B-52’s 'Wild' DVD out soon; airing now on PBS

With the Wild Crowd!, the new B-52’s DVD and Blu-ray (due in stores March 20 via Eagle Rock Entertainment), will get an early preview this weekend on Southern California PBS-TV stations.

This past Valentine's Day marked the new wave band's 35th anniversary. The show, filmed in February 2011 in their hometown of Athens, Ga., found them in fine form.

Having attended many B-52’s concerts, I can attest that no one else makes party music quite like these four do.

An hour-long version of the sharp-looking 95-minute gig is being shown on PBS stations nationwide this month as part of special pledge drive programming. Locally, it can be seen on KVCR, 3:30 a.m. March 11 and 1:30 a.m. March 18; KOCE broadcasts it at 10:30 p.m. March 16 (check local listings for other airings).

The 20-song DVD and Blu-ray retains the B-52's old zany spirit. Ably backed by longtime drummer Sterling Campbell and bassist Tracy Wormworth, Fred Schneider, Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson are in good voice, while the ladies can still hit most of those famous high trills (especially the upbeat “Roam,” wacky "Strobe Light" and frenetic “Private Idaho”). Guitarist Keith Strickland lays down spacey surf guitar licks throughout.

New selections from 2008's underrated comeback album Funplex ("Ultraviolet," "Pump," playful sexuality in "Love in the Year 3000," "Hot Corner," the title cut) mix well with the late ‘70s new wave staples (“Rock Lobster,” “Planet Claire”), ’80s modern rock hits (“Love Shack,” "Deadbeat Club," “Cosmic Thing”) and a rare nugget (the pulsating dance of “Wig”).

The Athens Classic Center crowd is colorfully dressed and seems to have a grand old time. 

Diehard fans will be interested in a rare half hour interview with the band along with rarely seen photos and clips.

Seated onstage at the venue, they recall how the band formed in Athens ("It was a great place to wind up if you were a bit eccentric," notes Schneider), the unique talent of founding guitarist/songwriter Ricky Wilson (who died of AIDS in 1985), garnering a following through playing hip NYC clubs like Max's Kansas City, finding success, recording Funplex and more. 

dB's Reunion Album News

Falling Off the Sky is the first new dB's album in a quarter century. It’s also the first in three decades to feature the band’s original lineup of singer/songwriter/guitarists Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey, bassist Gene Holder and drummer Will Rigby — the same lineup that recorded the beloved early-’80s classics Stands for deciBels and Repercussion.

Street date is set for June 12 on Bar/None Records.

 

The foursome’s vintage releases are now widely revered as alt-pop landmarks. Falling Off the Sky embodies the same combination of infectious melodic craft, playful sonic experimentalism and barbed lyrical insight that originally established the dB’s as key progenitors of the ’80s Southern indie-rock explosion, while incorporating the wealth of musical and personal experience that the four bandmates have accumulated individually in the years since.

 

“In some ways, this feels like the record that we could have made between our first and second albums,” Stamey says of Falling Off the Sky. “There are, however, fewer angry songs. And more songs about transformation. It’s also the first dB’s album to be recorded primarily in North Carolina, which is something that we’re very proud of.”

 

The new album — produced by the band, with additional production by longtime cohorts Mitch Easter and Scott Litt — finds the seminal quartet reenergized and inspired, delivering a dozen new original songs that rank with the group’s finest and most influential music.

 

“Our main concern was just to make a really great dB’s record, one that would stand up beside our best work,” Holsapple asserts. “ Obviously the songs had to be good and had to fit together, and it had to sound interesting in a way that would bear repeated listening. But mainly, it was important to us that we make a record that sounds like us.”

 

The resurgent quartet’s renewed sense of purpose is apparent from the first note of the hard-crunching opener “That Time Is Gone,” and drives such indelible new tunes as the liltingly romantic “Before We Were Born,” the bluntly catchy “World to Cry,” the jangly, bittersweet “Send Me Something Real” and the insistently tuneful “Write Back.” Written and sung by drummer Rigby, “Write Back” is the first of his compositions to appear on a dB’s album.

 

In addition to showcasing the band’s formidable songwriting skills, Falling Off the Sky finds the dB’s resuming the potent collective rapport that they began honing during their years growing up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

 

As Stamey notes, “Most bands share early memories of vans breaking down. The dB’s share early memories of learning to drive, learning to do trig and learning to play hooky. We grew up drinking the same water and breathing the same tobacco-laden air.”

 

“We all speak the same language,” agrees Holsapple. “We grew up together and learned to play music together, and that shared background is always there. When the four of us got together and played together again for the first time in over 20 years, that chemistry was there waiting for us.”

 

Although the dB's disbanded after 1987’s The Sound of Music, the band reconvened in 2005 for a series of reunion shows and decided on an album of new material. Rather than impose an artificial deadline, they allowed the project to unfold at its own pace, convening periodically for sessions at Stamey’s Chapel Hill studio Modern Recording. Along the way, Holsapple and Stamey recorded another widely acclaimed duo album, hERE aND nOW, which Bar/None released in 2009.

