#SesameSingsThe80s is worthy of your 5 minutes today, if not just for them doing a parody of Super Freak.
Rebel in the Rye Trailer But Doesn’t Reveal Where Ducks Go In The Wintertime
The life of celebrated but reclusive author, J.D. Salinger, who gained worldwide fame with the publication of his novel, The Catcher in the Rye is seen in the new docudrama, Rebel In The Rye. Nicholas Hoult plays the controversial writer, with the film being released on September 15.
An homage to David Bowie in Sound and Vision
Catalan director collective CANADA’s film Sound and Vision a colorful homage to late pop icon David Bowie.
Buy RUSH’s Geddy Lee Print, Help The Animals
The Canadian Wildlife Federation is making available 150 limited edition numbered and autographed prints of wildlife photography taken and donated by Rush bassist Geddy Lee.
CWF’s “RUSH of Nature” initiative gives RUSH fans an opportunity to share in Lee’s love of wildlife photography while helping support CWF’s wildlife conservation programs across the country. The 150 prints will each sell for $150 as part of CWF’s Canada 150 celebration designed to encourage Canadians to #ConserveTheWonder.
“We are extremely thankful that Geddy is as adept with a camera as he is with his bass,” said Shauna Pichosky, CWF Director of Marketing. “A print Geddy offered us in 2016 sold out in three hours. RUSH fans are loyal and when a member of the band aligns with a cause fans know it’s a worthy one. This initiative gives fans an opportunity to get Geddy’s autograph on a unique creation from the artist.”
The new photograph was taken during Lee’s trip to South Africa earlier this year and the stunning numbered prints are expected to sell just as quickly.
“I spent the month of February exploring different parts of the Western Cape,” said Lee. “While waiting under a tree in between rain showers we were able to follow and capture this fantastic Orange Breasted Sunbird who was resting amongst the beautiful and endemic Fynbos growths.”
The prints go on sale July 29th at midnight eastern time through the CWF their online store ShopCWF which is also Geddy’s birthday.
Bruce Dickinson Announces His Long-Awaited Memoir, “What Does This Button Do?”
Bruce Dickinson is best known as frontman for the multi-million selling giants of heavy metal, Iron Maiden, with whom he has enjoyed worldwide success for 25 years. However, his story outside of Maiden is equally remarkable. Prior to joining that band Dickinson enjoyed stardom with Samson, while his post-Maiden solo career has brought much critical success. Further away from his day job, Dickinson is a true renaissance man. A member of the British Fencing team, he also hosts his own show on flagship digital radio station, BBC 6Music, is a best-selling fiction author, and TV presenter for the Discovery Channel and Sky One. Dickinson is also employed by the commercial airline Astreus as a first officer, and even participated in a mercy mission to rescue British residents from Beirut during the summer of 2006.
And now, he’s written a long-awaited memoir called “What Does This Button Do?”
Pioneers of Britain’s nascent Rock & Metal scene back in the late 1970s, Iron Maiden smashed its way to the top, thanks in no small part to the high-octane performances, operatic singing style, and stage presence of its second, but twice-longest-serving, lead singer, Bruce Dickinson. As Iron Maiden’s front man—first from 1981 to 1993, and then from 1999 to the present—Dickinson has been, and remains, a man of legend.
But OTT front man is just one of the many hats Bruce wears. In addition to being one of the world’s most storied and well-respected singers and songwriters, he is an airline captain, aviation entrepreneur, motivational speaker, beer brewer, novelist, radio presenter, and film scriptwriter. He has also competed as a world-class level fencer. Often credited as a genuine polymath Bruce, in his own words (and handwritten script in the first instance!), sets forth many personal observations guaranteed to inspire curious souls and hard-core fans alike.
Dickinson turns his unbridled creativity, passion, and anarchic humour to reveal some fascinating stories from his life, including his thirty years with Maiden, his solo career, his childhood within the eccentric British school system, his early bands, fatherhood and family, and his recent battle with cancer.
Bold, honest, intelligent and very funny, his memoir is an up-close look inside the life, heart, and mind of one of the most unique and interesting men in the world; a true icon of rock.
