News from the darkest corners...

Self-styled “Swamp Fox” Tony Joe White serves up a real “barnburner” for the next Rhino Handmade exclusive with That On The Road Look, a previously unreleased 1971 live album.

Little is known about this once-rumored treasure, including the exact location where it was recorded, but one thing is certain – the album’s 12 mesmerizing songs find White locked in watertight with his longtime drummer Sammy Creason, keyboardist Michael Utley, and legendary bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn.

On That On The Road Look, Tony and the boys rip the roof off of wherever they are for more than an hour, mixing cuts from White’s 1971 Warner Bros. debut – “A Night In The Life Of A Swamp Fox” and “Traveling Bone” – with his earlier recordings for Monument Records – “Roosevelt And Ira Lee” and a 10-minute rave-up of White’s Top Ten hit “Polk Salad Annie.” The fiery set, which also spotlights White’s uncanny ability to make every song his own with a cover of T-Bone Walker’s “Stormy Monday,” is only available at Rhino.com. That On The Road Look ships late August, but you can pre-order it now.

The Zappa Family Trust reports:

Since last month’s confirmation of the September 19th date for Baltimore City’s dedication of a bust of Frank Zappa, community support has been growing for a concert and festival in tribute to the legendary musician, composer and social icon, whose birthplace is Baltimore. The bust, donated by a Lithuanian fan club, will be placed at the Enoch Pratt Free Library Southeastern Anchor Branch in Highlandtown, and plans now include an outdoor concert featuring Zappa Plays Zappa (fronted by Frank’s son Dweezil), and various events at the library and nearby Patterson Theatre in support of the dedication ceremony.

The date itself is especially significant as September 19th is the anniversary of Zappa’s 1985 testimony on Capitol Hill in favor of free expression by Recording Artists at the Senate hearing instigated by certain congressional wives (members of the PMRC) concerning record labeling. Frank Zappa’s widow Gail commented on the remarkable coincidence, stating, “Frank’s legacy rests in his uncompromising defense of the First Amendment and his uncompromising pursuit of excellence clearly demonstrated in the standards he set in all areas of Music and the arts and sciences associated with it. He was self-taught and self-realized. It is hard to imagine how that is possible except for the 4 cornerstones he had going for him: a talent for music, a hard-core curiosity, a keen sense of humor and access to a library. He was a cheap date for History.”

The broader scope of events, being developed by Clearpath Entertainment in collaboration with the Zappa family, the Southeastern Community Development Corporation, Enoch Pratt Free Library, and the Creative Alliance, are intended to help anchor the new Highlandtown Arts and Entertainment District and plans now include a library exhibit, symposiums, and after party in addition to the dedication and concert. Sean Brescia of Clearpath stated, “Baltimore has a rich entertainment heritage dating back to its iconic theatres and jazz ballrooms, and opportunities like this are a chance to re-capture that spirit. We wanted to build an event that was a truly fitting tribute to the Zappa legacy, but also something that can grow into a signature cornerstone event for the Highlandtown Arts and Entertainment District, and Gail [Zappa] has shared that vision from the beginning.” In the interest of what the events could mean for the community, Brescia reached out to a broad group of community organizations to help plan and raise support for the events.

Echoing that sentiment of community interests, Chris Ryer of the Southeast Community Development Corporation added, “The bust coming to Highlandtown and these events are high-profile, flagship opportunities to position the Highlandtown Arts and Entertainment District as major reasons for visitors to come to Southeast while they’re in Baltimore. We’re excited to work with Clearpath and the Zappas to leverage this year’s events as a catalyst for great things to come.”

Remarking on the concert lineup, Clearpath’s David Christensen said, “Frank Zappa’s musical genius and influence is undeniable and it has always been a must for us that Dweezil headline this show in the ultimate tribute to his father. This is going to be Zappa Plays Zappa, next to Zappa’s statue, on Zappa’s street, on Zappa’s day; it couldn’t be more fitting.”

Renowned Dutch saxophonist and composer Willem Breuker has died in Amsterdam aged 65. Willem Breuker founded his own eleven-player orchestra in 1974 to perform a unique combination of jazz and contemporary classical music.

