January 2004

Chicago instrumental rock outfit Tortoise will release its fifth studio album, “It’s All Around You,” in April via Thrill Jockey.
On cuts like “Crest” and “Stretch (You Are All Right),” the group finds a happy medium between a live-band feel (“Five Too Many,” the off-kilter closer “Salt the Skies”) and more studio-heavy experimentation (“By Dawn,” “The Lithium Stiffs”). The latter cut features vocals from Kelly Hogan, the first Tortoise song with vocals in nearly a decade.
Tortoise will be on the road in North America in April and May, and will head to Europe in June and July. As previously reported, McEntire and Tortoise drummer Johnny Herndon can be heard on Savath & Savalas’ “Apropa’t,” released earlier this week via Warp. McEntire, Herndon and multi-instrumentalist Dan Bitney are also working on an album of original samples and breakbeats intended for use by DJs and producers.
Source billboard.com.

After wrapping a just-underway European tour with the Funk Brothers, Steve Winwood will be back on the road with his own band for an eight-date U.K. trek that runs from March 1-10. He will then head to New York to perform with his former band, Traffic, at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Winwood is expected to be joined by fellow founding members Jim Capaldi (drums) and Dave Mason (bass) for the one-song performance, which looks likely to be of “Dear Mr. Fantasy.” Later Traffic member Randall Bramblett will replace keyboardist Chris Wood, who died in 1983.

Meanwhile, an augmented version of Winwood’s latest album, “About Time,” will be released March 1 by Sanctuary internationally and his own Wincraft label in the U.S. The new version adds three bonus tracks: live versions of “Dear Mr. Fantasy” and “Why Can’t We Live Together” recorded in Northampton, Mass., on his 2003 tour, plus a new studio version of “Voodoo Chile,” associated with Winwood since he played keyboards on the Jimi Hendrix original in 1968.
Additionally, a live DVD from Traffic’s most recent tour, in 1994, is planned for the end of April, featuring a guest performance by Jerry Garcia, one of the last live outings by the Grateful Dead member before his death the following year.
Source billboard.com.

As expected, a broken wrist has forced Ryan Adams to cancel the remainder of his European tour and upcoming North American trek. As previously reported, the artist fell from the stage during a Jan. 22 show in Liverpool, England.
Surgery on the wrist is scheduled for next week, with ensuing physical therapy expected to take several months. Adams has posted pictures of his injury and himself in the hospital on his official Web site, along with a video of his visit to the emergency room.
The European run was due to continue through a Feb. 10 gig in London. The North American tour was due to kick off March 2 in Columbia, Mo., and last through a March 26 show in Denver. It is unknown if expected tourmate Juliana Hatfield plans to set out on her own.
Adams has been out in support of his recent Lost Highway releases “Rock’n’Roll” and the two-part EP “Love Is Hell.” They have sold more than 243,000 copies in the U.S. combined, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Source billboard.com.

BADLY DRAWN BOY has completed his new album for release in April.
The Mancunian singer-songwriter, aka Damon Gough, went back to his roots for his third full-length album, to be called

Sirius Satellite Radio has signed a deal with Phish, granting the service airplay rights to Phish’s extensive LivePhish.com archives of live music over their CD quality national satellite radio network.
Every note the band (and some of their assorted side projects) has played since LivePhish.com was launched on 12/31/02 (and every note they play in the future, as well as some old archival shows) will now be eligible for play on their jam channel, 17 Jam_ON. This includes full sets of music, which DJ Adam Foley plays every weekday at 6PM ET in a one-hour program called “Gone Phishin’.”
The LivePhish.com downloads make their debut on Gone Phishin’ next Friday, February 6th.
Listen online or subscribe to Sirius at Sirius.com. Purchase LivePhish downloads at LivePhish.com.

In a message posted on the Wilco website – multi instrumentalist Leroy Bach has decided to leave the band.Amongst the departure of Wilco guitarist/keyboardist Jay Bennett in 2001, Bach began to play an important role in the band on rhythm guitar and various keyboards. Wilco is currently wrapping up work on their next record, their is no word on a replacement.

R.E.M.’s July 19, 2003, concert at Bowling Green in Weisbaden, Germany, is captured in its entirety on the DVD “Perfect Square,” due March 16 from Warner Bros. The 23-song set sports such performance rarities as “Maps and Legends” from the 1985 album “Fables of the Reconstruction” and the ancient non-album track “Permanent Vacation.” Prior to the 2003 tour, the former had not been played live since 1989, while the latter hadn’t been unearthed since 1984.
Also featured are “Bad Day” and “Animal,” the two new songs included on the recent best-of “In Time,” plus such R.E.M. favorites as “The One I Love,” “Orange Crush,” “Country Feedback” and the show-closing “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine).”
“Perfect Square” is bolstered by the documentary “A Stirling Performance,” which chronicles the set-up for R.E.M.’s summer 1999 three-night stand in the small Scottish town of Stirling. The film features performance footage, behind-the-scenes clips and interviews with the band.
Meanwhile, work continues in earnest on R.E.M.’s next studio album, extensive sessions for which have already taken place in Vancouver. According to a post on the band’s official Web site, group members are in Athens, Ga., writing songs and revisiting some of the previously recorded material. Working titles include “Around the Sun,” “Wanderlust,” “Magnetic North” and “I Wanted To Be Wrong.”
“The band will be heading into the studio in the next few weeks,” the post continues. “We’re hoping for a fall record and hopefully will be touring some of the places we didn’t on the ’03 tour (and some of the ones we did).”
Source billboard.com.

Soul singer James Brown was arrested Wednesday on domestic violence charges, authorities said.
Brown, 70, was booked into the county jail and was to appear at a bond hearing, said jail supervisor Nicholas Gallam.
Brown, who lives in South Carolina, served a 2 1/2-year prison term after a 1988 arrest on drug and assault charges and was convicted of a drug-related offense in 1998. He was granted a pardon by the state in May.
Known as the Godfather of Soul, Brown was honored last month at the Kennedy Center as “one of the most influential musicians of the past 50 years.”
Source CNN.com.

Keller Williams has added a simple way for fans to request specific tunesfor upcoming shows. By visiting kellerwilliams.net and fill out the little form, including date of the show you’ll be attending, and send it on through, you probably have as much control in setlist as Keller himself.