Mercury Prize ‘Albums of the Year’ Nominees Include Ed Sheeran, The xx
The Hyundai Mercury Prize ‘Albums of the Year’ celebrates and promotes the best of UK music, recognising artistic achievement across a range of contemporary music genres. The Shortlist was chosen by an independent judging panel and revealed at our Launch event, hosted by BBC Music’s Huw Stephens.
The 2017 Awards Show will take place on Thursday 14 September at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith. The event will feature live performances from many of the shortlisted artists and the evening will culminate in the announcement of the overall winner of the 2017 Hyundai Mercury Prize for ‘Album of the Year’.
The Prize’s broadcast partner, BBC Music, will be providing live television and radio coverage of the event on BBC Four and BBC Radio 6 Music. The BBC Four show will feature performances from the artists on the night, building up to moment the winner is announced, live. Ahead of this, BBC Two will broadcast a 30 minute documentary previewing the shortlisted artists for the 2017 Prize, speaking to artists from the vanguard of grime, performance poetry and guitar rock, as well as past Mercury winners who are shortlisted again this year for the prestigious prize. BBC Radio 6 Music will also be broadcasting live on the night and interviewing the 2017 Hyundai Mercury Prize winner.
The Prize’s digital music partner, Apple Music, will be promoting the Mercury Prize from the shortlist announcement through to the Awards Show in September. Apple Music will also help music fans discover new music with dedicated playlists featuring the shortlisted artists, albums and more.
The full Mercury prize 2017 shortlist
Alt-J: Relaxer
The Big Moon: Love in the 4th Dimension
Blossoms: Blossoms
Loyle Carner: Yesterday’s Gone
Dinosaur: Together, As One
Glass Animals: How to Be a Human Being
J Hus: Common Sense
Sampha: Process
Ed Sheeran: ÷
Stormzy: Gang Signs & Prayer
Kate Tempest: Let Them Eat Chaos
The xx: I See You
Chicago’s Windy City Smokeout: Country music, beer, and BBQ
By: W. Andrew Powell, The GATE
What’s better than a country music festival on a warm, summer day? After checking out Chicago’s Windy City Smokeout, I’d have to say it’s a country music festival that’s also packed with craft beer and some of America’s best BBQ pitmasters.
Jake Owen, Kip Moore, Lee Brice, LANco, Jana Kramer, and over 25 other bands took to the stages at Windy City Smokeout on the July 14th weekend, and the fans lined up to sample chicken wings, brisket, corn, burgers, and even a crawfish boil while enjoying some of the best craft beer around–from Moody Tongue, 18th Street, Boulevard, Urban Chestnut, and Brooklyn Brewery, to name a few. It was a great trip, and Windy City Smokeout filled the three days of the festival with a great mix of talent, food, and beer that I enjoyed from the first act, to the last.
Plus, the festival hosted some of the nicest people I have had the pleasure of meeting, especially at a big event. From teaching me how to eat crawfish, to offering up space for me in front of the stage to get photos, I was constantly impressed with the fans at Windy City Smokeout.
The Music
The lineup was solidly satisfying, and represented a fantastic group of country talent that was clearly having a blast with the fans. From the bigger names, to up-and-comers, Windy City Smokeout had old-school country, alt-country, country folk, Americana, and pop country throughout the weekend.
The main stage drew the biggest crowds, but I have to admit that the Jack Daniel’s Whiskey Jam Stage was my favorite because it really let you get up-close and personal with the acts, and the artists all seem to be on their way to bigger gigs.
On Friday, I was especially a fan of Morgan Evans (his first single “Kiss Somebody” is out now), Clayton Anderson, and The Steel Woods, who took me back to old-school honky-tonk country with a solid rock edge.
Up on the main stage, the crowds gathered for Jake Owen, Jackie Lee, Steve Moakler, and one of my other favorites, LANco, whose song “Trouble Maker” made for one of the better moments of Friday night. LANco’s lead singer Brandon Lancaster just seemed to have a blast with the crowd, and at one point brought a drum down in front of the stage. All the acts brought their best to the stages, making you really feel part of the performances.
