Ed Vigdor, Todd Rundgren’s videographer during the 1988-89 Nearly Human recording sessions, recently posted a rare video edit from the recording of the song “Fidelity”. It’s not an officially sanctioned music video but it’s fantastic nonetheless. Kudos to Ed for posting this. It’s pretty much a dream for any fan to witness their idol in action in the studio. And Vigdor’s videos from the sessions are as close as most of us will ever get to see this musical genius in this type of recording session.
Some of the musicians in the video include: Todd Rundgren, Brent Bourgeois, Lyle Workman, Michael Urbano, Bobby Strickland and Michele Gray
Hopefully more of Vigdor’s footage from the sessions will see the light of day in some form or another. From what I’ve been told, there are hours and hours of footage from the various sessions that made up Nearly Human and it’s a matter of compiling all of the raw footage into some sort of presentable fashion. Unfortunately, no one has the time and/or resource to take on the project.
Motorola made the announcement back in March that they’d be releasing the first Android powered smartphone available for the iDEN network. The initial announcement was for the phone to be released through Sprint/Nextel which disappointed a whole lot of Boost Mobile iDEN users. Well, Boost iDEN folks, you’re in luck!! It appears that Sprint/Nextel won’t have exclusive dibs on the Motorola i1 after all. There’s word that Boost will be releasing its own version of the i1 this summer. No official word yet on a release date for the Boost version but there’s already a page set up for the phone on the Best Buy website which is a pretty good sign that it’s indeed for real. The bad news is that the Boost version of the phone will cost $350 since there’s no contract with the carrier. Plus, you can’t use the pay-as-you-go plan with this phone, only the $50 unlimited plan. But for those wanting a smartphone on the iDEN network, this is the only choice (for now at least).
Motorola i1 features: Android 1.5 OS, Opera Mini 5 browser, 5.0 MP camera, built-in Wi-Fi, bluetooth, 3.1″ HVGA touch screen, microSD memory card, nationwide walkie-talkie, 210 minutes talk time, 100 hours in standby mode.
I’m still curious to hear about web access on this phone. Since iDEN wasn’t built for high speed data throughput, surfing the web might be a bit on the SLOW side. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see once the phone hits the streets.
Well, this is a bit of a surprise. The guys from Wang Chung are back from 80′s oblivion with a new two-CD set AND a summer tour! OK, I’m exaggerating a bit about “oblivion” since Nick Feldman and Jack Hues appeared as Wang Chung in last year’s edition of the Regeneration Tour (along with ABC, Berlin and Cutting Crew). But this time around, it appears that they’ll be hitting the road on their own instead of part of a package tour.
As for the new release “Abducted By The 80′s”, it’ll be a mix of their hits, re-recordings and new material. No word yet on a release date.
Anyway, here are Wang Chung’s 2010 tour dates: Thu 06/10/10 San Diego, CA Anthology
Fri 06/11/10 Santa Ana, CA Galaxy Concert Theatre
Sat 06/12/10 Redondo Beach, CA Brixton
Sun 06/13/10 Woodland Hills, CA Bredlow Pavillion Band Shell
Wed 06/16/10 Peoria, AZ Skye Fine Dining & Live Entertainment
Thu 06/17/10 San Diego, CA Anthology
Fri 06/18/10 San Francisco, CA Slim’s
Sat 06/19/10 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge
Mon 06/21/10 Seattle, WA El Corazon
Thu 06/24/10 Oshkosh, WI Leach Amphitheater – Waterfest
Fri 06/25/10 Chicago, IL Cans Bar and Canteen – ChicagoFest
Sat 06/26/10 Milwaukee, WI Henry Maier Festival Park – Summerfest
Sun 06/27/10 Ferndale, MI The Magic Bag
Mon 06/28/10 Pittsburgh, PA Rex Theater
Wed 06/30/10 Akron, OH Musica
Thu 07/01/10 Irving, NY Sunset Bay Beach Club
Fri 07/02/10 Kokomo, IN Haynes Apperson Festival Grounds
Sat 07/03/10 Cleveland, OH The Winchester
Wed 07/07/10 New York, NY B.B. King Blues Club
Thu 07/08/10 Uncasville, CT Wolf Den
Fri 07/09/10 Foxboro, MA Showcase Live
Sat 07/10/10 Sellersville, PA Sellersville Theater
heh, this brand new music video is a perfect fit for this ol’ retro music blog. Goldfrapp and company did a fantastic job combining early 80′s fitness fashions with the modern day fixation with vampires. ha, ha. love it. Happy friday, everyone!
