Music News Net

AMY WINEHOUSE Ordered to Norwegian Court on Drug Charges

      MUSIC NEWS -  Troubled Brit singer, Amy Winehouse has been ordered to appear in a Norwegian court over her appeal against a fine for past drug charges.  Amy and her estranged husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, and another man were arrested by police outside a Bergen hotel back in October 2007.  All were found to be in possession of seven grams of marijuana.  The local prosecutor, Rudolf Christoffersen told the Associated Foreign Press news agency that the singer is expected in court when the trial opens on January 12th, 2009.    Winehouse was originally released by police after she agreed to pay the required fine, but she singer later contested the penalty after it was revealed that under Norwegian law she had effectively admitted to the charges.   Such a offense would make it difficult for her to secure the needed work visas to perform in countries in the future.    Winehouse and her husband had been scheduled to appear in the Norwegian court at the start of 2008 but the case was postponed after Fielder-Civil’s imprisonment in the UK.  "Her husband has already been summoned. We were just waiting for her to receive her summons," Christoffersen said.  Mr Fielder-Civil is currently serving a 27-month prison sentence in the UK after he pled guilty to assault and perverting the course of justice. 

Winehouse has been attempting to recuperate in St Lucia in the Caribbean during this holiday season and rumored to have plans to move there.  Recent Amy Winehouse photos from the Caribbean made quite a stir !

UPDATE 1/5/09 - Winehouse has now put an end to the case by accepting the fine for illegally possessing the drug, according to her lawyer Ole Kvelstad.  He said, "After a careful review of the whole matter, they decided to drop the appeal."  Kvelstad refused to give details regarding the decision to withdraw the appeal.  Case closed !!!

PAUL WELLER Parties Toooooo Hardily in Prague, Questioned by Police

     MUSIC NEWS - The police in Prague, Czechoslovakia have reported questioned Paul Weller after apparently being found drunk in the street.   The British pop singer/songwriter/former leader of The Jam is said to have been detained by police after drinking heavily with his girlfriend in the Czech Republic capital.  The British tabloid, The Sun recently published video footage of the rocker falling over in the street following the incident.   Earlier, Mr Weller was reportedly drinking at the Little Whale Pub while on a break in Prague.  He was later apparently questioned by two policemen but no action was taken.

FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE Start Off 2009 on the Road

     MUSIC NEWS- NJ power pop group,  Fountains of Wayne have booked a short run of full-band acoustic shows to kick off 2009. The set will include some songs from FoW's upcoming album (currently in progress), the follow up to 2007's Traffic and Weather,  as well as songs from all their previous releases.  Join in the fun at-

January 14th - Bellingham, WA - Walton Theater
January 15th - Seattle, WA - Triple Door
January 16th - Portland - Wonder Ballroom
January 18th & 19th - SF - Cafe Du Nord
January 21st & 22nd - LA - Largo
January 23rd - San Juan Capistrano - Coach House
January 24th - San Diego - Anthology
February 19th - Alexandria, VA - Birchmere
February 20th - Annapolis, MD - Ramshead
February 21th - Philadelphia, PA - Tin Angel
February 23rd - Freehold, NJ - Photo Studio
February 25th & 26th - New York, NY - Joe's Pub
February 28th - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
March 1st - Northampton, MA - Iron Horse Music Hall

Sarah McLachlan to Co-Headline Ships & Dips V

      MUSIC NEWS -   Sarah McLachlan announced that she will co-headline Ships and Dip V, the annual music cruise hosted by fellow Nettwerk artist,  Barenaked Ladies and featuring Great Big Sea, The Weakerthans, Gaelic Storm, Sloan and more than a dozen other artists and comedians. The cruise sets sail from Miami, FL on February 1, 2009, aboard the Norwegian Jewel, with stops in Cozumel, Mexico and Norwegian Cruise Line's private island Great Stirrup Cay, returning on February 6, 2009.

It's not often that you get the opportunity to see performers in an intimate venue, with seating around 800. While on the cruise, you'll also have the opportunity to get up close with more artists while enjoying all night jam sessions, headline performances, acoustic sets and impromptu performances all over the ship. In addition to all that musical talent, you'll laugh out loud to Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald from the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall. You never know what's going to happen on this cruise!  Send pictures to MNN if you go !!!

