VIA PRESS RELEASE | “A beautiful hybrid, Trees found a unique space between intimate folk and freewheeling psychedelia. Musically ambitious yet brilliantly balanced, they have left an enduring legacy for those lucky enough to be in on the secret” —Edd Gibson, Friendly Fires

​It’s now over fifty years since Trees’ formation, a band who helped define ‘Acid Folk’, creating a sub-category in the lexicon of record dealers and music critics alike. Earth’s new Trees collection brings together both albums adding shiny alternate mixes of key tracks along with a selection of radio sessions and demos, all sounding brighter and cleaner than ever before.

Trees first album, The Garden of Jane Delawney (1970) snuggles nicely into contemporary nu-folkies’ idea of the genre, and shares some of the pastoral-whimsy that characterised The Incredible String Band or Donovan, offset by some stunning interpretations of traditional material and Bias’ own songs, which were somehow part of the tradition Trees had adopted. Readings of ‘Lady Margaret’, ‘Glasgerion’, the old standard ‘She Moved Thro’ The Fair’, and the extended fade of the group’s own ‘Road’, presage the explosive instrumental duelling that would come to characterise the follow up album, ‘On The Shore.’

There’s a definite shift between the records, the second being darker and more ambivalent. Here Trees don’t tell you what to think. You’re left to formulate your own response to this odd, opaque music. The ‘Streets of Derry’ session version leans into the brain vibrating drone-groove they somehow found at the traditional tune’s centre. ‘Polly On The Shore’, another traditional tune, is one of the definitive moments of English folk rock.

This special expansive collector’s edition celebrates the bands 50th anniversary.

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Virtual music festival Follow The Light will air online on Saturday, August 29, 2020 at 5PM EDT (10pm Irish Standard Time). Produced by We Banjo 3 as an ode to the band’s Irish heritage, the evening will feature musical performances by WB3, Gaelic Storm, Sharon Shannon, Nathan Carter and The East Pointers, with non-music festival features throughout the program. General Admission Tickets, Artist Meet & Greets Upgrades, and Festival Ticket/Exclusive Merch bundles are available now.

​Harnessing the unique potential of the shared live music experience in a virtual setting, Follow The Light brings artists and fans together for an entertaining, engaging and authentic celebration of community. Hosted with We Banjo 3’s signature heart and humor, the immersive live event weaves in musical performances, set break game shows, green room artist interviews, coffee and booze drink specials at the bar, live fan voting, VIP meet & greets, and more.

About We Banjo 3 | Debuting in the U.S. in 2012, Billboard Bluegrass chart-toppers We Banjo 3 have since fine-tuned their knack for seamlessly converging the shared and varied traditions of Americana, Bluegrass, and Celtic music with pop-sensible songcraft to create a truly unique and gratifying signature sound. The Galway, Ireland, and Nashville-based quartet––comprised of two sets of brothers, Enda & Fergal Scahill and Martin & David Howley––continually push musical boundaries while maintaining an un-wavering devotion to the essential audience experience.

With regular touring currently on pause, WB3 has deep-dived into exploring alternatives to physically taking the stage. Connecting with fans through various online performances, fan Q&A’s, live interviews, poetry and book excerpt readings, general banter about topics of interest, and more, WB3 has taken a personalized approach to creating fan experiences. Now, with Follow The Light, the foursome will wield their infectious energy to present an even more immersive experience that sheds light to the rich Irish culture that WB3 was founded upon.

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Quite a number of years back, the TVD First Date feature was inaugurated to introduce new talent to the site and to follow an artist’s development while getting to know their own music via their record collections. ’twas a nifty idea earlier on, however over the course of a decade some more than well-established artists have lent their time to the feature to shed a light on what brought them to their first stages and into our own consciousness—and we’re resharing a number of our favorites this week. —Ed.

“My earliest memory with vinyl is somewhat foggy and not as ‘cool’ as stories others might have.”

