We’ve moved one step closer to a reunion of The Kinks, as the Davies brothers have started to write new songs in preparation for a possible World Tour the BBC reports. Guitarist Dave Davies, who suffered a stroke in 2004, seems to be on the mend according to singer and brother Ray Davies.
The Kinks - A Well Respected Man
Mothers of Invention drummer Jimmy Carl Black died Saturday of cancer in Siegsdorf, Germany at the age of 70. Black performed with Zappa until 1969 when FZ disbanded the group. After years of struggles, including a stint working at a donut shop, Black teamed up with former Mothers Bunk Gardner and Don Preston under the moniker The Grandmothers in 1980.
H.O.R.D.E. founders Blues Traveler busted out the rare gem Black Cat Jam on Halloween last week in Cincinnati. According to Jambands.com’s report this marks only the eighth time the instrumental has been busted out since 1994. Take a listen to the Black Cat Jam opener from 1997’s Halloween concert for a taste of why this tune has such a heady reputation…
Another week, another new contributor. Please welcome Kevin Smallwood to the team. Kevin will cover the Washington D.C. area for us.
The tie-dye shirts over the merchandise table dated most fans rolling into the State Theater in Falls Church, Virginia on Monday night. Over the course of their 21 year history, Blues Traveler has remained uniquely relevant yet sometimes an abstemious participant in a music scene it helped cultivate.
As the driving force behind the H.O.R.D.E. Tour, Blues Traveler helped carve out a niche for all the bands that followed the fan-based model of the Grateful Dead. The tour bridged a gap for a community birthing its second generation and ultimately allowed for the early exposure and success of scene powerhouses: Phish, Widespread Panic, Gov’t Mule and others.
Through mainstream success, a tragedy and random touring hiatuses Blues Traveler has its fair share of battle scars. But like a well worn warrior or perhaps even a fine wine, the years of experience have made them a formidable force. READ ON for more from Traveler in Falls Church…
In this critical time before the election, HeadCount and Cinetic Rights Management have made the documentary film A Call to Action available for free on Snagfilms.com. If you’re looking for more politics and music before the election, join Bob Weir, Trey Anastasio, Marc Brownstein, Bela Fleck and other HeadCount supporters as they reflect upon HeadCount, politics and the live music scene’s increased mobilization around causes.
Look out for the live performances by Trey Anastasio, The Disco Biscuits, and moe., as well as an awesome Christmas Jam moment with Warren Haynes and Trey rocking out an especially electric I Know You Rider.
Sharon Jones sits down with Perez Hilton for a profile
Finally, we’re pretty bummed that what should’ve been a triumphant Led Zeppelin tour has turned into a bad version of VH-1’s Supergroup. The LA Times thinks some good can come out of JPJ and Jimmy Page’s decision to move forward without Plant and lists five ways to avoid disaster.
One of the best benefits of living in Manhattan’s Upper West Side has to be the ability to walk over to the Beacon Theater for the Allman Brothers’ annual mega-run of shows every March. While Gregg Allman’s fight with Hepatitis C put the kibosh on this year’s run, the band is already making plans to celebrate their 40th anniversary of the historic theater in March of 2009 with a slew of special guests.
We can’t wait to see who the Brothers invite to the stage. Hopefully they’ll bury the hatchet with former member Dickey Betts in honor of the anniversary.
Let’s take a gander at what else is cookin’ today…
The Yankees are eyeing Springsteen and/or Macca to close their stadium
Traveler’s John Popper and Producer Steve Lillywhite remember LeRoi
Finally, Olympians in Beijing who tried to access the iTunes store have found that access to the site has been cut off. Apparently a few athletes downloaded a Free Tibet compilation prompting Chinese officials to put the iTunes Store behind the Great FireWall of China. Seems a little overzealous to us.
While the Red Sox may have the edge on the Yankees in the standings, NYC has sure been winning out when it comes to free concerts. But don’t count Beantown out just yet. Our Boston-area readers are in for a treat on July 19 when Melvin Sparks and Robert Randolph perform for free at Boston Common as part of the 2008 Life is good Festival. Besides the two guitar greats, this bash will feature classic backyard food as well as traditional games and activities. Sweet deal!
Here’s a look at some other stories of interest on this hump day…
Many hair bands are still finding success 20 years after forming
Bruce Springsteen’s new Live EP features a track with Tom Morello
Finally, Runaway Dinosaur turned us onto an amazing MUST SEE video called I Met The Walrus featuring the audio of an interview with John Lennon by a 14 year old named Jerry Levitan who snuck into his hotel room in 1969. This mesmerizing short film combines visually stunning pen work and digital animation with a heart-warming interview that shows off what a complete mensch Lennon was.
Well, as I’ve bitched and moaned about the last couple of weeks, finding an album where different artists have covered all the tracks is getting harder and harder. So I’ve been forced to delve into Greatest Hits albums, which is fine…
So now that I’ve opened the doors to it, I’ve selected the 1986 release by The Police, Every Breath You Take: The Singles. This is an interesting one because The Police are certainly a unique sounding trio of musicians and the vocals can be particularly challenging.
