Cohen will perform three dates in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch later this year
before heading to Australia. His last tour received overwhelmingly positive reviews, and received the Helpmann Award for the Best International Concert in 2009.
Stuff.co.nz reviewer Michael Field said Cohen was in fine form during last year's January show in Auckland.
"That distinctive voice is unchanged and powerful ... the songs sounded fresh and new."
Tickets for the shows go on sale on May 31.
October 29: Vector Arena, Auckland
October 31: TSB Arena, Wellington
November 3: Westpac Arena, Christchurch
The lineup was announced today for the festival known as G-TARanaki 2010, a five-day musical celebration of the guitar to be held in New Plymouth.
The headline act is ex-Guns 'N Roses/Velvet Revolver axe-man Slash. He will be joined by Alter Bridge vocalist Myles Kennedy along with bassist Todd Kerns (Sin City Sinners, Static in Stereo, Age of Electric), rhythm guitarist Bobby Schneck (Green Day, Weezer) and drummer Brent Fitz (Alice Cooper, Vince Neil).
Also visiting from overseas is Uli Jon Roth ex-Scorpions. The classically trained German rock guitarist appeared at the 2008 G-TARanaki summit. He'll offer workshops and masterclasses and lead an all-star jam session as part of the Friday night concert.
Jennifer Batten, who was Michael Jackson's live guitarist across three world tours and worked with Jeff Beck in the late 1990s, will perform at G-TARanaki also. Batten is a class player with chops that allow her to move from metal shred to world music, to funk, fusion and electronica. http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/blogs/blog-on-the-tracks/3737795/G-TARanaki-2010
Vinnie Moore is also on the bill. He was discovered due to a demo tape he sent to Guitar Player magazine. From there he became an influential shredder then toured and recorded with Alice Cooper and is currently playing with UFO.
Hail! is a metal supergroup with a shifting lineup. For G-TARanaki it will be Scott Travis of Judas Priest banging the skins, Scott MacAlpine (from Steve Vai's band) on lead guitar and Tony Franklin Jennifer Batten(The Firm, Quiet Riot, Blue Murder) on bass.
From Mountain - and from work with the likes of Van Halen, Mick Jagger and Billy Joel - Leslie West will be on board.
California Guitar Trio will work through almost every genre of music.
Joining the California Guitar trio and performing solo is bass legend Tony Levin. You would know his work from King Crimson, from touring and recording with Peter Gabriel - from his Chapman Stick playing as well as his bass playing; possibly even from his inclusion on John Lennon & Yoko Ono's Double Fantasy album.
Another great bass player making the trip is Guy Pratt. Pratt took on the role of bass player for Pink Floyd for the post-Roger Waters albums and tours. He has also toured (including New Zealand) with Bryan Ferry and has played extensively with Robert Palmer, was a member of Icehouse and played on the tour behind the Coverdale Page album. In 2007 he published a memoir - filled with great touring and recording stories - My Bass and Other Animals. And from there he has gone on to a sideline career in standup comedy - touring with his music anecdotes.
Oli Brown Band features Britain's newest blues guitar prodigy, Oli Brown. He released his debut, Open Road in 2008. He was just 19. From there Mike Vernon, producer of early John Mayall and Fleetwood Mac albums, came out of retirement to produce the Oli Brown Band's follow-up, Heads I Win, Tails You Lose.
Speaking of young stars, Desiree Bassett is just 17. Here's a clip of her, aged 15, covering Jimi Hendrix. From here she has gone on to release three CDs and play alongside Jimmie Vaughan and Sammy Hagar. She is from New Haven, Connecticut.
There are New Zealand bands performing as part of G-TARanaki also.
The Checks will be there. In Dread Response is an Auckland metal band. For the cheekier side of metal try Shotgun Alley. And there's also The Thomas Oliver Band from Wellington, Kara Gordon Trio, an Auckland group that performed at 2008's G-TARanaki, and Blue Monkey Racket, a Taranaki blues band.
So, how does this all work? And what's happening?
