There’s a problem on the set of Chelsea Williams new video. Her makeup is great, the lighting is perfect but... Chelsea, lately, can’t stop smiling.
On the third take she manages to pretend for a moment that she’s an angst-ridden artist, but as soon as the camera stops, that smile is back. “I’m just really happy right now”, she says, “I’m in love, I’m making a living writing songs, and... I’ve spent so much of my life focusing on striving for emotional honesty that it’s difficult for me to...you know, fake it.”
Chelsea's made a name for herself as a musician in Los Angeles in a less than traditional way.
Without the support of a record label, or radio play, Chelsea managed to sell nearly 100,000 copies of her independently released records, Chelsea Williams (2006) and Decoration Aisle (2008), the old fashioned way, by playing on the street.
“I do like the fact that I actually have met every single person that bought my album,” she says “It makes it more personal for me, and hopefully for them too. And sometimes I get tips.”
Chelsea became the darling of Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade and captured the hearts of locals, tourists and fans from around the world, gaining an impressive following.
Among those who have taken note of her talents and frequent her sets include Adam Sandler, Sheryl Crow, LeAnn Rimes, and Ron Howard to name a few.
Crosby, Stills, and Nash even sent Chelsea flowers in appreciation of the quality of her cover of "Helplessly, Hoping" they had found on YouTube.
After six years of playing on the streets she received a life-changing tip.
One of the passers-by ended up being Grammy nominated producer Toby Gad (Fergie “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, Beyoncé “If I Were A Boy” as well as tracks by Nicole Scherzinger, Demi Lovato, Kelly Clarkson, Selena Gomez, Alicia Keys, Natasha Bedingfield, Jordin Sparks, Colbie Caillat, Jessie J, Pixie Lott and Meaghan Martin).
Gad, moved by the singer’s natural talent and undeniable charm, invited her to collaborate on a song, and another, and another. Before they knew it they’d recorded an entire album.
The album quickly found its way into the hands of A&R Executive Larry Jackson, who offered her the chance to perform for Jimmy Iovine, the head of Interscope Records. Iovine, having worked with U2, Dr. Dre, and John Lennon stopped Williams after just one song.
He offered her a record deal on the spot.
The first single from her forthcoming debut album is called Til The Sun Comes Up (free mp3) which, as a phrase, sums up her round-the-clock drive to succeed.
“I feel like an overnight success,” Chelsea says, laughing in a way that makes Directors stop filming, but people on the street stop and pay attention. “A seven year, overnight success, I suppose it could all end tomorrow, but I’d still be singing and making music.”
Releasing May 1 on her Radtown Music imprint, singer-songwriter-troubadour GARRISON STARR returns with AMATEUR, her seventh studio album.
Representing her first full-length since 2007’s The Girl That Killed September, AMATEUR is co-produced with musician Justin Glasco (Christina Perri, Dan Wilson, Cary Brothers, Matt Nathanson, Kate Voegele, Jeremy Camp) and features contributions from singers Glen Phillips, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Adrianne Gonzalez, Gary Jules, Joey Ryan, Jake Newton and Natalia Zukerman, guitarists Kevin Devine, Meghan Toohey and Josh Dunahoo, drummer Aaron Redfield, and violinist Helena Lamb.
From the brimming glisten of “To Garrison on Her 29th Birthday” to the mid-70s era Eagles’ vibe of “Slow Crawl” (featuring guitar work by Kevin Devine) to the esoteric yearning of “The Needle and The Vein” to the soul-comforting “I’m gonna take you home” refrain of “Rednecks and Sailors” to the powerful self-examination of closer “Other People’s Eyes,” Amateur is a glorious affair of the heart.
It’s a loving affair shared with a deep foundation of musical kinship. Glen Phillips (of Toad The Wet Sprocket) joins in on the resplendent hope of “When You’re Really Trying,” an expansive open air flight that evokes a lineage to Lady Antebellum while Gary Jules subtly adds guitar and a melodic vocal counterpoint on the towering elegance of “Empire State Building”.
Elsewhere, country music superstar Mary Chapin Carpenter provides a rustic backing vocal on “I May Not Let Go,” which sublimely roams the prairie of Sugarland before gingerly strolling the streets of Bluebell, Alabama, home to Dr. Zoe Hart (Rachel Bilson) on the CW show Hart of Dixie, which featured the song on its Snowflakes & Soulmates episode.
The genesis of Amateur began during Garrison’s junior high years when she started writing a book called "A View of Life From An Amateur" which was a collection of poems, thoughts and general ponderings that is the blueprint for the current recorded chapter in her life journal.
