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LOS LOBOS, LOS  LONELY BOYS TO LAUNCH "BROTHERHOOD" SUMMER TOUR (6/30/08)
Los Lobos kicked off the American portion of their 2008 tour on Saturday, June 28th at the Kate Wolf Memorial Festival in Mendocino County, California. The long-running East Los Angeles band is set to join up with their Tex-Mex upstart amigos Los Lonely Boys for at least 20 dates that have been dubbed "The Brotherhood Tour" beginning July 18th in Portland, Oregon. Formed in the late '70s, Los Lobos established themselves with 1984's T-Bone Burnett-produced How Will the Wolf Survive? Their most recent release and 11th major-label studio album is 2006's The Town and the City (Hollywood).

From San Angelo, Texas, the multi-platinum breakout Los Lonely Boys, brothers Henry, JoJo and Ringo Garza, won a 2005 Grammy for the hit "Heaven" (Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group). Los Lonely Boys release their third album, the Steve Jordan-produced Forgiven (Epic), featuring "Staying With Me" on July 1.

LOS LOBOS/LOS LONELY BOYS U.S. BROTHERHOOD TOUR*:
June 28 Kate Wolf Memorial Music Fest, Laytonville CA
July 04 Waterfront Independence Fest, Louisville
July 05 Alameda County Fair, Pleasanton CA
July 06 Marin County Fair, San Rafael CA
July 10 Party in the Park, Rochester NY
July 11 Town Center Park at Meadowbrook, Hamden CT
July 12 The Mahaiwe Theatre, Great Barrington MA
July 18 Oregon Zoo Amphitheatre, Portland OR* Brotherhood Tour with Los Lonely Boys
July 19 Marymoor Amphitheater, Redmond WA* Brotherhood Tour with Los Lonely Boys
July 20 Cuthbert Amphitheatre, Eugene OR* Brotherhood Tour with Los Lonely Boys
July 22 Mountain Winery, Saratoga CA* Brotherhood Tour with Los Lonely Boys
July 25 Greek Theatre, Los Angeles* Brotherhood Tour with Los Lonely Boys
July 26 Concerts in the Park, Alpine CA* Brotherhood Tour with Los Lonely Boys
July 27 Anselmo Valencia Amphitheatre, Tucson AZ* Brotherhood Tour with Los Lonely Boys
July 29 Sandia Casino, Albuquerque* Brotherhood Tour with Los Lonely Boys
July 30 Red Butte Garden Amphitheater, Salt Lake City* Brotherhood Tour with Los Lonely Boys
July 31 World Arena, Colorado Springs* Brotherhood Tour with Los Lonely Boys
August 01 Fillmore Auditorium, Denver* Brotherhood Tour with Los Lonely Boys
August 02 Harrah's Casino, Council Bluffs IA* Brotherhood Tour with Los Lonely Boys
August 04-05 Music in the Zoo, Apple Valley MN* Brotherhood Tour with Los Lonely Boys
August 07 Frederik Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids MI* Brotherhood Tour with Los Lonely Boys
August 08 Ravinia Festival (Pavilion), Highland IL* Brotherhood Tour with Los Lonely Boys
August 09 Egyptian Room at Murat Centre, Indianapolis* Brotherhood Tour with Los Lonely Boys
August 10 Meadow Brook Music Festival, Rochester Hills MI* Brotherhood Tour with Los Lonely Boys
August 12 The Filene Center, Vienna VA* Brotherhood Tour with Los Lonely Boys
August 14 Central Park Summerstage, New York NY* Brotherhood Tour with Los Lonely Boys
August 29 Harley Davidson 105th Anniversary, Cutler Park Waukesha WI
August 30 American Music Festival, Virginia Beach VA
September 01 Texas Music Festival, Houston
October 05-12 Rhythm & Blues Cruise Pacific, San Diego
October 25 Bloomington Center for Performing Arts, Bloomington IL
November 08-09 Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando
December 07 Lancaster Performing Arts Center, Lancaster CA

DIXIE HUMMINGBIRDS LEAD SINGER IRA TUCKER DIES (6/27/08)
Ira Tucker, the emotive lead singer of one of America's longest-lasting and most influential gospel groups, the Dixie Hummingbirds, died of heart failure on Tuesday, June 24th in Philadelphia. He was 83. Tucker joined the group when he was 14 and never left. The Dixie Hummingbirds achieved pop fame when they backed up Paul Simon on his 1973 hit "Loves Me Like a Rock" off There Goes Rhymin' Simon. The Dixie Hummingbirds would later win a Grammy after they recorded the song themselves. In 2002, a compilation album that included songs by the Dixie Hummingbirds was the first gospel album to be placed on the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. The band performed a show originally scheduled before Tucker's death last night (6/26) at New York's Prospect Park Bandshell as a tribute to their leader.

COMEDIAN GEORGE CARLIN DIES (6/23/08)
Comedy Bits Aired Heavily on '70s FM Rock Radio
George Carlin died Sunday (6/22) of heart failure in Santa Monica. He was 71. One of America's most successful all-time irreverent stand-up comics, the New York born and bred Carlin left behind a legal legacy in his most celebrated monologue on those infamous "seven words you can't say on TV," or radio. The rapid-fire routine led to a key Supreme Court decision on broadcasting offensive language after it later aired on Pacifica Foundation's WBAI-FM New York, resulting in the 1978 Supreme Court ruling that upheld the government's authority to sanction stations for broadcasting offensive language during hours when children might be listening. Carlin's top-selling comedy albums, including his popular Top 40 Weatherman "Wonderful WINO" bit, received heavy airplay on '70s FM progressive rock radio stations. He was the first guest to appear on "Saturdy Night Live" in 1975 and appeared over 130 times on The Tonight Show, mostly with Johnny Carson. Carlin's caustic wit and ironic wordplay humor often ruthlessly explored dark themes of social and religious hypocrisy and the many quirks of the human condition.
With a history of heart trouble, he checked in to St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica on Sunday afternoon complaining of chest pain and died of cardiac arrest hours later. Carlin performed as recently as last weekend at the Orleans Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas. In his amazingly diverse career, Carlin produced 23 comedy albums, 14 HBO specials, three books, TV shows and a few films - from his role as the cab-driving star of the '70s TV sitcom "The George Carlin Show" to the movie "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" in 1989. He won four Grammy Awards for best spoken comedy album and was nominated for five Emmy Awards. He will be awarded the 11th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, to be presented Nov. 10 in Washington and broadcast on PBS.
Carlin was born on May 12, 1937 and raised by a single mother in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan. After dropping out in the ninth grade, he joined the Air Force in 1954 where he promptly racked up three court-martials. He took a job as an off-base disc jockey at a radio station in Shreveport, La., which, after receiving a general discharge in 1957, which led the young Carlin to another radio gig at WEZE in Boston. He admitted that he was ultimately fired there after three months "for driving the mobile news van to New York to buy pot".

BECK TO RELEASE "MODERN GUILT" JULY 7 (6/11/08)
Beck will release his new album Modern Guilt (DGC/Interscope) July 7. His tenth album will contain 10 Danger Mouse-produced tracks, including the already-streamed "Chemtrails" and the already-performed title track. Beck begins an international summer/fall tour June 25 at the Hove Festival in Norway. He hits U.S. shores with a handful of dates booked so far starting August 22nd at the Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival in San Francisco. Beck turns 38 years-old July 8.

