Janelle Monae to tour in support of upcoming album

A ground-breaking, genre-blurring singer, songwriter, producer, and performer, Janelle Monáe's inventive style melds a refined pop sensibility with an extraordinary postmodern mash-up of soul, funk, and rock n' roll. The GRAMMY nominated singer will be releasing her widely anticipated full-length debut album The ArchAndroi” on May 18th.

In support of the upcoming release Monáe, who has developed a reputation for her incredibly dynamic live shows, will be doing a series of exclusive residencies in a number of cities across North America (see dates below) and join this summer's much anticipated 2010 Lilith Tour for select dates.

The ArchAndroid follows Monáe's two acclaimed EPs, 2008's METROPOLIS: THE CHASE SUITE (SPECIAL EDITION) and METROPOLIS: SUITE I OF IV, both of which received extensive critical praise upon their initial releases. Two songs from the upcoming album entitled "Tightrope" (featuring Big Boi) and "Cold War" are now available for purchase exclusively via www.janellemonae.com.

For additional information, please visit www.janellemonae.com and www.myspace.com/janellemonae.

Follow Janelle Monáe on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JanelleMonae

Janelle Monáe On Tour
MARCH
15 Washington, DC Black Cat
17 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda's
18 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda's
21 San Francisco, CA Café Du Nord
22 San Francisco, CA Café Du Nord
23 Los Angeles, CA The Viper Room
24 Los Angeles, CA The Viper Room
29 Chicago, IL Schubas Tavern
30 Chicago, IL Schubas Tavern
31 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theater

APRIL
2 Detroit, MI St. Andrews
5 Atlanta, GA Smith's Olde Bar
6 Atlanta, GA Smith's Olde Bar
9 New York, NY Joe's Pub
10 New York, NY Joe's Pub

Afro Funke Thursdays at Zanzibar

Afro Funké
WEEKLY FUNK INVOCATION

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Afrobeat, Brazilian, Dub, Reggae, Cumbia, Samba Disco, Batucada, Afro-Latin House, Indian Beats, Makossa & other deep-rooted Funk music from around the world
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March 4 , 2010

guest deejay:
NOSTALGIA 77 (UK)
www.myspace.com/nostalgia77
www.tru-thoughts.co.uk

resident deejay:
JEREMY SOLE
www.kcrw.com/jeremysole
www.myspace.com/musaics
www.twitter.com/jeremysole
www.blip.fm/jeremysole

resident deejay:
GLENN RED
www.myspace.com/glenn_red

hosted by:
ROCKY DAWUNI
www.myspace.com/rockydawunimusic
www.rockydawuni.com
www.twitter.com/rockydawuni

afro funke' booking, photography & production:
CARY SULLIVAN
afrofunke@yahoo.com
www.myspace.com/carysullivan
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Afro Funke' Thursdays
Zanzibar
1301 5th Street @ Arizona
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310.451.2221 / 21+ (EVERYONE must have ID)
9pm - 2am / $10
www.zanzibarlive.com
www.myspace.com/afrofunke
www.afrofunke.com

*AFRO FUNKE' is now on Twitter! Please follow us!!
www.twitter.com/afrofunke

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UPCOMING:
March 11, 2010 guest deejay:
AFROLICIOUS SOUND SYSTEM(SF)
www.myspace.com/afrolicousoriginal
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For additional Afro Funke' information please contact:
afrofunke@yahoo.com

Rich McCulley CD release party Friday at Cinema Bar

CD Release party for Rich McCulley’s “Starting All Over Again”
@ Cinema Bar
Friday, March 5, 2010
9:30pm /free / 21+/
3967 Sepulveda Blvd
Culver City, CA, 90230

With Grant Langston, 77 El Deora Rich’s Band: (Carl Byron, Greg Boaz, and Tony Horkins.
Also guest singers: Grant Langston, Todd Herfindal, David Serby, and Sarah Stanley)

Upcoming concerts around California

LOS ANGELES:
3/19-SUIDAKRA @ THE ULTRA VIOLET-HEADLINING SHOW
On Tour w/ Orphaned Land
www.myspace.com/suidakra


3/27 HAMMERFALL @ HOUSE OF BLUES
HAMMERFALL
www.myspace.com/hammerfall
ON TOUR WITH POWERGLOVE
*NEW ALBUM No Sacrifice, No Victory OUT NOW ON NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS


3/31-TESTAMENT @ HOLLYWOOD PALLADIUM
-6215 SUNSET BLVD-323 962 7600
-6:00 DOORS/7:00 SHOW
www.myspace.com/testamentlegions.com
ON TOUR with MEGADETH & EXODUS
*2008 Golden God Album Of The Year The Formation Of Damnation



