Lily Allen A Liar Not a Quitter

Gigwise reports: Lily Allen has revealed that she's not ready to quit music following the release of her second album, as quoted in an interview last week.

The singer insists that she was just talking rubbish and that she's surprised that journalists fell for it.

She told the Daily Mirror: "I talk crap all the time and they (the tabloids) know it. So how come this time they didn't get it? Silly people. I am having the best time of my life." - more on this story

Peta2 Honor Late Hawthorne Heights Guitarist

PR reports: To honor Hawthorne Heights guitarist Casey Calvert, who died unexpectedly last Friday, peta2 has posted a memorial page on its Web site, peta2.com. On the site, fans can view a video tribute to Calvert, which includes previously unreleased footage from his last interview with peta2. Calvert was an enthusiastic member of peta2's Street Team-an international network of young activists-and peta2 is calling on his fellow Street Teamers around the world to make Saturday, December 8, an international day of action in Calvert's memory.

Described by friends as "kind," "sweet," and "the nicest guy you'd ever meet," Calvert was a passionate defender of animal rights and loyal peta2 supporter. He joined peta2's Street Team years ago—long before Hawthorne Heights had reached critical acclaim, and he continued his activism even during his hectic touring schedule.

Calvert and his wife were proud guardians of rescued dogs and cats and staunch supporters of adopting homeless animals from animal shelters and rescue groups. On peta2's site, fans are urged to take the "veg pledge," and peta2 is also urging those who wish to honor Calvert's memory to volunteer at their local animal shelters on December 8. "Casey was always coming up with new ideas for helping animals and was eager to do whatever he could to help," says Dan Shannon, assistant director of youth campaigns. "He educated thousands of young people about cruelty to animals and inspired them to get active. He will truly be missed." - View Casey Calvert's memorial page

Tristan Prettyman Soph

PR reports: Singer-songwriter and guitarist Tristan Prettyman will release her second album, entitled Hello, on March 11th, 2008, on Virgin Records. The album is an appealing portrait of this freewheeling San Diego, CA, native as she narrates stories about her life, loves, and heartbreaks. "I really wanted the album to be a reflection of me," Prettyman says. "If someone were to say, 'Tell me about yourself,' I would just hand them a copy of Hello and say, 'Here, this is everything you need to know.'"

With its laid-back melodies springing from finger-picked acoustic guitar, plaintive pedal-steel guitar, Wurlitzer, Hammond organ, and strings, Hello explores Prettyman's love of country-blues and folk from the '60s and '70s, artists like The Band, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan. "There's something really pure and uncontrived about what they do," she says. "I really connect with that simplicity, and I think it made me write more bluesy songs."

Look for "Madly" the first single from Hello, to impact radio early January. Prettyman has confirmed spring tours for February 14 - March 7 (supporting G. Love & Special Sauce) and a headline run from March 19 - April 27 with routing and cities to be announced soon.
- more on this story

Nicolay & Kay Set Release

PR reports: Born and raised in the Netherlands, critically acclaimed producer Nicolay has launched his own label, NICOLAY MUSIC, in partnership with Premium Blend Music Productions (GmbH). The first album release will be TIME:LINE, a concept album by Nicolay & Kay.

The first release for the label will be TIME:LINE, by Nicolay & Kay. Nicolay is best known as the producing half of the Foreign Exchange (the other half being Phonte Coleman of Little Brother), whose debut album Connected (BBE; 2004) made a huge impact on the underground hip hop and soul scene. Kay Jackson is a mainstay of the Houston underground scene who has worked with Ali Shaheed Muhammad, A Tribe Called Quest, Oh No, and SA-RA. The concept behind TIME:LINE is the cycle of life. Lyrically and musically the album evolves from birth to death to rebirth over the course of 12 tracks. - more on this story

Onesidezero Add Dates

PR reports: Los Angeles based Onesidezero has added more tour dates in support of their recently released self-titled sophomore album. The group will play a series of West Coast dates to round out the year, including a spot on 104.7 The Edge's "Not So Silent Night" show with Atreyu, Five Finger Death Punch and Fair To Midland.

