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New Deal, Blue Floyd Add Wetlands Shows Sunday and Monday

Manhattan's Wetlands Preserves has just made two announcements regarding shows for this Sunday and Monday, January 30 and 31. Canada's New Deal has been added to the Sunday Black Lilly show. Additionally, in the wake of two successful performances at Manhattan's Bottom Line, Blue Floyd will take the stage on Monday. The club has also confirmed that The Blue Floyd performance will be accompanied by some bonus visual stimulation, in the form of a screening of the Wizard of Oz.

Phoenix Presents Live Releases

Phoenix Media Group has announced the launch of Phoenix Presents, a new label featuring live recordings of independent bands. The live performances are engineered by Sam Kopper, who was program director for Boston radio giant WBCN in 1968. Kopper also engineered Live Aid and Diana Ross Live in Central Park. Releases that are available from Phoenix include Blueground Undergrass - Live at the Variety Playhouse, Jiggle the Handle - Live at the Stone Coast Brewery, Soup - A Tour of Two Cities, Blind Man's Sun - Live at The Elbow Room and ulu - Live at Wetlands. The CDs are available at www.radiophoenix.com and at each band's live shows. Phoenix plans to release a total of twenty-four live albums this year.

Karl Denson to Record with All Star Line up

Karl Denson enters the studio this weekend to start work on a new album with an all-star cast. The line up features Fred Wesley on trombone, Chris Wood on bass, DJ Logic on the turntables, Leon Spencer Jr. on organ, Melvin Sparks on guitar, Ron Levy on organ, and Greyboy Allstars drummer Zak Najor. The album is due to be released in late spring.

Karl Denson's Tiny Universe has announced its new line up. Trumpet player Ephraim Owens and bass player Ron Johnson will replace the recently departed Carlos Washington and Chris Stillwell.

Owens and Denson will perform with the String Cheese Incident March 9 and 10 at the Hilton Ballroom in Eugene, OR and March 11 at the Paramount in Seattle, WA. Karl Denson's Tiny Universe will also tour in February and early March. For a complete list tour dates, visit www.karldenson.com.

New Tour, Album and Website from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones will begin their winter tour February 14 at the Barrymore Theater in Madison, WI. The North American portion of the tour concludes April 15 at the Orpheum Theater in Boston and also includes a date with the David Grisman Quintet April 14 at the Beacon Theater in New York City. Starting on April 20, the band will head to Australia for shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Byron Bay. The Flecktones also have a new album on the way, due out in June on the Columbia/Sony label. For a complete list of tour dates, visit the band's recently revamped website at www.flecktones.com.

Widespread Panic, Vic Chesnutt Among Performers at Lee Laurence Benefit

Last night's benefit for Lee Laurence, the Day By The River crew member who was killed in an automobile accident last year, turned out to be a star-studded event. The Georgia Theater show drew many notable area musicians who demonstrated their support and affection for Laurence and his family. The evening started with a few songs from the members of the recently disbanded Day By The River, who opened the night with "Georgia On My Mind." Barbara Cue followed, the side project of Widespread Panic drummer Todd Nance, which featured contributions from Panic's Jo Jo Herman, along with noted producer John Keane and Danny Hutchens from Bloodkin. Hutchens' band followed, with guests Herman, Sunny Ortiz and John Bell, along with Keane once again. The evening climaxed with a performance by Brute, the group consisting of the entire Widespread Panic roster along with Vic Chesnutt.

Wise Monkey Orchestra & Larry To Appear On Second "Three Sets"

Colorado-based Lauan Records (pronounced Lou-on) has announced that it has signed San Diego's Wise Monkey Orchestra an Austin's Larry to appear on a new Three Sets compilation disc. Lauan's initial Three Sets release, collected the music of Day By The River, Jiggle The Handle and Vinyl. Lauan's Seth Goldberger reports "Larry fell into our laps by accident, and from the first time we heard them we were hooked. While Larry does not yet have a large following outside of Texas, after hearing their music we know that it is only a matter of time before they are going to be a major force on the national level of the jamband scene." Partner David Landsberger adds, "I think perhaps the strongest compliment I can pay them is that I fell in love with their music over a low bandwidth realaudio stream." Landsberger also heaps praise on Wise Monkey Orchestra, stating that the group "does a fabulous job integrating all sorts of sounds to create a high energy sound that you just can't help dancing to. Their San Diego sound is quickly spreading across the country." Lauan intends to announce a third group later this month with a May 1st release date for the project. The label offers streaming mp3 web radio at www.lauan.com.

