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ROGER WATERS’ “THE WALL” KENNY CHESNEY LADY ANTEBELLUM NICKELBACK

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FEBRUARY 2012

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THE SHOW REHEARSAL

Community

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Gear Up Fan Fashion

SOUND CHECK

CD Reviews

OPENING ACT

Emerging Artists

HEADLINERS

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Bruce Sprinsteen Lady Antebellum Poncho Sanchez Trey Songz Roger Waters Zoe Keating Kenny Chesney Florence & The Machine Nickelback

ENCORE

Elton John

BACKSTAGE

Industry - Q&A

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The Last Waltz

On The Cover

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REHEARSAL

COMMUNITY

Blessings in a Backpack

iley Cyrus became involved with Blessings in a Backpack in 2008. The program began with the efforts of Stan Curtis in 2005. Since then, the program has grown by leaps and bounds. Blessings in a Backpack now feeds over 25,000 children in 21 states across America.

12.4 million children in America (1 out of every 6) are at risk for hunger. More than 62% of children in America qualify for free or reduced lunch programs. These statistics are saddening but at least the schools are addressing the issue, right? Yes, they are. But what happens when a child leaves school for a 3-day weekend. Many children across America are returning to school on Monday after having little to eat over the weekend. When children are malnourished it affects their ability to learn and concentrate. As a nation we offer so much support to stamping out international hunger, but are we aware of and addressing the needs of our own children living in America? Blessings in a Backpack is answering the call. How the program works A concerned individual or group, a parent, teacher, doctor, etc., takes the first step by recognizing a need in their community. Once a school has been identified, the individual approaches the school staff explaining the benefits of the Blessings in a Backpack program. If the school agrees that the program would work well at their school, the individual then contacts Blessings in a Backpack for help in starting the campaign. The organization helps create a plan for the school. Then comes the hard part, finding support and funding. The impact stories that can be viewed on the organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website show example after example of how the program has changed childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives. Not having to worry about food allows students to relax and focus on their classwork. A healthy child is sick less often and misses less school days. Increased test scores are seen across the board in schools that have adopted the program. It only cost $80 a year to send a backpack home with a child each weekend. A small price to pay for food security for hungry children. After support has been raised for the number of children who have been selected to receive the backpacks, Blessings in a Backpack ships out the number of backpacks requested at no cost. The organization then helps the local program leader locate a grocer that will sell the food items needed at a discounted price. Food that are included in the backpack are healthy choices but are also ones that are easy for children to prepare themselves. Items include: fruit snacks, cereals, mac and cheese, pop tarts, juice boxes, etc. The program is then ready to begin! The program leader will organize a group of volunteers to shop for the food items, pack the backpacks, and deliver them to the school. Children return their backpacks each Monday. Blessings in a Backpack is an amazing program that has shown hope to hungry children all over the nation.

For more information on ways to help visit www.blessingsinabackpack.org 10

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SAMSUNG GALAXY S 4G 4. SONY 4. NWZ-E438 8GB WALKMAN® VIDEO/MP3 PLAYER WITH FM TUNER The Samsung Galaxy S 4G has 4G connectivity, a front-facing camera for video calls, and a larger battery. Android 2.2 You can listen to your favorite tunes, watch some videos, or catch that big game on the player’s built-in FM tuner. offers impressive data speeds. Other highlights include a Super AMOLED touch screen and 720p HD video recording.

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Rock Star Fashion For Men

Follow these men's fashion tips, and you'll be looking and feeling like a rock star in no time! 1. 2.

ENGLISH LAUNDRY BEATLES COLLECTION LONG SLEEVE SHIRT The left hand pocket of this stylish shirt has two silver tags which are embroidered "Let It Be" and "John Lennon/Paul McCartney",1970, with the lyrics embroidered on the back of the shirt in Silver-Charcoal color thread.

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SOUNDCHECK CHECK SOUND

EMMYLOU HARRIS: “Hard Bargain” Emmylou Harris is one of the most respected singers in contemporary American folk music and Americana, and with good reason. Her vocals are smooth as honey and hugely emotive, and her new album Hard Bargain is packed tight with more of the same delicious sad songs we’ve come to expect from this music legend. Emmylou Harris is part of the folk/Americana elite for a reason, and Hard Bargain is just more proof of why.

THE KILLS: “Blood Pressures” The Kills, duo of Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart, release Blood Pressures, the highly anticipated follow-up to their critically acclaimed third album, Midnight Boom. The 11 tracks on Blood Pressures find The Kills embracing a fuller sound; there is heavier instrumentation and layered, huge-sounding harmonies with Jamie and Alison uniting in their trademark singsong vocal style over tom heavy primitive beats.

ROBBIE ROBERTSON:”How to Become Clairvoyant” Robbie Robertson returns after a more than a decade break between solo albums with the triumphant “How to Become Clairvoyant,” a reflective and moving collaboration with Eric Clapton. Robertson, the lead songwriter and guitarist of The Band before leaving the group in 1976, has been far from prolific in his solo career. “Clairvoyant” is just his fifth solo release since 1987, but it’s worth the wait.

Jennifer Hudson: “I Remember Me” I Remember Me is a solid effort from Jennifer Hudson. The consistency of the rhythmic production shines throughout the vocal powerhouse’s compilation. Enlisting label mate, and fellow contemporary vocal powerhouse, Alicia Keys, as a writer and producer added a melodic, catchy and upbeat 70’s R&B sound to the album. We haven’t experienced a sound like that since Keys’ As I Am album..

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OPENING ACT

G R E

G N I

I T R

S T S

SMITH WESTERNS

This young Chicago quartet’s sophomore release falls squarely into glam-meets-garage territory, except that it wasn’t created in a garage or a basement this time around. Sonic spit-shine makes faster tracks “Weekend” and “Imagine, Pt. 3” sparkle, while slower numbers like “Only One” and “Still New” are laced with both bubblegum and Bowie influences. Many of these songs turn down the irony that’s dominated the indie-rock scene for so long and crank up the sincerity — or the appearance of sincerity.

TENNIS The promise of Tennis is akin to that promise of summer. Their debut track, Marathon, really struck last year mid-July, creating a viral storm lost in the scurry of fall. They’re like a blast of June air in March — you know the kind: fragrant, expectant, with just a faint hint of something mysteriously ribald. What surprises me is their edge — there’s something sinister, almost Pynchonesque, in the way Riley’s lifting, frenetic Dick Dale riffs bump up against Moore’s brooding keys, all while hard-crashing cymbals insist: It’s time to party!

