The past year was an eventful one, but Ashton Kutcher is certain that greener, more charitable, pastures are ahead. The Two and a Half Men star turned 34 on Tuesday…as [...]

FOURTH AND FINAL VOLUME OF “THE NOMAD SERIES” OUT IN MARCH

Cowboy Junkies

With the March 2012 release of The Wilderness, Cowboy Junkies complete their four CD collection, “The Nomad Series.” The ambitious schedule of four new releases over an 18-month period will be punctuated by a full US tour – see dates below (more to follow). The latest collection of songs follows the critically acclaimed Renmin Park (2010), Demons (2011) and Sing In My Meadow (2011).

Upon the release of the four volumes, plans call for a book that will delve into the character, nature, and inspiration behind each of the albums. It will be published by Whale and Star, the publishing house of the band’s friend Enrique Martinez Celaya, a Cuban-American artist whose “Nomad” paintings helped inspire the series. The four CD’s are available separately, will be released as a box set in April with a bonus disc, and will be included in the upcoming book.

Michael Timmins sums up the band’s motivation for taking on such a massive project quite simply. “The main reason for wanting to do it,” he says, “is that, as we steam through our twenty-fifth year, we feel that we have the energy and inspiration to pull it off!”

Click here to read Dennis Cooks’ interview with the band!

Cowboy Junkies Tour Dates

04/13 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark

Cowboy Junkies Tour Dates
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Cowboy Junkies News

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Suppose now we know who that middle finger was intended for! The mystery behind just who M.I.A’s Super Bowl flip-off was aimed at has deepened as it’s emerged that the [...]

OUT FROM UNDER THE BRIDGE AND ONTO THE BEACH

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have just been added to the lineup of the 2012 The Hangout Festival in Gulf Shores, AL happening May 18-20. Here’s a little live taste of RHCP from last year to get y’all in the mood. And you can check out the full lineup for Hangout 2012 here.

Red Hot Chili Peppers Tour Dates :: Red Hot Chili Peppers News

13TH ALL STARR BAND FEATURING
STEVE LUKATHER, GREGG ROLIE,
RICHARD PAGE, TODD RUNDGREN,
MARK RIVERA, GREGG BISSONETTE

Ringo Starr

Today Ringo Starr announced his 13th All Starr Band, which will launch June 14, 2012 from Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls, Ontario and conclude July 21, 2012 at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, California. New to the All Starrs are Steve Lukather (Toto) and Gregg Rolie (Santana & Journey) who will join All Starr alumni Richard Page, Todd Rundgren, Mark Rivera, and Gregg Bissonette.

The tour is being produced by Dave Hart and as always fans can expect to hear a jukebox worth of hits. Ringo classic’s such as “It Don’t Come Easy”, “Photograph”, “Little Help From My Friends”, “Yellow Submarine” and “Wings,” from Starr’s just released 17th solo record, Ringo 2012 (Hip-O/Ume). All Starr’s hits include “Rosanna,” “Broken Wings,” “Hello It’s Me,” “Black Magic Woman.”

Ringo will spend his birthday on the road, with a performance at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on July 7. Following in the tradition of the last few years, at Noon from the Hard Rock Nashville, Ringo will ask anyone anywhere, and everyone everywhere, to join him in a wish for Peace & Love.

Tour Dates

July 21 – The Greek, Los Angeles, CA

Ringo Starr Tour Dates
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Ringo Starr News

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SECOND ALBUM OUT MAY 29 VIA COMMUNITY MUSIC/VAGRANT

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros have announced that they are currently in the studio recording the follow-up to their debut album, Up From Below. After an early session in Bogalusa, LA, the band has been recording at their studio in Ojai, CA. The album, which is self-produced and currently untitled, will be released on May 29 by Community Music / Vagrant Records.

The band also confirmed a series of March dates, showcasing some of the new music and giving fans a taste of what’s to come. Tickets for these upcoming shows can be purchased here.

Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros recently created and launched a tumblr page to showcase various fan pieces they have and continue to discover on the web as well as their own yet to be unveiled special content. The tumblr page will be continuously updated by the band.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Tour Dates:

March 23rd – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kingsbury Hall

Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros Tour Dates
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Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros News

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Russell Brand won’t take Katy Perry’s money in their divorce, although he’s entitled to about $20 million of it.