“It was 1988. I was 5 years old. I don’t know why I had money to spend but I did. Maybe a distant relative sent me birthday money in a card or something? Anyway, I knew what I wanted, it was only one thing: “Mercedes Boy” by Pebbles on vinyl. I grew up in a small town in Arizona, but Flagstaff had a record store downtown called Bookmans that always smelled like a mix of fresh popcorn and the new and used books they sold.

There was also a chain record store, The Warehouse in the mall. At the ripe old age of 5, I preferred the mall because they also had a pet store where I could go look at the animals. Who knows why my mom thought it was appropriate for her young daughter to listen to a song with the lyrics:

“Do you want to ride in my Mercedes boy? / Tell me what you’re gonna do with me. / ‘Cause if you want to ride in my Mercedes boy. / There are so many things that I’m gonna do to you.”

What do girls do with boys in cars anyway mom? The only thing I did in cars was sit in the backseat and stare out the window while singing along to whatever my mom and dad had on the radio. I remember getting home and being so excited to put my very own record on the turntable.

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The first drop of 2020’s Covid-19-impacted Record Store Day is nearly upon us, but before we get there, here’s one more spotlight on a label with multiple recordings on deck for August 29. More accurately, we’re talking six releases from Fire Records and its subsidiaries Earth Recordings and Call of the Void. Like the majority of RSD product, the half dozen below are all either reissues or archival material, but the studio albums from The Groundhogs, Throwing Muses, Josephine Foster, and Pigbag are all solid choices, as is the live recording of Bert Jansch, and the soundtrack to Dennis Hopper’s The Last Movie is downright inspired. There’s little time to waste, so let’s take a look…

Split, the fourth album from UK blues-rockers The Groundhogs, wasn’t quite as ambitious as their prior set, 1970’s Thank Christ for the Bomb, but the first side of this ’71 effort does consist of the title track in four (distinct) parts, so it’s not like they regressed into 12-bar hackery. Christ was reissued by Fire last year along with a second disc of material, and as the full title Split + Extras should make clear, the generosity is repeated here.

Due to their trio reality, with the considerable guitar prowess of Tony T.S. McPhee front and center (bassist Peter Cruickshank and drummer Ken Pustelnik complete the lineup), The Groundhogs often get likened to Cream (sometimes not favorably), an association deepened by McPhee’s mild vocal similarity to Jack Bruce. However, a better comparison is probably to Ten Years After.

What The Groundhogs share with Cream, Ten Years After, and with blues-rock outfits in general are accusations of running already worn out ideas into the ground. But as mentioned above, the ‘hogs were openly exploring possibilities bordering on progressive (if not capital p Prog) while maintaining an appealing heaviness. I happen to rate the Groundhogs higher than Alvin Lee and co., and while their best stuff doesn’t reach the same heights as Cream, I’d say they were more consistent (a contentious viewpoint, I’m sure). McPhee is a burner and not a showoff, so Endless Boogie fans should take note.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Artists from around the world will come together using Public Enemy songs, legacy and history as an inspiration to create unique and original art pieces for the first time ever at The Terrordome.

​Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Public Enemy’s iconic third album Fear Of A Black Planet, the show will feature one-of-a-kind artwork from Shepard Fairey, Vhils, Faith47, Anthony Lister, Okuda Public Enemy frontman Chuck D and many more. The show goes from September 5 – October 3, 2020 at Black Book Gallery (3878 S Jason St, Englewood, CO 80110). A sneak peek at original work from How & Nosm, WK Interact and CYCLE can be seen below, and limited edition original prints created by Ludo, Okuda, Emek and Ferris Plock will be available August 29 through the Black Book website, in advance of the opening. Look for a full list of participating artists and additional artwork soon.

