July 8, 2005

Cowclops Productions, HIGH TIMES Magazine and Igor Management bring you the first annual Adirondack Forest Festival, September 23-25 at Moose River Park in Lyonsdale, NY. This year’s inaugural lineup will feature Burning Spear, a rare northeast performance from progressive rap collective Arrested Development, The Slip, Jen Durkin & The Bomb Squad, Sam Kininger Band, Mecca Bodega and More! Up-to-date lineup and band bios can be found at amf2005.com.

With a special focus on Northeast favorites, The Adirondack Forest Festival is unlike any other this festival season. Aside from the festival’s unique lineup, AFF will focus on raising money for Bands For Lands (www.bandsforlands.org), a non-profit organization focused on preserving pristine lands vital to sustain life, through music and creative arts. More than half of the proceeds received from AFF will directly benefit endangered lands in the New York region.

The gorgeous and secluded Moose River Park, which for years hosted the Adirondack Music Festival, was established in 1968 and is located on a spring-fed lake in Lyonsdale NY, part of the 6-million acre Adirondack Park in upstate New York. There is no better place to experience a festival–imagine being serenaded from the lakefront amphitheater as the sun goes down, while basking in your own semi-private campsite. In addition, sports enthusiasts can indulge in whitewater rafting, hiking, biking and swimming, all within the park!

With something for everyone, this year’s Adirondack Forest Festival is not to be missed. Plus, festivalgoers will be doing their part to preserve local endangered land. Act quickly: the first 1,000 tickets are $55, $75 until the 22nd and $90 at the gate. Tickets include weekend camping. For tickets, information and more, visit amf2005.com . See you at the park!

Current Lineup (more acts TBD, check web site for details):

Burning Spear
Arrested Development
The Slip
Jen Durkin & The Bomb Squad
Sam Kininger Band
Mecca Bodega
SeepeopleS
U-Melt
Trumystic
Furley
Reverend Tor Band
Strut
Next Tribe
Band B
Sven Hooson
JoMama and the Funkdaddies
Downtown Brown

Infinity Broadcasting isn’t commenting on an online report penned by a former Howard Stern Show regular that suggests David Lee Roth will be one of the personalities that ultimately replaces Stern on the airwaves.

Chaunce Hayden, a gossip and celebrity writer for New York/New Jersey entertainment guide SteppinOutMagazine.com, writes that “an Infinity source has confirmed the signing.”

To read more visit billboard.com.

Saddle Creek Records, the Nebraska-based indie powerhouse responsible for such acts as Bright Eyes, Cursive, Rilo Kiley and the Faint, is gearing up for a DVD documentary recounting its history.

Due Aug. 23 via Plexifilm, “Spend an Evening With Saddle Creek: The First 10 Years of Saddle Creek Records” will feature approximately 50 live performances of varying length by Saddle Creek acts. A premiere screening in Omaha is in the works for mid-August.

The 90-minute film, produced by Omaha natives Justin Kubel and Rob Walters, includes interviews with every band on the Saddle Creek roster as of the 2003-2004 filming, as well as founders Justin Oberst, Robb Nansel and Mike Mogis. The DVD also boasts 70 minutes of extra footage.

Saddle Creek was formed in 1993 by a group of friends distributing cassette tapes by 13-year-old singer/songwriter Conor Oberst. Today, Oberst, who performs with a rotating cast of musicians as Bright Eyes, has earned a legion of dedicated fans and broad critical acclaim. He has also become the best-selling artist on Saddle Creek, having shifted 950,000 copies of his half-dozen albums in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

As previously reported, the label is also looking back with the Aug. 23 release of Cursive’s “The Difference Between Houses and Homes,” which rounds up 12 rare and previously unreleased tracks.

Source billboard.com.

