'The News' episode: Paul McCartney celebrates 80, Simple Minds, Dr. John, Two Door Cinema Club, Drive-By Truckers, more!

Simple Minds

Check out the latest episode of "The News" as TJR and Robert Kinsler discuss Paul McCartney's turning 80, as well as details on forthcoming releases from Simple Minds, Dr. John, Blondie and Two Door Cinema Club. TJR also celebrates Drive-By Truckers' latest album release Welcome 2 Club XIII.

Watch the episode HERE.

Sights and Sounds: Nina Simone, Paul Kelly, Buffalo Nichols

Several major announcements related to new and forthcoming titles are featured below...Robert Kinsler

'Nina Simone and Her Friends' deluxe reissue coming from BMG on Dec. 3, 2021; set includes four tracks from 'Little Girl Blue' recording session in 1957

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Originally released by Bethlehem Records in 1959, Nina Simone and Her Friends was a compilation album comprising the few remaining unreleased tracks from the 1957 Little Girl Blue recording session plus songs recorded by two other former Bethlehem artists, the powerhouse jazz vocalist Carmen McRae and the elegant song stylist Chris Connor. 

An RSD-Essentials exclusive “emerald-green” limited-edition 180-gram LP will be available, along with CD and digital/streaming versions (high-definition and standard) on December 3, 2021. The reissue features a fresh stereo master done by four-time Grammy winner Michael Graves as well as a vinyl remastering by the renowned Kevin Gray. Grammy winner Cheryl Pawelski produced the set, which includes a new essay by Daphne A. Brooks, author of Liner Notes for the Revolution.

 

As Brooks explains in her essay, “Bethlehem clustered their work — tracks that had previously appeared on the label’s Girlfriends compilation — together with the younger, upstart Simone’s and essentially offered up a collection of songs that span a range of genres — folk, jazz, pop song staples, and torch song laments, plus a couple of provocative original compositions by McRae and Simone. Each track is a reminder of the clear-eyed independence, verve, and confidence of three artists whose music, taken together, brims with the majesty and the assured talents of the late 1950s women artists who led with conviction and invention as musicians and song interpreters.” 
 

Available today, October 20, as a sneak-peak, “African Mailman” is an instrumental track recorded during the Little Girl Blue sessions, showcasing Nina Simone’s incredible piano playing. At the time, Simone was in her mid-20s and still aspiring to be a classical concert pianist. As Brooks describes it: “A magisterial original composition of Simone’s which, as she recounts it, ‘was made up on the spot in the studio and recorded in one take,’ finds her moving across an Afrodiasporic terrain of percussion, leading at the keyboard, rolling and tumbling, building waves of contrasting chromatic depth and spinning, ethereal flight.”

 

NINA SIMONE AND HER FRIENDS

TRACK LIST:

1. Nina Simone – “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” 
2. Chris Conner – “Someone to Watch Over Me” 
3. Carmen McRae – “Old Devil Moon” 
4. Nina Simone – “I Loves You, Porgy” 
5. Chris Connor – “I Concentrate on You” 
6. Carmen McRae – “You Made Me Care” 
7. Nina Simone – “For All We Know” 
8. Chris Connor – “From This Moment On” 
9. Carmen McRae – “Too Much in Love to Care” 
10. Nina Simone – “African Mailman” 
11. Chris Connor – “All This and Heaven Too” 
12. Carmen McRae – “Last Time for Love” 
    

   

 

Watch the "African Mailman" single: https://youtu.be/40yr9iuv__Q

Paul Kelly readies 'How to Make Gravy,' Australia's most popular holiday song; new single from 'Paul Kelly's Christmas Train' album due out Nov. 19 on Gawd Aggie/Cooking Vinyl in time for Gravy Day

MELBOURNE, Australia — As he gathered the material for his first Christmas album, Paul Kelly soon realized that a collection of 10 seasonal standards could never cover the richness he wanted to convey. He knew he wanted to make a record that drew out all the emotions and layers of the Christmas story, and in a way that reflected the holiday experience in the southern hemisphere, far removed from the snowy imagery of so many Christmas songs.

 

The result is an extraordinary 22-song double album that travels across the centuries, from a Latin hymn to well-known carols, from a traditional Irish folk ballad to songs with an unmistakable local flavor, and a sparkling new version of one of the greatest Australian Christmas songs of them all, Kelly’s own “How to Make Gravy,” scheduled for November 19, 2021 release on Gawd Aggie / Cooking Vinyl

 

“I’ve always been interested in Christmas songs and the variety of them,” Kelly says. “There is a double-edged sword to Christmas music because every year it is everywhere, pumped to you in supermarkets and malls. There is a lot of schlock attached but on the other hand there are so many great Christmas songs and so much to explore. I’ve chosen songs I love, which led me often to wander off the well-worn path, then chosen singers I thought best suited to them.”  

