2005

While it reaps in critical acclaim for its collaborative album and tour with Iron & Wine, veteran rock act Calexico has put the finishing touches on its next studio set. Due April 11 via Quarterstick, the 11-track “Garden Ruin” was produced by J.D. Foster, who has worked with everyone from Dwight Yoakam and Marc Ribot to Nancy Sinatra and Alejandro Escovedo.

“The songs have that moodiness and ambience, but there’s also some more electric, rockin’ numbers,” group member Joey Burns told Billboard.com this summer of the new material.

Indeed, there are a few more overt rock moments on “Garden Ruin” than usual, particularly on the sprightly “Letter to Bowie Knife” and the Crazy Horse-tinged second half of the six-minute album closer “All Systems Red.”

But for the most part, the album boasts another helping of the group’s signature desert rock sound, from the hushed, largely acoustic “Yours and Mine” to the soulful, string-flecked “Bisbee Blue.”

“Garden Ruin” is the follow-up to 2003’s “Feast of Wire,” which debuted at a career-best No. 23 on Billboard’s Top Independent Albums chart. The Calexico/Iron & Wine album, “In the Reins” (Overcoat) was even more successful, opening at No. 2 on the Heatseekers tally and No. 12 on Top Independent Albums.

The two acts’ supporting tour will wrap tomorrow (Dec. 16) in Atlanta and will resume in Europe next spring. To close out the year, Calexico will play two shows with Mariachi Luz de Luna and Nick Luca on Dec. 22 in Los Angeles and Dec. 30 in Tucson. Three showcase gigs are also on tap for Jan. 24 in New York, Jan. 26 in Los Angeles and Jan. 29 in San Francisco.

As previously reported, Burns and Calexico mate John Convertino guest on Neko Case’s upcoming Anti- album, “Fox Confessor Brings the Flood,” due March 7.

Here is the track list for “Garden Ruin”:

“Cruel”
“Yours and Mine”
“Bisbee Blue”
“Panic Open String”
“Letter to Bowie Knife”
“Roka”
“Lucky Dime”
“Smash
“Deep Down”
“Nom De Plume”
“All Systems Red”

Source billboard.com.

Trey Anastasio will join old friends the Black Crowes and the North Mississippi Allstars for a special New Year’s Eve performance at Madison Square Garden. My Morning Jacket, who was originally scheduled to perform has cancelled due to health reasons. Tickets are $45-65 and still available at Ticketmaster.

After skipping over NYC on his recent fall tour, as promised, Phil Lesh and Friends will more than make up for lost time in the Big Apple. In addition to expected dates at the Beacon Theatre February 10-12 and 14-15, the band has also announced a run at the Hammerstein Ballroom February 17-19. The tour, entitled

Carole King and Rockingdale / Concord Records are hosting a charity auction on eBay to benefit Mercy Corps.

Mercy Corps exists to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities. The agency’s programs currently reach 7 million people in more than 35 countries. Since 1979, Mercy Corps has provided over $1 billion in assistance to people in 81 nations. Mercy Corps is a nonprofit organization with headquarters in Portland, Seattle, Cambridge, Washington, D.C. and Edinburgh, Scotland.

For more information about Mercy Corps visit their website at: mercycorps.org

Carole King / Mercy Corps ebay Auction

ITEMS IN THE AUCTION

Carole King autographed 11″ x 17″ mini poster from “The Living Room Tour”
Full-color tour program from The Living Room Tour
Latte mug with lyrics to Carole’s classic song from Tapestry, “Beautiful” printed on mug with Carole’s handwriting and signature
“You’ve Got a Friend” wristband
The Living Room Tour double CD
Love Makes the World CD
In Concert CD
Colour of Your Dreams CD
Pearls – Songs of Goffin and King CD

Also available are the following Carole King audio streams from her Living Room Tour CD for one month.

Quicktime

Windows Media

ALO (Animal Liberation Orchestra) will be taking off in 2006, with a new version of their album Fly Between Falls slated for release on Brushfire Records February 21, 2006.
The Bay Area-based quartet specializes in eclectic, groove-based rock

Dr. Dog has been creating music in various incarnations in their hometown of Philadelphia for nearly four years now. The five musicians making up Dr. Dog are all from various musical backgrounds. Imagine The Beach Boys, Beatles, Tom Waits, David Bowie and Neil Young as acknowledged influences that have been interpreted through the eyes of Pavement, Palace Brothers, R. Stevie Moore or Roy Wood.

Along with Rolling Stone, Spin, Alternative Press, Fader and many others, The Philadelphia Inquirer raved Easy Beat, the band’s current album, is an” infectious debut album … Beach Boys-style three part harmonies layered over skewed bouncy rock songs.” The New York Times went on to call Easy Beat an “extraordinary catalog of off kilter ballads and light-headed riff rock … All nine songs, filled with breezy vocal harmonies and unexpected digressions.”

Dr. Dog will be producing the record themselves and are currently recording in Philadelphia in their own studio / rehearsal space. Dr. Dog are looking at a June / July 2006 release.