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Richard Thompson, one of the most distinguished guitarists and songwriters of our time,
returns with Dream Attic, a magnificent collection of 13 new songs, due out August 31 on
Shout! Factory. Penned during a short and inspired burst of creative outpouring, Thompson
captured the awesome energy of his live show by recording the album in front of an audience.
The songs were performed during a West Coast tour in February of this year, and the bulk of the
performances that made the album come from three shows at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.
Richard Thompson - Sensitive and Innovative
Dream Attic was produced by Thompson and longtime cohort Simon Tassano, and they vividly captured
the inspired interaction of the players. The musicians appearing on the album with Thompson are
Pete Zorn (guitars, flute, sax, mandolin), Michael Jerome (drums), Taras Prodaniuk (bass), and
Joel Zifkin (violin, mandolin). "The thing about recording live is that you lose accuracy but you
gain energy; you lose choices but you gain immediacy," Thompson says about his decision to work in
a live setting. But at the same time, the accuracy is marvelously maintained thanks to the elevated
musicianship, frequently leading to extended passages of eruptive forcefulness topped by one after
another of Thompson's jaw-dropping solo forays.
To preserve the freshness of the experience, the players went through minimal preparation before embarking
on the eight-date mini-tour. "We learned how to play the songs as we went," says Thompson. And that was
precisely how the bandleader wanted it. "It's good to be comfortable up to a point," he says. "What you
want ideally is to be comfortable and challenged." On several levels, Thompson notes, these 2010 shows felt
not terribly different from Fairport Convention's very first tour of the States in 1970, which followed the
exit of Sandy Denny. "That particular incarnation of Fairport was a very musical, well rehearsed and tight band," Thompson recalls.
For four decades, Richard Thompson has consistently set songwriting and performance standards to which others
aspire. He has long been acknowledged as both a sensitive writer and an innovative guitarist. Preorder Dream Attic today!
-eXciting news!-
Dash Rip Rock - Call of the Wild
Call of the Wild - the new CD from Dash Rip Rock - is a southern party record. It's a tribute to all the insane theme bands that played the
Deep South bar circuit back in the 70's. It mixes Stax-era dirty soul with rootsy garage punk, funky country rock with low country shag.
Every song is about partying, being at a party or the characters you might meet at a party. In their 25 years of existence, Dash Rip Rock
has played every imaginable sort of revel - house parties, pool parties, swamp parties, debutante parties, barn parties, farm parties,
biker parties, cowboy parties, Mardi Gras balls, pot parties, ecstasy raves, LSD freakouts and beach blow-outs. Some were fun, wild and
exciting - others creepy and terrifying. Through all the numerous days and nights of reckless drinking and excessive overindulgence -
Dash has never gotten around to making a "party" record. Call of the Wild is it.
-eXciting news!-
Robert Cray Band - Cookin' in Mobile
The new live album from the Robert Cray Band, Cookin' in Mobile, is now available! The CD/DVD combo comes with a one-of-a-kind recording of The Robert Cray Band's live performance in Mobile, along with behind the scenes footage, interviews with the band, a photo gallery from the live show and more!
-eXciting news!-Disinformation - Tapped DVD
Check out these new DVDs now available from Disinformation...Tapped DVD - Is access to clean drinking water a basic human right, or a commodity that should be bought and sold like any other article of commerce? Stephanie Soechtig's debut feature is an unflinching examination of the big business of bottled water.
-eXciting news!-Disinformation - World Cup Soccer in Africa: Who Really Wins DVD
World Cup Soccer in Africa: Who Really Wins DVD - For four action-packed weeks in June and July 2010, the largest international television audience ever to follow a single event will be watching the FIFA Soccer World Cup in South Africa. But what will happen after the trophy is lifted, the caravans move on, and the dogs stop barking?
Live & Circumstance - a Carrie Rodriguez radio special, hosted by
Alejandro Escovedo, will be airing in over 68 markets this month.
The pair will also be featured on the forthcoming live acoustic album from Los Lonely Boys. Carrie's new CD is scheduled for release in October!
Alejandro recently performed live on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno!
Congratulations to Art Greenhaw and company on the recent unveiling and dedication of unveiling of the Texas Historical Marker for the
Holley-McWhorter-Greenhaw Families at Downtown Mesquite Square!
Tracy Bonham's new CD - Masts Of Manhatta - has received glowing reviews from a variety of
national media outlets including the
NYTimes.com, Billboard Magazine, Rolling Stone, People, Entertainment Weekly, NBC.com, Yahoo Music, NPR Music, and many more. Order today
and see for yourself! She also performed recently on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Check out the theme song Jon Christopher Davis wrote for Relay For Life. You can download it at
jonchristopherdavis.com. All proceeds
benefit the American Cancer Society. He'll be performing the song at the Relay For Life National Awards ceremony in September. Additionally,
his song "The Boy I Left Behind" is featured in the American Fallen Soldier Project's documentary film, Strength & Honor, The Story of DRUM. Jon performed the
song recently on the CBS morning show and the Pentagon Network. The track is available on his recently released two-disk CD called Demos from the Vault (1999 - 2009).
The Killdares recently performed for a live DVD shoot at the Granada Theater in Dallas, TX. Info on the upcoming release
will be available soon!
Fans of Minton Sparks often approach the singer-songwriter-poet wanting to share stories from their past so Minton is putting out
a call for short family stories (300-500 words in length). For this first one, stories should start with the words "In the beginning."
Next time there will be another prompt. Minton will pick from the stories and print them in her next newsletter (with your permission).
Have something you want to share? Submit stories to minton@mintonsparks.com. Catch Minton performing as the featured storyteller at the
National Storytelling Festival's Midnight Caberet in Jonesborough, TN on October 1 and the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival
(the largest poetry event in North America) in Newark, NJ from October 9-10.
Check out Eddie Vedder's new song "Better Days" featuring Spoonshine's own Jacob Navarro on mandolin!
This song is part of the soundtrack to the upcoming movie Eat Pray Love. Want more? The Half Pint Brawlers on
Spike TV features 12 original compositions by Jacob and William Cook! Tune in if you dare and see if you can pick them out!
1. If you could swap places with anyone for one day, whom would you choose and why?
My wife, so I could know what she's thinking.
2. Tell us one thing that your fans would be surprised to know about you.
I'm not rich.
3. If you could name a planet, what would you name it and why?
Mindboggling, because the whole universe is.
4. Favorite group or singer?
Barbara Streisand.
5. If money was no object, what hobby would you like to try?
I would want to play music but not have to worry about the band; I could hire who ever I needed whenever I needed them.
6. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
To the moon; few have done it in my lifetime and I would like to be one of them.
7.What is the theme song for the movie that is being made about your life?
Honey, You Don't Know My Mind Today
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