The sacred and the secular, the ancient and modern, are all carefully woven into a collection destined to become a part of Christmases around the globe for many years to come. It is delivered by Kelly and his band with a big cast of Christmas helpers including vocalists Vika and Linda Bull, Marlon Williams, Kasey Chambers and Emma Donovan, along with contributions from the Kelly clan: nephew and bandmate Dan, siblings Mary-Jo and Tony, and Paul’s daughters Maddy and Memphis.

 

Christmas was a big part of Kelly’s upbringing in a large Catholic family in Adelaide. “We had Advent, the month-long build-up to Christmas. There was a small crib in one of the fireplaces with a pile of straw beside it. Every time you did something good or denied yourself something you would secretly put straw in the crib so it would be filled by Christmas, when a statuette of the baby Jesus would miraculously appear in the crib. The statues of the Three Wise Men started a long way off in another part of the house, secretly moving every night along mantelpieces so they would arrive at the crib for the Epiphany on January 6. That was all part of Christmas for us. It was fun and mysterious and had that magic about it.”

 

For the Kelly clan singing is always part of the season, especially on Gravy Day (December 21), “Sometimes we do it all together, sometimes the Queensland gang do it separately from the Melbourne gang, and we have the tradition of singing carols on Christmas Eve, not very reverentially.”

 

Part of the joy in Paul Kelly’s Christmas Train comes from discovering fresh ways to treat the best-known songs, from the Hawaiian guitar and ukuleles of “Silent Night,” with a verse in the original German sung by Alice Keath, to an astonishing performance by Marlon Williams singing “Tapu Te P?” (O Holy Night) in the M?ori language. The story of Jesus and Mary has strong associations with Judaism and Islam (the Qu’ran has a chapter devoted to the story); here on Christmas Train singer-songwriter Lior joins Paul, Alice, and Emily Lubitz for an a cappella reading of the Hebrew prayer of peace, “Shalom Aleichem,” and Waleed Aly recites the vivid poetry of Surah Maryam. Kelly and his band bring a ’60s-fired energy to “Christmas,” an Australian song of longing for home by brothers Chris and Wes Harrington, and Linda Bull tears up the place on “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home),” a song originally recorded by Darlene Love on Phil Spector’s A Christmas Gift for You.

 

Kelly explains, “There were so many songs I wanted to have on there. Having the wider frame for this album allowed me to have the songs talking to each other, the way that Arthur McBride has echoes in the Brazilian song “In the Hot Sun of a Christmas Day.” There is a Hebrew hymn, an Arabic poem, folk songs, classical songs, rock songs. Then the fun, and the challenge, is to get all those elements to work together.”

 

“I hadn’t even thought about putting ‘…Gravy’ on the record but when I talked to friends, they all said, ‘Really? You’re not? Just do another version.’ Our live version has evolved from the original recording, so we said, ‘Let’s lay it down and see what we think.’ We have been doing it forever, so it was recorded in one or two takes. It’s 25 years since the song first came out so that’s another reason to have it here. Note that Peter Luscombe played on the original, too.”

 

The BBC describes Gravy Day, December 21^st, as a date “deemed increasingly worth celebrating.” “Gravyday,” “the 21st of December,” and “Paul Kelly” have become trending terms on Twitter, with many posts playing off How to Make Gravy’s narrative. The song’s popularity has inspired media outlets to investigate the protagonist’s possible back story and the key question in the song: “Who’s gonna make the gravy?”  Several years ago, Kelly began to acknowledge the trend by hosting Gravy Day concerts.

 

PAUL KELLY – CHRISTMAS TRAIN

Track Listing:

1. Nativity

2. Silent Night

3. Swing Around the Sun

4. Christmas

5. Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home) 

6. Little Drummer Boy

7. Arthur McBride

8. The Virgin Mary Had One Son

9. Tapu Te P? (O Holy Night)

10. Shalom Aleichem

11. The Oxen

12. The Friendly Beasts

13. Three Drovers

14. Christmas Must Be Tonight

15. Surah Maryam

16. Coventry Carol

17. In the Hot Sun of a Christmas Day

18. How to Make Gravy

19. Christmas Train

20. Come Thou Font of Every Blessing

21. Intonent Hodie

22. What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?

Pre-sale link: https://paulk.lnk.to/christmastrain 

LISTEN TO BUFFALO NICHOLS’ SELF-TITLED DEBUT ALBUM    OUT NOW VIA FAT POSSUM   On Tour Now Supporting Drive-By Truckers,  December Dates with St. Paul and the Broken Bones

