Billy Bragg: Mr Love & Justice

It's been seven years since the last Billy Bragg album. Mr Love & Justice is a mixed bag of love songs and politics. Recorded in 2006 and 2007 there is still the familia guitar stutter in songs like Something Happened, with his trusty companions knows as The Blokes. Billy may have slowed down his material over the years - the title track sounds a lot like Elvis Costello, but he still can point an accusing finger in O Freedom.

Mr Love & Justice is an album that thrives on lesser known percussion instruments like the hang drum, the reco reco and cajón. Mr. Bragg can't get away from his Englishness, but he will be damned if he doesn't try. More power to him, the world needs singers who are not afraid to speak up.

Mr Love & Justice is released in the UK by Cooking Vinyl on 3 March 2008 and by Anti- in North America on 22 April. Shock Records is releasing the album in Australia and New Zealand. Also available as a deluxe 2CD with all the songs sung by a solo Billy. The single I Keep Faith is currently on his MySpace site, with backup vocals from Robert Wyatt.

Neil Young: confirmed date for Rock Werchter 07/04

Neil Young returns to Europe this summer. Just confirmed: a show at Rock Werchter, Belgium, July 4.

» rockwerchter.be
» neilyoung.com

Live Jambands in Holland #100: Jim James Amsterdam 2000-12-13 (part#02)

Episode 100 in the podcasts section Live Jambands in Holland. Part #02 of a Jim James (My Morning Jacket) solo show in Amsterdam:

Live Jambands in Holland #100:
Jim James
Paradiso, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2000-12-13 (part#02) (click to download)
Running time: 52:28 -- 128 kbit
Source: Sennheisser MKE 40-60 (2) > Sony TCD-D8
Location: close to speaker stack
Taper: Reel Records
Transfer: Sony DTC-55ES > DAL Digital Only (digital) PC > WAV > flac (8)
Editing: Reel Records (Soundforge, Magix Samplitude, BBE Sonic Maximizer, sev. Plug-Ins > WAV > FLAC

1. Tune-Up Time
2. Evelyn Is Not Real
3. The Way That He Sings
4. Suspicious Minds
5. Strangulation
6. It's About Twilight Now
7. Bermuda Highway
8. I Needed It Most
9. I Will Be There When You Die
10. My Morphine
11. By My Car

More about Jim James:
» en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_James

Umprey's McGee: "Slacker" 2007/02/17 live free MP3

Yet another freebie from livedownloads.com. Umprey's McGee performing a slow moving 14 minute version of Slacker, recorded live at the Fillmore, San Francisco, CA - 2008/02/17.

MP3: Umphrey's McGee - Slacker

» livedownloads.com
» umlive.net

Paul Languedoc: new G4 model

Paul Languedoc, fabled hollow body guitar maker, has a new model: the G4:

The G4 is designed to have a little tighter sound than the G2, with a smaller sound cavity, a single sound hole, and a slimed down profile, though it's still very responsive. Also the construction is a bit simpler so I'll be able to offer it for somewhat less.

» languedocguitars.com

Escape from MySpace #06: The Sapiens

Escape from MySpace
Want to get out of the hell called MySpace? You can't. The posts are still up though. The section as such is closed.

Can you name a electronic new wave band fronted by a guy who channels Elvis Costello? Chicago band The Sapiens from Chicago mix early new wave with Sixties keyboard parts.

They have an EP called Vs. The Hornet. Can someone bring back Stiff Records and sign these guys?

The Sapiens:
Evan: vocals
Matt: keyboards
David Alan: bass
D. Fine: drums
Charlie: guitar

Live dates:

• 03/07 Beat Kitchen (18+), Chicago, IL
• 04/07 The Note, Chicago, IL (w/ The Future of the Ghost)

MP3: The Sapiens - Void
MP3: The Sapiens - Waitress, Waitress

» thesapiens.com
» myspace.com/thesapiensband

Tribute 2 Prince: March 23 in Utrecht, The Netherlands

A Dutch tribute to Prince in Utrecht, March 23. Celebrating a legendary Prince aftershow that happened on December 23 1998. On that night Prince ended the finale with rap containing utterings "Get Ready 2 Bomb - Osama bin Laden"" and "America watch out in 2001". There is perfect explanation for that: coincidence. The incident is mentioned a new book by Rob Scheers about the city of Utrecht called "De kleine parade" (the small parade).