Sarah's recent "Best of" compilation,  Closer, Best of Sarah McLachlan is available now! 

DELANEY BRAMLETT Dies In LA

       MUSIC NEWS - Delaney Bramlett, 69, passed away yesterday in Los Angeles.  The singer, songwriter and producer who wrote several classic rock songs like "Let It Rain" and worked with musicians George Harrison and Eric Clapton, died Saturday at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center in Los Angeles as a result of complications from gallbladder surgery, said his wife Susan Lanier-Bramlett.  

Born in Mississippi in 1939, Bramlett arrived in LA in the 1960s and played guitar in the house band (Shindogs) for the TV pop show "Shindig."    With his then-wife Bonnie Lynn he formed the short-lived Southern blues-rock band Delaney & Bonnie & Friends. The group toured and was an opening act for Blind Faith, the supergroup that featured British guitarist Eric Clapton.  Clapton still credits Delaney for pushing him to sing and teaching him the art of voice.   Bramlett and his first wife divorced in the '70s, and parted ways professionally as well.   During his career, Bramlett performed, co-wrote or recorded with stars such as Harrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, John Lennon, Dave Mason, Billy Preston, J.J. Cale, the Everly Brothers and Mac Davis. He also produced artists including Etta James and Elvin Bishop.    Possibly best known for standards such as "Superstar," co-written with Leon Russell, which has been recorded by several performers, most recently by Sonic Youth in a version featured on the Grammy-nominated soundtrack of the movie "Juno."  Bramlett also co-wrote "Let It Rain" with Clapton, who also recorded it, and "Never Ending Song of Love," which was recorded by more than 100 artists including Ray Charles, George Jones and Tammy Wynette.   Bramlett recently released an album, "A New Kind of Blues," on indie label Magnolia Gold Records.

Guns N Roses to Tour in 2009 ?? - UPDATE

     Music News - After takeing 15 years to release the infamous Chinese Democracy album, Guns N Roses is now supposedly planning to start a two year long tour in March 2009 !  This, according to guitarist Richard Fortus, a member of the GnR touring band who appears on several Chinese Democracy tunes.   Fortus, who also plays with the band, Pale Divine, a well know St Louis, MO, USA rock act, says that he and Axl Rose joke about Guns N' Roses performing at that city.  Previously, in 1991 Rose pulled one of his diva moments and stormed off the stage during a GN'R show. He refused to return, which resulted in fans rioting, causing extensive damage to the then-new Riverport Ampitheater.  "There has been talk of us doing a 'Love tour,'" says Fortus, "a tour of all the cities where there have been riots, and doing free shows. That might happen."  With the sinking of Chinese Democracy on the charts, the record dropped to # 33 in the US this week, some few free shows might be a good way to promote the release and the band, as long as tickets aren't exclusive to certain retailers.  See  GnR Tour story in local St Louis paper, telegraph.com.

UPDATE 12/30/08 - A quick retraction on this one from the source ! Just a few days after telling a St. Louis newspaper that Guns n’ Roses were planning a two-year tour to beging in March, guitarist Richard Fortus is now saying he was "misquoted". “OK, it seems that I am being misquoted once again,” Fortus told fans in a statement. “I never said that Gn’R would be playing St. Louis, nor did I say that we will be doing free shows or that we are starting a two-year tour in March! Selective hearing. Never said it.” Fortus’ denials come after the article printed quotes regarding Fortus and Rose joking about Gn’R’s return to St. Louis.  Even so, Axl previously said a '09 was likely and possibly the Fortus comments upset Mr Rose and Guns N Roses management.  Since the new CD The CD has sold only 421,000 copies since its release, and withlukewarm response to the record leading many to call it a failure, a tour would not be  bad idea.  We'll watch for futher word in '09 for live dates!

Rod Stewart and the Faces Reunion Set for 2009, Flea to Join ??? !!!

     MUSIC NEWS - Faces keyboard player Ian McLagan recently confirmed that the reported rehearsals of the re-formed The Faces '09 reunion went well.  On his official website, mscspages.com, McLagan posted;

'The rehearsals were a lot of fun, everybody was in fine form and things are looking good for a gig or two next year, but these things take time to work out and I'm just going to wait until there's something solid to report, so I'm not getting excited just yet. .....I'm holding my breath'.

