This just in from Yamaha about some of their goings on at NAMM...
The Yamaha Booth is located at the Anaheim Marriott Hotel (adjacent to the Anaheim Convention Center), Marquis Ballroom, #100MA.
YAMAHA JUNIOR ORIGINAL CONCERT - Thursday, January 22, 1:00 pm
A perennial favorite, the Junior Original Concert features three pianists ranging in age from 9 to 15, hand-selected from Yamaha Music Schools across the United States, who will perform original compositions in a professional setting.
YAMAHA DRUM ARTISTS SIGNING - Saturday, January 24, 11:00 am
New format, new location: Elite Ballroom 3, Anaheim Marriott Hotel.
YAMAHA GUITAR ARTISTS SIGNING - Saturday, January 24, 1:00 pm
New format, new location: Elite Ballroom 3, Anaheim Marriott Hotel.
YAMAHA VINTAGE SYNTHESIZER EXHIBITION - Entire Show
To commemorate 40 years of creating industry-leading synths, Yamaha is displaying around a dozen historically significant instruments, some of which will be operational.
2015 YAMAHA NEW PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS
Yamaha Keyboard Division
· The powerful and portable P-45 and P-115 digital pianos offer enhanced sound and new features for practice and performance.
· The PSR-E253 and PSR-E353 portable keyboards include robust feature sets that belie their modest price points.
· Yamaha Music Interactive introduces Synth Voice Libraries and two YamahaMusicSoft.com downloads: Printable Sheet Music and Custom Audio Backing Tracks.
· Bösendorfer debuts the Schönbrunn limited edition grand piano, named for the palace retreat of Austrian Empress Maria Theresa.
Yamaha Pro Audio & Combo Division
Live Sound
· New DBR powered and CBR unpowered loudspeakers are the most portable speaker series Yamaha has ever introduced.
Music Production
· Yamaha introduces a new mixer category: music production enthusiasts must see this.
· The new Synth Book App is part softsynth and part Yamaha synth history guide.
Guitars
· The entire range of Pacifica electric guitars now available in the United States.
· A new addition to the A Series of acoustic-electric guitars, the A6, is handmade at Yamaha Music Craft in Japan.
Drums
· Yamaha, the only drum company to offer multiple apps to enhance the value of its DTX electronic drum line, introduces two new apps.
Steinberg North America
· New UR12 audio interface offers studio quality in a portable package.
· Cubase Pro 8 is the new benchmark for Digital Audio Workstations.
· Vocaloid voice synthesis technology provides producers with stunning vocal tones.
Yamaha Band & Orchestral Division
Winds
· New clarinet model raises the bar for consistency and reliability.
· Intermediate and professional level XENO trumpets fill out Yamaha’s extensive lineup of quality trumpets.
Percussion
· 3300 timpani line offers portability and great sound.
· SCK-350 student percussion kit provides everything for the beginning percussionist.
· Sturdy marching snare drum mounts will not slip.
· MKAW Series of Keiko Abe marimba mallets with Rattan shafts.
The convention is right around the corner. Here is the latest news...
Hundreds of artists from nearly every imaginable musical genre prepare to perform on five NAMM Show stages, as the 2015 NAMM Show returns to Anaheim January 22-25.
Live music will set the soundtrack for product debuts from more than 5,000 music brands throughout the four-day music industry trade event. Star-studded awards shows, music-making opportunities, and live performances set the stage for a NAMM Show the industry will be talking about for years to come.
“NAMM is a great show to conduct business, but perhaps the soul of NAMM, and what makes it different from its competitors is the music,” said Joe Lamond, president and CEO of NAMM. "Seeing musical performances from some of the best artists in the world and having our musical heroes checking out the latest gear next to us in an exhibitor’s booth are the experiences that we’ll be telling everyone all about when we get home.”
Productive days on the show floor flow into evenings spent networking with friends, set to a musical soundtrack playing on the Hilton Lobby Stage, the Marriott Lobby Stage, CenterStage between convention center halls B and C, The Venue Stage presented by Pioneer DJ, and the NAMM GoPro Stage on the Grand Plaza.
Live Music
Each night of the show, check out high-energy headliners from 6-7:30 p.m. on the NAMM GoPro Stage on the Grand Plaza. Immediately following the Industry Tribute on opening night, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue take the stage with their brand of hard-edged funk employing hip-hop beats, rock dynamics and improvisation in a jazz tradition. On Friday night, The Imagine Party hosted by the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus and The NAMM Foundation features the legendary George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic (pictured). Celebrate Saturday night with “Stanley Randolph and No Wonder” featuring the Stevie Wonder Band and special guests on vocals.
