William Brittelle & Sarah Kirkland Snider To Premiere Upcoming Releases Live, 4/3

William Brittelle and Sarah Kirkland Snider both have upcoming releases. Brittelle will release his Television Landscape in June, while Kirkland Snider will release her Penelope in September. Fans of both will be in for a treat when both premiere the upcoming releases live. Head on over to The Bell House in Brooklyn on Saturday, April 3 to witness it. Last year, early versions of the works were performed as part of New Amsterdam Record's Undiscovered Islands series. Both works have now been completely re-worked and will feature new performers. Check out Sarah Kirkland Snider's "This Is What You're Like" featuring Shara Worden below in the MP3 Grab.

William Brittelle's Television Landscape (June 2010) is an apocalyptic-yet-hopeful mixed-genre concept album from composer/performer William Brittelle. A classically trained composer who was once frontman to NYC punk rock band The Blondes, Brittelle's sophomore album showcases Brittelle's uniquely extensive experience with classical, jazz, and rock music, with influences for Television Landscape varying from Prince's Purple Rain, Michael Jackson's Thriller to the complete orchestral works of Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy. The music on the album is fully notated in every regard, featuring ornate string arrangements, epic guitar solos and jazz horn sections all performed by critically-acclaimed musicians/members of The Long Count, So Percussion, Alarm Will Sound, NOW Ensemble, The Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Dirty Projectors collaborator Matt Marks and more.

Sarah Kirkland Snider's debut album Penelope (September 2010) is a haunting 60-minute song cycle for female voice, chamber orchestra, and electronics composed by Sarah Kirkland Snider, featuring vocalist Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond and highly acclaimed chamber orchestra Signal, conducted by Brad Lubman, and sound design by Michael Hammond. A deft blend of Snider's classical training and strong interest in indie rock, pop and folk music, Penelope is a genre-defying work that moves organically from moments of wistful string and harp reflection to dusky post-rock textures with distorted drums and guitars, always buoyed by a strong sense of melody. Derived from a multimedia-theater piece co-created by Snider and acclaimed playwright Ellen McLaughlin, the work centers on a woman whose long-missing former husband turns up at her door, traumatized by two decades spent in an unnamed war. To restore his memory, the woman reads aloud from Homer’s “Odyssey.”

William Brittelle's Television Landscape and Sarah Kirkland Snider's Penelope
Live World Premieres
Expanded new versions featuring Shara Worden, Signal, members of Alarm Will Sound, NOW Ensemble, So Percussion, Long Count and more
Saturday, April 3rd
7 PM
The Bell House - Brooklyn, NY
$12 in advance, $15 at door HERE

MP3 Grab: Sarah Kirkland Snider featuring Shara Worden - "This Is What You're Like"

Website: William Brittelle, Sarah Kirkland Snider

One Night Only ... Ash To Play NYC

New York, rock band Ash will play one show in the US and our lovely city is hosting it. They'll be rockin' the stage down at Santos Party House on Saturday, April 3. You can grab tickets HERE. You don't want to miss this one. Who knows when they'll find their way back to a NYC stage folks.

And if for some reason you didn't already know, Ash will be releasing a compilation record, A - Z Vol. 1, which features songs A - M of their 26 single A - Z project as well as bonus material. The limited edition CD/DVD version of the compilation will feature a tour documentary that will also be available on their site soon. Check out the documentary trailer below.

www.ash-official.com
www.myspace.com/ash
twitter.com/ashofficial
www.facebook.com/ash

The Donnas Tomorrow, 3/24 @ Highline Ballroom

New York, where are you going to be tomorrow night, Wednesday, March 24? Personally, I think you should be over at the Highline Ballroom to rock out with The Donnas. To get you in the mood for tomorrows show, check out the video below. Me, I'm blasting The Donnas catalog in preparation.

www.thedonnas.com
www.myspace.com/thedonnas
www.facebook.com/thedonnas

Newport Jazz Festival Announces Line-Up

The artists for The CareFusion Newport Jazz Festival were announced today. The festival takes place August 6 - 8 in Newport, RI. Tickets go on sale Friday, March 26 at 10AM through TicketMaster and www.newportjazzfest.net.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 6 ~ 8:00 pm
International Tennis Hall of Fame, 194 Bellevue Avenue

