When I first read the news about a CBGB's movie, my first thought was "Hasn't someone done this already?" I mean, there have been numerous books written and released over
the years (all of which are somewhat difficult to find for some odd reason), special programming on various cable channels, and some "pseudo" documentaries. But this release should be quite different from the rest. Lisa Kristal, the daughter of New York's iconic punk club and its late owner Hilly Kristal, will be co-producing a new movie tentatively titled CBGB that's slated to begin production this fall. The movie will look at the punk mecca's '70s heyday, where Talking Heads, the Ramones, Television, Patti Smith and countless others got their start. Yours truly hopes it will feature a full scope of features - from concert footage to interviews to God knows what else!This next tidbit seemed to mushroom out of nowhere and is the buzz of the internet as well as eBay. Coldplay, Depeche Mode, Keith Richards, Mark Ronson, Panic! at the Disco, and other artists have teamed up with designer Ben Sherman for an auction to benefit Lifebeat, which raises awareness about HIV/AIDS. The artists will auction off signed guitar picks along with a personal note about where the pick was used and a personal photo; the items will be housed in a collector's frame. The auction lasts from May 29 through June 19 on eBay.
From the "Milking it to the nth degree" department, we have Pearl Jam and the finally released details of the
ir 20th anniversary birthday bash, after months of anticipation. The band will host and headline a Labor Day weekend festival at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin with special guests the Strokes, Queens of the Stone Age, Mudhoney, Joseph Arthur, Liam Finn, Glen Hansard and John Doe of X. Tickets for the event will go on sale May 23rd for fan club members and June 4th for the general public. Pearl Jam have pledged to donate $2 from each ticket to their Vitalogy Foundation, which grants funds to nonprofit organizations selected by members of the band.I hit on this piece of news in my last post - The Cars and their comeback album and tour. As many of you remember... well, maybe not many of you, it was 23 years ago... when the group called it quits back in 1988, any talk of a reunion was flatly discouraged. Of course, that's all in the past. Last week saw the release of a new studio album, Move Like This, and a
reunion tour that unexpectedly bridges the band's New Wave past with a fresh batch of songs in the present. On the second date of their U.S. tour last Thursday night (5/12), the Cars performed to a packed room at the Hollywood Palladium, opening amid icy waves of synth, electric guitar and Ocasek's unhurried growl on "Let the Good Times Roll," the first track off the Boston act's 1978 debut. We always talk about how, in many cases, change is good. According to reports however, the band looked much as it did the last time we saw them, except for the significant absence of bassist Benjamin Orr, lead singer of such hits as "Just What I Needed" and "Candy-O," who died in 2000 of pancreatic cancer. The surviving quartet lined up together as equals at the front of the stage, with Ocasek calmly plucking his guitar in a black jacket and shades. This is a good thing indeed...I've been seeing more & more of this... especially recently. The latest buzzword in rock n' roll is "memoir". In this month alone, we've had three reports of major artists either releasing or had press releases about the future release of their work. Steven Tyler has been all over the media plane with his new book, but adding to the mix is Pete Townsend (who's book will hit the shelves during the Fall of 2012) and the forth-coming release of Scott Weiland's memoir entitled, "Not Dead and Not For Sale". I read some excerpts from it on-line - like most memoir's, it should be an interesting read.
I'm going to close out this session with some more history. We received some cool feedback and emails regarding the last batch of cool tidbits we highlighted, so here's another round.
1975 - May was a big month that year, but you would've never known it at the time. Blondie seems to be so close to finally making it big, when more setbacks occur. Drummer Billy O'Connor leaves the group to go to law school but is replaced by the talented Clem Burke. Bass player Fred Smith quits to fill Richard Hell's void in Television. They eventually get down to a three piece band due to the fact that their two back-up singers quit because they feel the band is finished. They still cut some demos including one song, (actually a comedy number), called "The Disco Song", which would resurface in 1979 as "Heart Of Glass" and would be a world-wide hit.
At the same time, a bizarre band from Cleveland called The Electric Eels release their "anti-music" indie single containing their now influential cut "Agitated" (which we feature on 360 Degrees).
The band features Nick Knox on drums who would later join The Cramps. The single is raw and distorted and is in reality one of the first true punk records ever. Although they've been together for three years, they're music could easily include a piece of sheet metal and a sledgehammer - it's that crude and obnoxious. They describe their concerts as "art terrorism". They also wear ripped t-shirts with rude slogans on them and safety pins.1977 - The Police release their debut single on Illegal Records. Although Sting would become the focal point of the band in years to come - at this point, it's all drummer Stewart Copeland. He started the band, wrote both songs ("Fall Out" & "Nothing Achieving"), arranged the recording session, started the label with his brother Miles Copeland, and did the artwork for the single!
1980 - There's a new band out of Basildon England. The trio consists of school friends Vince Clarke, Andy Fletcher, and Martin Gore. While they start out with mostly guitars, within a few weeks they switch over to more synthesizers. Some of the names they are considering; Airport Coffee, The Glow Worms, and the Lemon Peels. They finally decide on Depeche Mode.
That's about for now. Until next time, keep listening!
Peace out,
Dave
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