New music: Cracker, Librarians With Hickeys, Mickey Thomas

Terrific collections featuring Cracker, Librarians With Hickeys and Mickey Thomas are available now.

Artist: Cracker

Title: Alternative History: A Cracker Retrospective (Cooking Vinyl)
You might like if you enjoy: Cracker, Old 97's, Camper Van Beethoven, Leftover Salmon

Tell me more: Cracker's exhilarating 35-year run is celebrated in spades across the wonderful Alternative History: A Cracker Retrospective collection available via 3-LP vinyl or 2-CD. The far-flung material showcased on the early part of the essential title includes the alt country-flavored "Sick of Goodbyes," infectious alt rocker "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)" from the band's 2006 Redux album, bluegrass-styled "Mr. Wrong" (the latter featuring Leftover Salmon), rousing roots rocker "I See The Light," fiery favorite "Low" and traditional country nugget "Merry Christmas Emily." Late highlights on the set include the blistering "The World Is Mine," wistful "Turn on Tune in Drop Out" (recorded live on an episode of the German TV show "Rockpalast"), a reworking of "Eurotrash Girl" presented as a bluegrass waltz featuring members of Leftover Salmon, the dazzling "King of Bakersfield" that recalls the sonic spirit of the late Gram Parsons, propulsive "I Need Better Friends," and the freewheeling "Ain't Gonna Suck Itself."   Alternative History: A Cracker Retrospective also includes a slew of additional great live tracks and demos sure to please fans of the band as well as "River Euphrates," the latter a cut from Cracker's out-of-print Tucson EP. Information: crackersoul.com.

Artist: Librarians With Hickeys

Title: How To Make Friends By Telephone (Big Stir Records)
You might like if you enjoy: Matthew Sweet, Jason Falkner, Roger Joseph Manning Jr.
Tell me more: Librarians With Hickeys' third full length album How To Make Friends By Telephone marks a dramatic step forward for the rising Akron, Ohio-based outfit. The rock quartet's power pop instincts shine on the followup to their 2022 breakthrough Handclaps & Tambourines to be sure (read my review of Handclaps & Tambourines HERE), but there are additional stylings that add to the magic on the 12-track disc. Standouts include the intoxicating melodic opener "Hello Operator," dreamy indie rocker "Listening," jangly delight "Out Of Your Hair," nostalgic "What Happened To My Heart," Celtic-tinged "Ship To Shore" and wonderfully euphoric "Everything Will Be Alright." Information: bigstirrecords.com.

Artist: Mickey Thomas

Title: A Classic Christmas (TBA)
You might like if you enjoy: Holiday and Christmas music, Starship
Tell me more: What would the holiday season be without a great new Christmas album that conjures up the magic of the genre's most beloved classics? Check out A Classic Christmas, the first-ever Christmas album from singer Mickey Thomas (the voice behind a parade of Jefferson Starship and Starship hits and Elvin Bishop's classic 1976 single "Fooled Around and Fell in Love"). Thomas' signature tenor soars on musical readings of the uptempo "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," tender "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," wistful "The Christmas Song," joyful "My Favorite Things" and lovely disc-closing "White Christmas." My favorite track on the Dan Frizsell-produced album is the sumptuous jazz-flavored "An Old Fashioned Christmas," a gem penned by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen. A Classic Christmas is available on audio CD, as well via Red/Green Split colored vinyl. Additionally, A Classic Christmas is now available on all streaming platforms. Information: StarshipControl.com.

Robert Kinsler

Inbox Update: Orion Music + More Festival, Camper Van Beethoven, Benefit Concert

Happy Monday everybody! Here is a brief overview of the latest news plucked from my inbox...

Metallica, in conjunction with their friends C3 Presents, are pleased to announce the lineup for the 2013 Orion Music + More Festival, to be held at Belle Isle in Detroit, MI on June 8and 9.   Headliners will include Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rise Against, Deftones and Bassnectar, while the festival will also feature amazing acts including Gogol Bordello, Foals, Tomahawk, The Joy Formidable, Death Grips and local Detroit bands The Dirtbombs, DEATH and BATTLECROSS.

Tickets will go on-sale to the public on March 1 at 10 a.m. (Eastern) for $150 for a 2-Day Pass including all fees.  Visit www.orionmusicandmore.com to buy tickets. 


