01.27.06 (MusicPortal.com) On March 7th, Milking Bull Records will release the self-titled debut from Norah Jones side project THE LITTLE WILLIES, an album that perfectly distills the fun, down-to-earth spirit of this New York quartet's club shows. The group -- Lee Alexander (bass), Jim Campilongo (electric guitar), Jones (piano, vocals), Richard Julian (guitar, vocals) and Dan Rieser (drums) --tears through a mix of covers and originals on the album, from the revved-up Western Swing of Fred Rose's 'Roly Poly' and Willie Nelson's 'I Gotta Get Drunk' to the cutting wit of Kris Kristofferson's 'Best Of All Possible Worlds'; from the poignancy of Townes Van Zandt's 'No Place To Fall' to the cosmic absurdity of their very own 'Lou Reed.' THE LITTLE WILLIES formed for purely practical reasons. In 2003, the group of five friends, who were all individually involved in other projects, booked a gig at The Living Room on New York's Lower East Side as an excuse to spend an evening playing music together. They soon discovered that they shared a deep musical vernacular. Although they hailed from the far corners of the country -- California, Massachusetts, Texas, and Delaware -- the members of THE LITTLE WILLIES all grew up listening to a certain breed of classic Americana music: the songs of Hank Williams, Nelson, Townes Van Zandt and Kristofferson, just to name a few. As one band member notes: "Something about living in a big city like New York makes you miss the stuff you grew up with, and in our case it was some of these songs. The original idea was to just be a cover band and play all these great songs we knew. It became really fun to have that outlet, and also a great excuse to seek out other songs we didn't know." Over the next couple years, THE LITTLE WILLIES continued to play at The Living Room whenever all five members were in town. They added a few originals to their setlist along the way. The group initially contemplated a live album, but when Jones and Alexander completed work on their home studio, they decided to christen the space with a LITTLE WILLIES recording session. The resulting album showcases the group's core strengths, from Jones and Julian's sublime vocals, to Campilongo's stinging guitar licks, while maintaining the loose, spirited, bar-band feel of THE LITTLE WILLIES' live experience. "The Little Willies" Track Listing: 1. Roly Poly (Fred Rose) • 2. I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive (Fred Rose/Hank Williams) • 3. Love Me (Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller) • 4. It's Not You It's Me (Richard Julian/Ashley Moore) • 5. Best Of All Possible Worlds (Kris Kristofferson) • 6. No Place To Fall (Townes Van Zandt) • 7. Roll On (Lee Alexander) • 8. I Gotta Get Drunk (Willie Nelson) • 9. Streets Of Baltimore (Tompall Glaser/Harland Howard) • 10. Easy As The Rain (Richard Julian/Jim Campilongo) • 11. Tennessee Stud (Jimmy Driftwood) • 12. Night Life (Walter M. Freeland/Paul F. Buskirk/Willie Nelson) • 13. Lou Reed (Lee Alexander/Richard Julian/Norah Jones)
[LISTEN]

01.27.06 (MusicPortal.com) Proud Galleries has announced confirmed locations and dates for the 2006 exhibition tour of a unique photographic show that faithfully captures former BEATLES member PAUL McCARTNEY's life on the road. Based upon the book "Each One Believing: Onstage, Off Stage And Backstage," published by Chronicle Books, the show is comprised of over 40 pictures taken by photographer Bill Bernstein over the course of the most successful tour of McCartney's post-BEATLES career. The tour is set to visit cities across the United States throughout 2006, beginning with the March 4th opening of "Paul McCartney's Each One Believing: The Tour," at San Diego's Morrison Gallery. Each exhibit is slated to run from three weeks to two months in order to give fans the opportunity to view the show first-hand. Other locations include San Francisco's San Francisco Art Exchange (April/May), Photographic Image in Portland, Oregon (June 1st-June 25th), Seattle's Benham Gallery (July), Stephen Cohen Gallery in Los Angeles (August), Denver's Walnut Street Gallery (September 7th-November 2nd), and Inspire Fine Art in Chicago (November 17th-December 31st). The original exhibition opened to both public and critical acclaim last Fall at Proud Galleries in London. "Each One Believing: The Tour" illustrates PAUL McCARTNEY's first solo tour in nearly a decade, and includes images taken onstage and backstage during a journey which saw sold-out concert performances in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Rome, Moscow and