Tribute 2 Prince
03/23/2008
Tivoli
Utrecht, The Netherlands
Tickets: 12 EUR

Vocalists:

• Anneke van Giersbergen (Agua de Annique, ex The Gathering)
• Wouter Hamel
• Hadewych Minis
• Senna
• Boris
• Llewy Is Sel (Relax)
• Charlie Dée
• Tjeerd Bomhof (Voicst)

Band:

• Martijn Bosman: drums
• Rudi de Graaff: percussion
• Manuel Hugas: bass
• Wouter Planteijdt: guitar
• René van Barneveld: guitar
• Wiboud Burkens: keys
• Jan van Duikeren: trumpet
• Tom Beek: sax
• Dedre Twiss: backing vocals
• Jasmin Tusjadia: backing vocals
• Russell Patawala: backing vocals

» tivoli.nl

DeVotchKa: USA tour dates

DeVotchKa have announced their USA Spring dates:

• 04/28 Fillmore, San Francisco, California
• 04/29 MacDonald Theater, Eugene, Oregon
• 04/30 The Wonder Ballroom, Portland, Oregon
• 05/03 Showbox SoDo, Seattle, Washington
• 05/04 The Big Easy, Boise, Idaho
• 05/07 First Ave, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• 05/08 Turner Theater, Millwaukee, Wisconsin
• 05/09 The Vic Theater, Chicago, Illinois
• 05/10 The Vogue, Indianapolis, Indiana
• 05/13 The Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, Georgia
• 05/16 9:30 Club, Washington DC, Washington DC
• 05/17 The Fillmore/TLA, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• 05/18 Paradise, Boston, Massachusetts
• 05/20 Terminal 5, New York, New York
• 05/24 Slowdown, Omaha, Nebraska

» devotchka.net
» myspace.com/devotchkamusic

Swimmer One: "The Balance Company" video

Watch the video for the new Swimmer One single The Balance Company. The video was directed by the Edinburgh artist Daniel Warren, who has designed the cover art for every Swimmer One release so far.

» swimmerone.co.uk
» myspace.com/swimmerone

Rothbury Festival: recent additions

Recent additions to the Rothbury Festival:

• Rodrigo y Gabriela
• Mickey Hart Band Featuring Steve Kimock and George Porter Jr.
• The Wailers
• Trampled By Turtles

Rothbury Festival
Double JJ Ranch
July 3-6
Rothbury, Michigan

MP3: Steve Kimock & Billy Goodman - Ghost Town

» rothburyfestival.com
» myspace.com/rothburyfestival

Steve Kimock: playing in the barn with Billy Goodman videos

Want to know what Steve Kimock is up to these days? Watch these videos recorded on January 8 at his barn with Billy Goodman, performing Counting On You and You Are With Me.

» kimock.com

Algernon: Familiar Espionage

Ever heard of neopsychedelicpostrockjazz? You should, it's great. It's the kind the music that is made by Algernon, a Chicago five piece whose sophomore album Familiar Espionage is an all instrumental journey through feedback, blink-and-you-miss-them Beatles melodies, Zappa-inspired vibes, heavy metal outbursts and left field Syd Barrett weirdness. It's that good.

Guitar player Dave Miller is the resident musical genius of this band, the kind of composer that music critics will refer to in the not too distant future trying to pigeonhole other maverick six string wizards.

Algernon:
Dave Miller: guitar
Nick Fryer: guitar
Katie Wiegman: vibes
Dr. Pants: bass
Cory Healey: drums

Familiar Espionage is released on ears&eyes Records. You can stream all tracks here.

Tracks:

1. Deactivate the Motion Sensor
2. Beneath the Ailing Flesh
3. (Don't Press the) Red Button
4. Transmission Received
5. Scene = Change
6. Eraserhead
7. Mission Protocol

» algernonmusic.com
» myspace.com/algernonmusic

Words about music (176): Rick Danko

I love to play; a stage is a safe place for me to be. It's not that way for most folks, but I'd be lost without it.