SAN BERNADINO:
7/10-ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK MAYHEM FESTIVAL @ HYUNDAI PAVILION @ GLEN HELEN

LAMB OF GOD
www.myspace.com/lambofgod
PLAYING THE *MAIN STAGE
* NEW ALBUM WRATH #2 BILLBOARD TOP 200 out NOW on Epic records
2010 'Best Metal Performance' GRAMMY Nominee

CHIMAIRA
www.myspace.com/chimaira
PLAYING THE *JAGERMEISTER STAGE
*NEW ALBUM THE INFECTION OUT NOW on Ferret Records
Debut #30 on Billboard Top 200

SHADOWS FALL
www.myspace.com/shadowsfall
PLAYING THE *JAGERMEISTER STAGE
*NEW ALBUM RETRIBUTION OUT NOW Released on their OWN label Everblack Industries
*DEBUT # 35 ON BILLBOARD TOP 200

3 INCHES OF BLOOD
www.myspace.com/3iob
PLAYING THE *MAYHEM FESTIVAL STAGE
*HERE WAITS THY DOOM OUT NOW On Century Media

MOUNTAINVIEW:
7/11-ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK MAYHEM FESTIVAL @ SHORELINE AMPHITHEATRE

LAMB OF GOD
PLAYING THE *MAIN STAGE
CHIMAIRA
PLAYING THE *JAGERMEISTER STAGE
SHADOWS FALL
PLAYING THE *JAGERMEISTER STAGE
3 INCHES OF BLOOD PLAYING THE *MAYHEM FESTIVAL STAGE

Daryl Hall & John Oates comment on the passing of Tom "T-Bone" Wolk

March 1, 2010
OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM DARYL HALL AND JOHN OATES ABOUT THE PASSING OF TOM “T-BONE” WOLK

Daryl Hall:
To say that I am shocked is the ultimate understatement. T-Bone was my musical brother and losing him is like losing my right hand. It’s not if I will go on, but how. T-Bone was one of the most sensitive and good human beings that I have ever known. And, I can truly say that I loved him.

John Oates:
His character was pure and his unique and quirky personality touched everyone he encountered. His musical sensibility was peerless, any instrument that he touched resonated with a sensitivity and skill level that I have never experienced while playing with any other musician.

He possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of styles and musical history which he referenced to support all the artists that he played with over the years. He became our band's musical director over time leading by example and by the deference and respect that everyone who played alongside him so rightfully accorded him. He made everyone he played with better.

So many times when I'm working on a musical passage or part, I think to myself: "How would T-Bone play this" and aspire to his level every time I perform. To this day I always keep one of his "I Love Vermont" guitar picks with me where ever I go and know in my heart that starting today the Heavenly Band just got one of the greatest multi-instrumentalist of all time and that band will from this day forward sound better than they ever have before.

Esotouric offers Tom Waits bus tour April 3

Once-A-Year L.A. Bus Tour Follows in Tom Waits' Youthful Footsteps

WHAT: 2010 edition of "Crawling Down Cahuenga: Tom Waits' Los Angeles" bus tour

WHEN: Saturday April 3, noon-4pm

WHERE: Bus tour departs from The King Edward Saloon, 131 E 5th Street, Los Angeles 90013

COST: $62/person

MORE INFO: visit http://www.esotouric.com or call 323-223-2767

Fans of the legendary musician Tom Waits just don't get a lot of chances to get together. Last time he toured, fans in his old hometown of L.A. were out of luck-- all the dates were in the South. So once each year, Esotouric, the bus adventure company whose offbeat tours expose LA's secret history, offers a bus tour celebrating the life and work of Waits, a rare opportunity for fans to scratch that gravelly voiced itch in good company.

CRAWLING DOWN CAHUENGA: TOM WAITS' LOS ANGELES is the definitive tour of Tom Waits' formative creative life and the people, places and late night pastries that shaped it.

Calling all rain dogs, gin-soaked boys and Gun Street girls! Climb aboard as your hosts David Smay (author of the acclaimed 33 1/3 series book on Tom Waits' "Swordfishtrombones" album) and Esotouric's Kim Cooper (a Zoetrope Studios intern who'll tell how she used teenage subterfuge to arrange a private concert by the man) lead you on a scrupulously researched ride through Waits' epic misdeeds and shenanigans, from the Trashing of the Troubadour to epic nights at the Tropicana.

And oh, there are such tales to tell, from food fights with L.A. Punks and smackdowns with L.A. Police. We'll crawl through the Sewers of Paris, tattle on the Ivar Theater, and get the lowdown on Waits' legendary performances at the Wiltern and elsewhere. Before departing for points rural, Tom Waits left his mark all over L.A., from Francis Ford Coppola's Zoetrope Studios to Sunset Sound to Skid Row. We'll show you where he found his true love and collaborator, Kathleen Brennan, and how all the pieces came together to transform a drunken, desperate singer into the multi-faceted, multi-media artist he'd become.

