Thursday, July 23, 2009

'Yellow Submarine' Artist Heinz Edelmann Dies at 75



Heinz Edelmann, the graphic designer and illustrator for the Beatles 'Yellow Submarine,' died Tuesday, July 21, in Germany from heart disease and kidney failure. Though he wasn't a musician, he was a vital part of Beatles lore nevertheless for his work on the 1968 animated film. He was 75 years old.

Creating the world of Pepperland, Edelmann illustrated figures like the Blue Meanies, the villains of the film who pursue the Beatles through a morphing seascape. Going beyond the simplistic work of the hit Beatles animated series, the film version of 'Yellow Submarine' was praised as moving art for its psychedelic imagery that perfectly captured the flowery feeling of the late '60s.


I found this interesting:

www.beatles.com








Classic Rock Videos

Ramones - Rockaway Beach

Music Interviews


Love songstress Jewel? Here's a great interview, well worth the read:

Interview: Jewel Releases Soothing Seventh Studio Album

Photo by Kurt MarkusJewel is an artist whose insatiable curiosity has led her to thrive in many creative areas. Though her list of accomplishments is dizzying—multi-platinum recording artist, actress, New York Times bestselling author—she's refreshingly down to earth. She takes the time to give back and is active in many charities, including her own Project Clean Water, which she founded to provide villages around the world with safe drinking water.

This year has been a busy one for Jewel. She recently released her first independent album, Lullaby, which is an ethereal collection of three classic tracks and 10 originals. The self-penned material holds its own among the standards, and after listening to this disc, it's hard to imagine a voice better suited for lullabies than Jewel's. Last week, LAist spoke with her to learn why she hopes her new album appeals to adults and children alike, and what she has in store when she takes the stage at the Hollywood Bowl this Friday and Saturday.

Read the rest here: http://laist.com/

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AMEN!

'Downloading has cheapened music'

By Damian Jones
Newsbeat music reporter


Jack White, The White Stripes linchpin and all round busiest man in rock 'n' roll, has launched a special subscription service. He's doing it because he's unhappy with the way downloading is affecting music experiences. He explains how he came up with the idea for the Vault.

What are your thoughts on the dominance of the internet on the music industry generally these days?

It’s taken a lot of the romance out of the experiences of music.

This is what we're trying to manipulate to the advantage of the fan/listener and the artist as well, to find ways to have beautiful experiences that have a longer lasting impact.

Sometimes things you have complete easy access to, like a reality show, or an online purchase at the click of a mouse, can become forgetable and invisible.

A trip to a record store to get the album you've been waiting months for on the other hand, can be cherished for a lifetime.

We are trying to find those bridges between the tangible worlds and the cyber/digital worlds.

Read the rest here: http://news.bbc.co.uk

Music News & Notes

EVILE Frontman Discusses Lyrical Themes On 'Infected Nations'

Matt Drake, frontman for British thrashers EVILE, recently took the time to discuss some of the lyrical themes from the band's upcoming album,"Infected Nations".

With a wider variety of topics such as modern society and classic science-fiction, "Infected Nations" sees EVILE taking the blueprints from their debut album, "Enter The Grave", and refining them into a more modern and ferocious beast.

The cover art for "Infected Nations" was created by Michael Whelan, famous for his sci-fi artworks along with classic album covers from such bands as SEPULTURA and OBITUARY.

EVILE frontman Matt Drake previously stated about the new CD: "When we did [2007's] 'Enter the Grave' two years ago, it was made up of songs we had been playing for a few years and some written in the excitement of actually getting to record an album. We were happy to just be making noise, but since then, we've learnt a few things and we're more interested in making music.

"EVILE fans can expect to hear a more mature offering, an album that concentrates on all aspects of what each member can do; it's a heck of a lot more focused, more satisfying and we're really proud of what we've achieved with it. Russ Russell has helped us to push ourselves to the next level and pull us out of the '80s. The whole retro thing has been cool but we feel it's time for us to leave that behind and stand up for ourselves and show people what we can really do, but fear not, it IS a thrash metal album, it is a 2009 thrash metal album, and we're dying to blow your minds with it."