Purchase the new album by Goldfrapp – Head First via CDUniverse.
Thanks to some dedicated Asia/ELP fans, there are still some live recordings of the short lived 80′s offshoot band 3 (Three) being circulated around. You may remember this little variation in the ELP timeline – it was when Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer teamed up with singer/guitarist Robert Berry to record the album “To the Power of Three” back in 1988. As you may have guessed, the album flopped and the supporting tour got cut short. I’m not totally certain how many live gigs the group actually ended up doing but I recently received copies of two of their shows (Boston and NYC), both of which were simulcast live on the radio at the time.
I haven’t had a chance to listen to the NYC gig but after listening to the Boston show, it’s pretty obvious to me why the band didn’t last (..well, besides the lack of album sales). In a live setting, the band just didn’t gel. It sounded more like a showcase for Keith Emerson and a backing band. I can’t say if it was his ego or talent or a bit of both but Emerson pretty much overshadowed the rest of the group. And there’s no question about his ability on keys. Just listen to his jawdropping solo piece “Creole Dance”. amazing stuff. But it just seemed that Palmer and Berry weren’t up to the task of pulling their own weight in this setting. Berry’s bass work was simply buried by Emerson’s synthesizers and his vocal range had a lot to be desired. And don’t get me started on Palmer’s drumming. Granted, he’s a world famous rock drummer and does amazing drum solos but when playing with the rest of the band, he simply can’t stay “in the pocket”. his tempo is all over the place. I’m not sure if he was preoccuppied with his electronic drum setup but his playing was pretty subpar in my opinion.
The problem was compounded with lackluster material that just didn’t translate well onto the stage. Come on singing lyrics like: “Sangre de toro, drinking the wine, beneath la montana, the shadows of time” is just embarrassing. Oh, they also included a backing vocalist (Jennifer Steele) and a guitarist (Paul Keller) for these live gigs. I’m almost certain that they brought in Steele for “eye-candy” because from hearing her off key harmonies, she obviously can’t sing.
If you’re interested in the group, I say stick with the studio album. Even though it has the typical 80′s production sheen, it’d a whole lot better than hearing them live.
retroGrade: C (performance), B+ (sound quality, FM source)
During last night’s episode of Family Guy, both Asia and REO Speedwagon got a mention. The interesting thing (and a bit confusing) is that they referenced John Payne as “lead singer from Asia” and then played a snippet of the original version of “Only Time Will Tell” that features John Wetton on vocals. hhhmmmmm…
I think they should of made reference to the two separate factions of the band by saying “the OTHER lead singer of Asia“.
But I have to say that the artists did a great job in creating a cartoon version of John Payne. heh.
While in downtown Raleigh on business, I took this snapshot of Raleigh’s new downtown outdoor concert venue. As you can see, it’s no where near finished. They’ve got lots to do before the June 4th opening with the Connells.
Plus they don’t even have an official name yet. Well, for now it’s called the Raleigh Amphitheater. But the city is waiting for the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission to approve the naming of the venue as “Bud Light Amphitheater”. Apparently there’s a state law that prohibits alcoholic beverages as part of the name of a public venue. So, hopefully they can get that worked out soon.
Anyway, here are the upcoming acts scheduled for The Raleigh “Bud Light” Amphitheater:
04 June 2010 – The Connell, I Was Totally Destroying It, The Small Ponds
06 June 2010 – Backstreet Boys
23 July 2010 – Honda Civic Tour – Paramore, Tegan and Sara, New Found Glory
25 July 2010 – Carnival of Madness – Shinedown, Chevelle, Puddle of Mudd
28 July 2010 – Legalize It Tour – Cypress Hill, Collie Buddz
30 July 2010 – Chelsea Handler
09 August 2010 – Goo Goo Dolls, Switchfoot
10 August 2010 – O.A.R., Citizen Cope
13 August 2010 – Umphrey’s McGee, Rebelution
14 August 2010 – Heart
25 August 2010 – Sound Tribe Sector
17 September 2010 – Black Crowes (more…)
After overcoming various roadblocks, Billy Sherwood’s Yes/Toto hybrid project will finally see the light of day. Frontiers Records just announced that YOSO’s debut album, Elements will be released in July. If you haven’t heard, YOSO is comprised of ex-YES and Toto members, namely – Tony Kaye, Billy Sherwood and Bobby Kimball.