The Terrordome art show was conceived and curated by Chuck D and Lorrie Boula who have been working closely with their partners at the Black Book Gallery, Tom Horne and Will Suitts. “Bringing visual artists and music together has always been important to me because it’s who I am,” notes Chuck D. “I was an illustrator and graphic designer long before I ever grabbed a microphone. We’ve been working hard at bringing together an amazing array of artists for the show, and look forward to people coming through to see their work.” The gallery will be practicing COVID-19 safety precautions for those in attendance including limiting the capacity of the event. Details on tickets for the opening will be announced shortly. Additional information on the show is here.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | The producers of Outside Lands, Another Planet Entertainment, Superfly, and Starr Hill Presents, announce the artist lineup and programming details for Inside Lands, a free virtual festival celebration taking place this August 28-29 on Twitch. The event will feature iconic archival sets, exclusive live musical performances, interviews with artists, plus features with the festival curators, producers, fans, small businesses and community that make Outside Lands truly one of a kind.

​Among the artists confirmed for Inside Lands performances are Gorillaz, LCD Soundsystem, J. Cole, Jack White, Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, Above & Beyond, Haim, Major Lazer, Leon Bridges, Louis the Child, alt-J and Cage The Elephant, as well as artists that are part of the Outside Lands 2021 festival lineup, including Kehlani, ZHU, Beach House, Brittany Howard, SOFI TUKKER and Sharon Van Etten.

The virtual festival will be streamed exclusively on Twitch. Twitch’s live streaming service offers an unparalleled level of interaction and connection to enhance attendees’ experience at the virtual festival. With its massive, vibrant community and unique engagement features, Inside Lands on Twitch will bring the best parts of an in-person festival online. Fans can tune in to the streaming broadcast for free each day at twitch.tv/sfoutsidelands.

“This is an opportunity for Outside Lands to relive and share some of our favorite festival moments with fans both old and new, in addition to showcasing some of the talented artists confirmed for our 2021 festival with exclusive live sets, interviews and past performances,” said Allen Scott, Head of Concerts and Festivals at Another Planet Entertainment and Co-Producer of Outside Lands. “By incorporating a live host as well as enabling direct communication between fans and festival producers plus surprise guests via our Twitch channel, we look forward to offering a free virtual festival experience that is both collaborative and compelling for our audience.”

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Quite a number of years back, the TVD First Date feature was inaugurated to introduce new talent to the site and to follow an artist’s development while getting to know their own music via their record collections. ’twas a nifty idea earlier on, however over the course of a decade some more than well-established artists have lent their time to the feature to shed a light on what brought them to their first stages and into our own consciousness—and we’re resharing a number of our favorites this week. —Ed.

“Hey, did you ever go to the Record and Tape Exchange in Notting Hill Gate? I can still picture it, long and narrow, stacks and stacks of old records and really nice people behind the counter right at the back of the shop. They were older, a bit hippyish.”

“I always seemed to be in there at a crucial junction in my life. There was the time I took about twenty of my records, (Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, Donovan that kind of thing) to sell before Sid Vicious came round to my place for our first band meeting when we were forming The Flowers of Romance —that was so funny, we rehearsed the whole summer of 1976, the hottest summer on record—in Joe Strummer’s basement and emerged in September with white faces and no songs. We’re still famous thirty years later for that band, never played a gig either. That’s true punk.

The next time I can remember being in the Tape Exchange was a couple of days after the Slits split up, I was living in a basement flat and was burgled. They took my guitar and all my records. I went straight to Record and Tape exchange to see if the thief had brought them in and he had. You always got your records back for free when that happened, they were very good about that.

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Liberty DeVitto is known in the music industry as the “songwriter’s drummer,” his resume deftly proclaims his rockstar cred: he’s performed on 13 platinum albums which have sold over 150 million copies and recorded and arranged the drum parts for 22 of Billy Joel’s 23 top-40 hits. 6 of those recordings went on to win Grammys.

However, Liberty’s new book, Liberty: Life, Billy and the Pursuit of Happiness makes clear that while his years with Billy Joel were outstanding, the other elements of the story of his life and ascension to the highest drum throne in the land are just as captivating. In fact, it’s possible to get so caught up in the early parts of Liberty’s autobiography that one forgets that a career in rock and roll superstardom is on its way.