more. Poignant and candid, funny and illuminating, the tour is a road trip with PAUL McCARTNEY like no other. Bernstein's lens captures the excitement evoked by the grand lighting of stage sets; the heightened energy of the band in mid-song; and the intimate shots of McCartney alone playing at his "Magic Piano" or onstage with his beloved Hofner bass guitar. "The response that 'Each One Believing' has received has been overwhelming," says McCartney. "Everywhere we go, people tell us how much they enjoy the unique balance between the engaging photographs and first-hand written accounts and events from the tour. It seemed a natural when we were approached to put the exhibit on the road and so we did." Photographer Bill Bernstein had unprecedented on-stage, off-stage, and backstage access, providing dynamic images both of PAUL McCARTNEY's public appearances and the quiet one-on-one moments. Exhibition and sale prints will be signed by both McCartney and Bernstein. "Each One Believing: Onstage, Off Stage And Backstage" exclusive prints are currently available for purchase in the PAUL McCARTNEY online shop at www.paulmccartney.com.
[WATCH]

01.26.06 (AP) Over the years, fans have seen NEIL YOUNG the hard rocker, the angry protest singer, the Rockabilly crooner, the Grunge hero, and more. However, for two nights at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium last August, audiences got the comforting, friendly, reflective NEIL YOUNG, a pair of shows distilled by Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme into the concert film "Neil Young: Heart Of Gold," which has premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The film captures the 60-year-old Young in grand form alongside such long-time musical comrades as Emmylou Harris, steel guitarist Ben Keith, keyboardist Spooner Oldham and Young's wife, Pegi, on backup vocals. At the Ryman, Young debuted his latest album, "Prairie Wind," a return to the Country/Rock style of his beloved albums "Harvest" and "Harvest Moon." Coping with a potentially fatal brain aneurysm diagnosed in the Spring of 2005, Young wrote a cycle of songs examining mortality, the loss of loved ones, and his own fleeting presence in the revolving stage of music. Young underwent surgery, but at the time he recorded the album, he was working under a shadow. "I think when you're thinking that you may not be able to perform, that there's an unknown," Young told The Associated Press in an interview alongside director Demme. "Most of the time when I'm in there, I feel like, well, this is a record I'm making. I'm going to get this record. This time, I was thinking, this may possibly -- very unlikely -- but there's a chance that this may be my last record, so, you know, then you want to do the best you can with it. Even more, in a way, is that's not tangible. What the difference is, I can't really tell you, but I'm sure the effect was there." Nine of the 10 "Prairie Wind" songs make up the first part of "Heart Of Gold," some accompanied by moving introductions from Young, who informs the audience he's playing a guitar he bought in the 1970s that belonged to Hank Williams and relates stories of his father, who had recently died after suffering from dementia. The film's second half presents NEIL YOUNG classics such as 'Old Man,' 'Harvest Moon,' 'Comes A Time,' 'The Needle And The Damage Done' and the title song, along with his cover of Ian Tyson's 'Four Strong Winds.' A 12-piece string ensemble, a horn section, and a 10-member vocal choir accompany Young and his friends on some songs. "The idea evolved of doing a beautiful old dream concert," said Demme, an Oscar winner for "The Silence Of The Lambs" who also directed the TALKING HEADS concert film "Stop Making Sense." "We wanted it to feel a little bit like it's Neil Young's dream concert, his dream venue, his dream fellow performers." After Sundance, "Heart Of Gold" opens February 10th in a handful of theaters, expanding to more cities in the following weeks. Young said his surgery seems to have corrected his problem, and that his health is fine. "Knock on wood, everything's good," Young said. "I feel strong, I feel good. I feel just like I did before. I feel like my life is progressing in a natural way, but I just have another feeling now that I'm not sure about the things that I never used to think about. I used to be so sure that everything was all right... "I'm looking forward to every day and having a great time, but I just don't have the illusion that everybody's safe, that I'm safe, and that everybody else is safe. I just don't believe that anymore."
