Followers

Thursday, April 30, 2020

Dion gets all-star help on upcoming album

Dion’s Blues With Friends album, out June 5, represents the fulfillment of a lifelong vision. Dion explains the album’s impetus, “I wanted an album of songs that were strong and memorable and told stories that were worth telling.”

His songwriting efforts were supported by a cadre of great players, each of whom jumped at the chance to collaborate with a music legend they think of in heroic terms. He’s quick to point out just how enduring this creative relationship has been, “The blues have been at the heart of my music since the early 1960s. ‘The Wanderer’ is a twelve-bar blues and I was covering Willie Dixon and Jimmy Reed in my early years at Columbia — much to the dismay of my corporate masters.”

That’s the way it’s long been for the man Lou Reed inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame more than thirty years ago. That night the normally taciturn Reed exalted, “And then there was Dion — whose voice was unlike any other I had heard before — a voice that stood on its own, remarkable and unmistakably from New York. Bronx soul.”

As one of the very few first-generation rock ‘n’ rollers still seriously pursing new avenues of expression, Dion’s Bronx soul is very much in evidence on this new album, a full-tilt blues offering. The blues songs therein are not “covers” nor Dion’s versions of blues standards. These compositions are, in fact, blues originals, destined to become classics in their own right. He came up with the music and words for twelve of them and finished those with co-writer Mike Aquilina. The two exceptions are “Hymn To Him” which Dion wrote with Bill Tuohy and “Kickin’ Child,” written with Buddy Lucas.

To tell those stories, Dion recruited help from a few notable friends and admirers. He thought, “I needed to round up the best guitarists and musicians alive and pick them from every generation, every variation of blues.”

The album’s guests include Jeff Beck, Billy Gibbons, Joe Bonamassa, Brian Setzer, Sonny Landreth, Samantha Fish, John Hammond Jr., Joe Louis Walker as well as icons Stevie Van Zandt, Patti Scialfa, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison and Paul Simon.

For this outing, Dion worked with producer Wayne Hood in whose Florida studio the basic tracks were recorded. “From the first day, I was at home. We hit it off like brothers on a mission. We caught the same vision and sound and off we went.” Over the course of the last part of 2019 and the first part of 2020, the album began to take shape. Dion had the songs and the collaborators began to reveal themselves.

As Dion tells it, he ran the album’s first track, “Blues Comin’ On,” past Joe Bonamassa. He noted, “It’s funny how a song evolves. For me it usually starts with a few words. In this case it was “If I didn’t know better" I wanted to sing those words, so I wrote a song around them. Joe Bonamassa is a monster and took the song to a whole new level.” Joe would be the first of many of Dion’s Blues With Friends co-conspirators.

Ever the no-nonsense sage, Dion bottom lined just what makes Blues With Friends a project for the ages: “Great songs, great guitarists. What more do you need?” he asks. 

Blues With Friends will be released through Keeping The Blues Alive Records, a new label started by Joe Bonamassa and his manager Roy Weisman and is an offshoot of Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, Bonamassa’s non-profit that aims to conserve the art of music and the rich culture and history of the blues.

The label’s objective is to provide a platform for musical talent in blues and blues-rock based music and to help encourage the careers of extraordinary musical talent. 10% of all profits from the label will be donated back to the Non-Profit for promoting music education to students and schools in need. The album will be preceded by a staggered release of album singles as follows:

Out now – “Blues Comin’ On” with Joe Bonamassa
May 1 – “Hymn To Him” with Patti Scialfa & Bruce Springsteen
May 8 – “Bam Bang Boom” with Billy Gibbons
May 15 – “I Got Nothin’” with Van Morrison & Joe Louis Walker
May 22 – “Can’t Start Over Again” with Jeff Beck
May 29 – “Song For Sam Cooke (Here In America)” with Paul Simon

In addition to the aforementioned “Blues Comin’ On,” Dion provided some analytical introspection for some of the album’s songs, all guests on guitar unless otherwise indicated.

“Uptown Number 7” (with Brian Setzer) “I wanted to write an old-fashioned gospel number in the style of the Golden Gate Quartet. I wanted this one to be about moving forward in the spiritual life… having a goal... facing temptations along the way. So, I put it all on a train, because that’s what New Yorkers do if they want to get anywhere: they take the train. I can never leave well enough alone, so one day I tried the melody in a minor key. I loved the way it turned out and that’s what you’re hearing.”

“Can’t Start Over Again” (with Jeff Beck) “My earliest influences were country blues, especially Hank Williams. Any money I earned I took to the neighborhood record store, where the owner used to razz me about my “hillbilly” tastes. I guess I still have that hillbilly inside. For my last album I wrote a song called ‘I Can’t Go Back to Memphis,’ but I go back there with this number. It’s about love and loss and heartache, the classic themes. I believe it's a true blues song. I asked Jeff Beck to play something on it, he said yes! What can I say, it's Jeff Beck.”

“My Baby Loves to Boogie” (with John Hammond Jr., harmonica) “John Hammond and I go back to the ’60s at the Gaslight coffee house in Greenwich Village. I’ve always admired John. He’s a dear friend. I played him this song and he said he heard harp on it. Well, friends, now you could hear exactly what he was talking’ about. It sounds like “Boogie Beyond.”

“I Got Nothin’” (with Van Morrison, vocals, and Joe Louis Walker, guitar) “You know when you sit down and you want to write a song, but nothing comes to mind? I was having one of those days. So, I went with the feeling and this is what I got. I got nothin’, and nothing is enough! It’s more than enough, actually, when you’re singing it with Van Morrison and Joe Louis Walker complemented us perfectly.”

