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Pullin’ ‘Tubes: Queens Of The Stone Age Return

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Over the last few months there has been tons of chatter, rumors and speculation surrounding the details of the Queens Of The Stone Age’s new studio album. For their first new set of material since 2007′s Era Vulgaris, the stoner-rock-act have gone indie moving from Interscope to Matador Records, and confirmed that their sixth record will be called …Like Clockwork and will be released this June. Those are not quite the details that have been getting buzz around the internet though, it’s been more about just who joined front-man Josh Homme in the studio this time around, with the list of contributors extending beyond Homme’s circle of rock-star friends. There are the “usual suspects” like Dave Grohl, who stepped behind the kit for the band’s 2002 break-out record Songs for the Deaf, plus former QOTSA members Mark Lanengan and Alain Johannes, as well as bassist Nick Oliveri – who was fired from the band back in 2004.

The album will also feature more QOTSA family members with Brody Dalle, who played on the Eagles of Death Metal’s record, and Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys (Homme produced their 2009 release Humbug). If that wasn’t enough, Trent Reznor, Jake Shears (Sister Sisters), Jon Theodore (Mars Volta) and the easily the most unexpected name on the list – Sir Elton John – will also make appearances on the album. Over the weekend the Queens Of The Stone Age played their first live gig since 2011 at Lollapalooza Brazil, and offered up their first taste of what’s to come by debuting the new track My God Is The Sun. Let’s check it out…

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Lollapalooza Confirms What We Already Knew

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Last week an image of a poster with the purported Lollapalooza 2013 lineup leaked and shortly thereafter multiple industry sources confirmed it was the real deal. Today, festival organizers have revealed the entire lineup for this summer’s event and as expected it’s the same one in the poster.

Headliners include The Cure, Nine Inch Nails, Mumford and Sons, The Killers, Phoenix, New Order, Vampire Weekend and The National. HT faves Grizzly Bear, Band of Horses, Beach House, Frightened Rabbit, Ben Howard and Father John Misty are a few of the other bands on the bill.

Here’s the full list of acts set to play Lollapalooza 2013…

The Cure, Nine Inch Nails, Mumford & Sons, The Killers, New Order, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, The National, Postal Service, Queens of the Stone Age, the Lumineers, Kendrick Lamar, Eric Church, Knife Party, Steve Aoki, Steve Angello,  Ellie Goulding, Thievery Corporation, Grizzly Bear, Lana Del Rey, Flux Pavilion, Band of Horses, Major Lazer, Hot Chip, Azealia Banks, Local Natives, Two Door Cinema Club, Crystal Castles, Dada Life, Tegan & Sara, Imagine Dragons, Beach House, Cat Power, Frightened Rabbit, 2 Chainz, Matt & Kim, Alt-J, Foals, Death Grips, Dillon Francis, Court Yard Hounds, Smith Westerns, Disclosure, Adventure Club, Ben Howard, The Vaccines, Griz, Father John Misty, Ghost, Modestep, Charles Bradley, DIIV, Alex Clare, Heartless Bastards, Baauer, Baroness, Lianne La Havas, Emeli Sande, Wild Nothing.  Jessie Ware, Atlas Genius, Haim, Angel Haze, Timeflies, Theophilus London, Monsta, Wavves, Io Echo, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Icona Pop, Alvin Risk, Chance the Rapper, Lance Herbstrong, Jake Bugg, Wild Belle, Art Department, MS MR, St. Lucia, Shovels & Rope, Guards, Kill the Noise, Robert Delong, Little Green Cars, Deap Vally, Family of the Year, 360,  the Bright Light Social Hour, Twenty One Pilots, San Cisco, Hey Marseilles, Skaters, The Orwells, Palma Violets, Reignwolf, Astro, Pujol, Machines Are People Too, Planet Hemp, Yawn, Keys N Krates, the Neighbourhood, Cole Plante, Half Moon Run, The Mowgli’s, Pacific Air, Lukas Nelson & P.O.T.R., Wheeler Brothers, Wake Owl, American Authors, O’ Brother, the Dunwells, Houndmouth, Supreme Cuts, Brick + Mortar, Cherub, Makeshift Prodigy, Wild Cub, D-Pryde, Brooke Waggoner, Brite Lite Brite, Beast Patrol.

Lollapalooza 2013 will take place in Chicago’s Grant Park on August 2 – 4.

Here’s the official Lollapalooza 2013 lineup announcement video…

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Expensive Jerry Garcia T-Shirt Comes With 6/26/81 Download

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April Fool’s Day is a tough time for those of us gathering news. We’ve gotta keep our guards up so we don’t report as fact things such as Phish selling show ribbons, pinatas and Marvin The Martian t-shirts. So it’s with a little hesitation we report that the Jerry Garcia estate is selling their version of the Grateful Dead guitarist’s iconic Black T-Shirt for one week only. While the plain black T is cool and all it’s what comes with the shirt that has piqued our interest.