[WATCH]

01.24.06 (AP) JANETTE CARTER, the last surviving child of Country music's founding Carter Family, who in recent years preserved her parents' old-time style with weekly performances, has died in Kingsport, Tennessee. She was 82. Family members said Carter, who had battled Parkinson's disease and other illnesses, was taken to the Holston Valley Medical Center last Tuesday. Her family said she appeared to be improving for a time, but died on Sunday. JANETTE CARTER was the daughter of A.P. and Sara Carter. Her parents and her father's sister-in-law Maybelle Carter formed a singing trio discovered in 1927 when talent scout Ralph Peer came through the Tennessee-Virginia border town of Bristol to record mountain music. When her brother Joe died last March, JANETTE CARTER became the last surviving child of the original group's members. The best known of her generation to present-day listeners was Country star June Carter Cash, a daughter of Maybelle and wife of Johnny Cash. She died in May of 2003 at age 73, with her husband dying later that year. Following the death of her father in 1960, JANETTE CARTER dedicated her life to preserving not only the Carter Family music, but the Folk and Country music of Appalachia. One result of that effort was establishment of the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia. "It's good for younger people to know this kind of music," Carter said in a 2002 Associated Press interview. "There was a time when music told a story; it wasn't just some beat." On his deathbed, she said, her father "called me over and said 'Janette, I want you to continue the music the way we'd done it.'" At the time of the interview, she was still giving concerts every Saturday at the Carter Family Fold, an auditorium built from railroad ties and school bus seats near the family farm in Hiltons. She played autoharp. "It's really remarkable how well Janette carried on her family's legacy by helping create the Carter Fold and what that has grown into from such humble beginnings," said Bill Hartley, executive director of the Birthplace Of Country Music Alliance in Bristol. "Thanks to the foundation she built with the Carter Fold, her family legacy lives on." In September, JANETTE CARTER was given the Bess Lomax Hawes Award by the National Endowment For The Arts, which recognized her lifelong effort to preserve and perform Appalachian music. A.P., Maybelle and Sara Carter recorded the songs 'Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow,' 'Little Log Cabin By The Sea,' and 'Poor Orphan Child' with a sound and harmony that was unheard of at the time, and immensely influential on Country music ever since. In 2003, the United States Library Of Congress celebrated the 75th anniversary of their first recordings with a concert on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

01.19.06 (MusicPortal.com) The debut album from CAVALIER KING, "The Sun Revolutions," will be released on February 7th. It has been said that everyone is a hero at birth. But in most, no sooner is the cord cut than this noble endowment goes the way of the human tail. Not so for CAVALIER KING, the superhero-like alter ego of painter/musician Chris Taylor. The music hypnotic, poetic and defiant, "The Sun Revolutions" tells of an awakening in a fearful and ever-darkening world dominated by wrenching loss and worse, crushing tedium. The songs on the album are not merely stories, but epic expressions of chivalry, valor and the search for truth. CAVALIER KING's very first words, "So it came out one day that I don't pray to virgin mothers," leave no room for doubt. The song 'Renegade' is Taylor's unequivocal repudiation of the conventional, the superstitious, and the supernatural ideologies that pervade the populace. Then, in 'Sun Revolution,' the listener is taken into epic battle against the nefarious "Shadows Of Industry," for only in the context of combat, facing imminent death, will we gain awareness of the Eternal. He sings: "two warm bodies lie terrified under the manhole cover ill, writing the new constitution fighting the Sun Revolution....But today we will reign, forever." Unfortunately, however, CAVALIER KING's cause dissolves into an insatiable fever wherein he confuses the unwitting masses for the enemy. n the self-titled song, 'Cavalier King,' you witness the destruction of the known world at the hand of the once valiant and noble knight who -- like Alexander The Great -- has become the undisputed King. But as he stands triumphant at the end of his last battle, he realizes he is merely a king of corpses, for the vast carnage leaves him devastated, disillusioned and paralyzed by his own weakness for revenge. Over the years, Chris Taylor had been a nomad of sorts. He was raised in Northampton, Massachusetts, but as soon as he could, he left and began trekking from city to city, taking a variety of jobs. When Taylor wasn't studying, painting or working with flowers, he was writing songs. His lyrics were peppered with tales of vindication for outlaws, victims of society and underdogs "severely underestimated," as Taylor described them. He's nothing if not strong-willed, opinionated and dramatic. Yet at the same time, he's mesmerizing and so innately artistic that his persona is larger than life -- you can't help but become sucked in. The CAVALIER KING is the "Hyde" to Chris Taylor's "Jekyll," or more fittingly, "The Lizard King" to his inner Jim Morrison. "To live outside the law, you must be honest," Taylor says. Recorded at Mark Alan Miller's (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr.) Slaughterhouse Studios in Hadley, Massachusetts, "The Sun Revolutions" are on the way, and CAVALIER KING will carry out the business of saving the world. Or destroying it. Or both.
