Griffin House will put out his next studio album, So On and So Forth, on March 4.
Among the selections are "Paris Calling (Sweet Sensation)," a love song to Paris, which Griffin pre-released last December after the Paris attacks.
It comes after a decade plus career that began when the Springfield, Ohio native moved to Nashville and independently released first album, Upland (2003). His music attracted national attention leading House to sign with Vancouver based label, Nettwerk, and he released Lost & Found in 2004.
Several self-released albums followed – most on Griffin's imprint-Evening Records. He's toured extensively, opening for artists such as Ron Sexsmith, Patti Scialfa, Josh Ritter, John Mellencamp, Mat Kearney, and The Cranberries, then in 2008 House put out Flying Upside Down, produced by Jeff Trott and featuring Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench elevating him to headliner status.
His music has continued to garner commercial and critical acclaim with such songs as “The Guy Who Says Goodbye to You Is Out of His Mind” and “Better Than Love” from his 2013 release Balls. “The Way I Was Made” was featured in ESPN’s Fan Hall of Fame Commercial (Watch it here ) - fitting for the athletically gifted House who was included in Golf Digest's Oct ’14 issue tied at #6 in their TOP 100 in MUSIC poll -- Golf Digest 'Top 100 in Music'.
Late in 2014, House released “Songs for a Prisoner” (Griffin House LIVE from Prison), a 5-song EP recorded Live inside a Tennessee prison. PREVIEW Songs for a Prisoner
"I had no illusions that my performance would be anything like Johnny Cash’s 'Live at Folsom Prison,'" said House. "It turned out I was wrong. They were hopping and hollering and singing along and really seemed to be enjoying themselves. I’m glad we recorded it."
House also completed a series of theater shows in the past few years - The Cash Legacy: A Musical Tribute to the Man in Black StudioTenn:The Cash Legacy and contributed to the Jackson Browne Tribute album 'Looking Into You' with a cover of Barricades of Heaven.
This past year, House signed on to be one of the new judges for this upcoming years American Songwriter Lyric Contest American Songwriter Lyric Contest Judges
Track listing:
1. Yesterday Lies
2. Games
3. Played the Fool
4. Straight in the Night
5. Paris Calling
6. Further
7. Stop and Rest
8. Easy Come Easy Go
9. A Painting By...
10. Wrecking Ball
11. Silver Line
12. Omaha
Tour dates:
Feb 10
The Doug Fir Lounge
Portland, OR
Feb 11
Columbia City Theater
Seattle, WA
Feb 12
Green Frog Acoustic Tavern
Bellingham, WA
Feb 13
The Griffin House
Hood River, OR
Feb 14
The Griffin House
Hood River, OR
Feb 16
Sweetwater Music Hall
Mill Valley, CA
Feb 17
Don Quixotes
Felton, CA
Feb 18
SOhO Restaurant and Music Club
Santa Barbara, CA
Feb 19
The Hotel Cafe
West Hollywood, CA
Feb 20
The Soda Bar
San Diego, CA
Feb 21
Valley Bar
Phoenix, AZ
Feb 25
Stage Door Theater
Charlotte, NC
Feb 26
Cat's Cradle
Carrboro, NC
Feb 27
Eddie's Attic
Decatur, GA
Apr 06
Uptown Grill
La Salle, IL
Apr 07
City Winery
Chicago, IL
Apr 08
City Winery
Chicago, IL
Apr 09
Uptown Grill
La Salle, IL
Apr 10
Pin Drop Concert Series
Spring Lake, MI
Apr 14
Katharine Hepburn Cultural Art Center
Old Saybrook, CT
Apr 15
me and thee
Marblehead, MA
Apr 16
Caffe Lena
Saratoga Springs, NY
Apr 17
The Hamilton
Washington, DC
Apr 22
World Cafe Live Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA
Apr 23
City Winery
New York, NY
Apr 29
Woody Guthrie Center
Tulsa, OK
May 01
Whistle Stop at The Depot
Norman, OK
Jul 08
Springfield Arts Festival
Springfield, OH
griffinhousemusic.com
On Feb. 26, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release A Life In Song - a concert film celebrating the life and career of Burt Bacharach, featuring performances by Joss Stone, Justin Hayward, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Michael Kiwanuka, Laura Mvula and more.
