SEARCH the Guide, by date, band, artist, event, festival, etc. (in addition to the sidebar)

Thursday, July 2, 2020

4th of July 'n thereabouts -- performances, news and tunes. July 2 2020 edition

.
FREE, ONLINE 2-WEEK MUSIC INDUSTRY EVOLUTION SUMMIT starts Monday-- see our feature story; also, Breaking news, Monday, July 6: Ennio Morricone dead at age 91. Award-winning composer of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," over 400 scores for cinema and television, and more than 100 classical works.
•  Full stories added to Monday's listings (scroll down, it's chronological).
___

There have been additional up-top tag-line additions since this edition was published:

☆ LATE EXTRA additions: GREENWICH VILLAGE FOLK FEST is Sunday the 5th. So is the EAGLES concert, 1st time on TV -- see Sunday's listings!

Lots of new material on the morning of the Fourth!

Important: HAND SANITIZER and FIREWORKS do not mix! The 70%+ alcohol content is highly flammable, and even the residue on your hands can catch fire.  So, NO children's sparklers or ANY other fireworks! Leave 'em to the pros, watch 'em on TV, and just take this scarey year off!
___

An ABUNDANCE of additional new material added Friday morning, about 7x, 8 times, and we're DONE for today! So go enjoy it, already!
___

Jump right in -- things are happening today through the holiday weekend. And beyond. We're publishing with a LOT for you to enjoy! Plus, we'll let you know right up-top (above this intro) if we add more. Yes, we are offering a late nod to Canada Day, eh?


 ■⊙■⊙ 


Thursday, July 2


 ■⊙■⊙


THOUGHT FOR TODAY from one born on this date


"We must dissent from the fear, the hatred, and the mistrust. We must dissent from a nation that buried its head in the sand waiting in vain for the needs of its poor, its elderly, and its sick to disappear and just blow away. We must dissent from a government that has left its young without jobs, education, or hope. We must dissent from the poverty of vision and timeless absence of moral leadership. We must dissent, because America can do better, because America has no choice but to do better."

~ Thurgood Marshall, ~ US Supreme Court Justice, 32nd Solicitor General of the United States (born July 2, 1908, died 1993)

___

E Pluribus, but clearly not Unum...

Lest anyone think California is devoid of redneck racists, here's a post from the "Neighborhood" site. The context? It was a thread about reporting illegal fireworks in dangerously dry semi rural areas where a wildfire could explode into something major.

And then THIS comment appeared:
_  _  _

Re: Fireworks (I'm telling on yall)

Great idea bc I read a FB post these are Antifa pre-tests to numb public to explosions! Burning home & killing white people on the 4th... See more
_  _  _

"See more"-? Of THAT?! No, we've seen quite enough.
___

On this day

Historic & huge benefit concerts...
     Today in 2005, the "Live 8" benefit concerts took place in the G8 states and in South Africa. More than 1,000 musicians performed and were broadcast on 182 television networks and 2,000 radio networks.

July 4th vs July 2nd...
     There's a lot of discussion about this, so let's straighten it out. Today in 1776, the American Revolution went beyond dissent over British laws and became a fight for independence. That happened because the Continental Congress adopted a resolution that severed ties with the Kingdom of Great Britain. But the wording of the formal Declaration of Independence was not published until July 4th... but hold on... because it took time to hand-set type so a document could be printed for distribution, the people didn't see it until several days after that.

Human freedom & civil rights...

(1)  Thirty-five slaves are hanged in South Carolina today in 1822. They included Denmark Vesey, all put to death after being accused of organizing a slave rebellion.

(2)  As dramatized in the Hollywood movie named for the ship, today in 1839, twenty miles off the coast of Cuba, 53 rebelling African slaves led by Joseph Cinqué took over the slave ship Amistad.

(3)  Today is the birthday of Medgar Evers (1925-1963), American soldier, hero of D-Day, and civil rights activist murdered by a KKK operative.

(4)  Today in 1964 the U.S. Civil Rights Movement achieved one of its greatest milestones when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 meant to prohibit segregation in public places.
_

Presidential assassination...
       U.S. President James Garfield was shot and fatally wounded by a frustrated office seeker on this day in 1881. Garfield would "die of complications from his wounds" on September 19 -- or more accurately from stupid unsanitary medical probing of the wound, by finger after finger of doctor after doctor, over and over, trying to find the bullet. Ironically, a revolutionary new machine called the x-ray was being displayed and demonstrated not far from where he was shot, but it was not used, and could easily have found the bullet -- and he likely would have lived.

It shoulda lasted...
     Today in 1890 the U.S. Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act to prevent the bloated rich from controlling everything with monopolies. Where oh where did it go? Gradually eroded and withered by bought politicians who allowed their rich campaign donors to become oligarchs.

Patents...
     Today in 1897 in London, British-Italian engineer Guglielmo Marconi obtained a patent for radio. When the Titanic was sinking, the first-ever use of "SOS" went onto the airwaves from the ship's "Marconi."
     Speaking of patents... Thomas Savery patented the first steam engine today in 1698. But every book you can find credits Richard Trevithick and/or James Watt as inventors of the steam engine, both of whom came many years later, in the following century. (Ya gotta have a good publicist!)

She disappeared and assured her place as a legend...
     On this day in 1937, Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean searching for remote Howland Island while attempting to complete the first equatorial round-the-world flight.
     The mystery of her disappearance has never been solved, though many a bluegrass band has performed the classic song written about her last flight. (Check out three very different versions: The Country Gentlemen, the Greenbriar Boys, and a Western Swing version by Kinky Friedman, live in concert. There's also the Joni Mitchell song, "one woman pilot to another," inspired by the idea of Amelia.)
     ALSO NOTE: Friday, 1-2 pm, KCET re-airs the excellent "American Experience" episode about Amelia Earhart.
     Postscript... today in 2002, billionaire adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a balloon. We don't know of a song about that one, though.


 ■⊙■⊙


We open our feature section with a fresh visit to a periodic & continuing series: Our take on these times...


Franz Kafka is spinning in his grave. 
More Americans are going to theirs.

by Larry Wines

All of us are beyond believing it can't get worse, or more tragically absurd. But it does. Relentlessly.

Face in the crowd, impersonating Trump (credit: The Conversation)
Somebody needs to buy a billboard to adapt the three-monkey "hear no, see no, speak no" carving to three Trumps. At least Dubya fit animated simian imagery as "Curious George." Okay, Trump isn't likely to be confused with a carving. He does move. His thumbs, anyway. It's how you can tell he's lying.

