2005

ThinkFilm has nabbed worldwide rights to “Awesome: I F***in’ Shot That,” a kaleidoscopic Beastie Boys concert documentary shot mainly by 50 fans on hand-held Hi8 cameras at New York’s Madison Square Garden, according to president and CEO Jeff Sackman.

The film was directed by Beasties rapper Adam “MCA” Yauch, using his favorite alter-ego, Nathaniel Hornblower. “Frantic” is the word Yauch used to describe the footage, which he assembled from material recorded Oct. 9, 2004, by fans, six Beasties friends using DV cameras and two high-quality tour video cameras offering bird’s-eye and long-distance views.

Yauch and Jon Doran produced the project via their Oscilloscope Films for about $1 million, which is likely to rise as music rights are cleared. The film has been submitted to Sundance in hopes that it can raise its profile on the festival circuit before a spring release.

“Pre-production was like three days,” said Yauch, who was inspired by logging on to message boards where his young fans posted. “Some kid put up video from his phone at eight frames a second,” he said, and that inspired his low-res video/high-quality audio vision. None of the 50 cameras was lost to fans, Yauch said, “but granted, we took their driver’s licenses.”

Source billboard.com.

Galactic is proud to announce some very special shows they are planning in honor of their hometown of New Orleans. On December 31st the band returns to the Crescent City and to their surrogate home, the historic Tipitina’s Uptown, to celebrate what is sure to be one of the most emotional New Year’s Eve shows of their 10-year career. While a Galactic New Year’s show is always one of the band’s most anticipated annual events, this one in particular takes on special meaning as it marks the band’s first show in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina swept through the region. The band has been particularly affected by the tragedy, having not only been forced from their home, but also from their recently built studio. Galactic is proud to be the first high profile, national show to be held in Tipitina’s since the tragedy. This show will be in classic Galactic fashion with plenty of special guests and two sets of music, making it a must-see New Years event. A $3 surcharge will be included on all tickets sold to benefit the Tipitina’s Foundation which is dedicated to preserving the culture of New Orleans. For more information on this foundation, please visit tiptinas.com

On November 18th & 19th, Galactic’s “10-Year Invasion Fall Tour” tour will culminate with a pair of unique performances at Washington DC’s 9:30 Club. Dubbed “9:30 in New Orleans”, these tour-ending shows will be a New Orleans style party featuring improvisational collaborations, a multitude of special guests and covers of classic material. Legendary vocalist and keyboardist Ivan Neville will make special appearances with Galactic throughout both nights, as will The Stooges Brass Band, who will also open the night of the 18th with a traditional, celebratory NOLA brass band show. The following evening will begin with a special performance by Robert Walters, who will be joined by Stanton Moore and Robert Mercurio of Galactic.

When Howard Stern escapes FM radio on December 16th for the uncensored world of Sirius Satellite Radio, New York loses more than its most famous shock jock — it also loses K-Rock, the last major station to regularly play new rock music. On January 3rd, former Van Halen singer David Lee Roth will take over Stern’s WXRK-FM morning show, and the station will switch to talk radio, leaving classic Q104.3 as New York’s last remaining commercial rock station.

K-Rock is just the latest casualty for rock radio. Listenership declined sixteen percent from 1998 to 2004, according to Arbitron, despite a slight resurgence for the first half of 2005. Major rock stations in Washington, D.C., Miami and Houston have folded in the past year and a half. In February, Philadelphia’s twelve-year-old modern-rock fixture Y100 switched to hip-hop, and in June, New York’s thirty-three-year-old oldies station WCBS-FM fired its veteran DJs and transformed into the new format, Jack, which plays a jukebox-style mix of pop and rock hits from the last three decades. “It’s like a slap in the face,” says Doug Podell, operations manager for Detroit rock station WRIF-FM. “Those stations were just so big, with so much rock history — and it was wiped out in a matter of moments.”

To read more visit rollingstone.com.

LCD Soundsystem, the New York outfit responsible for one of the year’s catchiest dance-floor numbers, “Daft Punk Is Playing in My House,” will hit the studio this December to record the follow-up to their self-titled spring 2005 debut.

Currently touring the U.S., frontman James Murphy says he’s aching to get back to work with production partner Tim Goldsworthy and start exploring the next offering’s one-word theme. “It’s ‘silver,'” he says of the concept, completely serious — although he won’t explain just yet. And in terms of process, Murphy wants to take a very specific approach: “I want to do it in layers, like I do remixes. I want to make the songs and put them aside, then remix them and throw things out and change it a lot.”

The album is due out in a year’s time, and Murphy says he’s already composed a number of the songs in his head — “all the parts and everything.” He plans to let those brain symphonies loose over the holiday period. “The stuff in your head is very vulnerable, so if I make a demo, the thing in my head would be erased and be replaced by this demo,” he explains — sounding a bit like Mozart in Amadeus. “I try to go from thought to getting in [the computer] as quickly as possible, and then I can listen to what it is.”

Although Murphy and Goldsworthy, as DFA Records, created an influential hybrid of punk and dance music, Murphy shrugs off the idea of a new release being radical. “Everybody who makes a record thinks they’re going to change the world when they finish it,” he says, laughing. “It doesn’t.”

LCD Soundsystem tour dates:

11/11: Nashville, City Hall
11/12: Atlanta, Earthlink Live
11/13: Asheville, NC, Orange Peel
11/14: Carrboro, NC, Cat’s Cradle
11/15: Baltimore, Sonar
11/16: Philadelphia, The Trocadero
11/18: Toronto, Kool Haus
11/19: Montreal, Society for Technological Arts
11/20: Boston, The Roxy
11/21: Atlantic City, NJ, House of Blues
11/23: New York, Nokia Theatre Times Square

Source rollingstone.com.

Anti recording artist BLACKALICIOUS have announced the next leg of their national concert tour in support of their latest album The Craft. Balancing deep thought with visceral impact, The Craft features 15 new tracks and is the group

Dinosaur Jr. – who has never before released a DVD – has finally announced plans to issue an official Dinosaur Jr. DVD release. This full length concert DVD, which will feature the band in its original line-up, will be filmed at New York’s legendary Irving Plaza on December 2-3, and at other shows along the band’s Fall Tour. The DVD will be directed by Gold In Berlin, which is run by Mascis’ own brother in-law, German filmmaker Phillip Virus. With unfettered access to this famously elusive band, fans can expect complete backstage access to Dinosaur Jr.’s recent reunion tour, one-on-one interviews, behind the scenes goings-on and a full set of performances of Dinosaur Jr. favorites. The DVD will be packed with bonus materials that any fan of the band – seasoned or brand new – will find thrilling and entertaining. Look for the DVD to be released during the first half of 2006.

Dinosaur Jr.’s current list of tour dates is as follows:

Tues November 29 Chicago, IL Metro
Wed November 30 Chicago, IL Metro
Thur December 1 Millvale, PA Mr. Small’s Theatre
Fri December 2 New York, NY Irving Plaza
Sat December 3 New York, NY Irving Plaza
Sun December 4 Cambridge, MA Middle East