ESPERANZA SPALDING The music Spalding plays is innovative and requires concentration and commitment to pull off. That Grammy Award for best new artist was no fluke. It was a surprise, for sure, because jazz is rarely recognized outside its category, but make no mistake -- Spalding is a star. She has charisma to burn and is confident at projecting it. Her stage presence is relaxed but there’s nothing casual about it. Her every move, scatting or whistling or tapping out a beat on the side of her bass or dancing a cha-cha with bare feet, is given over to the music. It’s impossible to look away.

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OPENING ACT

HAYES CARLL

You can’t listen to this freewheeling Texas singer and songwriter long without becoming thoroughly convinced that he’s a full-blooded relative of Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb and Merle Haggard. There’s an unself-conscious commitment to his rural Southern heritage in everything he sings. He spins a yarn with fresh wit, details a failure with unflinching honesty, and everything in between remains admirably cliché-free. Carll is every bit as expressive a singer as he is a writer, drawling his trenchant observations with deceptive ease.

LOOP STATION Together Sam Bass and Robin Coomer record, play, record again, and ultimately spin out a wide-ranging and shimmering sonic net. Is it necessary to get such a production-booth level of engineering for a live show? Yes. Cellist Bass’ orchestral arrangements are the only suitable accompaniment to Coomer’s huge, elastic alto, as muscular and beautiful as the angsty love child of k.d. lang and Suzanne Vega. This girl’s voice would eat any lesser music for breakfast. Think the Cocteau Twins with PJ Harvey at the controls. Think halucinatory aural investigations. Think great make-out music...

HANNAH GEORGAS I’ve been taken by Hannah Georgas’ music ever since hearing her debut EP “The Beat Stuff”. That has made her debut full length, “This Is Good” one of my most highly anticipated albums of the year. What really struck a chord with me about the Vancouver musician was her honesty. Georgas plays songs raw and with an angry approach, like she was saying ‘screw you’ to all those who had done her wrong. From a lyrical perspective not much has changed between the EP and the full length. The songs are as in-your-face as ever.

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HEADLINERS

The Boss IS BACK W

hen E Street Band sax man Clarence Clemons his bandmates’ kids. When drummer Max Weinberg had passed away in June, many wondered if to miss some of the E Street Band’s last tour because of When the topic of music and the direction the industry is taking comes up, Ozzy insists, “Well that’s a good question, Bruce Springsteen would, or could, hit the his gig as the bandleader on Conan O’Brien’s show, his because I’m f**ked if I know. There are times when I walk around with my head in my rear end.” road again without the Big Man in the band. Fears were son Jay Weinberg sat in for his pops. He recalls, “I was out on Sunset (Strip) a while ago with Sharon, where there’s a bookshelf, where I always get the Britassuaged when Springsteen started announcing tour There’s always great excitement among fans for ish newspapers. And I said, ‘Let’s go to Tower Records and see if they’ve got the new Sheryl Crow record.’ So I go in, and dates -- including March 28 and 29 in Philly -- but the a Bruce Springsteen tour. Springsteen is about as it’s empty at, like, 3 o’clock, 4 o’clock in the afternoon. I said, ‘Do you have the Sheryl Crow?’ And he said, ‘Yeah I’ve got lots question remained: Who would replace Clarence? consistent as a performer gets. You pay, he plays until of them; how many do you want?’ I didn’t understand what he was trying to get at. Then the following week, it was gone. Fans recently got their answer. The expanded lineup he drops. You may not love all the songs, you may wish That’s what’s happening. Everyone’s gone from reality to unreality in the respect that they all want to sit in their f**king for this Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band he’d play “Glory Days” or that obscure B side no one houses now on their computers. So everybody has gone inward into their cave, if you like. We have to go to the f**kin’ tour features singers Cindy Mizelle and Curtis King, else knows except you, but Springsteen always works JC Penney and all that s**t and to coffee shops now to buy music, which is kind of sad. It’s probably a similar thing when trombonist Clark Gayton and trumpeter Curt Ramm, his tail off. silent movies went over to talkie movies. All of the sudden, it kind of disappeared.” all of whom have toured with Bruce Springsteen in the All of that will still be true on this upcomping tour, On the other hand, Ozzy lends a sympathetic tone to musicians today. “I was also shocked to find out what young bands past, along with newcomer Barry Danielian on trumpet. but his longtime E Street Band is in transition. They’re have to do now when they get signed to a record company. They take part of their publishing, their concessions, their gig E Street stalwart Eddie Manion and first time tour a band of pros, and they do their jobs well, but they lack money. It’s, like, ridiculous.” He reflects, “At the same time I’ve been so lucky to have my career. I’ve had such good fortune. member Jake Clemons will share the saxophone role. the physicality, the sustained urgency of their prime. I’m just plodding on, you know. People say, ‘Are you retiring?’ But the thing is, I’m not getting any younger. And if the crowd The most notable name is the last one. Jake Clemons Slowly, the band is being retooled. Stellar organist Danny starts to thin, diminish, then I’ll see it as a sign that it’s time to hang up my microphone. is the nephew of Clarence and was the rumored Federici died in 2008, and has been replaced by Charles replacement. Springsteen is no stranger to touring with Giordano. P 22

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Springsteen has always played his band like a small orchestra, and their versatility allows him to explore the widest contours of his catalog. He ranges from the stark blues of “Seeds” to the Celtic celebration of “American Land.” The E Streeters expertly negotiate the ebb and surge of Jimmy Cliff’s “Trapped” and the gospel drama of “The Rising.” And they figured out the chord changes for Tommy James and the Shondells’ 1968 garagerock classic “Mony, Mony” during the audience-request portion of a recent concert. “Doesn’t it have some weird bridge?” Springsteen asked guitarist Steve Van Zandt. It did, and they crossed it unscathed, in one of those smile-inducing moments 24

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that echoed the band’s early days, when Springsteen used to shout out impromptu covers with mischievous regularity. Springsteen usually divvies up his show into thematic sections. Among the strongest is the topical trinity of “Seeds,” “Johnny 99” and “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” a seething commentary on blue-collar citizens brought to the brink of desperation by hard times. Each is punctuated by nasty guitar solo: Springsteen channeling the mantra of “It’s gone, gone, it’s all gone” on “Seeds” with a vengeance through his instrument, then Van Zandt riding hard with “Johnny 99” and Nils Lofgren spinning out from Max Weinberg’s surging drums on “Joad.”

