2005

Right from their first shows in May 2001, word-of-mouth on Railroad Earth was instant and superlative, as evidenced by their rapidly growing and highly loyal fanbase. Driven by the remarkable songs of front-man, Todd Sheaffer, and delivered with seamless arrangements and superb musicianship courtesy of all six band members, Railroad Earth’s powerful live experience has finally been captured on their first ever live release, Elko (SCI Fidelity Records). Recorded during their 2005 spring tour, the double disc set captures all the timeless qualities without compromising the unpredictable nature that is at the core of a Railroad Earth concert. Look for the album in stores on January 24, 2006. Railroad Earth will tour in support of Elko. Current confirmed tour dates include:

Friday, November 11th Patchogue, NY
Saturday, November 12th Peekskill, NY
Saturday, November 26th Hackettstown, NJ
Thursday December 8th Troy NY
Friday, December 9th Boston MA NY
Saturday, December 10th New York NY
Sunday, December 11th Baltimore MD NY
Thursday, December 29th Falls Church VA
Friday, December 30th Philadelphia PA
Saturday, December 31st Philadelphia PA

Winter 2006 tour dates to be announced soon. For more information, visit railroadearth.com.

Having recently made plans to end the year with a Dec. 31 show at New York’s Madison Square Garden, the Black Crowes have announced a March 18-19 stand at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire. According to a spokesperson, the shows are one-offs and not part of a longer tour.

As previously reported, the Crowes are working on a DVD shot during a five-night run at San Francisco’s Fillmore, but no information is available about when it might be released.

Also soon to materialize are “Instant Live” recordings of the band’s Oct. 30-31 shows at Chicago’s Riviera Theatre. At the second concert, which doubled as a Halloween celebration, the Crowes opened for themselves as BC/DC, performing the vintage AC/DC songs “Rock’n’Roll Damnation,” “Hell Ain’t a Bad Place To Be” and “Highway to Hell.”

Source billboard.com.

In the wake of the devastating Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans native Dr. John has recorded a seven-song EP in tribute to the area in which he was raised. Due Nov. 22 via Blue Note, “Sippiana Hericane” will double as a benefit for such charities as the New Orleans Musicians Clinic, the Jazz Foundation of America and the Voice of the Wetlands.

The recording is highlighted by the four-part “Wade: Hurricane Suite,” and also features “Clean Water,” penned by New Orleans songwriter Bobby Charles. In addition, Dr. John re-recorded his own “Sweet Home New Orleans” with new lyrics written by his wife, Cat Yellen.

“I’m saddened and angered by what has happened,” Dr. John says. “If anybody in the government would’ve done something about the disappearing wetlands for the past 50 years, then this probably wouldn’t have been as bad.”

Source billboard.com.

Vorcza is set to release their second album, Corner of the Morning, at Higher Ground in South Burlington, VT on Dec. 9. The instrumental trio based out of Burlington, VT features Ray Paczkowski on keys, Gabe Jarret on drums and Rob Morse on bass. Corner of the Morning marks the recorded debut of Paczkowski as a singer and lyricist and also features Trey Anastasio on several cuts as well as other guests.

Vorcza will be playing a release party at the Higher Ground in Sout Burlington, Vermont on Dec. 9 which is also a benefit for Burlington- based homeless support organization COTS (Committee On Temporary Shelter). Vorcza will also be playing at least one support date for 70 Volt Parade, starting with an opening slot at the Chevrolet Theater in Wallingford, CT on Nov. 19. Vorcza will tour in support of this new release starting in the new year.

For more information, visit vorcza.com.

The White Stripes will on Dec. 6 release the EP “Walking With a Ghost” via Third Man/V2, featuring a cover of Tegan & Sara’s title song plus previously unreleased live versions of “Same Boy You’ve Always Known,” “As Ugly As I Seem,” “The Denial Twist” and “Screwdriver.” “Ghost” will debut Nov. 14 via Apple’s iTunes Music Store.

Meanwhile, the duo is also planning to sell a live download of “The Denial Twist” from every show on its current U.K. tour via the Web site for XL Recordings, its U.K. label. At each show, fans can pick a blank CD to burn the tracks as well as artwork specific to the performance.