Raised near San Diego, Tom Waits launched his musical career in L.A., signing with David Geffen's Asylum Records in 1972, living in a famously cluttered room in the raunchy Tropicana Hotel (where he sawed off the kitchen drain board so his piano would fit), and building a reputation as a songwriter willing to risk his own health and sanity to get inside the sadsack characters that peopled songs like "The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)," "On The Nickel" and "Pasties And A G-string (At The Two O'clock Club)." By 1980, Waits was 31 and starting to feel the effects of his hard living.

While scoring the music to Francis Ford Coppola's "One From The Heart," he met Kathleen Brennan, whose influence would completely transform his life and his art. After a whirlwind courtship the pair married and began a 30-year creative and personal partnership, beginning with the revolutionary album "Swordfishtrombones," the subject of tour host David Smay's latest book.

Passengers gather in the historic King Edward Saloon, the last surviving Skid Row bar since the 2007 closure of Craby Joe's, before boarding Esotouric's luxury coach class bus, where the mood is set with vintage photos and live footage. CRAWLING DOWN CAHUENGA spans Tom's personal city, from The Nickel (aka Skid Row) to once-ratty West Hollywood, favorite strip clubs and midnight diners, recording studios, night clubs, record labels and film studios, before rolling back downtown for a last bottle of beer at the King Eddy.

ABOUT THE HOSTS: Longtime collaborators David Smay and Kim Cooper co-edited the books "Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth" ("quite simply the most fun music book I have ever read." -Bucketfull of Brains) and "Lost in the Grooves: Scram's Capricious Guide to the Music You Missed" ("the perfect book for the advanced record collector" -Ear Candy) before penning their solo 33 1/3 series books on Tom Waits and Neutral Milk Hotel. Kim hosts Esotouric's true crime and occasional rock and roll history tours. David Smay lives in San Francisco, where he is working on a history of the Beats.

Upcoming Esotouric bus tour schedule
Sat March 6 - Hotel Horrors & Main Street Vice crime bus tour
Sat March 13 - Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles
Sat March 20 - Maja's Mysteries: Rapture & Release (debut)
Sat March 27 - Raymond Chandler's Bay City
Sat April 3 ­ Crawling Down Cahuenga: Tom Waits' L.A.
Sat April 10 ­ John Buntin's L.A. Noir
Sat April 24 ­ Haunts of a Dirty Old Man: Charles Bukowski's L.A.
Sat May 1 - Pasadena Confidential crime bus tour with Crimebo the Clown
Sat May 8 - Blood & Dumplings crime bus tour
Sat May 15 - The Real Black Dahlia crime bus tour
Sat May 22 - The Birth of Noir: James M. Cain's So. Cal Nightmare

For more info on Esotouric, visit
http://www.esotouric.com

Esotouric's Kim Cooper and Richard Schave are proud members of LAVA - The Los Angeles Visionaries Association.
http://www.lavatransforms.org

For more info on David and Kim's previous books, visit
http://www.bubblegum-music.com http://www.lostinthegrooves.com

Ruiner to tour

One of Baltimore's most loved/hated bands, Ruiner, has a busy year coming up to say the least. Over the next two months, the band will tour the continental US from east to west and back again. Additionally, Ruiner will be flying overseas to China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and Canada for several weeks of shows - an amazing feat and a lot of uncharted territory covered for any band.

While Ruiner is a band of few words, they are excited to play all over the globe this spring.

Vocalist Rob Sullivan commented on the upcoming tour by saying "the end is nigh". Take that for what you will - this is going to be an amazing year for the band as they'll be touring non-stop and have also been named one of Alternative Press Magazine's 100 Bands You Need to Know in 2010 (issue on the streets March 2nd) and have secured a spot on AP's highly coveted '100 Bands' showcase at SXSW on March 20th, 2010.

Ruiner's second and most recent full-length, Hell Is Empty, was released last September and was called "the best record of the band's career" by ScenePointBlank and for "some of the angriest and aggressive punk of our time" by the Georgetown Voice.

No strangers to the road, Ruiner played over 200 shows in their first year and half in existence and in their second year, the band headed to Europe for 31 shows in 10 different countries. Fast forward to 2009 as Ruiner took a much needed break from their time on the road and holed themselves up back in Baltimore to work on writing their new album over the summer months.

“We took a pretty long time writing this LP. The idea was to stay home and not be distracted with being on the road. I think for the most part we were able to do that”, commented Sullivan.