This recording, which will be released on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital formats, was produced and recorded by BBC Events Production.
Filmed at London’s Royal Festival Hall in 2015, A Life In Song presents on-stage conversations between Burt Bacharach and Michael Grade traversing different aspects of his years in music, interspersed with performances of many of his best loved songs by a diverse cast of artists.
The evening culminates in a medley of some of Bacharach’s most famous film songs performed by the man himself and his band, and a performance of “That’s What Friends Are For” featuring the entire evening’s cast.
Originally broadcast on BBC4 in November 2015, the DVD presents three additional bonus tracks not seen in the original program: “Be Aware” – Josie James, “Waiting For Charlie” – Donna Taylor and “God Give Me Strength” – John Pagano.
Click here to preview “I Say A Little Prayer”, performed by Rebecca Ferguson - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k6AA58iuct0wuYeWsR8
Track listing:
1) Intro
2) Walk On By – Rebecca Ferguson
3) Do You Know The Way To San Jose – Laura Mvula
4) What The World Needs Now – Justin Hayward
5) I Say A Little Prayer – Rebecca Ferguson
6) Windows Of The World – Michael Kiwanuka
7) I’ll Never Fall In Love Again – Sophie Ellis-Bextor
8) In Between The Heartaches – Joss Stone
9) (They Long To Be) Close To You – Sophie Ellis-Bextor
10) Anyone Who Had A Heart – Burt Bacharach & Josie James
11) If I Could Go Back – Alfie Boe
12) Movie Medley: The Look Of Love / Arthur’s Theme (The Best That You Can Do) / What’s New Pussycat / The World Is A Circle / The April Fools / Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On my Head / (The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance / Making Love / Wives And Lovers / Alfie – Burt Bacharach & Band
13) A House Is Not A Home – Shaun Escoffery
14) That’s What Friends Are For - Ensemble
Pet Shop Boys will release their new album Super via x2/Kobalt Records on April 1.
Produced and mixed by Stuart Price in Los Angeles, the album was written in London and Berlin. The record features 12 new Tennant/Lowe compositions including the lead single, “The Pop Kids,” evoking the London club scene of the early '90s.
Super will be available on CD, vinyl and digitally. Pre-order is now available on iTunes and Amazon with an immediate download of “Inner Sanctum.”
The band has confirmed a four night residency at London’s Royal Opera House on July 20-23. Entitled “Inner Sanctum,” the site-specific concert series will be staged by longtime PSB designer Es Devlin and choreographer Lynne Page.
Said the band, “It was fantastic to be back in the studio with Stuart Price continuing from where we left off with Electric and we’re thrilled with the results. It’s also very exciting to take electronic music into the Royal Opera House—such a grand and beautiful venue. These will be four very special nights for us and our only UK concerts this year.”
Tickets for “Inner Sanctum” available at http://www.roh.org.uk/psb.
Track listing:
1. Happiness
2. The Pop Kids
3. Twenty-Something
4. Groovy
5. The Dictator Decides
6. Pazzo!
7. Inner Sanctum
8. Undertow
9. Sad Robot World
10. Say It To Me
11. Burn
12. Into Thin Air
www.whatissuper.co
www.petshopboys.co.uk
Having reviewed Yoakam several times on his tour for Three Pears (see elsewhere on this blog), I can attest that Whelan is definitely worth a listen...
Singer/songwriter and former Dwight Yoakam multi-instrumentalist, Brian Whelan is set to release his sophomore solo album, Sugarland, on March 25. Co-Produced by fellow Yoakam-ite and current drummer Mitch Marine, alongside Lee Pardini, Whelan, a music school graduate from USC, plays almost anything with keys or strings -- steel guitar, accordion, piano. For Sugarland, he employs a series of various musical instruments on the pop rock tunes.
After graduating from USC, Whelan began a long journey as a sideman accompanying such artists as Eugene Edwards, Scot Bruce, The Broken West, Apex Manor, Randy Weeks, Mike Stinson, Tony Gilkyson, KISS, Chuck Berry, Jim Lauderdale and most recently, Yoakam. Then in 2012, Whelan released his debut solo album, “Decider,” which garnered much critical acclaim.
