2006

Sire Records has announced the release of Regina Spektor’s new album ‘begin To Hope.’ Set for a June 13th, 2006 release, Spektor recently completed an 11-date sold-out warm-up tour of the states, including dates at Los Angeles’ El Rey Theatre and Brooklyn’s Warsaw Theatre. The dates in the US were the first for Spektor since her 25-date sold-out tour in the summer of 2005. In support of her major-label debut, Spektor will perform on Late Night with Conan O’Brien on June 14th. In addition, Sire launched an interactive virtual listening party for the New York City chanteuse that will enable listeners to experience her new album. Beginning June 24th, Spektor will head to Europe for a 30-date tour, which includes a sold out night at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall and performances at T In The Park and the V Festival.

The official listening party, in which songs from ‘Begin To Hope’ will be available at six different ‘listening posts’ in a virtual New York City loft, will be held in Second Life, an immensely popular 3D online world in which users, known as ‘residents,’ build and own their own content online. This is the first time a major record company has launched a virtual record release in Second Life and held a listening party for one of its artists. Anyone who logs in and creates a free basic membership in Second Life (www.secondlife.com) will be able to view Spektor’s virtual room where ‘Begin To Hope’ will be played in the background. The room will feature places for people to sit and listen to the album and talk to each other about it, providing a communal 3-D experience for users. The environment of the room will change to match the mood of each song. Second Life currently boasts over 221,000 residents, with an average of 6,000 players online at any given time. There is no fee to register and become a resident.

Stevie Nicks will open the first eight shows on Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Highway Companion tour, which kicks off June 9 at the Verizon Amphitheatre in Charlotte, N.C.

Nicks’ performances include two shows in Virginia and a June 20 stop in New York’s Madison Square Garden. Her final appearance on the outing will be the June 21 gig at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, Mass. Nicks is scheduled to perform a selection of songs with Petty.

Former Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio will also support the first eight shows, which will be followed by six double-bills with Pearl Jam through July 2-3 in Denver.

Source: Billboard

Why do so many people end up liberated from their clothes at Morningwood shows? The band probes this question as they headline a summer

Dave Matthews Band, O.A.R., and former members of Phish and the Grateful Dead are among the artists participating in the “Midterms Matter Tour,” a multi-city voter registration campaign staged this summer by the non-profit, nonpartisan organization HeadCount.

HeadCount registered nearly 50,000 voters in 2004, more than any all-volunteer group in the United States. This year, the organization aims to bring voter participation back to the forefront by reminding young people that “Midterms Matter,” referring to the midterm elections in which one-third of the Senate and all seats in the House of Representatives are up for re-election.

More than 30 major concerts and events will be part of the tour, including the giant Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, Tennessee in June as well as a two-day festival in August on New York City’s Randall’s Island headlined by Dave Matthews Band. The first event with a Headcount presence will be Summercamp, a three day festival from May 26 – May 28 in Chillicothe, Illinois featuring headliners Umphrey’s McGee, moe. and The Disco Biscuits.

Other artists participating include veteran Southern rockers The Allman Brothers Band, Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon (formerly of Phish) featuring the Benevento-Russo Duo, Gov’t Mule, moe. and String Cheese Incident. Ratdog, fronted by former Grateful Dead guitar player Bob Weir, and Phil Lesh and Friends, starring the Dead’s former bass player, are also part of the Midterms Matter Tour.

“Democracy seems to be slipping away from us year by year,” said Weir, a member of HeadCount’s board of directors. “The only true way to fight against that is with our votes, while we still have a chance.”

At each event, teams of volunteers will register voters while major concert acts will encourage all their fans to vote in November. The artist activities will range from stage announcements to special branding of concerts to media interviews. Sometimes, they’ll even go into the crowd to register voters themselves.

Marc Brownstein, bass player for the popular electronic rock band The Disco Biscuits, serves as the organization’s co-chair. “Two years ago, everyone was talking about voting, and we set out to make sure our audience was well represented at the polls,” said Brownstein, whose band will appear at five Midterms Matter Tour events. “This year, our mission goes beyond that. We want to be the sparkplug that gets all of America talking about voting again.”

The complete schedule of the Midterms Matter Tour events is listed below. For more information on HeadCount, please visit the newly re-designed site headcount.org .