“Bam Bang Boom” (with Billy Gibbons) “This is another song that started as phrases I wanted to sing. ‘I stepped into love.’ The lyric does a good job of describing what happened when I first met Susan. We were both teenagers. She was new to my very Italian neighborhood in the Bronx and she was a redheaded transplant from Vermont. Bam bang boom! Billy Gibbons was a joy to work with on this. There’s nobody like him.”

“I Got the Cure” (with Sonny Landreth) “The blues aren’t always about being down and out. When you aren’t crying, you’re bragging about what you can do. It’s what I did in songs from ‘The Wanderer’ to ‘King of the New York Streets’ to “Gangster of Love.’ Here I go again.”

“Song for Sam Cooke (Here in America)” (with Paul Simon, vocals) “I wrote this tune back many years ago. At first I just had the melody and the refrain ‘Here in America.’ A friend suggested I use an episode from my memoir about walking southern streets with Sam Cooke in 1962. I finished the song, but it felt too personal, so I put it aside. Then in 2019 I saw the movie Green Book and after that I couldn’t shake the song. My friend Paul Simon wanted to record it what he was hearing on the tune; it’s a story we both share. Thank you Paul. Rest in peace, Sam.

“Told You Once in August” (with John Hammond, slide guitar on right, Rory Block, slide guitar on left and vocals) “One of my favorite guitars is a little Cordova travel model that I bought for practically nothing. One day I was fooling around on it and I got this sound that reminded me of those old backwoods Appalachian blues recordings. I tried to capture the slow anger of a man who gradually realizes he’s been done wrong by his woman.”

“Way Down (I Won’t Cry No More)” (with Stevie Van Zandt) “It started with a rhythm. It got me and wouldn’t let go. My dear friend Stevie Van Zandt just rocked it with his grit and nasty grunge guitar. We had a lot of fun in the studio and then we went out to eat to celebrate.”

“Hymn to Him” (with Patti Scialfa, vocals, and Bruce Springsteen, guitar) “I first recorded this song for my 1987 gospel album Velvet & Steel. But songs are never finished... I kept hearing this with Patti’s voice, so I asked her to help me remake the song. When she started singing and layering her vocals down, I got a big surprise. Bruce walked into the studio with his guitar and asked to play a solo. They made it something sublime.”

Steve Howe schedules solo album for July

YES guitarist STEVE HOWE has announced he will release LOVE IS via BMG Records on July 31. LOVE IS marks HOWE's first solo album since the all-instrumental Time in 2011 and has a balance of five instrumental tracks and five songs.

The album will be available as a CD in a gatefold digi-sleeve with a 12-page booklet, and a black vinyl 180gm LP with a gatefold sleeve, liner notes and lyrics.

Link to Steve Howe Official store pre-orders: https://SteveHowe.lnk.to/D2CPR

STEVE HOWE sings lead vocals and plays electric, acoustic and steel guitars, keyboards, percussion and bass guitar on the instrumentals, while Yes vocalist Jon Davison provides vocal harmonies and plays bass guitar on the vocal tracks. The album also features Dylan Howe on drums.

"I called the album LOVE IS because it hints at the central idea that that love is important but also love of the universe and the ecology of the world is very important," says Steve Howe. "Alexander Humboldt went around the world and recognized we are destroying the planet but that was 200 years ago! We are still destroying the planet and, I suppose, my songs show the yearning I have for the love of nature and how beauty, art and music all stem from nature. There is a theme about those things, love, beauty, ecology, nature and wonderful people.

"'Love Is A River' just seemed a very important track to me, a sort of quintessential track with lots of moods, lots of interesting things going on with steel guitars and acoustic guitars. Further tracks grew from time spent writing in my studio.

"'See Me Through' looks at the idea that we get through life by not driving ourselves that hard but attempting to achieve things with people who help you along the way, and 'Imagination' is dedicated to my granddaughter Zuni. It's about how I see some of the things she's experienced in her short seven years.

"I invited Jon Davison to sing harmonies with me and add bass on the songs. If he was singing on the songs I thought 'why doesn't he play bass' as well and it turned out nice. He's been with Yes for seven or eight years and he's a great guy, great performer and a great interpreter of Yes songs.

"I've been singing for years, mainly in harmony but I've sung lead on lots of my own albums before and I feel that, as I've got older, I've got a grip on that and, hopefully, it's improved over the years."

The album includes many distinctive STEVE HOWE signatures among the instrumental tracks: "Fulcrum," "Beyond The Call," "Pause For Thought," "The Headlands" and jazz-tinged "Sound Picture."

"The instrumentals are like a mood, a place I went to one day, thought this is nice and then I develop that to a point where it's a finished track. There might be key ingredients that I thought about using musically that I like, that I'm drawn to, and then developing them into something." LOVE IS was written, engineered and produced by STEVE HOWE with further engineering and mixing by Curtis Schwartz. "I write in my own studio and then go to see Curtis in his studio," Howe explains. "We expand the tracks and put them on Pro Tools and everything starts to be possible. At some point, probably around 2 years ago, Dylan came down to Curtis's studio and we recorded the drums on some of the tracks. I could see a balance of five instrumental tracks and five songs and there was a feeling that it was an album, sitting there, looking at me."

Track listing:

1 Fulcrum *
2 See Me Through
3 Beyond The Call *
4 Love Is A River
5 Sound Picture *
6 It Ain't Easy
7 Pause For Thought *
8 Imagination
9 The Headlands *
10 On The Balcony
* instrumental

Formats:

CD Catalogue No. 538608592
Gatefold digi leeve with 12 page booklet with liner notes by Steve Howe & lyrics
LP - Catalogue Number - 538608601
180gm Black vinyl in Gatefold sleeve with liner notes by Steve Howe & lyrics

Out now: new eponymous Shelby Lynne album

Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Shelby Lynne has released her self-titled album via Thirty Tigers. Many of the songs were recorded during the filming of the unreleased independent film When We Kill The Creators, Lynne’s collaboration with lyricist/director/screenwriter Cynthia Mort.

