JamBase

Bob Dylan: More Xmas Video

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:01:00 PST

ZIMMY JUST KEEPS ON GIVING THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan's "Little Drummer Boy," the second video from Christmas In The Heart, now premiering exclusively on Amazon.com. A far cry from the holly jolly mayhem of "Must Be Santa", the animated video for "Little Drummer Boy" was conceived and hand-painted by famed artist and filmmaker Jeff Scher, a regular contributor to the NYT.com/Opinion section with his blog, "The Animated Life."

See the video here.

Christmas In The Heart is the 47th album from Bob Dylan, and follows his worldwide chart-topping Together Through Life, released earlier this year. Songs performed by Dylan on this new album include, "Here Comes Santa Claus," "Winter Wonderland," and "Must Be Santa."

All of Bob Dylan's royalties from sales of Christmas In The Heart will be donated to Feeding America in the United States, Crisis in the United Kingdom, and the World Food Programme in 80 developing nations around the world. Dylan's initial contributions will provide more than four million meals to more than 1.4 million people in the United States, 15,000 meals to homeless people in the United Kingdom during the eight days of Christmas (December 23 - January 1), and 500,000 meals to school children in the developing world during the holiday season.

Recently, Bob Dylan's only interview in conjunction with the release of his Christmas In The Heart album was syndicated worldwide through the International Network Of Street Papers (INSP), and was run in publications benefiting the homeless such as Seattle's Real Change, Cincinnati's Street Vibe and Nashville's The Contributor. Completed last month with noted journalist Bill Flanagan, the wide-ranging interview includes Dylan's thoughts on all things Christmas, including his favorite holiday songs, special presents, the making of his new album, Pretty Boy Floyd and Babe Ruth. You can read the interview here.

Dream Theater: "Wither" Video

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:35:00 PST

PROGRESSIVE KINGS CAUGHT IN THE ACT

"Of the 10 videos we've done through the years, I felt we have never been truly captured 'in our element,' which of course is on tour, playing to our fans, with our lighting and video show. So I thought it was time to do a video that showed us in our 'real world' (unlike the 'fake worlds' that are usually created when shooting a promo video)," says Mike Portnoy, drummer for Dream Theater, about the band's new documentary road video for their new single "Wither" from their 10th studio release, Black Clouds & Silver Linings (JamBase review).

Directed by Ramon Boutviseth, who did the same honors for the clip for the album's first single "A Rite Of Passage," the "Wither" video was shot on location in the U.K. (London, Manchester), France (Paris, Lille), and Rotterdam (the Netherlands) as part of Dream Theater's September/October 2009 headlining "Progressive Nation" tour reaching 15 countries (check out JamBase strong review for PN U.S. '09's San Jose stop here).

Q&A with Mike Portnoy about the "Wither" video

How do you feel the song's somber emotional theme works in the context of a documentary tour video? There's a weariness to the road (the traveling to and from the shows, NOT the onstage moments) that is captured here.

I think this video captures the reality of what it's really like for us on the road. Sure, the two hours on stage are amazing and ultimately why we do this, but the reality is, there are another 22 hours throughout the day which consists of a lot of traveling, interviews, meet & greets and sometimes a tremendous amount of sitting around and waiting, which sometimes can be very lonely.

What are your thoughts about how the video turned out and how it represents the recent European tour?

I love the final outcome of this video. It really captured the day to day and hour to hour activities that surround a day on the road with Dream Theater, not only for us, but our crew and our fans as well.

Can you talk about the experience of performing overseas and connecting with your fans there?

Touring in Europe and the UK are always some of our best shows and are always among the highlights throughout a World Tour for us. The "Wither" shoot alone captured three amazing audiences and venues for us: The Zenith in Paris, The Ahoy in Rotterdam and Wembley Arena in London - all three of these cities, venues and fans are always favorites of ours!

Ali Farka Toure/Toumani Diabate:
New Album in February

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:04:00 PST

THE LATE ALI FARKA TOURE AND TOUMANI DIABATE WILL RELEASE FINAL COLLABORATIVE EFFORT FEBRUARY 23, 2010

Toumani Diabete

World Circuit and Nonesuch Records are set to release Ali and Toumani, the second and last album pairing of the late Malian guitar virtuoso Ali Farka Toure and kora master Toumani Diabate, on February 23, 2010.

Recorded over three afternoons at London's Livingston Studios in 2005, with contributions from the late Orlando "Cacha�to" L�pez on bass, Ali and Toumani is the successor to the duo's Grammy-winning In The Heart Of The Moon. The new album was produced by Nick Gold and beautifully recorded by Jerry Boys, the same production team behind the earlier recording.

It is the last album recorded by both Farka Toure and Lopez.

Ali and Toumani Tracklist
1. Ruby
2. Sabu Yerkoy
3. Be Mankan
4. Doudou
5. Warbe
6. Samba Geladio
7. Sina Mory
8. 56
9. Fantasy
10. Machengoidi
11. Kala Djula

Video clip for the song "Kala Djula" available here

Short film on the making of the album here

The Steepwater Band:
European Tour w/ Marc Ford

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:53:00 PST

BEN HARPER/BLACK CROWES VET HITS ROAD WITH CHICAGO ROCK POWERHOUSE

Marc Ford

In late winter 2010, the Chicago-based trio The Steepwater Band hops over the pond for six-week European Tour - a first in the history of the band. It kicks off with a bang as Marc Ford joins The Steepwater Band on the Spanish leg of the tour. Ford's work with The Black Crowes, Ben Harper, and Booker T has made him one of the most celebrated guitarists of his generation.

Recently, The Steepwater Band commissioned Ford to produce their latest release, Grace and Melody (JamBase review). The flow of mutual admiration and respect during that studio session created a bond between the musicians and talk of a collaborative tour was on the horizon. The ten-city tour begins in Bilbao and stretches across Spain's beautiful landscape to Madrid, Gijon and Barcelona, just to name a few. Each show will feature a TSB set to get the evening rolling. After the opening sets, Ford will join the band. Together they will perform songs from his solo releases as well as songs from the Steepwater catalog. These evenings of music are bound to astonish and inspire fans.

For the folks in the United States who cannot make the Spain shows, you are in luck. The Steepwater Band & Marc Ford will be playing two Midwest shows to kick-off the tour before flying over to Espa�a. The House of Blues' funky Back Porch Stage will be the site in TSB's hometown of Chicago on Saturday, February 20. Grab your tickets now, as this show is bound to sell-out. On Sunday, February 21, TSB & Marc will travel north to Wisconsin for an intimate show at the fabulous Green Room in Sheboygan. Tickets for this show on sale via the Green Room's website.

After Steepwater & Ford rip through Spain, TSB continues on their own to debut in many cities across Europe. This month long trip will see them playing from London to Prague and many other historical places. Some markets/venues are currently pending, be sure to check www.steepwater.com in the coming weeks for a full schedule.

