Music Stars Step Up For Musicians On Call

Musicians On Call, a nonprofit organization formed in 1999, brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients in healthcare facilities. Musicians On Call uses music to promote and complement the healing process for patients, families and caregivers.

Their online benefit auction went live this week and runs through March 5, 2009. Here are just a few of the items that they have up for auction: Autographed guitars from Coldplay, Kings of Leon, Depeche Mode, Maroon 5, The Fray, Counting Crows, Nickelback, Depeche Mode, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd and more * Bruce Springsteen autographed 1952 reissued Telecaster * Original black & white of Led Zeppelin taken and signed by Bob Gruen * VIP passes to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame * VIP passes to Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 2009 - see what else you can bid on

Youth Group Tour and CD Release

PR reports: Youth Group, who will be releasing their third album, The Night Is Ours, in the US on April 7, are excited to announce a series of East Coast dates, as well as a show in Los Angeles and performances at SXSW.

After kicking things off with a show at LA's Spaceland and playing the Brush Square Park Aussie BBQ and Maggie Mae's Showcase in Austin, the band will head east, actually relocating for a time from Australia to New York to play month-long residencies in Boston, Manhattan, and Philadelphia. A similar set of residencies on the West Coast is set to happen in May.

Danny Miller, the band's drummer, had this to say about the upcoming trip: "From critical feedback to punter's responses and all the other bands we'll meet and whatnot, it's obviously very exciting for Australian bands to get out of our 'little ponds' for a while and see how we're perceived by another nation. We've always had a ball in the States, even when things get exhausting (man, we thought Australia was hard to drive across!), and have managed to pick up some amazing friends along the way in bands like A Place To Bury Strangers, Dirty On Purpose and Don Lennon, to name a few, not to mention the time spent with the crew guys, who become more like family. I'm sure this trip will be no different, and in fact, if it's anything like some of the legendary YG New York nights we've had over the years, I can't wait." - more on this story

School of Rock Guest Professors

PR reports: John Wetton of Asia and newly minted Grammy Award winner Napoleon Murphy Brock of the Frank Zappa band are once again pledging their allegiance to the Paul Green School of Rock All-Stars as "Guest Professors" on a pair of late winter U.S. tours.

Seizing the heat of the moment, Wetton and Brock will kick off the "Guest Professor Series 2009" by helping to take the Paul Green School of Rock into its second decade revolutionizing music education across the nation. The School of Rock All-Stars are comprised of the best and brightest students from 45 schools around the country, an incredibly long distance since Paul Green founded the first school in his Philadelphia garage in 1998.

Since his last tour with the All-Stars in 2006, Wetton has reformed Asia and toured the world several times with the reunited progressive rock supergroup. The former King Crimson and U.K. bassist-vocalist is finding time between overseas winter tours with Asia and Icon (featuring Asia's Geoff Downes) to lead the School of Rock All-Stars in the music of Asia, King Crimson and U.K. on a weeklong Northeast tour launching Tuesday, March 3 in Downingtown, PA.
- more on this story

and you will know us by the Art Gallery

The Syndicate reports: We're less than one week away from the release of ...and you will know us by the Trail Of Dead's new record The Century Of Self. The album will hit stores on February 17th through the band's own label, Richter Scale Records.

Besides writing epic and moving music, frontman Conrad Keely is also a talented artist. In addition to designing the imaging and album art for the band, he's held numerous art exhibits across the country.

To celebrate the release of the new record, the band commissioned a viewing gallery of some of Keely's work. The gallery is an interactive visual gallery featuring original artwork created by Keely. Users can browse through his personal artwork and pen drawings as they preview new music from The Century of Self. Be sure to click the link to a piece called The Procession which features a magnifying glass to focus in on the blue ballpoint pen detailed drawing. - more on this story

Fact Set US Debut

PR reports: FACT, a five-piece rock band from Japan, will release their self-titled US debut on April 14 through Vagrant/Maximum 10. The 16-track set was recorded with producer Michael "Elvis" Baskette (Incubus, Story of the Year) and was mixed by Chris Lord Alge (Green Day, My Chemical Romance).

