2006

Anti recording artist Daniel Lanois has confirmed Tuesday night residency at the Silverlake, CA hot spot Spaceland throughout January. Door time for the shows is at 9pm, and set time is 11pm. Lanois will also perform February 3 at Zankel Hall for the New York premiere of his film, the

Singer/songwriter and keyboardist Billy Preston is recovering from a recent bout with a serious infection of the sac encasing his heart. “Billy had a very catastrophic incident happen to him, but he is doing considerably better,” his manager, Joyce Moore, said last week.

Preston, 59, is best known for his work with the Beatles during the later portion of their career, playing the organ on “Get Back.” He also toured with the Rolling Stones and was a regular member of Eric Clapton’s band. His solo hits include “Nothing From Nothing Leaves Nothing” and “Will It Go Round in Circles?”

He has suffered from chronic kidney failure brought on by uncontrolled high blood pressure since 2001, Moore said. He had a kidney transplant in 2002, but the kidney failed and he has been on thrice-weekly dialysis treatments ever since.

Moore said that while Preston isn’t “brain dead” as some reports suggested, he remains seriously ill and is not up and walking around. He cannot speak because he has a tracheotomy.

Moore said he’s not hospitalized at the clinic, but is in a facility where he can receive physical therapy and other medical treatment. Preston is not contemplating another kidney transplant, she said. “He just decided that he could not go through that again,” Moore said.

Source billboard.com.

The National, Mark Eitzel, Vernon Reid and Martha Wainwright were among the acts on hand Saturday to perform Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska” album in its entirety at New York’s World Financial Center Winter Garden, and the Boss couldn’t resist putting in an appearance.

Springsteen joined the ensemble at the end of the concert for a cover of Woody and Jack Guthrie’s “Oklahoma Hills” and then stuck around to converse with the artists backstage.

“I think he might have felt nostalgic after hearing ‘Nebraska’ played back at him by such a motley assortment of musicians,” the National’s Aaron Dessner tells Billboard.com. Springsteen featured the National’s “About Today” in the music played in venues before shows on his recent solo tour, and Dessner enthuses, “It was almost absurd to me that he knows and likes our music.”

The National has a reached a new level of visibility and critical appreciation thanks its 2005 Beggars Banquet debut, “Alligator.” But the group isn’t resting on its laurels, and is already working on writing new songs. “We hope to start recording in late spring,” Dessner says.

Before then, the group will join Broken Social Scene for a Jan. 25 show at Tufts University in Boston and headline the Plug Awards Feb. 2 at New York’s Webster Hall. Dessner says “a short east coast and west coast run” will follow in late March.

Fans can also hear the song “Wasp Nest,” from the National’s 2004 “Cherry Tree” EP, in the new George Clooney film “Syriana.”

Source billboard.com.

Idaho-based rock act Built To Spill will return April 11 with its fourth Warner Bros. studio album, “You in Reverse.” As previously reported, this is the first Built To Spill full-length since its 1993 debut, “Ultimate Alternative Wavers,” to not be produced by Phil Ek. “We just wanted to try something new to spark us to do something different,” frontman Doug Martsch told Billboard.com last year.

Martsch admitted he was not satisfied with the last Built To Spill studio album, 2001’s “Ancient Melodies of the Future,” which was met with a muted response from critics and fans alike. “I just wasn’t too into making Built To Spill records. Taking a little time off makes it more exciting to come back to,” he said.

If the new album opener “Goin’ Against Your Mind” is any indication, the group seems to have been revitalized by the time off. At nearly nine minutes, the song is the most rocking and expansive piece of music Built To Spill has unveiled in years. It is now available streaming on the group’s Myspace.com page.

“You in Reverse” features the studio debut of former Delusions guitarist Jim Roth, who has been a part of the Built To Spill live band for several years. Quasi’s Sam Coomes also contributed on keyboard. The first single from the set will most likely be “Conventional Wisdom,” according to a spokesperson.

Having toured in lieu of a new album on and off over the past few years, Built To Spill will hit the road later this year in support of the new album.

Here is the track list for “You in Reverse”:

“Goin’ Against Your Mind”
“Traces”
“Liar”
“Saturday”
“Wherever You Go”
“Conventional Wisdom”
“Gone”
“Mess With Time”
“Just a Habit”
“The Wait”

Source billboard.com.

A unique combination of indie singer/songwriters is hitting the road together this February as The Undertow Orchestra on a tour that promises plenty of special moments.

Vic Chesnutt, Dave Bazan of Pedro the Lion, Mark Eitzel of American Music Club, and Centro-matic frontman Will Johnson will share the stage, taking turns at the mic and serving as backing band on each other’s material.

Centro-matic’s Scott Danbom will also be along to provide accompaniment on piano and violin.

The tour starts February 8 in Athens, Ga., and hits 18 cities, including a double-night stand in Arlington, Va.

The gang will cover the South, East Coast and Great Lakes regions before wrapping back in Georgia at Atlanta’s Variety Playhouse March 1.

Source pollstar.com.

