to Pinnick. The group has also begun talks with its former label, Atlantic, to reissue its first four albums in a boxed set with a bonus disc of rehearsals. “This project is in just the talking phase right now,” Pinnick says.
Finally, King’s X is working on a new studio album, which will be the follow-up to 2003’s “Black Like Sunday.” Says Pinnick, “We are doing it like we used to in the early days; some old demos and lots of new stuff. Hopefully this is what you diehards are waiting for.”
The group will hit the road this fall, beginning Sept. 21 in Fort Worth, Texas, and running through a Nov. 17 finale in Baltimore.
Source billboard.com.
R.E.M.’s fall North American tour will find the veteran rock act playing some of the most intimate venues it has visited in years. The 29-date trek kicks off Oct. 13 at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre and will wrap Nov. 27 in Denver. As previously reported, R.E.M. will warm up for the dates on the Vote for Change tour, playing five shows with Bruce Springsteen, John Fogerty and Bright Eyes beginning Oct. 1 in Philadelphia.
Although the trek will feature such arenas as New York’s Madison Square Garden (Nov. 4) and Boston’s FleetCenter (Oct. 29), it will also find R.E.M. performing in such intimate confines as Akron, Ohio’s E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall (Oct. 27, capacity 2,925) and an Oct. 25-26 stand at the Chicago Theatre (capacity 3,604).
Tickets for some shows will go on-sale Aug. 21. Members of R.E.M.’s fan club will be offered special ticket opportunities.
The tour comes in support of the group’s new Warner Bros. album, “Around the Sun,” due Oct. 5 in North America via Warner Bros. First single “Leaving New York” arrives commercially Sept. 27 outside North America.
Here are R.E.M.’s tour dates:
Oct. 1: Philadelphia (Wachovia Center, Vote for Change tour)
Oct. 2: Cleveland (Gund Arena, Vote for Change tour)
Oct. 3: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Arena, Vote for Change tour)
Oct. 5: St. Paul, Minn. (Xcel Energy Center, Vote for Change tour)
Oct. 8: Orlando, Fla. (TD Waterhouse Centre, Vote for Change tour)
Oct. 13: Los Angeles (Greek Theatre)
Oct. 14: Santa Barbara, Calif. (Santa Barbara Bowl
Oct. 15: San Francisco (Greek Amphitheatre)
Oct. 16: Irvine, Calif. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)
Oct. 19: St. Louis (Fox Theatre)
Oct. 20: Indianapolis (Murat Theatre)
Oct. 22: Nashville (Ryman Auditorium)
Oct. 23: Atlanta (Gwinnett Arena)
Oct. 25-26: Chicago (Chicago Theatre)
Oct. 27: Akron, Ohio (E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall)
Oct. 29: Boston (FleetCenter)
Oct. 30: Atlantic City, N.J. (Borgata)
Nov. 1: Washington, D.C. (DAR Constitution Hall)
Nov. 4: New York (Madison Square Garden)
Nov. 5: Uncasville, Conn. (Mohegan Sun)
Nov. 7: Pittsburgh (Palumbo Center)
Nov. 9-10: Toronto (Hummingbird Center)
Nov. 11: Ottawa, Ontario (Civic Centre)
Nov. 12: Montreal (Bell Centre)
Nov. 14: Thunder Bay, Ontario (Fort Williams Gardens)
Nov. 15: Winnipeg, Manitoba (Centennial Concert Hall)
Nov. 17: Calgary, Alberta (Saddledome)
Nov. 19-20: Seattle (McCaw Hall)
Nov. 21: Vancouver (Orpheum Theatre)
Nov. 26: Salt Lake City (E Center)
Nov. 27: Denver (Fillmore)
Source billboard.com.
