John Mayer
Cricket Wireless-Chula Vista, CA
07/29/2008

This was the last California stop for John Mayer and the openers Brett and Colbie Caillat. The stage was set with what looked like street lights near the back of the stage.  When the lights went down and the crowd shrieked incredibly loudly. I think I need a new set of ear drums from the damage caused by the shrieking women!

The first thing everyone noticed as John Mayer waltzed on stage was the lack of hair on his head. I was wondering if John took part in the charity “event/dare” that was going with Kevin Rose of Digg.com. He was asked to cut his hair for charity and it turned into a game of tag. If you were “it” you were asked to shave your hair. Anyways, back to John. John looks as great as he did before shaving it all off. He brought up his lack of hair near the end of the show, saying to the crowd: “People are telling me I look just as good before the haircut.” We all laughed because we know John knows how good looking he is, so in the end none of this really matters.

Keep reading, I promise there is a show review in here…

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Decca to Release Debut Album by Atlanta Singer/Songwriter Duo on October 28

Los Angeles, CA (July 30, 2008) - The Beach Boys harmonized about having “Fun, Fun, Fun.”  Cyndi Lauper insisted that “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.”  Now an Atlanta duo wants audiences to climb into that giant colorful teacup at the park and take a spin through Hey! Hey! (Decca), the unabashedly upbeat debut album of The Love Willows - a.k.a. singer Hope Partlow and guitarist/vocalist Ryan Wilson - due for release October 28.

Hey! Hey!, with all of its tracks written by Partlow and Wilson, produced and engineered by Wilson, and recorded in the attic studio of Wilson’s parents’ home outside of Atlanta, is an emotional chronicle of their relationship told through a pop/rockabilly sound.  “It’s all about fetishes, love and hate,” says Partlow.  “It’s a product of what we’ve gone through as a couple, the battles and the glories, everything that’s happened in the past few years.”

The tunes are brightly colored, like Hope Partlow and Ryan Wilson when they perform live, yet their accessibility belies a sense of inventiveness and, oftentimes, subtle sophistication.  The first single, “Falling Faster,” is mid-tempo romantic narrative, while “A Day in My Life” reveals their sly complexity, with Hope’s enthusiastic vocals layered over sonic themes which embrace pop conventions as they tip a hat to both Irving Berlin and Brian Setzer.  “Strut My Stuff,” featured on the season finale of “The Real World: Hollywood,” is a quirky tune with a music-box riff throughout, while “Shoes,” a tribute to soul over soles, is equal pop and polka.  Other tracks are more straight-ahead, from the punchy “Gotta Make You Mine” to the encouragement of “Keep Your Head Up.”

Memphis native Hope Partlow released her first solo album through Virgin Records at sixteen and toured with the likes of Jesse McCartney.  Ryan Wilson grew up in Atlanta, playing in local bands until auditioning as a guitarist for Partlow’s touring band a half-dozen years back.  They currently live, write and record together in Atlanta.

For more information on The Love Willows visit http://www.thelovewillows.com/.

New York, July 30^th, 2008

Peace One Day announced today that a star-studded concert celebrating Peace Day 2008 will be held at the Nokia Theatre Times Square in New York City on September 9^th, 2008. Grammy-award winning singers Annie Lennox and Bryan Adams will perform acoustic sets alongside international sensation Natasha Bedingfield. Video messages of Peace from celebrities and artists including Jude Law and Lenny Kravitz, speeches from international luminaries and clips from the acclaimed documentary, The Day After Peace, will add to a remarkable night of entertainment. The New York concert will be filmed and a TV special will be broadcast globally.

Proceeds from the Peace One Day Celebration are earmarked to assist the non-profit organization’s ongoing mission to raise awareness of Peace Day, September 21^st annually, and manifest life saving activities on the Day. As a direct outcome of Peace One Day’s campaigning in 2007, parties in Afghanistan recognized Peace Day resulting in 1.4 million Afghanistan children being vaccinated against polio. Last year, 100 million people in 200 countries were engaged in Peace Day activities and in 14 of those countries, efforts were targeted towards providing life-saving activities and medical services on the Day.

Annie Lennox said today, “What I love about Jeremy Gilley and the Peace One Day campaign, is that the whole thing was started by just one individual who is trying to make difference, despite the odds. We all have so much potential, but we don’t tend to realise it, so we take it for granted. The work of Peace One Day encourages and inspires people to think about we can all do, both at individual and “collective” levels. There are better and alternative means to conflict resolution than “killing and maiming the enemy”. Political leaders and power brokers have too much invested in the industry of war, rather than implementing peaceful solutions. What is life without peace? Peace is for the highest good, and as a global community it is one of the things we need to value above everything.”

“We now have a remarkable chance to each do our part to commit to peaceful activities on Peace Day and this day has been proven to save lives,” said Jeremy Gilley, Founder of Peace One Day and writer, producer and director of The Day After Peace, “I am excited to be in New York to celebrate this important day with internationally acclaimed singers like Annie Lennox, Bryan Adams and Natasha Bedingfield.”

www.peaceoneday.org

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Jack White will be teaming up with Alicia Keys for the 22nd James Bond film that will be out in theaters this November. The duo will be recording the theme song to “Quantaum of Solace”. “Another Way To Die” is the first duet in Bond history that was written & produced by Jack White. The soundtrack releases this October.

tour Includes Special Guests Plain White T’s and The Cab

Tickets Go On-Sale on Friday August 8th

New York, NY – July 30, 2008 – The musical video game phenomenon of Rock Band™ is coming to a city near you. This fall Rock Band Live (http://www.rockbandlivetour.com) will travel across the country with headline acts Panic At The Disco and Dashboard Confessional, together on stage, with very special guests Plain White T’s, The Cab, and possibly YOU!

