During a recent appearance at The Kennedy Center, musician Ben Folds showed off his ability to quickly improvise, as he composed an entire song live in less than 10 minutes. If that wasn’t great enough, he also including all the parts for the National Symphony Orchestra so they could play along.
Author David Sedaris discusses his writing process
David Sedaris, author of the new book “Theft by Finding: Diaries (1977-2002)” discusses humor, his process and relating to his readers with PBS NewsHour Arts Correspondent Jeffrey Brown.
The Wife Of Leo Fender Has A New Book Out
Occasionally, the world produces one of those rare thinkers that alter the course of history.
Disney reinvented entertainment, Einstein revolutionized science, Edison lit up our lives with the light bulb, Bell got the world talking with the telephone … and Fender revolutionized music.
If you think about it, Leo Fender has influenced every person on earth today – at least everyone who has ever heard a song.
Guitar Player Magazine declared that Clarence Leo Fender is the father of the solid body guitar. Not only did he invent it, but Leo’s guitars were used by everyone from Elvis Presley, to Eric Clapton and from Jimmy Page to Jimmy Hendrix. Indeed, Rolling Stone Magazine published a list of the world’s top 100 guitarists, and 90 of them used one of Leo’s guitars on stage, and the others used guitars that copied Leo’s inventions and concepts.
Leo Fender was shy, had one glass eye, and was nearly deaf. Yet, from the small town of Fullerton, California, he built an iconic worldwide empire that is worshiped by the rock stars themselves. The highest price ever spent for music memorabilia was not for Michael Jackson’s glove, original Beatles’ handwritten lyrics or even Elvis’ killer pantsuit. It was for a Fender Stratocaster, which sold for a staggering $2.7 million.
Leo Fender: The Quiet Giant Heard Around the World will be out on November 1, 2017. Written by the wife of the late Leo Fender, for the very first time, this book provides a rare look into the wonderful mind and world of this quiet genius.
Liam Gallagher Announces Tour And Release Date Of Debut Solo Album ‘As You Were’
After the sensational reaction to his debut solo track “Wall of Glass’” and the fanatical scenes that accompanied his first solo shows in Ireland and the U.K., Liam Gallagher has announced his eagerly anticipated debut solo album As You Were. Set for an October 6 release date via Warner Bros./Parlophone Records, fans can pre-order the album today and receive and instant download of “Wall of Glass” followed by “China Town” on June 30. Fans will also have the ability to purchase the album in a variety of formats including digitally (standard and deluxe), CD (standard and jewel case) and vinyl (standard 12” and limited edition color 12” formats).Click here to pre-order.
A special boxset will also be available from here. This exclusive compiles a 12” color vinyl pressing of the album, an exclusive 7” single of “For What It’s Worth,” a print designed by Klaus Voorman (the artist behind The Beatles’ Revolver album cover) and additional collectors’ items.
Gallagher has also confirmed his first ever North American tour as a solo artist. Fans can pre-order tickets beginning today at 12:00 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT. Local market tickets pre-sales begin June 27. All pre-sales will end June 28 at 10:00 p.m. local time. General ticket on-sales begin June 29, at 10:00 a.m. local time. Ticket bundles packages will also be available. With every online ticket purchased for Gallagher’s fall tour, fans will receive a choice of either a standard physical or standard digital copy of his upcoming album, As You Were, releasing October 6, 2017. For further info check here: liamgallagher.com
Liam Gallagher North American tour dates:
Nov 13 San Francisco, CA Warfield
Nov 18 Denver, CO Gothic
Nov 20 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
Nov 21 Chicago, IL The Riviera
Nov 23 Toronto, ON Rebel
Nov 25 Boston, MA House of Blues
Nov 27 New York, NY Terminal 5
Nov 29 Washington, DC Lincoln Theatre
Nov 30 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
Joining Liam Gallagher on the road will be Jay Mehler on guitars, Mike Moore on guitars, Christian Madden on keyboards, Drew McConnell on bass, and Dan McDougall on drums.
As You Were was recorded in two locations. Greg Kurstin performed all of the instruments on the four songs that he produced (“Wall Of Glass,” “Paper Crown,” “Come Back To Me” and the psychedelic whoosh of “It Doesn’t Have To Be That Way”), while Dan Grech-Marguerat produced the remainder of the album at Snap! Studios in London.
The result is exactly what you would have hoped a Liam Gallagher solo album would sound like: the passion for the classic 60s/70s influence that he’s always had has been updated for the here and now.
“I didn’t want to be reinventing anything or going off on a space jazz odyssey,” says Gallagher. “It’s the Lennon ‘Cold Turkey’ vibe, The Stones, the classics. But done my way, now.”
Toronto’s Pearson Airport Celebrating Canada’s 150th Birthday With Live Music
Canada’s largest airport is at the heart of many Canadian travels: the first place newcomers touch our soil, the front door to a Toronto adventure, and the gateway to our great nation. This summer, visitors to Terminal 1 can enjoy YYZ Live, a musical celebration with 150 performances from 75 local artists in honour of Canada’s 150th birthday.
