Presented by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation and in part by Mapex Drums, Dunlop Effects Pedals and Marshall Amplifiers, the 2nd leg of the Experience Hendrix tour will kick off on October 26 in Pittsburgh and will cross the border to perform in three Canadian cities – Toronto, Quebec City and Montreal.  After which they will be heading back to the east coast for the rest of the tour with the last five dates entailing performances in the Midwest, closing on November 20 in Indy’s Murat Theatre.

Joining this leg of the tour are the following: Sacred Steel’s Darick Campbell, The Slide Brothers, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble’s Chris Layton, Living Colour, Ernie Isley, Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Steve Vai, Susan Tedeschi, Jonny Lang, Robert Randolph, and David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos.  In the previous years, the tour has also featured other acclaimed musicians like Robby Krieger, Paul Rodgers, Joe Satriani, Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin and Carlos Santana.

Spearheading the tour is Experience Hendrix veteran and a close friend of the music legend, Billy Cox.  Through Cox and Experience Hendrix, LLC, the tour has also been brought to world renowned music festivals like Isle of Wight and Woodstock.  For Cox, the tour is a perfect medium to celebrate the timelessness of Hendrix’s music through the incorporation of contemporary and updated music styles to Hendrix’s musical material without destroying the artist’s legacy.  Cox is amazed with the “infusion of new, very enthusiastic artists to participate and are able to offer the most wide-ranging Jimi Hendrix-related repertoire possible.”

The eagerness of other artists to participate in the tour is no surprise especially to the CEO of Experience Hendrix, LLC, Jamie Hendrix. “Every day we see how Jimi’s musical legacy continues to transcend generational and cultural boundaries…The fact that the tour is going out for the second time in six months underscores the demand and appreciation there is from those who want to be part of this live concert experience that reflects the genius and unifying spirit of my brother”, says Jamie Hendrix.

Indeed, Jimi Hendrix had a profound effect not only with his fans who, by the way, are of varying age brackets, but also among his fellow musicians like Kenny Wayne Shepherd, “Jimi Hendrix’s music has really inspired me to push the limits of my own music. He didn’t observe any boundaries musically. He was an amazing player and a tremendous showman so I incorporated some of his showmanship in what I do.”  And just like many of the participants in the tour, Shepherd is also an “Experience” veteran.

To further prove that Hendrix’s legacy is far from being dead, Sony Music and Experience Hendrix will be working together, as agreed upon early of this year, to make all of Hendrix’s material – released and unreleased recordings, anthology sets and full length concert footages  – accessible by the public (for a price of course) in various formats.  In fact, Sony is preparing to release “West Coast Seattle Boy”, a five-disc set containing an archive of the artist’s most acclaimed work, some never-before-heard hits and a video presentation.  The set will be released after the October-November leg of the Experience Hendrix tour.

“We want our sound to go into the soul of the audience, and see if it can awaken some little thing in their minds… ’cause there are so many sleeping people…” – Jimi Hendrix

At the Reading and Leeds Festivals in UK a week ago, grunge rock legends Guns N’ Roses were welcomed with bottles plunging from the audience and a resonating “boo”  after taking the stage an hour later than scheduled, or perhaps, an hour later than what was announced, whichever you would want to believe.

The unfortunate and chaotic scenario happened for the third time when the band graced the stage of the O2 in Dublin last night, September 1, once again an hour late.  Apparently, GNR’s “Welcome to the Jungle” performance was perfectly suited for what was transpiring that evening, but lead singer Axl Rose was in no savage mood.  “If you don’t want to have fun, all you’ve got to do is let us know. We’ve got no problem — we’ll go on our way”, Rose addressed the crowd and disappeared on the stage for a whole hour.  The band returned 30 minutes before midnight to finish off their set.

The next day, event promoter MCD and O2 reps issued a statement for the fans who attended the event.  They apologized for the delay but they also condemned the potentially dangerous or harmful fit the audience threw at the band, “no artist should be subjected to missiles and unknown substances being thrown at them”, the reps stated.

But Rose was not to be silenced.  In his Twitter page, the vocalist tweeted that they were not the cause of the delays and blamed the promoters, organizers, managers and agents for the misappropriation of time per band and the misinformation that was spread through the media.

Rose thanked the fans for their support but apologized to them as well, saying that both the fans and all the bands are just victims of such music events that Rose described as “a cash grab with no respect for the fans or the band”.  He event went on to slam the performing industry itself as spearheaded by managers, organizers and promoters, stating that he and the band had no say whatsoever on the shows they were “legally obligated to honor…whether against our will or better judgment”.

