Dates:               February 13 – March 8, 2009

Location:          AUDIO VISUAL ARTS (AVA), 34 East 1st St., New York, New York 10003

Gallery hours: Wednesday –Sunday, 12 –7pm

AVA is pleased to announce the opening of The Visitors Must Be Amused by New York–based costume and fashion designer Christian Joy. Sitting amid a sea of unwanted scraps and left-over material from past projects, Joy decided to dispose of the past 8 or 9 years of excess to concentrate on wildly diverse design concepts surrounding the female being.

Adding another component to this exhibition, the artist’s friends and family were invited to present her with a written description of a female being. She then designed costumes to represent each being, gave the costumes to her friends, and had them incorporate the costume into a photograph or creation of their own. The result of it all is found in The Visitors Must Be Amused.

Celebrated for her originality and boldness, Joy has been working as a self-sustained costume and fashion designer for the past 9 years in New York City. In Spring 2007, her work was invited to appear in a group show at the prestigious Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Her designs have been featured in the New York Times, Fader, Nylon, Dazed & Confused, Spin, Elle, and TIME among other International Publications. This is Christian Joy’s first solo exhibition.

All costumes, in addition to the contributing artists works, will be on display at AVA.

Contributing artists include: Jason Grisell, Karen O, Nick Zinner, Aliya Naumoff, Walter Sassard, Connie Hultquist, Marci Leiseth and Eduardo Juarez, and Tina Schula.

Christian Joy — The Visitors Must Be Amused

DATES:                February 13 – March 8, 2009

LOCATION:         AUDIO VISUAL ARTS (AVA) -  34 East 1st St., New York, New York 10003

GALLERY HOURS: Wednesday –Sunday, 12 –7pm

AVA is pleased to announce the opening of The Visitors Must Be Amused by New York–based costume and fashion designer Christian Joy. Sitting amid a sea of unwanted scraps and left-over material from past projects, Joy decided to dispose of the past 8 or 9 years of excess to concentrate on wildly diverse design concepts surrounding the female being.

Adding another component to this exhibition, the artist’s friends and family were invited to present her with a written description of a female being.  She then designed costumes to represent each being, gave the costumes to her friends, and had them incorporate the costume into a photograph or creation of their own. The result of it all is found in The Visitors Must Be Amused.

Celebrated for her originality and boldness, Joy has been working as a self-sustained costume and fashion designer for the past 9 years in New York City. In Spring 2007, her work was invited to appear in a group show at the prestigious Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Her designs have been featured in the New York Times, Fader, Nylon, Dazed & Confused, Spin, Elle, and TIME among other International Publications. This is Christian Joy’s first solo exhibition.

All costumes, in addition to the contributing artists works, will be on display at AVA.

Contributing artists include: Jason Grisell, Karen O, Nick Zinner, Aliya Naumoff, Walter Sassard, Connie Hultquist, Marci Leiseth and  Eduardo Juarez, and Tina Schula.

In Time of War

        I

     So from the years the gifts were showered; each

     Ran off with his at once into his life:

     Bee took the politics that make a hive,

     Fish swam as fish, peach settled into peach.

     And were successful at the first endeavour;

     The hour of birth their only time at college,

     They were content with their precocious knowledge,

     And knew their station and were good for ever.

     Till finally there came a childish creature

     On whom the years could model any feature,

     And fake with ease a leopard or a dove;

     Who by the lightest wind was changed and shaken,

     And looked for truth and was continually mistaken,

     Ana envied his few friends and chose his love.

        VIII

     He turned his field into a meeting-place,

     And grew the tolerant ironic eye,

     And formed the mobile money-changer's face,

     And found the notion of equality.

     And strangers were as brothers to his clocks,

     And with his spires he made a human sky;

     Museums stored his learning like a box,

     And paper watched his money like a spy.

     It grew so fast his life was overgrown,

     And he forgot what once it had been made for,

     And gathered into crowds and was alone,

     And lived expensively and did without,

     And could not find the earth which he had paid for,

     Nor feel the love that he knew all about.

        XXI

     The life of man is never quite completed;

     The daring and the chatter will go on:

     But, as an artist feels his power gone,

     These walk the earth and know themselves defeated.

     Some could not bear nor break the young and mourn for

     The wounded myths that once made nations good,

     Some lost a world they never understood,

     Some saw too clearly all that man was born for.