DJs spin EDM and house music at Monster Cable After Dark from 7-9 p.m. at The Venue Stage Presented by Pioneer DJ. Performances from DJ Ecto1, Crisco Kidd, Brandi Garcia, DJ Splyce, and more will fill the plaza with beats as a Stone Brewing Co. beer garden and some of L.A.’s most popular food trucks refuel industry guests.
Check out the full line up of performances on the NAMM Show stages, including GRAMMY winner Daniel Ho, former New York Yankee Bernie Williams, KUSI-TV’s Brad Perry, alumni of NBC’s “The Voice,” and festival favorites.
She Rocks Awards
Friday from 6-8:30 p.m., the She Rocks Awards presented by the Women’s International Music Network pays tribute to women who display leadership and stand out within the music industry. Held in the Hilton Anaheim Pacific Ballroom, the event honors performers Colbie Caillat, The Bangles, Mindi Abair, and female industry leaders. Purchase tickets for the show at sherocksawards.com.
NAMM TEC Awards
Hosted by comedian Sinbad on Saturday, January 24, the 30th Annual NAMM TEC Awards honor excellence in sound technology and creativity. Legendary guitarist Slash will receive the prestigious Les Paul Award, and bassist Nathan East and Ed Cherney will be inducted into the TEC Hall of Fame. VIP reception starts at 6 p.m. and the awards show begins at 7 p.m. For a list of all the NAMM TEC award nominees and to purchase tickets, visit tecawards.org.
Industry Icons
Be inspired as renowned musician, DJ and composer Moby* opens the show’s Generation Next events Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in the Hilton’s NAMM Foundation Lounge. Apple co-founder Steve “Woz” Wozniak opens Saturday morning’s NAMM U breakfast session, chatting music and technology with NAMM’s Joe Lamond at 8:30 a.m. in the Hilton Pacific Ballroom.
Make Music!
Everyone’s welcome at Friday’s All-Industry Drum Circle presented in collaboration with Remo Inc. from 5:45 – 7 p.m. at the Palm Terrace between the convention center and Hilton. Sunday, join a trombone circle at 11:30 a.m., a trumpet circle at 1 p.m. or a uke circle at 2:30 in the NAMM Member Center (convention center lobby), presented in collaboration with Conn-Selmer, Warwick Music Ltd., and Kala Brand Music Co.
Register today for access to more than 5,000 music product, instrument and technology brands, educational opportunities and live entertainment at the 2015 NAMM Show. Limited exhibit space is still available.
*Moby’s participation is in collaboration with the Los Angeles College of Music.
namm.org/thenammshow/2015
Gravitas Ventures will handle the North American theatrical, VOD, and DVD rights to Backstreet Boys: Show 'em What You're Made Of, a documentary film directed by Stephen Kijak (Stones in Exile). It will be released on Jan. 30.
"From 1992 to 2002 we were the biggest band in the world. No one thought it was going to be as big as it was," says Brian Littrell who goes on to say "Then it just stopped. And what do you do when you're a full grown man in a boy band?"
The multiple award winning and Grammy-nominated group has sold 130 million records worldwide and is recognized as the best-selling boy band in history. Not only have their first 9 albums all debuted in the top 10 on the Billboard Top 100 but they have gone gold and platinum in 46 countries.
Backstreet Boys are the only group in Canadian history to have 3 consecutive diamond albums commemorating sales of over 10 million records and they hold 2 diamond awards in the US. The group also made history when their anticipated 11-week, 39-city 1999-2000 North American Millenium arena tour sold out within the first hour. The Backstreet Boys continue to be an essential figure in pop culture receiving a star on the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013.
The documentary will have its world television premiere as part of the Emmy Award-winning "VH1 Rock Docs" franchise slated to debut on VH1 Spring of 2015.
Kate Pierson - co-lead vocalist and founding member of the B-52's - has announced her debut solo album Guitars and Microphones, released Feb. 17 via Lazy Meadow Music/Kobalt Label Services. Produced by Tim Anderson (Ima Robot) and featuring Nick Valensi of The Strokes on several tracks, Kate collaborated on songwriting with Sia who also executive produced the album.
The song “Bring Your Arms” is available on iTunes as an instant-grat MP3 with Guitars and Microphones pre-order. A CD digipak is also available for pre-order at Amazon.
“Bring Your Arms” was co-written
by Sia and Chris Braide. It came about when Kate and Sia
witnessed a sea turtle egg rescue while on a trip to Tulum in Mexico.
