12.29.05 (AP) A police commander who led a commando-style, anti-crime team that human rights groups accuse of multiple killings is hitting the airwaves with a Rap-style song that pledges to restore law and order in Jamaica. Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams' song was released after a jury last week acquitted him and two other policemen on charges of murdering two men and two women and planting guns on their bodies. The song, 'To Protect And Serve,' quickly stirred an outcry from rights groups. The 57-year-old Adams, who often wears aviator-style sunglasses and black combat gear, has led raids resulting in at least 40 killings, according to local rights group Families Against State Terrorism. Carolyn Gomes, executive director of Jamaicans For Justice, called the song "irresponsible, frightening and distasteful." In 'To Protect And Serve,' Adams threatens criminals, who have given Jamaica one of the world's highest murder rates, saying: "They will feel the full extent of the law. People of Jamaica, listen to this: The law is here to serve and protect, and no one is above the law," he sings. Adams also lashes out at human rights groups, singing: "These criminal rights organizations are trying to stop me from doing my job, while hoodlums continue to destroy the only livelihood we have." Jamaica, an island nation of 2.6 million people, reported a record 1,145 homicides for 2004, compared with 975 the year before. Police blame much of the violence on street gangs vying for control of lucrative drug and extortion rings. Jamaica also has one of the world's highest rates of killings by police, but few officers have been charged with crimes, according to Amnesty International, a London-based rights group. In an interview published Wednesday in a local newspaper, Reneto Adams said he relishes confrontations with members of criminal gangs, who rule the slums surrounding Kingston. "We have communities in Jamaica where, as you enter as a policeman, you are fired upon without any notice," Adams told the Jamaica Gleaner. "So I find it a joy to go and look for the hardened criminal - men who fire M-16 rifles and AK-47s. The return action would be decisive and probably final, in some instances," he added. Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas declined to comment on Adams' song, said police spokesman Karl Angell. Reneto Adams and two other officers were acquitted on December 20th of killing the four people during a May 2003 raid in Kraal, a village about 40 miles west of Kingston. Three other officers were acquitted earlier. "It was the mother of all trials and the mother of all acquittals," Adams told cheering supporters following the verdict. After the Kraal raid, authorities disbanded Adams' Crime Management Unit and assigned the officers charged in the deaths to administrative posts. Commissioner Thomas has said they won't resume active duty until they undergo psychological evaluations.
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12.28.05 (AP) U.S. album sales were down about 7 percent as 2005 drew to a close, but the budding market for music downloads, which more than doubled over last year, helped narrow the revenue gap, according to figures released today. Album sales from January through the week ending December 25th stood at 602.2 million, compared with 650.8 million for the same period last year, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Combined, album and singles sales fell about 8 percent over the same time last year. More than 95 percent of music is still currently sold in CD format. Downloaded songs from online retailers soared to 332.7 million this year, compared with 134.2 million in 2004, an increase of 148 percent. While good news for recording companies looking to expand download sales, it doesn't bode well for music retailers relying on customers to buy music CD's rather than digital downloads to turn a profit amid declining sales. "More and more we're seeing customers switch to downloads or burning CDs from their friends," says Jesse Klempner, owner of Aron's Records in Hollywood, California. "The last couple of years we've been hanging on by our teeth." The top 3 best-selling albums of 2005 through December 21st were rapper 50 Cent's "The Massacre," which had sold 4.8 million copies, followed by Mariah Carey's "The Emancipation of Mimi" with 4.6 million sold, and Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway," which sold 3.3 million units, Nielsen SoundScan said. Full-album downloads are counted under album sales along with other formats. Most digital downloads reflect single-track purchases. Sales of music-related videos, another key revenue source for brick-and-mortar retailers, plunged 23 percent over the same time last year, Nielsen SoundScan said. Meanwhile, holiday shoppers helped pump up music download sales figures with some last-minute shopping, buying 9.6 million downloads - the biggest sales week ever for digital downloads, according to the company. Cpmparatively, music download customers purchased 5 million tracks during the same week last year. Final 2005 figures won't be available until January 4, 2006. The last week of the year typically sees a boost in music sales, as gift certificates or other promotions given out for the holidays are spent. Those additional sales could help narrow the sales gap between last year and this year even further.