     Loss is their shadow-wife, Anxiety

     Receives them like a grand hotel; but where

     They may regret they must; their life, to hear

     The call of the forbidden cities, see

     The stranger watch them with a happy stare,

     And Freedom hostile in each home and tree.

        XXV

     Nothing is given: we must find our law.

     Great buildings jostle in the sun for domination;

     Behind them stretch like sorry vegetation

     The low recessive houses of the poor.

     We have no destiny assigned us:

     Nothing is certain but the body; we plan

     To better ourselves; the hospitals alone remind us

     Of the equality of man...

Shahnawaz Grill, 1380 Oak Tree Rd. Iselin, NJ
Jassi Sweets Center, 12 Marconi Ave. Iselin, NJ
Kwality Ice Cream, 1734 Oak Tree Rd. Iselin, NJ

The very talented designer/artist/director Nagi Noda passed away on September 7. She was 35. We send our love to her and all of her family and friends.

xx,
YYY

Nick Zinner
It's OK, Don't Look at the Road

August 16th - September 13th, 2008

Fuse Gallery
93 2nd Avenue (between 5th & 6th Streets)
NYC, NY 10003
Subway: F train to 2nd Avenue

Fuse Gallery

*Fuse Gallery is open Wednesday through Saturday, 3 to 8 pm.

The pizza certainly lives up to expectations. It is truly beyond any other pizza I have ever had. And not that it's gourmet pizza or anything like that. It's still classic Neapolitan thin-crust NY style pizza as you know and want it. It's just that the man that makes it is gifted at what he does. Domenico De Marco is the proprietor and sole pizza maker at Di Fara. He's had the shop since about '64 and allows only himself the responsibility of turning out the pies. That's pretty remarkable when you think about it: six days a week, ten hours a day for over 40 years and he's the only one making the pizza. He knows what he was put on Earth to do and it's his job to fulfill that mission and bring the message to the people.

So, the pizza. What makes it so good? First and foremost, the man knows his ingredients and how to prepare them. Di Fara's offers a cheese-y slice and Dom has his secret combination of quality cheeses, each with unique and complimentary flavors and textures; three to four different varieties go on to one pie. The dough has a strong earthy character, the kind you want from good bread that connects you to that element of nature. The sauce is generally light with a nice mild tang and lumpy chunks of tomato scattered throughout. Each pie is finished with a drizzle of olive oil, fresh basil snipped with scissors right from the bunch, and grated Parmigiano-reggiano. The pie is assembled and expertly prepared by Dom, as he reaches barehanded into the hot oven and with perfect timing innately knows when to rotate it around and eventually take out the new born masterpiece. Each bite is an appreciation of these ingredients and of the craftsmanship with which they are assembled. As the teeth bite down through the contrasting textures of dough-sauce-cheese, the flavors of each unfold, and I find myself sitting on a pizza cloud floating up to pizza heaven. Hey, is that...

But, for me, what makes the pizza truly outstanding and worthy of genius status is its inconsistencies and 'imperfections.' A Di Fara's pie is not uniform all around. It's just the opposite. The crust is slightly burnt and darker on one side but cooked at a more moderate temperature on another; the cheese is more concentrated in some places and more spread out in others; on one side, the cheese would be cooked slightly longer than the other; the dough is thinner here and more dense there; large chunks of tomatoes poking through in some spots are absent everywhere else; the basil is scattered about. This results in contrasts in texture: some parts are gentle, soft, and moist and others are chewy, tough, and dry; flavors range from sweet and mild to bitter and fiery.

Each bite of Di Fara's pizza revealed a new experience. Each bite was a new sensation, a new taste, a new combination of texture and flavor. Each bite was totally unique and varied greatly depending from what side of the pizza one was eating. I never knew such depth and range was possible with pizza. As an example, I can describe a slice from top to bottom, from the tip that was taken from the center of the pie to the crust at the outer edge: the tip, as being from the center, is the softest part of the slice; the dough is generally stretched thinner in this section and made somewhat moist with the oil and concentration of cheese. Here the slice is almost falling apart; the salty sweet white dreaminess of the cheese and fragility of the dough are its dominant characteristics. As I work my way up and get to the middle, the crust starts to have more integrity and reveal more of its chewiness. The balance between crust and cheese begins to even and I can taste more of the specific flavor and richness of the combined cheeses. Closer to the crust, the flavor of the dough comes out, finally competing with that of the cheese. This is also were the chunks of tomato have been hiding, adding even more aspects of change to this progressive experience. The experience finally culminates with the crust, the dry dough that forms the backbone of the pie, the frame for the cheeses, olive oil, basil, and tomatoes, the taste of the earth on top of which all of these other elements sit and act out their parts. And no two bites of crust are the same! There's the smoky bitter charred parts and then the mellow humble golden parts. It's these purposeful inconsistencies around the pie and the way the slice changes from top to bottom that really make it brilliant and unlike any other pizza. This man that makes them is truly an artist, presenting possibilities and imparting vision where once there was only a bland yellow hue.