Saturday I really enjoyed Midland on the main stage, and Levi Hummon on the Jam Stage, not to mention the effervescent Jana Kramer, but the breakaway acts for the day for me were Michigan Rattlers, and Kip Moore. Michigan Rattlers felt like a duo who could pack a stadium with their talent and energy, but they were down-to-earth and electric.
Meanwhile Kip Moore is the easy-going prince of feel good country music. The crowd adored him, and he just rocked the stage throughout his set. He’s a solid performer that went just right with the amazing beer, and BBQ.
If I had to level one complaint at the festival, it was just that there were not nearly enough women up on stage. In total I don’t think there were more than three women performing all weekend, and out of about thirty acts, that seems lacking, to be honest.
The BBQ
The lineup of BBQ joints and pitmasters was a thing of beauty, and Windy City Smokeout really had a great variety of food and flavours. The highlights were definitely the events, like the Whole Hog Brunch by Whistle Pig Whiskey, and Pearl’s Southern Comfort Crawfish Boil that featured Moët & Chandon champagne. The crawfish boil was a bit spicy, but entirely delicious, and came with sausage, potatoes, and corn mixed in. I didn’t know what to expect from sampling crawfish, or even how to eat them, but I got a few tips and the rest was awesome.
I ended up sampling everything from chicken wings to brisket, corn, and even some Bao at the event, but the highlights were the wings and the pulled pork. Among all the vendors I don’t think I heard or saw a single complaint, and the food was pretty reasonably priced at between $5 and $10 for most items. There were even a few desserts for sale (although I would say there could have been a few more sweet options on the menu), but the focus was all on the BBQ.
The Beer
There was lots and lots of beer, and while that included some mainstream choices up-front-and-centre near the main stage, there was a whole row of craft beer that had something for any kind of beer drinker–from fans to novices. Wheat beers, farmhouse ales, stouts, and pilsners made it hard to pick just one beer to try, and I didn’t sample a single beer that I didn’t love. My absolute favorite beers though were from Chicago’s own Moody Tongue. Their Sliced Nectarine IPA, and Applewood Gold beers are nuanced, complex, satisfying brews that were excellent savoured alone, or with BBQ. If I could have brought some beer home, this was the brand I wanted. Hopefully someday they’ll make it to Canada.
Boulevard Brewing from Kansas City, Brooklyn Brewing, and Wiseacre also had some great offerings, as did Goose Island, naturally.
Considering all the states represented between the food and the beer, it felt a bit like a food festival, as much as a music festival, and offered a fairly rich tour of America if you had the time and the money to try everything.
Chicago
And then there’s the city itself. Chicago was a lot of fun, and I didn’t realize how much there was to do until I started touring the city. Chicago has a lot of culture, events, and sights to see, and on the weekend of Windy City Smokeout there were no less than three other major events on in the city. Spending a weekend was a good introduction to the city, but a week might have been just enough to really dive in and see more.
Virgin Hotel Chicago was a great place to stay while I was in town, and it made for an excellent starting point each day. Their restaurant, Miss Ricky’s, has a delicious menu, including all-day breakfast, plus there’s a lounge (The Commons Club) in the hotel, a coffee shop (Two Zero Three), and a rooftop bar (Cerise Rooftop). The hotel was comfortable, roomy, and utterly charming, with a fresh approach to the room layout and customer service. The staff went out of their way to take care of guests, and I loved the hotel’s entire atmosphere. Absolutely a hotel I look forward to staying in again.
Among all the boutique hotels I’ve stayed in, the Virgin Hotel in Chicago is so far my favorite to date considering the price and the location, which is just a few blocks away from Millennium Park, and some of the city’s best attractions.
With a CityPASS, I was able to jump the lines and get into the Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum, and Art Institute of Chicago without paying for multiple tickets, and it came with VIP extras that normally cost more, like 3D movies and special attractions.
Thanks to Choose Chicago for the experience, the hospitality, and for introducing me to the Windy City.
