Thursday, October 10, 2013

Sights and Sounds: Stagecoach Festival, Jerry Garcia, William Shatner, Leslie West

All kinds of things to share this morning from every corner of the sonic universe...but first the big news on Stagecoach 2014!


Jason Aldean. Photo: Kelly A. Swift
STAGECOACH:
CALIFORNIA’S COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL
ANNOUNCES 2014 LINEUP:

ERIC CHURCH, JASON ALDEAN AND LUKE BRYAN TO HEADLINE

Los Angeles, CA – OCTOBER 10th, 2013 - STAGECOACH 2014--set for Friday, April 25, Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27, 2014--marks the festival’s eighth year at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, CA.  This year, Eric Church, Jason Aldean, and Luke Bryan headline the 3-day event with additional performances by Hunter Hayes, Florida Georgia Line, Brantley Gilbert, Jennifer Nettles, Loretta Lynn, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and many more. I am especially thrilled that Trampled by Turtles and singer-songwriter Susanna Hoffs will be performing. (Full line-up as of October 10this available at the Stagecoach Festival Web site). 

Tickets for STAGECOACH: CALIFORNIA’S COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL POWERED BY TOYOTA will go on sale Friday, October 18th at 10 a.m. PDT at Stagecoachfestival.com.  Three-day GA weekend passes are $249. Additionally, new for 2014, choose either the Corral Standing Pit, a standing room only section directly in front of the Toyota Mane stage OR Corral Reserved Seating.  All taxes, shipping and fees are included in listed ticket prices.  What you see is what you pay!  Layaway options available.  Children 10 and under are free.

The “RV RESORT” has expanded for 2014 while continuing to provide a personal and comfortable camping experience.  Campers can choose between 30amp, 50amp or dry camping spots.  In addition, borrowed and Rental RV's are now allowed.

For complete festival information, to review reserved seating options or to apply for an RV spot in the Stagecoach RV Resort, please visit www.stagecoachfestival.com


News and Notes: Jerry Garcia, William Shatner, Leslie West


TRI STUDIOS AND EAGLE ROCK ENTERTAINMENT PRESENT
MOVE ME BRIGHTLY
CELEBRATING JERRY GARCIA’S 70TH BIRTHDAY
FEATURING BOB WEIR, PHIL LESH, BILL KREUTZMANN,
MICKEY HART, DONNA JEAN GODCHAUX,
CARLOS SANTANA, AND LUKE WILSON
PLUS MEMBERS OF VAMPIRE WEEKEND, PHISH, JANE’S ADDICTION, TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS, THE BLACK CROWES, THE HOLD STEADY AND MANY MORE
~ON DVD AND BLU-RAY OCTOBER 29, 2013~
New York, NY (October 10, 2013)— Eagle Rock Entertainment is delighted to announce the release on October 29, 2013 of Move Me Brightly: Celebrating Jerry Garcia’s 70th Birthday on DVD, Blu-ray and Visual Digital Formats [Pre-book Order Date October 4, MSRP $19.98 Blu-ray, $14.98 DVD].
A must-see for any Deadhead, Move Me Brightly is a film based around a unique musical gathering held to mark what would have been Jerry Garcia’s 70th birthday at Bob Weir’s TRI Studios in San Rafael, California.
Part insightful documentary and part rousing concert film, Move Me Brightly features contributions from fellow Grateful Dead members Bob WeirPhil LeshBill KreutzmannMickey Hart and Donna Jean Godchaux along with Garcia family members and special guests such as Carlos SantanaSammy HagarMike CampbellPerry Farrell and Stephen Perkins from Jane’s Addiction, and interviewer Luke Wilson.
The film also features an impressive lineup of musicians representing more recent generations who have been influenced by Jerry Garcia, such as Vampire Weekend’s Chris TomsonPhish’s Mike GordonThe Hold Steady’s Craig Finn and Tad Kubler and Furthur’s Joe Russo & Jeff Chimenti.
The one-of-a-kind line-up of Move Me Brightly concert performers featured in the film joined together to perform unique interpretations of Garcia classics including “Terrapin Station,” “Shakedown Street,” “Cumberland Blues,” “New Speedway Boogie,“ “Friend Of The Devil,” and many more. 
Move Me Brightly was directed by Justin Kreutzmann, the son of Grateful Dead drummer Bill.
Move Me Brightly TRACK LISTING:
1) Cumberland Blues  
2) Going Down the Road Feelin’ Bad  
3) Mission in the Rain  
4) Shakedown Street  
5) He’s Gone  
6) Eyes Of The World  
7) Terrapin Station  
8) Days Between  
9) Franklin’s Tower   
10) U.S. Blues
Bonus Performances
1) Friend Of The Devil
2) Bird Song>New Speedway Boogie
Eagle Rock Entertainment is the largest producer and distributor of music programming for DVD, Blu-Ray, TV, Audio and Digital Media in the world.  Eagle works directly alongside talent to produce top quality, High Definition and 3D programs, both concerts and documentaries, including The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, The Who, Queen, The Doors, Jeff Beck, U2, Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney and Ozzy Osbourne. Eagle is a Grammy Award winning company and has received over 30 multi-platinum, over 50 platinum and over 90 gold discs, worldwide.  Eagle Rock Entertainment has offices in London, New York, Toronto, Paris and Hamburg.



