Archive: 2005

Music icons Bob Geldof and Bono are among U.K. bookmakers’ tips to win the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday (Oct. 7), alongside more orthodox candidates like campaigners against nuclear arms and a peace broker for Indonesia.

Experts are divided about whether the secretive five-member committee would dare to broaden the scope of the $1.3 million award in 2005 to honor Geldof or the U2 lead singer, who have campaigned for years to ease hunger and poverty in Africa.

To read more visit billboard.com.

Bob Marley and the Wailers’ summer 1977 concert at London’s Rainbow Theatre will make its DVD debut Nov. 8 via Universal Music Enterprises. “Live! At the Rainbow” was originally issued in 1991 on VHS but has been expanded here as a two-disc package with several new features.

The show was taped just as Marley’s iconic album “Exodus” was cruising up the U.K. charts and finds the artist backed by a Wailers lineup featuring lead guitarist Junior Marvin, the brotherly rhythm section of drummer Carlton Barrett and bassist Aston “Familyman” Barrett and backing vocalists Rita Marley, Judy Mowatt and Marcia Griffith.

The 100-minute, interview-laden documentary “Caribbean Nights: The Bob Marley Story” will be found on disc two, as well as a video tour of the artist’s home village, Nine Mile.

Source: billboard

Ween, the Shins, Sleater-Kinney, Mudhoney and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs will each curate a night of music as part of the All Tomorrow’s Parties’ the United Sounds of ATP event. The shows will be held May 12-14 and May 19-21, 2006, at the U.K.-bred fest’s longtime home at Camber Sands in East Sussex, England.

Mudhoney, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and an as-yet-undetermined group will curate the first weekend, while Ween, the Shins and Sleater-Kinney will take over for the second portion. Ticket information is available on the ATP Web site.

The Mars Volta is overseeing the next installment of All Tomorrow’s Parties, which will be held Dec. 2-4 in Camber Sands. Among the acts on the bill are former Can vocalist Damo Suzuki, Diamanda Galas, Antony and the Johnsons, Lydia Lunch, the Kills and Holger Czukay.

Source billboard.com.

Tristan Prettyman

The Marxist funk is back. Not quite as funky, though. In fact, the
newly re-grouped Gang Of Four sounds a lot more garage these days.

Following last weekend

Rumors about a full-blown Fugees reunion have been coming and going for years, but it looks as though it could be for real this time.

The group recently dropped its first single in more than eight years, “Take It Easy,” and has booked a European tour with plans for a new album release this winter.

If all goes according to plan, Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and Pras will perform their first full concert together since 1997 November 30 at Vienna, Austria’s Stadthalle.

Right now, the iinerary has them traveling through Finland, France, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the U.K. with shows booked for three weeks.

The last scheduled gig is December 20 at Hallenstadion Zurich in Switzerland, but there has been no official word on the tour, so it’s not clear if the itinerary is complete.

The group shocked fans by appearing unannounced at the Dave Chappelle Block Party in summer 2004. All was quiet again until they performed at the BET Awards this past June, and subsequently released “Take It Easy.”

Although a title for the group’s new album has not been made public, the disc is reportedly set for a December 27 release.

There’s been no word of any U.S. tour plans.

Karl Denson

The Bravery are heading out on a headline tour in support of their self titled debut album including dates with openers (International) Noise Conspiracy and also VHS or BETA. Then the band is off to hit the road with Depeche Mode on select dates of their upcoming US winter tour.

Please visit the Bravery’s website to watch the new “Unconditional” video.

