Mevio Music

The Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival was first held in August of 2008, and in the three years since, it has become one of the truly great annual festivals in America. Held in Golden Gate Park (and named for the original moniker of the Sunset District), it’s three days of music, food, wine, art and fun for Summer’s last hurrah in the Bay Area. It’s also a chance for San Francisco, in all its beautiful, varied glory, to come together and celebrate the most awesome city on the planet.

The festival was held on August 12th through the 14th this year, with music every day from noon until 10. Headliners were Phish, Muse and Arcade Fire – and the festival also boasted a little bit of everything else musically, from John Fogerty to Girl Talk.

Jackie has posted a public set of photos over on Facebook from her time at the festival. Here’s a sample.

If you’re interested in information about the food vendors from this year’s festival, take a look at the Taste of the Bay page on the Outside Lands Festival site. Ditto Wine Lands. You’ll also find a comprehensive guide to the festival, including information about green initiatives and a festival store with cool memorabilia, on the official site at http://www.sfoutsidelands.com/.

Music artists lead creative, exciting lives right? They spend endless hours perfecting their craft, writing songs, laying down tracks in the recording studio, and then bringing their music directly to thousands of adoring fans with their live shows. It’s got to be non-stop fun and thrills. Or so one might think.

In reality, wedged in between all the hard work and the obvious pleasure of pursuing your dreams, there’s also a lot of – well – downtime. Sound-check? Can you guys just hang loose for a minute while we rig these lights? Thanks. Where are we playing tomorrow? A thousand miles away somewhere? No problem. Let’s all pile into the bus. When’s the next interview? Three o’clock? Okay. Maybe another iced tea.

You get the idea. It’s a life of frenzied activity punctuated by hours of complete boredom, especially on the road.

What if someone could help musicians harness some of that downtime to do something positive that they believe in? That’s exactly what Downtime does. The brainchild of music industry veteran Jay Harren, Downtime provides some simple tools for musicians to promote their favorite causes in the spare time between other creative pursuits.

I realized that I too had some time to give, and I wasn’t doing anything with it. That became my cause – connecting others who had influence with charities and nonprofits that could really use the help.

Jay Harren, Downtime Founder

Downtime was created as a very simple and unobtrusive way for musicians to link up with nonprofit organizations and draw attention to the good cause of their choice on Facebook. The Downtime app makes it easy for the band to do some good during “hurry up and wait” moments, and makes it easy for the fan to contribute to the cause. Everybody wins.

So far, top acts like Manchester Orchestra, Anberlin, Mayday Parade, Grouplove, Hey Monday, Butch Walker, Sleeping at Last, The Starting Line, We The Kings, AWOLNATION, Charlotte Sometimes, Kevin Devine, Matthew Mayfield, Aaron Gillespie, Feather & Belle, Zach Williams and the Bellow have all joined in. They’re supporting causes as diverse as the Humane Society, Little Kids Rock, Compassion International and Falling Whistles (a charity that promotes peace in the Congo).

Take a look at what Mayday Parade is doing in their Downtime.

Want to get involved? You can get more information about Downtime on their site at http://www.mydowntime.com.

Martina and Jackie take a look at Sugar Sugar, the latest video from eight-year-old rapper MattyB on this episode of Music Video Reform School.

All the girlies love me and they wanna blow a kiss
But I tell ‘em no thanks ’cause I’m just a little kid
Just a little kid, just a, just a little kid
Just a little kid with a hit like this

It turns out that these lyrics from Sugar Sugar may be true, at least if Jackie and Martina are any indication. Martina wants to adopt MattyB. “He’s only eight. When he’s 14 girls are gonna go crazy. I definitely have a MattyB crush.”

As for Jackie, she’s ready to see him in concert. “If he’d come here on tour, we would go. It would be really weird if we went, but i’d still go.”

There’s been a lot of discussion lately about kids being pushed into show business by their parents, and it seems like we’ve seen a slew of teen and pre-teen music videos in recent weeks. The girls think it’s obvious that MattyB probably didn’t have to be pushed too hard though. “I really think the kid genuinely loves to do this. Watch him. He’s got so much confidence.”

The video, filmed in a retirement home with a group of elderly extras, is high on “cute” factor.

So, what’s the Reform School rating? “We give him an A for being cute, and for having a really catchy song and for making a great video on top of that.”

The brainchild of songwriter and front man, Matty O’Brien, NYC Rockers Memphis Crawl have been mesmerizing audiences with their trademark brand of Blues/Rock/Psychedelia since 2004. Their debut album, Falling Down Against The Sun, was released in January. The standout Southern-flavored jam, Wildflower Annie, has since been featured as Eat Sleep Breathe Music’s “Song of the Day.” You can download it now as a free MP3.

Band members include O’Brien, lead guitarist Bryan Stevens, bassist Mad Freik, drummer Mike Vincenti, and rhythm guitarist Nick Vincenti.

Here’s the full track listing for the EP.

1. Wildflower Annie
2. Howlin’ In Blue
3. Skeletons In Time
4. Wintertime

Memphis Crawl are currently appearing around New York State, with dates in September in Setauket, Williamsburg and Patchogue.

For more information visit their site at www.memphiscrawl.com.

Rock legends Foreigner are set to release a brand new 3-disc collection titled Feels Like The First Time on September 13th. The album will contain brand new digital recordings of their greatest hits, an entire disc of acoustic renditions and a DVD of the band in concert captured in High Definition.

