The estimable Mrs. Earle hooks up with R.S. Field to craft a high-soaring gem.

By Blurt Staff

Allison Moorer is set to release her new album Crows, on February 9 - it'll be her debut for the Ryko label.  Produced by R.S. Field (Buddy Guy, John Mayall) at the House of David Studio in Nashville, TN, the 13-track album is the follow up to her critically acclaimed 2008 album, Mockingbird, which was a celebration of songs composed by female songwriters including Nina Simone, Patti Smith, Cat Power, her sister Shelby Lynne, and more.   It also follows Moorer's first Grammy Award Nomination for the song "Days Aren't Long Enough," a composition she co-wrote with her husband, Steve Earle, for his Grammy Award Winning 2007 album Washington Square Serenade.  

Speaking with Billboard recently regarding Crows, Moorer stated "I really just set myself free and just threw all the rules out the window." Regarding the album's title, Moorer offered "We have crows in the yard at our place up in Woodstock. I am a little obsessed with birds, and have been told that they are indeed our messengers from the other side.  So I decided that instead of letting the crows make me uneasy, I would start to consider them as friendlies, and that they were actually bringing me a message of comfort."

Ruby Marchand, head of A&R for Ryko, said in an official statement, "Ryko is enormously proud to welcome Allison Moorer to our family of artists.  Allison's extraordinarily evocative songs and vocal style capture her unique signature in the singer/songwriter community.  With the February 2010 release of Crows, Ryko celebrates the beginning of a worldwide relationship with Allison through an album of astonishing breadth and scope." 

In other Moorer news, on December 13^th, 2009, Moorer will be seen in The People Speak, a film inspired by the Howard Zinn book A People's History of the United States and the Zinn/Anthony Arnove-penned Voices of A People's History of the United States.  The film, presented by The History Channel, also features Bob Dylan, Morgan Freeman, Bruce Springsteen, Danny Glover, Matt Damon, John Legend, Rosario Dawson, Josh Brolin, Benjamin Bratt and more.

Tracklisting:

1. Abalone Sky

2. Goodbye To The Ground

3. Just Another Fool

4. The Broken Girl

5. Should I Be Concerned

6. When You Wake Up Feeling Bad

7. Easy In The Summertime

8. The Stars and I (Mama's Song)

9. Still This Side Of Gone

10. Like The Rain

11. Sorrow (Don't Come Around)

12. It's Gonna Feel Good

13. Crows

And if that sends a Halloween shudder down your spine, well... you're not alone. Somebody let Fred Durst know about this.

By Blurt Staff

Well, it's been practically an all-distaff day in the Blurt news department, what with fresh items posted this morning and this afternoon on such fine ladies as Allison Moorer, Sasha Grey and Bono... er, and also the Dexateens, but work with us here. So word arrives now of the imminent return of... Lilith Fair.

Yes, THAT Lilith Fair, the ‘90s estrogen fest co-founded by Sarah McLachlan whose reputation for crunchiness was sometimes deserved and sometimes not-so deserved. Well, it foisted Jewel on the world, which counts as an unpardonable sin, so.. But to detractors, it probably didn't help that the same era also brought the rise of rap-rock and mook-metal as epitomized by Limp Bizkit, Korn and Tool. Rock's never been an equal opportunity employer - and it shouldn't be, of course, but it's also a shame that the guys' exploits have always overshadowed the gals' endeavors.

Of course, the Lilith organizers went laughing to the bank 'cos the event was one of the summer's perennial hot tickets. Check these factoids:

From 1997 through 1999, Lilith Fair was one of the highest grossing touring festivals in the world, with over 1.5 million fans in attendance and raising over $10 million dollars for national and local charities.  Founded by Grammy-award winning artist Sarah McLachlan along with Dan Fraser, Marty Diamond and Terry McBride, Lilith Fair was the only tour of its kind-a celebration of women in music featuring artists like Sheryl Crow, Christina Aguilera, Erykah Badu, The Dixie Chicks, Missy Elliot, The Pretenders, Nelly Furtado, Jewel, Fiona Apple, Joan Osborne, Queen Latifah, Indigo Girls, Tegan and Sara and of course, Sarah McLachlan.

That's a lotta damn dough, yo.

So today, the official Lilith 2010 website launches, not only revealing the new look and feel of Lilith a decade later, but also the first set of cities that the traveling festival will be hitting -New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Toronto, London and more.  Check out www.lilithfair.com for the complete list. 

