Fall dates for Midwest and East Coast; West Coast will be early next year.

By Blurt Staff

Amy Ray is set to tour the Midwest and East Coast in October /November 2008 to support her latest solo release, Didn't It Feel Kinder.  She'll be joined by Brooklyn/Asheville NC folk-psych band Arizona for her Midwest dates and Brooklyn-based songwriter Jennifer O'Connor for her East Coast run.  Ray's core band will include Melissa York on drums and Kaia Wilson on guitar.

Her third solo release and her most ambitious to date, Didn't It Feel Kinder  finds Ray again trading in her acoustic guitar for a Les Paul, cranking her amp and reaffirming her position as one of the truest, most striking voices in contemporary music. 

For the first time in her solo career, Ray enlisted a producer.  Greg Griffith (The Butchies, Le Tigre, Loudspeaker, Vitapup), a fearless listener and multi-talented musician, worked with Ray to incorporate a variety of sounds and influences to create her unique and evolving voice throughout this record.  On the track "Bus Bus," a song inspired backstage at a UK Indigo Girls' gig as Ray listened to the bass and beats of the opening band throbbing through the club walls into her dressing room, she molds a danceable rhythm that is at once pop, punk rock and hip hop (aided by former Butchies and longtime Ray collaborators Kaia Wilson and Melissa York and Griffith).  Additional guests include guitarist Tomi Martin, half of Three5Human (and who has played with the likes of Madonna and TLC) and songwriter Brandi Carlile, as well as indie faves Arizona.

With 2001's Stag and 2004's Prom, Ray channeled her inner riot grrl and made two disarmingly personal, defiantly honest albums that tackled gender issues and sexual identity and established Ray's punk rock cred and DIY ethos.  It also proved Ray could rock with the best of them.  While Didn't It Feel Kinder is no less political or less catchy, Ray has written an album that reflects the rural nature of the recording process - late night drives between her home in rural Georgia and studios in Ashville, NC   and time spent in Greensboro, NC.  Lyrically, she tackles a culture obsessed by war, fame for the wrong reasons ("Who Sold the Gun," about the Virginia Tech killings), religious conservatism ("SLC Radio") and makes a plea for the listener to reach outside of their comfort zone and connect with their community.

Didn't It Feel Kinder is a thoughtful, political album and a call to reason by an artist who's intertwined activism and social consciousness into her music and remained fresh and relevant over a career spanning two decades.  Ray has a knack for tapping into the universal human experience and bringing an empathy and call for understanding to even her most confrontational material.

Ray says it best: "What ties the record together for me is this human yearning to be understood and the yearning to become empathetic with other people - how to love each other and be kind even when we're brutally angry."

Amy Ray Tour Dates:

SUN-10/19 Nashville, TN - 3rd & Lindsley (with Arizona)

MON-10/20 Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone Café (with Arizona)

TUES-10/21 St Louis, MO - Blueberry Hill (with Arizona)

THUR-10/23 Omaha, NE - Slowdown (with Arizona)

FRI-10/24 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line (with Arizona)

SAT-10/25 Ames, IA - Maintenance Shop (with Arizona)

SUN-10/26 Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon (with Arizona)

TUES-10/28 Champaign, IL-High Dive (with Arizona)

WED-10/29 Chicago, IL - the Metro (with Arizona)

FRI-10/31 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom (with Arizona)

SAT-11/1 Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Smalls Theater (with Arizona)

SUN-11/2 Buffalo, NY - Tralf Music Hall- (with Jennifer O'Connor)

TUES-11/4 Toronto, ONT - Mod Club (with Jennifer O'Connor)

WED-11/5 Burlington, VT - Higher Ground Ballroom (with Jennifer O'Connor)

FRI-11/7 Somerville, MA - Somerville Theatre (with Jennifer O'Connor)

SAT-11/8 Northampton, MA-Pearl Street Upstairs   (with tba)