Check out Camper Van Beethoven's session and interview on NPR World Café aired last Thursday: http://www.npr.org/2013/02/21/172615683/camper-van-beethoven-on-world-cafe

For mor information on the band:
http://campervanbeethoven.com/

Finally, I wanted to post the following release as it came in...

KLOS & THE KEYCLUB PRESENT~

ROCK AGAINST MS BENEFIT CONCERT

THE KEY CLUB HOLLYWOOD

9039 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27^TH

HOSTED BY: Bob Coburn & Gary Moore of KLOS

FEATURING:

MARKY RAMONE, GLENN HUGHES, LEMMY, JOHN 5, BLASKO (OZZY), BILLY MORRISON (BILLY IDOL), STEVEN ADLER, KENNY ARONOFF, GINGER (ROB ZOMBIE), WAYNE STATIC, TOMMY VICTOR, PHIL BUCKMAN (FILTER), JACK RUSSELL, JEFF PILSON, JEFF YOUNG AND MANY MORE!!

MORE ARTSITS TO BE ANNOUNCED AND SOME BIG SURPRISE GUESTS TOO!

SILENT AUCTION 8PM TO 10:30 PM – Signed Guitars from Rick Springfield, Paul Gilbert, Rare ½ hour Lesson from Steve Stevens, Clothes from Josie Loves Jay Valentine, Rock n Roll Jewelry, Rockstar Baskets from Foreigner, Warrant, Gary Hoey and MORE!!

HOLLYWOOD, CA (February 24, 2013) – These artists are coming together to support a long time friend and publicist Nancy Sayle, who was struck with Primary Progressive MS in 2009. This is a severe version of the disease and only 10% are inflicted with this level. She was also diagnosed with a pituitary brain tumor 2012. Visiting her close and dear friend as well as client, Steve Stevens and his wife Josie Stevens, she informed them of this news and all the medical issues. Knowing that she would not be working as much and facing large amounts of medical bills, Stevens suggested that a benefit was in order to help her. This is an amazing self-less gathering with a lot of love as well as creating the much needed awareness.  

About Multiple Sclerosis

• Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with MS, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. 
• MS interrupts the flow of information from the brain to the body and stops people from moving.
• Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis.  The advancement, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. 
• Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with more than twice as many women as men being diagnosed with the disease. 

MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S. and 2.1 million worldwide.

SHOWTIMES:

DOORS – 7:30

SHOW – 8:00

PRE-SALE TICKETS:

$35 GENERAL

$100 – MEET & GREET/GENERAL TICKET

$150 – VIP PASS/MEET & GREET – LIMITED 50 TICKETS ONLY

RESERVED TABLES BUYS – INQUIRE @ 818 795 6198

PURCHASE @ The Key Club Box Office (310) 274-5800 OR online at Ticketfly: www.ticketfly.com/event/230923

DAY-OF TICKETS:

$40 GENERAL

$110 – MEET & GREET/GENERAL

$175 – VIP/MEET & GREET – IF AVAILABLE

** Tickets that include the Meet & Greet – Please note that the Meet & Greet is at 5pm Pre-show during sound check! You will be escorted in and out. Please bring only 1 item to be signed.

SPONSORS: SCHECTER GUITARS, D’ADDARIO/EVANS, KEY CLUB HOLLYWOOD, KLOS, MAJIK BOX

Music Worth Buying episode: Ben Harper with Charlie Musselwhite; Camper Van Beethoven

On the latest episode of Music Worth Buying, we look a two fantastic new 2013 albums; Ben Harper with Charlie Musselwhite (Get Up!) and Camper Van Beethoven (La Costa Perdida):



Speaking of Get Up!, Last night, Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite performed their latest single, "I'm In I'm Out and I'm Gone," with a full band on Jimmy Kimmel Live, supporting their first collaboration album, 'Get Up!,' out now on Stax. The pair also played an intimate acoustic duet of "You Found Another Lover (I Lost Another Friend)" as a web exclusive.



Watch "I'm In I'm Out and I'm Gone" here: http://youtu.be/8ecO3aApfkc



Watch "You Found Another Lover (I Lost Another Friend)" here: http://youtu.be/MdeZz0IJrcg



Ben & Charlie's next US show is March 2 at Royal Oak, Michigan, followed by a March 3 show at Chicago's Riviera Theatre. Go here for tour dates: http://www.benharper.com/tour

Inbox Update: Camper Van Beethoven / Cracker Winter Tour set

Here is the latest items plucked from my stuffed inbox...

