During a bit of stage banter at a New York show last summer, musician Matt Nathanson brought Andrew McMahon onstage to do Tom Petty’s “American Girl,” he tore into the riff for AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long.” It was only meant to add to what Nathanson was saying between songs in his set, but the crowd picked it up immediately and didn’t let the song end. You can see drummer Chris Lovejoy and guitarist Aaron Tap exchange glances and then McMahon asks Nathanson “What’s happening?” and McMahon responds, “I don’t know!”
Kevin Hart Readies Biggest Comedy Tour In History With The “What Now?” Tour
Superstar entertainer, actor and comedian, Kevin Hart, announced today a massive North American arena tour. The WHAT NOW? TOUR will take the award-winning comedian to 45 cities throughout the U.S. and Canada. Promoted by Live Nation, the biggest comedy tour in history kicks off on April 9, 2015 in San Antonio, Tex. at AT&T Center and includes dates at New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden as well as a stadium date in Philadelphia, Penn. at Lincoln Financial Field. A full list of tour dates is below. Tickets for the WHAT NOW? TOUR go on sale Friday, Feb. 20 at www.whatnowtour.com.
Kevin Hart is one of comedy’s biggest stars with a celebrated and award-winning career that has seen the talented entertainer become one of the industry’s most important and influential voices. Since his career began Hart has worked non-stop and in 2015, he will release two movies as well as hit the road for his WHAT NOW? TOUR. Kevin can currently be seen in Screen Gem’s The Wedding Ringer and in March 2015, will star opposite Will Farrell in Warner Bros. Pictures’ Get Hard. In 2016, Kevin will star in Ride Along 2, the anticipated sequel to last year’s $100 million blockbuster hit. The consummate worker, Hart is a force in television too where he is currently Executive Producing the hit show, Real Husbands of Hollywood, which premiered its third season in September on BET.
In 2012, Hart was tapped to host the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards garnering much industry praise for his appearance. His comedy tour, Let Me Explain, took him to 90 American cities before hitting countries throughout Europe and Africa. A testament to his talent and popularity, Kevin became only the second American in history to sell out London’s O2 Arena. In addition to sold-out tours, Kevin’s additional film credits also include Top Five, Think Like A Man Too, About Last Night and This Is The End.
WHAT NOW? TOUR
All dates, cities and venues below subject to change.
Thursday, April 09, 2015 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center
Friday, April 10, 2015 Little Rock, AR Verizon Arena
Saturday, April 11, 2015 Oklahoma City, OK Chesapeake Energy Arena
Friday, April 17, 2015 Buffalo, NY First Niagara Center
Saturday, April 18, 2015 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
Sunday, April 19, 2015 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena
Friday, April 24, 2015 Orlando, FL Amway Center
Saturday, April 25, 2015 Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
Sunday, April 26, 2015 Birmingham, AL BJCC Arena
Friday, May 01, 2015 Raleigh, NC PNC Arena
Saturday, May 02, 2015 Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Arena
Sunday, May 03, 2015 Richmond, VA Richmond Coliseum
Friday, May 08, 2015 Tampa, FL Amalie Arena
Saturday, May 09, 2015 Miami, FL American Airlines Arena
Friday, May 15, 2015 Minneapolis, MN Target Center
Saturday, May 16, 2015 Auburn Hills, MI The Palace of Auburn Hills
Sunday, May 24, 2015 Las Vegas, NV Mandalay Bay Events Center
Friday, June 05, 2015 Boston, MA TD Bank Garden Arena
Saturday, June 06, 2015 Baltimore, MD Royal Farms Arena
Friday, June 12, 2015 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena
Sunday, June 14, 2015 Augusta, GA James Brown Arena
Friday, June 19, 2015 Indianapolis, IN Bankers Life Fieldhouse
Saturday, June 20, 2015 Cincinnati, OH US Bank Arena
Sunday, June 21, 2015 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena
Thursday, June 25, 2015 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center (BET Experience)
Thursday, July 02, 2015 New Orleans, LA Mercedes-Benz Superdome (Essence Festival)
Friday, July 03, 2015 Memphis, TN FedExForum
Tuesday, July 07, 2015 New York City, NY Madison Square Garden
Saturday, July 11, 2015 Newark, NJ Prudential Center
Thursday, July 16, 2015 San Jose, CA The SAP Center at San Jose
Friday, July 17, 2015 Sacramento, CA Sleep Train Arena
Saturday, July 18, 2015 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena
Friday, July 24, 2015 Montreal, QC Bell Centre (Just For Laughs Montreal)
Thursday, July 30, 2015 Chicago, IL United Center
Saturday, August 01, 2015 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
Thursday, August 06, 2015 Washington DC Verizon Center
Friday, August 14, 2015 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
Saturday, August 15, 2015 Houston, TX Toyota Center
Thursday, August 20, 2015 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center
Friday, August 21, 2015 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center
Saturday, August 22, 2015 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
Wednesday, August 26, 2015 Syracuse, NY Oncenter War Memorial Arena
Thursday, August 27, 2015 Albany, NY Times Union Center
Friday, August 28, 2015 Wantagh, NY Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
Sunday, August 30, 2015 Philadelphia, PA Lincoln Financial Field
Daniel Lanois Announces Live Dates. Flesh and Machine Juno Nominated
Sonic explorer Daniel Lanois has just announced a series of North American live dates. The renowned musician and producer will be performing in support of his groundbreaking new album Flesh and Machine which has been Juno nominated for ‘Instrumental Album’ of the year. “Many thanks to the Juno folks for taking the time to listen to what I regard to be some of my most adventurous work”.
