40th ANNIVERSARY
NEW ORLEANS JAZZ & HERITAGE FESTIVAL
PRESENTED BY SHELL
APRIL 24 - 26 (1st WEEKEND)
Wynton Marsalis, Dave Matthews Band, James Taylor, Joe Cocker, Earth Wind & Fire, Wilco, Spoon, Erykah Badu, Irma Thomas, Orishas, Third World, Robert Cray, Etta James & the Roots Band, Mavis Staples, Drive-By Truckers feat. Booker T. Jones, Johnny Winter, Pete Seeger, Hugh Masekela, Better Than Ezra, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Galactic, Roy Haynes, Pete Fountain, Avett Brothers, Kinky, Roy Rogers, Del McCoury Band, Terence Blanchard, Marc Broussard, DJ Jubilee with 5th Ward Weebie and Ms. Tee, Buckwheat Zydeco's 30th Anniversary feat. The Hitchhikers, Tab Benoit, Locos por Juana, Trombone Shorty, Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Yacub Addy and Odadaa of Ghana, Rebirth Brass Band Reunion with Kermit Ruffins, Ivan Neville & Dumpstaphunk, Big Sam's Funky Nation, Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience, Amanda Shaw & the Cute Guys, Donald Harrison, The Anointed Jackson Sisters, Tribute to Mahalia Jackson featuring Irma Thomas, Mavis Staples, and Pamela Landrum, Chris Smither, Henry Butler, Papa Grows Funk, Robert Mirabal, Harlem Blues & Jazz Band, Rockin' Dopsie, Jr. & the Zydeco Twisters, Sonny Landreth, Benjy Davis Project, The Vettes, Mem Shannon & the Membership, Stephanie Jordan, Warren Storm, Willie Tee and Cypress feat. Tommy McLain and T K Hulin, Astral Project, Ladysmith Redlions of South Africa, Don Vappie & the Creole Jazz Serenaders, Amammereso Agofomma of Ghana, The Dixie Cups, Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band, Germaine Bazzle, John Mooney & Bluesiana, Marlon Jordan, Tabby Thomas, Spencer Bohren, Savoy Music Center of Eunice Saturday Cajun Jam, Dew Drop Inn Revisited hosted by Deacon John feat. Wanda Rouzan, Eddie Bo, Allen Toussaint, Robert Parker, and Al "Carnival Time" Johnson, Paul Sanchez & the Rolling Road Show, Wayne Toups & Zydecajun, Leroy Jones presents the Fairview Brass Band Reunion Tribute to Danny Barker, Bruce Daigrepont, Vivaz!, Pfister Sisters' 30th Anniversary, Gringo do Choro, Dr. Michael White & the Original Liberty Jazz Band, Thais Clark, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux & the Golden Eagles Mardi Gras Indians, Henry Gray & the Cats, Joe Krown, Walter "Wolfman" Washington & Russell Batiste, Jr., Lil' Buck Sinegal Blues Band, EOE, Pine Leaf Boys, Ebony Hillbillies, Crescent City Allstars feat. James Andrews, Hot 8 Brass Band, Schatzy, Jake Smith, 19th Street Red Blues Band, Brasilliance!, Mighty Chariots of Fire, Sharde Thomas & the Rising Star Fife & Drum Band, Chris Owens, Topsy Chapman, New Bumpers' Revival Jazz Band of France, Zulu Male Ensemble, Jo "Cool" Davis, Leah Chase, Herlin Riley, Roderick Paulin, Mahogany Brass Band, Ingrid Lucia, MyNameisJohnMichael, Texas Johnny Brown & the Quality Blues Band, Rockie Charles & the Stax of Love, AsheSon, Jim McCormick, Lil' Malcolm & the House Rockers, Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers, Thomas "Big Hat" Fields & his Foot Stompin' Zydeco Band, Guitar Slim, Jr., Storyville Stompers Brass Band, Willis Prudhomme & Zydeco Express, Lost Bayou Ramblers, Waterseed, Creole Wild West and Golden Blade Mardi Gras Indians, DJ Hektik & the New Orleans Society of Dance with Freedia and Nobi, Tipsy Chicks, Jonno Frishberg & Bayou DeVille, Christian Serpas & Ghost Town, Kumbuka African Drum and Dance Collective, NewBirth Brass Band, High Ground Drifters Bluegrass Band, New Orleans Night Crawlers Brass Band, Hadley Castille & the Sharecropper Band, Carrollton Hunters and Cherokee Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Big Steppers, Furious Five, and Untouchables SAPCs, Patrice Fisher & Arpa feat. special guests from Brazil, Clive Wilson's New Orleans Serenaders feat. Butch Thompson, Young Tuxedo Brass Band, Betty Winn & One A-Chord, McDonogh #35 High School Gospel Choir, Sophisticated Ladies feat. Barbara Shorts, Leslie Smith, Cindy Scott, and Judy Spellman, Golden Comanche and Seminoles Mardi Gras Indians, N.O.C.C.A. Jazz Ensemble, Real Untouchables Brass Band, Olympia Aid, New Look & First Division SAPCs, New Orleans Jazz Vipers, Tommy Sancton, Society Brass Band, Connie Jones, St. Joseph the Worker Music Ministry, UNO Jazz Combo, June Gardner & the Fellas, New Orleans Spiritualettes, Smitty Dee's Brass Band, Kid Simmons' Local International Allstars, Semolian Warriors, Comanche Hunters, and Golden Star Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble, Tyronne Foster & the Arc Singers, Loyola University Jazz Ensemble, Franklin Avenue B.C. Mass Choir, Small Souljas Brass Band, Val & the Love Alive Fellowship Choir, Single Ladies, Family Ties, Big Nine, and Keep N It Real SAPCs, Second Mount Carmel Gospel Choir, Xavier University Jazz Ensemble, Heritage School of Music Band, Gospel Soul Children, Nine Times Men, Single Men, Dumaine Gang, Divine Ladies, and Lady Jetsetters SAPCs, Red, White & Blue and Wild Mohican Mardi Gras Indians, Reverend Charles Jackson & the Jackson Travelers, Nineveh B.C. Mass Choir, Kid Simmon's Local International Allstars, Voices of St. Peter Claver, David & Roselyn, Grayhawk, Washboard Leo, Red Hot Brass Band, Kayla Woodson & Louisiana Lightnin'....
40th ANNIVERSARY
NEW ORLEANS JAZZ & HERITAGE FESTIVAL
PRESENTED BY SHELL
APRIL 30 - MAY 3 (2nd WEEKEND)
Aretha Franklin, TBA, Sugarland, Ben Harper & Relentless7, Tony Bennett, Kings of Leon, The Neville Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, Common, Emmylou Harris, Dr. John, Buddy Guy, Los Lobos, The O'Jays, Toots & the Maytals, Allen Toussaint, John Mayall, Solomon Burke, Doc Watson, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, The Whispers, Jakob Dylan, Chuck Brown, Meter Men: Zig, George, and Leo, Kurt Elling, Rance Allen, Cowboy Mouth, Guy Clark, Radiators, Aaron Neville, Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials, Tab Benoit & the Wetland Allstars, Marcia Ball, Ellis Marsalis, Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band, Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, Frankie Ford, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, Mississippi Mass Choir, Walter "Wolfman" Washington & the Roadmasters, Anders Osborne, the subdudes, Esperanza Spalding, Patty Griffin, Deacon John, Chris Thomas King, Kind of Blue @ 50 Tribute to Miles Davis feat. Jimmy Cobb, Wallace Roney, Larry Willis, and Buster Williams, John Scofield & the Piety Street Band, George Wein & the Newport Allstars feat. Randy Brecker, VaShawn Mitchell & Friends, Nicholas Payton, Linda Tillery & the Cultural Heritage Choir, Irvin Mayfield & the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Bonerama, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Genius of Sidney Bechet: A Tribute feat. Bob Wilber, Dr. Michael White, and Brian "Breeze" Cayolle, Delfeayo Marsalis Quintet, Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas, Theresa Andersson, Cedric Burnside & Lightnin' Malcolm, Bobby Lounge feat. Sarah Quintana, Chieck Hamala Diabate of Mali, The Iguanas, Treme Brass Band, Lars Edegran & the New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra, Lionel Ferbos & the Palm Court Jazz Band, Fredy Omar con su Banda, Rosie Ledet & the Zydeco Playboys, Big Chief Bo Dollis & the Wild Magnolias, Soul Rebels, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, Luther Kent & Trickbag, Banu Gibson's Hot Jazz with Bucky Pizzarelli, Mark Braud, Sunpie & the Louisiana Sunspots, Marva Wright & the BMWs, Kenny Bill Stinson & the Ark-LA-Mystics, Gregg Stafford's Jazz Hounds' Tribute to Danny Barker feat. Juanita Brooks, Eric Lindell, C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band, Rumba Buena, Roddie Romero & the Hub City Allstars, Charmaine Neville Band, Eddie Bo, Ori Danse Club of Benin, Crocodile Gumboot Dancers of South Africa, Rotary Downs, George French & the New Orleans Storyville Jazz Band, Walter Payton & Filé Gumbo, Dash Rip Rock, John Boutté, Sonny Bourg & the Bayou Blues Band, Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes, Sherman Robertson, Honey Island Swamp Band, The Revealers, I'Voire Spectacle feat. Seguenon Kone, Alex McMurray, 101 Runners, Midnite Disturbers, Paulin Brothers Brass Band, Big Chief Peppy & the Golden Arrows Mardi Gras Indians, D.L. Menard & the Louisiana Aces, James Rivers Movement, Otra, Tony Green's Gypsy Jazz, New Orleans Klezmer Allstars, John Rankin, Betsy McGovern & the Poor Clares, Kenny Neal, Lil' Brian & the Travelers, Jeremy Davenport, Keith Frank & the Soileau Zydeco Band, Jamal Batiste & the Jam-Allstars, Red Stick Ramblers, Ensemble Fatien feat. Seguenon Kone, Dr. Michael White, and Jason Marsalis, Sharon Martin, St. Louis Slim, Bryan Lee & the Blues Power Band, TBC Brass Band, Lady Rollers, Original C.T.C., and Nine Times Ladies SAPCs, Feufollet, War Chief Juan & Young Fire and White Cloud Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, New Orleans Bingo! Show, David Egan, Kidd Jordan-Al Fielder & the IAQ, Drew Landry Band, Driskill Mountain Boys, Jumpin' Johnny Sansone, Washboard Chaz, Bamboula 2000, Danza, Marisa y Mariachi Agave, J. Monque'D Blues Band, Cedric Watson, Twangorama, Higher Heights, Tim Laughlin, Elysian Fieldz, Percussion Inc., Pinettes Brass Band, Scene Boosters, Old N Nu Fellas, Secondline Jammers, and Ladies of Unity SAPCs, Little Freddie King Blues Band, Glen David Andrews, Po' Henry & Tookie, Sherman Washington & the Zion Harmonizers, Culu Children's Traditional African Dance Ensemble, Paky Saavedra's Bandido, New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian Rhythm Section, Bob French & the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band, Shamarr Allen, Free Agents Brass Band, Jambalaya Cajun Band, Benny Grunch & the Bunch, Javier Tobar & Elegant Gypsy, Creole Zydeco Farmers, Bonsoir Catin, Corey Ledet, Gina Brown, Reggie Hall & the Twilighters feat. Lady Bee, Forgotten Souls Brass Band, Young Magnolias, Golden Sioux, and Black Feathers Mardi Gras Indians, New Leviathan Oriental Foxtrot Orchestra, Westbank Steppers, Valley of Silent Men, and Pigeon Town Steppers SAPCs, Doreen's Jazz New Orleans, Truth Universal & Jimi Clever, Shades of Praise Gospel Singers, Brother Tyrone, Lazarus, Berard Family Band, New Orleans Jazz Ramblers, Courtney Bryan Trio, Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, DJ Captain Charles, Blodie's Jazz Jam, New Orleans Helsinki Project, Original Last Straws, Chris Clifton, Panorama Jazz Band, Mario Abney, John Lee & the Heralds of Christ, Original Dixieland Jazz Band, Hot Club of New Orleans, The Moonshiners, Clarinet Woodshed feat. Evan Christopher and Gregory Agid, SUBR Jazz Ensemble, Michael Ward, DJ Soul Sister, The Johnson Extension, Black Eagles, Geronimo Hunters, Wild Tchoupitoulas, and Wild Apaches Mardi Gras Indians, Watson Memorial Teaching Ministries, Tulane University Jazz Ensemble, First Emmanuel Baptist Church Choir, Louis Ford & his New Orleans Flairs, Fi Yi Yi & the Mandingo Warriors, Red Hawk, and Black Seminoles Mardi Gras Indians, Leviticus Gospel Choir, Dillard University Jazz Ensemble, Bester Singers and the Dynamic Smooth Family Gospel Singers, Bon Temps Roulez, New Generation, and Undefeated Divas SAPCs, The Electrifying Crownseekers, Pinstripe Brass Band, Ebenezer Baptist Church Radio Choir, Trouble Nation, Black Eagles, and Ninth Ward Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Famous Rocks of Harmony, Highsteppers Brass Band, McMain High School Gospel Choir, Voices of Distinction, Gal Holiday, Lyle Henderson & Emmanuel, Coolie Family Gospel Singers, Original Big 7 and Original 4 SAPCs, Tornado Brass Band, Eddie "Chops" Paris, Apache Hunters, Wild Red Flame, and Mohawk Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Morning Star B.C. Mass Choir, New Wave Brass Band, Julio y Cesar Band, First Emmanuel Church Gospel Choir, Greater Antioch Full Gospel B.C. Mass Choir, Roderick Paulin, N'Kafu African Dance Ensemble, Original Prince of Wales and the Original Lady Buckjumpers SAPCs, Johnette Downing, Young Guardians of the Flame, Eric McAllister, N'Fungola Sibo West African Dance Company, Mt. Hermon B.C. Mass Choir...