Jiggle the Handle CD Release Party Set

Jiggle the Handle will hold a CD release party Saturday night at the Palladium in Worcester, MA for their latest album, Live at the Stone Coast. The album was recorded on 7/22/99 at the Stone Coast Brewery Portland, ME and is the second release in an ongoing "Phoenix Presents" live series from Phoenix Rising Records. Foxtrot Zulu and the Big Wu will open the show. Tickets are available through Protix at 800-477-6849 and at local Strawberries outlets.

Tomorrow night Jiggle will play a special in-store performance at MARS Music in Somerville, MA. There will be a meet and greet at 7 p.m., followed by a three or four song set. For more information, visit www.jigglethehandle.com.

SuperJam VII Announced

SuperJam VII will be held March 2 at Tipitina's Uptown in New Orleans. The line up features Karl Denson on sax, Chris Wood on bass, Leo Nocentelli on guitar, Stanton Moore on drums and Henry Butler on keyboards. SuperJam is an ongoing series which features a variety of New Orleans musicians collaborating with traveling national talent. SuperJam VII is part of the Mardi Gras Music Festival, which also includes two shows at the Contemporary Art Center: The Funky Meters and Karl Denson's Tiny Universe on March 3 and The Roots on March 5. Tickets for all three shows are not yet on sale, but will be available through Ticketmaster. SuperJam VII tickets will also be available at the Tipitina's Box Office.

Disco Biscuits Alum To Take Stage With Uncle Sammy

Marc Brownstein, former bass player with the Disco Biscuits will make his formal return to the Wetlands main stage Friday night, appearing with Uncle Sammy. Brownstein will not perform the entire evening with the band, but instead will pick up a bass to join the group at some point during their extended set which begins at midnight. Brownstein comments, "I love the guys. They called me up and invited me and I'm honored and flattered to come down and play with them, especially now with Max being a part of my new project." As reported yesterday, Uncle Sammy guitarist Max Delaney will join Brownstein's Maui Project which will debut at Wetlands on April 8.

Uncle Sammy, which recently joined the Homegrown Music network will be performing its first headlining gig at the club. The band generated a buzz earlier this year when it performed a five hour set in the lounge. It is likely that the group will take the stage for at least four consecutive hours on Friday night. Phoenix Rising recording artists Foxtrot Zulu will open the evening at 10.

[Site editor's note: this article was prepared without the involvement of news editor Jeff Waful, due to his professional relationship with Uncle Sammy]

Phil & Friends Show to Commemorate Lesh's 60th Birthday

Bill Graham Presents has just announced that Phil Lesh and "Some Very Special Friends" will play Henry J. Kaiser Auditorium in Oakland, CA on March 10, to celebrate Lesh's 60th birthday (which takes place on March 15). Although rumors are circulating as to who Phil's "friends" will be, nothing has been officially announced. Tickets go on sale this Sunday at 10 a.m. PST at all BASS Ticket Centers. To charge tickets, call 415-478-BASS or visit www.basstickets.com.

Jamie Masfield, Jon Fishman Welcome Danton Boller Into The Jazz Mandolin Project

The Jazz Mandolin Project has announced that Danton Boller will play bass on its upcoming tour. The line up will feature Boller, Jamie Masfield and Jon Fishman. Boller has a strong jazz background and has studied with "Senator" Eugene J. Wright of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. He has also played with many artists including Joshua Redman, Mulgrew Miller, Bennie Wallace and Mark Yurner. The Jazz Mandolin Project tour opens February 1 at the Palladium in Worcester, MA. For a complete list of confirmed dates, visit their website.

