I spent last week in Hollywood with long-time clients and friends Grey DeLisle and Miss Pamela Des Barres which one would imagine to be enough glitz and glamour and rock and roll to do ya but NOPE, Grey brought me a surprise, sure he would be a great fit for my roster and lo and BEHOLD, she knows me well. Not a huge fan of tributes, I would never have discovered him on my own so I really got lucky! In addition to rounding out our shared fun with his funny, witty and sweet natural personality, he writes, records and plays beautiful music of his own. To me, the best part is the collaboration between the two of them coming soon! I will not say too much yet but there will be a kids show, record and more AND an adult cabaret show so public, private and festival stage will all get a chance!!
Eddie Clendening brings with him over two decades of experienceon the stage. Having appeared with early ROCK & ROLL greats like Scotty Moore, James Burton, Pat Cupp, Hayden Thompson, Billy Lee Riley, Earl Palmer, Dale Hawkins, Gene Summers, Jimmy Lee Fautheree, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and scores of others. Contemporary musicians arealso taking notice of this explosive and handsome young front man for not only his vocals, but also his work on the electric guitar.
Eddie originated the role of, and was featured as Elvis Presley in the hit Broadway musical “The Million Dollar Quartet”, where he performed 8 shows a week to packed houses racking up over 2200 performances! He also helped create and starred in the show “Heartbreak Hotel” that is currently the only Elvis Presley stage bio endorsed by the Elvis Presley estate, SONY Music and RCA. He’s continued to be seen on stage in plays and tribute shows to many of the other greats as well, Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins to name a few. And he continues to be in demand wherever fans of ROCK & ROLL gather.
He has appeared on several ad campaigns for fashion brands like W.H. Ranch Dungarees, J.S. Sloan, and Ralph Lauren, coast to coast, prime time, and regional television programs such as, The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The View, Today Show and more. He has also been a regular voice on various satellite/AM/FM/internet radio programs.
Eddie has toured extensively and successfully with his own backing group “The Blue Ribbon Boys” in not only the U.S. but Europe, Asia, Australia, and elsewhere. He has also worked with other well known groups such as Deke Dickerson’s Ecco-Fonics, Big Sandy, The Hi-Qs, Lloyd Tripp… the list goes on and on. He has been invited to perform at dozens of international music festivals, The Rockabilly Rave, Viva Las Vegas, Hemsby, Le Blues Autour du Zinc Rockabilly and so on… not only with his own combo but also as the vocalist for the reunion of “Go Cat Go”, one then largest selling roots ROCK & ROLL groups of the 90’s who tragically lost their singer in 1993.
It seems Eddie is also beginning to get some much deserved acclaim, thanks to the release of his four studio albums to date; “Sometimes It Rains”, “Eddie Clendening Is… Walkin’ And Cryin’”, “Eddie Clendening Is… Knockin’ At Your Heart”, and “Eddie Clendening Is… The Rage Of The Teen-Age!”, as well as several singles and compilation inclusions.
Many artists beloved to us each spent 2021 creating and we each have emotions that connect easily with art. Well, I am very blessed that June of 2021 brought me the riches of JJC and I cannot wait to return the favor! Ya’ll this doll has got TALENT and my Austin AMG office would love to bring her to each and every city in North America in 2022. Enjoy~This is a performance at NAMM 2020, we cannot wIT FOR 2022!
CD Release for the Austin City Limits Tribute to Walter Hyatt. Tickets HERE!!!! and they will sell out.
The Warren Hood band will play live, with special guests to celebrate the CD of the Austin City Limits tribute to Walter Hyatt that featured David and Champ as well as Lyle Lovett, Shawn Colvin, Marcia Ball, Jimmy Dale Gilmore, Junior Brown, David Halley and Allison Moorer. It was recorded 25 years ago in October. The CD has a release date of 10/1
People ask Warren Hood a lot of questions at the end of a show – what was the name of that song you played – it sounded like Stephane Grappelli maybe, right after the Doug Sahm cover? How did you learn to play fiddle like that? Are you playing anywhere else this week? How old are you? Warren always obliges to answer all of the questions, that’s just his character (the answers are usually something like, “Black Cat”, hard work and listening to the right records, yes, definitely, and older than you think). He cares deeply about the experiences of the people who come to his shows and buy his records and works hard to create memorable live performances and albums.
Warren started playing classical violin at age 11 in the school orchestra, later studying privately with Bill Dick. He won classical music competitions, including the Pearl Amster Youth Concerto Competition and the Austin Youth Award, which gave him the opportunity to perform as a soloist on “Lalo Symphonie Espagnole” with the Austin Symphony, conducted by Peter Bay. Warren later balanced studying at Austin High with touring with Charlie Robison and the South Austin Jug Band. After high school, Warren earned a rare scholarship to Berklee College of Music where he majored in Violin Performance, played with Steven Tyler and formed an acoustic string band, Blue Light Special. At Berklee, Warren earned the coveted String Achievement Award, an award chosen by faculty to honor talent and as a vote of confidence on future success.
Leaving Berklee, Warren returned to Austin and was in demand as a sideman, playing with Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis, Alejandro Escovedo, Joe Ely, and joining The Waybacks, a band he would play with for the next ten years. Through all of this, Warren played with the South Austin Jug Band when he could, especially as a part of their Sunday night residency at Momo’s on W 6th St in Austin. When the residency ended for SAJB, Warren gathered a group of friends and took over Sunday nights under his own name, starting his first solo venture and releasing his first studio record, “Warren Hood”, an eclectic mix of both songs and legendary Austin players including Marcia Ball, Cindy Cashdollar, and Ephraim Owens.
The Momo’s Sunday residency lasted seven years and was a testing ground for Warren where he found his sound, learned how to lead a band, and gave the artists he shared the stage with space to shine – something he had plenty of experience with from the other point of view, having been a sideman for 10+ years. The way Warren ran Sunday nights had a lot in common with the residencies he grew up around in Austin – his father, Champ’s, ‘Singin for your Supper’ at Threadgill’s (Marcia Ball, Butch Hancock, Ruthie Foster, Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, Jimmie Dale Gilmore) and Toni Price’s ’Hippie Hour’ at The Continental Club.
The band Warren plays with now (Marshall Hood and Willie Pipkin on guitar, Nate Rowe on bass, and Jordan Cook on drums) is the current version of the band he started back in 2004 at Momo’s. This band plays every week at ABGB, drawing a mix of “old Austin” and newcomers, musicians and music lovers, and dancers who stay on the floor from the first to last song. The Warren Hood Band plays a mix of their own songs, classic country, and blues, with a nod towards their Texas roots with a few Uncle Walt’s
Band songs mixed in. Warren recorded “Warren Hood Band” in 2013, an album produced by Charlie Sexton and released by Red Parlor Records. A multi-instrumentalist (violin, guitar, mandolin) and accomplished singer-songwriter, Warren is described in the press a lot of different ways: “virtuoso” ”seven time Austin Music Award winner – Best Strings” ”Texas fiddler” ”Chet Baker crooner” “bluegrass picker” – but for him it all kind of blends together into everything he does (and what he does doesn’t always have fiddle). Warren says slyly that “playing different styles of music is like speaking different languages – the difference between violin and fiddle is how you roll your Rs. The more languages you speak the more people you can talk to.”