12.27.05 (MusicPortal.com) The soundtrack album to the movie "Underworld Evolution" is slated for release on January 10th. The "Underworld" saga and it's accompanying musical scores are perhaps some of the most thoughtful, valued and respected genre film soundtracks continuing in the proud tradition of "The Matrix," "The Crow" and "Spawn." As "Underworld Evolution" continues the story, the new soundtrack album continue to set the tone musically. Contained here are an exclusive debut solo recording from Chester Bennington, as well as a new exclusive recording by PUSCIFER. Chester Bennington is best known as the lead singer for LINKIN PARK, while PUSCIFER -- who also contributed to the first "Underworld" album -- is a new outlet for highly respected and commercially successful musical figure Maynard James Keenan, best known as the frontman for both TOOL and A PERFECT CIRCLE. Another notable contributing member of PUSCIFER is Danny Lohner, the former NINE INCH NAILS guitarist - also a much sought-out songwriter, producer and remixer. It's also important to note that every song on the "Underworld Evolution" soundtrack album is exclusive to the set at the time of release. In addition to those mentioned previously are exclusive contributions from such varied and respected artists as MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, SLIPKNOT, MEAT BEAT MANIFESTO, CRADLE OF FILTH, as well as some of today's new and emerging bands like ATREYU, HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS, SENSES FAIL, ALKALINE TRIO, AIDEN, LACUNA COIL, TRIVIUM and more. Many of the 16 tracks also feature exclusive remixes by some of the most respected and sought after talents such as Danny Lohner, Chris Vrenna, cEvin Key and THE LEGION OF DOOM. Like Lohner, Vrenna also brings unique musical experience and sensibilities as a former member of NINE INCH NAILS. cEvin Key is the co-founder of SKINNY PUPPY as well as an established artist in his own right, remixing various artists of stature and releasing many solo albums under different monikers. Jack Dangers' exclusive MEAT BEAT MANIFESTO song also features the artist's first use of vocal performance in over six years, which is a rare treat for fans of the group. The "Underworld Evolution" movie is scheduled to open in theaters nationwide on January 20th. "Underworld Evolution" Track Listing: 1. Puscifer - The Undertaker (Renholder Mix) • 2. Chester Bennington Vs. Julien-K - Morning After • 3. Hawthorne Heights - Where Do I Stab Myself In The Ears (The Legion of Doom Remix) • 4. My Chemical Romance - To The End (RnR Cheryl Mix) • 5. Slipknot - Vermillion Pt. 2 (Bloodstone Mix) • 6. Alkaline Trio - Burn (Alleged Remix) • 7. Aiden - The Last Sunrise (Dusk Mix) • 8. Senses Fail - Bite To Break Skin (The Legion Of Doom Remix) • 9. Atreyu - Her Portrait In Black • 10. Trivium - Washing Away Me In The Tides • 11. Mendozza - Eternal Battle • 12. Lacuna Coil - Our Truth • 13. Gosling - Cat People (Putting Out The Fire) • 14. Bobby Gold - Why Are You Up • 15. Meat Beat Manifesto - Suicide • 16. Cradle Of Filth - HW2
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12.26.05 (AP) It was Easter Sunday, and Patricia Santangelo was in church with her kids when she says the music recording industry peeked into her computer and decided to take her to court. Santangelo says she has never downloaded a single song on her computer, but the industry didn't see it that way. The woman from Wappingers Falls, about 80 miles north of New York City, is among the more than 16,000 people who have been sued for allegedly pirating music through file-sharing computer networks. "I assumed that when I explained to them who I was and that I wasn't a computer downloader, it would just go away," she said in an interview. "I didn't really understand what it all meant. But they just kept insisting on a financial settlement." The industry is demanding thousands of dollars to settle the case, but Santangelo, unlike the 3,700 defendants who have already settled, says she will stand on principle and fight the lawsuit. "It's a moral issue," she said. "I can't sign something that says I agree to stop doing something I never did." If the downloading was done on her computer, Santangelo thinks it may have been the work of a young friend of her children. Santangelo, 43, has been described by a federal judge as "an Internet-illiterate parent, who does not know Kazaa from kazoo, and who can barely retrieve her email." Kazaa is the peer-to-peer software program used to share files. The drain on her resources to fight the case - she's divorced, has five children aged 7 to 19 and works as a property manager for a real estate company - forced her this month to drop her lawyer and begin representing herself. "There was just no way I could continue on with a lawyer," she said. "I'm out $24,000 and we haven't even gone to trial." So last Thursday she was all alone at the defense table before federal Magistrate