A Friday night concert at the TSB Stadium will see The Checks, Desiree Bassett and Oli Brown Band as well as Tony Levin with the California Guitar Trio. This evening will be headlined by the Uli Jon Roth All-Star Jam with Leslie West, Desiree Bassett, Vinnie Moore and Jennifer Batten.
On Saturday there will be a concert at the TSB Stadium that kicks off with Shotgun Alley and In Dread Response. Then there will be sets by Vinnie Moore, Jennifer Batten and Hail! Finally, Slash will close the evening. There's a chance the likes of Batten and Moore may join him for an all-star jam to conclude.
There are three midnight sessions at Puke Ariki. Thursday's will see The Thomas Oliver Band, Guy Pratt, Levin with the California Guitar Trio, Oli Brown Band and Desiree Bassett.
Friday will feature Kara Gordon Trio, Leslie West, Desiree Bassett, Guy Pratt, Vinnie Moore and then Tony Levin solo.
Saturday's midnight session will be the Brian Hatcher Band, Jennifer Batten, Uli Jon Roth, Hail! and Slash.
At the Sky Academy on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday Uli Jon Roth will be sharing his knowledge with music students in afternoon sessions (1.30-5.30).
There are forums and clinics across the Friday and Saturday - everything from local bands showing how to shred to Dominion Law discussing the legal side of the music business. One of the highlights will surely be Tony Levin discussing working with the likes of Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, John Lennon and King Crimson.
There's also a G-TARanaki Guitar Exhibition.
Tickets go on sale to the public from Monday, May 31. Visit here (official G-TARanaki site) to sign up for e-newsletters and to receive further information.
When it comes to Elvis Presley and Las Vegas you might have thought you'd seen and heard it all.
The King's name is synonymous with the City of Sin - from the countless impersonators, Elvis-inspired wedding chapels, and numerous dedication shows.
But a new Cirque Du Soleil extravaganza, playing in the city Elvis spent so much time in as an entertainer, is injecting new life into the late star - more than 30 years after his death. Called Viva Elvis, it is based on Elvis's music, career and personal life, taking in his humble beginnings, army service, death of his twin brother, marriage to Priscilla, and of course his Vegas show days.
It features about 30 Elvis songs, but in a respectful twist, there's no vocal impersonator. Rather the songs feature Elvis' vocals backed by a live band, sped up to give a modern edge with some sung by a woman. Emotion is the theme of the day with this show as you can't help but feel something, Elvis fan or not. There are video montages with some never seen before footage. His personal life and relationship with Priscilla dominates as she had a lot do with the show as an adviser and collaborator.
There's a building-sized wedding cake with Priscilla and Elvis labelled across the bottom and a female singer standing on the top, while there's also a ballet performed inside wedding rings to illustrate their love, to the song Can't Help Falling In Love. An acrobatic number on a huge guitar represents the sadness Elvis felt at never knowing his twin brother, who was stillborn, played to the ballad One Night. There's also colour, action, and high energy, with Jailhouse Rock, and Viva las Vegas, featuring 40 Elvis impersonators.
Traditional Cirque Du Soleil fans, however, may be disappointed as it is more about storytelling than acrobatics. But playing at the new 2000 seat Elvis theatre at the new Aria Resort & Casino at City Center in Las Vegas - since February - there is no better place for this show. This is the city where Elvis spent many of his performing days. He first played in Las Vegas at the age of 21 in 1956, at the New Frontier Hotel, where he was billed The Atomic Powered Singer. Then in the early 1960s he spent weeks in the town filming the movie Viva Las Vegas. But it was his appearances there over the years 1969 to 1976 that cemented his legendary status and eternal link with the City of Sin.
Cirque shows, from the famous Canadian circus entertainment company, have been playing in Vegas since the early 1990s, finding their natural home.
The Elvis show comes as the acrobatic circus shows diversify to take on legendary musicians following the success of Love, which features the music of The Beatles.
Next on the cards is a Cirque show as a tribute to the late king of pop Michael Jackson.
But for now, it's all about Elvis - especially as the King would've celebrated his 75th birthday this year.
Expectations are that it will become one of the longest-running Cirque shows.
Urbandale police are investigating the death of the bass guitarist for Grammy award-winning Slipknot at a local hotel.