DEBUT ALBUM OUT MARCH 12 IN THE UK

Rocketjuice and The Moon

Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz), Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), and Tony Allen (drummer for Fela Kuti) will release their debut record as Rocketjuice and The Moon on March 12 in the UK, according to the February issue of MOJO Magazine containing an interview with the new group.

Explaining the genesis of the project, Flea says “We met on a plane in 2008. The three of us were going to Lagos as part of Damon Albarn’s Africa Express collective. I’m a huge Fela Kuti fan and Tony Allen is one of my favourite drummers, so to get to talk and play with him was just phenomenal. The way I approach rhythm and groove is very similar to the way he does, and I feel with him a special something that is difficult to put into words but it’s a beautiful thing. By the end of that Lagos trip we’d made a promise to get in a room whenever we could and cook up some grooves, the only rule being we’d be fucking getting down and getting busy and making it hard.”

According to the MOJO Magazine interview, the album will feature guest appearances from Erykah Badu, Fatoumata Diawara. M.Anifest. Cheick Tidiane Seck and the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble.

Tony Allen describes the project as “Groove music, music that makes you dance. The audience don’t want to sit and listen, they want to move their bodies. That is crucial, and Rocketjuice & The Moon will make them do that.”

Check out a live track called “Red Skies” by the group below, recorded live in Marseilles last October (via Consequence of Sound).

Rocketjuice and The Moon Tour Dates
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Rocketjuice and The Moon News

TAKE CARE, TAKE CARE, TAKE CARE WORLD TOUR
CONTINUES WITH FIRST U.S. HEADLINE DATES OF 2012

Explosions In The Sky

Explosions In The Sky has followed up recent news of the band’s appearances at the Coachella and Sasquatch festivals with its first confirmed headline dates of the new year. The new shows expand on an itinerary that has included Explosions In The Sky’s biggest ever headline dates–from New York’s Radio City Music Hall to last month’s performance at London’s Brixton Academy–and a debut performance on the Late Show With David Letterman.

Explosions In The Sky’s triumphant return to the road will begin April 5 in Boulder, CO with dates running through to Sasquatch on May 25. Further shows will be announced as they are confirmed.

Explosions In The Sky Tour Dates

05/25/12 – George, WA – Sasquatch Music Festival

Explosions In The Sky Tour Dates
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Explosions In The Sky News

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U.S. ELEVATOR UNVEIL
“ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT”
AND ANNOUNCE EP SERIES

Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion and the Rondo Brothers are excited to announce their collaboration as U.S. Elevator, through the unveiling of their first single, a cover of Cyndi Lauper‘s “All Through The Night.” The track is the first song off the first of a series of EP’s that will be released throughout 2012. Click
here to check it out.

Sarah Lee & Johnny have been making music and touring together as a duo and in the “Guthrie Family Rides Again” for several years. Sarah is part of the famous Guthrie family lineage, daughter of Arlo, grandaughter of Woody. The Rondo Brothers, who tend to prefer drums machines to banjos, are best known for their work with Head Automatica, Dan the Automator and remix projects for the likes of Common, Schwayze, and MC Lars.

In the vein of other unique musical partnerships, such as Danger Mouse and James Mercer (Broken Bells) or Beck’s Record Club, the juxtaposition of these musical pairs has created an unexpected and exceptional sound that has been coined as its own genre, “beat folk.”

This first EP titled Valentine consists of two covers: the Jules Shear penned “All Through the Night” made famous by Cyndi Lauper and Liz Phair‘s “Never Said,” along with a remixed version of “Looking for You,” an outtake from Sarah Lee & Johnny’s early 2011 release Bright Examples, featuring Neal Casal on guitar. The Valentine EP will be released 2/14 on Ninth Street Opus Records.

U.S. Elevator Tour Dates
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U.S. Elevator News

California’s Prop 8 was ruled unconstitutional by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday. “Whether under the Constitution same-sex couples may ever be denied the right to marry, a right [...]

We love you Ellen! On yesterday’s show, Ellen responded to the OneMillionMoms and their protest against Ellen becoming the official spokeswoman of JCPenney. “Normally I try not to pay attention [...]

Some of them were super cute, while others may shock you with a unibrow or goofy smile delusive of the sexy celeb they would become later in life. Here’s a look at 34 stars long before they became delectable babes.