You can get a sample from the album as a free MP3 Download of Juke Box Hero, their anthem to the Rock ‘n’ Roll struggle that originally hit the Billboard Top 40 in 1982. The new recording from Mick Jones, Kelly Hansen, Jeff Pilson, Tom Gimbel, Michael Bluestein and Mark Schulman is one of the tracks on Disc Two: Juke Box Heroes from the new album. The disc includes beautifully re-recorded versions of their best-loved songs, along with a brand new track, Save Me.

The 3-disc set from Razor & Tie Records also includes Disc One: Acoustique: The Classics Unplugged, and Disc Three: Live In Chicago, an 80-minute concert DVD that will air on PBS this fall as part of the Public Television Rocks! series. The DVD also includes back stage footage and more bonus acoustic versions of Foreigner’s classic hits.

Here’s the full track listing.

CD One: Acoustique: The Classics Unplugged
Long, Long Way From Home
Cold As Ice
The Flame Still Burns
Double Vision
Fool For You Anyway
Say You Will
Starrider
Waiting For A Girl Like You
Feels Like The First Time
Juke Box Hero
That’s All Right (Bonus Track)

CD Two: Juke Box Heroes: Brand New Digital Recordings of Foreigner’s Greatest Hits
Save Me (Bonus Track – New Song!)
Feels Like The First Time
Cold As Ice
Long, Long Way From Home
Hot Blooded
Double Vision
Head Games
Dirty White Boy
Urgent
Waiting For A Girl Like You
I Want To Know What Love Is
Juke Box Hero

DVD: Live in Chicago
Double Vision
Head Games
Cold As Ice
Waiting For A Girl Like You
When It Comes To Love
Blue Morning, Blue Day
Dirty White Boy
Starrider
Feels Like The First Time
Urgent
I Want To Know What Love Is
Hot Blooded
Juke Box Hero

Click here for your free MP3 download of Juke Box Hero.

Tour dates and more information is on the official Foreigner Website at www.foreigneronline.com.

James McCartney’s new EP Close At Hand will be released at the end of this month on Engine Company Records. Mike Yusi chats about the album with record company founder Blake Morgan on the latest episode of UC Radio.

The album was produced by David Kahne and Paul McCartney, and will see its worldwide release on Tuesday, August 30. This is McCartney’s second EP on Engine Company Records. His goal was to demonstrate his growth as an artist since his well-received debut Available Light.

“There is only one thing to do with high expectations, and that is meet them,” says McCartney. “I wanted to follow Available Light with something that showed a progression, that had an even deeper meaning, both spiritually and musically.”

In addition to the interview, Yusi and Morgan share some exclusive tracks on the Podcast. Mike will continue to feature tracks from McCartney throughout the month of August.

Click here to listen to the show.

Here’s the MP3 for download.

James McCartney at Engine Company Records

James McCartney at iTunes

Share Ross covers the Kings of Leon disaster, the Cheap Trick collapse, Meatloaf’s fainting spells and the immortalization of Chuck Berry – all on this episode of Rock’n'Roll TV.

After a disastrous concert in Dallas that saw lead singer Caleb Followill leave the stage in the middle of the show after repeatedly complaining about the heat, Kings of Leon have cancelled the remainder of their U.S. Summer Tour, reportedly at the cost of some $15 million dollars to their insurers. The band cited “vocal issues and exhaustion” as the reason for cancelling, although rumors have been circulating that the frontman is being encouraged by bandmates to enter rehab for alcohol-related problems. A band spokesman has denied that, saying “The reason for the cancellation of the tour is Caleb is under doctor’s orders for vocal rest. They feel terrible about cancelling. They look forward to getting back on the road at the end of September.”

The band is scheduled to appear in Vancouver on September 28th as the first date of a Canadian tour.

In addition to being bandmates, of course, the members of Kings of Leon are also relatives – three brothers and a cousin. They named their band after their grandfather (and three of the boys’ father), who were both named “Leon,” the younger of which was a Pentecostal minister with whom they traveled much of the South as children.

With regard to the band’s current difficulties, youngest brother (and bassist for the band) Jared Followill said “There are problems in our band bigger than not drinking enough Gatorade.”

Australian Alternative Rockers Dead Letter Circus are back with the video for One Step from the album This Is The Warning.

With influences that include Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead and Soundgarden, Dead Letter Circus brings surprisingly uplifting lyrics to their hard-edged, frenetic sound. They’re known for precise musicianship, complex arrangements and intensity.

Dead Letter Circus is Kim Benzie on lead vocals, Rob Maric on guitar, Stewart Hill on bass, Luke Williams on drums and Tom Skerlj on guitar, keyboard and percussion.

The latest album, This Is The Warning, is about the attempt to achieve individuality, authenticity and freedom in a world that too often seeks to dominate and brainwash. The band documented the creative process for their fans during the writing and recording of the album on a special section of their website.

Visit http://deadlettercircus.com for the latest, including tour dates.

Here’s a healthy dose of Metalcore from British quintet Asking Alexandra, with their video of To The Stage.

This one is a rather stunningly grim depiction of the excesses of the Rock and Roll life, and its effects on relationships. Here’s a sample of the lyrics.

I know that I should walk away
But I can’t bring myself to quit this game
She’s just a beautiful girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders
I’m just a kick in the teeth from a world that’s painted gold

In the end, all he can do is watch her spiral downward, and write this song to ask forgiveness.

Here’s the band’s current line-up.

• Ben Bruce (guitar)
• Danny Worsnop (vocals)
• Cameron Liddell (guitar)
• Sam Bettley (bass)
• James Cassells (drums)

More information about Asking Alexandria is on their official website.

http://www.askingalexandriaofficial.com