2006

Quickly becoming one of the most anticipated new artists of 2006, Gnarls Barkley announced today that they will make their first live NYC appearance at Webster Hall on May 22nd to coincide with their appearance on the Conan O’Brien show on May 24th.

Gnarls Barkley is made up of Danger Mouse, one of the most promising artist/producers in music today, and the one-of-a-kind soulful superstar Cee-Lo Green.

With one of the most talked-about new releases of the year, Gnarls Barkley’s full-length debut St. Elsewhere contains the single “Crazy,” which recently became the first track to reach #1 in the United Kingdom through downloads alone and has since been #1 for four weeks straight.

St. Elsewhere will be released May 9th on the Downtown/Atlantic label.

Gnarls is in Los Angeles this week preparing for their appearance at Coachella, with a backing band that includes Nine Inch Nails’ co-founder Chris Vrenna on drums, Justin Meldel Johnsen the famed bass player for Beck, and Holly Palmer performing background vocals.

Tickets for the Webster Hall show will be $25 and go on sale this Wednesday, April 25th at 12PM. They are available through www.ticketweb.com and the Mercury Lounge Box Office.

As expected, Pink Floyd principal Roger Waters will tour North America this fall and will be performing the band’s classic 1973 album “Dark Side of the Moon” in its entirety. Beforehand, Waters will spend the summer touring Europe, beginning June 2 at the Rock in Rio festival in Lisbon.

The North American tour, Waters’ first since 2002, will get underway Sept. 6 in Holmdel, N.J., and hit arenas and outdoor amphitheatres. The band will include longtime sidemen Andy Fairweather Low and Snowy White on guitar, drummer Graham Broad and Waters’ son Harry on Hammond organ.

Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason will make a guest appearance at Waters’ July 14 show in Nevers, France, but at deadline is not confirmed to join the band at any additional shows.

Sans Waters, Pink Floyd performed “Dark Side of the Moon” in full for the first time during its 1994 tour in support of “The Division Bell.” With Waters back in the fold, the band performed the “Dark Side” tracks “Breathe” and “Money” as part of its four-song set at Live 8 last summer.

Here are Roger Waters’ North American tour dates:

Sept. 6: Holmdel, N.J. (PNC Bank Arts Center)
Sept. 8: Mansfield, Mass. (Tweeter Center)
Sept. 12-13: New York (Madison Square Garden)
Sept. 15: Wantagh, N.Y. (Jones Beach)
Sept. 16: Camden, N.J. (Tweeter Center)
Sept. 18: Auburn Hills, Mich. (Palace of Auburn Hills)
Sept. 20: Toronto (Air Canada Centre)
Sept. 21: Montreal (Bell Centre)
Sept. 24: Burgettstown, Pa. (Post Gazette Pavilion)
Sept. 27: Cleveland (Gund Arena)
Sept. 29: Chicago (First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre)
Sept. 30: Noblesville, Ind. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)
Oct. 3: Phoenix (Cricket Pavilion)
Oct. 5: Los Angeles (Hollywood Bowl)
Oct. 8: Las Vegas (Theatre Under the Stars)
Oct. 10: Mountain View, Calif. (Shoreline Amphitheatre)
Oct. 12: Seattle (Key Arena)

Confirming news first reported here in February, veteran modern rock act Smashing Pumpkins is writing material for its first new studio album since 2000. In a message on its Web site, the Billy Corgan-led group said it will begin recording this summer but has no release date in mind for the project.

At deadline it is still unclear if Corgan and Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin are working with any other musicians. “As long as Billy has Jimmy, he can make the essential Pumpkins record, I’m sure,” former Pumpkins bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur previously told Billboard.com, adding that while she is not involved in any reunion plans, “my services are always there to play my favorite songs.”

Corgan stunned fans last June when he took out a full-page ad in the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times announcing his intentions to “renew and “revive” the Pumpkins, who split acrimoniously in 2000. In 2004, he broke his silence about why the band dissolved, lashing out at guitarist James Iha and bassist D’Arcy Wretzky for walking away from an endeavor he described as “essentially my entire life… a dream I still believe in.”

Corgan’s newspaper ads came out the same day as his Reprise solo debut, “The Future Embrace,” which met with a chilly reception at retail.

Source billboard.com.

Neil Young’s newly recorded protest album “Living With War,” including a song calling for the impeachment of President Bush, will be posted for free Internet streaming next week. Starting April 28, fans can log onto Young’s Web site and listen to the 10-track set, according to Reprise spokesperson Bill Bentley.

The album will first become commercially available as a digital download beginning May 2, “and we plan to get it into retail stores as soon after that as we can get them manufactured,” Bentley said.

He said the label anticipates getting the album into retail outlets between May 5 and May 15. “Neil wants this album out there as soon as possible,” Bentley added.

The Canadian-born Young, 60, who has tackled social and political themes through four decades as a singer/songwriter, wrote and recorded his latest studio offering over a two-week period this month, backed by a 100-member choir, according to his longtime manager, Elliot Roberts.

Source billboard.com.

The Montreal-based instrumental

Backstage at the Jammy Awards last night in New York, the Dead’s drummer Mickey Hart told Billboard.com the group is considering touring sometime this year. “We’re talking about it,” he said. “Maybe at the end of the year. Nothing is confirmed though.”

As far as the summer goes, look for Phil to be on tour with another Phil & Friends outing, with Mickey possibly on board as one of the friends.

read the full article at jadedinsider.com

An eclectic mix of artists were on display last night (April 20) during the sixth annual Jammy Awards at New York’s the Theatre at Madison Square Garden. A number of intriguing combinations hit the stage, including rediscovered soul vocalist Bettye LaVette with Blues Traveler, Peter Frampton with Guster and Joe Satriani with former Jane’s Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins.

moe. won live performance of the year for its Feb. 10, 2005, tsunami benefit at New York’s Roseland Ballroom. Studio album of the year went to Mike Gordon and Leo Kottke’s “Sixty Six Steps,” while Phish took home archival album of the year for “Live at Madison Square Garden New Year’s Eve 1995.”

The evening was hosted by Grateful Dead drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, who also hit the stage with Gordon, Baaba Maal and Angelique Kidjo for a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile” and the sing-a-long “Iko Iko.”

Jammy Awards winners:

Studio album of the year: “Sixty Six Steps,” Leo Kottke and Mike Gordon
Song of the year: “Taught To be Proud,” Tea Leaf Green
Vonage Live album of the year: “Live at Myrtle Beach,” Widespread Panic
Live performance of the year: moe., Feb. 10, 2005, Roseland Ballroom, New York
Tour of the year: Big Summer Classic Tour, Summer 2005
Archival album of the year: “Live at Madison Square Garden New Year’s Eve 1995,” Phish
DVD of the year: “No Direction Home,” Bob Dylan
New Groove of the year: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Lifetime achievement award: Frank Zappa
World music award: Baaba Maal
Green Apple industry award: Larry Bloch

Source: billboard