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
Mahalia Jackson, often called the greatest gospel singer, returned to her hometown to appear at the first New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in April of 1970. While attending the Louisiana Heritage Fair in Congo Square (then known as Beauregard Square), she and Duke Ellington, who also appeared at the event, came upon the Eureka Brass Band leading a crowd of second-line revelers through the Festival grounds. George Wein, producer of the Festival, handed Ms. Jackson a microphone, she sang along with the band and joined the parade…and the spirit of Jazz Fest was born.
This spontaneous, momentous scene—this meeting of jazz and heritage—has stood for decades since as a stirring symbol of the authenticity of the celebration that was destined to become a cultural force.
From the very beginning, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival was envisioned as an important event that would have great cultural significance and popular appeal. The Festival was the culmination of years of discussions and efforts by city leaders who wanted to create an event worthy of the city’s legacy as the birthplace of jazz. A couple of other festivals were held in the years leading up to the first New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, but those events, different in format, did not take hold as the Jazz & Heritage Festival would.
In 1970, George Wein, jazz impresario behind the Newport Jazz Festival and the Newport Folk Festival (begun respectively in 1954 and 1959) was hired to design and produce a unique festival for New Orleans. The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit organization, was established to oversee the Festival.
Wein’s concept of the Louisiana Heritage Fair—a large daytime fair with multiple stages featuring a wide variety of indigenous music styles, food booths of Louisiana cuisine, and arts and crafts booths, along with an evening concert series—formed a construct that would prove vastly appealing and enduring.
In addition to Mahalia Jackson and Duke Ellington, the first Festival lineup included Pete Fountain, Al Hirt, Clifton Chenier, Fats Domino, The Meters, The Preservation Hall Band, parades every day with The Olympia Brass Band and Mardi Gras Indians, and many others.
In announcing the first Festival, scheduled for April 22 – 26, Wein said, “The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival represents a new and exciting idea in festival presentation. This festival could only be held in New Orleans because here and here alone is the richest musical heritage in America.” He also noted, with great prescience, “New Orleans, in the long run, should become bigger than Newport in jazz festivals. Newport was manufactured, but New Orleans is the real thing.”
Wein hired Quint Davis and Allison Miner, two young, knowledgeable New Orleans music enthusiasts, to work on the event. Davis would quickly become the main creative force behind the Festival, establishing the event as a dynamic annual showcase of Louisiana music with a bold blend of national and international flavors. Davis remains producer and director of the Festival, guiding the event through its fourth decade of existence. Miner, who passed away in 1995, would make numerous contributions to the Festival’s evolution, including the creation of the Music Heritage Stage, which has been renamed in her honor.
In 1970, only about 350 people attended the Festival, about half the number of musicians and other participants in the event. But the Festival, which became known as “Jazz Fest” almost immediately, was a great artistic success. When Jazz Fest was held the next year, it was clear that the event had already outgrown Congo Square.
For the 1972 Festival, the event moved to the infield of the Fair Grounds Race Course, the third-oldest racetrack in America (open since 1872). Jazz Fest would grow quickly over the next few years, constantly expanding its use of the 145-acre site. In 1975, the Festival, still just a five-day event with only three days of the Louisiana Heritage Fair, had an anticipated attendance of 80,000. This was also the first year of the Festival’s popular, limited-edition silkscreen poster, now recognized as the most popular poster series in the world.
From 1976 to 1978, Jazz Fest expanded to two full weekends of the Heritage Fair, and in 1979, for the 10th anniversary, the Festival scheduled three weekends, though one entire weekend was cancelled due to rain.
In the 1980s, Jazz Fest continued to experience a tremendous growth in popularity and began to gain wide acclaim as one of the world’s greatest cultural celebrations. By the end of the decade, more than 300,000 people attended the Heritage Fair, evening concerts, and workshops. The 1989 Festival marked the 20th annual event, which was commemorated with a classic poster featuring Fats Domino, ushering in an era during which the poster would celebrate many of Louisiana’s music legends with iconic portraits.
The decade of the 1990s saw the appeal of Jazz Fest and the Festival’s significance as a cultural symbol soar. The New York Times would note that the Jazz Festival had “become inseparable from the culture it presents.” The Festival added features like the Thursday that kicks off the second weekend (1991); an International Pavilion that celebrates other cultures (Haiti, Mali, Panama, Brazil, Martinique, and in 2004, South Africa); and the Native American stage and area.
In 2001, the Festival celebrated Louis Armstrong’s centennial, and the total attendance eclipsed 650,000, shattering records for virtually every day of the Heritage Fair, including the all-time single-day attendance record of 160,000. Wein’s prediction that New Orleans would become the first city of jazz festivals had clearly come true.
With 12 stages of soul-stirring music—jazz, gospel, Cajun, zydeco, blues, R&B, rock, funk, African, Latin, Caribbean, folk, and much more—the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is a singular celebration. The event has showcased most of the great artists of New Orleans and Louisiana of the last half century: Professor Longhair, Fats Domino, The Neville Brothers, Wynton Marsalis, Dr. John, Branford Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr., Ellis Marsalis, The Radiators, Irma Thomas, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Allen Toussaint, Buckwheat Zydeco, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Better Than Ezra, Ernie K-Doe, Vernel Bagneris, The Zion Harmonizers, Beausoleil and many others.
The Festival has always blended in a wide mix of internationally renowned guests, among them: Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Santana, Sarah Vaughan, Paul Simon, Jimmy Buffett, Max Roach, B.B. King, Dave Matthews Band, Patti LaBelle, Tito Puente, the Allman Brothers Band, Joni Mitchell, Al Green, Linda Ronstadt, Lenny Kravitz, Sonny Rollins, Bonnie Raitt, James Brown, Celia Cruz, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hugh Masekela, Cassandra Wilson, Willie Nelson, The Temptations, Burning Spear,Van Morrison, LL Cool J, Abbey Lincoln, Erykah Badu, Dave Brubeck, Gladys Knight, Youssou N’Dour and many, many others.
Over the years Jazz Fest has received many honors, including being named the Festival of the Year four times by Pollstar magazine. The 2004 event marks the 35th anniversary of Jazz Fest, which the Wall Street Journal says “showcases a wider, deeper lineup of essential American musical styles than any festival in the nation…” and which Life magazine has called “the country’s very best music festival.’’
Inspired by the spirit of Mahalia Jackson and the Eureka Brass Band back in 1970, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival continues to celebrate the culture of Louisiana with the combined fervor of a gospel hymn and the joy of a jazz parade.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Sleeves Over Faces
Sleeveface.com is one or more persons obscuring or augmenting any part of their body or bodies with record sleeve(s) causing an illusion. Very cool site.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
The King of the Delta Blues
Many have dubbed Johnson the father of modern rock and roll. Of all early bluesmen, Robert Johnson can be considered one of the more prolific. Although he did not live long enough to become as popular as many of the other earlier blues artists, his music has influenced a number of musicians who dramatically changed music history. Popular covers of his songs have been recorded by Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Elmore James,The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and many, many others.
ome find interesting the Legend behind the Legend: a partnership with the Devil- his soul for music infamy.
Even more interesting is the reality of the man. Although little is known about his history (adding to the rumors surrounding his life) the music remains. Thoughout Rock and Roll, among guitar player's circles, and reverberating through blues fans conversations, Robert Johnson is a name commonly heard.
ome find interesting the Legend behind the Legend: a partnership with the Devil- his soul for music infamy.
Even more interesting is the reality of the man. Although little is known about his history (adding to the rumors surrounding his life) the music remains. Thoughout Rock and Roll, among guitar player's circles, and reverberating through blues fans conversations, Robert Johnson is a name commonly heard.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Widepsread Panic - As Strong As Ever
From Jambase.com
For nearly 25 years Widespread Panic has redefined Southern rock. Built on classic songs and inspired musicianship, it's always been more than just the music; it's the relationship the band has cultivated with their fans. There's a whole generation of people who have had the privilege of growing up following this musical force with obsession. A grinding juggernaut of gritty, testosterone fueled jam rock; Panic has clawed their way up through the small dive bars and clubs of the Southeast to become one of the most successful touring bands in the country, routinely filling arenas and amphitheaters with throngs of rabid fans. The journey has not been without setbacks, defeats and heartbreaking losses, but the experience as a whole, "the rollercoaster," as percussionist Sunny Ortiz calls it, has been an amazing ride that looks like it will continue for years to come.
Ortiz took some time out to speak with JamBase during a busy week where he found his band receiving the inaugural Road Warrior Award at Billboard magazine's annual Touring Conference and turning back the clock, in a manner of speaking, when they took the stage at the intimate, 1,000 person capacity Irving Plaza in New York City.
JamBase: I understand you headlined a benefit for The Bill Graham Memorial Foundation at Irving Plaza in New York City this week. Can you tell me about that night?
Sunny Ortiz: It had been probably ten or twelve years since the last time I saw David Graham, who is one of Bill's sons, so that was a real treat. And the other treat was, of course, to be able to perform at Irving Plaza again [see pics from that night here]. It is always fun for us to go to "The City," but this was a very special occasion for us and even though it was in the middle of our break we thought, as a unit, that it would be a shame for us to refuse such a gracious invitation. We had a great time, and it is kinda nice to go back and play a little bitty intimate venue like that, but it went too quick for me.
JamBase: I know tickets were snatched up immediately. What was the energy like in there?
Sunny Ortiz: Being in the city is such an amazing time for us and the energy level was incredible because everybody is so jam-packed in there and you can actually see people. It was just raging. It was wild and ridiculous, which it should be in New York City. I understand that the tickets went pretty fast and that is the unfortunate part about it. I guess there are some other venues that they could have chosen but I believe that Irving Plaza is now called "The Fillmore" and since we haven't played at the original Fillmore in San Francisco it was an honor for us to be in that venue knowing all the traditions that Bill Graham bestowed upon The Fillmore West in San Francisco.
Did you ever get a chance to meet Bill Graham?
I first met Bill in Telluride in 1991 when we were playing a festival there; I can't remember the name of the festival but it was a multi-day event and I know that on our day The Allman Brothers were playing. Our self-titled album had just come out and we were out touring, and we got an offer to come up and do Telluride. Bill Graham was there and, of course, introduced us. Somewhere in our archives there is a picture of Bill holding our CD backstage at that show, hugging it almost. He looks so serene, so surreal. I am trying to get a copy of it for myself. It is quite a unique and special picture.
Bill was very quiet but very firm when he spoke. He obviously knew what he was talking about and you just wanted to milk him for all of the knowledge and the stories that he had, but there were just so many. He was just constantly, constantly on the go. It was so sad when we heard about his passing, but it is just one of those things, life goes on, life goes on.
Switching gears a bit, I've got to ask you about New Year's Eve. After ringing in the New Year in Georgia for your whole career as a band what made you decide to break that tradition and take the party to Denver this year?
We just thought it was time that we did something special for the people of Colorado. Colorado has always been our second home because that is pretty much where we cut our teeth as a touring band. We toured there extensively in the mid-80s and got a lot of help from Jerry Joseph and Little Women. They were the ones that got us out there. I remember that our first show in Colorado was supporting them in Steamboat at The Inferno, and then we did a host of other gigs with them in that run. I think it lasted almost a month. We hit probably every ski resort known to mankind that first time out there.
A lot of things obviously change in the world of Widespread Panic and we thought this year would the perfect time to switch it up. We've got a great support act and that makes it even more special and we are all very excited.
That support act you mention is Yonder Mountain String Band, and I was wondering how you decided to bring them on board for the run?
They have a great following in Colorado and we thought it was a great package and thought that the fans would really like it. That's what makes it exciting for us, when the fans get excited. We extended an invitation for Yonder to join us and they were so gracious to accept. I am excited because they are such great players and there is great potential for us to do something together, some intermingling onstage perhaps.
There are some rumors going around that after the shows in Denver the band will be taking some time off. Will there be another hiatus for Panic in 2009?
I have heard through our office, because I never read the chatboards, that a lot of people think that we are taking the year off next year. We are not. So, we've got to put that little fire out. We are definitely coming out and working and while I can't tell you the exact dates that we'll have for Red Rocks, I can guarantee that we will be there during the summer of 2009.
That's good to hear because a lot of people have been saying that there will be no tour until the fall.
I know where you are coming from. I am even getting it from my kids. My oldest is 14 and my youngest is 10 and they are going, "Dad where are we going next year?" and I'm going, "What do you mean?" And they said, "Well, we heard that you guys are taking the whole year off." When Mikey passed away, bless his heart, we took 2004 off but they were a little bit younger. So, while they knew that he had passed away they didn't realize that it meant that I was going to be home for the whole year.
We will be there and we will be working in 2009.
Maybe a little less touring, but not a hiatus?
Not a hiatus. "A little less?" I don't know about "a little less." To us there is no "a little less." To me, it's not work. To me, it is socializing, its conversation, its anything but work and anything but touring. It is like being in a traveling minstrel show, I guess, maybe a circus. It is a way of life for us. It may sound corny but it really is. When we were growing up as young kids, teenagers, in the back of our minds we always wanted to be full time musicians and probably never thought we could sustain ourselves doing this. When I met the boys in '86 they were attending UGA and on their way to being golf pros, chemistry majors, business majors and then something happened that put everything on hold.
Our motto as a band has always been that we are willing to go to the edge and then think about it, and then actually dive off the edge and see what happens. A lot of people say, "They just don't do it anymore," and I kinda think that they just don't see that we are doing it and they need to step aside and let someone else that gets it get it and pass it back to them.
Some people have said that there seems to be a new life in the band lately, and I was wondering if that comes from having Jimmy Herring in the band? What is it like to have him as a full time member?