Di Fara's is located in a predominantly orthodox Jewish community in the Midwood section of Brooklyn. And like the Jewish ethos there, the pizza chooses to reflect the richness and depth of its history and experiences. It's not uniform or one-dimensional. It is brazen (unashamed) about its willingness to display the variety of its character. Each bite tells a different story.

My eating adventure with my sister carried on to the nearby Ostrovitsky Bakery where we got rainbow cookies and a chocolate danish, and then to the truly fantastic summertime treat (some of the best people watching and an amazing summertime outdoor evening hangout!) in Bensonhurst, L&B Spumoni Gardens, where we each got small cups of rainbow spumoni. In the words of my sister, our day was, "Gastronomical!" Definitely some great quality time indeed.

1. Me, my Sister, and Pizza
2. Pizza (it's a little shiny, it could use a touch up)
3. Me and Pizza
4. on an earlier visit, Dom applying the finishing touches, anointing the Pizza
5. view of the Brooklyn Bridge from inside the car as we drive back, eastbound on the BQE

Check out my new music video "My Medicine" featuring cameos by Everlast, Brad Paisley and Willie Nelson. 

» www.dubcnn.com

MV Carbon

Brian Chase

at Abrons Arts Center

466 Grand St. at Pitt St , New York, NY 10002 

Saturday, May 31 at 8:30PM 

On Alan Licht's and Aki Onda's performance:

"Join Alan Licht and Aki Onda as they mark the release of their debut recorded collaboration Everydays. Their combined history connects artists straddling the pop and experimental worlds, including Fennesz, Loren Connors, Takemura Nobukazu, Lee Ranaldo, and Toriko Nujiko. In concert, the duo creates soundscapes that mix Onda's poetic/textural cassette sounds and the rhythmic/lyrical pull of Licht's guitar. Morphing from recognizable structures to dissonant hammered chunks and rapid cut-ups, their signature applications of sound diaries, minimalism, grainy fidelity, looping and free blues are woven into a dynamic and ambitious statement."

I'll be doing a performance based on my 'drums and drones' concept: deconstructing the tonal character of drums and percussion according to the principles of Just Intonation.  It's kind of like, well, you know how in shows like CSI when they bring things to the lab to get tested and the forensics lab says that the element that was tested is made up of certain specific things?  It's kind of like that, in a way, but with sound.  Every sound you hear is actually a composite of many different tones and pitches; it's like every sound has it's own DNA code.  And, it's possible to isolate each singular component of the sound that is there to form the composite.  A formula for finding out the sequence and structure of this aural DNA is Just Intonation, as a loose definition.  The singular components of this aural DNA are called harmonics or overtones.  What I do with the 'drums and drones' concept is dissect the timbral qualities of drums and bring out their harmonics.  Harmonics are quite beautiful and Just Intonation is often referred to as 'nature's tuning system.'  There are hidden melodies masked inside every sound, and all that's required to find them is open ears.  Two composers that I'm heavily influenced by are La Monte Young and Pauline Oliveros.

I'm very excited to be sharing this bill with Alan Licht, Aki Onda, and MV Carbon.  Alan is also a great writer so be sure to check out his books, articles, and interviews, too!

Thanks,

Brian

Friends,

My sister is organizing this effort. Can you help?

Congress has been debating for the last six months on whether or not to extend a package of clean energy tax credits that make it cheaper for individuals and companies to install renewable energy systems and build energy-efficient buildings and appliances.

You can help stop global warming by urging your U.S. senators to immediately reauthorize clean energy tax incentives that will otherwise expire soon!

Today, on May 20^th, over 100 organizations and companies are asking their members and employees to contact their Senators on this issue. Hopefully Maroon 5 fans will get involved too!

