Stevie Wonder - My Cherie Amour
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Music News & Notes
Woodstock's Michael Lang Seeking Sponsors For 2009 Festival In New York City
Michael Lang said plans for a 40th anniversary Woodstock concert are "all speculative ideas" for now, but he hopes to bring them to reality this summer.
The Woodstock co-founder told Billboard.com that his vision is "a free event...a very green project," possibly in New York City. "We want to have as small a carbon imprint as we can and use as many green techniques as we can," said Lang, who was in Austin as part of a South By Southwest panel discussion about Woodstock. The holdup? "It's got to be sponsor-driven," he explained.
"It's free, but it costs a lot of money. That's kind of what we're in the middle of right now. Depending on how successful we are in raising that sponsorship (money) will determine when and how we do this event – or if we do this event, frankly."
He added that reports of a concurrent Woodstock festival in Berlin, possibly at Tempelhof airport, were "premature" but "still is kind of a thought."
Lang said that musically a 2009 Woodstock would go "back to its roots...There would be a lot of legacy bands – the Who, Santana, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Joe Cocker maybe. And it would be people like Steve Earle and Ben Harper. There's certainly room for the (Red Hot) Chili Peppers and Dave Matthews...That would be the shape of the music."
Read More Here: Billboard Story
====================================
Hendrix Family Signs with Universal Music, Plans New Archive Releases
Universal Music has signed a deal with the family of Jimi Hendrix to administer the entire Hendrix catalog outside of the United States. They replace Sony/ATV publishing who has done the job for the last ten years. In the U.S., the catalog will continue to be handled by Experience Hendrix, Ltd.
Universal Music Publishing chairman and CEO David Rezner said "Janie [Hendrix] has done an amazing job of keeping the music and Hendrix's legacy alive. They have a great reissue program in place and they are doing a great job of protecting his legacy."
====================================
To Be Or Not To Be?
Neil Young says that his much postponed Archives, Volume 1: 1963-1972 will hit the streets on June 2. The set will be available in three formats: 10-disc Blu-Ray ($399), 10-disc DVD ($199) or 10-disc CD ($99).
Young's manager, Elliot Roberts, told a SXSW crowd that that he sees four more 10-disc sets, each covering a decade, released at the rate of one every two- to three-years.
====================================
Weinberg's Son to Sit In With Springsteen
Jay Weinberg, son of Max Weinberg, will be the drummer for the E-Street Band during a number of Bruce Springsteen's shows this summer. Father Max's band will be going with Conan O'Brien to take over the Tonight Show on NBC and there were conflicts between the Springsteen tour and the premier of the new show in June.
Springsteen commented, "We promise to return him in one piece," while Little Steven Van Zandt lamented the temporary loss of Max. "What nobody understands is that not only is Max a great drummer, Max reads Bruce's mind. You can't learn that. That's impossible to learn. You could spend months rehearsing and you'll never get that."
Enjoy the ride, kid.....
Michael Lang said plans for a 40th anniversary Woodstock concert are "all speculative ideas" for now, but he hopes to bring them to reality this summer.
The Woodstock co-founder told Billboard.com that his vision is "a free event...a very green project," possibly in New York City. "We want to have as small a carbon imprint as we can and use as many green techniques as we can," said Lang, who was in Austin as part of a South By Southwest panel discussion about Woodstock. The holdup? "It's got to be sponsor-driven," he explained.
"It's free, but it costs a lot of money. That's kind of what we're in the middle of right now. Depending on how successful we are in raising that sponsorship (money) will determine when and how we do this event – or if we do this event, frankly."
He added that reports of a concurrent Woodstock festival in Berlin, possibly at Tempelhof airport, were "premature" but "still is kind of a thought."
Lang said that musically a 2009 Woodstock would go "back to its roots...There would be a lot of legacy bands – the Who, Santana, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Joe Cocker maybe. And it would be people like Steve Earle and Ben Harper. There's certainly room for the (Red Hot) Chili Peppers and Dave Matthews...That would be the shape of the music."
Read More Here: Billboard Story
====================================
Hendrix Family Signs with Universal Music, Plans New Archive Releases
Universal Music has signed a deal with the family of Jimi Hendrix to administer the entire Hendrix catalog outside of the United States. They replace Sony/ATV publishing who has done the job for the last ten years. In the U.S., the catalog will continue to be handled by Experience Hendrix, Ltd.
Universal Music Publishing chairman and CEO David Rezner said "Janie [Hendrix] has done an amazing job of keeping the music and Hendrix's legacy alive. They have a great reissue program in place and they are doing a great job of protecting his legacy."
====================================
To Be Or Not To Be?
Neil Young says that his much postponed Archives, Volume 1: 1963-1972 will hit the streets on June 2. The set will be available in three formats: 10-disc Blu-Ray ($399), 10-disc DVD ($199) or 10-disc CD ($99).
Young's manager, Elliot Roberts, told a SXSW crowd that that he sees four more 10-disc sets, each covering a decade, released at the rate of one every two- to three-years.
====================================
Weinberg's Son to Sit In With Springsteen
Jay Weinberg, son of Max Weinberg, will be the drummer for the E-Street Band during a number of Bruce Springsteen's shows this summer. Father Max's band will be going with Conan O'Brien to take over the Tonight Show on NBC and there were conflicts between the Springsteen tour and the premier of the new show in June.
Springsteen commented, "We promise to return him in one piece," while Little Steven Van Zandt lamented the temporary loss of Max. "What nobody understands is that not only is Max a great drummer, Max reads Bruce's mind. You can't learn that. That's impossible to learn. You could spend months rehearsing and you'll never get that."
Enjoy the ride, kid.....
Syd Barrett's Book on eBay
Someone sent me a link to an auction and I thought I would pass it along. I have been keeping an eye on it for several days and the bids are, to me amazing. Here is what they are auctioning at ebay:
Syd Barrett's Book: 12 Experimental Artworks from 1965
Created by the crazy diamond who launched Pink Floyd
The bidding is over $37,000 and I would expect it to go (the auction ends this Tuesday) for (in my opinion) well over $50,000. Man, if I had that kind of money, I would certainly spend it elsewhere, but maybe there are museums in on the bidding (?)
Here is the link:
Syd Barrett Book
Syd Barrett's Book: 12 Experimental Artworks from 1965
Created by the crazy diamond who launched Pink Floyd
The bidding is over $37,000 and I would expect it to go (the auction ends this Tuesday) for (in my opinion) well over $50,000. Man, if I had that kind of money, I would certainly spend it elsewhere, but maybe there are museums in on the bidding (?)
Here is the link:
Syd Barrett Book
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Album Cover Stories- The Allman Brothers Band
As always, I want to thank Michael Goldstein over at www.RockPoPGallery.com for the exclusive reprint rights to his marvelous album cover art stories:
Cover Story Interview – The Allman Brothers Band – Where It All Begins - with design/artwork by Ioannis
Cover Story for March 20, 2009
Subject: Where It All Begins, by The Allman Brothers Band – a 1994 release on Sony Records, with cover artwork and design produced by Ioannis.
With the band celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and in the midst of its annual multi-show run at NYC’s Beacon Theater, I thought that it’d be interesting for Cover Story readers to get a look behind the scenes of the making of one of their more-recent record covers – the one for 1994’s Where It All Begins, created by the designer/painter Ioannis – in that, like the band, it represents another well-done turn on a classic original effort.
Before the band had established its logo (the first version of the stacked text appearing on their 1979 Enlightened Rogues LP), the band’s record covers had featured a wide variety of designs – both photo and illustration-based, including Jim Marshall’s iconic photograph used on the cover of their Live At Fillmore East double album and James Flournoy Holmes’ illustration for Eat A Peach. However, band insiders (musicians and crew) had their first exposure to a mushroom-based ABB logo in 1970 when tattoo artist Lyle Tuttle was hired by brothers Gregg and Duane to create a tattoo design that would then be distributed to the entire ABB family at a cannabis-fueled party during a stop-over in Columbus, Ohio. This design obviously left a lasting impression (sorry!) on guitarist Dickie Betts, who later suggested that it be included in the design you’ll read about shortly.
In 1994, the always-morphing line-up of the Allman Brothers Band consisted of the four living members of the original band - Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts, Butch Trucks and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson - all who had reunited for their 20th Anniversary tour in 1989 - and added players including guitarist Warren Haynes (the new “hardest working man in show business”), bassist Allen Woody and drummer/percussionist Marc Quinones. Driven by strong play on AOR stations, the record ultimately went gold, but it turned out to be the last one that Mr. Betts would play on, with Mr. Haynes replacing him permanently in 2001.
In as much as their fans love their recordings, it is the band’s live performances that have given them the opportunity to play to sold-out crowds for 40 years, so like any manager worth his/her salt, it was important for Bert Hollman to find someone with the talent to produce just the right designs for the band’s tour merch. This timely need opened the door for Ioannis into the band’s inner world and, based on the fact that the relationship is still strong 15 years later, the band and its fans have been greatly impressed by the now-iconic mushroom-based design. The details of how it all begins are chronicled in today’s Cover Story…
In the words of the artist – Ioannis – interviewed December 2008 and January 2009 -
In the early spring of 1994, the small design firm that my brother and I had started was only a couple of years old, so designing the next cover for the Allman Brothers Band was the last thing on my mind at the time. A friend of ours in the merchandising business had been contacted by the band’s manager (Bert Hollman) and was asked to provide a design for tour shirts for their upcoming tour, so he called us for help. I sketched a couple of ideas and then packed up the car for the drive up to Massachusetts (from our office in Connecticut) to present them. At the last minute, I decided to take one of my paintings along to show him how my fine art looked.
Bert turned out to be very down to earth type of guy and one with a great eye and appreciation for artwork. When I showed him my painting, he looked at it long and hard and said “forget the t-shirts for now - what do you think you could do with this?”. He then showed me a pencil drawing of a bunch of naked girls dancing around a mushroom. “Dickie (Betts) sent me this” he said, “and we have an album coming out and are in need of a record cover really bad. We are also really behind schedule, so can you put something together in a week?”
At this point, my head was spinning. I was caught totally off guard as I had the whole sales pitch for the designs for the tour merch in my head. “Do we have a title?” I asked. “Epic (the record label) is thinking, ‘Greetings from Jupiter’, but I don’t think we are going with that” he replied. “I like the sketch, but not the naked girls,” I said, adding “I guess the mushroom is cool.” “Well, that is what I want - to take the mushroom icon to a new level” he replied.
For the entire drive home, ideas started going through my head. I must admit I was never a huge ABB fan when I was a teenager because, growing up in Europe, I was more exposed to Rock and Roll from the U.K.. However, once we moved to the U.S., it was impossible to avoid their music and, more importantly, I thought that it was great! They were the forefathers of “Jam band” music and, to me, they had more in common with Santana and The Grateful Dead and less with Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Southern Rock movement.
When I got home I went through the whole ABB catalogue and noticed that - with the exception of Eat A Peach - there was hardly any illustrated cover art. I decided then that I would do a painting for the main cover image. Around that time, my wife and I (with our 8 month-old daughter in tow) had moved to a new house near the ocean. I had not painted in a long time and, while setting up my new studio, I was inspired and started to paint again, so by the time this commission came about, I had worked out all of the kinks in the process.
I first hired a friend of mine to shoot a picture of denim fabric that I’d use as the background texture and I then began to sketch the cover artwork. I realized that showing my client pencil sketches was not going to work - they were not going to get the gist of it from sketches - so I proceeded to paint a small 6x6 inch cover in inks and acrylics. I comp’d the whole piece together in two days and then, very nervously, drove it up to Bert’s house to show it to him. “This is great” he said. “Let me show it to Dickie and I will get back to you.”
About a day or so later he called me with the verdict. “He loved it”, he said. “How quick can you get it to the label?” “Well”, I replied, “I will need at least a week or so to do the painting”. “What painting?”, he said. “I thought that WAS the artwork!” (in the years since, we still get a good laugh about that). And so, with my daughter crawling around in the studio, I started the painting.
Although the first two versions were, in my mind, horrible, things started to come together in the third one. I did some airbrushing (mostly for the sky), used enamel marbling on the rocks, and acrylics, pencils and dyes for the details. I decided on a sunset view of the southern bayou with waterfalls and springs in the background and a huge (some would say) phallic psychedelic mushroom coming out of the water as the centerpiece - pure fantasy artwork.
When it was done, I packed it up in my car and, with my friend, took a ride on up to Boston again. The band had rented an old warehouse and had set up to rehearse. Bert led me inside and propped the painting up against the wall. As the band took a break, he brought in each member - one at a time - and showed them the art. One by one, everyone approved, and last one up was Dickie (remember, it was based on his idea – well, sort of!). He took one look at it, turned around and then hugged me, saying “this says to me ‘Where It All Begins’.” Thus, the title.
After everyone had left, Bert leaned over to me and said “it is a great piece, except that it doesn’t look anything like the comp we originally showed to Dickie,” and he was right! As I embellished and polished the real painting, I was not paying attention to the original 6” x 6” comp, so although the concept was the same, the artwork bore no resemblance to the sample image that Dickie and the others had originally reviewed. However, everyone liked the new painting so much that no one really had noticed the change.
