CREATORS OF STOMP BRING PANDEMONIUM

PANDEMONIUM: wild uproar or unrestrained disorder; tumult or chaos.

The production of Pandemonium saw its west coast debut last night at UCLA's Royce Hall and it defiantly lived up to the definition of uproar and chaos. Utilizing everyday objects like vacuum cleaners, umbrellas, and radiator hoses, the 25-member cast created rhythm with impeccable timing.

Broken into two parts, Pandemonium runs for approximately one hour forty minutes which includes an intermission and encore. Within each part there are several different productions including titles Dead Clown, OilDrums, Woodcutter and Waterphonics.

I've never seen anything like Pandemonium and it does amaze me how they came up with some of the ideas for instrumentation, but glad the tickets were free. In the end it's just a bunch of noise- kind of what I would anticipate a jam session on LA's Skid Row to sound like.

GWYNETH PALTROW IS COUNTRY STRONG

We knew Gwyneth Paltrow could sing thanks to 2000's DUETS and now she's gone country in her latest movie role. Paltrow plays a fallen country star in COUNTRY STRONG, which also stars Leighton Meester and country heartthrob Tim McGraw. Slated for a December 22 release COUNTRY STRONG displays Paltrow's vocal chops. For a sneak peak, check out Paltrow on the movie's title track.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN4tTY7SOvc

LIVE FROM DARYL'S HOUSE

Live From Daryl's House (LFDH) is a monthly web show featuring Daryl Hall (half of the number-one selling duo in music history Hall & Oates) performing with some of music's most famous names. The award winning show is a music lovers dream- talented musicians in a simple room surrounded by a plethora of amazing instruments. The direction and outcome of the show varies and you often find the musicians improvising and adding new twists to popular tunes.

In the latest LFDH, the Philadelphia native pairs with Pat Monahan and Jimmy Stafford of the band Train. The seven-song set features "Hey, Soul Sister," "Say It Isn't So," and the Temptations' cover "Papa Was A Rolling Stone."

Past episodes have featured Rob Thomas, K.T. Tunstall, Smokey Robinson and Plain White T's. You can watch previous episodes by clicking on the past shows tab on LFDH's website.

http://www.livefromdarylshouse.com/

Enjoy!

LISTEN TO KATY PERRY'S NEW ALBUM BEFORE IT HITS iTunes AND STORES

Katy Perry gave us two catchy summer songs in "California Gurls" and "Teenage Dream," but I'm ready for new KP material. The new album will be out Tuesday, but Perry will premiere Teenage Dream (the clean/edited version) tomorrow at 9PM PST on her Facebook page. All you have to do is select "Like" Katy Perry's fan page to participate.

Enjoy:

http://www.facebook.com/katyperry

WILL JANIS JOPLIN'S LIFE EVER HIT THE BIG SCREEN?

Last week it was announced that actress Amy Adams ('Julie & Juliet') had signed on to star as Janis Joplin in director Fernando Meirelles' ('City of God') biopic of the legendary singer. The script, owned by Fox Searchlight, is tentatively called 'Get It While You Can,' which had Hollywood a buzz a few years ago with rumors of pairing director Catherine Hardwicke with Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon.

Adams is just the latest in a line of stars who have been attached to a Janis project over the years. In 1999 Lili Taylor was set to play Joplin, but nothing came of that. Then the horrendous news in 2003 that Renee Zellweger was going to bless us all with her "singing talent" in 'Piece of My Heart.' Thankfully that didn't happen and by 2004 things were looking up as fireball musician P!nk inherited Taylor's spot in 'The Gospel According to Janis.' Unfortunetly, not even with P!nk (who I've seen sing the hell out of Joplin's material) could the movie get made. Although I did hear that there were creative differences between the musician and the producer which eventually resulted in P!nk dropping out and being replaced by Zooey Deschanel in 2006. Add Reese Witherspoon into the mix along the way and you can see why I wonder if Janis Joplin's life will ever be brought to the big screen.

I guess there is some hope, as it took almost as long for 'The Runaways' to get made, but once Kristen Stewart signed on, the indie biopic started production and hit theaters earlier this year. Ironically there is a 'Twilight' connection to the Joplin project as well- 'Get It While You Can' is slated to be produced by Temple Hill Entertainment, the same producers behind the 'Twilight' saga and lord knows they should have enough money now to get the Janis Joplin biopic into production, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

ALBUM PREVIEW: KT TUNSTALL

Last week a friend and I headed out to the Hotel Cafe to catch Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall showcase material from her upcoming album Tiger Suit. The gig was billed as a solo acoustic performance and it was defiantly solo, but NOT acoustic. With the help of looping pedals, Tunstall recreated the new material that she described that night as "Eddie Cochran mixed with Leftfield."