Tell your Senators that time has run out. Every day that passes without an extension places more green jobs at risk, and slows down our transition to a clean energy economy.

TAKE ACTION HERE

love, jrc

» salsa.democracyinaction.org

Chris Yoakum was also responsible for additional programming on Diamond Ring and Chris Meece for additional drums on Detours and Diamond Ring. These omissions will be added on the next pressing Of Detours.

Credits will read:

Diamond Ring

Chris Yoakum - drum programming

Chris Meece - drums

Detours

Chris Meece - additional drums

Chris Yoakum additional engineer and Chris Meece additional assist engineer.

And, what about the drums themselves? Pitch, timbre, and tone are very much a concern for drummers as they are with other instrumentalists, and exist whether it's been thought about or not. Drums, and drumheads can be tuned, just like most other instruments, and tuned with a precision so that they vibrate at specific frequencies. (I once wrote, in an attempt at relating my affinity for Just Intonation and Indian classical music with my 'being' a drummer, that "'playing' a drum means manipulating the overtones and timbres that exist from the fundamental pitch of the [tuned] drumhead in connection with those of the drum itself." It's in the nature of a drum to work/play within the context of a fixed harmonics-based tonal center.) Muffling and dampening are significant, too: the resonance and decay of the drum can be treated to emphasize a long sustain or, just the opposite, it could be made to have no sustain at all, or, of course, anywhere in between. All of these, and more, are parameters that determine the character of the drum, and character is what we're after. And, we haven't gotten to cymbals...

Can you tell I've been in the studio? This is the type of thinking that tends to dominate when under the scrutiny of the microphone.

Choices. Structural choices. But music, and art, doesn't always start from the choices. Often what comes first is the Inspiration for the art itself, from the inside rather than the outside. The choices in this case function as a means of expressing the inspiration, though the choices cary much aesthetic value in their own right. (Aesthetics and drum sound, an example: Let's take the classic John Bonham sound and compare it with Scott Asheton's sound on the Stooge's record Funhouse. Both are classic examples of powerful, 'in-your-face' drum sounds but they're achieved through opposite means. The Bonham sound is big, boomy and open while Asheton's sound is tight, dry, and dead. So, what contrasting images and characters are suggested by the aesthetics of each while still achieving this same effect of power and toughness? To me, the Bonham sound is fat and heavy and takes up a lot of space, kind of like a sumo wrestler or a king eating at a table overflowing with food. The Asheton sound is more scrappy and thuggish, and, compared to Bonham's sumo wrestler and overfed king, is like a scumbag with a knife or a starved punk on the street stealing for his next meal. Of course, Bonham and Asheton have distinct ways of playing but just the sound of their drums conveys significant impressions and characters.)

These are all very basic concepts, so basic it feels redundant to be writing them here. Really, what it comes down to is Pleasure: I take pleasure in playing music; I take pleasure in playing drums; I take pleasure in tuning my drums; I take pleasure in having my instrument be an extension of me. All the technical aspects of my instrument and the choices that I make are there to create a situation that's comfortable for me to have fun and to make the music sound the best it can. It's the Pleasure (and Joy and Celebration) that's most important and what it means for me to be playing drums. Everything and nothing.

These are thoughts that came to mind when I saw these pictures of me and my drums in the studio- me and the drums. What to do with them and 'how' to play them (like the value of simplicity or the concept of supporting a melody, for instance) are the subject for another post.

1. GMS snare with wood hoop, gold sparkle over black, and silver sparkle 22" bass drum and 16" floor tom
2. At the drums, with my trusty GMS 'Tobacco stain' snare, 18" 'black ice' bass drum and silver sparkle 16" floor tom
3. Cymbals used on this last session

I've felt, in these parts, there's an eager openness/receptiveness/channeling/gathering/harvesting of the desert and the energy it generates (winds, heat, big sky, clear starry nights, glowing moon, endless open space), almost primitive and pagan. It's not surprising we've heard so many stories of it bringing out/breeding a misfit outlaw spirit, but of it also freeing the imagination and redefining what's taken for granted. Creativity reveals endless possibilities and options, but you're still left with you (we're still left with us) in the end.