Paul Dedrick Gray, 38, of Johnston was found dead at approximately 10:50 a.m. today (May 24) by an employee at TownePlace Suites, 8800 Northpark Drive, police said.
There was no evidence of foul play, police said, but the investigation is ongoing.
An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday. Toxicology tests will be done.
Gray was a founding member of Slipknot and one of only two members not born in Iowa. The band broke into the mainstream with a platinum-selling self-titled debut in 1999. Two follow-ups, 2002's "Iowa" and 2005's "Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses)" also went platinum. The band has been nominated for seven Grammy awards, winning in 2006 for best metal performance.
“It’s just a devastating loss for the Des Moines music scene and the world’s music scene,” said Matt Nyberg, who was dubbed “First Maggot” by Slipknot’s Shawn Crahan. Nyberg’s band Facecage is on Slipknot lead singer Corey Taylor’s Great Big Mouth Records. “He was always one of the nicest guys. You never heard anything negative from him."
In 2008, Slipknot released its most recent album, “All Hope Is Gone,” and toured arenas, including its first-ever show at Wells Fargo Arena in January. The band ended its tour cycle in October, and members of the band have been working on individual projects since then.
Gray was arrested on drug charges in June 2003, after he crashed his Porsche into a Des Moines motorist at Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and Carpenter Avenue.
Police charged Gray with marijuana possession, cocaine possession, possession of drug paraphernalia and a red-light violation. He later pleaded guilty to operating while under the influence of drugs, and was sentenced to one year of informal probation.
His court file included a handwritten note from Dr. Joe Takamine, who described a conversation with Gray about his “sporadic use of various drugs and of the long periods of abstinence in between.”
Takamine concluded that Gray was not addicted to any drug and understood the consequences of drug use.
"In light of his past and present history and because of his great love of music, I feel that Mr. Gray will refrain from future use of mind-altering chemicals," Takamine wrote.
Two years after his first visit, Jack Johnson will once again be at the TSB Bowl of Brooklands with a new album under his belt, and a back catalogue of hits spanning his multi-platinum selling albums "Brushfire Fairytales", "On and On", "In Between Dreams" and "Sleep Through The Static".
Performing such classics as "Inaudible Melodies", "Sitting Waiting Wishing", "Flake", "Taylor", and "Times Like These", alongside his latest hit "You And Your Heart" Jack brings in tow his ever faithful travelling companions, and will be touring once again with long time band members Adam Topol (drums), Merlo Podlewski (bass) and Zach Gill (keys).
After selling an astonishing 18 million records worldwide, Jack Johnson, is set to release his fifth studio album - the aptly titled "To The Sea" - produced by Robert Carranza, and Jack Johnson, which also features guest appearances from long time collaborator and friend G. Love, and Paula Fuga. The first taster from the record comes in the shape of single and first track on the album "You And Your Heart" - a beautiful, melodic slice of acoustic bliss, that is indicative of - and perfectly introduces - "To The Sea", to Jack's ever faithful, and ever growing audience.
As with his last world tour in 2008, and in a continuing effort to acknowledge and support the important work that non-profit groups are doing in communities across the planet, Jack Johnson's 2010 world tour is reaching out to groups who are activating positive change in the realms of water quality, community and school gardens, land preservation, environmental education and more. Jack Johnson has again engaged a number of these organisations to be present at his Australian shows to raise awareness of their objectives.
100 per cent of Jack Johnson's 2008 tour profits were used to establish the Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation, an endowment founded by Jack and Kim Johnson to support environmental, art and music education now and into the future. This initiative is building upon his philanthropic efforts, and Jack Johnson will once again donate 100 per cent of his 2010 world tour profits to support the Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation and will offer direct and matching donations to All At Once partner non-profits.
As hard as it is to believe Shihad have been strutting their stuff for near on twenty one years now. Never ones to waste an opportunity to party, the boys will be playing two intimate shows but only in Sydney and Melbourne to celebrate.
To ensure that these gigs are extra special Jon Toogood and co will play two of the band’s most iconic albums – Killjoy and The General Electric – back to back, giving us all an excuse to re-discover the joy of wearing cargo shorts at night.