Twenty further years of jabs in the “ring of life”, its fifty minutes of resolute honesty are punctuated by the ethos of an amateur fighter (a portrait of a little boxer is the sole cover art image, sans name or title). She elaborates, “An amateur is somebody who pursues something for the love of it, not for money. That's where I started in the ninth grade before I got into the music business and that's where I find myself again. I've never forgotten the fighter in me and I'm starting over again”.
Starr reflects, “For the first time in almost 20 years of making records, I can hear me. I hear the person I want to be and am actually becoming, and that feels awesome. I don’t mean that in an egotistical way – I’ve been working my way out of some pretty serious darkness over the last several years, and to hear that progress and that metamorphosis happening is encouraging and validating for me.”
A centerpiece of the new opus comes roaring across the plains to the countrified strains of “The Train That’s Bound For Glory,” a gospel-infused anthem that’s poignant, both as a destination on the horizon and a mile marker in the rear view. With its refrain of “I never learned to trust nobody, I was too afraid to be let down,” it resonates wholeheartedly on the first listen and nestles close after miles and miles of repeated treks on its steely tracks.
What a long strange trek it’s been. During contractual stints with Geffen, Virgin and Vanguard Records, Starr released a wealth of critically acclaimed material that intimately connected with listeners. Now nearing her 20th Anniversary as a recording artist, and free from the confines of the agendas and politics of record labels, Garrison is confidently hitting her stride, both a seasoned songwriter and an accomplished entertainer.
Long gone are the “brand” names, but the passion remains the same.
Firmly embracing the new paradigm of the burgeoning era of DIY that allows for user-generated navigation, Garrison has self-released music via Direct-To-Consumer platforms such as Bandcamp and Topspin (her most recent fan-only “living room” EP entitled Not For Nothing contains a magnificent acoustic version of The Killers “When You Were Young”).
She also partnered up with publisher Brite Revolution to release a live EP called Relive that was recorded in front of a select group of fifty friends and fans in Nashville. Starr most recently utilized Pledge Music, (an online “pledge drive” similar to Kickstarter), to fund the Amateur recording.
Watch some hilarious outtakes from a companion piece Garrison created for her Pledge Music community:
Garrison delves into the DIY ethos, “Ani DiFranco made a really significant mark and I have always used her career as a reference when it comes to independent musicians. I have lots of friends who make a living for themselves in music. They make good money and they play by their own rules. I can't imagine any other way of operating now. I'm so much more proactive because I know what I have and what is possible. I've been in the snake pit, and I know what it takes to charm the snake. I'm gonna charm the hell out of that sucker, believe it.”
Joining a band called The Living Hand (with Neilson Hubbard and Clay Jones) in 1993, Garrison’s career jumped on the fast track, which allowed her, over the course of two decades, to collaborate with some of the most revered songwriters of a generation.
She’s toured with Melissa Etheridge, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Sarah McLachlan on Lilith Fair, worked with Steve Earle (whom produced two tracks on her Songs From Take-Off to Landing), co-produced music for Margaret Cho’s Cho Dependent album and dove head-first into side projects as a member of Among the Oak & Ash with Josh Joplin and Plover with Glen Phillips.
The collaborative spirit is something Starr takes pride in, and truly embraces, as the camaraderie it affords has become the loving embrace of a close-knit family.
In 2005, she co-founded the songwriters troupe, North La Brea All Star Conquistadors with Jay Nash, Gabriel Mann and Adrianne Gonzalez (the latter two went on to form The Rescues) and regularly sits in on a critically acclaimed “songwriters in the round” series at Room 5 in Hollywood with Adrianne, Dawn Thomas and Grammy-Award winning songwriter Maia Sharp.
Drawing from a wealth of collective experience amidst many layers of reinvention, Julia Garrison Starr’s desire to creatively engage the minds, hearts and souls of others continues to burn bright. She, in fact, is the polar opposite of an amateur.
Starr is a consummate professional firmly entrenched in the Conductor’s seat on a train that’s bound for glory.
