THE FUNKY BUNCH ARE BACK, MINUS MARKY MARK
May 12, 2008
Nineties rap boyband Marky Mark And The Funky Bunch are set to reunite without their frontman, Mark Wahlberg, as The Funk Bs. Contact Music reports the 2000’s version of the group, which features original members Scott “Great Scott” Ross, Hector “HB” Barros, Terry “DJ –T” Yancy and newly recruited members Jaime “Avalanche” Haage, Lola “LB” Frazier, Chad “Dragon” Penney, Dawayne “DJ Rareform” Branco and Michael “Yung Piff” Wilder will be releasing an album and hitting the road this summer. Their first single, “She Said,” will be released next week.
CORDERO NEW ALBUM IN SPANISH - VIDEO
May 12, 2008
Cordero announce the upcoming release of De Donde Eres on August 26, 2008. Their second album on Bloodshot Records is their first to contain exclusively Spanish songs, written by Ani Cordero on her mother’s guitar after an unfortunate string of personal crises. Cordero recorded the album in Brooklyn between tours and other performances; in 2008 they toured with Dengue Fever in February and March before heading out on a series of midwestern dates. Look for Cordero to be performing across the US around the release of the album, in the meantime, New York-area fans can see them open for Firewater at their CD release party May 24th at Brooklyn’s Southpaw.
While Ani and husband Chris Verene (formerly of The Rock*A*Teens) are best known for their critically acclaimed, tension-laden independent rock, with De Donde Eres, the band has taken a side-route away from the anxious and angular sounds of En Este Momento or Lamb Lost in the City. De Donde Eres finds Cordero further exploring the rhythmic intricacies of Latin music while turning down the guitar amps for a much more quiet and inward set of songs. Ani’s ever-nimble guitar patterns are threaded around Latin percussion, pulsing bass notes and bright horn lines as the band wrings a both-sides-of-the-border mystery out of gentle melodies that pay tribute to forebears such as Nick Drake, Belle and Sebastian, and Os Mutantes.
FLOBOTS TO RELEASE “FIGHT WITH TOOLS” MAY 20th
May 12, 2008
Universal Republic Records’ newest hip hop entry Flobots (their debut album Fight With Tools hits streets on May 20) loom as the most compelling hip hop collaborative to sign with a major label in 2008.
“Stamp Your Feet” Video From Donna Summer Here
May 12, 2008
Donna Summer’s long awaited new album, Crayons, will drop next Tuesday, May 20th! This is her first original effort since 1991! You can catch the Queen of Disco on her full US tour, this summer!
Stamp Your Feet:
SKOPE IT HERE!
“I wanted this album to have a lot of different directions on it, I did not want it to be any one baby. I just wanted it to be a sampler of flavors and influences from all over the world. There’s a touch of this, a little smidgeon of that, a dash of something else … like when you’re cooking.” – Donna Summer
NORMA JEAN SOON TO UNVEIL ‘THE ANTI MOTHER’
May 12, 2008
NORMA JEAN–now in the studio with producer Ross Robinson (Slipknot, The Cure, Deftones, At The Drive In, Glassjaw) and engineer Ryan Boesch–will deliver their fourth album THE ANTI MOTHER late this summer on indie Solid State Records (exact release date TBA).
SKOPE RECORDS SIGNS SHIZZ STROTHERS
May 12, 2008
It is official, Skope Records has signed their first artist to a record deal. Shizz Strothers who is no stranger to making music and the music industry has agreed to work with Skope Records in all areas of his music endeavours.
SKOPE RECORDS: THE FUTURE IS NOW
May 12, 2008
Allow me to be the first to introduce you to Skope Records. Skope Records is something that I will admit has been a long time coming.
The Rob Carlton Band by Diana Olson
May 12, 2008
The Rob Carlton band is putting finishing touches on their first CD. The release date is set for Aug 1 2008. “It’s hard to find a band that can take the music of the past and bring it up to date with a sound that will inspire a new generation. I believe we have found a sound that does this”, Rob Carlton.