Those purchasing the Jerry Garcia t-shirt will also receive a digital download card that will allow you to grab the Jerry Garcia Band’s first public performance at San Francisco’s Warfield Theatre on June 26th, 1981. For this show Garcia was joined by Melvin Seals (organ), Jimmy Warren (electric piano, clavinet), Daoud Shaw (drums), Essra Mohawk (vocals) and Liz Stires (vocals). You can download the show in either FLAC or MP3 320 kbps formats.

The T and download card cost a spendy $24.99 – quite a lot for a plain black T.

Here’s the official announcement…

We’ve all seen it. We’ve grown accustomed to it. We’ve even feigned shock when it didn’t make it to the stage. Jerry’s infamous black Fruit of the Loom pocket t-shirt can now be part of your wardrobe too. We’ve dubbed this t-shirt “Tour Veteran” for the number of shows its seen, but there is more to this 100% cotton shirt than meets the eye. The shirt’s label has been removed and replaced with a Keystone era Jerry illustration screen-printed in grey. The best part? Each t-shirt arrives with a flashback-inducing download card in the pocket which grants access to a special GarciaLive digital-only archival release. Don’t bother testing the wares, we didn’t take it that far…

We’ve dug into the Garcia Vault and selected the Jerry Garcia Band’s first public performance at San Francisco’s Warfield Theatre on June 26th, 1981. Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh replaces Garcia Band mainstay John Kahn on bass for the evening. Melvin Seals (organ), Jimmy Warren (electric piano, clavinet), Daoud Shaw (drums), Essra Mohawk (vocals) and Liz Stires (vocals) round out the evening’s line-up. The Garcia Vault contains only the evening’s second set, but we found the band’s performance too compelling to let an incomplete show keep an otherwise stellar recording from release. The five song set features “Mission in the Rain,” “Harder They Come,” “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door and “Dear Prudence” segueing directly into the show closing “Midnight Moonlight.”

This first digital-only release has been mastered for release by longtime Garcia collaborator Joe Gastwirt and delivered in your choice of formats: 320kbps MP3 or lossless FLAC.

This 100% cotton t-shirt will be available for purchase in the Official Garcia Store beginning today for ONE WEEK only. It may be April Fools, but we’re not pulling any pranks. Don’t miss out.

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Levon Helm Documentary Midnight Ramble & NYC Premieres

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A long-in-the-making film about the life of Levon Helm of The Band, Ain’t In It For My Health, will make its New York City and Levon Helm Studios debuts later this month. The documentary was put together by filmmaker Jacob Hatley, who had unprecedented access to Levon for a two-year-period. Ain’t In It For My Health will be shown at a special Midnight Ramble that will be held at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, New York on April 13th, which will be followed by a run at Cinema Village in New York City starting on April 19th – the one year anniversary of Helm’s death.

Here’s more info about the film from a press release…

Shot over the course of two-plus years, this highly anticipated film focuses on the former lead singer and drummer of “The Band,” four-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member after his “Dirt Farmer” comeback album ushered him back into the spotlight. While this period was artistically productive, AIN’T IN IT FOR MY HEALTH: A Film About Levon Helm also shows Helm dealing with the burdens of renewed celebrity, continuing financial obligation and returning health problems.

The man known worldwide for his soulful voice, as well as his singular and unparalleled drumming and multi-instrumental skills, permitted a camera crew inside his home to show the world an intimate side of his art and life. Of the film, longtime Helm collaborator and musical director Larry Campbell says, “Jacob was the perfect fly on the wall for many months as we experienced the ups and downs of a wonderful time in all our lives.” The result is a rare, artful and honest glimpse into the fascinating world of one of our true American treasures, Levon Helm.

The film’s run in NYC will be followed by limited engagements in other major cities. Expect a full announcement of the special Ain’t In It For My Health Ramble on Levon’s Facebook page tonight.

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Video: Janelle Monáe and The Roots – Little Wing

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How do you promote a posthumous album by an artist who passed away over 40 years ago? In the case of Jimi Hendrix, whose People, Hell & Angels LP shot towards the top of the Billboard charts recently, you don’t have to look far to find someone willing to cover his music. On last night’s episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, soul singer Janelle Monáe performed Little Wing with The Roots to help promote People, Hell & Angels – though it wasn’t Monáe or The Roots who stole the show.