GARRISON STARR AMATEUR
1. Keep Your Head Down
2. To Garrison, On Her 29th Birthday
3. Slow Crawl (ft. Kevin Devine)
4. The Train That's Bound For Glory
5. The Needle and The Vein
6. The Day The Rains Came To Schoharie
7. I May Not Let Go (ft. Mary Chapin Carpenter)
8. Empire State Building (ft. Gary Jules)
9. When You're Really Trying (ft. Glen Phillips)
10. Between The Devil's Rain and A Dying Language
11. Rednecks and Sailors
12. When Nobody Was Looking
13. Other People's Eyes
GARRISON STARR
TOUR DATES
01/27/12 - Bisbee, AZ @ Café Roka (w/ Natalia Zukerman)
02/11/12 - San Francisco, CA @ KC Turner House Concert
02/24/12 - Santa Barbara, CA @ House Concert (w/ Jake Newton)
03/01/12 - Santa Monica, CA @ Harvelle's (w/ Satellite)
03/02/12 - Altadena, CA @ Town & Country Club (w/ Scars on 45)
04/04/12 - Utrecht, Netherlands @ Emile’s (w/ Jay Nash)
04/05/12 - Roepaen, Netherlands @ Roepaen (w/ Jay Nash)
04/06/12 - Waspik, Netherlands @ LRC (w/ Jay Nash)
04/07/12 - Oss, Netherlands @ De Groene Engel (w/ Jay Nash)
04/08/12 - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Bitterzoet (w/ Jay Nash)
04/09/12 - Etten-Leur, Netherlands @ LRC (w/ Jay Nash)
04/11/12 - Hamburg, Germany @ Knust (w/ Jay Nash)
04/12/12 - Berlin, Germany @ Maschinenhaus (w/ Jay Nash)
04/13/12 - Cologne, Germany @ Underground (w/ Jay Nash)
04/14/12 - Munich, Germany @ Cord (w/ Jay Nash)
04/15/12 - Cologne, Germany @ Klub der 40 at Christuskirche (w/ Jay Nash)
04/16/12 - Liverpool, UK @ The Shipping Forecast (w/ Jay Nash)
04/17/12 - Leeds, UK @ Royal Park Cellars (w/ Jay Nash)
04/19/12 - Kelvedon, UK @ The Institute (w/ Jay Nash)
04/20/12 - London, UK @ The Silver Bullet (w/ Jay Nash)
04/27/12 - Indianapolis, IN @ Irving Theater (w/ David Berkeley)
04/28/12 - St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway (w/ David Berkeley)
04/29/12 - Lexington, KY @ Natasha's (w/ David Berkeley)
04/30/12 - Chicago, IL @ S.P.A.C.E. (w/ David Berkeley)
05/01/12 - Louisville, KY @ WFPK (3PM EST) (w/ David Berkeley)
05/02/12 - Nashville, TN @ The Rutledge (w/ David Berkeley)
05/03/12 - Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone Café (w/ David Berkeley)
05/04/12 - Duluth, GA @ Red Clay Theater (w/ David Berkeley)
05/05/12 - Birmingham, AL @ Urban Standard (w/ David Berkeley)
05/08/12 - Asheville, NC @ Jack of the Wood
05/11/12 - Durham, NC @ St. Philip's Church (Parish Hall)
05/18/12 - Los Angeles, CA @ Hotel Café
07/11/12 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe (w/ Maia Sharp)
In February 2006, Sankofa Strings, a progressive collective comprised of percussionist Sule Greg Wilson along with multi-instrumentalist Dom Flemons and singer Rhiannon Giddens, from the Grammy-Award Winning Carolina Chocolate Drops, were taped in concert for inclusion in the award-winning jug band documentary CHASIN' GUS' GHOST, a film which chronicles a worldwide quest to assemble a comprehensive lineage to Gus Cannon, a seminal figure in the history of American music.
In the 1920s, Gus helmed Cannon's Jug Stompers, one of America's premiere jug bands, whom regularly delighted rambunctious sold-out crowds from Alabama to New York with a showstopper called "Minglewood Blues".
Four decades later, the era-defining tune was re-christened as "New, New Minglewood Blues," appearing on the 1967 debut album by a Bay-area jug band called the Grateful Dead.
One of the groups that preceded the Dead was Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions. Recording a show at The Tangent in Palo Alto, CA in July 1964, this jug band featuring Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and Ron "Pigpen" McKernan soon morphed into The Warlocks and then the Grateful Dead.
Duly impressed by Sankofa Strings and their refreshing melting pot of century-old traditional string band music, jazz, folk and blues coated in the context of modern arrangement, Chasin’ Gus’ Ghost Producer/director Todd Kwait offered the band an opportunity to record an album at Nevessa Production in Woodstock, NY, a studio that specializes in recording acoustic orchestras. Three years later, the group took Kwait up on his offer.