MON-11/10-Toad's Place-New Haven, CT. (with tba)

WED-11/12 NY, NY - The Bowery (with tba)

THUR-11/13 Philadelphia, PA- (with tbd)

FRI-11/14 Washington, DC - 9:30pm Club (with tba)

SAT-11/15- Richmond, VA -Capital Alehouse   (with Jennifer O'Connor)

TUES-11/18- Va. Beach, VA-Jewish Mother (with Jennifer O'Connor)

WED-11/19- Cat's Cradle-Carrboro, NC (with Jennifer O'Connor)

FRI-11/21 Asheville, NC-The Orange Peel (with Jennifer O'Connor and Arizona)

SAT-11/22 Atlanta, GA-Variety Playhouse (with Jennifer O'Connor and The Holland Dutch)

And it's not even as lame as you'd expect it to be!

By Fred Mills

Diving right in, this year's nominees are:

Jeff Beck
Chic
Wanda Jackson
Little Anthony and the Imperials
Metallica
Run-D.M.C.
the Stooges
War
Bobby Womack

We're talking the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's 2009 Induction nominees, five of whom will get the nod in January after all the ballots are tallied. (Ballots are being sent out soon to the 500-odd Rock Hall voters.)

The Induction Ceremony will be held April 4 in Cleveland, and according to the Rock Hall's official website, for the first time tickets will be sold to the general public after initially being offered to Rock Hall members.

"A week long series of events will take place leading up to the ceremony to help celebrate its return to Cleveland," read a posting on the website. Recall that in years past the event had been held in New York and that it routinely came under fire for catering exclusively to elitist elements in the music industry (not to mention pricing tickets ridiculously high and even forcing nominees to pay for tickets it they wanted to bring along a family member or a date).

Incredibly, this they've got a solid list of potential inductees. Usually Rock Hall watchers are more impressed by how lame the list is overall than who's actually on it. About damn time.

Compiled by Blurt Staff

206 digital, satellite and hi-def channels and nothin' on? Not likely. Here are BLURT's top music television picks of the day. The time is followed by the network/cable/satellite channel, then the name of the program and/or featured artist(s). All times are EST. For a comprehensive hour-by-hour listing, go to the VH1 Rock On TV site. Note that for certain channels, shows frequently repeat during the day on or subsequent days.

TIME (EST) / CHANNEL / PROGRAM / ARTIST(S)

SATURDAY, SEPT. 20:

10:00 AM HBO2: Real Time With Bill Maher: Will.I.Am

1:00 PM HDNet Concert Series: Live In Memphis: 3-11 Day 2006

2:30 PM PLD HD: Nine Inch Nails - Beside You in Time 

5:00 PM FUSE: Lil' Wayne's World

5:00 PM VH1C: The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story

6:00 PM RAVE HD: Later With Jools Holland: Red Hot Chili Peppers , Keane , Thom Yorke , Bellowhead , The Be Good Tanyas , Klaxons

6:00 PM Sundance: Live from Abbey Road: Rascal Flatts, Kate Nash, Herbie Hancock

7:30 PM PLD HD: Pussycat Dolls - Live from Manchester

9:00 PM FUSE: Sid & Nancy (1986)

9:00 PM PBS: Austin City Limits:  John Mayer

9:00 PM Starz: Across the Universe (2007)

10:00 PM ETV: Saturday Night Live (E!): Steve Carell / Kanye West

10:00 PM MTV2: Saturday Rock The Deuce:  Matt and Kim

10:00 PM VH1C: Iron Maiden - Rock in Rio

11:30 PM NBC: Saturday Night Live: James Franco / Kings of Leon

12:00 AM HBO2: Real Time With Bill Maher: Will.I.Am

SUNDAY, SEPT. 21:

9:00 AM A&E: Private Sessions: Sheryl Crow

9:00 AM PLD HD: Everest Rocks W/Glenn Tilbrook , Cy Curnin , Slim Jim Phantom , Jamie West-Oram , Mike Peters , Nick Harper

12:00 PM HDNet Concert Series: Gorillaz - Demon Days Live

12:15 PM Showtime Next: Moog

1:30 PM RAVE HD: The Dave Fanning Interview: Iggy Pop

1:30 PM VH1C: Live Aid: The Day the Music Changed the World

2:30 PM HDNet Concert Series: Morrissey - Who Put the "M" in Manchester?

