Bill Wyman on his dirt cheap Dallas Tuxedo bass

Bill Wyman is still in awe with the sound of his Dallas Tuxedo bass, which he purchased for about £8 back in the day. He played it on almost all Rolling Stones albums, with songs from Sticky Fingers as his favourites. From an interview in Guitar Player:

'I Got the Blues' was probably one of the best songs I ever did with that one. 'Sister Morphine,' from the same LP, is another — a lot of the slow, bluesy things, the ballady things, songs where I wanted it to sound like a string bass. I can sort of slide on it because there are no frets, and I can almost get a little bit of that slap sound playing it with the thumb. I play every other bass with a pick, but I use my thumb on that one.

» billwyman.com

Steven Wilson & Tim Bowness: The Album Years 1972 Part #1

English musicians and music geeks extraordinaire Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness have posted a new episode of their podcast The Album Years. They talk about 1972, discussing albums by David Bowie, Roxy Music, The Rolling Stones, T-Rex, and a whole lot more. This is part #1 about this year. The pair can be watched on YouTube as well.

Cover Me: (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

Watch PJ Harvey and Björk perform the Rolling Stones classic (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction at the BRIT Awards @ at Alexandra Palace in London on February 14, 1994.

» pjharvey.net
» bjork.com
» rollingstones.com

Cover Me: (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

Watch the original Devo promo video for their take on the Rolling Stones classic I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.

» clubdevo.com

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards statues in Dartford

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are honoured with bronze statues made by Amy Goodman in Dartford. They ran into each other at town’s railway station in 1961, talked music, and the rest is history. From The Guardian:

She said it was an honour and privilege to sculpt “two incredible music icons”. Her aim was to capture their energy and chemistry, she added.

Goodman decided to depict Jagger and Richards as they were in the 1980s. “I could have gone for any time between their late teenage years to their late 70s,” she said.

Brian Jones: documentary on BBC Two

Brian Jones founded The Rolling Stones, acted as their leader in the band's early days, could play pretty much any instrument, but he got sidelined, developed a drug habit, and drowned in swimming pool of his home, Cotchford Farm, in Sussex on July 3rd, 1969. He was 27. That is the short story. Director Nick Broomfield has made a documentary - The Stones and Brian Jones - that will be aired on the Arena series on BBC Two on May 15 at 9PM. When he was 14 he met Brian on the train: "We chatted about trains, mainly. He told me that he loved trains and the line we were travelling on – the Great Western – was his favourite. I just remember thinking how very middle-class, well spoken, polite and accommodating he was".

Cover Me: Wild Horses

Watch The Sundays promo video for their version of the Rolling Stones classic Wild Horses. It can be found on their Blind album.

» The Sundays on Wikipedia

The Rolling Stones: "2000 Light Years From Home" video

The Rolling Stones have unearthed a promo video for 2000 Light Years From Home, a track from their much maligned Their Satanic Majesties Request album. They became totally psychedelic in an attempt to align with the popular sounds of 1967. It is actually a lot better than it gets credited for and this particular track is a showcase for Brian Jones, the band's multi-instrumentalist who could not resist picking up yet another instrument and play it way above average.

» rollingstones.com

Royal Mail issues Rolling Stones stamps

The Rolling Stones are featured on a new series of stamps issued by Royal Mail in the UK. The stamps will go on sale on February 20.

» rollingstones.com

Cover Me: Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)

Watch blues singer Lucinda Williams perform the Stones classic Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker). It's on her Lu's Jukebox Vol. 6 - It's Only Rock And Roll: A Tribute To The Rolling Stones album.

» lucindawilliams.com

Darryl Jones: the Bass Player interview

Darryl Jones talked shop with Joel McIver for a lengthy interview with Bass Player. On playing with The Rolling Stones:

At one rehearsal, I figured out what Bill had played on Respectable, and I started playing it, and Mick was like 'Where are you going?’ I said, ‘Well, this is what Bill played on the song’ and he said ‘No no, don’t play that. Play what you hear.’

Drivin' N Cryin': Paste session in Atlanta, GA

Atlanta roots rockers Drivin' N' Cryin' paid a visit to the Paste Studio in their hometown on January 24 and played four songs. Three from their latest album - Live The Love Beautiful, Ian McLagan, and Step By Step - before wrapping up the set with the Rolling Stones cover Jumpin' Jack Flash.

Cover Me: Miss You

English rhythm & noir quintet Alberteen have posted a warts and all recording of the Rolling Stones classic Miss You, a throwback to their start as a band:

Recorded live in one take last year for an unbroadcast BBC4 music programme following a last minute invitation, this is a very raw version of the Stones disco classic, as reinterpreted by Alberteen. We make no apologies for the quality. One day we might even record it.

The Economist: A rocker’s guide to management

Ian Leslie describes four ways for the inner workings of a band in his article A rocker’s guide to management for 1843, The Economist’s magazine of ideas, culture and lifestyle: friends (Beatles, autocracies (Tom Petty, Bruce Springteen), democracies (R.E.EM.) and frenemies (The Stones).