William Shatner has completed a video for "Ponder the Mystery," one of the cuts from his new prog-rock album of the same name. Click here to learn more and view the video.

Local readers will note Shatner is performing a string of area dates here in Southern California in connection with the new album, including at The Coach House in nearby San Juan Capistrano on Friday, Oct. 25, 2013. Visit www.theCoachHouse.com for more details on the concert event.




LESLIE WEST AND PROVOGUE RECORDS TO STAGE RARE IN-STORE APPEARANCES
TO COINCIDE WITH STILL CLIMBING RELEASE

West Confirms 11/01 at NJ's Vintage Vinyl (7PM), 11/02 at Long Island, NY's
Looney Tunes (2PM), and Performance At New York City's Iridium on 11/13
OCTOBER 29TH RELEASE SEES WEST LOOKING FORWARD
JOINED BY JONNY LANG, JOHNNY WINTER, MARK TREMONTI AND DEE SNIDER
New York, NY -- Leslie West will stage two rare in-store appearances that coincide with the release of his upcoming studio album Still Climbing on October 29 via Provogue Records / Mascot Label Group.  The guitarist will appear at Vintage Vinyl in Fords, NJ on November 1 at 7PM (51 Lafayette Rd - 732-225-7717) and at Looney Tunes in West Babylon, NY on November 2 at 2PM (31 Brookvale Avenue - 631-587-7722).  West will host a question and answer with those assembled, and conduct a signing of Still Climbing.
On November 13, West will appear at New York City's Iridium for one-set at 8PM.  For more information: http://theiridium.com/events/1962/leslie-west-with-opener-arielle-verinis-one-set-only-800-pm/ or visit West's new web site that launches today with a premiere of the lyric video created for "Dyin' Since The Day I was Born": www.lesliewestofficial.com.
Originality, excitement, honesty and survival are all part of what makes a legend, and those qualities ripple through every song on West’s upcoming release.  The disc is also a testimonial to the strength and durability of West’s artistry.  Born October 22, 1945, as he approaches the age of 68, West has packed some of the most soulful and searing vocal performances of his half-century career into these eleven tracks, and his guitar has never sounded more massive or riff-propelled. 
Following the success of Unusual Suspects, he approached the new release with vision of tying the albums together.  “This record is a sequel to Unusual Suspects, where I had friends of mine that include Slash, Zakk Wylde, Steve Lukather, Joe Bonamassa and Billy Gibbons come to the studio and play,” West explains.  This time Jonny Lang, Johnny Winter, Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider and Alter Bridge / Creed’s Mark Tremonti do the honors. “What’s different on Still Climbing is that I wanted my guitars to sound as big as I look. So I used four of my Dean signature model guitars with my Mountain of Tone humbucking pickups. I plugged them into my Blackstar amps — no pedals — and turned them up loud and raw, and what you hear is exactly what I did in the studio.  These Blackstar amps deliver everything I need without 'confidence' pedals.  I played one of the early tracks we recorded for Slash, and he said, ‘That is as heavy as it gets.’" 
West, who ascended rock’s Mt. Olympus with his band Mountain in a historic performance at 1969’s Woodstock festival, accomplished all of that despite a life threatening battle with diabetes that cost him most of his right leg in 2011, just after his previous Mascot Label Group release Unusual Suspects was recorded.  "I’m lucky it wasn’t one of my hands or I’d be screwed,” West says with his customary candor.  “It was a difficult struggle, and after the amputation I didn’t know whether I’d ever want to or be able to perform again.  But a month later I played at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp in New York City, and I heard my guitar on stage and that was it. I knew I had to keep going.”
West has been performing since 1965, when he fronted the soul-fired Vagrants in his native New York City.  Rolling Stone placed him at #66 on their list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists.”   His repertoire continues to be relevant with enduring appeal to this day as top selling rap recordings are built around samples from “Long Red,” which appeared on the Mountain album. Jay-Z tapped the tune for his 2004 mega-smash “99 Problems.” So did Kanye West, for  "Barry Bonds" and “The Glory," and Common’s “The People,” along with others.  Recently, Lana Del Rey sampled West's voice and features it in the beginning, middle and end of the worldwide smash "Born To Die."  For Still Climbing, , West re-recorded "Long Red" with his brother and former Vagrants-mate Larry West on bass.  He offers, “It was time for me to let people hear that song the way I do it now.  I used a B-3 organ on it again, but this time it has a lot more balls."
Balls, guts, heart — more words that are part of West’s legend and describe the roaring crescendos and deep emotional roots of Still Climbing — and West himself.  “You know, when it comes to talent, we don’t all move at the same rate of speed,” West muses. “Some people start at the top of their game and after 10 or 20 years you wonder what the hell happened to them. I like to joke that the older I get the better I used to be, but after giving up drugs and smoking, my voice can hit notes that I never could reach before.   I’m thankful for that.”
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