The film stars Lynne as a deeply conflicted artist struggling at the intersection of art and commerce. Songs “Here I Am,” “Strange Things” and “Weather” were recorded during the filming, while “Revolving Broken Heart” and “Love is Coming” are featured in both the film and on the album.

While the album - and its timely cover art - includes keyboardists Benmont Tench, Mimi Friedman, Ed Roth and Billy Mitchell, Lynne herself handled guitar, keyboards, bass, drums and sax.

Her first solo album since 2015 was previewed by “Here I Am,” the debut single which finds Lynne in stripped down musical mode.

"As an artist, I don’t mind being naked. Everything is so fake, so manufactured these days, I want to get real. It’s the only way to communicate these days," she says.

Of the album, Lynne notes, “These are eleven songs I love and want to share with the world. They were recorded in very different circumstances at various times but I think they go together. It’s time to not hide behind the game but put your work out as it is.”

Brian Wilson + Van Dyke Parks' 'Orange Crate Art' to get 25th anniversary special edition

Some exciting news!

In 1966, when Brian Wilson prepared the follow-up to his masterpiece Pet Sounds, he employed the services of the Mississippi-born, L.A.-based musical jack-of-all-trades Van Dyke Parks as lyricist for the Beach Boys’ next album, SMiLE.

As history would soon document, SMiLE became the most famous unreleased album in rock history, its “completion” not seeing daylight until a Grammy Award-winning box set, The Smile Sessions, was released in 2011. SMiLE’s original plan was to incorporate many different elements of American music in an avant-garde fashion, its musical format leaps and bounds ahead of anything that existed contemporaneously.

As SMiLE quickly grew in legendary terms, Brian and Van Dyke each went their separate musical ways, only to reunite briefly in 1972 for the Beach Boys classic “Sail on Sailor.” So it was perhaps with great apprehension and excitement that these two musical giants should finally reunite in 1994 for some unfinished business. This time, however, the mission would be complete. The musical terrain familiar: a paean to California.

Omnivore Recordings will release of the 25th anniversary special edition of Orange Crate Art on June 19. It will be available as a 2-CD or 2-LP set; it’s the first-ever vinyl release of the recording. Both configurations contain three previously unissued session outtakes; the CD set also includes an entire second disc of previously unissued instrumentals.

By 1994, the roles had been reversed and it was Van Dyke who coaxed Brian into the studio to be the singer of nearly a dozen new songs he had written as a tribute to his home away from home.

Now this album has been re-mastered by multi-Grammy award winner Michael Graves. A limited edition run (300 copies) of orange vinyl copies will be available through Omnivore Recordings’ web site only.

Track Listing:

Disc One 
1.Orange Crate Art
2.Sail Away
3.My Hobo Heart
4.Wings Of A Dove
5.Palm Tree And Moon
6.Summer In Monterey
7.San Francisco
8.Hold Back Time
9.My Jeanine
10.Movies Is Magic
11.This Town Goes Down At Sunset
12. Lullaby

Previously Unissued Extra Oranges:
13. Rhapsody In Blue
14. Love Is Here To Stay
15. What A Wonderful World

Disc Two — Previously Unissued 
CD-Only Instrumentals:
1.Orange Crate Art
2.Sail Away
3.My Hobo Heart
4.Wings Of A Dove
5.Palm Tree And Moon
6.Summer In Monterey
7.San Francisco
8.Hold Back Time
9.My Jeanine
10.Movies Is Magic
11.This Town Goes Down At Sunset

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Kenny Chesney update

[Please excuse the spacing issues. There has been a change lately in how Google Blogger inserts the ads...]

With a career spanning more than 25 years, Kenny Chesney thinks "artists need to keep pushing themselves and the music without losing sight of who they are, or forgetting the people you make music for. [Fan community] No Shoes Nation is a very passionate place without borders; I get inspired every time I see and hear them.

“These are passionate people who work really hard. They make a difference in their community in all kinds of ways, giving back not so people think they’re good, but because that’s who they are and what they do. When they listen to music, they’re all in – and when they hear something they like, you can feel it in how they respond.”

His upcoming album Here And Now, due May 1, is the follow up to Songs for the Saints. It marks his first full project for Warner Music Nashville.

Again co-produced with longtime collaborator Buddy Cannon (Willie Nelson, Alison Krauss, Merle Haggard), with additional production assistance from Ross Copperman, the collection has sparse tracks featuring acoustic instruments, 808s and phased vocals.

“You know, it’s going to have a high fun factor,” Chesney allows. “People work hard, and need music that makes them smile, that kicks them into a happy place. There are also songs here that look at very specific people, that tell one person’s story, but it could be any of us. That’s the mark of a good song: let one person’s specific life say so much about a lot of people’s lives.

“And one of the things I really wanted (for Here and Now) was to bring a lot of my favorite writers together, not to do ‘writing camp,’ but just hang out and talk, remember when it was the stories and laughs that sparked songs, not sitting down to churn out something to cut.”

That creative spontaneity drove last summer’s Chesney/Ross Copperman/Ed Sheeran “Tip Of My Tongue,” written, recorded and released in the flow of the moment. As Chesney maintains, “We are now in a place and time where music isn’t stuck with one specific way to record or release songs to the fans. I will always love 10 or 12 songs that speak to each other, but there’s also an immediacy that lets you stay in the moment, and I love that freedom, too.”