But does demonstrably incurious Oblivious Trump care about anything beyond troweling his orange makeup and leaving equal-sized pink eye holes? And accomplishing that daily feat between when "Fox & Friends" finishes and making his tee time? And being an intransigent maskhole because wearing one would smear his makeup?

Meryl Streep's Trump impersonation even nailed the pink eye holes. (Credit: Us magazine)
Meanwhile, Rome burns.

In addition to whatever portion of the 127,000-and-counting dead Americans who should still be with us -- if a national plan were in place on par with every European nation struck with Coronavirus -- now we learn he's running a cover-up on behalf of the GRU, after three years of denigrating the US intelligence community.

"DOD Statement attributable to Chief Pentagon Spokesman Jonathan Hoffman [Monday evening, 8:44 pm EDT]:

'The Department of Defense continues to evaluate intelligence that Russian GRU operatives were engaged in malign activity against United States and coalition forces in Afghanistan. To date, DOD has no corroborating evidence to validate the recent allegations found in open-source reports. Regardless, we always take the safety and security of our forces in Afghanistan — and around the world — most seriously and therefore continuously adopt measures to prevent harm from potential threats.'"

And yet... US officials briefed UK officials about the GRU paying bounties to kill US and UK soldiers. Wait. When there was "no corroborating evidence to validate the recent allegations" it was still worth briefing the UK. But if Orange Sgt. Schultz -- who might better now be characterized as Agolf Twitler -- is to be believed, it was not worth briefing the president or vice president.

Former National Security Advisor (and guy who never misses a chance to advocate launching a retaliatory military action) John Bolton has said he, personally, briefed President Donald Trump on Russia paying the Taliban to kill American soldiers. And he says he did it back in March of 2019. Too bad he didn't tell that to the House or Senate in January, when it could have been stopped.

Of course it isn't only Americans who are dying because the leader of the free world is actively abdicating that role. While the diversion, distraction, obfuscation, clutter, noise, transference, denials, bearing false witness, and assorted paranoid ramblings and Trumpertantrums may capture the bulk of the non-covid news cycle in America, they do more. It all serves as a great smoke screen for others to get away with their own atrocities.

As in, meanwhile, mister "Nobody is tougher on Ghina than me" has been woefully, and perhaps willingly, oblivious to Beijing reasserting its old hard line authoritarianism and officially extending it where they specifically agreed they would not. We're not referring to the Chinese military base on the manufactured island, placed to control international waters in the middle of the ocean -- though we could be.

No, we're citing how the attic bookcases of officially-approved literature will be slid aside and Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement will vanish into the concentration camps along with the Uighurs. Because that's where refuseniks and malcontents and others who must have mental disorders go. Until the bodies are carried out, beneath the Work Makes You Free signs, to the unmarked graves. To disappear with the guy who stood in front of the tank -- and his fellow Tiananmen Square protesters. Whispered about, by some who pass by a field where nothing grows, until new construction rises over the bones at microwave oven speed to glorify the Communist Party.

Not that they have a monopoly on selective exclusion and glorification of an official narrative. I had a pro-Trumper tell me two weeks ago that he supports the Orange Imbecile because his hero "is the only one who has ever been tough on China and he is rebuilding our neglected military."

Franz Kafka is spinning in his grave like a rotisserie chicken.

This was intended to end with that line. It can't. Whether or not bitter sarcasm registers with you, circumstances require shifting to a deadly serious consideration: to think about what's going on in the homes that have lost an American member of the armed services in these endless wars, and specifically, in Afghanistan. And to the dignity afforded those dead as they go to their graves. For that essential perspective, let's turn not to a stop-the-war advocate, and not to a prominent voice of opposition from the Democratic Party, but to longtime Republican political strategist Steve Schmidt. Because the most powerful, most thoughtful, most moving thing you'll experience all week are these words from him, right here.
_

(This, written by the Guide's editor, originally appeared in the LA Progressive (with different art) on June 30, 2020.)


 ■⊙■⊙ 


Friday, July 3


 ■⊙■⊙


THOUGHT FOR TODAY from one born on this date

"A book must be an axe for the frozen sea inside of us."

~ Franz Kafka, novelist (born July 3, 1883, died 1924)
___

Here's an excerpt from today's edition of Garrison Keillor's "Writer's Almanac":

It's the birthday of Franz Kafka, (books by this author) born in Prague (1883).
Kafka has been made into an adjective, "Kafkaesque," a literary allusion dropped into conversation from time to time by people who may or may not be familiar with his work, which is actually full of humor. "Kafkaesque" has come to be used to describe things of a gloomy, bizarre, eerie, nightmarish, or doomed nature, and is often applied to bureaucratic or institutional situations.
... Not much of Kafka's work was published during his lifetime. Kafka had instructed his friend Max Brod to set his manuscripts on fire upon his death, but Brod refused, and instead edited and published Kafka's work.
Kafka's best-known work is The Metamorphosis, which begins, "As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning after disturbing dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into an enormous bug."
His book The Trial begins, "Someone must have been telling lies about Josef K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one morning."
Kafka once wrote in a letter to a friend: "The books we need are of the kind that act upon us like a misfortune, that make us suffer like the death of someone we love more than ourselves, that make us feel as though we were on the verge of suicide, or lost in a forest remote from all human habitation — a book should serve as the ax for the frozen sea within us."


 ■⊙■⊙ 


Friday, July 3rd...


"Hamilton," one the most successful Broadway musicals, goes online for one day

LATE WORD: "Hamilton" is extended on Disney+ for an unspecified time.

Subscribers to Disney Plus can watch it July 3rd, starting at midnight when the day arrives. Lin Manuel reassembled the original Broadway cast for this video version, and spent three days shooting the full production, plus two more days getting closeups and re-recording songs. You'll see a mix of late 18th century and contemporary costumes and hear the rap/hip-hop soundtrack.

Watch on Disney+. You will need to create an account to access the webcast movie, and the cost is $6.99/month.

Frankly, we've never understood the "Hamilton" phenomenon. Sure, he was a Revolutionary War combat hero in the war's last big battle. But beyond that? The real Alexander Hamilton would be easy to vilify in our time, given that he was the principal advocate and string-puller to assert the new American republic as a big-money capitalist-dominated power structure, to which everyone else was financially subservient. Yet the character as mega-hero, in Miranda's hands, eclipses every other Founding Father for devotees of this alternative telling.