“Nichols’ spartan, self-titled debut album showcases not just his mesmeric fingerpicking, but also deep political beliefs…” - Mojo   “...Buffalo Nichols makes waves with his debut album” - Austin Monthly   “...one of the most promising debut records to come out in quite some time”  - No Depression   "His compelling self-titled debut album introduces a visceral new force in the genre: to spare but endlessly dextrous guitar playing, Nichols bends the blues into new shapes, in the process examining African-American history and the issues and attitudes that still dog the communities he grew up in. A real find" - The Sunday Times (UK)   “The recordings...feature little more than his honeyed voice and bluesy guitar. But that simplicity, and vulnerability, make them special.” - The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   “Exceptional” - Americana Highways     The self-titled debut album from Buffalo Nichols, Fat Possum’s first solo blues signing in nearly 20 years, arrived in stores last week to great press from Austin Monthly, Bandcamp, No Depression, Premier Guitar (‘Hooked’ series), Uncut (UK), Mojo (UK), The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and more—including an interview and live session with WNYC’s Soundcheck. The album’s release follows singles “How To Love,” “Lost & Lonesome,” and “Back On Top,” which have been earning Nichols additional early praise from Rolling Stone Country, Guitar World, and more. Listen to Buffalo Nichols now HERE.   The Austin,TX-based Carl “Buffalo” Nichols is currently on the road in support of Drive-By Truckers as well as playing a handful of solo shows throughout, and he performs next tonight at MOTR Pub in Cincinnati, OH. He also recently announced a run of dates with St. Paul and the Broken Bones in early December. A current itinerary is below.   Since his earliest infatuations with guitar, Nichols has asked himself the same question: How can I bring the blues of the past into the future? After cutting his teeth between a Baptist church and bars in Milwaukee, it was a globetrotting trip through West Africa and Europe during a creative down period that began to reveal the answer.  “Part of my intent, making myself more comfortable with this release, is putting more Black stories into the genres of folk and blues,” Nichols explains. “Listening to this record, I want more Black people to hear themselves in this music that is truly theirs.” That desire is embodied in his self-titled debut album, composed largely of demos and studio sessions recorded between Wisconsin and Texas.  Born in Houston and raised in Milwaukee’s predominantly Black North end, the guitar was Nichols’ saving grace as a young man. The instrument captured his fascination, and provided him with an outlet for self-expression and discovery in isolation. A friend invited the teenage guitarist to church for a gig and the opportunity proved to be Nichols’ much-needed breakthrough to music circles in the area. But over the following years, he began to feel overextended, and abandoned the demanding grind of a supporting role in nearly ten Milwaukee scene bands, none of which bore his vision as a lead performer. Stints in college and in the workforce led him overseas, where the appreciation of African-American folkways lit a renewed spark in Nichols. It was the bustling of jazz in places like the working class areas of Ukraine, or in Berlin cafes where expatriate Black Americans routinely treat fans to an enchanting evening of blues, that would lead to his a-ha moment. Nichols returned home to America, meditating on his own place in the music that holds the country’s truest values and rawest emotions between bar and measure. “Before this trip, it was hard for me to find that link between all these blues records I heard and people who are living right now. I figured out it’s not a huge commercial thing, but it still has value. So, I came home and started playing the blues more seriously, doing stuff with just me and my guitar,” Nichols says. Nichols admits that anger and pain are realities that color the conversations and the autobiographical anecdotes behind his observational, narrative-based approach to songwriting. However, with his lyricism on Buffalo Nichols, he intends to provide a perspective that doesn’t lean heavily into stereotypes, generalizations or microaggressions regarding race, class and culture. The album sees Nichols wrestling with prescient topics, such as empathy and forgiveness, regret and loss, and the pitfalls of lives lived too close to the edge. At the forefront of each song is Nichols’ rich voice and evocative, virtuosic guitar-playing, augmented on half of the nine tracks by a simple, cadent drum line. While acknowledging the joy, exuberance and triumph contained in the blues, Nichols looks intently at the genre’s origins, which harken back to complicated and dire circumstances for Black Americans. With this in mind, Nichols says there is a missing link, which he’s often used as a compass: Black stories aren’t being told responsibly in the genre anymore. To begin changing that, Buffalo Nichols gets the chance to tell his own story in the right way. Read Buffalo Nichols’ full bio/download photos and cover artwork HERE.     Additional Praise for Buffalo Nichols   “With virtuosic guitar-playing and evocative singing, Carl ‘Buffalo’ Nichols returns Black stories to folk and blues.” - Bandcamp, ‘New & Notable’   “Anyone who fears the blues’ demise would do well to keep their eyes on Nichols – with guitarists like him carrying the torch and moving the genre into the 21st century, the blues’ll be just fine.”  - Guitar World   “...Nichols emerges as a sharp, succinct, inventive and insightful songwriter, one who can convey complex ideas with just a few words.” - Uncut (UK), 9/10   “...an aching number that lives up to its down-and-out title with a stripped-down arrangement of fingerstyle and slide guitar, plus Nichols’ world-weary delivery of his existential blues.”  - Rolling Stone Country, about “Lost & Lonesome”   “An isolated retreat, ‘Lost and Lonesome’ finds Buffalo Nichols, Fat Possum Records' newest blues signee, wandering in the unfamiliar and grappling with dark, desolate truths. Six-string acoustics wade deep in the Mississippi Delta and reverberate along the pastoral countryside, carving through its barren back roads.” - Austin Chronicle   “And we believe Nichols will soon be blues royalty...Get to know this future legend”  - The Revue, about “Back On Top”     Buffalo Nichols, credit: Merrick Ales

