I was stunned to see this news this morning, but Ben Folds will be performing with former bandmates Darren Jesse and Robert Sledge for a Ben Folds Five reunion show at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill, N.C. on Sept. 18, 2008. The show, which kicks off MySpace.com’s new Front To Back concert series, will feature the band playing their 1999 CD “The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner” in its entirety.
Tickets go on sale 10 a.m. ET through eTix on Monday, Sept. 8.
A couple of weeks ago, I posted that “Hair Apparent – The Main Man Records Tribute to Hair Bands,” featuring a bluegrass version of Twisted Sister’s “I Wanna Rock” recorded by Christian Beach, was going to be on sale at www.mainmanrecords.com today, Sept. 2. That information was taken from a blog posting on Main Man Records’ MySpace profile.
Well, Main Man has just set up a “Hair Apparent” MySpace profile, which states next Tuesday, Sept. 9, as the actual release date (it will be available on iTunes in October)…so look for it then.
Christian’s version of “I Wanna Rock” will be the fifth track on the CD and also features Dan Mulvey on upright bass, Michael Scotto (of Agency) on drums, John Pfeiffer on Dobro, Gorgo on mandolin and yours truly on accordion.
So remember that post about a week ago in which I questioned how good the next Ben Folds CD was going to be based on the single “Hiroshima”? Well, it turns out, Ben put out a leak of “Way to Normal” on various web and torrent sites…but he recorded fake versions of several of the songs (including a title track that doesn’t really exist) and included those on the leaked version of the CD
That being said, “Hiroshima” is a real song…and I’m still not a big fan of it…but it’s not really the first single. It’s kind of a fake first single. The actual first single is the extremely catchy “You Don’t Know Me,” which is a duet with Regina Spektor.
“You Don’t Know Me” – Ben Folds (feat. Regina Spektor)
Anyway, here are videos for “Cologne” and “Hiroshima” from the upcoming CD. A note on the video for “Colonge”: The CD version apparently doesn’t include the piano orchestra intro…and the European music show is obviously fake.
“Cologne” – Ben Folds
“Hiroshima (B-B-B Benny Hit His Head)” – Ben Folds
Ben…you are still a genius!
A few weeks ago, my friend, singer-songwriter Christian Beach, recorded a bluegrass version of Twisted Sister’s “I Wanna Rock” for an upcoming Main Man Records tribute to 80s hair metal. I contributed the accordion part and some backing vocals to the track.
Well, Main Man Records posted a blog on its MySpace site a few days ago to announce that “Hair Apparent” will be available for sale at www.mainmanrecords.com beginning September 2, 2008.
Here is the tracklisting, as posted in the Main Man Records MySpace blog:
1. Heavy Metal Love – LaBooze
Originally recorded by Helix
2. Cum On Feel The Noize – Bob “Derwood” Andrews
Originally recorded by Slade… and then again by Quiet Riot
3. Malibu Beach Nightmare – Mutant Monster Beach Party
Originally recorded by Hanoi Rocks
4. She’s Tight – Frankenstein 3000
Originally recorded by Cheap Trick
5. I Wanna Rock – Christian Beach
Originally recorded by Twisted Sister
6. Ballad of Jayne – Wynntown Marshals
Originally recorded by L.A. Guns
7. Chatterbox – K Roth
Originally recorded by The New York Dolls
8. Big Bottom – The Dennis Dunaway Project
Originally recorded by Spinal Tap
9. Babylon – Bad Biscuit
Originally recorded by Faster Pussycat
10. It’s So Easy – Pillow Theory
Originally recorded by Guns ‘N’ Roses
11. Another Piece of Meat – FourYearBeard
Originally recorded by The Scorpions
12. Shoot ‘Em Down – AB
Originally recorded by Twisted Sister
13. Public Enemy 1 – Mars Needs Women
Originally recorded by Motley Crue
14. 18 & Life – Johnny Dey
Originally recorded by Skid Row
15. Little Fighter – AB
Originally recorded by White Lion
16. Final Countdown – Killing Phantom
Originally recorded by Europe
17. After The Rain – Days Before Tomorrow
Originally recorded by Nelson
18. Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You – Frankenstein 3000
Originally recorded by Spinal Tap
19. Here I Go Again – Dan Maxwell & His Band
Originally recorded by Whitesnake
20. Wanted Dead Or Alive – Early Times
Originally recorded by Bon Jovi
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Christian for allowing me to be a small part of this project.