Along with original Sankofa Strings members Flemons and Wilson (Giddens had just given birth to her first child and could not make the sessions), The Uptown Strut took shape in the summer of 2009 with the esteemed vocal ambiance of Canadian singers, Ndidi Onukwulu and Allison Russell, whom gracefully take turns up front while also augmenting one another. Dom and Sule Greg are also interspersed throughout as lead vocal captivators.
(Dom Flemons)
Joining the groundbreaking ensemble for their historical exploration was John Sebastian, founder of the Lovin’ Spoonful, a Rock ‘N Roll Hall Fame Inductee immensely popular in the late ‘60s that drew inspiration from and paid tribute to jug band music, and pianist Professor Louie, a recent Blues Hall of Fame Inductee, whom fondly remembers the spirited sessions, "While working together in the studio, I realized that all the members of Sankofa have a very deep understanding of music and heritage. As the sessions went on, I felt we all had the same love and understanding of this music”.
From Pandeiro and Bodhran drums to accordion and maracas to kazoo and tambourine to jugs, bones and washboard, The Uptown Strut deftly glides the gamut of instrumentation with Sebastian adding banjo to the Jimmy Cliff classic “Sitting In Limbo” and Baritone guitar and harmonica on the exquisite “If Wishes Were Gold” with a sultry lead vocal by Allison Russell.
(Allison Russell)
Mining further precious metals, The Strut saddles up at a sonic hookah as Sebastian and Professor Louie hydroponically blend with Wilson and Flemons on “Weed Smoker’s Dream,” a sophisticated traipse of the Harlem Hamfats tune from 1936 that clocks out at exactly four minutes and 20 seconds after an extended exhale of Cab Calloway’s “Minnie The Moocher”.
Further 420-friendly cuts include a Gospel-infused re-working of Ray Charles’ number one hit “Let’s Go Get Stoned,” with a soul-baring lead vocal by Ndidi Onukwulu, “What’s The Use of Getting Sober,” Louis Jordan’s first number one hit in 1942, and the 1930s-era Dixieland roll of “Don’t You Make Me High” set to sail by a sublime melody on clarinet.
(Ndidi Onukwulu)
Other storied sign posts in downtown Uptown are “The Old Folks Started It,” a take on the 1929 Minnie Wallace tune which also references Shelton Brooks’ 1917 hit “Darktown Strutter’s Ball,” “Sing Sing Prison Blues,” a nod to Bessie Smith’s 1924 recording and a, literally, bare-boned rendition of “Jump Jim Crow,” an early American treasure originally “collected” by blackface minstrel Thomas “Daddy” Rice in 1828.
(Sule Greg Wilson)
Gearing up for a March 27th release on Kwait’s Kingswood Records, the group dropped “Strings” from its moniker to put focus on the aesthetic beauty and prescient meaning of "Sankofa," a word in the Akan language of Ghana that translates in English to "go back and get it" (san - to return; ko - to go; fa - to look, to seek and take). It is often associated with the proverb, “Se wo were fi na wosankofa a yenkyi," which translates "It is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten".
Visually represented by an Adinkra symbol of a bird with its head turned backwards taking an egg off its back, Sankofa symbolizes one taking from the past what is good and bringing it into the present in order to make positive progress through the benevolent use of knowledge.
Emboldened by a confident uptown strut, the majestic bird of Sankofa faces forward toward the enlightened to boldly fly high into the musical future.
SANKOFA THE UPTOWN STRUT
1. The Old Folks Started It (ft. Dom Flemons & John Sebastian)
2. Ha-Ha Blues (ft. Ndidi Onukwulu)
3. Weed Smoker's Dream (ft. Sule Greg Wilson & John Sebastian)
4. If Wishes Were Gold (ft. Allison Russell & John Sebastian)
5. It's A Good Thing (ft. Dom Flemons & John Sebastian)
6. Can't Strain My Brain (ft. Ndidi Onukwulu)
7. I Can Tell The World About This (ft. Allison Russell)
8. Brown Skin Girl (ft. Sule Greg Wilson)
9. What's The Use of Getting Sober? (ft. Sule Greg Wilson)
10. Jump Jim Crow (ft. Sule Greg Wilson)
11. Sing Sing Prison Blues (ft. Allison Russell)
12. Sitting In Limbo (ft. Sule Wilson, Ndidi Onukwulu & John Sebastian)
13. Don't You Make Me High (ft. Allison Russell)
14. You Got Me Rollin' (ft. Dom Flemons & John Sebastian)
15. Let's Go Get Stoned (ft. Ndidi Onukwulu)
Catch Dom Flemons with the Carolina Chocolate Drops.
CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS
TOUR DATES
01/26 - Music Hall, Portsmouth, NH
01/27 - Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, Burlington, VT
01/28 - Calvin Theater, Northampton, NH
01/29 - The Egg, Albany, NY
01/31 - Jefferson Theater, Charlottesville, VA
02/02 - Georgia Theatre, Athens, GA
02/03 - University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
02/07 - Butcher Auditorium, Madisonville, TN
02/09 - Henderson Fine Arts Center, Henderson, KY
02/17 - Monmouth University, West Long Branch, NJ
02/18 - Library of Congress, Washington, DC
02/19 - Ruby Diamond Auditorium, Tallahassee, FL
02/20 - Ruby Diamond Auditorium, Tallahassee, FL
02/23 - Clifton Center, Louisville, KY*
02/24 - Buskirk-Chumley Theater, Bloomington, IN
02/25 - Earlham College, Richmond, IN*
02/26 - Stuart’s Opera House, Nelsonville, OH*
02/28 - Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center, York, PA
03/02 - Schimmel Center for the Arts, New York, NY
03/03 - Berklee Performance Center, Boston, MA
03/04 - Narrows Center for the Arts, Fall River, MA
03/07 - Infinity Hall, Norfolk, CT
03/08 - Strand Theatre, Rockland, ME
03/09 - Stone Mountain Arts Center, Brownfield, ME
03/10 - Stone Mountain Arts Center, Brownfield, ME
03/13 - Carnegie Hall (Rolling Stones: 40th Anniv Of "Hot Rocks" Benefit) New York, NY
03/30 - Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR
03/31 - Showbox at the Market, Seattle, WA
04/03 - Vagabond Blues, Palmer, AK
04/04 - Wendy Williamson Auditorium, Anchorage, AK
04/06 - UCLA Live, Los Angeles, CA*
04/07 - Slim's, San Francisco, CA*
04/08 - Mystic Theater, Petaluma, CA
04/11 - Simms Auditorium, Albuquerque, NM
04/15 - McDowell Mountain Music, Phoenix, AZ
04/28 - New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest, New Orleans, LA
05/02 - Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis, MN
05/04 - Capitol Theater, Madison, WI
05/05 - Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL
05/10 - Birchmere, Alexandria, VA
05/11 - Brown's Island, Richmond, VA
05/20 - Theater at Lime Kiln, Lexington, VA
05/25 - Acoustic Cafe Amphitheater, Haleyville, AL
05/26 - Comcast Theatre, Hartford, CT**
05/28 - Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain, Scranton, PA**
05/29 - Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH**
05/31 - Mountain Jam, Hunter, NY
06/02 - Appel Farm Arts & Music Festival, Elmer, NJ
06/05 - Comcast Center, Mansfield, MA**
06/06 - Comcast Center, Mansfield, MA**
06/17 - Palisade Bluegrass & Roots Festival, Palisade, CO
* w/ special guest David Wax Museum
** w/ Dave Matthews Band
I don't usually answer personal ads but your overt attention-grabbing use of succulent meta sauce really peaked my perception.
While my personal preference of living dead are vampires roaming the shadows of a New Years Day, I really appreciate your understanding of marketing in the new paradigm.
With the current craze of zombies festering in mainstream culture as they gingerly stumble slowly through TV shows like AMC's The Walking Dead & MTV's Death Valley and in movies like Zombieland and Dawn of the Dead, there's never been a better time than now to tag the title of your song with Zombie Music Video...especially since Google owns You Tube which populates the first page of every search result.
Besides that, having a bunch of your friends dress up like zombies is a hella good time and you should be shouting it out loud like Gene Simmons in a Dr. Pepper Cherry Cola commercial.
I really like your taut manicured sound. Your self-titled THE NEARLY DEADS Ep is thick as a brick lifehouse.
On songs like "Reasons," "Special" and "Thanks For Nothing," Steve Tobi (guitar), Cory Walen (drums), Brandon Barnes (Guitar), Kevin Koelsch (Bass) deftly construct the melodic tension that's sprung to eternal life by the powerful vocal embrace of Theresa Jeane.
TJ, she's a keeper. Her rhinoceros thesaurus must be filled to the brim with a piping hot cornucopia of onomatopoeia.
If it's me you're after, well, how about a STRAIGHT ANSWER
Ok, ok. I admit it. The zombies seduced me like cotton candy in sugarland but it was a descending piano melody saturated with reverb that sealed the deal...that and the random use of grease in your "Fact & Friction" video:
And now I finally have the perfect cure for my longing for more early era Paramore.