Ever We Fall has just announced plans to hit the road with The Fall Of Troy, The #12 Looks Like You, Days Like These, The Audition, and An Angle. The Pop-Punk / Emo band is currently touring in anticipation of their Hopeless Records debut

Galactic is proud to announce the upcoming Coup de Gras Tour. Inspired by New Orleans’ annual celebration of Mardi Gras, the tour will feature traditional Crescent-City openers throughout. Each stop will be a unique New Orleans’-style celebration centered around Galactic’s progressive funk. Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and the Golden Eagles, whose elaborate costumes, rituals and performances have made them a Mardi Gras staple, will open the first four dates. The Hot 8 Brass Band will support the latter leg of the tour, leading into the run’s final destination, Mardi Gras. Both of these authentic New Orleans talents have mastered the fine art of fueling the party. The month-long tour begins in Tempe, AZ, on February 8th., and will include a special stop in Denver, CO on February 18th, where guitarist Leo Nocentelli of The Meters, Big Chief Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolia Mardi Gras Indians, Teedy Boutte and the legendary Rebirth Brass Band will all join Galactic for a very special night of New Orleans’ inspired funk and collaborations. The Rebirth Brass Band is one of the Crescent-City’s most well-known and loved acts will open the show.

Following a run through Texas, the Coup De Gras Tour will culminate with two nights in New Orleans during Mardi Gras weekend, playing at Tipitina’s on February 25th & 27th. The Hot 8 Brass Band will finish their run with Galactic on the 25th, while special guests The New Orleans Klezmer All Stars will open the night of the 27th, helping Galactic keep their Lundi Gras tradition of playing until sunrise on Fat Tuesday for the festival’s grand finale. These final two shows will serve as the culmination of the run, bringing the Mardi Gras theme full circle.

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.

CONFIRMED TOUR DATES BELOW:

FEBRUARY
8 Marquee Theatre Tempe, AZ *
9 4th & B San Diego, CA *
10 House of Blues Anaheim, CA *
11 House of Blues West Hollywood, CA *
12 Ceasars Tahoe Showroom Stateline, NV
14 & 15 Belly Up Aspen, CO
16 Levelz Nightclub Steamboat Springs, CO
17 Club 8150 Vail, CO
18 The Fillmore Auditorium Denver, CO
19 Rafters Mt. Crested Butte, CO
21 Farmers Public Market Oklahoma City, OK **
22 Cain’s Ballroom Tulsa, OK **
23 Gypsy Tea Room Dallas, TX **
24 Meridian Houston, TX **
25 & 27 Tipitina’s New Orleans, LA

* – Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and Golden Eagles supporting
** – Hot 8 Brass Band supporting
*** – The Rebirth Brass Band supporting / with special guests Leo Nocentelli of the Meters, Big Chief Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias and Teedy Boutte.

King of France will be hitting the road again, this time with Nada Surf and Rogue Wave.

Confirmed dates:

*Wed 2/8/06 Eight By Ten Baltimore MD
*Thu 2/9/06 Starr Hill Music Hall Charlottesville VA
*Fri 2/10/06 Cats Cradle Carrboro NC
*Sat 2/11/06 Loft Atlanta GA
*Sun 2/12/06 Exit / In Nashville TN
*Tue 2/14/06 Blue Note Columbia MO
*Wed 2/15/06 Granada Lawrence, KS
*Fri 2/17/06 Trees Dallas TX
*Sat 2/18/06 Emo’s Austin TX
*Mon 2/20/06 Clubhouse Tempe Az
*Tue 2/21/06 House of Blues San Diego CA
*Wed 2/22/06 Henry Fonda Theater Los Angeles CA

For more info see thekingoffranceband.com

Coming off a breakout year, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah has announced a full North American tour beginning March 7th in Philadelphia. Notable shows include an appearance at the Langerado Festival March 12th, SXSW dates, a two night run at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco and a closing stand at the Bowery in New York City April 14th and 15th.

Pre sale is now available for most dates. More to be announced

March 07: Philadelphia, PA // TLA
March 08: Washington DC // 9:30 Club
March 09: Carrboro, NC // Cat’s Cradle
March 10: Atlanta, GA // Variety Playhouse
March 12: Sunrise, FL // Langarado Festival
March 15: Ft. Worth, TX // Ridglea Theater
March 16 – 19: Austin, TX // SXSW Festival
March 21: Tucson, AZ // Solar Culture
March 22: San Diego, CA // The Casbah
March 23: Los Angeles, CA // El Ray Theater
March 24: San Francisco, CA // Great American Music Hall
March 25: San Francisco, CA // Great American Music Hall
March 28: Denver, CO // Bluebird Theater
March 30: Lawrance, KS // The Bottleneck
March 31: Omaha, NE // Sokol Auditorium
Apr 01: Minneapolis, MN // 400 Bar
Apr 03: Chicago, IL // Metro
Apr 05: Newport, KY // Southgate House
Apr 06: Cleveland, OH // Beachland Ballroom
Apr 07: Ann Arbor, MI // Blind Pig
Apr 08: Toronto, ONT // Lee’s Palace
Apr 10: Montreal, QUE // La Tulipe
Apr 11: Burlington, VT // Higher Ground
Apr 12: Boston, MA // Paradise
Apr 14: New York City, NY // Bowery Ballroom
Apr 15: New York City, NY // Bowery Ballroom