2005

They’re young (18 to 21 years old), they have four part harmonies, they have famous fans and they’re not leaving anytime soon.

There’s been a lot of press about The Futureheads, who figured out a way to cram 15 songs into a 36-minute debut album. It’s gotten to the point that when they played in New York last September, opening for Franz Ferdinand, David Bowie reportedly told the band he was disappointed he missed their support slot.

Now, along with their visit to the massive Coachella music festival in Indio, Calif., the boys are taking their schizophrenic songs all over the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Our neighbors up North get first crack at them, starting April 15 at Louis’ Pub in Saskatoon. May is devoted to England, including Manchester, Leeds and London dates.

And then, it’s Atlanta, Washington, New York … on and on, through June, until the West Coast gets a visit at San Francisco’s Fillmore June 18, with two more stops in San Diego and Los Angeles.

Stateside press has gone absolutely bonkers over the band’s self-titled debut, throwing around phrases like “power-pop brilliance” (Time Out New York), “jittery, caffeinated gems” (Flaunt), and “innovative and exciting” (Los Angeles Times).

Drawing on influences including Queen, XTC and Fugazi, the band combines hyperactive, jagged riffs with vocals from all four members – an attribute that grew out of having to schedule separate vocal practices due to lack of a PA, according to the group.

Source pollstar.com.

Elvis Costello has been touring with his group, The Imposters, since late January in support of his album The Delivery Man. But if you see him at the end of April, you may get a surprise treat – seeing Costello playing with a new band called The Pick-Ups.

The revised line-up features sweet-voiced Los Lobos guitarist David Hidalgo replacing Imposters pianist Steve Nieve.

This isn’t the first time that Costello and the multitalented Hidalgo have worked with each other: Hidalgo appeared on Costello’s 1986 album King of America; Costello also sang on Los Lobos’ The Ride, which was released last year.

The dates for Hidalgo’s appearances with Costello will be April 24 in Baltimore, April 26 in Norfolk, Va., and April 27 in Athens, Ga.

To read more, visit pollstar.com.

Additional details have come to light about this year’s scaled-down version of Lollapalooza, which, as previously reported, will be held July 23-24 in Chicago’s Grant Park. According to the event’s official Web site, 70 bands are expected to grace five stages. The full lineup will be announced April 22.

For a week beginning Thursday (April 7) or until supplies last, a two-day pass will be available for $35, with a two-ticket limit per credit card. Tickets can be purchased through a link on the Lollapalooza site, which also promises forthcoming information on travel packages.

On the festival grounds, organizers say to expect installations from local and national visual artists, a runway show, the presence of robots and other man-made machines and the screening of a history-spanning Lollapalooza documentary.

The festival is returning this year after a disastrous 2004 when the entire tour was canceled due to sluggish ticket sales. Lollapalooza was to be a two-day traveling affair featuring Morrissey, String Cheese Incident, Wilco, the Pixies, Flaming Lips and Sonic Youth, among others, but was pulled in late June, less than a month before its planned start date.

Source billboard.com.

Neil Young is recovering from surgery on Tuesday to address a brain aneurysm. After performing with the Pretenders on March 14 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York, the artist experienced what his publicist describes as “visual field disturbances,” and an MRI scan revealed the source of the problem.

Rather than have surgery immediately, Young spent the next week in Nashville recording for an as-yet-unrevealed project. Tuesday’s procedure has been called “a complete success,” and Young is expected to make a full recovery. However, the artist has been forced to cancel his planned Sunday (April 3) appearance at Canada’s Juno Awards while he recuperates.

Source billboard.com.

Out of print since 1997, Gang Of Four’s seminal 1979 debut album “Entertainment!” will be reissued on May 17 via Rhino. The original 12-song track list has been bolstered with the four-track “Yellow” EP and four additional previously unreleased recordings. “Entertainment!” has also been re-pressed on 180 gram vinyl for a May 10 release.

Among the new additions, perhaps of most interest are alternate versions of album tracks “Contract” and “Guns Before Butter” and live versions of the unrecorded “Blood Free” and a cover of the Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane.”

Originally released in 1980, the “Yellow” EP is highlighted by the angry, brittle “Outside the Trains Don’t Run on Time” and “He’d Send in the Army.” The release also features the songs “It’s Her Factory” and “Armalite Rifle.”

Although never a commercial success, “Entertainment!” has influenced scores of bands in the past 25 years, particularly the current crop of up-and-coming British rock acts like Franz Ferdinand and the Futureheads.

Since 1995, the album has sold 12,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, but since 2000, an import edition has shifted an additional 14,000 units.

As previously reported, Gang Of Four’s original lineup reunited earlier this year for the first time in more than 20 years. The group will begin a three-week North American tour May 1 at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, Calif.

Guitarist Andy Gill recently told the BBC that Gang Of Four was working on an album featuring a disc with new recordings of old songs plus a collection of remixes, but a spokesperson could not confirm details of the project at deadline.

Source billboard.com.