In 1979, Michael Stipe, a college student in Athens, Georgia, was browsing in a downtown record store called Wuxtry when he got talking to the clerk, a college dropout and amateur guitarist called Peter Buck. The two men bonded over a love of underground rock and soon decided to form a band, recruiting two fellow students, Bill Berry and Mike Mills. Thirty-two years later, their band, R.E.M., broke up amicably, ending one of the happiest collaborations in rock history.

Cover Me: Gimme Shelter

The Contribution tackled the Rolling Stones classic Gimme Shelter during their set @ Gallows Stage, Hangtown Music Festival in Placerville, CA - 2017/10/27. Full show can be found at the Live Music Archive.

Tim Carbone: lead vocals and percussion
Jeff Miller: electric guitars, background vocals
Phil Ferlino: piano, Hammond organ and background vocals
Sheryl Renee: lead vocals
Steve Adams- bass
Matt Butler: drums

» thecontribution.net

(Thanks: Triple-B)

The Rolling Stones at the Beeb: "On Air" drops December 1st

The Rolling Stones were recorded by the BBC for various programs in the early Sixties. These broadcasts have been bootlegged far to many times to mention, circulating among collectors for decades. On December 1st a legitimate release finally hits the shops. On Air will be available in various formats, including the online exclusive (for now) on yellow vinyl. An accompanying hardback book chronicles their appearances.

They have posted streams of Come On (Saturday Club, 26th October 1963) and (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (Saturday Club, 18th September 1965).

For The Record: 60s Pop Through The Lens

The photo exhibition For The Record: 60s Pop Through The Lens opens on June 3rd in London. Polish photographer Stanley Bielecki was on hand to capture the Stones, Bod Dylan, the Beatles, the Yardbirds, Françoise Hardy, Chuck Berry and many more:

For The Record: 60s Pop Through The Lens celebrates some of the most iconic faces of 60s music captured by photographer Stanley Bielecki.

From Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones and Ginger Baker through to The Zombies and The Supremes, the exhibition offers a fascinating insight into the groundbreaking 60s pop boom. Come into the studio for rehearsals of Ready Steady Go or join the audience for Top of the Pops and witness candid images of music legends at the very beginning of their careers.

Never exhibited before, and some never published, these images offer a reminder of a pivotal moment in music history, when the white heat of cultural change was setting passions alight across England and the rest of the world.

Cover Me: Midnight Rambler

Chicago blues rock quartet The Steepwater Band covered the classic Rolling Stones live album “Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!” in its entirety at two Halloween shows in Chicago (10/30) and Bloomington (10/31). Listen to their version of Midnight Rambler, recorded by taperjoe. The full Bloomington show is on bt.etree.org.

Johnny Depp: Keith Richards film is finally finished

Four years in the making Johnny Depp's film about Keith Richard will finally see the light of day:

I've been working on it for about four years now and we've just completed the filming. Actually, it's a little strange to call it a documentary, it's more an opportunity to experience Keith - as people don't get to see him because he's quite a mysterious being. Essentially it's Keith and I sitting around having a conversation and what it boils down to is his wisdom and his philosophy and his experiences - and that would be cut with footage of his life.

I got him for five days about three years ago, and then in February I was with him for another five days and we continued from where we left off...

I feel blessed that this guy, who has never done anything like this before, has put his trust in me and allowed him to document his life. In some way - and I'm not comparing myself to him - I feel like Alan Lomax (music documentarian)... Doing this with Keith and recording how he thinks and how he looks back at 50 years of fame is pretty fascinating.

» keithrichards.com

Gov't Mule: "Stoned Side Of The Mule (Vol 1 & 2) " European release 04/20

Gov't Mule released Stoned Side of the Mule: Volume 1 for Black Friday in the US last year. The vinyl only collection will be expanded for Europe only as a 2LP set on Mascot Records. The tracks were recorded at their Halloween 2009 performance at the Tower Theater outside of Philadelphia. Release date: April 20th.

Tracks:

1. Under My Thumb
2. Monkey Man
3. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)
4. Paint It Black
5. Angie
6. Ventilator Blues
7. Shattered
8. Wild Horses
9. Bitch
10. Slave
11. Play With Fire
12. Can't You Hear Me Knocking
13. Brown Sugar

The Wall Street Journal has a stream of Monkey Man.

European live dates:

• 05/01 Depot, Leuven, Belgium
• 05/03 Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Netherlands
• 05/05 La Cigale, Paris, France
• 05/08 Kaufleuten, Zürich District, Switzerland
• 05/11 Theatrefabrik, Munich, Germany
• 05/12 LKA Longhorn, Stuttgart, Germany
• 05/14 Fabrik, Hamburg, Germany
• 05/16 Colos-Saal, Aschaffenburg, Germany
• 05/17 Live Music Hall, Cologne, Germany
• 05/20 Alcatraz, Milan, Italy
• 05/21 Orion, Rome, Italy
• 05/25 O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London, UK

» mule.net