Thursday, May 14, 2020

Sights and Sounds: Sparks, Pearl Jam, ‘Rock & Roll Road Trip with Sammy Hagar’, Peter Himmelman, Spafford

While the global live concert industry is still at a close-to complete standstill, there are plenty of announcements as it relates to new videos, upcoming albums and television specials. There is even news about a live drive-in performance coming to Arizona later this month ...Robert Kinsler



Sparks ride "Lawnmower" into album release day 

NEW SONG/VIDEO OUT TODAY, NEW ALBUM OUT TOMORROW

A STEADY DRIP, DRIP, DRIP
ARRIVES DIGITALLY TOMORROW, FRIDAY, MAY 15;
PHYSICAL FOLLOWS ON FRIDAY, JULY 3




“These songs are as wonderfully wild, fractured, rambunctious, jittery, and above all melodic as the best in the band’s bulging catalog.” - American Songwriter (4/5 stars)

“A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip follows Sparks' characteristic diversity,
with plenty of theatrically styled camp.” - Billboard

“After nearly 50 years and over two dozen albums, Sparks continue their reign of resonantly quirky art pop-rock delights on A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip.” - Pop Matters

“No band should by rights sound as sharp, melodic and funny more than 50 years into their career. But Sparks are no ordinary band.” - Q

Groundbreaking pop icons Sparks – Los Angeles-based brothers Ron and Russell Mael – have announced today’s release of “Lawnmower,” the latest song release from their upcoming 24thstudio album, A STEADY DRIP, DRIP, DRIP. “Lawnmower” is available now via BMG at all DSPs and streaming services. The video will premiere on YouTube at Noon today (May 14)A STEADY DRIP, DRIP, DRIP arrives at all digital platforms tomorrow, Friday, May 15; the album’s physical release – including CD, vinyl, and cassette – is set for Friday, July 3. Billboard premiered “Lawnmower” with a Russell Mael Q&A yesterday.

LISTEN TO “LAWNMOWER”

WATCH “LAWNMOWER”

A STEADY DRIP, DRIP, DRIP is still available for pre-order, with all pre-orders joined by an “instant grat” download of “Lawnmower,” as well as the previous track releases, “One For The Ages,” “I’m Toast,” “Self Effacing,” and “Please Don’t Fuck Up My World.” A number of formats are on offer, including CD, 2x heavyweight colored and picture disc vinyl, and cassette; limited exclusives include signed prints, deluxe CD book editions, and a very special Sparks beret. For complete details, please visit allsparks.com.

PRE-ORDER A STEADY DRIP, DRIP, DRIP

A STEADY DRIP, DRIP, DRIP has already been met by strong critical praise, with Pop Matters hailing the LP as “yet another remarkable testament to Sparks’ enduring appeal and quality…it’s another wildly thought-provoking, fun, and wholly distinctive venture.” A STEADY DRIP, DRIP, DRIP “fizzes with as much energy as any of their records,” declared Q, “being an effervescent brew of rock, electronica, and classical.” “Ron and Russell Mael’s world is as fabulously off-skew as ever,” wrote MOJO, “and, even better, wonderful melodies tumble out of the speakers.”

“There is surely not a pop duo of their vintage still releasing durable, endearing music,” wrote the Irish Times. “A STEADY DRIP, DRIP, DRIP adds to their catalogue yet another collection of watertight pop songs that manage the feat of sounding just how you want Sparks to sound while deviating ever so slightly from the familiar.” “They’ve done it again,” enthused Record Collector in a five-starred rave. “Art-pop’s greatest cottage industry continues with this new, splendid record.” “Sparks’ abiding gifts for pop melody, surreal humour and clever, quirky lyrics crafted with precision and attention to old-fashioned virtues of the songwriter’s craft – meter and scansion, rhyme and rhythm – remain not just undiminished but honed to a peak of perfection,” wrote Louder Than War. “With A STEADY DRIP, DRIP, DRIP, Sparks have drawn on the many styles and many great moments in a multi-faceted career that began in their native Los Angeles in 1967, while retaining the unique identity. Whatever style they embrace, and they have embraced most – pop, rock, New Wave, synth-pop, disco, dance, electro, orchestral, opera – they always remain ineffably, irrefutably, inescapably, undeniably Sparks.”

Ron and Russell Mael will join The Charlatans’ Tim Burgess for an extra special edition of #TimsTwitterListeningParty featuring A STEADY DRIP, DRIP, DRIP on Wednesday, May 20 at 5:00 pm ET/2:00 pm PT. Fans are invited to follow @sparksofficial and @tim_burgess on Twitter for real time, live commentary on the album; to tweet, please use the hashtag #TimsTwitterListeningParty.

This year should also see the eagerly awaited premiere of the musical Annette, the first English-language film from groundbreaking French director Leos Carax (Holy MotorsPola X), written by Ron and Russell Mael and starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard. In addition, director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the DeadHot FuzzBaby Driver) will continue work on his as-yet-untitled Sparks documentary, a long-in-the-making feature-length film celebrating this singular band.




Pearl Jam shares compelling “Retrograde" Music Video

New album 'Gigaton' available now via Republic Records 




NEW YORK, NY – Today, Pearl Jam revealed the music video for the Gigaton single “Retrograde.

Watch it 
HERE.