Judge Mark Fox in White Plains, looking a little nervous and replying simply, "Yes, sir" and "No, sir" to his questions about scheduling and exchange of evidence. She did not look like someone who would have downloaded songs like INCUBUS' 'Nowhere Fast,' GODSMACK's 'Whatever' or THIRD EYE BLIND's 'Semi-Charmed Life,' all of which were allegedly found on her computer. Jenni Engebretsen, spokeswoman for the Recording Industry Association Of America, the coalition of music companies that is pressing the lawsuits, would not comment specifically on Santangelo's case. "Our goal with all these anti-piracy efforts is to protect the ability of the recording industry to invest in new bands and new music and give legal online services a chance to flourish," she said. "The illegal downloading of music is just as wrong as shoplifting from a local record store." Patricia Santangelo says her biggest issue is with Kazaa for allowing children to download music without parental permission. "I should have gotten at least an e-mail or something notifying me," she said. Telephone and e-mail messages seeking comment from the Australia-based owner of Kazaa, Sharman Networks Ltd., were not returned. "People say to me, 'You're crazy. Why don't you just settle?' I could probably get out of the whole thing if I paid maybe $3,500 and signed their little document. But I won't do that." Santangelo says she's learned a lot about computers in the past year. "I read some of these blogs and they say, 'Why didn't this woman have a firewall?' she said. "Well, I have a firewall now. I have a ton of security now."

12.21.05 (MusicPortal.com) Universal Music Group has announced the January 30th DVD premiere of "Barry Gibb - Now Voyager," the epic visual journey to accompany BARRY GIBB's landmark album of the same name. The concept film, comprised of a multitude of music videos, was originally released in 1984, and now for the very first time has been painstakingly remastered and presented for the first time in stunning DTS 5.1 Surround Sound. The album of the same name was BARRY GIBB's first official solo effort away from THE BEE GEES. Most of the songs broke new ground for Gibb, who experimented with several new styles. Upon its release over 20 years ago, Now Voyager was ahead of its time. With the film starring BARRY GIBB himself as well as Michael Hordern (Watership Down, Gandhi), the narrative sees Gibb travelling to a world in between life and death, taking him on a bizarre but memorable adventure; the film typifies the audio/visual extravaganza that characterized the birth of the "MTV Generation" around the same period. Directed by Storm Thorgerson (Yes, Pink Floyd, Paul Young, etc.), the lavishly produced film takes all your senses on the ultimate road trip and is a treat for fans both of THE BEE GEES and BARRY GIBB the solo artist. Thorgerson and producer Aubrey Powell, were also responsible, as Hipgnosis, for many of the most enduring album cover designs for artists such as LED ZEPPELIN, 10CC, Black Sabbath, Peter Gabriel and Paul McCartney. As an additional bonus, the "Barry Gibb - Now Voyager" DVD includes "Inside Now Voyager - The Making Of The Film," which serves as an excellent reference to put into context the legacy of the film in Pop history. As a member of THE BEE GEES, BARRY GIBB sang and played the guitar along with twin brothers Robin Gibb and the late Maurice Gibb. Among the group's most well-known hits are 'How Deep Is Your Love,' 'Night Fever,' 'Run to Me,' and many more. For more than four decades, THE BEE GEES produced a seemingly endless string of hits, their records having sold more than 150 million copies. THE BEE GEES have produced more than 25, albums and have had at least 19 hits on the American music charts. BARRY GIBB was born in England and emigrated with his family to Australia where the career of THE BEE GEES began, their name spawned from the phrase "The Brothers Gibb." Their debut performance was on Australian television in 1963, when they sang their first single, 'The Battle Of The Blue And Grey.' 'Spicks and Specks,' another early hit, went over big in Australia. Despite the band's success "down under," THE BEE GEES were envious of groups like THE BEATLES, who had become internationally known by that time. In 1967, the trio went back to Britain to achieve national fame. After signing a record contract THE BEE GEES produced their first hit in the UK, 'New York Mining Disaster 1941.' Following that, the group had a string of hits that landed on both the UK and American charts, including 'Massachusetts,' 'Words,' 'I've Gotta Get A Message to You,' 'I Started A Joke' and 'First Of May.' "Main Course," released in 1975, produced a hit in the song 'Jive Talkin,' after which the 1977 "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack brought about massive global success for THE BEE GEES with hits such as 'Night Fever,' 'How Deep Is Your Love,' 'Stayin' Alive' and 'You Should Be Dancin'.'

