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Wednesday, January 6, 2016

'Turn it Up' doc celebrates electric guitar with legends

Celebrating the electric guitar, the full-length documentary film Turn It Up! will be released on Jan. 22. The film – shot in high definition – is a combination of photography, musical performances, collections, and in-depth interviews – from international legends to “everyman” collectors.

Released by 71st Street Entertainment, Turn It Up! will be available as a two-disc DVD set, two-disc Blu-ray set (with 2nd disc in standard definition only), and as a digital download (does not include bonus set). 
 
Created and directed by Robert Radler (Best Of The Best 1 & 2, SS United States: Lady In Waiting, The Substitute), Turn It Up! is an exploration of the electric guitar and the people who play them.
 
Narrated by actor/musician Kevin Bacon, the film features interviews with the late Les Paul and B.B. King (in one of his final interviews), Slash, Robby Krieger, Paul Stanley, Steve Lukather, Nancy Wilson, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Albert Lee, Ana Popovic, Jerry Cantrell, Steve Howe, John 5 and others.
 
These Turn It Up! DVD and Blu-ray sets not only include the full documentary film, but the “Conversations and Extras” bonus disc, which boasts extended interviews; scenes with the Burst Brothers; mini-documentaries on RKS Guitars and Seymour Duncan; Robby Krieger noodling on his guitar; and a performance of Jeff “Skunk” Baxter from the film S.S. United States: Lady In Waiting.
 
The DVD, Blu-ray, and digital download will be available online and at physical retailers (through Sony RED Distribution).
 
Available on Amazon: http://goo.gl/GP5PhZ
For more information, stay tuned to the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/turnitupdoc

NAMM '16 News: She Rocks Awards performers


The Women’s International Music Network (WiMN) just announced the musical lineup for the 2016 She Rocks Awards on Jan. 22, from 7 - 9 p.m., at the Anaheim Hilton Hotel in Anaheim, Calif., during the 2016 Winter NAMM show. Tickets available at www.sherocksawards.com.

Featuring WiMN Founder Laura B. Whitmore and guitarist Nita Strauss (Alice Cooper, Iron Maidens), as co-hosts, the 2016 She Rocks Awards celebration will pay tribute to trailblazing women in music and will include performances by:

Jennifer Batten (Michael Jackson, Jeff Beck), guitarist and Awards honoree
Successful pop duo Karmin, including Awards honoree Amy Heidemann
Raining Jane, touring and recording band for Jason Mraz, including awards honorees Becky Gebhardt and Mona Tavakoli
Malina Moye, guitarist and 2014 She Rocks Awards honoree
Nita Strauss (Alice Cooper, Iron Maidens), co-host for this year’s Awards
The Command Sisters, Canadian singer/songwriter duo


In addition, the house band Rock Sugah is comprised of Divinity Roxx (Beyoncé) on bass, Kat Dyson (Prince, Sting) on guitar, Benita Lewis (Chaka Khan) on drums, and Lynette Williams (Childish Gambino, CeeLo Green) on keyboards.

The fourth annual She Rocks Awards offer performances and surprises, food and beverages, giveaways, a silent auction, networking opportunities, and more. The event brings together industry professionals, music icons, artists, fans, and media to celebrate women in music. A portion of the proceeds of the event will go to benefit the Girls Rock Camp Alliance and the NAMM Foundation.

This year’s honorees include: Jennifer Batten, Chaka Khan, Amy Heidemann, Becky Gebhardt and Mona Tavakoli (Rock Camp for Girls L.A. and Raining Jane), Chalise Zolezzi (Taylor Guitars), Mary Luehrsen (NAMM), Crystal Morris (Gator Cases), Mindy Abovitz (Tom Tom Magazine), Cathy Carter Duncan (Seymour Duncan), Leigh Maples and Pamela Cole (Fanny’s House of Music), Leslie Ann Jones (Skywalker Sound), and Sujata Murthy (Universal Music).

The She Rocks Awards have sold out for the past three years, and a NAMM badge is not required to attend.

For information regarding She Rocks Awards sponsorship opportunities, please contact info@thewimn.com.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Elvis Costello news: tribute album, live DVD



The past few months have seen a plethora of new Elvis Costello projects in the limelight. First was the veteran Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer’s acclaimed memoir “Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink” and its double CD companion retrospective. Then Costello’s first dozen albums were reissued on LP. 