Good ol’ supervillains. They’re the eternal underdogs; constantly having to put up with pesky heroes who come bounding into their underground/volcanic/moonbase lair – all white teeth and goody two-shoes – [...]

Ouch! American Idol vs. The Voice vs. The X Factor: The Saga Continues. Nigel Lythgoe, producer of Idol, is making headlines after slamming rival singing competitions, like Fox’s ratings-strapped The [...]

Backstreet Boy Nick Carter was noticeably absent as his younger sister was laid to rest in Upstate New York over the weekend. The 32-year-old singer performed in Philadelphia and hosted [...]

She’s no ordinary Football Wife — and the Patriots Wives wouldn’t have it any other way. Gisele Bundchen’s F-laced tirade has evoked a backlash heard all across Beantown. Tom Brady’s [...]

Words by: Dennis Cook | Images by: John Margaretten

Wilco with White Denim :: 01.28.12 :: San Jose Civic Auditorium :: San Jose, CA

A gallery of photos from the 02.01.12 Davis, CA show at the Mondavi Center For The Performing Arts is below review!

White Denim :: 02.01.12 :: by John Margaretten

While most of the polite, clean cut crowd waiting outside the recently reopened San Jose Civic were there for Wilco, I had come primarily to see handpicked opener White Denim, simply one of the fastest evolving, fully switched-on young bands working today. While this Austin, TX-based quartet play very different music than the headliner, there’s a shared spirit of exploration and openness that marks both bands which makes the pairing just good sense, an acknowledgement of congruities and a nice lil’ gift to Wilco fans, most of whom seemed to be hearing White Denim for the first time this night.

The band tiptoed in with “Street Joy,” taking advantage of an audience of inclined to shut up and listen to music after years of leaning in to hear what Jeff Tweedy and company had to say. The tenderness and rising ache of this standout from last year’s stellar D album moved into a spacey whoosh, controls set directly for the heart of the sun, and within two pieces White Denim had already illustrated one of their greatest strengths – a head-scratching knack for switching gears swiftly and seamlessly. James Petralli (vocals, guitar), Joshua Block (drums), Steven Terebecki (bass, vocals) and Austin Jenkins (guitar) moved with a strange, compelling mixture of youthful herky-jerky energy and limber, quasi-athletic musicianship. There’s almost a prog-rock ethos at work but infused with punk/post-punk attitude. By the third tune, the four-piece were interlocking and lunging with such empathy that the whole enterprise ceased to be a compilation of elements and simply breathed as a whole, a rock ‘n’ roll animal with thick fur and glimmering teeth.

White Denim :: 02.01.12 :: by John Margaretten

There is no doubting the hunger inside White Denim, and a coveted opening slot for one of America’s biggest bands is precisely where they belong right now. More than half a decade of honing their sound, bouncing around indie labels, and trudging from SXSW to Timbuktu in search of an audience has produced a band, as witnessed in San Jose, on the verge of their next evolutionary leap – a move that is likely to take them from the clubs they’ve largely inhabited into small theatres and beyond. At the moment, their music is struggling a bit to adapt to the larger spaces this Wilco tour finds them playing, but it was exciting to see them realize the potential reach their music possesses in real time at the Civic. Mixing together scraps of Tropicalia, tasty soul jazz licks and propulsive Velvet Underground-isms, they showed how familiar elements can be repurposed into original shapes. And just when one would think they’d settled into big groove, an unexpected curve would whiff by our ears, one suddenly tossed into, say, the updated 60s pop of “No Real Reason” (a boffo ballad off the recently issued Takes Place In Your Work Place EP) or taken deep into the recesses of burly group jamming. White Denim is a trip worth taking, and the boisterous round of applause as they finished their set spoke to a growing number of folks ready to jump on board wherever they might be traveling.

Wilco :: 02.01.12 :: by John Margaretten

So, what about Wilco? Having never seen them play outside of a festival set at Bonnaroo a number of years ago, I honestly had no real expectations despite the countless glowing reviews of friends and critics firmly under the band’s sway. While always admiring of their studio work, I’d never made the leap to actual fandom, always kept at bay by Tweedy’s thin, modernized Dylan voice and something in the lyrics that just never snagged my emotional center. That said, I was assured by folks I trust on such matters that seeing Wilco live would reveal their true glory. That’s a lot for any band to live up to but I tamped down high expectations and just listened intently as they took the stage.