The studio version of “The Denial Twist,” taken from the group’s latest album, “Get Behind Me Satan,” will be released next week as a single in the United Kingdom, backed by a cover of the Greenhornes’ “Shelter of Your Arms.”

On Wednesday, the Stripes will also play a private show for 35 fans at the BBC’s Maida Vale Studios in London. The group’s U.K. tour will run through Nov. 17 in Manchester, and extended with a Nov. 20 gig in Reykjavik.

After a holiday break, the band will be back on the road beginning Jan. 12 in Tokyo, leading up to their run on the annual Big Day Out festival tour of Australia and New Zealand later that month.

billboard.com.

Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy kicked off his fall solo tour Friday in Madison, Wis., treating the crowd to songs recent (“Spiders (Kidsmoke)”), vintage (“Sunken Treasure,” the Uncle Tupelo-recorded traditional “Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down”) and rare (“Bob Dylan’s 49th Beard”). His young son Spencer also joined him on drums for “I’m the Man Who Loves You,” the first song of the encore.

In addition to an as-yet-unnamed song from Tweedy’s upcoming album with his side band Loose Fur, the show also featured four songs with Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche to close the evening, including “The Late Greats” and a cover of Bob Dylan’s “John Wesley Harding.”

“By the nature of playing by yourself, my repertoire gets a lot bigger than what it is with the band, that’s for sure,” Tweedy tells Billboard.com of the shows. “The band is capable of playing everything in the catalog, but at any given point you can’t just pull something out and expect everybody to know it. With this band, we have to take time to revisit things.”

“Going out by myself, I really only have myself to worry about, and I know most of the songs,” he adds with a laugh.

Prior to Tweedy’s sets, Kotche is performing material from his upcoming Nonesuch solo album. Wilco guitarist Nels Cline will fill the opening slot for a lone gig on Nov. 16 in New York. “Glenn will probably come out and do a few songs with me, but I kind of like to keep it a surprise if it is going to happen,” Tweedy says.

The solo tour runs through Nov. 22 in London, after which Wilco will continue work on their next studio album, which Tweedy is hoping to release sometime next year. As previously reported, the group has been working on 13 songs at its Chicago rehearsal space, including “I’m Talking to Myself About You” and the tentatively titled “On and On and On and On.”

Source billboard.com.

British singer and songwriter Phil Collins said on Sunday he would be open to a reunion of his old band Genesis, a day before he is set to perform in Israel as part of his what he calls his final tour.

“I’m open for it,” said Collins, 54, the most prominent international music star to perform in Israel since the start of a Palestinian uprising more than five years ago.

“I’m happy to sit behind the drums and let Peter (Gabriel) be the singer. If (a reunion) happens, I’ll be there. If it doesn’t happen … it would just be because there are too many things in the way,” Collins told reporters in Tel Aviv.

Collins’ concert on Monday in Jaffa, a quarter of Tel Aviv, is part of his “First Final Farewell Tour.” He said that he would stop touring “soon” in order to be able to spend more time with his family, but would like to continue to record music.

Collins said he wasn’t afraid in Israel, where Israeli-Palestinian violence has raged for more than five years, although attacks have largely decreased during the past year since a February truce. He performed in Lebanon a day earlier.

“I wish it wasn’t like this,” Collins said of the conflict. “I sit and watch stuff on the television, I think, ‘Why, why, why.”‘

Groups like progressive rockers Jethro Tull, boy band Westlife and metal bands Megadeth and the Scorpions, have performed in Israel during the uprising. Other artists, such as Madonna, have canceled planned concerts, though she visited Israel last year on a Kabbalah pilgrimage.

The progressive rock group Genesis formed in 1967 and were internationally successful for more than 30 years. Collins, the band’s first drummer, took over as singer after Gabriel quit the group in 1975 to become a solo artist.

Collins left in 1996 to concentrate on his own solo career having already scored solo hits in the 1980s with “Against All Odds” and “In the Air Tonight.”

After a shuffle of band members, including an Israeli drummer, Genesis finally called it quits in 1998.

Source yahoo.com.