This spring, he will embark on a brief US solo tour in support of the projects. The Detour jaunt is an extension of some shows he did in the UK last summer. One such gig, from Liverpool, is the subject of a DVD and Blu-ray, set for release in February (read more below).

With all this activity, it is the perfect time to remind fans about Beyond Belief: A Tribute to Elvis Costello (pictured). The charity release, which came out last year via Arlington, Texas-based SpyderPop Records, features covers by 50 independent acts. 

Beyond Belief was spearheaded and executive produced by Orange County, Calif. author/journalist/musician/cable television exec John Borack and Florida television news producer Olivia Frain.

Proceeds benefit Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, a non-profit organization that donates musical instruments to underfunded school music programs. 

The highly impressive triple disc set borrows its name from a song off 1982’s Imperial Bedroom. Drawing from Costello’s eclectic 38-year recording catalog, these acts delve into rock, power pop, alt-country and more with just the right amount of vigor or restraint.

Highlights include Matthew Sweet, who does a stark “Alison” solo on piano; former Haircut 100 frontman Nick Heyward and the 13 Satellites bring a stately late period Beatles elegance to “Almost Blue” (dig the guitar solo); Butch Walker proves less is more on “The Other End of the Telescope”; Deborah Iyall of Romeo Void takes Costello’s best known tune “Watching the Detectives” and gives it a laid back, jazzy rock sheen, complete with sax bursts; Mike Viola (who has collaborated with Ryan Adams, Dan Wilson and many others) does a gorgeous, string section-enriched “God Give Me Strength”; Brian Wilson Band’s right hand man Scott Bennett delivers the sinister rocker “Green Shirt”; Bill Lloyd (of acclaimed 1980s country/rock duo Foster & Lloyd) gives some superb jangle to “Man Out of Time.” 

There are also noteworthy turns by regulars at the worldwide International Pop Overthrow festivals like the Joan Jett-esque sparkle*jets UK on “Mystery Dance”; Walter Clevenger’s gritty “Uncomplicated,” Popdudes (featuring Borack on drums) during the snarling “Kinder Murder” and New Jersey’s The Anderson Council, which gives “Strict Time” a lean, garage rock vibe. 

Beyond Belief is available at www.cdbaby.com and www.amazon.com. For more information about the charity, go to www.mhopus.org. 

In other Elvis Costello news, the aforementioned DVD and Blu-ray of Detour Live At Liverpool Philharmonic Hall is due out Feb. 12 on Eagle Rock Entertainment home video. 

The 2015 tour mixed classic songs performed with guitar or piano with recollections of his family, life and career (see full track list below).

Among the set are recent songs “Church Underground” and “Jimmie Standing in the Rain.” Rebecca and Megan Lovell of Larkin Poe join Costello on several tracks. Bonus tracks on the DVD include “Love Field,” “Either Side Of The Same Town,” “Brilliant Mistake” and “Ascension Day.” 

Track listing:

(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
Watch Your Step
Accidents Will Happen
Church Underground
’45
Shipbuilding
I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down
Walkin’ My Baby Back Home
Ghost Train
When I Was Cruel No.2
Watching The Detectives
If I Had A Hammer
Pads, Paws And Claws
That’s Not The Part Of Him Your Leaving
Down On The Bottom
Blame It On Cain
Alison
A Good Year For The Roses
Side By Side
Jimmie Standing In The Rain 
(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding

Monday, January 4, 2016

Initial acts for Kaboo Del Mar '16 announced

This news slipped by me. Here are the initial round of acts confirmed for the second Kaboo Del Mar Festival in Southern California, set for Sept. 16-18, 2016...

Music: Jack Johnson, Avett Brothers, Goo Goo Dolls, Jason Isbell, Gavin DeGraw, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness.

Comedy: Janeane Garofalo, Rachel Bloom

More to be announced. Three day regular and VIP passes can be purchased now. Check with www.kaboodelmar.com for updates.
  

Coachella 2016 lineup announced

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 2016 passes go on sale Wednesday, Jan. 6 at 11am PST...
 

City and Colour embark on world tour, set to make their network television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

This amazing album was in my year-end top 10 (see it elsewhere on this blog). See the latest news below...
 
City and Colour will make their network television debut next Monday, Jan. 11 on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” The band will perform their single, “Lover Come Back,” which is currently #13 on the AAA Radio chart. Watch the official music video for the song here.