• Jamie Cullum
• Grace Kelly

SATURDAY, AUGUST 7 ~ 11:30 am – 7:00 pm
Fort Adams State Park, Harrison Avenue

• Chick Corea Freedom Band with Kenny Garrett, Christian McBride & Roy Haynes
• Jamie Cullum
• Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra
• Ahmad Jamal
• Jazz Mafia’s Brass, Bows & Beats
• Anat Cohen
• Newport All-Stars with Howard Alden, Randy Brecker, Randy Sandke & George Wein and special guest Bob Brookmeyer
• Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing
• Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society with special guest Bob Brookmeyer
• Fly: Jeff Ballard, Larry Grenadier & Mark Turner
• JD Allen Trio
• Julian Lage Group
• Trio Da Paz with Harry Allen
• Rez Abbasi’s Acoustic Quartet
• Berklee Global Jazz Institute Septet

SUNDAY, AUGUST 8 ~ 11:30 am – 7:00 pm
Fort Adams State Park, Harrison Avenue

• Herbie Hancock
• Chris Botti
• Wynton Marsalis
• Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra
• Amina Figarova
• Conrad Herwig’s Latin Side of Herbie
• Jon Faddis
• Ken Vandermark’s Powerhouse Sound
• David Binney Band featuring Brian Blade, Craig Taborn & Eivind Opsvik
• Marshall Allen-Matthew Shipp-Joe Morris
• Jason Moran Bandwagon with Jenny Scheinman
• Ben Allison Band with Jenny Scheinman, Shane Endsley, Steve Cardenas & Rudy Royston
• Gretchen Parlato
• Matt Wilson Quartet

TICKETS & OTHER INFORMATION

All Tickets for the CareFusion Newport Jazz Festival go on sale Friday, March 26, at 10:00 am on-line, by phone and by mail. General admission tickets (single-day passes only) also can be purchased in person at the Newport Visitor Information Center, located at 23 America’s Cup Avenue.

There will be a festival office in the Newport area where tickets can be purchased in person at a later date. For general information, craft vendor information or to leave a message for festival staff, call the festival hotline at (401) 848-5055.

www.newportjazzfest.net

Hockey Left Me Feeling A Bit Cold

Hockey: March 15 @ Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY

Hockey, the band, not the sport headlined the Bowery Ballroom on a bill that consisted of The Postelles and The Constellations. They were the band I knew the most about when I ventured down to the LES venue for a night of music. Having never seen them, I was interested to see what they were about live.

Well, I like Hockey. But, I discovered something. I'm not as much into them live as on record. Of course, some of my live Hockey experience could be colored by the annoying chick with the big purse who damn near gave me a concussion flailing around, had the gall to take a wad of nasty chewed up gum and stick it to the front of the stage, the stage that people in the front row lean and brush against, like it was a perfectly civil thing to do. Oh and in an act of pure class, she reached out and groped singer Ben Grubin (did I spell that right?!) at some point. Normally, I'd say she was just an overly excited young girl but she looked about thirty-five at the very least. And, though I don't condone violence, the young lady next to me looked like she wanted to punch the chick and I kind of wish she had.

The band worked hard. And, the sold out crowd was loud and enthusiastic. Musically, things were fine but vocally, after a while everything started to sound rather similar. So basically, I went from I like these guys to, they're okay. Perhaps in a less annoying situation I'd feel somewhat differently, who knows. In the end, I was left feeling a bit let down. Judging by the rest of the crowd and their reaction, I'm probably the only one.

www.hockeyband.com
www.myspace.com/hockey

The Constellations, Hypnotic Hair & Cowbell Love

The Constellations: March 15 @ Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY

The Constellations from Atlanta kicked things off Monday night at Bowery Ballroom on a bill that included The Postelles and Hockey. When they first walked onstage, I thought, well aren't they a mismatched looking bunch of folks. But, you can't judge music by appearances most of the time so I was curious to hear what they sounded like.

Frontman Elijah Jones at times reminded me of a cross between Eddie Vedder (channeling Sly Stone and minus the pretentious air), Rob Thomas if he went rogue and some random hip-hop guy ... pick a non-hardcore one and insert name here. Then there were the two dudes that looked like Marshall Tucker escapees, a hipster looking guy who loved the hell out of his cowbell, two chicks with extra short dresses, the guy hidden behind the chicks that looked like he might have some pot to sell and a drummer I couldn't see. If they should happen to come across this description, they'll likely say WTF?! Exactly! That was my thought when I saw them. Then, they played.

Their music was a variety of genres ranging from straight ahead rock, to hip-hop, to soul, to dance with some Latin tinges. They mixed it all together and it worked well and they worked the stage hard.

