Sights and Sounds: Dropkick Murphys, 2013 GRAMMY® Nominees album

The year is just over a week old, and already there is plenty of news about high-profile releases. Here are the latest highlights pulled from my inbox and deposited here...

DROPKICK MURPHYS' NEW ALBUM

'SIGNED AND SEALED IN BLOOD'

RELEASED TODAY VIA BORN & BRED RECORDS

BAND PREPPING FOR 2013 ST. PATTY'S DAY TOUR; BEGINS FEB 21

 

Boston-based rock band the Dropkick Murphys are excited to release their new studio album Signed And Sealed In Blood, out today (January 8, 2013) via Born & Bred Records. The album is their second with producer Ted Hutt (Gaslight Anthem, Old Crow Medicine Show), which was recorded at Boston's Q Division Studios and mixed by Joe Chiccarelli (The White Stripes). "We had such a great time writing our last album Going Out In Style, we were excited to get back into the studio right away," says bassist/co-lead singer Ken Casey. "Where Going Out in Style was a concept album - kind of intricate and difficult - this one is catchy, fun, and as sing-along as can be."

Signed And Sealed In Blood is taking the band, over a decade into their career, to places they've never been before. Their holiday song "The Season's Upon Us" saw them breaking through Modern Rock radio, and charting higher than they ever have. The band are featured in the current issue of Billboard Magazine, and on New Year's Day were featured on NPR's widely listened program "All Things Considered"(http://n.pr/U16PxT). Also, Ken Casey of the band has been invited by Bruce Springsteen to sing a song in his MusiCares tribute concert during GRAMMY week. This is all in advance of the release of the album's first proper single, the take-no-prisoners, made-for-the-sports-arena anthem - "The Boys Are Back."

Dropkick Murphys will be supporting the new album with their 2013 "St. Patrick's Day Tour," which will begin on February 21 in Cleveland, OH and concludes with three dates in their hometown of Boston, MA including the fulfillment of the band's career-long dream of headlining the Boston Garden, now known as TD Garden on March 15. The Garden show will be billed as "Dropkick Murphys Irish Festival," with bands and attractions on two stages. The entire tour will have an epic finale on St. Patrick's Day (March 17) at The House of Blues on Boston's famed Lansdowne Street. For a full itinerary, please see below.

Dropkick Murphys are: Al Barr (lead vocals), Tim Brennan (guitars, accordion, whistle, vocals), Ken Casey (lead vocals, bass guitar), Jeff DaRosa (banjo, bouzouki, mandolin, harmonica, vocals), Matt Kelly (drums, vocals), James Lynch (guitar, vocals), and Scruffy Wallace (bagpipes, tin whistles).

St. Patrick's Day Tour

Feb 21 - Cleveland, OH @ House Of Blues
Feb 22 - Chicago, IL @Aragon Ballroom
Feb 23 - Duluth, MN @ Twin Ports Brewfest
Feb 24 - Minneapolis, MN @ Myth
Feb 26 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
Feb 27 - Austin, TX @ Stubb's
Feb 28  - Houston, TX @ House Of Blues
Mar 02 - Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House Of Blues
Mar 03 - St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Live
Mar 04 - Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
Mar-05 - Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte
Mar-06 - Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
Mar 08 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
Mar 09 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
Mar 10 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Mar 11 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Mar 12 - New York, NY @ Terminal 5
Mar 13  - New York, NY @ Terminal 5
Mar 15 - Boston, MA @ TD Garden
Mar 16 - Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
Mar 17 - Boston, MA @ House Of Blues

2013 GRAMMY^® NOMINEES ALBUM CONTAINS 22 TRACKS FEATURING A DIVERSE ARRAY OF ARTISTS AND MEMORABLE SONGS  

Album, Available Digitally and in Stores Jan. 22, 2013;

Gives Music Fans Two Chances to Attend Music's Biggest Night^®

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (Jan. 8, 2013) — Capitol Records and The Recording Academy^®'s GRAMMY Recordings^® will release the 2013 GRAMMY^® Nominees album on Jan. 22, 2013 and provide lucky music and GRAMMY fans two chances to attend the 55th or the 56th Annual GRAMMY Awards^®. The album features 22 critically acclaimed smash hits from a myriad of chart-topping artists from various genres.

The 19th edition of the best-selling collection includes many of the most widely recognized GRAMMY categories representing nominees for Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Best New Artist, Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song, and Best Rock Album. The album is made possible by a special arrangement with all of the major music distribution companies and rotates labels from year to year. A portion of the proceeds from the album benefit the MusiCares Foundation^® and the GRAMMY Foundation^®— two charitable organizations established by The Recording Academy.

In conjunction with the 2013 GRAMMY Nominees album, Capitol Records and The Recording Academy will offer two opportunities to attend the annual GRAMMY Awards. First, when pre-ordering the 2013 GRAMMY Nominees album atwww.grammy.com/2013grammyalbum by Jan. 21, music fans can enter to win a trip to the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 10, 2013. Additionally, providing another chance to win tickets to Music's Biggest Night^®, each 2013 GRAMMY Nominees album purchased in stores will include a special game piece featuring a unique entry code for the GRAMMY Ticket Game. To participate, the code must be entered at www.grammy.com/2013grammyalbum for the opportunity to win a trip for two to the 56th Annual GRAMMYAwards in 2014. The second-place winner will receive other official GRAMMY Awards merchandise.

