| CMU Daily - on the inside 15 Jul 2003 |
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In today's CMU Daily:
• Beanie doesn’t get bail
• Breakbeat in Nottingham
• New York Times Gottlieb false claims
• Sex Pistols in Baghdad
• Cuba mourns Segundo
• Smirnoff bring dance talent to Leeds/Reading
• Review: LSK - Rap Starr
• JT on golf
• Dolly Parton allstar tribute
• Robbie saved
• Fifth Beatle gubbins auction
• US royalty bill will return
• Live review: The Brunettes At The Spitz, 11 Jul.
• Rob Zombie comic series
• Charity concert in NY
• Macy Gray rumour
• R Kelly allowed to leave Illinois
• Live Review: Dave Gahan, Shepherds Bush Empire 10 Jul
• New night at West London club
• Bebel Gilberto tour
• Kylie picture resubmitted
• Beyonce sacrilege
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BEANIE DOESN’T GET BAIL
The best behaved MC may have been speaking up for him in federal court, but not even Jay Z could persuade the judge to grant Beanie Sigel bail at a detention hearing in Philadelphia Yesterday. The case related to firearm possession charges from April – and not his arrest last week for allegedly being involved in a shooting – though the latter may have influenced ths judge.
Prosecutors in the case now have 30 days to indict him. But Sigel’s lawyer said that they would contend the bail decision before then. Remaining in custody, Sigel will not be able to continue to perform with the Roc-A-Fella family on the Rock the Mic Tour.
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BREAKBEAT IN NOTTINGHAM
Spectrum, the Nottingham breakbeat club, has announced plans to stage its second ReSpecfest festival from 18 Oct – 9 Nov. The multi-date festival will run across seven venues, and include 14 events over a 25 day period.
Artists appearing will include Plump DJs, Deadly Avenger, Freq Nasty and Rennie Pilgrem; while the programme boasts one of Nottingham’s biggest ever all-nighters and Canadian turntablist A Trak performing a turntable and sampler set.
Organisers Spectrum won Best Club Night at the International Breaks Awards in February this year for their nights at The Bomb and The Social in Nottingham.
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NEW YORK TIMES GOTTLIEB FALSE CLAIMS
Word is the New York Times jumped the gun when they reported that TVT Records’ Founder/President Steven Gottlieb had lost control of his company (full name TeeVee Toons) after a loan dispute with Prudential Securities. The report claimed Gottlieb had defaulted on a $23.5 million loan and that as a result had lost control over the management of his company to financial service provider.
But latest reports say that Gottlieb was never personally responsible for the defaulted loan and therefore remains in full control of his company. Even if Prudential were to prevail in the dispute, which is still pending in court, its remedies would be limited to seizing certain music royalty rights that TeeVee Toons transferred in 1999 to an affiliated company called TVT Catalog Enterprises.
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SEX PISTOLS IN BAGHDAD
John Lydon has admitted that he wants to stage a Sex Pistols concert in Baghdad early next year to show Iraqis the ‘downside’ of democracy.
Lydon said: "I am definite about it. The red tape is lining up thick and fast, and the more they put up, the bigger the scissors. If you are going to offer these people democracy, then offer it to them in their fullest extreme so they fully know what they're walking into. Because democracy has a few problems, mate, and the Sex Pistols know that, but at least we can shout out about it, and that might be of some use to them.”
The Sex Pistols are currently preparing for a tour of 13 US cities in Aug and Sep.
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CUBA MOURNS SEGUNDO
Cuban music legend Compay Segundo - who starred in Wim Wenders' ‘Buena Vista Social Club’ – died yesterday aged 95 after suffering from a severe kidney infection
Mourners filed past his coffin, which was draped with a Cuban flag and crowned with his white hat that became his trademark.
His body is due to be taken from Havana to his hometown of Santiago de Cuba for burial.
Respects are being paid the country over: Cuban television showed footage from his popular videos, and the national press credited him with reviving the traditional Afro-Cuban music.
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SMIRNOFF BRING DANCE TALENT TO LEEDS/READING
The people behind the Smirnoff Experience Dance Arena have confirmed they will be running at stage at the Reading and Leeds Festivals this year. The stages are set to feature an impressive dance lines up including Audio Bullys, Death In Vegas (inc DJ set from Richard Fearless) and Lamb at both sites.