1. Creatures [full view]
2. Creatures [middle group]
3. Creatures [purple cat]
4. Naked woman warrior with wings and cat head showing a disheartened expression

bc

bc

bc

bc

Hey you guys! As you might imagine, things are off to a hectic start with promoting the new record, which comes out this Tuesday(!), and with rehearsing the band. The new material really sounds rockin' and what's really exciting for me is that we have added some new members to the band. Jon Button will be playing bass for us and he is super great. The groove sounds big and deep with him laying down the bottom. We found Jon through the many high profile gigs he's done. (You might remember him  as Michelle Branch's bass player when she opened up for us a few years ago). 

You may also remember my early drummer, Wally Ingram. He is back in the capacity of percussionist and it is so amazing to have him with me again after all these years. We share some of my favorite touring memories ever, not to mention, he is one tough cookie. He underwent cancer treatment for throat cancer and beat it! Everyday is a kick-ass celebration of life with him back behind me grooving like a madman!

I am excited to announce that yes, I have hired 2 wonderful back-up singers. Nayanna Holley, whose dad toured with me as a back-up singer on the Michael Jackson tour when she was just 3 years old. Aging myself here. And Stephanie Alexander. They are both great singers and I feel quite spoiled to have them out with me.

We also have a new sound engineer and let me tell you, the sound is astounding. He is the best there is. Sean Sullivan is his name and he has a long list of credits but more importantly, he is making us sound rocking!

We are playing our first gig with the new material this Wednesday night at The Fillmore NY at Irving Plaza, NYC. I am really looking forward to it.

Will check in periodically.
Love,
Sheryl Crowe....oh wait a second...there's no E on the end of my name, for those of who read USA Today. Now, that's just plain good journalism!

Sheryl Crow

Mike Rowe

Jeremy Stacey

Jon Button

Peter Stroud

Tim Smith

Wally Ingram

Stephanie Alexander

Nayanna Holley

Happy holidays to all.....I wanted to let you know that we are working fast and furious on our new website which we are looking to launch in January.  The community page will be bigger and better so hope you all like it. 

I am really excited about my record and  I can't wait for everyone to hear it. I hope that it will incite inspiration for change.

Anyway, be safe and wishing you all peace and love for the new year...love Sheryl

>

>

hi everyone... i mean... bon jour everyone... here we are in paris... 

it's almost night time here, and all is well from this hotel room window... 

i just ate a banana.  

that's all the news i've got.  

no... wait... i mean... we also just played an acoustic show at an aquarium... in front of a giant wall of glass that held back schools of tuna and some tiny sharks... 

I wished for a dramatic action sequence where a crack would slowly spider web out and at the downbeat of the last song 60 cubic tons of water and sharks would come pouring out onto us and the crowd... a mass drowning... album sales would skyrocket... but no... nothing exciting happened... except for the kick ass performance... it was really fun... and i love paris... there's a song about that... ever heard ella fitzgerald sing it? cole porter wrote it... 

I love Paris in the springtime. 

I love Paris in the fall. 

I love Paris in the winter when it drizzles, 

I love Paris in the summer when it sizzles.

I love Paris every moment, 

every moment of the year. 

I love Paris, why, oh why do I love Paris? 

Because my love is near.  

So true... which reminds me of an expression that our good friend Christopher Wray McCann just told me when we randomly met up with him in Madrid... he was on a business trip in Barcelona but had some days off just when we happened to be nearby in Spain... This expression comes from Mexico... and it is about the Trilogy of Happiness... and that is the term that refers to the three things that you need to have to be happy... and it goes like this... 

You are Happy if You Have:

Something to Do

Someone to Love

and 

Something to Look Forward To.  

Ok... so... good luck to us all... 

what's new...? 

today is Sunday... i hope you feel rested.  

We love you... 

We're almost done with this european trip and then it'll be home to Los Angeles to get ready for the tour... THE TOUR!!! the tour... 

it won't be soon before long... 

time flies doesn't it?  crazy.  it feels like so long ago that we were posting about the new album coming out... and now here we are almost ready to start the first big tour that we've done since the start of 2005... crazy... 

Thanks for your submissions so far for the Won't Go Home Without You video we're making... keep em coming in... spread the word.  

gotta run... 

peace.  

you look GREAT today, by the way... (i mean... probably)

love, jesse.  

Hello all.

I am writing from a recording studio were we are working on new No Doubt material. As many of you know, Gwen played a couple of shows in Irvine, California in June. As a surprise, No Doubt played the encores which were unannounced. What a great experience!! We all really had a blast, and on a personal note, I felt more of an energy rush than I had on stage in many years. The audience was crazy. They were louder than I can remember for a regular No Doubt show.