Tour Dates –

Oct 2 – Sauget, IL (St. Louis, MO) – Pop’s – W/ International Noise Conspiracy
Oct 3 – Kansas City, MO – Beaumont Club – W/ International Noise Conspiracy
Oct 4 – Chicago, IL – Vic Theater – W/ International Noise Conspiracy
Oct 5 – Detroit, MI – Majestic Theatre – W/ International Noise Conspiracy
Oct 6 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave – W/ International Noise Conspiracy
Oct 8 – Northfield, MN – St. Olaff College – W/ International Noise Conspiracy
Oct 9 – Decorah, IA – Luther College – W/ International Noise Conspiracy
Oct 11 – Toronto, ON – Kool Haus – W/ International Noise Conspiracy
Oct 12 – Montreal, QC Le Spectrum – W/ International Noise Conspiracy
Oct 13 – Boston, MA – Avalon – W/ International Noise Conspiracy
Oct 15 – Las Vegas, NV – Pepsi Smash
Oct 16 – Los Angeles, CA – Avalon
Oct 17 – Phoenix, AZ – Marquee
Oct 19 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre Of Living Arts – W/ International Noise Conspiracy
Oct 20 – New York, NY – Roseland Ballroom – W/ International Noise Conspiracy
Oct 21 – Baltimore, MD – Sonar – W/ International Noise Conspiracy
Oct 22 – Norfolk, VA – The Norva – W/ VHS or Beta
Oct 23 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle – W/ VHS or Beta
Oct 25 – Columbia, SC – Headliners Live – W/ VHS or Beta
Oct 26 – Nashville, TN – Exit In – W/ VHS or Beta
Oct 27 – Birmingham, AL – Zydeco – W/ VHS or Beta
Oct 29 – Memphis, TN – Voodoo Festival
Oct 31 – Tallahassee, FL – The Moon
Nov 4 – Orlando, FL – House of Blues

Opening for DEPECHE MODE:
Nov 2 – Fort Lauderdale, FL – Bank Atlantic Center
Nov 3 – St Pete, FL – St Pete Times Forum
Nov 5 – Duluth, GA – The Arena at Gwinnett Center
Nov 7 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
Nov 8 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Nov 9 – San Antonio, TX – SBC Center
Nov 11- Denver, CO – Magness Arena
Nov 12 – Salt Lake City, UT – E Center
Dec 3 – Atlantic City, NJ – Borgata
Dec 4 – Montreal, QUE – Bell Centre
Dec 7 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Dec 9 – Washington, D.C. – Patriot Center

Photos by Robert Massie of Hookahville XXIV, Frontier Ranch, Pataskala, OH – 9/3/05 &9/4/05. Performers included ekoostik hookah, Dr. John, Hackensaw Boys, DJ Logic, Little Feat, The Smokin’ Bandits, Donna the Buffalo and Vince Herman.

Before his semi-hit

deSol, a band of seven musicians from New York and New Jersey with strong Latin bloodlines, are standing atop the fence that runs somewhere between the salsa flavor of Ozomatli and the Texican blues of Los Lonely Boys.

“To: Elliott From: Portland”, a tribute to the late Elliott Smith, will be released February 7, 2005 on Portland-based independent label Expunged Records. Ten percent of the proceeds will be donated to the Elliott Smith Foundation’s charity, “Free Arts for Abused Children”.

The compilation features notable Portland bands The Decemberists (“Clementine”), Helio Sequence (“Satellite”), The Thermals (“Ballad of Big Nothing”), Swords (“I Didn

Back Country Excursions of Southern Maine will be holding their 8th Annual Haunted Halloween Mountain Biking Spookfest on October 21-23. The BCE Crew has brewed up another hauntingly fine weekend including a Freeriders delight that is chock full of some of the spookiest stunts and gnarliest singletract East of the Rockies. The weekend includes: Local brews, Pilgrims Progress Feast, apple bobbing and pumkin carving contests – and plenty of charted and uncharted rides.

For reservations see: bikebackcountry.com

The Mars Volta will release the live full-length album Scabdates. The album captures the band

The high level of consistency is another asset Teenage Fanclub is known for, and the stellar

U-Melt hit the stage in front of a sadly sparse audience (Woodstock on a Thursday night is not what it used to be), but lived up to their name by liquefying those who were there with a molten hot evening of music.

On the occasion of the Beastie Boys’ 24th birthday, Capitol will on Nov. 8 release the compilation “Solid Gold Hits.” The 15-track set will also be available as a limited-edition CD/DVD featuring as-yet-unspecified music videos.

The Beasties were previously anthologized on the 1999 double-disc set “The Sounds of Science,” which included all but five tracks here. “Triple Trouble,” “Ch-Check It Out” and “An Open Letter to NYC” are drawn from last year’s album “To the 5 Boroughs,” while Fatboy Slim has remixed “Body Movin.'”

The lone oldie left off “Science” that has been revived for “Solid Gold Hits” is “No Sleep ‘Till Brooklyn” from 1986’s “License To Ill.”

Due to the fact that the Beasties have been off the radar since completing the tour in support of “To the 5 Boroughs” and that no new or rare material is featured on “Solid Gold Hits,” there is renewed fan debate over the trio’s future.

