7/23/04

Dee Palmer's New York Shows -POSTPONED TILL OCTOBER

I apologize in advance.  

Dee Palmer's NYCity shows are being postponed until October or November.  As soon as I have dates cominig in, I'll let you know.

Fuel 2000 (distribution through Universal) releases MOUNTAIN’s “Eruption” album

In the liner notes for ERUPTION, drummer Corky Laing says it was “impossible to try to fill Felix Pappalardi’s shoes in Mountain” as he was the leader, manager, writer, publisher and the producer for the group.  Still West and guitarist Corky Laing are musicians and believe in getting Mountain on the road.  And that’s what they’ve been doing for the past 35 years.

ERUPTION features live classics from the Mountain catalog as well as Moutain-ized covers from contemporaries including the Animals, Joe Walsh plus Robert Johnson, a hero to many musicians from that era.

Disc 1’s live jams are from 1985 shows in New York City when Mark Clarke (Uriah Heep, Rainbow) was the featured bassist and the second disc is from the group’s 2003 European tour with Richie Scarlet (solo, Sebastian Bach, Ace Frehley) playing bass.

Originally Mountain formed in 1969 with Pappalardi, West, drummer N.D. Smart (replaced by Corky Laing right after Woodstock, their fourth gig) and keyboardist Steve Knight....  After Woodstock the group signed to Windfall Records and released MOUNTAIN CLIMBING in 1970 which netted rock standards, "Mississippi Queen" and "Theme For An Imaginary Western."  Leslie West's guitar playing and husky vocals were front and center, with Pappalardi and Laing contributing greatly to songwriting.  The 1971 follow up album was NANTUCKET SLEIGHRIDE and that featured both the song “Nantucket Sleighride” and the single  "The Animal Trainer And The Toad."  They broke up in 1972.  After two more live albums, band members did collaborations with other classic rockers including Paul Rodgers and Jack Bruce.

In 1983, Felix Pappalardi was killed, and West and Laing continued on in the music scene, including tours as Mountain.  

This summer Mountain continues their music, celebrating their 35th Anniversary, with a VH1 Classics-sponsored tour throughout the United States.


So far dates are as follows:
8/05/04              The Funk Box        Baltimore  MD
8/06/04              Amos Southend         Charlotte  NC
8/07/04           Variety  Playhouse Atlanta  GA
8/08/04              The Mercy Lounge      Nashville TN
8/10/04     Cactus Cafe Austin TX
8/14/04        Jim Kelly's Nugget     Lake Tahoe, NV
8/15/04         Slim's         San Francisco  CA
8/17/04   Belly Up                   Solano Beach CA
8/19/04      Coach House          San Juan  Capristrano CA
8/20/04       Angel's Roadhouse   Yucaipa, CA
8/21/04     Yesteryear's Ponoma  CA
8/24/04      Rhythm Room Phoenix  AR
8/26/04       Gene's (Hamburger Harbor!) Gordonville  TX
8/28/04         B&B Backstage Youngstown  OH
8/29/04         Steel Music Hall            Rochester, NY

7/6/04

JULY 25- KEY FEST-- A DAY OF ELECTRIC AND ACOUSTIC KEYBOARD MADNESS WITH DREAM THEATER'S KEYBOARD WI




Jordan Rudess, keyboardist for leading progressive rock band, Dream Theater, and solo artist on the Magna Carta roster will be presenting KEY FEST:  a full day of Keyboard appreciation at the White Plains Performing Arts Center, 11 City Place in White Plains.

Events: a Master Class. 1 - 4 PM. ($25) Focus on technique,  soloing improvisiton,and composition, ending with an all keyboard jam.  Attend the Master Class as audience member or a performing participant who will come on stage and work with Jordan live.  
To audition for the class or jam session, go to:
www.jordanrudess.com/masterclass

Rudess Solo Concert.   7 PM ($35) A concert grand piano, extreme synths.  An all-Jordan evening

Attend both the Master Class and the Concert for $50.

To order tickets, call: Box Office: 888-977-2250  (Mon-Sat. 11 AM. till 6 PM and Sun. 12 PM through PM EST.)

Jordan Rudess is a member of Dream Theater, has played on record and/or on tour with Steve Morse and the Dixie Dregs, Annie Haslam, David Bowie, Jan Hammer, Enrique Iglesias, Paul Winter Consort.  He's scored for the  International Magician of the Year winner, Jeff McBride, has a two piece POWER DUO with Dixie Dregs drummer Rod Morgenstein.

Jordan will be releasing a solo album,Rhythm of Time on Magna Carta Records in August 2004.  It features Rod Morgenstein on drums, Joe Satriani, Steve Morse, Vinnie Moore, Greg Howe and Daniel J on guitar with Dave Larue on Bass, and guest vocals by Kip Winger.

