2004

Widespread Panic will release an album of

lm Pictures is proud to announce the release to DVD of TOM DOWD AND
THE LANGUAGE OF MUSIC on August 24, 2004.

Four singer/songwriters are coming together to pool their talents in a unique format on the Modern Troubadours: In The Round tour. Beginning July 8 in Minneapolis, Teitur, Vienna Teng, Ben Arthur and Abra Moore will take the circular stage as a foursome.

One at a time, each artist will introduce his or her own song, explain where the tune came from, then begin to play. The other three will join in, harmonizing and adding instrumentation. Then it’s the next performer’s turn.

The plan is for each troubadour to perform seven or eight songs, adding up to a 2 1/2 hour show. This tour marks the first time the four have toured together. The Agency Group’s Jordan Burger, who organized the package, said the artists are looking forward to getting to know each other’s music on a more personal level.

They’re also excited about exposing each other to their respective audiences. The current itinerary runs through July 29, and the four plan to stretch the tour into early August.

The singer/songwriters are all touting recent releases. Moore just released Everything Changed, Teng dropped Warm Strangers in February, Arthur’s Edible Darling came out in March, and Teitur is supporting last year’s Poetry & Airplanes.

Source pollstar.com.

Elvis Costello has set a Sept. 21 release date for the simultaneous release of two new albums. As first reported here in April, a new rock album will be issued by Lost Highway, while “Il Sogno,” his first full-length orchestral work, will emerge via Deutsche Grammophon.

Largely recorded at Sweet Tea Studios in Oxford, Miss., the as-yet-untitled rock album features Costello backed by his band the Imposters — Attractions drummer Pete Thomas and keyboardist Steve Nieve and former Cracker bassist Davey Farragher.

The disc also includes guest appearances by Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris, who give voice to characters in the song “The Delivery Man.” Also featured is pedal steel guitarist John McFee (Doobie Brothers), who previously appeared on Costello’s 1977 debut “My Aim Is True” and 1981’s “Almost Blue.”

Produced by Costello and Dennis Herring (Modest Mouse, Throwing Muses), the album also features the song “Monkey to Man,” recorded in Clarksdale, Miss., home to the Delta Blues Museum and often referred to as the birthplace of the genre.

The set will be the follow-up to 2002’s “When I Was Cruel,” his last album with the Imposters. The Island set debuted at No. 20 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 201,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

As for “Il Sogno,” it was recorded in 2002 by the London Symphony Orchestra after being originally commissioned by Italy’s Aterballeto dance company for an adaptation of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

“I was extremely surprised to be asked, I had little or no understanding of the world of dance,” Costello says. “When asked ‘Who is your favorite dancer?,’ I replied honestly, ‘Cyd Charisse.'”

“There are elements of humor [in the score],” he says. “When it came to writing music for the supernatural beings in the story, I thought it is only appropriate that they should be swinging faeries. However, there are also passages representing confusion, jealousy, anger and turmoil. These cues have the edges, angles that I go looking for in rock and roll but the way they are achieved is utterly different. I hope there are also moments of tenderness.”

The ballet premiered in Bologna and was staged elsewhere in Italy before Costello began to adapt the score to a concert piece. Michael Tilson-Thomas conducted the London Symphony’s recording, which features guest soloists drummer Peter Erskine and saxophonist John Harle.

Costello has plans to open Rotterdam, Holland’s North Sea Jazz Festival with a July 8 performance at the Buhrmann Midsummer Jazz Gala. Nieve and the Metropole Orkest will join him for the performance of songs from Costello’s 2003 solo album, “North,” and other back-catalog tracks, as well as several unrecorded pieces.

The 52-member Metropole Orkest will reprise its performance with Costello July 13 when it makes its North American debut at New York’s Lincoln Center Festival 2004. Costello will play the event two nights later with the Imposters, and on July 17 attend the continental premiere of “Il Sogno,” performed by the Brooklyn Philharmonic. Nieve and Costello will also perform several songs accompanied by the orchestra during the second half of the evening’s program.

Expanded reissues of “Almost Blue,” the 1984 set “Goodbye Cruel World” and 1995’s “Kojak Variety” will arrive Aug. 3 via Rhino. Costello is also featured performing “Let’s Misbehave” on the soundtrack to the Cole Porter biopic “De-Lovely.” Released Tuesday by Sony Music Soundtrax, the collection features Costello’s new bride, Diana Krall, as well as Alanis Morisette, Sheryl Crow and Natalie Cole, among others.

Source billboard.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.

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.