04.17.08 (AP) Danny Federici, the longtime keyboard player for Bruce Springsteen whose stylish work helped define the E Street Band's sound on hits from "Hungry Heart" through "The Rising," died Thursday. He was 58. Federici, who had battled melanoma for three years, died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. News of his death was posted late Thursday on Springsteen's official Web site. According to published reports, Federici last performed with Springsteen and the band last month, appearing during portions of a March 20 show in Indianapolis. Springsteen concerts scheduled for Friday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Saturday in Orlando were postponed after news of Federici's death. He was born in Flemington, N.J., a long car ride from the Jersey shore haunts where he first met kindred musical spirit Springsteen in the late 1960s. The pair often jammed at the Upstage Club in Asbury Park, N.J., a now-defunct after-hours club that hosted the best musicians in the state. It was Federici, along with original E Street Band drummer Vini Lopez, who first invited Springsteen to join their band. By 1969, the self-effacing Federici - often introduced in concert by Springsteen as "Phantom Dan" - was playing with the Boss in a band called Child. Over the years, Federici joined his friend in acclaimed shore bands Steel Mill, Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom and the Bruce Springsteen Band. Federici became a stalwart in the E Street Band as Springsteen rocketed from the boardwalk to international stardom. Springsteen split from the E Streeters in the late '80s, but they reunited for a hugely successful tour in 1999. "Bruce has been supportive throughout my life," Federici said in a recent interview with Backstreets magazine. "I've had my ups and downs, and I've certainly given him a run for his money, and he's always been there for me." Federici played accordion on the wistful "4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" from Springsteen's second album, and his organ solo was a highlight of Springsteen's first top 10 hit, "Hungry Heart." His organ coda on the 9/11-inspired Springsteen song "You're Missing" provided one of the more heart-wrenching moments on "The Rising" in 2002. In a band with larger-than-life characters such as saxophonist Clarence Clemons and bandana-wrapped guitarist "Little" Steven Van Zandt, Federici was content to play in his familiar position to the side of the stage. But his playing was as vital to Springsteen's live show as any instrument in the band. Federici released a pair of solo albums that veered from the E Street sound and into soft jazz. Bandmates Nils Lofgren on guitar and Garry Tallent on bass joined Federici on his 1997 debut, "Flemington." In 2005, Federici released its follow-up, "Out of a Dream." Federici had taken a leave of absence during the band's tour in November 2007 to pursue treatment for melanoma, and was temporarily replaced by veteran musician Charles Giordano. At the time, Springsteen described Federici as "one of the pillars of our sound and has played beside me as a great friend for more than 40 years. We all eagerly await his healthy and speedy return." Besides his work with Springsteen, Federici played on albums by an impressive roster of other artists: Van Zandt, Joan Armatrading, Graham Parker, Gary U.S. Bonds and Garland Jeffreys.
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04.08.08 (AP) After a five-year breakup and nearly eight-year absence from the concert scene, Stone Temple Pilots will reunite for a North American tour. On Monday, Singer Scott Weiland, guitarist Dean DeLeo, bassist Robert DeLeo and drummer Eric Kretz revealed the details of their 65-city tour, set to begin May 17 in Columbus, Ohio. "The story's not finished," Weiland told The Associated Press. "There's more to be revealed and more to be told." DeLeo said the band plans to record a new album after the tour, which is set to wrap in November. Formed in 1992, the band has sold more than 35 million albums worldwide. The Grammy-winning rockers celebrated their announcement with a private show in the Hollywood Hills. They're scheduled to make their first national television appearance May 1 on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Weiland, 40, has been dogged by drug problems since the band's early days. His arrests for drug possession and stints in rehab led the group to cancel tour dates and contributed to their breakup. Weiland pleaded not guilty last month to charges of driving under the influence of drugs stemming from a November car crash. After Stone Temple Pilots' split, Weiland formed the rock group Velvet Revolver. On April 1, his bandmates - Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and Dave Kushner - announced that Weiland was no longer part of the group. "Among other things, his increasingly erratic on-stage behavior and personal problems have forced us to move on," Slash said in a statement. Two days later, Stone Temple Pilots announced their reunion.
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04.05.08 (AP) A company in a court fight with the Beatles has agreed not to release recordings purportedly made during Ringo Starr's first performance with the group until the case is resolved. A federal judge on Friday approved the agreement between Apple Corps Ltd., the London-based group formed by the Beatles that helps guard their legacy, and Miami Lakes-based Fuego Entertainment, Inc. The dispute stems from recordings the Fab Four apparently made in 1962 during a performance at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany. Eight unreleased tracks are said to be among the recordings, including Paul McCartney singing Hank Williams'"Lovesick Blues" and McCartney and John Lennon singing "Ask Me Why." Apple Corps claims the songs were taped without the band's consent and that Fuego and sister companies Echo-Fuego Music Group LLC and Echo-Vista Inc. have no right to distribute them. Fuego's attorney Michael Joblove said the agreement was voluntary and that his clients claim they acquired the legal right to market the recordings. "This is an injunction that was agreed to by our clients with no admission of liability to give the court time to consider the parties' claims regarding the ownership interests in these recordings," Joblove said. New York-based attorney Paul LiCalsi, who represents Apple Corps, said the agreement "clearly reflects that there is no basis for Fuego's claims that they have a right to exploit the tapes."
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04.04.08 (AP) The lead singer of the British band Procol Harum won an appeals court judgment Friday awarding him the full royalties to the iconic hit, "A Whiter Shade of Pale." Britain's Court of Appeal ruling for rock star Gary Brooker overturned a lower court decision granting the group's former organist 40 percent of the millions of dollars in royalties from the song. The appeals court agreed Matthew Fisher, who played the haunting organ theme, was entitled to co-authorship but said he will receive no money from past or future royalties. "For nearly three years this claim has been a great strain upon myself and my family. I believe the original trial was unfair and the results wrong," Brooker said. "I would hope that now, we can all get on with our lives." Lord Justice John Mummery said Fisher was "guilty of excessive and inexcusable delay in asserting his claim." Fisher, who quit the band in 1969 and is now a computer programmer in London, filed his claim to joint ownership nearly 40 years after the song was recorded and became one of the anthems of the 1967 "Summer of Love." The record has sold 10 million copies, and Rolling Stone magazine has ranked the song 57th on a list of the 500 greatest of all time. Brooker argued that it was his idea to use the theme based on Bach's "Air on the G String" that Fisher played on the track, and that he was unable to make his case properly because Fisher did not tell him he was pursuing his legal claim. Brooker, who still tours with the band, said he and lyricist Keith Reid wrote the song before Fisher joined the band in March 1967. The two had called Fisher's earlier court victory a dangerous precedent, saying it meant any musician who had played on any recording in the past four decades could claim joint authorship. The judge rejected Fisher's claim for an estimated $2 million in back royalties. Mummery said the issue of who will pay legal costs will be decided later, as well as whether Fisher can appeal the decision to the House of Lords, Britain's highest court. In December, a judge awarded the classically trained Fisher a 40 percent share in the copyright of the song, saying his organ solo was "a distinctive and significant contribution to the overall composition." "A Whiter Shade of Pale," famous for its cryptic lyrics - "We skipped the light fandango, turned cartwheels 'cross the floor" - topped the British charts for five weeks in 1967 and was a top five hit in the U.S.
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