Ten premium tickets will also be available to each show, allowing the ticket holder to meet the band and take home an exclusive limited edition screen printed and individually signed poster.
With their eighth studio album due for release this September, there may just be another twenty-one years to come from Shihad.
Dust off the Vans and celebrate Shihad turning twenty-one at the following gis:
Friday 13th August playing KILLJOY – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne
Saturday 14th August playing THE GENERAL ELECTRIC – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne
Friday 20th August playing KILLJOY – The Annandale Hotel, Sydney
Saturday 21st August playing THE GENERAL ELECTRIC – The Annandale Hotel, Sydney http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/local/23757/Shihad-turn-twenty-one.htm
In 2008 a topiary tribute to The Beatles was unveiled on a traffic island in Liverpool. Unfortunately someone chopped Ringo’s head off after he admitted he misses nothing about his hometown.
Ronnie James Dio, the metal god who replaced Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath and later piloted the bands Heaven & Hell and Dio, has died, according to his wife and manager. He was 67.
Dio announced last fall he was suffering from stomach cancer. He was being treated at a Houston hospital, according to his website.
"My heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7.45am," said a statement by Wendy Dio posted on the site and confirmed by publicist Maureen O'Connor.
Wendy Dio said that friends and family were able to say their goodbyes to her husband, and asked for privacy.
She concluded: ''Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever.''
Elvis’s first public performance was at the Mississippi-Alabama competition Fair and Dairy Show. The young Elvis entered the singing dressed as a cowboy, and had to stand on a chair to reach the microphone. His performance of “Old Shep” by Red Foley earned him second prize.
Tickets to Metallica's two Auckland shows sold out in just 20 minutes this morning, leaving some angry fans empty-handed.
The tickets went on sale at 9am and promoters for the two shows, on October 13 and 14 at Vector Arena, said they were sold out by 9.20am. Stuff.co.nz was swamped with feedback by irate fans who tried to buy them over the internet, but couldn't get through.
"I was on the website from 8.50am and nothing. Both pre-sales failed and sure enough no 25th birthday for me. It was going to be the best start to my honeymoon too," said a poster called Chris. "Once again, the Ticketmaster website is unstable and not up to modern day needs," said another poster called Mark. Fans who camped out overnight at Real Groovy in Auckland told Stuff.co.nz they spent the night chatting to other fans and sleeping.
"I've been sleeping, talking to strangers, and sleeping again," said a Metallica fan of 20 years.
"I was going to go down to Britomart, but I came down here and saw these guys and thought, 'I'll just get in here with these guys'. I'm third in line. It's alright," said another.
"It's never too long to wait (for tickets)," said a third fan. "As long as we get one."
Queues were "right around the corner" at Real Groovy's Queen Street store in Auckland this morning, a staff member said. They were still selling tickets at 9.30am.
A handful of fans also camped out overnight at Real Groovy in Wellington.
One fan who tried to score tickets over the internet said: "General sale tickets were gone so fast, by 9.02am when I got through they were gone. Here's hoping for a third show."
Promoters said the second show for October 14, announced on Monday, was to be the last, and no extra shows in New Zealand were planned. A small number of tickets could be released at a later date, promoters said. Meanwhile, a special offer from Air New Zealand will mean Christchurch Metallica fans will be able to travel to Auckland to see the band for $1. Bruce Parton, from Air New Zealand's discount ticketing site Grabaseat, announced the special offer yesterday. "We'll give 120 seats [from Christchuch to Auckland] at a dollar," he said. "All you have to do is have a Metallica ticket."
Parton said the themed flight would have a "party atmosphere" with "black T-shirts and long hair".
Tiki Taane's song Always On My Mind was a hit locally - and it could become an international hit too thanks to its inclusion on console karaoke game Sing Star.
"They just sent me an email - I had a read through and said, 'Yeah, I'm keen as," Taane said about his 2008 hit, which climbed to the top of the charts in New Zealand and sold more than 30,000 copies. The track, from his solo debut album Past, Present, Future, will be available on Sing Star for the next 10 years - as well as being converted into different languages for versions of the game in foreign countries.