 ■⊙■⊙ 



State-by-state, who's grilling what, this July 4th

Where you are determines what you're grilling, based on another relentless bit of Google's data analytical obsession to know (and sell) everything about you


Brian Stelter, who is usually deadly serious, writes, "Here's some fun data from Google Trends revealing what people in each state across the US are searching about grilling as we approach the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Having spent years living in California, I always find it interesting how tri tip is *the thing* to grill out west, while not being very popular out here on the east coast..."


  ■⊙■⊙


Friday, July 3rd, on TV...


Friday weekly music on tv series,
some of it web simulcast


Fridays are the day / night for RFD and for Los Angeles PBS station KLCS to air their abundance of regularly-scheduled music performance programming. Both are heavy on roots music, so being stuck at home on any Friday ain't all that bad, if you have a Tee-Vee or web access with the right package.

All times PDT.
_

On RFD, satellite / broadcast / cable:

11-11:30 am - "Bluegrass Trail" from 2018, Anna Sibley & the Magnolia Ramblers welcome a guest artist or band.

11:30 am-noon - "Reno's Old Time Music Festival" from 2017 presents "Super Pickin' Part 2" with top acoustic instrumentalists in Bluegrass

Noon-12:30 pm - "Tru Country" from 2016 presents an episode with a patriotic tribute for the Fourth.

12:30-1 pm - "The Penny Gilley Show" from 2019 spotlights a country or Americana musician or band.

1-1:30 pm - "The Porter Wagoner Show" brings a classic from 1961.

1:30-2 pm - "Pop Goes the Country" from 2017.

2-3 pm - "Big Joe Polka Show Classics" airs an episode or compilation from 2018.

3-4 pm - "Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour" (on tv) re-airs a past episode.

4-4:30 pm - "The Jimmy Sturr Show" from 2014 welcomes a guest artist or band.

4:30-5 pm - "The Duttons Through the Years" airs a new 2020 episode of the musical family from their theatre in Branson, MO.

5-6 pm - "Country's Family Reunion" from Jan 2020 continues "The Very Best of CFR."

7:30-8 pm - "The Statler Brothers Show" airs a 1991 compilation.

8-8:30 pm - "Country Legends: Grand Ole Opry Stars of the '50s" from 1953, with Ernest Tubb, Jimmy Dickens, Minnie Pearl, and performing guests.

9-10 pm - "Country's Family Reunion" repeat of 5 pm.
_

On KLCS, broadcast / global WEB SIMULCAST:

8-8:30 pm - "Bluegrass Underground" from 2019.
      Repeats 2-2:30 am.

8:30-9 pm - "Sun Studio Sessions" recorded early this 2020 season.
      Repeats 2:30-3 am

9-10 pm - "Austin City Limits" airs anything from acoustic or electric Americana to country to rock to alt-whatever-it-is.
      Repeats 3-4 am

10-11 pm - "Front and Center" has been re-airing their 2019 season.
      Repeats 4-5 am

5-6 am (Sat) - "The Kate" still has unaired 2020 episodes of solo artists and bands, usually performing all-acoustic.
___

Special tonight on tv...

8-9 pm - "iHeartCountry 4th of July BBQ" with performances by country music stars. On KTLA Channel 5 in Los Angeles.


  ■⊙■⊙


Friday, July 3rd, online...


All-star benefit virtual concert, 5 pm & 8 pm Pacific 


TO SUPPORT FEEDING AMERICA’S COVID-19 RESPONSE FUND

Performances by

B.J. THOMAS, LISA LOEB, GEORGE THOROGOOD, COREY TAYLOR ALONGSIDE GAVIN ROSSDALE, MYLES KENNEDY/ALTER BRIDGE, LZZY HALE & JOE HOTTINGER/HALESTORM, DON FELDER (A FORMER LEAD GUITARIST OF THE EAGLES), FILTER, CHRIS ROBERTSON/BLACK STONE CHERRY, BRANDON SALLER/ATREYU + MORE TO PERFORM; + TALENT INTERVIEWS BY ALICE COOPER & JOE SATRIANI, and APPEARANCES BY PETER FRAMPTON AND ADAM GONTIER/SAINT ANSONIA



New York, NY, July  2 — B.J. Thomas, Lisa Loeb, George Thorogood, Corey Taylor alongside Gavin Rossdale, Don Felder (a former lead guitarist of the Eagles), Myles Kennedy (Alter Bridge),Lzzy Hale & Joe Hottinger (Halestorm), Jesse Hasek (10 Years), Filter, The Dead Daisies, Chris Robertson (Black Stone Cherry), Starset, Brandon Saller (Atreyu), Ricky Byrd, Bobby Whitlock & CoCo Carmel, Joe Grushecky, Kathy Sledge, Bones Owens, Danielia Cotton, Matt Bigland (Dinosaur Pile-Up) and more set to perform during United Stations Media Networks and Storic Media Podcast Network present “Rock For Relief” benefit concert supporting Feeding America’s COVID-19 Response Fund on July 3 at 8pm ET and again at 11pm ET broadcasted here.

United Stations Media and Storic Media are teaming up with Feeding America to raise awareness and donations for families in local communities across the nation. The “Rock For Relief” benefit show will be hosted by Lou Brutus and Riki Rachtman and talent interviews conducted by Alice Cooper and Joe Satriani with appearances by Peter Frampton and Adam Gontier of Saint Ansonia.

Feeding America estimates that an additional 17.1 million people could be food insecure in 2020 as a result of this crisis – for a total of 54.3 million people, or 1 in every 6 people. This is a 46% increase over the 37.2 million people who were food insecure prior to the COVID-19 crisis. “Many people are struggling with hunger during this unprecedented time, including children, families and seniors. Feeding America member food banks are on the ground helping to address the increased need in their communities,” said Dan Nisbet, Vice President of Development at Feeding America. “We are so grateful for United Stations Media Networks and the talent involved in the ‘Rock for Relief’ benefit concert, which will raise funds to provide meals to people who need them most.”

“We are so pleased to put on “Rock For Relief” in order to give back to our fellow Americans during such a tumultuous time,” said Kristin Verbitsky, Director of Storic. “I want to thank the incredible talent who graciously donated their time to make this happen. I know that music lovers are missing live concerts, myself included, and I’m hoping we can fill that void just a little bit this July 4th weekend and raise funds for Feeding America.”