Tour Dates
20 Feb Chicago, IL - USA @ House of Blues Back Porch w/ Marc Ford
21 Feb Sheboygan, WI - USA @ Green Room w/ Marc Ford

25 Feb Bilbao - Spain @ Kafe Antzokia w/ Marc Ford
26 Feb Madrid - Spain @ El Sol w/ Marc Ford
27 Feb Gijon - Spain @ Sala Acapulco (Casino) w/ Marc Ford
28 Feb Vigo - Spain @ La Fabrica de Chocolate w/ Marc Ford
02 Mar A Coru�a - Spain @ Mardi Gras w/ Marc Ford
03 Mar Leon - Spain @ El Gran Cafe w/ Marc Ford
04 Mar Zaragoza - Spain @ Case del Loco w/ Marc Ford
05 Mar Valencia - Spain @ Durango w/ Marc Ford
06 Mar Barcelona - Spain @ Apolo 2 w/ Marc Ford
07 Mar Girona - Spain @ La Mirona w/ Marc Ford

09 Mar St. Etienne - France @ Thunderbird Lounge
10 Mar Alen�on - France @ TBA
11 Mar Lorient - France @ TBA
12 Mar Paris - France @ TBA
13 Mar Besan�on - France @ TBA
14 Mar Ravensburg - Germany @ TBA
16 Mar Frankfurt - Germany @ Nachtleben
17 Mar Prague - Cz @ TBA
18 Mar Brno - Czech Republic @ TBA
19 Mar Berlin - Germany @ Wild at Heart
20 Mar Germany @ TBA
21 Mar Germany @ TBA
22 Mar Verviers - Belgium @ Spirit of 66
23 Mar TBA
24 Mar Bochum - Germany @ Zwischenfall
25 Mar Weert - Holland @ De Bosuil
26 Mar Diest - Belgium @ Borderline
27 Mar Beauvais - France @ l'Ouvre Bo�te
29 Mar London - UK @ Bush Hall

Wanee Festival: Early Bird Tix

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:27:00 PST

WANEE MUSIC FESTIVAL EARLY BIRD TICKET SPECIAL DECEMBER 14-21 The Wanee Music Festival Early Bird Ticket Special is on sale now and lasts through Monday, December 21. It is the best ticket package available for the Festival ($145), and tickets are available here.

The 2010 Wanee Music Festival will be held Friday, April 16 through Saturday April 17 at the Spirit of Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, FL with the "Wanee Kick-Off Party" being held on Thursday, April 15.

For more upcoming information be sure to check out the official website here.

Pat Metheny: New Album, Tour

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:05:00 PST

PAT METHENY'S ORCHESTRION TO BE RELEASED JANUARY 26, 2010
2010 U.S. TOUR DATES ADDED

Pat Metheny

Seventeen-time Grammy Award-winner Pat Metheny once again explores new territory with his forthcoming project, Orchestrion. Following the album's January 26, 2010 release on Nonesuch Records (February 9 on vinyl), the genre-shattering guitarist/composer will embark on an extensive solo tour, performing in arts centers and concert halls nationwide.

Orchestrion brings a musical idea from the late 19th and early 20th centuries � a large mechanical multi-instrument device that utilizes actual orchestral instruments of various types, called an "orchestrion" � to the technologies of today. Metheny's concept includes a large ensemble of acoustic instruments � including several pianos, drum kit, marimbas, "guitar-bots," dozens of percussion instruments, and even cabinets of carefully tuned bottles. Through Metheny's guitar and compositional mind, five new original pieces showcase the instruments as they are struck, plucked, and otherwise played via the technology of solenoid switches and pneumatics. Metheny worked for months with a brilliant team of scientists and engineers to develop and assemble the New Orchestrion for this project.

"As the instruments started to trickle in from the various inventors," Metheny says, "the experience of writing for them and figuring out what might be possible with them provided a self-imposed challenge that proved to be difficult and time-consuming, but absolutely exhilarating. I am excited to share this project. If nothing else, this has turned out to be something unique. And in the process of developing all this music and these instruments and discovering what they can do and what they are good at, I learned so much. It feels like progress and has gotten some notes out of me that I didn't know were there. But the surprise was just how far I was able to go with it all. Within this new environment, I found something in there that took me to some new places."

A limited-edition poster signed by Metheny is available now with Orchestrion CD or LP pre-orders, exclusively at the Nonesuch site to the first 500 customers. As always, CDs and LPs ordered from the Nonesuch Store include audiophile-quality (320 kbps) MP3s at no additional cost, available for download on release day.

Over the course of more than three decades Metheny has set himself apart from the jazz mainstream, expanding and blurring boundaries and musical styles. His record-setting body of work includes seventeen Grammy Awards in twelve separate categories; a series of influential trio recordings; award winning solo albums; scores for hit Hollywood motion pictures; and collaborations and duets with major artists such as Ornette Coleman, Steve Reich, Charlie Haden, Brad Mehldau, and many others. His band, the Pat Metheny Group, founded in 1977, is the only ensemble in history to win Grammys for seven consecutive releases.

Pat Metheny North American Tour Dates
04/06/10 Tue Lyell B Clay Concert Theatre Morgantown, WV
04/07/10 Wed UNC Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC
04/08/10 Thu Robert Ferst Center for the Arts Atlanta, GA
04/09/10 Fri Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL
04/10/10 Sat The Fillmore Miami Beach at The Jackie Gleason Theater Miami Beach, FL
04/11/10 Sun Phillips Center for the Performing Arts Gainesville, FL
04/13/10 Tue Nokia Theatre Grand Prairie, TX
04/14/10 Wed Paramount Theatre Austin, TX
04/16/10 Fri Lensic Performing Arts Center Santa Fe, NM
04/17/10 Sat Mesa Arts Center - Ikeda Theater Mesa, AZ
04/18/10 Sun Rialto Theatre Tucson, AZ
04/19/10 Mon Walt Disney Concert Hall Los Angeles, CA
04/20/10 Tue Campbell Hall Santa Barbara, CA
04/21/10 Wed Spreckels Theater San Diego, CA
04/23/10 Fri Grand Sierra Theatre (Reno Hilton) Reno, NV
04/24/10 Sat Zellerbach Auditorium Berkeley, CA
04/25/10 Sun Napa Valley Opera House Napa, CA
04/26/10 Mon Civic Auditorium Santa Cruz, CA
04/28/10 Wed Aladdin Theater Portland, OR
04/29/10 Thu Washington Center for the Performing Arts Olympia, WA
04/30/10 Fri Meany Hall Seattle, WA
05/01/10 Sat The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts Vancouver, BC
05/02/10 Sun Hult Center Eugene, OR
05/04/10 Tue Kingsbury Hall Salt Lake City, UT
05/05/10 Wed Paramount Theatre Denver, CO
05/07/10 Fri Uptown Theater Kansas City, MO
05/08/10 Sat Touhill Performing Arts Center St. Louis, MO
05/09/10 Sun Fitzgerald Theater Saint Paul, MN
05/10/10 Mon Symphony Center Chicago, IL
05/12/10 Wed Taft Theatre Cincinnati, OH
05/13/10 Thu Massey Hall Toronto, ON
05/14/10 Fri Music Hall Center for the Arts Detroit, MI
05/15/10 Sat Lorain Palace Civic Center Lorain, OH
05/16/10 Sun Bardavon 1869 Opera House Poughkeepsie, NY
05/18/10 Tue Keswick Theatre Glenside, PA
05/19/10 Wed Strathmore North Bethesda, MD
05/20/10 Thu Orpheum Theatre Boston, MA
05/21/10 Fri Town Hall New York, NY
05/22/10 Sat Town Hall New York, NY

Complete Pat Metheny tour dates available here.

