Monthly Archives: April 2017

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Concord Music Group and Rhino Entertainment, Warner Music Group’s catalog division, are proud to announce a joint campaign celebrating the 60th anniversary of iconic soul label, Stax Records. This unique partnership marks the first marketing collaboration of the Stax recordings which have been divided since Atlantic Records split with Stax Records in 1967.

Honoring historic Soulsville, USA in Memphis, TN, curated collections of some of the greatest Stax music will be released on new hits compilations, vinyl LPs, digital hi-resolution remasters and deluxe boxed sets. These releases will showcase timeless Stax hits, plus rare tracks from many of the label’s legendary artists including Otis Redding, Booker T & the MGs, Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, Johnnie Taylor, Eddie Floyd, William Bell, Sam & Dave, Albert King, Mable John, The Mad Lads and many more.

The collaboration between Rhino and Concord will kick off with the May 19th launch of the Stax Classics series—announced exclusively on Rolling Stone (4/26)—which consists of ten wallet-friendly collections, each highlighting one of the label’s biggest stars with 12 choice tracks and insightful new liner notes. Available on CD and at all digital retailers and streaming services, these albums will celebrate the prolific Stax careers of Otis Redding, William Bell, Johnnie Taylor, Carla Thomas, Booker T & The MGs, The Dramatics, Albert King, Sam & Dave, Isaac Hayes, and The Staple Singers.

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Sought after by collectors and considered the rarest of Motown’s rare grooves, Diana Ross’ diana – the original CHIC mix, will make its long-awaited debut on vinyl on April 21, on Motown/UMe/UMGI, with a twist: it will be a double-LP set on pink vinyl at 45rpm for maximum fidelity. This edition of diana includes alternate-mix versions of such classics as “Upside Down” and “I’m Coming Out,” as envisioned by Chic’s Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame member Nile Rodgers and the late Bernard Edwards.

Following 1979’s collaboration with Ashford & Simpson, which produced her hit “The Boss,” Diana Ross sought a new sound and hired the hot Chic team of Rodgers and Edwards to compose, play on, and produce her next release. But she and Motown were dissatisfied with the too-Chic-like results, a feeling supported by influential disc jockey Frankie Crocker, who warned Ross the record might fall prey to the disco backlash at the time. Ross turned to Motown’s house engineer, Russ Terrana, the man behind her Supremes and solo hits and much more, and he proceeded to remix the entire album, using alternate vocals or placing her vocals more upfront, creating overall a smoother, “commercial” mix.

“Our concept was to make it more avant-garde,” Nile Rodgers later told writer Brian Chin, “and their concept was to make it a little bit more accessible.” The revised diana, her tenth studio album, was released—with a striking, now iconic cover image—on May 22, 1980.

Rodgers and Edwards were not informed and, protesting publicly, wished to take their names off the record. But they cooled off and saw “Upside Down”—Ross’ own description to Rodgers and Edwards as to what she wanted to do to her career—emerge a #1 smash hit.

Read More »

The sixties and early seventies were a time of intense space exploration. The governments of the United States of America and the Soviet Union were behind some of it; most of it was done by hippies. Pink Floyd helped usher in the era of pinwheel-eyed rocket science with “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” and “Interstellar Overdrive.” David “Is There Life on Mars?” Bowie took the meteorite and ran with it on “Space Oddity” and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Not to be outdone, Yes gave us “Starship Trooper.”

Heck, even Elton John got in on the act, turning space into a quotidian place on “Rocket Man.” And let’s not forget Country Joe’s “Starship Ride,” the Byrds’ “Mr. Spaceman,” Steve Miller’s “Space Cowboy,” the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band’s “Urban Spaceman,” and the great Golden Earring’s “Space Ship.” And don’t even get me started on Sun Ra and Funkadelic.

But the hairy hippie space race reached its apogee in 1970, when Paul Kantner converted the ramshackle Jefferson Airplane into a shaggy Starship with the aid of such terminally stoned psychonauts as Jerry “Captain Trips” Garcia and David “Major Drug Problem” Crosby, along with such Airplane regulars as Grace Slick, Jack Casady, blah blah blah.

Call it Stoned Trek.