Jimmy Herring is an angel that we knew about back in the '80s. We connected with him when he was in Aquarium Rescue Unit. He is a virtuoso and a very studious player. He gives 110-percent every day, not only every night but everyday, too. He's a sweetheart of a guy; we are almost derelicts compared to him. He's been around the block a couple of times and when things were looking gloomy for us he was the one so nice to us and offered his assistance, but he was committed to Phil & Friends and The Dead and we had to look at other alternatives. When the second calling came he was available.
Is there a new Panic album coming any time soon?
The writing in the band has just kept getting better and we have some good new material that we haven't even pulled out yet. We have so much material that we are going to have to start using it. So, that's just a good problem to have. It has gotten to the point now where we are asking, "Where do we want to go record? Where do we want to go do this next project?" That seems to be the thing that is holding us back. We want to record, but we also realize that we need to see what happens. We aren't in any rush. We feel that we can do a lot of woodshedding in the next six months and come up with some hot stuff and maybe take it on the road and experiment with it like we've always done - just throw it out there and see if we get any bites from anybody who wants to sustain us, wants to invest or wants to make good use of it as a new product.
Anything we do as Widespread Panic is with everyone's input. There are obviously thousands of studios around Athens but who knows, we might do something in Nashville, we might do something in Atlanta. There are lots of options for us to dabble in, and it is just a matter of where everyone feels comfortable. That's the big name game right now, the comfort level. When we all agree that we are ready the ball starts rolling. We start sending out feelers for producers, studios and then we need to block out the time. If all that fits together then we are ready. There are just so many things involved. Who knows what form this monster is going to take.
So, through all of this, it's been more than 20 years that you've been playing together; what keeps you going?
Some say 25 [years]! Well, I guess when we reach 2010 it'll be 25 years. The music business is one big rollercoaster ride, and we've learned that through a lot of good times and a lot of bad times. The thing that keeps us bonded together and our feet on the ground is knowing there's a lot of folks that enjoy, love and really care about Widespread Panic. It's that give and take, that communication, that excitement that we've always gotten from our fans that just keeps us going on and on. Our way of giving back to these folks is giving that piece of music, which is our life. That energy is still there, that drive, that magic. Whatever you want to call it, it is still real strong. We love what we do and we are going to keep on doing it probably for a pretty good while now.
For nearly 25 years Widespread Panic has redefined Southern rock. Built on classic songs and inspired musicianship, it's always been more than just the music; it's the relationship the band has cultivated with their fans. There's a whole generation of people who have had the privilege of growing up following this musical force with obsession. A grinding juggernaut of gritty, testosterone fueled jam rock; Panic has clawed their way up through the small dive bars and clubs of the Southeast to become one of the most successful touring bands in the country, routinely filling arenas and amphitheaters with throngs of rabid fans. The journey has not been without setbacks, defeats and heartbreaking losses, but the experience as a whole, "the rollercoaster," as percussionist Sunny Ortiz calls it, has been an amazing ride that looks like it will continue for years to come.
Ortiz took some time out to speak with JamBase during a busy week where he found his band receiving the inaugural Road Warrior Award at Billboard magazine's annual Touring Conference and turning back the clock, in a manner of speaking, when they took the stage at the intimate, 1,000 person capacity Irving Plaza in New York City.
JamBase: I understand you headlined a benefit for The Bill Graham Memorial Foundation at Irving Plaza in New York City this week. Can you tell me about that night?
Sunny Ortiz: It had been probably ten or twelve years since the last time I saw David Graham, who is one of Bill's sons, so that was a real treat. And the other treat was, of course, to be able to perform at Irving Plaza again [see pics from that night here]. It is always fun for us to go to "The City," but this was a very special occasion for us and even though it was in the middle of our break we thought, as a unit, that it would be a shame for us to refuse such a gracious invitation. We had a great time, and it is kinda nice to go back and play a little bitty intimate venue like that, but it went too quick for me.
JamBase: I know tickets were snatched up immediately. What was the energy like in there?
Sunny Ortiz: Being in the city is such an amazing time for us and the energy level was incredible because everybody is so jam-packed in there and you can actually see people. It was just raging. It was wild and ridiculous, which it should be in New York City. I understand that the tickets went pretty fast and that is the unfortunate part about it. I guess there are some other venues that they could have chosen but I believe that Irving Plaza is now called "The Fillmore" and since we haven't played at the original Fillmore in San Francisco it was an honor for us to be in that venue knowing all the traditions that Bill Graham bestowed upon The Fillmore West in San Francisco.
Did you ever get a chance to meet Bill Graham?
I first met Bill in Telluride in 1991 when we were playing a festival there; I can't remember the name of the festival but it was a multi-day event and I know that on our day The Allman Brothers were playing. Our self-titled album had just come out and we were out touring, and we got an offer to come up and do Telluride. Bill Graham was there and, of course, introduced us. Somewhere in our archives there is a picture of Bill holding our CD backstage at that show, hugging it almost. He looks so serene, so surreal. I am trying to get a copy of it for myself. It is quite a unique and special picture.
Bill was very quiet but very firm when he spoke. He obviously knew what he was talking about and you just wanted to milk him for all of the knowledge and the stories that he had, but there were just so many. He was just constantly, constantly on the go. It was so sad when we heard about his passing, but it is just one of those things, life goes on, life goes on.
Switching gears a bit, I've got to ask you about New Year's Eve. After ringing in the New Year in Georgia for your whole career as a band what made you decide to break that tradition and take the party to Denver this year?
We just thought it was time that we did something special for the people of Colorado. Colorado has always been our second home because that is pretty much where we cut our teeth as a touring band. We toured there extensively in the mid-80s and got a lot of help from Jerry Joseph and Little Women. They were the ones that got us out there. I remember that our first show in Colorado was supporting them in Steamboat at The Inferno, and then we did a host of other gigs with them in that run. I think it lasted almost a month. We hit probably every ski resort known to mankind that first time out there.
A lot of things obviously change in the world of Widespread Panic and we thought this year would the perfect time to switch it up. We've got a great support act and that makes it even more special and we are all very excited.
That support act you mention is Yonder Mountain String Band, and I was wondering how you decided to bring them on board for the run?
They have a great following in Colorado and we thought it was a great package and thought that the fans would really like it. That's what makes it exciting for us, when the fans get excited. We extended an invitation for Yonder to join us and they were so gracious to accept. I am excited because they are such great players and there is great potential for us to do something together, some intermingling onstage perhaps.
There are some rumors going around that after the shows in Denver the band will be taking some time off. Will there be another hiatus for Panic in 2009?
I have heard through our office, because I never read the chatboards, that a lot of people think that we are taking the year off next year. We are not. So, we've got to put that little fire out. We are definitely coming out and working and while I can't tell you the exact dates that we'll have for Red Rocks, I can guarantee that we will be there during the summer of 2009.
That's good to hear because a lot of people have been saying that there will be no tour until the fall.
I know where you are coming from. I am even getting it from my kids. My oldest is 14 and my youngest is 10 and they are going, "Dad where are we going next year?" and I'm going, "What do you mean?" And they said, "Well, we heard that you guys are taking the whole year off." When Mikey passed away, bless his heart, we took 2004 off but they were a little bit younger. So, while they knew that he had passed away they didn't realize that it meant that I was going to be home for the whole year.
We will be there and we will be working in 2009.
Maybe a little less touring, but not a hiatus?
Not a hiatus. "A little less?" I don't know about "a little less." To us there is no "a little less." To me, it's not work. To me, it is socializing, its conversation, its anything but work and anything but touring. It is like being in a traveling minstrel show, I guess, maybe a circus. It is a way of life for us. It may sound corny but it really is. When we were growing up as young kids, teenagers, in the back of our minds we always wanted to be full time musicians and probably never thought we could sustain ourselves doing this. When I met the boys in '86 they were attending UGA and on their way to being golf pros, chemistry majors, business majors and then something happened that put everything on hold.
Our motto as a band has always been that we are willing to go to the edge and then think about it, and then actually dive off the edge and see what happens. A lot of people say, "They just don't do it anymore," and I kinda think that they just don't see that we are doing it and they need to step aside and let someone else that gets it get it and pass it back to them.
Some people have said that there seems to be a new life in the band lately, and I was wondering if that comes from having Jimmy Herring in the band? What is it like to have him as a full time member?
Jimmy Herring is an angel that we knew about back in the '80s. We connected with him when he was in Aquarium Rescue Unit. He is a virtuoso and a very studious player. He gives 110-percent every day, not only every night but everyday, too. He's a sweetheart of a guy; we are almost derelicts compared to him. He's been around the block a couple of times and when things were looking gloomy for us he was the one so nice to us and offered his assistance, but he was committed to Phil & Friends and The Dead and we had to look at other alternatives. When the second calling came he was available.
Is there a new Panic album coming any time soon?
The writing in the band has just kept getting better and we have some good new material that we haven't even pulled out yet. We have so much material that we are going to have to start using it. So, that's just a good problem to have. It has gotten to the point now where we are asking, "Where do we want to go record? Where do we want to go do this next project?" That seems to be the thing that is holding us back. We want to record, but we also realize that we need to see what happens. We aren't in any rush. We feel that we can do a lot of woodshedding in the next six months and come up with some hot stuff and maybe take it on the road and experiment with it like we've always done - just throw it out there and see if we get any bites from anybody who wants to sustain us, wants to invest or wants to make good use of it as a new product.
Anything we do as Widespread Panic is with everyone's input. There are obviously thousands of studios around Athens but who knows, we might do something in Nashville, we might do something in Atlanta. There are lots of options for us to dabble in, and it is just a matter of where everyone feels comfortable. That's the big name game right now, the comfort level. When we all agree that we are ready the ball starts rolling. We start sending out feelers for producers, studios and then we need to block out the time. If all that fits together then we are ready. There are just so many things involved. Who knows what form this monster is going to take.
So, through all of this, it's been more than 20 years that you've been playing together; what keeps you going?
Some say 25 [years]! Well, I guess when we reach 2010 it'll be 25 years. The music business is one big rollercoaster ride, and we've learned that through a lot of good times and a lot of bad times. The thing that keeps us bonded together and our feet on the ground is knowing there's a lot of folks that enjoy, love and really care about Widespread Panic. It's that give and take, that communication, that excitement that we've always gotten from our fans that just keeps us going on and on. Our way of giving back to these folks is giving that piece of music, which is our life. That energy is still there, that drive, that magic. Whatever you want to call it, it is still real strong. We love what we do and we are going to keep on doing it probably for a pretty good while now.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Warren Haynes 20th Anniversary Christmas Jam
TO those of us who are fortunate enough to be in beautiful Asheville NC this weekend. You are either attending or are well aware that Warrens Christmas Jam kicks off tonight and for the first time is a weekend jam packed with events, appearances etc.
This year attendees have an extra special treat in the form of the great John Paul Jones. This man needs no introduction.
The 20th Anniversary of The Christmas Jam
Tickets On-Sale Now Through Ticketmaster
Tickets are $55 + $1 Facility Fee
Just Added - Tal Wilkenfeld, Buddy Cage & Ron Holloway to Special Guests
Friday December 12th
Allman Brothers Band, The Del McCoury Band, The Derek Trucks Band, Gov't Mule, Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk, Joan Osborne
Saturday December 13th
Ben Harper and Relentless7, Coheed & Cambria, Steve Earle, Michael Franti with Jay Bowman Acoustic, Gov't Mule, Joan Osborne, Johnny Winter
Also Appearing - Day To Be Determined
John Paul Jones & Travis Tritt
Special Guests Also Scheduled To Appear:
Mike Barnes, Buddy Cage, Roosevelt Collier, Karl Denson, Robben Ford Ruthie Foster, Audley Freed, Ron Holloway
Patterson Hood, JJ Grey, Col. Bruce Hampton, Robert Kearns, Kevn Kinney, Eric Krasno, Edwin McCain, Mickey Raphael, Tal Wilkenfeld & Many More
Schedule & List of Performers Subject To Change
Advance Tickets To Stella Blue & Emerald Lounge Available Now Through Christmas Jam Ticketing.
Advance Tickets To The Comedy Jam Available: www.xmasjam.com
This year attendees have an extra special treat in the form of the great John Paul Jones. This man needs no introduction.
The 20th Anniversary of The Christmas Jam
Tickets On-Sale Now Through Ticketmaster
Tickets are $55 + $1 Facility Fee
Just Added - Tal Wilkenfeld, Buddy Cage & Ron Holloway to Special Guests
Friday December 12th
Allman Brothers Band, The Del McCoury Band, The Derek Trucks Band, Gov't Mule, Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk, Joan Osborne
Saturday December 13th
Ben Harper and Relentless7, Coheed & Cambria, Steve Earle, Michael Franti with Jay Bowman Acoustic, Gov't Mule, Joan Osborne, Johnny Winter
Also Appearing - Day To Be Determined
John Paul Jones & Travis Tritt
Special Guests Also Scheduled To Appear:
Mike Barnes, Buddy Cage, Roosevelt Collier, Karl Denson, Robben Ford Ruthie Foster, Audley Freed, Ron Holloway
Patterson Hood, JJ Grey, Col. Bruce Hampton, Robert Kearns, Kevn Kinney, Eric Krasno, Edwin McCain, Mickey Raphael, Tal Wilkenfeld & Many More
Schedule & List of Performers Subject To Change
Advance Tickets To Stella Blue & Emerald Lounge Available Now Through Christmas Jam Ticketing.