The Faces line-up is McLagan on keyboards, Ronnie Wood on guitar, Kenney Jones on drums and Rod Stewart on vocals with Red Hot Chili Peppers Flea replacing the late Ronnie Lane on bass.  The Faces grew from the 1960s band The Small Faces and became The Faces in 1969 when singer Rod Stewart joined the band.  They've released four studio albums, the most notable being 'A Nod is as Good As a Wink’ which features the classic tune,  'Stay With Me’.  Stay.. is still a part of Rod Stewart’s setlist !   The band broke up in 1975, as Rod Stewart had for the previous three years juggled his job as lead singer with his other job as solo superstar.

Details on a 2009 Faces reunion tour are still "tbd".  'We just have to sort out when and where and drop all of the management egos and just do what we can. We know we can do it. It’s just a matter of getting everyone’s availability sometime next year,' Ronnie Wood previously told Rolling Stone.  We're hopeful for worldwide stops by the group !!!

UPDATE 1/21/09 - Rumors began to surface last year that Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, Flea had rehearsed with the band, and yesterday Ronnie Wood confirmed that the LA-based rocker was a definite.  Wood broke the news yesterday (January 20, 2009) at the South Bank Awards, held at the Dorchester Hotel in London.  Woody also spoke enthusiastically about a Christmas trip he and Stewart took to Costa Rica, Bermuda and Miami. Besides partying, the duo wrote an album's worth of material !   "I had a great time," said Wood. "It wasn't so much a holiday but a mini-world tour."

UPDATE 1/22/09 - Despite recent reports that the Faces are reuniting for an album and a tour with Flea on bass, Billboard reports that a Rod Stewart spokesperson told the music press that "there are no plans for a Faces reunion tour this year." Additionally, a Flea's mgmt representative at Qprime told MNN that Flea "knows nothing" of a Faces tour.  Part of the confusion originated for the Peppers themselves, someone should pull this Dec 04, 2008 post off the RedHotChiliPeppers.com site!  Anyway, time will tell and we'll hope that Flea isn't keeping anything from his mgmt and see if Woody is correct. 

FREE SPRINGSTEEN Song Download Today !!!

      MUSIC NEWS - Have a go at another new Bruce Springsteen tune today, Sunday, December 28, 2008 (check it out though, may be extended).  You can download the tune free, today only !  Amazon.com offers up "Life Itself" from the forthcoming "Working on a Dream" album,  which is due out on January 27, 2009. Give it a listen and let us know what you think...

LARRY MULLEN Jr. Questions Bono's Political Friends

     MUSIC NEWS - LARRY MULLEN Jr., drummer for Irish supergroup U2 has recently spoken out on Bono and his political associates.  He blasted the singer for "buddying" with certain world leaders.  Mullen spoke frankly about former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and outgoing US president George W. Bush, calling them "war criminals".   Mullen's said that it makes him "cringe" when he sees his band's singer, Bono associating with the two world leaders.  In an interview with British music magazine Q, Mullen is quoted : "Tony Blair is a war criminal and I think he should be tried as a war criminal. Then I see Bono and him as pals and I'm going, 'I don't like that'.  "Do I think George Bush is a war criminal? Probably - but the difference between him and Tony Blair is that Blair is intelligent. So he has no excuse for what he did."   Although Mullen does admit that Bono is "prepared to use his weight as a celebrity, at great cost to himself and his family, to help other people", he added: "But as an outsider looking in, I cringe."  Bono is involved in numerous world charities and causes, most recently, Project (Red).  Look for Larry and Bono working together on the March 2, 2009 new release, No Line On the Horizon.

MADNESS to Release New Album in '09

    MUSIC NEWS - The 80's British ska-pop band, MADNESS will release a new album (their 9th studio release) called,  ‘The Liberty of Norton Folgate’ on March 2, 2009 via Lucky Seven Records to celebrate their 30th Anniversary.  The album will be their first new material in over a decade. Their last new album was ‘Wonderful’ in 1999, though they released the covers album ‘The Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1’ in 2005.  Releasing in 2009, the album was actually recorded in late 2006, with Liam Watson who engineered The White Stripes ‘Elephant’. In June 2008, they showcased the majority of NORTON... at London's Hackney Empire music hall in a three night stand.