 

“We looked at it as our recording club,” Stamey says of Falling Off the Sky’s leisurely birth cycle, during which the band cut two dozen new songs. “The focus was always on creativity and doing what we liked, rather than trying to get it out at a particular time. We’d get together and book a few days of studio time, run through the songs a few times, and then roll tape and record several songs each day. Recording Will’s song ‘Write Back,” with its asymmetrical phrases and Jackson Pollock organ solo, was a turning point. After that, the recording process opened up, and we became more fearless about the kinds of noises that fit in with these songs.”

 

In addition to some distinctive guitar work from lifelong pal and former Let’s Active leader Mitch Easter (who previously played with Holsapple and Stamey in the teen outfit Rittenhouse Square, and with Stamey and Rigby in Sneakers) Falling Off the Sky includes contributions from an assortment of young players and singers from the current North Carolina alt-rock community, as well as string, brass and woodwind players from local orchestras.

 

“We’ve all been through so much over the years,” Holsapple notes, “and our lives outside of the band are quite different from the way they were back then. But the way that we play together, and the way we relate to each other musically, is still the same. Not having to deal with the trappings of fame and success has kept us honest. Maybe we’ll never end up being household initials, but we’ve also never made a bad record. Our reputation is unsullied, and you can’t buy that.”

Santana Live at Montreux '11 out now

Eagle Rock Entertainment just released Santana Live At Montreux 2011. The 23-song, three-hour show was filmed in high-definition and recorded in DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital 5.1 and LPCM Stereo. Available as a 2DVD set and Blu-ray, it is rife with fan favorites from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist.

Live At Montreux 2011 is a career-spanning concert that includes Tito Puente’s “Oye Como Va,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Black Magic Woman,” Willie Bobo’s “Evil Ways” and John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme.” 

Among the extras are an interview with Carlos Santana and behind-the-scenes footage. Guest artists include Susan Tedeschi and Allman Brother Derek Trucks. 

Track Listing:

Disc 1:
1) Spark Of The Divine
2) SOCC
3) Back In Black
4) Singing Winds, Crying Beasts
5) Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen
6) Oye Como Va
7) Maria Maria
8) Foo Foo
9) Corazon Espinado/Guajira
10) Benny & Cindy Solo
11) Jingo
12) Carlos Speaks/Novus
13) Europa (Earth’s Cry, Heaven’s Smile)/I Want You
14) Batuka/No One To Depend On

Disc 2:
1) Duende/Open Invitation
2) Make Somebody Happy/Right On Be Free
3) Evil Ways/A Love Supreme
4) Sunshine Of Your Love
5) Smooth/Dame Tu Amor
6) Soul Sacrifice/Dennis Drum Solo
7) Samba Pa Ti
8) Into The Night
9) Love, Peace And Happiness/Freedom

Neon Trees news

Utah alt-pop band Neon Trees - which has roots in Temecula, Calif. - has announced a show at the Troubadour in West Hollywood on April 10.

The intimate gig previews the band's anticipated new album "Picture Show," due April 17. The group can currently be seen in a new Buick Verano TV commercial, where frontman Tyler Glenn has a quick speaking role.  

A limited number of tickets go on sale Friday at 1 p.m. for $10.

For fans on the East Coast, Neon Trees also will do a show at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC on April 16.

Lee Rocker plays SoCal in support of 'Night Train to Memphis'

Lee Rocker is best known as a member of the Stray Cats, for which he played wild standup bass guitar during the rockabilly band's 1980s heyday and frequently during the intervening decades.

The Grammy-nominated group including Brian Setzer and Slim Jim Phantom scored top 10 singles with "Stray Cat Strut," "Rock This Town" and "(She's) Sexy + 17," sold nearly 10 million albums and amassed nearly two dozen gold and platinum record certifications worldwide.

Since then, Rocker has released a dozen solo studio or live albums and EPs.

Last year, he appeared in the hit Broadway musical "Million Dollar Quartet" - inspired by the legendary 1956 recording session at Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tennessee with Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and others.

Rocker played Perkins' brother and bass player, Jay Perkins. "The story [was] especially close to my heart," says Rocker, who was a close friend and musical collaborator of Perkins up until his death.

2011 also saw the release of the Cover Sessions EP, where Rocker put his Americana twist on classic rock radio hits like The Beatles' "Come Together," Elton John's "Honky Cat" and Allman Brothers' "Ramblin' Man."

Now Rocker is back with another new effort. Night Train to Memphis is classic rockabilly done in his trademark style. The proceedings kick off with a fast take on Johnny and Dorsey Burnette's "Rockabilly Boogie." There are spirited covers of '50s numbers "Real Wild Child," "Twenty Flight Rock," Perkins' "Honey Don't" and "That's Alright Mama/Blue Moon."

On the more contemplative side are Buddy Holly's "Lonesome Tears" and the Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do is Dream" and "So Sad." 

"It is a record that I've wanted to make for a very long time," Rocker says in the biographical notes. "Like an album spinning on a turntable at 33 1/3 RPMs, this is my 33rd year of playing music. Night Train to Memphis is the soundtrack of my life. These songs are tattooed on my soul. Rockabilly music grabbed this kid from New York, shook me, spun me round and rattled my brains. I was never the same again.