Camper Van Beethoven / Cracker Winter Tour to begin December 27, 2012

Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker set to kick-off annual Winter Tour on December 27 in Solana Beach, California

Camper Van Beethoven to release new LP 'La Costa Perdida' on Jan. 22, 2013!

Camper Van Beethoven (left to right: Jonathan Segel, David Lowery, Greg Lisher, Frank Funaro, Victor Krummenacher) - Photo credit: Jason Thrasher

CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN / CRACKER WINTER TOUR DATES:


Dec. 27 Belly Up Tavern - Solana Beach, CA

Dec. 28 The Independent - San Francisco, CA

Dec. 29 Mystic Theatre - Petaluma, CA

Dec. 31 The Soiled Dove - Denver, CO (Cracker only)

Jan. 18 World Cafe Live - Philadelphia, PA

Jan. 19 Stage 48 - New York, NY

Jan. 20 Middle East Downstairs - Cambridge, MA

Jan. 23 Sky City - Augusta, GA (CVB only)

Jan. 24 40-Watt Club - Athens, GA (CVB only)

Jan. 25 The Grey Eagle - Asheville, NC (CVB only)

Jan. 26 The Earl - Atlanta, GA (CVB only)

[more dates to be announced]

Camper Van Beethoven – the beloved, genre-mashing musical unit and one of the bands that created the indie rock genre – has confirmed its first album in nine years with La Costa Perdida (due January 22, 2013 on 429 Records). The release will mark CVB's first album recorded as a unit with the band cutting songs organically with all in attendance and produced entirely by the band's members. La Costa Perdida vividly depicts untamed characters and bizarre experiences on northern California's coastline, where the band began its musical adventures.


Camper Van Beethoven is: Victor Krummenacher (bass, baritone guitar), Greg Lisher (guitars), David Lowery (guitars and vocals), Chris Pedersen (drums), Jonathan Segel (violin, guitar, mandolin, organ, backing vocals) and new addition Michael Urbano (drums and percussion). [Joining the band for their winter tour dates is longtime CVB & Cracker drummer Frank Funaro.]


Camper Van Beethoven have long held a place as influential pioneers of indie rock. Pitchfork Media called them "great… assiduous creativity… inventive… delightful." SPIN has praised the band's "depth and worldly flavors," continuing, of its recent run in the 21st century, "The band still rocks with the vigor of any young sprite." Rolling Stone has raved about the band's "adventurous music," while NPR says, "Their cryptic wit and dense, layered music offered rewards in repeated listening… blending genres of world and rock, translating current events into a swirl of witty banter and interpretation."

On the making of La Costa Perdida, Victor Krummenacher says, "The coolest part was that everything flowed from the fact that these distinctive musicians and personalities sat in the living room. Four people are writing it. The songs have great energy, but we're more relaxed and stately and a lot more confident."

La Costa Perdida Track List:

1. Come Down The Coast

2. Too High For The Love-in

3. You Got To Roll

4. Someday Our Love Will Sell Us Out

5. Peaches In The Summertime

6. Northern California Girls

7. Summer Days

8. La Costa Perdida

9. Aged In Wood

10. A Love For All Time

CRACKER (left to right: Frank Funaro, Johnny Hickman, David Lowery, Sal Maida) Photo credit: Jason Thrasher

Also led by Camper Van Beethoven's frontman David Lowery, Cracker will be joining CVB's run of winter dates. Cracker has been described as a lot of things over the years: alt-rock, Americana, insurgent-country, and have even had the terms punk and classic-rock thrown at them. But more than anything Cracker are survivors. Co-founders Lowery and Johnny Hickman have been at it for 20 years now - amassing nine studio albums (their most recent, 2009's critically acclaimed Sunrise In The Land Of Milk And Honey), multiple gold records, thousands of live performances, hit songs ("Low," "Euro-Trash Girl" and "Get Off This" to name just a few) that are still in current radio rotation around the globe, and a worldwide fan base - that despite the major sea-changes within the music industry - continues to grow each year. Along with longtime drummer Frank Funaro (since 1998's Gentleman's Blues) and bassist Sal Maida (since 2006's Greenland), this uniquely American band has no intentions of slowing down.


FOR MORE INFO ON CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN:


http://campervanbeethoven.com


FOR MORE INFO ON CRACKER:

http://crackersoul.com