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IN THE NEWS:
McCartney signs with Starbucks' new label
March 21, 2007:
Starbucks new label, Hear Music, has started off with a bang, signing Paul
McCartney to a recording contract.
The signing is a major coup for the coffee chain. McCartney had been with
Capitol/EMI for years, going back to his days with the Beatles, save for a handful of
their earliest singles.
The Seattle coffee corporation had announced plans earlier this year to launch
their own label after several dips into the entertainment industry in the past.
March 19, 2007:
Ozomatli recently completed a trip to Nepal, where the band staged the
performance by Western artists in the nation's history, as well as the first peaceful,
non-protest, non-political gathering ever organized in Kathmandu.
It was, according to band member Ulises Bella, "life changing and mind blowing
are cliches that are too often thrown around, but what else is there to describe a
trip to India and Nepal. The opportunity to perform for these audiences, whether it
was in the concert halls or orphanages, is a gift that we as group will always
cherish in a very deep chamber of our collective souls."
The band were brought to Nepal at the behest of Sharon Hudson-Dean, the
Deputy Director of the American Embassy in Kathmandu, to perform as part of the
"Unity in Diversity" program. The program was launched to celebrate toe
newly-ratificed peace accord in the nation. Nepal has been under intense political
strife, with violent protests and strikes threatening full democratic collapse.
"The band reached up to half the population of Nepal through the media with the
message of 'unity in diversity,'" Ms. Hudson-Dean said, "at a time when some
ethinic groups are pushing violent separatist agendas."
The Los Angelese-based band will release their new album, Don't Mess With The
Dragon, on April 3 on Concord Records.
March 8, 2007:
Jeff Tweedy and Wilco have announced that their latest album, Sky Blue Sky, is
complete and will be release on Nonesuch Records on May 15.
The band have made the first single from the album, "What Light," available as a
download on their Web site.
The record, mastered at Gateway Mastering in Portland, Maine, will include the
following tracks: 1. Either Way, 2. You Are My Face, 3. Impossible Germany, 4. Sky
Blue Sky, 5. Side with the Seeds, 6. Shake it Off, 7. Please Be Patient With Me, 8.
Hate it Here, 9. Leave Me (Like You Found Me), 10. Walken, 11. What Light, 12. On
and On and On.
Jeff Tweedy recently released Sunken Treasure, a DVD chronicle of his recent
solo tour.
March 2, 2007:
Billboard.com is reporting that the White Stripes are ready to return this year,
having recently completed their sixth studio album, Icky Thump, in Nashville at
Blackbird Studio. The Stripes spent nearly three weeks in the studio, the longest
time they have ever taken while making an album.
The band have reported that some song titles worked on for the album include:
"Catch Hell Blues," "Little Cream Soda," "Monkeys Have It Easy" (discarded), "Rag
And Bone," "Clicky Thump" (retitled into something pleasant), "Blue Orchid"
(relocated to previous album), and "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As
Your Told)." An early version of "I'm Slowly Turning into You" is also available on
their site.
There is not yet an official release date for the record, though its release and an
accompanying tour are in the works.
March 1, 2007:
Lost Highway Records has announced that Ryan Adams' new record, Easy Tiger,
will be released in the U.S. on June 5.
The final tracklist is still to be determined, but the album will reportedly include the
following tracks: "Goodnight Rose," "Everybody Knows," "The Sun Also Sets,"
"Halloween Head," "Off Broadway," "Two Hearts," "Tears of Gold," "These Girls,"
"Two," "I Taught Myself How to Grow," "Oh My God, Whatever, Etc.," "Rip Off" and
"Pearls on a String."
This will be Adams' ninth official album, though the prolific artist has recorded
several full-length albums that have yet to see release.