Well, this is pretty great – ScreenSlam shared incredible behind the scenes footage of voice actors from Pixar‘s 1995 animated film, Toy Story. It features Tom Hanks and Tim Allen in the same room working through the argument scene as Woody and Buzz Lightyear, Jim Varney becoming the kind Slinky Dog, and Don Rickles bringing his never-to-be forgotten thoughts to Mr. Potato Head.
Midge Ure and Paul Young Announce North American Co-Headline Tour
Grammy and Brit Award winning musician Midge Ure returns to North America this summer on a co-headline tour with old friend, and fellow Brit, Paul Young. The first leg of the ‘Soundtrack of your Life’ Tour will hit Texas, the Midwest and Northeast with more to be announced including a second leg hitting the west coast in August.
Midge Ure will be performing Ultravox, Visage and solo material as well as playing songs from his highly acclaimed album Fragile, released in 2014. There are a handful of solo acoustic dates for Midge but the rest of the tour is very much plugged in, featuring Ure on electric guitar and synthesizer recalling the groundbreaking, innovative sound he is known for. Ure also recently released an album of orchestrated versions of Ultravox hits and Midge Ure classics including ‘Vienna’, ‘Dancing with Tears in My Eyes’, and ‘If I Was’ via BMG on December 1st.
Paul Young will be performing songs from his chart topping catalogue spanning 4 decades including the smash hits “Come Back & Stay” “Every Time You Go Away.” and, “What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted” as well as tracks from his latest album Good Times, released in 2016.
Midge Ure has an impressive back catalogue fronting the groundbreaking electrorock band Ultravox as well as being a member of such notable bands as Visage and Thin Lizzy in addition to Band Aid where he produced and co wrote the smash charity single “Do They Know Its Christmas.” He was also one of the principle creators of Live Aid and Live 8 along with Bob Geldof. Ure has spent most of his career touring the globe most recently with Ultravox who reformed in 2009 as well as some solo shows and the notable role of MD for the Princes Trust at the Royal Albert Hall with a cast of the usual suspects including Queen, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and Mark King.
Paul Young burst onto the UK music scene with his first UK number one in 1983 with “Wherever I Lay My Hat.” His 1993 debut album “No Parlez” went straight to the top of the album charts, eventually reaching quadruple Platinum with the smash single releases “Love Of The Common People” and “Come Back & Stay.” Paul sang on Band-Aid’s historic “Do They Know It’s Christmas”, famously opening the song with its first lines. This charity single spawned the never-to-be-repeated worldwide concert Live Aid in 1985. That same year, Paul’s UK chart topping second album, “The Secret of Association” consolidated his success worldwide with a number one Billboard Chart single in the USA, “Every Time You Go Away.” In 1990, the LP Other Voices, had a U.S. number one Adult Contemporary hit with “Oh Girl”, to be followed in 1992 with another U.S. number one Adult Contemporary hit with “What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted” from the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe”. Paul has collaborated and sung over the years with many artists such as Dave Gilmour, Steve Winwood, Paul Carrack, Bobby Womack, Billy Joel, Chaka Khan, Clannad, and the hits continued in the 90’s with a collaborative number one European hit with Italian artist Zucchero, “Senza Una Donna”, and the solo hit “Now I Know What Made Otis Blue”. 2016 Saw the release of Paul’s latest album release “Good Times” on the UK label New State.
Midge Ure/Paul Young Tour Dates
May 29 – Austin, TX – 3Ten (Midge Solo Acoustic)
May 30 – Denton, TX – Dan’s Silverleaf (Midge Solo Acoustic)
May 31 – New Orleans, LA – The Parish @ HoB (Midge Solo Acoustic)
June 1 – Atlanta, GA – City Winery (Midge Solo Acoustic)
June 2 – Bordentown, NJ – Randy Now’s Man Cave (Midge Solo Acoustic)
June 5 – Bethesda, MD – Bethesda Blues & Jazz
June 6 – Sellersville, PA – Sellersville Theatre
June 7 – Huntington, NY – Paramount
June 8 – New York, NY – Highline Ballroom
June 10 – Pawling, NY – Daryl’s House (Paul Young Only)
June 12 – Toronto – The Phoenix
June 14 – Detroit, MI Magic Bag
June 16 – Chicago – B House Live
June 17 – Milwaukee – Shank Hall
June 19 – Cleveland, OH – Music Box
June 21 – Cincinnati, OH – Live @ Ludlow Garage
Will Ferrell and Joel McHale Tour the Hammer Museum
Will Ferrell and Joel McHale join curator Aram Moshayedi for a tour of Stories of Almost Everyone, on view at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, January 26–May 6, 2018.