[LISTEN]

01.18.06 (MusicPortal.com) Sixties supergroup BLIND FAITH's debut was in front of a cool 100,000 people on a warm day in London's Hyde Park. Since June 7th, 1969 when that historic concert took place, it has never been seen in its entirety. That is until now, as Sanctuary Visual Entertainment have announced the upcoming release of a DVD entitled "Blind Faith - London Hyde Park 1969" on April 10th. The audience gathered that day were filled with anticipation awaiting BLIND FAITH's debut. The newly formed collective of four virtuoso musicians who individually were already Rock royalty, were the talk of the town and expectations both within the band and out amongst the counter-culture generation crowd were high. Fusing the Psychedelic Blues of Eric Clapton and the soulful vocals and keyboards of Steve Winwood, with Rick Grech on bass and Ginger Baker on drums, they didn't disappoint. The set may have lasted just over 40 minutes long, but fans were treated to a selection of timeless tracks including 'Presence Of The Lord,' 'Sleeping In The Ground,' and THE ROLLING STONES' classic 'Under My Thumb.' "Blind Faith - London Hyde Park 1969" also boasts archive footage of the various members of BLIND FAITH performing within their earlier musical guises. Clips of THE SPENCER DAVIS GROUP performing 'I'm A Man,' TRAFFIC's 'Hole In My Shoe,' FAMILY performing 'Dim' and CREAM doing 'Sunshine Of Your Love' act as a gentle introduction to the main concert event. There is also a discography for all the members of BLIND FAITH pre-1969, plus a collection of rare photos set to the sounds of 'Well All Right.' By the end of the 1960s with hippies still dancing on the horizon and a man on the moon, a new form was taking shape on this musical stage: the "supergroup": a band of highly talented individuals creating a new musical experience. One of the very first of these was indeed BLIND FAITH, consisting of Steve Winwood, the "original blue-eyed Soul boy," who came from a musically supportive family and shot to prominence shortly after he joined THE SPENCER DAVIS GROUP in 1963 at age 15. He went on to forge a wider musical path with TRAFFIC, who spawned hits like 'Paper Sun' and Hole 'In My Shoe.' Eric Clapton, however, was the "superstar" of BLIND FAITH, joining THE YARDBIRDS in 1963 and later leaving to join JOHN MAYALL'S BLUESBREAKERS. "Eric Clapton Is God" was a well-documented graffiti tag of the times, as his stature grew even further with CREAM. BLIND FAITH's Ginger Baker also came from the same group as well, previously gigging with several Jazz ensembles and R&B outfits. His unconventional playing, which got him sacked in some of his early bands, developed into a creative force that would later be admired by numerous other notable drummers. The final member of BLIND FAITH was bassist Rick Grech, who first joined THE FARINAS (who eventually evolved into FAMILY, a progressive, arty Folk/Rock band from Leicester. Grech did not come from the same Rock royalty as the other members of BLIND FAITH, but had nonetheless been admired for some time by Eric Clapton, and provided the essential solid support the band needed. "Blind Faith - London Hyde Park 1969" Track Listing: 1. Well All Right • 2. Sea Of Joy • 3. Sleeping In The Ground • 4. Under My Thumb • 5. Can't Find My Way Home • 6. Do What You Like • 7. Presence Of The Lord • 8. Means To An End • 9. Had To Cry Today