Leftover Salmon: Celebrating 20 Years Part 3

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:46:00 PST

Welcome to Part 3 of our Leftover Salmon: Celebrating 20 Years feature. JamBase has been working with the Salmon guys, as well as artists they've influenced and been influenced by, to bring fans this intimate look at one of the most important bands to grow out of the jam scene.

Part 1 of our story featured interviews with Vince Herman, Drew Emmitt and a bunch of contemporaries like Yonder Mountain String Band's Ben Kaufmann and Little Feat's Paul Barrere, as we broke it down, telling the Salmon tale from the very beginning. Part 1 also included the first set of songs from our free double album giveaway. You can read the full history of Leftover Salmon in Part 1 here, and you can download the first set of songs from the Leftover Salmon Celebrating 20 Years sampler here.

Part 2 of our feature revolved around interviews with John Bell, Jeff Austin, John Cowan and Pete Sears, and can be read in full here. Part 2 also came with the second batch of songs from the album giveaway, which you can download here, and if you go to the last page of the feature you will find complete track list info.

For Part 3 we're offering the next six songs from the double live album, which you can download here. We also caught up with Sam Bush, Cracker's David Lowery, and Ronnie McCoury to lend some more insight into what Salmon means to the scene.

Sam Bush

JamBase: On February 20, 2003 at The Fox in Boulder, you sat in with the band on "Ain't Gonna Work Tomorrow." We are featuring this song in our live album giveaway and wondered if you have any memories of this night, perhaps even this song?

Drew Emmitt, Sam Bush, Vince Herman - Leftover Salmon

Sam Bush: I learned that tune originally from The Country Gentlemen when I was 16 years old, so I'd always played the mandolin on it. But I find, one, when you have such a great player as Drew Emmitt playing mandolin, why would I need to play the mandolin? And two, they don't have a fiddler in the band, so I would rather play fiddle with Salmon. I don't know how he does it, but Drew can play faster than maybe anyone I've ever played with. Me, with a fiddle bow, it's all I can seem to do to just hang on with the guys. That's one thing I love about Salmon: they bring the energy to the table that not many bands can, so basically, all I gotta do is hang on. They've already set the groove and it's my job just to keep up with 'em.

JamBase: There are a lot of instances when you've sat in with Salmon over the years. What else comes to mind?

Sam Bush: I can remember one great time, New Year's Eve 1999 going into Y2K. We were staying in downtown Denver, and back then, there was the Y2K scare of not knowing what was going to go wrong with the country, the electronic grids and what have you, and I remember many storefronts downtown having plywood over the windows! It was a little odd. So, we get to the Salmon gig and everything's back and fun again, and Salmon has a costume for everyone to wear, and I remember having a great time jamming with the guys that night; it was a truly wonderful experience. And we did sort of a musical parade through the audience, so to speak, in our costumes, and we were about two-thirds of the way through the audience and all of a sudden something smacked me in the forehead so hard that I actually saw colors, and it was a big ice cube that someone had thrown! It hit me right in the forehead, ended up making an egg on my head. And I thought, "Okay, I'm going to leave the audience procession to the young folks from now on."

I remember another time as well. We were all in Boulder to pay tribute to Mark Vann by getting to sit in with Salmon, and I had been to see Mark earlier in the hospital that day down in Denver. As a cancer survivor, I always want to try to see my brothers that are going through it. I really loved Mark a lot, and he obviously, of course, was a driving force in that band. Basically, I felt like Mark brought the work ethic to the band. He was a true professional.

JamBase: Thinking about Leftover Salmon's 20 year history, how do you feel they have most significantly influenced the music world?

Mark Vann - Leftover Salmon

Sam Bush: Well, you can look down a ladder of progression in music, and see where some bands may have influenced others. Coming from the band New Grass Revival for 18 years, I know the bands that we were influenced by, bands like The Osborne Brothers, Jim & Jesse, The Country Gentlemen and The Dillards, bands that had already strayed away from bluegrass. Even though I grew up loving The Stanley Brothers and Bill Monroe and Flatt and Scruggs, we tended to be more influenced by the more progressive-style bluegrass bands. So there already was progressive bluegrass before we came along. And then bands like us, Breakfast Special from the Northeast, the New Deal String Band from North Carolina, we came along - we being NGR - and then as the years roll by, then we influenced bands like Leftover Salmon and others.

So, NGR is long broke up, Salmon is going strong, and I think you can see where they influenced a lot of people who wanted to play music, especially musicians interested in acoustic instruments. I would venture to say Salmon did a lot, maybe more than anyone else for a period of years, to influence young people; by young I mean kids in their teens, to want to play bluegrass-style instruments. So you can see a band like Salmon that can do reggae and rock & roll but also play the fast and furious jamgrass and newgrass, that they were very influential for a lot of young musicians that got interested in mandolins, banjos, and acoustic guitar from listening to Leftover Salmon. In that way I believe they were very influential for the furtherance of acoustic music and progressive-style bluegrass.

JamBase: Obviously, you and NGR were a huge influence on Salmon. In what ways have they influenced you or your music?

Sam Bush: I think they've influenced me in that just playing with them and feeling the energy, helps me remember that one of the things I love about music is the onstage energy and the communication with the audience. So, in that way, they've influenced me and encouraged me to keep playing and keep the energy cycle going and the circle of communication with the audience.

Continue reading for interviews with David Lowery and Ronnie McCoury...

Ronnie McCoury - Del McCoury Band & The Travelin' McCourys

JamBase: You've collaborated with Leftover Salmon many times over the years. Can you share some memories?

Ronnie McCoury & Drew Emmitt

Ronnie McCoury: It's funny, last night the Emmitt-Nershi Band came to Nashville and I played a gig and they came to the show and I jammed with Drew last night! We're just really good friends.

I don't know exactly the first time that I played [with them], probably some place like Telluride. But the first time we did a co-bill would've been at a place called The NorVa in Norfolk, Virginia. I'm really bad with the timeline here, but I'm thinking it was about 2001. We got up and played some stuff together, basically the two bands, my dad's [Del McCoury] band and their [Leftover Salmon] band. And from that, it led to booking a string of shows and doing a tour called "Under The Influence." Basically, it was kind of a play on "under the influence of my dad" a little bit. You know what I mean? And we went out for about a month, bouncing around the country together, and just had a great time.

And I'll tell you what, besides the collaborating and the singing and all that stuff, one thing that we got from that is that was the first time that we all really plugged in. It was kind of funny, "under the influence," it turned us into that, too. And my dad, too. I've been playing with dad since 1981, and that was the first time that I remembered him getting a guitar plugged in. There wasn't any kind of distortion, it was still acoustic, but still...Coming from our world, all acoustic, that was a big deal.

JamBase: Was that Salmon's idea, or just a spontaneous thing?