Get in the spirit of Windy City Smokeout. Listen to tracks by artists featured at the festival:
Stone Temple Pilots Release ‘Core’ Reissue Featuring Unreleased Demos, Live Recordings
Stone Temple Pilots are released a limited edition bundle of the CORE: SUPER DELUXE EDITON which includes a bonus replica 7-inch vinyl single of “Plush” that was originally released in the UK in 1993. This bundle also includes the Core 25th Anniversary Super Deluxe box set with the original album on 180-gram vinyl, an exclusive Core 25th Anniversary album t-shirt, and Core 25th Anniversary 16″ x 20″ lithograph. The remastered original album contains over two hours of unreleased demos and live tracks (including their 1993 MTV Unplugged performance) and a DVD containing a 5.1 surround sound mix and videos for singles “Sex Type Thing,” “Plush,” “Wicked Garden” and “Creep.” The package, limited to 15,000 copies worldwide, comes housed in a hardcover book featuring rare and unseen photographs from the era. The Super Deluxe Edition includes nine demos, with four dating between 1987 and 1990 when the band performed under the band name Mighty Joe Young.
A limited-edition bundle of the deluxe edition – with 1,000 copies worldwide – includes a bonus replica seven-inch vinyl single of “Plush” originally released in the U.K. in 1993. This set is available to pre-order via the band’s website.
Stone Temple Pilots – Core (Super Deluxe Edition) Track List
Disc One: Original Album Remastered
1. “Dead & Bloated”
2. “Sex Type Thing”
3. “Wicked Garden”
4. “No Memory”
5. “Sin”
6. “Naked Sunday”
7. “Creep”
8. “Piece Of Pie”
9. “Plush”
10. “Wet My Bed”
11. “Crackerman”
12. “Where The River Goes”
Disc Two: Demos And B-sides
1. “Only Dying” – Demo *
2. “Wicked Garden” – Demo *
3. “Naked Sunday” – Demo *
4. “Where The River Goes” – Demo *
5. “Dead & Bloated” – Demo *
6. “Sex Type Thing” – Demo *
7. “Sin” – Demo *
8. “Creep” – Demo *
9. “Plush” – Demo *
10. “Sex Type Thing” – Swing Type Version
11. “Plush” – Acoustic Type Version
12. “Creep” – New Album Version
13. “Plush” – Acoustic from MTV Headbanger’s Ball (Take 1)
Disc Three: Live 1993
Live At Castaic Lake Natural Amphitheater (July 2nd, 1993)
1. “Crackerman” *
2. “Wicked Garden” *
3. “No Memory” *
4. “Sin” *
5. “Plush” *
6. “Where The River Goes” *
7. “Sex Type Thing” *
8. “Wet My Bed” *
9. “Naked Sunday” *
Live At The Reading Festival (August 27th, 1993)
10. “Wicked Garden”
11. “No Memory” *
12. “Sin”
13. “Lounge Fly” *
14. “Dead & Bloated”
15. “Sex Type Thing”
16. “Naked Sunday”*
Disc Four: MTV Unplugged (November 17th, 1993)
1. “Crackerman”
2. “Creep” *
3. “Andy Warhol”
4. “Plush” *
5. “Big Empty” *
6. “Wicked Garden” *
7. “Sex Type Thing” *
Disc Five: (DVD) Original Album 5.1 Mix, 24/96 Stereo Audio, And Music Videos
* Previously Unreleased
Gregg Allman Posthumous Album ‘Southern Blood’ To Be Released For September 8
Rounder Records has announced the release date for Gregg Allman’s final studio album. SOUTHERN BLOOD arrives everywhere on Friday, September 8th.
SOUTHERN BLOOD will be available for pre-order beginning today July 26. A special and unique part of the deluxe package and the first run of the vinyl will be the inclusion of a painting that Allman and his daughter Layla commissioned from visual artist Vincent Castiglia. The beautiful portrait Castiglia painted was made with Gregg’s actual blood in the paint. The process served as inspiration for the album title. On August 4th, a limited edition numbered double-sided picture disc will be available at local record shops or with pre-orders of the album via greggallman.com.