Buffalo Nichols tour dates: 10/20 - Cincinnati, OH – MOTR Pub 10/21/21 - Knoxville, TN – Bijou Theatre* 10/22/21 - Birmingham, AL – Avondale Brewing* 10/23/21 - Asheville, NC – Rabbit Rabbit* 11/3/21 - Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl* 11/4/21 - Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl* 11/5/21 - Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl* 11/6/21 - Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl* 11/8/21 - Wilmington, DE – The Queen* 11/9/21 - Washington, DC – Songbyrd 11/10/21 - Winston-Salem, NC – The Ramkat* 11/11/21 - Charleston, SC – Charleston Music Hall* 11/12/21 - Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse* 11/13/21 - Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse* 11/15/21 - Little Rock, AR – Revolution Music Room* 11/16/21 - Denton, TX – Andy’s 11/17/21 - Dallas, TX – Granada Theater* 11/18/21 - Austin, TX – Scoot Inn* 11/19/21 - Austin, TX – Scoot Inn* 11/20/21 - New Orleans, LA – Tipitina's* 11/21/21 - Lafayette, LA – Acadiana Center for the Arts* 12/02/21 - Athens, GA – Georgia Theatre** 12/03/21 - Athens, GA – Georgia Theatre** 12/04/21 - Columbia, SC – The Senate** *supporting Drive-By Truckers ** supporting St. Paul and the Broken Bones   www.buffalo-nichols.com  www.facebook.com/BuffaloNicholsMusic  www.twitter.com/BuffaloNichols  www.instagram.com/buffalonicholsmusic  www.fatpossum.com

Drive-By Truckers release "Plan 9 Records July 13th, 2006" tomorrow - American Songwriter Premieres Live Album in Full Today

 DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS TO RELEASE PLAN 9 RECORDS JULY 13th, 2006TOMORROW VIA NEW WEST RECORDS 

 

AMERICAN SONGWRITER PREMIERES LIVE ALBUM IN FULL TODAY

In celebration of its 15th Anniversary, Drive-By Truckers will release Plan 9 Records July 13th, 2006 tomorrow via New West Records. The 25-song set features the classic Drive-By Truckers lineup of Mike Cooley, Patterson Hood, Jason Isbell, Brad Morgan, John Neff, and Shonna Tucker and was recorded live in its entirety at Plan 9 Records in Richmond, VA. The album will be available for the first time tomorrow across digital platforms. Double LP vinyl and double compact disc editions featuring extensive liner notes written by Drive-By Truckers frontman Patterson Hood will be released on Friday, August 6th. Plan 9 Records July 13th, 2006 was previously issued as a limited “bootleg” version for Record Store Day Black Friday last year. Immediately selling out, the limited version became a sought after collectors item by fans. The new vinyl version will be available on color vinyl and will feature updated packaging including the original poster art for the performance by the band’s longtime designer, the celebrated artist Wes Freed. 
 
The now legendary live set served as both a celebration of Plan 9 Records’ 25th Anniversary, but also a ticketed benefit concert for The Harvey Foundation. On New Year’s Day, 2006, Kathryn and Bryan Harvey and their two children were brutally murdered in their home in part of a horrific crime spree that made national news. The Harvey’s were a part of a community that welcomed Drive-By Truckers with open arms and the The Bryan and Kathryn Harvey Family Memorial Endowment was created by their friends and family to provide music, visual art and performing arts enrichment in the greater Richmond area. Drive-By Truckers’ Patterson Hood would later write the song “Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife” in tribute to Bryan and his family for 2008’s celebrated Brighter Than Creation’s Dark. 
 
Today, American Songwriter premiered the live album in full, a day ahead of its digital release. Patterson Hood told the magazine, “The Live at Plan 9 recording is the best recording I have ever heard of the 2001-2006 version of the Drive-By Truckers (the Jason Isbell era). It was a very special night on so many levels with the band firing on all cylinders, perfectly captured on tape. An essential document of our band from that time period.” 
 