Onesidezero will kick off 2008 with a European tour alongside Adema and Re:Ignition which is scheduled to begin February 27, 2008 in Hamburg, Germany. More cities and dates will be announced soon. - more including dates

Grand Ole Party Dates

PR reports: Grand Ole Party spent their fall touring with Rilo Kiley and have just announced a string of December dates with NYC's Vampire Weekend to support their debut album, Humanimals, out on DH Records in February but available on iTunes now.

Head out to one of the shows to get a peak at unforgettable drummer-frontwoman, Kristin Gundred, energetically lead the trio through their unique mix of garage-blues-rock.

Grand Ole Party Tour Dates
December
02 San Diego, CA - The Casbah *
03 Los Angeles, CA - The Echo *
05 San Francisco, CA - Independent * - more on this story

Luke Doucet Sets Release

PR reports: Between solid-steady playing with folks like Josh Rouse, Jim Cuddy, Kathleen Edwards, Dan Burns, M. Ward and Blackie & The Rodeo Kings, among others, touring Italy, The UK, Germany and the Netherlands, hitting up high-powered conferences like SXSW, Popkomm and Transmission, getting married and producing two new albums, Luke Doucet unleashes his third full-length album, Blood's Too Rich. Six Shooter Records enriches its winter when Blood's Too Rich is released January 8.

Blood's Too Rich takes Luke's playing, and his status as revered guitarist, to the next level. From its concert-poster inspired artwork to the easy-open production to the long-winded stadium guitar solos, Blood is hi-fi meets high-ball, less jam-band and more The Band, less fourth-birthday and more party like it's the 1970s again. This is the core of the rock and roll scene. It's a record that harkens back to his days fronting surf-noir trio, Veal, his youth spent with Neil Young and Howlin' Wolf and one that retells his tales of living at the heart of Country — Nashville, TN, where Luke wrote Blood.

Post-NYE partying, Luke suits up for its release early January then embarks on a full-fledged national tour with Canadian mainstays, Blue Rodeo. - dates

2 More Tupac Comps

PR reports: Amaru Entertainment/Interscope/UMe announce the release of THE BEST OF 2PAC - Part 1: Thug and THE BEST OF 2PAC - Part 2: Life, the 2 CDs are retrospective collections showing the complex creativity of this lyrical genius. The CDs will be available on December 4, 2007.

These two separate CDs also show us why anyone listening to the breadth of his work knows that behind the laconic delivery lies a vision. 2PAC's uncanny ability enabled him to represent the disenfranchised he hoped to galvanize with his philosophy of T.H.U.G. L.I.F.E. (which stood for "The Hatred U Give Lil Infants F***s Everybody"). "I didn't create the thug life. I diagnosed it," Tupac stated.

Each album contains one previously unreleased recording and one new remix along with nine classic tracks. - more on this story

Child Ballads Preview

PR reports: Child Ballads will release their debut EP, "Cheekbone Hollows " through Gypsy Eyes on April 15, 2008. Featuring former Jonathan Fire*Eater's vocalist, this is Stewart Lupton's first release since the group disbanded in 1998.

Described as "ragged folk" by The Washington Post, Child Ballads will perform songs from the upcoming album at Luna Lounge in Brooklyn, NY on Friday, December 7, 2007.

To sample songs from the upcoming album and to watch the video for the first focus track, "Cheekbone Hollows," - click here

Volcom Start Split Club

PR reports: Volcom Entertainment is proud to announce the birth of the Volcom Ent. Vinyl Club (VEVC), a yearly - 6 release - subscription based split 7inch vinyl series, with the following artists scheduled to contribute songs in 2008; Birds of Avalon, Dark Meat, Earthless, Monotonix, Red Fang, RTX, Totimoshi, Turbonegro, Tweak Bird, Valient Thorr, Witch, and Year Long Disaster.

Turbonegro and Year Long Disaster will share the first 7inch release, which will ship to VEVC subscribers in February.

While most of the music industry is scrambling in a frantic - if not altogether existential - search for meaning in this modern age of shifting digital paradigms, we rather take a step back for a moment. Instead we intend to provide the "more than casual" fan with a piece that is timeless, tangible, and probably collectible, something that isn't your run-of-the-mill bonus mp3. Subscriptions are $30 for six 7inches to be released every other month and are available
- worldwide.