Creating Saturday Night Live: Live Music
Producers Lindsay Shookus, Brian Siedlecki and Melanie Malone describe how an SNL musical guest’s performance comes together.
https://youtu.be/NoyaSowvcJw
A Visual Way to Explore the Musical Universe
Already at a young age, Kwinten Crauwels was extremely interested in the diversity of music and had always regarded music as the highest form of art, capable of dealing the strongest emotions. Besides his profession as an architect, he is highly passionate about creating and designing, particularly large and long-lasting projects. Musicmap is by far the biggest and most challenging of these projects so far. In dire search of the perfect overview of music genres, whilst motivated by the need of those around him for such a thing, Kwinten tried to assemble a framework of genres that balances accuracy, comprehensibility and accessibility. Together with his technically oriented brother and a number of enthusiasts, he spent almost eight years developing a satisfactory map and interactive encyclopedia of popular music genres.
Kid Covers Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” And The Future Is In Good Hands
The kids are alright, if Ben is any indication.
Make Music Day 2018 Returns On Thursday, June 21
Make Music Day, the annual global celebration of music on the summer solstice, returns this year on Thursday, June 21 with more than 4,500 free outdoor concerts, music lessons, jam sessions and other exciting music-making events being held in over 70 U.S. cities in 31 states. Austin, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Hartford, Los Angeles, New York City, Madison, Miami, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Philadelphia, Salem (OR) and Nashville are among the numerous cities hosting major celebrations – as well as the entire states of Vermont and Connecticut – in what has become a worldwide phenomenon observed by hundreds of millions of people in 800 cities in 120 countries. Additionally, iconic buildings and landmarks in participating U.S. cities will turn orange to mark the all-day musical free-for-all, which brings together musicians of all ages, backgrounds and genres, amateur and professional alike, to make and enjoy music.
Completely different from a typical music festival, Make Music Day celebrates and promotes the natural music maker in all of us, regardless of ability. Reimagining their cities and towns as stages, every kind of musician – from bucket drummers and opera singers to hip-hop artists and marching bands – pours onto streets, parks, plazas, porches, rooftops, gardens and other public spaces to celebrate, create and share their music with friends, neighbors and strangers.
Launched in France in 1982 as the Fête de la Musique, Make Music Day is presented in the U.S. by The NAMM Foundation and coordinated by the nonprofit Make Music Alliance. In addition to major citywide celebrations, Make Music Day will also include smaller festivities in other communities nationwide.
Highlights of Make Music Day in the U.S. will include Street Studios in over 10 cities – including New York, Boston, Chattanooga, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Nashville, Philadelphia Portland (ME) and in a Reedsburg (WI) cow pasture – where DJs and producers bring their gear and engage passersby and musicians in the spontaneous, collaborative production of original music; Sousapaloozas in Chicago, Fullerton, Hartford, Minneapolis-St.Paul and Salem (OR) that bring together hundreds of brass and wind musicians to play the music of John Philip Sousa; and over 200 Mass Appeals that gather large groups of musicians to participate in impromptu performances using single instruments such as guitars, harmonicas, accordions, flutes, percussion, trombones, French horns, synthesizers, ukuleles, djembes and saxophones.
Additional Make Music Day highlights include:
- Usher Themed Car Karaoke – In Chattanooga, people will bring their lovers and friends and unleash their inner Usher in a Green Commuter safely parked at a solar-powered charging station
- From Nothing to Something: A BNA Spoon Jam – At the Nashville International Airport, travelers will be invited to participate in a mass spoon play-along event led by Lucious “Spoon Man” Talley and in partnership with the National Museum of African American Music, and Arts at the Airport. Travelers will be given a pair of spoons to keep.
- Harlem to Broadway! – At the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater in Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park, a concert celebrating music from the “Great White Way” will be held featuring selections from the songbooks of legendary composers and Harlem residents. The concert is presented in partnership with Jazzmobile and the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance.
- Musical Intervention – Record Attempt at Most Vocal Solos in a Recording – In New Haven, people will try to break a record for most vocal solos in a song recording. Organizers are inviting at least 500 people to have their voices recorded.