They are added to an impressive Reading / Leeds line up that already includes, in no particular order: Blackalicous, Amon Tobin, Scissor Sisters, Buck 65, Spooks, Free*land, Outlandish, The Majesticons (Mike Ladd et al.), Goldchains, Futureshock, Aphrodite, Just Jack, FC Kahuna, Blak Twang, Blur, Metallica, Blink 182, Placebo, Beck, Doves, System of a Down, Sum 41, Primal Scream, The Thrills, The Kills, Jet, Hell is for Heroes, The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster, Radio 4, The Raveonettes and The White Stripes (fingers permitting).
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REVIEW: LSK - Rap Starr (Sony)
Liam Lynch recently released an album of fake songs; every track was an imitation of a particular artist or genre. On first hearing, this single almost sounds like a spoof rap song, although maybe that's not necessarily a bad thing. The lyrics are certainly worth hearing. LSK (Leigh Stephen Kenny) gives an entertaining potted history of his life and influences (De La Soul, Steve Martin in the Jerk, erm Vanilla Ice) with a delivery thats straight out of Brooklyn by way of Staines (although actually he's from Leeds). Its catchy too and should make a good radio tune. JW
Release date: 14 Jul [all]
Press contact: Ian Cheek [CP, RP] Sony IH [NP, CR, RR, NR]
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JT ON GOLF
Justin Timberlake will be back in the UK this week. Unfortunately he will not be appearing as a dolphin or in a small black trilby, he will in fact be working for a US TV station covering a sport called ‘golf’.
‘Golf’ is having a competition called ‘The British Open’ this month and Justin – who is apparently a great fan (and friend of Tiger Woods) – will be commentating.
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DOLLY PARTON ALLSTAR TRIBUTE
The work of Dolly Parton will be celebrated this autumn by the release of a tribute album featuring covers of her songs from Norah Jones, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Shania Twain and Sinead O'Connor. Called ‘Just Because I'm a Woman’, the album will hit the shops on 14 Oct on Sugar Hill Records. The collection will also include a new recording of the title track by the honoree herself.
Krauss does a solo of ‘9 to 5’ and joins Union Station and Twain on a take of ‘Coat of Many Colours’. Melissa Etheridge does ‘I Will Always Love You’, Mindy Smith does ‘Jolene’, Shelby Lynne covers ‘The Seeker’, Sinead O'Connor does ‘Dagger Through the Heart’ and Norah Jones offers up a version ‘The Grass Is Blue’.
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ROBBIE SAVED
Robbie Williams was whisked to safety after technicians saw a massive screen wobbling on stage behind him at a German gig last week. After his narrow escape he resumed his set, wearing a hard hat.
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FIFTH BEATLE GUBBINS AUCTION
The sister of fifth Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe, has said that he was the "central driving force” behind the band. The statement comes as she prepares to put his personal possessions up for auction. Pauline Sutcliffe has dedicated her life to writing about her brother and collecting various related paraphernalia.
Sutcliffe was a founding member of the Quarrymen, who later became the Beatles, but he quit in 1961 before they hit the big time to pursue a career in art. Although he died of a brain haemorrhage that year (aged 21) he was credited with giving the group its distinctive image.
A large collection of the memorabilia gathered by Miss Sutcliffe will go up for auction at Bonham's auction house on 29 Jul.
The Auction will include his birth certificate (expected to fetch £8,000), exam certificates from his time at the Liverpool College of Art, where he met John Lennon, sketches, photographs and letters to his family and girlfriend Astrid Kirchherr, who he lived with in Hamburg, Germany.
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US ROYALTY BILL WILL RETURN
US Senator Kevin Murray has been speaking about his decision to set back a bill in the LA Assembly that would force record labels to be more transparent in the way they report on artist royalties. Murray has promised to continue his campaign to make the bill law in the New Year (the bill has already passed by Senate).
Murray said: "This is simply more about timing than anything else. California is dealing with a unique budget deficit, summer is the busiest time for artists who are on tour, and the bill would have needed a procedural waiver in order to also be heard in Assembly Judiciary Committee by next week."