Here, Liberty and I discuss vinyl, Billy Joel, The Beatles, why Ringo is so great, recording with Paul McCartney, growing up on Long Island, and the rock and roll wisdom that Liberty has learned along the way. Please welcome one of the most successful rock and roll drummers of all time and one of my musical heroes, Liberty DeVitto.

Evan Toth is a songwriter, professional musician, educator, radio host, avid record collector and hi-fi aficionado. Toth hosts and produces The Sharp Notes each Saturday evening at 6pm and TVD Radar on Sundays at 5AM on WFDU, 89.1 FM. Follow him at the usual social media places and visit his website.

The Grateful Dead isn’t a band–it’s a petri dish for fanatics. There are four kinds of people out there. 1. Those who don’t care anymore about the Grateful Dead than they do the waste disposal manager two towns over. 2. Those who hate Dead because their music sucks and their fans are filthy hippie burnouts. 3. Those who love the band but possess the critical faculties necessary to discern a good Dead album from one that blows. And 4. Those who own some 950 Grateful Dead bootlegs and can (and will, at length) tell you which one of those 950 Grateful Dead bootlegs includes the gnarliest version of “Me and My Uncle.”

Comparing the people in Category 3 to the ones in Category 4 is like comparing your average Episcopalian to a clay-eating, rattlesnake-handling Southern Baptist tent revival preacher. I myself belong in Category 3. But let’s pretend for a moment that I fall into Category 4, and prefer listening to Grateful Dead bootlegs to such unessential life activities as eating, sleeping, bathing, screwing and mastering rudimentary social skills. Which would be my choice of best live Grateful Dead recording?

First I would have to establish some completely arbitrary criteria. I have my peculiarities, as do you, and I stand by mine.

1. The concert must be top notch. This would appear to be self-evident, but the Dead were an erratic live act, which is only to be expected given they played some 2,300 concerts over the course of their 30-year existence.

2. The concert must have been recorded between 1971 and 1974, because the former don’t include many of my favorite songs and the latter tend to include material recorded after From the Mars Hotel, the last Dead album worth owning. Call me petty, but “King Solomon’s Marbles” makes me lose mine.

3. The concert cannot include a song longer than 20 minutes.

4. The concert must include four or more of the following: “China Cat Sunflower/I Know You Rider,” “Brown-Eyed Woman,” “Bertha,” “Deal,” “Friend of the Devil,” “Wharf Rat,” and “Jack Straw.”

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Verve Records announces the release of a never-before-heard stellar live recording from the First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald. The Lost Berlin Tapes were recorded – incredibly in both mono and stereo—at Berlin’s Sportpalast on March 25, 1962 and finds Ella at the top of her game with a trio led by pianist Paul Smith, Wilfred Middlebrooks on bass, and Stan Levey on drums.

​There was just something about Berlin that brought out the best in Ella. In February of 1960, she gave a concert at the Deutschlandhalle, which became one of her best-known and best-selling records, Mack The Knife: Ella in Berlin. The album won her 2 Grammys, it went on to be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Two years after that historic concert, Ella returned to the city at the height of her career, in the midst of her most extensive European tour to date. Flanked by her stalwart rhythm section including pianist Paul Smith, bassist Wilfred Middlebrooks, and drummer Stan Levey, Ella delivers an energized, top-of-her-game set a month before her 45th birthday.

Ella Fitzgerald The Lost Berlin Tapes is a jewel in the treasure chest of impresario and Verve Records founder Norman Granz’s private collection. As Ella’s manager, he had a habit of recording Ella live—sometimes for radio broadcast, sometimes for later release, sometimes just to have. This particular recording was amazingly done in both mono and stereo—and on this March evening at Berlin’s Sportpalast, Ella delivered, singing some lesser-known gems as well as the hits.

One of those hits was “Mack The Knife.” Ella famously flubbed the lyrics in the known 1960 recording, and two years later, nails them. But—she forgets the name of the town she’s in. On the recording, she charmingly says, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m so embarrassed. This is where the first time I sang ‘Mack The Knife’ and when I got to the part of the town, I couldn’t think of it!” The audience is enthralled, nonetheless.

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