[LISTEN]

01.17.06 (MusicPortal.com) On January 31st, Recall Music For Films will release the soundtrack for Academy Award winner Tommy Lee Jones' directorial debut, "The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada." The collection features the music of South Texas and Northern Mexico, the setting of the movie, including original music from composer Marco Beltrami ("Scream," "I Robot") and songs by Merle Haggard, Flaco Jimenez, Hank Williams Jr., Freddie Fender, Bobby Flores, Dwight Yoakam (who also appears in the film), Lila Downs and more. As an added bonus, the disc will feature a mini-documentary video about the making of the soundtrack. "My idea was to choose popular songs that might easily be heard in that location, but would have some commentary on the action of the film, the situation of the characters, and the ironies and dramatic tensions at play," said Jones, who is a native of San Saba, Texas near Austin. Those songs included Merle Haggard's 1979 hit 'Workin' Man Blues,' Freddie Fender's #1 smash 'Before The Next Teardrop Falls' and Flaco Jimenez's 'This Could Be The One.' The soundtrack will also feature a new exclusive track, 'Donde Estas Papa' by Lila Downs, who recently won a Latin Grammy for "Best Folk Album." Downs gained recognition when she sang and acted in the film "Frida" and performed music from the film at the 2003 Academy Awards ceremony. Marco Beltrami's new compositions capture the essence of the region's uniquely blended sound. From the Tex-Mex Conjunto flavored opening track 'Three Burials Of Melquiades,' to the gritty Country & Western clip 'Stalking Mike,' to the bittersweet closer, 'Goodbye.' Beltrami was primarily inspired by the relationship between Jones' character Pete, a ranch foreman, and Melquiades, a Mexican farmer, as well as the breathtaking scenery. "The thing that struck me most besides the friendship theme...was the landscape itself. I thought the music should have a more earthy feel, a more indigenous feel," said Beltrami. "The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada" is the story of Melquiades Estrada who is shot and quickly buried. His body is found in the high desert of west Texas and reburied in the town cemetery. In order to honor the promise he made to his best friend Melquiades of a proper burial in his Mexican hometown, Pete Perkins (Jones), leads an investigation into his death, finds his killer and offers his friend the most beautiful journey back to his Mexican homeland. The movie was recently honored at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival in France, winning "Best Screenplay" for Guillermo Arriago ("21 Grams") and "Best Actor" for Tommy Lee Jones. The film also stars Barry Pepper ("The Green Mile," "Saving Private Ryan") and January Jones (Love Actually). "It is refreshing to know that Tommy Lee Jones had just as much passion for the score and the soundtrack as he did for the film," says Chris Gray, Managing Director for Recall. "It's an honor to launch our U.S.-based label with this album." "The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada" already screened last month in New York, and will premiere nationally February 3rd. Founded in 1997 by Alexandre Sap, Leslie Dubest and Stephane Lumbroso, Recall Group -- the parent company for Recall Music For Films -- is now one of the leading independent record companies in France.