"At 16 years old, I got myself an upright bass fiddle and I started a band. We would practice in my dad's garage next to the Olds Delta 88. We would play until my fingers bled. I didn't mind one bit. The music hasn't released me yet and I know it never will. In the summer of 1980, the band moved to London and we called ourselves the 'Stray Cats.' I got to say it's been one a hell of a trip. Over the years, I devoured everything I could about rockabilly and I've played or recorded with the musical architects and pioneers, including Carl Perkins, Scotty Moore, Wanda Jackson, Levon Helm, as well as George Harrison and Ringo Starr - the Mount Rushmore of Rock and Roll. Hey, dreams do come true.

"The songs on Night Train to Memphis are classics from the early days of rock with the "Stray Cat, Lee Rocker" stamp on them. I recorded this disc in a similar way as they did back at Sun Studio, the birthplace of rockabilly, relying on spirit, energy and passion, not on studio tricks and gimmicks. Night Train to Memphis takes me right where I want to be, and where I've always been happiest. Get on board!"

At the Coach House, it's a good bet that fans will hear Cats classics, the new album songs and ones made famous by Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson and The Beatles. Rocker's live band typically includes guitarist Buzz Campbell, guitarist/slide player Brophy Dale and drummer Jimmy Sage.

Doors open at 6 p.m. for dinner, showtime is 8 p.m. Saturday, March 3, the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, $18. For more info or dinner reservations, call (949) 496-8930.

Other upcoming SoCal shows include Marquee 15 in Corona on April 14, The High Desert Music Festival at the San Bernardino County Fairgrounds in Victorville on May 27, Irvine Blues Festival on June 30.

www.leerocker.com
www.thecoachhouse.com 

Keane's next album due in May

British pop/rockers Keane will release their fourth Cherrytree/Interscope Records studio album, Strangeland, on May 8 in America. It is available for pre-order now at amazon.com.

First single “Silenced By The Night” will have an early TV debut on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live on March 12.

Keyboardist and chief songwriter Tim Rice-Oxley recently said of the album: "Strangeland feels like an adventure that brings with it different things for different people, and like any adventure is full of uncertainty, and the potential for mishap, as well as the possibility of amazing things and glorious discoveries. I love the idea of the journey through Strangeland being a journey of redemption."  

Adds drummer Richard Hughes, “In many respects, it feels like the completion of a circle. On the album you have songs that draw upon the experiences we used to share as kids, growing up in Battle [England]. You can never really go back, of course. Once in a while though, after a good day, we’ll go to the local pub and talk about everything and nothing until it’s time to go home. Whatever it is that makes us Keane – that invisible glue – is still there. And you can hear it all over Strangeland.”

The band is now a four piece with the official addition of bass player Jesse Quin. 

 

Keane recently announced a U.K. tour kicking off in May; a June tour of the U.S. is in the works, with routing to be announced soon.

Revised: John Mayer album details

At January's The NAMM Show in Anaheim, I saw John Mayer talk about a new signature acoustic guitar line and make a few comments about his next album. Now we have more details. His previously announced U.S. tour has been cancelled due to a recurrence of vocal problems. 

Multiple Grammy Award-winning artist John Mayer has unveiled new album Born and Raised, due out May 22.

Produced with Don Was, it includes David Crosby and Graham Nash handling backing vocals on the title song, while renowned drummer Jim Keltner makes a special appearance on “Something Like Olivia."

Other musicians joining Mayer on the album include keyboardist/pianist/longtime Rolling Stones sideman Chuck Leavell, bassist Sean Hurley and drummer Aaron Sterling. Rounding out the touring band are David Ryan Harris (guitar/backing vocals), Doug Pettibone (guitar) and Michito Sanchez (percussion).

Mayer recently previewed the album’s first single “Shadow Days” on his tumblr blog (http://jhnmyr.tumblr.com/). 

Mayer became passionate about supporting U.S. war veterans following a visit to the Marine Corps’ Camp Lejeune in North Carolina four years ago. He has since spent time with active military and veterans while touring, and partnered with the Northern California Institute of Research and Education (NCIRE) to provide veterans with a healthy reintegration into civilian life which will help heal the battle scars caused by the trauma they experienced.

In 2011, through his partnership with NCIRE, Mayer was able to launch the first of several pilot programs to benefit the young men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Programs include a mobile exercise and wellness program; the development of a program of integrative medicine for traumatic stress; a study on veterans’ readjustment to civilian life which aims to develop new therapeutic tools to aid the transition; and a first-of-its-kind screening and intervention program for women suffering from eating disorders triggered by post traumatic stress related to combat.

Born and Raised Track Listing:

Queen of California
The Age of Worry
Shadow Days
Speak for Me
Something Like Olivia
Born & Raised
If I Ever Get Around To Living
Love is a Verb
Walt Grace’s Submarine Test, January 1967
Whiskey, Whiskey, Whiskey
A Face To Call Home
Born & Raised (Reprise)