HEADLINERS Springsteen and his group represent a long-gone age when blueeyed soul, folk, jam-rock and old-school pop co-mingled and yet, his performance still carries an impressive power to galvanize and move onlookers as it did arena audiences generations ago. This we can chiefly attribute to Springsteen, a truly unique hybrid of rock poet and exhilarating showman. He recently graced the cover of AARP’s magazine and might occasionally mix up his Rust Belt states, but his onstage stamina and jaw-dropping frontman skills haven’t abated because of age. When many of his contemporaries (and a couple of his musicians) are nursing hip replacements, he is doing James Brown moves, crowd surfing, Elvis karate moves and whatever he has to whip an already energized crowd to further heights of excitement. Of course, beyond Springsteen’s stage antics, proudly playing songs that have become some of rock’s most enduring anthems is a surefire boost to pump up any crowd. Performing a complete album in concert is a novelty that Springsteen and his longtime manager Jon Landau stumbled upon a few years ago, likely inspired by Van Morrison’s performances of his “Astral Weeks” album in 2008. The idea could be brushed off as just an onstage gimmick to lure butts into the seats, but whatever the motivation, it certainly offers a once-in-a-lifetime experience for lucky fans in the right cities. Past tour stops have seen complete performances of “Born In The U.S.A.,” “The River,” “Darkness On The Edge Of Town” and “The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle.” For most Bruce fanatics, seeing “Born To Run” would be their top choice. This approach has other less-obvious benefits beyond pleasing veteran ticket buyers. For the first time since he resurrected the E Street Band, Springsteen is now really harnessing the combo’s full potential again. The foundation and powerhouse for Springsteen’s mission to rev up audiences has always been his nine-member group. The E Street Band remains the lone analogue for an orchestra in the rock ‘n’ roll world With no encores and barely any breaks at all, a Springsteen show usually finishes the exhausting night by reviving the group’s soul revue roots with a gospel number, “Higher & Higher.” When his show is done, Springsteen the consummate professional, beams a smile of appreciation. One can only imagine how he must feel with the deafening roar of the crowd slamming against his body, his hands held aloft like a victorious gladiator. This kind of adulation is likely far beyond his daydreams of stardom back in a little Jersey Shore surf shop in the early ‘70s. When the stage goes dark, it is exactly three hours on the mark. Always the master of his ship, the Boss knows when it’s quitting time when the job is done. These are his new glory days.

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ady Antebellum surprisingly stole the Grammy for Best Country Album in a night that, until then, had looked like Taylor Swift landslide. Nashville’s Lady Antebellum, on its first arena headlining tour, has become such a crowd-pleasing phenomenon that there is arguably no other country band on the planet right now that can steal the trio’s ever-brightening spotlight. Recently, the trio of Lady Antebellum — Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood — rode the cresting wave from its Grammy-winning “Own the Night” album into Utah with a performance that demonstrated both vocal artistry and a unique stage show. With three large video screens providing the backdrop, the oval-shaped set featured an elevated stage at the back, and a lower stage near the front. In between those two stages was an open pit that fit about 100 fans, with the crowd’s ostentatious enthusiasm adding depth and movement to the visuals. The trio traveled back and forth all night on a catwalk that extended into the middle of the arena, with the bearded Kelly sporting skinny jeans and Scott rocking a bright-red-sequined top and tight, leather pants.

Lady 28

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With each of the amiable members 30 or younger — and Scott only 25 — Lady Antebellum is an interesting amalgam of a band from the iPod generation, where genres blur and for whom Garth Brooks is classic country. The themes of the songs are focused on the tried-andtrue subjects of young love. Aside from the occasional strum of a mandolin from bandleader Haywood, the music is meat-and-potatoes anthemic rock, even during sad songs such as show opener “We Owned the Night.” It was telling that before the trio hit the stage, a D.J. played LMFAO, AC/DC, Britney Spears and Whitney Houston — and not a lick of country. John Mellencamp’s rootsy “Cherry Bomb” was also played prominently, a telling template for Lady Antebellum’s sound. But that is not to say that Lady Antebellum is cloying or inauthentic — it just draws its influences from popradio-friendly choruses and arena-rock guitar solos.

What makes Lady Antebellum special above all is the blend of Kelly’s husky tenor and Scott’s velvety soprano, the most seductive male-female harmonizing in country music. Rucker, 45, showed that he is so much more than the former frontman of 1990’s pop-rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, coming off as a convincing country artist who is not just looking to jump on the country bandwagon. In his 13-song, hour-long set, the South Carolinian not only performed his entertaining, laid-back original material but two Hootie tunes (“Only Wanna Be With You” and “Hold My Hand”), an emotive rendition of Prince’s “Purple Rain,” as well as the most “country” moment of the night: a cover of Hank Willams Jr.’s “Family Tradition.” At the end of his diverse set, he received a hearty and long standing ovation — not bad for a crowd amped up to own Valentine’s Night with Lady Antebellum. www.livemagazine.com

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Latin Rhythms By Austen Diamond

he elder statesman of Latin-jazz, conguero Poncho Sanchez, has been spending more time at his Los Angeles-area home recently, teaching himself how to relax again. “I’ve been touring worldwide nonstop for all of 40 years, man,” Sanchez says. “We were constantly traveling. I got used to that lifestyle. We were hot, man. But, I’ve been enjoying the last half-year—staying home is real nice.” With a down economy, there are fewer shows and, subsequently, more house parties. Sanchez said he had just finished cleaning his front yard, the aftermath of his grandson and granddaughter’s baptism party. “Now, 34

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it’s ready for another party,” Sanchez laughs, showing that this 58-year-old Mexican-American musician hasn’t slowed down a bit. Aside from slang like “those cats,” “ya dig,” and “jive on that,” Sanchez is timeless, just like his hand-slapped beats and syncopated rhythms—the backbone of Latin jazz. He’s traveled the world, graced stages and studios with nearly all of his heroes and has endless stories about it all. A consummate storyteller, Sanchez relates tales over the course of an hour ranging from his time playing with Dizzy Gillespie to recording with Ray Charles—his Charles impersonation is hilarious—to performing at