Patterson Hood said in his accompanying liner notes, “Our pay was a case of PBR and two bottles of whiskey. There wasn’t a drop left by the end of the encore. They pushed back all of the record shelving to make room for a little over 200 people and cut us loose to play a two hour plus set. Loose and raggedy at times, yet somehow also tighter than shit. It was by far our favorite show of the year and all these years later, I think it is one of the best performances from that era of the band. A few months later, that incarnation of the band was no more and our lives have continued to move in all kinds of mysterious ways. We’re all close friends again and even though it kinda feels like a lifetime ago, it was great to hear these tracks and to re-live the best parts of who we used to be. When you think you have it turned up a little too loud, reach over and turn it up a little bit more.”
 
Drive-By Truckers Plan 9 Records July 13th, 2006 will be available across digital retailers tomorrow. The album will also be available on double compact disc for the first time as well as standard black vinyl on August 6th. A limited green color vinyl edition will be available via Independent retailers while a limited “Red & Black Ice Mix” color vinyl edition is available for pre-order NOW via NEW WEST RECORDS.
 

Drive-By Truckers Plan 9 Records July 13th, 2006 Track Listing: 

 

1. Tales Facing Up 
2. One Of These Days 
3. Easy On Yourself 
4. Feb. 14 
5. Aftermath USA 
6. Gravity’s Gone 
7. Sink Hole 
8. Outfit 
9. My Sweet Annette  
10. Marry Me 
11. A World Of Hurt 
12. Why Henry Drinks 
13. The Day John Henry Died 
14. Wednesday 
15. Shut Up And Get On The Plane 
16. Ronnie And Neil 
17. Moonlight Mile 
18. Let There Be Rock
19. Zip City 
20. Goddamn Lonely Love 
21. 18 Wheels Of Love
22. Nine Bullets 
23. Daddy’s Cup 
24. Decoration Day 
25. Lookout Mountain 

 

www.DriveByTruckers.com
www.NewWestRecords.com 

MUSIC WORTH BUYING episode: Kansas, Drive-By Truckers

Watch the latest episode of MUSIC WORTH BUYING where Robert celebrates the return of Kansas courtesy of the band's new album The Prelude Implicit, while TJR champions the Drive-By Truckers' aptly-titled American Band:

Sights and Sounds: Joe Bonamassa, Melissa Etheridge, Drive-By Truckers, Elliott Smith tribute, Mo Pitney

Whew! Lots of news to share...

Joe Bonamassa Honors "The Three Kings" on 'Live At The Greek Theatre' CD/DVD/Blu-ray/LP, out Sept. 23

Over two hours of some of the greatest blues songs ever written are highlighted in a celebration of blues heritage

Los Angeles, August 2, 2016: On September 23, 2016, GRAMMY-nominated blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa will deliver Live at the Greek Theatre, a 22-track Double CD, Double DVD, Blu-ray, and 4-LP Deluxe Edition tribute to three of the greatest bluesmen to ever live - Albert King, B.B. King, and Freddie King. Live at the Greek Theatre showcases "The Three Kings" tour of 2015; a 14-date US amphitheater tour that culminated at famed Los Angeles venue The Greek. Bonamassa celebrates the trio of blues icons with over two hours of some the greatest blues songs ever written. The release includes a collector's edition booklet, and several bonus features containing behind-the-scenes footage and more. Public TV and MTV Live, formerly Palladia, will broadcast the epic Blues tribute performances during their August and September schedules.

Fans will instantly receive a free download of the track "Let the Good Times Roll," as a thank you for pre-ordering the new Album. Live at the Greek Theatre can be pre-ordered here.

Watch "Let The Good Times Roll" here.

Playing on a warm summer night to a nearly sold-out crowd, Bonamassa's handpicked set list of songs was called "spectacular" by Premier Guitar; Los Angeles Times said the show "had swing and polish" and that "Bonamassa evoked the signature licks of all three icons while managing to put his own stamp on things."

Songs ranged from blues standards to deep cuts, including "Born Under A Bad Sign," "Lonesome Whistle Blues," "Hummingbird," "Let The Good Times Roll," and, of course, B.B. King's famed "The Thrill Is Gone" as the evening closer. For Bonamassa, the tour's importance deepened significantly when B.B., his friend and mentor, passed away two months before it began. "My only regret is that B.B. was not alive to see it," said Bonamassa.

Showcasing "magnificent guitar playing" (The Morning Call), Bonamassa introduced a steady rotation of vintage guitars, including four Gibson ES models, a Gibson Les Paul, a Gibson Flying V, two new Gibson Custom Shop models, two Fender Strats, and a 1972 Dan Erlewine custom Flying V named "Lucy," originally owned and played by Freddie King and currently in the collection of actor Steven Seagal.