Tiger Suit, Tunstall's third studio album is due out in September and is defiantly more beat driven than her previous work. Tracks "Fade Like a Shadow" and "Glamour Puss" are prime examples of that.

It will be interesting to see how listeners respond to the new material, as her follow-up (2007's Drastic Fantastic) didn't fare nearly as well as her 2004 breakout Eye To The Telescope.

ART AND MUSIC COLLIDE

I find myself fascinated by the way an artist's (in any of the arts) mind works and how they come up with such original ideas. That said, I recently discovered an artist by the name of Erika Iris Simmons and her series of work "Ghost in the Machine."

Simmons takes old cassette tape and arranges it on canvas creating instantly recognizable images of famous faces. The "Ghost in the Machine" collection includes pieces ranging from The Beatles to Lenny Kravitz.

For more information on "Ghost in the Machine" or Simmons other work, you can visit her website at: http://www.iri5.com/Home_Page.html

A STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE

I was recently thumbing through the pages of an old SPIN magazine and came across an oldie but goodie- a ad for Columbia House (CH). Remember those services like CH and BMG where you got 12 CDs for a penny and agreed to buy six more CDs over the course of two years at regular club price?

I surely remember those days and there always seemed to be a brown paper box (that was impossible to open) awaiting me when I returned home from school. I used to get so excited because half the time I forgot what I had ordered and it was like Christmas several times a month. I would go back to my room and play the latest works from No Doubt, Savage Garden and Janet Jackson, only coming out of my room for the mandatory supper break.

Those were the pre-iTune days, where you bought the whole album based on the chart topping single. Sometimes you got a really solid piece of work like Sarah McLachlan's Surfacing and other times you got a so-so album, say for example Tonic's Lemon Parade.

Regardless, I just remember the whole process as being fun. You scanned the rows and rows of album options, debated which ones to buy to fulfill your obligation and then cancelling your membership only to renew a couple months later when there were 12 new CDs you wanted.

Good times, good times!

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO

Metric - Fantasies

Mary Onettes - Islands

Ivan & Alyosha - The Verse, the Chorus

Girls - Album

The Smiths - "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out"

Gossip - "Heavy Cross"

WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO?

HAVE YOU HEARD PASSAFIRE?

I was recently taken to the Belly Up in Aspen to see the band Passafire. I had never heard of them, but I'm never one to turn down live music, good friends and Blue Moon.

When we entered, the fun was already underway with young adults dancing all around in a thick haze of ganja joy.

Hailing from Savannah Georgia, Passafire was formed in 2003 and mixes progressive reggae with rock and dub. Consisting of Ted Bowne (vocals/lead guitar), Adam Willis (keys) and brothers Nick (drums) and Will Kubley (bass), Passafire has made a name for themselves by being road warriors and establishing a grassroots connection with fans. Their Myspace page has over 750,000 views and their music and approach fits perfectly with the recent web based indie movement.

Passafire joined LAW Records (founded by the band Pepper) for their sophomore album Submersible, which was recognized by iTunes as one of the Top Ten Best Reggae Albums of 2007. Since then the band has worked with The Wailers, 311 and Van Halen.

I was really impressed with their sound and how much fun they seemed to be having on stage. For more information on Passafire, you can visit their Myspace page at:

http://www.myspace.com/passafire

KID ROCK'S NEW ALBUM

It's been almost three years since Kid Rock released his multi-platinum album Rock N Roll Jesus, but we should have new Rock material by the end of the year.

Working with veteran producer Rick Rubin, Rock has enlisted help from fellow musicians Zac Brown, T.I. and Martina McBride. However, the collaboration I am most looking forward to on the new album is Rock's second duet with Sheryl Crow, which features Bob Seger on piano.

The new material has Rock and friends singing and playing live without click tracks (audio cues used to sync recordings). Now in the mixing and mastering phase, the new album tentatively titled Born Free should arrive fourth quarter. Until then, you can check out Rock on the road this summer playing dates in Great Britain, Canada, and The United States.

'Eclipse' Soundtrack

The soundtracks for the 'Twilight' saga are more consistent than even Robert Pattinson's hair and Kristen Stewart's facial expressions.

The 'Eclipse' soundtrack solidifies the franchises excellent taste in indie artists with three of my favorite acts (Metric, Florence + The Machine and Band Of Horses) appearing on this chill alternative offering. The 15 track album also includes "Neutronstar Collision" from 'Twilight' soundtrack veterans Muse. The Dead Weather, Vampire Weekend and Beck w/ Bat For Lashes also made the cut. In all, music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas had over 400 tracks to choose from and had the tough duty of narrowing that number down to just over a dozen.