The concert tour will let Rock Band bands rock their way onto the main stage with a truly interactive experience that allows fans to compete in head-to-head competitions for the chance to play on the main stage in-between the tour acts’ sets. Bands will be selected through local radio promotions, national contests and on-site at each show.

Tickets for the tour will go on sale to the public on Friday, August 8th at 10:00AM local time. The tour will kick off on October 5th in San Diego, CA and continue through November 14th ending in Houston, TX.

“Rock Band Live brings together a terrific combination of artists for a night of rock ‘n roll love,” said Paul DeGooyer, MTV’s Senior Vice President of Electronic Games & Music. “The bands are fantastic, the timing dovetails perfectly with the release of Rock Band 2, and the events will be tons of interactive fun for families.”

“We’re huge fans of Rock Band and feel honored to join the Rock Band 2 game disc setlist with some of our favorite artists like The Who, Bob Dylan and Journey!” said Panic At The Disco’s Brendon Urie. “And what better way to celebrate our involvement with the game than joining the first Rock Band tour. We’re definitely excited to be a part of things”

“I’m practicing my Rock Band drumming,” deadpanned Dashboard Confessional singer Chris Carrabba, “With any luck I’ll win a spot on stage to show what I can REALLY do.”

Panic At The Disco will be featured on the Rock Band 2 game disc coming out this September. In addition, all Rock Band Live tour acts will be featured in a forthcoming downloadable content pack for the game.

About the Tour

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FIRST SINGLE ‘USE ME’ EXPLODES AT RADIO GARNERING #1 MOST ADDED AT ALTERNATIVE FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE WEEKS

(New York, NY – July 28, 2008) Rousing Universal Republic rockers Hinder will be releasing their much anticipated follow-up album to their breakthrough 3X platinum smash Extreme Behavior on Election Day, November 4. The new CD, Take It To The Limit, was produced by Extreme Behavior producer Brian Howes, and features the cutting edge first single “Use Me,” which officially hit radio on July 15. The single is already making waves at radio by being the #1 Most Added at Alternative Radio for two consecutive weeks in a row. Q101 (Chicago), 89X (Detroit) and The Edge (Dallas) have all jumped on board the infectious single and has been met with an overwhelming listener reaction.

Influential radio programmers are also weighing in, with one Amarillo, TX program director (KZRK) raving: ‘Phones are through the roof with people calling and asking for the new Hinder. We can’t wait for the rest of the album…’ The raucous Oklahoma fivesome have been treating fans to early helpings of their upcoming sophomore effort, letting loose with some new tracks from Take It To The Limit on their raved about summer live show. The tour with 3 Doors Down and Staind is turning out to be one of the hottest draws of the summer of ’08.

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The Hush Sound recently played a hometown show at the House of Blues while in the middle of their summer Dance Across The Country Tour promoting their new album, Goodbye Blues. Before they hit the stage to a SOLD OUT crowd of adoring Chicago fans, friends and family, I got to talk with lead singers/songwriters Greta Salpeter and Bob Morris. Just a heads up - about 3/4 of the way into the interview, Bob had to leave to go soundcheck, since he was singing with the first opening band. Among the topics we discussed were: bags of weed, iced coffee, Tim and Eric, Guitar Hero, New Kids On The Block, Rock Band, The Young and the Restless, ‘N Sync, Patrick Stump, and even FBR Trash. Read on to hear what Greta and Bob had to say about THAT…

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Title: Strange Noize Tour
Location: The Grove - Anaheim, CA
Description: Featuring Tech N9ne, Kottonmouth Kings, Cypress Hill\’s Sen Dog, (Hed)pe and hip hop legends X-Clan.
Date: 2008-08-01

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Cypress Hill
House of Blues - Chicago, IL
7/25/08

The Dare 2 Dream show is a Benefit Concert & Silent Auction to raise awareness and funding for youth homelessness; Latino homelessness programs in Chicago.

I received a random call late Thursday night from a good friend of mine, Big Herc, asking if I was interested in going to the Cypress Hill show. Beknownst to me the night would be much more than just a show. When I finally reached the HOB Big Herc was having a drink over at the Crimson Lounge with none other than Sen Dog! There aren’t words to describe how cool it was to meet him. It was so laid back shooting the shit, talking about music, hearing about the days of Cypress Hill getting into the music scene. Being a kid growing up in the 90’s listening to Cypress Hill and here I am some 13 years later having a drink with Sen Dog, I can’t even explain the experience. Big Herc has recorded & toured with Cypress Hill in the past so business talk of “making it” in this industry came up and it all comes down to sacrifice. You have to do what you can to make it in this cut throat industry not only for yourself but for your family. It was humbling to hear about how Sen Dog & B’ Real would show up to clubs while a friend was spinning and try to get on the mic or how in the days of cassette tapes Julio would sample snippets of songs, hook up mics to a boom box and record onto tapes.

To hear about our fantabulous seats keep reading…

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