“Lover Come Back” is from City and Colour’s acclaimed new album, If I Should Go Before You, which recently debuted at #16 on the Billboard 200 Chart, #3 on the Vinyl Albums Chart and #4 on the Independent Albums Chart. Available now on Dine Alone Records (iTunes, Amazon, cityandcolour.com), the album also debuted at #1 in Canada (the band’s third consecutive chart-topper) and #5 in Australia.

After performing countless shows worldwide, including recent sold-out dates at L.A.’s Palladium, NYC’s Terminal 5 and Nashville’s War Memorial Auditorium, City and Colour (aka world-renowned singer, songwriter and performer Dallas Green), will continue to tour throughout the U.S. this month followed by extensive European, Australian and Canadian tours. See below for complete details.

Recorded at Nashville, Tennessee’s Blackbird Studios, If I Should Go Before You was produced by Green with additional production and engineering by Karl “Horse” Bareham. Unique to this project, the studio players on If I Should Go Before You are made up of Green’s trusted touring band: Jack Lawrence (The Raconteurs, Dead Weather) on bass, Dante Schwebel (Spanish Gold, Dan Auerbach) on guitar, Doug MacGregor (Constantines) on drums and Matt Kelly on pedal steel guitar and keys.

Of the album and recording process, Dallas comments, “They inspired me to want to create new music, just to create it with them—I don’t think I wrote these songs for the band, per se, but I certainly wrote them because of the band.” He goes on to add, “Anybody who has seen us play will understand that this is the best representation of what we do live that we have ever recorded. I was so excited about being able to make and record an album with these guys that it just flowed. I felt so confident about their abilities to make all of my ideas come true.”

If I Should Go Before You is Green’s fifth release as City and Colour and follows 2013’s The Hurry and The Harm. Most recently, in 2014, Green collaborated with international superstar Alecia Moore (aka P!nk) on a new project, entitled You+Me. The duo’s acclaimed debut, rose ave., debuted at #4 on the U.S. Top 200 Chart, #1 in Canada, #2 in Australia and #6 in Germany. 

TOUR DATES
 
January 15—Memphis, TN—Minglewood Hall*
January 16—Birmingham, AL—Iron City*
January 18—New Orleans, LA—House of Blues*
January 19—Houston, TX—House of Blues*
January 21—Dallas, TX—House of Blues* (SOLD OUT)
January 22—Austin, TX—Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater*
January 23—San Antonio, TX—The Aztec Theatre*
January 25—Kansa City, MO—Arvest Bank Theater at The Midland*
January 26—St. Louis, MO—The Pageant*
January 28—Cleveland, OH—House of Blues*
January 29—Ann Arbor, MI—Ann Arbor Folk Festival - Hill Auditorium
January 30—Grand Rapids, MI—The Intersection* (SOLD OUT)
February 9—Hamburg, Germany—Docks†
February 10—Berlin, Germany—Huxley’s†
February 11—Munich, Germany—Theaterfabrik†
February 13—Cologne, Germany—Palladium†
February 14—Amsterdam, Netherlands—Paradiso†
February 16—Antwerp, Belgium—Trix Muziekcentrum†
February 18—Brighton, U.K.—Dome†
February 19—Cardiff, U.K.—Great Hall† (SOLD OUT)
February 20—Manchester, U.K.—Albert Hall† (SOLD OUT)
February 22—Dublin, Ireland—Helix†
February 23—Belfast, Ireland—Mandela Hall†
February 24—Glasgow, Ireland—O2 Academy Glasgow†
February 26—London, U.K.—Troxy†
February 27—London, U.K.—Troxy† (SOLD OUT)
March 25—Byron Bay, Australia—Bluesfest
March 26—Brisbane, Australia—The Tivoli‡ (SOLD OUT)
March 28—Adelaide, Australia—Thebarton Theatre‡
March 30—Perth, Australia—Red Hill Auditorium‡
April 2—Melbourne, Australia—Sidney Myre Music Bowl‡
April 4—Sydney, Australia—Enmore Theatre‡ (SOLD OUT)
April 5—Sydney, Australia—Enmore Theatre‡
April 8—Thirroul, Austalia—Anita’s Theatre‡ (SOLD OUT)
June 2—Kelowna, BC—Prospera Place#
June 3—Vancouver, BC—Rogers Arena#
June 5—Prince George, BC—CN Centre#
June 6—Red Deer, AB—Enmax Centrium Arena#
June 8—Medicine Hat, AB—Canalta Centre#
June 10—Edmonton, AB—Rexall Place#
June 11—Calgary, AB—Scotiabank Saddledome#
June 12—Regina, SK—Brandt Centre#
June 14—Winnipeg, MB—MTS Centre#
June 15—Thunder Bay, ON—Community Auditorium#
June 18—Toronto, ON—Molson Canadian Amphitheatre#
June 20—Montreal, CQ—Bell Centre#
July 16—London, ON—Harris Park, Rock the Park