3:35 PM HDNet: LIVE! from Central Park SummerStage: Devo

5:30 PM FUSE: Loaded: Green Day

5:30 PM VH1C: On Tour: The Who Virtual Ticket

6:00 PM VH1C: VH1 Rock Honors: The Who (2008)

6:30 PM FUSE: Sid & Nancy (1986)

7:00 PM ABC: Jimmy Kimmel's Big Night of Stars: Heidi Klum , Kobe Bryant , William Shatner , Regis Philbin

7:00 PM Gospel Music Channel: Mahalia Jackson Sings

8:00 PM RAVE HD: Soundstage: Tori Amos

9:00 PM Gospel Music Channel: The Gospel According to Al Green

10:35 PM HDNet Concert Series: Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals

12:00 AM VH1C: The Ramones - Raw

Tune in today starting at 3pm... broadcasting and streaming from the ATP site.

By Fred Mills

With the kickoff of the My Bloody Valentine-curated All Tomorrow's Parties New York just hours away - you can get the details in our previous coverage HERE - punters who dilly-dallied over getting tickets are no doubt gnashing their teeth and rending their garments: the thing's completely sold out.

However, there's a ray of light that shines out of ATP for those without tickets or simply unable to make the trek up north to the Catskills: the mighty WFMU-FM will be broadcasting - and streaming online - performances live today and tomorrow starting at around 3:00 pm.

The venerable NJ public radio station will be ensconced at Kutsher's in Monticello to carry the bands' sets. According to the station's website, as of this writing most of the bands are on board (MBV hasn't confirmed yet whether it will allow its set to be aired).

The relevant info:

91.1 fm NYC/Metro NJ
90.1 fm Catskills/Hudson Valley/WNJ/Eastern PA
www.wfmu.org  (streaming live)

"Gaylord Fields, Pseu Braun, Liz Berg, Mike Lupica, and Marty McSorley will be your hosts, DJing and interviewing between sets," says WFMU. "As promised earlier, here's a breakdown of what you can hear live on WFMU's airwaves and streams. Things are still in flux, so don't give up hope if your favorite act doesn't appear below!"

Saturday 9/20

3:00-3:45 PM Growing
4:15-5:00 PM Wooden Shjips
5:30-6:30 PM Harmonia
6:45-7:30 PM Om
8:00-9:15 PM Low / Polvo (half sets)
9:45-11:15 PM Thee Silver Mt.
Zion Orchestra
12:45-1:30 AM Lightning Bolt

 
Sunday 9/21

3:30-4:15 PM The Lilys
5:30-6:15 PM Mercury Rev
6:15-6:45 PM Spectrum (joining in progress)
6:45-7:30 PM Yo La Tengo
9:15-10:00 PM Bob Mould
10:00-11:00 PM Dinosaur Jr.
11:00-11:45 PM Brian Jonestown Massacre
 

***

More from WFMU - Wire!

WFMU is honored to host and broadcast live the UK artpunk legends WIRE, performing for free at the Fillmore at Irving Plaza in New York, Thursday October 9th. The show is now sold out (all free tickets were gobbled up).

This concert is the last in WFMU's Free Music Series, celebrating WFMU's 50th Anniversary. The band, which started in 1977, will be on a US tour in support of their newest release Object 47, info and dates at their site. (Read more) The Fillmore is located at 17 Irving Place, NYC. Doors 7:30 PM, All Ages, and we're happy to announce openers are Times New Viking.

