2005

Cartoon quartet Gorillaz will on May 24 release its sophomore Virgin album, “Demon Days.” A video is in production for first single “Feel Good Inc.,” featuring De La Soul. Album track “Dirty Harry,” which features what sounds like a children’s choir, has been making the rounds on the Internet for several weeks.

The brainchild of Blur frontman Damon Albarn and “Tank Girl” creator Jamie Hewlett, Gorillaz comprises the characters Noodle, Murdoc, 2-D, and Russell who inhabit a virtual world on Gorillaz.com.

The 15-track “Demon Days” is the follow-up to Gorillaz’s worldwide smash self-titled debut, which has sold more than 1.54 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and six million worldwide, according to Virgin.

Accurately described as “darker” and “more intense” than its predecessor, but no less eclectic, the album was co-produced by Albarn and Danger Mouse. “Last Living Souls” is marked by acoustic strumming and piano melodies, while “Kids With Guns” threads a sample of Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It” through a multi-faceted musical backdrop.

The collective puts a weird spin on seductive soul with “Every Planet We Reach Is Dead,” while “White Light” starts off in similar territory as Blur’s raucous “Song 2” before being interrupted by an angelic interlude. For an extra dash of oddness, actor Dennis Hopper offers spoken-word intonations atop “Fire Coming Out of a Monkey’s Head.”

The London Community Gospel Choir can be heard on the title track, while guest spots by Blondie’s Deborah Harry, rock legend Ike Turner, the Happy Mondays’ Shaun Ryder and underground rapper MF Doom are sprinkled throughout other cuts.

Here is the track list for “Demon Days”:

“Intro”
“Last Living Souls”
“Kids With Guns”
“O Green World”
“Dirty Harry”
“Feel Good Inc.”
“El Manana”
“Every Planet We Reach Is Dead”
“November Has Come”
“All Alone”
“White Light”
“DARE”
“Fire Coming Out of a Monkey’s Head”
“Don’t Get Lost in Heaven”
“Demon Days”

Source billboard.com.

Rock the Earth is proud to present the Inaugural Snow Ball, a concert to benefit Rock the Earth at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom in Denver, Colorado on Wednesday, March 23, 2005. The concert will feature Colorado’s own jamgrass sensation Shanti Groove and Pete Wernick’s Live Five, the innovative newgrass combo lead by Dr. Banjo, Pete Wernick. The night will also include some very special surprise guests. “Rock the Earth provides a special opportunity for musicians and fans to make waves together. With so much pollution, of everything from the environment to our minds, it’s a way to fight back,” says Wernick.

“These events really demonstrate the special connection that exists between music and the environment and music’s power to inspire change on a wide scale,” says Rock the Earth President and Executive Director Marc Ross. He continues, “We are very excited to be holding our first benefit concert in our new home town of Denver and to have environmentally-conscious artists like Shanti Groove and Pete Wernick’s Live Five playing it, makes the event all the more special.” By collaborating with bands such as Shanti Groove and Pete Wernick’s Live Five, Rock the Earth is able to build nationwide support for local campaigns.

Rock the Earth continues to work with a number of partners to ensure that the Roan Plateau’s wilderness areas will not be adversely impacted by drilling. These important benefit shows will help Rock the Earth draw additional attention to the need for Colorado and Utah citizens to voice their opposition to detrimental drilling in wilderness areas and will also help Rock the Earth secure additional funding to tackle issues like these from the legal and technical standpoints. For more information on the Roan Plateau and how you can help, visit rocktheearth.net/projects.ws.

In addition to the music at Cervantes’, Rock the Earth will hold a silent auction and raffle. Doors open at 8:00pm and the show starts at 9:00pm. All proceeds will benefit Rock the Earth and to further our mission to “Defend the Planet One Beat at a Time.” Tickets are available through Baseline Ticketing at baselineticketing.com. $12 in advance and $15 day of show. For more information, call Rock the Earth at (303) 454-3304.

Other upcoming events to benefit Rock the Earth include two concerts by The String Cheese Incident set to take place April 2nd and 3rd at Suede in Park City, Utah. Tickets are now available from Baseline Ticketing. Hotel/condo accommodations and travel plans may be made through Madison House Travel. String Cheese bassist Keith Moseley says, “SCI is always looking for ways to get involved in good causes; Rock the Earth holds close two of our priorities: the environment and music. We’re glad to help the organization.”

Rock the Earth, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, national public interest environmental advocacy organization, is committed to protecting and defending America’s natural resources through partnerships with the music industry and the environmental community.

Harmonized Records is proud to announce the signing of DJ Williams Projekt., the label which includes such artists as Lotus, Perpetual Groove, The Motet, and Garaj Mahal is looking forward to a great year, and many more announcements in the weeks to come. A ground breaking instrumentalist and self-taught guitarist, DJ Williams has established a unique sound in acoustic & electric guitar. The Richmond, VA-based performer is amazing crowds everywhere with his guitar wizardry backed up by his 6-piece “Projekt,” the roots of which can be heard on the first self-released Projekt album, Wrong Notes Write.

