BEATLES
Liverpool Hope University has awarded former Miss. Canada finalist its first Masters degree in Beatle Studies to Mary-Lu Zahalan-Kennedy.
The program started in 2009. It is an intensive study of what made the Beatles the Beatles; how Liverpool’s port created essential environmental factors in Liverpool, the sound and composition of the Beatles, and the exploration of The Beatles influence on popular music.
The degree is awarded upon the completion of one hundred and twenty credits and a successful presentation of a dissertation.
Rain is a critically acclaimed Beatles tribute band. Experience the Beatles in every stage of their legendary career: from the early days of Beatlemania, through the psychedelic era of Sgt. Pepper, and into the final years of Let it Be and Abbey Road. The two-hour performance includes such classics as A Day in the Life and Strawberry Fields; songs that the Beatles themselves never performed live due to their discontinuation from touring in 1966. All the music is produced live without the use of prerecorded tapes and is replicated virtually note for note. As one critic has noted, it's "the next best thing to seeing the Beatles!"
Deidre Muro and Paul Hammer of Savoir Adore are refreshingly free of egos. I had the opportunity to let them finish each other's sentences on the first night of their 3-week residency at Cake Shop. We chatted about the creative process, Brooklyn, and just what Paul plans to do when playing shows just isn't enough to keep him awake anymore.
How did you two start writing together? How did you begin collaborating musically?
New York City is where everyone goes to "make it," and accordingly, only a very small portion succeed. Countless numbers of actors, artists, writers, musicians, and other “professionals” have ultimately been forced to turn tail and retreat from a city that exemplifies the “dog eat dog” mentality. Rising proudly from the slew of undocumented failures that this city has aborted is The London Souls. When contemporary musicians spend their time experimenting with electronics that clog a stage faster than dreadlocks caught in an overhead fan, The London Souls occupy their time refining their soulful, blues-rock influence into a rocking sound that quickly fills any listener with the warm comfort of a traditional rock feeling. They play fervently with decades of musical influence under their belts and convert that energy into a show ripe with power, charisma, and an overall rock and roll sound that is equally fresh and familiar at the same time, not to mention loud. I got the chance to speak with this unique group of musicians about their music, their influences, the importance of having fun, and playing rock and roll music in the fickle New York music scene.
Twenty-nine years after the death of John Lennon, fans continue to pay tribute to his memory, music, and worldview. Many will make a pilgrimage to the Strawberry Fields in Central Park. Others will sit at home listening to their well worn copy of Revolver, Rubber Soul, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, or ok, maybe even Yellow Submarine. For the members of Acrylics, Amazing Baby, Gillian Rivers and the SET Quartet, Here We Go Magic, Lauren Bahr, Nicole Atkins, Psychic, The Royal Chains, and Suckers performing tonight at Glasslands Gallery (8 pm, $6 cover), a memorial show is their way of remembering a person that changed music, even before he began to think about changing the world.
Let me take you down (‘cause I’m going to) South Florida for the best Beatles tribute act since Rock Band spurred a brand new Beatlemania. Beatlesque is a cover band that’s keeping the joy of the Beatles’ music alive. After performing throughout the area for seven years, from Playwright’s Irish Pub on South Beach to the International Boat Show in Fort Lauderdale, the band settled into a steady gig on the first Friday of every month at the Dubliner in Mizner Park.
James Mercer has been doing plenty of house cleaning with his indie band, The Shins, by replacing the bassist and drummer for “aesthetic reasons,” but it is his upcoming collaboration with producer extraordinaire, Danger Mouse, that has the music industry on pins and needles. Danger Mouse, real name Brian Burton, first met Mercer backstage at Denmark’s Roskilde festival in 2004 and “wanted to do something with James, no matter what.” After years of numerous projects and separate album releases, the duo have finally come together to work on their newest venture, “Broken Bells,” which, as of yet, is only a proposed nom de plume despite a new website featuring the aforementioned band name.
After the recent release of their entire remastered catalog, the Beatles are still as popular as ever, with the numbers speaking for themselves.
Putting all their album sales together yields a grand total of 626,000. This blows by Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 which debuted at the Number One spot on Billboard’s Top 200 (475,000 albums sold). The Beatles were not eligible for the Top 200 chart, but taking a look at the Comprehensive Albums chart shows some astonishing numbers. 50 percent of the Top 10 was made up of Beatles albums (that’s five albums, for those of you who are poor at math), with Abbey Road topping out at the Number 3 spot (89,000 albums sold), and Sgt. Pepper’s at Number 5 (74,000 albums sold). Consider the fact that most of us know these albums by heart, and these numbers just become more and more impressive. Furthermore, the Top 20 of the Comprehensive Albums featured nine Beatles’ albums. And just for kicks, the complete box set (which was eligible for the Top 200) made the 15th spot on the list.
Seems like Paul McCartney has a penchant for unannounced, slightly elevated concerts. Forty years after the Beatles played their famous rooftop concert in London, and 45 years after they played their equally famous American television debut on the Ed Sullivan Show, Paul has returned to the legendary Ed Sullivan Theater, playing a surprise concert atop the marquee for the Late Show With David Letterman.
At 5:30 pm last Wednesday, Sir Paul and his band played a half-hour set to a crowd of stunned fans, many of whom left work early to catch the aging Brit run through a few tunes before heading home for dinner. Macca did not disappoint, playing through fan favorites from his time with the Beatles and Wings, such as “Get Back,” “Helter Skelter,” and “Band on the Run,” along with “Sing the Changes,” a new track off of his most recent effort, Electric Arguments.
As creative as I am, this one trumps anything I can think of. Producer Danger Mouse, who is best known for the Jay-Z and Beatles mash-up The Grey Album, is scheduled to release an album called the Dark Night of the Soul this July. It features a host of other notable creative-types such as Iggy Pop, The Flaming Lips and Sparklehorse. Unfortunately, due to a contractual dispute with record label EMI, the release of the album has been blocked. Obviously pissed off about this matter, Danger Mouse decided to use some of his creative juices and do something about it: He is releasing a completely blank CD. Danger Mouse’s management released this statement in regards to his plan via his website:
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