2005

Seven days after its lease expired, legendary New York rock club CBGB received an eviction notice from its landlord — a move the club’s owner predicted yesterday (Sept. 8) would move the bitter fight over the venue’s future into the courtroom.

“This was expected,” said CBGB owner Hilly Kristal. “We were hoping it would come. Now it becomes a court battle.”

The eviction notice was served Wednesday evening. The building landlord, the nonprofit homeless advocacy group the Bowery Resident’s Committee, reiterated its call for CBGB to “vacate the premises both voluntarily and expeditiously.”

BRC executive director Muzzy Rosenblatt confirmed the eviction notice was served, but declined to comment further.

Just hours before the club’s lease expired at midnight on Aug. 31, the BRC announced it would not renew the agreement after a five-year fight over the monthly $19,000 rent. The BRC, which holds a 45-year lease on the building, houses 250 homeless people above the club. CBGB is its lone commercial tenant.

Through it all, CBGB has vowed to remain open and has shows scheduled throughout September.

Source billboard.com.

Death Cab for Cutie has announced initial details of a special benefit concert to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina. Slated for Wednesday, September 21st at Seattle’s the Showbox, the show will see the band joined by fellow Seattleites Harvey Danger, along with other as-yet-unannounced artists. Tickets for the benefit concert are scheduled to go on sale on Friday, September 9th at 10AM PST.

After heralding the release of “PLANS” with a number of summer concerts – including a sold-out performance at New York City’s Central Park Summerstage – Death Cab for Cutie are poised to hit the road for an extensive North American tour. The trek will kick off on October 3rd and 4th with a two night stand at Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom, culminating seven weeks later with a pair of sold-out hometown dates at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre on November 18th and 19th (see attached itinerary). In addition, September 24th will see the quartet getting ready for the tour with a performance at Austin, Texas’ annual Austin City Limits Festival. The band will make its national television debut for “PLANS” with a performance on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” on September 27th.

In light of the recent tragedy affecting the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Katrina, The Disco Biscuits and various artists will appear at a benefit concert to take place next Tuesday, September 13 at Spirit nightclub at 530 W 27th St. in New York City.

Tickets will go on sale on Friday, September 9th at 12:00 PM on Biscotix at discobiscuits.com. The event is produced by Chill Promotions and HeadCount, a non-profit organization co-chaired by Disco Biscuits bass player Marc Brownstein.

The Disco Biscuits will perform with a very special pair of drummers, Joe Russo and Mike Greenfield. Russo will also appear with two other acts

In order to mark the band’s 10th anniversary, Galactic is proud to announce the plans for their “Ten Year Invasion” fall tour. The invasion will begin October 26th in Crystal Bay, NV, and will include stops in New York, Boston, Washington DC, and Las Vegas for the upcoming Vegoose music festival. Openers for the tour are as diverse as always with Lyrics Born and ALO each taking on different legs. This year’s special Halloween show, one of Galactic’s most anticipated annual events, will take place in Austin, TX, and with Mofro in the opening slot it’s sure to be a highlight on the fall tour. A longtime staple of the vibrant New Orleans music scene, Galactic is thrilled to hit the road to celebrate a decade of good times and great music. “We’ve all grown up together and learned so much,” says bassist Robert Mercurio. “We’re not only best friends, we’re like family.”

Although the fall tour plans remain intact, due to the current conditions in New Orleans Galactic must postpone their 10th Anniversary shows that were scheduled for September 9th & 10th at Tipitina’s. As longtime residents of New Orleans the members of Galactic have been particularly affected by last week’s tragedy. Although the band was on the road at the time of the event, they plan on doing all they can to assist in the recovery effort. They are currently exploring different options as far as benefits in which they can participate, and they will also use this time to work on their next studio album.

Galactic was born in the mid-’90s, after two Washington DC punks–guitarist Jeff Raines and bassist Robert Mercurio–relocated to New Orleans and found themselves intoxicated by the sounds of the scene that nurtured The Meters, Professor Longhair, the Neville Brothers and Dr. John. Armed with the rhythmic tradition of their adopted hometown, Raines, Mercurio, saxophonist Ben Ellman, keyboardist Rich Vogel, and drummer Stanton Moore have spent ten years tearing through venues across the world, leaving hordes of die-hard Galactic junkies in their wake. Weaving modern and retrospective styles into their own trademark jazz-funk-rock fusion, Galactic created a far-reaching canon–including six albums and countless live performances–informed by ongoing influence from a wide range of genres, including hip-hop, blues, pop, and electronica.

* All shows are on sale now through Galactic Ticketing
* Tickets will go on sale to the general public on September 10th

Galactic’s official web site: galacticfunk.com

The seventh Voodoo Music Experience, which was to take place Oct. 29-30 in New Orleans’ City Park, is attempting to move forward with this year’s event. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, attempts are being made to hold the festival on the original dates in a new city to be announced, and also raise funds for victims of the disaster.

Voodoo was to feature performances by Nine Inch Nails, My Chemical Romance, the New York Dolls, the Flaming Lips, Tiesto and Queens Of The Stone Age, as well as a host of New Orleans-based musicians. A recongfigured lineup is pending.

Full story: billboard