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SONATA ARCTICA Lets Fans Design Cover Artwork

Finnish melodic metalers SONATA ARCTICA have launched a fan contest where people can design the cover artwork for the upcoming promotional single to the song "Flag In The Ground".

Commented vocalist Tony Kakko: "Now here's your big chance to make an impact to the whole music industry! Or at least all SONATA fans! Create a cover for our promotional single and have your artwork printed on a cardboard for promotional use like radios, clubs etc.

"The song is called 'Flag In The Ground', which also going to be our video song. It's an uplifting story about a young couple fighting their way to freedom and their own land in North America back in early 1800s.

"Join the race, have fun, create us a cover art work and win! Do it today!

The winning artwork will be the cover of the "Flag In The Ground" promotional single. The winner will also get tickets to an upcoming SONATA ARCTICA show as well as an opportunity to meet the band. The second- and third-prize winners will get signed SONATA ARCTICA items.

The artwork can be sent to: SonataArctica@nuclearblast.de

Specs:

Format: JPG
Res: 300 dpi
Colours: RGB
Size: 20 x 20 cm

The deadline for this contest is August 10, 2009!

SONATA ARCTICA will release its new album, "The Days Of Grays", on September 18 in Europe and September 22 in North America through Nuclear Blast Records.

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Daughtry "Own This Town" With #1 Billboard Debut

MJ and your astericks, move on over as Chris Daughtry and his crew move into the #1 spot on the Billboard charts. "Own This Town" sold more than 269,000 copies to land atop the Billboard 200 albums chart, according to numbers provided by Nielsen SoundScan, giving the former "American Idol" contestant another line on his already impressive résumé.

Daughtry more than doubled the sales of his closest competitor, Maxwell, whose BLACKsummers'night slipped to #2 with sales of more than 103,000 copies. The latest "Hannah Montana" soundtrack is next at #3, selling about 73,000 copies, followed by the Now That's What I Call Music! 31 compilation (69,000) and the Black Eyed Peas' The E.N.D. (54,000).

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Stryper 25 Years

On July 21, 2009 Christian heavy metal band - Stryper released their seventh studio album, Murder By Pride - a 12-track release that includes a cover of the Boston classic "Peace of Mind" and features a guest appearance by Boston guitarist and founder Tom Scholz.

July 21, 2009 also marks the 25th anniversary of the release of Stryper's debut album, The Yellow And Black Attack.

The band will be hitting the road for their 25th anniversary tour and will feature two sets - one of Stryper's newer material and will be performed with current bassist Tracy Ferrie, and a set of the classic material performing with original bassist Tim Gaines.

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Johnson Tired Of The Road

Brian Johnson of AC/DC has told Classic Rock magazine that he is interested in retiring but the band won't let him.

“We were talking about the end of the tour and I said: ‘We’re finishing in May and that’s me done!’ But Malcolm [Young, rhythm guitarist] said: ‘What are you talkin’ about? We’re not gonna let you retire!’ And now they’re talking about next year. I’m going: ‘What do you mean next year? We’re finishing in May in Japan, I’ll be tired!’ And they said: ‘Well, we’ve been offered some festivals…’”

Johnson, 61, will publish his autobiography, Rockers and Rollers, in October.

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Silver Jackson New LP

Silver Jackson is a Sitka star. His live audience shows him support not only with their applause, but also by participating in the music making. Nicholas Galanin is the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist behind Silver Jackson, and his stage performances include a rotation of various friends and other musicians. The cover art (below) is as endearing as the music and certainly worth checking out.



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Madonna Release


Madonna confirmed plans to release her definitive greatest hits compilation Celebration today, due September 29th as both a single and double album. As if the lure of 37 Top 10 hits wasn’t enough, Celebration will also feature a pair of new tracks she recently recorded in New York, including the collection’s first single “Celebration,” which was co-produced by house music legend Paul Oakenfold. Celebration’s cover was created by street pop artist Mr. Brainwash.

The songs on Celebration have all been remastered and selected by Madonna and her fans. They cover the expanse of the Material Girl’s extraordinary career of hits including “Everybody,” “Express Yourself,” “Vogue” and “4 Minutes.” “Celebration” will be available in a two-CD set as well as a single CD. There will also be a “Celebration” DVD released simultaneously which includes the video visionary’s best videos including several that have never before been available on DVD."

