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THE GO-GOS Documentary To Be Released on Digital Formats, DVD, Blu-ray on February 5, 2021

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THE GO-GOS Documentary To Be Released on Digital Formats, DVD, Blu-ray on February 5, 2021

New York, NY (November 20, 2020) – Multi-platinum Los Angeles rock band The Go-Go’s, featuring Charlotte Caffey, Belinda Carlisle, Gina Schock, Kathy Valentine and Jane Wiedlin, will see the release of their universally acclaimed, 2020 Critics Choice Award winning documentary THE GO-GO’S on DVD and Blu-ray formats and through digital download & rental services on February 5, 2021.

The Go-Go’s skyrocketed to superstardom after they released one of the most successful debut albums of all time, 1981’s Beauty And The Beat, a collection of hook-laden, infectious songs that stayed at No. 1 on the Billboard charts for six consecutive weeks, spawning the hits “Our Lips Are Sealed” (named one of Rolling Stone’s Top 100 Pop Singles) and “We Got The Beat” and also earned them a Grammy nomination for “Best New Artist.” Their 1982 follow-up, Vacation, hit Top Ten on the Billboard 200 and featured the Top Ten title track “Vacation.” They have sold over 7 million records worldwide and have the notable distinction of being the only all-female band to write their own songs and play their own instruments on a No. 1 album. In January The Go-Go’s will be honored at the 2021 She Rocks Awards, which pays tribute to women in the industry, as they continue to blaze new trails, kicking down the doors for women in particular.

The Alison Ellwood-directed THE GO-GO’S documentary, which first premiered at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, aired over the summer on Showtime to rave reviews, achieved a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and won a 2020 Critics Choice Award for “Best Music Documentary” in addition to receiving the honor of “Most Compelling Living Subjects in a Documentary.”

The candid and archive-rich documentary assesses the group’s place in music history and offers full access to The Go-Go’s, including past members as well as longtime members of their inner circle. With their roots in the L.A. punk scene, they were bad girls and genuine punk rockers, and this serious appraisal of their story is the first to set the record straight about their historical ascent to global stardom. A major highlight of the film focuses on their collaborative efforts in writing a new song, the female empowerment anthem “Club Zero,” which became the first Go-Go’s single in nearly 20 years and hit the Top 10 on the Rock Digital Song Sales chart.

In June, The Go-Go’s will perform a series of summer 2021 North American tour dates in conjunction with the documentary release. Starting at San Francisco’s Masonic Auditorium, they’ll perform at intimate venues across North America, giving fans a chance to see them up close and personal.

Summer 2021 North American tour dates:
Jun 18 The Masonic San Francisco, CA +
Jun 23 Humphreys San Diego, CA +
Jun 24 Humphreys San Diego, CA +
Jun 27 Pechanga Resort Casino Temecula, CA +
Jun 29 Orpheum Theater Los Angeles, CA +
Jun 30 Orpheum Theater Los Angeles, CA +
Jul 7 Theatre at Westbury Westbury, NY
Jul 8 Parx Casino Bensalem, PA
Jul 10 Foxwoods Resort Casino Mashantucket, CT
Jul 11 Stone Pony Asbury Park, NJ +
+ Date changes

The Gun Club’s 1982 Album ‘Miami’ with Unreleased Tracks set for December 4 on 2xLP/2xCD

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The Gun Club’s 1982 Album ‘Miami’ with Unreleased Tracks set for December 4 on 2xLP/2xCD

With a howling and unholy mix of punk rock and the blues, Jeffrey Lee Pierce and The Gun Club exploded upon the L.A. club scene in the early ’80s. They recorded their debut album, 1981’s Fire of Love, for the local Slash/Ruby label. But when it came time to record a follow-up, the group decamped to New York to work with producer Chris Stein of Blondie and his new label, Animal. The results were 1982’s stunning Miami, an album that didn’t get its proper due back in the day. Blixa Sounds will right that wrong on December 4, 2020 with deluxe reissues of the album in double-CD and double-vinyl editions.

Both the double-CD and double-vinyl editions will contain a digitally remastered version of the original 12-track album, as well as demos of every track. In addition, the CD version will contain a second disc jam-packed with a total of 18 previously unreleased demos, including 6 tracks exclusive to the CD release.