Janelle’s guitarist, Kellindo Parker, did Jimi proud by delivering a jaw-dropping solo in the middle of Monae and The Roots’ rendition of Little Wing. Between the solo, Monae’s impressive vocals and the always solid The Roots, this version of Little Wing was a winner on all fronts. Take a look…

[via Consequence of Sound]

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Tour Dates: Huey Lewis & The News Celebrate Sports

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During a pivotal scene in American Psycho, Christian Bale’s character manically waxed poetic about the music of Huey Lewis & The News, declaring “Their early work was a little too new wave for my tastes, but when Sports came out in ’83, I think they really came into their own, commercially and artistically. The whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost.” It was that album that propelled the Bay Area-based band into stardom, spawning four Top 10 singles – Heart & Soul, I Want A New Drug, The Heart Of Rock & Roll and If This Is It, while going on to sell some ten million copies. This year marks the 30th anniversary of their breakthrough album, which will get a special 30th Anniversary Edition, and the band has lined up a lengthy summer tour in which they will play Sports in its entirety throughout.

If you’re not into a night with Mr. Lewis and The News, then maybe you’ll be interested in hitting one of these recently announced tours…

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Review and Photos: RAQ @ Gramercy Theater

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This past weekend RAQ fans made it past the cutesy “RAQ is BAQ” campaign and to the band’s music itself. The quartet formed in Burlington, Vermont back in 2000 and toured regularly through the summer of 2008. After that, RAQ gigs have been few and far between with keyboardist Todd Stoops moving on to help form funk-fusion act Kung Fu and guitarist Chris Michetti turning an unexpected call to help out the Disco Biscuits into a primary role in Conspirator. Despite Michetti and Stoops’ success in Conspirator and Kung Fu, the material and bond they forged and developed over those eight years, as well as the fanbase they developed, couldn’t be denied leading to the return of RAQ.

[All Photos by Andrew Blackstein]

When RAQ played their first gig of the year at February’s AURA Music Festival one major component of the band had changed. Drummer Greg Stukey sat out the reunion and was replaced by Kung Fu / Breakfast drummer Adrian Tramontano. Upon listening to RAQ’s set at AURA it was clear Tramontano’s relentless “animal-style” drumming fit the band’s music perfectly. As the quartet set out to play a trio of Northeast shows this past weekend, they had Tramontano along for the ride. The three-show run opened in Boston on Thursday night before the band descended upon The Big Apple for a gig with FiKus at the Gramercy Theater on Friday night.

With three studio albums to their name, dozens of unreleased originals and a bevy of covers in the repertoire, RAQ treated fans to 34 different songs over the course of the three-show run, with 11 of those tunes delivered at the Gramercy after a forgettable set of generic jamtronica by FiKus. Breathers were few and far between during RAQ’s powerhouse two-hour performance in New York City as they filled the show with one vibrant jam after another connecting their catchy originals and a cover of ZZ Top’s Cheap Sunglasses.

RAQ defined their performance early in the set by stringing together the opening three-song segment of Bob’s Your Uncle -> Cheap Sunglasses -> Botz with two impressive, patiently-executed segues. It was hard to believe the quartet had only played one show together with this lineup, let alone that Stoops, Michetti and bassist Jay Burwick hadn’t performed together regularly in nearly five years. Chris, Todd and Jay have an undeniable chemistry which came through from the get go and was only accentuated by Tramontano’s whirl-of-motion theatrical drumming.

Once the quartet started jamming the Phish influence was undeniable. That was always the knock on RAQ – they sound too much like Phish. As if that’s such a bad thing? Yes, Michetti’s tone is reminiscent of another guitarist from Vermont, but over the last three years we’ve seen Chris show off such a different side of his playing with the more electronica-oriented Conspirator that proves he’s far from a Trey imitator. Also, you can’t compare the styles of Stoops and Page McConnell as they bring such different elements to the table. Todd is one of the more aggressive keyboardists in the scene and surely has the quickest hands. That said, many of RAQ’s jams on this night had retro-jam written all over them.

RAQ’s originals are steeped in classic rock and many are incredibly catchy. Walking In Circles in particular is an impeccably crafted tune that’s part ZZ Top, part early Aerosmith, part God Street Wine and all RAQ. If the band put out their 2006 album Ton These in 1976, it’s not hard to imagine Walking In Circles would’ve been a hit. The version the quartet dropped at the Gramercy found the band quickly moving beyond the song’s chord structure and into a buttery jam space. Tromontano propelled the tempo into overdrive while Stoops, Michetti and Burwick went to work. Each musician pushed and prodded the jam making for true group improvisation.  After nearly ten minutes of top-notch jamming, and without saying a word or even looking at each other, RAQ transitioned the tasty jam into another of their originals – Reason. This segment was an example of why RAQ deserves a better fate than simply disappearing into the sunset after the reunion run finale down south next month.