I was on the verge of being hypnotized by bassist Wes Hoffman's 'fro glowing and shimmering according to the stage lighting. That is, until keyboard guy Jamie Gordon busted out the cowbell and proceeded to fascinate me with his enthusiasm. Can I be a cowbell player groupie? I'm just sayin', I'm down with the cowbell y'all. And, so nobody feels slighted, I'll mention the rest of the band by name. There's Ryan Davis (guitar/keyboard) the pot connection looking guy; Jason Nackers the drummer I couldn't see; Trevor Birdsong (guitar) one of the Marshall Tucker escapees; and, Alaina Terry and Shabnam Bashiri (backing vocals/percussions) the chicks with the extra short dresses. For the record, I have no idea if Davis has any association with pot well, other than knowing how to spell it ... hopefully.

All was going well and I was getting my groove on but then ... oh yes, there's a but! But then, they got to the last song which I got along with well enough at first. But, near the end, it kinda went wrong for me. I found myself wanting to scream out and beg, for the love of God, make it stop! Other than that, it was a high energy, enjoyable set.

www.myspace.com/theconstellations
theconstellationsmusic.com

The Postelles Kick Up A Mess Of Shoulder Shimmy Fun

The Postelles: March 15 @ Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY

New York band The Postelles hit the stage at Bowery Ballroom sharing the bill with The Constellations and Hockey. When I first heard The Postelles, I thought they were okay. I wasn't jumping up and down about them. But, they were catchy and that made me curious enough to want to hear what they were about live.

Live, The Postelles are one of those bands that make everything look effortless. They're not one of those bands that put on an air of we're too cool for you pretentiousness nor do they do a bunch of bullshit theatrics to try and keep the audience entertained. They got up there, played their set in a casual "this is what we do, hope you're enjoying yourselves" manner. What they do is play well and look to be having a good time while getting you caught up in their hopelessly infectious songs.

I found myself immediately going from they're okay to, yeah, I like these guys. They have a retro, yet modern sound. They're one part doo-wop, one part Motown, one part garage, one part mod and 100%, foot stomping, hand clapping, shoulder shimmy fun.

Check them out if they're playing near you. They're on the road with Hockey and The Constellations through about mid-April and they'll be at Bonnaroo, June 10.

thepostelles.com
www.myspace.com/thepostelles

The Runaways

If you know me, then you probably know a lot of questionable things about me. But, you probably also know some basic things like, I haven't gone to an actual movie theatre to see a movie in about sixteen years and I've been a fan of The Runaways for well over half of my life ... a very long time for both! What does it take to get your resident quirky chick to think about going into a theatre after more than a decade? Yep, you guessed it, a movie about The Runaways called, The Runaways.

The movie based on former Runaway Cherie Currie's book Neon Angel (which has been updated & re-released) hits theatres tomorrow, Friday, March 19. Runaway and all around bad ass rock chick Joan Jett is one of the movies producers. It stars Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning as Jett and Currie. Both young ladies tackle their own vocals in the movie.

I'm sure everyone has a Runaway that they favor, me, it's Jett. Little rock lovin' me took one look at Jett, thought, she's pretty, she's got a guitar and she looks tough, like she has kicked a few dudes asses ... cool. So, in honor of The Runaways, both the band and the movie, I've got my media player rockin' The Runaways catalogue. And seriously, if you haven't experienced The Runaways, hop out quick like a bunny and buy some of their stuff. Check out the trailer below and head on out to see the movie this weekend to check out the story of the band that was The Runaways.

www.runawaysmovie.com
therunaways.com

Video: David Byrne & Fatboy Slim With Santigold - "Please Don't"

Someone, David Byrne, says something along the lines of 'picture this, a concept album about former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos ... with a disco beat, snazzy!' Okay, he probably didn't use the words "picture this" and "snazzy" but came up with the notion none the less. Apparently, Marcos liked disco almost as much as she liked shoes so, it seemed the obvious thing to do, at least to Byrne, was to put the rise and fall of Imelda Marcos to a danceable beat. He got Fatboy Slim involved and along with over 20 singers, put together Here Lies Love which is scheduled for release on April 6. So, does Marcos as a concept record work? I don't know. I haven't heard the whole thing but, "Please Don't" certainly works. Check out the video below and use the handy dandy widget also below to get a free download of the song.

www.davidbyrne.com

Video: Foxy Shazam - "Oh Lord"

Oh Lord indeed. I think I just had a serious WTF moment. Those moments aren't always bad. Instead of saying WTF and turning it off, I said WTF and watched the whole thing, slightly dazed and with a bit of wonderment. Their self-titled major label debut release is scheduled for release on April 13.

www.myspace.com/foxyshazam