The double-vinyl version will be released as a two-LP set packaged in a gatefold cover with extensive liner notes by drummer Terry James Graham and journalist Craig Rosen, as well as rare photos and ephemera. The CD version is a two-disc set, also with liner notes, photos and ephemera.

While their own hometown of Los Angeles was lukewarm to The Gun Club, others, including Blondie guitarist Chris Stein, took notice. He signed the band to his fledging Animal imprint, awarded to him by Chrysalis Records for Blondie’s huge commercial success.

With the band relocated to New York, Stein produced Miami at Blank Tape Studios in June 1982, with Deborah Harry on hand to sing backup vocals, credited under the pseudonym D.H. Laurence Jr. In a sense, it was payback, because Pierce was more than a male groupie and West Coast head of the Blondie fan club. It was Jeffrey Lee who suggested that Blondie cover The Nerves’ “Hanging on the Telephone,” a highlight and British hit on the band’s breakthrough album, 1978’s Parallel Lines.

Despite the involvement of two members of Blondie, Miami was no pop-punk concoction, but rather a further exploration of the neo-swamp blues Pierce and company had mined on the acclaimed Fire of Love, though Stein’s production made Pierce’s toxic musical stew a little easier to swallow.

As was usually the case with The Gun Club, Miami found the band in a state of flux. Ritter split after recording the basic tracks. He’s credited on the album below the band’s then-current members, alongside Pierce’s “additional piano” and Harry’s pseudonym-credited backing vocals, and The Gun Club appears as a trio on in the cover photo, with Ritter missing in action.

“The band was really starting to split apart,” Graham confirms in the documentary Ghost on the Highway: A Portrait of Jeffrey Lee Pierce and The Gun Club.“It was going to Jeff’s head… Chris Stein, his friend, is producing the record and somebody is telling him, ‘You don’t need your band, all you need is you.'”

Whatever the case, Miami is a classic, from the opening “Carry Home” to the closer “Mother Earth,” which Billy Idol said was key influence on his 1982 hit “White Wedding.” In a TV interview, Pierce said, “I didn’t see how he saw it similar in his head, really. It didn’t make any sense to me, but I said, ‘Fine, I guess if it inspired you to make that music, it’s good.'”

 

While The Gun Club went on to influence such artists as Chris Isaak, The White Stripes and Mark Lanegan, the band also highlighted their own influences on Miami. The album includes a howling take on Creedence Clearwater Revivals’ “Run Through Jungle,” a revved up version of the traditional folk song “John Hardy,” and a Cramps-like rendition of J.R. Reynolds’ “Fire of Love,” the should-have-been title track of their first album.

Yet Pierce’s originals hold their own against covers, beginning with “Carry Home,” which opens the album with Pierce singing, “Come down to the willow garden with me / Come go with me,” over Graham’s steadfast beats and Dotson’s guitar twang. From there, Pierce takes listeners on a wild ride, through the psychobilly stomp of “Like Calling Up Thunder,” the anthem-like drama of “Brother and Sister,” and the charging rockabilly of “Devil in the Woods,” in which Pierce goes into a full yodel. Side one closes with “Texas Serenade,” featuring Rubber Rodeo’s Mark Tomeo adding some atmospheric steel guitar to counter Pierce’s frantic vocals.

The albums continues with “Watermelon Man,” with Pierce sharing writing credit with Dotson, Andy Warhol associate Walter Steding adding fiddle and Stein playing the bongos on some ghostly aural voodoo that’ll haunt you to your core. “Bad Indian” charges through like a locomotive, while “Sleeping in Blood City” has Pierce ranting like a madman on his 19th nervous breakdown. It all comes to a tasteful end with Tomeo’s steel guitar, Ritter’s throbbing bass, Dotson’s guitar accents and Pierce crooning us back to “Mother Earth.”

This special two-CD version of Miami also includes a second disc, featuring demo versions of every track on the album, plus six previously unreleased demos of material that would later turn up on The Las Vegas Story (“Walking With the Beast,” “Prune Dicks From Mars,” “Vampires,” “Journey to Zatar,” “Blue Hair” and “Pig Boys”).