 Setlist…

Set: Bob’s Your Uncle -> Cheap Sunglasses -> Botz > City Funk, Walking In Circles > Reason > Clamslide > Reason, Quick And Painless > Silhouette > Quick And Painless, Brother From Another Mother

Encore: Carbohydrates Are The Enemy

RAQ & FiKus Photos…

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Strings & Sol 2013: Yonder, Railroad Earth, Greensky Bluegrass, Keller Williams, Travelin’ McCourys, Leftover Salmon

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Back in December Cloud 9 Adventures brought together Yonder Mountain String Band, Railroad Earth, The Infamous Stringdusters and Leftover Salmon for the first annual Strings & Sol destination music festival, which was held at Dreams Tulum Resort and Spa in Tulum, Mexico. Cloud 9 has just announced the second installment of Strings & Sol with a few of the same bands and a few different acts.

The four-day Strings & Solo 2013 brings Yonder Mountain String Band, Railroad Earth, Greensky Bluegrass, Leftover Salmon and Keller Williams and the Travelin’ McCourys to the Now Sapphire Resort in Puerto Morelos, Mexico from December 11 – 15. Yonder will play a total of three performances with RRE and LoS signed up for one closing show and one additional performance. Keller Williams with The Travelin’ McCourys and Greensky Bluegrass are set to perform twice a piece.

All-inclusive packages go on sale to the general public beginning April 17 at noon ET at www.stringsandsol.com. Those who attended the inaugural event will be able to take part in a pre-sale on April 16.

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Technology Tuesday: Automatica – Synced Tunes and Podcasts For Your Car

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The Automatica [$99] by Italian technology company Inrete is a USB device designed for your car that keeps your audio content from the cloud and your favorite podcasts automatically synced. There’s no need to plug into a computer to add new content or worry about your stick’s content getting stale. Set up your web services and your albums, playlists, songs, podcasts, audio books or other digital content can be listened to without using your smartphone’s data plan or having to use the often finicky Bluetooth connection. Simply plug into your car radio’s USB connection and use your car’s audio system to access a plethora of audio sources.

The Automatica device syncs your music from the cloud with such services as Box, DropBox, Skydrive, Google Drive and SoundCloud. Additionally, podcasts can also easily be added. The device uses WiFi to pull fresh content and keep a local cache on your device. Tunnels, remote countryside and areas with spotty coverage are no longer an issue so you can drive, listen to tunes and enjoy your content without a data or WiFi connection. While the internal memory is only 2GB, you can add an microSD card increasing capacity up to 64GB for a massive library of thousands of tracks and days of audio. Having just bought my first car with a radio with USB input, I couldn’t be more excited or happy to be using the Automatica. Read on to learn more about this great device.

How does this work? The device is more than just a glorified USB stick. It is actually a full blown mini-computer running an ARM processor with built in flash memory, RAM and a WiFi 802.11 b/g radio. When purchasing, you can begin to set up your device choosing cloud services and podcasts that you want to sync. Your device will come loaded with content and ready to go. Similarly, you can run the setup process from any PC or Mac computer which adds WiFi network information and passwords if you will be connecting from a protected network. Open networks will be connect automatically if you chose. After the initial setup, there’s no need to ever plug your device into a computer again. You can add additional networks from the web interface from any computer and manage all your subscriptions from the cloud.

Once your network information is setup, you can add content from DropBox, Box, Skydrive, Google Drive or SoundCloud. Simply authorize the accounts and designate which folders to monitor and sync. It couldn’t be easier. I have “Music” folders in DropBox and Box that I use, and have my entire Google Drive being synced. So I can drop an album or audio book into one of my folders, or “Like” a SoundCloud song and the next time my device connects, the content will automatically be added.

On the web dashboard, Podcasts can also be added. There are hundreds already listed but you can search by keyword or add manually be entering the podcast’s URL. Once your podcasts are selected, you can choose how many of the most recent episodes to sync or how many days to keep current. I have some podcasts where I sync the last three episodes and others that I sync anything from the last 30 days for example.

[Web Dashboard with Cloud Services Setup]

OK! Great. I have a dozen podcasts and my cloud services authorized. Now what? Plug your device into the USB input of your car radio and access like you would any flash drive device navigating to your top level folders of your podcast subscriptions and cloud service folders. Select and play with your integrated audio controls from your car. Conveniently, many cars have the USB jack in the glove compartment or center console storage area keeping the Automatica tucked away nicely. When your device is within range of the WiFi networks you specified, or an open network, new content will automatically be downloaded. Again, the big benefit is being able to use your car’s audio controls rather than from your phone or MP3 player directly when using the AUX input. This is not only easier but much safer and frees the phone for navigation or other uses.

What types of files can I add? The Automatica is not actually playing or converting your audio of course- it is simply a storage device. So you can add any files your car radio can play. All car systems play MP3s and many can play WMA, AAC and other types. Not many can play lossless like FLAC. So keep in mind that you can add anything you want to sync with your Automatica but it will not be recognized and played unless your player can handle them.