About United Stations Media Networks & Storic Media Podcast Network


USMN is the country’s largest privately held full-service audio content company. It syndicates national radio shows and creates compelling multi-platform audio and video entertainment. Over the past 40+ years, USMN has produced hundreds of programs and thousands of hours of music, entertainment, and information content. Our targeted networks and podcasts have national reach, allowing us to execute powerful audio campaigns that drive exceptional brand awareness and new business for our advertising clients.

United Stations was founded in 1981 by radio pioneer Dick Clark and his partner Nick Verbitsky, a veteran radio executive and former COO of Mutual Radio. USMN is headquartered in New York City, with regional offices in Chicago, Dallas, Washington, D.C., and Nashville.

Started in March 2020, The Storic Media Podcast Network is a podcast production and advertising company within United Stations Media Networks. It offers a wide-range of podcast subjects including originals, narrative, crime, thriller, lifestyle, fan-casts, comedy, comedy-thriller, mystery, drama, music, and children’s content. For the latest on Storic, please visit: Website | Instagram | YouTube |

About Feeding America


Feeding America® is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs, we provide meals to more than 40 million people each year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry.


Watch the preview here.

Watch the concert at:

www.rockforrelief.net


  ■⊙■⊙


Friday, July 3rd, online...


Joyce Andersen & Harvey Reid Livestream Concert


5 pm Pacific today, live.

These two are consummate musicians, and they sent us word very late. So here are the essentials you need to partake.



The direct link for this Friday’s show is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPH4nqVrZ7Y  (please share anywhere)

Plus, bookmark this url:

http://www.joyscream.com/livestream/ 

That web page will always direct you to their new live streams and other info, links & tip jars for these artists.

Joyce says, "Join us for live music at 8 pm EDT -- 5 pm PDT -- for show #13 [July 3]. It is thrilling and scary doing this totally live, with a different show every week, including some surprises. It means so much to us that people are watching. We'll begin with song #142, one from Harvey's 'Of Wind & Water' album."

"SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channels (if you have gmail). You’ll never miss a video or stream, and more subscribers gets us better treatment from YouTube. It’s free and it’s one button click on the video page when you watch."

Harvey Reid & Joyce Andersen

ARCHIVED SHOWS ON YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/JoyceAndersen

HARVEY’s YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/user/GreatSadRiver/videos

VIDEO LINKS TO ALL SONGS WE'VE DONE: http://joyscream.com/livestream/setlists.html

http://www.woodpecker.com/

http://www.joyscream.com/



  ■⊙■⊙


Friday, July 3rd (and beyond), live online...


Internationally touring pianist is a thrill to hear perform 

We have brought you word of JOLYNN J. CHIN several times since she stopped us in our tracks, performing at the NAMM show. Here are some opportunities for you to learn, for yourself, why.




 ■⊙■⊙ 


Friday, July 3rd, online...


"Redacted Tonight" host Lee Camp goes live 
today for a Q & A


"TONIGHT (Friday) at 5:30 pm PDT join me for a Live-Stream Q&A only at YouTube.com/MomentOfClarity, right after the new episode of Redacted Tonight. It's free to attend, and Eleanor Goldfield and I will be answering your questions & much more," says Lee. 


Eleanor Goldfield and Lee Camp.
If you still have not discovered him? Well, George Carlin's daughter says he is carrying on in her late father's footsteps. And if you liked the political wit of Mark Russell with his weekly PBS specials (back when PBS could still air such things)... And if counter-culture and skeptical of corporate narratives appeal to you... then you've found your guy.



 ■⊙■⊙ 


Friday, July 3rd, on TV, 
with more online for the 4th...


Watch Pacific Symphony’s National Broadcast on PBS




The PBS series "Great Performances" and Pacific Symphony, led by Music Director Carl St.Clair, celebrate the historic American immigrant experience with a special Independence Day weekend program. It's composer Peter Boyer’s GRAMMY-nominated contemporary classical work, “Ellis Island: The Dream of America.”  Tune in Friday, July 3 at 9 pm, nationwide. In L.A., it's on KOCE, aka PBS SoCal -- broadcast, cable, satellite, and if you hunt for it, on the web at 9 pm on some PBS affiliates livestream in whatever time zone.

Using texts from the Ellis Island Oral History Project and historic Ellis Island images in combination with an original orchestral score, “Ellis Island” features seven, first-hand stories of immigrants dramatically interpreted by guest stars Barry Bostwick, Camryn Manheim, Michael Nouri, Lesley Fera, Lucas Near-Verbrugghe, Samantha Sloyan, and Kira Sternbach.

Over 40 percent of the U.S. population can trace their ancestry through Ellis Island, and immigration remains at the forefront of global news. “Ellis Island” captures the emotions, elation and uncertainties of America’s epic immigrant experience.

The special was recorded by "Great Performances" at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, California, in 2017 during Pacific Symphony’s 17th "American Composers Festival" (it was in the Guide at the time). It was performed and recorded before capacity audiences, including nearly 40 recipients of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Peter Boyer’s composition, “Ellis Island: The Dream of America,” premiered in 2002 to great acclaim. It has since received nearly 200 performances by more than 80 orchestras and earned a Grammy nomination for "Best Classical Contemporary Composition" in 2005.
___

There's more...

Zoom to join composer Peter Boyer talking about his composition, "Ellis Island"


Enjoy a special Independence Day weekend discussion with composer Peter Boyer talking about the making of this musical work. Click here to register for the Zoom event, brought to you by the Orange County Jewish Community Scholar Program.

___


 

And then, on July 4th...        


Catch the "Virtual Independence Day Concert"


Though we’re not able to enjoy the Fourth in a crowd in the great outdoors, Pacific Symphony invites you to join them online for patriotic favorites, fireworks and musical festivities. Music Director Carl St.Clair has re-imagined the Fourth, creating a streaming 50-minute program to celebrate America’s birthday.


The program, hosted by Music Director Carl St.Clair and Principal Pops Conductor Richard Kaufman, opens with video footage of a rousing rendition of St.Clair conducting Pacific Symphony musicians in “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Angels Stadium last summer. Richard Kaufman conducts John Williams’ “Midway March” from the soundtrack to the classic World War II motion picture “Midway.” The program continues with “76 Trombones” from Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man,” and Kaufman will read the results from this year’s Nathan’s Famous Hot-Dog Eating Contest, the traditional annual competition that takes place on Coney Island every Fourth of July. Selections from Peter Boyer’s “Ellis Island: A Dream of America” follow as well as a musical salute to the armed forces. Renowned country music star, Lee Greenwood, who was the headliner for last season’s popular “Hail to the Heroes” concert, makes a guest appearance with a special message and song selection specifically for Pacific Symphony audiences.