He has several other albums, plus two books coming out--Total Keyboard Wizardry, due July 2004 by Cherry Lane/Hal Leonard, and Dream Theater's long-awaited keyboard anthology featuring DT's strongest keyboard compositions expertly transcribed by Jordan's transcriber Chris Romero,  distributed by Warner Bros.

Please, go to www.jordanrudess.com for info on all of Jordan's works.

Link for Jordan photos:
http://paulworks.com/jordanpressphotos/

general news on my artists

I prepping a mailout for JOE DENINZON'S LIVE WIRES.  Joe's music is very eclectic with funk, jazz, rock, blues, soul.... He's a violinist, vocally he reminds me of Jack Bruce except a lower register.  His website is www.joedeninzon.com

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Dee Palmer is coming to New York City in September.  I've scheduled September 10 at the Cutting Room with Roberta Piket opening, so far, and we'll have two or three other New York City area dates for her.  
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I'm 99% sure I'll be doing tour press for Mountain this summer.  There is a double live CD set from them due out on Fuel 2000.  Their website is www.mountaintheband.com.  Mountain today is Leslie West on mouth and guitar, Corky Laing on drums and Richie Scarlet on bass.   I've wanted to work with all of these musicians over the years.
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From Tower of Power, I got a heads up from Keyboardist Roger Smith, that he's using a Portable Hammond B3 in concert.  In the next few weeks I hope to have a color j-peg that describes how he does it....let me know if you want this photo.  The Hammond B3 is an incredibly heavy instrument to carry around, the Hammond B3 P is a dream come true for keyboardists.
Tons of info on the whole band is at www.bumpcity.com.
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Singer-songwriter Jann Klose is performing live online at http://artmusiccoffeehouse.com/ on Wednesday July 7 at the following times:
9PM to 11PM Eastern Time
6PM to 8PM Pacific Time
and Thursdays 10AM to Noon, Seoul time.


This house concert in Lebanon, NJ has gained a worldwide audience. Now in
its second year of weekly webcasts, ArtMusic Coffeehouse has become an
internet cultural phenomenon - bringing back the excitement of old-time live
radio to a new audience.
 The show will also
be archived for download at a later time.  

ALSO
- Jann has a couple of new Live Mp3s for you as a free download from our show
in Detroit last April. The first is 'Walk Through The River' with Joe
Deninzon sitting in on Mandolin and the other is 'This Sacrifice', a new
song. Visit
http://www.jannklose.com, go to the Media Section, then click on Mp3s.

JUL 15 New York, NY - 7:30 PM.
Manhattan Borough President Virginia C. Fields presents "Business Unusual".
In celebration of the HOWL Festival at the office of the Manhattan Borough
President. Municipal Building, 1 Centre Street, 19th Floor South (bring
photo ID). FREE. Also featuring dance performance by C. Eule Dance.
http://www.geocities.com/arteriesev/

JUL 29 Cleveland, OH - 9 PM.
At Felt.  Located at 2261 Lee Road in Cleveland Hts. 216.321.9866. FREE.
Great new hang out spot in Cleveland Heights! http://www.feltonlee.com

JUL 31 Mansfield, OH - 8 PM.
We're back at Dixey City Limits! Located at 1512 Park Avenue West in
Mansfield, OH. 419.529.9326. Call for reservations! LIMITED SEATING!

He is a singer-songwriter like Dave Mason and John Mayer, a dynamic voice that recalls a variety of soul artists like Teddy Pendergrass and rock singers such as Cliff Richards and Stevie Wonder.  If you listen to the broadcast, please let me know your comparisons.  (Jann also does websites, and actually has made my cosmetically cool.)  His website is www.jannklose.com
P.S. Jann is my website designer-- his site is www.jannklose.com, and you can email him at jannklose@earthlink.net if you want a practical website designer.
----------------
Melanie Safka's upcoming shows are:

Sat. July 24, 2004 Third Avenue Playhouse Sturgeon Bay, WI  (920) 743-1760
Sat. August 7, 2004 Happy Badger Performing Arts Palace Toledo, OH  (419) 537-9350
Sat. August 14, 2004 Lock 3 Live! Akron, OH  
Mon. August 23, 2004 Kentucky Theater (WoodSongs Taping) Lexington, KY  
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Jethro Tull tourdates are listed at www.jethrotull.com.  There will be North American dates in November.  We'll start doing print interviews just for the tour in October.
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And note that Martin Barre will be touring the states, sharing a bill with Willie Porter.  You can keep abreast of his tourdates (approximately October 14 through the 25) at http://www.flemingartists.com/wp-itin.html
       

grand funk railroad, updated shows this year


Here are updated shows from Grand Funk Railroad.  The band is Don Brewer-drums, Mel Schacher-bass, Max Carl-vocals, Bruce Kulick-guitar, Tim Cashion-keyboards.
Their website is www.grandfunkrailroad.com.