I then took about a week to do the layouts and package design and brought the whole package to Poughkeepsie, NY where the band was launching its summer tour. Backstage, I showed the artwork to everyone and got pats on the back all around, which is about the best you can hope for as a designer. Later on, I created t-shirt and poster designs for the tour (and even a single).
Thus began a relationship that has lasted to this day. The artwork I did for this project more or less put my art career on a stable path as more commissions for artwork came as a result. I had almost stopped painting – which was my first love – but this piece whetted my appetite and gave me the confidence to paint again. Now I was finally enjoying success as an art director, with a number of new pieces coming out that summer - including a painting that would later become a cover for Lynyrd Skynyrd, as well as tour art for Bon Jovi.
In 2006 as a VIP guest of legendary drummer Butch Trucks I went to see the ABB at the Beacon Theater in NYC during their now-famous annual “March Run” concert series. There, I ran into a whole bunch of old friends, most notably Kirk West, who is their road manager and general creative guru and historian. I had not sat through a performance in a while, and while leaning against a stack of sound equipment on the old stage just a few feet from Greg Allman, I realized that I was watching an American rock legend kick it into high gear to a sold out crowd who were in the band’s grip within just a few minutes.
As the night wore on and the band continued to jam, I watched my artwork projected behind them under the rainbow hues of the stage lighting. There was a moment in time where it all came together for me, just like when I used to fantasize as a kid about my art being part of the fabric of Rock music. I also humbly realized that, looking at the expressions at the sea of faces in the rows in front of me (from my vantage point on the stage,) my small contribution was being cemented into the Allman Brothers Band lore.
Bert Holman calls it “a great piece of artwork and a fan favorite”. To this day, it is still reproduced on posters, t-shirts, prints, backdrops and animations used by the band - I have even seen the art bootlegged on t-shirts, patches, tattoos and bandanas! Every time I display the original in an art exhibit, a small crowd gathers in front of the painting. I like the painting myself, but I am not sure if it’s the art itself or the fact that it is such a recognized part of the band’s iconography. In any case, the tons of complementary e-mails I have received from fans over the years have really made it all worth while.
ABB Tour Art – 1994, 1995, 2007
About the artist – Ioannis –
Ioannis was born in Athens, Greece. In 1967, his family moved to the United States and, at an early age, he became influenced by American comic book artists. He immediately knew he would be an illustrator and began creating and drawing his own comic books, which he then sold around the neighborhood. His love for music pushed his artistic development in a particular direction, with the hopes of one day creating artwork – and, in particular record sleeve design – for the music industry. During his teen years he began painting in different media, developing a unique mixed-media technique combining photographs, several types of paints and mixing traditional and airbrush applications.
As he began college, Ioannis had already begun providing design services to the local independent music acts and labels. In the early 1980s, this expanded to include clients in the New York music scene where his work as a freelance art director increased dramatically. Since then, he has done over 165 record covers/CD packages, along with a vast catalog of promotional material, merchandise and tour art for a diverse series of clients in the Classic Rock, Metal, Jazz, Prog Rock, World music, alternative, and electronic genres.
Some of his music clients have included Universal Records, Sony Records and Sanctuary Records Group, providing designs for Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, STYX, Blue Oyster Cult, Dream Theater, King Crimson, Yngwie Malmsteen, Biohazard, Sepultura, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Quiet Riot, Dokken, Johnny Winter, Extreme, UFP, The Tubes, Eddie Money, Van Zant, Saga, and many more. In 1994, he was one of 80 artists selected to create a mural at Woodstock II, and his works have been featured in many magazines, books and exhibitions worldwide.
His design firm - VIVID IMAGES CREATIVE - also creates film posters, entertainment company ID programs for Radio and TV companies and programs, websites and viral campaigns for entertainment clients, while his merchandising company - DANGEROUS AGE GRAPHICS - showcases, sells and promotes his original artwork (original works have been selling recently in the $25 - $50K range). and I am currently working on a series of exhibits nationally. I’ve also been working on a video game based on my art, a ROCK METAL book and also on an apparel line of my designs that will hopefully be out next summer.
To learn more about Ioannis, please visit his website at
http://www.dangerousage.com/main.html
To learn more about The Allman Brothers Band, please visit their website at
http://www.allmanbrothersband.com/
To see some of the new special edition prints produced by Ioannis, please visit the RockPoP Gallery site at
http://www.rockpopgallery.com
About Cover Stories - Our ongoing series of interviews will give you, the music and art fan, a look at "the making of" the illustrations, photographs and designs of many of the most-recognized and influential images that have served to package and promote your all-time-favorite recordings.
In each Cover Story, we'll meet the artists, designers and photographers who produced these works of art and learn what motivated them, what processes they used, how they collaborated (or fought) with the musical acts, their management, their labels, etc. - all of the things that influenced the final product you saw then and still see today.
We hope that you enjoy these looks behind the scenes of the music-related art business and that you'll share your stories with us and fellow fans about what role these works of art - and the music they covered - played in your lives.
All images featured in this Cover Story are Copyright 1994 - 2007, Ioannis/Vivid Image Design - All rights reserved. Except as noted, all other text Copyright 2009 - Mike Goldstein & RockPoP Gallery (www.rockpopgallery.com) - All rights reserved.
Cover Story Interview – The Allman Brothers Band – Where It All Begins - with design/artwork by Ioannis
Cover Story for March 20, 2009
Subject: Where It All Begins, by The Allman Brothers Band – a 1994 release on Sony Records, with cover artwork and design produced by Ioannis.
With the band celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and in the midst of its annual multi-show run at NYC’s Beacon Theater, I thought that it’d be interesting for Cover Story readers to get a look behind the scenes of the making of one of their more-recent record covers – the one for 1994’s Where It All Begins, created by the designer/painter Ioannis – in that, like the band, it represents another well-done turn on a classic original effort.
Before the band had established its logo (the first version of the stacked text appearing on their 1979 Enlightened Rogues LP), the band’s record covers had featured a wide variety of designs – both photo and illustration-based, including Jim Marshall’s iconic photograph used on the cover of their Live At Fillmore East double album and James Flournoy Holmes’ illustration for Eat A Peach. However, band insiders (musicians and crew) had their first exposure to a mushroom-based ABB logo in 1970 when tattoo artist Lyle Tuttle was hired by brothers Gregg and Duane to create a tattoo design that would then be distributed to the entire ABB family at a cannabis-fueled party during a stop-over in Columbus, Ohio. This design obviously left a lasting impression (sorry!) on guitarist Dickie Betts, who later suggested that it be included in the design you’ll read about shortly.
In 1994, the always-morphing line-up of the Allman Brothers Band consisted of the four living members of the original band - Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts, Butch Trucks and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson - all who had reunited for their 20th Anniversary tour in 1989 - and added players including guitarist Warren Haynes (the new “hardest working man in show business”), bassist Allen Woody and drummer/percussionist Marc Quinones. Driven by strong play on AOR stations, the record ultimately went gold, but it turned out to be the last one that Mr. Betts would play on, with Mr. Haynes replacing him permanently in 2001.
In as much as their fans love their recordings, it is the band’s live performances that have given them the opportunity to play to sold-out crowds for 40 years, so like any manager worth his/her salt, it was important for Bert Hollman to find someone with the talent to produce just the right designs for the band’s tour merch. This timely need opened the door for Ioannis into the band’s inner world and, based on the fact that the relationship is still strong 15 years later, the band and its fans have been greatly impressed by the now-iconic mushroom-based design. The details of how it all begins are chronicled in today’s Cover Story…
In the words of the artist – Ioannis – interviewed December 2008 and January 2009 -
In the early spring of 1994, the small design firm that my brother and I had started was only a couple of years old, so designing the next cover for the Allman Brothers Band was the last thing on my mind at the time. A friend of ours in the merchandising business had been contacted by the band’s manager (Bert Hollman) and was asked to provide a design for tour shirts for their upcoming tour, so he called us for help. I sketched a couple of ideas and then packed up the car for the drive up to Massachusetts (from our office in Connecticut) to present them. At the last minute, I decided to take one of my paintings along to show him how my fine art looked.
Bert turned out to be very down to earth type of guy and one with a great eye and appreciation for artwork. When I showed him my painting, he looked at it long and hard and said “forget the t-shirts for now - what do you think you could do with this?”. He then showed me a pencil drawing of a bunch of naked girls dancing around a mushroom. “Dickie (Betts) sent me this” he said, “and we have an album coming out and are in need of a record cover really bad. We are also really behind schedule, so can you put something together in a week?”
At this point, my head was spinning. I was caught totally off guard as I had the whole sales pitch for the designs for the tour merch in my head. “Do we have a title?” I asked. “Epic (the record label) is thinking, ‘Greetings from Jupiter’, but I don’t think we are going with that” he replied. “I like the sketch, but not the naked girls,” I said, adding “I guess the mushroom is cool.” “Well, that is what I want - to take the mushroom icon to a new level” he replied.
For the entire drive home, ideas started going through my head. I must admit I was never a huge ABB fan when I was a teenager because, growing up in Europe, I was more exposed to Rock and Roll from the U.K.. However, once we moved to the U.S., it was impossible to avoid their music and, more importantly, I thought that it was great! They were the forefathers of “Jam band” music and, to me, they had more in common with Santana and The Grateful Dead and less with Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Southern Rock movement.
When I got home I went through the whole ABB catalogue and noticed that - with the exception of Eat A Peach - there was hardly any illustrated cover art. I decided then that I would do a painting for the main cover image. Around that time, my wife and I (with our 8 month-old daughter in tow) had moved to a new house near the ocean. I had not painted in a long time and, while setting up my new studio, I was inspired and started to paint again, so by the time this commission came about, I had worked out all of the kinks in the process.
I first hired a friend of mine to shoot a picture of denim fabric that I’d use as the background texture and I then began to sketch the cover artwork. I realized that showing my client pencil sketches was not going to work - they were not going to get the gist of it from sketches - so I proceeded to paint a small 6x6 inch cover in inks and acrylics. I comp’d the whole piece together in two days and then, very nervously, drove it up to Bert’s house to show it to him. “This is great” he said. “Let me show it to Dickie and I will get back to you.”
About a day or so later he called me with the verdict. “He loved it”, he said. “How quick can you get it to the label?” “Well”, I replied, “I will need at least a week or so to do the painting”. “What painting?”, he said. “I thought that WAS the artwork!” (in the years since, we still get a good laugh about that). And so, with my daughter crawling around in the studio, I started the painting.
Although the first two versions were, in my mind, horrible, things started to come together in the third one. I did some airbrushing (mostly for the sky), used enamel marbling on the rocks, and acrylics, pencils and dyes for the details. I decided on a sunset view of the southern bayou with waterfalls and springs in the background and a huge (some would say) phallic psychedelic mushroom coming out of the water as the centerpiece - pure fantasy artwork.
When it was done, I packed it up in my car and, with my friend, took a ride on up to Boston again. The band had rented an old warehouse and had set up to rehearse. Bert led me inside and propped the painting up against the wall. As the band took a break, he brought in each member - one at a time - and showed them the art. One by one, everyone approved, and last one up was Dickie (remember, it was based on his idea – well, sort of!). He took one look at it, turned around and then hugged me, saying “this says to me ‘Where It All Begins’.” Thus, the title.
After everyone had left, Bert leaned over to me and said “it is a great piece, except that it doesn’t look anything like the comp we originally showed to Dickie,” and he was right! As I embellished and polished the real painting, I was not paying attention to the original 6” x 6” comp, so although the concept was the same, the artwork bore no resemblance to the sample image that Dickie and the others had originally reviewed. However, everyone liked the new painting so much that no one really had noticed the change.
I then took about a week to do the layouts and package design and brought the whole package to Poughkeepsie, NY where the band was launching its summer tour. Backstage, I showed the artwork to everyone and got pats on the back all around, which is about the best you can hope for as a designer. Later on, I created t-shirt and poster designs for the tour (and even a single).
Thus began a relationship that has lasted to this day. The artwork I did for this project more or less put my art career on a stable path as more commissions for artwork came as a result. I had almost stopped painting – which was my first love – but this piece whetted my appetite and gave me the confidence to paint again. Now I was finally enjoying success as an art director, with a number of new pieces coming out that summer - including a painting that would later become a cover for Lynyrd Skynyrd, as well as tour art for Bon Jovi.
In 2006 as a VIP guest of legendary drummer Butch Trucks I went to see the ABB at the Beacon Theater in NYC during their now-famous annual “March Run” concert series. There, I ran into a whole bunch of old friends, most notably Kirk West, who is their road manager and general creative guru and historian. I had not sat through a performance in a while, and while leaning against a stack of sound equipment on the old stage just a few feet from Greg Allman, I realized that I was watching an American rock legend kick it into high gear to a sold out crowd who were in the band’s grip within just a few minutes.
As the night wore on and the band continued to jam, I watched my artwork projected behind them under the rainbow hues of the stage lighting. There was a moment in time where it all came together for me, just like when I used to fantasize as a kid about my art being part of the fabric of Rock music. I also humbly realized that, looking at the expressions at the sea of faces in the rows in front of me (from my vantage point on the stage,) my small contribution was being cemented into the Allman Brothers Band lore.