The concert concludes with a moving mosaic video featuring members of Pacific Chorale and American Feel Young Chorus singing “America the Beautiful,” accompanied by Pacific Symphony.

Then the grand finale: a spectacular fireworks extravaganza on your screen, orchestrated to “The Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Philip Sousa.

This July 4th Celebration is dedicated to frontline healthcare workers, who, as the symphony says, "inspire us with their strength and bravery in caring for their fellow Americans." They continue, "The program also recognizes two great Americans, Charlie and Ling Zhang, for the countless ways they have supported Pacific Symphony and the advancement of music education."

HOW TO WATCH:

Beginning July 4 at 6 pm PDT, the concert goes-up online and can be viewed by signing-in with an email address at the dedicated page on the Pacific Symphony concert webpage, here.

It will remain available on demand for 45 days after that.


  ■⊙■⊙ 


New release, out Friday, July 3rd...


Ronny Cox -- "Live at the Kitchen Sink"



You know Ronny Cox as both distinguished actor of countless roles and acoustic Americana musician whose songwriting brings some of the best, most moving lyrical storytelling out there. And those acting chops always sell the story and make you believe you were there and saw it happen yourself.

Ronny checked in with us this morning. Turns out the kitchen sink isn't what he throws at you in this new album. It's a venue in his old home state. And... well, we'll let him speak for himself.

"In this time of hunkering down and social distancing it's probably not the most propitious time to have a new album coming out... but I'm very proud of it and my feeling is that you might like to hear it. 

"In November, Rad and Panda and I were touring in New Mexico and we stopped off at The Kitchen Sink Studio in Santa Fe and Jono Manson recorded our show in front of a live audience. 

"The album is officially released today to radio, iTunesAmazonSpotify, etc. You can also listen to Live At The Kitchen Sink on my website. If you would like a physical CD... They are $20 on Bandcamp which includes shipping via First Class Mail to anywhere in the US. I'll autograph them and personally mail them to you. 

"As most of you know, I'm a storyteller and there is a tale that goes with every song.  I didn't include the stories on the CD, but you can listen to the Live At The Kitchen Sink Stories on my website as well. 

"Please be safe and take care of one another. I hope we can resume concerts soon."

Ronny adds, "Playing with Rad and Panda is truly magical... check it out."



 ■⊙■⊙ 


July 3rd, fresh from minimal post-production...


Joan Enguita with an original music vid, being submitted to a song contest


Video made and published this morning, July 3, 2020, is a song to meaningfully soothe turbulent times

Joan, doing the song for a concert audience.
We happen to know Joan Enguita wrote this song a few years back, because she performed it live on our L.A. broadcast radio show, "Tied to the Tracks," when that was still a weekly event of the airwaves.

But we didn't know the story behind the song until just now.

Joan tells us, "I wrote this song after a young African American teen was randomly stabbed in Lancaster, CA. A car pulled up, a guy got out and ran up to a group of teenage boys and stabbed one of them. This was heartbreaking to me. I felt for the mother of the victim and could not imagine how devastating this act was to her. 'Walk a Mile in My Shoes' is an effort to realize that we all want the same things for our families: peace and love. Filmed in the Mojave Desert in Palmdale, CA near my home."

Watch and listen at: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7x4eXgc0XgY

Song and video are copyright July 3, 2020, Joan Enguita Willingham, BMI



 ■⊙■⊙ 


  Saturday, July 4


 ■⊙■⊙




   

It'Jul4th...        


On this day


We'll give most of this over to Garrison Keillor, who has a take on today that includes some things you may not have ever seen before. He writes:

Today is Independence Day. It marks the day in 1776 when the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. The document was approved and signed on July 2, and was formally adopted on July 4; John Adams always felt that the Second of July was America's true birthday, and wrote to his wife, Abigail, that the date "will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival." He envisioned "Pomp and Parade ... Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other." He reportedly refused to appear at annual Fourth of July celebrations for the rest of his life, in protest. He died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration's adoption — as did Thomas Jefferson, who had written most of the document.
It was traditional in the British Colonies to celebrate the king's birthday every summer, with bonfires, parades, and speeches. During the summer of 1776, they held mock funerals for King George instead — with bonfires, parades, and speeches. They also read the Declaration of Independence aloud as soon as it was adopted. Philadelphia held the first formal Independence Day celebration in 1777, with bells and fireworks; in 1778, General George Washington called for double rations of rum for the troops, and in 1781, Massachusetts was the first to name July 4 an official state holiday. Congress declared it a national holiday in 1870.
Jefferson turned down a request to appear at the 50th anniversary celebration in Washington, D.C.; it was the last letter he ever wrote, and in it he expressed his hope for the Declaration of Independence:

"May it be to the world, what I believe it will be ... the signal of arousing men to burst the chains ... and to assume the blessings and security of self-government. [...] All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. ... For ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them."
Jefferson said this although he was the owner of slaves.
___

To Garrison's account we add this:

The two men tasked by the Continental Congress to write the Declaration of Independence both died on this day -- 50 years later, to the day, July 4th, 1826. John Adams last words were, "Thomas Jefferson still lives." But he, the 3rd U.S. President, didn't, having died a few hours before Adams, the 2nd U.S. President. If you know of anything in history that holds more poetic irony, tell us.


 ■⊙■⊙ 


July 4th feature story...


America's Birthday in the context of our times

If America is to be at all authentic in our vision of ourselves, we must reaffirm -- especially today, the nation's birthday -- our belief in and commitment to safeguarding what made our nation different in its founding ideal. That "thing" is democracy, from proclaiming it in the Declaration of Independence to the Constitution's ongoing committment to "secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity" as we, together, strive for "A more perfect Union."

What enables all that to happen, for all of us, is based on just two things: an engaged, informed electorate, and an electorate that actualizes its ethics by voting.

To that purpose, and because we promised our readers we would provide broadly inclusive context with multiple viewpoints from important voices,

we welcome four perspectives on the state of America and being American on this special day.

First:

We don't always agree with the "MoveOn" organization, but we are joining with them in the message they share today, together with other organizations, artists, and other individuals. Here it is:

"To be honest, this Fourth of July will be challenging for many of us. We’re in a time of national crisis, and these last few years have left us feeling anxious, exhausted, and more divided from our neighbors than ever before.