Gregg Allman was undoubtedly among rock and roll’s greatest and most significant artists, his soul-fired and still utterly distinctive voice one of the defining sounds in all of American music. From his founding role in the one and only Allman Brothers Band to his long and storied solo career, Allman consistently proved himself to be an iconic singer/songwriter and exceptional practitioner of the American blues tradition. Allman accrued a remarkable list of honors over his five decade career, including the ABB’s 1995 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award at the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards. Allman detailed his brilliant career in 2012’s acclaimed memoir, My Cross To Bear. Now available in both hardcover and paperback, the New York Times bestseller chronicles an astonishing life and creative journey burdened by unimaginable loss, alcohol and drug addiction, told with clear-eyed wisdom and sharp hindsight.
SOUTHERN BLOOD serves as a remarkable final testament from an artist whose contributions have truly shaped rock & roll throughout the past four decades. Allman’s first all-new recording since 2011’s GRAMMY Award-nominated solo landmark, LOW COUNTRY BLUES, the album is among the most uniquely personal of the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s career, an emotionally expansive collection of songs written by friends and favorite artists including Jackson Browne, Willie Dixon, Jerry Garcia & Robert Hunter, Lowell George and Spooner Oldham & Dan Penn, meant to serve as a salutary farewell to his legion of devoted fans and admirers. Allman collaborated on his closing project with manager and dear friend Michael Lehman and GRAMMY Award-winning producer Don Was, a longtime acquaintance and staunch supporter committed to helping the rock icon actualize his very specific aspirations.
“As his producer, I was dedicated to helping Gregg crystallize his vision for the record and to help make sure that this vision made it to the tape,” says Was. “He was a musical hero of mine and, in later years, had become a good friend. The gravitas of this particular situation was not lost on me. Gregg was a sweet, humble man with a good heart and good intentions and it was a great honor to help him put his musical affairs in order and say a proper farewell.”
Allman, well aware his time was short, approached the project with an unambiguously realistic agenda. High atop his list of goals was to capture the sound of the ultimate Gregg Allman Band in full flight, considering them the tightest knit combo of all the line-ups that had backed him over his 40+ year solo career. Despite his ongoing health issues, the Gregg Allman Band had picked up right where the Allman Brothers Band left off in 2015, spending nearly two years on the road with tour highlights including the now-annual Allman-curated Laid Back Festival. 2015’s two disc CD/DVD set, BACK TO MACON GA, immortalized Allman and his eight-member band’s floor-shaking live power but their leader was determined to see what the group could do within the confines of the studio.
“Gregg was very excited to be in the studio,” says Lehman. “He was especially thrilled to be recording this studio album with his solo band – he was so proud of them and loved the sound that they produced together. Gregg felt close to every single one of them. The Gregg Allman Band was like a family or a well oiled machine, always knowing what the other band members were thinking and doing.”
“The Gregg Allman Band enabled him to realize a sound that he’d been hearing in his head for decades but was previously unable to achieve. We talked a lot about his first solo LP, LAID BACK – what would that type of album sound like in the modern era played by these cats and fronted by an older and wiser Gregg Allman?”
A further key to Allman’s vision for SOUTHERN BLOOD was his decision to record at the world-renowned FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL. Alongside its own fabled history, the legendary studio occupied a momentous place in Allman’s personal back pages.
“A constant discussion during all of my nearly 15 years working with Gregg was his desire to return to Muscle Shoals,” Lehman says. “He always would talk about how he needed to get back to FAME Studios to bring him full circle.”
“Muscle Shoals is hallowed musical ground,” says Was. “FAME was the place where Gregg’s brother Duane first started making waves in the music world and where the earliest seeds of The Allman Brothers Band were sown in a back room during their first, seminal rehearsals. Duane’s presence is still ubiquitous in that building. Recording there was Gregg’s way of making his spirit a part of this album, in the same way that his spirit continued to be part of Gregg’s life.”