The band, comprised of Rob Sullivan (vocals), Stephen Smeal (bass), Danny Porter (guitar), Dustin Thornton (guitar), and TJ Catalfo (drums, while Joey Edwards played drums on the recording), recorded Hell Is Empty with acclaimed producer J. Robbins (Jets to Brazil, Against Me!, Modern Life Is War). Equal parts cathartic and confrontational, Hell Is Empty showcases Ruiner at the most realized point in their career both musically and lyrically.


RUINER ON TOUR
US DATES:
3/12 Nitro WV @ The Brick House
3/13 Johnson City TN @ The Hideaway
3/14 Whitesburg KY @ Cowan Community Center
3/15 Indianapolis IN @ The Dojo
3/16 Peoria IL @ Morton American Legion
3/17 Waterloo IA @ The 1108 House
3/18 Kansas City KS @ The Scion Lab
3/19 Oklahoma City OK @ McSalty's Pizza and Venue
3/20 Austin TX @ Emos
3/21 El Paso TX @ The Naylair
3/22 Tuscon AZ @ The Living Room
3/23 Flagstaff AZ @ The Joint
3/24 Las Vegas NV @ Eastside Joes
3/25 Tijuana MX @ 1979 Bar
3/26 Riverside CA @ Common Grounds w/ Xibalba
3/27 Los Angeles CA @ Mcworld w/ Xibalba
3/28 Fresno CA @ CYC w/ Xibalba
3/29 Reno NV @ Fort Ryland w/ Xibalba, The Wrath
3/30 San Francisco CA @ Sub-mission Art Space w/ Xibalba, The Wrath

Luke Bryan to release new EP tomorrow

Capitol Records Nashville recording artist and ACM “Top New Vocal Soloist” nominee Luke Bryan will release his second Spring Break EP – “Spring Break 2…Hangover Edition” exclusively on the iTunes Store tomorrow, March 2. The EP includes three never-before released, self-penned tracks “Wild Weekend,” “Cold Beer Drinker” and “I’m Hungover.”

The Georgia Southern Sigma Chi alum will hit the beaches of Florida that weekend at the Swamp in Ft. Walton Beach (March 7) for his second mini "Spring Break Tour" to support the release of "Spring Break 2…Hangover Edition." He will also play Spinnaker’s Beach Club in Panama City, FL the next day, March 8.

Bryan is currently out on the road opening for Jason Aldean’s "Wide Open Tour." His second album, Doin’ My Thing, for Capitol Records Nashville landed at #2 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and #6 on the all-genre Billboard Top 200 album chart selling over 57,000 albums in its first week of release, more than doubling the first week sales of his debut album I’ll Stay Me in 2007.

Musicforaction.org launched

The Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund has teamed up with some of the biggest names in music to encourage Americans to speak up in the ongoing conversations on climate change.

As part of its continuous effort to keep Congress and the White House focused on clean energy and climate change legislation, the NRDC Action Fund encourages people to visit a new website www.Musicforaction.org. Visitors can e-mail President Barack Obama, their senators, or editors of their local newspapers to push for action on climate change and in return receive a free “Best of Bonnaroo” music download.

Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Phish, Jack Johnson and other top artists are giving away their music to encourage their fans to get involved in the debate. The NRDC Action Fund organized this campaign with the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival and HeadCount – a nonpartisan civic engagement organization best known for registering voters at concerts.

“Forging a clean energy future means healthier kids, a safer world, and more jobs,” said Heather Taylor-Miesle, director of the NRDC Action Fund. “This is our moment to demand that Congress put us on the path to a clean energy future by beginning to address climate change. We are excited about the opportunity to work with musicians and new activists throughout the country to make it happen.”

The musicians we work with are very passionate about this topic and have great power to drive change,” said HeadCount’s Executive Director Andy Bernstein. “Their music will serve as a soundtrack for action.”

The download compilation also includes live tracks from Wilco, Death Cab for Cutie, My Morning Jacket, O.A.R., and Ani DiFranco, among others. In most cases these recordings have never before been released to the public.

This is the NRDC Action Fund’s second major call to action on climate change. Rolling Stone Magazine deemed its online video campaign at www.thisisourmoment.org with Leonardo DiCaprio, Edward Norton, Chace Crawford, Jason Bateman as the “Best PSA Ever.”

Barry Big B Brenner performances this week

Barry Big B Brenner
Pulling Gees this Week at ...

Firefly Bistro: THURSDAY NIGHT :
: BURGERS, BEER & BLUES :
March 4th, 6-9pm
1009 El Centro Street
SOUTH PASADENA
(626) 441-2443
http://www.eatatfirefly.com

Firefly Bistro: SUNDAY BLUES BRUNCH :
March 7th, 11am-2pm
1009 El Centro Street
SOUTH PASADENA
(626) 441-2443
http://www.eatatfirefly.com

For a Complete List of Big B’s Upcoming Shows,
Go to...
http://www.myspace.com/barrybigbbrenner