"But there’s a different story to tell about America and the moment that we’re in: America is a work in progress. It's a narrative that we are shaping every day through our resistance to racism and our commitment to creating an America that works for all.  


"We are proud to partner this Independence Day weekend with prominent writers, actors, musicians, and performers on #MyAmericanFlag, a social media campaign highlighting diverse voices that truly make America great. 

"Artists including Stephanie Beatriz, Aloe Blacc, Roxane Gay, Billy Porter, and Alfre Woodard have worked with us to create versions of the American flag that honor and celebrate their own individual heritage and how it fits into the broader American fabric. No matter where we're from or how we got here, there's no "right" or "wrong" way to be an American, and we all have a role to play in making the American dream a reality for everyone. 


"We won’t let our identities as Americans be restricted or undermined by those who sow hate and fear. By celebrating those voices that are sometimes excluded from the definition of “American” because of race or national origin, we’re reaffirming our commitment to our country’s highest ideals. And of course, an important part of being an American is our ability to determine who leads our country. If you're able, that begins—but doesn’t end—with voting.


"After you’ve made sure that you’re registered, go to MoveOn’s FacebookInstagram and Twitter feeds to see what Richard Blanco, Ashley Judd, Dulce Candy, Atkins Estimond, Luvvie Ajayi Jones, Aparna Nancherla and Reshma Saujani have to say about what being an American means to them, and what their personal American flag looks like."

Second:

The Climate Reality Project is an organization about which we have reported here before. Heather Brown, their Director of Civic Engagement, puts it simply:

"Our democracy is in crisis. Our climate is in crisis. And our health is in crisis. Now more than ever, it’s time to protect what matters and the only way to make lasting change is at the ballot box.

Here are three steps you can take to fight for our democracy this Independence Day:
  1. Register to vote. Already registered? Make sure to double check your voter registration status.
  2. Pledge to vote. Make a commitment to turn out on Election Day or request a mail-in ballot.
  3. Forward this story (just copy and paste into an email or onto your social media) and reach out with it to three friends. Spread the word and ask your friends and family if they are registered to vote.
As Heather says:

"You have the power to make your voice heard. Be sure to use it. Because the future of your world is on the line."

The amazing thing is, that quote could easily have come from Thomas Paine as a call to the people to join the American Revolution. And it is not overstated to see the Climate Crisis as THE central, existential, cause of our time, and the cause on whose outcome rests EVERY other dream and aspiration of humanity.

Third:

Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund, through Frank Clemente, their Executive Director, has a few questions. Our collective understanding of the answers will determine whether we can go forward as a democracy focused on the needs of our people, or if we will go over the abyss into a taxpayer-funded, oligarch controlled, kleptocratic corporatocracy. He begins with this question:

"Are you familiar with the term corporate inversion? It’s where a U.S. based business shifts its corporate headquarters―at least on paper―to an offshore tax haven such as the Cayman Islands or Ireland.

"This allows multinational corporations, whose executives still run and operate the corporation in the U.S., to avoid paying their fair share of taxes here at home by making it look like their huge profits are being earned offshore."

Frank continues:

"We know that our tax dollars pay for critical services for people and families, our roads, schools, healthcare and more. And, at this desperate time of need in the midst of the pandemic, our tax dollars are supporting families and small businesses in need.

"But, the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is managing $500 billion in pandemic financial aid to corporations, is allowing tax dodging corporate inverters to receive that aid, if they request it.[1] That’s not right! Corporations who don’t pay their fair share of taxes here at home shouldn’t get bailed out by U.S. taxpayers.

"Now, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) have introduced the American Assistance for American Companies Act, which would ensure that tax dodging corporate inverters cannot benefit from the CARES Act COVID-19 relief package.[2]

"On this 4th of July, let’s demand that unpatriotic tax dodging corporations don’t get a dime of our tax dollars. Become a co-signer of the Durbin-Doggett American Assistance for American Companies Act today to ensure that COVID-19 relief goes to small businesses in need, not money grubbing, tax dodging, offshoring corporations.

"This is a time of great need for many people and businesses. Together, we’re demanding a pandemic response that puts our needs first, not those of wealthy multinational corporations who continue to abuse a rigged tax system and economy."

[1] “Firms That Left U.S. for Tax Reasons Could Qualify for Fed’s Aid,” Bloomberg, May 15, 2020.

[2] Press Release: “Durbin, Doggett Introduce Bill To Prevent Tax Dodging Corporations From Receiving COVID-19 Relief,” June 24, 2020.

Tell Congress (click here):

"This 4th of July, we demand that unpatriotic, tax dodging, offshoring corporations that have renounced their U.S. citizenship not receive any pandemic aid. If they’re not willing to pay their fair share in taxes here at home, they shouldn’t get a dime of our tax dollars. Pass the American Assistance for American Companies Act to ensure our tax dollars go to small businesses in need, not corporate tax dodgers."

Fourth:


"Independence Day marks a natural time to ponder what it mean to be American. The legal definition is simple: Anyone born here is automatically granted citizenship. For everyone else, there is a set of procedures for naturalization, such as a civics test."

So writes Bryan Keogh, Senior Editor, Economy + Business, in "The Conversation," an online journal that prides itself on "Academic rigor, journalistic flair." He continues:


"Yet some Americans are perceived as less 'American' than others based on unrelated factors like skin color and English fluency. That perception creates implicit biases that begin at an early age, explains psychologist Katherine Kinzler."
She writes, “Reinforced by identity politics, this results in differences over who is welcome, who is tolerated and who is made to not feel welcome at all.” Her illustrated piece is a good and thoughtful read, at the link.
___

More?

There's a lively inside-show-biz take by Colin Fleming in today's Daily Beast: "The Most F*cked-Up Fourth of July Special Ever."



 ■⊙■⊙ 


July 4th event...

Historic aircraft flyover of Battleship Iowa

Ready for some roaring radial engines? Grab your USS Iowa outdoor tour ticket and watch the Tiger Squadron flyover from the deck of the historic Battleship IOWA, the ultra-impressive floating museum docked in San Pedro, CA.

The group of vintage WW II-era aircraft, based in Torrance, is doing an aerial circuit for plenty of folks to see from their own backyards. The performance begins at 2 pm with four passes over the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, before heading south to continue their show over several Orange County sites. Then the airplanes -- deemed "The Tiger Squadron" -- will end their route over the Los Angeles Harbor, flying directly over the Battleship USS Iowa.



