Inbox Update: Record Store Day coming Saturday, April 21

You didn't think I'd forget about Record Store Day, did you?

Although it seems I'm always at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Record Store Day every April, I get to celebrate since there is usually an indie music retailer who has a great tent stocked with Record Store Day exclusives. I shop there every year, usually making that Zia Record Exchange tent my first stop when I get inside the Empire Polo Club grounds and before the live music starts.

This coming weekend - the second and final weekend of Coachella - there will be artist signings on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (April 20-22, 2012). And, of course, on Saturday there will be great music exclusives. Read on to see news on a number of Record Store Day-related releases likely to be available there or at your favorite neighborhood indie music record shop. I'm going to kick things off with a release that I've actually got in my hot little hands. I am excited to say if you are a fan of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (one of many great acts who are appearing at Coachella this month), you will want to pick this one up on April 21 if you can.

Grace Potter & the Nocturnals: Live from the Legendary Sun Studios recorded at Memphis' Sun Studio, created specifically for Record Store Day

GPN aficionados and other hardcore fans will be delighted to learn that Grace and the band have prepared a special limited-edition piece for Record Store Day. Grace Potter & The Nocturnals: Live From The Legendary Sun Studio, which will be available on vinyl and CD, contains seven original songs recorded in 2008 and 2009. “Night Rolls On,” “Outta My Tree,” “Sugar,” and “Put Your Head Down” (which comprise Side One of the vinyl release) were recorded in January 2008 for the Live From Sun Studio TV show that airs nationally on PBS. GPN was the very first band to be featured on that program. “One Short Night,” “Can’t See Through,” and “Fooling Myself” were cut in June 2009. Except “One Short Night” and “Fooling Myself,” these songs have not been previously released, though the band has broken out some of the others on occasion in concert.


“We wanted the songs to be unfamiliar,” Grace explains. “We didn’t want to give people different versions of songs they already knew. So we went with a bunch of B-sides and forgotten tunes. I wanted to call the record Bastard Songs From Sun Studio, but that got shot down, not surprisingly.”


GPN made a pilgrimage to Sun when they played Memphis during their very first tour outside the Northeast. “I was obsessed with the place, so I paid the 30 bucks to go into the vocal booth and sing ‘Love Me Tender,’” Grace recalls. “It was only two or three years later that they called us to ask if we wanted to come in and record—we were the first band invited to perform there for the PBS series. When we got there, the guy behind the counter recognized me. He said, ‘This is crazy, because I was telling everyone about this girl that came in and sang a crazy-good “Love Me Tender”!’ So Sun has a lot of history for us.”


As previously announced, The Lion The Beast The Beat, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals’ fourth studio album for Hollywood Records, will be released June 12. The musically powerful and conceptually dazzling work was produced by Potter and veteran producer Jim Scott (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Wilco, the Tedeschi Trucks Band). Adding to the firepower of the project is Dan Auerbach who produced and co-wrote the track “Loneliest Soul” and also produced and co-wrote the band’s first single “Never Go Back,” and “Runaway,” both of which were co-produced by Scott. David Campbell (Beck, My Morning Jacket, Jackson Browne) arranged and conducted the strings on the album. The LP was mixed by fellow Vermonter and Grammy award winner Rich Costey (Foo Fighters, TV on the Radio, Bruce Springsteen’s Wrecking Ball).


The first single from The Lion The Beast The Beat is “Never Go Back,” written by Dan Auerbach and Grace Potter & The Nocturnals. GPN’s debuted “Never Go Back” April 5 on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. A companion video for the track will be shot in Los Angeles in April. Go to here for an exclusive first listen of “Never Go Back.”


On April 14, GPN made their first-ever appearance at Coachella, which has expanded to two weekends this year. They will be back in Indio on Record Store Day, April 21. On June 2, the band will embark on the “Brothers of the Sun” Tour with Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw. GPN’s inclusion on the tour was a result of Grace’s duet with Chesney on their Grammy® and CMA Award-winning single and video “You and Tequila,” which was certified platinum for sales of over one million downloads.

Pepperland Music in Orange to celebrate Record Store Day

My neighborhood record store is the beloved Pepperland Music, located in Orange (in Orange County, California).

Pepperland Music is opening at 10 a.m. and will have a bunch of one-day exclusives. The store is also going to host several live performances, including sets from Midnight Screening and The Ghosts.