I think we were all feeling that this could be a fun idea independently from each other. Of course it only took one of us to throw the idea out and then it was on. Playing briefly together again was truly epic.

Can't wait to get back on the horse.

Adrian

The Times –  “The new songs sounded smarter and heavier than ever. A triumphant return indeed”

Daily Star – “They used to be our new favourite band, now they’re the best band in the world”.

Yeah, so I agree wholeheartedly with both Mr Times and Mrs Star (they gotta be great reporters and have an eye for proper rock'n roll don't you think?) and I would only in addition like to say "Thank you!" and "You're welcome London!".

Talk later

Arson

Well, what a great few summer weeks to look forward to!

Not only have I just finished my own UK forest tour , and a great show on Friday night at the Tower Of London, all of which was amazing….but now I’m on a plane to Zurich and then on to the USA to play shows with John Mayer.

The setting of the gig in Zurich, in a beautiful outdoor square is meant to be amazing and I believe it’s going to be hot….which will be a nice change after the rain wars we’ve been having in England!

I really can’t wait for the John Mayer dates. Not only am I playing with a great artist , but I’m touring America with my full band and hopefully playing on front of some big crowds, which is always good…scary but good J

I first heard of John Mayer a few years ago, but only by hearing his voice and it really catching my ear……the out of the blue I heard this one song ‘Waiting For The World To Change’, a geat song I wish I’d written myself. It just stood out and so I went out and bought the album…twice in the end !

The whole album just blew me away. The fact I’m touring with John is such a satisfying feeling….to know I’m with a guy who is a great artist and has been very generous in what he’s said about me too.

I’m looking forwardto finally meeting him.

So if any of you are going to mhis show, make sure you get there a bit earlier and come and say hi.

See you there,

Love & peace

James

I’m drinking water... I’m almost all packed... leaving at 6:40 am for a faked tv show performance of Makes Me Wonder... then ... then... then... who knows?

The plan is to go home tomorrow... LOS ANGELES... and our plane will just hover over the earth while Wednesday slips away from us... we land six hours before we take off...

I just erased the last four sentences... so boring...

He just sang... “you realize the sun doesn’t go down... it’s just an illusion caused by the earth spinning round...”

Wayne Coyne the singer... the artist... have you heard about the parking structure project? 40 cars with tapes of assorted noises and sounds all started at the same time to create a spontaneous orchestral experience... and then there was the album Zaireeka... 4 CD’s that you have to play at the same time to hear all the instruments of the songs playing at the same time... and they drift... and you can turn the stereos down to hear a different mix everytime you get at least one other friend (unless you use both hands and both feet to start to the stereos) and the commitment to do it...

Now he’s talking about death... the death of his father... he says he was just a man that got sick and then died... there’s not a whole lot of philosophical stuff around that...

“nothing teaches you about death like experiencing it in that close proximity...

it can’t help but to change you.  ... It’s made me more serious about getting the most out of life... when there’s things I want to do.... I just go and do it... because I don’t know how many days any of us have left... you sort of see how all this is temporary...”

so... this is it...

I loved it when we had the countdown going for the release of our album... I would sometimes watch the milliseconds and seconds and minutes ticking away and it kind of made me wish that there a countdown clock on my life... what if you knew?  Those last couple days and then hours and then minutes and seconds would be so intense...

I like this as a premise for a movie... that in the future as the universe starts to collapse back in on itself that time becomes very transparent and that scientist can actually predict the exact number of seconds that your life has left based on your DNA and so if you want to you can pay to have the scan done that will tell you how much time you’ve got...

Would you do it?  ??????? 

Right now... I’m gonna say... NO...   it’s tempting... but the thing that holds me back is that myth of Icarus and the wings and the sun melting them and his fall... and the painting by Bruegel... and the poem by Auden about all that... and I don’t really want to be the one to perish in hubris while life carries on... But that’s kind of scared talk isn’t it... didn’t I just finish a movie called Fearless Freaks? 

My latest motto is from the Dylan documentary No Direction Home... something the singer Liam Clancy once said to him....

 “Remember Bob... No Fear... No Envy... No Meanness...”

and I guess it really is because apparently I wrote that already into my last tour diary...

well... it’s still true... hallelujah. 