Warren’s greatest influence is certainly his father, Champ Hood. Champ was a member of Uncle Walt’s Band, an acoustic folk trio from Spartanburg, South Carolina that also included Walter Hyatt and David Ball. They moved to Austin in 1975, prime time for the zeitgeist of the Austin heyday, playing at Waterloo and the Armadillo and building a cadre of lifelong fans. Their intricate harmonies and creative songwriting inspired their contemporaries, many of whom are today’s best loved and most respected songwriters and artists, and continue to touch those who discover their records today. Warren spends as much time with his band as he does playing and recording alongside other artists: David Ball, The Bodeans, Hayes Carll, Joe Ely, Alejandro Escovedo, Robert Earl Keen, Ben Kweller, Little Feat, Lyle Lovett, Joan Osborne, Toni Price, Bob Schneider, South Austin Jug Band, Redd Volkaert, Jerry Jeff Walker The Waybacks, Bob Weir, Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis and more.
Vote For Your Favorite Albums Released In August 2021
August 2021 Favorite album poll: Vote for three. (Mine were Divine Horsemen, Cruzados and Willie Nile! You have to scroll half way down the page to see poll..
Poll is open until the end of the day September 30. Top winners will be featured in our playlists.
Albums Of The Week: Divine Horsemen | Hot Rise Of An Ice Cream Phoenix
Chris D. & Julie Christensen saddle up & hit the ground running after 33 years.
BROOKLYN VEGAN – premiered “Stony Path” audio on 7/1 https://bit.ly/3huw5hn ; and posted later that same day in New Songs Out Today roundup, 7/1. Link here
COACHELLA VALLEY WEEKLY (Palm Springs/Joshua Tree, CA) – Eleni P. Austin to review, 6/17; review ran on 9/9
REVENGE OF THE ‘80s RADIO – Chris Cordiani interviewed Chris D, 9/3. Link here
ROCK ‘N’ ROLL TRUTH – Robert Kinsler reviewed, 8/8. Link here
STAGE 1 PRESS – Bill Samaras to interview Chris 7/30
TAKE EFFECT – Tom Haugen will review, 6/17
THE ALTERNATE ROOT – posted “handful of Sand” video, 6/21. Link here
THE BIG TAKEOVER – Michael Toland reviewing (also pitching feature), 7/29; also Marcel Feldmar reviewimg, art sent, 816; Toland review ran 8/26. Link here ; premiere pitch for video, 8/27
TINNITIST – “Handful of Sand” video posted in Thursday Mixtape, 6/17. Link here ; and “Stony Path” posted in Thursday Mixtape, 7/1. Link here ; Album of the Week, 8/27. Link here ; and doing Zoom interview, 8/27
Divine Horsemen, the fiery, eclectic ’80s group that rode the unique vocal chemistry of Chris Desjardins (aka Chris D.) and Julie Christensen, return to the musical stage with Hot Rise Of An Ice Cream Phoenix. Co-produced by Desjardins and Craig Parker Adams (who engineered I Used To Be Pretty, the 2019 release by Chris D.’s groundbreaking ’70s punk band The Flesh Eaters), the new 13-track album comprises the first new music by the Horsemen in 33 years.
Founded after the dissolution of The Flesh Eaters and launched with the 1984 album Time Stands Still, billed as Chris D./Divine Horseman, the band released three albums and an EP on SST Records, all of which featured the searing harmonies of Desjardins and Christensen, who were married at the time. The couple split professionally and personally just prior to the release of their January 1988 EP A Handful of Sand. However, the two musicians remained in touch over the years, and Christensen contributed vocals to five tracks on I Used to Be Pretty, which reunited the 1980 “all-star” edition of The Flesh Eaters heard on the Ruby/Slash classic A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die. By then, the idea of reviving Divine Horsemen was already percolating.
“Julie had asked me about six or seven years ago about doing Divine Horsemen again,” Desjardins says. “I told her I wasn’t quite ready yet, though I did want to do it eventually. Then in 2015 The Flesh Eaters started doing reunion shows. In 2018 we did it some more, and we recorded the album, released it in early 2019, and we went out on tour and supported it. Since the beginning of 2018, Julie and I had been talking about Divine Horsemen again.”
Christensen — who had moved on to work with Leonard Cohen in the 1990s and release seven albums of her own work — adds, “We recorded I Used to Be Pretty in April of 2018. Previous to that we had started plans for a Divine Horsemen tour in the fall, playing older stuff. Chris had song ideas and cover ideas for a studio album — it was just kind of forming in his head. I started looking for covers, too. I did some of The Flesh Eaters ‘live’ gigs the first three months of 2019, and found out that we were getting along really well.”
The singers’ plans called for reuniting with such onetime Divine Horsemen as guitarist Peter Andrus (who had appeared on A Handful of Sand and the 1987 album Snake Handler) and bassist Robyn Jameson, who had worked with Desjardins on the majority of his recordings between 1982 and 2004. However, Jameson tragically died in 2018 following a street assault; Bobby Permanent, Andrus’ longtime musical collaborator, was recruited to take the late musician’s slot on the new recordings. Andrus is also a veteran of bands Crowbar Salvation and Detroit’s The Volebeats. Permanent (under the name Robert Pollard) has also contributed to various movie soundtracks, most notably John Cassavetes’ final film Love Streams.
The 2021 Divine Horsemen lineup is completed by drummer DJ Bonebrakeof the incomparable L.A. band X; he also was a member of the 2018 recording and 2019 touring editions of The Flesh Eaters (which also included X’s John Doe, Dave Alvin and Bill Bateman of The Blasters, and Steve Berlin of Los Lobos). Keyboardist Doug Lacy, another veteran of the Snake Handlersessions, returns to the fold; he and Christensen both later sang backup for the duo of Gaby Moreno and Van Dyke Parks, and Lacy has appeared on several of Parks’ other projects.
The release of Hot Rise Of An Ice Cream Phoenix was prefaced in late 2020 by the release of the vintage recordings Divine Horsemen ‘Live’ 1985-1987 and two Bandcamp singles: Mystery Writers, a new composition by Desjardins and Andrus, and Mind Fever Soul Fire, a song that originally appeared on Love Cannot Die, a 1995 Chris D. solo album. (A new rendition of that set’s title song is also heard as the concluding track on the new album; a high-intensity re-recording of Handful of Sand, the 1988 EP’s title number, is also featured.)
The new material on the album reflects a diversity of sources. “I wanted to mash up some European folk material,” Desjardins says of No Evil Star, a madrigal-like composition. “There are a whole bunch of sites on the internet that have public domain folk songs from Europe, specifically England, Scotland, and Ireland. These are all from the 1700s and 1800s. The music for the verse is from one folk song I found on a Celtic folk site. The words are all original. But the chorus music is not Celtic, it’s more Latin — they also had a few Spanish folk songs on there. Peter joked when we were working up that tune that it was our Jethro Tull song.”
Like Ghost Cave Lament — the sprawling number that concluded I Used to Be Pretty — both Barefoot in the Streets and Stony Path= reflect Desjardins’ ongoing fascination with Spanish flamenco. “Those songs are linked lyrically,” Desjardins says. “Stony Path is a continuation of Barefoot in the Streets. They’re both murder ballad-styled songs. The lyrics of Barefoot in the Streetsis flamenco-inspired, but the music is not really Spanish — Julie came up with the music.” Christensen says the writing of the latter number came late in the recording of the album: “Chris called and said, ‘You know, I’ve just been remiss. I feel like we should write a song together, and I have this “barefoot in the streets” idea.’ He’d already written the lyrics. He had a little bit of a melody idea, too, but not much of one — there was just the scan of it.” She adds that singing Stony Path presented some unique vocal challenges: “Flamenco singers break their voices in order to do what they do.” The song was left for the end of the album sessions, and she nailed her demanding part in a single take. Christensen is represented as a co-writer on another song, Falling Forward, written with Lathan McKay. “He’s an actor and musician who lives in Austin,” Desjardins says. “He’s also the foremost authority on Evil Knievel!”