Advance Tickets To The Comedy Jam Available: www.xmasjam.com
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Langerado Artists Announced
7TH ANNUAL LANGERADO MUSIC FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES INITIAL ARTIST LINEUP:
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE, SNOOP DOGG, RYAN ADAMS AND THE CARDINALS, THIEVERY CORPORATION
SLIGHTLY STOOPID, BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE, COLD WAR KIDS, GIRL TALK, CHROMEO, MUTE MATH
THE FAINT, THE POGUES, MATISYAHU, THE DISCO BISCUITS, UMPHREY'S McGEE
ROBERT RANDOLPH AND THE FAMILY BAND, MICHAEL FRANTI AND SPEARHEAD AND MANY MORE
TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY DECEMBER 12 NOON EST AT WWW.LANGERADO.COM
MARCH 6-7-8, 2009 AT BICENTENNIAL PARK IN MIAMI, FL
Held for the first time this year at Bicentennial Park on Biscayne Bay, Langerado now calls Miami - one of the world's must cultural cities - home. Today, festival organizers make an initial artist announcement to make the Magic City proud. Death Cab For Cutie, Snoop Dogg, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, Thievery Corporation, Slightly Stoopid and Dashboard Confessional join Flogging Molly, Broken Social Scene, Girl Talk, Cold War Kids, The Faint, Gym Class Heroes, Tricky, Chromeo, Mute Math, Black Kids, Cafe Tacuba, The Pogues, The Virgins, Zac Brown Band and more. Langerado is also proud to welcome back veterans from Langerado's past including Matisyahu, The Disco Biscuits, Umphrey's McGee, Robert Randolph & The Family Band and Michael Franti & Spearhead and extend a warm welcome to the many artists performing at the festival for the first time. Artists will perform on multiple stages throughout the three day event and more artists are still to be announced!
Tickets to the 7th Annual Langerado Music Festival go on sale Friday December 12 at 12 p.m. EST. Purchase tickets with no additional service charges through http://langerado.musictoday.com and at www.langerado.com.
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE, SNOOP DOGG, RYAN ADAMS AND THE CARDINALS, THIEVERY CORPORATION
SLIGHTLY STOOPID, BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE, COLD WAR KIDS, GIRL TALK, CHROMEO, MUTE MATH
THE FAINT, THE POGUES, MATISYAHU, THE DISCO BISCUITS, UMPHREY'S McGEE
ROBERT RANDOLPH AND THE FAMILY BAND, MICHAEL FRANTI AND SPEARHEAD AND MANY MORE
TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY DECEMBER 12 NOON EST AT WWW.LANGERADO.COM
MARCH 6-7-8, 2009 AT BICENTENNIAL PARK IN MIAMI, FL
Held for the first time this year at Bicentennial Park on Biscayne Bay, Langerado now calls Miami - one of the world's must cultural cities - home. Today, festival organizers make an initial artist announcement to make the Magic City proud. Death Cab For Cutie, Snoop Dogg, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, Thievery Corporation, Slightly Stoopid and Dashboard Confessional join Flogging Molly, Broken Social Scene, Girl Talk, Cold War Kids, The Faint, Gym Class Heroes, Tricky, Chromeo, Mute Math, Black Kids, Cafe Tacuba, The Pogues, The Virgins, Zac Brown Band and more. Langerado is also proud to welcome back veterans from Langerado's past including Matisyahu, The Disco Biscuits, Umphrey's McGee, Robert Randolph & The Family Band and Michael Franti & Spearhead and extend a warm welcome to the many artists performing at the festival for the first time. Artists will perform on multiple stages throughout the three day event and more artists are still to be announced!
Tickets to the 7th Annual Langerado Music Festival go on sale Friday December 12 at 12 p.m. EST. Purchase tickets with no additional service charges through http://langerado.musictoday.com and at www.langerado.com.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
We Miss You John
"No one is truly dead until the last person no longer remembers you."
- John Lennon
You were a legend among men, John Lennon.
You will never be forgotten.
- John Lennon
You were a legend among men, John Lennon.
You will never be forgotten.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Earth Loses Mitch Mitchell
Mitch Mitchell, the British drummer in the seminal 1960s band the Jimi Hendrix Experience, has been found dead in his US hotel room, authorities say.
The 61-year-old was discovered in the Benson Hotel in Portland, Oregon, in the early hours of Wednesday.
A medical examiner told the Associated Press news agency that his death appeared to be from natural causes, but said there would be an autopsy.
Hendrix died in 1970 and the band's bassist Noel Redding died in 2003.
Mitchell, from Ealing in west London, had been touring with the Experience Hendrix Tour.
Janie Hendrix, chief executive of the tour and step-sister of Jimi Hendrix, paid tribute to Mitchell.
"He was a wonderful man, a brilliant musician and a true friend," she said.
"His role in shaping the sound of the Jimi Hendrix Experience cannot be underestimated."
Terry Stewart, chief executive of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, also paid tribute to Mitchell.
He said the musician had added a "strictly percussive element to a lead instrument".
He added: "His interplay with Jimi Hendrix's guitar on songs like Fire is truly amazing.
"Mitch Mitchell had a massive influence on rock 'n' roll drumming and took it to new heights."
Mitchell performed on Hendrix classics such as Are You Experienced? Electric Ladyland and Axis: Bold As Love.
The top session drummer also played with the likes of Eric Clapton, John Lennon, Keith Richards and Muddy Waters.
Bob Merlis, a spokesman for the tour, called his death "devastating".
He had seen Mitchell perform two weeks ago in Los Angeles and the drummer appeared healthy and upbeat, he said.
Blues-rock guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, who is also part of the tour, said Mitchell was to drums what Hendrix was to guitar.
"Today many of us have lost a dear friend, and the world has lost a rock 'n' roll hero," he said.
The 61-year-old was discovered in the Benson Hotel in Portland, Oregon, in the early hours of Wednesday.
A medical examiner told the Associated Press news agency that his death appeared to be from natural causes, but said there would be an autopsy.
Hendrix died in 1970 and the band's bassist Noel Redding died in 2003.
Mitchell, from Ealing in west London, had been touring with the Experience Hendrix Tour.
Janie Hendrix, chief executive of the tour and step-sister of Jimi Hendrix, paid tribute to Mitchell.
"He was a wonderful man, a brilliant musician and a true friend," she said.
"His role in shaping the sound of the Jimi Hendrix Experience cannot be underestimated."
Terry Stewart, chief executive of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, also paid tribute to Mitchell.
He said the musician had added a "strictly percussive element to a lead instrument".
He added: "His interplay with Jimi Hendrix's guitar on songs like Fire is truly amazing.
"Mitch Mitchell had a massive influence on rock 'n' roll drumming and took it to new heights."
Mitchell performed on Hendrix classics such as Are You Experienced? Electric Ladyland and Axis: Bold As Love.
The top session drummer also played with the likes of Eric Clapton, John Lennon, Keith Richards and Muddy Waters.
Bob Merlis, a spokesman for the tour, called his death "devastating".
He had seen Mitchell perform two weeks ago in Los Angeles and the drummer appeared healthy and upbeat, he said.
Blues-rock guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, who is also part of the tour, said Mitchell was to drums what Hendrix was to guitar.
"Today many of us have lost a dear friend, and the world has lost a rock 'n' roll hero," he said.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
YES WE DID!
Now a progressive America can begin to heal. But alas, this is just the first step and our work has just begun. Tonight we are witnessing a tectonic shift in America.
For tonight though, we celebrate and like the Who said, "Wont Get Fooled Again"
For tonight though, we celebrate and like the Who said, "Wont Get Fooled Again"
Saturday, October 25, 2008
JamaicansMusic.com
Jamaicansmusic.com is dedicated to cataloguing and recording the history of Jamaican music and the artists who have made this music popular. From mento artist to dancehall artists; our aim is to try as best to create an encompassing database of Jamaican music and Jamaican music artists.
Features of this site include a brief history of the different Jamaican music forms, sample audio tracks, tons videos, artists' bios and our very special Jamaican music store.
Anywhere in the world today popular Jamaican music can be heard playing in clubs, bars, and cars, or even from the voices of the people walking on the street. The music of the tiny island nation of Jamaica has captivated the world, with its soft melodies and harmonic beats while sustaining an apparent edge reflecting the characteristics and culture of its creators.
There is no doubt that if you asked anyone in world today what they knew about Jamaica, the overwhelming response would be reggae, followed by Bob Marley.
Today, reggae is the named used to refer to all Jamaican music. To many Jamaicans, reggae is life and tells the story of the nation's people. Jamaica is a tiny Caribbean island with just over 2.6 million people. No major world event has ever taken place there, and it does not produce any significant wealth to speak of. The reality is that, Jamaica, should by all counts, be relatively unknown to the world. How is it then that this island's people and its music have gained such worldwide recognition?
The influence of Jamaican music on the world is unmistakable. At the 1980 independence of Zimbabwe, Bob Marley was the only foreign artist invited to perform, because his songs had given inspiration to freedom fighters in the bush. In the Nicaraguan civil war, both the Contras and the Sandanistas saw themselves as fighting oppression and used Bob Marley's music as motivation in their struggle.
Since then, Jamaican music has found its way in hearts and homes of many worldwide. Many contemporary music forms such as hip hop and reggaeton trace there roots back to reggae and several non Jamaican artists such as Gentleman from Germany, Alpha Blondy from The Ivory Coast, Harry Belafonte just to name a few have had enormous success singing Jamaican music.
Since Jamaica's independence in 1962, reggae has been used to express the social, economic and political lives of Jamaicans. Reggae is uniquely Jamaican and more loved and accepted now than it has ever been.
http://www.jamaicansmusic.com
Friday, October 17, 2008
Dead Obama Benefit Pictures
Thank you to Robyn Gould from the Grateful Dead channel on SIRIUS satellite radio.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Allman Brothers Earn Billboard Legend Of Live Award
The Allman Brothers Band will receive the prestigious Legend Of Live award at the 2008 Billboard Touring Awards, set for Nov. 20 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York.
The Legend Of Live award recognizes a touring professional who has had a significant and lasting impact on the concert industry. Previous Legend Of Live award winners include Rolling Stones promoter Michael Cohl (2004), Cellar Door Concerts founder Jack Boyle (2005), Sir Elton John (2006) and pioneering agent Frank Barsalona (2007).
The awards reception, which honors the top-performing tours, artists, companies and venues in the world based on Billboard Boxscore charts, caps the fifth annual Billboard Touring Conference Nov. 19-20.
"The Allman Brothers Band has rocked the house for four decades, 'hittin' the note' for veteran fans and converting new generations year after year," says Ray Waddell, Billboard’s executive director of content and programming, touring and live entertainment. "They're an American institution and concert icons, and Billboard is thrilled to honor them as this year's Legend Of Live."
On the cusp of their 40th anniversary in 2009, the Allman Brothers Band has long been one of the most compelling and popular live bands in the world.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers formed in 1969, and continue to tour regularly to packed houses and massive festivals. The group is made up of founding members Gregg Allman, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe, along with longtime members Warren Haynes, Marc Quinones, Oteil Burbridge, and Derek Trucks.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Something Smells Phishy
WELCOME TO PHISH TICKETS
Please read all information carefully.
A limited number of tickets for the upcoming Phish shows are now being offered through our secure online ticketing system via a ticket request period.
3/6/09 Hampton Coliseum Hampton, VA
3/7/09 Hampton Coliseum Hampton, VA
3/8/09 Hampton Coliseum Hampton, VA
All tickets are $49.50. You may request up to two tickets per show.
For more information on these shows, please click here.
We will ONLY accept requests for these tickets during a SEVEN-DAY PERIOD.
*The request time ends: Wednesday, October 8th at 11:59 AM, EST.
All requests, regardless of when they are placed, are treated equally in the system. You can request tickets to one or more shows, but your entire ticket request for all shows must be placed at one time.
Our allotment of tickets for each show is limited, so we may not be able to fulfill every request that we receive. You will be notified of your order status prior to the public on-sale date. All notifications will be sent via email to the email address you provide in your ticket request. If we are able to fulfill your ticket request, we will charge the total amount due to your credit card at that time.
You will be charged a $5.40 convenience fee for each ticket purchased. In addition, all tickets will be shipped within the continental US via UPS 2-Day Air, and you will be charged a $10.00 shipping fee per order. Tickets shipped outside the continental US will be shipped via UPS International Priority at a charge specific to the country to which the tickets are being shipped.
Packages may not be sent to a PO Box, and ticket requests with incorrect or no shipping information will not be processed. All tickets will be shipped the week following February 9, 2009.
There is a limit of one ticket request per credit card. As a security measure, Phish Tickets will accept only one unique credit card number for each ticket request. If you attempt to place additional ticket requests with the same credit card number, all requests will be rejected. In addition, we will be filtering out multiple ticket requests made by the same person at the same billing address using different credit cards. Attempts to make multiple ticket requests by the same person at the same address may result in a low priority assignment or even rejection of your requests.
A FEW CHOICE WORDS ON SCALPING
Phish Tickets has a zero tolerance for scalping and insists that all patrons of our service abide by our policy stated herein. Tickets made available through this site are intended only for fans who are actually planning on attending the shows requested. It is strictly prohibited to resell any tickets obtained through Phish Tickets for more than the purchase price. If you are found to be reselling, trading or brokering tickets that you purchased through our site for profit, Phish Tickets may at its discretion cancel your ticket order and all other pending orders in your name. This cancellation will result in a refund of the total price for the tickets minus a $7.00 per ticket processing fee and any shipping fees that have been incurred with respect to the order. We reserve the right to investigate all orders suspected to be in violation of this policy.
We urge you not to purchase tickets through brokers or "scalpers." These tickets may be counterfeit in which case you will not only be overcharged but will also likely be denied entry into the show.
For Customer Service issues or questions, please email Phishtickets@musictoday.com. We will answer all e-mails in a timely and personal manner. Please send only one e-mail in a 24 hour period. Please note, that due to the high volume of requests we will not be able to make changes to your order once it has been processed. Queries not related directly to customer service issues will be disregarded.
Thank you for visiting Phish Tickets, and good luck with your ticket request!
Click HERE to submit your ticket request.
http://phish.portals.musictoday.com/
Please read all information carefully.
A limited number of tickets for the upcoming Phish shows are now being offered through our secure online ticketing system via a ticket request period.
3/6/09 Hampton Coliseum Hampton, VA
3/7/09 Hampton Coliseum Hampton, VA
3/8/09 Hampton Coliseum Hampton, VA
All tickets are $49.50. You may request up to two tickets per show.