Rick Danko

The Who: Bridge School Benefit 1999 pro-shot DVD (both nights)

Longliverock.org kicks down another goodie. A pro-shot DVD of both Bridge School Benefit shows. Two hours of acoustic goodness by the 'orrible 'Oo.

The Who
Bridge School Benefit Concerts
30th & 31st October 1999
Shoreline Amphitheatre
Mountain View, CA, USA

Lineage: Pro-shot > C Band Satellite > Master VHS > Standalone Pioneer DVD Recorder > PC Authored DVD
Video: NTSC 704x480 29.97fps 4334kbps VBR
Audio: Dolby Digital AC3 48khz 256kbps Stereo

» Grab your torrent

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: in-store March 3 in London

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds do an in-store at HMV in London:

To celebrate the launch of their new album DIG, LAZARUS, DIG!!!, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds will be performing live and then signing copies of the new album at HMV, 150 Oxford Street, LONDON on Monday 3rd March at 6.00pm. This is sure to be a packed event so get there early!
Please note: due to time restrictions, access to meet the band will be limited to 300 fans only. Wristbands that allow access to the queue to get a signed album will be given away from the store on the day of the event from 9.00am on a first-come first-served basis, one wristband per customer only, no reservations.

» nickcaveandthebadseeds.com
» myspace.com/nickcaveandthebadseeds

Barry Adamson: Back To The Cat

Barry Adamson used to play bass with new wave outfit Magazine, Visage and Nick Cave. He moved on since then as a solo artist and his new one Back To The Cat is his best yet. Adamson is the kind of guy who can sing about things going awry in a big way, styling his songs as UK sixties soundtrack. A bit of jazz, a bit of funk with subtle brass riding on top. Music from the age when Sean Connery was the coolest guy on the planet who could get away with murder with a half smile on his face.

If you liked his work for David Lynch's movie Lost Highway, you will love Back To The Cat.

Back To The Cat is released thru Central Control International, the production home of Barry Adamson. Release dates: Digital: March 17 (worldwide), CD & LP: March 31 2008 (UK/EU), April 22 (USA/AUS).

Tracks:

1. The Beaten Side Of Town
2. Straight 'Til Sunrise
3. Spend A Little Time
4. Shadow Of Death Hotel
5. I Could Love You
6. Walk On Fire
7. Flight
8. Civilization
9. People
10. Psycho_Sexual

Tour dates:

• 03/31 Oxford, Academy, UK
• 04/01 Edinburgh, Voodoo Rooms, UK
• 04/02 Glasgow, Oran Mor, UK
• 04/04 Manchester, Lowry Theatre, UK
• 04/05 Nottingham, Rescue Rooms, UK
• 04/06 Bristol, Thekla, UK
• 04/07 Berlin, Privatclub, Germany
• 04/09 London, Pigalle Clu, UK
• 04/10 Brighton, Komedia, UK
• 04/12 Paris, Noveau Casino, France
• 06/18 Brisbane, The Zoo, Australia
• 06/19 Melbourne, The Corner Hotel, Australia
• 06/20 Sydney, The Factory, Australia
• 06/21 Perth, The Bakery Artrage Complex, Australia

» barryadamson.com

Steve Kimock & Friends: Californian tour dates

Steve Kimock & Friends are on tour in California in March. This incarnation consists of Steve Kimock, Melvin Seals, John Morgan Kimock, Hutch Hutchinson, and Billy Goodman.

Live dates:

• 03/11 Red Fox Tavern, Eureka, CA
• 03/13 Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA
• 03/14 Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA
• 03/15 Forestville Club, Forestville, CA
• 03/16 Forestville Club, Forestville, CA

» kimock.com

Reed KD: The Ashes Bloom

Reed KD is a singer from Santa Cruz, CA. It's quite obvious that he listened a lot acts like CSNY, the Byrds and Paul Simon. His album The Ashes Bloom is a nice folk record that tells you stories about the sea. Mellow music indeed, but with enough original arrangements to prevent you from nodding off. This album is not a home run, but it gets him to second base without any trouble. Give him some more training and he could be big in his niche.

