Archive: 2005

Yep Roc Records’ comprehensive Billy Bragg reissue series is back on the schedule for a Feb. 21 release. As previously reported, the label had expected to put out expanded versions of the singer/songwriter’s “Life’s a Riot With Spy vs. Spy,” “Brewing Up With Billy Bragg,” “Talking With the Taxman About Poetry” and “The Internationale” in September, as well as box them together with a bonus DVD.

Less than a week after the label announced the plan, the artist pulled the plug, stating that he wanted to be sure he could “fully support these releases on both sides of the Atlantic” upon their release. Bragg has only played a handful of dates in 2005, but is expected to mount some level of touring behind the Yep Roc re-releases.

Earlier this month, a trio of songs Bragg co-wrote with patients facing life-threatening illnesses as part of a project known as Rosetta Requiem were released as downloads via iTunes and on CD through Townshend Records. Details of the project can be found on the artist’s Web site.

Source billboard.com.

Ben Folds’ two March concerts with an 83-piece orchestra are in the spotlight on a new DVD. Due Dec. 6 via Epic, “Ben Folds and WASO Live in Perth” finds the artist and the Western Australia Symphony Orchestra running through 13 selections, including “Brick,” “The Ascent of Stan” and “Rock This B*tch.”

“Live in Perth” also features behind-the-scenes footage of Folds and the orchestra plus an interview with the American-born artist, who now lives in Australia when he’s not on the road.

In the midst of his fall North American tour that visits Chicago tonight (Oct. 27), Folds will reprise the orchestral format for three shows next month with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: Nov. 10 at Stratford Hall in North Bethesda, Md., and Nov. 11-12 at Baltimore’s Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.

Folds is out in support of his latest studio album, “Songs for Silverman,” which debuted in May at a career-best No. 13 on The Billboard 200, thanks to first-week sales of 50,000 copies.

Here is the track list for “Live in Perth”:

“Zak and Sara”
“Smoke”
“Fred Jones Part 2”
“Boxing”
“Annie Waits”
“Brick”
“Steven’s Last Night in Town”
“Evaporated”
“Rock This B*tch”
“The Ascent of Stan”
“Lullabye”
“Narcolepsy”
“The Luckiest”

Source billboard.com.

When

Johnny Cash famously took out an ad in Billboard magazine featuring a picture of himself flipping off the camera, sarcastically thanking Nashville and country radio for their support. It

Rarely, at least in my observation, does an artist make the successful transition from rock band to solo acoustic performer. Jerry Joseph is one of those rare artists.

Trey Anastasio, former lead guitarist and singer in Phish, is releasing his major label solo debut album Shine on Tuesday, November 1 on Sony. To celebrate, Anastasio will play host as a SIRIUS Satellite Radio DJ for 17 consecutive hours, during which he will choose and host all of the music selections, including all 12 tracks on his brand-new album Shine, being released the same day.

Airtime will run from 7am ET to 12 midnight ET on Commercial-free SIRIUS music channel 17, Jam On. In addition to “Trey Day,” SIRIUS will also broadcast an exclusive, live solo performance by Trey Anastasio on Wednesday, November 2 at 9 pm ET on channel 18, The Spectrum, and then again on Friday, November 4 at 12 pm ET on channel 17, Jam On.

For more about SIRIUS, sirius.com

New Orleans staple Galactic will return to its hometown in a major way for the band’s 10th anniversary.

The celebration will take the form of a New Year’s Eve gala at Tipitina’s, a New Orleans landmark and a longtime haunt of the band. The band promises the show will feature many special guests and two full sets, in “classic Galactic fashion.”

A $3 surcharge on tickets will benefit the Tipitina’s Foundation, a charity dedicated to preserving the culture of the hurricane-ravaged city.

The band’s birthday bash was originally scheduled for early September.

Prior to the New Year’s gig, Galactic will finish off its 10-Year Invasion Fall Tour with two shows at Washington, D.C.’s 9:30 Club. The shows will be a “New Orleans style party,” according to the band, with guest appearances from Ivan Neville, The Stooges Brass Band and more.

Source pollstar.com.

Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley and Hawthorne Heights will be featured on MTV2’s upcoming 10-stop $2Bill Tour. The two acts will play four separate dates before each making their final stop at New York’s Nokia Theatre Times Square a day apart in early December.

The week before each concert date, a limited amount of $2 tickets will be available for purchase at local outlets. To promote the trek, Marley will be featured next week on MTV2’s “Hip Hop,” while Hawthorne Heights will appear on an episode of “T-Minus Roc” the week of Dec. 12.

The $2Bill series began as one-off shows featuring major artists but has grown into a tour in recent years. Previous participants include Kanye West, Beastie Boys, Snoop Dogg and Coldplay.

Here are the $2Bill tour dates for Damian Marley:

Nov 11: Anaheim, Calif. (House of Blues)
Nov 13: San Diego (4th and B)
Nov 27: Chicago (House of Blues)
Nov 30: Boston (Avalon)
Dec 3: New York (Nokia Theatre Times Square)

Here are the $2Bill tour dates for Hawthorne Heights:

Nov 6: West Hollywood, Calif. (House of Blues)
Nov 8: Las Vegas (House of Blues)
Nov 17: Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (House of Blues)
Nov 29: Cleveland (House of Blues)
Dec 4: New York (Nokia Theatre Times Square)

Source billboard.com.

Celtic rock outfit Great Big Sea has announced an ambitious North American tour, starting in the band’s native Canada January 31 at Brantford, Ontario’s Sanderson Centre.

GBS just released The Hard And The Easy, its eighth album and its first ever comprising entirely traditional tunes from the band’s native Newfoundland. So don’t be surprised if the upcoming shows include a healthy sprinkling of the band’s favorite folk songs.

The itinerary includes two-night stands in Halifax, Nova Scotia; Somerville, Mass.; and its hometown of St. John’s, Newfoundland.

A full 40 shows are planned for the outing, which stretches all the way through May 5.

The highly music-oriented culture of the band’s home region made an album of traditional local songs an easy task.

“There were a thousand amazing songs in our backyards,” the band’s Alan Doyle said. “The biggest reason to do an album like this is because you can. If you are a Newfoundland musician, they’re available and accessible. Most folk musicians would love to have a body of work like this to draw on.”

“We’re proud of these songs and very much love the place they come from.”

Source pollstar.com.

Broken Social Scene is like a Jackson Pollock painting. At first, you can only ask yourself, “what the fuck is this?” before you step back and it begins to make a little sense. There are layers and layers to examine and you don