The Willem Breuker Kollektief is seen as one of the earliest Dutch ensembles to present improvised music in a way that was accessible to the general public. Amsterdam-born Willem Breuker was awarded many prizes, including the 1993 VPRO Boy Edgar Prize.

Big Star bassist Andy Hummel, a founding member of the cult rock band who performed on the group’s acclaimed first two albums, died yesterday in Weatherford, Texas, following a two-year battle with cancer. Hummel was 59. Hummel’s death comes just four months after he took part in a SXSW tribute to Big Star frontman Alex Chilton, who suffered a fatal heart attack on March 17th.

Hummel’s Big Star roots date back to the Memphis band Icewater, which featured Big Star guitarist Chris Bell (who later died in a 1978 car accident) and Stephens before Chilton joined the group. Hummel played on Big Star’s debut #1 Record and Radio City, both listed on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Hummel wrote “The India Song” and “Way Out West” and has co-writing credits on some of the band’s most beloved songs, including “Back of a Car,” “Life is White” and “Daisy Glaze.” While Big Star developed a cult following decades later thanks to the support of famous fans like Paul Westerberg and R.E.M., the band was underappreciated in its own time, and Hummel quit to finish school prior to recording the group’s epic Third/Sister Lovers.

Hummel went on to become a longtime employee at Lockheed Martin, though he still occasionally played music on the side. When Big Star reunited in the mid-1990s, Hummel elected not to take part; the Posies’ Ken Stringfellow took over bass in his place.

(Source: RolingStone.com)

British indie-punkers Redtrack consist of Billy Wright (guitar/vox), Phil Blake (bass/vox), Mitch Silvey (guitar/vox/keys) and Andrew Perry (drums). They come from Southend-On-Sea, their bass player has survived an attack with a meat cleaver and they reckon they sound like a cross between Girls Aloud and The Clash.

‘Whole Town’s Heart’ is their debut album and will be released on Monday 30th August. It is chewy and tuneful and, with its small-town panic attacks and punchy new wave melodic jabs, sees them nodding towards the classic Britpopesque heritage of Weller, Difford and Costello. Small wonder then that punkoid peer Pete Shelley from The Buzzcocks was so enamored with their tunes that he co-produced (alongside Dave M Allen) their last single, ‘Poledancer’, which appears on this here album. That isn’t the only celebrity light shining on ‘Whole Town’s Heart, as it features a feisty guest appearance from ‘Hollyoaks’ starlet Hollie Jay Bowes on ‘Pretty Boy’, a spin-off from the band’s recent performance on the show and they have a celebrity fan in actor Ray Winstone who suggested he could join them on a track in the future.

‘Whole Town’s Heart’ is also the first ever album release on Label Fandango, the Pointy Recordings / Fierce Panda offshoot which has previously concentrated on ace singles by the likes of Broken Records, Fanfarlo, Air Traffic and more.

As for that somewhat daring reference to Girls Aloud and The Clash? Listen to future single ‘The Trier’ and try to keep your blue suede shoe planted firmly to the ground as they perform a number headline dates in the UK this summer before a series of shows supporting legendary punkers THE BUZZCOCKS in September!

Download “Imogen” by Redtrack for free.

Skate punk legends JFA are about to release the band’s first full length studio album, the group’s first since the 1999 release of “Only Live Once.”

“Speed of Sound” is scheduled to be released on DC-Jam Records on July 27th, 2010 through both digital download & CD and will eventually be made available on a 12″ vinyl picture disc as well.

The new record will be supported by two new music videos from the song’s “Wilson” & “Danny Sargent’s Trucks”, both which can be seen on http://www.blanktv.com/ with the latter making it’s world premier on July 13th.

“We’re stoked to finally have this record out,” said JFA frontman Brian Brannon. “Fans of our early material will dig our new tunes that reach back to our hardcore skate punk roots.”

Pre-orders for the CD will begin on July 14th at www.Interpunk.com along with a contest for a drawing that will give away 3 new JFA skateboard decks.

Launched by The Beatles in 1968, as the new outlet for their own recordings as well as the music of an eclectic roster of artists – James Taylor, Badfinger, Billy Preston, Mary Hopkin, Doris Troy, and Jackie Lomax among them – who were all personally brought to the label by The Beatles (individually or collectively), Apple Records made popular music history from the very moment it opened its doors.