The Ashes Bloom is released on Dirty Laundry Records. Download it from iTunes or buy it at CD Baby

» myspace.com/reedkd

Live Jambands in Holland #99: Jim James Amsterdam 2000-12-13 (part#01)

Episode 99 in the podcasts section Live Jambands in Holland. Part #01 of a Jim James (My Morning Jacket) solo show in Amsterdam:

Live Jambands in Holland #99:
Jim James
Paradiso, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2000-12-13 (part#01) (click to download)
Running time: 52:50 -- 128 kbit
Source: Sennheisser MKE 40-60 (2) > Sony TCD-D8
Location: close to speaker stack
Taper: Reel Records
Transfer: Sony DTC-55ES > DAL Digital Only (digital) PC > WAV > flac (8)
Editing: Reel Records (Soundforge, Magix Samplitude, BBE Sonic Maximizer, sev. Plug-Ins > WAV > FLAC

1. Up On Cripple Creek
2. Old September Blues
3. X-Mas Curtain
4. Lowdown
5. Hopefully
6. The Dark
7. The Bear
8. Rocket Man
9. It Makes No Difference
10. They Ran
11. R.I.P.V.G.
12. I Will Sing You Songs
13. The War Begun

More about Jim James:
» en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_James

John Cale: "Slow Dazzle" and "Helen of Troy "vinyl reissues with bonus tracks

Speciality label Vinyl Lovers reisssues the two classic John Cale albums Slow Dazzle and Helen Of Troy with bonus stuck at the end of each side. No new material, all tracks can be found on The Island Years compilation.

Both albums are distributed through Lowlands.

(Thanks: Robert van Gameren)

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals: This Is Somewhere

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are road rats. They have been on the stages of all main American main rock festivals. Fronted by singer/composer Grace Potter they specialize in rock songs that follow the path laid down by the Stones in their Let It Bleed thru Exile On Main St. period and the "on the road" songs by Bob Seeger. Their album This Is Somewhere is more held back than their live shows. There is country in there and folk, especially when guitarist Scott Tournet plugs in his lap steel guitar ("You See Me"). Bryan Dondero's use of a baritone guitar adds warmth to a song like Mr. Columbus.

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are a 21st century classic rock band. They know where they came from, and they move forward with confidence, coming up with lyrics like these in Big White Gate:

Saint Peter won't you open up the big white gate
Cause i heard about forgiveness and i hope it ain't too late
I ain't no holy roller but you go tell your king That all the folks up in heaven might like to hear me sing

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals deserve to be a lot bigger than being the band with the token tomboy singer in the jam band scene. Turn it up.

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals:
Grace Potter: lead vocals, Hammond B-3, piano, guitar
Scott Tournet: guitar, slide guitar, harmonica
Matthew Burr: drums, percussion
Bryan Dondero: upright bass, electric bass, mandolin, baritone guitar

Tracks:

1. Ah Mary
2. Stop The Bus
3. Apologies
4. Ain't No Time
5. Mr. Columbus
6. You May See Me
7. Lose Some Time
8. Mastermind
9. Here's To The Meantime
10. Falling or Flying
11. Big White Gate

This Is Somewhere is released on Ragged Company Records in conjunction with Hollywood Records.

» gracepotter.com

For sale: the greatest music collection

And you thought you owned a lot of music. A really big collection is for sale. You need at least 3 million dollars.

Every recording in this amazing collection has been purchased by its owner, Paul Mawhinney, over a period of a half century, and stored in a 16,000 square foot climate - controlled warehouse. Many millions of dollars have been invested in the acquisition and storage of the collection, the estimated value of which is now greater than fifty million dollars.

» thegreatestmusiccollection.com

(Thanks: Triple-B)

Escape from MySpace #05: Expecting Rain

Escape from MySpace
Want to get out of the hell called MySpace? You can't. The posts are still up though. The section as such is closed.

It took them three years to record it, but it was worth the wait. Cleveland band Expecting Rain have finished their album Saint Cecilia Sound System and you get it for free in a handy zip file here.

If you like carefully layered indie folk songs, check them out. A follow-up should not take so long. Hopefully.

» expectingrainmusic.com
» myspace.com/expectingrain

Sons and Daughters: Paradiso 2008/02/20 webcast

UK indie band Sons and Daughters plays the Paradiso in Amsterdam. No ticket? Watch the webcast on fabchannel.com.