07/10/04   Molson Canal Concert Series        North Tonawanda, New York

07/23/04   Grand Casino Resort               Gulfport, Mississippi  

07/24/04   Magic Springs Theme Park          Hot Springs, Arkansas  


07/25/04   Quick Chek Fest of Ballooning      Readington, New Jersey  

07/30/04   Larimer Cnty Fair/Bud Evt Ctr       Loveland, Colorado  

08/01/04   Lake Erie Summer Rockfest 2004    North East, Pennsylvania    

08/02/04   California Mid-State Fair        Paso Robles, California  


08/05/04   Caesars Indiana Casino Hotel       Elizabeth, Indiana  

08/06/04   Clay's Prk Resort Amphitheatre      North Lawrence, Ohio  

08/07/04   Ohio State Fair                   Columbus, Ohio


08/10/04   Sturgis 2004 Music Festival     Sturgis, South Dakota  


08/21/04   Party in the Pasture           Beulah, North Dakota  

08/22/04   Iowa State Fair-Riley Free Stg       Des Moines, Iowa  

08/28/04   Cabarrus Arena & Events Center     Concord, North Carolina    



09/10/04   2004 HOG Rally/Timberwood Amp     Hot Springs, Arkansas    

09/12/04   Utah State Fair                Salt Lake City, Utah    

09/25/04   Bayfest                             Corpus Christi, Texas  

09/26/04   State Fair of OK-B-52 Theatre     Oklahoma City, Oklahoma    

10/02/04   Cerritos Center                 Cerritos, California  

10/11/04   Paul Paul Theatre/Fresno Fair     Fresno, California    

7/4/04

review of Melanie at the Albany State Museum

Hippie Girl Forever
from METROLAND!!!

Melanie
New York State Museum, June 25

Showmanship. Too many venues forget all about it; they collect your ticket and give you a chair to sit on. (Or not.) The folks at the New York State Museum, however, understand showmanship in a way that could almost be called cute. And I mean "cute" in the best sense.

Showmanship was on full display in the venue's first-ever concert last Friday, an evening with Melanie. The ushers, a friendly mix of seniors and students, wore colorful tie-dyed shirts. A psychedelic light show swirled on the ceiling of the museum's Clark Auditorium. Bongs were set up at the entrance of each row. All right, I'm lying about the bongs. But you get the idea-the museum created an atmosphere.

So did Melanie, by the way, who opened the evening with this rueful reflection, which brought down the house: "I can't believe I'm finally playing in a museum."

The singer, whose fame was more-or-less born at the original Woodstock, played two warm, friendly sets. Joking with the audience, making light of certain technical problems-more about those later-and relating anecdotes, Melanie was the hippest original hippie I've ever seen. (And believe me, I've seen quite a few, including a horrible Jefferson Airplane reunion show that scarred me for life. I can still hear Grace Slick singing about the plight of the panda bear.) Even better, she still has that husky, unclassifiably idiosyncratic vocal style that owes as much to pop music as folk.

Melanie mixed her hits and fan favorites with some pleasingly strong new tunes. The best of the latter included "And We Fall," a song about fickle teenage love (written for her daughter) that was both sympathetic and knowing, and "I Tried to Die Young," a witty (and self-explanatory) reflection on life.

Especially refreshing, however, was the way she presented her signature songs. "Brand New Key" ended the first set. Before she sang it, she gave the audience a little background info. Apparently, she originally wrote it as a slow, sexy Cajun-flavored blues. By the time her record-producer husband and other hands worked on it, however, "Brand New Key" became the "cute"-her word, not mine-international smash we know. "Creative" and "control," she lamented, are two words that just don't go together-even if, as she did then, have her own record label.

Even better was "What Have They Done to My Song, Ma." Melanie went into along routine, midsong, about an imagined movie version of her life. The dramatic climax of the movie, she explained, would be her onstage breakdown in the middle of this song-and she promptly illustrated this by wandering towards the first row in mock-horror, crying "Where am I?" Then she finished the song. She killed.

She played it straight on the anthemic "Lay Down," her bluesy cover of "Ruby Tuesday," and the moving "Rainbow Race." It was an entertaining and convincing performance; Melanie may be the last genuinely convincing hippie on the planet.

The concert was the first in a series being offered in conjunction with the exhibit Spirit of the Woodstock Generation: The Photographs of Elliott Landy; there were a number of opening night technical glitches, but nothing fatal. Upcoming concerts will feature such other Woodstock survivors as Arlo Guthrie, John Sebastian and Country Joe McDonald. They'll have to go a long way to top Melanie, however.

-Shawn Stone

upcoming shows!

Sat. July 24  Third Avenue Playhouse Sturgeon Bay, WI  
Sat. August 7  Happy Badger Performing Arts Palace Toledo, OH  
Sat. August 14  Lock 3 Live! Akron, OH  
Mon. August 23  Kentucky Theater (WoodSongs Taping) Lexington, KY