Four decades later, Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music raise the curtain on remastered CD and digital download releases of 15 key albums from the Apple Records catalog. All 15 titles will be released on October 26th. Most of the physical CDs will include bonus material. Together, the 15 albums represent the first ever Apple Records releases to be available via digital download.

In the revolutionary spirit of 1968, The Beatles’ explosive musical output (characterised by their double-LP White Album) was only exceeded by their fascination with what they saw and heard going on around them. Five years into The Beatles’ reign, Apple Records afforded them the unique opportunity to sign new (and established) artists who appealed to each of them. In turn, the introduction of an artist on The Beatles’ record label was an imprimatur taken very seriously by fans across the universe.

Apple Records’ utopian artist-orientated mission immediately set it apart, as the first operation of its kind in the major-label sphere. Diversity was celebrated, and artists were encouraged to record and release their music in a friendly creative environment. Apple developed a distinctive graphic aesthetic, from its legendary ‘apple-core’ logo to its advertising and merchandising, in the process setting a subtle new benchmark for the industry to follow.

From 1968 to 1973, Apple Records bedazzled the world with a rainbow spectrum of releases – and fans were unusually well-informed about individual involvements of The Beatles with nearly every project. 1968’s self-titled debut album by Boston-based singer-songwriter James Taylor, for example, features Paul McCartney and George Harrison on “Carolina In My Mind”. Paul was instrumental in bringing the Welsh chanteuse Mary Hopkin to Apple, and produced her debut single, “Those Were The Days”. Badfinger, also from Wales, was still known as The Iveys when they recorded “Come And Get It”, written and produced by Paul (for The Magic Christian movie soundtrack).

The Beatles had been fans of Billy Preston ever since seeing him in Little Richard’s band in Hamburg in 1962. George went on to produce and play on Preston’s Apple debut, That’s the Way God Planned It. Harrison was one of the producers and played (along with Ringo Starr) on Doris Troy’s self-titled Apple album. George also produced and played (with Paul and Ringo) on Jackie Lomax’s debut album, Is This What You Want? featuring the Harrison composition, “Sour Milk Sea”.
John was much taken with the music of The Modern Jazz Quartet, who released the only two jazz albums in the Apple catalogue. Ringo was intrigued by the music of contemporary British classical composer John Tavener, and his Apple album, The Whale has become one of the most sought-after Apple collectibles of all time.

Each of the 15 albums in this bumper batch of Apple Records releases has been digitally remastered at EMI’s Abbey Road Studios in London by the same dedicated team of engineers behind The Beatles’ recent remastered catalogue releases of 2009.

Eight of John Lennon’s classic solo albums and other standout recordings have been digitally remastered from his original mixes for a global catalogue initiative commemorating the music legend’s 70th birthday, which falls on October 9.

Overseen by Yoko Ono, John Lennon’s “Gimme Some Truth” campaign will launch on 4 October with the worldwide release of eight remastered studio albums and several newly-compiled titles.

Double Fantasy, 1980’s GRAMMY Award winner for Album of the Year, will be presented in a newly remixed ‘Stripped Down’ version remixed and produced by Yoko Ono and Jack Douglas, co-producers of the original mix with John Lennon. The new stripped down version of the album comes in an expanded 2CD and digital edition pairing the new version with Lennon’s original mix, remastered.

The campaign’s other new collections include a hits compilation in two editions titled Power To The People, The Hits‚ a 4CD set of themed discs titled Gimme Some Truth‚ a deluxe 11CD collectors box with the remastered albums, rarities, and non-album singles, titled the John Lennon Signature Box. All of the remastered albums and collections will be available on CD and for download purchase from all major digital service providers.

To celebrate what would have been Frank Zappa’s 70th birthday, Zappa at the Roundhouse, London is a three day festival from 5–7 November that will celebrate the life and music of this legendary American artist. The programme includes performances from his son Dweezil Zappa, screenings of previously unseen film footage, world premieres of unheard Zappa material, Q&A sessions with members of the Zappa family and music masterclasses with various members of Zappa’s backing bands. Full programme and event details to be announced soon!

Check www.roundhouse.org.uk for details.