Performances are free and open to the public, running from June 26 to September 15. Visit the YYZ Live stage in Terminal 1, International Arrivals, or the YYZ Live acoustic stage on the Terminal Link train platform.
- 7:00 p.m. daily – YYZ Live stage, Terminal 1, International Arrivals
- 8:00 p.m. daily – YYZ Live acoustic stage, Terminal Link train platform
Born in Montreal, raised in Toronto, Shyann is an emerging Canadian singer/songwriter who combines jazz, trip hop & soulful vocals to craft her sound. She’s influenced by the likes of Amy Winehouse, Radiohead and Erykah Badu, to name a few. Starting off in a musical world of opera singing, then expanding into jazz and soul music, you can hear the product of her musical influences in her debut album titled ‘Into The Ground’, produced by Nick Name.
Since the album’s release, Shyann has been nominated for Best Emerging Performing Artist from the Mississauga Arts Council as well as qualified as a top finalist in the Canadian Radio Star National Songwriting Competition. Her live act ‘The Shyann Collective’ have opened for July Talk at the SoundBites Food Truck Festival, headlined the Canadian Beatboxing Championships, performed at DesiFest (Yonge-Dundas Square) and opened for Bunji Garlin at Irie Music Festival. They will be opening for Keys N Krates on New Years Eve at Celebration Square, Mississauga.
With Shyann’s live act expanding, and a new album in the works, Shyann is eager to continue crafting her sound, both as a recording artist and performer. To learn more about Shyann, listen to her music.
With a voice like “gravel on silk”, indie-soul/alt-folk songwriter AHI (pronounced “eye”) is a rare talent with the keen ability to deliver a story with the eas…e and familiarity of an old friend. Favouring passion over precision, it’s easy to see why comparisons to Richie Havens, Ray LaMontagne and Tracy Chapman are common for this soulful troubadour.
From humble beginnings in Brampton, Ontario, AHI independently toured over 50,000 miles, through the vast woodlands of Canada and the neon lights of Nashville, to the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and eventually beyond the Atlantic to the brick lanes of London. Along the way, he has recorded with leading acoustic sessions across the UK and Europe, but none has been more viewed than a simple home video of his stunning rendition of Bob Marley’s ‘No Woman No Cry’, filmed in a London alleyway and accompanied by the sweet harmonies of his three-year-old daughter. The video caught the attention of the Marley family who featured it on the official BobMarley.com website and sent AHI a personalized note from Mrs. Rita Marley herself – an unparalleled experience for an artist who cites Bob Marley as his greatest musical inspiration.
Soon after, AHI returned to find his Indie Soul EP (2014) was chosen one of CBC Radio One’s top 10 records of the year, and he has since been recognized and awarded by Folk Alliance International, Nashville Songwriters Association International, the Songwriters Association of Canada, and the Canada Council for the Arts, among others.
For his debut full-length We Made It Through The Wreckage (2017), AHI has collaborated with CMA winning producer Eric Masse (Miranda Lambert) to create what Masse has called an entirely “new genre”, blending folk, soul and rock, and topping it off with a vocal performance to be expected from a seasoned powerhouse rather than an indie debut.
The feel-good single Ol’ Sweet Day broke the Billboard Spotify Viral 50 Chart and hit #34 on the U.S. Viral 50 without any promotion or marketing. The track took off on playlists worldwide and surpassed 1 million streams; a rare feat for an artist yet to make his mark. Now a 2017 finalist in the Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class, it’s not hard to see why AHI is one of Canada’s most promising emerging acts.
Maria Ryan & Chris Bennett are a duo based in Toronto, ON, Canada. After years involved in separate musical pursuits, they came together in 2013 to blend Maria’s honey soaked gravel voice and percussive rhythm guitar playing with Chris’s artful layers of lead guitar work and vocal harmonies.
Both songwriters, their original material is a collaborative effort in which they explore themes that include lust, love, betrayal and longing. Maria and Chris also enjoy covering a select few songs and switching them up with their own distinctly dark twist.
With a mix of rock, roots, blues and a tiny splash of punk, they are often compared to Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Patti Smith and late 60’s era Rolling Stones.
Their self-titled debut album was released in October of 2015.
Upcoming Performances
- June 29 – Jon Brooks | Bluegrass/Folk – jonbrooks.ca
- June 30 – Brighid Fry | Folk/Indie rock – brighidfry.ca
- July 1 – Mattie Leon | Folk/Indie rock – mattieleon.com
- July 2 – Ben Hermann | Folk – benhermann.ca
- July 3 – Donne Roberts | International – donneroberts.com
- July 4 – Winnie Brave | Roots/Country – winniebrave.com
- July 5 – The Young Novelists | Folk/Rock – theyoungnovelists.com
Stevie Nicks Performs New Version Of Fleetwood Mac’s “Gypsy” For Netflix Series
She was just a wish and lightning struck only once.