[Automatica in a glove compartment]

What else do I need to be aware of? Should I buy this? Remember, first and foremost, your radio needs USB input. Second, you’ll need decent WiFi to sync your audio files. If you are never near WiFi, it will be a hassle to constantly unplug, bring inside and sync. Ideally, your driveway or curb will be close enough to your home or apartment signal to sync. Other options are of course a portable hotspot (like recently reviewed FreedomPop) or tethering with your mobile phone. Automatica even has a cool Android app to automatically turn on tethering when you are in your car. (You can even manage your content right from the app!) Driving around and catching an open WiFi network will not be enough to keep all your content synced. Likewise, if your USB port does not provide power while your car is off, you will have a tough time keeping your device synced. There is an optional car supply power kit ($19.95) that will keep your device powered all the time and allow sync to happen while parked and your car is off.

Drawbacks There’s a few things that prevent Automatica from being a perfect playback device. First, there is no gapless playback so you’ll get that split-second gap between tracks. This isn’t the end of the world but can be an annoyance when listening to live shows with uninterrupted music between tracks. Fortunately, firmware can be updated “over-the-air” and that may be a feature added in the future. Also, tracks are not always sorted and played back automatically in the correct order by ID tags and track numbers. Again, this is more of an issue inherent with the radio or device connecting to the Automatica but nonetheless affects the core use and functionality. For example, for my radio to play back tracks within a folder sequentially (vs. alphabetically), I have to rename the title with the track number preceding the name. Many of my live albums and digital content is already named like that, but when they are not, it is an additional step prior to uploading to the cloud. The relatively paltry 2GB of internal storage is another minor quibble.

Overall thoughts after using for a week and Bottom Line I simply love the Automatica. I have always been terrible at bringing fresh tapes or CD’s into my car and inevitably listen to the same few albums for months at a time. Bluetooth is great most of the time but taxes my data limit every month when using streaming services or connecting to my home Subsonic server. It can also be a bit flaky with the connection. While Bluetooth has definitely gotten much better, it still compresses the signal and has some degradation in quality. Being able to have a perfect connection of flawless audio with constantly updating content is truly a godsend. I have fresh podcasts that automatically update and albums that I can listen to by simply dropping into a DropBox folder. I love the fact that I can max out my storage space (I’m using a 32GB card) but not need to have to worry about managing the content. Automatica will automatically add the newest content and drop the oldest if you reach your capacity. A warning on the web dashboard will tell you that you are getting close. But most of all, I love the fact that after initial setup: there is nothing to do. No manual syncing and no hassle. Everything happens in the background with nothing to do but ensure your device has a WiFi signal.

Long gone are the days of tape decks in cars. Soon, the same will be said for cars with an archaic CD slot. The future is here. Connected, smart, and powerful car radio is here today. Two big thumbs up for Automatica.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them here, email me, or hit me up on Twitter.

Automatica $99

Winner Last week we reviewed the cool Tylt Capio car mount. Pierce, you were randomly picked as the winner. Feel free to get me your contact details so I can make shipping arrangements.

________________________________

Hidden Track Technology Tuesday

email: parker@glidemagazine.com
twitter@tmwsiy
voice-mail:  (781) 285-8696

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Product, app, or web service you are passionate about? Feel free to get in touch with me.

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Update On Dean Ween and Les Claypool Fishing Show

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Earlier this year we reported on a reality show starring Les Claypool and Mickey “Dean Ween” Melchiondo that will “fuse sportfishing with music and comedy.” It’s now been over two months since the news broke about the project, so we did a little digging to see where we’re at.

Early last month Deaner posted a report on his MickeysFishing.com site in which he reveals that he spent three days filming the pilot with Claypool in Fort Lauderdale…

From Austin I went to Fort Lauderdale, FL to do a week of charters, followed by three days of filming a pilot episode of a new fishing show with Les Claypool. We had some issues with bad weather but we did get some fishing in and shot some great footage of us hanging out on the boat jamming as well. Les is an avid fisherman and a great guy and I had a great time jamming with him, we hit a groove immediately and he is one of the most talented musicians I’ve ever played with.

We can’t wait to hear some of these on-boat jams between Claypool and Melchiondo.

SouthFlorida.com’s Go Guide went into specifics about where Les and Mickey fished, reporting that the pair were seen fishing in Pompano Beach’s Lake Santa Barbara and Dumbfounding Bay near Aventura.  The report goes on to say that Claypool and Melchiondo expect to film many episodes of the show in Fort Lauderdale, though they are still in the process of shopping it to “cable TV networks.” The bad weather Deaner mentioned on his website led to “intermittent battles with  sailfish and free-jumping kingfish, some mahi and jacks, plus an accidental snagging of a sea turtle (quickly released).”

What can we expect from the show? One Ween Forum user has shared his vision…

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Phish Lawn Boy Vinyl Listening Party @ Nectar’s

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We love that HT faves Phish still have a great relationship with the bar which hosted dozens of the band’s performances in their early days – Burlington, Vermont’s Nectar’s. On Friday, April 19th, the group’s Waterwheel Foundation charitable arm is throwing a benefit at Nectar’s where attendees will be able to listen to the vinyl version of Lawn Boy the day before everyone else gets to hear the exclusive Record Store Day release.