GNR’s European trail continues two days from now, on September 4 in Rome.  The tour concludes with a show in Barcelona on October 23.

Kicking off the trek is a show in Mobile, AL on October 1, followed by a show in Chastain, GA the day after.  Four more venues still need to be added to the tour’s 13-city slate and these are the venues for Raleigh, Chicago, Las Vegas and the tour’s final stop, Oakland on October 23.

Aside from Sullivan, EL Debarge and Miguel will also be tagging along as support acts for the entire US leg of Blige’s tour.

Meanwhile, the “Family Affair”  singer is also scheduled to hit overseas in November and early next year starting off with a three-nighter in the UK on November 2, 3 and 5 and a series of shows in Australia and New Zealand in late January till early February.

“Stronger with Each Tear” marks Blige’s ninth studio effort and the first to be released under her own record label, Matriarch Records.  The album landed at the no.2 spot at the Billboard 200 upon its release in December last year.

Rock icons Bon Jovi and country music act Brad Paisley will both be heading south to Gulf Shores, AL to perform for free on two separate occasions to help revive the tourism industry in the area which is the bread and butter of the local livelihood in Gulf Shores.

Bon Jovi will perform on October 15 while Paisley is scheduled on the 17th.  The two acts will be performing on the same stage where Jimmy Buffett performed two months ago for the same purpose.

Most of the tickets – about 35,000 of it – will be given to tourists or even locals who will be checking in at any hotel in the area.  There will also be a good number of tickets appropriated for locals who would simply like to see the show without having to book a room at a local hotel.  Those tickets however, will be distributed on a first come first served basis for only one day, on September 11 at 8 AM.  Fans can come to any of these venues to avail of the free passes: the Foley City Hall, the Orange Beach Recreation Center and the Erie Meyer Civic Center in Gulf Shores.

As long as there is still a good amount left from the $15 million BP PLC donated to Gulf Shores for tourism upliftment and reparation, and as long as local city officials can convince more artists to come down and perform for charity, expect more of these free concerts in the gulf area in the coming months.

The tour will have the band trekking through the east coast after performing for two straight nights in Quebec, on September 10 and 11, to formally open the tour.  The schedule also includes what seems to be an early New Year’s Eve show announcement for their fans in the south as the band will be performing in Austin, TX on December 31.

The as-of-yet untitled album marks the sixth studio set for the rock act and their first that is produced and recorded in a solar energy powered studio located in Sacramento, CA.  Named by Billboard magazine as one of the top 10 environment-friendly music acts, Cake believed that going green should be an urgent matter.  “Science is telling us that we need to make adjustments. Living in California, it seemed like a waste not to take advantage of all the free electricity”, band leader John McCrea added.

The album will be released under band’s independent record label, Upbeat Records.  Aside from the title, the album’s release date is also yet to be announced.  The album follows Cake’s 2004 release “Pressure Chief” which landed at no.17 at the Billboard 200 upon its release.

The band will be launching the fall run on October 3 with a show at the LA County Fair in Pomona, CA followed by a string of Midwest shows before the band heads to three Canadian stops in mid-October then back to the US to cruise throughout the east coast till the homestretch of the tour in early November.  The band will be crossing back to the west coast to wrap the tour up with a show in Santa Barbara’s The Hub on November 9.

The band is also slated to perform in Brazil for three straight nights from September 16 to 18 and in Barcelona for the BAM Festival on September 25, after a two-night swing in the east coast on September 11 and 12.

Meanwhile, OK Go’s upcoming single, “White Knuckle” is the subject of the band’s new fan contest.  Fans are invited to create their own spin, version or remix of the track and upload it at the band’s website from September 7 to October 14.  The top remixes will be picked by the single’s producer, Dave Fridmann, which will all be streamed on the band’s website until October 29, where the best remix entry will be cleaned up and re-mastered and be made available online as part of the new repertoire of the video game “Rock Band”.  The uploader of the winning remix will receive a bag of goodies as prize.

On the other hand, Gonzalez is also featured in a 74-minute documentary, “The Extraordinary Life of Jose Gonzalez”, chronicling the Swedish singer’s recording process for his sophomore studio effort “In Our Nature”.  The documentary was directed by Fredrik Egerstrand and Mikel Cee Karisson and features shots using various mediums like concert and surveillance footages, video blogs, and even animation. The film is now making its rounds in a handful of Swedish festivals in Stockholm, Goteberg, Malmo, Norrkoping, Jonkoping, Lund and Vasteras until October 5.