 ■⊙■⊙ 


July 4th event...


Zoom opens at 5:45 pm Pacific --
Meditation begins at 6 pm Pacific --
 


Only in California would this be a way to celebrate the Fourth, and it is.


"This is happening all around us in real-time, as we seek to re-imagine and build an enlightened society upon the foundation of a higher code of values and ethics. Come and help build this new lighted collective house together – from the inside out."

Register here. Free to "attend."


 ■⊙■⊙ 


July 4th event...


Pacific Symphony's "Virtual Independence Day Concert"


Though we’re not able to enjoy the Fourth in a crowd with them in the great outdoors, Pacific Symphony invites you to join them online for patriotic favorites, fireworks and musical festivities. Music Director Carl St.Clair has re-imagined the Fourth, creating a streaming 50-minute program to celebrate America’s birthday.


The program, hosted by Music Director Carl St.Clair and Principal Pops Conductor Richard Kaufman, opens with video footage of a rousing rendition of St.Clair conducting Pacific Symphony musicians in “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Angels Stadium last summer. Richard Kaufman conducts John Williams’ “Midway March” from the soundtrack to the classic World War II motion picture “Midway.” The program continues with “76 Trombones” from Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man,” and Kaufman will read the results from this year’s Nathan’s Famous Hot-Dog Eating Contest, the traditional annual competition that takes place on Coney Island every Fourth of July. Selections from Peter Boyer’s “Ellis Island: A Dream of America” follow as well as a musical salute to the armed forces. Renowned country music star, Lee Greenwood, who was the headliner for last season’s popular “Hail to the Heroes” concert, makes a guest appearance with a special message and song selection specifically for Pacific Symphony audiences.

The concert concludes with a moving mosaic video featuring members of Pacific Chorale and American Feel Young Chorus singing “America the Beautiful,” accompanied by Pacific Symphony.

Then the grand finale: a spectacular fireworks extravaganza on your screen, orchestrated to “The Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Philip Sousa.

This July 4th Celebration is dedicated to frontline healthcare workers, who, as the symphony says, "inspire us with their strength and bravery in caring for their fellow Americans." They continue, "The program also recognizes two great Americans, Charlie and Ling Zhang, for the countless ways they have supported Pacific Symphony and the advancement of music education."

HOW TO WATCH:

Beginning July 4 at 6 pm PDT, the concert goes-up online and can be viewed by signing-in with an email address at the dedicated page on the Pacific Symphony concert webpage, here.

It will remain available on demand for 45 days after that.


  ■⊙■⊙ 


July 4th event...
(Fri, Sat, Sun, online)



On Saturday, the GRAND OLE OPRY is the centerpiece of an all-weekend radio / online live video "All-American Weekend" from Nashville radio station WSM and its online web simulcast.

Tune-in as they spin favorite patriotic hits all weekend long, and celebrate Independence Day on WSM.

The station tells us, "We have the perfect soundtrack of patriotic hits coming up this weekend for your Fourth of July cookout. We're also bringing you a new episode of 'That Summer' and the 'Opry Radio Block Party,'

-- leading up to the 'Grand Ole Opry' this Saturday," 
at 5 pm Pacific.

On Saturday, the GRAND OLE OPRY live performance features
•  Sara Evans
•  The Oak Ridge Boys, and
•  Mark Wills



Ways to Tune in to the Grand Ole Opry



  ■⊙■⊙ 


Saturday, July 4, online...


"Americafest" live from the Rose Bowl 
(& elsewhere in cyberia)




2 pm-3 pm Pacific, "AMERICAFEST" goes virtual this year for its 94th edition, and includes scenes and performances from the closed Rose Bowl, its usual annual home, where you'll see a flyover and more. But its performances originate from the four points of the compass, as with the other cyber festivals we've seen this year.

Pasadena locals -- for whom going is de rigueur -- and international fans alike can all partake this year, live.

☆  It DOES require getting a FREE ticket in advance, and their site loads slowly (!) so don't get caught in the percolating pinwheel while the show is going on without you.

Watch via the Rose Bowl Stadium Facebook or YouTube, both accessible at:

https://www.rosebowllive.tv/events/rose-bowl-july-4th



  ■⊙■⊙ 


Friday, July 4th, on TV...


Fourth of July music extravaganzas on TV

With the order in Los Angeles County to cancel all public fireworks displays due to concerns over public gatherings amidst 150% increases in COVID-19 infections, TV is the place to be. Especially because the music performances are broadly based, inclusive, coming from all over the country, and the sound should be good.

Here's what's on tv Saturday evening:

■  PBS offers "A CAPITOL FOURTH" with the new 2020 edition airing on KOCE from 8-9:30 pm and repeating immediately, 9:30-11 pm. It also airs edited-down to one-hour on KCET at 11 pm, repeating at midnight.

■  NBC airs "MACY'S 4th OF JULY" from New York City,  8-10 pm, then airs a pared-down repeat 10-11 pm.

■  ABC airs "4th OF JULY BLOCK PARTY" 7-8 pm.

■  CNN gets the prize for the most music performances, with coverage starting at 5 pm Pacific and running until 9 pm.

■  Also remember the PACIFIC SYMPHONY "VIRTUAL JULY 4th SPECTACULAR" online at 6 pm Pacific (see the feature above).

  If you opt for something else, do it safely. California does not need another wild fire caused by some zealous dimwit determined to have fireworks.

Fire Department hot line number to report illegal fireworks: 
888-654-3973 


  ■⊙■⊙ 


Re-broadcast, only through this weekend...


"The Brothers," the four-hour, sold-out, March 10 concert at Madison Square Garden celebrating 50 years of the music of THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND


The Allman Brothers Band played their first show on March 26, 1969 and went on to embark on a Hall Of Fame career, which came to a close with their final performance on October 28, 2014 at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Until this show.



Surviving members of the ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND came together Tuesday, March 10 as THE BROTHERS for an acclaimed, sold-out, one-night-only show celebrating 50 years of the iconic American band's legacy at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In partnership with nugs.net--the leading live music platform for concert recordings and live streams-the "50th Anniversary Celebration of The Allman Brothers Band'' is now available for purchase on nugs.tv in HD or stunning 4K, and will be rebroadcast beginning this Friday (July 3) at 5 pm PDT - Sunday (July 5).