Though some have criticized Miami, Stein is still proud of the album. “I have gotten flak from Gun Club members who played on Miami for not having a ‘hard rock’ enough approach to the production,” he says in the book From Blondie: Parallel Lives by Dick Porter and Kris Needs. “I don’t recall any of them voicing concerns at the time. Jeffrey and I spend a lot of time thinking about what the record should ultimately sound like. He really wanted to get away from a standard punk rock approach and reach into the world of so-called ‘normal’ music by making more references to country, et cetera. Jeff was the one who brought in a pedal steel guitar player. I know for sure he liked the record.”

And Gun Club biographer Ryan Leach maintains the album is even stronger than Fire of Love. “I think Jeffrey’s lyric writing had progressed in that year or so,” Leach says in Ghost on the Highway: A Portrait of Jeffrey Lee Pierce and The Gun Club. “There are also a lot of harmonies on that record that Fire of Love never dreamed of.”

 

CD TRACK LISTING

DISC 1
1. CARRY HOME
2. LIKE CALLING UP THUNDER
3. BROTHER AND SISTER
4. RUN THROUGH THE JUNGLE
5. DEVIL IN THE WOODS
6. TEXAS SERENADE
7. WATERMELON MAN
8. BAD INDIAN
9. JOHN HARDY
10. FIRE OF LOVE
11. SLEEPING IN BLOOD CITY
12. MOTHER OF EARTH

DISC 2
1. CARRY HOME (DEMO)
2. LIKE CALLING UP THUNDER (DEMO)
3. BROTHER AND SISTER (DEMO)
4. RUN THROUGH THE JUNGLE (DEMO)
5. DEVIL IN THE WOODS (DEMO)
6. TEXAS SERENADE (DEMO)
7. WATERMELON MAN (DEMO)
8. BAD INDIAN (DEMO)
9. JOHN HARDY (DEMO)
10. FIRE OF LOVE (DEMO)
11. SLEEPING IN BLOOD CITY (DEMO)
12. MOTHER OF EARTH (DEMO)
13. WALKIN’ WITH THE BEAST (DEMO)
14. PRUNE DICKS FROM MARS (DEMO)
15. VAMPIRES (DEMO)
16. JOURNEY TO ZATAR (DEMO)
17. BLUE HAIR (DEMO)
18. PIG BOYS (DEMO)

LP TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. CARRY HOME
2. LIKE CALLING UP THUNDER
3. BROTHER AND SISTER
4. RUN THROUGH THE JUNGLE
5. DEVIL IN THE WOODS
6. TEXAS SERENADE

SIDE B
7. WATERMELON MAN
8. BAD INDIAN
9. JOHN HARDY
10. FIRE OF LOVE
11. SLEEPING IN BLOOD CITY
12. MOTHER OF EARTH

SIDE C
1. CARRY HOME (DEMO)
2. LIKE CALLING UP THUNDER (DEMO)
3. BROTHER AND SISTER (DEMO)
4. RUN THROUGH THE JUNGLE (DEMO)
5. DEVIL IN THE WOODS (DEMO)
6. TEXAS SERENADE (DEMO)

SIDE D
7. WATERMELON MAN (DEMO)
8. BAD INDIAN (DEMO)
9. JOHN HARDY (DEMO)
10. FIRE OF LOVE (DEMO)
11. SLEEPING IN BLOOD CITY (DEMO)
12. MOTHER OF EARTH (DEMO)

Here’s Eddie Van Halen’s Patent For Guitar-Supporting Products

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In 1985, Eddie Van Halen filed a patent for a “musical instrument support.” US Patent US4656917A was described as:

A supporting device for stringed musical instruments, for example, guitars, banjos, mandolins and the like, is disclosed. The supporting device is constructed and arranged for supporting the musical instrument on the player to permit total freedom of the player’s hands to play the instrument in a completely new way, thus allowing the player to create new techniques and sounds previously unknown to any player. The device, when in its operational position, has a plate which rests upon the player’s leg leaving both hands free to explore the musical instrument as never before. Because the musical instrument is arranged perpendicular to the player’s body, the player has maximum visibility of the instrument’s entire playing surface.

Here’s the full information on it.

The present invention relates in general to a stabilizing support for a musical instrument of the type having a body and fretted neck, e.g., guitars, banjos, mandolins and the like, and more particularly, to a musical instrument mounted device which positions the instrument in a substantially perpendicular orientation to a musician’s body to provide total freedom for the musician’s hands to play the instrument in a completely new way, thus allowing the musician to create new techniques and sounds previously unknown to any musician.