For Chesney, every album he makes is, in one way or another, a dispatch to No Shoes Nation.

“I’d say it’s weird, the way people hear songs, and say, ‘That’s me!’,” the superstar/songwriter from East Tennessee says, “except I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said, ‘That’s me.’ When it started happening, I was honored...and as it went on, I started to realize how important music is in all of our lives. It’s a life raft, a coach cheering for you, a shoulder to cry on, a reason to take stock.

“When I’m listening to songs in the studio, actually putting a record together, I’m thinking about that. I’m thinking about Vibe Room conversations, people I meet moving around, the stories I’m told... the reasons people connect with the songs. I don’t take it lightly, even when the song is supposed to be fun.”

Further elaborating on the creative process, he adds, “It’s funny how you cut a song because you believe in what it says, or think it captures what No Shoes Nation teaches me every day,” says Chesney. “But then the world turns, and suddenly, it truly is right now. And when I looked at these songs, this dozen recorded over the last two or three years, they were Polaroids from the parking lots, back home, the islands, my friends’ lives. Every single one is someone I know, you know or may even be – and right now, our friends are absolutely the most precious thing we have.”

Track Listing:

We Do
Here And Now
Everyone She Knows
Wasted
Knowing You
Heartbreakers
Someone To Fix
Happy Does
Tip of My Tongue
You Don’t Get To
Beautiful World
Guys Named Captain

The Jayhawks news

Minneapolis band The Jayhawks have announced their new album XOXO is set for July 10 via Sham/Thirty Tigers. It features songwriting and lead vocal contributions from all four longtime band members – Gary Louris, Marc Perlman, Karen Grotberg and Tim O’Reagan. Along with the announcement, The Jayhawks have released a new video with Louris performing a stripped-down version of “Living In A Bubble”.

Watch Gary Louris Perform “Living In A Bubble” via Youtube:

“‘Living In A Bubble’ lyrically is a reaction to the 24 hour news cycle and how the media can fan the flames of fear if one let’s it,” says Louris. “It is also a commentary about data collection, Big Brother, and our obsession with devices, while never being truly present in the here and now. Musically it is an homage to the great Harry Nilsson, and is driven by the amazing piano playing of Karen Grotberg.”

XOXO was recorded over two weeks at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, MN, as well as at Flowers Studio.

“It was time to open things up,” explains Louris. “The Jayhawks are a true band, one where every-one’s an equal, and we wanted to make a record that really reflected that.” Elaborating on the process, Perlman says, “Some songs we molded together from scratch, but others had been fully written by one or the other of us. We didn’t worry too much about who penned what, because after all these years of playing together, everything we do just naturally comes out sounding like a Jayhawks song.”

The alt-country vets' most recent releases, 2016’s Paging Mr. Proust and 2018’s Back Roads and Abandoned Motels, garnered critical acclaim.

Track Listing:

1. This Forgotten Town 
2. Dog town Days
3. Living In A Bubble
4. Ruby
5. Homecoming
6. Society Pages
7. Illuminate
8. Bitter Pill
9. Across My Field
10. Little Victories
11. Down To The Farm
12. Looking Up Your Number

Michael Franti debuts new music, video on Earth Day + 'Stay Human' film YouTube premiere

With a new music video for the song “I’m On Your Side” - filmed in 48 hours while in quarantine - Michael Franti says “there is no better time for music that helps us laugh, cry, rage, soothe, dance and sing through the sea of emotions boiling inside each of us. How beautiful that we can come together today of all days, on Earth Day. While we may be physically distancing, socially I love how we’re coming together.”

Forthcoming 11th studio album, Work Hard And Be Nice, is set for release on June 19 on Thirty Tigers with lead songs – “How We Living” and “I’m On Your Side” out today along with the pre-order/pre-save. See the music video for “I’m On Your Side,” HERE. Directed by Franti, the video made its debut last night at 11:59 p.m., paying homage to the fan favorite collaboration with Sonna Rele.

“I wrote ‘I’m On Your Side’ to share the message that despite the labels we put on each other to divide us into different groups and force us to choose sides, like political ideologies, gender, race, religion, sexuality and economic standing, we have a lot more in common than we do in difference. We all ‘stay awake at night wondering if we’ll be all right,’ or sit ‘…at the kitchen table counting up the bills to pay.’”

Adding “And in each of those situations where we start to feel hopelessness creeping in, when we feel most alone in the battle, I want the listener to know, I feel it too. I’m there with you in spirit, without judgment, in solidarity and ‘I’m On Your Side.’”

Today Franti also released “How We Living” about taking the time to celebrate the fun side of life. “The inspiration for this song was really the break that all of us need and deserve from the chaos of our daily grind, and in gratitude for all the joy that life brings us despite all the hurt in the world. It’s also a gentle reminder that ‘If you’re looking for the problems in this world, you’re gonna find ‘em, all you’ve gotta do is look out the door. But if you’re looking for that good stuff, it’s already up inside you, all you’ve gotta do is just let it show.’”

The 17-song album, available to pre-save and pre-order now, started off as an idea: That it’s important in this time of division in the world to Work Hard And Be Nice To People.

“Before there was a song and an album by the title, I had a discussion with our band and crew that our mantra on tour was going to be 'work hard and be nice to people.' We then made a t-shirt, and it very quickly became our top-seller! It was so popular that I decided to write a song about the concept,” Franti reveals. “Every song on the album is about the power of optimism to get us through our darkest moments and find the light in our loves, lives and for the planet.”