Track listing:
1. Americana
2. Sugarland
3. The Only Thing
4. Suckerpunch
5. Go Dancing
6. No. 1 Fan
7. We Got it All
8. Talk to Me
9. Stand in Your Light
10. The Bottom
Upcoming dates:
Jan 27 - Music City Roots - Franklin, TN
Mar 23 - Under the Volcano – Houston, TX
Mar 24 – Venue TBA – Ft. Worth, TX
April 1 - Pappy and Harriets - Joshua Tree, CA
April 3 - Grand Ole Echo - Los Angeles, CA (Album Release Show)
More U.S. dates to be announced shortly.
Here is the latest news from Sennheiser, which always draws a big crowd to its NAMM Show stage. One of the can't miss acts this year is the female folk/rock act Raining Jane, who had toured and recorded with Jason Mraz. Get all the info from the press release below.
Note: the trade show is not open to the public.
At NAMM 2016, Sennheiser and Neumann will have their latest live performance and recording equipment in Hall A, Booth No. 6577.
Visitors are invited to try out Sennheiser wired and wireless microphones, monitoring systems and professional headphones as well as Neumann recording microphones and studio monitors. A special ‘mobile recording’ area will highlight the products developed in cooperation with Apogee, including the ClipMic digital, MKE 2 digital and a new, yet to be announced recording bundle.
Sennheiser will continue its tradition of presenting musical talent at its booth stage during NAMM 2016. Featuring both established musical acts as well as up-and-coming talent, this year’s artists include singer-songwriter Nina Storey, pop rockers Magnolia Memoir, contemporary bluegrass crooners Nu-Blu and many others. Below are the scheduled performances taking place at the booth (Hall A, 6577):
Thursday, Jan 21
12:00 noon - Michaella
12:45 p.m. - The Four Postmen
1:30 p.m. - The Talbot Bros
2:15 p.m. - Michaella
3:00 p.m. - The Four Postmen
3:45 p.m. - The Talbot Bros
4:30 p.m. - Jennifer Stills
Friday, Jan 22
12:00 noon - Magnolia Memoir
12:45 p.m. - Nina Storey
1:30 p.m. - Raining Jane
2:15 p.m. - Marcus Eaton
3:00 p.m. - Magnolia Memoir
3:45 p.m. - Nina Storey
4:30 p.m. - Marcus Eaton
Saturday, Jan 23
12:00 noon - Debby Holiday
12:45 p.m. - Nu Blu
1:30 p.m. - Dilana
2:15 p.m. - Debby Holiday
3:00 p.m. - Nu Blu
3:45 p.m. - Halocene
4:30 p.m. - Lindsey Webster
Sunday, Jan 24
12:00 noon - Jaq Mackenzie
12:45 p.m. - Andy and Renee
1:30 p.m. - Marina V.
2:15 p.m. - Katie Cole
3:00 p.m. - Andy and Renee
3:45 p.m. - Jaq Mackenzie
4:30 p.m. - Marina V.
At the Sennheiser headphone bar, visitors will be able to join listening sessions by D-Jane Ill-Esha, who will not only make music but also present Sennheiser’s forthcoming Venue Modeling solution, which allows DJs to experience their sets in advance, by replicating the sound characteristics of the venue they will be performing in.
A dedicated home recording environment offers a real world experience of Neumann’s recently launched home studio microsite (www.neumann.com/homestudio) for prosumers wanting to learn more about finding the right microphones for great sound recording at home, offering ample opportunity to actively try out Neumann home recording gear.
The NAMM show will also be one of the last opportunities to participate in the “Test D1 and Only” campaign: “Stop by our booth and register directly to be in with a chance to become a D1 product tester,” says Ingo Angres, Marketing Manager Live
Performance & Music at Sennheiser. “So far, more than 12,500 bands and musicians have registered – try your luck and win a test slot at www.sennheiser-d1.com.”
When Bruce Springsteen takes his E Street Band on the road soon, he will have his trusted guitarist Nils Lofgren again by his side.
For more than 30 years, Lofgren has handled guitar duties for Springsteen — first as Steven Van Zandt’s replacement in 1984, and then remaining after Van Zandt’s return in the late ’90s.
“It’s very exciting for me to be out again with E Street,” Lofgren confides. “It’s always an honor to play with them and to be out promoting the great 'Ties That Bind: The River' box set.”