Rounding out the lineup are – Johnny Bruhns on guitar and Scott Conner on drums. I’m a bit disappointed to learn that guitarist Jimmy Haun will no longer be involved with the project. But his guitar work might still end up on the album since he just recently decided to step down from the group to concentrate solely on the lucrative ad/jingle world.
Here’s the official press release about the upcoming YOSO album:
Napoli, May, 2010 – The term “Super-Group” can only describe the band arising out of two of the most creative bands of the past 30 years: YOSO is formed out of TOTO’s brilliant lead vocalist Bobby Kimball and the creative force of former YES members, Tony Kaye and Billy Sherwood, thus equalling the magic of YES with the voice of TOTO. However, YOSO is much more than a combination of two classic rock groups. The band’s debut album “Elements” – which comes together with a bonus live CD where the band plays some old and new classics – presents a fascinating combination of the sound of YES (“90125″/”Big Generator” era) and TOTO, with a very interesting and original sound that truly encompasses the styles.
“Elements” will see the light of day on July 2nd in Europe and July 27th in the USA, where the band has already scheduled a number of tour dates in support of the album’s release, on Frontiers Records.
Even though the band’s heritage is from 2 classic bands, YOSO intends to become its own identifiable entity in a very short time, YOSO’s collective mission is to make the next decade one where YOSO’s music will be held up alongside their classic rock backgrounds as a band as important as TOTO and YES.
Billy Sherwood recalls: “YOSO was started when I suggested to Bobby Kimball we should write some new music and form a band, we had been working together on various tribute projects I was producing and one thing lead to another, before too long we had 5 songs in the can and were well on our way to making a record and thinking seriously about taking it to the next level. Once there was a few songs underway the concept grew into the band we now have, YOSO.”
YOSO line-up was later rounded out with two amazingly gifted musicians: Johnny Bruhns as the guitarist and background vocalist and Scott Conner on drums, percussion and background vocals.
YOSO does indeed have the magic of YES and the voice of TOTO. However, in 2010 the band intends to convince fans of both bands that the brilliance of YOSO will be just as celebrated in the years to come.
It looks like Sprint/Nextel is about to shake things up again in the prepaid wireless market. Last year, Sprint/Nextel caused a huge stir in the industry by introducing a $50 unlimited plan on their Boost Network. And now it’s time for Virgin Mobile to shine. Virgin Mobile is Sprint’s other prepaid/no-contracts brand and for a while there, it looked like the brand was going to flounder in the wake of Boost Mobile’s popularity. But the recent unveiling of Virgin Mobile’s “Beyond Talk” plans changes everything.
The huge buzz is centered around the low price point of the $25 a month plan. The $25 plan includes unlimited messaging, email, data and web. The plan also includes 300 minutes of voice calls per month. This is currently the lowest price in the industry for unlimited data & text. With the high demand of 3G mobile web service, this deal is a game changer. Especially when you take into account that there’s no long term contracts and no extra hidden fees.
For those that want a Blackberry, don’t fret. VM’s got you covered as well. The blackberry plan adds $10 on top of the Beyond Talk plans so at the lowest tier service, you can get by with just $35 a month for voice/data.
I’m personally itching to get in on this deal. I’m currently on Boost Mobile (iDEN) which isn’t built for high speed data. Plus I’m a bit tired of the old-school Motorola phones on Boost. I need to get with the times and get me a newfangled data-driven handset. The new LG Rumor Touch looks perfect for my needs.
To coincide with the newly expanded reissue of The Rolling Stones’ 1972 double album Exile On Main St., Eagle Rock Entertainment will be releasing a documentary directed by Stephen Kijak on the making of the album titled Stones in Exile.
It was an interesting time for the group to say the least. The band had to record in a basement of a villa in the south of France. Keith Richards was in a midst of a heroin haze. Their guitars would continually go out of tune due to the high humidity in the basement. And the not-so-ideal recording conditions resulted in a murky sounding record. But through it all, Exile On Main St. had become a much heralded album. Some even say, a masterpiece.