Ronnie McCoury: Well, they were playing all plugged in, and we were playing like we do normally with two or three mics. We play with microphones that pick up from all directions called omnidirectional, that's how we play, and it picks up from two or three feet. So, we were out with those guys and we couldn't get onstage and do the same thing. We actually tried to, the first night or two, playing around our mic, and you just can't compete. The crowd can't hear you; you can't hear yourself. So, one night, Vince just gave Dad a guitar and plugged it in. And I knew by that time, we figured we'd better try and get some pickups at least and see what we can do because I knew we were going to be doing stuff together in the show, not like just jumping up and playing at a festival or whatever. So we kinda had it arranged that we would do that, but I wasn't sure what my dad was going to do. Well, he took that guitar from Vince, strummed across it and heard that volume and it was good! And that really is the beginning of us doing that.

JamBase: Was it like Dylan at Newport? Was there any kind of resistance among the traditional bluegrass crowd, or was it a natural absorption into the modern idea?

Del McCoury Band by Dave Vann

Ronnie McCoury: Exactly what you said. I couldn't have put it any better. Sometimes you don't hear bad news or if somebody doesn't like it, but I never heard anything. My dad is someone who is very open-minded and goes with the flow, as opposed to a lot of guys who would never even do that. To me, that was a turning point for us in the band, knowing that we could do that if we needed to do it.

So, we had some really good times, and on some nights off we'd just go hang out and really bonded with all the guys [in Salmon]. I can't say enough about the friendship we have. And we did some recording, The Nashville Sessions [Hollywood Records, 1999], with them, and dad sang with Drew on a song called "Midnight Blues." A really good recording, I think, really a classic.

JamBase: Looking back on the past 20 years, what do you think that Salmon has brought to the music world in general?

Ronnie McCoury: There have been bands somewhat like that, say New Grass Revival, which is their roots. But what they did is they took it another step and really blended even more different music together. There was really nothing else like it, and there still isn't. I don't think there's any other band that puts that combination together quite like that. Really, with the keyboards and the different sounds with the bluegrass, the blending of the music, it's something that I hadn't heard before and haven't heard since.

Continue reading for the David Lowery interview...

David Lowery - Cracker

JamBase: Do you remember how you first came into contact with Leftover Salmon?

David Lowery

David Lowery: I can't remember what festival it was, but there were a couple festivals we played one summer where we kept running into them, and I just liked them. I just thought they played well, had good chemistry, there were just a lot of cool things about [their music]. And mainly Vince [Herman, Leftover Salmon], Johnny [Hickman, Cracker] and I just ended up palling around at these festivals. I don't remember exactly but somehow, we ended up onstage together and we played a couple Cracker songs, and it was a blast. And what it led to was that they were coming through town and I played with them again just as a guest musician, and they were going to be coming back through town about three weeks later, and I said, "Hey, why don't you guys just come into my studio when there's a couple days off in your schedule, and we'll just see what we can record?" So as it ended up, the simplest thing to do was for us to record essentially a lot of songs that me and Johnny Hickman had written.

JamBase: The O Cracker, Where Art Thou? album?

David Lowery: Yeah. So basically, over the course of a summer and then a year, we ended up hanging out together a lot and doing some jamming, but the real connection between the bands was when we made this record. And we didn't really have a plan or anything like that; that's why we just did a bunch of Cracker songs in a different vein with them. But the cool thing about it was the whole recording session, once the crew and my engineer at the studio got everything set up, it really just became more like a bacchanalian feast. It became more about drinking, smoking cigars, or whatever else. There was a pretty nice restaurant across the street from my studio that they completely fell in love with, and we were constantly just eating, drinking, smoking, and occasionally playing a song. And there was like 48 hours of this. And then right after the holidays we just kind of roughly mixed it, and that was the record. But it really was just like something you'd do in another country or something, like a two-and-a-half-day party that involved recording and playing music. Not in a bad way, it was like something that musicians have been doing for thousands of years.

JamBase: I think a lot of people sort of imagine that as the rock & roll fantasy lifestyle, like that's what musicians do for every album.

Billy Nershi & Vince Herman - Leftover Salmon

David Lowery: Mmm hmm, but they don't! But that's what those sessions were [like], and [the album] is just a great documentation of that, and I'm very happy with it. And that just sort of bonded the two bands together, and kind of introduced our audiences to each other. You know, they're kind of like "our guys." In some ways, they don't exactly fit. They're a little bit the odd man out in the jam world, because they lean a little more bluegrass, more traditional than most, and Cracker is sort of the odd man out in the alternative world because we do lean towards country and the more jammy stuff. And so we are sort of the odd man out in that world, and so there's a kindred spirit connection there.

JamBase: So, how would you say working with Leftover Salmon has influenced your music, or you personally?

David Lowery: Well, like I said, I never had really recorded a record quite in the way that we recorded that record that we did together. And since that time, it's not like I've ever done any Cracker records that way, but at our studio, with certain artists that I'm involved in recording or producing, I have adopted sort of a much more informal "let's eat, let's drink, let's do this, and we'll record and see what happens," approach on some projects that I have recorded there.

Also, Johnny and I are going to do something with this [Leftover Salmon] 20th anniversary party, too. We will be joining the Leftover Salmon guys on January 2 at the Ogden Theatre. We're playing New Year's Eve in Denver, so we're just going to stay and go to the party and play, which is going to be great. Basically, on their home turf, it'll be fantastic.

JamBase: What about Leftover Salmon's influence on the music world in general?

David Lowery: Well, I believe that they are the guys that brought bluegrass to the jam world, and you see a lot of that now. It's everywhere, and they brought that in; they made that part of it. Before, it was more jazz-based, and now it seems there's more roots-based stuff, and clearly, they were the first ones to really do that. And [they have] just good ensemble playing, with solos but rooted to a pretty traditional song structure. I think it was a really necessary thing to happen in the scene, and they did that well.

Continue reading to download Part 3 of our FREE Leftover Salmon live double album...

You can download Part 3 of the Leftover Salmon Celebrating 20 Years sampler HERE.

Just unzip the folder and play. If you drag in to iTunes, all show information, comments, and even album art will be imported and displayed. Download and add each part to your iTunes or burn to CDs as they become available to complete the double album set!

Track Listing for Part 3 of the Leftover Salmon Celebrating 20 Years sampler:

17. Austin Five (Mark Vann Original, Never Released) 5:53
03/26/2001 The Canopy - Urbana, IL
Band: Vince Herman, Drew Emmitt, Mark Vann, Bill McKay, Greg Garrison, Jose Martinez
Songwriter/Composer Credits: Mark Vann

18. Teen Angst (with David Lowery) 5:12
09/24 & 09/25/2002 David Lowery's Studio - Richmond, VA
Band: Vince Herman, Drew Emmitt, Noam Pikelny, Bill McKay, Greg Garrison, Jose Martinez
Songwriter/Composer Credits: David Faragher/David Lowery/John Hickman - Cracker

19. Dark Hollow (with Del McCoury) 4:09
11/09/2002 The NorVa - Norfolk, VA
Band: Vince Herman, Drew Emmitt, Noam Pikelny, Bill McKay, Greg Garrison, Jose Martinez
Songwriter/Composer Credits: Bill Browning

20. Rocky Road Blues (with Mike Gordon) 4:30
12/04/2002 Higher Ground - Winooski, VT
Band: Vince Herman, Drew Emmitt, Noam Pikelny, Bill McKay, Greg Garrison, Jose Martinez
Songwriter/Composer Credits: Bill Monroe

21. Ain't No Use (with David Grisman) 7:28
01/29/2003 McNear's Mystic Theatre - Petaluma, CA
Band: Vince Herman, Drew Emmitt, Noam Pikelny, Bill McKay, Greg Garrison, Jose Martinez
Songwriter/Composer Credits: Joseph Modeliste/Arthur L Neville/Leo Nocentelli/George Porter Jr.