Environmental activists themselves, they found it moving and thus Sia started the song for Kate. A portion of the proceeds for “Bring Your Arms” will be donated to Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Watch the video for “Mister Sister,” featuring actor/musician Fred Armisen HERE. Along with being a B-52, Pierson has collaborated with The Ramones, Iggy Pop, David Byrne, R.E.M. and Gnarls Barkley in the past.
Track Listing:
1. Throw Down the Roses
2. Mister Sister
3. Guitars and Microphones
4. Crush Me With Your Love
5. Bottoms Up
6. Bring Your Arms
7. Wolves
8. Matrix
9. Time Wave Zero
10. Pulls You Under
Jesse Malin has confirmed the March 31 release of his first album in five years, New York Before The War (One Little Indian), and an April 11 album release show at the Bowery Ballroom.
Among the album's special guests are Peter Buck, Craig Finn, Alejandro Escovedo and Wayne Kramer.
Malin describes his first new song "Addicted" as "The Ramones meet Paul Simon," adding, "I wanted to make a record that encompassed everything I've been through, since I started out in a hardcore band when I was twelve years old through my solo career, but I also wanted to challenge myself and the listeners who have been with me on this journey." Listen to "Addicted," which premiered on WSJ Speakeasy, here.
Pared down from almost forty songs, Malin scrapped the majority and focused on making the album about the "daily battle we have to keep the human spirit alive." Looking out of his apartment window to see "The War" painted on the side of an old building, Jesse began questioning everything he believed in. "I tried to carve out a place where I could once again exist and sat down and wrote the rest of this record."
Malin - who has collaborated and shared the stage with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Ryan Adams, Gogol Bordello, and many others - calls the album "a metaphor for surviving in an ever changing, rapidly desensitized world while trying to find a way to live truly."
More tour dates to come.
Track List:
1. The Dreamers
2. Addicted
3. Turn Up The Main (feat. Alejandro Escovedo)
4. Oh Sheena
5. She's So Dangerous
6. The Year That I Was Born
7. Boots of Immigration
8. Freeway (feat. Wayne Kramer)
9. Bent Up
10. She Don't Love Me Now
11. Death Star
12. I Would Do It For You (feat. Peter Buck)
13. Bar Life
Modest Mouse has announced its first new studio album in eight years, Strangers to Ourselves, out March 3 on Epic.
Pre-orders on iTunes and Amazon include an instant download of "Lampshades On Fire." Special pre-order packages of the physical album are available on the band's webstore. Modest Mouse will tour extensively in 2015. More details to be announced.
Modest Mouse's 2007 studio album, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, featuring Johnny Marr, debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. More recently, the band has headlined festivals such as Governors Ball, Reading, Leeds, Sasquatch, among others, and toured worldwide.
In 2009, they released a collection unreleased songs and b-sides, No One's First, And You're Next, and, in 2012, they premiered a 45-minute documentary on the making of The Lonesome Crowded West.
Since playing Coachella in 2013, the group headlined Fun Fun Fun Fest and re-released their critically-acclaimed albums This Is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About and The Lonesome Crowded West, on Glacial Pace.
Pre-order here:
Modest Mouse webstore:http://store.glacialpace.com/
iTunes:http://smarturl.it/StrangersToOurselves
Amazon:http://smarturl.it/Strangers2Orslvs
Acclaimed hip hop trio N.E.R.D., featuring Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo,
and Shae Haley, has reunited and delivered
the first new music in nearly five years for “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of
Water,” from Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon Movies. It hits
theaters on Feb. 6.
N.E.R.D. created three new songs for the film. The
first song, “Squeeze Me,” is available everywhere today, including iTunes and Spotify.
In addition, N.E.R.D. has contributed two other songs to be released in
the coming weeks, “Patrick Star” and “Sandy Squirrel,” named for two of
SpongeBob’s most trusted sidekicks.
Pharrell Williams says reuniting N.E.R.D. was long overdue, with the
SpongeBob film collaboration the perfect opportunity for the band to
re-emerge, or submerge, in nautical SpongeBob style: “We loved going
into studio to make music for this film,” says Pharrell. “I am one of
SpongeBob’s biggest fans—can’t wait for everyone to hear the songs.”
Adds Shae Haley, “It was a complete honor to be a part of this project.
SpongeBob and N.E.R.D. share the same belief that imagination is the
key to everything.”
N.E.R.D.’s most recent album, “Nothing,” released in 2010, was
the fourth album of their career. The group formed at the dawn of the
new millennium, with Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo of The Grammy
nominated production duo, The Neptunes (Pharrell won as producer of the
year for The Neptunes in 2006, and again in 2014 as a solo producer)
aligning with Shae Haley, and launching their breakthrough,
genre-mashing N.E.R.D. debut effort, “In Search Of…,” in 2001.