BECK NORTH AMERICAN TOUR:
8/22 San Francisco
8/24 Bend, OR
8/27 Victoria, BC
8/28 Vancouver BC
8/30 Seattle
9/20 Los Angeles
9/27 Austin

BECK Modern Guilt Track List:
"Orphans"
"Gamma Ray"
"Chemtrails"
"Modern Guilt"
"Youthless"
"Walls"
"Replica"
"Soul of a Man"
"Profanity Prayers"
"Volcano"

LEGENDARY R&B ROCKER BO DIDDLEY DIES (6/2/08)
Bo Diddley, a founding father of rock 'n' roll whose distinctive driving rhythm and signature guitar effects influenced countless other musicians, died today (6/2/08) of heart failure at his home in Archer, Fla. He was 79. Diddley had suffered a heart attack in August, three months after suffering a stroke while on the road touring in Iowa and had recently returned to Florida to continue rehabilitation. He was a key figure in the transition of blues to rock 'n' roll. Diddley was a 1988 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, was awarded a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame and picked up a lifetime achievement award in 1999 at the Grammy Awards. Born in Mississippi, "Ellas Otha Bates" migrated with his family to Chicago where he established himself as a prominent R&B singer and performer in the '50s and '60s. Diddley's string of hits included the rock classic, "I'm a Man," along with "Who Do You Love" and "Hey Bo Diddley," among others. In recent years he played at The White House for the elder President Bush and President Clinton.

FOLK SINGER UTAH PHILLIPS DIES (5/27/08)
Folk singer, songwriter, poet, hobo, and labor activist Bruce "Utah" Phillips died Friday (5/23) of congestive heart failure in Nevada City, Calif. where he resided and hosted a nationally syndicated radio show, "Loafer's Glory," originating from KVMR Nevada City. He was 73. Phillips, the self-described "Golden Voice of the Great Southwest," was an iconic influence on artists such as Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, Joe Ely, Joan Baez and Tom Waits, who have all recorded his songs. His career spanned nearly four decades and includes a collaboration with Ani DiFranco on the labor-themed 1999 album Fellow Workers which won them a Grammy award nomination in 2000 for best contemporary folk album. Phillips was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Folk Alliance in 1997.

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE HIT NUMBER ONE WITH "NARROW STAIRS" (5/23/08)
Death Cab for Cutie has its first number one album as Narrow Stairs (Atlantic) debuted at the top spot on the Billboard 200. The record sold 144,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen Soundscan. Death Cab's prior album, 2005's Plans (Atlantic), debuted at number four with 90,000 and spent 50 weeks on the Billboard chart. Narrow Stairs was released May 13. Formed in 1997 by current vocalist/guitarist Ben Gibbard, the Bellingham, Washington band has two recent major label albums and a total of eight albums. The band's first album, You Can Play These Songs with Chords, was released as a demo, leading to a record deal with Barsuk Records. The group took their name from a 1967 song by British satirical rock band the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. The track is also heard in the Beatles' film, Magical Mystery Tour.
According to a story last week (5/18) with Death Cab in The New York Times, "The band developed its sound, shamblingly at first, on the road, in an era before thousands of blog or YouTube users could form an opinion of a band based on some MySpace demos and a duff early gig in Tacoma. 'We learned how to be a band when nobody was paying attention,' guitarist Chris Walla told the Times. 'Which was great.' Amy Phillips, the senior news editor PitchforkMedia.com, said that Death Cab was fortunate to establish itself in the era just before blog buzz mattered and then benefit from Web credibility as respected establishment figures. 'They were able to grow and generate interest from print press, from college radio, from the OC effect — the older buzz-building methods,' she said. 'It’s a stronger, safer way to build up your band. You don’t have to come running out of the gate, and everything is not based on one Coachella or South by Southwest performance.'"
Chris Walla released his recent debut solo album Field Manual (Barsuk) in late January. His past recordings of his own songs occasionally made available online under the name Martin Youth Auxiliary have mostly been lo-fi masters unintended for widespread release. Walla is also an in-demand producer of other independent-minded artists such as Tegan & Sara and the Decemberists. An extensive Death Cab for Cutie Summer Tour launches Saturday, May 24 in Bend, OR.

RADIOHEAD LAUNCHES NORTH AMERICAN TOUR (5/7/08)
Radiohead kicked off their North American tour Monday (5/5) at the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Florida. The New York Times reported that the show was relatively "subdued" while Rolling Stone raved about "a stunning light show". After the concert, lead singer Thom Yorke remarked, "We've just spent the last three days in Miami Beach. For once I was proud to be white, pale, and English." The extensive North American tour - broken up by summer tour legs in Europe - wraps up in the U.S. September 28 at the Santa Barbara Bowl. The entire international tour winds up October 5 in Tokyo, Japan. RADIOHEAD NORTH AMERICAN TOUR

TOM WAITS ANNOUNCES LIMITED SUMMER TOUR (5/5/08)
Tom Waits has announced his limited summer Glitter And Doom Tour on his site, Tomwaits.com where he held a mock online "press conference" today (5/5). Waits mused on the upcoming rare tour, "If you think about it, from the beginning we've all looked to the night sky for guidance and meaning." Pointing to a map of the U.S, he noted that the tour route matches the constellation Hydra. Waits then pointed to the list of cities he'd be playing and noted they formed the acronym "Pehdtsckjmba" (pronounced peh-ska-JIM-bah), which stands for "People envy happiness, dogs sense courage, knowing jubilation means better ass…sets." Today's "press conference" took place in a room with apparently no people, a dozen or so empty chairs and a turntable playing nothing but crowd noise. The tour is just 13 shows in two and a half weeks, starting June 17th in Phoenix and wrapping up July 5th in Atlanta. Waits last toured two years ago, playing eight dates mainly in the Midwest. On this tour, Waits concentrates mostly on the American South and Southwest.

TOM WAITS SUMMER TOUR:
June 17-18 Phoenix, Orpheum
June 20 El Paso, Plaza Theatre
June 22 Houston, Jones Hall
June 23 Dallas, Palladium
June 25 Tulsa, Brady Theatre
June 26 St. Louis, Fox Theatre
June 28 Columbus, Ohio Theatre
June 29 Knoxville, Civic Theatre
July 1 Jacksonville, FL, Moran Theatre
July 2 Mobile, Saenger Theatre
July 3 Birmingham, Alabama Theatre
July 5 Atlanta, Fox Theatre

NICK FORSTER MARRIES LOU REED AND LAURIE ANDERSON IN BOULDER (4/29/08)
Lou Reed married his longtime partner, fellow New York musician Laurie Anderson, in a private ceremony recently (4/12) in Boulder. The backyard ceremony was attended by only a handful of friends, including the person who officiated the ceremony, none other than e-town host Nick Forster. Nick is an 'ordained' Universal Life Minister - he went online and picked up the title a few years ago. Anderson was in Colorado for a concert at the Boulder Theater. Read the Rocky Mountain News story.

COLDPLAY ADVANCE TRACK “VIOLET HILL” HITS RADIO, WEB (4/28/08)
Coldplay fans can download for free for a week the advance single from the new album Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends (Capitol), set for a June 17 full release. Starting on Tuesday (4/29), the song "Violet Hill" will be available to the public for a week at Coldplay.com. "Violet Hill" - now being serviced to AAA radio by the Capitol Music Group - has a regular paid digital release date of May 6. The new record was produced by Brian Eno and Markus Dravs. Coldplay is set to play a pair of free shows, in London at Brixton Academy on June 16 and in New York at Madison Square Garden on June 23.

ROOTS MUSICIAN CHRIS GAFFNEY DIES (4/22/08)
California roots musician singer-songwriter Chris Gaffney passed away Thursday (4/17) in a local hospital after a fall in his Orange County, CA home. He was 57. Gaffney was best known as a member of the Hacienda Brothers and as a member of Dave Alvin's Guilty Men. He had been receiving treatment for liver cancer that was diagnosed in February. Gaffney toured extensively over the last nine years as a member of Dave Alvin's backing band, the Guilty Men, playing accordion and guitar and adding vocals, and as lead singer of the Hacienda Brothers. He was a fixture on the roots music scenes in Austin and in Southern California.