WaterWheel is suggesting attendees donate $5. Each $5 donation will get you an entry to a raffle with prizes including Lawn Boy on vinyl, an autographed Phish poster and two tickets to see the band play at SPAC this summer. All proceeds from the event will go towards Women Helping Battered Women.

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Couch Tour Alert: Wilco @ Sydney Opera House

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The time difference between those of us in the states and those in Australia can run upwards of 16 hours which makes watching webcasts from Down Under a bit of a predicament. For instance, Wilco is kindly streaming video and audio from their show at the iconic Sydney Opera House tomorrow via their website. Live in the band’s hometown of Chicago? Better set that alarm for 5:30AM tomorrow.

But hey, it’s free live Wilco from across the globe – who are we to complain? Keep in mind that those of us out east should tune in starting at 6:30AM, those in the Central Time Zone should tune in at 5:30AM, those in the Mountain Time Zone should tune in at 4:30AM, while those out west should tune in at 3:30AM. Tomorrow’s show is the band’s last in Australia before they head to New Zealand.

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Pro-Shot Video: Bob Weir, Dave Schools, Jay Lane, Steve Kimock, Jason Crosby and Leslie Mendelson – Cassidy

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TRI Studios’ Weir Here webcasts have given us many magical moments both musical and otherwise. Last week’s episode was no exception as it featured Bobby teaming up with the impressive one-time-only band of guitarist Steve Kimock, bassist Dave Schools of Widespread Panic, vocalist Leslie Mendelson, Primus drummer Jay Lane and multi-instrumentalist Jason Crosby.

TRI has graciously shared video of the ensemble’s version of Cassidy…

Weir Here returns tomorrow night with Dave Schools as special guest host.

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Video: The Music Is You: A Tribute to John Denver – Trailer #3

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At long last, the John Denver tribute album The Music is You: A Tribute to John Denver is available to the world. It’s no secret, we have some big John Denver fans around here, so we’ve been eagerly waiting to hear how this masterfully curated tribute turned out. Overall, there are some stunners (Josh Ritter and Barnstar’s bluegrass Darcy Farrow) and some oddballs (the hard rocking J Mascis & Sharon Van Etten collaboration on Prisoners), but overall it’s a powerful homage.

This trailer touches a few of the really solid covers including Old Crow Medicine Show doing Back Home Again, Blind Pilot’s take on The Eagle and the Hawk, and the unbelievable duet version of Country Roads by Brandi Carlile & Emmylou Harris. You can check out a couple other trailers to hear more here: trailer #1 and trailer #2.

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Amazon Will Rip Vinyl Purchases To MP3 For You

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Earlier this year Amazon announced that it would provide free digital copies of CDs buyers purchased through its “AutoRip” program. Today, Amazon revealed that it’s extending the AutoRip program to vinyl. If you purchase a vinyl record marked AutoRip, you’ll see a digital copy of that album automatically added to your Cloud Player library. You’ll be able to listen to and download these digital files immediately, therefore saving you the trouble of ripping the album yourself.

There are currently thousands of vinyl records available under the AutoRip program, including releases from every major label. In addition, if you have purchased an AutoRip record at any point since Amazon started selling music in 1998, you’ll see digital files of that album in your Cloud Player library. In case you’re wondering, the digital files are encoded as 256 Kbps MP3s.

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Weekly RecommNeds: Jacco Gardner / Suuns

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Sky was yellow and the sun was blue…

Jacco Gardner: Cabinet of Curiosities

April is here, so it’s time for some spring-friendly music. Start off your sunshine season with this wonderful debut from Gardner. He plays every instrument on this ’60s-infused album, giving it a lush, lively, sun-flecked feel…with the hash-scented lyrics to match (e.g. “open up the window to your mind…”). If you’re a fan of the Yellowbirds, like I am, you’ll definitely want to dig into this one. Also, holy crap, I just realized there’s a giraffe in the cover art.

Spotify: Jacco Gardner – Cabinet of Curiosities
MOG: https://mog.com/m#album/79582985
Rhapsody: http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/jacco-gardner/album/cabinet-of-curiosities
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00B1KRVS2

Suuns: Images Du Futur

Dark, dense and occasionally weird, Suuns’ newest is an audio delight. Layers of musical ideas and analog/digital instrumentation give this a kinda “evil Radiohead” thing with plenty to listen to and plenty more to move your body to. This is either psych-rock gone electronic or electronica gone freaky – the soundtrack to some dystopic fairy tale, happy ending not included.

