Tuesday, October 6, 1998
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TODAY'S TOP 4 HEADLINES:
Jim Reid, singer for The Jesus & Mary Chain has publicly apologized for his drunken antics a few weeks ago in California. As D.A.M.N. reported September 15, the Reid brothers had clashed openly during a Los Angeles gig to kick off their North American tour. The end result was a very abbreviated set, and elder brother William walking out on the band. The Chain continued to tour, but William has not joined them yet. Jim and bassist Ben Lurie have been chatting to the press in the last week, doing what could only be described as damage control (there's a lot riding on the success of the new album Munki, mostly for the band's labels Sub Pop and Creation).
"I've actually enjoyed myself on this tour," Jim told MTV News Online recently, "and apart from the obvious, I've had a good time. And I do apologize for that House of Blues fiasco. Me and William had been clashing for some time, and it spilled over onto the stage. And I really, seriously regret that, but you can't take it back. It's done. Life goes on."
Reid also discussed a country-tinged future project that he and Lurie are planning with Damon Reece and Sean Cook of D.A.M.N. faves Spiritualized once the current tour wraps up in Japan. "[Ben and I] have been talking about doing a project outside the Mary Chain for a while, and there would have been no point in doing something that was just like the Mary Chain. So, we just decided, 'What kind of music do we like? What...do we wanna do?' And it was actually Alan McGee (the head of Creation) who came up with the idea to take it in that direction, cause we all sort of love country music. The old stuff, that is." Phew! For a second there D.A.M.N. was trying to picture a shimmering feedback rendition of the "Boot Scootin' Boogie" or "Achy Breaky Heart"!
D.A.M.N. is actually surprised it took outspoken punk icon Jello Biafra this long to issue a rebuttal to the other members of the Dead Kennedys. As reported last week, Biafra's bandmates had left Alternative Tentacles, the label they started fifteen years ago over royalty disputes. Biafra released a prepared statement yesterday that takes a few shots at East Bay Ray, Klaus Flouride and Darren Peligro. It reads in part: "Their motivation is sheer greed. With some very wild claims and heavy-handed tactics, [they] are trying to destroy our label, hurt our other artists and our staff. This is an obvious ploy to manipulate and use the media to tarnish the good name of an honest record label." Did D.A.M.N. mention that Jello is currently the sole owner of said record label, after buying the other guys out in 1986? Biafra continues: "Their mean-spriited attack traces back to my refusal to allow "Holiday In Cambodia" to be used in a Levi's TV commercial -- for Dockers Khakis, no less. I repsect how much Dead Kennedys' music and message means to people. I am very grateful people care so much about our albums after all these years. It means the world to me. I can think of no worse way to stab our fans in the back than to sell out to Levi's." These statements would suggest that Biafra feels his fellow men feel he stood in the way of a big paycheck from a consumer, and has nothing to do with the alleged royalty shortfall. This is further consolidated by the fact that Jello insists East Bay Ray, who handles most of the band's business dealings himself, has refused to audit the AT books. The plot thickens...
Red-hot rappers the Beastie Boys have confirmed that they will appear as musical guests on the November 21 episode of Saturday Night Live. The Beasties have generally kept a low profile over the years with respect to television programs, so this is something of a coup for the NBC comedy show whose ratings have been sagging. For those of you with HBO, Mike D., Ad Rock and MCA will also perform on the Chris Rock show November 24.
Former Crowded House frontman, Split Enz member and extremely talented songwriter Neil Finn is putting a solo acoustic tour together in support of his new album Try Whistling This. Finn begins the tour November 6, and there are only seven dates, so this is something of an exclusive affair. The big news according to Finn's mailing list and an undisclosed source close to Neil is that each stop on the tour will feature a special mystery guest. D.A.M.N. is hearing names like Eddie Vedder, Lou Reed, Sheryl Crow, Shawn Colvin and Grant Lee Phillips from a number of places. The dates tentatively look like this:
November 6 Boston, MA
November 8 Austin, TX
November 11 Los Angeles, CA
November 14 San Francisco, CA
November 17 Toronto, ON
November 20 Chicago, IL
November 23 New York, NY
D.A.M.N. will release the bloodhounds to snoop out who may join Mr. Finn on the Toronto stop...hmm, who on that list is playing or would have occasion to visit Toronto in mid-November?
CUPCAKES, LIONROCK, HARVEY DANGER ONLINE
Tonight on JamTV, shows by Cupcakes and Harvey Danger air at 8:00pm and 9:20pm respectively. Lodged betwixt is a backstage interview with Lionrock mainman Justin Robertson (9:00pm). All times are EST.
STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN, SLOAN, FOO FIGHTERS, EURYTHMICS, DUNCAN SHEIK ON THE TUBE
Today's Saturday Night Live repats on the Comedy Network feature Stevie Ray Vaughan and his little brother Jimmy (3:00pm), as well as The Eurythmics (midnight). The former also features a guest appearance by Mick Jagger in a skit with Tommy Flanagan, the Pathological Liar. Sloan drop by MuchMusic for a chat at 4:15pm, and Part Two of the Foo Fighters spotlight airs at 7:00pm (repeated at 11:30pm). Turning to late night, Duncan Sheik visits Conan O'Brien (12:35am, NBC). All times are EST. For the ultimate guide to music on television, check out Rock on TV.
D.A.M.N. is compiled by Mike McCann most of the time.
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"This is the song that skyrocketed us to one bedroom apartments and two meals a day."
-- Ron Hawkins, introducing an old Lowest Of The Low song to the audience at a solo acoustic show.
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