One such musical instrument to which the stabilizing support of the present invention is uniquely suited is the guitar. As a stringed musical instrument, the guitar is capable of being played by a variety of techniques which produce an equal variety of acoustical effects. In all such circumstances, the guitar is oriented with respect to the guitar player’s body in a manner to facilitate the manipulation of the sound reproducing strings by the player’s hands and fingers in an uninhibited manner. To create new playing techniques and sounds, it is desirable that the guitar be supported in a manner which leaves both hands of the player free to explore the strings which overlie the guitar body and fretted neck. In addition, as nearly all musicians prefer to view the fretted neck of the guitar as they are playing, to be sure that the proper notes or chords are being fingered, it is desirable that the guitar be arranged to afford the player maximum visibility of the guitar playing surface.

If the musician is in a sitting position, the guitar can usually be rested across the player’s lap and supported by the player’s legs. Even when sitting, it is sometimes desirable to provide means for supporting the guitar, other than directly against the player’s legs. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,285,802 discloses a device which is attached to the fretted neck to facilitate supporting the guitar when the musician is in a sitting position. However, it is not always possible, or even desirable, to be in a sitting position. Furthermore, even if it is possible, many musicians prefer to play from a standing position. This is particularly true of musicians who sing while they accompany themselves on the guitar. Of course, various types of support straps have been devised, which usually attach at opposite ends to the guitar body and fretted neck for placing about the neck and shoulders of the musician. These straps do not serve the purpose of leaving both hands of the guitar player free to explore the guitar, as well as maintaining the guitar in a substantially perpendicular orientation to the player’s body for a better view of the fretted neck. In fact, these straps tend to position the instrument in a substantially vertical orientation, so that the musician must still exert effort, generally with the hand gripping the fretted neck, so as to position the instrument in an oblique plane for better playing of the frets.

Accordingly, there remains as unsolved need for a universally acceptable device for stringed musical instruments of the type having a body and fretted neck, suitable both for supporting and positioning the instrument for better viewing of the playing surface and leaving both of the musician’s hands free to explore the musical instrument while the musician is standing.

Sia Announces New Album ‘Music – Songs From And Inspired By The Motion Picture’ Out February 12, 2021

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Sia Announces New Album ‘Music – Songs From And Inspired By The Motion Picture’ Out February 12, 2021

Today nine-time Grammy-nominated and multi-platinum artist Sia announces her eighth studio album Music – Songs From And Inspired By The Motion Picture out February 12th via Monkey Puzzle/Atlantic. The album announcement is heralded by new single “Hey Boy” written by Sia, Jesse Shatkin and KAMILLE – and produced by Jesse Shatkin.

The fourteen track album was written both specifically for her forthcoming film Music and inspired by the project including hit single “Together”, as well as timely call to action “Courage to Change” which were released earlier this year.  In addition to writing all of the songs for the musical drama, Sia co-wrote the screenplay and directed the movie, her feature film directorial debut. Fans can also expect an accompanying original cast soundtrack due this winter.

Today we get the first look at the highly anticipated film Music which will receive a special limited theatrical release by IMAX in February 2021.

The film stars Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner Kate Hudson (Almost Famous, Deepwater Horizon), Tony and Grammy Award winner and Emmy nominated Leslie Odom, Jr. (One Night in Miami…, Hamilton) together with breakout star Maddie Ziegler (upcoming West Side Story) and is a wholly original exploration of the healing power of love and the importance of community.  Sia’s music is integral to the story of the film as the characters examine the fragile bonds that hold us together and, through fantastical musical sequences, imagine a world where those bonds can be strengthened in times of great challenge.

KT Tunstall Announces Drastic Fantastic’s Ultimate Edition, Out January 15

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KT Tunstall Announces Drastic Fantastic’s Ultimate Edition, Out January 15

Announced today, Drastic Fantastic (Ultimate Edition) – the second album from BRIT and Ivor Novello Award-winning artist KT Tunstall – is to be reissued in three new formats that will include a rich array of bonus material such as acoustic versions, live tracks, remixes and b-sides.