Read More »

“Music has always been playing in my head. I can’t remember a time when there wasn’t a song playing in between my ears.”

“When I was four I was in my first show. I remember asking… begging… pretty much demanding that I take some acting classes. I went up to my parents and told them that I wanted to sing. I was in my first show and I remember being on stage and thinking, wow here I am… I’m home. Everyone always asked me if I got nervous and I always looked at them funny because I thought that was a silly question. That was like asking someone if they’re nervous when they’re in their living room watching TV… are you nervous in your safe space? What an unusual question I thought.

From that day on I was always on the stage, always performing, always memorizing lines, always learning new songs. I was always in a production from the age of 4 to the age of 18 because that’s where I wanted to be. I would walk around singing and perform shows for my parents in the kitchen. I watched endless musicals and learned every bit of music that I could. I remember when I had my Discman, the first CD that I got was Avril Lavigne’s Let Go. I was 8 years old and had just been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I was in the hospital for a few days and my parents bought me that CD to keep me company.

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | STIV: The Life and Times Of A Dead Boy is an upcoming feature-length documentary on legendary punk icon, Stiv Bators. It will be the first film ever made about the rowdy and controversial performer, and his life will be documented through archive footage, photography, music, and all-new interviews with the people who knew him.

Stiv Bators was one of the early American punk pioneers, and is primarily known for his work with The Dead Boys and The Lords Of the New Church. Classic songs like “Sonic Reducer” and “Ain’t It Fun” continue to inspire fans and musicians from all walks of life. Acclaimed director Danny Garcia will helm the project, and already has numerous punk documentaries under his belt, such as The Rise and Fall Of The Clash, Looking For Johnny, and Sad Vacation: The Last Days Of Sid and Nancy.

Following in the same gritty underground style that has become Garcia’s hallmark, STIV: The Life and Times Of A Dead Boy has a tentative release date of May 2018.

Filmed and recorded on location at the haunting and historic Lear Theater, “How Could I Have Known” is part one in a series of live music videos produced by The Sextones and Emmy award winning videographers, Ford Corl, David Ware, and Shawn Sariti of The Reno Sessions.

“It was in a rehearsal that the idea first came up—we considered it a ‘Hail Mary’ option considering no events have been held in the Lear since its doors closed 13 years ago,” stated Mark Sexton. Maybe the off-limits mystique was what made it the perfect location.

After several trips to city hall and back, the band graciously received necessary approvals from the City Of Reno and Artown. “We were so happy to have the city and arts community behind us on this very ambitious idea. It’s been stimulating to see Reno working to create a community in which artists can thrive.”

Read More »

It’s springtime, and live records seem to be budding like tulips; Rockbeat has four in the racks right now on vinyl and compact disc from Paul Butterfield, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, the Flamin’ Groovies, and Emerson, Lake, & Palmer. This writer’s evaluations vary as wildly as the genres assembled, but it suffices to say there’s something here to satisfy nearly any fan of rock’s “classic” era. The number of tracks also differs, in the case of ELP quite substantially, so take time when choosing LP or CD.

Late one night, or more accurately early one morning, while leaning against a wall in a rowdy basement as Cheap Trick at Budokan spun methodically on a cheap turntable, a voice entered my ear via tones simultaneously familiar and enigmatic. Its words: “live records are mere souvenirs, serving as reminders for the few who attended and providing a substitute for the many who didn’t.”

Obviously, that shit was something of a vibe-killer, but when I turned around to bark “bug off, killjoy,” my eyes landed on a tattered poster of Iggy Pop. He was holding court on stage, shirtless and wearing yellow tights as he contorted the skin on his belly into a doughy mass with his hands. It was a powerful, nay a downright fucked-up sight to behold, and in response I promptly fell right over. Just as my body kissed the cement I can remember acknowledging begrudgingly that the voice had a point.

But from an older, wiser place it becomes clear that live recordings also serve to solidify the history we’re ceaselessly hurtling away from. Take these Rockbeat releases as four examples. Paul Butterfield’s set is the oldest in the bunch, and it deepens the stylistic redirection the famed Chicago blues rock harmonica specialist undertook after guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop exited his band.

Read More »