There are two new songs on the album. The first is a Paul Oakenfold collaboration that goes to radio on August 3rd called "Celebration". The Hits collection is out September 28 in the U.S.

Celebration is Madonna’s third greatest hits compilation and marks the last release under the Warner Music umbrella before the Material Girl leaves her career-spanning record company for a Live Nation 360 deal.

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Weezer Almost Done With Next Album

Weezer have been doing anything but laying low. Having released their eponymously titled 'Red Album' last year, the group are "close to a wrap" on their 7th record - the color of which is yet undecided.

In a lengthy post on the Weezer website, the group writes, "The bands 7th album, title TBA, is pretty close to a wrap now (after a mild false alarm back in the spring), though there is some work yet remaining to be done. There have also been some other special Weezer studio recordings done recently."

Weezer don't elaborate on what those additional recordings could be, but they do drop hints about a "special non-physical release."

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Drivin' N' Cryin' Again

Drivin' N' Cryin' will put out their first record in twelve years. Great American Bubble Factory will be released on September 29, 2009 on Vintage Earth Music with marketing and distribution provided by Thirty Tigers/RED.

"This record is the perfect crescendo to a long twenty-plus year career of the band. I think we've found the true essence of what we started to build back in 1985," says Kevn Kinney.

Drivin' N' Cryin' originally started recording demos for this album on September 10, 2001. After 9/11 the band abandoned the sessions after deciding the time wasn't right for their stories of blue-collar optimism. They returned to Sonica Studios in Atlanta earlier this year where the band produced the album in collaboration with Anton Fier, who produced their 1987 album Whisper Tames the Lion and James Barber, their ex-manager-turned-producer.

This record moves from the "Midwestern Blues" to the Flannery O'Connor South of "This Town" to the industrial grind of "Detroit City" to the optimistic anthem (and Dictators cover) "I Stand Tall" to the genuine pining for home in "I See Georgia."

The current DNC line up is: Kevn Kinney (guitar & vocals), Tim Nielsen (bass, mandolin & backing vocals), Mac Carter (guitar), Dave V. Johnson (drums, percussion & backing vocals). The band will be on tour throughout the fall, tour dates will be announced soon.

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Wolfmother Tour Plans

Wolfmother is back with sharpened chops, and the band will preview new material on the road this summer, including a run of shows with the Killers. The Sydney, Australia, rockers have joined on as the main support for six shows in the Northeastern U.S. and Canada, where they'll unveil the songs they've spent months recording in L.A.

Fans in L.A. can experience the whole album set to mind-blowing visuals on July 27 at the Laserium CyberTheater at the historic Vine Theater in Hollywood. Wolfmother also plays August 22nd at KROQ's Epicenter '09 festival at the Fairplex at Pomona in California.

The Grammy-winning four-piece recently dropped teaser track "Back Round" on iTunes, MySpace.com/wolfmother and wolfmother.com. And the foot-stomping, fuzz-drenched song will soon challenge players of Activision's Guitar Hero 5. Wolfmother is also opening for AC/DC on its "Black Ice Tour," beginning in February in 2010. The down-under tour, featuring two groups of Sydney's finest sons, sold out faster than any in the Australia's history.

Led by hirsute shredder Andrew Stockdale, the band cooked Cosmic Egg for three years, taking time to lock in a permanent lineup and build on the self-titled album that gave the world the insta-classic track "Woman." They recorded over the course of two months with heralded UK producer Alan Moulder (Smashing Pumpkins, The Killers, My Bloody Valentine). His sweeping and storied career as an iconic record-maker coupled with Wolfmother's immortal song craft add up to nothing short of a rip in the time-space continuum. But each one of these face-melting tunes was written to be played live and loud.

Wolfmother plans to headline a U.S. tour after the album's release later this year.

Mon-Aug-31 Columbia, MD Merriweather Post Pavilion
Tue-Sep-01 Wantagh, NY Jones Beach
Wed-Sep-02 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
Fri-Sep-04 Boston, MA TD Banknorth Garden
Sat-Sep-05 Montreal, QC Quai Jacques Cartier
Sun-Sep-06 Toronto, ON Molson Amphitheater

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Black Sabbath News

Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi—who’s currently in a legal battle with Ozzy Osbourne over the rights to the band’s name—has signed a deal to allow Next Films to use Black Sabbath as the name of a horror movie franchise, The Hollywood Reporter reports, adding that Iommi will score the film. Ironically, before the band’s name was trademarked, Ozzy and the boys took their moniker from the 1963 Mario Bava horror film Black Sabbath.