“I collaborated with many different incredible songwriters and it was amazing to hear how all of them understood completely the idea of how important it is for people to have ease of heart in these troubled times,” he continues, “The need for emotions to be able to pass effortlessly as they arise. Music helps with that, and sometimes it brings out feelings we never even knew existed. As I set out making the record, I hoped that it would move people’s hearts and bodies and inspire people to take on the great challenges the world faces today, with courage, love and bold optimism!”

No one could have imagined the world looking like it does today with citizens around the world in self-quarantine, however as we listen to the songs on Work Hard And Be Nice, they speak to how we get through the greatest ups and downs of our lives with our body, mind and soul still in one piece.

“Today, we are being called to connect with the hearts of others to literally bring about the healing of the planet,” Franti reflects. “There is no higher calling, and I hope this music helps people know that they are not alone in the effort. Each person’s role makes a difference, and we will create billions of small victories that all add up…together!”

The award-winning film “Stay Human,” directed by Franti and coined by Woody Harrelson as “the film every human needs to watch right now,” will have its YouTube premiere Wednesday, April 22 at 5 p.m. PT with a Q&A and acoustic performance with Franti via Instagram immediately following the screening. Watch the trailer HERE.

In continued celebration of Earth Day and the announcement of Work Hard And Be Nice, Franti will join Earth Day Live on Thursday, April 23 at 6:30 p.m. PT, and on Friday, April 24, he will join Together We Breathe Hope, a free virtual concert benefiting the National Jewish Health COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund.

Track Listing:

I Got You (Michael Franti & Chris Stevens)
Sun and Moon (Michael Franti & Chris Stevens)
Good Shit Happens (Michael Franti & Cappy Franti)
I Can Still Feel You (Michael Franti & Carl Young)
Start Small Think Big (Michael Franti, Chris Stevens. Brett Warren & Brad Warren)
How We Living (Michael Franti & Tim Myers)
Breaking Down The Door (Michael Franti & Tim Myers)
The Friends Song (Michael Franti & Daniel Lubwama Kigozi)
Lay It All Down (Michael Franti, Chris Stevens & James Yeary)
P.S. I Love You (Michael Franti)
Work Hard And Be Nice (Michael Franti & Jonathan Singleton)
Is It Worth A Penny To You (Michael Franti & Carl Young)
Walking Into The Sun (Michael Franti & Carl Young)
All My Friends (Michael Franti & Tim Myers)
I’m On Your Side (Michael Franti & Sean McConnell)
Daycation (Michael Franti & Nathan Chapman)
Watching The World Go By With You (Michael Franti & Carl Young)

The band X re-emerge with surprise long-awaited studio album 'Alphabetland'

On the 40th Anniversary of the landmark album Los Angeles and 35 years since the founding members of X have released an album, it has released Alphabetland via Bandcamp. The original foursome - Exene Cervenka, John Doe, Billy Zoom, and DJ Bonebrake made the album available for fans to purchase and by adapting to this moment in time, X continues to embody the same spirit they did when they began in 1977.

“When your heart is broken you think every song is about that. These songs were written in the last 18 months and it blows my mind how timely they are,” explained John Doe. “We all want our family, friends and fans to hear our records as soon as it's finished. This time we could do that. Thanks to Fat Possum and our audience.”

The band's record label, Fat Possum, listened and agreed. Plans were quickly set in motion to release the new music via Bandcamp and have said they're working to get the record available elsewhere as quickly as possible.

The quartet originally entered the studio in Nov 2018 when the band joined together to record fresh material for the first time since 1985’s Ain’t Love Grand. Five songs were recorded over the course of two days with producer Rob Schnapf. The first of these new songs is the recorded version of an older X song, "Delta 88 Nightmare," which previously was only included as a bonus track on the 2001 reissue of "Los Angeles" in demo form - never as a fully recorded and mixed track. The song was released as a 7" with the flip side being the newly recorded "Cyrano de Berger's Back,” one of the earliest songs John wrote for the band that became X.

This past January 2020 the band re-entered the studio to finish recording the album, again with Rob Schnapf and seven more original tracks were laid down, 11 of the songs appear on this album (see track list below).

Adorning the cover is an original painting by Wayne White, the Emmy-award winning artist who was set designer on Pee-Wee’s Playhouse for many years. The painting was commissioned through the friendship Wayne has with the band members.

Soon after their collaboration with Fat Possum began, X remastered and reissued their first four classic albums: Los Angeles (1980), Wild Gift (1981), Under The Big Black Sun (1982) and More Fun In The New World (1983) earlier this year. The band will also celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Los Angeles on Sunday, April 26, 2020.

Tour plans for 2020 are currently on hold until ‘stay at home’ restrictions are lifted.

Track Listing:

ALPHABETLAND
Free
Water & Wine
Strange Life
I Gotta Fever
Delta 88 Nightmare
Star Chambered
Angel On The Road
Cyrano DeBerger’s Back
Goodbye Year, Goodbye
All The Time In The World

Experience the Stagecoach Festival at home with 'Stagecouch' on SiriusXM, social media

Normally at this time of year, I'm preparing to head to Indio, Calif. for the annual Stagecoach Country Music Festival, having just attended the Coachella festival.

Now, since Stagecoach has been postponed (hopefully) until fall, SiriusXM will broadcast new "at home" sets this weekend for 'Stagecouch.' Artists and other members of the festival family are scheduled to participate in Instagram Live Streams, Q+A's, line dance instruction and more.

From April 24-26, starting at 12pm ET each day, tune in to SiriusXM's The Highway channel 56 via satellite radios and on the SiriusXM app (stream free through May 15) and join 2020 lineup favorites as they go live on the Stagecoach Instagram for Q&As, singalongs, etc.