- Mount Rushmore Concerts – Make Music Black Hills | Rapid City will host music covering a range of styles from jazz to rock to brass to play-along at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial from 11 am to 6 pm
- Water Music – At several waterfront locations in Boston, a new site-specific environmental work inspired by the Charles River and Handel’s famous piece, “Water Music,” will be performed. Listeners will each create their own experience by walking within and around the performers (brass players, percussionists and singers)
- Orchestral Play-Along –Students and community musicians will have the unique opportunity to bring their instruments and collaborate with members of the Chicago Philharmonic in rehearsing and performing a free mixed program at Humboldt Park Boathouse
- World’s Largest “M” – On the site of the largest “M” in the world, built out of limestone on a hillside in Platteville(WI), participants will play a variety of percussion instruments on each of the 266 steps leading to the top.
- Young Composers Contest – In celebration of Make Music Day, music technology company MakeMusic and the American Composers Forum are hosting a composition contest for young composers aged 13-21. Judges will select one piece for wind band to be performed live in select cities on Make Music Day.
Global Make Music Day highlights include over 500 events in the U.K. with featured projects for song-making, brass bands and rural music-making, 3,000 events in more than 100 cities in China with an opening ceremony at the China Millennium Monument in Beijing, Australia’s first nationwide celebration, and 200-plus events in the Nigerian cities of Lagos, Abuja and Kaduna. Also, famous buildings and landmarks in participating cities worldwide will join their U.S. counterparts in shining orange in honor of Make Music Day.
All Make Music Day events are free and open to the public. Participants who wish to perform, or to host musical events, may register at MakeMusicDay.org. A full schedule of events will be posted on the website in early June.
Stern Pinball Announces New Iron Maiden Pinball Machines
Stern Pinball, Inc., the world’s oldest and largest producer of arcade-quality pinball machines, today announced the availability of a new line of “Legacy of the Beast” pinball machines that honor the classic and iconic rock band, Iron Maiden.
Formed in 1975, Iron Maiden led the wave of British heavy metal music and became a global institution. Over the course of 40 years the band has come to embody a spirit of fearless creative independence, ferocious dedication to fans, and a cheerful indifference to critics. Iron Maiden has built a following that reaches every culture, generation, and time zone. With over 90 million album sales, more than 2,000 live performances in 63 countries, tens of millions of fans and 16 studio albums of unerring quality, Iron Maiden has more than earned its proudly-held status as one of the most influential and revered bands of all time.
The Iron Maiden pinball machines aim to reflect the same excitement, energy, and experience of a live Iron Maiden concert. Players will immerse themselves in an interactive Iron Maiden universe transforming into various forms of Eddie, the band’s legendary mascot. Players, as Eddie, will embark on a quest to defeat the Beast and his minions across the Legacy of the Beast mobile game and comic book world. Iron Maiden pinball entertains with an amazing array of modern and classic features, making it suitable for all skill levels.
“Iron Maiden is one of the most iconic bands of all time and we’re excited to have Eddie join the ranks of Stern Pinball’s rock and roll lineup,” said Gary Stern, Chairman and CEO of Stern Pinball, Inc.
The Pro, Premium, and Limited Edition models feature stunning and distinctive hand-drawn art by renowned illustrator and Iron Maiden fan Jeremy Packer, a.k.a. Zombie Yeti. All models include twelve Iron Maiden songs:
Aces High
2 Minutes to Midnight
The Trooper
Wasted Years
Can I Play With Madness
Number of the Beast
Run to the Hills
Powerslave
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Flight of Icarus
Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Fear of the Dark
On all models, players will go to battle as Eddie with the help of four flippers, two spinners, a set of 3-bank drop targets, metal and wireform ramps, a captive ball mechanism, a dual up-post lock mechanism, and a center bullseye target.
The Premium and Limited Edition models also feature an interactive sarcophagus ball lock, a motorized secret tomb entrance, a controlled middle pharaoh laser-cut metal ramp that raises to reveal the underworld scoop, a dual sensing Newton ball, and two custom Eddie sculpts.
The Limited Edition, limited to 500 units globally and in perpetuity, includes additional unique features such as an exclusive mirrored backglass and an upgraded sound system featuring an improved speaker cabinet and high quality JBL branded backbox speakers.
LL COOL J Launches His Exclusive New SiriusXM Channel “Rock The Bells Radio” Today
SiriusXM announced today that entertainment icon LL COOL J will launch his new SiriusXM classic Hip-Hop channel on March 28 entitled LL COOL J’s “Rock the Bells Radio.”