Marc Brownstein's Maui Project

Former Disco Biscuits bassist Marc Brownstein has announced that he will perform on his birthday, April 8, at Wetlands Preserve in New York City with The Maui Project. The line up features Brownstein on bass and vocals, Max Delaney of Uncle Sammy on guitar, Dave Hoffman of ulu on drums and Mike Magee on turntables. "I'm writing songs for myself so I can have some kind of creative outlet in my transitional period," says Brownstein. "The point of the project is for me to be able to play some music for fun without necessarily having to worry about the pressure of the industry and the scene that we're all in." Brownstein is composing entirely new material for the show. Tickets go on sale tomorrow through Ticketmaster or at the Wetlands box office with no service charge.

The Slip Winter Tour Begins Tonight, Two Benefits Planned

The Slip kicks off its winter tour tonight at the Iron Horse in Northampton, MA. The tour will include shows on the East Coast in January in addition to dates in Colorado, California, Washington, Arizona and Oregon in February and March. The Slip will play a benefit concert for Habitat For Humanity February 3 at Bates College in Lewiston, ME as well as a benefit for Apeiron Environmental Education Center, February 4 at Lupos in Providence, RI. For the complete tour itinerary, visit http://www.theslip.com/upcoming.htm.

The Slip also has a new CD on the way, due out this spring. More details are forthcoming. This Saturday at 9 p.m. EST, the House of Blues will webcast The Slip's 12/1/99 performance recorded live in Cambridge, MA.

Soulive to Part Ways with Organist Neal Evans

Soulive has just announced that organist Neal Evans will be leaving the band to pursue other interests. "It's a very amicable split," says drummer Alan Evans, who is also Neal's brother. "We have had a series of conversations and decided that this is the best route to take, but we want to make it abundantly clear that the band is not breaking up. Soulive has had a great run with Neal, but Eric (Krasno, Soulive guitarist) and I still have a tremendous amount of love for the music and are committed to the band." Neal will remain in the band through the end of Soulive's current tour, which concludes March 11 at the Stone Coast Brewing Company in Portland, ME. The tour also includes a residency at Wetlands Preserve in New York City Wednesday nights in February, dates supporting the Derek Trucks Bands and a co-bill with John Medeski and Bob Moses February 26 at the Middle East in Cambridge, MA. For a complete list of tourdates, visit http://www.soulive.com.

Soulive also has a new CD on the way, due to be released this summer. They recently recorded two tracks with John Scofield for the upcoming album.

Miles Davis Tribute to Include Steve Kimock

Henry Kaiser and Wadada Leo Smith's YO MILES! will perform at the Fillmore in San Francisco, March 4. Special guests include Steve Kimock on guitar and Steve Smith on drums. YO MILES! is a collection of Miles Davis songs that "resurrect Miles' magical, kaleidoscopic, electric music in fresh, new, innovative performances". Ticket information has not yet been announced. For more information, visit http://henrykaiser.net/disco_yomiles.html#anchor5792765

It's Been a Long Time Coming: CSNY2K Tour Launched

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young kicked off their CSNY2K tour last night at The Palace at Auburn Hills in Detroit, MI. It is the group's first tour in over twenty-five years (however, Young did perform with Crosby, Stills and Nash for two songs at the Bridge School Benefit last year). Last night's setlist featured many old CSNY classics such as "Carry On," "Almost Cut My Hair," "Our House," "Helplessly Hoping," "Woodstock," "Teach Your Children," and "Ohio." Young contributed "Southern Man," "Cinnamon Girl," "Only Love Can Break Your Heart," "After The Goldrush," "Down By The River," "Long May You Run," and "Rockin' in the Free World." The quartet also played songs from its latest album, Looking Forward, including "Faith in Me," "Slowpoke," "Stand and Be Counted," "Heartland," "Dream for Him," "Looking Forward," "Out of Control," and "Seen Enough." The tour resumes tomorrow night at Kemper Arena in Kansas City. For a complete list of tour dates, visit http://csny.net/tour.html.