Beyond her writing, Christensen served an invaluable function by finding outside compositions for the album. “I found a couple of covers from Tennessee writers,” the former Nashville resident says. “Any Day Now is byTim Lee and Susan Bauer Lee. They used to have a band called Tim Lee 3, he was also in a band called The Windbreakers, and now Bark. They used to get hold of Divine Horsemen LPs and hand them out to people – ‘Here, you’ve gotta hear this.’ We got to be fast friends, and their song Any Day Now just floored me. Strangers is by another Tennessee writer named Johnny Duke — he wrote it with Will Kimbrough. I originally heard it acoustically, just him and a guitar. I spoke to him after I heard him play it, and I said, ‘I don’t know if you’d be into this, but I have this band, and I’d love to try doing it with them as a Neil Young and Crazy Horse kind of thing.’”
Hot Rise Of An Ice Cream Phoenix is rounded out by a typically diverse selection of covers. 25th Floor is a Patti Smith–Ivan Kral original, heard on the 1978 album Easter. Ice Cream Phoenix was a vehicle for the vocal harmonies of Grace Slick, Marty Balin and Paul Kantner on Jefferson Airplane’s 1968 LP Crown of Creation. But the album’s greatest curiosity may be the raucous, profane Can’t You See?, an oddball tune that had obsessed Desjardins for years.
He says, “That’s a song written by Charlie Cuva and Robert Downey Sr., for Downey’s movie Pound. I’d heard that song at the Fox Venice Theatre in 1972, in the intermission of a double feature. Robert Downey Sr. had pressed up 100 or so copies of five songs from Pound to send out to independent theaters, as a promotion. It was never commercially released as a record. I had not heard it in years, and the guy who put out my book A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die sent me an MP3 of it. When the prospect came to do this album, I thought, we’ve got to do this. I played it for Julie and Peter, and they went through the roof over it.”
In all, Hot Rise Of An Ice Cream Phoenix stands as a bracing new achievement by a distinctive musical partnership that has always marched to the beat of its own drum. Like The Flesh Eaters’ recent reunion, it’s a welcome return that plays to the group’s historic strengths. “It was really good for both of us,” Desjardins says “and we really enjoyed it. There’s also — unintentionally — context in some of those songs about what happened between us as a couple.” Christensen adds, “One thing Chris has always been adept at is taking a song, and you hear the raw bones of it, and then he casts the band so well, and he runs a rehearsal like a tight ship. We would fashion these gems of songs out of rocks. He’s always been really good at directing a song toward what it’s supposed to do.”
It should be noted, in addition to producing (or co-producing) all of his Flesh Eaters and Divine Horsemen efforts, Desjardins has a modest but important legacy as an A&R man/in-house producer at Slash/Ruby Records from 1980-1984, co-producing with Tito Larriva seminal work by The Gun Club(their debut album Fire of Love), producing The Dream Syndicate (Days of Wine and Roses) and Green on Red (Gravity Talks), and mixing with Glenn Danzig and The Misfits (Walk Among Us). He also shepherded The Lazy Cowgirls on their eponymous debut. Last but not least, Desjardins produced Soulsuckers on Parade, a wildly unhinged, never-available-before-to-the-public 1984 session by Jeffrey Lee Pierce (with a backing group of then-BlastersDave Alvin, Bill Bateman, and Gene Taylor, and Green on Red’s Jack Waterson) that is only now being released in 2021 — 36 years later!”
Al Staehely is the only person on the planet who has both played Carnegie Hall and provided legal services for Stevie Ray Vaughan.
“I was in a band at the University of Texas with two law students who were older than I,” says Staehely. “We played good-paying gigs every weekend, and when it was time for me to graduate and go to med school at a college in another city, the two law students in the band said, ‘You can’t do that! You’re our lead singer and bass player. So, I started law school to keep a rock band together. I had no intention of becoming a lawyer, so when I graduated, I put the law degree in a drawer and headed to California to pursue my musical dreams.”
It didn’t take long for Staehely to begin making those dreams a reality. He arrived in Los Angeles in 1971, and a few months later he and his brother John were asked to join the critically-acclaimed band, Spirit. With Al as the band’s new lead vocalist, bass player, and chief songwriter – and with brother John taking over lead guitar duties from Randy California – Spirit recorded their fifth album, ‘Feedback,’ in November of 1971.
“John and I brought a little Texas flavor to the band that didn’t exist before,” Al told the Houston Chronicle’s Andrew Dansby. “It wasn’t anything we tried to do. It’s just the way we were. The way we were writing, the way he played, and the way I sang.” Critic Joe Viglione defined the band’s new sound as “a fusion of pop/jazz/rock with a dab of country.” He also called ‘Feedback’ “a phenomenal reinvention of Spirit.”
When Spirit splintered (but not before a successful tour that included the aforementioned performance at Carnegie Hall), Al and John formed a group appropriately named the Staehely Brothers, releasing the album ‘Sta-Hay-Lee’ on Epic Records in 1973.
It was another album that received good reviews, but the act was short-lived. When his brother John got an offer to join Elektra Records act Jo Jo Gunne – a band whose albums had consistently hit the charts – Al decided it was time to go it alone.
Having written the majority of the songs on both ‘Feedback’ and ‘Sta-Hay-Lee,’ Al began focusing on his writing talents, getting cuts by Bobbie Gentry, Marty Balin and Keith Moon, among others.
Not giving up on his dreams of releasing an album under his own name, Staehely recorded many tracks in LA between 1974 and 1978, working with a collection of first-rate musicians that included Steve Cropper, Jim Horn, Snuffy Walden, and Pete Sears.
Between sessions, Staehely headlined clubs in L.A. and NYC, opened concerts for The Moody Blues and Hot Tuna, did sessions for Keith Moon’s solo LP, and toured with Chris Hillman.
In 1980, Staehely returned to Texas and pulled his law degree out of the drawer Lawyer by day- musician by night, Al did shows with Roy Orbison, Jefferson Starship, Emmy Lou Harris –two European tours with John Cipollina and Nick Gravenitis (of Quicksilver Messenger Service and Electric Flag, respectively) documented by the LP, ‘Monkey Medicine,’ recorded in Hamburg which featured three of Al’s songs. Back in Texas, he even played a show with Rodney Dangerfield! Just as he was beginning to build his practice, Polydor Records came calling, and in 1982 ‘Stahaley’s Comet,’ Al’s long-awaited solo record, was released – but only in Europe.
His impressive array of music industry clients and fatherhood kept him busy for a couple of decades, but the urge to make music has never left.