"I don't play PlayStation or Xbox or any of that stuff, although I did play Sing Star once at a mate's house party," he said. "I mean I love playing video games, but it makes me scared 'cos I'd spend days and days on it but I've got a business to run and I've got a record to make, and man if I started playing video games it'd be all over."
When asked if he got tired of being asked to play Always On My Mind he said: "No way man".
"That one song has made everything I have ever worked for over the past 18 years happen. I have been working really hard for that one song and all of a sudden it's blown up.
"So I'll play it any time anyone wants to hear it. It's affected other people too, it's touched others so I can't hate that song - it has given me such an amazing life and everything's really cool".
Taane said his life had changed a lot since he toured as the front man of dub act Salmonella Dub.
He refers to himself as a businessman who owns his own music, art, record label and publishing rights. He now has control and doesn't have to conform to a major label. "I'm this tattooed Maori boy who's a bit rough around the edges and I walk into this corporate world and I'm walking away on top. There are people who don't see the full picture.
"You know I should be getting high fives and pats on the back for that because I'm representing the underground the underdogs who are slaving away and struggling and have been slaving away for years. And finally I get to peek up and play ball with the big guys."So these people who say I'm selling out, I find it ridiculous because they don't know the history of myself, I've worked really hard for this".
Filmmaker Taika Waititi says he's pleased with the response to his remade version of the Poi E video as he seeks to put the song back on top of the charts by Christmas.
"It's great to see a NZ classic get another chance in the charts".
The popular Patea Maori Club song, originally recorded in 1983, has shot back to prominence after featuring in Waititi’s smash-hit film Boy. Written by linguist Ngoi Pewhairangi and Dalvanius Prime, the song dominated the New Zealand music charts for 22 weeks, including four weeks at number one in 1984.
It briefly re-entered the charts last year following a Vodafone promotion and is the only Kiwi song to chart over three decades. Poi E was an accidental hit in its time. After failing to garner interest from record labels or commercial radio, an appearance on the television show Eye Witness saw its popularity soar. The new version combines scenes from the original with scenes from Boy.
"It's nothing amazing, I cut it together in a day ... It's hard to do something too different with limited material but I think it captures the soul of the film and it's pretty fun to watch."
Waititi tweeted on Saturday night that he was putting the finishing touches on the new version.
He had earlier written: "I do declare! After 26 years the song Poi E (from Boy) is now back in the NZ top 40! Let's try and get it to #1 by Christmas!"
His bid has drawn widespread publicity, with a Facebook group drawing well over 2000 fans and a Twitter account both dedicated to the bid.
A re-enactment of the Poi E dance in Wellington’s Manners Mall is being organised by GSL Network, the company that made the website for Boy. The time and date for the mass-dance has not yet been released. Poi E appeared to run out of puff this week after it dropped to 22nd place on the Official New Zealand music chart, released today. It had previously peaked at number 19. Dalvanius Prime’s family had earlier said they welcomed the song's new found success and hoped to set up a trust in his name to help promote Maori music.
A second Metallica concert was announced today and both events take place at Auckland's Vector Arena, on October 13 and 14.
A media release from de Launay Enterprises exclaims: “Due to an overwhelming demand during the current pre-sale period, second shows have been added to Metallica’s long awaited World Magnetic Tour of New Zealand and Australia!”
All Kiwi Metallica fans will have to travel to Auckland if they want to see the band play in New Zealand this year.
The concerts are promised to last more than two hours each and will feature material drawn from throughout Metallica’s career, on a custom built stage and with their full world tour production.
Tickets go on general sale Thursday May 13 with pre-sales said to be running now.
Playing this invisible instrument is not easy. But here in New Plymouth, we have a champion. Ben Greaney, 24, has won the air guitar national championship twice, the second time last weekend beating nine others.
Usually competitors have to qualify for the nationals by winning a regional final, but New Plymouth didn't have a competition this year. It was cancelled for some reason.
"So I managed to get a wild card straight to the final because of my past accomplishments."