The full Instagram schedule will be here: https://www.instagram.com/p/B_ScRkbpiAj/

Who is performing? Headliners Thomas Rhett on Friday, Carrie Underwood on Saturday and Eric Church on Sunday.

SiriusXM Stagecouch full lineup:

Ashley McBryde
Brandon Ratcliffe
Carrie Underwood
Chris Lane
Dustin Lynch
Eric Church
Gabby Barrett
Hailey Whitters
Hardy
Ingrid Andress
Jimmie Allen
Jon Pardi
LoCash
Midland
Mitchell Tenpenny
Morgan Wallen
Niko Moon
Old Dominion
Raelynn
Riley Green
Tennile Townes
Thomas Rhett


Thursday, April 16, 2020

One World: Together at Home presented by Global Citizen to feature superstar talent on Saturday

AXS TV will join other U.S. broadcasters in airing the One World: Together at Home event presented by Global Citizen live on Saturday, April 18 at 8 p.m. ET.

The Two-Hour Global Special is Hosted by Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, & Stephen Colbert and Curated in Collaboration with Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Billie Eilish, Alanis Morissette, John Legend, Stevie Wonder, Kacey Musgraves, Chris Martin, Lizzo, Eddie Vedder, David Beckham, Billy Joe Armstrong, Idris Elba, Keith Urban, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, the Sesame Street Muppets and more.

Airing live and commercial-free, the special will deliver an eclectic mix of taped and live segments that includes intimate performances, messages of hope, and sketches, among others, and also highlights powerful “On The Frontlines” profiles celebrating the courage and sacrifice of international healthcare workers striving to make a difference in the face of the virus.

Over the past three weeks, the Together At Home series has featured performances from artists including, Chris Martin, John Legend, Charlie Puth, Common, Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello, Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, Niall Horan, Steve Aoki, Jennifer Hudson, Miguel, H.E.R., Anthony Hamilton, Rufus Wainwright, Hozier, and Julianne Hough, among others, in support of the WHO and Global Citizen’s campaign.

Classic episodes of 'Live From Daryl’s House' to air on AXS starting this weekend

I've seen about half of the selected episodes and they were all great!

AXS TV is airing 14 episodes of the multi-award-winning music series Live From Daryl’s House—premiering on Sunday, April 19 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. AXS TV has curated a roster of the popular series’ episodes, highlighting an eclectic blend of artists that will appeal to the network’s audience.

Live From Daryl’s House was created in 2007 by Rock & Roll Hall Of Famer Daryl Hall, who wanted a show where he and his talented friends could hangout and rock out in a relaxed atmosphere. The Webby Award-winning program quickly took the music world and the Internet by storm with its unique format, as Hall welcomed a new artist into his domain each week to enjoy some local cuisine and conversation, as well as an unforgettable jam session.

Since that time, Live From Daryl’s House has transformed into a nationally syndicated television series, attracting some of the biggest names in the industry and amassing a loyal following of fans.

AXS TV has selected 14 eclectic episodes for this special event, packed with all-star appearances and powerhouse performances. Live From Daryl’s House kicks off its Network debut on April 19 with CeeLo Green, followed by episodes featuring Jason Mraz (Apr. 26); Chris Daughtry (May 3); Grace Potter (May 10); Wyclef Jean (May 17); Darius Rucker (May 31); Pat Monahan of Train (June 7); Aloe Blacc (June 14); Fitz & The Tantrums (June 21); Gavin DeGraw (June 28); Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump (July 12); Elle King (July 19); Rob Thomas (July 26); and Neon Trees (Aug. 2).

“Hey everybody, I am happy to say that the original at home show is back on TV,” said Hall.

“I’m thrilled to be partnering with AXS TV, which in my opinion, is the best house on cable for Daryl,” commented Executive Producer Jonathan Wolfson.

For more information about Live From Daryl’s House, visit the show’s official website.

AXS TV is available nationally in the United States and parts of Canada and the Caribbean. The Network is distributed via Spectrum, the AT&T TV platforms DirecTV and U-verse, DISH, Verizon, Suddenlink, select Comcast markets, SlingTV and Philo, among others.

Country music singer Sara Evans' memoir 'Born To Fly' due in September

Howard Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, will publish Born To Fly, a memoir by award-winning, multi-platinum country music star Sara Evans. She will share stories about her career and what it is like living in the spotlight. 

Drawing on stories from her own life, she shares wisdom on topics ranging from motherhood and marriage. The book is slated for a Sept. 8 release and available for pre-order now at https://bit.ly/2Us893O.

“I am so excited to release my memoir this year,” says Evans. “With 2020 being the twentieth anniversary of my Born To Fly album release, which was such a pivotal project for me and my career on so many levels, this book really brings everything full circle. I am so proud of how it all came together and can’t wait to share it with everyone."

Sara continues to forge a bold, creative path with Copy That, her first solo record in nearly three years, which will be released on her own Born To Fly Records on Sept. 4.

The long awaited return of UK punkers 999

“'Bish! Bash! Bosh' is about cooking up a storm with our music,” explains vocalist and guitarist Nick Cash of English punk rock outfit 999. “There’s one thing that it has always been about in everything that we have ever done and that’s freedom, and of course dancing.”

The band will release their first new studio album in over 13 years on April 24 via Cleopatra Records. The band's lead single is “Crazy Tuesday World.”

“The verses are actual quotes/words from people that hear voices in their head,” describes Cash. Also, limited edition green vinyl is now available for preorder.

