Stompin' Tom is going digital for Canada Day.
The Canadian music legend is issuing five of his classic albums, including Bud The Spud, on iTunes beginning Tuesday.
It's the first time Tom Connors, who has recorded 49 albums, has released his work digitally, EMI said in a release Monday.
The other albums to be released are:
- Fiddle & Song.
- Ode For The Road.
- My Stompin Grounds.
- Live At The Horseshoe.
Individual songs from the albums, including hits such as Sudbury Saturday Night, are also available.
More of Connors's catalogue is expected to be released digitally over the next few months.
Connors has a new album coming out later this year, recently performed duirng the NHL awards show in Toronto and will be honoured with his own stamp next year.
He is already a recipient of the Order of Canada and the Governor General's Award of Performing Excellence.
Bon Jovi Playing Free Central Park Show
Iconic New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi will play a free concert in Central Park on July 12, mayor Michael Bloomberg announced today (June 30).
Alongside frontman Jon Bon Jovi, as well as officials from Major League Baseball and Bank of America, Bloomberg outlined the details of the event at a City Hall press conference.
The show, billed as an "All-Star Concert in Central Park," will take place in conjunction with the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which is set for July 15 at Yankee Stadium.
"We've gotten the chance to bookend what is the most successful tour in the world this year with a free concert for anyone in New York," Bon Jovi said. "I just traveled the world again, and New York is still the greatest city in the world."
The concert will take place at 8 p.m. on the park's Great Lawn and will not be televised. Fans will be allowed to enter the area beginning at 2 p.m. Tickets will be available beginning July 2 at baseball parks as well as at events throughout New York.
The majority of the tickets will be available at Yankee Stadium, but will also be available at Shea Stadium and at the parks of the Brooklyn Cyclones and Staten Island Yankees. Additionally, tickets will be available through radio sweepstakes, promotional giveaways and in-store programs. Fan can also get tickets at MLB.com.
No more than 60,000 tickets will be distributed in an attempt to maintain the safety and integrity of the lawn's grass, Bloomberg said. "Our interest is in keeping the park open and making sure at the same time that we protect the investment the public has made," he said.
Bon Jovi said fans should expect a full-blown rock show despite the restrictions in place to protect the grass. "This will be our major stadium production," he said.
The band's "Lost Highway" tour wraps July 14-15 in New York.
New CD Releases, July 1: John Mayer, Alkaline Trio, Los Lonely Boys
John Mayer "Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles"
This 2-CD live set was recorded during the vocalist/guitarist's gig on Dec. 8, 2007 at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. It features Mayer performing in three different settings: an acoustic show, fronting the John Mayer Trio (with bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan) and leading his regular electric band.
"Where the Light is" will also be released on DVD and Blue-Ray configurations, and is being shown in theaters across the country for one night only (June 30).
Mayer is also scheduled to tour this summer. The trip will commence with a July 2 date in Milwaukee, WI, and is currently scheduled to last through the end of August. Support acts rotating through the tour will include Colbie Caillat, Brett Dennen, Paramore and OneRepublic.
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Alkaline Trio "Agony & Irony"
The Chicago-based alt-rockers return with their sixth studio album, which marks the group's first collection of all-new material since 2005's "Crimson." The latter set peaked at No. 25 on The Billboard 200 chart.
Last year, the group issued "Remains," a 22-track compilation album. The dual CD/DVD release features non-album sides that the band has recorded for compilations, EPs and international versions of its studio albums, along with a 45-minute DVD including all of the band's music videos from the three studio albums preceding "Agony."
Fans can share in the "Agony" during Alkaline Trio's in-progress tour. The trek is currently scheduled to stretch through an Aug. 3 date in Lawrence, KS.
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Los Lonely Boys "Forgiven"
The Garza brothers--Henry (guitar), JoJo (bass) and Ringo (drums)--are back and ready to release their third album. The set follows 2006's "Sacred," which debuted at No. 2 on The Billboard 200, and the band's double-platinum-selling, Grammy-winning 2003 self-titled debut, which spawned the No. 1 adult-contemporary hit "Heaven."
The first single from "Forgiven" is "Staying With Me." These "Texican" rockers will support the new album during a co-headlining trek with Los Lobos. Dubbed the "Brotherhood Tour," the outing is set to begin July 18 in Portland, OR.
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My Chemical Romance "The Black Parade is Dead"
"The Black Parade," released in late 2006, made these modern goth rockers into superstars in the music business. Yet, all good things must come to an end. Judging by the title of their new release, "The Black Parade is Dead," the band members are presumably just about ready to turn the page on this chapter in their careers and get on the next thing. This live set, released in both CD and DVD formats, documents two concerts from Oct. 2007: a small club show in New Jersey and the final "Black Parade" gig in Mexico City.