Dr Dog Takes to the Road in 2009

     MUSIC NEWS-  Indie psychedelic rockers (not rappers) DR DOG plan on a return to the road in early 2009 with headlining shows to support their latest studio release, Fate (Park the Van Records).  The Philly based band starts the run on February 11, 2009 in Raleigh, NC then stop in eleven Southern US cities during the two-week tour, winding up the trip on February 24 in Charlottesville, VA. (dates are listed below).  US fans in the north and west will have to wait, though additional dates are expected for 2009.  Their latest release, "Fate," is their fifth studio album, and is the follow up to their We All Belong.  Fate was released back in July. The set was recorded over the last five years in the group's own North Philadelphia studio, is streaming in it's entirity at the Dr Dog MySpace page - check it out !

"We spend a lot of time together, maybe more than any person should spend with another, but that's not a complaint," the band wrote on its website earlier in the year. "It's to say that when you spend this much time with a bunch of dudes, you learn from one another and you learn something about yourself. "Not sure what that's got to do with anything, but at the moment we listen to this record and think that all the time we spend together has as much to do with the album as anything else."

Christmas Treats from COLDPLAY

     MUSIC NEWS - COLDPLAY has just unveiled a couple of Christmas treats on their site for you.  Click on Coldplay.com/song to get a free download of the rockin' Thin White Duke remix of Viva La Vida and see below to watch the band performing a special festive tune. They'll be available until Twelfth Night (aka January 5, 2009).

COBAIN's Guitar Fetches $100,000 in Sale

         MUSIC NEWS - A smashed Fender guitar which was once owned by NIRVANA frontman / grunge rocker, KURT COBAIN has been sold to a private collector for $100,000 recently.  The sale was confirmed on Tuesday, December, 23 2008 by Jacob McMurray, senior curator of the Experience Music Project in Seattle, WA, where the taped-up Fender Mustang had been on display in an exhibit. The guitar was owned by punk rocker Sluggo of The Grannies and Hullabaloo. Sluggo claimed that he traded Cobain a working guitar for the broken instrument in the legendary band's early days, after the late singer smashed it on stage in New Jersey and couldn't afford to replace it.  No word on why the sale of the guitar occurred.  Sadly, Cobain committed suicide in 1994.

Tibet House Concert to Feature Patti Smith, Vampire Weekend

     MUSIC NEWS - The 19th Annual Tibet House Benefit Concert will be held on February 3, 2009 at NYC's Carnegie Hall.  The concert; under the direction of Tibet House Artistic Director Philip Glass, will this year feature rock icon Patti Smith along with her daughter Jesse Smith, New York's hometown band, Vampire Weekend, and Brooklyn's The National.  In the past, concerts have starred a similar stellar mix of talent ranging across eras and musical genres that included David Bowie and Paul Simon to Sigur Ros and Emmylou Harris.  A fundraising reception with the show's performers and honorary chairpersons will follow the concertperformance.  Tickets for the reception include premium seats for the show; check tibethouse.org for more information.  

As in the past, Tibet House US will share the proceeds from the annual concert with other charitable organizations. This year's recipients are a local Tibetan Group, Tibetan Community of New York & New Jersey, Farm Aid, and the Karin Berg Fund for the Myositis Support Group. The Tibet House Benefit Concert commemorates the Monlam Prayer Festival traditionally held around the Tibetan New Year. During the festival, numbers of monks, citizens and pilgrims from all over the country gather to pray for world peace and prosperity.  Tibet House US, a non-profit organization founded in 1987 at the request of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, serves as a center for the preservation and presentation of the endangered Tibetan culture.

Top MySpace Acts & Videos for 2008 - Gorillaz Take It

     Music News -  MySpace has released their list of popular acts and videos for 2008, and Gorillaz topped the list of acts, ahead of of Coldplay, Oasis and Lily Allen.   The site has revealed its top eight most watched, most listened to and most popular acts, along with the top eight most watched videos.   In the list of most popular music acts, Gorillaz easily beat Bullet For My Valentine (2nd place), with Madonna's '4Minutes' charting as the biggest video of the year, over 'Love Is Noise' by The Verve (2nd place). See full "most popular acts" and biggest "videos" lists below-