Bish! Bash! Bosh! includes songs about people that hear voices in their head (“Crazy Tuesday World”) and paranoia surrounding guns and shooting people (“Shoot”) to frustration with the modern world (“I Hate It All”) to PTSD (“My Dad Trashed My Submarine”) and getting your head out of the sand and accepting the need for change (“Don’t Want To Know”).

Named after the United Kingdom’s emergency telephone number, 999 was founded in London during 1976 by Nick Cash and Guy Days. They released 14 singles and 12 studio albums between 1978 and 2007. Between 1978 and 1981 five of their singles landed in the Top 75 on the UK Singles Chart. Their internationally known punk rock anthem “Homicide” ended up breaking the Top 40.

In addition, it has been featured on numerous soundtracks including Shameless, Grand Theft Auto IV, The Killing of America, and Too Old to Die Young. As a result of extensive touring in the United States in the early ‘80s, the band’s third and fourth studio albums The Biggest Prize In Sport and Concrete charted on the Billboard 200. To date, the band has completed 17 U.S. tours, 54 UK tours, 37 European tours, and 137 gigs in London.

999 is Nick Cash (vocals, guitar), Guy Days (guitar), Arturo Bassick (bass), and Stoo Meadows (drums). The band plans to tour throughout North America and Europe after the current pandemic is over.

Iggy Pop’s July box set focuses on 1970s Bowie collabs

A 7-CD box set ‘The Bowie Years’ exploring Iggy Pop’s Berlin-era albums is scheduled for release on July 3 via UMe. The box set features remastered versions of The Idiot, Lust For Life, live album TV Eye and rare outtakes, alternate mixes and a 40-page book. Lust For Life and The Idiot will also be released as standalone 2-CD Deluxe Editions with bonus live CDs on the same date.

The first track to be released from the box set is an alternate mix of “China Girl” - listen here. Originally the second single to be taken from The Idiot in May 1977, this tale of infatuation, often interpreted as an ode to hedonism and Iggy’s former band The Stooges, would go on to become a hit for David Bowie on his Nile Rodgers produced 1983 album Let’s Dance.

Following the demise of Iggy’s seminal proto-punk band The Stooges, and a stint on the road together, Iggy and Bowie moved to West Berlin in 1977 to start work on Iggy’s debut solo album. It was inspired by the Cold War era surroundings and named after Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel. The album was a critical and commercial success, spawning radio hits including “China Girl,” “Nightclubbing” and “Funtime.”

The duo were back in the studio a matter of weeks after the accompanying tour to promote The Idiot finished and recorded Iggy’s sophomore solo album Lust For Life. It spawned two of Iggy’s biggest hits, the titular track and "The Passenger.”

Alongside these two albums, included in the box is a remastered version of the live album TV Eye recorded the 1977 tour in Cleveland, Chicago and Kansas City featuring Bowie on keyboards. There are also three discs of live recordings from March 1977 officially released for the first time - Live at The Rainbow Theatre, London, Live at The Agora, Cleveland and Live at Mantra Studio, Chicago. The set also contains a 40-page booklet with contributions from the musicians who played on the records and famous fans discussing the influence the albums have had on them.

Norway native Sondre Lerche set for new album in June

Los Angeles-based, Norwegian-born singer/songwriter Sondre Lerche has announced his ninth studio album Patience will release on June 5.

After living in New York City for over a decade, the album is his first since relocating to the west coast. Recorded mostly in Norway, the inspiration for this record, as Lerche tells it, comes from a recently discovered love of ambient music, running marathons, and a quest for serenity.

Watch the video (directed by Jon Danovic) for the album’s lead single "You Are Not Who I Thought I Was." The album is now available for pre-order.

"I had this idea that a good place to start would be to go into the woods with a shovel and shoot some stuff wearing that red coat," Lerche explains. "I kept thinking of the Tom Waits song that goes: 'what's he building in there?' Like, what's he digging for up there? Ideas ballooned: what if there were more versions up there, spying on a perceived authentic self? What if they always find him, no matter where he goes? Basically an existential version of the 'Two Way Monologue' video, I realize now in retrospect."

Patience is the follow-up to 2017’s Pleasure. Like his previous albums, Lerche continues to work with core collaborators including percussionist Dave Heilman, bassist Chris Holm, keyboardist Alexander von Mehren, and producers Kato Ã…dland and Matias Tellez. The album also reunites Lerche with mixing engineer Jørgen Træen and world-renowned classical violinist/composer/arranger Tim Fain, as well as introducing an unexpected but winning team-up with Van Dyke Parks on "Put The Camera Down."

"The inspiration behind the theme and feeling of the album comes from the sense of space and time I associate with ambient music and minimalism. Ever since Pleasure came out in 2017, I’ve been running a lot, and I listen to mainly abstract music that helps me lose sense of time and structure when I run, what I refer to as 'patient music,'" Lerche explains. "Performing the flamboyant and intense Pleasure show 140 times in one year got me into athleticism, and made me passionate about running. Before this, I never did anything remotely athletic in my life. After Pleasure I felt like slowing down everything in my life. I stopped touring for the first time since I was 18. I moved to LA, and I just focused on writing. I needed to make soothing music."

Recently, Lerche's NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert that was filmed in 2009 was published to YouTube for the first time. In the coming weeks, Lerche will perform regularly via Instagram Live.

Track list:

1) Patience
2) I Love You Because It’s True
3) You Are Not Who I Thought I Was
4) There Is No Certain Thing
5) Are We Alone Now
6) That’s All There Is
7) Put The Camera Down
8) Why Would I Let You Go
9) I Can’t See Myself Without You
10) Don’t Waste Your Time
11) Why Did I Write The Book of Love
12) My Love Is Hard To Explain

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

News about the band America

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of pop duo America - best known for hits such as "A Horse with No Name" and "Sister Golden Hair." An eight-disc box set, “Half Century,” arrives in June.