Meanwhile, Junip has previously released an EP during their first year in the biz in ’05 entitled “Black Refuge EP”.  They went on hiatus in the following years until Gonzalez released his second solo effort three years back and the finalization of the band’s debut full-length set, “Fields” which is slated for a September 14 release.

2010 Junip Concert Tour
November

1 – Philadelphia, PA – World Café
2 – Boston, MA – Royale Nightclub
4 – Montreal, QUE – Belmont
5 – Toronto, ONT – Lee’s
6 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
7 – Minneapolis, MN – Cedar Cultural Center
10 – Seattle, WA – Neumos
11 – Vancouver, BC – Venue
12 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
13 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent
14 – Los Angeles, CA – Music Box At The Henry Fonda
16 – Phoenix, AZ – Rhythm Room
18 – Austin, TX – Mohawk
19 – Houston, TX – Fitzgeralds
20 – Baton Rouge, LA – Spanish Moon
21 – Atlanta, GA – The Earl
22 – Carrboro, NC – Cats Cradle
23 – Washington, DC – Black Cat
24 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza

The band will start the road show towards the end of the summer when they drop by Fonner Park in Grand Island, NE on August 28 to open the tour.  After which, they will be headed to the west coast for a string of shows before crossing the Atlantic for a series of performances in European countries such as The Netherlands, Germany, and the UK.

By mid-October, the boys will be headed back home, this time to tour across the east coast till they stop by again by the west coast and end the tour with a show in the Roseland Theatre in Portland, OR on November 24.

Joining the Los Angeles bred-quartet for their US shows is American Idol champ Kris Allen.

“Smoke & Burns” hit the shelves in March this year and has snagged the 6th spot on the Billboard 200 upon its release, the highest ranking any Lifehouse album has achieved in the span of 10 years.  The record features 12 cuts including some songs penned by Chris Daughtry and balladeer Richard Marx.  All cuts from the album can be heard via LIfehouse’s MySpace page.

2010 Lifehouse Concert Tour
August 2010
28 – Grand Island, NE – Fonner Park

September 2010
1 – Monroe, WA – Evergreen State Fair
2 – Salem, OR – Oregon State Fairgrounds
5 – Mount Pearl, Newfoundland – The Glacier
6 – Pomona, CA – Los Angeles County Fair
22 – Tilburg, Netherlands – 013 PopCentrum
23 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
24 – Groningen, Holland – De Oosterport
26 – Bremen, Germany – Schlachthof
27 – Berlin, Germany – ColumbiaClub
28 – Munich, Germany – Tonhalle
30 – Dortmund, Germany – FZW

October 2010
1 – Hamburg, Germany – Docks Konzerte Disco
2 – Cologne, Germany – Live Music Hall
4-6 – London, United Kingdom – O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
15 – Mashantucket, CT – MGM Grand at Foxwoods
16 – Boston, MA – Orpheum Theatre
17 – New York, NY – Roseland Ballroom
20 – Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
23 – Atlantic City, NJ – Tropicana Casino & Resort
24 – Washington, DC – DAR Constitution Hall
26 – Atlanta, GA – The Tabernacle
29 – Springfield, MO – O’Reilly Family Event Center
30 – Norman, OK – Choctaw Casino & Resort
31 – Houston, TX – Verizon Wireless Theater

November 2010
2 – Dallas, TX – Palladium Ballroom
4 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater
5 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre
8 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit
9 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
11 – Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Ballroom
12 – West Des Moines, IA – Val Air Ballroom
14 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
15 – Salt Lake City, UT – In The Venue
16 – Reno, NV – Knitting Factory Concert House
18 – Universal City, CA – Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal CityWalk
19 – Las Vegas, NV – The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
20 – Temecula, CA – Pechanga Resort & Casino
21 – San Francisco, CA – Nob Hill Masonic Center
23 – Seattle, WA – WaMu Theater
24 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater

The tour will kick off on October 8 with a show in Austin, TX followed by the first of a series of multiple-nighters for the band when they hit Broomfield, CO from October 10-12.  Other multiple-nighters in the tour include shows in South Carolina (North Charleston), Massachusetts (Amherst) and to wrap the tour up, a three-night Halloween performance in Atlantic City, NJ from October 29 to 31.