"I can't reveal anything further now," says LF co-founder (and Nettwerk Records CEO) Terry McBride,  "but I can assure fans that we have some exciting announcements over the course of the following weeks, from confirmed artists to additional cities to innovative social initiatives. Lilith 2010 is very much upon us."

Lilith 2010 promises to be a much bigger summer festival than it was in the past, traveling for the first time overseas and celebrating a mix of international artists and local up-and-comers.  To capture the new energy of Lilith, Vancouver's Traction Creative was brought on board to reinvigorate the Lilith brand - the new look is revealed today for the first time with the launch of the website.

Hey Terry, just promise us - no Jewel, hokay?

Indiepop's resident Doublemint gals deliver new album next year; announce fall tour.

By Blurt Staff

the Watson Twins will have their sophomore release Talking To You, Talking To Me issued on Vanguard Records February 9their most ambitious album to date. The new album finds the Watson Twins taking a soulful turn a la Carole King, but with a pop edge reminiscent of Feist. The result is a heartfelt nod to their roots, retaining the ethereal harmonies that have become their signature while incorporating a variety of influences and inspirations.

In June of 2009 Chandra and Leigh, along with producers J. Soda and Russell Pollard, went to a remote cabin in the High Sierras near Yosemite to demo songs for the new album. What they captured there would be the backbone of Talking To You, Talking To Me. The songs were brought back to Los Angeles where a band of friends (including members of Everest and My Morning Jacket) came together to help record the album at Fairfax Recordings. Talking To You, Talking To Me captures the essence of the Watson Twins extraordinary music... driving, poignant and beautiful. More information and links below.
  

The Watson Twins will also be starting a tour with Joshua Radin on October 28^th through November 22^nd:

10/28/2009    Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre

10/29/2009    San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall  

10/30/2009    Portland, OR - Aladdin Theatre 

11/1/2009      Seattle, WA - Neumo's
11/2/2009      Spokane, WA - Knitting Factory

11/3/2009      Boise, ID - The Knitting Factory
11/5/2009      Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater 

11/6/2009      Lawrence, KS - Granada Theatre
11/7/2009      St. Louis, MO - Blueberry Hill - Duck Room

11/8/2009      Birmingham, AL - WorkPlay Soundstage Theatre
11/10/2009    Saint Petersburg, FL - State Theatre

11/11/2009    Fort Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room

11/13/2009    Orlando, FL - The Social 
11/14/2009    Atlanta, GA - Center Stage Theatre

11/15/2009    Raleigh, NC - Lincoln Theatre

11/17/2009    Washington, DC - Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
11/19/2009    New York, NY - Webster Hall

11/20/2009    Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero Theatre
11/21/2009    Montclair, NJ - Wellmont Theatre
11/22/2009    Boston, MA - House of Blues Boston   

Due in early February; to be preceded by short U.S. tour.

By Fred Mills

Okay, Midlake fans, here's the news you've been anticipating: Bella Union just announced this morning that it will be releasing the third Midlake album on Feb. 2. Titled The Courage of Others, it's the followup to 2006's acclaimed The Trials of Van Occupanther - which was more than merely "acclaimed," if you think about it; the record turned up on nearly every critic's year-end best-of list and was a mainstay at college radio and Triple-A.

The Denton, TX, band literally left the road for two years to work on the record, which was cut at their home studio by vocalist/songwriter Tim Smith, bassist Paul Alexander, drummer McKenzie Smith and guitarists Eric Pulido and Eric Nichelson. According to the label, the album "builds on the complex textures that made ‘Van Occupanther' a touchstone, revealing breathtaking soundscapes and bygone eras... Equal parts intimate and epic, the album evokes a cloistered world of its own with dreamlike melodies, stunning vocal harmonies and ambitious arrangements."

The world needs more breathtaking soundscapes, indeed. Anyone who's heard the band's signature cut "Roscoe," from the last album, knows what we mean. For newcomers to that sound, you can hear what all the fuss has been about to date over at Midlake's MySpace page where a slew of songs are streaming.