You defiantly don't have to be a fan of Stepenie Meyer's books or know the difference between Team Edward and Team Jacob to get into this piece of 'Twilight' mania. It's simply good music people and the only thing I hate about this album is that it comes in one of those old plastic jewel cases that are impossible to open.

For more information, visit the album's website at:http://www.eclipsesoundtrack.com/

UNIQUE LINER NOTES

Yesterday at the Starbucks located within my office building, I conveniently picked up the latest project from Band of Horses. Once upstairs I put their CD Infinite Arms on and went right to the liner notes. However, I didn't find the traditional booklet of artwork and lyrics. Instead I found a sealed square with a photo of trees about an eighth of an inch thick.

What the heck was this?

I slowly peeled back the sealed area on the end as if I were about to say, "and the award goes to" and just like that 13 square sheets of paper fell to my desk. Random photographs of wooden buildings, a giraffe, various rooms of a house, etc were scattered before me. It was odd, but upon turning the pieces of paper over I discovered each paper represented a song on the album.

On one side of each square was a song title, a line or several lines from that song and some hand drawn artwork that relates to each title. On the other side was a color photograph of an item or scene that also relates to that song.

Some squares, like the song "Laredo" were easy to figure out. You had a hand drawn horseshoe on one side with the lyric "are you having troubles in droves" while the other side showed a photo of a cowboy roping his cattle. However, not all of them were so easy. Take for example the song "Dilly" with the line "it really took a tall one to see it, two to believe it, three to just get in the way" and the number 3 drawn on the one side, with a photo of an old wooden church on the reverse side. I had to find out the meaning of dilly and then listen to the song to put it all together.

Now mind you I didn't do this on company time, but rather it became a side project for today. The cool thing is Band of Horses did something unique. It showcased creativeness and made me listen to the album again, but this time with pieces of paper in my hand.

DO KIDS IN LOVE STILL MAKE MIXTAPES?

Over the past few weeks, I've had two run-ins with a key element of the 1980's and 90's youth culture- the mixtape.

Three weeks ago I was back home in PA, where I keep a box in the back of my old closest that's filled with memories of my adolescence. That box is mostly filled with cards, jewelry, and miscellaneous items from young suitors. There in the midst of all this stuff were three mixtapes from my ex-boyfriend Dan. These tapes brought a smile to my face as I could recall sitting in that very room listening to them over and over again. It was hard to read the song titles on the cassette cover due to his scribble, but the hand drawn heart said it all.

I was reminded again today of that PA moment when I heard Butch Walker's song "Mixtape" in which he sings about a relationship that has ended, but that she made him the best mixed tape ever. Having your boyfriend love your tape was the best because you put thought and time into your selections. It was like John Cusack said in HIGH FIDELITY, "making a tape is like writing a letter."

The mixtape was my generations love letter and I hope that today's youth still have that experience. Although I guess it would be called the mixed CD these days!

ALBUM PREVIEW (sort of) : KIMBERLY CALDWELL

If the name Kimberly Caldwell sounds familiar, but you're not sure why, rewind back to season two of American Idol. Caldwell was the blonde Texas beauty with the raspy voice who sang the hell out of Melissa Etheridge songs. She placed seventh that year on Idol and has seemed to do more television work than music since then. However, that will change with the release of her debut album Without Regret.

Originally slated for an April release, Without Regret has been pushed to summer so additional songs could be added. I have a copy of Without Regret, just not sure how many of the songs will make the final album. Regardless, I thought I'd share my thoughts on take one of Caldwell's debut.

It doesn't surprise me that they want to add new material as the album never establishes a musical flow or consistency. It's a roller coaster that starts out rock'n with "Heart Like Mine" takes an electro-pop turn with "Going Going Gone" and picks up soulful speed with "If You're Gonna Fall." The rest of the work is middle of the road rock 'n' roll.

Vocally Caldwell's strong, sounding a lot like P!nk. She brings it on "Say Love" and the Etheridge cover "Sleep While I Drive." Some songs were written by Caldwell, but Without Regret also showcases some of song writings biggest hitters with the Diane Warren penned "Cost of Love" and Karen DioGuardi/Chad Kroger's "Heart Like Mine."

I think Caldwell fans would be pleased with the effort, but Without Regret does not boast a jump-off-the-page radio hit so the majority of people may never even know the album exists. However, that could all change with the addition of a song or two. I know I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I remember being blown away by her Idol Austin audition.

TBC.......