Bert Holman calls it “a great piece of artwork and a fan favorite”. To this day, it is still reproduced on posters, t-shirts, prints, backdrops and animations used by the band - I have even seen the art bootlegged on t-shirts, patches, tattoos and bandanas! Every time I display the original in an art exhibit, a small crowd gathers in front of the painting. I like the painting myself, but I am not sure if it’s the art itself or the fact that it is such a recognized part of the band’s iconography. In any case, the tons of complementary e-mails I have received from fans over the years have really made it all worth while.
ABB Tour Art – 1994, 1995, 2007
About the artist – Ioannis –
Ioannis was born in Athens, Greece. In 1967, his family moved to the United States and, at an early age, he became influenced by American comic book artists. He immediately knew he would be an illustrator and began creating and drawing his own comic books, which he then sold around the neighborhood. His love for music pushed his artistic development in a particular direction, with the hopes of one day creating artwork – and, in particular record sleeve design – for the music industry. During his teen years he began painting in different media, developing a unique mixed-media technique combining photographs, several types of paints and mixing traditional and airbrush applications.
As he began college, Ioannis had already begun providing design services to the local independent music acts and labels. In the early 1980s, this expanded to include clients in the New York music scene where his work as a freelance art director increased dramatically. Since then, he has done over 165 record covers/CD packages, along with a vast catalog of promotional material, merchandise and tour art for a diverse series of clients in the Classic Rock, Metal, Jazz, Prog Rock, World music, alternative, and electronic genres.
Some of his music clients have included Universal Records, Sony Records and Sanctuary Records Group, providing designs for Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, STYX, Blue Oyster Cult, Dream Theater, King Crimson, Yngwie Malmsteen, Biohazard, Sepultura, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Quiet Riot, Dokken, Johnny Winter, Extreme, UFP, The Tubes, Eddie Money, Van Zant, Saga, and many more. In 1994, he was one of 80 artists selected to create a mural at Woodstock II, and his works have been featured in many magazines, books and exhibitions worldwide.
His design firm - VIVID IMAGES CREATIVE - also creates film posters, entertainment company ID programs for Radio and TV companies and programs, websites and viral campaigns for entertainment clients, while his merchandising company - DANGEROUS AGE GRAPHICS - showcases, sells and promotes his original artwork (original works have been selling recently in the $25 - $50K range). and I am currently working on a series of exhibits nationally. I’ve also been working on a video game based on my art, a ROCK METAL book and also on an apparel line of my designs that will hopefully be out next summer.
To learn more about Ioannis, please visit his website at
http://www.dangerousage.com/main.html
To learn more about The Allman Brothers Band, please visit their website at
http://www.allmanbrothersband.com/
To see some of the new special edition prints produced by Ioannis, please visit the RockPoP Gallery site at
http://www.rockpopgallery.com
About Cover Stories - Our ongoing series of interviews will give you, the music and art fan, a look at "the making of" the illustrations, photographs and designs of many of the most-recognized and influential images that have served to package and promote your all-time-favorite recordings.
In each Cover Story, we'll meet the artists, designers and photographers who produced these works of art and learn what motivated them, what processes they used, how they collaborated (or fought) with the musical acts, their management, their labels, etc. - all of the things that influenced the final product you saw then and still see today.
We hope that you enjoy these looks behind the scenes of the music-related art business and that you'll share your stories with us and fellow fans about what role these works of art - and the music they covered - played in your lives.
All images featured in this Cover Story are Copyright 1994 - 2007, Ioannis/Vivid Image Design - All rights reserved. Except as noted, all other text Copyright 2009 - Mike Goldstein & RockPoP Gallery (www.rockpopgallery.com) - All rights reserved.
Music News & Notes
Nirvana Catalog To Be Re-Released On Vinyl
The bulk of Nirvana's catalog is set for a high-fidelity do-over this year as the Original Recordings Group (ORG) prepares to release "Nevermind," "In Utero," and "MTV Unplugged" on 180-gram, audiophile quality vinyl for the first time ever.
All three records will be released in 2009, with "Nevermind" coming first, says Monti Olson, a senior VP of Universal Music Publishing Group/Interscope Records and founder of ORG, who will announce the deal at South By Southwest tomorrow (March 21).
==================================
John Mellencamp Working on New Album, Box Set
John Mellencamp's website has recently been updated with new information on a new album that he plans to record this summer and an update on the long rumored and grossly overdue career spanning "box set."
On the new album:
"During the tour, John hopes to cut a new album, "as American folk as I've ever been," he says. To be produced again by T-Bone Burnett, the album will be recorded at old hotels including the famed former Statler Hilton Hotel in Downtown Dallas, where legendary bluesman Robert Johnson recorded 13 blues songs during the summer of 1937...
"...John hopes to refocus attention on it and other such buildings within quick travel distance during his summer tour (another is the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, where Johnson recorded Sweet Home Chicago and Crossroad Blues), bringing along 1950s recording equipment to get a vintage sound to go with the setting. Additionally, the sessions will be filmed by acclaimed photographer Kurt Marcus; background footage of the surrounding areas will also be shot and mixed in with material about the music and the summer tour itself. If things go according to plan, a Sundance-quality documentary will result."
On the box set:
"They've been talking about this one for years, but real work is now being done on what looks to be a 4-CD set. In fact, music business A & R and Producer veteran Steve Berkowitz, who among many other things did the a&r work for the ongoing series of Bob Dylan and Miles Davis boxes has been brought on as consultant.
"According to Berkowitz, then, the box will not so much focus on the obvious hits as present a full picture of a "life-long, hall-of-fame, great artist" and his songs.
"The layout of the set at this time involves one disc of early demos; two discs of various versions of well-known songs (these may be alternate takes and mixes, early versions, acoustic versions, etc.), as well as previously unreleased songs; and a fourth disc, which Berkowitz is currently referring to as "Let Us Reconsider," to also include different versions of other material. He estimates that 65-75% of the material will be "previously unreleased" recordings."
==================================
Simon & Garfunkel May Tour Australia and Asia
CNN has reported that legendary folk icons Simon & Garfunkel are preparing to announce dates for late spring shows in Australia and Asia.
The possibility first surfaced during the first of Simon's two gigs reopening the renovated Beacon Theater. Simon's manager, Jeff Kramer, hinted that more shows might be coming.
According to the article, Kramer has asked Paul's supporting musicians to clear their calendars from late-May through June. This would allow rehearsals to start in May in New York and for the tour to last throughout June.
==================================
Duran Duran in the Studio With Mark Ronson
It's being reported that Duran Duran have entered the studio to record their 13th album with production by producer Mark Ronson. The group and Ronson also worked together last summer for a special gig in Paris.
While Ronson has become huge in the last couple of years while working with Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Robbie Williams, Adele and others, he's been friends with John Taylor back to their childhoods. Ronson also recently admitted that, when he was young, he idolized the band and would "take a picture of John Taylor with me to the barber shop".
On the Duran Duran blog, the group says "Working with Ronson is a natural next step for the band, who continue to challenge themselves with each new phase of their career."
Kramer, though, would not confirm any plans to Rolling Stone, saying "Yes there have been conversations taking place, but nothing has been confirmed."
==================================
Jonas Brothers Tour
With the Jonas Brothers on the verge of embarking on their first world tour, the trio recently held a conference call to discuss their new concert arrangement, their Monkees-inspired JONAS television show and their new June album.
“The tour will be in-the-round,” Nick Jonas tells Rock Daily about the arena shows that will plant the band at center court. “We’ve always talked about wanting to do a tour like that, and this has been our first opportunity. It’s a way for us to really connect with our fans.”
The tour will kick off this Sunday, March 22nd, with a show in the Bahamas, after which the JoBros will invade South America, before returning to North America and then heading to Europe.
The bulk of Nirvana's catalog is set for a high-fidelity do-over this year as the Original Recordings Group (ORG) prepares to release "Nevermind," "In Utero," and "MTV Unplugged" on 180-gram, audiophile quality vinyl for the first time ever.
All three records will be released in 2009, with "Nevermind" coming first, says Monti Olson, a senior VP of Universal Music Publishing Group/Interscope Records and founder of ORG, who will announce the deal at South By Southwest tomorrow (March 21).
==================================
John Mellencamp Working on New Album, Box Set
John Mellencamp's website has recently been updated with new information on a new album that he plans to record this summer and an update on the long rumored and grossly overdue career spanning "box set."
On the new album:
"During the tour, John hopes to cut a new album, "as American folk as I've ever been," he says. To be produced again by T-Bone Burnett, the album will be recorded at old hotels including the famed former Statler Hilton Hotel in Downtown Dallas, where legendary bluesman Robert Johnson recorded 13 blues songs during the summer of 1937...
"...John hopes to refocus attention on it and other such buildings within quick travel distance during his summer tour (another is the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, where Johnson recorded Sweet Home Chicago and Crossroad Blues), bringing along 1950s recording equipment to get a vintage sound to go with the setting. Additionally, the sessions will be filmed by acclaimed photographer Kurt Marcus; background footage of the surrounding areas will also be shot and mixed in with material about the music and the summer tour itself. If things go according to plan, a Sundance-quality documentary will result."
On the box set:
"They've been talking about this one for years, but real work is now being done on what looks to be a 4-CD set. In fact, music business A & R and Producer veteran Steve Berkowitz, who among many other things did the a&r work for the ongoing series of Bob Dylan and Miles Davis boxes has been brought on as consultant.
"According to Berkowitz, then, the box will not so much focus on the obvious hits as present a full picture of a "life-long, hall-of-fame, great artist" and his songs.
"The layout of the set at this time involves one disc of early demos; two discs of various versions of well-known songs (these may be alternate takes and mixes, early versions, acoustic versions, etc.), as well as previously unreleased songs; and a fourth disc, which Berkowitz is currently referring to as "Let Us Reconsider," to also include different versions of other material. He estimates that 65-75% of the material will be "previously unreleased" recordings."
==================================
Simon & Garfunkel May Tour Australia and Asia
CNN has reported that legendary folk icons Simon & Garfunkel are preparing to announce dates for late spring shows in Australia and Asia.
The possibility first surfaced during the first of Simon's two gigs reopening the renovated Beacon Theater. Simon's manager, Jeff Kramer, hinted that more shows might be coming.
According to the article, Kramer has asked Paul's supporting musicians to clear their calendars from late-May through June. This would allow rehearsals to start in May in New York and for the tour to last throughout June.
==================================
Duran Duran in the Studio With Mark Ronson
It's being reported that Duran Duran have entered the studio to record their 13th album with production by producer Mark Ronson. The group and Ronson also worked together last summer for a special gig in Paris.
While Ronson has become huge in the last couple of years while working with Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Robbie Williams, Adele and others, he's been friends with John Taylor back to their childhoods. Ronson also recently admitted that, when he was young, he idolized the band and would "take a picture of John Taylor with me to the barber shop".
On the Duran Duran blog, the group says "Working with Ronson is a natural next step for the band, who continue to challenge themselves with each new phase of their career."
Kramer, though, would not confirm any plans to Rolling Stone, saying "Yes there have been conversations taking place, but nothing has been confirmed."
==================================
Jonas Brothers Tour
With the Jonas Brothers on the verge of embarking on their first world tour, the trio recently held a conference call to discuss their new concert arrangement, their Monkees-inspired JONAS television show and their new June album.
“The tour will be in-the-round,” Nick Jonas tells Rock Daily about the arena shows that will plant the band at center court. “We’ve always talked about wanting to do a tour like that, and this has been our first opportunity. It’s a way for us to really connect with our fans.”
The tour will kick off this Sunday, March 22nd, with a show in the Bahamas, after which the JoBros will invade South America, before returning to North America and then heading to Europe.
Art that rocks: A resurrection
Synchronicity » Local bands find rhythm -- and CDs meet vinyl -- with local album art.
By Ben Fulton
The Salt Lake Tribune
Growing up, Eli Morrison knew what to look for on the cover of an album when browsing through the record collection of the KJKJ, the low-wattage Logan rock radio station his father owned. Or in the record stacks of Provo's KOVO, where his father also worked.
The younger Morrison was drawn to those depicting monsters, fire, or both. As a consequence, he brought home heavy metal records for trial listens and found the images matched the music.
Then came the exception. With their garish make-up and tough demeanor set against a back-drop of fiery apocalypse, the band members of KISS came across as downright evil on the illustrated cover of their Destroyer album. But when Morrison put the album on his turntable, he heard "Beth," a tender pop ballad.
"I had never been so disappointed," said Morrison, the 37-year-old guitarist and singer who fronts the Salt Lake City band The Wolfs.
Seeking art for their Death Theme album, the band started with no particular images in mind. Working with Salt Lake City artist Sri Whipple in a process Morrison remembers as "crafty," a prototype was born. Outside, the album mimicked a classy dinner invitation, folded into an equilateral triangle. Inside, once folded out, was a gallery of small vignettes that played off the shocking nature of the album's music, yet pulled the tension tight against the contrasting image of the invitation.
"We had nails, teeth, diamond rings, shards of glass, tabs from soda cans, pills, and knives," Morrison said. "That particular record was very grotesque."
Images are too graphic, perhaps, to be reproduced in a family newspaper, but the local rock band ate it up, then blew the house down when their fans raved about the design.
Years after compact disc format beat the vinyl album into temporary retreat, the urge for killer album art lives on. In fact, to hear local musicians, artists and music store merchants tell it, the resurgence of both rock album art you can see and feel has marched hand-in-hand with vinyl LP's growing sales figures. In the process, both bands and artists have benefitted.