12.19.05 (AP) Folk singer Arlo Guthrie was joined by WILLIE NELSON in New Orleans this past weekend to give a sold-out crowd something they've needed since Hurricane Katrina - good music, a good time and a reminder of what they love most about the city. Guthrie welcomed the crowd late Saturday at legendary Tipitina's, his last performance in a two-week railroad tour to raise money for musicians left homeless and without a place to work by the September hurricane. "I'm so happy to be here," Guthrie said, drawing hollers and applause. Crystal Gross was among the roughly 800 people at the benefit concert. She said her apartment in the city survived, but she wanted to do her part to help people who were less fortunate. "Besides, when else do you get to see Willie Nelson at Tip's?" said Gross, who had just moved back to New Orleans in July, about a month before Hurricane Katrina struck. Gross said the city has been glum since the storm, but Guthrie and Nelson have changed that, at least for the moment. "It's so good to see people out again. It's good to see people with smiles on their faces," she said. Inspired by television coverage of the hurricane's aftermath and by learning that Amtrak had resumed its "City Of New Orleans" service to the city, Guthrie hopped a train in Illinois two weeks ago and scheduled performances along the route with other musicians. His 1972 hit, 'The City Of New Orleans,' recounts life on the train, with the chorus: "Good morning America, how are you? Don't you know me, I'm your native son, I'm the train they call the City Of New Orleans, I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done." Guthrie arrived in New Orleans on Thursday and performed at Tipitina's on Friday with Ramblin' Jack Elliott and others. He added that show after finding out that Saturday night's grand finale performance with Nelson was sold out. "We are thrilled that we have been able to make some small dent in all that is wrong down here," Guthrie said. In an interview before the show, WILLIE NELSON said he hoped his visit would encourage musicians to return and get the New Orleans music scene back on its feet. "We want to see them come back," he said, "but I want them to have a place to come back to, a place to live." Nelson took the stage after 11 p.m. and, following his set, he joined Guthrie with a stirring rendition of the Steve Goodman-penned 'City Of New Orleans' that Guthrie made popular in 1972. The song was based on a train operated by Illinois Central before the creation of Amtrak. The "City Of New Orleans" name was ironically discontinued in 1971 before the song came out, but Amtrak christened an overnight train that runs much of the same route in 1981. Money and equipment from the "Arlo Guthrie & Friends" benefit tour will be donated to performers and to churches and schools that have music programs. Tour spokeswoman Cash Edwards did not have definitive figures on how much the tour has raised. The tour is one of several efforts to help New Orleans' musicians. Singer Harry Connick Jr. and saxophonist Branford Marsalis are working with Habitat For Humanity to create a "village" for musicians who lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina.

12.16.05 (MusicPortal.com) Grammy Award-winning writer/producer and contemporary music visionary WILLIAM ORBIT makes a return February 7th with a new album entitled "Hello Waveforms" on Sanctuary Records. His first solo release since 2000's "Pieces In A Modern Style," the new offering is performed and produced by Orbit. "Hello Waveforms" is ethereal, ambient, subtle and distinctive in style, fusing strong melodies with electronic synths to produce his definitive signature sound. Recorded in London and America, the new album features a collection of collaborations and influences - the track 'Humming Chorus' is taken from "Madame Butterfly," 'Spiral' features the SUGABABES and Kenna on vocals, while Finley Quaye plays acoustic guitar on the dreamlike 'Who Owns The Octopus.' WILLIAM ORBIT has also reunited with former "Strange Cargo" band member Laurie Mayer, who plays piano and synthesizer on 'Surfin' and provides vocals on the tracks 'Bubble Universe' and 'Who Owns the Octopus?' An artist who individually determined the new age of modern mixer/producer credibility, WILLIAM ORBIT's most high profile projects to date include his contribution to Madonna's "Ray Of Light" album - on which he produced, co-wrote and performed, U2's 'Electrical Storm', Blur's "13," and his smash-hit single, 'Barber's Adagio For Strings.' In 2001, WILLIAM ORBIT performed as part of Barbican's celebrated Elektronik Festival. Well-known