Just a reminder, Christian’s cover of David Bowie’s “Five Years,” on which I played organ, appears on “Hero: The Main Man Records Tribute to David Bowie,” which was released last Christmas Day. Look below for our live performance of that song, recorded at the Brighton Bar in Long Branch, NJ, on March 28, 2008.
Well, today marked my first listening to new songs by two of my favorite artists, Ben Folds and Keane.
Ben Folds announced via MySpace the debut of a video for “Hiroshima,” the first single off his upcoming CD, “Way to Normal” (Sept. 30, 2008). The half-assed, stop-motion video is quirky and funny…but the song? Well, I worship Ben Folds…think he’s a genius…I even met him very, very briefly in November 2005. But I’m just not feeling “Hiroshima.” It’s obviously a fleshed-out version of one of Ben’s improvisational pieces during one of his shows…and it will probably be fun to hear peformed live. I just don’t see myself playing it too many times on my iPod.
However, I guess I just expect a level of musicianship from Ben on recorded media…and “Hiroshima” doesn’t really meet that expectation for me. Hopefully, the rest of the new CD reaches higher.
But I still love your music, Ben…and you are still a genius.
Ben Folds – “Hiroshima” [Live at Bonnaroo 2008]
On the other hand, Keane’s single for “Spiralling” (although I prefer “Spiraling”) off the upcoming “Perfect Symmetry” CD (Oct. 13, 2008 ) is really entertaining and fun. It’s not groundbreaking and I don’t expect Keane to be. However, the boys managed to retain their sound while also infusing it with dance beats and funk bass that seem to be greatly influenced by (and perhaps featuring samples from) David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance.” Even though this really isn’t the style of music I am into these days, I always seem to find a few pop songs throughout the year that I really enjoy…and “Spiralling” is definitely one of them. I can’t wait to get it on my iPod and play it a few times very loudly with my windows down on a long drive.
I was disappointed with Keane’s previous CD, “Under the Iron Sea,” although “Bad Dream” from that disc is a freakin’ great song. I thought “Sea” was a step back from the brilliance of 2004’s “Hopes and Fears,” which spawned “Somewhere Only We Know,” “Everybody Changes,” and “Bedshaped.”
But “Spiralling” gives me great hope that Keane has taken many steps forward with “Perfect Symmetry.”
Keane – “Spiralling” [Radio Edit]
Here are some photos I took at this year’s XPoNential (XPN) Music Festival held July 10-13, 2008, at Wiggins Park on the waterfront in Camden, NJ. Enjoy…
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Below is a Ustream.tv archive of a live “Sunday Jams” performance by Christian Beach on July 13, 2008. The backing band, which comes on for the fourth song, features Gorgo (mandolin, bass, backing vocals), John Pfeiffer (guitars, dobro), Michael Scotto (drums, percussion, backing vocals) and yours truly (organ, accordion, tambourine).
Set List:
1. Shadows (Christian Beach solo)
2. Cemetery Friends (Christian Beach solo)
3. Don’t Want to Be a Lonely Man (Christian Beach w/ Gorgo)
4. The Finest Day (Christian w/ full band)
5. Great Ideas (Christian w/ full band)
6. Poet of the Great Plains (Christian w/ full band)
7. Song for Matthew (Christian w/ full band)
8. Open Spaces (Christian w/ full band)
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Above is video of Christian Beach performing “The Finest Day” at The Brickwall Annex in Asbury Park, NJ, on June 21, 2008. Accompanied — in the darkness — by Gorgo on mandolin, John Pfeiffer on dobro and Brian Kelley on accordion.
A couple of notes:
1) It was obviously very dark in the venue so I tried lightening up this video the best I could without turning it into a grainy mess.
2) The pause button was hit about 21 seconds into the song, but recording resumed a few seconds later…to fill the gap, I spliced in some of the studio version of the song.
Video shot by Alison Litecky, who also unplugged the jukebox that was blasting away during the night.
“The Finest Day” © 2008 C.J. Beach
http://www.myspace.com/christianbeach
Here is dark and grainy, but decent sounding, video of Christian Beach performing “Way Back Home” at The Brickwall Annex in Asbury Park, NJ, on June 21, 2008…accompanied by Gorgo on mandolin, John Pfeiffer on “mouth percussion” and yours truly on accordion.
“Way Back Home” © 2007 C.J. Beach
http://www.myspace.com/christianbeach
New Jersey singer-songwriter Christian Beach will be performing a solo, acoustic set at The National Underground – Downstairs (159 E. Houston St.) in New York City on Tuesday, July 29, 2008. He will be taking the stage around 10 p.m.
Spread the word with the web graphic below, or download it as a PDF for printing out as a flyer to post where you can.
Brian Kelley 