May 26-28 SummerCamp 3 Sisters Park, Chillicothe, IL
June 3-4 Mountain Jam Hunter Mountain, Hunter, NY
June 9 moe. Festival Pier, Penn’s Landing, PA
June 8-11 Wakarusa Festival Clinton Lake, Lawrence, KS
June 16-18 Bonnaroo Festival Manchester, TN
June 27 Allman Brothers and Derek Trucks Jones Beach, Wantagh, NY
June 30 Phil Lesh and Friends Tweeter Center, Camden, NJ
June 29- July 2 High Sierra Festival Quincy, CA

July 1 Phil Lesh and Friends PNC Banks Art Center, Holmdel, NJ
July 1 – 2 Dave Matthews Band Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI
July 7 Phil Lesh and Friends Jones Beach, Wantagh, NY
July 11 String Cheese Incident Penn’s Landing, PA
July 15 O.A.R. Charter One Pavillion, Chicago, IL
July 14-16 All Good Festival Marvin’s Mountain Top, Masontown, WV
July 19-22 10,000 Lakes Festival Soo Pass Ranch, Detroit Lakes, MN
July 28 Dave Matthews Band / Soulive Dodge Center, Hartford, CT
July 29 Dave Matthews Band / Gov’t Mule Dodge Center, Hartford, CT
August 5-6 Randall’s Island New York, NY
Dave Matthews Band, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Gov’t Mule, YMSB, TLG
August 10 O.A.R. Tweeter Center, Camden, NJ
August 11 O.A.R. PNC Banks Art Center, Holmdel, NJ
August 17-20 Gathering of the Vibes Indian Lookout CC, Mariaville, NY
August 25-26 Camp Bisco V Hunter Mountain, Hunter, NY
September 1-3 Dave Matthews Band / O.A.R. The Gorge, George, WA
September 1-3 moe.Down 7 Snow Ridge, Turin, NY
September 8-9 DMB / Robert Randolph Family Band Shoreline Amp, Mountain View, CA
September 15 Dave Matthews Band First Midwest Amp, Tinley Park, IL
George Clinton and Parliament Funk

The Disco Biscuits have announced Camp Bisco V’s artist lineup. Joining them on the bill will be The Roots, Thievery Corporation (DJ set), Brazilian Girls, The New Deal, RJD2, Perpetual Groove, The Juan McLean, Brothers Past, Lotus, Orchard Lounge, Elemental Harmonics, and more acts to be announced in mid-summer.

Camp Bisco V will happen on August 25 and 26 at Hunter Mountain Ski Resort and Lodge in Hunter, New York (www.huntermtn.com). The festival will take place at the base of the world-class Catskill Mountains resort. Located only 2 hours from New York City, CBV will feature two stages, over 15 musical acts, onsite and offsite camping, as well as plenty of non-musical activities. Musical hosts, The Disco Biscuits, will offer up two sets each night of their jaw-dropping electronic rock compositions. Stay tuned to www.campbiscov.com for details and new announcements.

Much like last year, this year’s Camp Bisco boasts a family friendly environment, with designated Quiet Camping and plenty of daytime activities for both kids and adults, including the annual Camp Bisco Color Wars and outdoor recreations such as river activities, hiking, golf, and more. This year also includes indoor lodge facilities, outdoor showers and toilets, and a dance hall, for use by festival goers and onsite campers. As always, Camp Bisco V will host plenty of food and arts & crafts vending within the festival grounds.

Event details are as follows:
Friday, August 25 and Saturday, August 26
(gates open at 8 am on the 25th and close at 4 PM on the 27th)
Hunter Mountain Ski and Lodge
Route 23A – Hunter, NY
huntermtn.com

Desmond Dekker, who brought the sound of Jamaican ska music to the world with songs such as “Israelites,” has died, his manager said Friday. He was 64.

Dekker, who lived in England, collapsed from an apparent heart attack at his home on Thursday, manager Delroy Williams said.

“It is such a shock, I don’t think I will ever get over this,” Williams said.

Dekker’s 1969 song “Israelites,” a Top 10 single in both Britain and the United States, was the first international hit produced by Jamaica’s vibrant music scene. With its haunting vocals and irresistible rhythm, it introduced the world to ska, a precursor to reggae.

“Desmond was the first legend, believe it or not,” Williams said. “When he released ‘Israelites’ nobody had heard of Bob Marley