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Bits And Pieces
NY Indie Darling
Amber Rubarth:
A New Effort
Former wood sculptor turned singer/songwriter Amber
Rubarth will release her forthcoming album and Sounden
Recordings debut New Green Lines on May 6. The Brooklyn-based
indie-pop songstress who has charmed audiences and
critics nationwide will perform in select markets
including this year's South By Southwest show before
embarking on a U.S. tour in May and June. Locally,
Rubarth will perform at Canal Room in New York City
on Thursday, March 6.
Rubarth independently released her first two discs.
New Green Lines is her full-length debut for Sounden
Recordings, which enjoys distribution through Ryko.
A European tour is scheduled for March.
Montgomery Gentry
Vroom For Charity
For the fifth year, country music
artists Montgomery Gentry will host the Academy of
Country Music Charity Motorcycle Ride, to be held
on Saturday, May 17 in Las Vegas.
The event is part of the week's festivities leading
up to the 43rd annual Academy of Country Music Awards,
which will be broadcast from the MGM Grand Garden
Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 18at 8 pm on CBS.
The Academy of Country Music Charity Motorcycle Ride
will kick off from Las Vegas Harley-Davidson, one
of the largest Harley-Davidson dealerships in the
nation. Riders will cruise through the Nevada desert
and along the mountains and circle back until they
reach Fremont Street, where the ride culminates in
a live concert, free and open to the public, featuring
past and present Academy of Country Music Award nominees
and new artists.
"This event keeps getting bigger and bigger every
year," said Eddie Montgomery. "It's one
of the highlights of the week in Las Vegas, and we're
raising more and more money for the ACM Charitable
Fund as new people continue to join us on the ride.
I'm proud to be a part of such a great cause."
To register for this year's Academy of Country Music
Charity Motorcycle Ride, log on to acmcountry.com/ride2008.
Registration fees start for as little as $35, with
proceeds benefiting the Academy of Country Music®
Charitable Fund.
Annual Daddy Tapes
Benefit With Popp
The 22nd Annual birthday tribute to the late George
L. Popp, also known as "Daddy Tapes" to
benefit the American Heart Association will be Thursday,
March 6 beginning at 6:30 pm at Kenny Castaway's in
New York City.
Scheduled to perform at the event at press time were
Sound Of Ireland, Becky Salter, Anne Husick, Jack
O'Hara, Bill Popp & The Tapes, Dylan Nirvana,
Sea Monster, and A Bunch Of Girls.
The first benefit was held on Daddy Tapes' birthday
March 10, 1987 at CBGB.
"My goal at the time was for the benefit to become
an annual event that would raise money through live
music and help those suffering from heart disease,"
says Bill Popp, founder of the event and "Daddy
Tapes'" son. "My father was my closest friend
and the biggest supporter of my music career. After
his death, I wanted to keep his spirit alive, so,
by doing a benefit in his memory and donating the
money to the American Heart Association, I've done
just that." For more information, log on to billpopp.com.
Celtic Woman
A Hot Ticketl
Celtic Woman will soon perform two nights at Radio
City Music Hall. Saturday, March 15 is sold out, but
tickets for the Sunday, March 16 performance are $45
to $75 and are available at select Ticketmaster locations,
online at Ticketmaster.com and Radiocity.com, charge-by-phone
at (212) 307-4111, and at the Radio City Music Hall
box office.
Celtic Woman is the latest in a recent list of pop
phenomenons – Hannah Montana, the Macarena,
Yani, John Tesh, Lord of the Dance, and other mediocrities
come to mind – that become international sensations
for reasons no one can quite figure out. Yet, the
numbers don't like: Celtic Woman was named the #1
Top World Music Artist by Billboard Magazine. They're
constantly on PBS, which probably adds to their popularity,
and their albums consistently rank among hip hop and
rock selection in the Top 10. And Norah Jones gets
criticized for being "boring"?
Celtic Woman consists of Chloë, Orla, Máiréad,
Lynn and newly announced member Alex Sharpe. It's
amazing how five women can be so beautiful, yet utterly
faceless.