Do you ever leave a DVD playing on the TV after you’re done and the Menu music plays over and over again and you don’t really know how much time has passed?

That’s kind of like being on tour...

JRC 

I am calling to report on current events in the life of Pelle. It has been an intense, globetrotting week for me. Here it is:

April 15: Had dinner with grandparents, went to 7th anniversary of great bar Indigo in Stockholm.

April 16: Put together new kick ass outfits with the Hives. Looks phabulous. Attended a record release party for Sahara Hotnights  new album.

Met many a dear old friend.

April 17: Took pictures for the new album cover. Have yet to see the results but I would be very surprised if it didn´t look great.

Our surfer dude friend Bisse took the pictures. He good.

April 18: Got on a plane to Los Angeles California. Arrived late so me Nicholaus and Vigilante just went out and had dinner and drinks at some place on Sunset Blvd. Then sleep.

April 19: Shot video for the Timbaland song we are guesting on. It was an unbelievably LA experience. We basically ate catering, stood in front of a green screen, hung out with friendly female wrestling stars who showed us a few moves and managed to keep it Hives through the day. All of this at Universal studios.

April 20: Flew to Nashville to attend hockey game. Cabbie played us his new country album while jumping up and down in his seat. He may have been drunk. A guy at the hockey game had a sign that said ”was it over when the germans bombed Pearl Harbour?” Dumbass.

Met swedish hockey player Peter Forsberg. Nice cat. Beer at local rib joint.

April 21: Had breakfast with Jack White. Recorded footsteps for the new Raconteurs album. Those are some great guys. Went to the Ryman Auditorium. A guy told us it was ”possibly the most famous building in the world”. I say possibly not. Flew to Oxford, MS to commence recordings of our new album.

April 22: Had breakfast. Stay tuned…

Love you all/

Pelle

I’m a little bleary after the last show of the UK tour last night in Leeds. But what a great way to finish, another amazing crowd, thank you so much. I’ve been absolutely stunned by the crowds every night on this tour, you’ve been making so much noise !. We tried to take the show to a new level with the extra lights and longer sets and you guys have responded amazingly.

I’d like to thank my support acts, Netwon Faulkner ( www.newtonfaulkner.com) and Karima Francis (www.myspace.com/karimafrancis) who are both incredible artists and lovely people. Watch out for albums by both of them before too long.

I’m heading off to the USA for a few weeks on Thursday and the album is actually released there TODAY !!

I’m excited to see what America will make of the music. I know lots of UK artists don’t make it big there, but all I can say is that I’m proud of the album I made. I tried to make every track special and honest and if people everywhere round the world have responded positively to it in the way they have , then I hope America will do the same.I can’t wait to walk into a record store and see the album on display, that’s quite a buzz for me!

I’m told that a few radio stations have already been playing ‘You Give Me Something’ and that people are liking it, so that’s cool.

I’m really looking forward to playing the gigs that are scheduled, starting at South X Southwest on Friday, so if this msg is reaching you there, please come along and say hello J. Also check out your tv as I’m on the TODAY show early Friday morning and then on the JAY LENO show on Weds 21^st.

I’ll be back in the UK for the forest shows, festivals and a few other surprise events during the summer, so I really hope to see you then.

Thanks so much for your support as always,

Love & Peace

James

Trent

I hope to be able to tell you about some more tv's we look likely to be doing very soon, and I think I'll be back in March and April to play some proper gigs, so please keep a look out for those details too.

Thanks again for all your messages of support as they mean a lot to me, and I really hope to meet lots of you in person before too long.

The album is coming out on March 13 and hopefully stations will be playing the single before too long.

See you very soon,

Love & Peace

James

I'm currently flying between N.Y. and Salt Lake City on my first little promo visit to the States.

I've been in N.Y. Shooting a new video for my first single You Give Me Something . We closed down a block on the chilly streets of Manhatten so I could do a bit of busking on the corner. Then when night fell we hung a giant disco ball up in the air..... A bit difficult to describe, but believe me the results are spectacular. Anyway all will become clear when you see it so let me know if it worked?!

I also played a showcase gig at Piano's on the lower E. Side. I brought my keyboard player Nikolaj with me and we did an acoustic show.

It was great fun, though the keyboard falling off the stage 10 mins before we were due on was a little bit hairy!