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Bon Jovi

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Mexican beach resort jazz festivals. At some point in every story, simply and humbly, he repeats, “Wow, man. I was like, ‘Pinch me. Am I dreaming?’ ” That big-eyed view of the world—and lots of elbow grease—has helped Sanchez reach the top of the Latin-jazz heap. “It’s taken a lot of hard work. You don’t just blow up all of a sudden. Well, maybe if you’re a pop act, but not in jazz. Hell no,” Sanchez says. Over his long career, he’s used every crayon in the jazz coloring box—an approach that results in an aural psychedelic Latin-American fiesta. He’s dipped into soul, funk and Latino grooves, but for his 24th album, 2009’s Psychedelic Blues, he’s shaken up a musical martini of straight-up, no-frills jazz—a throwback to the ’60s and an homage to his heroes, but with a twist of his signature Latin lime. The CD begins with Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Island.” Smack in the middle, there’s a medley of Afro-Cuban jazz percussionist Willie Bobo tunes; one, “Fried Neckbones and Some Homefries,” is as delicious as it sounds. Then, aided by Arturo Sandoval, comes Freddie Hubbard’s “Crisis” chacha-cha-ified, and Horace Silver’s swing tune “Silver’s Serenade” turned into a mambo. In concert, the band plays these tunes as part of a wider assortment; Sanchez draws from a repertoire of more than 200 songs. With Sanchez front and center, their onstage demeanor is classy and dignified, yet highenergy—never stuffy. This is feel-good music, for sure. Sanchez remembers bringing this vibe to Zion on several occasions, including his first trip, in 1975. And, about five years ago, Sanchez had the option to play in tropical Bermuda or Salt Lake City for a New Year’s Eve show, and chose Salt Lake City. “We left from southern California and got off the plane and there was like three feet of slush on the ground. And I said, ‘Uh-oh! Am I dreamin’?’ ” Sanchez says, laughing, “Naw, man. Utah’s cool. I dig it.” www.livemagazine.com

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Trey Songz W

hen the lights dim all hell breaks loose for Trey Songz. Screaming girls make up the chorus to a voice which soars and plunges at lightning speed through a multitude of notes – music oozing through his pores in every movement of his gorgeous being, leaving the audience visibly stunned. Screaming girls make up the chorus to a voice which soars and plunges at lightning speed through a multitude of notes – music oozing through his pores in every movement of his gorgeous being, leaving the audience visibly stunned. The sexiness of songs like ‘The Neighbours Know My Name’ and ‘Invented Sex’ as well as his general

sexiness are bathed in sensual red light, he blows kisses at the hyperventilating (occasionally fainting) girls in the audience, and in between every song, asking which one of them wants to go home with him. Watching him making love to the air with every thrust of his pelvis, I can’t help but think that this is a man that must have mirrors all around his bed, just so he can look at himself while he’s having sex. This is a recurring theme throughout his performance: after crooning a stunning song (‘Can’t Be Friends’ performed with especially beautiful emotion) he asks, “Yo, you mind if I get a little bit more comfortable?” before imitating a strip-tease on stage. www.livemagazine.com

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Having personally been excited for Trey Songz and thinking of Ne-Yo as a bit irrelevant I’m surprised to find that the audience believe the opposite. And after leaving the show a few hours later I agree with them. Everything from his entrance to his exit is beautifully thought out and executed, refreshingly exuding charm as opposed to sleaze. Kitted out in a tailored suit and hat, Ne-Yo performs song after song in front of an ever changing montage, performing sketches with the absolutely beautiful (and talented) dancers he shares the stage with. The sketches are occasionally funny and occasionally sexy, but always entertaining and give the audience the impression of being part of the show. Clearly enjoying his performance, Ne-Yo breaks out into a smile, teasing the audience when they sing, “I’m so sick of love songs” ahead of time, before wiggling his finger at us and signalling when we should start. A true well-rounded performer, NeYo dances and sings around the beautifully laid out stage – drawing the audience into his voice and the stories behind each of his songs. I leave with a new found respect for Ne-Yo: he seems humble, genuine and someone who, unlike so many of those in the spotlight these days, doesn’t take himself too seriously. “As long as you keep cheering me I’ll continue providing quality music to the world,” he says, thanking the crowd before bowing and walking off the stage, ending perhaps one of the best concert performances I’ve ever seen.

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ROGER WATERS

The Wall I

t seems incredible to think that Pink Floydâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s career defining album, The Wall, was first conceived of by bassist Roger Waters to hide from the stadium audiences that used to cause him such disillusionment in the Seventies. Thirty years later, the 67-year-old Waters seemed thoroughly reconciled to the stadium format. He strode onto the vast stage in shades and a black hoodie through a shower of pyrotechnic sparks, as the audience raised the roof in anticipation for the show that many thought they might never get the chance to see. According to Waters, The Wall is no longer merely the expression of a young manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s retreat from his family and society, but an allegory of the polarisation of East and West and the controlling arm of neo-conservative government. If the original show explored a somewhat tenuous narrative, the threads of that story were thoroughly mashed in the new vision of the plot, which tries to encompass some of the biggest philosophical themes of the modern age.

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The basics were the same — giant puppets flank a cardboard wall that is built and knocked down during the performance — but as stage director Mark Fisher admitted, technology made the task of recreating the 1980 tour much easier. New projections, ranging from combat footage in Iraq to slick animation, an astounding light show and 360 degree acoustics made this show faster, bigger and more impressive than was ever possible before. Gerald Scarfe’s wicked 30ft puppets seem especially nightmarish in the hotchpotch of imagery onstage. During

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‘Another Brick In The Wall Pt 2’, a choir of schoolchildren gathers to point at a giant inflatable teacher, complete with bristly Hitler moustache and crumpled inflatable limbs. Even Roger Waters indulged in a little air guitar himself as he stood on his own in between the great white blocks and the tens of thousands watching, letting his assembled session band play out behind the wall. From the reception Waters received, you can see why he decided to revisit this exhilarating showpiece, three decades from its conception.

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Zoe Keating â&#x20AC;&#x153;A String Quartet Of Oneâ&#x20AC;?

y rigging a system that allows her to sample her playing and use it in real time during concerts, Zoe Keating can replicate herself onstage. All she needs is a MIDI footpad and a computer. She is a string quartet of one. Her performances are just one of many examples of how the cello is evolving. That evolution was the focus of the New Directions Cello Festival recently at California State University, Sacramento. The festival is a combination of afternoon master classes, jam sessions and evening performances by musicians from around the country whose musical focus is the non- classical cello. Keating started experimenting with the sampling process five years ago when she realized that she was writing compositions that sounded like cello ensemble pieces. "I was trying to figure out how to play them live," she said. "I actually tried getting live players to play this music, and it turned out to be difficult to find cellists that were classically trained and also had swing and style."