For more information on these shows, please click here.
We will ONLY accept requests for these tickets during a SEVEN-DAY PERIOD.
*The request time ends: Wednesday, October 8th at 11:59 AM, EST.
All requests, regardless of when they are placed, are treated equally in the system. You can request tickets to one or more shows, but your entire ticket request for all shows must be placed at one time.
Our allotment of tickets for each show is limited, so we may not be able to fulfill every request that we receive. You will be notified of your order status prior to the public on-sale date. All notifications will be sent via email to the email address you provide in your ticket request. If we are able to fulfill your ticket request, we will charge the total amount due to your credit card at that time.
You will be charged a $5.40 convenience fee for each ticket purchased. In addition, all tickets will be shipped within the continental US via UPS 2-Day Air, and you will be charged a $10.00 shipping fee per order. Tickets shipped outside the continental US will be shipped via UPS International Priority at a charge specific to the country to which the tickets are being shipped.
Packages may not be sent to a PO Box, and ticket requests with incorrect or no shipping information will not be processed. All tickets will be shipped the week following February 9, 2009.
There is a limit of one ticket request per credit card. As a security measure, Phish Tickets will accept only one unique credit card number for each ticket request. If you attempt to place additional ticket requests with the same credit card number, all requests will be rejected. In addition, we will be filtering out multiple ticket requests made by the same person at the same billing address using different credit cards. Attempts to make multiple ticket requests by the same person at the same address may result in a low priority assignment or even rejection of your requests.
A FEW CHOICE WORDS ON SCALPING
Phish Tickets has a zero tolerance for scalping and insists that all patrons of our service abide by our policy stated herein. Tickets made available through this site are intended only for fans who are actually planning on attending the shows requested. It is strictly prohibited to resell any tickets obtained through Phish Tickets for more than the purchase price. If you are found to be reselling, trading or brokering tickets that you purchased through our site for profit, Phish Tickets may at its discretion cancel your ticket order and all other pending orders in your name. This cancellation will result in a refund of the total price for the tickets minus a $7.00 per ticket processing fee and any shipping fees that have been incurred with respect to the order. We reserve the right to investigate all orders suspected to be in violation of this policy.
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Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Springsteen, Joel team up for Obama
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rock stars Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel are teaming up for their first joint concert to benefit Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.
Obama plans to attend the concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Oct. 16, the day after Obama's final debate with Republican John McCain at Hofstra University, located several miles outside the city in Hempstead, N.Y.
Seeing the two superstars together won't come cheap. Tickets start at $500 and range up to $10,000.
The event was first reported by the Huffington Post Web site and confirmed by an Obama aide.
Springsteen also planned to perform Saturday at a Philadelphia rally to boost the Obama campaign's voter registration drive. Polls show a close race between Obama and McCain in Pennsylvania, a state John Kerry won in 2004.
NPR MUSIC TO STREAM ENTIRE BOB DYLAN ALBUM, TELL TALE SIGNS, WEEK AHEAD OF RELEASE
NPR Music will exclusively stream Tell Tale Signs, the highly-anticipated forthcoming album from Bob Dylan, beginning Tuesday, September 30 at midnight, one week ahead of the album's release on October 7. The entire two-CD, 27-song set will be available to hear on-demand at NPR Music for the week leading up to its release.
Tell Tale Signs is the eighth installment in Dylan's "Bootleg Series," and features previously unreleased recordings, live performances and alternate versions of songs recorded during sessions for some of his most acclaimed albums, Oh Mercy and Time Out of Mind among them. Also included on the album are Dylan's recordings for the soundtracks of the films "Lucky You," "Gods & Generals" and "North Country," as well as "32-20 Blues," his first ever release of a Robert Johnson song.
The complete track listing for Tell Tale Signs and additional information about the album will be available at NPR Music starting tonight, where there is also an extensive archive of past interviews with, and music by, the legend: www.NPR.org/music.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
28 Years Gone - John Henry Bonham
On September 25th, 1980, the world lost one of the greatest musical talents it has known. Today marks the 28th anniversary of John Henry Bonham's tragic death. Amid rumors of possible replacements in the band, it was never even a discussion to have someone replace Bonzo, how could you? His fellow bandmates issued a historic statement: "Due to the tragic death of our dear friend and band mate, we can no longer continue as we were...."
Undoubtedly one of the most influential drummers of all time, (perhaps the greatest) Bonzo's impact on our musical landscape is still being felt each day. With unmatchable skill, groove, dynamics and sheer power, no drummer has come close to replicating the things he did on the kit. On December 10th 2007, his son Jason joined his old bandmates in Led Zeppelin to perform a spiritually inspired 2 hour+ set. Jason filled in with greatness and shined as he led the band through classics such as "In My Time of Dying," "Dazed and Confused," "The Song Remains the Same" and a rendition of "Kashmir" which some said it was like his dad came down and joined him. John was surely drinking a Guiness and watching proudly as his old mates blew the roof off the O2 Arena with his son on the skins.
In memory of Bonzo, lets watch a classic clip of "Moby Dick," his drum solo centerpiece from the Royal Albert Hall in 1970!
Undoubtedly one of the most influential drummers of all time, (perhaps the greatest) Bonzo's impact on our musical landscape is still being felt each day. With unmatchable skill, groove, dynamics and sheer power, no drummer has come close to replicating the things he did on the kit. On December 10th 2007, his son Jason joined his old bandmates in Led Zeppelin to perform a spiritually inspired 2 hour+ set. Jason filled in with greatness and shined as he led the band through classics such as "In My Time of Dying," "Dazed and Confused," "The Song Remains the Same" and a rendition of "Kashmir" which some said it was like his dad came down and joined him. John was surely drinking a Guiness and watching proudly as his old mates blew the roof off the O2 Arena with his son on the skins.
In memory of Bonzo, lets watch a classic clip of "Moby Dick," his drum solo centerpiece from the Royal Albert Hall in 1970!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
Shine On: Pink Floyd founder Richard Wright dies at 65
Pink Floyd keyboard player and founder member Richard Wright has died, aged 65, from cancer.
Wright appeared on the group's first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, in 1967 alongside lead guitarist Syd Barrett, Roger Waters and Nick Mason.
Dave Gilmour joined the band at the start of 1968 while Barrett left the group shortly afterwards.
Gilmour said: "He was such a lovely, gentle, genuine man and will be missed terribly by so many who loved him."
Writing on his website, he added: "And that's a lot of people. Did he not get the loudest, longest round of applause at the end of every show in 2006?"
Wright's spokesman said in a statement: "The family of Richard Wright, founder member of Pink Floyd, announce with great sadness that Richard died today after a short struggle with cancer.
"The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this difficult time."
He did not say what form of cancer the self-taught keyboard player and pianist had.
Live 8
Wright, a founder member of The Pink Floyd Sound - and other previous incarnations including Sigma 6 - met Waters and Mason at architecture school.
Pink Floyd achieved legendary status with albums including 1973's The Dark Side Of The Moon, which stayed in the US album chart for more than a decade.
Wright, known as Rick earlier in his career, wrote The Great Gig In The Sky and Us And Them from the album.
Waters left the band in 1981, performing his last concert at London's Earls Court.
Wright, together with Gilmour and Mason, continued to record and tour as Pink Floyd during the remainder of the 1980s and into the 1990s, releasing their last studio album - The Division Bell - in 1994.
In 2005, the full band reunited - for the first time in 24 years - for the Live 8 concert in London's Hyde Park.
Wright also contributed vocals and keyboards to Gilmour's 2006 solo album On An Island, while performing with his touring band in shows in Europe and the US.
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2008/09/15 17:14:15 GMT
MUSIC BINDS US ALL
Wright appeared on the group's first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, in 1967 alongside lead guitarist Syd Barrett, Roger Waters and Nick Mason.
Dave Gilmour joined the band at the start of 1968 while Barrett left the group shortly afterwards.
Gilmour said: "He was such a lovely, gentle, genuine man and will be missed terribly by so many who loved him."
Writing on his website, he added: "And that's a lot of people. Did he not get the loudest, longest round of applause at the end of every show in 2006?"
Wright's spokesman said in a statement: "The family of Richard Wright, founder member of Pink Floyd, announce with great sadness that Richard died today after a short struggle with cancer.
"The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this difficult time."
He did not say what form of cancer the self-taught keyboard player and pianist had.
Live 8
Wright, a founder member of The Pink Floyd Sound - and other previous incarnations including Sigma 6 - met Waters and Mason at architecture school.
Pink Floyd achieved legendary status with albums including 1973's The Dark Side Of The Moon, which stayed in the US album chart for more than a decade.
Wright, known as Rick earlier in his career, wrote The Great Gig In The Sky and Us And Them from the album.
Waters left the band in 1981, performing his last concert at London's Earls Court.
Wright, together with Gilmour and Mason, continued to record and tour as Pink Floyd during the remainder of the 1980s and into the 1990s, releasing their last studio album - The Division Bell - in 1994.
In 2005, the full band reunited - for the first time in 24 years - for the Live 8 concert in London's Hyde Park.
Wright also contributed vocals and keyboards to Gilmour's 2006 solo album On An Island, while performing with his touring band in shows in Europe and the US.
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2008/09/15 17:14:15 GMT
MUSIC BINDS US ALL
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Authentic Roots Reggae in South Florida
There are not many real reggae “bands” left out there...reggae artists and singers are a dime a baker's dozen but reggae bands such as Third World, Steel Pulse and UB40 where the members typically remain the same as in rock bands are quite rare. Fourth Dimension aims to bring back this vibe and take it to another level.
Fourth Dimension founded in 2000 is considered a "local reggae legend" according to the Miami Herald and is without a doubt the most groundbreaking reggae band to surge from the South Florida scene. This ethnically diverse quartet specializes in various styles of bi-lingual reggae and their repertoire consists of a positive and uplifting experience. The band describes its sound as “Authentic Roots Reggae out of this World”, because its members are from the Caribbean, the US and South American Heritage. No wonder then, that their following is equally diverse: from hard-core lovers of reggae, to tye-dye jam band connoisseurs, to Baby Boomers. Audiences are thus blessed with a performance mix of Bob Marley Style music, Lee “Scratch” Perry-like dub stylings, the current Sizzla style toasting, the traditional Burning Spear style and Latin-Spanish reggae.
Performing over 250 shows a year has prevented them from quickly releasing a real album. But good things come for those who wait and after 8 years Fourth Dimension's new album, " Invazion" is scheduled for release in 2008. The highly anticipated album will feature new drummer Joe "Grind" Fagan and will be mixed and co-produced by Karl Pitterson the legendary engineer responsible for the Exodus album; named "The Best Music Album of the 20th Century" by Time Magazine and most notably working with a lengthy list of stellar names such as Bob Marley & The Wailers, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Burning Spear, and of course, Steel Pulse, as well as Mick Jagger, Robert Palmer and Grace Jones outside of reggae music.
From the pulsating sounds of the bass guitar to the extensive vocal array, Jah Steve will electrify your soul. He was born and raised in Miami, Florida where he has been involved in the reggae scene for years and has backed up Jamaican “Studio 1” greats such as Derrick Morgan. He names Wailer's bassist Aston "Familyman" and Eric Clapton as his musical role models.
Melodic grooves, imperial brass, combined with lead and backing vocals, Pierre, “The Reggae Maestro” the keyboard player contributes a cutting edge to this band’s sound. Born to Argentine parents in Long Island, New York. At the age of seven, he moved and was raised for the next fifteen years in Puerto Rico. Here he received seven years of training on the piano before moving on to the keyboard. Growing up in Puerto Rico has influenced Pierre’s love for the Caribbean’s diverse melodies and heart-pumping rhythms. He is largely in part influenced by the vibrant sounds of reggae. The music of Bob Marley, Culture, Israel Vibrations and others has created his love for Roots reggae.
"Strings", Lead and Rhythm Guitarist, provides the sweet sounding harmonies and vocals of FOURTH DIMENSION. Strings is endorsed by First Act Guitars of Boston, MA as a part of their "Emerging Artists" series. Their guitars are played worldwide by artists such as Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Brad Whitford of Aerosmith, Rusty Anderson of Paul Mcartney, Henry Garza of Los Loney Boys and other players from bands such as: Guns N Roses, Los Lobos, Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, The Cure Originally from Puerto Rico "Strings" provides a Caribbean feel to his performance. The world music vibe and international players such as Santana, Ernest Ranglin, Dwight Pinkney, Hendrix and various other blues, jazz and fusion guitarists technically influence him. Strings, moved to South Florida in 1995 in order to advance in his music career. Here he obtained a music business degree, freelanced and played in a fusion of bands.
Joseph "Grind" Fagan was born in Florida with Jamaican parents who have instilled the Jamaican culture in their son. He began playing the drums at an early age of five which became his passion. His talent is driven by heavy influences in Reggae, Gospel, Hip Hop and Jazz. Dennis Chambers, Carlton Barret and Dave Weckle have also been inspirations. Joseph studied with Jonathan Joseph, Russ Miller and attended Musicians Institute of Hollywood California. Joseph has toured with Lady Saw, John Holts and many other R&B and reggae acts.. His love for reggae, Caribbean and world music led him to get together with Jah Steve, Pierre and Strings; therefore commencing on their journey through the Multi-Dimensional Hypercube and Around the World.
Fourth Dimension was Nominated and Voted “Best Band” Reader’s Choice by Florida’s City Link Magazine and The New Times Magazine two years in a row in 2002, 2003 and 2005.
FOURTH DIMENSION will take you on an innovative musical journey while breaking all the rules of the space time-continuum. It is an experience you do not want to miss.