‘The Courage of Others' tracklist:

Acts of Man

Winter Dies

Small Mountain

Core of Nature

Fortune

Rulers, Ruling All Things

Children of the Grounds

Bring Down

The Horn

The Courage of Others

In The Ground

Midlake 2010 tour dates so far (more to be announced soon):

Jan 5 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon

Jan 6 Tallahassee, FL Engine Room

Jan 7 Orlando, FL The Social

Jan 8 St. Augustine, FL Cafe Eleven

Jan 9 Mt. Pleasant, SC Village Tavern

Jan 10 Asheville, NC Grey Eagle

Jan 11 Memphis, TN Hi-Tone

Jan 12 Little Rock, Rev Room

 UK Dates:

Jan 22 Newcastle, England - The Cluny
Jan 23 Leicester, England - The Musician
Jan 24  Cambridge, England - Junction2
Jan 27  Norwich, England - Arts Centre
Jan 28 London, England - Tabernacle

"Cigarettes and Wine" recorded live in Muscle Shoals...

By Fred Mills

With Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit set to hit the road again this weekend - part of Isbell's seeming "never ending tour" in support of Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit (Lightning Rod; read our 10-star review here) - he's also just unveiled a new video. It's for the track "Cigarettes and Wine," from the album, and it was filmed live at the Shoals Theater in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The black and white footage perfectly fits the elegiac tune's tone.

Check it out below, along with the tour dates. Some shows will also include on the bill, variously, the Mother Hips, Chuck Prophet and Son Volt.

Oct 30 - The Bottleneck - Lawrence, KS
Oct 31 - Larimer Lounge - Denver, CO
Nov 1 - The State Room - Salt Lake City, UT
Nov 3 - The Wild Buffalo - Bellingham, WA
Nov 5 - Tractor Tavern w/ The Mother Hips - Seattle, WA
Nov 6 - The Doug Fir w/ The Mother Hips - Portland, OR
Nov 7 - The Blue Lamp - Sacramento, CA
Nov 8 - Great American Music Hall w/ Chuck Prophet - San Francisco, CA
Nov 9 - Echoplex - Los Angeles, CA
Nov 12 - Buffalo Joe's - Paris, TX
Nov 13 - Longhorn Saloon - Ft. Worth, TX
Nov 14 - Antone's w/ Son Volt - Austin, TX
Nov 16 - Cain's - Tulsa, OK
Nov 18 - Off Broadway - St. Louis, MO
Nov 19 - Lincoln Hall - Chicago, IL
Nov 20 - Turf Club - St. Paul, MN
Nov 21 - High Noon Saloon - Madison, WI

Can we be the first to call the Over Mountain Men a Tarheel supergroup?

By Blurt Staff

Glorious Day, the full-length debut CD from Over Mountain Men, will be released in early 2010 on Ramseur Records. The Ramseur connection is no small one: Bob Crawford, bass player for  Ramseur alumniThe Avett Brothers is part of the band, along with the Charlotte-based singer/songwriter, David Childers. Rounding out the ensemble is guitarist Randy Saxon and drummer/percussionist Robert Childers, both formerly of David Childers and The Modern Don Juans. The album features a slew of guest players including: Scott Daley, piano; Geoffrey White, fiddle; Andy The Doorbum, vocals,  guitar; Charlie Lybrand, baritone  trumpet; John Boswell, back up vocals; Matt Ranck, back up vocals and guitar; the Avetts' Joe Kwon, cello; Ingrid Stenzel, accordion; Will Kitchen, drums; and Eric Mullis, xylophone.

 The CD features nine original tunes penned by the band, among them "Angola ," which is featured in the award-winning documentary Six Seconds of Freedom, an indie film  about the famous prison rodeo at Angola Prison.  (View a video with footage from the film on YouTube.) The songs were recorded primarily at Old House Studios in Gastonia, NC; additional material was recorded at The Grange,  Greenville , NC , and the Milestone Club, in  Charlotte ,  NC .  

Crawford, a long-time fan of Childers, comments: "David  Childers belongs in the pantheon of great  North Carolina songwriters.  I am honored to work alongside him. He is a great friend, a great  thinker, and a great man. I like to think of him as the sage of  Mount Holly ; a true North Carolina treasure."

On the web: www.overmountainmen.com. And check out a live clip of the band, below.

Over Mountain Men- Some Place Along The River from Over Mountain Men on Vimeo.

Where's that boy's goddamn medicine?

By Blurt Staff

Ike Reilly, indie rock raconteur whose new album, "Hard Luck Stories," drops digitally November 24, has planned a special weekly podcast series.  As a lead-up to the release of the album, Reilly will be hosting "Where's my Goddamn Medicine?," which will be available for free download beginning TODAY, October 26^th on Reilly's website: www.ikereilly.net. It will be broadcast weekly from Libertyville, IL.