E STREET BAND KEYBOARD PLAYER DANNY FEDERICI DIES (4/18/08)
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band founding member and keyboardist Danny Federici died Thursday (4/17) at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center after a three year battle with melanoma. He was 58. Springsteen's tribute on the band's site reads, "Danny and I worked together for 40 years - he was the most wonderfully fluid keyboard player and a pure natural musician. I loved him very much...we grew up together." Springsteen and the E Street Band have postponed tonight's (4/18) show in Fort Lauderdale and tomorrow's (4/19) show in Orlando. Replacement dates will be announced. Springsteen had announced last fall that Federici would be sitting out the upcoming leg of Springsteen's European dates to take time off for cancer treatment. Federici's last full E Street Band concert was in Boston November 19th, although he made a surprise appearance with the band during Springsteen's March 20th concert in Indianapolis, when he joined the group on stage for numerous songs. His keyboard playing was prominent on Springsteen's first Top Ten hit in 1980, "Hungry Heart." Springsteen paid tribute to Federici in 1999 during his induction speech to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, saying, "Danny Federici, the most instinctive and natural musician I ever met and the only member of the band who can reduce me to a shouting mess. I love you Danny. Your organ and accordion playing brought the boardwalks of Central and South Jersey alive in my music. Thank you." Federici released two solo albums, 1997's Flemington, and 2005's Out Of A Dream. No word yet on whether Charlie Giordano of Springsteen's side project the Seeger Sessions Band, who had recently taken over for Federici on the road, will be named as a permanent replacement.

COLDPLAY TO RELEASE "VIVA LA VIDA OR..." JUNE 17 (4/17/08)
Coldplay will release their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (Capitol) June 17. The title is just Viva la Vida in UK and Europe. Lead singer Chris Martin told Rolling Stone that he picked the album title after seeing the phrase "Viv la Vida" - which translates to "long live life" - on a painting by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Produced by Brian Eno and Markus Dravs, the new 10-track Coldplay album was recorded in London, Barcelona and New York. The band's last album, 2005's X&Y, has sold 10 million copies worldwide to date.

"MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS" WITH NORAH JONES, CHAN MARSHALL OPENS NATIONWIDE; SOUNDTRACK AVAILABLE (4/14/08)
Hit singer-songwriter Norah Jones makes her feature film debut in My Blueberry Nights, the first English-language production from renowned Chinese filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai. Starring Jones and Jude Law, along with David Strathairn, Rachel Weisz and Natalie portman - with a special cameo appearance by Cat Power's Chan Marshall - the "road movie" was shot on location in New York City, Memphis and Nevada. The film opened the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. It has been in limited nationwide release since April 4. The My Blueberry Nights (Blue Note) original soundtrack has been available since April 1. The soundtrack features Jones on the opening track, "The Story" while Cat Power is heard on two tracks, "Living Proof" and "The Greatest". The soundtrack also features Ry Cooder, Otis Redding, Mavis Staples (backed by the Ladysmith Black Mambazo choir), Ruth Brown, Amos Lee, Chikara Tsuzuki, Gustavo Santaolalla, Hello Stranger, and Cassandra Wilson.

DYLAN AWARDED PULITZER PRIZE FOR MUSIC (4/9/08)
Bob Dylan has become the first rock musician to be honored with the prestigious Pulitzer Prize, the award that recognizes top achievement in journalism, literature, drama, and music. The 92nd Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism, Letters, Drama and Music were announced by Columbia University. Dylan received an honorary Pulitzer for "his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power." 2008 marked the first time the members of the Pulitzer Prize Board choose music other than classical or jazz. Dylan's collection of awards over the years includes an Oscar, a Golden Globe, 10 Grammys and entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. I'm Not There, a film loosely based on Dylan's persona, was released last year last. He released the album, Modern Times in 2006. Bob Dylan and and his band kick off an extensive international summer tour on May 17 in Lewiston, Maine. Meanwhile, the legendary musician continues to work on the second installment of a planned three-book series of memoirs looking back at his life and 40-year career.

R.E.M. RELEASE "ACCELERATE" (4/1/08)
R.E.M. has released their much-anticipated 14th studio album, Accelerate (Warner Bros), featuring the advance track "Supernatural Superserious." The new record marks a return to the band's harder-edged guitar-driven sound. Produced by Jacknife Lee (Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, U2), Accelerate is the group's first studio album since 2004's Around The Sun. The band released their first-ever live CD/DVD, R.E.M. Live, on Oct. 16 of last year, which was recorded during shows at Dublin's Point Theatre in early 2005. R.E.M. was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March of 2007. The R.E.M. tour officially kicks off May 23 in Vancouver, B.C. Modest Mouse and the National will open the upcoming North American tour.

2008 R.E.M. TOUR:
May 23 Vancouver, BC, Deer Lake Park
May 29 Los Angeles, Hollywood Bowl
May 31 Berkeley, Greek Theatre
June 3 Morrison, CO, Red Rocks
June 6 Chicago, United Center
June 8 Toronto, Molson Amphitheatre
June 10 Raleigh, NC, Walnut Creek
June 11 Columbia, MD, Merriweather Post Pavilion
June 13 Mansfield, MA, Tweeter Center
June 14 Wantagh, NY, Jones Beach
June 18 Philadelphia, Mann Center
June 19 New York, TBA
June 21 Atlanta, Lakewood Amphitheatre

ROLLING STONES "SHINE A LIGHT" SOUNDTRACK IN STORES, SCORSESE-PRODUCED FILM OPENS (4/1/08)
The Rolling Stones concert movie soundtrack, Shine A Light (Interscope), produced by Martin Scorsese, hits stores today (4/1). The documentary was filmed at New York's Beacon Theatre in October 2006 during the A Bigger Bang tour. The film releases on Friday, April 4 in the US in theaters and on 93 IMAX screens. Shine A Light contains 17 songs, including live standards such as "Jumpin' Jack Flash," "Brown Sugar" and "Start Me Up," and features guest appearances by Buddy Guy, Christine Aguilera, and White Stripes guitarist Jack White. Scorsese's movie career includes the production of several rock films, including the 1971 epic The Last Waltz and the 2005 documentary for PBS, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan.
Meanwhile, in other Stones-related cinema news, Mick Jagger is reportedly producing Diane English's The Women, a remake of the George Cukor classic due out this fall. The film stars Annette Bening and Meg Ryan. Jagger has also been working with Scorsese on It's The Long Play, a movie about the music business in America over the past 30 years.