John Anderson Reissues

PR reports: John Anderson, widely credited as a pioneer of country's "neo-traditionalism" movement in the '80s, has recorded for several labels. But his albums at Warner Bros. Records in the '80s comprise his biggest hits and most influential work. The music of Anderson and his ilk rescued country from a scene dominated by the "urban cowboy" scare of the late '70s, by providing a needed dose of honky-tonk inspired by the likes of Merle Haggard.

On January 8, 2008, Collectors' Choice Music will reissue five of Anderson's Warner Bros. albums, re-mastered and featuring liner notes by Grammy Award-winning writer Colin Escott. The albums are I Just Came Home to Count the Memories; All the People Are Talkin'; Eye of a Hurricane; Tokyo, Oklahoma; and Countrified.

"He sings with a voice that America hears in his imagination," wrote Bob Doerschuk in CMA Closeup. "It's rough and untamed. It can sound like it's ready for a fight or aching for some love. It can raise hell in a honky tonk or rise toward heaven on Sunday morning." - reissues details

DVD-Rom Boxsets for Playboy and Rolling Stone

PR reports: Bondi Digital Publishing launches its Cover to Cover series with the release of Rolling Stone: The First 40 Years and Playboy: The 50s, currently on sale in bookstores and all major retail outlets across the country. These fully searchable DVD-ROM box sets from Bondi Digital Publishing bring the past back to life with two of the most popular and venerable publications of our time.

Individually scanned page-by-page, past issues of Rolling Stone and Playboy are combined with the Bondi Reader, a groundbreaking and user-friendly magazine browser that is compatible with both Mac and PC. In addition, the unique companion coffee table book included with each box set is filled with one-of-a-kind previously unpublished material, allowing users to complement their digital experience with a hands-on look at behind-the-scenes accounts and editor-selected highlights. - details

Streaming Ferrari

PR reports: Fans and critics got a sneak peek of new songs from the forthcoming Don't Let It Fall on November 9th when FERRARI performed a live, in-studio session for JamNow.com. Now that entire set is available for streaming at www.jamnow.com/danferrari. Don't Let It Fall is set for release January 15, 2008.

As a bonus to fans, FERRARI has made the track "Heard From You" available as a free download on his website: www.myspace.com/danferrari. Along with the exclusive live performance, fans can hear an interview wherein FERRARI discusses the stories behind his songs, the therapeutic power of live performance and his penchant for Breedlove Guitars.

"Heard From You," a recent finalist in the New York Songwriter's Circle Songwriting Contest, is a song about absenteeism. FERRARI explains: "The song means a lot to me because it's about a friend whose father left him when he was 10. Growing up, I was always very inspired by this friend and his perseverance in spite of his negative situation. He didn't know I was writing this song, but when it was all done he told me it really hit the nail on the head and said everything he had wanted to say." - more on this story

BlinkEnation Video

PR reports: BLESTeNATION, that one hiphop group from Brooklyn, has just released their highly-anticipated video for their soon-to-be hit single "The Way It Is (featuring Travis Barker, no really)."

The video was filmed at legendary Coney Island and directed by Clay Patrick McBride, who is noted for his work with Kid Rock, 50 Cent, Kanye West, Nas, Eminem, and Zakk Wylde, among others. - more on this story

.... Review: John Mellencamp Live

Over the course of the thought provoking 100-minute show, John Mellencamp momentarily retired his biggest arena anthems in favor of a collection of songs that form a morality play about the dissolution of the American dream. - Read the full John Mellencamp Live review

.... Review: The Real Tuesday Weld (Artist of the Month)

Suppose you were to write songs about love, death and time while adding a musical sensibility at once intelligent, witty and fervent. For Stephen Coates (aka The Real Tuesday Weld), this is a daily routine. (5 stars) - Read the full The Real Tuesday Weld review

.... Review: Wolves in the Throne Room (Artist of the Month)

Two Hunters is a glorious album. Taking true black metal's seemingly endless penchant for human conflict and struggle, Wolves in the Throne Room have stripped the genre down to something wonderfully sparse. (5 stars) - Read the full Wolves in the Throne Room - Two Hunters review

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