Examining the ever evolving relationship between musicians and technology, Flesh And Machine inventively takes organic instrumentation and alters the sounds with an assortment of recording technologies in real time. The record stylistically references the classic Brian Eno albums Lanois worked on while also charting new ground with it’s intense hypnotic rhythms and evocative soundscapes.
In a live setting, Lanois further explores the relationship between musician and technology, inventively bringing his studio process to the live setting in an absolutely riveting manner. “What I do in my laboratory is seldom witnessed but now all this is going to change,” he promised the Wall Street Journal recently. “I see this work as an opportunity for me to be part of a new congregation.”
Watch Lanois’ absolutely devastating performance of the track “Opera” here:
Live Dates:
03/01/15 Mon, Portland, OR – Doug Fir
03/02/15 Tue, Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
03/03/15 Tue, VICTORIA, BC – Alix Golden Hall
03/04/15 Wed, VANCOUVER, BC – Commodore Ballroom
04/30/15 Thu, OTTAWA, ON – National Arts Centre – Southam Hall
05/01/15 Fri, TORONTO, ON – Horseshoe – CMW
05/02/15 Sat, HAMILTON, ON – Mills Hardware
05/03/15 Sun, HAMILTON, ON – Mills Hardware
05/05/15 Tue, ST. LOUIS, MO – The Duck Room
05/06/15 Wed, IOWA CITY, IA – The Englert Theatre
05/07/15 Thu, MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Cedar Cultural Center
05/08/15 Fri, CHICAGO, IL – Empty Bottle
05/09/15 Sat, FERNDALE, MI – The Loving Touch
The Greatest Concert Posters, Courtesy of Globe Poster Company
The Globe Poster Printing Corporation, historically one of the nation’s largest showcard printers, has been telling the story of American music and entertainment through bright and iconic posters since 1929. Globe began by printing posters for vaudeville acts, movie theaters, drag races, burlesque houses, and carnivals and became known for its work with R&B, soul, and jazz performers—including James Brown, B.B. King, Otis Redding, Ike and Tina Turner, Billie Holiday, and Solomon Burke—as well as gospel, rock, hip hop, funk, and go-go acts.
Posters Via
This Is Greatest Clip Explaining Music Production
It’s from 1996′s Vibrations – and yes, that is Christina Applegate, as Anamika, a manager at the hottest dance club looking for the next new genre to exploit. Watch how this character explains techno and all its production glories right in front of you.
Advertisers Announce Effort to Keep Ads Off Illicit Sites, With The Help Of David Lowery
From Illusion Of More:
A longstanding challenge with regard to websites that profit from pirated media, counterfeit products, and/or malware is the frequent placement of major brand advertising on the pages of those sites. Musician David Lowery’s activist website The Trichordist has published lists of major advertisers whose banner ads have appeared on various pirate sites, seeking to hold advertisers accountable for supporting exploitation of musical artists. This kind of activism has drawn both public and industry attention to the problem. In its most basic form, the principle is that Legit Entity A should not benefit from a site that derives its traffic by exploiting Legit Entity B. That probably sounds reasonable to most people, including most advertisers themselves, but what to do about it is another matter — until now.