By Blurt Staff

Reports are coming in that former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and DJ AM (Adam Goldstein) were in a Learjet crash just before midnight last night that killed four people and left both of them critically injured.

For a full report go HERE.

The accident happened during takeoff in Columbia, SC, with the craft going off the end of the runway through a fence, across a highway and into an embankment where it burst into flames. Dead were the pilot, copilot and two passegers.

The two men had performed together as TRVSDJ-AM at a free concert in Columbia that evening, which also featured Perry Farrell and Gavin Degraw.

Compiled by Blurt Staff

206 digital, satellite and hi-def channels and nothin' on? Not likely. Here are BLURT's top music television picks of the day. The time is followed by the network/cable/satellite channel, then the name of the program and/or featured artist(s). All times are EST. For a comprehensive hour-by-hour listing, go to the VH1 Rock On TV site. Note that for certain channels, shows frequently repeat during the day on or subsequent days.

TIME (EST) / CHANNEL / PROGRAM / ARTIST(S)

10:00 AM Rave HD Concerts: Warren Haynes - The Benefit Concert 2006

1:00 PM PLD HD: CMT Crossroads: Lindsey Buckingham and Little Big Town

1:30 PM TCM: Hootenanny Hoot (1963) w/Johnny Cash , The Brothers Four , George Hamilton IV , Judy Henske , Joe & Eddie , Sheb Wooley

4:00 PM VH1C: BBC Crown Jewels: Old Grey Whistle Test: Lynyrd Skynyrd

7:30 PM PLD HD: Nine Inch Nails - Beside You in Time

8:00 PM RAVE HD: Other Voices: Sinéad O'Connor , The Answer , Juno Falls , Seasick Steve

9:00 PM FUEL: The Daily Habit: Against Me!

10:00 PM Sundance: Follow My Voice: With the Music of Hedwig (2006)

11:15 PM TMC: Prey for Rock & Roll (2003)

11:35 PM CBS: The Late Show With David Letterman: Duffy

11:35 PM NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Dolly Parton

12:00 AM FLIX: The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

12:05 AM ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Cold War Kids

[see review of CWK album by Blurt HERE]

12:35 AM NBC: Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Ice-T

No word from the Sarah Palin camp on whether she's going to queue up for her copy on Oct.28 or simply ask for a promo....

By Fred Mills

OMG, PTL! En route from Highway 61/MVD is the extremely odd DVD artifact Inside Bob Dylan's Jesus Years: Busy Being Born... Again!

And with a title like that, you know it's gotta be awesome. It's a 120 minute DVD due to drop Oct. 28. In addition to the main program, bonus materials will include a photo gallery spanning 1978-81, clips from the '78 world tour, material on the legendary summit between Dylan and Hurricane Carter (when the boxer was in prison, no less) in '76, and MP3s of the complete soundtrack. Hey, does Dylan know this is coming out?

At any rate, here's the scoop from the label, below. Now get down on your knees and repent for blowing all that dough on those Dylan bootlegs from the Warfield Theatre...

Once called "Dylan's God Awful Gospel" by his most loyal fans, Bob Dylan's "Jesus Years" are today regarded as among the best of his career. Finally, here is an insiders view into Bob Dylan's "Born Again" transformation, and its affect on his life and music. In late 1978, Bob Dylan fell into the Arms of the Lord through the Vineyard Christian Fellowship Church. In his first-ever interview, Dylan's Bible class teacher, Pastor Bill Dwyer, details Bob Dylan's embrace of Jesus Christ and Christianity. Dylan then made three Gospel albums, winning a "Grammy for Gotta Serve Somebody."