Produced for release and compiled by Jeff Larson, it contains discs with rare archival studio recordings, alternate mixes, demos and rehearsals, plus several previously unreleased tracks ranging from 1970-2000.

There is a re-mastered Bremen 1973 in-studio performance and two discs of radio interviews providing an audio overview of the band's career, along with a DVD of Super 8 “Home Movies” (1972-1975) to give fans a behind the scenes look at the early years.

“I think that the ingredients of the America sound are the basic fundamentals that translate internationally,” explains founding member Gerry Beckley.

“The Italians are huge fans of dance music, but they also love a ballad - they're romantic at heart. It's the same in the Far East. A lot of times in these countries, we see people singing along, and they don't really know what the words mean. Music is truly the international language.”

In stores Friday: Local H's 'Lifers'

Alt-rock duo Local H have shared the stream for their upcoming album LIFERS via Billboard. Featuring contributions by an array of respected friends and guests —including Juliana Hatfield, John McCauley of Deer Tick, and legendary rock engineer Steve Albini

LIFERS is the first album from Local H in five years, and the release coincides with the group’s 30 year anniversary. LIFERS will be released this Friday, April 10 through AntiFragile Music. Physical Pre-Orders of the album are available here.

States member Scott Lucas:

"It feels kind of weird to have a record coming out while all of this is happening. The only thing that I’ve ever seen that’s been anything close to this is 9/11. Our fourth record was supposed to come out that month in 2001, but after THAT day it got pushed back to the following year. Tour dates got cancelled. A bunch of shit got shut down. At the time, those delays and setbacks felt like everything. Like it was the worst thing that could happen to us. It was childish and more than a little selfish — and I’m ashamed to admit that I even felt that way. 

"And now, even MORE shit has been shut down. More people are going to be directly affected. And what’s worse, we can’t gather together and try to make sense of it — not in the way we used to be able to. We can’t go out and see our friends. Most of us can’t even visit our families. On top of that, people are losing their jobs. People are losing their LIVES. So once again, I’m a little ashamed. I’m ashamed to ask anybody to pretend that our little fucking record means anything in this time of great and collective tragedy.

"But you know what? If nothing else, sticking to the schedule and insisting on releasing this record on time has certainly helped keep us sane. All the small mundane tasks that go into promoting a new record —the bios, the interviews, the FaceStagram updates and TwitTube posts (ESPECIALLY when we can’t play live in front of actual people!) —that’s been a lifeline for us. It’s given us a reason to get out of bed. Maybe it’s not much, but it’s something. And we’re grateful for it. We’re also grateful for the feedback that we’ve received and the sense of connection that it’s given us. Even if it’s been transmitted through a screen — it’s felt real. (And we surely can’t be the only band out there that’s felt like this.)

"So yeah, it’s weird and it’s silly and it can seem like none of what we’re doing actually means anything. But I’m glad we have a record coming out while all of this is happening."

He continues:

“When the re-release of the White Album came out a few years ago, I became re-obsessed all over again. One aspect that really hit me about it (this time) was how it’s not really a concept record — but it feels like a concept record. I wanted to do that with LIFERS. This might be a concept record about the end of the world. Or it might just be a party record with loud guitars and cowbells.”

Since the band’s formation in 1990, they have released 8 studio albums, some EPs and live effort, a well-received series of “Mix Tapes” featuring cover songs, and singles that include “Eddie Vedder”, “Hands On The Bible”, “California Songs” and the rock radio staple “Bound For The Floor”.

In addition to all of that, guitarist/vocalist Lucas and drummer Ryan Harding have maintained a near constant international touring schedule. 

Track listing:

01. Patrick Bateman 
02. Hold That Thought
03. High Wide And Stupid
04. Turn The Bow
05. Beyond The Valley Of Snakes
06. Sunday Best
07. Winter Western
08. Demon Dreams
09. Farrah
10. Defy And Surrender
11. Innocents

Drake White ready to reach for the 'Stars'

Drake White unveils his new EP Stars on April 24 through White's imprint, Reverend White Records. Listen to the lead track: "Eat, Drink & Dream."

Recorded with producer (and fellow country Top 40 songwriter) Jaren Johnston, White says "Mix 'Em With Whiskey" is "top-shelf soul country for me...the lyric is smooth, but the guitar bites. It’s one of those jams that is a pleasure to perform, and it'll have everyone singin' and sippin’ in just one listen."

Stars also includes "Luckiest Man" — which Drake describes as "a song that explores the more buttery side of things, and feels like you're easing down the road in an old Bronco" — and anthemic "Eat, Drink & Dream," which he calls "country-cool rocket fuel."

Overall, Drake feels "there's been a revival in my heart and my soul...I feel an overwhelming sense of joy and gratitude towards my maker, my life, and the simple things. People are going to hear that in my new music. They're going to see it in my shows. The excitement never left me; it's just greater now. I walk onstage these days and feel so thankful to be there — to be able to to do what I love to do."

Track listing (with songwriters):

1. Luckiest Man (Ben Burgess, Josh Kerr, Alysa Vanderheym, Cary Barlowe)
2. Mix 'Em With Whiskey (Ryan Beaver, Rodney Clawson, Adam Hambrick, Andrew DeRoberts)
3. Eat, Drink & Dream (Drake White, Tommy Cecil, Greylan James)
4. My Favorite Band (Drake White, Ross Ellis, Dan Fernandez, Michael Whitworth)
5. All Would Be Right With The World (Drake White, Tommy Cecil, Matt Alderman)