The River tour isn’t the only thing Lofgren is excited about as 2016 begins. He is thrilled over the response to his new CD UK2015 Face the Music Live, which captures the magic he made last year touring the United Kingdom with his longtime collaborator, the multi-instrumentalist Greg Varlotta.
In these concerts Lofgren performed many of his favorite tracks. “It really is the audience that breathes the life, fire and inspiration into every performance on this album,” he reveals. “We’d been out on the road promoting the new album when the call for the River tour came, and we’ll pick up where we left off at the conclusion of the E Street run.”
On UK2015 Face the Music Live, the album concept and design came from Nils’ wife Amy, who felt these were the best shows she’d seen him do, and insisted the last half of the tour be recorded for an album.
The resulting fifteen tracks span Lofgren’s long, memorable career — from “Lost a Number,” a gem from his early days fronting Grin, to “Miss You ‘C’,” written in honor of the late E Street sax man Clarence Clemons. The disc mixes deeply-felt Lofgren songs like “Too Many Miles,” “Like Rain” and “New Holes in Old Shoes” with covers of Danny Whitten’s “I Don’t Want to Talk About It” and Carole King’s “Goin’ Back.”
Throughout Lofgren demonstrates why he has long been heralded as a guitar hero, whether it is with his searing electric guitar work or his intricately nimble picking on an acoustic. UK2015 Face the Music Live has quickly garnered praise.
Lofgren’s Face the Music tour followed the 2014 release of his monumental Face the Music box set, a nine-CD/one-DVD retrospective covering near five-decade career that was roundly admired by critics.
This past November he was honored with the “Outstanding Contribution Award” at the Classic Rock Awards held in London. Lofgren joins esteemed company of previous winners who have included fellow Rock Hall of Famers Jeff Beck, Ronnie Wood and John Paul Jones.
Lofgren’s storied career began when he was still a teenager. He was touring with his band Grin at 17 when he met Neil Young, and wound up playing on Young’s landmark After the Gold Rush album, and later the Crazy Horse debut and Tonight’s the Night. Grin would go on to release a quartet of albums loved by critics but little noticed by the public. This pattern continued during Lofgren’s solo career, which produced should-have-been-hits like “I Came to Dance,” “Keith Don’t Go” and “Cry Tough” during the ’70s.
While perhaps best known now for his work with Springsteen, Lofgren has a resume that’s amazingly diverse and star-studded. Besides his work with Young (Lofgren later played on Trans and Young’s MTV Unplugged show), he has recorded with music legends Jerry Lee Lewis, Del Shannon and Carl Perkins, collaborated with Lou Reed and toured with Ringo Starr.
His rock roll-call includes Rod Stewart, Bob Seger, Paul Rodgers and Stephen Stills, but he’s also played with Cab Calloway, Willie Nelson, Rick James and George Benson. Oh, and he performed some Christmas songs with Bart Simpson for Fox TV, too.
Lofgren has enjoyed an incredible career and he is still going strong.
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band The River tour dates:
Sat., Jan. 16 PITTSBURGH, PA Consol Energy Center
Tue., Jan. 19 CHICAGO, IL United Center
Sun., Jan. 24 NEW YORK, NY Madison Square Garden
Wed, Jan. 27 NEW YORK, NY Madison Square Garden
Fri., Jan. 29 WASHINGTON, DC Verizon Center
Sun., Jan. 31 NEWARK, NJ Prudential Center
Tue., Feb. 2 TORONTO, ON Air Canada Centre
Thu., Feb. 4 BOSTON, MA TD Garden
Mon., Feb. 8 ALBANY, NY Times Union Center
Wed., Feb. 10 HARTFORD, CT XL Center
Fri., Feb. 12 PHILADELPHIA, PA Wells Fargo Center
Tue., Feb. 16 SUNRISE, FL BB&T Center
Thu., Feb. 18 ATLANTA, GA Philips Arena
Sun., Feb. 21 LOUISVILLE, KY Yum! Center
Tue., Feb. 23 CLEVELAND, OH Quicken Loans Arena
Thu., Feb. 25 BUFFALO, NY First Niagara Center
Sat., Feb. 27 ROCHESTER, NY Blue Cross Arena
Mon., Feb. 29 ST. PAUL, MN Xcel Energy Center
Thu., Mar. 3 MILWAUKEE, WI BMO Marris Bradley Center
Sun., Mar. 6 ST. LOUIS, MO Chaifetz Arena
Thu., Mar. 10 PHOENIX, AZ Talking Stick Resort Arena
Sun., Mar. 13 OAKLAND, CA Oracle Arena
Tue., Mar. 15 LOS ANGELES, CA L.A. Sports Arena
Thu., Mar. 17 LOS ANGELES, CA L.A. Sports Arena
Atlantic Records and Warner Bros. Records have unveiled details relating to Vinyl, the new HBO drama series from Executive Producers Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger, and Terence Winter.