Intended or not, the epic opening drum/guitar build-up of "The Perfect Cure" reminds me of the opening of Paramore "Born For This" off of The Final Riot! (Live).
"Chi-CA-GO!!!"
The densely packed urgency of TPC would nuzzle up nicely with "Emergency" and "Let This Go" off of Paramore All We Know Is Falling.
Here's my prediction. I believe what's in front of me...
Which is a monster mutha sukka success story waiting for its next chapter to be swiftly written. How big? Monster massive? Rockstar Large?
THE MOOSE IS LOOSE. IT'S A GARGANTUAN GODZILLA GORILLA!
In fact, so immensely disproportionately HUGE that a camera frame can't even capture its absolute LARGENESS, it's infinite GROWTH.
To put it into search terms amidst a paragraph of carefully chosen meta tags, I would say that The Nearly Deads sound like Taylor Swift fronting Paramore (it would be Taylor & Taylor y'all!) or Avril Lavigne as the mutha fu*kin princess of We Are The In Crowd or Gwen Stefani riding shotgun (No Doubt!) in the Smashing Pumpkins or Jennifer Nettles commandeering The Cab or Hayley Williams singing for Foo Fighters...a great way to get Dave Grohl back on drums...which would be total Nirvana!
We don't have all day and we don't have all year so I wanted to cut to the Sprint cup chase and let you know that the random explicit use of preemptive searchable strikes would continue to propagate. And that we have some curious george common ground.
I like The Nearly Deads. You like The Nearly Deads.
I want to go to Warped tour this summer.
You want to play Warped tour this summer.
Kevin Lyman, O Brother Where Art Thou?
You have a desire to be Fueled By Ramen and since I'm not even able to afford sleeves, I often find myself fueled by ramen.
Being sleeveless is strangely contagious, isn't it?
You like drinking beer. Ditto.
I like your sense of humor. You like your sense of humor.
You like the Material Girl. I like a material girl. She's my Madonna...my Lucky Star. Her name is Britney Spears. She's a real Femme Fatale. (gratuitous inclusion for maximum new found glory on search results)
I, too, am getting better at being faster...especially at getting to the point.
Which is to never look back and don't doubt tomorrow.
Just throw it all away and cut the ties to allow for Nothing But A Good Time.
In the meantime, hope you'll be mine until you make it to the big time.
Yours truly,
Sleeveless in Seattle
PS, call me any time, my number is 555-DIME
THE NEARLY DEADS
TOUR DATES
01/20/12 - Nashville, TN @ Revolver
01/27/12 - Hollywood, FL @ Hard Rock Casino
01/30/12 - Tampa, FL @ Palma Ceia
03/08/12 - Nashville, TN @ The Rutledge
03/17/12 - St. Louis, MO @ The Crack Fox
03/18/12 - Indianapolis, IN @ Melody Inn Tavern
03/19/12 - Chicago, IL @ The Ultra Lounge
03/20/12 - Milwaukee, WI @ Yield Bar
03/21/12 - Cleveland, OH @ Wilbert's
03/23/12 - Toronto, CAN @ Canadian Music Fest
03/24/12 - Keyport, NJ @ The Lucky Seven
03/25/12 - Charleston, WV @ The Empty Glass
04/26/12 - Nashville, TN @ 12th & Porter
06/02/12 - Nashville, TN @ Opry Mills Mall (w/ All-American Rejects)
06/16/12 - Newport, KY @ Thompson House Newport
06/17/12 - Nashville, TN @ Rocketown
06/29/12 - Nashville, TN @ Red Rooster Bar and Music Hall
07/03/12 - Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest 2012
07/12/12 - Nashville, TN @ Rocketown
07/24/12 - Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion (Warped Tour)
07/25/12 - Virginia Beach, VA @ Farm Bureau Live (Warped Tour)
07/26/12 - Atlanta, GA @ Aaron's Amphitheatre (Warped Tour)
07/27/12 - Orlando, FL @ Central Florida Fairgrounds (Warped Tour)
07/28/12 - West Palm Beach, FL @ Cruzan Amphitheatre (Warped Tour)
07/29/12 - St. Petersburg, FL @ Vinoy Waterfront Park (Warped Tour)
07/30/12 - Charlotte, NC @ Verizon Wireless Amp (Warped Tour)
07/31/12 - Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center (Warped Tour)
08/17/12 - Nashville, TN @ Rocketown
08/31/12 - Nashville, TN @ Hard Rock Cafe
09/01/12 - Little Rock, AR @ Flying DD
09/02/12 - Kennedale, TX @ Texas Scaregrounds
09/03/12 - Houston, TX @ Mango's
09/04/12 - New Orleans @ Banks Street Bar
09/05/12 - Baton Rouge, LA @ HTGT Thrift
09/06/12 - Pensacola, FL @ Handlebar
09/07/12 - Panama City, FL @ A&M Theatre
09/08/12 - Orlando, FL @ The Backbooth
09/09/12 - Tarpon Springs, FL @ Neptune's Lounge
09/11/12 - Miami, FL @ Churchchill's Pub
09/13/12 - Charlotte, NC @ The Chop Shop - NoDa
10/04/12 - Nashville, TN @ Rocketown (w/ Icon For Hire)
There's no place like home. There's no place like home.