"You can't flip through your CDs to check out the cover art like you do with albums," said Leah Bell, Salt Lake City's internationally renowned grande dame of rock music poster art. "There's been a shift. For people who want something large enough to make a visual connection to the music, you want the album and the bigger art."
Bell concurs with Morrison's opinion of Whipple -- counting him among her local favorites -- but also names Salt Lake City artists Trent Call, whose playful mix of graffiti and cartoon styles has graced many a concert poster, plus SLUG magazine's latest "Death by Salt" compilation album. Bell also adds to the list artist Travis Bone and the husband-and-wife team of Potter Press.
Creating album art for bands may never pay the bills on par with commissioned work from families looking for children's portraits or restaurants in search of murals, but the publicity and camaraderie it creates between artists and musicians is worth the steep discount. Both Whipple and Call say they've sometimes accepted payment in the form of six-packs or even bottle of whiskey.
"I think of my work as being the same rhythm, tone and structure of the band's music," said Whipple, who recently had one of his works honored as cover-worthy for Salt Lake City band Vile Blue Shades' John Thursday California Adventure LP. He's also in the process of creating album art for Eagle Twin, the heavy metal duo of Tyler Smith and Gentry Densley, formerly of Ice Burn.
The thrill of creating album art is the thrill of discovering whether or not musicians trust you enough to unveil the spirit of their sound and style in visual form. "If [a band wants] something hot and banging, just get to know the artist," Whipple said. "Be open to letting the artist run with it."
Chris Brozek, who co-owns Salt Lake City's Slowtrain music store with his wife Anna, said many bands now release full-length albums as vinyl, with either a redemption card for digital downloading or compact disc form of the same album included inside. The push among music retailers, he learned at a recent conference of the Alliance of Independent Media Stores, is to include only the compact disc inside the vinyl sleeve.
Vinyl may never completely erase the compact disc, or vice versa, but the music retail industry is already seeing the day when both formats will be sold together. Big-name bands such as Wilco and Black Keys have already released LPs with CDs inside. "You'll hear it from people who buy vinyl all the time," Brozek said. "They love the format. They love having art that's also larger and more tangible."
After the insult of "Beth," Morrison recalls with equal force the time he heard an album with cover art worthy of them, and then some. The Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Are You Experienced?" blew his mind.
"It's up there in that classic echelon," Morrison said. "Not only is the record cover lime green and purple yellow, but the music is also. That was pretty neat."
SOURCE: http://www.sltrib.com
By Ben Fulton
The Salt Lake Tribune
Growing up, Eli Morrison knew what to look for on the cover of an album when browsing through the record collection of the KJKJ, the low-wattage Logan rock radio station his father owned. Or in the record stacks of Provo's KOVO, where his father also worked.
The younger Morrison was drawn to those depicting monsters, fire, or both. As a consequence, he brought home heavy metal records for trial listens and found the images matched the music.
Then came the exception. With their garish make-up and tough demeanor set against a back-drop of fiery apocalypse, the band members of KISS came across as downright evil on the illustrated cover of their Destroyer album. But when Morrison put the album on his turntable, he heard "Beth," a tender pop ballad.
"I had never been so disappointed," said Morrison, the 37-year-old guitarist and singer who fronts the Salt Lake City band The Wolfs.
Seeking art for their Death Theme album, the band started with no particular images in mind. Working with Salt Lake City artist Sri Whipple in a process Morrison remembers as "crafty," a prototype was born. Outside, the album mimicked a classy dinner invitation, folded into an equilateral triangle. Inside, once folded out, was a gallery of small vignettes that played off the shocking nature of the album's music, yet pulled the tension tight against the contrasting image of the invitation.
"We had nails, teeth, diamond rings, shards of glass, tabs from soda cans, pills, and knives," Morrison said. "That particular record was very grotesque."
Images are too graphic, perhaps, to be reproduced in a family newspaper, but the local rock band ate it up, then blew the house down when their fans raved about the design.
Years after compact disc format beat the vinyl album into temporary retreat, the urge for killer album art lives on. In fact, to hear local musicians, artists and music store merchants tell it, the resurgence of both rock album art you can see and feel has marched hand-in-hand with vinyl LP's growing sales figures. In the process, both bands and artists have benefitted.
"You can't flip through your CDs to check out the cover art like you do with albums," said Leah Bell, Salt Lake City's internationally renowned grande dame of rock music poster art. "There's been a shift. For people who want something large enough to make a visual connection to the music, you want the album and the bigger art."
Bell concurs with Morrison's opinion of Whipple -- counting him among her local favorites -- but also names Salt Lake City artists Trent Call, whose playful mix of graffiti and cartoon styles has graced many a concert poster, plus SLUG magazine's latest "Death by Salt" compilation album. Bell also adds to the list artist Travis Bone and the husband-and-wife team of Potter Press.
Creating album art for bands may never pay the bills on par with commissioned work from families looking for children's portraits or restaurants in search of murals, but the publicity and camaraderie it creates between artists and musicians is worth the steep discount. Both Whipple and Call say they've sometimes accepted payment in the form of six-packs or even bottle of whiskey.
"I think of my work as being the same rhythm, tone and structure of the band's music," said Whipple, who recently had one of his works honored as cover-worthy for Salt Lake City band Vile Blue Shades' John Thursday California Adventure LP. He's also in the process of creating album art for Eagle Twin, the heavy metal duo of Tyler Smith and Gentry Densley, formerly of Ice Burn.
The thrill of creating album art is the thrill of discovering whether or not musicians trust you enough to unveil the spirit of their sound and style in visual form. "If [a band wants] something hot and banging, just get to know the artist," Whipple said. "Be open to letting the artist run with it."
Chris Brozek, who co-owns Salt Lake City's Slowtrain music store with his wife Anna, said many bands now release full-length albums as vinyl, with either a redemption card for digital downloading or compact disc form of the same album included inside. The push among music retailers, he learned at a recent conference of the Alliance of Independent Media Stores, is to include only the compact disc inside the vinyl sleeve.
Vinyl may never completely erase the compact disc, or vice versa, but the music retail industry is already seeing the day when both formats will be sold together. Big-name bands such as Wilco and Black Keys have already released LPs with CDs inside. "You'll hear it from people who buy vinyl all the time," Brozek said. "They love the format. They love having art that's also larger and more tangible."
After the insult of "Beth," Morrison recalls with equal force the time he heard an album with cover art worthy of them, and then some. The Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Are You Experienced?" blew his mind.
"It's up there in that classic echelon," Morrison said. "Not only is the record cover lime green and purple yellow, but the music is also. That was pretty neat."
SOURCE: http://www.sltrib.com
This Date In Music History- March 21
Birthdays:
Rosemary Stone- Sly & the Family Stone (1945)
Ray Dorset of Mungo Jerry was born in 1946. He wrote "In the Summertime."
Keith Palmer-Prodigy (1967)
Russell Thompkins Jr.- Stylistics (1951)
Roger Hodgson- Supertramp (1950)
Eddie Money (1949)
Solomon Burke-the king of rock & soul (1940)
They Are Missed:
The very, very late Johann Sebastian Bach (wrote "Whiter Shade Of Pale" by Procol Harum, "A Lover's Concerto" by the Toys and Apollo 100's "Joy") was born in 1685.
Dean Martin's son, Dean Paul Martin died in a plane crash while serving in the Air National Guard in 1987.
Born on this day in 1943, Viv Stanshall, of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band (died on March 5 1995 in a house fire).
Slide guitarist Son House, one of the leading exponents of the Delta blues style, was born in 1902 (died on October 19, 1988).
The inventor of the Telecaster and Stratocaster guitars Leo Fender died from Parkinson's disease in 1991.
History:
"God Bless America" was recorded by Kate Smith in 1939.
Today in 1953 the song "The Doggie in the Window" by Patti Page topped the charts and stayed there for 8 weeks.
In 1989, Dick Clark announced that he would no longer be hosting the show "American Bandstand." He had been the host for 33 years.
The Faces, with vocalist Rod Stewart, released their debut album, “First Step” in 1970.
The Moondog Coronation Ball, the first "rock 'n' roll" stage show, was held at the Cleveland Arena in 1952.
In 1956, Carl Perkins was injured in a car crash that killed both his manager and his brother Jay. By the time Perkins got out of hospital, Elvis Presley had already had a hit with Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes."
The Beatles played Liverpool, England's Cavern Club for the first time in 1961.
In 1983, Pink Floyd released “The Final Cut,” their last album recorded with Roger Waters.
In 1964, the Beatles' "She Loves You" was #1 on the American singles chart today. Their single "I Saw Her Standing There" was at #14.
Also in 1964, The Rolling Stones' cover of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" peaked at #3 on the English charts. That's Phil Spector you hear on maracas.
In 1984, Strawberry Fields, an area in Central Park bought by Yoko Ono in memory of her late husband was opened.
Madonna released her album "Like a Prayer" in 1989.
In 1970, in the U.K., the Beatles' "Let It Be" was kept from the #1 position by "Wand'rin' Star," the only single ever to feature the vocals of actor Lee Marvin.
In 2001, Michael Jackson's interior decorator told The Times newspaper that the singer kept 17 life size dolls, adult and child sizes, all fully dressed in his bedroom for “company.” Uh, OK, kind of wierd (I keep mine in the living room)
Bruce Springsteen won an Oscar for the song “Streets of Philadelphia” in 1994.
In 1956, Elvis Presley appeared at the 4,000 seated YMCA Gymnasium in Lexington, North Carolina. Tickets cost $1 for general admission and $1.50 for reserved seats.
In 2008, a five-year legal battle over the use of the Beach Boys' name was settled by two former members of the group. Mike Love had argued he was the only person allowed to perform under the name of the band and sued Al Jardine, whom he claimed was appearing as an unlicensed Beach Boys act. Mr Jardine's lawyer said "a friendly settlement" had been reached that allowed them to focus on the talent and future of this American iconic band.”
Rosemary Stone- Sly & the Family Stone (1945)
Ray Dorset of Mungo Jerry was born in 1946. He wrote "In the Summertime."
Keith Palmer-Prodigy (1967)
Russell Thompkins Jr.- Stylistics (1951)
Roger Hodgson- Supertramp (1950)
Eddie Money (1949)
Solomon Burke-the king of rock & soul (1940)
They Are Missed:
The very, very late Johann Sebastian Bach (wrote "Whiter Shade Of Pale" by Procol Harum, "A Lover's Concerto" by the Toys and Apollo 100's "Joy") was born in 1685.
Dean Martin's son, Dean Paul Martin died in a plane crash while serving in the Air National Guard in 1987.
Born on this day in 1943, Viv Stanshall, of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band (died on March 5 1995 in a house fire).
Slide guitarist Son House, one of the leading exponents of the Delta blues style, was born in 1902 (died on October 19, 1988).
The inventor of the Telecaster and Stratocaster guitars Leo Fender died from Parkinson's disease in 1991.
History:
"God Bless America" was recorded by Kate Smith in 1939.
Today in 1953 the song "The Doggie in the Window" by Patti Page topped the charts and stayed there for 8 weeks.
In 1989, Dick Clark announced that he would no longer be hosting the show "American Bandstand." He had been the host for 33 years.
The Faces, with vocalist Rod Stewart, released their debut album, “First Step” in 1970.
The Moondog Coronation Ball, the first "rock 'n' roll" stage show, was held at the Cleveland Arena in 1952.
In 1956, Carl Perkins was injured in a car crash that killed both his manager and his brother Jay. By the time Perkins got out of hospital, Elvis Presley had already had a hit with Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes."
The Beatles played Liverpool, England's Cavern Club for the first time in 1961.
In 1983, Pink Floyd released “The Final Cut,” their last album recorded with Roger Waters.
In 1964, the Beatles' "She Loves You" was #1 on the American singles chart today. Their single "I Saw Her Standing There" was at #14.
Also in 1964, The Rolling Stones' cover of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" peaked at #3 on the English charts. That's Phil Spector you hear on maracas.
In 1984, Strawberry Fields, an area in Central Park bought by Yoko Ono in memory of her late husband was opened.
Madonna released her album "Like a Prayer" in 1989.
In 1970, in the U.K., the Beatles' "Let It Be" was kept from the #1 position by "Wand'rin' Star," the only single ever to feature the vocals of actor Lee Marvin.
In 2001, Michael Jackson's interior decorator told The Times newspaper that the singer kept 17 life size dolls, adult and child sizes, all fully dressed in his bedroom for “company.” Uh, OK, kind of wierd (I keep mine in the living room)
Bruce Springsteen won an Oscar for the song “Streets of Philadelphia” in 1994.
In 1956, Elvis Presley appeared at the 4,000 seated YMCA Gymnasium in Lexington, North Carolina. Tickets cost $1 for general admission and $1.50 for reserved seats.
In 2008, a five-year legal battle over the use of the Beach Boys' name was settled by two former members of the group. Mike Love had argued he was the only person allowed to perform under the name of the band and sued Al Jardine, whom he claimed was appearing as an unlicensed Beach Boys act. Mr Jardine's lawyer said "a friendly settlement" had been reached that allowed them to focus on the talent and future of this American iconic band.”