“Vinyl: Music from the HBO Original Series – Vol. 1,” a full length musical companion to the series’ premiere episode, is set to arrive in stores and at all digital retailers and streaming services on Feb. 12 ahead of the series premiere, Sunday, Feb. 14 exclusively on HBO.
A new digital EP will then be released every subsequent Friday with music featured in that week’s upcoming episode. This first-of-its-kind slate of musical offerings will culminate with a second full-length soundtrack, “Vinyl: Music from the HBO Original Series Vol. 1: Finale," to be released both physically and digitally and on all streaming services on April 15 coinciding with the season finale, airing April 17.
Informed by Scorsese’s renowned innovative use of music in film and Jagger’s intimate insight on the era, the album contains new and previously released material - all featured in the season premiere - from an array of rising stars and legendary artists, including David Johansen, who revitalizes a pair of classics by his seminal group the New York Dolls with re-recordings exclusively for the series.
Original highlights include “No Good,” the breakout rock single from Elektra/Atlantic recording artist Kaleo that was featured in the latest show trailer, and “Sugar Daddy (Theme From Vinyl),” the series’ main title and first new music from Grammy Award-nominated, Atlantic recording artist Sturgill Simpson (see attached track listing).
The soundtrack further showcases material featured in the series premiere, including the original song “Rotten Apple,” co-written by show co-star James Jagger along with Mick Jagger, Luis Felber and James Dunson, and performed by Nasty Bits, a band featured in the show that is fronted by James Jagger.
Additional highlights include tracks from Soda Machine and Vintage Trouble’s Ty Taylor – who has also been cast as the singing voice of the series’ character Lester Grimes. The soundtrack also captures the electric energy of New York City in the 1970s via a bounty of indelible pop, rock, disco, and soul favorites from such iconic stars as Otis Redding, Foghat, Jimmy Castor Bunch, Dee Dee Warwick, Edgar Winter, The Meters, and much more.
Likewise, each week will bring a robust slate of new content in the form of musical offerings tied to every episode throughout the season. The aforementioned series of eight EPs will each feature an exciting combination of original tracks written and produced exclusively for the series, vintage songs from the period re-recorded by contemporary artists, and a wealth of catalog favorites, all either appearing in or inspired by music in that week’s episode.
Some of the artists contributing recordings include Charlie Wilson, Iggy Pop, Chris Cornell, Julian Casablancas, Charli XCX, Jesse J, Nate Ruess, Royal Blood, Jess Glynne, Trey Songz, The Arcs, DJ Cassidy, Alex Newell, and many more. Additionally, multiple promotional music videos tied to tracks found on the soundtracks and featured in the show will be unveiled throughout the season.
Track listing:
1. Ty Taylor - The World Is Yours
2. David Johansen - Personality Crisis
3. Kaleo - No Good
4. Sturgill Simpson - Sugar Daddy (Theme from Vinyl)
5. Ruth Brown - Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean
6. Otis Redding - Mr. Pitiful
7. Dee Dee Warwick - Suspicious Minds
8. Mott the Hoople - All The Way From Memphis
9. David Johansen - Stranded In The Jungle
10. Chris Kenner - I Like It Like That
11. Ty Taylor - Cha Cha Twist
12. The Jimmy Castor Bunch - It’s Just Begun
13. Soda Machine - Want Ads
14. The Meters - Hand Clapping Song
15. Soda Machine – Slippin’ Into Darkness
16. Edgar Winter - Frankenstein
17. Nasty Bits - Rotten Apple
18. Foghat - I Just Want To Make Love To You