PETTY RE-FORMS MUDCRUTCH, ALBUM DUE APRIL 29 WITH SHORT CALIFORNIA TOUR (3/28/08)
Tom Petty has re-formed Mudcrutch, his early band prior to forming The Heartbreakers, and is preparing to embark on a short California-only tour with Mudcrutch in support of the new album, Mudcrutch (Reprise) releasing April 29. The record features the advance track, "Scare Easy". Mudcrutch features Heartbreakers Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, and original Mudcrutch members Tom Leadon and Randall Marsh. The band, hometown heroes in Gainesville, Florida, moved to Los Angeles in the early '70s. By 1975, they were signed to Shelter Records. But Mudcrutch never cracked the national music scene or made a full album. According to Tom Petty.com, "Now, more than 30 years later and quite unexpectedly, the Mudcrutch story continues."
A total of just 11 concert dates are set in California, including a four-night stand at Hollywood's legendary Troubadour and a two-night stand at the Fillmore in San Francisco. Meanwhile, the Heartbreakers' "day job," the extensive Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 2008 Summer Tour kicks off May 30th in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

MUDCRUTCH CALIFORNIA TOUR
April 12 Benefit For The Midnight Mission at Malibu PAC, Malibu, CA
April 14 Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, Santa Cruz, CA
April 16 Fillmore, San Francisco
April 17 Fillmore, San Francisco
April 19 Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA
April 20 Ventura Theater, Ventura, CA
April 22 Concerts in The Park, Alpine, CA
April 25 Troubadour, West Hollywood, CA
April 26 Troubadour, West Hollywood, CA
April 28 Troubadour, West Hollywood, CA
April 29 Troubadour, West Hollywood, CA

THE B-52s RELEASE "FUNPLEX," SET SPRING SUMMER/TOUR DATES (3/27/08)
The B-52s have released their long-awaited ninth album and their first studio record in over a decade and a half, Funplex (Astralwerks), now available and in stores. The album features the single, "Funplex" and is produced by Steve Osborne (New Order, Happy Mondays, Doves, KT Tunstall). It's been 16 years since the group released 1992's Good Stuff. And back then it was just a trio as vocalist Cindy Wilson had left the band for awhile to grieve the loss of her brother and founding guitarist, Ricky Wilson, who passed away from AIDS in 1985. Cindy Wilson rejoined the group in '97 and there was a false start to recording again after 1998's career retrospective, Time Capsule: Songs For a Future Generation. Another reason for the long break between albums was simple geography. Fred Schneider lives on Long Island, Wilson remains in Georgia (the band broke out of Athens in 1976) while fellow vocalist Kate Pierson lives in upstate New York and Keith Strickland lives in Key West. The creation of Funplex began with Strickland, who composes the music for the group. "I had been listening to a lot of electronic dance music and early rock and roll. I was inspired to use these two aesthetics together with our own sound to write some shameless dance-floor party music." The B-52s top ten international hits include "Rock Lobster," "Love Shack," and "Roam".
The band appears on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno on Tuesday, April  1st and on The Ellen Show with Ellen DeGeneres Friday, April 4th.

"Funplex" Video: http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=31009351

THE B-52s SRING/SUMMER TOUR
23 APR Boston, Paradise Rock Club
25 APR Philadelphia, Electric Factory
26 APR Washington, DC, 930 Club
27 APR Richmond VA, The National
29 APR Cleveland, House of Blues
01 MAY Chicago, House of Blues
02 MAY Louisville, Kentucky Derby
04 MAY Englewood CO, Gothic Theatre
06 MAY Seattle, Show Box
07 MAY Portland OR, Roseland
08 MAY Dixon CA, State Fair
09 MAY San Francisco, Independent
11 MAY Anaheim CA, House of Blues
31 MAY Boston, Bank Of America Pavilion
01 JUN Wantagh NY, Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre
03 JUN New York NY, Radio City Music Hall
04 JUN Toronto, Molson Amphitheatre
06 JUN Mashantucket CT, Foxwoods Casino
07 JUN Washington DC, DAR Constitution Hall
09 JUN Minneapolis, US Bank Theatre at Target Center
10 JUN Chicago, Chicago Theatre
11 JUN Detroit, DTE Energy Music Theatre
13 JUN Atlantic City NJ, Borgata Hotel & Casino
14 JUN Bethel NY, Bethel Woods Center For The Arts
16 JUN Atlanta, Chastain Park Amphitheatre
17 JUN Atlanta, Chastain Park Amphitheatre
18 JUN Clearwater FL, Ruth Eckerd Hall
19 JUN Ft. Lauderdale FL, Sinatra Theatre at BankAtlantic Center
21 JUN Houston, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
22 JUN Dallas, Superpages.com Center
25 JUN Phoenix, Dodge Theatre
27 JUN Alpine CA, Viejas Casino
28 JUN Los Angeles, Greek Theatre
29 JUN Berkeley CA, Greek Theatre
01 JUL Seattle, WAMU Theatre
02 JUL Vancouver BC, Deer Lake Park
04 JUL Salt Lake City, USANA Amphitheatre
05 JUL Denver, Red Rocks Amphitheatre

COUNTING CROWS RELEASE "SATURDAY NIGHTS & SUNDAY MORNINGS," EXTENSIVE TOUR SET (3/24/08)
Counting Crows release their long-awaited new album, Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings (Geffen/Interscope) on Tuesday, March 25. It's the band's fifth studio album and the first new studio album since 2002's Hard Candy. The record was produced by Gil Norton (The Pixies, Foo Fighters) and Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine). On his inspiration for the album title, the group's lead singer Adam Duritz said, "One day I grabbed this bizarre looking double-cassette by Ralph Stanley called Saturday Night & Sunday Morning. After that, you had to fight me to get it out of the stereo. It's just an unreal record about sin and redemption with inspired song choices and unearthly performances from Stanley himself and a sea of guests."

Counting Crows will be joined by Maroon 5 for an extensive summer/fall tour, starting July 25 in Virginia Beach, VA. Sara Bareilles has been set as the opening act through Aug. 26, while Augustana will open the rest of the dates. Meanwhile, the bands have hooked up with environmental non-profit Reverb to help green the tour with biodiesel trucks, carbon offsets and carpool groups for concert attendees. Counting Crows appear on David Letterman tonight (3/24).

COUNTING CROWS/MAROON 5 SUMMER AND FALL TOUR:
July 25 Virginia Beach, Va. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)
July 26 Scranton, Pa. (Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain)
July 28 Charlotte, N.C. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)
July 29 Raleigh, N.C. (Walnut Creek)
July 31 Wantagh, N.Y. (Jones Beach)
Aug. 2 Boston (Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts)
Aug. 5 Hershey, Pa. (Hersheypark Stadium & Star Pavilion)
Aug. 7 Holmdel, N.J. (PNC Bank Arts Center)
Aug. 9 Camden, N.J. (Susquehanna Bank Center)
Aug. 12 Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Saratoga Performing Arts Center)
Aug. 13 Bethel, N.Y. (Bethel Woods Center for The Arts)
Aug. 15 Hartford, Conn. (New England Dodge Music Center)
Aug. 16 Bristow, Va. (Nissan Pavilion)
Aug. 18 Buffalo, N.Y. (Darien Lake Performing Arts Center)
Aug. 19 Toronto (Molson Amphitheatre)
Aug. 21 Burgettstown, Pa. (Post-Gazette Pavilion)
Aug. 22 Chicago (First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre)
Aug. 23 Milwaukee (Marcus Amphitheater)
Aug. 26 Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (Blossom Music Center)
Aug. 28 Noblesville, Ind. (Verizon Wireless Music Center Indianapolis)
Aug. 29 Clarkston, Mich. (DTE Energy Music Theatre)
Aug. 30 Cincinnati (Riverbend Music Center)
Sept. 5 Houston (Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion)
Sept. 6 Dallas (Superpages.com Center)
Sept. 9 Albuquerque, N.M. (Journal Pavilion)
Sept. 10 Phoenix (Cricket Wireless Pavilion)
Sept. 12 Irvine, CA. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater)
Sept. 13 San Diego (Coors Amphitheatre)
Sept. 17 Mountain View, CA. (Shoreline Amphitheatre)
Sept. 18 Concord, CA. (Sleep Train Pavilion)
Sept. 20 Ridgefield, Wash. (Amphitheater at Clark County)
Sept. 21 Seattle (White River Amphitheatre)
Sept. 24 Denver (Coors Amphitheatre at Fiddler's Green)
Sept. 26 Kansas City, Mo. (Starlight Theatre)
Sept. 27 St. Louis (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)
Sept. 30 Birmingham, Ala. (Verizon Wireless Music Center)
Oct. 1 Atlanta (Lakewood Amphitheatre)
Oct. 3 Tampa, Fla. (Ford Amphitheatre)
Oct. 4 West Palm Beach, Fla. (Cruzan Amphitheatre)