Gypsy premieres June 30 featuring a new recording of Fleetwood Mac’s “Gypsy” performed by Stevie Nicks.
Gypsy is a ten-part story follows Jean Halloway (Naomi Watts), a therapist who begins to develop intimate and illicit relationships with the people in her patients’ lives.
Gypsy also stars Billy Crudup (Spotlight), Sophie Cookson (Kingsman), Lucy Boynton (Murder on the Orient Express), Karl Glusman (Nocturnal Animals), Melanie Liburd (Dark Matter), Poorna Jagganthan, and Brenda Vaccaro.
Stranger Things Action Figures by Funko
Funko has released 3-packs of action figures featuring popular characters from Netflix‘s original series, Stranger Things.
Broken Social Scene Releases “Stay Happy”, Announces First West Coast Dates Since 2011
Today, Toronto’s Broken Social Scene released “Stay Happy”, Led by the vocals of newcomer Ariel Engle, “Stay Happy” is the fourth song from their upcoming album Hug of Thunder.
Broken Social Scene are also excited to announce a run of West Coast dates in addition to their previously announced 2017 tour dates. The West Coast tour, which are their first West Coast shows since 2011, will kick off in Vancouver on October 21 and wrap up in Los Angeles on October 28 with The Belle Game opening these shows. The band has also announced three special performances opening for Arcade Fire in Canada on November 1 in Windsor and November 3 and 4 in their hometown of Toronto. A presale for these shows via Spotify will happen tomorrow, Tuesday June 27, at 10 am local time, and go on sale to the public on Thursday, June 29 at 10 am local time. For these dates, Broken Social Scene are partnering with Plus 1 so that $1 from every ticket goes towards providing access to arts education for young people in disadvantaged communities.
The tour will follow the release of Broken Social Scene’s upcoming album Hug of Thunder, out on Arts & Crafts on July 7. Produced by Joe Chiccarelli and mixed by Shawn Everett, Hug Of Thunder is everything BSS fans love from the Canadian collective and then some, an album overflowing with glorious open chords, multi-voice harmonies, spacious psychedelia-tinted breakdowns, and more. It is a panoramic, expansive album that manages to be both epic and intimate; and like all things BSS, in troubled times, it offers a serotonin rush of positivity. Since their inception in the early Aughts, BSS have always pushed sonic boundaries while remaining reverent of a perfect chorus; almost twenty years down the line, Hug Of Thunder sharpens that balance. The record’s twelve songs refract the band’s varying emotions, methods, and techniques in ways that not only reference their other albums, but surpass them. Hug Of Thunder is righteous but warm, angry but loving, melodic but uncompromising. And if you’ve ever fallen in love with Broken Social Scene – as many of us have – it is a perfect return that was truly worth the wait.
TOUR DATES
6/24/17 Pasadena, CA @ Arroyo Seco Weekend
7/21 -23/17 Edmonton, AB @ Interstellar Rodeo
8/05/17 Montreal, Quebec @ Osheaga
8/18-20/17 – Winnipeg, MB @ Interstellar Rodeo
9/15/17 – Ottawa, ON @CityFolk
9/16/17 Ithaca, NY @ State Theatre ~
9/17/17 New York, NY @ Meadows Music & Art festival
9/19/17 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club ~
9/21/17 Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel ~
9/22/17 Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle *
9/24/17 St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant *
9/26/17 Des Moines, IA @ Hoyt Sherman *
9/27/17 Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater *
9/28/17 St. Paul, MN @ The Palace *
9/29/17 Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom *
9/30/17 Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore *
10/1/17 Pittsburgh, PA @ Byham Theater *
10/3/17 Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore
10/5/17 Portland, ME @ State Theater *
10/6/17 New Haven, CT @ College Street *
10/7/17 Boston, MA @ House of Blues
10/21/17 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom ~
10/23/17 Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre ~
10/24/17 Portland, WA @ Crystal Ballroom ~
10/26/17 Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater ~
10/28/17 Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern ~
11/1/17 Windsor, ON @ Family Credit Union #
11/3/17 Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre #
11/4/17 Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre #
~ – with The Belle Game
* – with Frightened Rabbit
# – with Arcade Fire
Andy Warhol eating a hamburger
Andy Warhol eats a Whopper, from Jørgen Leth’s 1982 documentary/art film “66 Scenes from America,” a collection of moving “postcards” from the United States.
https://youtu.be/Ejr9KBQzQPM
Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Isolated Guitar Track For “Pride and Joy”
Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Pride and Joy is notated in the key of E, although with Vaughan’s guitar tuned one-half step lower, resulting in the pitch of E♭, in 4/4 time with a moderately fast tempo. Listen for Vaughan extracting extra sound from the guitar by choosing finger shapes that allow the maximum number of strings to ring at a time, often the top E-string.
https://youtu.be/Kqb9IFVIIFg