09/13/08 The Dive Bar Fort Lauderdale, FL
09/14/08 Jazid Miami Beach, FL
09/17/08 Original Fat Cats Ft Lauderdale, FL
Saturday, September 6, 2008
A Magically Delicious Tribute to the Great Theloneous Monk
Brother Theloneous: Belgian Style Abbey Ale
THis tasty ale has a rich dark raspberry like color with a finger of off-white head that fades fast. The score is primarily based on a great color and a tolerable head. Excellent nose filled with sweet fruit (cherry, plum), dried fruit (fig, raisin), and spice (pepper, ginger). This smells like Dubbel all the way.
THe taste is fruity, spicy, a bit peppery as it proceeds, a hint of dark chocolate--good stuff. A delicious, quality ale, well done, and flavorful. A better mouthfeel from more effervescence would do wonders for BT, already a fine representative of the style.
Like a Belgian “Dark Strong Ale”, the beer is rich and robust with an ABV of 9.3%. The package is a 750 ml bottle with a traditional cork and wire finish or 12oz 4 packs and features a label picturing the jazz master himself.
Vital Statistics
Style: Belgian Style Strong Dark
Color: Dark mahogany
ABV: 9.4%
Bitterness: 32 IBU's
Update: Dead Tour/Obama in PA
Obama Benefit on October 13 in Pennsylvania
Just a quick update on our story from earlier this week in regards to The Dead reforming to support Presidential hopeful Barack Obama. When we first reported there were no details available, today we learned that the boys will gather on October 13 at the Bryce Jordan Center at the Penn State campus in State College, PA. The date marks the first time in four years that Dead alumni Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart will have performed together.
The Dead To Tour In 2009
Obama Benefit on October 13
Word on the Web is that the surviving fellas from The Grateful Dead — bassist Phil Lesh, guitarist Bob Weir, and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann — are getting back together to tour in April and May of 2009. There are no further details available at this time and no indication who will join the core four to complete the lineup. Past lineups of The Dead and The Other Ones have included Warren Haynes, Steve Kimock, Mark Karan, Jimmy Herring, Susan Tedeschi, Joan Osborne, Jeff Chimenti and Rob Baracco amongst others.
Prior to any 2009 tour details, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart announced last Friday (8/29) that they will join together again on October 13 to perform a benefit concert for the Presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama, with the city, venue, special guests and other details to be determined pending further discussions with the Obama campaign.
Last February, Weir, Lesh and Hart performed together for the first time since 2004 at the hugely successful "Deadheads for Obama" show at The Warfield in San Francisco. Now founding Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann joins his musical brethren in service of this historic cause.
Stay tuned to dead.net for further details, ticket information, etc.
Just a quick update on our story from earlier this week in regards to The Dead reforming to support Presidential hopeful Barack Obama. When we first reported there were no details available, today we learned that the boys will gather on October 13 at the Bryce Jordan Center at the Penn State campus in State College, PA. The date marks the first time in four years that Dead alumni Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart will have performed together.
The Dead To Tour In 2009
Obama Benefit on October 13
Word on the Web is that the surviving fellas from The Grateful Dead — bassist Phil Lesh, guitarist Bob Weir, and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann — are getting back together to tour in April and May of 2009. There are no further details available at this time and no indication who will join the core four to complete the lineup. Past lineups of The Dead and The Other Ones have included Warren Haynes, Steve Kimock, Mark Karan, Jimmy Herring, Susan Tedeschi, Joan Osborne, Jeff Chimenti and Rob Baracco amongst others.
Prior to any 2009 tour details, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart announced last Friday (8/29) that they will join together again on October 13 to perform a benefit concert for the Presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama, with the city, venue, special guests and other details to be determined pending further discussions with the Obama campaign.
Last February, Weir, Lesh and Hart performed together for the first time since 2004 at the hugely successful "Deadheads for Obama" show at The Warfield in San Francisco. Now founding Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann joins his musical brethren in service of this historic cause.
Stay tuned to dead.net for further details, ticket information, etc.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Live in South FL? Support Obama?
Calling all volunteers in the tri-county area.
The Obama campaign needs your help. This election is crucial for the state of FL.
Please send an email to ssagel@mac.com
The Obama campaign needs your help. This election is crucial for the state of FL.
Please send an email to ssagel@mac.com
Friday, August 29, 2008
Earth Dance Miami Saturday September 13th
Taking place inside Soho Studios at 2136 NW First Avenue, Earthdance Miami 2008 is the headlining event for September's Wynwood Gallery Walk and will make Miami part of a global unifying experience that brings together people in 350 locations around the world together to celebrate peace and environmental awareness. "What we are doing here is real," says Earthdance Miami Producer Theresa Amandi. "This is not some hippie, granola music fest. These are genuine efforts by Miami's brightest and globally concious citizens to raise awareness, not only of our local communities, but this planet as a whole; from one of fear and doubt to one of love, light and certainty."
The defining moment of Earthdance is the synchronized "Prayer for Peace," played at every location around the world at exactly the same time. The Miami peace prayer takes place at 7 p.m. You don't want to miss this symbolic surreal binding moment.
In fostering its mission, Earthdance Miami will be co-hosted by astrologer Christopher Witecki, whose irreverent insights on Soul Garden TV, have helped millions of people find spiritual awareness. In addition, Earthdance Miami will feature a sneak preview of OPEN: Miami, the shipping container converted into a sustainable living space created by Miami visionaries Javier Sanjuanbenito, Hugo Mijaes and Albert Gomez.
The all-day festival will also have a variety of green activities and lectures conducted by the Environmental Coalition of Miami Beach, eco-friendly accessories maker Ecoist, The Kabbalah Center, The Standard Hotel and many others. Earthdance Miami 2008 is presented by M.E.A.D. in association with Plum TV and Miami New Times. The goal is to foster a mission of peace, environmental awareness, and harmony throughout the global sphere while supporting local environmental non-profits. A portion of the proceeds will go to Environmental Coaltion of Miami Beach, a local, non-profit organization dedicated to educating Miami-Dade County residents and vistors to adopt responsible environmental behaviors and raising awareness for our local ecosystem.
"Most people would not expect such a vibrant, cutting-edge and conscious scene coming out of or even existing in Miami" says Sustainable Recordings producer Erick Paredes. "That all these artists, environmental groups, promoters, media outlets and production companies have come together on the common grounds of this international event says a lot about Miami's new evolving culture and image to the world.
"The Live Acts Locos Por Juana, Miami's electric Latin urban orquesta Agape featuring Nadia Harris, the internationally acclaimed band that encompasses neo-soul, dub, broken-beat, nu-jazz, Latin and dub-house Miami-based Spanish funk band Lanzallamas Monofonicas. Reggae fusion sensation Fitzroy Miami underground hip-hop masters ¡MAYDAY!
A few Earthdance Miami facts
1. Earthdance Miami 2008 will have kids activities from 3-7pm so families are encouraged to attend. Soho Studios is an indoor air-conditioned space and we strong encourage you to bring blakets, rugs or cushions so you can relax and enjoy the show.
2. Tickets are $20 at the door. $10 if you RSVP via email to earthdancemiami@gmail.com. Your name will be put on a list. Guests will receive a special edition reusable gift bag designed by SBK Global and will be filled with green goodies.
3. Earthdance Miami will be webcast LIVE and we will have screens streaming footage from Earthdance festivals in Greece, Australia, California and Amsterdam. There will be food, soft drinks, beer, wine and sake sold at Earthdance, so you all can relax and make a day out of ithe experience.
4. Do not miss the the global peace prayer at 7 p.m. This is the most important magical moment of Earthdance Miami so we encourage people to arrive before 7 p.m. and be part of this amazing spirtual moment.
For more event information:
http://www.earthdance.org/miami
http://www.myspace.com/musiceducationartdance
http://www.myspace.com/earthdancemiami
http://www.plumtv.com
http://www.miaminewtimes.com
http://www.soulgarden.tv
MUSIC BINDS US ALL
Thursday, August 28, 2008
The HEAVY PETS Playing at JAZID in Miami Beach This Saturday Night
"The Heavy Pets combine elegant songwriting with blazing chops, thought-provoking lyrics and a heavy, danceable backbeat."- HighTimes.com
The Heavy Pets have been writing and playing original music together for over ten years. Based in Ft Lauderdale, FL, The Heavy Pets have played over 450 shows together under various names, and have shared the stage with acts such as Particle, Oteil Burbridge, Tea Leaf Green, and George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic.
Guitarist Jeff Lloyd made his South Florida debut jamming with George and P-Funk at Revolution New Years Eve '04-'05 and has since appeared with the funk legend twice, including an April 20, 2005 rager at the Culture Room with Bernie Worrell. The Pets first blipped on the national radar screen when they were selected to play the 2006 Langerado Music Festival, where they performed alongside acts like Ben Harper, The Disco Biscuits, and the Black Crowes. They followed the festival with a tour of the Northeast, hitting venues like NYC's the Knitting Factory, The 8X10 in Baltimore, and Albany, NY's Red Square.
The High Times “Unsigned Band of the Week” (May ’06), followed the Northeast run with an amazing weekend at the Green Parrot in Key West, where they performed 8 sets of material with no repeats. In September, The Heavy Pets performed at the Symbiosis Gathering in Angel’s Camp, CA, and October brought them to the Maple Leaf in New Orleans to perform with Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes. In addition to priding themselves on impeccable musicianship, the band has a staggering catalog of original material. March ‘007 will bring their double-disc debut album entitled “Whale” - a 21-track behemoth that ranges from progressive, high-energy, guitar-driven rock n roll, to funky reggae, to inspired, reflective folk music.
The Heavy Pets have been writing and playing original music together for over ten years. Based in Ft Lauderdale, FL, The Heavy Pets have played over 450 shows together under various names, and have shared the stage with acts such as Particle, Oteil Burbridge, Tea Leaf Green, and George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic.
Guitarist Jeff Lloyd made his South Florida debut jamming with George and P-Funk at Revolution New Years Eve '04-'05 and has since appeared with the funk legend twice, including an April 20, 2005 rager at the Culture Room with Bernie Worrell. The Pets first blipped on the national radar screen when they were selected to play the 2006 Langerado Music Festival, where they performed alongside acts like Ben Harper, The Disco Biscuits, and the Black Crowes. They followed the festival with a tour of the Northeast, hitting venues like NYC's the Knitting Factory, The 8X10 in Baltimore, and Albany, NY's Red Square.
The High Times “Unsigned Band of the Week” (May ’06), followed the Northeast run with an amazing weekend at the Green Parrot in Key West, where they performed 8 sets of material with no repeats. In September, The Heavy Pets performed at the Symbiosis Gathering in Angel’s Camp, CA, and October brought them to the Maple Leaf in New Orleans to perform with Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes. In addition to priding themselves on impeccable musicianship, the band has a staggering catalog of original material. March ‘007 will bring their double-disc debut album entitled “Whale” - a 21-track behemoth that ranges from progressive, high-energy, guitar-driven rock n roll, to funky reggae, to inspired, reflective folk music.
The Gonzo Tapes To Be Released
This October 28 Shout! Factory will make available the previously unreleased Gonzo Tapes in a newly produced collection titled The Gonzo Tapes: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, in concurrence with the Magnolia Pictures film release of "Gonzo: The Life And Work Of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson," directed by Academy Award®-winning director Alex Gibney.
Legendary Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson knew from the beginning of his career that he would one day be famous and so became a dedicated archivist of his own writing, saving copies of all his correspondence including personal letters, drafts for magazines and books, angry letters to his editors, and even notes written on cocktail napkins. But most important to Thompson was his tape recorder, which allowed him to document his experiences as a participant rather than an observer, often setting it down in a bar or hotel room to pick up the mood and conversation, or to record what it was like spending days speeding down highways with the Hell's Angels.
Recorded by Thompson between 1965 and 1975, these tapes capture his thoughts and descriptions both as they're happening and in reflection, as he would often go back to rerecord commentary. Filmmaker Alex Gibney, producer Eva Orner and Gonzo archivist Don Fleming were given permission by Thompson's widow to explore the boxes of tapes stored in the basement of his Owl Farm home in Woody Creek, Colorado, left behind after Thompson's suicide in 2005. Fleming transferred the audiocassettes and reel-to-reel tapes to digital files, and they made their way to the cutting room for the film "Gonzo: The Life And Work Of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson."
Gibney, the producer/writer/director of the film who also made "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room," and "Taxi to the Dark Side," writes in his introduction to The Gonzo Tapes, "These tapes were pure gold, lending an intimacy to the film that it couldn't have had otherwise." As Loren Jenkins writes in the notes that accompany The Gonzo Tapes, "The idea that these tapes will now be made available to the public to help reveal some of what went on behind the Gonzo screeds is something I believe Hunter would delight in if he were still alive today."
The Gonzo Tapes features original cover artwork by Gonzo artist Ralph Steadman, an introduction by film director Alex Gibney, an essay by journalist and Thompson's fellow foreign correspondent Loren Jenkins, and notes by The Gonzo Tapes producer Don Fleming, former frontman of the Velvet Monkeys and Gumball who has produced Sonic Youth, Alice Cooper, Hole, and more.
Disc 1 of the 5-CD set is titled "Hell's Angels," and includes Thompson's notes from a year of riding with the infamous biker gang, an unprecedented feat from which Thompson made a name for himself and which famously became a book. Discs 2 and 3 contain the notes that materialized as his well-known novel Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas, and eventually of course a major motion picture.
Disc 4, titled "Gonzo Gridlock 1973–1974," captures Thompson in the years following the completion of his book Fear And Loathing: On The Campaign Trail '72, recording his thoughts for a new novel, drafts of a never published Rolling Stone story involving Fear and Loathing cohort Oscar Acosta, a cocaine-fueled never-written assignment from Rolling Stone on a book titled Cocaine Papers: Sigmund Freud, as well as notes and an argument with Ralph Steadman during a 1974 trip to Zaire where he was to report on the legendary "Rumble In The Jungle" between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali for Rolling Stone, and which he skipped for a swim in the hotel pool.