The Atlantic City show will be the first for Phish and is also among the several remarkable Halloween performances that the band has staged almost every year.  As a glimpse of what to expect in a Phish Halloween show, on its second night, the band spins an entire album from another artist throughout the entire performance, and last year the band covered “Exile on Main St.” from the Rolling Stones.

The band also announced that only a handful of tickets will be available for presale opportunities happening until September 3.   General on sale tickets can be availed on September 10 and 11 and each ticket buyer will have access to free copies of each of the band’s performances in MP3 format which they can download at livephish.com.

Fans who won’t be able to score tickets for the tour will still receive a special perk from the band, a free copy of “Live Bait”, a 10-track sampler release featuring live cuts recorded during the early phase of the band’s tour this year.  The track “Show of Life” is also included in the album which was first heard live this summer.

2010 Phish Concert Tour
October 2010
8 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Festival
10-12 – Broomfield, CO – 1stBank Center
15-16 – North Charleston, SC – North Charleston Coliseum
19 – Augusta, ME – Augusta Civic Center
20 – Utica, NY – Utica Memorial Auditorium
22 – Providence, RI – Dunkin Donuts Center
23-24 – Amherst, MA – Mullins Center
26 – Manchester, NH – Verizon Wireless Arena
29-31 – Atlantic City, NJ – Boardwalk Hall

Singer Tim Booth, speaking form his California home said, expect the unexpected.  We will play some of our old stuff, however there will be plenty of new stuff also.  Every night we will change the set out.  We like keeping things unpredictable and fresh.  We have a huge pool of songs every night to choose from.

The new stuff Booth is referring to are songs from “The Morning After the Night Before,” their two CD collection.  The set started out as two separate mini albums.  The release of “The Night Before” occurred in April in the UK.  “The Morning After” will be released this September to stores.  On “The Night Before” the strangely uplifting songs of James that deal with mental illness, disaffection and insecurity are featured.  “The Morning After” has a more low key feel to it, with dark, sad lyrics.

Booth said, we recorded them as two mini sets.  In England that’s how they were released.  For America, they’ve been combined into one set.  “The Morning After” is certainly more mellow.  Those songs were ones we have been unable to release for quite a while.  We wanted up-tempo songs to be released that we could do onstage.  Our set “The Morning After” allowed us to do some pieces that were darker that won’t work necessarily live.  However, once we were inside the studio, the character of the pieces changed anyway.  A number of them now will work live.

Not only do the two mini sets have different feels to them, they also were recorded very differently also.

Booth said we recorded “The Night Before” using the internet.  The band is known best for their hit songs “Sit Down” and “Laid.”  The songs were improvised by me, Jim Glennie on bass and Larry Gott on guitars.  Then we placed them on a FTP website on the internet.  Band members then downloaded the songs, chopped them up, messed with them, put in their parts, then uploaded them back to the website.  Another band member then would do something similar.

Eventually our producer Lee Baker pulled them together to see if there was a song there.  We did that album without being in the same room playing together.

By contrast “The Morning After” was recorded by James following their early 2010 UK tour.  It was recorded without any overdubs in a large room over the span of five days.  They had a view to help capture something spontaneous.

Booth said, “The Morning After,” the second album, we recorded in a studio.  Everyone was there together, and we had a tight deadline for making the record of around five days.  We were very fast.  The two sets were done differently on purpose so we could see what we could bring out of ourselves.

The band also includes Saul Davies on violin and guitar, David Baynton-Power on drums, Mark Hunter on keyboards and Andy Diagram on trumpet.  For their mini albums, band members came up with over 120 ideas.

Booth said, we then whittled things down to just the ones we really wanted to work on.  We gave the universe the songs back that we didn’t want to work on right now.  We’ll let most of them go.  For our next album we will write another 100.

However, we don’t fully write them.  We improvise.  It’s quite easy.  We have always done that and loved doing it.  Certain songs just jump out at us and want us to work on them, while other songs hang back.  It’s very surprising if you just pick them randomly how things work out very well.  Potentially I think they are good songs.  At a certain point in time I think you need to make decision in terms of which ones you will work on.

During sound check the set list for each night is decided on by band members.

Booth said, our sound checks are long.  Thats’ when we work on old or new songs.  Then they are thrown into that evening’s set list.  We have a new album coming out that is great.  A number of the songs on the set work quite well live.  Some of those we will use.  Each night we will mix things up.