2006

Addison Groove Project (AGP) is proud to announce a new project: Skinjer, which features four of the five members of AGP and will see the members performing new material as well as re-worked versions of AGP staples. Skinjer will feature Dave Adams on lead vocals and saxophone, Ben Groppe on bass, saxophone and flute, Andrew Keith on drums and Rob Marscher on keyboards and vocals.

Skinjer made their debut last year with a performance at University of New Hampshire and that has been their only show to date. The group’s first club dates will take place in some of the members’ favorite venues around the Northeast. The three shows currently scheduled are:

1/27 – Maxwell’s – Hoboken, NJ
1/28 – Higher Ground Showcase Lounge – So. Burlington, VT
2/3 – Iron Horse Music Hall – Northampton, MA

Skinjer formed as a result of Brendan McGinn’s recent entry into medical school. McGinn is the lead singer/guitarist in AGP and his schooling has resulted in a much reduced touring schedule for AGP. With the formation of Skinjer, the other four members of AGP have found a new creative outlet. However, fans of AGP should be relieved to know that AGP will still continue playing select shows, just not as many as in the past.

The name Skinjer is an homage to John Skinger Hall, AGP’s original bass player who passed away in November of 2004.

See skinjer.com for more information.

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.