In 2011, SteadyBoy Records oversaw the first US release of the Polydor LP, with the new title, ‘Al Staehely and 10k Hours.’ In 2013, ‘Cadillac Cowboys,’ an EP by Al Staehely and the Explosives, was also released on SteadyBoy. In more recent years, he has returned to the studio, as well as playing live – frequently with his brother John, Freddie Steady Krc, keyboardist Mike Rosenbaum. and sax player Evelyn Rubio. At long last, Al Staehely the lawyer is once again Al Staehely the singer/songwriter/bass player – back to give the world his music from the past, as well as the music he continues to make today, including a new album recorded in Marfa with Fran Christina (drums), Scrappy Jud Newcomb (guitar), and Chris Maresh (bass)
This fall, Al will release solo recordings from his days in Los Angeles descriptively titled ‘Post Spirit 1974-1978 Vol. 1.’ The initial focus track is the recently unearthed gem “Wide Eyed and Innocent”, along with a new version of the song- a sneak preview from the Marfa sessions.
The Song Will Be Featured On Upcoming Release Of Rare Solo Recordings ‘Post Spirit 1974-1978 Vol. 1.
While being known as the primary songwriter and singer of the rock act Spirit and The Staehely Brothers, Staehely had a lengthy career writing songs for acts such as Keith Moon, Bobbie Gentry, Patti Dahlstrom, Nick Gravenites, John Cipollina, Marty Balin, Peter Cox and Hodges, James & Smith and many others. And of course, Staehely is still writing and performing music to this day and looking forward to touring.
A printed copy of a negative COVID-19 test result will be required to attend ACL Festival 2021. The negative COVID-19 printed test result must be obtained within 72 hours (3 days) of attending ACL Festival.
Patrons who are fully vaccinated may show proof of full COVID-19 vaccination instead of proof of negative test. Information related to masks will be released closer to the festival dates.
BONNAROO
Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival implemented a policy requiring 2021 festival-goers to show vaccination proof or a negative COVID-19 test in order to enter “Centeroo,” the heartbeat of the expansive event grounds.
The last day to vaccinate is 8.19 to clear entry.
BOTTLEROCK
At BottleRock 2021, upon entry we are requiring all guests to:
1. Provide proof that they are fully vaccinated against Covid-19. or 2. Provide proof of a negative Covid-19 test. The test must have been taken within 72 hours of each day you are attending. 3-day ticket holders may be tested Thursday, September 2nd or Friday, September 3rd for their negative result to be honored on all three festival days.
Documentation will be checked daily upon entry. A photo of your vaccination card or negative test result saved to your phone is sufficient.
To pick up your Artist credential packet for BottleRock 2021, you will need to present the following:Proof of full vaccination (present actual vaccination card, or a photo of vaccination card for each name that appears on the credential list)
A negative Covid-19 test result for each unvaccinated person within your group. The negative test will need to have been conducted within 72-hours of your Artist’s performance time.
BRISTOL RHYTHM & ROOTS
The fest said it won’t require proof of vaccination or negative test.
In a statement to Rolling Stone, a festival spokesperson said, “As it stands, Bristol Rhythm & Roots is prohibited from enacting a vaccination/negative test policy per Tennessee law. As a public event that utilizes multiple downtown businesses and vendors rather than a private venue/site, the stipulations surrounding our event protocols are unique.”
Organizers said they will encourage patrons to get vaccinated and request that the unvaccinated get a test before attending, while providing masks at the festival gates as well as hand sanitizing and hand washing stations throughout.
Provide proof that you are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In order to be considered “fully vaccinated” you must receive your final vaccine dose 14 days prior to your entry date* or;
Provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test. Negative test must be obtained within the 72 hours leading up to Life is Beautiful. 3-day ticket holders may be tested Thursday, September 16th or Friday, September 17th for their negative result to be honored on all three festival days. Unvaccinated guests MUST wear a mask throughout their time at the festival.
A COVID-19 vaccination or negative COVID-19 test result will be required to attend Summerfest 2021, including the Wednesday Weekend Preview concerts held at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater.
PAST:
LOLLAPALOOZA
A COVID-19 vaccination or proof of test within 72 hours
ROLLING LOUD No known Covid precautions
PROMOTERS
For AEG, these regulations take effect Oct. 1. Live Nation’s mandate initially excluded the audience — it left that determination up to the artist. The company caught heat for that choice, and shifted course — now requiring a vax passport or negative COVID test of its audience members at its fully owned and operated venues.
Will require proof of vaccination for entry into all its owned and operated clubs, theatres, and festivals. Its vaccination policy will go into full effect nationwide no later than Oct. 1.
LIVE NATION
Vaccines are going to be your ticket back to shows, and as of Oct. 4, we will be following the model we developed for Lollapalooza and requiring this for artists, fans and employees at Live Nation venues and festivals everywhere possible in the U.S.,” Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino said in a statement.
GOLDENVOICE “Due to the ongoing fight against COVID-19 in Los Angeles County, guests at indoor venues will be required to wear a face covering that covers both the nose and mouth at all times regardless of vaccination status except when actively eating or drinking. Gaiters, bandanas, and coverings with exhalation vents are prohibited: a face shield still requires a face covering. Guests unable to wear proper face coverings will not be admitted into the venue.”
KISS Postpone Shows, Including Summerfest After Gene Simmons Contracts COVID-19
8/28
Harry Styles announced his North American tour starting on September 4th. Everyone in attendance will be required to wear a mask and provide either proof of vaccination or a negative test.
Don Toliver’s North American tour with BIA will kick off on September 20th.
With the rise of the Delta variant, Covid-19 has been taking its toll on the live music scene; New Orleans Jazz Fest announced it was scratching its plans to return this October due to “the current exponential growth of new Covid cases in New Orleans and the region,”
Limp Bizkit and pop singer Michael Bublé canceled all their August show
Lynyrd Skynyrd nixed four shows (in Ohio, Mississippi, Georgia, and Alabama) after guitarist Rickey Medlocke tested positive for Covid-19.
Earlier this summer I was thrilled to add artist, Morris Mills to my official roster. We spent a few months getting to each other via consulting and daily interaction. He is a prince among men and a gifted artist. Join us on his rise via radio play and live shows. Get a sneak peek here with Automatic.
My super-power has always been to hold on tight to my belief system while negotiating the slippery slopes of the music business of the past 3 decades. I have been blessed to attract clients and partners (sponsors and colleagues) who dance the same path. We are happy, healthy collaborators in the music biz. Cool, right?
Takeaways
How to stay true to yourself and clients in the ever-changing current that is our beloved industry.
How do collaborate with like-minded colleagues to make the most of individual assets .
PANELPICKER VOTING CLOSE PanelPicker voting will close on Thursday, August 26 (11:59 PM PT). After voting closes, we need several weeks to review these results along with Staff and Advisory Board grades. Cast Your Vote
FIRST PROGRAMMING ANNOUNCEMENT In mid-October, we will announce the majority of our accepted programming for the 2022 Conference on the SXSW website. You will be notified of the status of your proposal during this week.
QUESTIONS We strongly encourage you to visit the PanelPicker FAQ. Most PanelPicker-related questions are answered there.