You better call up the ambulance I'm, deep in shock.
Overloaded baby, I can hardly walk...
VAN HALEN, Rock And Roll Hall of Fame inductees and one of the most important and influential rock bands of all time, announced their return to the live stage during a once-in-a-lifetime performance on January 5 at the intimate 250-person capacity Café Wha? in New York City.
Picking up where they left off in 2008, the 3/4 Van Halen, one-part Roth ripped through a 13-song set.
Here's a multi-camera montage of the first three songs, "You Really Got Me," "Runnin' With The Devil," and "Somebody Get Me A Doctor" (Roth ad libs for five minutes before Doctor including some thoughts about Lady Gaga):
VAN HALEN
CAFE WHA?
JANUARY 5, 2012
SET LIST:
01. You Really Got Me
02. Runnin' With The Devil
03. Somebody Get Me A Doctor
04. Everybody Wants Some
05. She's The Woman
06. Dance The Night Away
07. Panama
08. Hot For Teacher
09. Ice Cream Man
10. Ain't Talkin Bout Love
11. Jump
12. Beautiful Girls
13. Unchained
The Wha? show previewed "She's The Woman," a 35-year old song that's been updated for inclusion on the band's new album A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH.
The original "She's The Woman" appeared on the infamous Gene Simmons produced Van Halen Zero demo in 1976:
A Different Kind Of Truth, which will be released in the U.S. by Interscope Records on February 7, is Van Halen’s first original studio album with singer David Lee Roth since the band’s classic multi-platinum album 1984.
VAN HALEN A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH
1) Tattoo
2) She’s The Woman
3) You and Your Blues
4) China Town
5) Blood and Fire
6) Bullethead
7) As Is
8) Honeybabysweetiedoll
9) The Trouble With Never
10) Outta Space
11) Stay Frosty
12) Big River
13) Beats Workin’
"The Downtown Sessions" DVD Track Listing:
1) Panama (Acoustic)
2) You and Your Blues (Intro, Acoustic)
3) You and Your Blues (Acoustic)
4) Beautiful Girls (Acoustic)
The first single from ADKOT is “TATTOO” with its "Dance The Night Away" vibe eschewing its "sexy dragon magic":
On the Tour of TRUTH, fans can expect Van Halen to perform selections from their arsenal of epic hits that include: “Eruption,” “Running with the Devil,” “Jamie’s Cryin’,” “You Really Got Me,” “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love,” “Everybody Wants Some,” “Unchained,” “And The Cradle Will Rock,” “Beautiful Girls,” “Mean Street,” “Somebody Get Me A Doctor,” “Jump,” “Panama,” “Hot For Teacher” and more from classic albums Van Halen, Van Halen II, Women and Children First, Fair Warning, Diver Down and 1984.
Van Halen – who the Los Angeles Times recently called “a force of nature” and “one of the flat-out greatest rock bands on the planet” – were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in March of 2007.
Formed in Los Angeles in 1974, Van Halen changed the rock and roll landscape forever with the release of their self-titled, 1978 debut album displaying unparalleled stage presence, revolutionary musicianship, and extraordinary songwriting abilities.
Amen. Looking forward to Runnin' with a different kind of Devil...
Somebody, please get me a Doctor.
Somebody give me a SHOT!