Friday, March 20, 2009
Michael Fremer Feature
I am very proud to continue our new feature (look for this every Friday), music reviews that are written by the senior contributing editor of Stereophile magazine- Michael Fremer. It has been a pleasure to speak with Michael and learn more about audio sound and equipment. In fact, his new DVD, "It's A Vinyl World, After All" has hit the shelves and is selling out very quickly. This is a must have for anybody who loves vinyl, it is a true masterpiece.
Don Henley Finds His Thrill at The Sunset Grill
Don Henley (blast from the past)
Michael Fremer
2009-03-01
(Back in 1984 I was assigned to interview Don Henley, who'd just released Building the Perfect Beast his second solo album.
Henley picked me up in his black Porsche 911 and off we went to the Sunset Grill for lunch. We talked about music and life while downing burgers, fries and Cokes. Despite the classy name and the complex arrangement for the song that immortalized the place, the Sunset Grill was a tiny, hole in wall burger stand on Sunset Boulevard.
Henley described how the album was produced and some of the difficulties he encountered, including going back into the studio and completely re-doing the hit “The Boys of Summer” in a different key and upping the pitch to give it more drama. Henley hits almost impossibly high notes in the now-classic tune, and that, in part helped it to become an enduring tune. It’s been covered numerous times, including a punk take by The Ataris that’s become a classic in its own right.
As you read this 23+ year old interview, I think you’ll be struck as I was re-reading it, by how much the music business has changed and how far it’s fragmented and sadly sunk. Covering the biz in Los Angeles back then was fun as was I’m sure being part of it. I’m not sure that’s the case today as music has become marginalized and the business has lost its gravity thanks to the net and as far as I am concerned, the soul-killing digitization of music.
But back then, being at the Sunset Grill when the owner, his wife and his daughter realized for the first time that the regular customer who came almost daily in his black Porsche was Don Henley, a guy who had recently immortalized their burger stand in a song, and witnessing a cool moment in rock and roll history, was exciting and definitely fun!
Twenty three years later, The Eagles have reformed and will soon be touring in support of a new studio album. Back in 1984, who would have thought that would be happening? Not me, and I’m sure not Don Henley! Enjoy. (MF- 2007).
“Are you somebody? I think you’re someone!” the buxom woman exclaimed in a thick Eastern European Dr. Ruth (Good Sex) Westheimer voice. Down at the Sunset Grill, Don Henley’s well-kept cover is finally about to be blown. The woman, who’s probably served the veteran rock star hundreds of cheeseburgers, is finally getting the picture. “You…you are Don Henley!” “Yes,” Henley sheepishly admits. “You are so…so intelligent! she exclaims. “When you write [in the song, “Sunset Grill”] about ‘the old man there from the old world, to him it’s all the same, calls the customers by name’ —how do you know that?”
Before Don can answer, the East Berlin-born woman disappears, returning with “the old man,” her Viennese-born husband, Joe. His reaction to meeting the artist whose song is making his burger stand famous is to shrug and shuffle off back to the kitchen. Everyone breaks up…
The burgers were free that day at the little stand next to the Oriental Theater, but the price Don Henley paid was high. He had lost his anonymity at this scene. He could no longer sit on the sidelines observing, undisturbed. Henley has made a career out of doing that. His wry observations, his keen sense of melody, and, of course, his distinctive plaintive singing kept the Eagles at the top for almost a decade, and “Dirty Laundry,” Henley’s biting denunciation of the TV news game, recently sold over a million copies. But, despite those accomplishments, Don Henley is not exactly a household name—or face.
Without having written songs about it, newcomers like Boy George or Cyndi Lauper could pop into the Sunset Grill and be instantly recognized, and not just because of their bizarre looks. They’re media-visible. Henley isn’t. Have you seen Don Henley’s name on one of those ubiquitous KLOS rainbow-rimmed bumper stickers? Lauper’s probably already got one. The only way Boy George would get one from KLOS would be if he married Bruce Springsteen, but Jackson Browne’s got one. So why not Henley? Why the low visibility? Is it his observational third-person writing style? His being a drummer—usually one step below bass player on the recognition scale? Is it his reserved, thoughtful, non-flamboyant personality? Or has he been laying low after his much publicized visit to David Crosbyland?
“We were very low-profile in the Eagles as far as being individuals. We were a band and we were perceived as a band,” Henley told me, knocking back a cheeseburger in the control room at Val Garay’s Record One complex on Ventura Boulevard. The Eagles’ public homogeneity certainly contributed to Henley’s low visibility then, but with the release of his first solo album, I Can’t Stand Still, in 1982, Henley seemed prepared to step smartly onto the solo playing field. There were problems, however. One rumor had him suing Asylum over their handling of the record. “No,” he says, “there wasn’t a lawsuit over that” (although the Eagles did sue a number of times over royalty disputes). “But,” he adds, “I was disappointed with the job they did. I thought they could have done much better, but the company was falling apart.”
As Henley tells it, David Geffen, who started Aslyum, vowed never to sign more acts than he could fit in his living room. With inmates like Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, and the Eagles already in the Asylum, the notion made perfect sense.
But after Geffen departed, Henley says, “They started signing all kinds of acts, from Tony Orlando & Dawn to Pink Lady…I looked at a roster in the late Seventies and there were 80 or 90 acts, and I think I recognized about five of them—and, of course we [the Eagles] were paying for all that.”
Simultaneous with the release of Henley’s first solo album came a complete restructuring of Asylum. “They fired about 500 people one week and brought in this guy Bob Krasnow, who, I guess, is a nice guy (pregnant pause) and they moved the company to New York. And [Krasnow] made some comments to the press about ‘all the old dinosaurs we have on the label,’ and it really pissed me and [Glenn] Frey off.”
While Henley complains about Asylum, he’s also willing to shoulder some of the responsibility for the album’s relatively lackluster performance and his inability to capture the public eye.
“Part of it was my fault. ‘Johnny Can’t Read’ [the album’s first single] was the wrong thing to do. It was a little bit too much of a leftfield turn from the Eagles days, and it took a lot of people by surprise. It was too controversial. It pissed people off. There was a DJ in Houston who wouldn’t play it. A DJ in Atlanta said it was un-American! And it hit home to too many people who couldn’t read, you know? And football in America is right up there with God!”
Ironically, it was neither Aslyum’s nor Henley’s good judgment that resulted in the release of the single, “Dirty Laundry.” Indie promo man Larry Bird and tip-sheeter Kal Rudman literally forced it on Asylum, according to Don. The song became a left-field hit, reaching number three, but the album never rose above 24, apparently due in large measure to Asylum’s lack of follow-through.
When the dust had settled, I Can’t Stand Still, a brilliant debut solo effort—stronger than any Eagles album to these ears—had reached only about a tenth of the fans who’d bought the final Eagles album. Still, Henley says, “I sold 650,000 copies or something, which is respectable, I guess, for a first album…I had a gold album and a gold single…I was moderately satisfied.”
This time around, Don Henley seems to have gotten it all right. The music on the new album, Building the Perfect Beast, meshes beautifully with a wide variety of radio formats. Don’s back with old pal David on the Geffen label, and—unlike the aftermath of I Can’t Stand Still, when the “…went off to Colorado and talked to the cows for about six months” —Henley is currently in the midst of a revolving-door interview schedule.
Why shouldn’t he come out of hiding? This is Don Henley’s time. The years have added distinction to his boyish features. He’s been happily in love with a woman for over four years. And the album has already taken off. “They [Geffen staffers] call me up everyday to tell me how many records I’ve sold.”
No wonder they’re glad to call. Both the album and first single, “The Boys of Summer,” are legitimate major-league extra base hits.
The Geffen Company knows how to work a record, but credit for the near-unanimous acceptance “The Boys of Summer” has had among AOR and CHR programmers alike goes to Henley and his co-producers, Danny Kortchmar and Greg Ladanyi. Unlike the self-conscious “new wave” Farfisa beat of “Johnny Can’t Read,” “The Boys of Summer” mixes real drums, drum machines, guitars, guitar synthesizer and keyboard synth, creating a perfect radio track. The record sounds fresh without radically altering the generally reactionary AOR sound. And romance certainly beats illiteracy any day as the subject of a potential hit song.
I asked if this new synth-filled album is a reaction to the reception the rather Seventies-sounding I Can’t Stand Still received. Slightly taken aback by the question, Henley answered, “The album is an extension of the work I started on that album. The technology is on the record as part of the songwriting—to make a point and color the words.”
The move away from a guitar-dominated sound also came about partly because Henley’s current writing partner, guitarist Danny “Kootch” Kortchmar (once James Taylor’s righthand man) has taken to writing most of his songs on keyboard. “Guitar solos, to me, are getting as boring as drum solos,” Henley states. Nonetheless, when the trombonists set to play the big solo at the end of “Sunset Grill” couldn’t give Henley what he wanted, Kootch played it on a Roland guitar synthesizer. The successful integration of synthesizers into Henley’s sound may in part be due to the help he got from people like Toto’s David Paich and Steve Porcaro, as well as Mike Boddicker and Benmont Tench. Randy Newman even helped program the synths on “Sunset Grill.”
“I like to think of myself as a good casting director. One of the most joyous parts of recording for me is assembling the musicians and especially the singers. I mean, that’s the fun part at the end, after you’ve sweated the lyrics.” Henley called on Motel Martha Davis, Patty Smythe of Scandal, Go-Go Belinda Carlisle, and Sam Moore (of Sam and Dave) among others, to sing harmonies and background vocals.
“I have a lot of nerve. I’ll call anybody. I didn’t know Patty or Sam and some of the others. I was afraid some of those people were not going to be into an old guy from the mellow Seventies, you know? And Patty said, ‘Are you kidding?’ I used to sing ‘Witchy Woman’ when I was 15!” Don called bare-acquaintance Lindsey Buckingham, who would up singing and playing guitar on “You Can’t Make Love.” Sixteen year old guitar wiz Charlie Sexton played on “Man With a Mission,” and producer Jimmy Iovine’s suggestion that Don work with a young writer named Mike Campbell yielded “The Boys of Summer.” “It’s really unhealthy to just stick together in little groups.”
The ever-changing cast of characters, tied to Henley’s core, gives the record a unique communal feel. It’s obvious from this musical interaction, and from his conversation, that Henley places a premium on quality communication. “The way people relate to each other on a one-to-one level is directly related to the way the world is and the way the times are.”
As on the last album, Henley concerns himself with the state of intimate relationships on Side One of Building the Perfect Beast, and “the big picture” (as Henley calls it) on Side Two. And, as on the last album, Henley sees the state of love in disrepair, his own current stability notwithstanding, in songs like “You Can’t Make Love,” “Not Enough Love in the World,” and “You’re Not Drinking Enough.”
The biggest part of “the big picture” on the LP’s second side is the title song, which takes on the whole of mankind:
Sharper than a serpent’s tongue
Tighter than a bongo drum
Quicker than a one-night stand
Slicker than a mambo band…
For we have met the enemy—and
he is us.
It’s an irony the song captures exquisitely.
“Sunset Grill,” though is the album’s masterpiece. It’s one of those recordings that, like Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” or Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” captures the spirit of the times so perfectly that it resonates with it and becomes one with what it’s trying to describe. Among other things, “Sunset Grill” is about “The worth ethic in America today and how everybody seems to want the most possible money in the quickest amount of time with the least possible effort.” It’s also about the spreading “franchise” mentality, which is creating a non-thinking automaton class of individuals who needn’t create or take responsibility.
Making judgments like these opens artists to charges of hypocrisy, but Henley needn’t worry. The album is a testament to taking responsibility and fulfilling it. Building the Perfect Beast is a meticulously crafted work, conceptually and musically. It stakes out its territory and moves the listener forward into it.
Perhaps the arrangements are sometimes too densely packed and—occasionally—Henley’s voice sounds a bit thin (readily admits to “chops” problems during the sessions). Certainly, the recording is sometimes harsh, constricted, and lacking warmth. But for those who have felt all along that Don Henley is in the same league as the other original Asylum solo artists, Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne, this record offers convincing evidence. Given those two artists’ recent output, Henley would seem to be in a class by himself.
The record is very big, the video of “The Boys of Summer” is on regular rotation on MTV, and Henley plans to tour. When the singles have been culled from the album and the tour is over, Henley might even find himself a star. For a guy who’s been at the top of the rock heap for ten years, that be a reasonable assumption.
But maybe in this age of instant stardom and People Magazine-style scrutiny, the less of Don Henley that surfaces, the more effective he can be artistically. For, as he himself says, “Information is not necessarily a substitute for meaning.”
SOURCE: http://www.musicangle.com Reprinted By Permission
Pick up Michael's DVD's Here:
Copyright © 2008 MusicAngle.com & Michael Fremer - All rights reserved
Don Henley Finds His Thrill at The Sunset Grill
Don Henley (blast from the past)
Michael Fremer
2009-03-01
(Back in 1984 I was assigned to interview Don Henley, who'd just released Building the Perfect Beast his second solo album.
Henley picked me up in his black Porsche 911 and off we went to the Sunset Grill for lunch. We talked about music and life while downing burgers, fries and Cokes. Despite the classy name and the complex arrangement for the song that immortalized the place, the Sunset Grill was a tiny, hole in wall burger stand on Sunset Boulevard.