“Well, the place was packed and there was a gal named Roggie in the audience. She had a booking agency called RajiWorld. I’d heard of her through my friends in a band called Dash Rip Rock. The Rugburns and Dash were close pals and had done a few tours together through the Midwest.So Roggie (pronounced Raji) says to me. “Hey I’m Roggie. I liked your show. Do you have an agent?”“Yeah, but I’m not that happy with em. They don’t really know how to book small clubs. It’s not really in their wheelhouse so I’m not working enough. I wanna play every dive bar in America.”So Roggie says “why don’t we meet up for breakfast tomorrow? Meet me at The Four Seasons.”“The Four Seasons???”So we went to brekkie and sealed the deal right there. I left CAA and signed on to RajiWorld. From huge to boutique.So Roggie proceeded to book me everywhere. I was never home. I got my wish. I played houses bars and cafes. Anywhere. Insane asylums, prisons, picnics, weddings, old folks homes etc. I owe a lot to her. We strategized and commiserated and made a little cash. It was a blast. I still keep in touch with her today. I love her.Now it’s 2019. Yikes. Where did the time go. My hair ain’t the color it once was but I’m still out there.8 billion gigs later and here I am getting ready to head out to Florida for some shows.”Feeling grateful. – Steve Poltz
Roggie, thank you again for joining the Festivals panel. It ended up being such a rich discussion! My favorite part about your participation was how your loving spirit shone through so richly. Your balance of brass-tacks business savvy and soul-deep positive regard for others is so beautiful to witness. Your example reminds me to be my best self, and I am sure you have that effect on many others as well. Looking forward to seeing you again soon! -Debbie Stanley
Roggie ”LIVES” for her artists and 24/7 isn’t a time frame that ever has enough time for what she gives to her love of music.—Michael Plen
Roggie has years of experience and credibility in the Austin music world wearing multiple hats that span music, community and local businesses. Working with her would potentially offer valuable exposure to many facets of the business that relate to artist representation (including but not limited to booking, promotion, publicity, branding/cross-branding, event producing, management, mentorship, strategic planning).” – Trish Murphy
“The lovely Roggie Baer is a consummate professional who puts her heart, soul, talent and professionalism behind any project she’s involved with. Not only does she have a vast network of colleagues, but she also embraces making new connections. I am proud supporter of her work and look forward to collaborating with Ms. Baer on future projects. Most Sincerely, Celeste Quesada
On this Friday, I’d like a standing ovation for Roggie Baer and all the work she did to make the Music Awards shine with stars this year. She started out on the show a few years ago by pulling together the style elements of the show, but this year she knocked herself out by assembling a collection of many of the musicians who have been so near and dear to my heart for nearly four decades. This from a woman who also puts together showcases and parties during the conference, and keeps her own RajiWorld business together. In fact, she has a showcase going on today at the Ginger Man that’s got more than a few folks I love too, including my beloved friends in the Fleshtones. Thank you, my beautiful friend!” – Margaret Moser, Director of The Austin Music Awards
“I needed a booking agent for an up and coming artist (at the time), Rufus Wainwright – I needed someone who could book large clubs and theaters on a residency tour for him without much radio play or giant ticket buys… Roggie did it! The tour was well planned, utilized the top venues and was more cost effective in building a usable fan base for Rufus than any other option we explored. I would hire Roggie again for any project – she produced results, was easy to work with; had great customer service, attention to detail and our ROI exceeded our goals.” – Sue Naramore, Geffen Records and Dreamworks Records Tour Coordination
“Roggie is not only a primo booking agent, taking care of biz on every level, and going the distance for her clients. She’s also blessed with a sense of style and community. Her annual SXSW party says it all — elegantly appointed, cordially catered and a mandatory hang for everyone cool in the music business. I feel very fortunate to be a citizen of Raji’s world.” Cary Baker, Owner, conqueroo
“Roggie is an amazing force for music in the Austin community! She truly cares about her artists, about making Austin a great place for musicians to live, and about helping her artists get the recognition – nationally and globally – that they deserve.” Traci Hughes, Recruiter – Digital, Social, Interactive; Founder, Third Coast Search
“Roggie’s very tuned in to the music scene in Austin and elsewhere, and has vast experience as a promoter and booking agent. She writes great newsletters, too, keeping clients, colleagues and friends up-to-date on all of her acts — and has organized and hosted one of SXSW’s hottest parties for years. She knows how to make deals that protect her artists and keep her clients happy.” Lynne Margolis, music writer/editor
She’s a veteran of the music business and you won’t be able to find an agent who works harder for her clients. Since then I’ve been lucky enough to get to know Roggie and her family on a more personal level, and I am pleased to say that they are wonderful people as well.” John Cole, Owner, Clubland Records
“Roggie’s passion for her clients is absolutely amazing! Every artist she works for gains an incredible amount of recognition just by having her on the team. She’s an outgoing, knowledgeable, and spunky booking agent – a true powerhouse in Austin’s music scene!” – Jenni Finlay, Owner, Jenni Finlay Promotions
“Roggie is one of the rare finds who is passionate about her work, knows what she likes and gets results for her clients. Not to mention her great attitude and personality!” Rob Bleetstein, Americana Editor, The Gavin Report
“I’ve have known and worked with Roggie from the time she created RajiWorld Productions. She is driven by both a passion for her artists and an expert knowledge of her industry. Raji is simply the best!” -Dusty Wakeman, Producer
“Roggie is experienced, charming, and totally professional. Highly recommended.” – Barry Simons“Always pleasant to deal with, Roggie knows her business well and has an excellent sense of artists needs. She’s one of the true gems in the music industry.” – Chris Porter , Programming Director, One Reel, Hardley Strictly Bluegrass
“Roggie is a consummate professional. Calm under pressure, always pleasant and task oriented no matter how much the heat is poured on. She’s very organized and prepared and a sheer joy to work with.” -Scarlett Angell, Assistant Director Austin Music Awards
“Roggie has long been a leader in the Austin music industry. She has extensive experience working for others and in managing her own agency. She is a trusted source for consulting and innovative solutions in the touring industry.” Craig Barker, Attorney, Law Office of Craig Barker
“Roggie Baer is a creative, honest, dependable representatie for her clients. She works hard to accommodate a venue or promoter’s needs as well as those of her clients. Roggie is also very generous with her time & talent in volunteering for community affairs & fundraisers. She is someone who makes a difference. And, Roggie Baer is someone I always look forward to working with!” – Dianne Scott The Continental Club, Austin TX
“My name is Steve Poltz and Roggie has booked me on about a gazillion national tours across the USA. We have worked together for years and it is not hyperbole to say that I wouldn’t have the career I’ve had without her help. She toiled to build my touring base in a creative way that very few people could ever dream of doing. Her hard work and diligence were an energetic force of nature. I am sad that she is going in another direction but I will use many of the things she taught me about being a successful troubadour. She basically gave me a career and for that I am forever grateful. Khabele is very lucky to have her and I wish her nothing but continued success. ¡Viva Roggie! With love and kindness,” – Steve Poltz
Thank you Roggie! You believed in me when few people even knew my name, much less my voice. Your heart and integrity have been a real blessing in my life and I’m glad to count you a dear friend. Much love and happiness to you!”- Nakia
“Roggie was great to work with and was always looking for a creative solution. Made a great member of the team.” Dale Brock , Smile Smile Manager
“Whether it’s music or events Roggie is always very professional. Her advice and suggestions have always been a good match. I will look forward to working with her in the future.” David Whitney , Director of Operations, Threadgill’s Restaurant
“Roggie is one of the first to inspire me to think “Austin has finally gotten into the real music business” Thanks for all you do and are doing” Mark Younger-Smith, Owner, Marked Man Music
“Roggie is a creative soul organizer. She see’s a need and connects creatives for always bankable results. Her charm, wit, joy for life and business savvy always come together for remarkable results. In a heartbeat I’d jump at the chance to work with here again… There is only one Roggie Baer, and I’m proud to call her a kindred. VIVA ROGGIE!” – Ricardo “r/ace” Acevedo, Graphic Designer & Photographer, In the RA / RAWorx Creative
“Roggie is a great woman to have on your team. She works extremely hard for the clients that she represents and does so with humor, grace and a can-do, positive attitude. Roggie is a veteran in the music industry and I would proudly recommend her to anyone in need of an agent.” – Trish Wagner, Advertising Sales and Marketing Assistant, No Depression Magazine“
Roggie volunteered for me at SXSW…. quite some time ago. She had just relocated into Austin and came to me seeking a non-standard volunteer arrangement, something meatier that she could sink her teeth into. She managed our out-of-towner volunteer housing arrangements and as such, provided them with a Texas-style welcome wagon – complete with every bit of info that any new comer could ever want about Austin. She excelled in that role and we were very grateful that she took the task and made it her own, and made it a special welcome to a large team of newcomers to the SXSW Volunteerbase. I’d work with her again in a heartbeat!” -Peggy Ellithorpe, Senior Volunteer Manager, SXSW“
I am writing to share some important updates as more virulent strains of COVID 19 spread.