CROW TO COLLABORATE WITH FLEETWOOD MAC (3/17/08)
As she prepares to hit the road in support of her latest album, Detours (A&M), Sheryl Crow said that she hopes to soon be working with her friends Fleetwood Mac. Crow told AOL Music's spinner.com, "I don't want to make any official announcements, but I will say that we definitely have plans for collaborating in the future, and we'll see what happens...I think the person I learned the most hands-on from is Stevie Nicks because she allowed me not only to co-write with her but also to produce her, and she's a true artist." Warming up for her tour, Crow is set to perform on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and Last call With Carson Daly tonight (3/17). She kicks off the national tour April 22 in Wichita, Kansas at the Century Concert Hall and will also perform April 25 at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest. Longtime Fleetwood Mac singer-songwriter and keyboardist Christine McVie left the band to retire from the music business in 1998.

JAKOB DYLAN DEBUT SOLO ALBUM "SEEING THINGS" DUE JUNE 10, TOUR TO FOLLOW (3/12/08)

Jakob Dylan's long-awaited debut solo album, Seeing Things (Columbia/Starbucks Ent) is set for a June 10th release. The album features the advance track, "Something Good This Way Comes". The mostly acoustic record was produced by Rick Rubin during last year at Rubin's Hollywood home studio. A Jakob Dylan headlining tour will be soon be announced. Festival dates at this year's Rothbury Festival and at Bonnaroo are already confirmed. Seeing Things will be available simultaneously at Starbucks company-operated locations in the U.S. and Canada and at traditional retail on June 10.

Featuring the youngest of Bob Dylan's sons as frontman, the L.A.-based Wallflowers released their debut album, The Wallflowers (Virgin) in 1992. The group released Bringing Down the Horse (Interscope) in '96, which featured the hits "6th Avenue Heartache," "One Headlight," "The Difference," and "Three Marlenas." Three more albums followed, and the Grammy Award-winning band has also recorded numerous original and cover songs for various popular film and TV soundtracks along the way, including CSI.

Seeing Things Track Listing:
1. Evil Is Alive And Well
2. Valley Of The Low Sun
3. All Day And All Night
4. Everybody Pays As They Go
5. Will It Grow
6. I Told You I Couldn't Stop
7. War Is Kind
8. Something Good This Way Comes
9. On Up The Mountain
10. This End Of The Telescope

2008 ROCK HALL OF FAME INDUCTION: LEONARD COHEN, THE DAVE CLARK FIVE, MADONNA, JOHN MELLENCAMP, THE VENTURES (3/11/08)
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees for 2008 were honored at a ceremony Monday, March 10, 2008 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. The performer inductees were:

Leonard Cohen
The Dave Clark Five (Dave Clark, Lenny Davidson, Rick Huxley, Denny Payton [Note: Mike Smith recently (2/28) passed away]) 
Madonna
John Mellencamp
The Ventures (Bob Bogle, Nokie Edwards, Gerry McGee, Mel Taylor, Don Wilson)

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame also announced the induction of Little Walter in its sideman category, and the newly named "Ahmet Ertegun Award" (formerly the non-performer category) was presented to legendary producers, Gamble & Huff. The 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performer inductees were chosen by the 600 voters of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. Artists are eligible for inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twenty-five years after their first recording is released. The induction ceremony was presented live on VH1 Classic.

DAVE MATTHEWS BAND ANNOUNCE SUMMER TOUR, SET TO PREVIEW NEW ALBUM (3/7/08)
Dave Matthews Band has announced an extensive 2008 summer tour set to kick off at the end of May in the Northeast. The band plans to debut material from their forthcoming album on the North American tour, which begins May 30 with two shows in Burgettstown, PA. The itinerary includes nearly 40 US cities, including stops that the group hasn't performed for several years. Two-night stands are booked in Camden, NJ; Hartford, CT; Saratoga Springs, NY; Mansfield, MA; West Palm Beach, FL; Noblesville, IN; East Troy, WI; and Los Angeles. The tour will wrap up with three-night stands in George, WA. and Berkeley, CA. As usual, Dave Matthews Band has tapped a number of different opening artists/bands for the tour, including Willie Nelson, The Black Crowes, Paolo Nutini, O.A.R., Gomez, Ingrid Michaelson, and Michael Franti & Spearhead. Dave Matthews Band is currently hunkered down in the studio with producer Rob Cavallo (Green Day/My Chemical Romance) working on the new album. Guitarist and longtime friend Tim Reynolds is featured, his first time with the group since 1998's Before These Crowded Streets. DMB's music is also featured in the IMAX film Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk, which is due March 14 in anticipation of World Water Day.

DAVE MATTHEWS BAND 2008 SUMMER TOUR:
May 30 Burgettstown, PA
May 31 Burgettstown, PA
June 3 Camden, NJ
June 4 Camden, NJ 
June 6 Bridgeview, IL
June 7 St. Louis
June 9 Clarkston, MI 
June 10 Scranton, PA
June 13 Hartford, CT 
June 17 Darien Center, NY
June 18 Toronto, ONT, Canada  
June 20 Saratoga Springs, NY
June 21 Saratoga Springs, NY 
June 24 Mansfield, MA        
June 25 Mansfield, MA   
June 27 Hershey, PA 
June 28 Bristow, VA
July 1 Charlotte, NC
July 2 Raleigh, NC 
July 4 Charleston, SC 
July 5 Rothbury, MI 
July 7 Atlanta
July 9 Tampa 
July 11 West Palm Beach, FL
July 12 West Palm Beach, FL 
July 22 Omaha               
July 25 Noblesville, IN   
July 26 Noblesville, IN   
July 29 Columbus, OH   
July 30 Cuyahoga Falls, OH
August 1 Louisville 
August 2 Memphis
August 5 Cincinnati
August 7 Virginia Beach, VA 
August 9 East Troy, WI      
August 10 East Troy, WI    
August 13 Oklahoma City, OK
August 15 The Woodlands, TX
August 16 Dallas, TX 
August 19 Los Angeles
August 20 Los Angeles 
August 22 Chula Vista, CA       
August 23 Phoenix, AZ       
August 25 West Sacramento, CA 
August 27 West Valley City, UT 
August 29 George, WA   
August 30 George, WA   
August 31 George, WA  
September 5 Berkeley, CA
September 6 Berkeley, CA
September 7 Berkeley, CA

JEFF HEALEY DIES AFTER BATTLE WITH CANCER (3/3/08)
Guitarist and singer-songwriter Jeff Healey died Sunday (3/2) in St. Joseph's Hospital in Toronto. He was 41. Blind since he was a baby due to a rare form of cancer (retino blastoma), Healey began to play guitar when he was three, holding the instrument across his lap. He formed his first band at 17, but soon formed a trio which was named the Jeff Healey Band. After his appearance in the movie "Road House," he was signed to Arista Records, and in 1988 released the Grammy-nominated album See the Light, which included the hit, "Angel Eyes." With two subsequent albums on Arista, various "best-of" and live packages, and two more records later, Healey had become an international star who had played and recorded with everyone from B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan, to George Harrison, Mark Knopfler and the late blues legend, Jimmy Rogers. A long-running Canadian CBC Radio series cast him in the role of a deejay in "My Kinda Jazz" and in recent years he had hosted a program of a similar name on Jazz-FM in Toronto. Healey had recorded three albums of early jazz, playing trumpet as well as acoustic guitar in a band he called Jeff Healey's Jazz Wizards. The most recent was It's Tight Like That, recorded live at Hugh's Room in Toronto in 2005 with British jazz legend Chris Barber as guest star. Healey was about to see the release of his first rock/blues album in eight years, Mess of Blues (Ruf Records/Stony Plain), set to be released in the U.S. and Canada April 22. Early last year, Healey underwent surgery to remove cancerous tissue from his legs, and later from both lungs; aggressive radiation treatments and chemotherapy, however, failed to halt the spread of the disease. Despite his battle with cancer, he undertook frequent tours across Canada with both his blues-based band and his jazz group and was set for a major European tour.