To be released on January 15th, it will be available as a coloured double LP set including a bonus 10′′ vinyl which will consist of four brand new, unreleased remixes of the album’s singles; “Hold On”, “If Only”, “Little Favours”, and one created by Tunstall herself – the album’s second single “‘Saving My Face” under her remix moniker ‘Tunnelz’. There will also be a triple CD set – including a disc of instrumentals – with the same tracklist available through all digital and streaming platforms.

KT Tunstall came to huge prominence in 2004 with the release of her debut album Eye to the Telescope. Following a barnstorming performance on ‘Later…With Jools Holland’, she was catapulted into the limelight, garnering a whole host of award wins and nominations. The album achieved huge worldwide success, going Multi-Platinum in the UK and Platinum in the US, earning KT a Grammy nod for the single “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree.”

Drastic Fantastic was the highly anticipated 2x Platinum (worldwide) follow up album, released in 2007. It was received with great acclaim by the critics (Observer 5/5, Uncut 4/5, Rolling Stone 4/5) and the album saw chart success all over the world breaking into the US Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 and reaching number three in the UK Official Charts.

Drastic Fantastic (Ultimate Edition) – Tracklisting [2 LP Format]:

LP1 – SIDE A

  1. Little Favours
  2. If Only
  3. White Bird
  4. Funnyman
  5. Hold On
  6. Hopeless
  7. I Don’t Want You Now

LP1 – SIDE B

  1. Saving My Face
  2. Beauty of Uncertainty
  3. Someday Soon
  4. Paper Aeroplane
  5. Journey
  6. Mothgirl

LP2 – SIDE C

  1. Bad Day
  2. La Vie En Rose
  3. I Want You Back (Live From Outsider Festival 2007)
  4. Walk Like An Egyptian (Live From Liverpool Academy 2007)
  5. Turn Into You (Acoustic)
  6. White Bird (Acoustic)
  7. Hopeless (Acoustic)

LP2 – SIDE D

  1. If Only (Acoustic)
  2. Hold On (Acoustic)
  3. Someday Soon (Acoustic)
  4. Saving My Face (Acoustic)
  5. Ain’t Nobody (Acoustic)
  6. Hold On / Walk Like an Egyptian (Live In Curitiba 2019)

BONUS 10″ – SIDE A

  1. Hold On (The Freelance Hellraiser Holed Up Remix)
  2. Saving My Face (Tunnelz Remix)

BONUS 10″ – SIDE B

  1. If Only (Subsonar Remix)
  2. Little Favours (My Riot Big Flavours Remix)

 

Drastic Fantastic (Ultimate Edition) – Tracklisting [3CD Format]:

CD1

  1. Little Favours
  2. If Only
  3. White Bird
  4. Funnyman
  5. Hold On
  6. Hopeless
  7. I Don’t Want You Now
  8. Saving My Face
  9. Beauty of Uncertainty
  10. Someday Soon
  11. Paper Aeroplane
  12. Journey
  13. Mothgirl
  14. Bad Day
  15. La Vie En Rose

CD2

  1. I Want You Back (Live From Outsider Festival 2007)
  2. Walk Like An Egyptian (Live From Liverpool Academy 2007)
  3. Turn Into You (Acoustic)
  4. White Bird (Acoustic)
  5. Hopeless (Acoustic)
  6. If Only (Acoustic)
  7. Hold On (Acoustic)
  8. Someday Soon (Acoustic)
  9. Saving My Face (Acoustic)
  10. Ain’t Nobody (Acoustic)
  11. Hold On / Walk Like an Egyptian (Live In Curitiba 2019)
  12. Little Favours (My Riot Big Flavours Remix)
  13. If Only (Subsonar Remix)
  14. Hold On (The Freelance Hellraiser Holed Up Remix)
  15. Saving My Face (Tunnelz Remix)

CD3

  1. Little Favours
  2. If Only
  3. Funnyman
  4. Hold On
  5. I Don’t Want You Now
  6. Saving My Face
  7. Beauty of Uncertainty
  8. Someday Soon

 

Drastic Fantastic (Ultimate Edition) – Tracklisting [Streaming/Digital Downloads]:

  1. Little Favours
  2. If Only
  3. White Bird
  4. Funnyman
  5. Hold On
  6. Hopeless
  7. I Don’t Want You Now
  8. Saving My Face
  9. Beauty of Uncertainty
  10. Someday Soon
  11. Paper Aeroplane
  12. Journey
  13. Mothgirl
  14. Bad Day
  15. La Vie En Rose
  16. I Want You Back – Live From Outsider Festival 2007
  17. Walk Like An Egyptian – Live From Liverpool Academy 2007
  18. Turn Into You – Acoustic
  19. White Bird – Acoustic
  20. Hopeless – Acoustic
  21. If Only – Acoustic
  22. Hold On – Acoustic
  23. Someday Soon – Acoustic
  24. Saving My Face – Acoustic
  25. Ain’t Nobody – Acoustic
  26. Hold On / Walk Like an Egyptian – Live In Curitiba 2019
  27. Little Favours – MyRiot (Big Flavours) Remix
  28. If Only – Subsonar Remix
  29. Hold On – The Freelance Hellraiser (Holed Up) Remix
  30. Saving My Face – Tunnelz Remix
  31. Little Favours- Instrumental
  32. If Only – Instrumental
  33. Funnyman – Instrumental
  34. Hold On – Instrumental
  35. I Don’t Want You Now – Instrumental
  36. Saving My Face – Instrumental
  37. Beauty of Uncertainty – Instrumental
  38. Someday Soon – Instrumental

Eddie Vedder Unveils New Tracks “Matter Of Time” & “Say Hi” Following Venture Into Cures

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Eddie Vedder Unveils New Tracks “Matter Of Time” & “Say Hi” Following Venture Into Cures

Following the global broadcast of Venture Into Cures, last night Eddie Vedder released a pair of singles—“Matter of Time” and “Say Hi.”

Additionally, he shared an animated music video for the powerful, passionate, and poetic “Matter of Time” and live video for “Say Hi,” an oft-sought after live favorite now officially available for the first time. Plus, a special pre-order just went live for the limited-edition “Matter of Time”/ “Say Hi” 7-inch vinyl, releasing soon.

Fans may reserve the vinyl HERE and limited-edition event poster HERE (designed by renowned contemporary illustrator and artist Munk One, with all proceeds benefiting EBRP).

Eddie personally premiered both songs as part of Venture Into Cures. As co-founders of EB Research Partnership (EBRP), Jill and Eddie Vedder proudly presented the digital event livestreamed free to viewers around the world on the official YouTube channels and Facebook pages of both Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam as well as on the EBRP site and social media platforms and NUGS.net. Fans everywhere tuned in to support.

The event showcased uplifting stories about individuals and families living with Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) alongside appearances and performances from celebrity friends to educate viewers about EB and raise critical funds for research toward a cure for EB and other rare diseases.

Produced by Door Knocker Media and Seed Entertainment, an all-star cast of guests graced the show, namely Judd Apatow, Bradley Cooper, Laura Dern, Billie Eilish, Chris Hemsworth, Jimmy Kimmel, David Letterman, Gaten Matarazzo, Luis “King Kong” Ortiz, Adam Sandler, and Renée Zellweger. Meanwhile, Jon Batiste, Alessia Cara, Andra Day, Glen Hansard, Adam Levine, Keb’ Mo’, and Lukas, Micah and Willie Nelson delivered unforgettable and uplifting performances of their own.

EB is a life-threatening genetic disorder that affects approximately 500,000 people worldwide. Called “Butterfly Children” because their skin is as fragile as the wings of a butterfly, children with EB face severe pain, open external and internal wounds, and a grueling daily bandaging process. There is currently no treatment or cure for EB, however EBRP’s innovative Venture Philanthropy model is helping to fast-track not only a cure for EB, but therapies that could affect thousands of other rare diseases.

As the largest global organization supporting EB research, EBRP has funded 80 projects through their innovative model, directly impacting the clinical landscape. Through EBRP’s work, clinical trials for EB have increased by 15 times, including four Phase III clinical trials, the final phase before the FDA considers approval for a new therapy.

With 2.5+ Million Plays & 800+ Playlist Adds, Hamilton’s TonyTone Is Definitely “Not Alone”

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With 2.5+ Million Plays & 800+ Playlist Adds, Hamilton’s TonyTone Is Definitely “Not Alone”

With 2.5+ Million plays across platforms, Canadian modern pop / hip hop artist and producer TonyTone is definitely “Not Alone” when it comes to his newest single — available now.