Vinyl Collective Top Sales- News

Due a few store glitches, we were unable to bring you the top sales of the past 2 weeks until just now. The first top 10 is for the past week. The previous top 10 is for the week prior.

Top 10 sales from July 13-July 19

1 POISON THE WELL “The Tropic Rot” dbl LP tan vinyl 62 copies
2 A WILHELM SCREAM “Mute Print” LP mustard yellow vinyl 48 copies
3 MISCHIEF BREW / ANDREW JACKSON JIHAD: Split 8″ clear w/ polka dots 31 copies
4 MISCHIEF BREW / ANDREW JACKSON JIHAD: Split 8″ clear vinyl 30 copies
5 PORTUGAL THE MAN The Satanic Satanist LP red/orange 26 copies
6 POISON THE WELL “The Tropic Rot” dbl LP set of both colors 24 copies
7 NINJA GUN/ TIM VERSION/ PRETTY BOY THORSON/ USED KIDS 4-way split 7 sky blue 21 copies
8 12″ Record Jacket SLEEVE with 1-1/2″ RESEAL Flap 20 copies
9 NINJA GUN/ TIM VERSION/ PRETTY BOY THORSON/ USED KIDS 4-way split 7 navy 19 copies
10 LIVING WITH LIONS “Make Your Mark” LP clear vinyl 14 copies
10 CHUCK RAGAN/ BRIAN FALLON “Gospel Songs” 7″ black vinyl 13 copies
10 SET YOUR GOALS “This Will Be The Death Of Us” LP 13 copies
10 7” Record Jacket Sleeves (20) 7-1/4″ x 7-1/4 13 copies


Top 10 sales from July 6-July 12

1 A WILHELM SCREAM “Mute Print” LP mustard yellow vinyl 148 copies
2 THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM “Senor and the Queen” 10″ red vinyl 60 copies
3 A WILHELM SCREAM “Mute Print” LP black vinyl 40 copies
4 2 for Tuesday (Fake Problems it’s great LP, Ninja Gun restless rubes LP) 2 for 1 26 copies
5 THURSDAY “Full Collapse” LP solid brown vinyl 20 copies
5 PORTUGAL THE MAN The Satanic Satanist LP red/orange 20 copies
7 THE MENZINGERS “Hold On, Dodge” 7″ olive green vinyl 18 copies
8 SET YOUR GOALS “This Will Be The Death Of Us” LP 16 copies
8 12” Record Jacket Sleeve. Fits over album jacket. 16 copies
10 BROADWAY CALLS “Good Views, Bad News” LP opaque green vinyl VC exclusive color 15 copies
10 JAWBREAKER – Dear You 2xLP 15 copies
10 CHUCK RAGAN/ LOVED ONES split 7″ blue vinyl 15 copies

Buy your vinyl at www.vinylcollective.com


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Suburban Home’s 14th Anniversary line-up Announcment, Tickets now on Sale

Excited to announce that we just confirmed Josh Small and In the Red for Suburban Home’s 14th Anniversary celebration. We also have the lineups pretty much figured out and tickets are now available, here is the lineup:

Friday, September 11th at 3 Kings Tavern

Joey Cape
Jon Snodgrass
Austin Lucas
Josh Small
Jr. Juggernaut
In the Red
Look Mexico

Saturday, September 12th at 3 Kings Tavern

Tim Barry
Two Cow Garage
Chad Price
Ninja Gun
Mike Hale
The Takers

Saturday, September 12th from noon to 4 pm we will be throwing a garage sale at the Suburban Home/Vinyl Collective offices where a few of our artists will be performing acoustic.

Sunday, September 13th – Suburban Home 14th Anniversary BBQ and Washers Tournament at Washington Park

There will also be an art gallery set up in the basement of 3 kings where are good friend Vanessa “Jean” Speckman, Josh from Look Mexico, and some other great artists will be showing their art. Know of a great artist who would like to show their art? Let us know.