DAVE CLARK FIVE VOCALIST MIKE SMITH DIES (2/29/08)
Dave Clark Five lead singer and keyboard player Mike Smith died of pneumonia in a London hospital on Thursday (2/28), less than two weeks before the '60s Brit pop/rock band was to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Smith had been suffering from medical problems as the result of a spinal cord injury five years ago. He was 64. The Dave Clark Five had a string of smash hits in the UK and here in the US, including "Because," "Glad All Over," and "I Like it Like That." By 1966, the group had made a record 12 appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show". The Dave Clark Five were featured in John Boorman's 1965 documentary "Catch Us If You Can".

BUDDY MILES DIES (2/27/08)
Buddy Miles, co-founder and drummer in Band Of Gypsys with Jimi Hendrix, died yesterday (2/26), at age 60, in Austin, Texas. Cause of death was heart failure. Miles was born Sept. 5, 1947, in Omaha. As a young man he also played with Wilson Pickett, the Delfonics and the Ink Spots. Miles met Hendrix in the early 1960s but didn't begin collaborating with him until 1969, when Hendrix produced an album by the Buddy Miles Express. In sequined clothes and a huge Afro, Miles went on to drum on Hendrix's landmark Electric Ladyland album before joining Band Of Gypsys with bassist Billy Cox a few months later. The group's classic lone self-titled album chronicled a New Year's Eve 1969/1970 concert at New York's Fillmore East. Miles' best-known rock track was his live collaboration on "Them Changes" from 1972's Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles: Live!, an FM rock radio standard of the day. After Hendrix's death on Sept. 18, 1970, Miles contributed drums to some posthumous Hendrix releases, including Cry of Love and Crash Landing. He spent time in a Souhern California prison in the late '70s/early '80s on drug charges, but was back in 1986 as the voice for the popular California Raisins TV ads. Miles and a studio band recorded a cover of Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" as part of the campaign. In 2004, Miles and Cox revisited the Band Of Gypsys material for a live album, The Band of Gypsys Return, which was released two years later. Throughout his career, Miles has played with artists such as David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Carlos Santana, and George Clinton.

BLACK CROWES KICK OFF TOUR, RELEASE "WARPAINT" MARCH 4 (2/27/08)
Silver Arrow Records announces the release of Warpaint (Silver Arrow/Megaforce/Sony Red BMG), the first all-new studio album by the Black Crowes in seven years, on March 4. The record is independently released on the band's own Silver Arrow Records and distributed through Megaforce/Sony Red BMG. It is their first studio album since Lions (V2) in 2001. Produced and mixed by Paul Stacey at Allaire Studios, Woodstock, NY, the album features 11 songs, all of which were written by Chris and Rich Robinson, except "God's Got It" by the Reverend Charlie Jackson. Warpaint marks the recording debut of two new band members — guitarist Luther Dickinson and keyboardist Adam MacDougall — who join Chris and Rich and drummer Steve Gorman and bassist Sven Pipien. Dickinson, of North Mississippi Allstars, officially steps in to replace producer/guitarist Paul Stacey, whose position with the group was originally intended to be temporary. Of the album title, Robinson says that "the revolution that could take place in all our souls." In other Black Crowes news, Maxim magazine recently issued a formal "apology" for publishing a negative review of the Black Crowes' new album by a writer who hadn't actually listened to the CD.
Meanwhile, for the first time in their 18-year career, the band will perform an album of theirs in its entirety. On a special run of "one-night-only" shows beginning in March, fans will hear the Warpaint album performed in its entirety, after which the group will play songs from their catalog. The Black Crowes are set to begin their world tour March 24 by headlining the Byron Bay Festival in Australia. The band will continue their down under tour through April 5, then head to Japan and Europe before heading home for additional U.S. summer dates.

BLACK CROWES 2008 "WARPAINT" TOUR
3/2 Starland Ballroom, Sayreville NJ 
3/4 The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza, New York NY 
3/5 Somerville Theatre, Somerville MA 
3/7 Park West, Chicago 
3/9 The Tabernacle, Atlanta
3/15 SxSW Music and Media Conference, Austin  
3/15 Stubb's Bar-B-Q, Austin 
3/19 The Fillmore, San Francisco 
3/20 Avalon Hollywood, Los Angeles   
4/24 Harrah's Laughlin, Laughlin NV 
4/25 Harrah's Lake Tahoe, Stateline, NV (Lake Tahoe) 
4/26 Harrah's Rincon Casino Pavilion, Valley Center CA

HANSARD/IRGLOVA WIN OSCAR FOR "BEST SONG," MARIANELLI WINS "BEST ORIGINAL SCORE" FOR "ATONEMENT" (2/25/08)
Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova won the Academy Award for "Best Song" for their "Falling Slowly" from the hit indie movie Once while Dario Marianelli won for "Best Original Score" for Atonement at the 80th Annual Academy Awards last night (2/24). Hansard of the Irish band the Frames and Czech singer and pianist Irglova - both non-actors - starred in Once and had several of their songs featured in the musical romance film as well, including "Falling Down". Hansard told the Awards audience that the movie "took us three weeks to make. We made it for a hundred-grand. We never thought we'd come into a room like this and be in front of all you people." The duo performed the winning song at the ceremony. In other music-related news of the night, Elton John held a big Hollywood post-Oscar AIDS fundraiser party. Visit Oscar.com.

EDDIE VEDDER COMPILES SOUNDTRACK FOR "BODY OF WAR" DOCUMENTARY (2/23/08)
Music features Vedder/Pearl Jam, Neil Young, Springsteen, Tori Amos, Ben Harper and more
Following a successful run providing songs for Into the Wild, Eddie Vedder is back in charge of the music on another soundtrack project. Vedder/Pearl Jam, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and others have contributed songs to an anti-war soundtrack for a new documentary about a American soldier paralyzed in Iraq. The 30-track, two-disc album Body of War: Songs That Inspired an Iraq War Veteran (Warner Bros./Sire) will be released March 18. All proceeds from the sale of the album will benefit Iraq Veterans Against the War. The documentary centers on Tomas Young, an Army soldier who was paralyzed in Iraq. The movie opens March 13 in Austin, and nationally over the next few months. Veteran TV talk show host Phil Donahue and Elaine Spiro directed the film. The soundtrack album was compiled by Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, who composed the album's first single, "No War," especially for the film. Pearl Jam's live version of Bob Dylan's "Masters of War" is included in the soundtrack. Springsteen contributed "Devils & Dust," and Neil Young offers up "The Restless Consumer." Other songs in the set are from Tori Amos, Ben Harper, Bright Eyes, Public Enemy, and Talib Kweli with Cornel West. For more info, visit Bodyofwar.com.  

