2004

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.

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.”

Warner Music Group has agreed to buy Madonna out of Maverick Records, the label she co-founded 12 years ago, to end the legal battle that pitted the music conglomerate against their biggest star.

Madonna’s Maverick Records debuted with a flourish and included the multiplatinum debut of Alanis Morissette ‘s Jagged Little Pill in 1995. More recently, the company has scored hits with Michelle Branch .

Madonna and partners Guy Oseary and Ronnie Dashev together have owned 60 percent of the company; Warner Music owned 40 percent.

In March, Maverick filed suit against Warner Music and its former parent, Time Warner Inc., claiming breach of contract and alleging that they had misstated Maverick’s profits and mismanaged the company, costing Madonna and her partners millions of dollars. (An investment group led by Edgar Bronfman Jr. purchased Warner Music Group last year.)

Warner Music filed a lawsuit of its own against Maverick, claiming the company had lost tens of millions of dollars.

Source launch.com.

Bjork is eyeing a late August release date for her next Elektra album, Medulla. The set is tipped to feature contributions from experimental electronic duo Matmos and Japanese beatboxer Dokaka. A handful of cryptic audio samples from the album can be heard on Bjork’s official Web site.

Medulla will be the follow-up to 2001’s “Vespertine,” which debuted at No. 19 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 368,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Source Billboard.com.

A pair of Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble appearances at Switzerland’s Montreux Jazz Festival previously released on CD will have their visual component issued this summer on DVD. Fans will be able to see footage of Vaughan playing the annual event for the first time in 1982, a legendary performance that led to the late blues guitar legend’s mainstream breakthrough, and his triumphant return to headline at the festival three years later.

The two-disc DVD Live at Montreux 1982 & 1985, due Aug. 10 from Epic/Legacy, boasts additional songs not included on the 2001 single-disc audio release of the same title. The DVD will also boast a new documentary about the festival performances, with on-camera interviews with Jackson Browne, John Mayer and Double Trouble’ Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton.

Disc one-July 17, 1982:

“Hide Away”
“Rude Mood”
“Pride and Joy”
“Texas Flood”
“Love Struck Baby”
“Dirty Pool”
“Give Me Back My Wig”
“Collins’ Shuffle”

Disc two-July 15, 1985:

“Scuttle Buttin'”
“Say What!”
“Ain’t Gone N’ Give Up On Love”
“Pride and Joy”
“Mary Had a Little Lamb”
“Cold Shot” (w/ Johnny Copeland)
“Tin Pan Alley” (aka “Roughest Place In Town”; w/Johnny Copeland)
“Little Sister” (w/Johnny Copeland)
“Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”
“Texas Flood”
“Life Without You”
“Gone Home”
“Couldn’t Stand the Weather”

Source Billboard.com.

Drummer Jeremiah Green has rejoined indie superstars Modest Mouse and will tour with the band in Europe and the U.S. this summer.

The drummer had played with the band since its inception before abruptly leaving last spring in the midst of troubled recording sessions. Benjamin Weikel of Helio Sequence filled in for Green during his absence, performing live and on the band’s newest album, Good News For People Who Love Bad News.

Modest Mouse will appear at the KROQ Weenie Roast June 12 before heading to Europe for several weeks of shows. They’ll spend much of July and August on the Lollapalooza main stage, squeezing in a July 30 Milwaukee show on one of their off-days. Two September shows are on the books, both in Texas, during the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

In addition to its new studio album, the band recently “unofficially” issued Baron Von Bullshit Rides Again, a live bootleg recording available only through modestmouse.com.

Source pollstar.com.