The eleven-piece band included Anton Fig (drums), Kirk Fletcher (guitar), Michael Rhodes (bass), Reese Wynans (piano, Hammond organ), Lee Thornburg (trumpet, horn arrangements), Paulie Cerra (saxophone), Nick Lane (trombone), and a trio of backup singers including Mahalia Barnes, Jade MacRae, and Juanita Tippins.

Live at the Greek Theatre continues Bonamassa's tradition of honoring incredible concert venues like the Royal Albert Hall, the Vienna Opera House, Radio City Music Hall, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and the Beacon Theater. As with all Bonamassa DVD shoots, the performance at the Greek offered a unique presentation of this historical music. 

This tour was a continuation of the celebration of our blues heritage, which began with the 2014 production of Joe Bonamassa - Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks, a tribute to the music of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. Both tours gave a portion of proceeds to presenting partner Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation, a non-profit Bonamassa founded in 2011 that promotes the heritage of the blues to the next generation, funds music scholarships, and supplements the loss of music education in public schools.

Bonamassa's most recent studio album, Blues of Desperation, released March 25, marks his 16th #1 Blues album on the Billboard charts, more than any other artist, and landed at #5 on the Billboard Top Album Sales, his highest charting yet.

http://jbonamassa.com/

https://www.facebook.com/JoeBonamassa

http://keepingthebluesalive.org/

Twitter: @JBONAMASSA

Instagram: @JOEBONAMASSA

MELISSA ETHERIDGE DELIVERS SOUL DEEP STAX TRIBUTE ON NEW ALBUM 'MEMPHIS ROCK AND SOUL' (10/7, STAX/CONCORD), PRE-ORDER NOW: http://smarturl.it/mepmpreorder

RECORDED AT ROYAL STUDIOS IN MEMPHIS WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM BOO MITCHELL, THE HODGES BROTHERS AND MORE

FIRST SINGLE "HOLD ON, I'M COMING" STREAMING NOW VIA BILLBOARD: http://bit.ly/2aNZ0y1

Melissa Etheridge has announced the release of her new album MEmphis Rock and Soul, a tribute to Stax Records and the rich history of classic southern soul, out October 7 via Stax/Concord. The album is a collection of deep soul covers associated with the original Stax label, including songs recorded by Otis Redding, Rufus Thomas, The Staple Singers, William Bell and more. The album also features new, original verses written by Melissa on two of the tracks.

Etheridge showcases her signature rasp and unmistakable guitar prowess on lead single, "Hold On, I'm Coming." The fierce take on a Sam & Dave standard premiered today on Billboard. Listen here and feel free to post:http://bit.ly/2aL5tbz

While the original Stax studio is long gone, Etheridge took to another hallowed local spot, Willie Mitchell's Royal Studios (home to Al Green, Ann Peebles and others), to channel the classic Memphis sounds found on these soulful standards. 'MEmphis Rock and Soul' was produced by Willie's son Boo Mitchell, and features a backing band comprised of Hodges Brothers and other top Memphis musicians who are legends in their own right. Etheridge even recorded with Al Green's famed RCA 77DX ribbon microphone ("No. 9").'MEmphis Rock and Soul' also spotlights the empowering role Stax played in the Civil Rights Movement, a fitting theme for Melissa, who has become a pivotal voice of the modern LGBT rights movement.

Over the course of her 20+ year career, Melissa has won an Oscar and multiple Grammy awards, survived breast cancer, and has become a powerful voice for the LGBT movement. Most recently, she penned the song "Pulse" paying tribute to those lost in the June 12th Orlando shootings, and all proceeds for the song will benefit Equality Florida.

Melissa Etheridge is in the midst of an extensive US tour with Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo. Full list of dates below.

'MEMPHIS ROCK AND SOUL' TRACK LIST

2. Respect Yourself (People Stand Up)
3. Who's Making Love
4. Hold On, I'm Coming
5. I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)
6. Any Other Way
7. I'm A Lover
8. Rock Me Baby
9. I Forgot To Be Your Lover
10. Wait A Minute
11. Born Under A Bad Sign
12. Dreams To Remember 

Pre-Order 'MEmphis Rock And Soul'
http://smarturl.it/mepmpreorder

More info on Melissa Etheridge 
http://www.melissaetheridge.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MelissaEtheridge
https://twitter.com/metheridge

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS RELEASE "WHAT IT MEANS" FROM NEW ALBUM

PREMIERES TODAY AT ROLLING STONE

AMERICAN BAND OUT SEPTEMBER 30 (ATO RECORDS)

AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW

Seminal rock outfit celebrates 20 years as a band; more North American headline tour dates set

(New York, NY) Rolling Stone today premiered the powerful and poignant track "What It Means" from Drive-By Truckers' much-anticipated new album, AMERICAN BAND, due out on ATO Records September 30. Watch a clip of the band performing the song live in Athens, GA.