"Where's My Goddamn Medicine?" will preview many of the tracks from "Hard Luck Stories," of course, but Reilly hastens to add it will give fans a quirky introduction to the "friends, enemies, bankers, drug dealers, real estate agents, cheerleaders, high school students, teachers and coaches, family members, offspring, and all the other fucking freeloaders that live with me."  

Prior to the album release, Reilly will be appearing on November 9^th at the Improv Olympic "Armando Diaz Experience" as the "monologist" for the evening.  The cast will then improv off of Reilly's stories/songs for the show.  "Armando Diaz Experience" is iO's longest-running show and a landmark of comedy in Chicago.  Reilly will also be visiting the Improv Olympic Theater every Wednesday through November 18^th as part of the "TJ and Dave" show, where he will be kicking off each show by performing several tunes and telling stories.  Long-form improv masters TJ and Dave have been using Reilly's music to open their weekly shows for a long time.

Tour dates for Hard Luck Stories are tba for 2010, but he and his band The Ike Reilly Assassination will do a Thanksgiving Eve show Nov. 25 at First Avenue in Minneapolis and then a Chicago gig (Liberty Hall) on Dec. 11.

Meanwhile, everyone involved starts circling the wagons...

By Blurt Staff

Some days we write the news, some days the news writes itself, yadda-yadda-yadda... This press release came in over the weekend: apparently erstwhile Sublime bassist Eric Wilson and Sublime drummer Floyd ‘Bud' Gaugh were to play a gig Saturday night under the name "Sublime" (they hired singer/guitarist Rome Ramirez to replace their late bandmate Bradley Nowell, who died in '96). The pair had previously formed the Long Beach Dub All-Stars in order to play Sublime music and other material and had the good wishes of the Nowell family, but as the statement makes clear. The Nowells are not very happy about this latest development. Read on...

***

The Estate of Bradley Nowell, Sublime's late singer, guitarist and primary songwriter, issued a statement today regarding the use of the band's name by Sublime bassist Eric Wilson and Sublime drummer Floyd "Bud" Gaugh.   

Sublime members Floyd "Bud" Gaugh and Eric Wilson, along with new vocalist Rome Ramirez, who performed with Gaugh and Wilson earlier this year, are scheduled to perform under the name "Sublime" on Saturday, October 24^th at Cypress Hill's 2009 Smokeout Festival.  Sublime, with its original members, has not played together since their final performance with Nowell on May 24, 1996. The advertising and promotion of the new group as "Sublime" has been done without the consent of the Estate of the late Bradley Nowell (consisting of widow Troy Nowell, father Jim "Papa" Nowell, and son Jakob Nowell).  The Estate intends to take appropriate legal action to protect Brad's intentions, as well as the legacy and integrity of his body of work.

Nowell's family released the following statement on the band's official Web site today:

"It was recently announced that Sublime bassist Eric Wilson and Sublime drummer Floyd ‘Bud' Gaugh are ‘reuniting' and teaming with singer and guitarist Rome Ramirez in a band they intend to call ‘Sublime.' Prior to his untimely passing, both Bud and Eric acknowledged that Brad Nowell was the sole owner of the name Sublime. It was Brad's expressed intention that no one use the name Sublime in any group that did not include him, and Brad even registered the trademark ‘Sublime' under his own name.  

As Brad's heirs, and with the support of his entire family, we only want to respect his wishes and therefore have not consented to Bud and Eric calling their new project ‘Sublime.' We have always supported Bud and Eric's musical endeavors and their desire to continue to play Sublime's music. We wholeheartedly supported Bud, Eric and the many talented members of the Sublime posse that formed the Long Beach Dub All-Stars, soon after Brad's death, to honor him through their original recordings, live performances and Sublime music until they disbanded in 2001. But, out of respect for Brad's wishes, we have always refused to endorse any group performing as ‘Sublime,' and now with great reluctance feel compelled to take the appropriate legal action to protect Brad's legacy.

Our hope is that Brad's ex-bandmates will respect his wishes and find a new name to perform under, so as to enhance the ‘Sublime' legacy without the confusion and disappointment that many fans have expressed upon seeing the announcement.

Peace and Love to all,

Troy, Jakob & Jim ‘Papa' Nowell."

***

Meanwhile, Jon Phillips, of Silverback Management, which apparently lists Eric Wilson among its clients (Gaugh is not a client) issued a preemptive statement that appears to be intended to distance himself from the upcoming legal tussle. In the statement he decries the decision to restart the band but takes pains to note," I DO NOT have the legal authority in this matter to prevent Eric and Bud from performing or recording as Sublime.  That power rests within the legal parameters as they relate to Brad's Estate." (Read the statement here.)