She soon realized it would be easier to figure out how to program her musical ideas into a computer. To do so, she integrates a program called Ableton Live and a hardware device called the Electrix Repeater for composing. The repeater works like a four-track recorder to record her cello parts on the fly. The software allows her to layer in recorded cello parts to her liking. The crucial link in the chain is a MIDI foot controller, which allows Keating to control both hardware and software, leaving her hands free to play the cello. "It's like having an empty score," said Keating, who lives in Sonoma County. "I just have to play the notes into the score, and the computer takes care of bringing the sampled parts in and out for the audience, somewhat like a conductor would do." Most of what she plays is composed beforehand, though one-fourth of her concert program is improvised, she said. Through the use of different bowing techniques and electronics, Keating believes she's adding to the evolution of the instrument. www.livemagazine.us

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"I think what I and other cellists are doing is taking part in the natural evolution of the cello," Keating said. "I think everything evolves, and when things stop evolving, they die out." Like most musicians, Keating got her start in music early, at age 8 in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Unlike many musicians who show promise, Keating chose not to go the music conservatory route when she got older. She opted for private lessons while planning a music career. "When I was 17, I was definitely on the classical cello track," she said. "I was doing competitions and practicing all the time." But a career as a classical cellist grew illusory as the pressure of competitions and recitals began to weigh on her. "I didn't want to live under that kind of stress anymore," she said. Instead, Keating opted for a liberal arts education at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y. That led her on a roundabout path to becoming a builder of custom databases for arts organizations while she continued exploring new directions on the cello. That exploration led her to work with cuttingedge musicians. From 2002 to '06, Keating was a member of the cello-rock ensemble Rasputina, founded by cellist Melora Creager, who had toured in the employ of Nirvana. She also has played cello for the Boston-based Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls and Robin Guthrie, and has been on five tours with Grammy nominee Imogen Heap. During her CSUS concert Keating discussed and demonstrate the finer points of a pursuit she's undertaking -- the writing of film scores. At the time, Keating was writing the score to the upcoming British indie film "The Devil's Chair." "I like to create music in front of an audience," she said. "I want to show how music can make you feel, and what it takes to make scary music or happy music. "You add one note to another and soon you have a horror film," she said. "But take away some of those notes and it will sound like a love scene." 52

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WINNER! - “John Lennon Songwriting Contest” WINNER! - “Maxell - Song of The Year” “Matt can bring passion to most any song leaving listeners yearning for more.” - Broadway World

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KENNY

C H E S N E Y

rom 2004 to 2008, Kenny Chesney was crowned Entertainer of the Year a total of eight times: four by the CMA (‘04, ‘06, ‘07, ‘08) and four consecutive times by the ACM (‘05 - ‘08). Not once, over the course of those years, did the superstar take for granted the enormity of those honors. “To stand in that spot, it isn’t free ... it’s not,” the ‘Somewhere With You’ singer tells CMT Country Countdown USA. “People don’t give that to you. You’ve to go out and put yourself in a position to win in it. Then after that, you’ve gotta go even further and win it.” In 2009, Taylor Swift was crowned CMA Entertainer of the Year, usurping Kenny’s three-year reign. “Taylor and I are very good friends and I’ve known her for a while,” he shares. “The first time she won Entertainer of the Year, the year before she was going out on the road with us. That was the first year that my tour was gonna be sponsored by Corona, so there was some sort of legal thing where people weren’t comfortable with having an alcohol sponsored show and having a 17 or 18-year-old on the show. So, I had to call Taylor and tell her that she couldn’t do that tour.” Hoping to make up for any disappointment that then-teenaged Taylor might have felt, Kenny figured he’d give her a little something. “I gave her, as an ‘I’m sorry’ present, I gave her a lot of money,” he continues. “So fast forward [to] the next year [2009] and she’s nominated for Entertainer of the Year, as am I, and she wins. So, I’m backstage and I come up

behind her -- she was hugging her band -and I come up behind her and gave her a hug, and I said, ‘I want my money back!’ [laughs]” Three years later, Kenny says -tongue planted firmly in cheek -- that he’s still waiting. “So I haven’t gotten it back yet, but maybe I will one day ... who knows,” he says with a laugh. Last November, Brad Paisley was crowned the 2010 CMA Entertainer of the Year. “I was really proud and really happy that [Brad] won,” Kenny remembers. “I saw him at the party after and gave him a big hug and told him how proud I was for him, and happy that he’s gonna go down in history as being one of the guys that got to stand in that spot.” Kenny was so moved, in fact, that he passed on the words of wisdom George Strait shared with East Tennesse native. “Like [George] Strait told me, the first year that I won Entertainer of the Year, I also won Album of the Year,” Kenny continues. “And he sent me this great letter and he said, ‘Winning album of the year says a lot. Winning entertainer says it all.’ I told Brad that, too.” Kenny’s current single, ‘Somewhere With You’ is currently atop the charts for the second consecutive week. He kicks off his Goin’ Coastal tour March 17 in West Palm Beach, Fla. Get details here. Kenny Chesney is not who you think — especially if you think he digs swappin’ pina colada recipes and weekendpirate tales. www.livemagazine.com

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Don’t get me wrong: The only artist in popular music to sell more than 1 million concert tickets for eight straight summers is chummy and funny, humble and cool. So if you’ve always thought he was those things — bingo. The Tennessee bachelor talks with an earnest bar stool velocity, not as if he has somewhere to go, but as if his sole intent is to give everyone, fans and journalists alike, as much as possible. So if you think Chesney enjoys pleasing the world — right again. But as for all of those tropical album covers, the sky-blue ones where his cowboy hat is tugged low over laid-back eyes and his toes are buried in the sand? All those seemingly autobiographical escapist hits like No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem, Summertime and When the Sun Goes Down? Um, yeah, we should talk about the beach-bum shtick. “It’s very hard for me to relax,” reveals Chesney, calling 56

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me to hype his show at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa this Saturday. “My mind is constantly going. For me to completely relax, I gotta get rid of my cell phone.” Yes, the four-time CMA Entertainer of the Year has a home in the U.S. Virgin Islands. But his life is as far from a permanent vacation as you can get (and no, we’re not talking about the strains of being hitched to Renée Zellweger for a few months). There is the steady stream of No. 1 albums, including his latest, 2010’s Hemingway’s Whiskey. There’s the charity work for the V Foundation. He just produced and narrated an ESPN movie about the University of Tennessee’s Condredge Holloway, the first AfricanAmerican to start at quarterback for an SEC school. And then there are the massive tours, the ambition of which are surpassed only by U2’s looming Spielbergian spaceships.