Sons and Daughters
Webcast 2008/02/20
Starts: 21:00 local time (GMT +1)

» fabchannel.com/sons_and_daughters
» sonsanddaughtersloveyou.com
» myspace.com/sonsanddaughters

Up for auction: Number 00000007 of Revolution #9 (mono)

Placing a bid for a rare Beatles' album might be hazardous to your financial stability:

An extremely rare copy of the Beatles' ninth studio album the White Album, is going under the hammer at Film and Music Memorabilia auction early next month.
A copy of the White Album, with the serial number '00000007' is being auctioned on March 4 and is expected to fetch up to £5000.

» More

Introducing: Poogie Bell Band

Poogie Bell is one hell of a drummer. Never heard of him? Think again. He is the man behind the kit on a lot of influential hip-hop albums. He is a jazz buff first - his father played with Max Roach and Ornette Coleman, and a funky dude second. It all comes together on his Poogie Bell Band albums. Track down Get On The Kit and find out.

MP3: Poogie Bell Band - Adolescence

» poogiebell.com
» myspace.com/thepoogiebellband

Fat Daddy Has Been: Who Wants Seconds?

Fat Daddy Has Been from Newark, DE, is the kind of band that bring a boring party to life within a few minutes. They play a mix ska, some reggae, funk, hip-hop and rock. Three members handle the vocals and they are having a good time singing over the classic drums, bass and guitar set up. A trumpet, sax and trombone join in to blast the house down.

Their new album Who Wants Seconds? is their calling card for wider recognition. It is filled to the brim with highly danceable tunes. When was the last time you jumped around in your room listening to an album?

Who Wants Seconds? is released on the MilkBoy UnLabel. Buy it at CD Baby.

Fat Daddy Has Been:
Marchitect: vocals
Steve Bailey: vocals
Kevin Tarzanin: vocals, bass Donny Merrill: drums and percussion
Steve Bailey: guitar
JP Jones: trumpet
Andy Abrahams: sax
Taquia Brown: trombone

» myspace.com/fatdaddyhasbeen

Johnny Dowd: "A Drunkard's Masterpiece", tour dates

Singer/songwriter Johnny Dowd's new record, A Drunkard's Masterpiece, will be released in Europe on March 24. The U.S. release will be in April. He will be touring behind it, mostly in Europe.

USA:

• 02/23 The Haunt, Ithaca, NY
• 04/05 Chapter House, Ithaca, NY

Europe:

• 04/24 Cultureel Podium Roepaen, Ottersum, The Netherlands
• 04/25 Ekko, Utrecht, The Netherlands
• 04/26 The Netherlands (venue to be announced)
• 04/27 Hedon, Zwolle, The Netherlands (afternoon)
• 04/27 Paradiso, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (evening)
• 04/28 Exit, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
• 04/29 The Hague, The Netherlands (venue to be announced)
• 04/30 The Netherlands or Belgium (venue to be announced)
• 05/01 Arenberg, Antwerp, Belgium
• 05/02 N9, Eeklo, Belgium
• 05/03 El Lokal, Zurich, Switzerland
• 05/04 Tap Tab Musikraum, Schaffhausen, Switzerland
• 05/05 Chelsea, Vienna, Austria
• 05/06 Bad Bonn, Dudingen (near Fribourg), Switzerland
• 05/08 Dingwalls, London, UK
• 05/09 The Musician, Leicester, UK
• 05/10 The Boardwalk, Sheffield, UK

» johnnydowd.com

Kill Ugly Radio: no longer focussing exclusively on FZ news

Excellent Frank Zappa blogger Barry from Kill Ugly Radio has had enough with all the legal mumbojumbo from Gail Zappa and her cronies at the Zappa Family Trust:

The internet's Summer of Love couldn't have ended more poignantly than with the Zappa Family Trust spitting in our face for attempting to keep the music of Frank Zappa alive, and for attracting new fans. I think I can speak for all of us here when I say that C&D left us with a sour taste in the mouth. We find the ZFT’s morbid tactics of divide and conquer misguided, counter-productive and, well, disgusting. It has taken all the fun out of working on this site. We’ve had enough.
As of now, this weblog will no longer be focussing exclusively on FZ news.