For the visual, the band teamed up with director Josh Wakely [Beat BugsMotown Magic]. The animated clip opens with a lone traveler driving through the rain and descending upon a strip mall. Visiting a psychic, the protagonist witnesses the destruction of the world in a crystal ball as the seas overtake the Eiffel Tower in Paris, London Bridge in London, and the group’s native Seattle. Fluid animation moves like an oil painting in motion as the animated musicians—Eddie VedderStone GossardMike McCreadyJeff Ament, and Matt Cameron—step out of their respect tarot cards and into a march. While the water continues to rise climate change activist and revolutionary Greta Thunberg appears behind the crystal ball as a clairvoyant.

“Retrograde” is the latest single from the band’s new album, Gigaton—available now.

Get it at 
www.pearljam.com.


story here



AXS TV releases clips & highlights featuring Brian May, Joe Walsh, Tanya Tuckar and James Burton from ‘Rock & Roll Road Trip with Sammy Hagar’
Premieres Sunday, May 17 at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT

Brian May, left, with Sammy Hagar / Photo courtesy AXS TV

Watch Brian May share how his Signature Guitar Sound was inspired by Rory Gallagher & James Burton HERE
Watch Sammy Hagar, Joe Walsh and James Burton perform the Elvis classic “Jailhouse Rock” HERE


Sammy Hagar returns to Nashville to celebrate rock legend James Burton at an all-star bash for the famed guitarist for Elvis, John Denver and many others. Backstage he sits down with music legends Brian May of Queen, Joe Walsh and recent GRAMMY®-winner Tanya Tucker.
Here are two press clips from the episode for media use:
Interview highlights from the episode include:
  • Tanya Tucker discusses beginning her singing career in Nashville at age nine and her love for Elvis
  • Joe Walsh shares his secret to musical longevity.
  • How Brian May and Queen continued after Freddie Mercury’s death. 

Peter Himmelman's 'This Is How It Ends' debut single
from artist's forthcoming album 'Press On'

Americana Highways premiered the track here



NEW YORK, N.Y. — Press OnPeter Himmelman’s forthcoming 13-song album, was recorded live in Los Feliz, Calif. in a total of three days. “We used a simple creative forcing frame for our three-day marathon session, which consisted of four rules,” Himmelman says. “Upright bass on every song, little to no cymbals and high-hats, no professional background singers, and as much live recording as possible. We wanted anyone listening to the music to feel as if they were in the room with us as we were recording.” These days not many players have the musical chops to record without stopping to fix mistakes, or to improvise complex parts on the fly. The musicians Himmelman selected for the project were capable of both, and they were excited about the chance to make a live-in-studio recording in a short span of time. 
Recorded with the help of Himmelman’s longtime bassist/collaborator Matt Thompson, drummer Jimi Englund, keyboardist Chris Joyner, and guitarist Greg Herzenach, the spare, soulful soundsof the debut single, “This Is How It Ends,” allow room for Himmelman’s biting, and sometimes, nearly clairvoyant lyrics to rise up through the swirls of gospel-like colors within the musical arrangement. Producer and engineer Sheldon Gomberg notes, “the musicianship on ‘This Is How It Ends’ is of the highest quality. These guys are some of my favorite players around. The way they listen and respond to what’s happening is what gives the record its remarkable immediacy.”
“This Is How It Ends,” which Himmelman composed on the piano one afternoon in his living room in Santa Monica, California, was written nearly a year prior to his move to New York City in August of 2019. “As with many songs of mine that I wind up being most attracted to, this one was also a surprise when it emerged,” Himmelman muses. “I asked myself then and now, where did this come from, what does it mean?”  
This is the sound of unearthly silence, after a year of blood and violence. These are
 the men grey with ash, rollin’ their barrels of useless cash...
Press On, produced by Gomberg, Thompson, Himmelman, and Arthur Himmelman, is set for release in July 2020, with details to be announced shortly.



SPAFFORD announces live concert at the Drive-In

MAY 24, 2020 | DIGITAL DRIVE-IN | MESA, AZ



Phoenix, AZ - The Arizona based progressive rock band Spafford is set to perform LIVE in Mesa, AZ on May 24. The show will take place at the famed drive-in movie theater "Digital Drive-In.” This is the band’s first live performance since the Covid-19 epidemic forced bands worldwide to cancel tours and scheduled performances. There will be a limited number of tickets available for this performance. Tickets go on sale Friday, May 15th at 10AM PST.  

PURCHASE TICKETS TO SPAFFORD LIVE AT THE DRIVE-IN 

“We are extremely excited for this opportunity. Everyone on our team has been working tirelessly to ensure that this will be an amazing experience that follows all social distancing guidelines. We want to provide a safe, fun environment for everyone to get out and enjoy our music!” said Spafford of the upcoming performance. 

Fans will be able to see this first of its kind live show from the comfort of their own vehicles while also practicing social distancing. For fans elsewhere in the country, the show will be live-streamed for free via Spafford’s YouTube and Facebook pages. 

Spafford are known for their astonishing improvisational ability and off-the-cuff extended jams, Spafford paints a picture in real-time each night with a musical palette known only to each other. It’s a private language comprised of both their talent as musicians as well as their formidable catalog of influences, spanning 90’s alt-rock radio hits to Steely Dan and The Crystal Method. Each and every Spafford show is a sonic pilgrimage, the journey of a team of musicians so in tune with each other that a single note communicates intent and purpose. Spafford is amongst the most creative and hard-traveling bands on the contemporary jam scene, performing countless sold-out headline dates along with high profile festival sets at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Firefly Music Festival, and many others.

# # #

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