“I work hard but I play hard,” Chesney says. “My fans reflect who I am. They work hard and play hard, too. They feed off how much fun I have onstage.” That might be the only time he has fun these days. When his crazy-hot road show is barreling across America, with the Zac Brown Band and Uncle Kracker joining him, the advertising major from East Tennessee State is in workaholic mode. Case in point: On March 26, Chesney, will celebrate his 43rd birthday. And how will the Man Who Would Be Buffett do so? Perhaps with a luau-inspired bacchanal of beer and babes? “I play Omaha!” laughs Chesney. “My birthday plans are waking up in Omaha and going to work out.” And, of course, he’ll be tinkering with his multibilliondollar tour, which is now so big — packing stadiums in the middle of a recession isn’t an easy task — it

requires every ounce of Chesney’s not inconsiderable drive. “I make decisions on everything,” he says. “Heck, I make decisions on the catering company. I make decisions on the colors of stuff, especially how the stage looks. There’s a lot of trial and error. There are a lot of things I want to make sure are just right. I want it to reflect me.” Chesney says the basic credo behind his stage shows is a simple one: “What turns me on?” “I say that to my band, too,” he adds. “Remember what turned you on when you were going to rock shows as a kid.” Raised in tiny Luttrell, Tenn., the birthplace of legendary picker Chet Atkins, the star had “eclectic musical tastes” as a young punk. “When I was in high school, it was the hair-band era, so I had all that stuff in my truck. Then again, I also loved singer-songwriters. I loved Johnny Cash, Jimmy www.livemagazine.com

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Buffett. Music has always been medicine to me.” As a result, Chesney’s two-hour show is a spectacle of volume and swagger, a randy, skin-friendly throwdown that also features moments of genuine acoustic heart, especially when he sings songs such as 2004’s There Goes My Life. “I know,” he says of the brutally bittersweet song about a father watching his little girl grow up, “I’ve been lucky enough to get my hands on a few of those songs.” For as much as Chesney is in tune with what his fans crave in concert, he doesn’t pay much mind to fan-club chat on Facebook or Twitter: “I’m one of those people who think that the Internet is the devil. I don’t have time to constantly tell people what I’m thinking and what I’m eating.” Privacy is at a premium, Chesney says: “And mine’s not for sale.” 58

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Which leads us back to those rare moments when Chesney does manage to relax, to turn off the machine and kick back a bit. So, Kenny, what’s your favorite beach drink? “Aw man,” he pauses, seriously stumped — or maybe annoyed at a cliche nod to his island persona. “I don’t drink that much unless I’m on my boat.” He hems and haws and finally allows: “I guess I should say Corona, right?” Corona, of course, is the sponsor of his tour. Yes, it’s an incredibly corporate answer but it’s also an honest one, a mea culpa even. The hardest-working man in the summer-concert biz is again making sure everyone is pleased. Chesney gives a soft laugh: “I think I just care too much.”

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Florence and The Machine If Florence Welch, she of the kimono sleeves and the stratospheric voice, had begun to levitate at a recent concert, her fans probably wouldn’t have been all that astonished. Welch, who has released two best-selling albums under the name Florence and the Machine, has that kind of otherworldly quality associated with Victorian heroines and witchy seductresses. Hey, maybe she can fly too? “It talks in tongues and quiet sighs and prayers and proclamations,” she trilled on “All This Heaven and Too” – as good a way as any of describing her peculiar language, her attempts to float beyond the everyday. Twirling onto the stage and discarding her black high heels after a few songs, she was light on her feet and flexible of voice as she danced atop the notes. But as this performance affirmed, there’s more to Welch than wispiness and eccentricity. A six-piece band put piano and harp – yes, harp – out front, bringing an Elizabethan or Celtic flair to several songs. Two drummers emphasized tribal thump and rolling rhythms, giving Welch’s music some earthiness and drive. Her subjects inevitably involve rapture, transcendence, breaking on through to a different understanding of the world. There was the Gothic drama of “Seven Devils” (a “True Blood” song in waiting if there ever was one), the Alice in Wonderland fantasy of “Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up),” the fervent wish to “Leave My Body.”

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“I’m not 7 foot tall … I’m not riding a chariot,” Welch said, acknowledging that sometimes the personality she projects on her recordings isn’t matched by her actual physical stature. But Florence brought her Giant Reverb Machine, and with two backing vocalists, she at times sounded like a choir at an Italian opera. At 25, the U.K. singer has some clear precedents as an artist storming the charts from Planet Flo: the seductive weirdness of Kate Bush, the feminist fire of Tori Amos, the slowburn swirl of Sarah McLachlan. But she adds a few distinctive touches all her own, most notably a powerhouse voice that for all its upper-register airiness can also get down and growl. Tambourines rattled and she pogo-hopped to the beat, clapping hands until the venerable theater started to morph into a Baptist church. She dropped an unaccompanied vocal passage into “Lover to Lover” with the fervor of a gospel soloist, played give and take with her backing vocalists on “Leave My Body” and turned “Dog Days are Over” into a holy-roller rollercoaster ride, punctuated by a leap from the drum riser. For all her playful kookiness, Welch is a soul singer at heart. She’s got an untamed yowl that demands more of the world than it can sometimes possibly give. She can’t fly. But her voice can.

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NICKE

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When Nickelback set out to record their brand-new album Here and Now, which hit stores Monday (November 21), they decided not to stray far from the mantra that has made them one of the decade’s biggest-selling acts: Namely, keep it simple, stupid. “If we had a ‘vision,’ it was pretty much ‘Record 11 songs, try to make sure they don’t sound like any of the other 11 songs, and make ‘em good,’” frontman Chad Kroeger said. “That was about it.”