VAN HALEN
NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES:
2/18/12 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center
2/20/12 Detroit, MI The Palace of Auburn Hills
2/22/12 Indianapolis, IN Bankers Life Fieldhouse
2/24/12 Chicago, IL United Center
2/28/12 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
3/01/12 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
3/03/12 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
3/05/12 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
3/09/12 Buffalo, NY First Niagara Center
3/11/12 Boston, MA TD Garden
3/15/12 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
3/17/12 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
3/21/12 Ottawa, ON Scotiabank Place
3/24/12 Atlantic City, NJ Boardwalk Hall
3/28/12 Washington, DC Verizon Center
3/30/12 Pittsburgh, PA Consol Energy Center
4/01/12 Rosemont, IL Allstate Arena
4/10/12 Fort Lauderdale, FL BankAtlantic Center
4/12/12 Tampa, FL St. Pete Times Forum
4/14/12 Orlando, FL Amway Arena
4/16/12 Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville Arena
4/19/12 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena
4/21/12 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum
4/25/12 Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Arena
4/27/12 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena
5/01/12 Tulsa, OK BOK Center
5/05/12 Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome
5/07/12 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
5/09/12 Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome
5/11/12 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
5/17/12 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
5/19/12 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
5/22/12 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
5/24/12 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
5/27/12 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena
6/1/12 Los Angeles, CA STAPLES Center
6/3/12 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena
6/5/12 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion
6/12/12 Anaheim, CA Honda Center
6/14/12 San Diego, CA Viejas Arena
6/16/12 Phoenix, AZ US Airways Center
6/20/12 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
6/22/12 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center
6/24/12 Houston, TX Toyota Center
6/26/12 New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena
LA pop-core alt rockers EVOLOVE, led by the powerful vocals of singer Lucy Levinsohn, are gearing up for another run of dates throughout the western states.
The band, whom recently locked in drummer Andrew Carroll as a permanent replacement (he most recently hit the skins for Stitched Up Heart), will continue to support its latest Breaking Heartstrings release.
EVOLOVE are currently recording an acoustic album entitled ACOUSTIC SESSIONS VOL. 1. The 12-song release will contain four brand new songs ("3 Cheers" "Everything's Falling" "The Dream" "Spare Me") along with stripped-down versions of "Let Me In" "2012" and "Toyshop Girl" from their debut Ep and all of the tracks from Heartstrings.
ASV1 will be released on August 14 and is available for pre-sale.
In the meantime, since the year of the Mayan is upon us, check out the ominous foreshadowing bequeathed in the video for 2012.
It is the Countdown to THE END:
Awakening the states along I-5 with Evolove will be the Eco-love of rock outfit BLAMESHIFT, whom power their tour bus with the simplicity of honest-to-goodness vegetable oil.
Formidably led by singer Jenny Mann, the Long Island, NY quartet have previously crisscrossed the country over the past six years to the tune of 150,000 miles and were selected/featured last fall by retailer HOT TOPIC as one of the Best Unsigned Bands in the land (coincidentally, Evolove were similarly anointed the following month).
While on the road, the band will perform songs from their two full-length recordings and two subsequent EPs, the latest of which includes the hit single "Ghost":
At the conclusion of the tour, Blameshift will begin recording the follow-up to The Black Rose with producer ERIK RON (Panic! at the Disco, VersaEmerge, D.R.U.G.S., Four Years Strong, Hit The Lights, Foxy Shazam, The Academy Is).
The final show of the three-week jaunt will culminate at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood for the second installment of ROCKSTARS & PINUPS, a unique multi-media event specifically created by Ms Levinsohn to cast a light on the best and brightest music, entertainment, fashion and performance art bubbling up in Los Angeles. The inaugural event saw performances by Evolove, Matt Toka, Valora and Melotia.
Rounding out the second chapter of ready-made Pinups and resplendent Rockstars are NEO GEO, led by singer Rainy Terrell, MODELSAINT, fronted by Skyla Talon, and synthpop rock group iNK.
EVOLOVE & BLAMESHIFT
TOUR DATES
1/25 – West Hollywood, CA – Whiskey A Go-Go
1/26 – Long Beach, CA – DiPiazza's
1/27 – Santa Cruz, CA – The Blue Lagoon
1/28 - Winnemucca, NV – Player's Bar
1/31 – Yakima, WA – Bill's Place Tavern
2/01 – Seattle, WA – El Corazon
2/02 – Kennewick, WA – The Rock Reactor
2/03 – Spokane, WA – The A Club
2/04 – Portland, OR – Backspace
2/07 – Stockton, CA – Plea For Peace
2/08 – Visalia, CA – 210 Café
2/09 – San Diego, CA – Brick by Brick
2/10 – Las Vegas, NV – Vamp'd
2/12 – Anaheim, CA – The Doll Hut
2/13 – West Hollywood, CA – Roxy Theatre