This morning, the advertising industry announced a new, voluntary initiative that helps advertisers better understand the nature of sites on which their ads may be placed. The initiative produced by the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) is called the Brand Integrity Program Against Piracy and it was developed in collaboration with the three major advertising associations — the Association of National Advertisers, the American Association of Advertising Agencies, and the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
Noel Gallagher on the current crop of British singer-songwriters
WE’RE LIVING IN “SAVAGE” times, reckons Noel Gallagher, but the ex-Oasis star says you’d be hard pushed to hear that reflected by the current crop of British singer-songwriters.
Speaking to MOJO, Gallagher has branded new music “bland”, arguing that, unlike previous generations, new artists make no effort to reflect the mood of the era in their songs.
“I hear mindless pop on the radio and then the news is: ‘The World Is Going To End!’ What’s going on? What has become apparent to me is that we live in ridiculous fucking times now. The music that’s being made now is so fucking bland. It’s nice and kind of meaningless and then you turn on the television and the news is so savage! The music doesn’t reflect the times at all. I hear Radio 1 in the morning when the kids are up and going to school and it’s just bland, meaningless, mindless pop music and then the news is: ‘The World Is Going To End!’ What’s going on? The music of George Ezra: Wow! I was talking to a mate recently who’s been in various bands and I was asking what he was doing and he was saying, ‘I’m trying to do my own stuff now.’ I said, ‘You should be in a band, you look great,’ and he said, ‘Nobody wants to be in bands any more, everybody wants to be a singer-songwriter.’ That’s his generation. Everyone wants to be Jake Bugg or George Ezra. The band thing is dying out. I blame it on the lack of rehearsal rooms and the lack of little tiny studios because it’s easier for a guy to sit at home with a tape recorder and send it to a record company than it is for a band. Back in my day, we used to go down the rehearsal room when it was 20 quid a night, or whatever it was, and you bash it out. Everybody’s got a home recording studio on their iPhone now. All the cheap studios and venues are going to go soon. You’re going to either be stuck at the bottom in [London pub venue] the Boston Arms or you’re going to be catapulted to the top at The O2 and there will be nothing in between.”
Via Mojo Magazine
Patti Smith on The Biggest Misconception About Her
What do you think is the biggest misconception about you?
The thing that bothered me the most was when I had to return to the public eye in ’95 or ’96 when my husband died. We lived a very simple lifestyle in a more reclusive way in which he was king of our domain. I don’t drive, I didn’t have much of an income, and without him, I had to find a way of making a living. Besides working in a bookstore, the only thing I knew how to do was to make records—or to write poetry, which isn’t going to help put your kids through school. But when I started doing interviews, people kept saying “Well, you didn’t do anything in the 80s,” and I just want to get Elvis Presley’s gun out and shoot the television out of their soul. How could you say that? The conceit of people, to think that if they’re not reading about you in a newspaper or magazine, then you’re not doing anything.
I’m not a celebrity, I’m a worker. I’ve always worked. I was working before people read anything about me, and the day they stopped reading about me, I was doing even more work. And the idea that if you’re a mother, you’re not doing anything—it’s the hardest job there is, being a mother or father requires great sacrifice, discipline, selflessness, and to think that we weren’t doing anything while we were raising a son or daughter is appalling. It makes me understand why some human beings question their worth if they’re not making a huge amount of money or aren’t famous, and that’s not right.
My mother worked at a soda fountain. She made the food and was a waitress and she was a really hard worker and a devoted worker. And her potato salad became famous! She wouldn’t get potato salad from the deli, she would get up at five o’clock in the morning and make it herself, and people would come from Camden or Philly to this little soda fountain in South Jersey because she had famous potato salad. She was proud of that, and when she would come home at night, completely wiped out and throwing her tip money on the table and counting it, one of her great prides was that people would come from far and wide for her potato salad. People would say, “Well, what did your mother do? She was a waitress?” She served the people, and she served in the way that she knew best.
Via Alan Light interview in Medium
The Kinks Star In Their Rock Opera “Starmaker”
Ray Davies starred in a live staged version of Soap Opera taped for Granada Television about eight months before it was released as an album, with Ray playing the double role of Starmaker/Norman. A Soap Opera adapted the same songs and plot to an audio presentation, with lead singer Ray Davies and actress June Ritchie in this bizarre spectacle. Plans for a full-scale theatrical tour were not realized, but the Kinks, with their extended mid-70s lineup, did perform the entire album on tour in 1975.
It was taped in front of a live audience on July 25, 1974, and broadcast on September 4 of the same year.
Cookie Monster Writes Jokes for Jimmy Kimmel
Cookie Monster showed interest in working on the show so Jimmy Kimmel hired him. Turns out he really can’t write jokes that aren’t about cookies.