The great thing about Pepperland Music is it has a big selection of Beatles-related memorabilia, vinyl albums, CDs, DVD and - of course - musical instruments and related gear. And don't worry if you can't play an instrument, the store also offers music lessons too!

Pepperland Music is located at 850 N. Tustin Avenue, Orange, CA. You can call the store at 714-639-0909. You can visit the Pepperland Music Web site here.



Caitlin Rose set to release "Piledriver Waltz" / "Love Is A Laserquest" (Arctic Monkeys covers) 7 Inch on Record Store Day

In honor of Record Store Day, Domino Records has commissioned two very special Arctic Monkeys covers from Caitlin Rose (seen here in a photo courtesy of Josh Anderson), one of Nashville’s brightest young singer/songwriters. When Alex Turner’s "Piledriver Waltz" first appeared in the British film Submarine as a bittersweet acoustic love song, and then later as a fleshed out Arctic Monkeys song from their most recent album Suck It and See, it was evident that the production and arrangement could change, but the soaring timelessness of the song’s lyrics and melody never would.

Caitlin Rose’s cover transforms the song into a country rock ballad complete with slide guitar and powerful vocals remencesnt of the Nashville greats from yesteryear like Loretta Lynn & Emmylou Harris. Her take of Suck It and See’s standout ballad "Love Is A Laserquest" is as heartbreaking a country song as you’ll ever hear. Both songs will be pressed on a super limited edition 7 inch for Record Store Day only.

Rose is currently in the studio recording the followup to her critically acclaimed debut, Own Side Now.


Zac Brown Band, Sonia Leigh, Wood Brothers Bolster Free Southern Ground Artists Compilation, Vol. 2

Southern Ground Artists, the record label of two-time GRAMMY Award-winner Zac Brown, is releasing its latest compilation in celebration of Record Store Day 2012 featuring songs by Sonia Leigh, The Wood Brothers, and Blackberry Smoke, among others. The album will also include a live version of "No Hurry," the latest single by Zac Brown Band, currently at #18 on the Billboard Hot Country chart.

Track listing:
1. One More Day (Live) – The Wood Brothers
2. Hard Headed – Nic Cowan
3. Another Day – Dugas
4. Wherever We Break Down – Levi Lowrey
5. Bar (Barroom Radio Mix) – Sonia Leigh
6. Leavin' – The Wheeler Boys
7. Everybody Knows She's Mine – Blackberry Smoke
8. No Hurry (Live) – Zac Brown Band

The compilation will be distributed via Record Store Day at over 350 indie music stores on April 21, 2012.

http://www.southerngroundartists.com



Dierks Bentley signs up to support Record Store Day at Easy Street Records in Seattle, WA

Country music singer/songwriter Dierks Bentley has been added to the list of artists taking part in the fifth annual Record Store Day on April 21 with a special acoustic performance at independent record store Easy Street Records’ Queen Anne location in downtown Seattle, WA at 1 p.m. (Pacific Time Zone).

“Record Store Day is such a great event that has hardly had any attention in country music,” said Bentley. “Some of the coolest exclusive product comes out on this day at indy retailers, and I wanted country fans to be able to get in on the action. I may have a few surprise special guests up my sleeve too. I'm really excited to take over Easy Street for an hour that afternoon…Seattle is such a great music town."

Across the country and globe for one day only, artists including Coldplay, Foster the People, Ryan Adams and The Black Keys will be releasing Record Store Day exclusives, making special appearances or performing at brick and mortar record stores to celebrate the art of music. For a full list of artists participating in the special event, visit www.recordstoreday.com.

For more information on Bentley, visit www.dierks.com.


Norah Jones to release exclusive 7 Inch featuring tracks from Little Broken Hearts

Norah Jones will be releasing an exclusive 7” single for Record Store Day featuring two tracks from Little Broken Hearts that were remixed by TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek. This limited edition release will be sold on the Record Store Day Web site on Saturday, April 21, with proceeds benefitting ART from the ashes (AFTA) in their efforts to aid the recovery and restoration process in Bastrop County, Texas, which was devastated by wildfires in September 2011. AFTA is a non-profit arts organization that supports communities devastated by natural disaster through the creation of art.

Visit www.norahjones.com for more information.