The newest album, Projekt Management, is a thoroughly funky exploration of jazz, fusion, and soul grooves with inherent heaps of experience and diversity among the performers. Williams’ smooth, innovative songwriting and playing is the centerpiece around which orbits a fiery formation of brass, drums, bass, and keys. With the energetic Gordon Jones on sax, the infinitely capable drumming of Dusty Simmons, huge swells and thumps of bass from Todd Herrington, colorful trumpet excursions from Mark Ingraham, and masterful keyboard additions from Brian Mahne, the Projekt has truly come to fruition.

“I just hope to keep expanding and sharing what I believe is a new kind of sound that is progressive and always full of surprises,” says Williams. Although they are new to the hard-touring scene, The Projekt will be presenting their sound at festivals such as California’s High Sierra Music Festival, Florida’s hot Langerado Music Festival, the eclectic Haymaker Festival in Virginia, and North Carolina’s long-running Smilefest. With Projekt Management ready to be heard by the masses on June 28, 2005, DJ Williams Projekt will soon find success behind their careful planning.

On the heels of last year’s deluxe reissue of its debut album, the Cure will give similar treatment given to the subsequent three releases that put the band at the center of the 1980s modern rock movement. Due April 26 via Rhino, remastered versions of 1980’s “Seventeen Seconds,” 1981’s “Faith” and 1982’s “Pornography” will each emerge with an extra disc of rarities.

In the case of “Seventeen Seconds,” the second disc comprises 15 songs, including studio and live renditions of “I’m a Cult Hero” and “I Dig You” released under the pseudonym Cult Hero. Other goodies include demos and live versions of songs that appear on the original album.

The “Faith” reissue adds the cassette-only B-side “Carnage Visors” to the first disc’s original eight tracks. The second disc boasts 15 tracks, such as demos of “Faith” and “Doubt,” outtakes of “Primary” and “A Normal Story” and live versions of “The Drowning Man” and “Forever.”

“Pornography” gains 14 tracks on its bonus disc, including instrumental demos of “Demise” and “The Figurehead” and live versions of “A Short Term Effect,” “Cold” and “Siamese Twins.”

Each package will be bolstered by booklets with lyrics, photos from singer Robert Smith’s personal collection and track-by-track commentary by U.K. music journalist Johnny Black.

The full track list for each reissue can be found on the band’s official Web site.

Source billboard.com.

The 10,000 Lakes Festival is proud to announce Widespread Panic and Trey Anastasio have confirmed a weekend of headlining performances for the 2005 event. Widespread Panic returns to the 10,000 Lakes Festival for the second time with two special headlining performances on the Main Stage Friday, Saturday, July 22, 23. Closing this year’s festival Sunday, July 24 is Trey Anastasio, the guitarist and founder of the seminal band Phish.

The third annual 10,000 Lakes Festival is scheduled for July 22-24 at the scenic Soo Pass Ranch in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. The 10,000 Lakes Festival showcases over thirty artists and bands on four stages, including the Barn Stage on a shady hill overlooking the concert bowl, the Field Stage where the audience can spread out and soak up some sun, the Saloon Stage for intimate concerts and late night jams, and the Main Stage where everyone gathers in the evening for the major concerts featuring Widespread Panic and Trey Anastasio.

Multi-Day Tickets starting at $110 are available now through the festival website: 10klf.com

The event ticket price includes all band performances and camping under the stars adjacent to the most beautiful outdoor concert venue in the nation. The 10,000 Lakes Festival held at the 600-acre Soo Pass Ranch in beautiful Northern Minnesota contains numerous campgrounds, built specifically for people to enjoy their camping experience in a spacious, friendly and comfortable setting.

Festival-goers can relax in beautiful Lake Sallie Campground with over 3,000 feet of shoreline or settle into the magnificent forest of the Northwoods campground. VIP Camping is located directly behind the Main Stage. The campgrounds are well groomed with permanent roads and real showers and are suitable for virtually any kind of camping vehicle. Every campground is within easy walking distance of the concert site.

Modern amenities on site include clean, permanent restrooms facilities with running water; additionally, internet access and a wide variety of high quality food and beverages will be available.

Additional bands playing the event will be announced in the coming weeks.

Piano man Ben Folds has set down a run of spring dates to support the release of his upcoming album, Songs For Silverman.

Tour Dates –

5/03/05 Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
5/04/05 Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
5/05/05 Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room In Murat Center
5/08/05 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club All Ages On Sale TBA
5/09/05 Durham, NH @ Univ. Of New Hampshire – UNH Fieldhouse
5/10/05 New York, NY @ Town Hall Theatre
5/13/05 Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
5/14/05 Boston, MA @ Avalon Ages

In other Ben Folds news, Ben’s cover of Dr. Dre

Moby kicks off his North American tour in support of his new album,