The channel will feature a wide range of classic hip-hop content, music, interviews and in-depth retrospectives curated and presented by LL, as well as other innovators of hip-hop music, including Ice Cube, Stetsasonic, Eric B. & Rakim, Snoop Dogg, Outkast, Kool Moe Dee, Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, Ultramagnetic MCs, Too Short, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Canibus, Wu-Tang Clan, Run-DMC, Brand Nubian, De La Soul, Black Moon and Ice T.
“Rock the Bells Radio” is allowing its audience to look at and listen to classic Hip-Hop through the lens of our current culture and music.
LL says, “If you wanna be a fly on the wall in the world of Classic Hip-Hop, SiriusXM’s ‘Rock the Bells Radio’ is for you. It’s where fans can come and be immersed in the music, the culture, the energy and the history of Classic Hip-Hop.” LL continues, “We’re gonna have great artists, legendary artists, lyricists, superstars, sex symbols. This is the place to be if you want uncut, raw, pure, classic Hip-Hop, but there’s one catch—it’s strictly for O.G.’s.”
To help launch the channel, a special invitation-only roller skating event will take place on Wednesday, March 28 at World of Wheels in Los Angeles. The “Rock the Bells Radio” launch will be hosted by LL COOL J along with the acclaimed DJ Z-Trip; a live broadcast of the event will air at 7pm PST/10pm EST on “Rock the Bells Radio” SiriusXM Channel 43!
“Rock the Bells Radio” is named after a combination of one of LL’s hit tracks, “Rock the Bells,” and the title of the groundbreaking, debut album it came from, “Radio.” “Rock the Bells Radio” will air on channel 43, available on satellite radios, the SiriusXM app and other connected devices.
The channel logo for LL COOL J’s “Rock the Bells Radio” was created by the acclaimed and influential American contemporary street artist, Shepard Fairey, famous for creating the iconic Barack Obama “Hope” poster during the 2008 presidential campaign.
“We couldn’t be more excited that LL COOL J’s “Rock the Bells Radio” channel will launch live from our special Los Angeles event. SiriusXM was at the forefront of the classic hip-hop format, and with LL on board, it makes the channel that much more compelling,” said Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer, SiriusXM. “With both the channel and this unique event, LL will be taking SiriusXM listeners on a hip-hop journey that can’t be found anywhere else. For listeners looking for the origins and influences of today’s burgeoning hip-hop culture, they need only turn to LL Cool J’s “Rock the Bells Radio” to hear it. LL will make the channel feel as current and alive as today’s music with stellar presentation, surprising programming choices, and new cuts from classic artists.”
LL COOL J is an entertainment icon who has achieved great success crossing into multiple mediums. A Kennedy Center Honoree, two-time GRAMMY® Award winner, recording artist, actor, author, NAACP Image Award winner, entrepreneur and philanthropist, LL displays his wide range of talents with every project.
LL COOL J’s “Rock the Bells Radio” is the latest SiriusXM channel created with iconic and leading artists, including Diplo’s Revolution, Eminem’s Shade 45, Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Radio, The Beatles Channel, Jimmy Buffett’s Radio Margaritaville, Garth Brooks’ The Garth Channel, Willie Nelson’s Willie’s Roadhouse, Kenny Chesney’s No Shoes Radio, Tom Petty Radio, Pearl Jam Radio, B.B. King’s Bluesville, Elvis Radio, Siriusly Sinatra, and Ozzy Osbourne’s Ozzy’s Boneyard.
Def Leppard Announces The First Of Four Planned Career-Spanning Box Sets
On June 1, Bludgeon Riffola/Mercury/UMe fires the first salvo in Def Leppard’s projected four-volume career-spanning box set series, when the appropriately dubbed Volume One appears in multidisc LP and CD collections. The collection arrives in time for this summer’s highly anticipated Def Leppard co-headline tour with Journey.
This first volume of the band’s complete recorded output comes in both limited-edition 180-gram heavyweight vinyl and CD box sets, each featuring Def Leppard’s first four studio albums — along with some choice bonus live and studio material — all spread across 8LPs and 7CDs, respectively.
The Volume One collection includes bonus material including Live At The LA Forum 1983, originally released as a bonus disc in the deluxe CD version of Pyromania, making this the first-ever vinyl offering of the complete show. This 2LP version comes with a new sleeve and inner bags.