for his contributions to modern music, Orbit is undoubtedly one of the world's most accomplished talents, and continues to be internationally recognized as a premier artist, writer, producer and composer. Influenced by an eclectic range of musicians including Jimi Hendrix, KRAFTWERK and Miles Davis, WILLIAM ORBIT's involvement in the music industry has not only created an impressive list of critically acclaimed work that spans genres and styles, but also ceaselessly defines the Dance/Electronica genre. While music is clearly his forte, it was never an obvious career choice. "My parents are both teachers, but I left school at 16 with no university education and worked a variety of jobs such as a fruit picker and in a shoe factory, before spending time in the seventies doing my own thing, which included living on a boat in Holland," he says. It was only when squatting in an old school house in Paddington during the 1980's that he formed TORCH SONG with Laurie Mayer and began to explore his innate creativity - thanks to the free electricity and lack of overheads. "We'd make cassettes and send them to everybody in the industry, which is basically how my music career began." Four critically acclaimed albums followed under the name "Strange Cargo," one of which produced the classic hit 'Water From A Vine Leaf,' featuring Beth Orton. During the 1990s, WILLIAM ORBIT also released under the names THE ELECTRIC CHAMBER and BASSOMATIC, whose material included the hit 'Fascinating Rhythm.' "Pieces In A Modern Style" was a pioneering collection of ambient Classical pieces interpreted with his distinctive vision. Featuring 'Barber's Adagio For Strings,' Erik Satie's 'Ogive Number 1,' Antonio Vivaldi's 'L'Inverno' and a Henryk Gorecki piece for the track 'Piece In The Old Style 1,' that album earned WILLIAM ORBIT instant worldwide commercial and critical success.
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12.13.05 (AP) MTV Networks Inc. said today it has partnered with Microsoft Corp. to develop an online music service to launch early next year. The service, dubbed "URGE," will be integrated into the next version of the software maker's Windows Media Player, and offer more than 2 million tracks for sale individually or as part of a subscription package. The service will also offer music over online radio. Microsoft will build the technology behind URGE, which Viacom Inc.'s MTV Networks will own and operate. MTV Networks declined to give details on URGE's pricing, but users can expect to pay different tiers for a la carte downloads, subscriptions and for moving rented tracks to a portable music player, said Jason Hirschhorn, the company's chief digital officer. Similar services typically charge around 99 cents for an individual track and $5 to $15 a month or more for a basic subscription package. The current version of Microsoft's Windows Media Player has built-in links to several music services, including MusicNow and Napster. A few months ago, Microsoft broke off talks with record labels to license music for a new online subscription service of its own. It did not explain the move. Microsoft already sells song downloads on its MSN Music internet site. Under the terms of MTV Networks' agreement with Microsoft, URGE will stand out from other services, Hirschhorn said. "We will be the preferred service," he said, declining to elaborate. URGE will not be compatible with Apple Computer Inc.'s Macintosh computers or its popular iPod digital music player, a challenge the MTV Networks service will have to overcome, said Michael Gartenberg, vice president and research director for Jupiter Research in New York. "The biggest paradox is the people who are most likely interested in an MTV-branded music experience are also probably the demographic that has the highest interest in the iPod," Gartenberg said. IPods represent around 75 percent of the digital player market, and Apple's iTunes Music Store accounts for around 80 percent of the licensed music download market, said Phil Leigh, a digital music analyst with Inside Digital Media. The MTV brand could help spark interest in non-iPod players, Leigh said. Hirschhorn said URGE's focus will not be iPod users. "We think the iPod has done a great job. Our aim is not to switch people from iTunes and the iPod," he said. "We need to concentrate on where there's going to be a bigger market." Still, the network will have to do a better job than other music services to sell consumers on the upside of subscription services. "At the end of the day, the iPod drives sales to the iTunes Music Store," Gartenberg said. "It didn't happen the other way around."