Henley described how the album was produced and some of the difficulties he encountered, including going back into the studio and completely re-doing the hit “The Boys of Summer” in a different key and upping the pitch to give it more drama. Henley hits almost impossibly high notes in the now-classic tune, and that, in part helped it to become an enduring tune. It’s been covered numerous times, including a punk take by The Ataris that’s become a classic in its own right.
As you read this 23+ year old interview, I think you’ll be struck as I was re-reading it, by how much the music business has changed and how far it’s fragmented and sadly sunk. Covering the biz in Los Angeles back then was fun as was I’m sure being part of it. I’m not sure that’s the case today as music has become marginalized and the business has lost its gravity thanks to the net and as far as I am concerned, the soul-killing digitization of music.
But back then, being at the Sunset Grill when the owner, his wife and his daughter realized for the first time that the regular customer who came almost daily in his black Porsche was Don Henley, a guy who had recently immortalized their burger stand in a song, and witnessing a cool moment in rock and roll history, was exciting and definitely fun!
Twenty three years later, The Eagles have reformed and will soon be touring in support of a new studio album. Back in 1984, who would have thought that would be happening? Not me, and I’m sure not Don Henley! Enjoy. (MF- 2007).
“Are you somebody? I think you’re someone!” the buxom woman exclaimed in a thick Eastern European Dr. Ruth (Good Sex) Westheimer voice. Down at the Sunset Grill, Don Henley’s well-kept cover is finally about to be blown. The woman, who’s probably served the veteran rock star hundreds of cheeseburgers, is finally getting the picture. “You…you are Don Henley!” “Yes,” Henley sheepishly admits. “You are so…so intelligent! she exclaims. “When you write [in the song, “Sunset Grill”] about ‘the old man there from the old world, to him it’s all the same, calls the customers by name’ —how do you know that?”
Before Don can answer, the East Berlin-born woman disappears, returning with “the old man,” her Viennese-born husband, Joe. His reaction to meeting the artist whose song is making his burger stand famous is to shrug and shuffle off back to the kitchen. Everyone breaks up…
The burgers were free that day at the little stand next to the Oriental Theater, but the price Don Henley paid was high. He had lost his anonymity at this scene. He could no longer sit on the sidelines observing, undisturbed. Henley has made a career out of doing that. His wry observations, his keen sense of melody, and, of course, his distinctive plaintive singing kept the Eagles at the top for almost a decade, and “Dirty Laundry,” Henley’s biting denunciation of the TV news game, recently sold over a million copies. But, despite those accomplishments, Don Henley is not exactly a household name—or face.
Without having written songs about it, newcomers like Boy George or Cyndi Lauper could pop into the Sunset Grill and be instantly recognized, and not just because of their bizarre looks. They’re media-visible. Henley isn’t. Have you seen Don Henley’s name on one of those ubiquitous KLOS rainbow-rimmed bumper stickers? Lauper’s probably already got one. The only way Boy George would get one from KLOS would be if he married Bruce Springsteen, but Jackson Browne’s got one. So why not Henley? Why the low visibility? Is it his observational third-person writing style? His being a drummer—usually one step below bass player on the recognition scale? Is it his reserved, thoughtful, non-flamboyant personality? Or has he been laying low after his much publicized visit to David Crosbyland?
“We were very low-profile in the Eagles as far as being individuals. We were a band and we were perceived as a band,” Henley told me, knocking back a cheeseburger in the control room at Val Garay’s Record One complex on Ventura Boulevard. The Eagles’ public homogeneity certainly contributed to Henley’s low visibility then, but with the release of his first solo album, I Can’t Stand Still, in 1982, Henley seemed prepared to step smartly onto the solo playing field. There were problems, however. One rumor had him suing Asylum over their handling of the record. “No,” he says, “there wasn’t a lawsuit over that” (although the Eagles did sue a number of times over royalty disputes). “But,” he adds, “I was disappointed with the job they did. I thought they could have done much better, but the company was falling apart.”
As Henley tells it, David Geffen, who started Aslyum, vowed never to sign more acts than he could fit in his living room. With inmates like Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, and the Eagles already in the Asylum, the notion made perfect sense.
But after Geffen departed, Henley says, “They started signing all kinds of acts, from Tony Orlando & Dawn to Pink Lady…I looked at a roster in the late Seventies and there were 80 or 90 acts, and I think I recognized about five of them—and, of course we [the Eagles] were paying for all that.”
Simultaneous with the release of Henley’s first solo album came a complete restructuring of Asylum. “They fired about 500 people one week and brought in this guy Bob Krasnow, who, I guess, is a nice guy (pregnant pause) and they moved the company to New York. And [Krasnow] made some comments to the press about ‘all the old dinosaurs we have on the label,’ and it really pissed me and [Glenn] Frey off.”
While Henley complains about Asylum, he’s also willing to shoulder some of the responsibility for the album’s relatively lackluster performance and his inability to capture the public eye.
“Part of it was my fault. ‘Johnny Can’t Read’ [the album’s first single] was the wrong thing to do. It was a little bit too much of a leftfield turn from the Eagles days, and it took a lot of people by surprise. It was too controversial. It pissed people off. There was a DJ in Houston who wouldn’t play it. A DJ in Atlanta said it was un-American! And it hit home to too many people who couldn’t read, you know? And football in America is right up there with God!”
Ironically, it was neither Aslyum’s nor Henley’s good judgment that resulted in the release of the single, “Dirty Laundry.” Indie promo man Larry Bird and tip-sheeter Kal Rudman literally forced it on Asylum, according to Don. The song became a left-field hit, reaching number three, but the album never rose above 24, apparently due in large measure to Asylum’s lack of follow-through.
When the dust had settled, I Can’t Stand Still, a brilliant debut solo effort—stronger than any Eagles album to these ears—had reached only about a tenth of the fans who’d bought the final Eagles album. Still, Henley says, “I sold 650,000 copies or something, which is respectable, I guess, for a first album…I had a gold album and a gold single…I was moderately satisfied.”
This time around, Don Henley seems to have gotten it all right. The music on the new album, Building the Perfect Beast, meshes beautifully with a wide variety of radio formats. Don’s back with old pal David on the Geffen label, and—unlike the aftermath of I Can’t Stand Still, when the “…went off to Colorado and talked to the cows for about six months” —Henley is currently in the midst of a revolving-door interview schedule.
Why shouldn’t he come out of hiding? This is Don Henley’s time. The years have added distinction to his boyish features. He’s been happily in love with a woman for over four years. And the album has already taken off. “They [Geffen staffers] call me up everyday to tell me how many records I’ve sold.”
No wonder they’re glad to call. Both the album and first single, “The Boys of Summer,” are legitimate major-league extra base hits.
The Geffen Company knows how to work a record, but credit for the near-unanimous acceptance “The Boys of Summer” has had among AOR and CHR programmers alike goes to Henley and his co-producers, Danny Kortchmar and Greg Ladanyi. Unlike the self-conscious “new wave” Farfisa beat of “Johnny Can’t Read,” “The Boys of Summer” mixes real drums, drum machines, guitars, guitar synthesizer and keyboard synth, creating a perfect radio track. The record sounds fresh without radically altering the generally reactionary AOR sound. And romance certainly beats illiteracy any day as the subject of a potential hit song.
I asked if this new synth-filled album is a reaction to the reception the rather Seventies-sounding I Can’t Stand Still received. Slightly taken aback by the question, Henley answered, “The album is an extension of the work I started on that album. The technology is on the record as part of the songwriting—to make a point and color the words.”
The move away from a guitar-dominated sound also came about partly because Henley’s current writing partner, guitarist Danny “Kootch” Kortchmar (once James Taylor’s righthand man) has taken to writing most of his songs on keyboard. “Guitar solos, to me, are getting as boring as drum solos,” Henley states. Nonetheless, when the trombonists set to play the big solo at the end of “Sunset Grill” couldn’t give Henley what he wanted, Kootch played it on a Roland guitar synthesizer. The successful integration of synthesizers into Henley’s sound may in part be due to the help he got from people like Toto’s David Paich and Steve Porcaro, as well as Mike Boddicker and Benmont Tench. Randy Newman even helped program the synths on “Sunset Grill.”
“I like to think of myself as a good casting director. One of the most joyous parts of recording for me is assembling the musicians and especially the singers. I mean, that’s the fun part at the end, after you’ve sweated the lyrics.” Henley called on Motel Martha Davis, Patty Smythe of Scandal, Go-Go Belinda Carlisle, and Sam Moore (of Sam and Dave) among others, to sing harmonies and background vocals.
“I have a lot of nerve. I’ll call anybody. I didn’t know Patty or Sam and some of the others. I was afraid some of those people were not going to be into an old guy from the mellow Seventies, you know? And Patty said, ‘Are you kidding?’ I used to sing ‘Witchy Woman’ when I was 15!” Don called bare-acquaintance Lindsey Buckingham, who would up singing and playing guitar on “You Can’t Make Love.” Sixteen year old guitar wiz Charlie Sexton played on “Man With a Mission,” and producer Jimmy Iovine’s suggestion that Don work with a young writer named Mike Campbell yielded “The Boys of Summer.” “It’s really unhealthy to just stick together in little groups.”
The ever-changing cast of characters, tied to Henley’s core, gives the record a unique communal feel. It’s obvious from this musical interaction, and from his conversation, that Henley places a premium on quality communication. “The way people relate to each other on a one-to-one level is directly related to the way the world is and the way the times are.”
As on the last album, Henley concerns himself with the state of intimate relationships on Side One of Building the Perfect Beast, and “the big picture” (as Henley calls it) on Side Two. And, as on the last album, Henley sees the state of love in disrepair, his own current stability notwithstanding, in songs like “You Can’t Make Love,” “Not Enough Love in the World,” and “You’re Not Drinking Enough.”
The biggest part of “the big picture” on the LP’s second side is the title song, which takes on the whole of mankind:
Sharper than a serpent’s tongue
Tighter than a bongo drum
Quicker than a one-night stand
Slicker than a mambo band…
For we have met the enemy—and
he is us.
It’s an irony the song captures exquisitely.
“Sunset Grill,” though is the album’s masterpiece. It’s one of those recordings that, like Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” or Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” captures the spirit of the times so perfectly that it resonates with it and becomes one with what it’s trying to describe. Among other things, “Sunset Grill” is about “The worth ethic in America today and how everybody seems to want the most possible money in the quickest amount of time with the least possible effort.” It’s also about the spreading “franchise” mentality, which is creating a non-thinking automaton class of individuals who needn’t create or take responsibility.
Making judgments like these opens artists to charges of hypocrisy, but Henley needn’t worry. The album is a testament to taking responsibility and fulfilling it. Building the Perfect Beast is a meticulously crafted work, conceptually and musically. It stakes out its territory and moves the listener forward into it.
Perhaps the arrangements are sometimes too densely packed and—occasionally—Henley’s voice sounds a bit thin (readily admits to “chops” problems during the sessions). Certainly, the recording is sometimes harsh, constricted, and lacking warmth. But for those who have felt all along that Don Henley is in the same league as the other original Asylum solo artists, Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne, this record offers convincing evidence. Given those two artists’ recent output, Henley would seem to be in a class by himself.
The record is very big, the video of “The Boys of Summer” is on regular rotation on MTV, and Henley plans to tour. When the singles have been culled from the album and the tour is over, Henley might even find himself a star. For a guy who’s been at the top of the rock heap for ten years, that be a reasonable assumption.
But maybe in this age of instant stardom and People Magazine-style scrutiny, the less of Don Henley that surfaces, the more effective he can be artistically. For, as he himself says, “Information is not necessarily a substitute for meaning.”
SOURCE: http://www.musicangle.com Reprinted By Permission
Pick up Michael's DVD's Here:
Copyright © 2008 MusicAngle.com & Michael Fremer - All rights reserved
Music News & Notes
Dhani Harrison Suggests Standalone Beatles Download Site
George Harrison’s son, Dhani Harrison, believes that starting a standalone website for digitally distributing The Beatles’ music is a practical option. Selling the Beatles back catalogue through iTunes isn’t satisfactory, and an online store could be revealed in the future. Harrison explains:
“We’re losing money every day. So what do you do? You have to have your own delivery system, or you have to do a good deal with Steve Jobs. But he says that a download is worth 99 cents, and we disagree.”
Ironically, the Beatles’ songs are on the verge of being made available to gamers before iPod users in Rock Band: Beatles, due September 9. Harrison claims it was he who “took the project to Apple Records and sort of convinced everybody to have a presentation.” The game will even have “never been released” tracks, he said.
One dollar a song isn’t enough it seems, for a Beatles song. So, what is the proper sum? The delay for online Beatles availability has drawn out for a ridiculously long time, and many labels are already comfortably self-distributing. This much quibbling over a few cents only loses them money every second the music continues to be unavailable to fans.
=================================
Living with Lions
Vancouver, B.C., Canada's Living With Lions recently joined the roster of the venerable Adeline Records, who will re-release the band's 2007 debut EP, as well as it's 2008 full-length. On April 7th, Dude Manor will be released on 10" vinyl and digitally while Make Your Mark will be reissued on 12" vinyl, CD and digitally later this summer (July 21st). Both albums were originally released in Canada by Black Box Recordings.
