Music News & Notes

GWAR Announces Vinyl Releases Of Past Two Records

Space thrashers Gwar have announced that it will be re-issuing its past two albums, 2009's "Lust In Space" and 2010's "Bloody Pit Of Horror" on limited edition vinyl in early January.  'Lust In Space' will be first, reaching store shelves on January 18th, 2011 followed by the release of 'Bloody Pit Of Horro'" on February 15th, 2011 both through Metal Blade Records.








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Captain Beefheart Dies Aged 69

The avant-garde musician Captain Beefheart, the musical alias of Don Van Vliet, has died at the age of 69 from complications from multiple sclerosis at a hospital in Northern California on Friday, December 17.

Born in California in 1941, Van Vliet achieved notoriety with his rotating ensemble of musicians, The Magic Band and released twelve albums with the group, most notably 1969’s ‘Trout Mask Replica,' which achieved widespread critical acclaim. Most of 'Trout Mask Replica' was recorded in March 1969 at Whitney Studios in Los Angeles, California. The lineup of The Magic Band at this time consisted of Bill Harkleroad and Jeff Cotton on guitar, Mark Boston on bass guitar, Victor Hayden on bass clarinet, and John French on drums and percussion. Beefheart played several brass and woodwind instruments (including saxophone, musette, and hunting horn) and contributed most of the vocal parts, with Zappa and various members of the band providing occasional vocals and narration. The well-rehearsed Magic Band recorded all instrumental tracks for 'Trout Mask Replica' in a single six-hour recording session; Van Vliet's vocal and horn tracks were laid down over the next few days. Upon release in the US, Trout Mask Replica sold poorly and failed to chart. It was more successful in the UK, where it spent a week on the charts, at #21.

A widely recognized and acclaimed composition, Trout Mask Replica was ranked #58 on Rolling Stone's 2003 list The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Allmusic's Steve Huey wrote that "its inspiring reimagining of what was possible in a rock context laid the groundwork for countless future experiments in rock surrealism, especially during the punk/new wave era."

As well as being known for his powerful singing voice, he was also a multi-instrumentalist, playing the saxophone and harmonica.

Read full obit Here

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George Pickow, Artist Who Chronicled Musical Life, Is Dead at 88

By MARGALIT FOX NY Times

George Pickow, a photographer best known for the thousands of album covers in which he captured the titans of folk, jazz and pop music — including Theodore Bikel, Louis Armstrong and Lena Horne — in their midcentury prime, died on Dec. 10 in Roslyn, N.Y. He was 88 and lived in Port Washington, on Long Island.

The cause was respiratory failure, his son Jon said. Mr. Pickow also had a home in Viper, Ky., the birthplace of his wife, the folk singer Jean Ritchie.

Working quietly behind the scenes, Mr. Pickow (pronounced PEEK-oh) documented the bubbling cultural ferment of New York City, and in particular Greenwich Village, where he and Ms. Ritchie lived after their marriage in 1950.

For Elektra Records and other labels, he photographed folk singers like Josh White, Pete Seeger, Judy Collins and, of course, Ms. Ritchie, as well as jazz and pop artists like Little Richard, Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Bennett, Nina Simone and Louis Jordan.

Read the rest   Here