Disc 5, titled "Fear and Loathing in Saigon," finds Thompson traveling to Vietnam just days before the fall of Saigon in 1975, where, armed with a cooler of beer and wearing Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt, he rode to the front line and observed the final major combat action of the war. The day before Saigon fell Thompson left for Laos to work on a story he had in mind about CIA concentration camps.
[Published on: 8/22/08 Jambase.com ]
Monday, August 18, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
The power of music
With brains wired for song, we derive pleasure, feel less pain
and transcend our body's limits
By Judy Foreman
Boston Globe
Dan Ellsey, 33, was sitting in his wheelchair in a soulless room at Tewksbury Hospital, his virtually useless arms and weak torso strapped to the chair for safety.
Suddenly, as soon as we were introduced, he arched his back, grinned broadly, and aimed the riveting power of his dark brown eyes at me, as if eye contact were his only means of transcending the prison of his body.
But it isn't. In the last few years, Ellsey, who was born with cerebral palsy, has discovered another, almost miraculous, way of expressing himself: music. Not just listening to country and soft rock, as he has done for years, but composing music himself with a special computerized system called Hyperscore, developed by composer-inventor, Tod Machover, professor of music and media and director of the Opera of the Future group at the MIT Media Lab.
I stand there, awed, as we listen to Ellsey's music, which on the computer has an abstract, eerie sound that swells and recedes like ocean waves. As we listen, we watch on the computer screen as the "score" - colored lines on a graph that represent different instruments - unfolds before our eyes.
A look of pure bliss crossed his face. For Ellsey, as for most human beings, music has almost inexplicable power - to rouse armies to battle, to soothe babies, to communicate peaks of joy and depths of sorrow that mere words cannot.
Just why evolution would have endowed our brains with the neural machinery to make music is a mystery.
"It's unclear why humans are so uniquely sensitive to music - certainly music shares many features with spoken language, and our brains are particularly developed to process the rapid tones and segments of sound that are common to both," said Dr. Oliver Sacks, the neurologist whose latest book, "Musicophilia," is about the brain's sensitivity to music. Some researchers, he added in an e-mail interview, believe that in primitive cultures, music and speech were not distinct. Other researchers debate which came first in evolution, speech or song.
What is clear is that the brain is abundantly wired to process music.
Scientists at the Montreal Neurological Institute, for instance, have found dramatic evidence on brain scans that the "chills," or a visceral feeling of awe, that people report listening to their favorite music are real. Music that a person likes - but not music that is disliked - activates both the higher, thinking centers in the brain's cortex, and, perhaps more important, also the "ancient circuitry, the motivation and reward system," said experimental psychologist Robert Zatorre, a member of the team. It's this ancient part of the brain that, often through the neurotransmitter dopamine, also governs basic drives such as for food, water, and sex, suggesting the tantalizing idea that the brain may consider music on a par with these crucial drives.
But music has the power not just to awe but to heal. If a person has a stroke on the left side of the brain, where the speech centers are located in most people, that "wipes out a major part of communication," said Dr. Gottfried Schlaug, chief of the Cerebrovascular Disorder Division and Stroke-Recovery Laboratory at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
But if the right side, where a lot of music is processed, is intact, some stroke patients can use "melodic intonation therapy," which involves singing using two tones (relatively close in pitch) to communicate. Schlaug's research suggests that with intense therapy some patients can even move from this two-tone singing back to actual speech.
Stroke patients with gait problems also profit from neurologically based music therapy. At the Center for Biomedical Research in Music at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, director Michael Thaut and his team have shown that people partially paralyzed on one side can retrain to walk faster and in a more coordinated way if they practice walking rhythmically, cued by music or a metronome. Combining rhythmic training with physical therapy also helps stroke patients recover gait faster, he said in an e-mail.
"Music helps us organize our movement," said Kathleen Howland, who has a PhD in music and cognition and teaches at Lesley University in Cambridge. Twenty years ago, she said, therapists tried to get stroke patients to walk better by flashing lights at them. But music, especially rhythm, works much better, she said.
A number of studies show that music therapy - the use of music for medical goals - can reduce pain. In a 2001 study on burn patients, whose burns must be frequently scraped to reduce dead tissue, researchers found that music therapy significantly reduced the excruciating pain. Patients undergoing colonoscopy also seem to feel less pain and need fewer sedative drugs if they listen to music during the procedure, according to several studies.
But not all studies have been so clear-cut. One 2007 review by the Cochrane Collaboration, a nonprofit, international organization that evaluates medical research, involved pooling data from 51 pain studies; it showed that listening to music can reduce the intensity of pain and the need for narcotic drugs, but cautioned that, overall, the benefit was small.
Music therapy may also improve mental state and functioning in people with schizophrenia, according to a 2007 Cochrane review. Premature infants who listen to lullabies learn to suck better and gain more weight than those who don't get music therapy. And Deforia Lane, director of music therapy at the University Hospitals Ireland Cancer Center in Cleveland, has found an improvement in immune response among hospitalized children who played, sang, and created music compared to children who did not get music therapy.
Indeed, the list of potential benefits from music therapy seems almost endless (check out the website of the American Music Therapy Association, musictherapy.org).
For some people, like Dan Ellsey, they can be nothing short of liberating.
As the sound of Ellsey's music faded away the other day, I asked him what message he would like to tell people through his music. Painstakingly, he tapped out his answer, aiming a laser device on his forehead to highlight pictures and letters on his computer.
"I am smart," he wrote, arching his back, joy beaming from his eyes. "I have a good personality."
Anything else? Eyes alight, he tapped: "I am a musician."
Correction: Because of a reporting error, the Health Sense column about the power of music in Monday's Health/Science section misrepresented research comparing the use of flashing lights and music to help people walk better. The research was done on healthy volunteers, not stroke patients.
and transcend our body's limits
By Judy Foreman
Boston Globe
Dan Ellsey, 33, was sitting in his wheelchair in a soulless room at Tewksbury Hospital, his virtually useless arms and weak torso strapped to the chair for safety.
Suddenly, as soon as we were introduced, he arched his back, grinned broadly, and aimed the riveting power of his dark brown eyes at me, as if eye contact were his only means of transcending the prison of his body.
But it isn't. In the last few years, Ellsey, who was born with cerebral palsy, has discovered another, almost miraculous, way of expressing himself: music. Not just listening to country and soft rock, as he has done for years, but composing music himself with a special computerized system called Hyperscore, developed by composer-inventor, Tod Machover, professor of music and media and director of the Opera of the Future group at the MIT Media Lab.
I stand there, awed, as we listen to Ellsey's music, which on the computer has an abstract, eerie sound that swells and recedes like ocean waves. As we listen, we watch on the computer screen as the "score" - colored lines on a graph that represent different instruments - unfolds before our eyes.
A look of pure bliss crossed his face. For Ellsey, as for most human beings, music has almost inexplicable power - to rouse armies to battle, to soothe babies, to communicate peaks of joy and depths of sorrow that mere words cannot.
Just why evolution would have endowed our brains with the neural machinery to make music is a mystery.
"It's unclear why humans are so uniquely sensitive to music - certainly music shares many features with spoken language, and our brains are particularly developed to process the rapid tones and segments of sound that are common to both," said Dr. Oliver Sacks, the neurologist whose latest book, "Musicophilia," is about the brain's sensitivity to music. Some researchers, he added in an e-mail interview, believe that in primitive cultures, music and speech were not distinct. Other researchers debate which came first in evolution, speech or song.
What is clear is that the brain is abundantly wired to process music.
Scientists at the Montreal Neurological Institute, for instance, have found dramatic evidence on brain scans that the "chills," or a visceral feeling of awe, that people report listening to their favorite music are real. Music that a person likes - but not music that is disliked - activates both the higher, thinking centers in the brain's cortex, and, perhaps more important, also the "ancient circuitry, the motivation and reward system," said experimental psychologist Robert Zatorre, a member of the team. It's this ancient part of the brain that, often through the neurotransmitter dopamine, also governs basic drives such as for food, water, and sex, suggesting the tantalizing idea that the brain may consider music on a par with these crucial drives.
But music has the power not just to awe but to heal. If a person has a stroke on the left side of the brain, where the speech centers are located in most people, that "wipes out a major part of communication," said Dr. Gottfried Schlaug, chief of the Cerebrovascular Disorder Division and Stroke-Recovery Laboratory at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
But if the right side, where a lot of music is processed, is intact, some stroke patients can use "melodic intonation therapy," which involves singing using two tones (relatively close in pitch) to communicate. Schlaug's research suggests that with intense therapy some patients can even move from this two-tone singing back to actual speech.
Stroke patients with gait problems also profit from neurologically based music therapy. At the Center for Biomedical Research in Music at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, director Michael Thaut and his team have shown that people partially paralyzed on one side can retrain to walk faster and in a more coordinated way if they practice walking rhythmically, cued by music or a metronome. Combining rhythmic training with physical therapy also helps stroke patients recover gait faster, he said in an e-mail.
"Music helps us organize our movement," said Kathleen Howland, who has a PhD in music and cognition and teaches at Lesley University in Cambridge. Twenty years ago, she said, therapists tried to get stroke patients to walk better by flashing lights at them. But music, especially rhythm, works much better, she said.
A number of studies show that music therapy - the use of music for medical goals - can reduce pain. In a 2001 study on burn patients, whose burns must be frequently scraped to reduce dead tissue, researchers found that music therapy significantly reduced the excruciating pain. Patients undergoing colonoscopy also seem to feel less pain and need fewer sedative drugs if they listen to music during the procedure, according to several studies.
But not all studies have been so clear-cut. One 2007 review by the Cochrane Collaboration, a nonprofit, international organization that evaluates medical research, involved pooling data from 51 pain studies; it showed that listening to music can reduce the intensity of pain and the need for narcotic drugs, but cautioned that, overall, the benefit was small.
Music therapy may also improve mental state and functioning in people with schizophrenia, according to a 2007 Cochrane review. Premature infants who listen to lullabies learn to suck better and gain more weight than those who don't get music therapy. And Deforia Lane, director of music therapy at the University Hospitals Ireland Cancer Center in Cleveland, has found an improvement in immune response among hospitalized children who played, sang, and created music compared to children who did not get music therapy.
Indeed, the list of potential benefits from music therapy seems almost endless (check out the website of the American Music Therapy Association, musictherapy.org).
For some people, like Dan Ellsey, they can be nothing short of liberating.
As the sound of Ellsey's music faded away the other day, I asked him what message he would like to tell people through his music. Painstakingly, he tapped out his answer, aiming a laser device on his forehead to highlight pictures and letters on his computer.
"I am smart," he wrote, arching his back, joy beaming from his eyes. "I have a good personality."
Anything else? Eyes alight, he tapped: "I am a musician."
Correction: Because of a reporting error, the Health Sense column about the power of music in Monday's Health/Science section misrepresented research comparing the use of flashing lights and music to help people walk better. The research was done on healthy volunteers, not stroke patients.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Rodrigo and Gabriela Tonight at the Fillmore Miami Beach
Biography
Rodrigo (Sanchez) and Gabriela (Quintero) are two fast-fingered, Dublin-based, Mexicans with a unique sound created on acoustic guitars. Their music is difficult to define, straddling both world and rock, and often imbued with timeless Hispano – classical influences. The fire in it comes from their life-long passion for metal music. This spring, "Rodrigo y Gabriela," beat both the Arctic Monkeys AND Johnny Cash to number one in the Irish charts.
Rodrigo is a deft finger-picker who can move from raging speed to sensual soul in the space of a fret, while Gabriela employs fast, rhythmic techniques. Her percussionist's thrashing of strings and drumming of the instrument's body inevitably raises comparisons with flamenco – which they acknowledge as an influence but swerve as a pigeonhole. The duo's repertoire flies beyond familiar Latin folk guitarists' styles because of the metal connection: their reworkings of Led Zep's "Stairway to Heaven" and Metallica's "Orion" are musts, and the presence, on "Ixtapa", of the fiery Hungarian gypsy violinist, Roby Lakatos, is inspirational.
The Story
Rodrigo and Gabriela met as teenagers, at the Casa de Cultura (Culture House), in Mexico City, where Rodrigo's brother was Director. Rodrigo was playing drums in his band Castlow - a code word he never revealed to Gabriela, and changed to Tierra Acida (Acid Earth) when she joined them on guitar. The couple drifted together through music; teenaged metal fanatics who both failed entrance to the Conservatory and moved into rock. Before joining Tierra Acida, Gabriela ran three girls' bands, Las Brujas (The Witches), Subterraneo and Las Formigas (The Ants) at once: Terra Acida had a disciplined work ethic: "It was mental!" she recalls, "we rehearsed five hours a day, every day, with very short breaks, and not much talking!"
Tierra Acida played in Mexico City's roughest clubs and lived off day-jobs (Gabriela taught Metallica riffs to local kids; Rodrigo at a TV station, doing music for programmes). They recorded an album but wouldn't sign the record contract, planning instead to concentrate on learning more guitar styles. In fact, they just hung out with friends and survived by playing bossa novas in the hotel bars. "Then we decided to travel to Europe".
Their first port of call was Dublin, Ireland. "It was the most unknown place to us", explains Gabriela, the talkative one. "Also, a Mexican girl offered us her house there." They landed in Dublin at night, spoke no English, and had $1,000 between them. They found a note on the door saying actually, sorry, but they couldn't stay there after all, so the taxi driver drove them round hostels and hotels all night. Eventually they rented a place - and soon the money disappeared: "So - we had to busk".
That was 1999: "We were very exotic specimens!" They built a reputation and landed gigs in people's homes, at wedding parties and gallery openings, playing covers and their own compositions, "We still wanted to be metal composers, but everything came out as Latin!"
Dublin was booming then, with new music venues and galleries and a thriving rock scene, and the two Mexicans jammed with local folk musicians in the bars. In winter, they moved to Denmark and started again - this time busking at minus three degrees! The brief Copenhagen experience inspired two numbers on this album, "Diablo Rojo", a scary roller-coaster ride in the city, and "Viking Man", their nickname for a homeless man they befriended, who pushed them into busking on the freezing streets.