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Vanessa Hudgens "Identified"
You might not know her name, but trust that your kids know her voice. Hudgens is best known for her role in the Disney phenomenon "High School Musical" (she starred as Gabriella Montez). The 19-year-old vocalist already has one hit record to her credit--her platinum-selling 2006 debut, "V"--and now she's hoping for another taste of success with her sophomore effort, "Identified."
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More new releases:
Deltron 3030, "Deltron 3030" (Traffic)
G-Unit, "T.O.S.: Terminate on Sight" (G-Unit)
Kansas, "Two for the Show" (Sony)
Van Morrison, "Enlightenment" (Polydor)
Van Morrison, "Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast" (Polydor)
Van Morrison, "A Night in San Francisco" (Polydor)
Van Morrison, "No Guru, No Method, No Teacher" (Polydor)
Van Morrison, "Veedon Fleece" (Polydor)
Night Ranger, "Hole in the Sun" (VH1)
Relient K, "The Bird and the Bee Sides" (Warner Bros.)
Tech N9ne, "Killer" (Strange Music)
Thrillseekers, "Nightmusic, Vol. 3" (Water Music)
Various Artists, "Hed Kandi Beach House 2008" (Ministry of Sound)
Soundtracks and scores:
"Hancock" (Varese)
Maher and Shandling honor George Carlin at service
LOS ANGELES - He was the comedian who actually said the seven words you can never say on television, but close friends and family members remembered George Carlin as a man who, when he was off stage, had only a kind word for everyone he met.
At a private memorial service Sunday attended by some 150 people — "That was as small as we could keep it," chuckled Carlin's daughter, Kelly Carlin McCall — her father was memorialized by comedians Bill Maher, Garry Shandling and others as someone who had no enemies, in part because he was nice to everyone he spoke to.
"What everyone said tonight is if you spent time with my father, whether it was five seconds or five hours, he was kind, attentive, very connected to you, compassionate," said Carlin's daughter.
Among those who spoke at the service, which was closed to the public and news media, was Shandling, who told of being a teenage college student when he sought out Carlin nearly 40 years ago.
"My dad read his material and encouraged him to continue on, which was a life-changing moment in Gary's life," McCall told The Associated Press after the service.
Overall, Carlin's daughter said, the service was a happy event, one presided over in part by her father himself, who spoke from a montage of video clips assembled from his 51-year career.
Carlin, who died June 22 of heart failure, recorded nearly two dozen albums, 14 HBO comedy specials, wrote three best-selling books and appeared in numerous movies and TV shows.
"It was a very, very light event, as he wanted it," McCall said of the two-hour service. "He wanted a lot of laughter. I'd say 90 percent of it was laughing and just remembering what he brought to us in his funny way."
Although his standup routines were often filled with four-letter words — so many that early in his career Carlin was sometimes hauled off stage and taken to jail — his dead-on ability to highlight the absurdities of everyday life, and do so in such comical voices and faces, made his humor come across as anything but harsh.
And although famous for four-letter words, Carlin, 71, did not always use them. He was also Mr. Conductor on the children's show "Shining Time Station," Fillmore the hippie van in the 2006 children's movie "Cars," and the guest host of the first "Saturday Night Live" episode ever broadcast. That 1975 show was replayed by NBC on Saturday night in his honor.
There also was more to Carlin than just the comedian, said McCall, and that too was reflected at her father's funeral.
He loved music, and his service was attended by Kenny Rankin, who sang "Here's That Rainy Day," and Spanky McFarland of the 1960s pop group Spanky and Our Gang, who performed the song "Coming Home."
Other speakers included Carlin's older brother, Patrick, his partner, Sally Wade, and his former standup partner, Jack Burns. Carlin's wife, Brenda Hosbrook Carlin, died in 1997.
Carlin and Burns had met in 1960, and although they worked as a comedy duo only briefly they remained lifelong friends.
In an earlier AP interview, Burns recalled Carlin calling him several times a year to remind him of such things as the anniversary of the day they met, the day they did their first show together and, in one less-than-joyful incident, the day they were jailed for armed robbery in Texas in a case of mistaken identity.
That's just the sentimentalist he was, said McCall, who is Carlin's only child.
"He went out of his way to make sure friends and family members, if they needed anything, he was there for them," she said. "He was a complete man. He was more than just the seven words you can never say on television."
'Rock Band 2' to include new online modes, songs
LOS ANGELES - "Rock Band" is ready for an encore.
A sequel to the play-along music game that redefined the genre last year will be released first for the Xbox 360 in September, according to publisher MTV Games and developer Harmonix. "Rock Band 2" will feature a new variety of instruments, online modes and songs, and will allow players to import their previously purchased "Rock Band" tunes.