And we have a group of hotels reserved for the weekend. The rooms are really nice and are only around 8 blocks from where all the shows are being held.

We at Suburban Home would like to invite every single one of you. We promise that you will love Denver and that you will have one of the greatest weekends of your life.

For more info, visit www.vinylcollective.com

This Date In Music History-July 23

Birthdays:

Michelle Williams - Destiny's Child (1980)

Steve 'Stevo 32' Jocz - Sum 41 (1980)

Alison Krauss - (1971)

Chad Gracey – Live (1971)

Sam Watters - Color Me Bad (1970)

Rob Dickinson - Catherine Wheel (1965)

Slash (Saul Hudson) - Guns N' Roses/Velvet Revolver (1965)

Nick Menza – Megadeth (1964)

Tim Kellett - Simply Red (1964)

Martin Gore - Depeche Mode (1961)

Janis Siegel - Manhattan Transfer (1952)

Blair Thorton - Bachman Turner Overdrive (1950)

David Essex (1947)

Tony Joe White – (1947)

Andy MacKay - Roxy Music (1946)

Madeline Bell - Blue Mink (1942)

Cleveland Duncan – Penguins (1935)


They Are Missed:

In 2004, guitarist Bill Brown died of smoke inhalation in a house fire. Member of The Ozark Mountain Daredevils and The Titanic Blues Band.

Rob Collins, keyboard player with The Charlatans died in a car crash in 1996 (age 29).

In 1980, former Grateful Dead keyboardist, Keith Godchaux died of injuries sustained in a car accident in Marin County, California. He co-wrote songs with Lowell George (of Little Feat) and was a member of The New Riders of the Purple Sage.


History:

In 1955, Chess Records released the first Chuck Berry single, "Maybelline."



In 1962, the American Communications satellite, Telstar, makes its first trans-Atlantic transmission which inspires British record producer Joe Meek to pen "Telstar." The instrumental tune was recorded later in the week by the Toronados.

Neil Young's first recording session was held, in Winnipeg in 1963.

Frank Sinatra went to #1 on the US album chart in 1966 with “Strangers In The Night.”

Also in 1966, Napoleon XIV released the perennial novelty favorite "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" In reality he was record engineer Jerry Samuels.



Working at Abbey Road studios in London in 1968, the Beatles recorded “Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey” for their forthcoming White Album.

In 1968, The Jackson 5 auditioned at Motown's Detroit headquarters for a number of label executives. Berry Gordy was not present, but he signed them after viewing the audition tape.

Badfinger signed with Apple Records in 1968 as the Iveys.

Judas Priest made their first U.S. appearance in 1977, supporting Led Zeppelin.
Barry Manilow went to #1 on the US singles chart in 1977 with “Looks Like We Made It,” his third US #1.

In 1977, Who drummer Keith Moon joined Led Zeppelin on stage during a gig at The Forum, Inglewood, Los Angles playing a duet with Zeppelin drummer John Bonham before taking to the microphone and attempting to sing.

Also in 1977, John Bonham, manager Peter Grant and two secuirty guards were arrested backstage at the Oakland Coliseum. They were charged with battery after allegedly beating up three employees of Bill Graham, the groups Oakland concert promoter. After pleading guilty to misdemeanors, the accused settle out of court for two million dollars.

Billy Squier earned his first gold album in 1981. He has a big hit with his second solo record, "Don't Say No."

The Police went to #1 on the US album chart in 1983 with “Synchronicity.” The album spent a total of seventeen weeks at #1.

The Bangles release their #1 hit "Walk Like an Egyptian" in 1986.



After forty-nine weeks on the US album chart in 1988, “Hysteria” by Def Leppard finally went to the #1 position.

The Sun Records studio in Memphis was designated a national historic landmark in 2003.

Research by a car insurance company in 2005 showed that listening to the wrong sort of music when driving can lead to aggression and distraction. Dr Nicola Dibben a music psychologist said “singing while driving stimulates the mind.” Songs recommended included Pulp’s ‘Disco 2000’ and ‘Hey Ya’ by Outcast, but the Dr said songs like The Prodigy’s Firestarter should be avoided. I would assume that anything by Billy “Crash” Craddock would also be a no no.