Rarities Volume 1 has been specially compiled by Joe Elliott, containing rare B-sides and recordings from Def Leppard’s early years, all in a newly commissioned sleeve. Finally, rounding out this collection is the 7-inch vinyl single and 3-inch CD of Def Leppard’s original, self-titled EP.
The fiery Volume One collection contains all of Def Leppard’s iconic 1980s recordings with reproductions of the original packaging in both formats, plus the added bonus of a replica 7-inch single and 3-inch CD of the band’s original independent EP, the self-titled The Def Leppard E.P.
Each album in the box set was mastered by longtime band producer/soundmaster Ronan McHugh and cut by Greg Moore.
Housed in rigid boxes, the Volume One collection also contains a hardback book with rare photos by longstanding band confidant Ross Halfin and liner notes by Classic Rock’s Paul Elliott. Def Leppard bandmembers Joe Elliott, bassist Rick Savage, drummer Rick Allen, and guitarist Phil Collen have all also contributed their personal introductions to the collection.
Volume One is an extraordinary early chronicle of a band whose global impact only continues to grow. Def Leppard have a cumulative sales tally of over 100 million albums worldwide, not to mention putting on consistently sold-out world tours. Def Leppard recently authorized their entire recorded catalog for access on streaming and download platforms, a move that resulted in a nearly 400 percent surge in catalog sales on the first day alone, as well as appearances in the iTunes Top 10 charts in over 30 countries worldwide.
Volume One kicks off with Def Leppard’s 1980 debut album On Through The Night, which immediately put the rock world on notice that the band were destined for big things, having charted at No. 15 in the U.K. and No. 51 in the U.S. Produced by Tom Allom (Judas Priest, Black Sabbath), On Through The Night features many of the band’s live favorites (“Rock Brigade,” “Hello America”), along with updated versions of early singles (“Rocks Off”). The album achieved platinum status in 1989, and the version included here is the rare Australian gatefold-sleeve version.
Released in 1981, High ‘N’ Dry was Def Leppard’s second platinum album and the first to be produced by Robert “Mutt” Lange (AC/DC, Foreigner). It reached No. 26 in the U.K. and No. 38 in the U.S., having garnered much impactful FM airplay with the propulsive “Let It Go” and one of the band’s most popular signature tunes to this day, “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak.”
Pyromania, released in 1983, saw the band become indisputable rock legends. It was the first record to feature guitars by Phil Collen, who had replaced Pete Willis. The album contains massive MTV hits “Photograph” and “Rock Of Ages,” as well as fist-pumper “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop),”. Pyromania reached No. 2 in the U.S. and went Diamond, with over 10 million album sales.
Def Leppard released Hysteria in 1987, the band’s best-selling record to date having sold over 25 million copies worldwide. It went to No. 1 in the U.K., U.S., and Australia, and is also the band’s second album to achieve Diamond status in the U.S.. Notes Collen, “Not many people even get Platinum albums anymore! Going Diamond is going 10 times Platinum in America, which is a huge deal — and we’ve got two of those. We’re really pleased that we got them. It’s pretty cool that we’ve achieved that.”
Produced by Mutt Lange, Hysteria took over three years to make, ultimately featuring seven charting singles (including No. 1 smash “Love Bites” and “Pour Some Sugar On Me”), and has been rightly nicknamed as “heavy metal’s Thriller.” Clocking in at just over 62 minutes, Hysteria was then one of the longest albums ever issued on a single vinyl record — but for this special box set release, it has been made into a double LP for maximum sound-quality purposes.
Def Leppard’s collective vocal prowess is but one of the many things that helped cement their unparalleled standing in rock history, as Joe Elliott explains: “The way we did our harmonies was based on the multitracking abilities of a band like Queen, but we took what they did to the next level. Queen maybe tripled or quadrupled their backing vocals — but we did it like 20 times! We wanted it to sound like the quality of Queen but have the size of Slade. The way we did it gave us a unique sound. And that’s the whole point of an album, really — capturing a band’s unique dynamics.” Adds Phil Collen, “The American bands had beautiful vocals, with all those wonderful harmonies. But we added a bit of a punk ethos in there with ours, where it became a bit more charming and anthemic with screaming and shouting. And that was a very British thing, I think, that made us different from a lot of the American bands.”
Def Leppard’s Volume One is but the first hot, sticky-sweet taste of an impressive career that remains ever on the rise. Can you feel it, do you believe it?