Living With Lions cranks out passionate, anthemic hardcore fueled by grit, determination and ridiculously catchy melodies by the barrelful. Giving nods to their influences – Lifetime, Hot Water Music, A Wilhelm Scream to name a few - the five piece still manage to establish a foundation for their own unique take on the genre while embracing the raucous attitude and communal spirit of punk rock.
=================================
Billy's Favs
Billy Joel told Rolling Stone who he considered the top rock bands of all-time after the Beatles.
"The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC -- still an ass-kicking band to this day -- and the Who. I'd say Jimi Hendrix and Cream, but they were only around for a few years. You have to have service time to be in the top five."
George Harrison’s son, Dhani Harrison, believes that starting a standalone website for digitally distributing The Beatles’ music is a practical option. Selling the Beatles back catalogue through iTunes isn’t satisfactory, and an online store could be revealed in the future. Harrison explains:
“We’re losing money every day. So what do you do? You have to have your own delivery system, or you have to do a good deal with Steve Jobs. But he says that a download is worth 99 cents, and we disagree.”
Ironically, the Beatles’ songs are on the verge of being made available to gamers before iPod users in Rock Band: Beatles, due September 9. Harrison claims it was he who “took the project to Apple Records and sort of convinced everybody to have a presentation.” The game will even have “never been released” tracks, he said.
One dollar a song isn’t enough it seems, for a Beatles song. So, what is the proper sum? The delay for online Beatles availability has drawn out for a ridiculously long time, and many labels are already comfortably self-distributing. This much quibbling over a few cents only loses them money every second the music continues to be unavailable to fans.
=================================
Living with Lions
Vancouver, B.C., Canada's Living With Lions recently joined the roster of the venerable Adeline Records, who will re-release the band's 2007 debut EP, as well as it's 2008 full-length. On April 7th, Dude Manor will be released on 10" vinyl and digitally while Make Your Mark will be reissued on 12" vinyl, CD and digitally later this summer (July 21st). Both albums were originally released in Canada by Black Box Recordings.
Living With Lions cranks out passionate, anthemic hardcore fueled by grit, determination and ridiculously catchy melodies by the barrelful. Giving nods to their influences – Lifetime, Hot Water Music, A Wilhelm Scream to name a few - the five piece still manage to establish a foundation for their own unique take on the genre while embracing the raucous attitude and communal spirit of punk rock.
=================================
Billy's Favs
Billy Joel told Rolling Stone who he considered the top rock bands of all-time after the Beatles.
"The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC -- still an ass-kicking band to this day -- and the Who. I'd say Jimi Hendrix and Cream, but they were only around for a few years. You have to have service time to be in the top five."
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Bird & Animal Names In Rock & Roll History- part two
Throughout music history there have been many bands that have adopted an "animal" or "bird" monikers to represent their band and their sound. Some artists even have a last name that fits into this category and in this continuing article series we will explore some of the unique "animal" and "bird" names and the diverse music that has been created by these groups or individuals.
As I prepared for this project, I did not realize the amount of bands and artists who fall into the category. There are so many new bands like Fleet Foxes, Minus The Bear, Weird Owl and Andrew Bird, Animal Collective, just to name a few, to add to the growing list (which is no particular order). If you have a particular band or artist that fits into this article series, please email me and I can add them to the growing and seemingly endless list. Look for this feature every Tuesday and Thursday. This should be a fun series! Here is part two:
In the last article, we talked about “animal” band names including the Teddy Bears, the novelty act the Chipmunks and of course led off with the British group The Animals. Let’s explore more “animal” group names in music history.
The Turtles first hit the charts in 1965 with a cover of a Bob Dylan tune, “It Ain’t Me Babe” on a “fish” record label called White Whale. They followed that Top Ten hit with several more pop rock gems including, “She’d Rather Be With Me” and “Elenore,” among others. They also secured a number one hit in the spring of 1967 with a song called “Happy Together.” Interestingly, the Turtles had recorded the song “Eve Of Destruction” on their LP “It Ain't Me Babe” in 1965, but did not release it as a single. The P. F. Sloan protest song ultimately went to the number one position after it was released by Barry McGuire.
At the end of the sixties, group members Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman hooked up with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention and also performed on their own as Flo and Eddie. Kaylan and Volman sang backing vocals on several recordings by T.Rex, including their epic #1 hit "Get it On (Bang A Gong)" and albums by Electric Warrior and The Slider. They also sang backup on Bruce Springsteen's "Hungry Heart", from his album The River. They continue to perform today, both as Flo and Eddie and as the Turtles.
In 1966, an advertisement in the Hollywood Trade paper “Daily Variety” implored “folk and rock musicians-singers for acting roles in a new television series.” It is reported that more than 430 people answered the ad including Harry Nilsson, Danny Hutton (later to be with 3 Dog Night), songwriter Paul Williams and Stephen Stills (of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young fame), among others. Stills was rejected because his teeth and hair weren’t perfect, but he had a friend that resembled him. His friend, Peter Tork went into the audition, walked into a wall and the job was his and became part of the “made for TV” group The Monkees.
With songs written by some of the most talented songwriters of the time (including Gerry Goffin-Carole King, Neil Diamond, Neil Sedaka, Tommy Boyce-Bobby Hart among others), the Monkees achieved major pop rock success with such hits as the catchy rocker “Last Train To Clarksville,” the Neil Diamond written number one hit, “I’m A Believer,” (which was number one for an incredible seven weeks), the pop gem by Davy Jones called “Daydream Believer” and “Pleasant Valley Sunday” (which was written by the legendary song writing duo of Gerry Goffin and Carole King), among others and members Michael Nesmith, Davey Jones, Peter Tork and Mickey Dolenz became international superstars.
The television show, appropriately called the Monkees, featured the quartet in inane and slapstick sketches and also showcased their music. Despite the fact that the group was not permitted to play instruments on the records, the public gobbled up “Monkeemania.” But, with pressure from that same public and band member Michael Nesmith’s urging (and to deflect the growing public criticism), they started to play instruments on their third album “Headquarters.”
In one of the rock’s most embarrassing moments, in 1967 the Monkees toured with a gentleman named Jimi Hendrix as their opening act. But Monkee fans disliked the legendary guitar player (who was largely unknown here in the states, but had a strong following in Europe) and booed him. Finally, in New York, Hendrix had enough, flipped-off the screaming Monkee fans and quit the tour.
It is said that camera happy band members Davey Jones and Mickey Dolenz didn’t care much about the music. In fact, Dolenz was known to slip the cameraman twenty-five dollars to make sure he received the most close-ups. Jones then slipped the cameraman thirty-five dollars and promptly stole the show.
When MTV began re-broadcasting the television series in 1987, a second wave of "Monkeemania" gripped the nation as the group enjoyed a major revival in popularity that even put six of their old albums back onto the charts. A new best of "Then And Now" achieved platinum status and the band (minus Mike Nesmith) scored a Top 40 hit with a new song entitled 'That Was Then, This Is Now"; one of three new cuts recorded by the trio of Jones, Tork and Dolenz. The trio toured in the summer of '87 and went on to record a new album called "Pool It!" the following year. But, Nesmith had no interest in rejoining the group, but did join the band when they were awarded a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame in 1989. Nesmith relented in 1996 and returned to the band for an album called "Justus" which coincided with Rhino Records' twenty-one volume video set of the popular television show. Another "Greatest Hits" compilation album went gold in 2000.
In the next article of the series, we will continue to explore more "bird" and "animal" group names and artist names in rock and roll history.
Turtle’s Tidbits:
The Turtles were (1965–1967)
Howard Kaylan – vocals, Mark Volman - guitar, saxophone, vocals, Al Nichol - guitar Jim Tucker – guitar, Chuck Portz – bass, Don Murray - drums
Various reincarnations of the band have played together with different personnel, but the constant was always having Kaylan and Volman leading the bands.
In 1984, Kaylan and Volman legally regained the use of the Turtles name, and began touring as The Turtles... Featuring Flo and Eddie. Instead of trying to reunite with their earlier band mates, they began featuring all-star sidemen who had played with different groups.
Selected Cuts: Buy Turtles Music
US Top 10 singles:
1965 It Ain't Me Babe #8
1967 Happy Together #1
1967 She'd Rather Be With Me #3
1968 Elenore #6
Monkees’ Tidbits
Monkees critics complained that they were just a made-for-TV knockoff of the Beatles, but the Fab Four took it in stride, and welcomed the Monkees when they visited England. John Lennon publicly compared the Monkees' humor to The Marx Brothers, a high compliment indeed. In fact, Nesmith attended the "A Day in the Life" sessions at Abbey Road Studios and he can be seen in the Beatles' home movies, including one scene where he is conversing with Lennon (who called him “Monkee Man”).
On their third album, Headquarters (1967) the four Monkees actually wrote and played much of their own material. The album quickly shot to #1, but was bumped off the top slot when the Beatles released “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Interestingly, the Monkees outsold the Beatles and the Rolling Stones combined in 1967.
In the 1990s, the Monkees continued to record new material, their 11th album, Justus, was released in 1996. It was the first since 1968 on which all four original members performed and produced. Justus was produced by the Monkees, all songs were written by one of the four Monkees, and it was recorded using only the four Monkees for all instruments and vocals, which was the inspiration for the album title and spelling (Justus = Just Us).
The Monkees were the first band to use a Moog Synthesizer in a top-10 album (used on "Star Collector", "Daily Nightly" and "Love Is Only Sleeping" from Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd., released in November of 1967).
The band’s success actually compelled another David Jones to change his surname to Bowie, to avoid being confused with Davy Jones of the Monkees.
The Monkees are one of only eight artists achieving number-one hits in the United States and United Kingdom simultaneously
Selected Cuts: Buy Monkees Music
US Top 10 singles:
1966 Last Train to Clarksville #1
1966 I'm a Believer" / I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone #1
1967 A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You #2
1967 Pleasant Valley Sunday #3
1967 Daydream Believer #1
1968 Valleri #3
As I prepared for this project, I did not realize the amount of bands and artists who fall into the category. There are so many new bands like Fleet Foxes, Minus The Bear, Weird Owl and Andrew Bird, Animal Collective, just to name a few, to add to the growing list (which is no particular order). If you have a particular band or artist that fits into this article series, please email me and I can add them to the growing and seemingly endless list. Look for this feature every Tuesday and Thursday. This should be a fun series! Here is part two:
In the last article, we talked about “animal” band names including the Teddy Bears, the novelty act the Chipmunks and of course led off with the British group The Animals. Let’s explore more “animal” group names in music history.
The Turtles first hit the charts in 1965 with a cover of a Bob Dylan tune, “It Ain’t Me Babe” on a “fish” record label called White Whale. They followed that Top Ten hit with several more pop rock gems including, “She’d Rather Be With Me” and “Elenore,” among others. They also secured a number one hit in the spring of 1967 with a song called “Happy Together.” Interestingly, the Turtles had recorded the song “Eve Of Destruction” on their LP “It Ain't Me Babe” in 1965, but did not release it as a single. The P. F. Sloan protest song ultimately went to the number one position after it was released by Barry McGuire.
At the end of the sixties, group members Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman hooked up with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention and also performed on their own as Flo and Eddie. Kaylan and Volman sang backing vocals on several recordings by T.Rex, including their epic #1 hit "Get it On (Bang A Gong)" and albums by Electric Warrior and The Slider. They also sang backup on Bruce Springsteen's "Hungry Heart", from his album The River. They continue to perform today, both as Flo and Eddie and as the Turtles.
In 1966, an advertisement in the Hollywood Trade paper “Daily Variety” implored “folk and rock musicians-singers for acting roles in a new television series.” It is reported that more than 430 people answered the ad including Harry Nilsson, Danny Hutton (later to be with 3 Dog Night), songwriter Paul Williams and Stephen Stills (of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young fame), among others. Stills was rejected because his teeth and hair weren’t perfect, but he had a friend that resembled him. His friend, Peter Tork went into the audition, walked into a wall and the job was his and became part of the “made for TV” group The Monkees.
With songs written by some of the most talented songwriters of the time (including Gerry Goffin-Carole King, Neil Diamond, Neil Sedaka, Tommy Boyce-Bobby Hart among others), the Monkees achieved major pop rock success with such hits as the catchy rocker “Last Train To Clarksville,” the Neil Diamond written number one hit, “I’m A Believer,” (which was number one for an incredible seven weeks), the pop gem by Davy Jones called “Daydream Believer” and “Pleasant Valley Sunday” (which was written by the legendary song writing duo of Gerry Goffin and Carole King), among others and members Michael Nesmith, Davey Jones, Peter Tork and Mickey Dolenz became international superstars.
The television show, appropriately called the Monkees, featured the quartet in inane and slapstick sketches and also showcased their music. Despite the fact that the group was not permitted to play instruments on the records, the public gobbled up “Monkeemania.” But, with pressure from that same public and band member Michael Nesmith’s urging (and to deflect the growing public criticism), they started to play instruments on their third album “Headquarters.”
In one of the rock’s most embarrassing moments, in 1967 the Monkees toured with a gentleman named Jimi Hendrix as their opening act. But Monkee fans disliked the legendary guitar player (who was largely unknown here in the states, but had a strong following in Europe) and booed him. Finally, in New York, Hendrix had enough, flipped-off the screaming Monkee fans and quit the tour.