The seventh annual Bragg Jam, held in downtown Macon, Georgia, will take place this year on Friday and Saturday, July 29 and 30. Now a full-blown music and arts festival, Bragg Jam will begin with the River Bank Bash Friday night at 7 pm with southern rock torchbearers The Drive By Truckers (pictured) and opening band Hank Vegas. Saturday’s festivities begin at 11 am on the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail at Spring Street landing with an arts festival, children’s activities and bluegrass music.
Bragg Jam’s Saturday afternoon activities will also include a spectator area for watching the contestants of the Ocmulgee Adventure Race navigate an obstacle course near the music stage. The second annual Ocmulgee Adventure Race is a 6 to 10 hour race that involves canoeing, trekking, cycling and orienteering.
National touring act Southern Culture on the Skids will take the river stage at 5 pm. Afterwards, close to 50 bands will play in 13 venues across town. Free transportation to and from participating venues will be provided via the NewTown trolleys. Other headliners for this year’s festival include Billy Joe Shaver, Southern Bitch (pictured), Robert Bradley, Randall Bramblett, Moonshine Still, Kevn Kinney and Tishamingo. Bragg Jam is $25 a night, and a $40 combo ticket grants entry to both nights. Tickets, as well as a complete line-up, are available at www.braggjam.org. For tickets by phone, call 478-301-5470. All proceeds from both the Ocmulgee Adventure Race and Bragg Jam go to the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail.
Bragg Jam began seven years ago as a reaction by friends to the deaths of Brax and Tate Bragg. Both excellent musicians that played in area bands, they died in a car accident in 1999. Russell Walker, a friend of the family, organized a musical celebration to honor their friends. In 2003, Bragg Jam was expanded into a citywide music festival; it was incorporated in 2005 as a non-profit. The goal has consistently been the same: remember the Bragg brothers, showcase the city of Macon and its musical heritage, and raise money for the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail.
“In 1998, the trail was still just a dream of NewTown Macon and many community leaders/volunteers like Chris Sheridan and Ben Porter,” said Wes Griffith, NewTown Director of Development and Bragg Jam, Inc. board member. “Now we’ve got about three miles of trail down and a master plan that includes more than 16 miles and a 180-acre passive park at the old Water Works facility.”
“Brax and Tate loved the river,” said Anne Bragg, sister of the boys, “they both loved to write, play music and hang out on the banks of the Ocmulgee. They would be happy to know that Bragg Jam is helping to draw attention to the development of a permanent trail for all of the community.”
“This is Bragg Jam’s first year as an incorporated non-profit with a board of directors,” said board chair Heather Evans. “It’s really allowed us to expand the festival and effectively recruit a larger, more diverse sponsor base. The local business community has been great in embracing our efforts. We are really poised to become a festival of regional significance, one that will not only play a major role in raising funds for the Trail, but one that will have a profound economic impact on the downtown area for years to come.”
For more information on Bragg Jam, visit www.braggjam.org. For more information on the Ocmulgee Adventure Race, contact Scott Wilson at 478-951-9460 or visit ocmulgeear.org.

Although the Secret Machines just released The Road Leads Where It’s Led EP last month, the New York City-based trio has already finished recording their next album. The as-yet-untitled follow-up to their breakout debut, Now Here Is Nowhere, is due next year. The Machines — bassist/singer Brandon Curtis, guitarist (and brother) Ben Curtis and drummer Josh Garza — recorded at Allaire Studios in the Catskills in upstate New York. The album will be mixed in London in September with producer Alan Moulder (Nine Inch Nails, My Bloody Valentine). “We have tons more material than we had to choose from for the last record,” says Brandon Curtis, “which is a blessing and a curse.”

Much of the new material — including the songs “Lightning Blue Eyes,” “Faded Lines” and “Daddy in the Doldrums” — has been thoroughly road-tested. “We knew we were going to make another record this year, so we took a batch of new songs and performed them pretty regularly,” says Curtis. “So they actually were afforded the chance to be developed in a live setting. By the time we got into the studio, it was almost like we were recording songs that we’d already recorded.” Another live standard on the new LP is “I Want to Know If It’s Still Possible,” which features the Band’s Garth Hudson on accordion.

Source rollingstone.com.