And Gail, your husband went on record to say:

Decades of indoctrination, manipulation, censorship and KGB excursions haven't altered this fact: People want a piece of their own little Something-or-Other, and, if they don't get it, have a tendency to initiate counterrevolution.

» killuglyradio.com

Danny Schmidt: Little Grey Sheep

Danny Schmidt is a craftsman who constructs his songs with the utmost care. His new album Little Grey Sheep is a collection that demands intense listening, preferably through headphones. He has stories to tell that are rooted in the folk tradition, tales of despair and screwed up love affairs. He is a loner that doesn't want to be alone.

Schmidt went back to his collection of songs he wrote over the years. Some of them were left of his previous albums as much as seven years ago. He spend a lot of time putting them in the right order, slowly piecing bits and pieces together to create an album that sounds and feels as a unity. He went back to the Drawing Board as it were:

But sometimes sunshine hits my glass
And answers 'fore I have to ask
How the hell can rainbows
Show so many shortest paths?

Little Grey Sheep is released on Waterbug Records.

Tracks:

1. Leaves Are Burning
2. Drawing Board
3. Go Ugly Early
4. Cliff Song
5. Around the Waist
6. Adios to Tejasito
7. Tales of Sweet Odysseus
8. Emigrant, MT
9. California's On Fire
10. Song for Judy & Bridget
11. Company of Friends
12. Troubles Comes Calling

» dannyschmidt.com
» myspace.com/dannyschmidt

Brian Wilson kimono

Dude, where is my kimono? God only knows who is willing to buy a Brian Wilson kimono.

First there was the Brian Wilson doll and now this. Is this the ultimate wardrobe enhancement for listening to Smile or Pet Sounds?

Brian is selling it through his website... This is official merchandise.

"Waiter!"
"Sir?"
"White Russian."
"In a minute, sir."

» Buy a kimono
» brianwilson.com

(Thru: Ear Farm)

Phish in Europe torrents: 1998/07/08 Barcelona (Soundcheck + Set 1 partial - SBD)

Phish
1998/07/08 (Soundcheck + Set 1 partial - SBD)
Zeleste
Barcelona, Spain

» Grab your torrent

VIRV.TV: Indie music clips

Online music video services are all the rage. VIRTV has a nice selection of indie clips. You need a to sign-up and download a plug-in to be able to watch the clips.

VIRV.TV is free and we broadcast a hand-picked, all-indie playlist 24/7, exclusively on the web. You can find in our playlist the greatest indie artists including: Bright Eyes, Of Montreal, Spoon, Arcade fire, Xiu Xiu, The Good Life, Now Its Overhead, Architecture In Helsinki, M.Ward, Devendra Banhart and many many more.

» virv.tv

Escape from MySpace #04: Aaron Berg and The Heavy Love

Escape from MySpace
Want to get out of the hell called MySpace? You can't. The posts are still up though. The section as such is closed.

Aaron Berg and The Heavy Love are a tight combo from Brooklyn who follow the path laid down by artists bands like the Modern Lovers and Robyn Hitchcock: melodic garage rock with a strong focus on the keyboards.

Main man Aaron Berg is an observer with an accurate ear for everyday life. They have an album out called Songs for Madame X. Watch our for their twenty part travelogue of "Love and Coffee" from the 15,000 mile cross-country tour completed this past fall.

Aaron Berg and The Heavy Love:
Aaron Berg: vocals, guitar
Myk Freedman: lap steel
Michael E.: piano, Rhodes, Moog, Nord, tape delay, electronics
Chris Berry: drums, percussion
Sam Howard: bass, harmony vocals, banjo

» myspace.com/theheavylove

Patti Smith: "Dream of Life" trailer

Watch the trailer for the Patti Smith documentary Dream of Life.

» dreamoflifethemovie.com

Don Airey: A Light in the Sky

When you have been exposed to heavy duty keyboard players at an impressionable age, changes are that you will never get over it. Don Airey has been pounding the keys since 1972, playing with Ozzie, Colloseum II and now Deep Purple. He is a busy guy and had to squeeze recording of his new album A Light in the Sky in between live DP shows and tons of other commitments.