– Syl Nathan
Guess Who's Back:
Cummings In Studio
The former lead vocalist and pianist for The Guess Who, Burton Cummings, reportedly
is in the studio making his first solo disc in many
years, according to the artist's own MySpace page.
Some of the tunes that the Canadian superstar has
been working on go back almost two decades, and have
been performed live but never recorded. Recently,
Cummings teamed with fellow Guess Who founder Randy
Bachman to release Jukebox, a smash in Canada, which
included the rocking duo's takes on many classic pop
hits of the past.
In addition, The Bachman-Cummings Band continues to
tour throughout Canada, but to date have made only
one stop in the U.S., two years ago in Atlantic City.
Aman Saki
At Queens Theater
Queens Theatre in the Park in
Flushing will present Aman Saki on Friday, March 7
at 8 pm.
The Aman Sâki Trio brings Ottoman music straight
into the 21st century with a lively blend of rhythms
and melodies firmly rooted in the traditions of makam.
Makam is the modal music system common to Persian,
Arabic, and other Middle Eastern cultures, designed
to evoke a range of feelings in the listener.
Tickets are $17, $15 for senior, or $10 for students.
To order or for more information, call (718) 760-0064
or long on to queenstheatre.org.
A Female Tribute
To Neil Young
The American Laundromat Records benefit CD,
Cinnamon Girl: Women Artists Cover Neil Young For
Charity, was released on February 12 in both disc
form and at iTunes.
The double CD focuses on Neil Young's early work (1969
through 1979) and features 21 new cover versions by
artists Tanya Donelly, Britta Phillips, Lori McKenna,
Jill Sobule with John Doe, Josie Cotton, Kristin Hersh,
The Watson Twins, Darcie Miner, Elk City, and other
artists. All proceeds from the project are donated
to Casting For Recovery, a national non-profit support
and educational program for women who have or have
had breast cancer.
All proceeds from the CD are being donated to Casting
For Recovery in loving memory of Norine R. Spadaro
(Joe Spadaro's mother), who passed on in July 2005
after a six-year battle with breast cancer. .
Protest The Hero
Laces Into Van's Tour
Hot national band Protest The Hero
recently announced they will be playing the Ernie
Ball stage every day of this summer’s Vans Warped
Tour. The Whitby, Ontario five-piece is touring in
support of Fortress their sophomore Vagrant release
that debuted at #1 in Canada and #95 in the U.S.
Protest The Hero just wrapped up a sold-out Canadian
tour with Silverstein. Protest The Hero is Rody Walker
(lead vocals), Luke Hoskin (lead guitar, vocals, piano),
Tim Millar (guitar, vocals), Moe Carlson (drums),
and Arif Mirabdolbaghi (bass, vocals).
For more, log on to protestthehero.com and myspace.com/protestthehero.
Van Morrison:
A Retro DVD
Legendary rock singer Van Morrison
is the focal point of Van Morrison - Under Review
1964-1974, a two-hour documentary film that covers
his music during that period.
From the formation of Them, through Van's classic
solo period – taking in albums such as Astral
Weeks, Moondance, St. Dominic's Preview, Tupelo Honey,
Veedon Fleece and It's Too Late To Stop Now –
this was a time of quite startling creativity in a
musical career that has rarely failed to delight fans
and critics alike. This program looks again at these
records, and the man who made them, and in doing so
provides the most enlightening, revealing and entertaining
Van Morrison documentary yet to emerge.
Street date for the new DVD is April 15.
Sydney Wayser:
Hot Young Artist
Singer and songwriter Sydney Wayser currently has
the busiest schedule of any New York-based artist
we can think of. She'll perform at The Bowery Poetry
Club on February 4 and 6, which follows recent shows
at Pete's Candy Store in Brooklyn and 169 Bar and
New Leaf Café in Manhattan.
She'll also perform at R Bar in New York City on
February 28.
Wayser, a native New Yorker, is currently performing
in support if her latest release, Silent Parade.
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