Saturday, June 13, 2009

FULL LINE-UP FOR VOODOO EXPERIENCE TO BE CONFIRMED IN THE COMING WEEKS


Widespread Panic To Play Voodoo Experience

This year, New Orleans residents and music fans traveling from around the world will witness history in the making as acclaimed Athens, GA band Widespread Panic take the stage this Halloween weekend at the Voodoo Experience. Details about Panic's performance will be released in the coming months, while news about the full Voodoo Experience (October 30, 31 and November 1) line-up is scheduled for later this month.

"We have discussed the idea of bringing these two New Orleans Halloween traditions together for years, it only took us 11 years to get it done," says Voodoo Experience founder and producer Stephen Rehage. "Voodoo and Panic kind of grew up together in New Orleans, endured and returned from the storm, so it's special for us to be working together with them."

Widespread Panic's John Bell says, "The Voodoo Experience has been kicking ass for ten years and adding to the spell New Orleans has on the rest of the country and beyond. We're proud to be included in the tradition. Hope it's scary."

The 11th annual Voodoo Experience will once again celebrate music, as well as New Orleans' bohemian culture, arts and cuisine. More than 160 bands will perform in three distinct performance areas - Le Ritual, Le Flambeau and Le Carnival - and eight stages each highlight a unique side of the personality of New Orleans.

For a limited time, three-day weekend tickets are $123, ALL IN with no additional fees; LOA Lounge VIP pass are $396, ALL IN with no additional fees and are available via Ticketmaster.com and the www.thevoodooexperience.com, where you can find further info about this event. - From http://www.jambase.com

http://www.thevoodooexperience.com/2009/

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

A Change Is Gonna Come





The Inspiration

Playing for Change is a multimedia movement created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music. The idea for this project arose from a common belief that music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people. No matter whether people come from different geographic, political, economic, spiritual or ideological backgrounds, music has the universal power to transcend and unite us as one human race. And with this truth firmly fixed in our minds, we set out to share it with the world.
The Production

We built a mobile recording studio, equipped with all the same equipment used in the best studios, and traveled to wherever the music took us. As technology changed, our power demands were downsized from golf cart batteries to car batteries, and finally to laptops. Similarly, the quality with which we were able to film and document the project was gradually upgraded from a variety of formats-- each the best we could attain at the time—finally to full HD.

One thing that never changed throughout the process was our commitment to create an environment for the musicians in which they could create freely and that placed no barriers between them and those who would eventually experience their music. By leading with that energy and intent everywhere we traveled, we were freely given access to musicians and locations that are usually inaccessible. In this respect, the inspiration that originally set us on this path became a co-creator of the project along with us!
The Effect

Over the course of this project, we decided it was not enough for our crew just to record and share this music with the world; we wanted to create a way to give back to the musicians and their communities that had shared so much with us. And so in 2007 we created the Playing for Change Foundation, a separate 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation whose mission is to do just that. In early 2008, we established Timeless Media, a for-profit entity that funds and extends the work of Playing for Change. Later that year, Timeless Media entered into a joint venture with the Concord Music Group through the support of label co-owner and entertainment legend Norman Lear and Concord Music Group executive vice president of A&R John Burk. Our goal is to bring PFC’s music, videos and message to the widest possible audience.

Now, musicians from all over the world are brought together to perform benefit concerts that build music and art schools in communities that are in need of inspiration and hope. In addition to benefit concerts, the Playing for Change band also performs shows around the world. When audiences see and hear musicians who have traveled thousands of miles from their homes, united in purpose and chorus on one stage, everyone is touched by music's unifying power.

And now, everyone can participate in this transformative experience by joining the Playing for Change Movement. People are hosting screenings, musicians are holding benefit concerts of every size, fans are spreading the message of Playing for Change through our media, and this is only the beginning. Together, we will connect the world through music!

http://www.playingforchange.com/

Monday, June 1, 2009

Dinosaur Jr. - Farm - A New Release





The worry about the reunion of the original Dinosaur Jr. line-up, more than 20 years after their formation and legendary dissolution, was that these guys were just flogging the back catalog as a marketing gimmick. With the release of Beyond, in 2007, the band gave a hearty Marshall-driven "F**K YOU!" answer to those inquiring ears. Restoring the sound established by the opening hat-trick gambit of Dinosaur, You're Living All Over Me, and Bug, the Beyond record continued the band's march into rock greatness by making old ears smile and new ears bleed afresh. And now comes Farm , Dinosaur Jr.'s first double LP and their fifth full length record by the original line-up -- J Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph -- set to release on their new label home Jagjaguwar on June 23rd.

If Beyond was Dinosaur Jr.'s return to form, Farm is proof that this band continues to deliver that which makes rock worth cranking to 11. At times wholly 70's guitar-epic, at times perfect for sitting by a babbling brook with Joni and Neil, Farm encompasses Dinosaur Jr.'s signature palette - soaring and distorted guitar, unshakable hooks, honey-rich melodies - songs that get into your head and, bouncing around happily, stay there. The ear-catching "Plans" is nearly 7 minutes of classic whipped-topping rock dessert, while "I Don't Wanna Go There" is a meat-and-potatoes main dish, mixing unapologetic lead guitar with straight-ahead delivery a la James Gang or Humble Pie. These two tunes round out twelve tracks propelled by the unique energy of one of America's greatest living rock bands hitting their stride.

Farm was recorded in J Mascis' Bisquiteen studio in Amherst, Massachusetts, and was produced by Mascis.

From: Jambase.com