“I imagined ‘Not Alone’ as a feel good, easy listening, summer-style track,” he explains. “I wanted to create a song that had a relaxed mood and memorable vibe that everyone would feel good while listening to.”

With inclusion on upwards of 800+ of Spotify’s most coveted tastemaker playlists, the latest from TonyTone — aka Anthony Marzanek — continues to fall seamlessly inline for his brand of lounge beats and an ambient moods that nod to both hip hop and indie influences, while staying pop-centric at its core.

His knack for the craft is easily apparent in breakout singles “Shaded” (2018), “Losing Control” (2019) and “Two Roses” (2019); early 2020 saw the release of “Fade Away,” “Mental,” and “Poppin.”

“Most of my music was not meant to fall into any sort of genre,” he says of his beat-bending offerings. “I just play around with sounds and write until I come up with something I like.”

“I taught myself how to use recording software,” he recalls of his sleeves-rolled-up start. “Doing the production and mixing process makes me feel like I’m really in control during the creative process and final sound.”

Listen to Patti Smith’s First Performance, St. Mark’s Church in 1971

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Listen to Patti Smith’s First Performance, St. Mark’s Church in 1971

From February 10, 1971, here’s Patti Smith’s first performance as a poet with guitarist Lenny Kaye.

Chart Topping Canadian Crooner and Former Nylon MICAH BARNES Details “The End of a Love Affair” in New Single & Video

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Chart Topping Canadian Crooner and Former Nylon MICAH BARNES Details “The End of a Love Affair” in New Single & Video

“It felt like time to give folks the torchy ‘bar stool’ ballad,” Toronto-based jazz virtuoso Micah Barnes says of his sad yet sensual new single, “The End of a Love Affair” — available now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dA1GkxmWN8&feature=youtu.be

It’s the latest to land from Barnes’ most recent and #1 iTunes Jazz Album charting and 500,000+ streamed album, Vegas Breeze, and follows the hard swinging version of “That’s Life,” his playful and wink-worthy take on “When In Rome,” and the celebratory sizzle that accompanied the release’s title track, “Vegas Breeze.”

“So yes, it was time,” he continues.

“Every Vegas entertainer seems to have that moment where they sit on a stool, in the middle of the spotlight, and sing about the heartbreak of a love affair gone wrong. It’s the flip side of the Vegas high life, when the glitter and neon have faded & our high rolling hero admits to being a loser in love..

“In some ways, ‘The End of a Love Affair’ is the perfect saloon song,” Barnes adds, offering its astute lyricism and gorgeous melody as indisputable evidence. “The listener never drowns in the emotion, but stays buoyed up in its mood of sophistication and intelligence.

“After all, what happens when we are suddenly alone at the end of a love affair?” he muses. “We may drink too much, talk too loudly, drive too fast, but hopefully we’re still in the game, hoping to love again. So the rhyming scheme of this song alone makes the singer sound ‘world-weary and wise’ rather than broken and desolate, which…

“How grown-up and true to life experience.”

It’s this very foundation and creative opportunity that attracted Barnes to the song in the first place. “What attracts a singer to a song? Is it the melody? The lyrics? The overall mood? Or is it perhaps the emotional response to another artist’s performance? With ‘The End of a Love Affair,’ it is for all of those reasons I was interested in working on my own version for Vegas Breeze.

“Like all tracks on the album, the arrangement for this song started with the band in our weekly creative sessions long before we hit the studio. The band and I chose to arrange the song as a sensual and slow Bossa Nova, and give it strings that swirled around the lonely trumpet; an intimate vocal heightens the feeling of dissolution and despair.

“Once pianist and arranger Michael Shand worked his magic re-harmonizing the verses, I felt we’d deepened the languorous mood and really put our own stamp on the song.

“Certainly, this little-known standard written by Edward Redding lands firmly in our #BeyondTheRatPack concept of avoiding the ‘regular Vegas playlist,’” he continues. “Many fine versions exist — including by Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole, and Frank Sinatra — but it’s actually Johnny Hartman’s 1956 Bolero version that made me excited to try it myself.

“After laying the bed track with the trio — including Russ Boswell on bass and Al Cross on drums — and getting that classic Bossa Nova feel on guitar with Rob Piltch, the next move was to bring in master trumpet man William Sperandei; his soulful playing makes this essentially a duet between two heartbroken guys, all surrounded by Don Breithaupt’s deliciously silky smooth string arrangement.