"With the original 'Rock Band,' the focus was on innovation," Harmonix co-founder and CEO Alex Rigopulos told The Associated Press. "With 'Rock Band 2,' the focus is on perfection of the experience. We've had a year to listen to our fans and build out the scope, depth and polish of the experience, so it feels like a second-generation band game."
MTV Games and Harmonix will debut "Rock Band 2" on Microsoft's Xbox 360 in September then make the game available for Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2 as well as Nintendo's Wii later in the year. The original "Rock Band" was simultaneously released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 last November before later coming to the PlayStation 2 and Wii.
"Microsoft has been a great partner for 'Rock Band,'" said Van Toffler, president of MTV Networks Music Group, which oversees the "Rock Band" franchise. "It's just so easy to download the content using the Xbox 360 system. It's evolved into a great marketing partnership as well. They'll really blow it out for us."
"Rock Band" allows up to four gamers to form a virtual band, thrashing and singing along to songs with friends online or in-person on various phony instruments. The second edition will feature a playlist of over 80 songs — all master recordings — which will include more female-fronted bands and artists who have never contributed tunes to a music game.
If you've already downloaded a song for the original "Rock Band" — at about $1.99 per track, which can't be transferred to an MP3 player — it will immediately be loaded into your "Rock Band 2" song list without needing to be repurchased or re-downloaded. It's the first time such retroactive compatibility has been introduced in a music game.
"It's the No. 1 most-requested feature from our fans," said Rigopulos.
All prior versions of "Rock Band" instruments, as well as many from the competing "Guitar Hero" franchise, will also be compatible with "Rock Band 2." Harmonix will unleash a collection of new instrument-shaped controllers, including a sturdier drum kit and a Fender Stratocaster reproduction guitar lined with faux wood-grain buttons.
"For fans interested in hardware, the second-generation peripherals are an amazing step forward from the first-generation guitar and drums," said Rigopulos of Harmonix, which created the first two "Guitar Hero" games. "The instruments make huge strides in both fit and finish as well as features and functions."
Thus far, over 15 million songs of the over 200 available tracks have been downloaded from the "Rock Band" online music store since the game's launch last November. The catalog includes songs from rock acts such as The Rolling Stones, Blondie, The Cars, Wolfmother, Queens of the Stone Age, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth and Jimmy Buffett.
MTV Games and Harmonix are releasing 12 "Rock Band" songs on July 15 from The Who — ranging from "My Generation" to "Who Are You" — that all utilize the band's master recordings. The tracks will be available for $1.99 individually or $19.99 together. The special release coincides with the upcoming "VH1 Rock Honors" ceremony commemorating The Who.
"Their music really comes alive when you're playing it," said Rigopulos. "We were trying to release 'Who's Next' in its entirety, but we were unable to locate all the masters. So in the face of that, Pete (Townshend) and Roger (Daltrey) helped curate this best-of soundtrack of everything we were able to find."
The official announcement of "Rock Band 2" means the industry's rhythm game rivalry will enter a three-way matchup this fall against Activision and RedOctane's latest "Guitar Hero" title and Konami's new-music-game-on-the-block "Rock Revolution," which will use the Wii's controllers to simulate air guitars and drums.
Playing music on plastic guitars has become a big business. "Guitar Hero III" has sold 2.5 million units while "Rock Band" has moved 1.3 million units. Both music games are in the top-10 moneymakers for 2008 so far, according to the most recent monthly video game sales data from NPD Group analyst Anita Frazier.
Rigopulos wouldn't comment on how much "Rock Band 2" would cost. The original game bundled with all the instruments went for about $170 at launch. Rigopulos said MTV Games, Harmonix and distributor Electronic Arts were making every effort possible to provide several choices for consumers looking to gear up for "Rock Band 2."
"Guitar Hero World Tour" — the fourth iteration of the franchise that started the music-game trend — will be released in October and will feature a "Rock Band"-like assemblage of peripheral instruments for the first time, as well as the ability make instrumental music, a feature Rigopulos said won't be found on "Rock Band 2."
"We really felt like we wanted to do it right," said Rigopulos. "We're taking a radically different approach to that problem. It's something we wanted to take more time to do it right. It's actually something we're not focused on in 'Rock Band 2.' We're really focused on other areas related to the music and bringing the community together."
MTV Games and Harmonix plan to announce additional "Rock Band 2" details — including the game's playlist — at the E3 Media and Business Summit in July. MTV executive Toffler hinted that "Rock Band 2" will be expanding upon idea of what it means to play online as well eventually broadening the musical genres of available downloadable content.
"I believe we're going to see global online competitions where bands performing throughout the world will compete against each other," said Toffler. "I'm personally excited to open up the genres of music to country, hip-hop and R&B. We've just scratched the surface, really."