SHERYL CROW, PLANT/KRAUSS, STEVIE WONDER, SANTANA SET TO APPEAR AT NEW ORLEANS JAZZ AND HERITAGE FEST APRIL 25-27 AND MAY 1-4 (2/15/08)
The 2008 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is set for April 25-27 and May 1-4. Thousands of musicians, from locals to superstars, are on the bill for the event, including opening night headliners Sheryl Crow, Robert Plant with Alison Krauss, and Buckwheat Zydeco. On April 27, Elvis Costello, Al Green, Cassandra Wilson and Delbert McClinton will perform. On May 2, Stevie Wonder will perform at the Fest for the first time in 35 years. Closing night performers include the Neville Brothers and Carlos Santana. For the full line-up and more info, visit Nojazzfest.com.

WINEHOUSE, HANCOCK WIN AT 50TH GRAMMYS (2/11/08)
Performance highlights: Philharmonic Foo Fighters, John Fogerty with Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard
The Grammy Awards rang in its 50th anniversary show with a wide-ranging, celebratory telecast that honored the old, the new and everything in between as The Recording Academy paid tribute to its legacy as well as the exciting list of this year's honorees and performers. Amy Winehouse won five awards, including Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year for her now-prophetic "Rehab," while Kanye West took home four, including the Best Rap Album award for Graduation, though Album Of The Year eluded him for the third time. That award went to longtime jazz great Herbie Hancock for his tribute to Joni Mitchell, River: The Joni Letters. Other top winners included Bruce Springsteen and gospel star Karen Clark-Sheard with three trophies each. Go here for full list of Grammy Awards winners/nominees. But the talk of the night was a live satellite performance by Winehouse... Read More

GABRIEL TO RELEASE MULTI-ARTIST COLLABORATION "BIG BLUE BALL" PROJECT; RYKO TAKES OVER REAL WORLD DISTRIBUTION (1/25/08)
Ryko has announced a U.S. distribution deal for Peter Gabriel's Real World Records. Ryko will handle both digital and physical distribution of Real World's catalog and will re-issue many of the label's back catalog titles complete with new packaging and occasional exclusive bonus material. Real World Records was previously distributed by EMI. The new agreement has Ryko distributing Real World's entire catalog and future recordings, including the long-awaited new release, the Big Blue Ball, a multi-artist collaboration headed up by Gabriel and Karl Wallinger of The Waterboys/World Party. The project was hatched way back in 1992 when Gabriel hosted 75 international artists from over 20 countries in just one week in his studio. The first single from the Big Blue Ball project, "Whole Thing," now available via iTunes, features Gabriel on lead vocal and keyboards, Tim Finn of Crowded House and Andy White of ALT on backing vocals, Karl Wallinger and Paul Allen Nord on guitar and Francis Bebey on flute. Although yet to be announced, a release date for the full Big Blue Ball is imminent via Ryko Distribution. Gabriel launched the world music-oriented Real World label in 1989.

PETTY ANNOUNCES SUMMER TOUR (1/25/08)
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have announced an upcoming summer tour that will take the band through North America. The news comes as the Heartbreakers prepare for an appearance on the Super Bowl XLII Halftime Show, live on Fox Sunday, February 3. All tour tickets, with a few exceptions will go on sale February 4th, the day after the Super Bowl. Steve Winwood is set to open each show on the tour.

2008 TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS TOUR
May 30 Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI
May 31 The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI
June 03 Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
June 05 Wachovia Center, Philadelphia
June 08 Nissan Pavilion, Bristow, VA
June 10 Post-Gazette Pavilion, Burgettstown, PA
June 11 New England Dodge Music Center, Hartford, CT
June 13 TD Banknorth Garden, Boston
June 17 Madison Square Garden, New York
June 18 Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
June 21 Darien Lakes Performing Arts Center, Darien Center, NY
June 22 Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, OH
June 25 Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles
July 02 United Center, Chicago
July 03 Verizon Wireless Music Center, Noblesville, IN
July 08 Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati
July 09 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, Atlanta 
July 11 Charlotte Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Charlotte, NC
July 12 Walnut Creek Amphitheatre, Raleigh, NC
July 15 BankAtlantic Center, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
July 16 St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, FL
July 19 TBD, Denver
July 20 Quest Center Omaha, Omaha, NE
July 22 Sprint Center, Kansas City, MO
July 23 Target Center, Minneapolis
August 07 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Maryland Heights, MO
August 09 MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB
August 11 Pengrowth Saddledome, Calgary, AB
August 12 Rexall Place, Edmonton, AB
August 15 The Gorge, George, WA
August 16 The Gorge, George, WA
August 20 Jobing.com Arena, Glendale, AZ
August 22 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA
August 23 TBD, San Francisco 
August 26 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Selma, TX
August 27 American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
August 29 Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Woodlands, TX

WILLIE NELSON RELEASES "MOMENT OF FOREVER" ALBUM, COMPILATIONS DUE IN SPRING (1/24/08)
Willie Nelson turns 75 on April 30 and will celebrate the year with various releases new and and old, starting with the January 29 release of his new studio album, Moment Of Forever (Lost Highway). The album features the Dave Matthews' song, "Gravedigger". Nelson is set to release a massive four-disc compilation box set on April 1, One Hell of a Ride (Legacy). The collection includes music from Nelson's different record labels from the late '50s on. Liner notes were written by Joe Nick Patoski, author of the Nelson biography, An Epic Life (Little Brown), in bookstores this spring. Another compilation album, a single-disc of Nelson's top chart hits, #1s (Legacy), releases April 29.

Update 1/31/08: Willie Nelson is set to perform at the pre-game invite-only Super Bowl Tailgate Party in Glendale, AZ on Sunday, Feb. 3. He is up for a Grammy Award a week after the Super Bowl game; Nelson is nominated for the 2007 collaboration with Merle Haggard and Ray Price, Last of the Breed (Lost Highway).

VETERAN SINGER-SONGWRITER JOHN STEWART DIES (1/22/08)
Acclaimed veteran California singer-songwriter John Stewart died Saturday (1/19) at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego after suffering a brain aneurysm. He was 68. Stewart was a member of late '50s/early '60s folk music pioneers the Kingston Trio. He later wrote one of The Monkees' biggest pop hits in 1967, "Daydream Believer". Then a decade later in 1979, Stewart scored an unlikely top ten rock hit with a Stevie Nicks duet called "Gold" from his Bombs Away Dream Babies album. Stewart was an accomplished songwriter, having penned songs for Roseanne Cash, Joan Baez, Nanci Griffith, and Mary Chapin Carpenter, among others. He joined the Kingston Trio in 1961, replacing Dave Guard. Stewart recorded more than a dozen albums with the Kingston Trio before leaving for a solo career where he recorded over 40 albums. His signature album is perhaps 1969's California Bloodlines. Stewart was working on yet another record at the time of his death.

U2 APPEAR AT SUNDANCE TO DEBUT "U2 3D" LIVE TOUR FILM (1/22/08)
This time the band was in the audience for a change watching a film of themselves. All of the members of U2 - Bono, guitarist The Edge, drummer Larry Mullen and bassist Adam Clayton - donned plastic 3-D glasses at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Saturday (1/19) to watch "U2 3D," a film of the group's '05-'06 Vertigo tour. The band was joined at Sundance by an audience of 1,200 that included Robert Redford and Al Gore. Shot at seven shows in South America utilizing new 3-D technology, the 90-minute film was directed by longtime U2 visual collaborator Catherine Owens with Mark Pellington. "Watching it gives a real perspective of being in the audience at a U2 show," Edge told reporters ahead of the screening. "So many concert films reduce the band. This one brings scale and grandeur." "U2 3D" opens for general release in the U.S. starting this week.