It is said that camera happy band members Davey Jones and Mickey Dolenz didn’t care much about the music. In fact, Dolenz was known to slip the cameraman twenty-five dollars to make sure he received the most close-ups. Jones then slipped the cameraman thirty-five dollars and promptly stole the show.
When MTV began re-broadcasting the television series in 1987, a second wave of "Monkeemania" gripped the nation as the group enjoyed a major revival in popularity that even put six of their old albums back onto the charts. A new best of "Then And Now" achieved platinum status and the band (minus Mike Nesmith) scored a Top 40 hit with a new song entitled 'That Was Then, This Is Now"; one of three new cuts recorded by the trio of Jones, Tork and Dolenz. The trio toured in the summer of '87 and went on to record a new album called "Pool It!" the following year. But, Nesmith had no interest in rejoining the group, but did join the band when they were awarded a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame in 1989. Nesmith relented in 1996 and returned to the band for an album called "Justus" which coincided with Rhino Records' twenty-one volume video set of the popular television show. Another "Greatest Hits" compilation album went gold in 2000.
In the next article of the series, we will continue to explore more "bird" and "animal" group names and artist names in rock and roll history.
Turtle’s Tidbits:
The Turtles were (1965–1967)
Howard Kaylan – vocals, Mark Volman - guitar, saxophone, vocals, Al Nichol - guitar Jim Tucker – guitar, Chuck Portz – bass, Don Murray - drums
Various reincarnations of the band have played together with different personnel, but the constant was always having Kaylan and Volman leading the bands.
In 1984, Kaylan and Volman legally regained the use of the Turtles name, and began touring as The Turtles... Featuring Flo and Eddie. Instead of trying to reunite with their earlier band mates, they began featuring all-star sidemen who had played with different groups.
Selected Cuts: Buy Turtles Music
US Top 10 singles:
1965 It Ain't Me Babe #8
1967 Happy Together #1
1967 She'd Rather Be With Me #3
1968 Elenore #6
Monkees’ Tidbits
Monkees critics complained that they were just a made-for-TV knockoff of the Beatles, but the Fab Four took it in stride, and welcomed the Monkees when they visited England. John Lennon publicly compared the Monkees' humor to The Marx Brothers, a high compliment indeed. In fact, Nesmith attended the "A Day in the Life" sessions at Abbey Road Studios and he can be seen in the Beatles' home movies, including one scene where he is conversing with Lennon (who called him “Monkee Man”).
On their third album, Headquarters (1967) the four Monkees actually wrote and played much of their own material. The album quickly shot to #1, but was bumped off the top slot when the Beatles released “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Interestingly, the Monkees outsold the Beatles and the Rolling Stones combined in 1967.
In the 1990s, the Monkees continued to record new material, their 11th album, Justus, was released in 1996. It was the first since 1968 on which all four original members performed and produced. Justus was produced by the Monkees, all songs were written by one of the four Monkees, and it was recorded using only the four Monkees for all instruments and vocals, which was the inspiration for the album title and spelling (Justus = Just Us).
The Monkees were the first band to use a Moog Synthesizer in a top-10 album (used on "Star Collector", "Daily Nightly" and "Love Is Only Sleeping" from Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd., released in November of 1967).
The band’s success actually compelled another David Jones to change his surname to Bowie, to avoid being confused with Davy Jones of the Monkees.
The Monkees are one of only eight artists achieving number-one hits in the United States and United Kingdom simultaneously
Selected Cuts: Buy Monkees Music
US Top 10 singles:
1966 Last Train to Clarksville #1
1966 I'm a Believer" / I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone #1
1967 A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You #2
1967 Pleasant Valley Sunday #3
1967 Daydream Believer #1
1968 Valleri #3
Vinyl Collective News
My friend in vinyl, Virgil Dickerson, over at www.vinylcollective.com has some new restocks in, stop by the site and pick up some great vinyl!
ARCADE FIRE “Funeral” LP
ARCADE FIRE “No Cars Go” 7"
ARCADE FIRE ìNeon Bibleî dbl LP
CALEXICO “Spoke” LP
CLIPÃD BEAKS “Visions b/w Dank Swamp” 7"
ELLIOTT SMITH “Either/Or” LP
ELLIOTT SMITH “S/T” LP
ELLIOTT SMITH “Speed Trials” 7"
HEALTH “Health/Disco” dbl LP
KILLDOZER “Twelve Point Buck” LP
NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL “In The Aeroplane” LP
ONELINEDRAWING “Visitor” LP
PEGBOY “Strong Reaction” LP
PICTUREPLANE “Trancedoll” 7"
PINBACK AUTUMN OF THE SERAPHIMS LP
POLVO “Shapes” LP
SLEATER KINNEY “One Beat” LP
THE MUMMIES “Play Their Own Records” LP (limited edition clear vinyl)
THE THERMALS “Now We Can See” 7"
ARCADE FIRE “Funeral” LP
ARCADE FIRE “No Cars Go” 7"
ARCADE FIRE ìNeon Bibleî dbl LP
CALEXICO “Spoke” LP
CLIPÃD BEAKS “Visions b/w Dank Swamp” 7"
ELLIOTT SMITH “Either/Or” LP
ELLIOTT SMITH “S/T” LP
ELLIOTT SMITH “Speed Trials” 7"
HEALTH “Health/Disco” dbl LP
KILLDOZER “Twelve Point Buck” LP
NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL “In The Aeroplane” LP
ONELINEDRAWING “Visitor” LP
PEGBOY “Strong Reaction” LP
PICTUREPLANE “Trancedoll” 7"
PINBACK AUTUMN OF THE SERAPHIMS LP
POLVO “Shapes” LP
SLEATER KINNEY “One Beat” LP
THE MUMMIES “Play Their Own Records” LP (limited edition clear vinyl)
THE THERMALS “Now We Can See” 7"
Music News & Notes
Red House Painters Reissue
After nearly 13 years, Red House Painters‘ classic album "Songs For a Blue Guitar" will finally be issued on double 180-gram vinyl on April 21st, 2009. If you’d like, Insound is now pre-selling this piece of magic that will arrive on your doorstep on or around its release date. Preorder here:
Red House Painters
================================
Gaslight Anthem Issuing Live Vinyl Release
It has been less than two years since New Jersey's The Gaslight Anthem began releasing discs.
In that short time, they've completed an EP and two full-lengths. The second of those albums, last year's The '59 Sound, has lifted the band's name from the lips of Jersey punk fans to the pages of international magazines, where critics frequently named The '59 Sound as one of the best albums of the year.
"I always had the idea that I would be in a band and I'd have job," muses guitarist Alex Rosamilia. "I'd take two weeks off a year and tour with that band. I never thought the band would become my job. It's absolutely unreal."
The '59 Sound took the band's songwriting to that fabled "next level." It also took them away from the realm of "punk," in its most rigid definition.
Many have likened the Anthem to Bruce Springsteen, due to Brian Fallon's voice, their similar vocal melodies and lyrical imagery and shared geography. The comparison is fair, but only if you imagine a more focused, less bombastic arrangement, like The Boss as backed by the Stiff Little Fingers, perhaps.
The band will play a sold-out show with Saint Alvia at Toronto's Opera House on March 20 on the heels of a European tour and a new video for the lead-off track, "Great Expectations."
They'll also release a limited edition 10-inch single for this year's Record Store Day on April 18. Live At Park Ave. will feature a recording of a performance at Park Avenue CDs in Orlando, Fla. during a tour with Rise Against, Alkaline Trio and Thrice. No other releases are planned at the moment — mostly because audiences around the world are still discovering The '59 Sound.
================================
Paper + Plastick announce details of new Foundation (Rob Huddleston) release "Chimborazo"
Paper + Plastick have announced details for Chimborazo, the upcoming release from Foundation, the solo project of Rob Huddleston (Ann Beretta, Inquisition). Chimborazo will be available only on vinyl and digital download formats. The label's website http://paperandplastick.com/ is currently offering a presale for the record , with three alternate colors of the vinyl. It will be available in Black, Blue, Green and Splatter vinyl, with a die cut cover and artwork by Richard "Horsebites" Minino. The webstore will offer two presale packages; the first includes a copy of the record with a commemorative Foundation T-shirt. The second includes the record, shirt, and a limited edition Foundation print that comes with a certificate of authenticity signed by both Rob Huddleston and Horsebites.
The release hits stores March 24th, and a record release show with support from Dave Hause (The Loved Ones) and Brett Adams (The Riot Before) is planned for Friday, March 27th at the Canal Club in Richmond, VA. . Foundation's last full-length was 2002's Foundation.
================================
Artists Wanted for Album Covers
(PR) Versailles Records has announced that it is seeking submissions from Stone Temple Pilots and Buckcherry fans for an original album cover design for the label's forthcoming summer releases, 'Wicked Garden: A Millennium Tribute to Stone Temple Pilots' and 'Lit Up: A Millennium Tribute to Buckcherry'.
Collectively, these tributes will feature current/former members of Black Sabbath, Racer X, Kiss, Europe, Megadeth, Badlands, Alice Cooper Band, Lizzy Borden, Fuel, Surgical Steel, Bonham, Mountain, Circle Jerks, Slash's Snakepit, Metal Church, Warrant, Dokken, Steelheart, Michael Shanker Group, L.A. Guns, White Lion, Machine Head, Ratt, WASP, Quiet Riot, and others.
Interested fans should email Versaillesrecords2006@yahoo.com with a brief synopsis of the cover concept they have in mind prior to submitting any art, and include some kind of myspace or related portfolio web link. A final decision will be made on the official album cover selections this April. -
After nearly 13 years, Red House Painters‘ classic album "Songs For a Blue Guitar" will finally be issued on double 180-gram vinyl on April 21st, 2009. If you’d like, Insound is now pre-selling this piece of magic that will arrive on your doorstep on or around its release date. Preorder here:
Red House Painters
================================
Gaslight Anthem Issuing Live Vinyl Release
It has been less than two years since New Jersey's The Gaslight Anthem began releasing discs.
In that short time, they've completed an EP and two full-lengths. The second of those albums, last year's The '59 Sound, has lifted the band's name from the lips of Jersey punk fans to the pages of international magazines, where critics frequently named The '59 Sound as one of the best albums of the year.
"I always had the idea that I would be in a band and I'd have job," muses guitarist Alex Rosamilia. "I'd take two weeks off a year and tour with that band. I never thought the band would become my job. It's absolutely unreal."
The '59 Sound took the band's songwriting to that fabled "next level." It also took them away from the realm of "punk," in its most rigid definition.
Many have likened the Anthem to Bruce Springsteen, due to Brian Fallon's voice, their similar vocal melodies and lyrical imagery and shared geography. The comparison is fair, but only if you imagine a more focused, less bombastic arrangement, like The Boss as backed by the Stiff Little Fingers, perhaps.
The band will play a sold-out show with Saint Alvia at Toronto's Opera House on March 20 on the heels of a European tour and a new video for the lead-off track, "Great Expectations."
They'll also release a limited edition 10-inch single for this year's Record Store Day on April 18. Live At Park Ave. will feature a recording of a performance at Park Avenue CDs in Orlando, Fla. during a tour with Rise Against, Alkaline Trio and Thrice. No other releases are planned at the moment — mostly because audiences around the world are still discovering The '59 Sound.
================================
Paper + Plastick announce details of new Foundation (Rob Huddleston) release "Chimborazo"
Paper + Plastick have announced details for Chimborazo, the upcoming release from Foundation, the solo project of Rob Huddleston (Ann Beretta, Inquisition). Chimborazo will be available only on vinyl and digital download formats. The label's website http://paperandplastick.com/ is currently offering a presale for the record , with three alternate colors of the vinyl. It will be available in Black, Blue, Green and Splatter vinyl, with a die cut cover and artwork by Richard "Horsebites" Minino. The webstore will offer two presale packages; the first includes a copy of the record with a commemorative Foundation T-shirt. The second includes the record, shirt, and a limited edition Foundation print that comes with a certificate of authenticity signed by both Rob Huddleston and Horsebites.
The release hits stores March 24th, and a record release show with support from Dave Hause (The Loved Ones) and Brett Adams (The Riot Before) is planned for Friday, March 27th at the Canal Club in Richmond, VA. . Foundation's last full-length was 2002's Foundation.
================================
Artists Wanted for Album Covers
(PR) Versailles Records has announced that it is seeking submissions from Stone Temple Pilots and Buckcherry fans for an original album cover design for the label's forthcoming summer releases, 'Wicked Garden: A Millennium Tribute to Stone Temple Pilots' and 'Lit Up: A Millennium Tribute to Buckcherry'.
Collectively, these tributes will feature current/former members of Black Sabbath, Racer X, Kiss, Europe, Megadeth, Badlands, Alice Cooper Band, Lizzy Borden, Fuel, Surgical Steel, Bonham, Mountain, Circle Jerks, Slash's Snakepit, Metal Church, Warrant, Dokken, Steelheart, Michael Shanker Group, L.A. Guns, White Lion, Machine Head, Ratt, WASP, Quiet Riot, and others.
Interested fans should email Versaillesrecords2006@yahoo.com with a brief synopsis of the cover concept they have in mind prior to submitting any art, and include some kind of myspace or related portfolio web link. A final decision will be made on the official album cover selections this April. -
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