*with special guest Greyhounds
†with special guest Lucy Rose
‡with special guest Little May
#with special guest Shakey Graves

Ra Ra Riot news

I totally enjoyed the band's last album and saw them on tour in Orange County. Can't wait to hear the new material. Read the latest from the press release below...
 

Ra Ra Riot have revealed "Absolutely," a new track off their forthcoming album Need Your Light. The band shared the song on Jan. 1 via a "New Year's Resolutions" playlist on Spotify.

Ryan Hadlock (Vance Joy, Lumineers, Blonde Redhead) produced the track at Bear Creek Studios in Seattle, WA where the band recorded their debut album, The Rhumb Line. A lyric video has been made available for the single.

Further, Ra Ra Riot are encouraging their fans to create their own New Year's playlist on Spotify with a hashtag of #YearOfAbsolutely. In turn the band will incorporate tracks from those playlists onto their own.

Need Your Light will be released Feb. 19 via Barsuk Records. The band previously released the single "Water," a collaboration with Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij. It was recently playlisted in the pages of Rolling Stone and added on The Current and at Alt Nation. Radio highlights also include 40 plays per week on Sirius XMU, spins on World Cafe (syndicated to 200 stations), and day-of-release plays on Beats 1, KCRW, KEXP, KCMP, KEXP, Sirius XMU, WAPS, WFPK and WXPN. The single has charted on Spotify's Viral Chart and was quickly picked up by many press outlets including NME, which named it one of it's Best New Tracks.

The video for "Water" was conceived by Rostam, who co-directed it with Josh Goleman (Alabama Shakes, Skrillex, Gary Clark Jr).

Need Your Light was primarily produced by Hadlock (Vance Joy, Blonde Redhead) with two tracks, "I Need Your Light"and "Water," produced by Rostam. It is the fourth full-length from Brooklyn's Ra Ra Riot and sees the band -- Wes Miles (vocals), Mathieu Santos (bass), Milo Bonacci (guitar), Rebecca Zeller (violin), and Kenny Bernard (drums) -- getting back to their house party roots without abandoning the more heady soundscapes they explored with 2013's Beta Love.

Ra Ra Riot kick off the first tour in support of Need Your Light in March in Albany, NY and conclude in Geneva, NY. The full tour is listed below. Tickets for the tour are available now.

Track listing:

1. Water
2. Absolutely
3. Foreign Lovers
4. I Need Your Light
5. Bad Times
6. Call Me Out
7. Instant Breakup
8. Every Time I'm Ready To Hug
9. Bouncy Castle
10. Suckers


Ra Ra Riot Tour

3/02 - Albany, NY - The Hollow
3/03 - Boston, MA - Paradise
3/04 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
3/05 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
3/06 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
3/08 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
3/10 - Savannah, GA - Savannah Stopover Festival
3/11 - Atlanta, GA - Aisle 5
3/12 - Birmingham, AL - Saturn
3/13 - Nashville, TN - Exit In
3/15 - Houston, TX - Walter's Downtown
3/16-18 - Austin, TX- SXSW
3/19 - Fort Worth, TX - The Live Oak
3/21- Phoenix, AZ - Valley Bar
3/22 - San Diego, CA - The Irenic
3/24 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom
3/25 - Santa Barbara, CA - Soho Restaurant & Music Club
3/27 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
3/30 - Seattle, WA - Neumos
3/31 - Vancouver, BC - The Biltmore Cabaret
4/01 - Portland, OR - Revolution Hall
4/03 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
4/04 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre
4/06 - Kansas City, MO - The Riot Room
4/07 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club
4/08 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
4/11 - Columbus, OH - A&R Music Bar
4/12 - Millvale, PA - Mr. Small's Theatre
4/14 - Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
4/15 - Montreal, QC - Bar Le Ritz

4/16 - Geneva, NY - The Cracker Factory