22. Ain't Gonna Work Tomorrow (with Sam Bush and Ross Martin) 6:47
02/20/2003 Fox Theater - Boulder, CO
Band: Vince Herman, Drew Emmitt, Noam Pikelny, Bill McKay, Greg Garrison, Jose Martinez
Songwriter/Composer Credits: Traditionally arranged by Leftover Salmon

Download Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

Check back for Part 4 of our Leftover Salmon 20 Year Celebration featuring the final batch of free music to complete the double album!

JamBase | Everywhere
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Tues Double Shot: Skerik

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:14:00 PST

ATTACK OF THE SAXOPHONIC COLOSSUS!

Skerik

In the tradition '70s FM radio, JamBase's Tuesday tradition offers readers a pair of fab tunes from an artist worthy of the Double Shot treatment.

This week we give the nod to Skerik, one of the most versatile, overall gifted and downright adventurous musicians on the planet right now (a view held by not a few folks, including JamBase's Associate Editor Dennis Cook). He's a musical mad hatter and a fizzy catalyst for unsafe, thoroughly satisfying testifying, and frankly we think he's freakin' great. Here's a couple killer-diller ditties with Ski-wreck in full swing.

Jazz Fest: 2010 Lineup/Dates

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:18:00 PST

PEARL JAM, MMJ, CROWES, WSP, ARETHA AND MORE!

Jazz Fest '09 by Adam McCullough

The usual dizzying assortment of musical talent will descend on New Orleans for the 41st New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. The first weekend takes place April 23-25, 2010, and the second week is April 29-May 2, 2010. The lineups thus far are clustered below.

APRIL 23 - 25 (1st WEEKEND)

Lionel Richie, Allman Brothers Band, My Morning Jacket, Anita Baker, Dr. John, Darius Rucker, The Black Crowes, Steel Pulse, Jonny Lang, Band of Horses, The Levon Helm Band, Drake, Keely Smith, Baaba Maal, George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic, Imagination Movers, Ledisi, King Sunny Ade & His African Beats, Better Than Ezra, Blind Boys of Alabama, Elvin Bishop, funky Meters, Sax for Stax featuring Gerald Albright, Kirk Whalum, and Jeff Lorber, Marcia Ball, Shawn Colvin, Pastor Smokie Norful, Terence Blanchard, Cowboy Mouth, The Campbell Brothers, Chocolate Milk, Sam Bush, The Voice of the Wetlands Allstars, Joe Lovano Us Five, Donald Harrison, Lena Prima, Tab Benoit, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux & the Golden Eagles, Rockin' Dopsie Jr. & the Zydeco Twisters, Big Sam's Funky Nation, Bonerama, Irvin Mayfield & the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Deacon John, Walter �Wolfman� Washington & the Roadmasters, Davell Crawford and One Foot in the Blues with special guests Dr. John and Jon Cleary, The Bounce Extravaganza feat. Big Freedia, Sissy Nobby, Katie Redd, Magnolia Shorty, and DJ Poppa, Bob French & the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band 100 Year Anniversary Celebration, Jon Cleary: Piano, Bass & Drums, Irma Thomas' Tribute to Mahalia Jackson, The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong feat. Wycliffe Gordon, James Andrews, and Victor Goines, Papa Grows Funk, Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience, Theresa Andersson, Jewel Brown with the Heritage Hall Jazz Band, Joe Krown Trio feat. Walter Washington & Russell Batiste, New Orleans Klezmer Allstars, The Radiators--Pre-War Blues, Wayne Toups & Zydecajun, Grayson Capps, Kenny Neal, Treme Brass Band, Dr. Michael White & the Original Liberty Jazz Band feat. Thais Clark, Jeremy Davenport, Maurice Brown Effect, James Andrews & the Crescent City Allstars, Storyville Stompers Brass Band, Glen David Andrews, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas, Roddie Romero & the Hub City Allstars, Honey Island Swamp Band, OTRA, Leah Chase, Bill Summers & Jazalsa, Savoy Center of Eunice Saturday Cajun Jam, Mia X, Cheeky Blakk, and Ms. Tee, Wayne Toups & Zydecajun, Bruce Daigrepont Cajun Band, Rotary Downs, The New Orleans Bingo! Show, Little Freddie King Blues Band, Andrew Duhon & the Lonesome Crows, Rumba Buena, Spencer Bohren, Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes, Louisiana LeRoux with Tab Benoit, Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble, Red Stick Ramblers, Guitar Slim, Jr., Kipori Woods, Kim Carson Band, Ivoire Spectacle feat. Seguenon Kone, The Revealers, Shades of Praise, Lionel Ferbos & the Palm Court Jazz Band, Sammy Rimington, The Electrifying Crownseekers, Tribute to Juanita Brooks feat. Betty Shirley, Germaine Bazzle, and Leah Chase, The James Rivers Movement, Leo Jackson & the Melody Clouds, Susan Cowsill, David Egan, Panorama Jazz Band, George French & the Storyville Jazz Band, New Orleans Night Crawlers, Midnite Disturbers, Ninth Ward Navajo Mardi Gras Indians, Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers' Tribute to Rockin' Dopsie, Sr., Frankie Ford, Lost Bayou Ramblers, Reggie Hall & the Twilighters, Gal Holiday & the Honky Tonk Revue, Mas Mamones, Lil' Buck Sinegal Blues Band, Jesse McBride presents the Next Generation, Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Septet, Michael Ward, Bleu Orleans, Mahogany Brass Band, Untouchables, Furious Five, and Big Steppers Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Creole Wild West and Golden Star Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Mark Braud's New Orleans Jazz Giants, Gospel Soul Children, Blessed, Watson Memorial Teaching Ministries, Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble, Clive Wilson's New Orleans Serenaders feat. Butch Thompson, N.O.C.C.A. Jazz Ensemble, Judy Spellman, Leroy Jones, Olympia Aid, New Look, and The First Division Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Golden Comanche, Golden Blade, and Wild Mohicans Mardi Gras Indians, Free Agents Brass Band, The Wiseguys, Jambalaya Cajun Band, Jeffery Broussard & the Creole Cowboys, D.L. Menard & the Louisiana Aces, The Revivalists, Rockie Charles, Robert �1 String� Gibson, Beth Patterson, Patrice Fisher & the Honduran Connection, Original Dixieland Jazz Band, Tommy Sancton Quintet, UNO Jazz Allstars, Smitty Dee's Brass Band, Comanche Hunters, Semolian Warriors, and Black Feathers Mardi Gras Indians, Willis Prudhomme & Zydeco Express, Goldman Thibodeaux & the Lawtell Playboys, Marc Stone Band, Betsy McGovern & the Poor Clares, Alexis Marceaux, Julio y Cesar, Sonny Bourg & the Bayou Blues Band, Chris Clifton, Miss Sophie Lee, June Gardner, The Guitar Woodshed feat. Steve Masakowski, Todd Duke, and Jake Eckert, Mount Hermon BC Mass Choir, Tonia Scott & Anointed Voices, Resurrection Baptist Church Mass Choir of Schertz, TX, Brass Bass Ensemble, Jai Reed, Loyola University Jazz Ensemble, Real Untouchables Brass Band, Divine Ladies, Dumaine Gang, and Ladies of Unity Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Young Pinstripe Brass Band, Johnette Downing, Kat Walker Jazz Combo, Guardians of the Flame, Single Ladies, Keep N it Real, and Nine Times Men Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Voices of Distinction, Nineveh BC Mass Choir, Kevin Thompson & the Sensational Six, Red Hot Brass Band, Lindsay Mendez, God's House Westbank Cathedral Choir, The Gospel Stars, Da Souljas Brass Band, Single Men, Family Ties, and Big Nine Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Delgado Community College Jazz Ensemble, Natasha Richard of Canada, Culu Children's Traditional African Dance Ensemble, Jacquelyn Mayfield, Golden Voices Community Choir, John Lee & the Heralds of Christ, Greater Antioch Full Gospel Mass Choir, Black Mohawks, Seminoles, and Red, White & Blue Mardi Gras Indians, Archdiocese of New Orleans Mass Gospel Choir, The Bester Singers and the Dynamic Smooth Family Gospel Singers, New Orleans Young Traditional Brass Band with the Heel to Toe Steppers, Franklin Avenue Baptist Church Mass Choir, Carrollton Hunters Mardi Gras Indians�

APRIL 29 - May 2 (2nd WEEKEND)

Pearl Jam, Aretha Franklin, Van Morrison, Widespread Panic, The Neville Brothers, B.B. King, Jeff Beck, Irma Thomas, Gipsy Kings, The Dead Weather, Elvis Costello & the Sugarcanes, Teena Marie, Allen Toussaint, Gov't Mule, Average White Band, Jose Feliciano, Steve Martin with the Steep Canyon Rangers, Maze feat. Frankie Beverly, Kirk Franklin, Wayne Shorter Quartet, Gil Scott Heron, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Clarence Carter, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band, Tye Tribbett, Juvenile & DJ Mannie Fresh, Take Six, Sugarfoot's Ohio Players, Galactic, Stanley Clarke Band feat. Hiromi, Old Crow Medicine Show, Richie Havens, Marcus Miller, Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars, Pete Fountain, The Radiators, Blues Traveler, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Anders Osborne, Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers, Rebirth Brass Band, Sonny Landreth, Elvis Perkins in Dearland, Martin Sexton, Bernard Allison, Ruthie Foster, Jimmy Johnson Band, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Cyril Neville & Tribe 13, Dee Dee Bridgewater - A Celebration of Lady Day, Ellis Marsalis, Buckwheat Zydeco, Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk, Clarence �Frogman� Henry, Louis Prima, Jr., Henry Butler, The Roots of Music Marching Crusaders, Selvy Singers of Arkansas, Aaron Neville, Chris Thomas King, Dala, Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band, The Davell Crawford Singers, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, Inspirational Souls of Chicago, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, John Mooney & Bluesiana, subdudes, Iguanas, DJ Captain Charles, The Dixie Cups, Sherman Washington & the Zion Harmonizers, The Jon Batiste Band, Nicholas Payton, The Four Freshman, Amanda Shaw & the Cute Guys, Russell Batiste & Friends feat. Jason Neville, Pine Leaf Boys, Eric Lindell, C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band, Shamarr Allen & the Underdawgs, Banu Gibson with Swing Out & Tap!, Tribute to Juanita Brooks feat. Wanda Rouzan, Barbara Shorts, and Topsy Chapman, John Boutte, Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, Luther Kent, Astral Project, Germaine Bazzle, Soul Rebels, New Birth Brass Band, Big Chief Bo Dollis & the Wild Magnolias, Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole, PJ Morton, New Orleans Spiritualettes, The Johnson Extension, Orange Kellin's New Orleans Deluxe Orchestra, Bobby Lonero's Tribute to Louis Prima, Don Vappie & the Creole Jazz Serenaders, The Allen Toussaint Jazzity Project, Charmaine Neville, MyNamesIsJohnMichael, Kirk Joseph's Backyard Groove, Paul Sanchez & the Rolling Road Show, Bobby Lounge, Big Al Carson, Lynn Drury, Vivaz!, Nova NOLA feat. Sasha Masakowski, Topsy Chapman & Solid Harmony, Coco Robicheaux & the Swamp Monsters, Fredy Omar con su Banda, Loose Marbles, Heavenly Melodies, Betty Winn & One A-Chord, Kent Jordan, Shannon Powell's Organ Combo feat. David Torkanowsky and Charlie Gabriel, Forgotten Souls, Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie, TBC Brass Band, Westbank Steppers, Valley of Silent Men, and Pigeon Town Steppers Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Apache Hunters, Wild Red Flame, and Mohawk Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Jockimo's Groove feat. War Chief Juan and Billy Iuso, Elysian Fieldz, Feufollet, Creole Zydeco Farmers, The Hadley J. Castille Family & the Sharecroppers Band, GROUPA - Nordic Folk Fusion, Tin Men, R. Scully Rough 7, Creole String Beans, Ernie Vincent & the Top Notes, Margie Perez, Jumpin' Johnny Sansone & the XL Band, Kristin Diable, Jimmy Robinson, Kenny Bill Stinson & the ARK-LA-Mystics, Mem Shannon & the Membership, Bamboula 2000, Kora Konnection feat. Morikeba Kouyate of Senegal and Thierno Dioubate of Guinea, Papa Blue Viking Jazz Band of Sweden, Onward Brass Band, Dukes of Dixieland, Tim Laughlin, Val & the Love Alive Fellowship Choir, Jo �Cool� Davis, Zulu Male Ensemble, Phillip Manuel, Roderick Paulin, SUBR Jazzy Jags, Pinstripe Brass Band, Original Prince of Wales and Original Lady Buckjumpers Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, New Orleans Indian Rhythm Section, Fi Yi Yi & the Mandingo Warriors, 101 Runners, Evan Christopher & Tom McDermott, New Leviathan Oriental Foxtrot Orchestra, Pfister Sisters, Walter Payton with Snapbeans and File Gumbo, Brother Tyrone, Driskill Mountain Boys, Sunpie & the Louisiana Sunspots, Thomas �Big Hat� Fields, Mark Adam Miller, Benny Grunch & the Bunch, J. Monque'D Blues Band, Mia Borders, Lars Edegran & the New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra, Classie Ballou & the Family Band, John Rankin, Jonny Frishberg & Bayou DeVille, DJ Soul Sister, Zion Trinity, AsheSon, Los Po-Boy-Citos, Kumbuka African Drum & Dance Collective, Donnie Bolden, Jr. & the Spirit of Elijah, Ebenezer Mass Choir, Keith Frank & the Soileau Zydeco Band, Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band, Voices of Peter Claver, Sean Johnson & the Wild Lotus Band, Mario Abney Quintet, Lady Rollers, Original C.T.C. Steppers, and Nine Times Ladies Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Baby Boyz Brass Band, Geronimo Hunters, 7th Ward Creole Hunters, and Young Magnolias Mardi Gras Indians, Lafayette Rhythm Devils, Joe Hall & the Cane Cutters, Eddie �ChopChops� Paris, Hot Club of New Orleans, Connie Jones & the Crescent City Jazz Band, Young Tuxedo Brass Band, Lady Jetsetters Social Aid & Pleasure Club, Ladies Sing the Blues feat. Gina Brown, Angela H. Bell, and Tereasa B., Julliard Jazz Ensemble, Craig Adams & Higher Dimensions of Praise, McDonogh #35 High School Gospel Choir, O. Perry Walker Charter High School Gospel Choir, Warren Storm, Willie Tee & Cypress, McMain High School Gospel Choir, Blodie's Jazz Jam, Xavier University Jazz Band, Tulane University Jazz Ensemble, Pinettes Brass Band, Scene Boosters, Ole & Nu Style Fellas, and Secondline Jammers Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, New Wave Brass Band, Red Hawk, Black Seminoles, and Black Eagles Mardi Gras Indians, Dwight & Connie Fitch with the St. Raymond/St. Leo the Great Choir, N'Fungola Sibo West African Dance Company, Marisa y Mariachi Agave, Grupo Sensacion, Dee-1, Lucky 7, Franklin IV, Mardi Gras Indian Orchestra, Ray Abshire, Bonsoir, Catin, Dillard University Jazz Ensemble, Jamil Sharif & the Jazz Professors, Rocks of Harmony, Some Like it Hot, Kid Simmons' Local International Allstars, The Wright Brothers, Tyronne Foster & the Arc Singers, St. Joseph the Worker Music Ministry, Heritage School of Music Band, New Generation, Undefeated Divas, and VIP Ladies Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Highsteppers Brass Band, Trouble Nation and Wild Apaches Mardi Gras Indians, David & Roselyn, Paulin Brothers Brass Band, Morning Star BC Mass Choir, Arthur Clayton & Purposely Anointed, Gloria Bell & the Revelation Gospel Singers, First Emmanuel Baptist Church Choir, White Cloud Hunters and Wild Tchoupitoulas Mardi Gras Indians, Tornado Brass Band, Lyle Henderson & Emmanuel, Pastor Terry Gullage & the Greater Mount Calvary Voices of Redemption Choir, Gospel Inspirations of Boutte, Ayla Miller, Original Four, Original Big 7, and Bon Temps Roulez Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Golden Sioux and Cherokee Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Nashville Children's Choir, Claudia Baumgartner, Saltimbanqui Puppet Theater of Mexico, Stephen Foster's Foster Family Program, Hazel & the Delta Ramblers, N'Kafu African Dance presented by Young Audiences, O. Perry Walker Kuumba Players, Jazz Fest Residency Showcase feat. Seva Venet and KIDSmART�

All Good Festival: 2010 Dates

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:01:00 PST

GET THOSE WISH LISTS FLOWING!

All Good '09 by Kenny Pusey

The 14th Annual All Good Music Festival will be held Thursday through Sunday, July 8-11 2010. Once again music fans nationwide will congregate atop the wonders of Marvin's Mountaintop in beautiful West Virginia to enjoy another weekend of no over-lapping sets from some of the nation's best performing artists.

While next year's bands are yet to be announced, the All Good Festival is making a "last call" for your wish-list of musicians. Tell event organizers who you want to see at the All Good Festival next year and it'll automatically enter you for a chance to at a free pair of tickets to the festival. Wish-list submissions can be submitted HERE, and will be accepted until Tuesday, December 22.

The All Good Festival is one of the Mid-Atlantic's most successful music and camping event and has featured past performances from Widespread Panic, Phil Lesh & Friends, Trey Anastasio, String Cheese Incident, Bob Weir & Rat Dog, moe,The Flaming Lips, Umphrey's McGee, Ben Harper and Relentless7, Keller Williams, Gov't Mule, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Les Claypool, Yonder Mountain String Band, Black Crowes, Medeski Martin & Wood, Leftover Salmon, North Mississippi Allstars, Burning Spear, The Disco Biscuits, The Avett Brothers, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe and many more.

RJD2: 2010 Tour, New Single

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 09:46:00 PST

RJD2 ANNOUNCES THIRD AND FOURTH LEGS OF HIS NATION-WIDE TOUR
RELEASES FIRST SINGLE FROM THE COLOSSUS

RJD2

RJD2 will be tirelessly touring the U.S. throughout the first part of the new year in support of his highly anticipated new release, The Colossus, out January 19 on his own new label, RJ's Electrical Connections.

RJ's 2010 tour will take him from coast to coast and well into the month of April. After touring the Southeast, Midwest and beyond, the third leg kicks off with a hometown show at Philadelphia's First Unitarian Church, followed by performances throughout New England, Canada, and the Midwest, before returning to Pennsylvania. The fourth leg is set for fans in both the Mountain and Pacific Time zones.

Also, last week, RJ released the first single off The Colossus, "Games You Can Win," featuring Grammy-nominated, Ethiopian-born artist Kenna. Check it out here.

Complete RJD2 Tour Dates
01/09/10 Sat 9:30 Club Washington, DC
01/10/10 Sun Cat's Cradle Carrboro, NC
01/11/10 Mon Visulite Theatre Charlotte, NC
01/12/10 Tue Live Wire Music Hall Savannah, GA
01/13/10 Wed The Social Orlando, FL
01/14/10 Thu Crowbar Tampa, FL
01/15/10 Fri Club Downunder Tallahassee, FL
01/16/10 Sat The Masquerade Atlanta, GA
01/17/10 Sun BottleTree Birmingham, AL
01/18/10 Mon Rhythm and Brews Chattanooga, TN
01/19/10 Tue The Valarium Knoxville, TN
01/20/10 Wed Orange Peel Asheville, NC
01/21/10 Thu Jefferson Theater Charlottesville, VA
01/22/10 Fri 123 Pleasant St. Morgantown, WV
02/05/10 Fri Southgate House Newport, KY
02/06/10 Sat Skully's Columbus, OH
02/07/10 Sun Headliners Music Hall Louisville, KY
02/08/10 Mon Exit/In Nashville, TN
02/09/10 Tue Hi Tone Memphis, TN
02/10/10 Wed Lyric Theatre Oxford, MS
02/11/10 Thu Tipitina's Uptown New Orleans, LA
02/12/10 Fri Spanish Moon Baton Rouge, LA
02/13/10 Sat Emo's Alternative Lounge Austin, TX
02/14/10 Sun Hailey's Denton, TX
02/15/10 Mon Cain's Ballroom Tulsa, OK
02/17/10 Wed The Record Bar Kansas City, MO
02/18/10 Thu The Blue Note Columbia, MO
02/19/10 Fri Grinnell College Grinnell, IA
02/20/10 Sat Canopy Club Urbana, IL
03/05/10 Fri First Unitarian Church Philadelphia, PA
03/06/10 Sat Music Hall Of Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY
03/07/10 Sun Highline Ballroom New York, NY
03/08/10 Mon Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA
03/09/10 Tue Jerky's Providence, RI
03/10/10 Wed La Tulipe Montreal, QC
03/11/10 Thu The Mod Club Toronto, ON
03/12/10 Fri Magic Stick Detroit, MI
03/13/10 Sat Metro Chicago, IL
03/15/10 Mon Triple Rock Social Club Minneapolis, MN
03/16/10 Tue Majestic Theatre Madison, WI
03/18/10 Thu Grog Shop Cleveland, OH
03/19/10 Fri Mr. Small's Theatre Pittsburgh, PA
04/02/10 Fri Bluebird Theater Denver, CO
04/03/10 Sat Henry Strater Theatre Durango, CO
04/04/10 Sun Rhythm Room Phoenix, AZ
04/05/10 Mon Casbah San Diego, CA
04/06/10 Tue El Rey Theatre Los Angeles, CA
04/07/10 Wed The Independent San Francisco, CA
04/08/10 Thu The Red Fox Tavern Eureka, CA
04/09/10 Fri Dante's Portland, OR
04/10/10 Sat Nightlight Bellingham, WA
04/11/10 Sun Neumos Seattle, WA