Asked last year if “To the 5 Boroughs” might be the Beasties’ final album, Mike D told Billboard, “You know, to be honest, we really never know. One of the things we’ve talked about is actually not waiting so long until we record the next record, because we did a lot more songs for [“Boroughs”] than we wound up using. Of course, give it a year. We’d like to get the next record out in less time than we’ve ever had between records.”

Here is the track list for “Solid Gold Hits”:

“So What’cha Want”
“Brass Monkey”
“Ch-Check It Out”
“No Sleep ‘Till Brooklyn”
“Hey Ladies”
“Pass the Mic”
“An Open Letter to NYC”
“Root Down”
“Shake Your Rump”
“Intergalactic”
“Sure Shot”
“Body Movin'” (Fatboy Slim remix)
“Triple Trouble”
“Sabotage”
“Fight for Your Right”

Source billboard.com

Genesis sold 21.5 million albums in America during a thirty-year career, before quietly calling it quits in 1998, not long after frontman Phil Collins’ departure. With the release of their first compilation album, The Platinum Collection, Genesis attempt to trace their extensive musical history, moving backwards through time to their early days as an art-rock outfit.

“Originally, it went from beginning to end,” says guitarist Mike Rutherford. “But, especially the first album’s sound quality, it’s a little tough for the listener. So we start with the better-sounding stuff [off 1991’s We Can’t Dance] and end with the earlier stuff.” Rutherford adds that the band plans to dust off some early live recordings for release as a bootleg series, possibly through its Web site. “These are raw recordings. I like that, if someone makes a mistake or messes up, it’s just part of the evening.”

During his stint with Genesis, Collins racked up two Number One solo albums. (Founding frontman Peter Gabriel, who split in 1975, embarked on a similarly successful solo career.) Rutherford also launched a simultaneous solo project, Mike and the Mechanics, whose sophomore effort landed in the Top Twenty. But with Collins’ departure, the future of Genesis became uncertain, with former Stiltskin singer Ray Wilson as their new singer. The final incarnation of the group did not exactly set fire to the charts, or the box office.

While the Collins-helmed lineup has not toured in thirteen years, they have played together — in more intimate settings. “We played Peter’s wedding and his fiftieth birthday party, and Phil’s wedding,” Rutherford says with a laugh. “We did a very bad version of that ‘Tequila’ song.”

Rutherford remains optimistic that Genesis may one day follow Cream and the Pixies, as a long-dormant band that suddenly comes bursting back to life. “We talk about it,” he says. (In 2000, Collins said of Genesis in an interview, “I would definitely see us doing something together again.”) But Collins, currently on break from his First Final Farewell Tour, is now busy adapting his soundtrack to Disney’s animated film Tarzan into a Broadway play.

“Phil’s committed through May,” says Rutherford. “We haven’t made any plans. But never say never.”

Source rollingstone.com.

Just as the life of Johnny Cash is about to hit the big screen courtesy of the Hollywood biopic Walk the Line, starring Joaquin Phoenix, comes the announcement that Ring of Fire, a Broadway musical based on the country legend’s classic songs, will premiere at New York’s Ethel Barrymore Theatre next February.
Created by Richard Maltby Jr. and William Meade, Ring of Fire will feature thirty-eight songs from Cash’s five-decade career, including “Country Boy,” “Five Feet High and Rising,” “I Walk the Line” and the title song.

Meade conceived of the show six years ago, before the singer-songwriter’s death from diabetes-related complications in September of 2003. “Many people had approached Johnny, but only Bill’s idea convinced him,” Maltby writes in the program notes. “And after about five years, just before he died, Johnny gave Bill the stage rights to this material.” Maltby — who was behind such Broadway hits as Ain’t Misbehavin’, Fosse and Miss Saigon — will direct the production.

While Walk the Line explicitly charts an early period of the Man in Black’s career and personal life, Ring of Fire allows the songs to tell a broader story, bringing to mind the hit Billy Joel/Twyla Tharp collaboration Movin’ Out. “To me, Johnny Cash’s biography wasn’t the most important story available to tell,” Maltby continues. “It seemed to me that there is another story here. It’s an almost mythic American tale — of growing up in simple, dirt-poor surroundings in the heartland of America, leaving home, traveling on wings of music, finding love, misadventure, success, faith, redemption, and the love of a good woman — and eventually returning home . . . I refer to this as a story, but you won’t find a plot, or dramatized scenes.”

Ring of Fire is currently up for a limited run at Buffalo’s Studio Arena Theatre, in upstate New York, through October 9th.

Source rollingstone.com.