A big, hearty salad of sound is the way to describe Hysterical Stars by Head of Femur. Musicians Matt Focht (vocals, guitar, also of Bright Eyes), Ben Armstrong (vocals, keyboards, drums, ex-Commander Venus) and Mike Elsener (vocals/guitar, also of Solar Wind) form the backbone of this Nebraska based indie rock “supergroup.” But Head of Femur has brought in a large number other players on their second full length album. Where else can you hear a trumpet, gong, glockenspiel and violin all wrapped up in a pop album?
In The Reins, the seven-song EP that resulted when Howard Greynolds encouraged the two bands to meet up, reads like a wedding invitation: this is what happens when like-minded souls merge brainpower, share a collective moment of romance and allow it to blossom into a deep and meaningful relationship.
Nearly four months to the day since he announced in a hoarse voice on his evening newscast that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer, longtime ABC “World News Tonight” anchor Peter Jennings died Sunday, according to the ABC News network. He was 67.
To read more please visit CNN.com.
The inaugural New York music festival initially dubbed Across the Pond has been rechristened Across the Narrows. Set for Oct. 1-2 at Brooklyn’s Keyspan Park and Staten Island’s Richmond County Bank Ballpark, the event will feature headlining sets from Oasis, the Killers, Beck and the Pixies.
The Pixies will anchor the Oct. 1 bill in Brooklyn, alongside Gang Of Four, Built To Spill, Rilo Kiley, Death From Above 1979, Mando Diao and Nine Black Alps. Simultaneously in Staten Island, the Killers will play with Interpol, the New York Dolls, British Sea Power, Lake Trout, Tegan & Sara and the Ordinary Boys.
The next day’s shows will feature Beck, Belle & Sebastian, the Polyphonic Spree, the Raveonettes, Gang Gang Dance, Whirlwind Heat and a band to be announced in Brooklyn, and Oasis, Jet, Doves, the reunited Lemonheads, Kasabian, Jesse Malin, the Redwalls and an undetermined act in Staten Island.
Tickets can be purchased separately for each of the four shows, and a discounted ticket will be available for any two concerts. VIP package details are still being finalized.
Source billboard.com.
Michael Franti is about to embark on a tour – but not the kind with a band, roadies and instruments. Instead, he’s touring a film.
“I Know I’m Not Alone” is the documentary account of Franti’s recent visits to Iraq and Palestinian territories, in which shared his music with families, doctors, musicians, soldiers and residents.
Franti, who is equal parts activist and entertainer, took along his acoustic guitar and a video camera, recording those he came across who, in turn, revealed to him the often overlooked human cost of war, according to the Web site for the film.
Interwoven are Franti’s stories and songs, creating a visual and musical tribute to the resilience of the human spirit.
“I tell stories through my songs and spoken word, and approached the film in the same way,” Franti writes on theWeb site. “We let the images and music flow together as I re-told the story with voiceover and lyrics inspired from the journey.
“In taking this organic approach, I believe we gave unique insight into what people are facing in the Middle East today.”
A spokeswoman for Franti told Pollstar the film will be shown only at festivals and on college campuses when the tour launches in the fall, in advance of its January release.
Franti will appear at each screening of the film on, which to date hits mainly college towns beginning September 15 at the Griffith Film Theater in Durham, N.C. Other cities include Rohnert Park, Calif., Black Mountain, N.C.; Iowa City, Iowa; Urbana, Ill.; Burlington, Vt.; Toronto and Chico, Calif.
Source pollstar.com.
Big Deal Records has announced the signing of the celebrated American artist, Billy Bob Thornton. Best known for his work as an Academy Award-winning screenwriter, director and actor, it is music that serves as Thornton’s first and greatest passion. Hobo, his brand new album to be released nationwide on September 13, 2005, is Thornton’s third full length release to date. The collection features ten tracks, nine of which are new songs written or co-written by Thornton, that focus on the California experience, offering his own personal accounts alongside profound observations of the Golden State’s people, tempos and landscapes.
“I am very pleased and honored to be associated with a label like Big Deal. They love music and songwriting the way record label people used to,” states Billy Bob Thornton. “I’m very proud of Hobo, and the label gets it. I’d rather sell ten records for people who care, than a million for people who don’t.”
Billy Bob Thornton’s keen revelations and poetic unraveling of California — “the new frontier” — on Hobo exposes startling insights about life in Los Angeles, a city where dreams are achieved, but also crushed. On “The Late Great Golden State,” Thornton warns, “Leave your expectations at the gate of the late great golden state ’cause they can pack you up and send you home in a crate.”
One of the album’s stand-out cuts, “I Used To Be A Lion,” finds Thornton turning inward, musing “I don’t have the pride to hold my head up high and I don’t have the strength to make the kill.” Musically, the songs range from the ethereal Americana of the title track to the hallucinogenic Chicano-flavored rock of “El Centro On Five Dollars A Day.” Thornton recorded Hobo at The Cave, his state-of-the-art home studio in Los Angeles, with his co-producers, Randy Mitchell and Jim Mitchell. At a time when so many albums rehash tired cliches, Thornton’s songwriting is continually pushing the envelope in its search for new and vital means of expression. The results are powerful songs of deeply personal stories and philosophical lyrics that reflect Thornton’s love for life and music itself.
For Billy Bob Thornton, writing, recording and performing music is something he has lived his entire life. He received his first drum kit at age nine and made his first public appearance as a musician by age ten. Throughout the 1960s, he performed in bands across Arkansas and Texas, including the well known, Tres Hombres. Thornton put music aside only temporarily upon arriving in Hollywood to pursue a career in film. However, it wasn’t long before he was jamming with local Los Angeles musicians and once again writing songs. The rest, as they say, is history. Thornton has since received two RIAA gold record certifications, performed on the Grammy Award-winning album, The Wind, by Warren Zevon, performed alongside Willie Nelson, The Allman Brothers Band and Kris Kristofferson, in addition to receiving critical acclaim for his first two albums, Private Radio and The Edge of The World. The Los Angeles Times observed: “If Thornton had tried to make it as a singer-songwriter in Nashville in the early ’70s, he would have surely played the same clubs as Kris Kristofferson. They might have even shared an apartment.” Legendary singer/songwriter Tom Petty declared: “Billy Bob’s music has a style and lean all its own. It can catch you off guard with as much as a word’s inflection.”
Widespread Panic has announced a lengthy fall tour that will kick off on September 18th at Farm Aid. From there the band will play a majority of their shows in a variety of southern venues, concluding with a southwest run in New Mexico, Arizona and the tour finale – Vegoos on Halloween. For a full list of tour dates please visit widespreadpanic.com