“The results perfectly express the kind of mid-century torchy ‘cool’ I was hoping to create on Vegas Breeze.”

The video was one of Micah Barnes’ most intricate and complicated to shoot in his career thus far, he says. “We gathered a top-level team — including our leading lady, Burlesque superstar Laura Desiree, plus Choreographer Dayna Tekatch (resident director of Come From Away), award-winning lighting designer Kimberly Purtell, and my long-time collaborator, director Carlos Coronado.

“We shot in six locations over seven shooting days, both before and after the ‘lockdown’ — including the legendary alternative theatre, The Theatre Centre, where I started my professional career.”

Which, speaking of…

Born in Vienna and raised in Canada, Micah Barnes cut his teeth in the cabarets and jazz clubs of the city while still a teenager, before touring the world as a member of the A Cappella vocal group The Nylons. A JUNO Award-nominee, the years since have seen Barnes developing as an International SOLO artist with top-charting hits including the Billboard #1 “Welcome To My Head,” & #1 Jazz Albums New York Stories & Vegas Breeze. Micah is also an internationally respected Vocal, Performance & Career Strategy Coach.

Most recently, Barnes completed a 14-date digital cross-country tour, a creative and inventive pivot in response to COVID-19 restrictions, and looks forward to the upcoming European release of Vegas Breeze in 2021, thanks to its Canadian success.

“I’m one very grateful jazz singer,” Barnes shares of the experience. “COVID-19 has effected so many people in so many ways, and I appreciate the opportunity to ‘travel’ into the ears and hearts of so many with this unique concert series we offered.”

Canadian Country Music Hall of Famer & 11-Time JUNO Winner MURRAY MCLAUCHLAN Speaks to Racism in New Double-Single

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Canadian Country Music Hall of Famer & 11-Time JUNO Winner MURRAY MCLAUCHLAN Speaks to Racism in New Double-Single

Canadian Country Music Hall of Famer and 11-time JUNO Award-winning artist Murray McLauchlan challenged himself to look within before tabling conversations on systemic racism, privilege, and economic disparity in this, his new double-single, “The One Percent / I Live On A White Cloud” — available now.

“In the aftermath of the public killing of George Floyd in the U.S., a massive wave of revulsion against systemic racism swept the world,” the Toronto-based McLauchlan prefaces of “I Live On A White Cloud.” “It prompted many of us, myself included, to look honestly into our hearts and not flinch from what we might find.

“I remember thinking, ‘well, I’m not to blame!’” he continues. “But then I thought about my friends who had been stopped for ‘driving while black’… And I thought about the experiences of the First Nations people….

“And I thought, ‘if I watch all this go down, and shake my head but say nothing, I’m just as guilty as anybody else.’ I recognized my life has been easier — even in its difficulty from time to time — because of what I am.”

When it came to the second single, “The One Percent,” it was McLauchlan’s pointed perspective of the rapidly widening chasm between those with outsized resources and the rest of the world’s population.

“A while ago, when ‘Occupy Wall Street’ demonstrations happened, many people scorned the demonstrators for being unable to articulate what they were there for,” McLauchlan recalls. “I remember thinking, however, ’this isn’t going away.’

“As the accumulation of great wealth has increased for the very few, the vast majority of people have seen the opposite.”

Murray McLauchlan has 19 albums and countless songs, honours, and awards to his credit — including 11 JUNO Awards and the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award. A singer/songwriter, painter, author, actor, and radio host — plus an Honorary Doctor of Laws and appointee to The Order of Canada — he’s long-lauded as one of Canada’s most regarded artists throughout his 48-year career.

“I’m just a songwriter,” he lays plainly. “That’s the only voice I have, other than my vote.

“But I do know this: If we can’t find a way to make the world a more equitable place for everyone, our future is in question.”

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That Eric Alper

Eric Alper is a 6-time nominee for Publicist of the Year during Canadian Music Week and has overseen the publicity campaigns for over 183 JUNO Award-nominated albums (and 16 in 2025), 45 Grammy-nominated albums, including 47 JUNO Award, 58 Canadian Folk Music Award, 126 Maple Blues Award-winning albums and is also truly honoured to work with some of the biggest and most important artists of our time.

Contact me: eric@thatericalper.com

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