RICHARD JULIAN E-CARD HERE
May 12, 2008
SUNDAY MORNING IN SATURDAY’S SHOES is Richard Julian’s follow up to his critically acclaimed SLOW NEW YORK. Produced by the legendary Mitchell Froom, the new album again showcases Richard’s confessional, whip-smart and witty songwriting prowess. Equally engaging on stage as on record, Richard kicks off a summer tour on June 10th.
Call Richard Julian a “singer songwriter” or a “folk artist” if you must, but there’s much that sets this artist apart from the pack. Think more Mose Allison…but with an acoustic guitar. Tight compositions. An off-speed wit. Sophisticated, but not precious. And lyrics that fearlessly venture toward the confessional.
SUNDAY MORNING IN SATURDAY’S SHOES could be a metaphor for life’s little hangovers, wake-up calls and transitions or it could just be a great f*ckin’ record. You decide.
RICHARD JULIAN E-CARD:
http://www.myspace.com/richardjulian
Photo by Michael Halsband
IRMA THOMAS, THE SOUL QUEEN OF NEW ORLEANS, RETURNS WITH SIMPLY GRAND, AUGUST 12
May 12, 2008
On August 12, Rounder Records will proudly release Simply Grand, the label’s 10th album from the Grammy® award winning R&B legend Irma Thomas. The concept for the album was simple: bring Thomas together with a group of soul mate pianists and perform songs that find common ground in each pairing. The result: a beautifully crafted album that showcases the musical depth of Thomas, one of the most iconic and beloved entertainers in New Orleans.
Recorded earlier this year in New Orleans, Los Angeles, and New York with longtime producer and Rounder VP of A&R Scott Billington, Simply Grand matches Thomas with renowned pianists Marcia Ball, Henry Butler, Jon Cleary, Davell Crawford, Dr. John, David Eagan, Norah Jones, Ellis Marsalis, Tom McDermott, John Medeski, Randy Newman, and David Torkanowsky. Billington calls the album, “… the most ambitious project that Irma and I have yet undertaken, but we had a ball at every stop along with way. At each of the twelve recording sessions, the musicians were clearly thrilled to be recording with this legendary and ever reaching artist, who is singing today at the peak of her expressive and vocal powers.”
The album opens with a version of the recent John Fogerty song, “River Is Waiting” with New Orleans virtuoso Henry Butler on the piano bench. Versatile pianist David Torkanowsky, who has participated in many of Thomas’ sessions, collaborates with her on two new songs, including “What Can I Do,” written by Burt Bacharach and Steve Krikorian. In 1959, New Orleans icon Dr. John played guitar on Thomas’ very first recording, “You Can Have My Husband (But Please Don’t Mess With My Man”). He reunites with her here for two vocal and piano duets including “Be You,” a previously unrecorded song he co-wrote with the legendary American tunesmith Doc Pomus. Ellis Marsalis joins Thomas on the jazz standard “This Bitter Earth,” while she and Randy Newman create a new version of Newman’s classic song “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today.” Norah Jones accompanies Thomas on Jones’ hit song “Thinking About You.”
Simply Grand Track Listing:
1. River Is Waiting (with Henry Butler)
2. If I Had Any Sense I’d Go Back Home (with Dr. John)
3. Too Much Thinking (with Jon Cleary)
4. Early in the Morning (with Tom McDermott)
5. What Can I Do (with David Torkanowsky)
6. Underground Stream (with David Egan)
7. Thinking About You (with Norah Jones)
8. Be You (with Dr. John)
9. This Bitter Earth (with Ellis Marsalis)
10. Cold Rain (with David Torkanowsky)
11. Somebody Told You (with John Medeski)
12. Overrated (with Davell Crawford)
13. Same Old Blues (with Marcia Ball)
14. I Think It’s Going to Rain Today (with Randy Newman)