There was no big cheque for the winner. Playing the air guitar has not been a lucrative career for him, he says. And, unlike in 2006, he didn't win tickets to the worlds in Finland in August.
The rules changed. The prize was flights to and accommodation in Canberra to compete in the Australian air guitar championships. The winner of that wins air tickets and accommodation for the worlds.
Free Round song: 'Power To Love' by 'Jimi Hendrix'.
Air Guitar Style: face melting watchamacallit
Musical influences: Psycodelic rock blues
Rock quote: 'Even though you can't experience and enjoy the pleasure of being hellmuTT, you can still enjoy the pleasure of the hellmuTT experience.'
There might be two Ben Greaneys. There is the quiet Greaney, who is shy when it comes to talking about himself. He works doing "heaps of different things" at an aluminium place in Bell Block and wears jeans and a T-shirt with Guinness written across the front. He has a bit of rocker look going on, with shoulder-length unruly blond curls and bit of facial hair.
And then there is the other Ben Greaney, the one who rocks to Jimi Hendrix and Angus Young wearing bright yellow and black tie-dyed tights, big furry boots and a colourful shirt.
The one who calls himself The Helmutt Experience.
He is not entirely sure, so he reckons, about how the name came into being. It had something to do with having a few drinks and wearing a beer box on his head.
Knowing how to play an actual guitar, helps in playing the air guitar, he says. It helps him play in time to the music.
Some people ask him why doesn't he play the real guitar.
"They say, You don't have any skills compared to someone or other who plays the guitar."
But, he says, he has a whole different skill set.
Greaney has come full circle in his air guitar career, having gone back to what he was doing originally. And he did a riff off last weekend, which he had never done before.
Trent Reznor has unveiled initial details of a new band outside of Nine Inch Nails, "How To Destroy Angels"
Nine Inch Nails gave up playing live following a show in Los Angeles last September, and now frontman Reznor has revealed that he has formed a new group called How To Destroy Angels. But the rocker assured fans, "NIN is not dead and I am about to work on some material that I believe will be quite different than previous NIN very soon."
Reznor is joined by his wife Mariqueen Maandig for the project.
The pair have posted up videos featuring snippets of new music at Howtodestroyangels.com. They are expected to release material this summer – having posted up the message "Self-titled six-track EP out this summer. Exact date TBA".
Dancer Jaered Glavin, 21, choreographed a 6 1/2-minute Lady Gaga-inspired routine over 12 hours of rehearsals in the space of two weeks, for a workshop run by the ballet company.
He uploaded the video to YouTube a week ago and it has already been viewed more than 50,000 times, making it New Zealand's top-rated YouTube clip this month. It has also been featured on Lady Gaga's official fan page and received international attention.
Glavin said most of the groups at the workshop used classical music scores and more traditional dance steps. "I wanted to go a bit mad and just have a lot of fun with it."
It was his first choreographing stint since he trained at the Royal Ballet School in London. Glavin, a big Lady Gaga fan, chose the track Bad Romance (Starsmith Remix) and selected six Gaga-ettes, fellow Royal New Zealand Ballet dancers Katie Hurst-Saxton, Katherine Grange, Clytie Campbell, Lucy Balfour, Antonia Hewitt and Maree White. The dancers, decked out in blonde wigs and skimpy outfits, fused Gaga's distinctive pop style with traditional ballet moves.
When Moby ran a competition to create the official video for his new single 'Wait For Me' you could imagine things were going to get creative. One of the competitions runners-up has become a bit of a hit viral online.
Freelance Whales found one another in late 2008, in Queens, amidst a strange amalgam of unfamiliar instruments, and precariously arranged pop songs. Using whatever musical gadgets they happened upon (mostly harmonium, banjo, glockenspiel, synthesizers, guitars, bass, drums, waterphone), the five members worked at crafting songs with interlocking rhythmic patterns, lush textural layering, and an engaged group-vocal energy. The result is their debut LP, weathervanes, whose songs work at evoking a sense of dislocation, or sensory disorientation. They invite the human spirit to exit the body, if only for brief moments. Freelance Whales can be spotted in the streets and humble venues of New York City, and in due time, elsewhere.