As always, please register/login with Imeem to ensure that you’re getting full length tracks and not just 30 second snippets. This week there are a few artist that are embedded only with YouTube and will not appear in the playlist below.
READ ON after the jump to vote and for more entries from this week, as well as the results from last week’s Highway 61 Revisited Cover Album Wars.
Earlier we mentioned that Music Snobbery slang some shit at the Fillmore New York @ Irving Plaza for presenting a nostalgia-filled lineup to the masses. While we’re sure the announcement of the lineup for the first annual Bill Graham Memorial Foundation benefit won’t exactly thrill those guys, we think it looks pretty good. Kinda like a trip back in time to the heady days of 1992.
The Dark Star Orchestra, Spin Doctors, Chan & Popper from Blues Traveler and “surprise special guests” salute the Fillmore Scene at Irving Plaza on May 27. Tickets will set you back $65, and can be purchased through both a pre-sale (starting tomorrow at 10AM) and a general on sale (Monday at noon) at Livenation.com.
Everyone wants to escape from the douchebaggery of the bar scene and the jacked-up prices of restaurants, but many people are still struggling to find cool events at which to ring in the new year. Considering it’s already December 20th, now is probably the time to pull the trigger make a final decision. Let’s take a look at 10 of the more interesting concerts celebrating the beginning of 2008.
1. Boy We Wish We Lived in Australia: Girl Talk, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Kings of Leon and The Go! Team rock the Falls Festival in Marion Bay, Australia
2. From MSG to the middle of nowhere in 11 years: Blues Traveler hit the peak of their popularity on December 31st, 1996 when they performed to a sold out Madison Square Garden. This year the Traveler plan to play a place just a little bit smaller. If you happen to live in Anchorage, Alaska check them out at the Bear Tooth Theatre.
3. Well This Is Why Phil Isn’t Playing on NYE: Jackie Greene takes the stage with his solo band at Marilyn’s on K in Sacramento, CA. Will Phil show up? We’re guessin’ yes.
4. Aren’t You Supposed to Cover Albums on Halloween?: Rose Hill Drive covers Aerosmith’s Toys In The Attic on both December 30th and 31st at the Boulder Theater
Read on after the jump for more possible events this New Year’s Eve…
Is there anything cooler than the Live Music Archive? Where else could you possibly download or stream more than 44,000 shows by 2,650 different artists? If you listened to one show from the archive a day, it would take you over 120 years to make it through all the shows currently on there.
This week’s edition of Grousing The Aisles looks at three shows that have been uploaded to the LMA over the past few days, and we’ll also point you in the direction in a buncha other cool shows on that site.
It’s clear that Derek Trucks has been spending more time with his solo band than playing with the Allman Brothers Band. The chemistry between Trucks and the members of his band is undeniable. Keyboardist Kofi Burbridge excels at laying down beautiful melodies, allowing Trucks’ solos to soar. Vocalist Mike Mattison’s soulful voice adds an extra layer of bluesy goodness to the mix. The dynamic rhythm section of Todd Smallie on bass, Yonrico Scott on drums and Count M’butu on percussion have jelled nicely providing a steady danceable beat.
The Derek Trucks Band showed off their potent formula for a crowd that seemed to lap it up at a recent show in Collingswood, NJ. Gonna Move works oh-so-nicely as a peppy opener, leading into a more bluesy segment of Volunteered Slavery and I’ll Find My Way. Trucks finally works some of his instrumental magic during a powerful solo during the traditional Hurts Me Too. Other highlights include Mattison’s growling delivery of Get Out of My Life Woman, as well as the impressive interplay between band members during My Favorite Things. Derek and his band bring their powerful show to the ‘burbs this weekend hitting Bridgeport, CT on Thursday, Englewood, NJ on Friday and Mamaroneck, NY on Saturday. Read on for more downloads…
When I was seven years old my Uncle Bobby gave me a copy of Dave Marsh’s Book of Rock Lists, and I studied it harder than the Torah before my Bar Mitzvah. I’ve got a short attention span, so I loved being able to sit down for five minutes and learn all sorts of new things about rock and roll. And digesting all the lists in that book allowed my eight-year-old self to freak out the adults by telling them 20 things they didn’t know about Bruce Springsteen.
From the day Ace asked me to work with him on Hidden Track, I knew that I’d finally have a chance to share all of the lists I’ve made up in mind since my uncle gave me that book. Now let’s take a look at the 10 best B Lists of Hidden Track’s first year of existence. Click on the title to look back at the actual lists…
Recently we put together a list of 10 favorite sets of brothers that jam together
Scott and Seth Avett [The Avett Brothers]
The Avett Brothers of Mount Pleasant, North Carolina may play instruments typically associated with bluegrass, but the sound that comes out is more Nirvana than Bill Monroe. Scott and Seth began writing songs together in 2000 and are beginning to gain national notoriety for their unique batch of originals. In May the boys made their television debut on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. The Avett Brothers will be on the road through the end of the year. Read on…