Brother Duane’s presence courses through SOUTHERN BLOOD, from Jackson Browne’s “Song For Adam” – the final verse of which Was says reminded Gregg of his older brother’s premature passing – to the funk-fried “Blind Bats and Swamp Rats,” originally found on the Duane-produced TON-TON MACOUTE!, a lost classic from left-handed blues guitarist Johnny Jenkins. Allman, Was, and Lehman spent significant time plotting out SOUTHERN BLOOD, carefully selecting material that would capture the moment and simultaneously serve as a synopsis of an undeniably extraordinary life. Songs like Bob Dylan’s haunting “Going, Going Gone” and Tim Buckley’s immortal “Once I Was” allowed Allman a chance to look back over his time on Earth while also pondering the journey that lay ahead.
“Gregg, Don and I listened to a lot of material,” Lehman says. “We went back and forth with each other to ultimately come up with songs that Gregg felt reflected his mood, where he was presently in life both on a personal level and professional level, as well as what would be on his fans’ minds later on.”
Allman was of course a gifted and evocative tunesmith in his own right, the award-winning author of such modern standards as “Midnight Rider,” “It’s Not My Cross To Bear,” “Dreams,” and “Whipping Post.” SOUTHERN BLOOD is highlighted by one of the most candid tracks of his long songwriting career, “My Only True Friend,” co-written with Gregg Allman Band guitarist/musical director Scott Sharrard.
“‘My Only True Friend’ was Gregg’s attempt to contextualize the course of his life,” says Was. “The man that his fans saw performing onstage was the essential Gregg Allman – he was whole and truly satisfied when he was up there playing music. The trials and troubles he faced in life were mostly the result of not knowing what to do with himself in between shows. In this song, he’s addressing a woman and explaining that, although he loves her and doesn’t want to face living his life alone, being away on the road and performing every night is his lifeblood. If you understand this about Gregg Allman, every other aspect of his life makes complete sense.”
Sharrard – who also contributes his own show-stopping “Love Like Kerosene” – led the Gregg Allman Band through two weeks of recording, with all nine musicians playing together in the same room and Allman singing live vocals. Despite the undeniable “overtones of finality,” the sessions proved both relaxed and fun for all involved. Though Allman’s diminishing stamina caused the daily sessions to be shortened, he filled each moment in-studio with every ounce of signature Gregg fire and enthusiasm — an intensity that prevailed to the very last note.
“Gregg was not feeling great,” Lehman says, “but being a true professional, he gave it his all as usual. He hit the studio every day for about four or five hours and would typically nail one or two of the songs.”
“Gregg was thrilled that the sound in his head was manifesting itself on the tape,” Was says. “He didn’t have all the lungpower of his younger self, but we felt that these raw, weathered performances were honest and compelling. We all agreed to leave them as they were on the day they were recorded. In the spirit of LAID BACK, Gregg wanted to hear things like background harmony vocals and reverb on his voice but this album is essentially a documentary of our two weeks in the studio.
“Even though I’d known Gregg for a while, I was still blown away to be there with him and to witness his genius up close. I can still remember being swept away by his performances. He was so deeply engaged with the music! Working closely with him reinforced and further enhanced my view that Gregg Allman was one of the greatest artists of this or any time.”
Rich with emotional texture, historical connectivity, and purity of performance, SOUTHERN BLOOD would be a landmark Gregg Allman record under any circumstance, its powerful subject matter and passionate presentation as emblematic an expression of his distinctive art as any prior work in the Allman canon. Though his loss leaves a vast musical space that can never truly be filled, SOUTHERN BLOOD stands tall as a remarkable valedictory and memorial to a true giant of American music, now and forever.
GREGG ALLMAN
SOUTHERN BLOOD
(Rounder Records)
STREET DATE: SEPTEMBER 8, 2017
1. My Only True Friend (Gregg Allman-Scott Sharrard)
2. Once I Was (Tim Buckley-Larry Beckett)
3. Going Going Gone (Bob Dylan)
4. Black Muddy River (Jerome J. Garcia-Robert C. Hunter)
5. I Love the Life I Live (Willie Dixon)
6. Willin’ (Lowell George)
7. Blind Bats and Swamp Rats (Jack Avery)
8. Out of Left Field (Dewey Lindon Oldham Jr.-Dan Penn)
9. Love Like Kerosene (Scot Sharrard)
10. Song for Adam featuring Jackson Browne (Jackson Browne)