12.13.05 (MusicPortal.com) Drive-Thru Records recording artists HELLOGOODBYE have capped off 2005 with a bang by winning MTV2's "Dew Circuit Breakout." The "battle of the bands"-type competition began over a month ago with 6 bands as semi-finalists in contention to win the top spot. After a series of challenges, including live performances, HELLOGOODBYE were declared the winners live on MTV2 this past Saturday, December 10th. For that achievement, the Southern-California based band will receive several prizes, including $9,000 in musical gear, $10,000 cash, an opening spot on the MTV2 "$2 Bill Concert Series," and a guest appearance on a future MTV2 show. With their "OMG HGB DVD ROTFL" DVD just released on Drive-Thru and a full-length debut album slated for May of next year, HELLOGOODBYE are preparing to go all out in 2006, beginning with a two-month long nationwide tour in February and March with THE ACADEMY IS..., ACCEPTANCE and PANIC! AT THE DISCO, preceded by the following upcoming current dates as well: 12/13 Cleveland, OH [Grog Shop] • 12/14 Detroit, MI [Magic Stick] • 12/15 Chicago, IL [Beat Kitchen] • 12/16 Milwaukee, WI [The Eagles Club] • 12/17 St. Louis, MO [Creepy Crawl] • 12/26 Anaheim, CA [Chain Reaction] • 12/27 Anaheim, CA [Chain Reaction] • 12/28 Hollywood, CA [The Knitting Factory] • 02/01 Grand Rapids, MI The Intersection] • 02/02 Toronto, ONT [Opera House] • 02/03 Buffalo, NY [Town Ballroom] • 02/04 Boston, MA [Avalon] • 02/05 Hartford, CT [Webster Theatre] • 02/07 Providence RI [Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel] • 02/08 New York, NY [Irving Plaza] • 02/09 Poughkeepsie, NY [Chance] • 02/10 Asbury Park, NJ [Stone Pony] • 02/11 Atlantic City, NJ [House Of Blues] • 02/12 Washington, DC [9:30 Club] • 02/14 Norfolk, VA [The Norva] • 02/15 Myrtle Beach, SC [House Of Blues] • 02/16 Atlanta, GA [Masquerade] • 02/17 Orlando, FL [House Of Blues] • 02/18 Ft. Lauderdale, FL [Revolution] • 02/19 Ybor City, FL [Masquerade] • 02/21 New Orleans, LA [House Of Blues] • 02/22 Houston, TX [The Engine Room] • 02/23 Dallas, TX [Trees] • 02/24 San Antonio, TX [The White Rabbit] • 02/26 Tucson, AZ [The Rock] • 02/28 Tempe, AZ [The Marquee Theatre] • 03/01 Los Angeles, CA [House Of Blues] • 03/02 Las Vegas, NV [House Of Blues] • 03/04 Anaheim, CA [House Of Blues] • 03/05 San Diego, CA [House Of Blues] • 03/07 San Francisco, CA [The Fillmore] • 03/09 Portland, OR [Crystal Ballroom] • 03/10 Seattle, WA [The Showbox] • 03/11 Boise, ID [The Big Easy Concert House] • 03/13 Salt Lake City, UT [In The Venue] • 03/14 Denver, CO [The Ogden] • 03/15 Lawrence, KS [Granada Theatre] • 03/16 Des Moines, IA [The House Of Bricks] • 03/17 Minneapolis, MN [The Quest] • 03/18 St. Louis, MO [Mississippi Nights] • 03/19 Milwaukee, WI [The Eagles Club] • 03/21 Cleveland, OH [House Of Blues] • 03/22 Columbus, OH [Newport Music Hall] • 03/23 Cincinnati, OH [Bogart's] • 03/24 Detroit, MI [St. Andrews Hall] • 03/25 Chicago, IL [House Of Blues]
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12.08.05 (AP) Saxophone player BRANFORD MARSALIS is working with Habitat For Humanity and singer Harry Connick Jr. and to create a "village" for New Orleans musicians who lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina. More than $2 million has been raised for the project dreamed up by Marsalis and Connick - a neighborhood built around a music center where musicians can teach and perform, said Jim Pate, executive director of New Orleans Area Habitat For Humanity. The first $1 million came from benefit concerts in New York three weeks after the storm, said Quint Davis, the New Orleans Jazz And Heritage Festival producer who helped arrange the concerts. "The money being used to build these homes for New Orleans musicians was raised by New Orleans musicians. Our pact with them was to help New Orleans' musical community," Davis said at a news conference Tuesday. In a telephone interview Monday, Connick said he and Marsalis - both honorary chairs for the national Habitat's hurricane rebuilding program - returned to their hometown several weeks after the storm and were trying to think of ways to help. "I had been kind of coming up blank. The problem is so massive, it's hard to know where to begin," Connick said. "As we talked, we both realized we should really stick to what we know, which is music." Connick said four or five of the 16 musicians in his own band lost their homes. "There's a ton of musicians who have no place to go," he said. Pate said Habitat For Humanity hasn't decided on a location for the village, but is looking at three