Spotify: Suuns – Images du Futur
MOG: https://mog.com/m#album/81277231
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00BHNP0HC
Rhapsody: http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/suuns/album/images-du-futur

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Kidzz: Six-Year-Old Drummer Nails Van Halen’s Hot For Teacher

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Six-year-old drummer Avery Molek of Washington, Pennsylvania has drumming skills that would make most professionals jealous. The youngster has garnered over one million views at his YouTube channel which features Avery showing his skills by drumming along with a bevy of classic rock and heavy metal tunes. However his latest drum cover might be the best one yet.

Watch as Molek handles Van Halen’s Hot For Teacher seemingly with ease…

[via GuySpeed]

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Postcards: Perpetual Groove/Ghost Owl – It Starts Where It Ends

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The world “Perpetual” is defined as “never ending or changing” or “everlasting.” For Perpetual Groove and their catalog of music over the past decade plus, this is exactly the mantra that always prevailed in light of the challenge at hand…until now. They’ve experienced the highest of the proverbial highs, and in more cases than they probably care to admit, the grueling lows of lows. Even their favorite venue, The Georgia Theatre, where the band has played so many of their shows over the years represents the band and its lineup shift and other problems, having burned to the ground and eventually having been rebuilt bigger and better than ever. So, it is fitting that they will properly say goodbye on that very stage this Friday at their home base in Athens, Georgia.

[Photo by kfishphotography]

After original member Matt McDonald left the band and was replaced in mid-2008 by John Hruby, PGroove changed and continued to duke it out on the road, before McDonald eventually reclaimed his seat at the end of 2011. McDonald chatted with me then, and did so again this past week, about life, the end of PGroove and what is next for him and some of his current and future band mates. So, in typical bittersweet fashion, while one chapter ends, another begins with the trio of McDonald, Adam Perry and Albert Suttle in their new venture, Ghost Owl – who will in a way be ”opening” the show for themselves this Friday before PGroove bids a proper farewell. “I know some people who have been surprised by it. I guess that’s funny from my perspective because I couldn’t think of a better way to introduce what’s new than saying: ‘Hey, before we wrap this up proper, we hope to see a lot of you, and we hope you dig this too and give this a shot,’” exclaimed McDonald.

McDonald, to me, always represented the X factor in PGroove. He is a master of sorcery on the keys, making the notes and knobs bend like a cosmic swirling of sound, with sonic titty-twisters, arcs and crescendos that always complimented front man Brock Butler’s emotional vocals and guitar playing, while the backbone of the band laid squarely on the shoulders of cool-cat bassist Perry and the driving force of rock-solid Suttle on the drums. It’s sad to see them go, as I’ve been lucky enough to call the band friends, but is also something I can genuinely feel in McDonald’s voice as he talks about the next steps for him and his mates, including Ghost Owl. “I feel like we made what our intentions were very clear to each other, the four of us, that this was for the fans and we wanted to go out on a high note. And I feel like musically we’ve done that and feel like we are going to do that,” McDonald excitedly conveys. “But, every day, Ghost Owl has been something that takes up my time, and my mind, and my family’s mind, and everyone around the three of us and it’s been nothing short of amazing.”

But, don’t get me wrong, while PGroove is entering the unknown, the future for the band members has never been clearer. Butler will continue his mesmerizing solo shows, while focusing on getting healthy, as the remaining three are beyond excited to debut Ghost Owl. “A couple months ago, the best way I can describe it is like I was at the end of a book, where now I’m finishing the Two Towers and now Return of the King is next, or any trilogy of books, where I’ve been on the last page of the second book and I can see where the third book is going to kick off with complete change and everything like that,” said McDonald. “And I feel like I haven’t been able to get off the last page for a minute! I feel like I’ve been: C’mon, C’mon! Let’s go and let’s go…in two weeks this transition will be complete and I’ll be onto the new book.”

McDonald explained how he never thought about Ghost Owl or its existence until early 2013. “Adam took me in the studio and played me seven songs that he had written in about five days. And it was seven of the best songs that I had ever heard him write. It was something that was completely different, and not Perpetual Groove-y at all and something that he had a very clear plan of execution for and then we started talking more about that, and what it could be, and working with other artists and using new tools, and playing new instruments and just something completely different and fresh. That’s been where our frustration and every emotion we’ve had over the past few months have gone into these songs.”  Again, the energy and enthusiasm in McDonald’s voice isn’t too far off from those of his toddler son’s: “If we are not doing PGroove, we are rehearsing and writing for Ghost Owl.”

However, McDonald explains that he truly started to believe in Ghost Owl only a few days after his meeting with Perry when they and Suttle launched a Kickstarter page, asking for fans support. “That was the first eye-opening experience where it was like, ‘Whoa!’” (The band raised over $6,000 just days after the launch, easily clearing their goal of 5k). ”People reaching into their pockets in a whole different kind of way was instrumental in us being able to pull this off [laughs]. And people are going to see that pretty quickly. Adam is surrounded by keyboards that he’s playing every, single one of them, I’m down to just two, tiny, little keyboards and a guitar rig, so it’s different. But that was humbling for sure.”