Like so many prog inclined symfo metal rockers Don Airey likes space. Outerspace. The big time out there. It's the theme of his first solo album in 20 odd years. Hence you get a Floydesque instrumental like Andromeda M31 where guitarist Rob Harris emulates David Gilmour and Steve Morse in one giant sweep. Most of the tracks are instrumentals, the actual "songs" fall into the heavy metal category with capable singers such as Carl Sentance, Danny Bowes and Harry James. Drummer Harry James? Yep, he is the vocalist on the space oddity Rocket to the Moon, a 1950s novelty hit. Lidia Baich laid down some great folk-inspired violin ensuring that a track like Into Orbit really takes off.

A Light in the Sky is a cohesive sounding album. Airey insisted on people actually being in the Chapel Studios in Lincolnshire where the album was recorded: "About everything is a first or second take, all of the Hammond playing and most of the synth and guitar solos were recorded live. I knew I didn’t want to make one of those Fileshare albums in which everyone sends their parts by email."

The music is huge, but the lyrics are below par -- "I'm sighing / You're crying / We're dying" (Love You Too Much) is just plain childish.

There are plans to tour behind the album in April. Nothing definite though.

Tracks:

1. Big Bang
2. Ripples in the Fabric of Time
3. Shooting Star
4. Space Troll Patrol
5. Andromeda M31
6. Endless Night
7. Rocket to the Moon
8. Lift Off
9. Love You Too Much
10. Cartwheel
11. Sombrero
12. Into Orbit
13. A Light in the Sky
14. Pale Blue Dot
15. Metallicity
16. Big Crunch
17. Till the End

Pre-order Light in the Sky from mascotrecords.com. Release date: February 22.

» donairey.com

Mountain Jam IV: line-up additions

Four new acts have been added to the line-up for Mountain Jam IV:

• Dr. Dog
• RatDog
• Pete Francis and Larry McCray
• Umphrey’s McGee

Mountain Jam IV
Hunter Mountain, NY
May 30th – June 1st

» mountainjam.com

John Cale: "Church of Anthrax" reissue in April

Church of Anthrax, the album that John Cale recorded with Terry Riley in 1971, will be reissued on Legacy Records, a Sony/BMG imprint, in April.

No bonus tracks and probably as a USA only release.

» More about Church of Anthrax

Pete Townshend: writing, performing with The Who

Pete Townshend is writing new stuff for possible new album by The Who. They might stage Quadrophenia again. Will he hit the stage with Roger and Co?

There is a chance we might play some shows in the Festival season this summer. I would want to do that purely for fun, and I don't want to turn it into a big tour. I need to stay focussed on my writing.

» More

IgOr: Solo View

There is a thin line between screwing up and coming up with avant-garde guitar playing. Igor Grigoriev performing as IgOr has been at the forefront for decades and is a true original. His latest album Solo View is a well structured collection of compositions that leave plenty of space.

Born in Moscow, he is currently based in LA and teaching guitar, music history, jazz history, ensembles, and improvisation at Los Angeles Harbor College and Cerritos College in Los Angeles, CA. Starting out as a rock musician in Russia he slowly drifted towards jazz and avant-garde.

Solo View is an album that needs be discovered track by track. The Japanese sounding notes and the drilling noises in White Doll sound sweet when you listen to them at first, only to realise taat it is in fact a pretty dark piece. IgOr pushes his guitar to the limit to great effect. He is a painter with six strings conjuring up images of the young Bach composing on a electric guitar. If David Lynch ever decides to make a film noir detective, tracks like Whatever Parker Wants and After A Long Day should feature prominently on the soundtrack.

Tracks:

1. Dollar E
2. Key Me
3. For A Better Future
4. Whatever Parker Wants
5. Bach
6. Love Or Leave
7. After A Long Day
8. White Doll

Solo View is released on iiirecords.com. Buy it at CD Baby.

» igorogogo.com
» en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Grigoriev

Rothbury Festival: music, the climate and energy alternatives

Yet another big music festival? Yet another big music festival. Will Mike Gordon join Primus, Phil Lesh and Dave Schools for a big bass blow-out? Will people throw things at Dave Matthews? Will Dweezil Zappa kick Michael Kang when he tries to sit in with ZPZ? And will Warren Haynes unleash his guitar tone with at least ten different bands?