older, predominantly black neighborhoods in New Orleans. He said $7.5 million to $15 million is needed for the project, which would include a music center named for Ellis Marsalis, the Jazz pianist, educator and patriarch of the musical family that includes Branford, Wynton, Delfeayo and Jason. "Ellis has been kind of a rock for music in this city," Mayor C. Ray Nagin said. Branford Marsalis said the project is a thank you to the musicians "who made it possible for people like me and my brother Wynton and Harry Connick Jr. to get out and spread the word." Habitat For Humanity cannot reserve houses for a specific group, and non-musicians would also live in the village, Pate said. However, musicians who lost their houses and have no or too little insurance - and will provide labor for a Habitat house - will be asked if they'd like to live there. "We'd hope some of our musician partner families could do some of their sweat equity by doing performances or concerts for some of our volunteers who are coming from all over the world," Pate said. It's a fantastic idea, said Banu Gibson, who sings '20s and '30s Jazz. "So many musicians have moved out of town, and a lot of the good ones, too, which is really depressing," she said. Gibson is back in her own house, but two of the seven musicians in her band lost homes they had bought in the last couple of years. "All the money they raised to put down as a house payment, $25,000 to $35,000, is gone," she said. Bassist Peter "Chuck" Badie, 80, would love to see the dream become reality, and to live in a Habitat For Humanity home. "I'd be tickled to death," said Badie, who's staying at a Jazz enthusiast's home after floods destroyed his house in the Lower Ninth Ward.

12.06.05 (AP) ARLO GUTHRIE famously sang about the train called the 'City Of New Orleans' in the early 1970s. Now he's riding the rails himself, performing in cities along the route to benefit musical venues and musicians who suffered in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Guthrie kicked off his "Arlo & Friends" benefit tour Monday night at Chicago's Vic Theatre. He and his fellow musicians boarded Amtrak's City Of New Orleans on Tuesday night for the 70-mile trip to Kankakee, where he is scheduled to perform Wednesday. Guthrie, who made the late Steve Goodman's song 'City Of New Orleans' a hit in 1972, said the idea for the tour came as he was watching television coverage of the hurricane's aftermath and saw that Amtrak had resumed its service to New Orleans on the City of New Orleans. "I thought, there's something we can do - a light bulb went off, as it were," he said. ARLO GUTHRIE will perform with various musicians during the 13-day tour, including his son Abe with his band XAVIER, his daughter Sara Lee Guthrie, Cyril Neville, Guy Davis, Ramsay Midwood, Kevin Kinney with DRVIN' N' CRYIN' and THE BURNS SISTERS. Guthrie will disembark for shows in Urbana, Effingham, Carbondale and Memphis, Tennessee. Willie Nelson is scheduled to perform during the final show December 17 at Tipitina's in New Orleans. The money being raised and equipment being donated will be distributed by MusicCares, a program of The Recording Academy, and Tipitina's Foundation to performers, along with churches, schools, clubs "and anywhere where music is being played," Guthrie said. "We all saw images of famous people like Fats Domino being rescued, and if he's in those kind of dire straits, what must it be like for the nameless musicians who are playing these little clubs, mostly maybe for tips?" Guthrie said. "I really can't imagine what they've been going through these past few months." Goodman's song -- with its chorus of 'Good morning America, how are you?' -- was based on a train operated during the day by Illinois Central prior to the creation of Amtrak. The name was discontinued in 1971, but Amtrak christened an overnight train that runs much the same route with the City Of New Orleans name in 1981 - partly because of the popularity of ARLO GUTHRIE's recording, according to Amtrak officials. Guthrie had just finished a late set at a Chicago club in 1970 when he met Goodman, who came in and asked Guthrie to hear a song he had written. Guthrie was tired, but he said if Goodman bought him a beer, he'd sit and listen until his drink was finished - and Goodman played 'City Of New Orleans' for him. "I don't know how Steve Goodman managed to write a song that captured the hearts and the spirit of so many people, but the genius really belongs to him, and I was just thrilled to be a part of it," Guthrie said.

[ Miscellanoeus News: November 2005 ]