In Utah, I dropped into the Sundance Festival to play another low-key gig and then headed out to LA for more radio visits, promo and a showcase we did last night. 

Tonight,  I'm recording the Jimmy Kimmel show live, so please try and check that out.....my 
first U.S. TV........that's exciting!!!

Cheers,

James

I’m sending you all a personal message of welcome and to let you know I’m heading your way in 2007.
My debut album,‘Undiscovered’, will be coming out on March 13th (on Interscope Records) and I’ll be coming to the States

in January for a couple of showcases in New York (Jan 22) and L.A.(Jan 29), and in-between I’ll be visiting the Sundance Film Festival and doing an acoustic set there as well on Fri 26th.
I’ll come back again in March for some more acoustic shows in different cities and then bring my full band to play a tour in April.

I can’t wait to see you all face to face :)
So keep an eye out for the details of all of that.

You know the Myspace address already and my official U.S. site is up and running at: www.jamesmorrison-us.com

Before I go any further can I say a big thanks to all of you who have tracked me down, looked me up and listened to my songs somewhere, somehow already. Your feedback has been fantastic guys, it makes it all worth while.

I’d also like to send out a special msg of thanks to a certain John Mayer (who you lot already know is brilliant!!), who told many of his fans about me. How cool is that?!
Anyway, I’d like to thank him personally one day….

So many of my musical influences and the records I grew up loving came from the USA, so for me having the chance to release my record there and play live for you and experience something of your country, is amazing and I’m so looking forward to it.

Have a great Christmas and I’ll see you all in 2007

Love & Peace
James. x

Me and four other greats are at the moment making something that will hit the history books some time next year. -New songs damn it!!!

We´ve gone in to Studio Gröndahl to record a song that we know you people won´t be able to stand still to when hearing - a.k.a. another masterpiece!!!

The new pictures that are up is from this session and as you can see we are in better shape than ever and playing better than ever. Even though you can´t hear it (yet) you have to trust me on this one.

The Hives will once again change your whole perspective on what we all have learned to love and know as music. You will get the chance to thank us by coming to our shows when we decide to fuel up the tour bus, iron our shirts and come to a stage near you.

We can´t wait, you can´t wait.

Forever yours - Chris Dangerous

See ya

Chris

» site.yeahyeahyeahs.com

Pipe

We remixed our shit to talk about football when we were on tour with the Peas. We basically forgot we even did it till Steve saw it on TV. That shit is hard. It might have been a little too hard, Steve said they didn't play my verse. I had quarterbacks gettin they backs broke and wide recievers bleedin on crossin routes on my part. Anyway, yall check it out when u get a chance.
1 love to the Flipsyde fam.

So here we are the day before the big game!!!I am really excited for germany and I hope they win the world cup!!I actually told my friend diak that I thought they would do really good!! A little sad that there are no southamerican teams !!!I'm ok though because germany has been like a second home!!!viva germany!! So a lot has been going on since we left germany last time!!we went to india and that experience was incredible!!we actually went gold there!!the fans were way cool and the shows were amazing!!everyone there is really feeling the worldcup fever and it makes me feel really good!!when I was a kid in chile I had dreams of playin futbol for chile and also being in kiss!!!hahaha!!flipsyde was the closest I could do to kiss !!if I tried to play futbol now I would probably break something!!!hahaha!!!india was a blast !!thank you to all the fans and universal india!!!!after that we did 3 shows w busta rhymes!!!man!!that dude is hella big!!!that's one of pipers favorite rappers and it was cool to see those 2 hanging out!!!we've been home for about 2 weeks and we've been in da studio workin on some new stuff!!all this traveling has been really inspiring and I can't wait 4 you to hear our new stuff!!anyways much love 2 all flipsyde family the best is yet to come!!! Dave

Well see you all hopefully very soon. Take care and much love.x

She said for me to take a week from yesterday to recover. So the first gig I would be ready for would be Friday the 9th in Pontiac, Michigan. This would mean postponing a few more dates of course.

However, straight after seeing the doc the elite triumvirate of our agent (Marty Diamond), our manager (Jazz Summers) and our tour manager (Neil Mather) sprang into action like some magical, yet functionary, ballet to reschedule the dates. For the most part they will be added to the end of this US tour in and around the last week of June.

I hope that you can all make these new dates and Im sorry again for hassle.

g.x

Copenhagen - March 04th 2006

» news.yahoo.com