Question, questions. Some answers at the Rothbury Festival, which serves a good cause as well:

It is ROTHBURY’s goal to harness the unique energy of the live music community into a durable social movement toward an important cause: Climate Change and Clean Energy Alternatives. In addition to a diverse and stellar lineup of over 70 bands on 8 stages, ROTHBURY will host a Think Tank and Energy Fair, and features unprecedented audience participation opportunities.

Rothbury Festival
Double JJ Ranch
July 3-6
Rothbury, Michigan

• 311
• A 3
• Bassnectar
• Beth Orton
• Bettye Lavette
• Brett Dennen
• Busdriver
• Citizen Cope
• Colbie Caillat
• Crystal Method DJ Set
• Dave Matthews Band
• Dead Confederate
• Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Soul Stew Revival
• Diplo
• DJ Rekha
• DJ Rootz
• Drive-By Truckers
• Emmitt Nershi Band
• EOTO
• Flosstradamus
• Gogol Bordello
• Gomez
• Gov’t Mule
• Jakob Dylan and the Green Mountain Rebels
• JJ Grey & MOFRO
• John Mayer
• Keller Williams and The WMD’S
• Lotus
• Medeski Martin & Wood
• Michael Franti and Spearhead
• Mike Gordon
• Modest Mouse
• Motion Potion
• Of Montreal
• Panjea with Michael Kang
• Phil Lesh and Friends
• Pnuma Trio
• Primus
• Railroad Earth
• Ray LaMontagne
• Sage Francis
• Slightly Stoopid
• Snoop Dogg
• SOJOURN
• State Radio
• STS9
• Taj Mahal
• Tea Leaf Green
• The Beautiful Girls
• The Black Keys
• The Disco Biscuits
• The Dresden Dolls
• The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker
• The Greyboy Allstars
• The Juan MacLean
• The Secret Machines
• Thievery Corporation
• Widespread Panic
• Yard Dogs Road Show
• Yonder Mountain String Band with Jon Fishman
• Zappa Plays Zappa

» rothburyfestival.com
» myspace.com/rothburyfestival

Radiohead: confirmed 2008 USA tour dates

First batch of confirmed Radiohead USA live dates.

• 05/05 West Palm Beach, FL @ Cruzan Ampitheatre
• 05/06 Tampa, FL @ Ford Ampitheatre
• 05/08 Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Ampitheatre
• 05/09 Charlotte, NC @ Verizon Wireless Ampitheatre
• 05/11 Bristow, VA @ Nissan Pavilion Ampitheatre
• 05/14 St. Louis, MO @ Verizon Wireless Ampitheatre
• 05/17 Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion
• 05/18 Dallas, TX @ Superpages.com Center

» radiohead.com

Stephen Emmer: UK Release of "Recitement" April 7th

An album to look forward too. Dutch musician Stephen Emmer created a spoken word album called Recitement. Tony Visconti handled the producing and the words are delivered by famous speakers like Lou Reed, Allen Ginsberg, Sylvia Kristel, Kurt Schwitters and Richard Burton.

The album was recorded at Studio 150 by Joeri Saal and Stephen Emmer in Amsterdam, and was mixed by Tony Visconti at Phillip Glass' Looking Glass Studios in New York City (the latter's credits include David Bowie, T.Rex, Morrissey), and features several musical performers including Blonde Redhead's singer Kazu Makino, jazz musician Benjamin Herman, legendary pianist Mike Garson (David Bowie, Smashing Pumpkins), classical singer Maja Roodveldt, old school rapper Shyrock, and Joost Kroon of New Cool Collective and pop duo Bauer (ex Bettie Serveert).

Watch the video for Passengers featuring Lou Reed.

Recitement is released in the UK April 7th on Supertracks Records.

» myspace.com/stephenrogeremmer
» recitement.com

(From left to right: Tony Visconti and Stephen Emmer during the mixing sessions of 'Recitement' at Phillip Glass' Looking Glass Studios, New York City. Photo credit: (c) Sacha de Boer - sacha@sachadeboer.com)