About the new track, Patterson Hood told Rolling Stone it's "a song I wrote a couple of years ago protesting the Ferguson decision and the Trayvon Martin killing. Unfortunately, the song is still timely today. I hope and pray that one day it won't be."

The first track from AMERICAN BAND, "Surrender Under Protest," premiered at NPR Music in late June.AMERICAN BAND is available for pre-order now, arriving in stores and online retailers everywhere on September 30.

Hailed by Stereogum as "perhaps the greatest extant American rock and roll band," Drive-By Truckers will celebrate AMERICAN BAND with an epic fall headline tour, beginning August 20 in Morrison, CO, at Red Rocks, and continuing into middle November (see itinerary below with the newly confirmed November dates). Support on the dates will come from Lydia Loveless, Son Volt and Kyle Craft. Tour highlights include two-night-stands at Portland, OR's Wonder Ballroom (September 30^th and October 1^st), San Francisco, CA's The Fillmore (October 6^th and 7^th), Los Angeles, CA's Teragram Ballroom (October 11^th and 12^th), Asheville, NC's The Orange Peel (November 4th and 5th) and Richmond, VA's The National (November 10th and 11th). The band will also perform at such festivals as Lexington, KY's Moontower Music Festival (August 27^th), Toronto's Toronto Urban Roots Fest (September 16^th) and Fredericton, NB's Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival (September 17^th). Additional dates will be announced soon - for updates, please visit the official Drive-By Truckers tour page.

Founded in 1996 by singer/songwriter/guitarists Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood, the band have long held a progressive fire in their belly but with AMERICAN BAND, they have made the most explicitly political album in their extraordinary canon. A powerful and legitimately provocative work, hard edged and finely honed, the album is the sound of a truly American Band - a Southern American band - speaking on matters that matter. Master songwriters both, Hood and Cooley wisely avoid overt polemics to explore such pressing issues as race, income inequality, the NRA, deregulation, police brutality, Islamophobia, and the plague of suicides and opioid abuse. As a result, songs like "What It Means" and the tub-thumping "Surrender Under Protest" are intensely human music from a rock 'n' roll band yearning for community and collective action. Fueled by a just spirit of moral indignation and righteous rage, AMERICAN BAND is protest music fit for the stadiums, designed to raise issues and ire as the nation careens towards its most momentous election in a generation.

"I don't want there to be any doubt as to which side of this discussion we fall on," Hood says. "I don't want there to be any misunderstanding of where we stand. If you don't like it, you can leave. It's okay. We're not trying to be everybody's favorite band, we're going to be who we are and do what we do and anyone who's with us, we'd love to have them join in."

Mike Cooley is somewhat more direct. "I wanted this to be a no bones about it, in your face political album," he says. "I wanted to piss off the assholes."

Recorded late last year at Nashville's historic Sound Emporium with longtime producer/engineer David Barbe behind the board, AMERICAN BAND's considerable force can in part be credited to the sheer musical strength of the current Drive-By Truckers line-up, with Hood and Cooley joined by bassist Matt Patton, keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Jay Gonzalez, and drummer Brad Morgan - together, the longest-lasting iteration in the band's two-decade history. AMERICAN BAND follows ENGLISH OCEANS and 2015's IT'S GREAT TO BE ALIVE!, marking the first time DBT have made three consecutive LPs with the same hard-traveling crew.

For more information, please visit drivebytruckers.com, www.facebook.com/drivebytruckers,twitter.com/drivebytruckers (@drivebytruckers), and atorecords.com.

Pre-order links: Drive-By Truckers store
iTunes 
Amazon

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS

AMERICAN BAND TOUR - NORTH AMERICA 2016

AUGUST

19 - Aspen, CO - Belly Up

20 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheater **

27 - Lexington, KY - Moontower Music Festival *

SEPTEMBER

16 - Toronto, ON - Toronto Urban Roots Festival *

17 - Fredericton, NB - Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival *

23 - Kansas City, MO - Crossroads @

24 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue $

25 - Sioux Falls, SD - The District $

28 - Missoula, MT - The Wilma $

29 - Seattle, WA - Showbox at The Market $

30 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom $

OCTOBER

1 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom $

2 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theater $

5 - Sacramento, CA - Ace of Spades $

6-7 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore $

8 - Lake Tahoe, CA - Montbleau Resort Casino $

11-12 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom $

13 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern $

14 - San Luis Obispo, CA - Fremont Theater $

15 - Scottsdale, AZ - Livewire $

NOVEMBER

3 - Knoxville, TN - The Mill & Mine #

4-5 - Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel #

6 - Louisville, KY - Headliners Music Hall #

9 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer #

10-11 - Richmond, VA - The National #

12 - Charlotte, NC - The Fillmore #

13 - Charleston, SC - Charleston Music Hall #

15 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room #

16 - Tampa, FL - Tampa Theatre #

18 - Tuscaloosa, AL - Druid City Music Hall #
19 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle #

*Festival Appearance

** w/Yonder Mountain String Band and Special Guests Preservation Hall Jazz Band

@ w/Son Volt

$ w/Special Guest Lydia Loveless

#w/Kyle Craft

PATTERSON HOOD SOLO

AUGUST

4 - Nashville, TN - City Winery

5 - Florence, AL - 116 Mobile

6 - Birmingham, AL - The Saturn

11 - Athens, GA - 40 Watt

12 - Decatur, GA - Eddie's Attic

SAY YES! A TRIBUTE TO ELLIOTT SMITH
DUE OCTOBER 14 ON
AMERICAN LAUNDROMAT RECORDS

KEXP Premieres "Miss Misery" by Tomo Nakayama

MYSTIC, CONN. – American Laundromat Records is proud to announce Say Yes! A Tribute to Elliott Smith will be released worldwide on October 14, 2016. The 15-song tribute will be available on CD, LP, Cassette, and Digitally. With the exception of one track – Juliana Hatfield’s cover of Needle In The Hay that appeared on American Laundromat’s Wes Anderson tribute - all songs are brand new covers exclusive to the tribute.

It's been nearly 20-years since Elliott Smith's "Miss Misery" was nominated for Best Original Song at the 1997 Academy Awards on the soundtrack to Good Will Hunting. In July,KEXP premiered Tomo Nakayama's cover of "Miss Misery" on an episode of the "Music That Matters" podcast.

"Miss Misery" was the first song I ever heard by Elliott Smith, and I remember watching him perform it solo on Conan O'Brien. I was totally transfixed by the melody and chord progression, and the unexpected turns he took each time on the bridge," recalls Tomo. "I tried to pay him homage on this recording by playing all of the instruments myself, at my friend Cory Gray's studio Old Unconscious in Portland. Also as a nod to Elliott's lo-fi roots, the song was mixed down to cassette four track by Yuuki Matthews (of The Shins, David Bazan)."

Additional tracks have been previewed earlier this year including Julien Baker's cover "Ballad of Big Nothing" on Entertainment Weekly and Yuck's "Bled White" cover onConsequence of Sound.

 Confirmed Track Listing

01. Between The Bars - Tanya Donelly (2:24)
02. Ballad Of Big Nothing - Julien Baker (2:54)
03. Pictures Of Me - Amanda Palmer (3:37) **
04. Waltz #2 - J Mascis (2:59)
05. Needle In The Hay - Juliana Hatfield (4:13)
06. Bled White - Yuck (3:12)
07. Say Yes - William Fitzsimmons (2:20) **
08. Miss Misery - Tomo Nakayama (3:17)
09. Waltz #1 - Escondido (3:26)
10. Oh Well, Okay - Adam Franklin (2:23)
11. Condor Ave - Jesu/Sun Kil Moon (3:46) **
12. Angeles - Waxahatchee
13. Division Day - Lou Barlow
14. No Name #3 - Caroline Says
15. Easy Way Out - Wild Sun

American Laundromat is now offering 4 limited-edition pre-order bundles exclusively from their website. Bundles range from $13.00 (CD + Promo Pin + Vinyl Decal) to $50.00 (CD + LP + Cassette + T-Shirt + 3-Pc Button Set + Vinyl Decal + Digital Download Card). Say Yes! A Tribute to Elliott Smith is available October 14th.

Mo Pitney reveals debut album and track listing for new album 'Behind This Guitar'

Critically acclaimed country star Mo Pitney has revealed his debut album and track listing to fans.  The debut album, Behind This Guitar, is available Friday, October 7 and features 10 of 12 tracks penned by the songsmith himself along with a who's who of top Nashville songwriters.  

Mo Pitney, already one of country music's most named artists to watch by the likes of Rolling Stone Country, The Huffington Post and Billboard, who proclaimed Mo as "one of the strongest male vocalists to come along in some time," offers fans three songs instantly with pre-order including the new single, "Everywhere," which Pitney wrote with established hitmaker Phil O'Donnell and Songwriter Hall of Fame member Dean Dillon.  Other songs available with pre-order include "Country" and "Boy And A Girl Thing" which prompted Bobby Bones of iHeartMedia's The Bobby Bones Show to include Pitney in his "Who Will Blow Up in 2016" list.

Fans can pre-order now at http://flyt.it/MoPitney

Mo Pitney
Behind This GuitarAlbum Track listing:

1. Country
2. Clean Up On Aisle Five
3. Come Do A Little Life
4. It's Just A Dog
5. Everywhere
6. Boy & A Girl Thing
7. I Met Merle Haggard Today
8. Take The Chance
9. When I'm With You
10. Love Her Like I Lost Her
11. Behind This Guitar
12. Give Me Jesus