While not universal, a growing number of venues are expressing understandable concern about the evolving situation and taking measures to keep artists, crew, and patrons safe. Some are doing this on their own, while others are mandated by evolving local and state regulations. We care about our clients and their fans as well as the venues full of staff we adore.
An increasing number are now requiring official proof of full vaccination or a negative approved test within 48-72 hours of the performance. Note that in-home tests that do not require sending a sample to a lab do not provide a certificate and often do not qualify as an approved test.
1) Make checking COVID rules a part of every event you attend and recheck them with the venue a few days before the date. Mandates are changing hourly.
2) Get vaccinated. It is the only real protection for you, your family, and your favorite artists.
3) Every band and crew must have official proof of vaccination with them at all times. We take this very seriously, so please wear an approved N95 mask at all times unless eating or performing. A growing number of venues and localities are requiring masks even if you are vaccinated.
4) Test if you are worried about exposure, as well as when you get home so you know that you are safe and if not, can plan accordingly.
We will get through this together, but we all need to do our part.
When the music stopped in March 2020, many of our local musicians turned to other creative outlets to ease their mind and to help them stay mentally healthy.
Discovering that many fellow musicians and friends turned to creating art during the pandemic, Justin Douglas of King Electric Recording decided to gather this art and auction it off to support SIMS.Thus, the SIMS Electric Art Party & Online Auction was born!The online auction is live now through July 24th and features over 30 musicians/artists participating including Grace Rowland of The Deer, Dorian Colbert of Leopold and His Fiction, Justin Douglas of Royal Forest, Jonathan Horstmann of Urban Heat, Benjamin Violet of Pelvis Wrestley, Bob Schneider, Seela Misra, Peelander-Z, and more!Check out the amazing art, get your bids in, and support SIMS in the process!
Join us on July 24th from 4-7pm for a wrap-up party at Mohawk to view the art in person, keep bidding on items you just have to have, meet some of the artists and enjoy live music, live painting, drink specials, Odd Pop artisan popsicles, and all around good vibes to raise awareness and funds for SIMS.Hosted by Trevor Scott of CBS Austin’s ‘We Are Austin’, the event features music from Akina Adderley and Frederico7, and live painting by Gabriel Portillo.All ages, no cover. Donation-based entry at the door. You can also donate by texting SIMS to 44321 or by visiting simsfoundation.org/donate.
Join atxGALS + The Cathedral for Summer Fest, an intimate concert series surrounded by a diverse art exhibit. Enjoy intimate performances by top local musicians in a one-of-a-kind setting. Tickets include individual or lounge seating and open bar. A portion of ticket sales will benefit local Organization Creative Action.Schedule:-Thursday, July 15 | 7-10 PM Lady Dan + Sheridan Reed [GET TICKETS]Friday, July 16 | 7-10 PM Keith Sanders + Zach Person [GET TICKETS]Saturday, July 17 | 3-6PM Akina Adderley + Ray Prim [GET TICKETS]Saturday, July 17 | 8-11PM | Finale Quentin Arispe + Daniel Sahad of Nané [GET TICKETS]Tickets:-General Admission + Front Row ticket prices are per person – tickets include event entry and a complimentary open bar-Lounge and table tickets are per group – tickets include event entry, an open bar and complimentary pre-prepared bites. For special requests please email info@thecathedralatx.com.
The Cathedral events help support local artists, musicians, women-owned businesses and Organizations with a focus on equality and human rights.
LIMITED EDITION ON COLOR VINYL. FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED. NO GUARENTEES. STARTS SHIPPING AUGUST 2021.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Divine Horsemen, the fiery, eclectic ’80s group that rode the unique vocal chemistry of Chris Desjardins (a.k.a. Chris D.) and Julie Christensen, return to the musical stage with Hot Rise of an Ice Cream Phoenix, a collection of all-new recordings, on In the Red Records on August 27.
Co-produced by Desjardins and Craig Parker Adams (who engineered I Used to Be Pretty, the 2019 release by Chris D.’s groundbreaking ’70s punk band the Flesh Eaters), the new 13-track album comprises the first new music by the Horsemen in 33 years.
Founded after the dissolution of the Flesh Eaters and launched with the 1984 Enigma Records album Time Stands Still, billed as Chris D./Divine Horseman, the band released three albums and an EP on SST Records, all of which featured the searing harmonies of Desjardins and Christensen, who were married at the time. The couple split professionally and personally just prior to the release of their January 1988 EP A Handful of Sand.
However, the two musicians remained in touch over the years, and Christensen contributed vocals to five tracks on I Used to Be Pretty, which reunited the 1980 “all-star” edition of the Flesh Eaters heard on the Ruby/Slash classic A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die. By then, the idea of reviving Divine Horsemen was already percolating.
“Julie had asked me about six or seven years ago about doing Divine Horsemen again,” Desjardins says. “I told her I wasn’t quite ready yet, though I did want to do it eventually. Then in 2015 the Flesh Eaters started doing reunion shows. In 2018 we did it some more, and we recorded the album, released it in early 2019, and we went out on tour and supported it. Since the beginning of 2018, Julie and I had been talking about Divine Horsemen again.”
Christensen — who had moved on to work with Leonard Cohen in the 1990s and release seven albums of her own work — adds, “We recorded I Used to Be Pretty in April of 2018. Previous to that we had started plans for a Divine Horsemen tour in the fall, playing older stuff. Chris had song ideas and cover ideas for a studio album — it was just kind of forming in his head. I started looking for covers, too. I did some of the Flesh Eaters ‘live’ gigs the first three months of 2019, and found out that we were getting along really well.”
The singers’ plans called for reuniting with such onetime Divine Horsemen as guitarist Peter Andrus, who had appeared on A Handful of Sand and the 1987 album Snake Handler, and bassist Robyn Jameson, who had worked with Desjardins on the majority of his recordings between 1982 and 2004. However, Jameson tragically died in 2018 following a street assault; Bobby Permanent, Andrus’ longtime musical collaborator, was recruited to take the late musician’s slot on the new recordings. Andrus is also a veteran of bands Crowbar Salvation and Detroit’s the Volebeats. Permanent (under the name Robert Pollard) has also contributed to various movie soundtracks, most notably John Cassavetes’ final film, Love Streams.