Opener “One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend)” is a patient build, very much the child of Dylan at his expansive, poetic 1960s best, and featured some of the most controlled, lovely playing I have ever heard. Seriously, it and all that followed showcased some of the most beautiful, technically savvy, intuitive musicianship I’ve ever witnessed in my long years of concert-going. While the source material and the focal point within Wilco simply may not be my personal bag, there is no denying that the players in this band are phenomenal, each serving the songs with near-penitent devotion and focus, producing an ineffable glow to Wilco’s music in San Jose – something that can’t really be pinned down in clumsy words.

Jeff Tweedy :: 02.01.12 :: by John Margaretten

More than the actual content/subject matter of the lyrics holds sway. There’s little doubt that Tweedy and his cohorts are striving towards larger understanding, the “rock show” used as a form of community building that pushes towards common understanding of our shared imperfections – which is sort of funny coming from such a thoroughly professional production, where things began right on time and unfolded with practiced grace in every element – lighting, stage design, sound. There was NOTHING imperfect about this night, which at times made certain numbers feel a touch too rehearsed, too familiar, too comfortable. For all the echoes of Bob’s freewheeling days – down to the blazing musicianship of dudes like Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper – Wilco came off as all-pro, all-the-time to me. Maybe because I’m not part of the cult, I’m less charmed by Tweedy’s quirks and between song banter, which mostly struck me as vaudeville moderne, a stage device an intensely personal artist has mastered in order to ply his trade. And I’m not saying I wasn’t charmed along with everyone else in the Civic, only that my years of watching countless rockers at work gives me an instinct for what’s really happening in the moment and what comes from a well-studied playbook. This band is WELL aware of the Pavlovian bells to ring on faves like “Handshake Drugs” and “Jesus Etc.” – shaking them loud and clear this night – but for my own tastes, I kinda wish they’d dance on the edge a bit more like new one “Art of Almost,” which lit up the beginning of their set with Radiohead worthy electricity and chrome-plated futurism, or even the sprightly Nick Lowe/Rockpile-esque pop of “I Might,” which avoided the mid-tempo pacing they favor on a few too many songs. However, this is a band that thrives by being comforting and it’s unlikely they’ll be toying with that in any substantial way in the days ahead.

In the end, walking back to my car as the encore wrapped, I came to the conclusion that Wilco is undeniably one of the best outfits operating today, as classy and well formed as anything America has kicked up since rock’s first great swell in the 50s/60s. It’s unlikely I’ll become a fan anytime soon but it’s hard to imagine anyone with an appetite for fundamentally perfect rock not digging a great deal about this band.

San Jose Setlist
One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend), Art Of Almost, I Might, Bull Black Nova, Side With The Seeds, California Stars, Red-Eyed and Blue, I Got You (At The End Of The Century), Born Alone, (Was I) In Your Dreams, You Are My Face, Impossible Germany, Box Full Of Letters, I’m Always In Love, Jesus, Etc., Capitol City, Handshake Drugs, War On War, Dawned On Me, A Shot in the Arm. [Encore]: Whole Love, Walken, I’m A Wheel

2/1/12 – Wilco and White Denim @ Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts (Davis, CA) View Photos

White Denim Tour Dates :: White Denim News

Wilco Tour Dates :: Wilco News

JamBase | Golden State
Go See Live Music!

EVEN MORE DATES FOR ZACH AND THE BAND

Zach Deputy

Zach Deputy has added tour dates in March and April to his previously announced Spring run with a full band.

Deputy’s backing band includes Brian “Beek” Vanderbeek on bass, drummer Chris Santos and keyboardist Ryan Tivey. Tivey also doubles on sax, and the trio are accompanied by Asheville, NC based journeyman percussionist Shen Hunt and Sam Williams on rhythm guitar.

Zach Deputy Tour Dates

5/31/2012 Mountain Jam Hunter Mountain, NY

Zach Deputy Tour Dates
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Let’s be real: ALL tramp stamps are terrible. Find a single tramp stamp that’s ‘good’ and you will have unlocked the key to the universe. That being said, here are 25 of the worst tramp stamps that people were dumb enough to photograph and post on the Internet.