The 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held Sunday, Feb. 10 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, and will be broadcast live in high-definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on the CBS Television Network from 8 – 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

2013 GRAMMY Nominees Album Tracklist:

1. THE BLACK KEYS
"Lonely Boy"
Record Of The Year
Album Of The Year
Best Rock Performance
Best Rock Song
Best Rock Album


2. KELLY CLARKSON
"Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)"
Record Of The Year
Song Of The Year
Best Pop Solo Performance
Best Pop Vocal Album

3. TAYLOR SWIFT
"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"
Record Of The Year


4. GOTYE
"Somebody That I Used To Know”
(feat. Kimbra)
Record Of The Year


5. KATY PERRY
"Wide Awake"
Best Pop Solo Performance


6. FUN. FEAT. JANELLE MONÁE
"We Are Young"
Record Of The Year
Album Of The Year
Song Of The Year
Best New Artist
Best Pop Vocal Album


7. FLORENCE + THE MACHINE
"Shake It Out"
Best Pop Vocal Album



8. P!NK
"Try"
Best Pop Vocal Album



9. MAROON 5 FEAT. WIZ KHALIFA
"Payphone"
Best Pop Vocal Album
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance



10. CARLY RAE JEPSEN
"Call Me Maybe"
Song Of The Year
Best Pop Solo Performance


11. MIGUEL
"Adorn"
Song Of The Year


12. ED SHEERAN
"The A Team"
Song Of The Year


13. HUNTER HAYES
"Wanted"
Best New Artist


14. THE LUMINEERS
"Ho Hey"
Best New Artist


15. ALABAMA SHAKES
"Hold On"
Best New Artist
Best Rock Performance


16. MUMFORD & SONS
"I Will Wait"
Album Of The Year
Best Rock Performance
Best Rock Song


17. FRANK OCEAN
"Pyramids"
Album Of The Year
Best New Artist


18. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
"We Take Care Of Our Own"
Best Rock Performance
Best Rock Song
Best Rock Album


19. JACK WHITE
"Freedom At 21"
Album Of The Year
Best Rock Song
Best Rock Album


20. MUSE
"Madness"
Best Rock Song
Best Rock Album


21. COLDPLAY
"Charlie Brown"
Best Rock Performance
Best Rock Album


22. ADELE
"Set Fire To The Rain"
(Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
Best Pop Solo Performance

Inbox Update: Mike Nesmith tribute released, Grammy Foundation Entertainment Law Initiative

Hope you all had a nice Christmas. Here is the latest news to share...

MIKE NESMITH OF THE MONKEES TRIBUTE COMPILATION RELEASED
ON CHRISTMAS DAY

"Some of Nesmith's Blues" Tribute Volume One by Various Artists Available Christmas Day

This Holiday Season, Lee Diamond (of the New York based rock band Shock Radar) has teamed up with other like minded "Nez-ficionados" to offer a gift to the world; a FREE musical tribute compilation to the songs of his (and maybe your) favorite Monkee, Michael Nesmith!


The compilation can be previewed here: http://thenez.bandcamp.com It's also up on several Monkees fan sites as well as at http://www.facebook.com/nesmithfanpage and will be available for FREE download on Christmas (Dec. 25) 2012!

Lee recently spoke to Rick Eberle from PopCore Entertainment about how (and why) he spawned the idea for the album, which includes tracks from his band Shock Radar (Roll with the Flow) and from Lee himself as a solo performer (Some of Shelly's Blues - LIVE), as well as Herb Stalk (Papa Gene's Blues), Calotype (Don't Call On Me), Casella (Sunny Girlfriend), Jo Elless (Grand Ennui), The Grip (Circle Sky - LIVE), Blake Ian (Different Drum), Jake Incao (Sweet Young Thing), Ringo Dolenz (The Crippled Lion), So L'il (Daily Nightly), Paul Bradford (Juliana), Amy Gaetano (Nine Times Blue), and of course the obligatory all star Nesmith Tribute Band (Listen To The Band).

RE - Why Mike Nesmith?

LD: Mike Nesmith is an incredibly prolific and accomplished singer, songwriter, inventor, entrepreneur best known for inventing MTV, his inheritance of millions from his mother's invention of liquid paper, a movie producer of cult classics such as Repo Man, and of course, The Monkees.

RE - Why the motivation for a tribute album?

LD: I feel he is THE most underrated songwriter. He is a lyrical, storytelling wordsmith cloaked under the veil of a bubblegum TV pop star (The Monkees). But his accomplishments are greater than that. He has a whole catalogue of solo albums as profound and poetic as anything Bob Dylan or Neil Young has done. This is a tribute focused on songs that he wrote, not just Monkees songs he sang. We got more submissions from his solo work than Monkees, which he'd probably find flattering. I also wanted to hear different artists' interpretations of his songs, like Calotype made an electro version of "Don't Call On Me" and So L’il performed a completely ambient take on “Daily Nightly”. No one's done that before.