Next, they hit Barcelona, but this time, the club owners assumed they played Mariachi, and wouldn't let them play in their own unique style, so Rod & Gab ended up jamming on Barca's main drag Las Ramblas getting heavy duty hassle from the Catalan cops. Just in time, a call came from Ireland to come back and play the newly opened Sugar Club. Damian Rice, then a busking friend, invited them to support his shows, and in 2003, they released "Re-Foc", and a year later, "Live Manchester and Dublin," which both launched them onto the World Music circuit – and beyond.
The Music
Rodrigo and Gabriela describe their style as 'Fusion music': "It's mainly got Latin harmonies and rhythms but the structure is rock. It's not jazz because it's structured, and we don't improvise; our solos are exactly what's on the record, as a metal fan and guitarist you always want to hear the same f**king solo!"
Influences range from family salsa records to Gabriela's aunt's Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Queen, and Led Zeppelin vinyl, with Rodrigo also embracing a similar classic rock lineage. But, crucially, they grew up during Mexico's 'metal era.' "People expected two acoustic guitarists would play classical music, but we dropped in extracts from Led Zep, Hendrix and Metallica, then we did the same with "Stairway to Heaven!" Their music is instrumental "with very lyrical themes."
Mentions of flamenco influences raise sharp responses: "To many music fans, it sounds like flamenco, and we're great flamenco fans, but we don't play it" says Gabriela. "The only similarity is that our music is guitar music and it's very rhythmic."
This album's producer John Leckie (Radiohead, Muse, My Morning Jacket) arrived on the scene via a demo sent to him by their Irish record label, and he called the very next day. The three agreed to record 'live', and Rodrigo and Gabriela were placed in the same room in a studio in Bath, England, to perform as if on stage: "We played each track over and over, and only 'Orion' has overdubs." Ruby Lakatos, the fiery gypsy violinist was the only outsider, and his presence on "Ixtapa" is wonderful. "We saw him on TV", Gabriela remembers, "Playing at a concert in Amsterdam, and we sent him our music. He improvised this whole piece in two hours!" From the many, many live versions, Leckie chose 'the one.'
Doors open at 6pm
Wednesday night
Fillmore Miami Beach
1700 Washington Ave. Miami Beach, FL 33139. 305-673-7300
MUSIC BINDS US ALL
Rodrigo (Sanchez) and Gabriela (Quintero) are two fast-fingered, Dublin-based, Mexicans with a unique sound created on acoustic guitars. Their music is difficult to define, straddling both world and rock, and often imbued with timeless Hispano – classical influences. The fire in it comes from their life-long passion for metal music. This spring, "Rodrigo y Gabriela," beat both the Arctic Monkeys AND Johnny Cash to number one in the Irish charts.
Rodrigo is a deft finger-picker who can move from raging speed to sensual soul in the space of a fret, while Gabriela employs fast, rhythmic techniques. Her percussionist's thrashing of strings and drumming of the instrument's body inevitably raises comparisons with flamenco – which they acknowledge as an influence but swerve as a pigeonhole. The duo's repertoire flies beyond familiar Latin folk guitarists' styles because of the metal connection: their reworkings of Led Zep's "Stairway to Heaven" and Metallica's "Orion" are musts, and the presence, on "Ixtapa", of the fiery Hungarian gypsy violinist, Roby Lakatos, is inspirational.
The Story
Rodrigo and Gabriela met as teenagers, at the Casa de Cultura (Culture House), in Mexico City, where Rodrigo's brother was Director. Rodrigo was playing drums in his band Castlow - a code word he never revealed to Gabriela, and changed to Tierra Acida (Acid Earth) when she joined them on guitar. The couple drifted together through music; teenaged metal fanatics who both failed entrance to the Conservatory and moved into rock. Before joining Tierra Acida, Gabriela ran three girls' bands, Las Brujas (The Witches), Subterraneo and Las Formigas (The Ants) at once: Terra Acida had a disciplined work ethic: "It was mental!" she recalls, "we rehearsed five hours a day, every day, with very short breaks, and not much talking!"
Tierra Acida played in Mexico City's roughest clubs and lived off day-jobs (Gabriela taught Metallica riffs to local kids; Rodrigo at a TV station, doing music for programmes). They recorded an album but wouldn't sign the record contract, planning instead to concentrate on learning more guitar styles. In fact, they just hung out with friends and survived by playing bossa novas in the hotel bars. "Then we decided to travel to Europe".
Their first port of call was Dublin, Ireland. "It was the most unknown place to us", explains Gabriela, the talkative one. "Also, a Mexican girl offered us her house there." They landed in Dublin at night, spoke no English, and had $1,000 between them. They found a note on the door saying actually, sorry, but they couldn't stay there after all, so the taxi driver drove them round hostels and hotels all night. Eventually they rented a place - and soon the money disappeared: "So - we had to busk".
That was 1999: "We were very exotic specimens!" They built a reputation and landed gigs in people's homes, at wedding parties and gallery openings, playing covers and their own compositions, "We still wanted to be metal composers, but everything came out as Latin!"
Dublin was booming then, with new music venues and galleries and a thriving rock scene, and the two Mexicans jammed with local folk musicians in the bars. In winter, they moved to Denmark and started again - this time busking at minus three degrees! The brief Copenhagen experience inspired two numbers on this album, "Diablo Rojo", a scary roller-coaster ride in the city, and "Viking Man", their nickname for a homeless man they befriended, who pushed them into busking on the freezing streets.
Next, they hit Barcelona, but this time, the club owners assumed they played Mariachi, and wouldn't let them play in their own unique style, so Rod & Gab ended up jamming on Barca's main drag Las Ramblas getting heavy duty hassle from the Catalan cops. Just in time, a call came from Ireland to come back and play the newly opened Sugar Club. Damian Rice, then a busking friend, invited them to support his shows, and in 2003, they released "Re-Foc", and a year later, "Live Manchester and Dublin," which both launched them onto the World Music circuit – and beyond.
The Music
Rodrigo and Gabriela describe their style as 'Fusion music': "It's mainly got Latin harmonies and rhythms but the structure is rock. It's not jazz because it's structured, and we don't improvise; our solos are exactly what's on the record, as a metal fan and guitarist you always want to hear the same f**king solo!"
Influences range from family salsa records to Gabriela's aunt's Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Queen, and Led Zeppelin vinyl, with Rodrigo also embracing a similar classic rock lineage. But, crucially, they grew up during Mexico's 'metal era.' "People expected two acoustic guitarists would play classical music, but we dropped in extracts from Led Zep, Hendrix and Metallica, then we did the same with "Stairway to Heaven!" Their music is instrumental "with very lyrical themes."
Mentions of flamenco influences raise sharp responses: "To many music fans, it sounds like flamenco, and we're great flamenco fans, but we don't play it" says Gabriela. "The only similarity is that our music is guitar music and it's very rhythmic."
This album's producer John Leckie (Radiohead, Muse, My Morning Jacket) arrived on the scene via a demo sent to him by their Irish record label, and he called the very next day. The three agreed to record 'live', and Rodrigo and Gabriela were placed in the same room in a studio in Bath, England, to perform as if on stage: "We played each track over and over, and only 'Orion' has overdubs." Ruby Lakatos, the fiery gypsy violinist was the only outsider, and his presence on "Ixtapa" is wonderful. "We saw him on TV", Gabriela remembers, "Playing at a concert in Amsterdam, and we sent him our music. He improvised this whole piece in two hours!" From the many, many live versions, Leckie chose 'the one.'
Doors open at 6pm
Wednesday night
Fillmore Miami Beach
1700 Washington Ave. Miami Beach, FL 33139. 305-673-7300
MUSIC BINDS US ALL
Monday, July 28, 2008
Smells Like Teen Spirit
Once Naked For Nirvana, Now A Teen Spirit
By Chana Joffe-Walt
All Things Considered, July 23, 2008 - Imagine if millions of people had seen you naked before you were old enough to say "embarrassing." That's the story of Spencer Elden, whom you may know as the little baby floating toward a dollar bill on the cover of Nirvana's 1991 album, Nevermind.
Nearly 17 years later, amid hating school and playing water polo, Elden is still struggling to make sense of his (very) public image.
"Quite a few people in the world have seen my penis," he says from his home in Los Angeles. "So that's kinda cool. I'm just a normal kid living it up and doing the best I can while I'm here."
Nevermind is often credited with changing the face of rock. Elden's naked participation in this important moment in music history was rather accidental; Kirk Weddle, the photographer working on the cover, was simply a friend of Spencer's dad, Rick.
"[He] calls us up and was like, 'Hey Rick, wanna make 200 bucks and throw your kid in the drink?,'" Rick recounts. "I was like, 'What's up?' And he's like, 'Well, I'm shooting kids all this week, why don't you meet me at the Rose Bowl, throw your kid in the drink?' And we just had a big party at the pool, and no one had any idea what was going on!"
Three months later, while driving down Sunset Blvd., the Elden family spotted a 9-foot-by-9-foot Spencer floating across Tower Records' wall. Two months later, Geffen Records sent 1-year-old Spencer Elden a platinum album and a teddy bear.
Over the coming years, 26 million albums were sold. As Elden learned to walk, talk and sing — his pale baby arms stretched across millions of grungy fans' walls; his private parts stood magnified across billboards and floors.
In some places, his image stuck. The other day, his friends spotted a giant Nevermind photo on the floor of a record store in Hollywood.
"My friend is all like, 'Hey I saw you today.' And I'm like, 'Dude, I was working all day.' And he's like, 'No, I went to Geffen Records, and you're on the floor and you're floating and I stepped on your face. 'Cause I guess they have like a floating thing where people can like walk on me and stuff ... so it's kinda cool," he says.
Life in general isn't quite as "cool" as it was when he jumped naked in the pool in the early '90s, though, he says. These days, his peers are too stuck on the Internet and video games. Ironically, he yearns for the era that gave Kurt Cobain, the lead singer for Nirvana, so much angst.
These days, Elden says, his peers concentrate on "playing Rock Band on Xbox, like, that's not a real band! That's the difference between the '90s and kids nowadays; kids in the '90s would actually go out and make a [real] band!"
But overall, life is good, he says. When he's not being repressed by video games and computers, Elden blasts music — mostly techno — and carries around a big bag of angst, mostly around the fact that he is "so over" high school.
"Same people, same teachers ... going to your locker, worrying about stupid girls ... I wanna get something going, I wanna travel," he says. Last fall, travel he did — all the way to military boarding school for six months. All his parents will say is that he's done his fair share of "testing authority."
Now he's trying to graduate from high school a year early. And he's talking about applying to West Point or becoming an artist ... or something.
As Spencer is wont to say, "I just take it as it comes. If I like it, I like it; if I don't like it, I don't like it."
Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92833535&ft=1&f=1021
By Chana Joffe-Walt
All Things Considered, July 23, 2008 - Imagine if millions of people had seen you naked before you were old enough to say "embarrassing." That's the story of Spencer Elden, whom you may know as the little baby floating toward a dollar bill on the cover of Nirvana's 1991 album, Nevermind.
Nearly 17 years later, amid hating school and playing water polo, Elden is still struggling to make sense of his (very) public image.
"Quite a few people in the world have seen my penis," he says from his home in Los Angeles. "So that's kinda cool. I'm just a normal kid living it up and doing the best I can while I'm here."
Nevermind is often credited with changing the face of rock. Elden's naked participation in this important moment in music history was rather accidental; Kirk Weddle, the photographer working on the cover, was simply a friend of Spencer's dad, Rick.
"[He] calls us up and was like, 'Hey Rick, wanna make 200 bucks and throw your kid in the drink?,'" Rick recounts. "I was like, 'What's up?' And he's like, 'Well, I'm shooting kids all this week, why don't you meet me at the Rose Bowl, throw your kid in the drink?' And we just had a big party at the pool, and no one had any idea what was going on!"
Three months later, while driving down Sunset Blvd., the Elden family spotted a 9-foot-by-9-foot Spencer floating across Tower Records' wall. Two months later, Geffen Records sent 1-year-old Spencer Elden a platinum album and a teddy bear.
Over the coming years, 26 million albums were sold. As Elden learned to walk, talk and sing — his pale baby arms stretched across millions of grungy fans' walls; his private parts stood magnified across billboards and floors.
In some places, his image stuck. The other day, his friends spotted a giant Nevermind photo on the floor of a record store in Hollywood.
"My friend is all like, 'Hey I saw you today.' And I'm like, 'Dude, I was working all day.' And he's like, 'No, I went to Geffen Records, and you're on the floor and you're floating and I stepped on your face. 'Cause I guess they have like a floating thing where people can like walk on me and stuff ... so it's kinda cool," he says.
Life in general isn't quite as "cool" as it was when he jumped naked in the pool in the early '90s, though, he says. These days, his peers are too stuck on the Internet and video games. Ironically, he yearns for the era that gave Kurt Cobain, the lead singer for Nirvana, so much angst.
These days, Elden says, his peers concentrate on "playing Rock Band on Xbox, like, that's not a real band! That's the difference between the '90s and kids nowadays; kids in the '90s would actually go out and make a [real] band!"
But overall, life is good, he says. When he's not being repressed by video games and computers, Elden blasts music — mostly techno — and carries around a big bag of angst, mostly around the fact that he is "so over" high school.
"Same people, same teachers ... going to your locker, worrying about stupid girls ... I wanna get something going, I wanna travel," he says. Last fall, travel he did — all the way to military boarding school for six months. All his parents will say is that he's done his fair share of "testing authority."
Now he's trying to graduate from high school a year early. And he's talking about applying to West Point or becoming an artist ... or something.
As Spencer is wont to say, "I just take it as it comes. If I like it, I like it; if I don't like it, I don't like it."
Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92833535&ft=1&f=1021
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