UNIVERSAL SIGNS ROLLING STONES FOR "SHINE A LIGHT" SOUNDTRACK (1/17/08)
The Rolling Stones have reportedly signed an exclusive worldwide recording agreement to release its next album through Universal Music Group, prompting plenty of speculation that the band might depart EMI. The label has been hit by a wave of bad news in the past few weeks, with key artists such as Coldplay threatening to walk away from the company after its new owner, financier Guy Hands and his private equity group Terra Firma, unveiled plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs. A statement released by the band today (1/17) said it had signed a one-album deal for the group's next release, the soundtrack for a film by Martin Scorsese, Shine A Light. The album is due in March. A spokesman for EMI said the agreement only covered one album but an industry source told Reuters that the EMI and Rolling Stones deal was due to expire soon and said the band was considering its options. Shine A Light is culled from two Stones concerts at the Beacon Theatre in New York in late 2006, including guest appearances by Jack White of the White Stripes and Buddy Guy. The movie also features rare archive scenes and more recent behind-the-scenes footage and interviews. The Rolling Stones kicked off a two-year world tour in 2005 which ended in London last August. EMI said on Tuesday it would phase out a third of its staff and many artists on the roster.

ROOMFUL OF BLUES TRUMPET PLAYER BOB ENOS DIES (1/15/08)
Bob Enos, longtime trumpet player for Roomful Of Blues, died in his sleep in his hotel room in Douglas, Georgia, early Fri. morning (1/11) of suspected heart failure. He was 60. The band is on tour and was on its way to Fort Lauderdale to perform on The Legendary Blues Cruise. The Boston-born Enos joined Roomful Of Blues - one of the longest running contemporary blues bands in the country - in Sept. 1981. He appeared on every album that the band recorded after its first three releases, including the new album, Raisin' A Ruckus (Alligator), releasing today. Enos can also be heard with the Roomful horn section on recordings by Pat Benatar and Stevie Ray Vaughan, among others. Roomful Of Blues is continuing its current tour with former band member John Wolfe taking Enos's place.

RINGO, McCARTNEY PLAY HOMETOWN CONCERTS; RINGO RELEASES "LIVERPOOL 8" (1/11/08)
As part of the city of Liverpool, England's 2008 European Capital of Culture celebration, hometown lad Ringo Starr along with Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics are set to head up Liverpool The Musical at the opening of the brand new 10,000 seat Liverpool Arena today (1/11). The next day, fellow ex-bandmate Paul McCartney also returns to his native city to headline "The Liverpool Sound Concert" at Anfield Stadium on Sat. Jan. 12. Ringo releases the Dave Stewart co-produced Liverpool 8 (Capitol/EMI) on Jan. 15. Liverpool 8 is Ringo's 14th solo album and his first with Capitol since 1974's Goodnight Vienna. The album title Liverpool 8 is named after the section of the city where the Ringo grew up.

PATTI SMITH LEADS LINEUP OF PERFORMERS AT SUNDANCE FILM FEST JAN. 17-27 (1/4/08)
According to The Hollywood Reporter, veteran poet punk Patti Smith leads the lineup of musicians performing at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah January 17-27. Along with artists set to include Split Enz veteran Tim Finn, Gavin DeGraw, Pat Monahan, Peter & Gordon, Sea Wolf, Butch Walker, and Missy Higgins, they will perform at the Music Cafe, a daily afternoon showcase for established and emerging acts. Other music events at Sundance include a January 20 "Celebration of Music and Film" concert, which will feature performers connected to movies at the festival, including Smith ("Patti Smith: Dream of Life"), and composer Jean-Michel Bernard and director Michel Gondry ("Be Kind Rewind"). Additionally, film composers such as George S. Clinton, Christopher Young, John Frizzell and former Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh will join directors Amy Redford ("The Guitar") and Patrick Creadon ("I.O.U.S.A.") at the January 23 round-table discussion "Music and Film: The Creative Process." As reported below, the feature film CSNY/Deja Vu, directed by Neil Young, will debut at the festival Jan. 25.

STILLS RECOVERING FROM SURGERY, PLANS TO ATTEND SUNDANCE PREMIERE OF "CSNY/DEJA VU" MOVIE JAN. 25 (1/4/08)
In the wake of the recent news that Paul McCartney had undergone secret coronary angioplasty surgery last year, the wife of Stephen Stills announced yesterday (1/3) that the legendary singer-songwriter (CSNY) is recovering after surgery for prostate cancer. In a statement, Kristen Stills said the procedure went "remarkably well" for her husband, who turned 63 yesterday. Stephen Stills plans to attend the Sundance Film Festival in Utah for the January 25 world premiere of the feature film, CSNY/Deja Vu, a movie directed by Neil Young - under his cinematic pseudonym, Bernard Shakey -and filmed during the 2006 Freedom of Speech tour by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Stephen Stills is also set to embark on a North American solo tour this spring in support of his recent Just Roll Tape (Rhino/Warner Bros) album of rare outtakes and demos. Meanwhile, Still's son, Chris Stills, will release Chris Stills (JKC Records), his second album on January 29.

Jazz legend Oscar Peterson dies (12/23/07)
Oscar Peterson, one of the most accomplished Jazz pianists in the world, died Sunday (12/23) at his home in Mississauga, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto. He died of kidney failure, at age 82. His half-century career took Peterson from the jazz clubs of '50s Montreal to the New York's Carnegie Hall. He recorded nearly 200 albums and played alongside the greats of the jazz world, including Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Roy Eldridge, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie and Ella Fitzgerald.

Dan Fogelberg dies (12/15/07)
One of the most popular '70s and '80s singer-songwriters, Dan Fogelberg has died. He passed away Sunday (12/15) at his home in Maine at age 56. Fogelberg had battled advanced prostate cancer since being diagnosed in 2004. A native of Peoria, Ill., He began performing solo after playing in rock bands while attending the University of Illinois when he met a local booking agent named Irving Azoff. Fogelberg and local band REO Speedwagon became Azoff's first managerial projects (before the Eagles). Azoff got Fogelberg a contract with Columbia for his first album Home Free which was followed by 1974's successful Joe Walsh-produced Souvenirs, a top 20 album due to the hit single "Part of the Plan". Fogelberg enjoyed a two-decade run with nine soft rock-leaning top 30 albums (including three that hit the top 10). His popularsongs include his biggest hit, the ballad "Longer," "The Power of Gold," a collaboration with flautist Tim Weisberg; and "Leader of the Band," a tribute to Fogelberg's bandleader father, Lawrence. His last major hit was 1980's top ten "Same Old Lang Syne". More recently, he recorded a 1995 bluegrass album, High Country Snows in 1985. His last album, Full Circle, was released in 2003.

R&B legend Ike Turner dies (12/12/07)
Ike Turner, ex-husband of Tina Turner, died Wed. (12/12) at his home in suburban San Diego. He was 76. There was no immediate report on cause of death. Turner met an 18-year-old Tina in 1959. They married, had two sons, and also produced a string of hits, including "A Fool In Love," "I Idolize You," "It's Gonna Work Out Fine," "River Deep, Mountain High," a smash for producer Phil Spector. A new version of "Proud Mary," the Creedence Clearwater Revival hit, became the signature Ike & Tina song and won the pair a Grammy for best R&B vocal performance by a group. They opened shows for the Rolling Stones.  Ike's star then faded while Tina's solo career took off. He finally
managed a comeback in 2001 with Here and Now. The album won a Grammy nomination and finally helped turn attention away from his troubled past. Turner spent his later years making more music and touring, while battling emphysema. His songs were sampled by a number of rap acts. Ike Turner won a Grammy for best traditional blues album for 'Risin' With The Blues' on February 11, '07.