"The band started out being a metallic hardcore band, but then started developing from there," explains guitarist Kazuki. "We kept adding new sounds to it; bringing in elements of dance music, electronica, synths, and a lot of poppy, catchy tracks, and having all that come together. We're trying to do something a little bit different than your typical band."

In 2006 FACT released their first full-length in Japan, Never Turn Out The Light To Keep Myself, on the punk label Bullion. FACT has lent their music to several compilations that were released worldwide, including Immortal Records' A Santa Cause compilation and the AC/DC tribute album Thunder Tracks. - more on this story

Goofy Santogold Announcement

antiMusic reports: We get a lot of goofy PR announcements. Usually they are loaded with overhyped adjectives and smell markedly like a dairy farm but this announcement takes it to a whole new level. Enjoy!

Change the graffiti on the bathroom wall, get your tattoo fixed, get your t-shirt airbrushed and change the name on your year end list- Santogold is now Santigold. She's not telling you why, that's just how it is.

No unpronounceable symbol, no numbers where they shouldn't be, no random capitalization, just plain ass Santigold so remember that. - more dairy waste here

Rory Gallagher Live DVD

Kayos reports: Eagle Rock Entertainment is proud to present Rory Gallagher: Live in Cork, a DVD that captures the guitar virtuoso in a special concert. The DVD will be released on March 17.

Live in Cork is a documentation of Gallagher's homecoming, when he returned to Ireland in 1987 to play the Cork Opera House after several years' absence. Originally aired on Irish Television, Gallagher shook the house to its foundations with tracks like "Tattoo'd Lady," "Follow Me," "When My Baby She Left Me," and "Out On The Western Plain."

The DVD is more than a mere concert. The live portion (originally released as "Messin' With The Kid – Live At The Cork Opera House" on VHS) is only the tip of the iceberg. Live in Cork also allows an in-depth look at Rory and the city that bred him. "Rough Guide To Rory's Cork" is a compilation of photos, anecdotes, memorabilia, and other footage from his hometown. Clearly, this excavation of the great guitarist's life and culture is an absolute treasure for a Rory Gallagher fan. - more on this story

Catch Dengue Fever Sleepwalking Through The Mekong

PR reports: M80 Music announced today that the documentary film Sleepwalking Through The Mekong, will be released on April 14, 2009 as two-disc. The package features a DVD and a CD soundtrack of the film.

Sleepwalking Through The Mekong chronicles the journey taken by Los Angeles based Khmer rock band Dengue Fever to lead singer Chhom Nimol's native Cambodia during the 2005 Water Festival. The band's performances there marked the first time a Western band had performed classic 1960s and '70s Cambodian rock 'n' roll in the country where it was created and nearly erased from existence by the brutal Pol Pot regime.

More than a rockumentary, the film serves up a portrait of modern Cambodia as the band tours through Phnom Penh and beyond, crossing a great cultural chasm with the same spirit of Cambodia's original rock pioneers. The film has screened at a diverse number of festivals and museums including The Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival, The Hawaiian International Film Festival, Roskilde Festival, The Istanbul Museum of Fine Art and the Museum of Fine Art in Boston. - more on this story

. Bruce Springsteen - Tracks

Tracks is a long overdue set of outtakes from Springsteen and while it's not perfect and some eras are underrepresented, it's still a rather astonishing collection of outtakes. I'm not sure if it's on the same level of some of Dylan's outtake sets, but its damn close. (3.5 stars) - Read the full Bruce Springsteen - Tracks review

. REPO! Road Tour Diary: Saint Louis

We've been telling you all about REPO! The Genetic Opera and the recent REPO! Road Tours. The third tour just wrapped up and REPO star and co-writer Terrance Zdunich (plays Grave Robber) gives us the lowdown! Here is today's entry from Saint Louis. - Read the full REPO! Road Tour Diary: Saint Louis review

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