Assembly of Dust: NYE Video

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 09:33:00 PST

WARM UP TO MASSACHUSETTS GET DOWN

In anticipation of their two-night New Year's Eve run at Tupelo Music Hall in Salisbury, MA, Assembly of Dust is releasing a new video from last year's NYE performance each week leading up to the shows. Here's this week's sumptuous version of "Arc of the Sun" to whet your appetite for this year's festivities.

And here's the JamBase review of AOD's most recent release, Some Assembly Required. Quality stuff with oodles of jam scene superstars like Keller, Grace Potter, Bela Fleck and many more.

Opeth: 20th Anniversary Tour

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 09:05:00 PST

PREEMINENT PROGRESSIVE METAL BAND HITS TWO DECADES!

Mikael �kerfeldt by Olle Carlsson

Sweden's Opeth, one of the most revered and respected bands in the metal scene and beyond for the past two decades, will commemorate their twentieth anniversary in the of Spring 2010 with six exclusive shows that will take place across the globe in various international locales such as Stockholm, Sweden; Essen, Germany; Paris, France; London, UK; New York City, NY; and Los Angeles, CA.

"I can't believe it, but...fuck, we're celebrating 20 years. I've been in this band ever since I was 16. It's insane," says frontman Mikael �kerfeldt. "As far as I remember, we've never had a release party, never celebrated anything officially. Well, now is the time, you hear? We've set up a string of shows, six of them actually, around the world. To say that they will be super-exclusive is beyond an understatement. We've discussed the set list already and it seems like we'll pull out a few songs we've never played before, some of which fans all over the world have been demanding to hear for years and years. Our main agenda for these shows is to have 'fun' whilst trying to blow your fucking minds. You could say business as usual, but really, it'll be special. I can't stress enough how exclusive this will be. We will not add any more shows on top of the six that we've confirmed already, so please make up your mind early on whether you want to go or not - of course you fucking do- as I would assume there's quite a few of our fans that might be interested in seeing a thing like this." Akerfeldt said the band will spend the better part of January through March rehearsing for this special series of shows. "All to make you fucking happy! Okay, we'll be tight, very tight indeed. Come see us. It's a celebration."

At each show, the band will perform two sets. The first set will feature the band playing its breakthrough epic Blackwater Park in its entirety. The second set will consist of mixed material from the band's extensive catalog. The band will be playing for over two hours at carefully selected venues in order to achieve an element of intimacy and exclusivity, and an overall "You had to be there" vibe!

The venues include the famed and prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London, as well as the luxurious Lichtburg in Essen, the oldest fully seated cinema in Germany.

The band will offer exclusive VIP ticket packages to all shows, which include a laminated VIP pass exclusive to each show, access to sound check, a meet 'n' greet with Opeth, a t-shirt exclusive to that particular show, a signed tour program and a special edition CD/DVD of Blackwater Park, with a 5.1 mix and a 30-minute, never-before-seen documentary all nicely packaged in a hard cover digipack designed by artist Travis Smith. The special edition will be released in March 2010 through Sony Music. All the Opeth loot will be included in an Opeth rucksack. The VIP laminate will also allow early access to venues without seat allocation so that VIP's can get the best seats in the house.

Opeth 20th Anniversary Tour Dates
March 30 - Cirkus - Stockholm, Sweden
April 1 - Lichtburg - Essen, Germany
April 3 - Bataclan - Paris, France
April 5 - Royal Albert Hall - London, UK
April 7 - Terminal 5 - New York, NY
April 9 - The Wiltern - Los Angeles, CA

For more on Opeth check out JamBase's 2009 interview with Mikael �kerfeldt and our rave review for their San Francisco show last year.

Big Light December CA Mini-Run

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:08:00 PST

BIG LIGHT PLAY THREE CALIFORNIA SHOWS THIS WEEK

Big Light

After a busy 2009 that included a slew of festival appearances (Outside Lands, High Sierra, and Wanderlust to name a few) and collaborations with artists such as Nathan Moore and Umphrey's McGee keyboardist Joel Cummins, San Francisco-based rockers Big Light will hit the road for three back-to-back shows this week, culminating with a hometown appearance at The Fillmore Auditorium on Friday, December 18, opening for Steve Kimock Crazy Engine.

Taking a short break from work on their first full-length studio LP with co-producer Jeremy Black (Apollo Sunshine), the band will make stops in L.A. on Wednesday, December 16 and Santa Cruz on Thursday, December 17 in addition to their performance at The Fillmore. These shows will serve as Big Light's send-off to 2009 as well as a preview of material from the band's forthcoming record.

Big Light California Tour Dates
12/16/09 Wed The Mint Los Angeles, CA
12/17/09 Thu Crepe Place Santa Cruz, CA
12/18/09 Fri The Fillmore San Francisco, CA*

* Supporting Steve Kimock Crazy Engine

Music on the Tube: 12/14 - 12/20

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:40:00 PST

Late Night Music Lineups

Can't make it to any shows this week? Check out live music on the tube...

Late Show with David Letterman

Mon, December 14 - Alicia Keys
Tue, December 15 - Leona Lewis
Wed, December 16 - Kris Allen
Thu, December 17 - Matisyahu

Jay Leno Show

Tue, December 15 - Nick Lachey
Wed, December 16 - John Mayer
Thu, December 17 - Mary J. Blige

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien

Mon, December 14 - Adam Lambert
Tue, December 15 - Norah Jones
Thu, December 17 - Robin Thicke
Fri, December 18 - Foreigner

Jimmy Kimmel Live

Mon, December 14 - Wolfmother (Repeat)
Tue, December 15 - Michael McDonald
Wed, December 16 - Norah Jones
Thu, December 17 - Allison Iraheta
Fri, December 18 - Mary J. Blige

Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Mon, December 14 - Reba McEntire
Tue, December 15 - The Broken West

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Mon, December 14 - Chevelle
Wed, December 16 - Raekwon
Thu, December 17 - Boyz II Men
Fri, December 18 - Ronnie Spector

Last Call With Carson Daly

Wed, December 16 - Gossip
Thu, December 17 - Franz Ferdinand
Fri, December 18 - Snoop Dogg

Other Shows of Interest

Mon, December 14 - Colbert Report w/ musical guest Snoop Dogg
Tue, December 15 - Colbert Report w/ musical guest Alicia Keys
Sat, December 19 - Saturday Night Live w/ musical guest Muse