Gaugh himself decided to get his own statement out to the public, posting to his website (prior to this weekend's statement from the Nowells). He takes Phillips and Silverback to task, observing, none-too-succinctly, "And then there are those who work in the business side of music, who see the artists and music as simply an object, as dollar signs, they only see music as a way to achieve power, money, fame, that's all it is to them." (Read that statement here.)

As always, there will only be one winner in crap like this - the LAWYERS. Let the games begin...

Self-released/produced/engineered/performed album to arrive next February.

By Blurt Staff

Peace And Love, Juliana Hatfield's latest album, will be released on February 16, 2010 on Ye Olde Records. Hatfield, of course, has a long history of DIY endeavors - from her trailblazing days with Boston indie band the Blake Babies to her recent releases on Ye Olde Records, the label she founded in 2005 - but with Peace And Love she reaches a new level of independence. She produced and engineered the album herself and played all the instruments, including acoustic and electric guitars, piano, harmonica and drum machine.

"I've produced records before but I was always in a studio with professional engineers. So it was definitely a learning process for me," says Hatfield, who was ready to strip things down after her critically acclaimed 2008 album, How To Walk Away, which was a full studio production. "I always like to try things I've never done before and I'd been yearning to record myself."  

Hatfield had just purchased her brother's eight-track digital recorder and moved into a Cambridge apartment with a back room that had excellent natural acoustics, so the time was right. "I was able to follow every instinct without worrying that anyone was going to think it was a kooky idea," she recalls. "I just wanted to do something simple."

The result is an incredibly intimate collection of songs, expertly capturing the loneliness and collateral damage borne of broken relationships yet adamantly refusing to remain broken. In the liner notes, Boston Phoenix music editor James Parker gives it a name: "Survivor-music - because even at their most palpitatingly fragile, your songs have always been built to last. Well-made, strong-boned, fit to be played on streetcorners and station platforms."

Just as Hatfield stripped down the recording process, the characters that populate Peace And Love are ready to shed their convoluted lives. The lilting "Why Can't We Love Each Other" answers its own question by acknowledging that love is a choice: "we can make our lives a song/will it be a blues or a hymn/a dirge or a psalm/it could be so simple." But there's the rub, of course: it could be so simple...if it weren't for our propensity to muck things up.

From the plucked Elizabethan chords that introduce the opening "Peace And Love" and the feedback-drenched "What Is Wrong" to "Unsung," Hatfield's first-ever instrumental, and the closing "Dear Anonymous," written from the point of view of a victim who finds empathy for her stalker, the collection is both compelling and surprising. "Faith In Our Friends" celebrates those who "think you're just right the way you are" while Hatfield gains fresh perspective on her complex relationship with longtime friend Evan Dando on the exquisite, ethereal "Evan."

Peace And Love is Hatfield's 11th solo album and follows last year's How To Walk Away, which was hailed as "rueful and gorgeous," by Entertainment Weekly, which gave the album an A-. "After 20 years, the songstress still packs a wallop on her 10th album, featuring edgy tales of heartbreak sung with that classic sweetness," said Newsweek, naming it a "Checklist" pick of the week upon its release while Spin pronounced it "vital," awarding it three out of four stars. Her autobiography, entitled When I Grow Up, was published by Wiley & Sons in September 2008.

Hatfield first came to prominence in her teens as a founding member of the Blake Babies. After four independent albums with the group, she signed to Atlantic as a solo artist and had a string of modern-rock hits (including "My Sister," "Spin The Bottle" and  "Universal Heartbeat"). She left the label in 1998, signing to Zoe Records (a Rounder Records imprint) and releasing four well-regarded albums, including 2004's In Exile Deo, named as one of that year's 10 best albums by The New York Times' Jon Pareles. In 2005, Hatfield came full circle, returning to her independent roots and founding Ye Olde Records.

The track listing for Peace and Love is as follows:

1.    Peace and Love
2.    The End Of The War
3.    Why Can't We Love Each Other
4.    Butterflies
5.    What Is Wrong
6.    Unsung
7.    Evan
8.    Let's Go Home
9.    I Picked You Up
10.    Faith In Our Friends
11.    I'm Disappearing
12.    Dear Anonymous

[Photo Credit: Phil Morrison]