Happy Birthday Moe Asch

2008 marks the 60th anniversary of Folkways Records and the 20th anniversary of Smithsonian Folkways, and December 2nd, 2008 would have been Folkways founder Moses Asch’s 103rd birthday! Join us in wishing Moe and Folkways a happy birthday, and enjoy as our gift this free download of the jaunty blues improvisation "On My Way to See Moe Asch" by Champion Jack Dupree.

City Scenes: Calgary

A long time ago, I took my first trip with my family to a place that seemed to take forever on a drive from Indiana. That place was Calgary (and neighboring Banff). That was my first foray to visit our neighbors up north, and I still recall my time there very vividly. The city is a short drive to the Canadian Rockies, but still manages to feel very cosmopolitan. There is no shortage of things to do, places to see, and music to hear. A long list of record stores and music stores show just how much Calgarians love their music. And they like diversity and choice. Many of the clubs and venues in the area don't cater to any one style, and that means an open booking policy is guaranteed to supply the masses with a steady stream of talent, no matter what genre, any night of the week. Sure, hockey still reigns here, but after the game is done, these music lovers love to hit the clubs and check out new music.

By:
Heidi Drockelman

LOWDOWN <---------

Indie-Music.com

REM guitar stolen after concert

REM are offering a reward for the return of guitarist Peter Buck's Rickenbacker guitar, which was stolen following a concert in Finland.

In a statement on their website, REM said it was taken from the stage after the gig in Helsinki on Tuesday.

Buck has used the guitar both live and in the studio since the band released their debut EP Chronic Town in 1982.

"Needless to say, this instrument means a great deal to Peter and to REM," the band said.

They added: "It is our sincere hope that whoever is responsible for the loss, or whoever has information which can help recover the guitar, will come forward to receive a generous reward, no questions asked."

REM are currently in the middle of a world tour.

In April, their first studio album in four years, Accelerate, shot to the top of the UK chart.

Winehouse no-show

The organisers of a French music concert are threatening legal action after headliner Amy Winehouse pulled out on Friday with just hours to go.

LOWDOWN<----------BBC

Alton Kelley, 67, Artist of the 1960s Rock Counterculture, Dies

Alton Kelley, whose psychedelic concert posters for artists like the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, and Big Brother and the Holding Company helped define the visual style of the 1960s counterculture, died on Sunday at his home in Petaluma, Calif. He was 67.

LOWDOWN


By WILLIAM GRIMES
Published: June 4, 2008
NY TIMES

BPI and Virgin team up: three strikes and you're ... educated

The music business and the cable company announce an "education" program on file-sharing. You may receive a letter...

...If you're really bad, they'll send her round your place.



LOWDOWN


guardian.co.uk

Mastery Of Objects...

David Lashmar would like more clarity from the record companies







"To a goblin, the rightful and true master of any object is the maker, not the purchaser. All goblin-made objects are, in goblin eyes, rightfully theirs," as Bill Weasley explains to Harry in the book.

"They consider our habit of keeping goblin-made objects, passing them from wizard to wizard without further payment, little more than theft."

It's an attitude that does seem to sum up the record companies' approach to promos - but it's far from clear whether the US courts will take the same view.

BBC

LOWDOWN

Utah Phillips - singer, songwriter, activist, raconteur and unionist

Utah Phillips - singer, songwriter, activist, raconteur and unionisBruce "U. Utah" Phillips, the Grammy-nominated folk singer known for his bushy white beard, tireless tour schedule and equally tireless work for social justice, died of congestive heart failure Friday at his home in Nevada City. He was 73 and had been having health problems in recent years.
Mr. Phillips rose to prominence on the folk scene with the single "Moose Turd Pie," a song from his 1973 debut album "Good Though!" That song was about serving moose feces to fellow laborers during the time Mr. Phillips worked as a cook in a railroad gang. With a career that lasted four decades, the songwriter most recently collaborated with Ani DiFranco on the 1999 album "Fellow Workers." The two were nominated for a Grammy in 2000 for best contemporary folk album.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 15, 1935, Mr. Phillips ran away from home as a teenager. He took the name U. Utah Phillips in tribute to musician T. Texas Tyler, and spent several years living as a stowaway on trains, an experience he documented in many of his songs. He settled in Nevada City 21 years ago. three children of his own and two stepsons.

Funeral arrangements will be announced.


Aidin Vaziri -SF Chronicle

New Producer Conference Dates

New Producer Conference dates have been confirmed:

* Chicago May 24 Chicago Recording Company
Tommy Coster Jr., James Bernard, Peff (aka Kurt Kurasaki), and Chris Petti
* Tokyo May 31, Super Deluxe, Azabu
Shin Nishimura, Morley Robertson, Raw-Rec, Y.Okudaira, Tsuyoshi Kono a.k.a. DJ Top Bill and more
* Montreal July 5 details tba.
* Melbourne August 9, Miss Libertine - details tba.
* Toronto August 23 details tba.

For full information, please visit http://www.theproducersconference.com

About the conferences:

Get the most out of your music! Top artists and producers share their secrets at The Producers Conference, a broad set of creative clinics and interactive classes for computer musicians. Don't miss out on this opportunity to get the inside track on advanced production techniques, song writing, mixing methods and more. Be there!