Murray said: “I believe this bill addresses the core issue that has allowed record companies to avoid penalties for under-reporting royalties. Under the current structure, there is no disincentive for record companies to properly account for and pay royalties; therefore, bad behavior by companies is rewarded. Once we get the budget resolved and artists begin to wind down from summer tours we will continue to pursue this.”
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LIVE REVIEW: The Brunettes at the Spitz, 11 Jul.
Lord above, it would appear that the Spitz has become the set for a Happy Days remake. Okay, it's not exactly Arnold's, but look there: a sweet lil' rock'n'roll band, replete with authentic sha-la-las and handclaps galore. Their scruffy hair and college T-shirts belie their sound, which takes in The Shangri-Las, Pavement and indie cult femme Mirah in equal gulps, exhaling it gently as fun, smart xlyo-pop, drenched in their native New Zealand breeziness. Front-couple Jonathan (ruggedly handsome) and Heather (retro-gorgeous) gaze gooily into one-another's eyes, singing like the Velvets at their most sweetly soothing. It's hard to put into words just how wonderfully lovely their debut album 'Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks' is without resorting to mmmmms and aaaaaahs or mentioning clouds and marshmallows and pillows and melting hearts and niceness. Through their controlled musicianship, reverb-filled guitars and kitsch-to-a-point-just-short-of-sickening sensibilities, The Brunettes manage to recreate live all that makes their album great, and offer a glimpse of their shiny new material. Fear not, it really isn't as twee as it sounds; in fact, if The Brunettes don't warm your soul, you may very well not have one. A band to fall in love with; even the Fonz would surely give a double-thumbs up. DR
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ROB ZOMBIE COMIC SERIES
American hard rock legend Rob Zombie is all set to hook up with comic book companies MVCreations and CrossGen Entertainment to bring his self-titled series, Rob Zombie’s Spook Show International, to life. They plan to launch at Halloween.
The first story will be illustrated by comic book legend Gene Colan and follows the story of the evil Zombie who is freed from his eternal slumber. The second - illustrated by Will Conrad - is based on the chilling stories behind the Zombie hit movie ‘House of 1000 Corpses’. The final - illustrated by Kieron Dwyer – involves espionage, kidnapping, strip clubs and monsters.
MVCreations and CrossGen will let the new series loose on 29 Oct in comic book shops everywhere.
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CHARITY CONCERT IN NY
The Lincoln Centre in New York will host a charity event organised by actor Richard Gere and Philip Glass on 21 Sep in aid of Healing The Divide.
The event will feature performances from Philip Glass, opera vocalist Jessye Norman, Tibetan musician Nawang Khechog, African artist Foday Musa Suso, the Buddhist Monks from the Gyuto Tantric Choir, experimental jazz act Kronos Quartet and Native American flautist R Carlos Nakai. As if that wasn’t enough it will also feature a special address by the Dalai Lama.
Healing the Divide was established in Jan last year, and raises money for impoverished communities throughout China, Mongolia, Russia, India, Nepal and Bhutan.
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MACY GRAY RUMOUR
Rumour has it ‘bad memories’ of Australia motivated Macy Gray to cancel her Australian tour. As previously reported, Ms Gray cancelled her tour due to ‘recording commitments’ but the Aussie press have suggested she doesn’t want to face the demons of the rocky time she had in Melbourne a few years ago – whatever that means.
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R KELLY ALLOWED TO LEAVE ILLINOIS
R Kelly, who was indicted on child pornography charges last Jun, has been given permission to leave Illinois for a five-city tour in August.
The court ruling will take Kelly around the US for five dates, though it didn’t seem to include a visit to the Detroit Music Festival on 1 Aug where Kelly is booked to support Isley Brothers, the Gap Band and Nas.
While Kelly travels, prosecutors continue to review expert witness in preparation for the up coming trial.