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LBACK

If Kroeger sounds like he’s joking, he assures you, he’s not. After all, for more than 15 years now, Nickelback have done one thing — write and record the kinds of songs that sound great played very loudly, be it on the radio, in the parking lot or inside venues that house professional sports franchises — and have done it exceptionally well, to the tune of some 50 million albums sold worldwide. And Here and Now seems destined to follow in those footsteps, both sonically (have you heard “Bottoms Up”?) and commercially.

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Then again, the latter doesn’t seem to matter all that much to Kroeger and company, which may very well be the secret to their success. “Did you read the bio [for the new album]? Oh my God, it’s a thrill ride. It’s like my mom wrote it. She’s like, ‘They’ve sold this many records worldwide, they’ve won all of these accolades, the band has set these records,’ and you just go down it, and there’s almost nothing about the new album,” Kroeger laughed. “The adjectives are just like, ‘Wow, this dude got a thesaurus for Christmas for sure, and he just blew the dust off it.’ “You know what? I think [sales] mean more to my mom. My mom is just pumped when this stuff comes out,” he continued. “But I think sometimes, we’ll be sitting at dinner, and we’ll look at each other, if it’s just the four of us, those are those little secret private moments where we’ll look at each other and be like, ‘That was pretty cool.’ Or, you know, ‘Pass the butter.’ “ And so, on Here and Now, Nickelback return with much of the same that has led them to such lofty heights. They’ll make no bones about it, either. It will probably sell a bazillion copies and launch singles onto modern rock radio for the foreseeable future. And it will most definitely be coming to an arena near you very soon. And all those things would be near-certainties even if the band decided to go with their original title for the album, which, truth be told, would’ve been pretty awesome, really. “It’s called Here and Now because it just represents a snapshot in time, a snapshot of who we were when we made it,” Kroeger explained. “And of all the names we had, it was better than Wizard Beating.” There is the steady stream of No. 1 albums, including his latest, 2010’s Hemingway’s Whiskey. There’s the charity work for the V Foundation. He just produced and narrated an ESPN movie about the University of Tennessee’s Condredge Holloway, the first African-American to start at quarterback for an SEC school. And then there are the massive tours, the ambition of which are surpassed only by U2’s Spielbergian spaceships.

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ELTON JOHN

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tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s probably no surprise that Elton John has honed his act to such perfection, after some five decades in the business, with 35 gold and 25 platinum albums. What is kind of amazing is that he still pumps life into every tune, even while performing songs heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s probably sung thousands of times. And no question that at a recent performance the crowd was stoked to see him. The man got a standing ovation just by walking onto the stage, wearing rimless purple shades and a knee-length black coat with a beaded design on the back that looked something like a curvy redheaded cocktail waitress ascending from a genieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lamp. www.livemagazine.com

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Throughout the performance, folks grinned and sang along and jumped up from their seats to move in time to the rich sounds and driving beat. It’s nearly impossible to stay still when Sir Elton is playing “Saturday Night,” “Crocodile Rock,” “Shine a Light,” or “Bennie and the Jets.” When he played “Tiny Dancer,” people bowed their heads as if in homage to this iconic song. And “Rocket Man” brought cheers of recognition with the first notes of what turned out to be an extra-long rendition with fabulous piano runs. Elton John clearly could have made his name as a concert pianist even if he had not been a world-class singer-songwriter as well. This one had the crowd screaming. True to its promise, most of the show was made up of such “greatest hits,” many of them classics first played in the early 1970s. John also introduced songs from his new album, The Union, made with “my hero,” Leon Russell — rockers “Hey Ahab” and “Monkey Suit,” 72

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the ballad “The Best Part of The Day,” the dramatic “Gone to Shiloh.” But it was the oldies that had couples embracing and people singing along to lines like “How wonderful life is while you’re in the world,” and “You lived your life like a candle in the wind.” On stage with Sir Elton were a group of equally masterful musicians, including Nigel Olsson, who’s been drumming and singing with John since 1969, and percussionist John Mahon, the two surrounded by a glittering array of drums. Davey Johnstone, an original Elton John band member, seemed to have a different guitar for every song. Bob Birch was on bass and vocals. Kim Bullard probably would have played all four of his keyboards at one time if he’d had four hands. I first saw Elton John in the late ‘70s and that night is still one of my fondest memories. After more than 40 years, there’s still magic to an Elton John concert.

BACKSTAGE INDUSTRY - Q&A

Miles Leonard President, Parlophone/Virgin A&R - By Louisa Peacock

usic industry executive Miles Leonard - who signed recording artists Coldplay and The Verve - describes the record label’s new apprenticeship scheme. Miles Leonard is credited for signing artists including Coldplay, Gorillaz and The Verve, as well as reviving the career of Kylie Minogue at the turn of the century. He joined EMI in 1995 and this month became president of Parlophone and Virgin Artists & Repertoire (A&R) - the division responsible for talent scouting. He talks about how the music label develops its own staff - not least through a brand new apprenticsehip scheme which aims to turn budding talent scouters into stars of their own. I oversee talent scouting and the artistic development of recording artists for Parlophone and Virgin A&R.

talent, they are usually not famous and therefore you enter your working relationships on that level. Your artist’s music and art is incredibly personal and precious to both of you and needs to be treated accordingly. Coldplay or Kylie, for example, are recognised globally as huge stars and deservedly so but I know them as friends and we work together on that basis.

How do you recruit people into the business side of the music industry?

What’s the greatest risk you took to get where you are today?

We have just developed a groundbreaking course with the Brighton Institute of Modern Music, which offers an apprenticeship for anyone keen to learn about the music business. The one-year programme will give candidates work experience working in small groups on frontline projects. Apprentices will be tasked with monitoring and critiquing a band’s or artist’s progression and career path and visits to parent company EMI’s office will provide a unique insight into how the music industry operates.

I gave up a well paid plumbing and heating business at the age of 19 to work for no salary for six months in the music business. The managing director of Chrysalis Records, Paul Conroy, gave me my first break and a foot on the ladder. It was then Keith Wozencroft, a great A&R man, who asked me to join Parlophone. Signing The Verve within the first six months of working in the music business also gave me the confidence to keep at it.

Describe your job in a nutshell.