[WATCH]

01.12.06 (MusicPortal.com) Atlantic Records recording artists DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE have announced details of their upcoming "Directions," an innovative anthology of 12 short films inspired by each song on the band's acclaimed album, "Plans." Every song, including the hit single 'Soul Meets Body' and the upcoming follow-up, 'Crooked Teeth,' will be delivered by a different director. The videos will be unveiled one by one on the band's website www.deathcabforcutie.com beginning January 23rd. The unprecedented collection came about as the brainchild of Otaku House, the production company owned and run by childhood friends Nick Harmer, bassist for DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE, and video director Aaron Stewart-Ahn. They saw the opportunity to enlist a variety of talented young artists to each make a short film set to a Death Cab song, without the constraints of the traditional music video - no arbitrary performance footage, and the band themselves will not appear in the films. Though the budgets would be small, there would be no creative limits placed upon the filmmakers' imaginations. The ultimate goal was to create a series of small films that worked together as both individual pieces of art and as a unified whole. Stewart-Ahn and the band compiled a list of directors, including superstars, up-and-coming new talents, and even a graphic novelist who had never had his work animated before. "We named the project 'Directions,'" says Stewart-Ahn, "because it's a pun on 'Plans,' obviously, but ultimately because we feel this project is about unique directorial visions more than anything else. We wanted to create a situation where that would be the emphasis, and I feel the list of directors alone proves that." Among the filmmakers contributing to "Directions" are Lance Bangs, famed for his work alongside director Spike Jonze, as well as his videos for such artists as R.E.M. and GREEN DAY; P.R. Brown, who has directed videos for Billy Corgan, Matisyahu and MOTLEY CRUE; Ace Norton, a stop-frame animation maestro; acclaimed graphic novelist Jeffrey Brown ("Clumsy"); the Cincinnati-based motion design collective, LIGHTBORNE; long-time DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE photographer Autumn De Wilde; writer/director Rob Schrab, the mind behind the legendary never-aired Jack Black pilot, "Heat Vision" and "Jack," and co-founder of the Channel 101 website; acclaimed music video directors Laurent Briet and Monkmus, as well as Stewart-Ahn himself, following up his critically-hailed video debut, THE DECEMBERISTS' '16 Military Wives.' "Each interpretation is phenomenal, and our hats go off to everyone involved," says DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE vocalist/guitarist Ben Gibbard. "It's our hope that this project serves as a model to both labels and bands as a way to grant the directors the type and amount of freedom we've enjoyed in the creation of the music itself." "We have truly been blessed to have met so many creative and energetic artists over the years of being a band," says Harmer. "It just seemed so appropriate to build a project that so many artists that we admire could be a part of, and it's so inspiring to stand back and watch them work." "It's thrilling to have so many enthusiastic artists involved," comments DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE guitarist Chris Walla, "and better still that they're such a varied bunch: Some are heroes; some are exceptionally talented friends; some are brilliant people none of us had heard of. I don't know of any projects quite like this one."
[WATCH]

01.10.06 (AP) The discovery of a long-lost letter offers rare insight into bluesman ROBERT JOHNSON's life and confirms that he indeed recorded at a downtown Dallas, Texas building, music historians have revealed. Blues fans have long thought Johnson recorded 13 songs in 1937 in a building two blocks east of Dallas City Hall. The building was home to Brunswick Records at the time, but there was no known documentation to confirm where the recordings took place. That was until San Diego Blues enthusiast Tom Jacobson tracked down a 1961 letter unlocking the mystery. In the letter, the producer of the recordings, Don Law, wrote that the session took place in a makeshift studio at the Brunswick Records office - a three-story building now owned by a drink distribution company. Johnson died 18 months after the recordings at age 27, but his music lived on and was hugely influential on 1960s musicians like Bob Dylan, THE ROLLING STONES and LED ZEPPELIN. "It's just an incredible document," Jacobson told The Dallas Morning News for its Monday editions. "It's an important piece of Americana about a musical genius." Law was the only producer to ever record ROBERT JOHNSON, including another session in San Antonio eight months before the Dallas recordings. Law died 23 years ago. Jacobson donated the letter to the Library Of Congress in December. It also includes information about other Johnson tales, like the night in San Antonio that he asked Law for money to pay a prostitute, and how he was so secretive about his guitar technique that he would actually face the wall while playing when other musicians were present. Jacobson found the letter in the New York City basement of Frank Driggs, a former Columbia Records employee who wrote the liner notes for the 1961 release of Johnson's music, "King Of The Delta Blues." Michael Taft, the head of Folk culture archives at the United States Library Of Congress, says the letter and recording site are important because so little is known about ROBERT JOHNSON's life. "It's a big deal for us," he said. "To finally be able to say this is the building he recorded in, that's a way of bringing Robert Johnson back to life."

[Folk News: December 2005]
[Top]