For daily CSNY setlists, be sure to visit Box Scores.

New Album from Mickey Hart

Today Mickey Hart releases the companion album to his best selling book, Spirit into Sound: The Magic of Music. The album features guest performances from Bob Weir, Planet Drum vocalist and co-composer Rebeca Mauleon and North Indian instrumentalist Zakir Hussain. Hart composed the material for the album while writing the book of the same name. "Whenever I'm researching a writing project, sound images always appear in my dreams, " says Hart. "My book traces a written pathway of two thousand years of inspirations and insights on music from the greatest minds throughout the ages."

On February 1, Hart will be performing a song from Spirit into Sound: The Magic of Music on The Regis and Kathy Lee show as well as Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He plans to tour in support of the album this spring. For more information, visit http://www.mhart.com.

New Tour and Album from Michael Ray & the Cosmic Krew

Michael Ray & the Cosmic Krewe have announced their new tour dates. The line up features Michael Ray on trumpet, Adam Klipple on keyboards, Dave Grippo on saxophone, Bob Gullotti on drums, Dave Hyman on bass and Don Glasgo on Trombone. The tour includes dates at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in April. For a list of confirmed tour dates, visit http://www.satchmo.com/CosmicRay/tourinfo.html.

There is also a new album available from Michael Ray & the Cosmic Krew, titled Funk If I know. It features guest appearances by Trey Anastasio, John Medeski and Delfeayo Marsalis.

Gamelan Promoter Recognized as one of Boston's Top Players

The Improper Bostonian has published its "Top 10 Players in the Scene," a list of influential people in the Boston music scene. Included in the list is Gamelan Interactive owner and talent buyer, Andrew Stahl. Gamelan is a company that books and manages bands and promotes live music events. Its roster includes Jiggle the Handle, Soulive, The New Deal, John Brown's Body, Addison Groove Project, Dr. Didj and the Living Daylights. "It's very exciting that this came out," says Stahl. "Especially when we're about to go public with our release of what the new Gamelan Interactive is all about. We've got a whole new wealth of resources with two new people that we've just hired. We have every resource we could ever imagine at our fingertips to take this scene global." Gamelan also produces the annual Berkshire Mountain Music Festival, which this year will be held August 11 - 13 at the Butternut Basin Ski Area in Great Barrington, MA.

SonicNet and Jambands.com To Create Radio Station

In the wake of Friday's announcement concerning EZCD.com, Jambands.com editor Dean Budnick has just confirmed that the site has entered into an agreement to create a radio station with SonicNet. The co-branded tuner will appear on Jambands.com as well as SonicNet and its affiliate sites. The station should be up and running by the end of February. Budnick, who will serve as initial program director, notes, "This is obviously something we've been wanting to do for some time. A number of people have spoken with us about adding sound to the site but finally we have found a partner who will not just present our music but also will ensure that many new listeners will tune in and discover these sounds. I really think this will be helpful and significant to all of the bands that will participate. In speaking with Brad Porteus (Vice President of SonicNet Entertainment) I know that he has the interests of the entire scene at heart." Porteus adds, "SonicNet is fired up about teaming with Jambands.com. No one has a better pulse on the world of jam band music than Dean and the rest of the Jambands.com crew. I can't wait to start listening!"

New Tour Dates from Gov't Mule

Gov't Mule has announced its winter tour dates. The band features Warren Haynes, Allen Woody and Matt Abts. The tour will begin February 26 at Trax in Charlottsville, VA and conclude March 18 at the Magnolia Festival at the Spirit of Suwanne Music Park in Live Oak, FL. The tour also includes a two-night stand at New York City's Iriving Plaza March 7 and 8 as well as stops at the Theater of Living Arts in Philadelphia March 9 and the Recher Theatre in Towson, MD March 11. For a list of confirmed dates, visit http://www.mule.net/.

Warren Haynes will be appearing on a variety of television and radio programs in February to promote the band's new album, Life Before Insanity, due out next month. More details will be announced this week. Friday night, Haynes joined the Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies on stage at Wetlands Preserve in New York City.