However, Dylan's radical new direction alienated fans and enraged critics as he preached evangelical messages from the Book of Revelation. Director/Producer Joel Gilbert weaves the story of Bob Dylan's Jesus Years through revealing insider interviews, including legendary Slow Train Coming producer Jerry Wexler, background singer Regina McCrary, keyboardist Spooner Oldham, iconic San Francisco Chronicle rock reporter Joel Selvin, award-winning songwriter Al Kasha, and Dylanologist AJ Weberman.

Included are rare photos and exclusive live concert footage from 1978-1981, while Bob Dylan himself explains the impact of Jesus on his life and art in a recently unearthed interview from 1981. Visits to the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, the Vineyard Church, and the Fox Warfield Theatre all help tell the intimate tale of Bob Dylan's Jesus Years.

And some more stuff about that book, too...

By Blurt Staff

Ryan Adams and the Cardinals - Neal Casal (guitar, vocals), Chris Feinstein (bass, vocals), Jon Graboff (pedal steel, vocals) and Brad Pemberton (drums) - just announced and October 28 release for Cardinology, the band's latest collection of all-new studio material for Lost Highway. It's described as "a concise and focused collection of twelve unadorned gems."

Well, all right then! Track listing is below.

The following night they'll play the Letterman show as well. First single "Fix It" will be digitally released to radio Tuesday, September 23, while "Stop" will receive a sneak premiere in the Tuesday, September 30 episode of The Cleaner on the A&E network.

Meanwhile, as mentioned here previously, Infinity Blues, Ryan Adams' first ever collection of non-musical writing will be published March 16, 2009 by venerable independent house Akashic Books. Infinity Blues will be available for pre-order through Akashic's website beginning Monday, October 6

 Pre-orders will include a signed hardcover copy of the book with a bonus poetry chapbook by Adams titled "Sad American Mythology." The limited edition signed and numbered chapbooks will be available only through the Akashic Books website as part of this pre-order.

Read BLURT's super-secret, somewhat dubious, highly suspect, but damn witty book excerpt HERE.

Track Listing:

Born Into A Light

Go Easy

Fix It

Magick

Cobwebs

Let Us Down Easy

Crossed Out Name

Natural Ghost

Sink Ships

Evergreen

Like Yesterday

Stop

A tribute to the Pink Floyd co-founder and keyboardist.

By Steven Ward

Founding Pink Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright is playing the great gig in the sky right now.

Maybe Syd Barrett is watching from the wings of the stage.

Wright died at 65 earlier this week after fighting cancer.

The two thoughts of prevailing wisdom when it comes to the words and music of Pink Floyd are this: singer/bassist Roger Waters wrote the words and singer/guitarist David Gilmour wrote the music.

That's only half right.

After psychedelic pop genius and Floyd leader Barrett was kicked out of the band in the late 60s, Waters did take over as band wordsmith. Waters is now renowned as the lyrical conceptualist behind "Dark Side of the Moon," "Wish You Were Here," "Animals" and "The Wall."

But if you liked the music, textures and aural soundscapes of two particular Floyd records -- "Dark Side of the Moon" and "Wish You Were Here" -- then Wright's contributions were more than crucial. They were the reason those songs are still played on classic rock radio today.

Wright wrote the soaring and haunting Dark Side instrumental "Great Gig in the Sky" where a gospely and ghostly female voice is heard moaning and humming over ethereal and hymn-like grand chords.

The beautiful chord sequence that begat "Us and Them" sprang from a Wright composition.

"The Wall" might have had a mighty concept with a memorable story but the music on it sucked.

It's the keyboard dramatics of "Dark Side of the Moon" and "Wish You Were Here" that makes you want to put on your headphones and slip away.

Yes -- Wright lost interest in composing around the time of "Animals" and "The Wall" and was more interested in sailing around the Greek Isles as a millionaire tax exile. Waters kicked Wright out of the band after he only contributed minor Hammond organ to the songs of "The Wall."

Not everyone has the stamina of a Waters or a Gilmour.

Still, Wright is worth celebrating.

I'm not sure the sale of headphones would have been the same without him.