The 2021 Divine Horsemen lineup is completed by drummer DJ Bonebrake of the incomparable L.A. band X; he also was a member of the 2018 recording and 2019 touring editions of the Flesh Eaters (which also included X’s John Doe, Dave Alvin and Bill Bateman of the Blasters, and Steve Berlin of Los Lobos). Keyboardist Doug Lacy, another veteran of the Snake Handler sessions, returns to the fold; he and Christensen both later sang backup for the duo of Gaby Moreno and Van Dyke Parks, and Lacy has appeared on several of Parks’ other projects.
The release of Hot Rise of an Ice Cream Phoenix was prefaced in late 2020 by Feeding Tube Records’ package of unreleased vintage recordings Divine Horsemen ‘Live’ 1985-1987 and two Bandcamp singles, “Mystery Writers,” a new composition by Desjardins and Andrus, and “Mind Fever Soul Fire,” a song that originally appeared on Love Cannot Die, a 1995 Chris D. solo album issued by Sympathy for the Record Industry. (A new rendition of that set’s title song is also heard as the concluding track on the new album; a high-intensity re-recording of “Handful of Sand,” the 1988 EP’s title number, is also featured.)
The new material on the album reflects a diversity of sources.
“I wanted to mash up some European folk material,” Desjardins says of “No Evil Star,” a madrigal-like composition. “There are a whole bunch of sites on the internet that have public domain folk songs from Europe, specifically England, Scotland, and Ireland. These are all from the 1700s and 1800s. The music for the verse is from one folk song I found on a Celtic folk site. The words are all original. But the chorus music is not Celtic, it’s more Latin — they also had a few Spanish folk songs on there. Peter joked when we were working up that tune that it was our Jethro Tull song.”
Like “Ghost Cave Lament” — the sprawling number that concluded I Used to Be Pretty — both “Barefoot in the Streets” and “Stony Path” reflect Desjardins’ ongoing fascination with Spanish flamenco.
“Those songs are linked lyrically,” Desjardins says. “‘Stony Path’ is a continuation of ‘Barefoot in the Streets.’ They’re both murder ballad-styled songs. The lyrics of ‘Barefoot in the Streets’ is flamenco-inspired, but the music is not really Spanish — Julie came up with the music.”
Christensen says the writing of the latter number came late in the recording of the album: “Chris called and said, ‘You know, I’ve just been remiss. I feel like we should write a song together, and I have this “barefoot in the streets” idea.’ He’d already written the lyrics. He had a little bit of a melody idea, too, but not much of one — there was just the scan of it.”
She adds that singing “Stony Path” presented some unique vocal challenges: “Flamenco singers break their voices in order to do what they do.” The song was left for the end of the album sessions, and she nailed her demanding part in a single take.
Christensen is represented as a co-writer on another song, “Falling Forward,” written with Lathan McKay. “He’s an actor and musician who lives in Austin,” Desjardins says. “He’s also the foremost authority on Evil Knievel!”
Beyond her writing, Christensen served an invaluable function by finding outside compositions for the album.
“I found a couple of covers from Tennessee writers,” the former Nashville resident says. “‘Any Day Now’ is by Tim Lee and Susan Bauer Lee. They used to have a band called Tim Lee 3, he was also in a band called the Windbreakers, and now Bark. They used to get hold of Divine Horseman LPs and hand them out to people – ‘Here, you’ve gotta hear this.’ We got to be fast friends, and their song ‘Any Day Now’ just floored me.
“‘Strangers’ is by another Tennessee writer named Johnny Duke — he wrote it with Will Kimbrough. I originally heard it acoustically, just him and a guitar. I spoke to him after I heard him play it, and I said, ‘I don’t know if you’d be into this, but I have this band, and I’d love to try doing it with them as a Neil Young and Crazy Horse kind of thing.’”
Hot Rise of an Ice Cream Phoenix is rounded out by a typically diverse selection of covers. “25th Floor” is a Patti Smith-Ivan Kral original, heard on the 1978 album Easter. “Ice Cream Phoenix” was a vehicle for the vocal harmonies of Grace Slick, Marty Balin, and Paul Kantner on Jefferson Airplane’s 1968 LP Crown of Creation. But the album’s greatest curiosity may be the raucous, profane “Can’t You See?,” an oddball tune that had obsessed Desjardins for years.
He says, “That’s a song written by Charlie Cuva and Robert Downey Sr., for Downey’s movie Pound. I’d heard that song at the Fox Venice Theatre in 1972, in the intermission of a double feature. Robert Downey Sr. had pressed up 100 or so copies of five songs from Pound to send out to independent theaters, as a promotion. It was never commercially released as a record. I had not heard it in years, and the guy who put out my book A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die sent me an MP3 of it. When the prospect came to do this album, I thought, we’ve got to do this. I played it for Julie and Peter, and they went through the roof over it.”
In all, Hot Rise of an Ice Cream Phoenix stands as a bracing new achievement by a distinctive musical partnership that has always marched to the beat of its own drum. Like the Flesh Eaters’ recent reunion, it’s a welcome return that plays to the group’s historic strengths.
“It was really good for both of us,” Desjardins says “and we really enjoyed it. There’s also — unintentionally — context in some of those songs about what happened between us as a couple.” Christensen adds, “One thing Chris has always been adept at is taking a song, and you hear the raw bones of it, and then he casts the band so well, and he runs a rehearsal like a tight ship. We would fashion these gems of songs out of rocks. He’s always been really good at directing a song toward what it’s supposed to do.”
It should be noted, in addition to producing (or co-producing) all of his Flesh Eaters and Divine Horsemen efforts, Desjardins has a modest but important legacy as an A&R man/in-house producer at Slash/Ruby Records from 1980-1984, co-producing with Tito Larriva seminal work by the Gun Club (their debut album, Fire of Love), producing the Dream Syndicate (Days of Wine and Roses) and Green on Red (Gravity Talks), and mixing with Glenn Danzig the Misfits (Walk Among Us). He also shepherded the Lazy Cowgirls on their eponymous debut (released through Enigma subsidiary Restless Records in 1985). Last but not least, Desjardins produced Soulsuckers on Parade, a wildly unhinged, never-available-before-to-the-public 1984 session by Jeffrey Lee Pierce (with a backing group of then-Blasters Dave Alvin, Bill Bateman, and Gene Taylor, and Green on Red’s Jack Waterson) that is only now being released in 2021 by Minky Records — 36 years later!
I am thrilled to announce that clients Akina Adderley + Anastasia Hera have been added to the Recording Academy Class of 2021!!
Recording Academy Bolsters Membership With 2,710 Music Creators And Professionals Invited
Facebook (opens in a new tab)Twitter (opens in a new tab)Email The membership invitations are a reflection of the Recording Academy’s commitment to excellence and further growing its robust membership body and also reaffirm the organization’s recognition of the important contributions of music peopleMEMBERSHIP JUN 28, 2021 – 6:00 AM
Today, the Recording Academy extended membership invitations to 2,710 established music professionals from wide-ranging backgrounds, genres and disciplines. The invitations are a reflection of the Recording Academy’s commitment to excellence and further growing its robust membership body. The invitations also reaffirm the Recording Academy’s recognition of the important contributions of music people to influence progressive changes within the music industry.