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LIVE REVIEW: Dave Gahan, Shepherds Bush Empire 10 Jul
As the front man of electro-meisters Depeche Mode, Dave Gahan is more used to playing enormo-domes, so it's a treat for him and the fans that he's playing a venue this small. After over 20 years of singing band mate Martin Gore's songs about sexual depravity and alcoholism, Gahan has finally got round to releasing his own album called 'Paper Monsters'. It’s a solid debut performed pretty much in its entirety tonight with guitar based-single "Dirty Sticky Floors" and moody ballads 'Bitter Apple' and 'Hold On' sounding particularly good. Gahan is a great showman and he doesn't scale down his performance, so we get mic stand twirling and rock star poses aplenty. Two songs in and he's stripped to the waist and looking in as good shape as he sounds. He's also a master at audience participation and he manages to get every audience member to put their hands in the air, a very rare occurrence at a London gig. Although the audience react well to the new solo material, it's the Depeche Mode songs that they go totally bonkers to. Classic songs like 'A Question of Time' from the Modes' seminal 'Black Celebration' album and 'I Feel You' are extraordinary songs and provoke an extraordinary reaction in the crowd. When Gahan encores with 'Personal Jesus' the fans response is almost religiously feverish. I haven't seen this kind of reaction since, well since Depeche Mode last played Wembley. JW
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NEW NIGHT AT WEST LONDON CLUB
Dub Pistol, Barry Ashworth, will kick off a new DJ residency at new west London Sunday-nighter, ‘Songs of Praise’. It starts on 20 Jul at Woody’s in Westbourne Park, though will officially launch on 3 Aug, when Ashworth will be joined by DJ Lottie.
Promoters have promised future guest DJs sets from Robert Owens and Acid Jazz co-founder, Eddie Pillar – and word has it DJs won’t play their usual style.
20 Jul: Brandon Block, Eddie Pillar, Barry Ashworth, James Prentice.
27 Jul: Lisa Loud, Barry Ashworth, James Prentice.
3 Aug: Lottie, Flav, Barry Ashworth, James Prentice (OFFICIAL LAUNCH NIGHT)
10 Aug: Ali B, Barry Ashworth, James Prentice.
17 Aug: Peter Herbert & Nick Rap (Leftfield), Barry Ashworth, James Prentice.
20 Aug: Robert Owens, Barry Ashworth, James Prentice.
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BEBEL GIBERTO TOUR
Daughter of bossa nova legend João Gilberto, Bebel Gilberto kicks off a UK tour this month, playing two solo dates before joining Simply Red on tour as support. The Brazilian songstress’ debut LP 'Tanto Tempo' is the most globally successful Brazilian album ever with sales nearing a million. The remix LP included reworkings by Peter Kruder, Layo & Bushwacka, Derrick Carter, Rae & Christian and DJ Marky & XRS.
The dates are as follows:
19 Jul: Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
22 Jul: Shepherds Bush Empire, London
27 Jul: Beaulieu Abbey, Brockenhurst (Simply Red support)
28 Jul: Liverpool Docks, Liverpool (Simply Red support)
2 Aug: Leeds Castle, Maidstone (Simply Red support)
3 Aug: Blickling Hall, Norwich (Simply Red support)
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KYLIE PICTURE RESUBMITTED
Dilek O'Keeffe, the artist who painted 'Consumerism 2 - Talent' featuring a likeness of Kylie Minogue’s bum, has painted an amended version following the withdrawal of the original by the Royal Academy in London, after Minogue Inc claimed her copyright was infringed over the unauthorised use of her image. Dilek has painted a revised version and is demanding the Royal Academy replace the original Minogue painting with the not so flattering (and admittedly not so recognizable) image.
Dilek said: "There is no excuse for the Royal Academy continuing to exclude the work from the Summer Exhibition. The RA are supposed to stand up for artistic innovation, integrity and cultural freedom of expression. It's a scandal if today's RA are just one more institution that lies down under pressure from corporate and commercial interests. The storm over ‘Consumerism 2 – Talent’ and how the RA and the lawyers acted confirmed the point in my work - corporate brands manipulate culture, imagery and PR so we consume what they want to sell us. If this requires threats, spin and slurs to gag free expression, then so be it."
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BEYONCE SACRILEGE
Frank Scaturro, President of the Grant Monument Assn, has written to NBC, the Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton and National Park Service director Fran Mainella over a performance by Beyonce on the Monument on 4 Jul which was televised nationally.
The head of the private historical group says that the government and NBC should have stopped Beyonce Knowles from dancing in a "patently inappropriate" way on the steps of the tomb of President Ulysses S. Grant, adding that the former Destiny's Child singer used "lascivious choreography" and barely dressed backup dancers.