[Ghost Owl]

But McDonald reigns in his enthusiasm to get back to humble roots, realizing that he will forever be linked, in some form to a member of Perpetual Groove. “It carries with it this keen sense of recognition that we wouldn’t have without Brock or without PGroove having the past decade that we had, and especially without the fans. And that’s the only reason that we can feel like we can do this and that they’ll let us do it, and we know that not everyone is gonna like it. But, we feel really good about it and we feel really confident about it.”

When I ask him how things changed so quickly from when we last spoke and he decided to rejoin PGroove, he bluntly states that this was the only way that everyone could continue on being healthy, as life on the road was taking its toll, especially for Butler. “I would say that it’s a mix of emotions. We gave it all that we had and not one of us can say that we didn’t try. And we’ve all been very much at peace with that and we are thankful that we have the opportunity to go on even though it’s not Perpetual Groove. Not only with music, but with our relationships and our friendships. I don’t have any regrets at all about the past 10 years,” McDonald explained.

He simply adds another comment after a slight, reflective pause, “Yeah, I’m really proud of what we’ve done and stand by our body of work…Everybody wants everyone to be happy, healthy and successful – regardless of what the future holds, whether it’s together or not and to have success outside of the Perpetual Groove thing.”

He also make sit very clear that Ghost Owl will not be PGroove – in any sense. GO will not be playing PG tunes, nor debut any covers at the present time, although he texts me again a few days after the interview, “GO will probably pick a cover when we are ready.” When I reply that I figured, he says clearly that “we are trying to distance ourselves from PG as much as possible.”

Ghost Owl will still take a few cues from the world of PGroove, whether McDonald realizes it or not though. They will be going out on the road with a unique light rig,  projection mapping and many new tools. While some things may want to remain the same as taking the innovative lightning and visual approach, he stresses that things will be different moving forward. “The songs themselves, the way they are executed and the way they are written, it’s not really jamband-y or open for exploration, if that makes sense. And then there are other parts that I’m sure will grow their own legs as we take it out on the road. But I don’t think it will ever be anything where there’s a 15-minute guitar solo or anything like that,” McDonald revealed. He’s also conscious that while this is an educated risk, he is hoping the fanbase he has helped accumulate over the years with PGroove will continue to follow his lead, and music, as he praises their music IQ: ”It’s not of that same school where a lot of people would know Perpetual Groove at all…Music is a lot more than the jamband scene and I think people that are the true fans of music recognize it pretty quickly – especially in this scene.”

And so PGroove bows out this Thursday with an intimate acoustic performance, before celebrating their legacy Friday at the Georgia Theatre for a show that will be webcast.  When I ask the question that certainly has a personal selfish tinge to it, at least for me having loved and grown with this band since ’03, McDonald answered honestly and wisely, which is something that holds hope for the future. ”I think that for everyone to move forward in our personal lives right now, there’s not a whole lot of thought about getting back together. That would be a mountain range that we couldn’t see right now because we haven’t finished climbing these ones.” But, he again pauses and realizes that as he’s learned again over his time with PG, you never know what the future may hold. “As much of a cliché as it is, is that you never say never. In this case it’s really true because there’s one thing that I’ve learned over the past 14 months, much less the past 10 years, is that you can never know what the future holds…but, I would say it would be an awful shame if the four of us didn’t play together again [versus full-blown touring]. Just because I think there’s something incredible beautiful and unique that happens when the four of us are on stage together.”

For all fans of PGroove and now Ghost Owl, we can only hope that the future is in some way “everlasting.”

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Giorgio Moroder Discusses Daft Punk Collaboration

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One of the most anticipated albums of 2013 has to be Daft Punk’s fourth studio LP – Random Access Memories. The album is set to drop next month and features collaborations with singer-songwriter Paul Williams, Chic’s Nile Rodgers and famed disco producer Giorgio Moroder. To help promote the album, Daft Punk is offering a series of videos that take a look at the album’s collaborators.

The first episode of The Collaborators has been posted featuring a chat with Giorgio Moroder in which the Italian producer talks about his first exposure to Daft Punk, his work with Donna Summer and his work with Daft Punk on the new LP…

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Jeff Coffin To Guest @ Umphrey’s sUMmer School

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Umphrey’s McGee will host the second annual sUMmer School at the Full Moon Resort in Big Indian, New York from June 17 – 21. On the 18th, UM will welcome frequent collaborator Jeff Coffin on the Dave Matthews Band as a special guest for that day’s workshops and performances.

Over the course of the event Umphrey’s will offer four performances, a handful of open jams, two sessions on improvisational technique, songwriting sessions, master classes a slew of other UM-related activities. Accommodations, which include entry fees, are available in a wide range of pricing options.

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