The 2021 class of invitees is 48% female, 32% Black or African American+, 13% Hispanic or Latino/a/x+, and 4% Asian or Pacific Islander+. The Academy’s existing membership represents 26% female and 27% from traditionally underrepresented groups. Since setting the goal of adding 2,500 women voting members by 2025, 831 women have joined the Recording Academy’s voting membership, putting the organization 33% closer to reaching that milestone.
To celebrate the new class of invitees, the Recording Academy is activating across its social channels, giving the music industry and music fans a look into what it means to be a member of the Recording Academy. New invitees will be featured across Instagram Reels, Voice Tweets and Instagram Lives hosted by Recording Academy staff and executives. Activations can be followed on the official Recording Academy Instagram(opens in a new tab) and Twitter(opens in a new tab) pages.
Morris Mills is an artist who treats the artificial boundaries between genres, as well as those between secular and sacred like speed bumps – he knows that they are there but he does not allow those boundaries to deter him. Mills was born in Greenville, Texas and raised in Chicago and those two musical hotbeds where genres like country, blues, funk, soul, jazz and Latin music bump up against each other informed a musical personality that is at one rebellious and reverent and constantly in pursuit of his own personal musical truth.
Over the course of six studio albums released since 2005, the pursuit of the ultimate personal musical, spiritual and political truths lead Mills to evolve artistically. His first project “Love and Coffee” was an R&B record that incorporated elements of funk and hints of the guitar god rock that he would embrace on later records, like 2019’s “The Dawn” and “The Revival,” a project released during the pandemic year of 2020.
Those divergent project were produced by one man for whom evolution has been the one constant in his artistic life. Mills has always been an artist who keeps his audience guessing. Mills will create a hard charging, rock influenced gospel tune like “Revival” and then drop a cover of the hedonistic Prince classic “Uptown.” Where some with limited vision will see this as hypocrisy, Mills focuses on the connective tissue of spiritual freedom of social expectations and norms the bind secular and sacred philosophies. That is the kind of deep insight that enlivened the art of the late great Prince Rogers Nelson, the Mills cites as his greatest musical influence.
Mills is an artist constantly on the move, and in an industry that rewards those with a follow the pack mentality, that kind of adventurous spirit carries risks. But the brave souls who stay for the all the artistic, spiritual and emotional twists and turns will be better for experiencing the ride.
Morris writes, produces ,arranges and composes. His live shows are impeccable.
Morris is out now, can be found on Amazon, Spotify, iTunes, and Google Play Music.
Veteran talent agent Roggie Baer revealed that she is merging her longtime agency RajiWorld with independent talent agency Atomic Music Group.
Roggie Baer
As part of the deal, Baer will bring her extensive client roster, which includes Naomi Achu, That Carolina Sound, Headcat 13, Flam Chen, The Divine Horsemen, Akina Adderly, Honeysuckle Sage Riders, and Warren Hood among others to AMG.
As well, the deal includes RajiWorld’s endorsements and brand sponsorships business to AMG, and will serve as the agency’s North American Director of Partnerships following the merger.
One of the largest independent talent agencies in the U.S., Atomic Music Group is based in Los Angeles and maintains regional offices in Austin, Nashville and Torotono.
Roggie Baer’s full roster
Akina Adderly Anastasia Hera Bill Elm/Friends of Dean Martinez Chris Stamey Danny B Harvey and Annie Lewis The Divine Horseman Flam Chen Grey Delisle-Griffin Headcat 13 Hector Ward & The Bigtime Honeysuckle Sage Riders Julie Christensen Laser Spectacles, Inc Morris Mills Nakia Naomi Achu Ryan Hamilton & The Harlequin Ghosts Sly Curtis That Carolina Sound Warren Hood
Catch Austin-based rap artist and vocalist Anastasia Hera at the Keyz Street Block Party on Saturday, July 3, at Empire Garage (606 E. Seventh St., Austin, Texas) Anastasia will hit the stage at 8:10 p.m. – for tickets and more information, seehere. For more on Anastasia, visit www.anastasiahera.com, and for a recent performance by Anastasia with her band The Heroes, see here. For media RSVPs to Anastasia’s July 3 show, or general press inquiries, contact:joseph@juiceconsulting.com and to book your own follow up show, contact roggie@rajiworld.com
TOO much to recap. I feel like history was made at this one with so much change to the future of our industry and a much smaller group than in the past, plus the addition of the apps like Clubhouse and our year of introspection and education. My favorite bits will surely come to the service but I will never forget the hugs!
Schreiner University is about to kick off its Sunday Afternoon Songwriters concert series at the new Trailhead complex on the Schreiner campus, with the debut show featuring Texas songwriting legend Shake Russell on the afternoon of June 13.
The shows will be mostly every other Sunday afternoon, from 2:30 to 5:00 PM. Schreiner Songkeeper Bill Muse, a veteran singer/songwriter in his own right, will host the series, featuring a different guest artist for each show. Muse has taken advantage of his long association with touring performing songwriters from across the country to put together an impressive lineup, including:
Shake Russell (Houston) – June 13
Johnny Chops (Austin) – June 27
Dana Cooper (Nashville) – July 11
Warren Hood (Austin) – July 25
The Flyin A’s (Austin) – August 8
Bernice Lewis (western Mass) – August 15
Terri Hendrix and Lloyd Maines (Texas Hill Country) – August 29
Doug Wintch (Salt Lake City) and Ken Gaines (Houston) – September 12
Michael Bowers and Siobhan Quinn (Austin) – September 19
Steve Fisher (northeast Texas and Oklahoma) and Bernice Lewis (western Mass) – September 26
Michael McNevin (SF Bay area, California) – October 10
Buddy Mondlock (Nashville) – October 24
The series will demonstrate the ethos of the Schreiner Songkeeper program, that is the preservation and support of the indigenous art form of the Texas Hill Country – songwriting. While many of the feature artists have written songs that have become chart toppers for major recording stars, the lineup is filled with poets of the first order, and this venue and this format will create a unique opportunity to hear the songs the way they were originally conceived. At the same time, all of these artists are proven performers whose shows have impressed audiences from northern Europe to southern California, from Boston to Austin, and from Nashville to Kerrville. And to preserve the craft, Muse and his feature artists will not only play their own songs, but will throw in a few tunes from legendary Texas songwriters who have passed on, but who collectively created the world-famous genre of the Texas singer/songwriter.
The Schreiner Trailhead is an inviting, family-friendly venue, with a great set of amenities, including – besides a great outdoor stage and dance floor in the shade of some nice oak trees, alongside the Trailhead Beer Garden, multiple food trucks, an outdoor gaming court with washer and cornhole pitch, a sand volleyball court, and much more. Y’all come on out.
“The cream always rises to the top, and there are young performers out there who will find their audience [such as] Warren Hood, a terrific songwriter and singer.””Lyle Lovett
Warren started playing classical violin at age 11 in the school orchestra, later studying privately with Bill Dick. He won classical music competitions, including the Pearl Amster Youth Concerto Competition and the Austin Youth Award, which gave him the opportunity to perform as a soloist on “Lalo Symphonie Espagnole” with the Austin Symphony, conducted by Peter Bay.
Warren later balanced studying at Austin High with touring with Charlie Robison and the South Austin Jug Band. After high school, Warren earned a rare scholarship to Berklee College of Music where he majored in Violin Performance, played with Steven Tyler and formed an acoustic string band, Blue Light Special. At Berklee, Warren earned the coveted String Achievement Award, an award chosen by faculty to honor talent and as a vote of confidence on future success.
