Archive: 2006

Mike Skinner, aka The Streets, will be delivering his third studio album this spring on April 25th on Vice Records. “The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living” is a completely autobiographical record that covers various things that have happened to Mike over the past few years since he’s become a well known figure in the UK – there’s love, loss, scandal, violence, sex, drugs and a whole load of bad behavior and regret. It’s a true story. It’s not a ‘story’ record like his last LP, but the thread of Mike’s reality runs through every song.

Philadelphia-based band The Disco Biscuits are gearing up for the release of their double live album The Wind at Four to Fly to be released on SCI Fidelity Records on April 18. The band has returned to being a quartet with the addition of their new drummer Allen Aucoin. The auditioning process was lengthy but they found that Aucoin jumped straight in, meshing with the Biscuits’ in the groove, solid feeling called BISCO.

The Disco Biscuits are back in fine form after the departure of Sam Altman and a hiatus and are ready to greet the New Year with cross country touring and a wildly diverse live album. The first leg of the tour takes the band to the South East U.S. with many more dates to be announced in the near future.

Tour Dates

4/13/06 Higher Ground Burlington, VT
4/14/06 Higher Ground Burlington, VT
4/15/06 Higher Ground Burlington, VT
4/18/06 Starr Hill Charlottesville, VA
4/19/06 Rox Nightclub Wilmington, NC
4/20/06 Lincoln Theatre Raleigh, NC
4/21/06 Lincoln Theatre Raleigh, NC
4/22/06 Neighborhood Theatre Charlotte, NC
4/23/06 Orange Peel Asheville NC
4/26/06 TBA TBA
4/27/06 Earthlink Live Atlanta, GA
4/28/06 Georgia Theatre Athens, GA
4/29/06 Georgia Theatre Athens, GA

In the clearest sign yet that Billy Corgan is moving ahead with his plan to revive seminal alternative rock act Smashing Pumpkins, sources say the group has signed a new management deal with Jared Paul and Paul Geary at the Irving Azoff-helmed Front Line Management.

Billboard.com has learned that Corgan and Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin will initially begin work on a new studio album, the first under the group name since the original Pumpkins’ 2000 swan song, “MACHINA/the machines of god.” When asked for comment, a Corgan spokesperson said there was no information to report at present.

It is understood that at this point, original members James Iha (guitar) and D’arcy Wretzky (bass) are not participating in the reunion, but sources say multi-instrumentalist Billy Mohler will be involved in some fashion. Mohler formerly played bass in pop/rock act the Calling and was a featured contributor on Chamberlin’s 2005 solo album, “Life Begins Again.”

Source billboard.com.

Following a foray into wine, the estate of Jerry Garcia has licensed the late Grateful Dead guitarist’s name to a limited edition line of tea. Five blends of J. Garcia Artisan Teas will be available beginning March 1 from premium tea company the Republic of Tea.

Like the wines marketed by Clos du Bois, each J. Garcia Artisan Teas package will feature original artwork by the artist from a collection of more than 500 pieces created before his death in 1995. A portion of the proceeds from the teas will be donated to Draw Bridge, a non-profit organization that provides art programs for children in homeless shelters.

The first set of teas is made up of Morning Brew (black tea), Jerry Cherry (black tea, essence of Bing cherries and vanilla), Shady Grown (blend of Brazilian Yerba Mate and South African Rooibos with cinnamon and vanilla), Magic Herb Blend (caffeine-free, orange and peppermint) and Spirit of Sage (green tea with sage).

Source billboard.com.

The forty-eighth Grammy awards are but a week away. The music industry will descend upon Los Angeles any moment now and will have to deal with Woody Allen’s assertion that he didn’t “want to move to a city where the only cultural advantage is being able to make a right turn on a red light.” Here are some predictions from the main categories

Even though they’re better known for their touring vehicle- a converted bus powered by recycled vegetable oil and biodiesel – and recently dropped the “String Band” from their moniker, there’s no hiding who Hot Buttered Rum really are. With their aptly titled second full length studio album, Well-Oiled Machine, the roots-grass band goes where fellow pickers like Yonder Mountain String Band have ventured before, successfully churning acoustic bluegrass with folk.

Rogue Wave, Thursday, Isis, the National, Feist, Two Gallants, Minus the Bear, Kid Koala, the Dirtbombs, We Are Scientists and a collaboration between Four Tet and drummer Steve Reid will all be on display at the fourteenth Noise Pop Festival, which will be held March 28-April 2 at venues throughout San Francisco.

This year will boast the return of the Noise Pop Film Festival as well as an Educational Series. Several events blending literature and music are also in the works.

“Every year we try to offer shows that you wouldn’t have a chance to see outside of Noise Pop,” says Noise Pop partner Jordan Kurland. “Whether it’s convincing a band that sold out a big room last time through town to play a small club or looking for something that has never been done in town before, we are always aiming to do something unique.

Tickets for individual Noise Pop shows go on sale Sunday (Feb. 5), with festival badges to follow on Feb. 12.

Source billboard.com.

High Sierra Music has announced more additions to the 2006 High Sierra Music Festival music line-up. My Morning Jacket will be making their first High Sierra appearance. This Louisville, Kentucky quintet has won the hearts of critics and audiences with two superb studio releases on ATO Records, It Still Moves and Z (which topped many best of charts in 2005), and their exhilarating, visually provocative live performances. The Disco Biscuits will be returning to High Sierra for their first appearance since 2003. After a period of change and transition, this “trance-fusion” quartet is back with a new drummer, newfound energy, and a new double-live album The Wind At Four To Fly (to be released April 18 on SCI Fidelity Records). Asheville, NC’s Toubab Krewe is a band new to High Sierra band that’s been making waves with their blend of Malian, southern rock, and surf music that has won praise from the New York Times, Global Rhythm Magazine and Afropop Worldwide. High Sierra Music will continue to announce more artists for this year’s festival.

HIGH SIERRA MUSIC FESTIVAL 2006 LINE-UP:
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Velvet Redux: Live MCMXCIII is an excellent memento to the legacy of The Velvet Underground, which is all about the history, culture, and life in the U.S, which to most viewers, means everything.

ooking like Mike Nesmith’s fan club, this five piece hit the stage just before midnight in silly wool hats, but the sweltering club had already served to warm them up. They collided into the music sans introduction, if there was any doubt about the energy and excitement in the room, it was obliterated under the first notes of the majestic show opener “Say Something.” The band who goes by their coded names are: TAXI: guitar, vocals, TABLES: bass, vocals, TEXT: keyboards, guitar and vocals, TURBO: trapset, vocals, THANKS: guitars, vocals.