How do you develop your own talent spotters? As a scout for the label, you are mentored by the A&R team as a whole and introduced to key managers and lawyers or promoters. You are guided through the commercial aspects of the business and your role within the company, not just A&R. However, taste is something you can’t teach. What’s it like working with famous artists or discovering a new band? You have to remember that when you discover new 74

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How did you get into your line of work? You get in because you live and breathe music. Simply being a casual listener and looking for some glamour in your life won’t cut it. You need a real passion for music and a deep desire to be part of it. What are the pros and cons of your job? A 9-5 job has never interested me, neither has routine. That said, you have to be prepared to work very long hours and relinquish a lot of your personal life for the role. EMI comes under the media’s microscope so often and not always for the best reasons.

Coldplay’s Chris Martin

How does EMI retain its staff? By constantly improving how we develop and grow our people. It also means fostering a culture where people can flourish, be rewarded for working hard, and seize career opportunities. I think the testament to this is the fact that we have lots of people who have been with EMI for many years, in a great career, and continue to enjoy it. There is also a trend for people leaving the company and sooner or later trying to come back, so we must be doing something right. What piece of advice would you give to jobseekers looking to join EMI? Be original. We had a recent CV that was delivered digitally and was based around a flick-through picture book. It was innovative, original and said more than a standard CV ever could. She got the job.

What is the most annoying piece of management jargon? ‘Silver bullet’. Name a leader who inspires you. Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple - Harvard’s most successful drop-out who revolutionised the computer industry. What is the worst thing anyone can do at a job interview? Tell you that all their favourite artists are on Parlophone/EMI and we are the only company they could ever imagine working for. It’s nice to hear but it’s rarely the whole truth. Who would play you in the film of your life and why? Jack Nicholson – similar build and hairline. Sum up your philosophy on life in one sentence. Work hard, play hard. www.livemagazine.com

load o u t

The Last Waltz WhitneyMitchell Houston Mitch ( 1963 - 2012) ( 1947 - 2008 )

itch Mitchell, drummer for the legendary Jimi Hendrix Experience of the 1960s and the group's last surviving member, was found dead in his hotel room early Wednesday. He was 61. Mitchell was a powerful force on "Are You Experienced?" the 1967 debut album of the Hendrix band. He had an explosive drumming style that can be heard in hard-charging songs such as "Fire" and "Manic Depression." hitney was a phenomenal singer who blessed our lives The Englishman had beenmajestic, drumming for the Experience with a wonderful, powerful voice. SheHendrix touched Tour, which performed Friday in Portland. It was the last stop on our hearts. She inspired us. She wowed us. She gave us a voice the West Coast part of the tour. when we were and, equally, she bass gave us a voice when we Hendrix died inin pain 1970. Noel Redding, player for the trio, were died injoyful. 2003. An employee at Portland's called police family; after Whitney Houston came Benson from a Hotel well-established discovering body. Her mother,Mitchell's along with cousins Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Erin Patrick, a deputy medical examiner, Mitchell apparently Warwick and godmother Aretha Franklinsaid were all notable figures died of natural causes. An autopsy was planned. in the gospel, rhythm and blues, pop, and soul genres. At the age Bob Merlis, a spokesman for the tour, said Mitchell had of 11, Houston began follow in her mother’s footsteps and stayed in Portland for atofour-day vacation and planned to leave started performing as a soloist in the junior gospel choir at the Wednesday. "It was a devastating surprise," Merlis said. "Nobody drummed New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where she also learned to like he did." play the piano.

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He said he saw Mitchell perform two weeks ago in Los Angeles, and the drummer appeared to be healthy and upbeat. Merlis said the tour was designed to bring together veteran musicians who had known Hendrix — like Mitchell — and younger artists, such as Grammy-nominated winner Jonny Lang, who have been influenced by him. Mitchell was a one-of-a-kind drummer whose "jazz-tinged" style was asigned vital part ofArista both the Jimi Hendrix and the Houston with in 1983, but didExperience not begin work on Experience Hendrix TourWith that ended last week, said. "If Jimi her album immediately. production fromMerlis Michael Masser, Hendrix were still alive," Merlis said, "he would have acknowledged Kashif, Jermaine Jackson, and Narada Michael Walden, Houston’s that." debut albumplayed Whitney Houston was released in February Mitchell for numerous other bands but was best 1985. known Rolling calling herwas “one of the for hisStone work magazine in the Jimipraised HendrixHouston, Experience, which inducted most exciting voices into the Rock new Hall of Fameininyears”. 1992. She soon rose to stardom to the Hall Fame, he was born Julyartists. 9, 1947, in and According was undoubtedly one of the world’s best-selling Ealing, England. Houston took soul-powered pop to new heights when she Hendrix, Redding and Mitchell held their first rehearsal in broke out with her debut self-titled album in 1985. The almighty October 1996, according to the Hall of Fame's Web site. hits “Greatest Love of All” and “Saving All My Love For You” In an interview last month with the Boston Herald, Mitchell said projected a blueprint forsleazy pop ballads in the decade to come, while he met Hendrix "in this little club." the fun and albeit few Berry – uptempos “How Will IMitchell Know” and "We–did some Chuck and tooklike it from there," told the newspaper. "I suppose it worked." “Someone For Me” spoke directly to the ears of the ‘80s.

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Her awards include two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards in her lifetime. Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits. She is the second artist behind Elton John and the only female artist to have two number-one Billboard 200 Album awards on the Billboard magazine year-end charts. Her second studio album “Whitney” (1987) became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Houston gave her first interview in seven years in September 2009, appearing on Oprah Winfrey’s season premiere. The interview was billed as “the most anticipated music interview of the decade”. Whitney admitted on the show to using drugs with former husband Bobby Brown, who “laced marijuana with rock cocaine”. By 1996, she told Oprah, “doing drugs was an everyday thing... I wasn’t happy by that point in time. I was losing myself.” She made a comeback in 2009 with the now famous song “I Look To You”. The comeback was short-lived. Her voice had changed; it became hoarse. She slipped back into old habits. She had a meltdown in public; was spotted dishevelled-looking in public; cancelled performances. It wasn’t easy to accept that Whitney’s voice was not what it used to be, but once you understand that the source of her great vocal power was not in the strength of her vocal chords but rather the soul from which she sang from – it all starts to make a bit more sense. Stardom brings with it popularity and, sometimes, immense success. One has to be constantly performing. Public life can put people under tremendous pressure. There is this constant pressure to be perfect, to be superhuman, to live up to other people’s expectation of us. Despite the success, the fame, the money, she had a turbulent life. Whitney was found dead in the bath tub of a hotel on February 11. Indeed, addiction begins and ends with pain. Another star is gone. May her soul rest in peace.