RE - Why/How were the rest of the artists on the compilation chosen to participate?

LD: I posted all over the internet for submissions from up and coming musicians/bands to be a part of it, if they loved his music, specifically the songs he wrote. I tried to choose a broad variety of genres. I didn't want the songs to sound like his versions, but their own renditions. Blake Ian played a ukelele version of Nesmith's greatest hit- "Different Drum". Jo Elless made a magnificent cover of "Grand Ennui" with a horn section. This is a compilation Michael Nesmith would find interesting.

RE: - Where can they purchase copies - is it just streaming?

LD: It’ll be available for download free on Christmas.

RE - Did you produce this record? What have you done in the past in terms of production?

LD: I put the whole compilation together. I chose the artists. We got an overload of submissions, so there will be a second volume covering different songs under various genres. I'm a musician, have my own band that I produce everything in called- Shock Radar. I also play drums and guitar in other projects.

RE - What should people know about Nesmith that they probably don’t?

LD: His solo work is deeply profound. He deserves to be appreciated the way Gram Parsons, Johnny Cash, or Bob Dylan do. His body of work is enormous and still undiscovered by many. He's always been the man behind great movements in music history and culture in general to the point of a 'Renaissance Man'. But he's behind the scenes fame-wise.

Born and raised in NY where he worked at several record stores till attending Boston's Berklee College of Music on scholarship, and further studying art and journalism at New School University, Lee J Diamond has climbed his way to the top of the city's music scene, simply doing what he does best, mixing and playing all styles from around the world. The eccentric artistic styling of his latest band Shock Radar’s ‘Post-Pop’ songs is fresh and unique.

For more information on Shock Radar, please visit http://www.facebook.com/shockradarfanclub

THE GRAMMY FOUNDATION® ANNOUNCES 15TH ANNUAL ENTERTAINMENT LAW INITIATIVE® WRITING COMPETITION


Scholarship Program For Promising Entertainment Law Students Awards Cash Scholarships

Winners Present Papers At Annual ELI Luncheon During GRAMMY Week


WHAT:

The GRAMMY Foundation® has launched its 15th Annual Entertainment Law Initiative® Writing Competition, co-sponsored by the American Bar Association. The ELI Essay Competition invites law students to write a 3,000-word paper on a compelling legal topic facing the music industry today. To encourage applications, the GRAMMY Foundation hosts ELI Essay Competition workshops at prominent law schools around the country with the goal of helping students with their essays. Once again, ELI is partnering with Box.com to allow students to upload their submissions directly via the Internet. Box.com's mission is to provide the best tools to enable people around the world to share and exchange information and content. A substantial cash scholarship of $5,000 will be awarded to the author of the winning paper and $1,500 will be awarded to each of four runners-up. Additionally, each winner will receive airfare, hotel accommodations and a ticket to the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards®, which will be held at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013, and broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the CBS Television Network. In addition, the winners receive invitations to other GRAMMY® Week activities, including the prestigious annual ELI Luncheon on Feb. 8. The winning student authors will present their essays at the luncheon. Past luncheon keynote speakers include Edgar Bronfman Jr., former chairman and CEO of Warner Music Group; Clive Davis, chief creative officer of BMG North America; Daniel Ek, co-founder and CEO of Spotify; Timothy J. Leiweke, president and CEO of AEG; and will.i.am, GRAMMY®-winning artist/producer and GRAMMY Foundation Board member among others.


RULES:

• Contest is open to law students

• Write a 3,000-word essay on a compelling legal issue facing the music industry

• For complete contest rules, send an email to eli@grammy.com or visit www.grammyfoundation.org



DEADLINES:

• Submissions must be postmarked by Jan. 3, 2013 (2 p.m. EST)

• Winners will be announced on Jan. 31, 2013


The GRAMMY Foundation was established in 1989 to cultivate the understanding, appreciation and advancement of the contribution of recorded music to American culture — from the artistic and technical legends of the past to the still unimagined musical breakthroughs of future generations of music professionals. The Foundation accomplishes this mission through programs and activities that engage the music industry and cultural community as well as the general public. The Foundation works in partnership year-round with its founder, The Recording Academy®, to bring national attention to important issues such as the value and impact of music and arts education and the urgency of preserving our rich cultural heritage. For more information, please visit www.grammyintheschools.com. For breaking news and exclusive content, please like "GRAMMY in the Schools" on Facebook at www.facebook.com/grammyintheschools and follow @GRAMMYFdn on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GRAMMYFdn.


Founded in 2005, Box provides a secure content sharing platform that both users and IT love and adopt. Content on Box can be shared internally and externally, accessed through iPad, iPhone, Android and Windows Phone applications, among others, and extended to partner applications such as Google Apps, NetSuite and Salesforce. Headquartered in Los Altos, CA, Box is a privately held company and is backed by venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Emergence Capital Partners, General Atlantic, Meritech Capital Partners, NEA, Scale Venture Partners, and U.S. Venture Partners, and strategic investors salesforce.com and SAP. To learn more about Box, visit www.box.com.