Those who purchase the webcast will also be able to enjoy the show on demand for 48 hours upon first viewing. Both the video and audio have been re-edited and remixed, respectively to give home viewers the best seat in the house for this historic concert. Experience the music of The Allman Brothers in an entirely new way. 

Now available in Sony's 360 Reality Audio via nugs.net Hi-Fi. Listen to The Brothers' nearly four-hour show as if you were there.

The Brothers consists of founding Allman Brothers Band (ABB) drummer Jaimoe as well as longtime ABB guitarists Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, bassist Oteil Burbridge and percussionist Marc Quinones, along with Widespread Panic drummer Duane Trucks and keyboardist Reese Wynans. Former ABB keyboardist (and longtime touring member of the Rolling StonesChuck Leavell joined as a special guest for many of the jams he helped create with the ABB.

The March 10 show is the last major concert to have taken place in New York before being shut down because of Covid-19.

In a post-show interview with the Wall Street Journal, Jaimoe said, "It just felt like no BS, and all about music and love...I wanted to play music with my brothers. Everyone else is paying homage to the Allman Brothers music-and some of us are still here." 

American Songwriter, (which described the show as a "massive success") talked to Warren Haynes who said:

"It was a very surreal night I think for all of us.  It would have been under normal circumstances. But as we got closer and closer to show date, we were all wondering if we're going to be allowed to play. We barely got in under the wire and then the next couple of days, they basically starting shutting down everything and canceling shows everywhere. It's very bizarre that we turned out to be the last big show like that...I'm really glad that we were able to celebrate the 50th. When (original band member) Jaimoe called everybody and said that he thought that we should do something for the 50th, we all instantly agreed and thought, yeah, let's do this. In a lot of ways, it was a show that we had talked about doing as the Allman Brothers Band but it never came to fruition. From the first moment of rehearsal it felt wonderful, and it just got better and better. I was very proud of everyone. From a musical standpoint, the band sounded wonderful. But there was so much more at play." 

Speaking with RollingStone.comDerek Trucks recalled:

"When we first got to New York about a week before, there were no restrictions and no one was really thinking about [the virus] too much. I was being OCD with Purell, but you eat out; you're on the road and that's what you do. But now a thousand things go through your head...So that felt a little weird. But information was rolling out at such a trickle that it was hard to make sense of anything...We were doing four days of rehearsals and everyone was playing that music for the first time in a while and telling stories and remembering people we'd lost. You're kind of in two different worlds. You're of two minds. If you postpone six or eight months, you never know how it's going to be between now and then. But it also felt like one of the last moments for a long time when people would be able to suspend reality and let go." 

As for the concert itself, Derek said:

"I was really proud of everyone onstage. I thought everyone's head was in the right place. That's hard to do. There's a lot of history with everyone on that stage, and you never know how that's going to shake out. But it felt good. The spirit felt right."
 ___

Music media response when the live show happened, back on March 10th:

"The Brothers' Madison Square Garden reunion show to celebrate the Allman Brothers Band's 50th anniversary on Tuesday (March 10) was, in a word, superb. From the first note to the last in the four-plus-hour performance, the band played with urgency, intensity and creativity, breathing fire into one of rock's greatest catalogs...With virtually no interruptions even for guitar changes and few words said, they played marvelously well together, veering effortlessly into modern jazz, deep blues and Indian ragas before falling right back onto the riff every time. It was exactly the type of tight but loose musical focus that made the Allman Brothers the best, hardest hitting improvisational rock band of all time."
~ Alan Paul, Billboard, 3/11/20

"During the course of four hours - two sets separated by a half-hour break - the Brothers paid bristling homage to the Allmans legacy in what amounted to a musical wake: an inspiring and often moving send-off to a band and the genre it pioneered...the players also brought plenty of firepower, heard in fierce first-set versions of 'Trouble No More' and 'Don't Keep Me Wonderin'.' Whether it was intended or not, the night also proved what could be a template for the future of classic rock, which is now essentially the classical music of boomers. Dead & Co. have revived the sound and audience for the Grateful Dead's music, with original members providing a link to the past. Yet what happens when almost all the original members of an iconic lineup are gone? Who keeps the music going and how credible can it be without deteriorating into tribute-band cheesiness? At least for one night, the Brothers laid out that road map and provided hope that rock & roll may, possibly, never forget." 
~ David Browne, Rolling Stone, 3/11/20

"Fifty years later one legendary room found a way to gather almost 20,000 people and get them to boogie once more to the music of legends and the magic of peaches and mushrooms." 
~ Ray Chelstowski, Goldmine, 3/11/20
 ___

Brad Serling, nugs.net Founder and CEO, added:

"We could not be more thrilled about the opportunity to work with The Brothers on this PPV from MSG.  The music that these performers helped to create is so incredibly special.  We are very thankful to be able to help share this performance with ABB fans around the planet."

More about the Pay-Per-View can be found at  https://2nu.gs/TheBrothersWebcast.

Pricing:
All those who bought it the first time get it for free.
Webcast:  $12.99-HD | $19.99-4K | $19.99 HD+MP3 | $29.99 4K+MP3

Audio: 
nugs.net and The Brothers are also offering fans the ability to enjoy the audio from the show in Sony's 360 Reality Audio.  The unique format provides subscribers of nugs.net Hi-Fi the ability to hear the show as if they are there during the performance. 

The Brothers' March 10, 2020 set list:

Don't Want You No More/ It's Not My Cross To Bear
Statesboro Blues
Revival
Trouble No More
Don't Keep Me Wonderin'
Black Hearted Woman
Dreams
Hot'Lanta
Come and Go Blues  
Soulshine   
Stand Back 
Jessica  
Mountain Jam
Blue Sky 
Desdemona
Ain't Wasting Time No More
Every Hungry Woman
Melissa
In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
No One to Run With
One Way Out
Midnight Rider
Whipping Post

About The Brothers

The Brothers are all the surviving members of the final ABB lineup: drummer Jaimoe, guitarists Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, bassist Oteil Burbridge and percussionist Marc Quinones.Reese Wynans was a member of Second Coming, a band that pre-dated the formation of The Allman Brothers Band by just months and included Duane Allman, Dickey Betts, Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe. Duane Truck is Derek's little brother, whose uncle was ABB co-founder Butch Trucks. Duane is currently a drummer for Widespread Panic. Chuck Leavell was first heard by ABB fans on Gregg's first solo album, Laid Back, and joined the Allmans full-time in 1973 through their first hiatus in 1976.



 ■⊙■⊙


In time for the Fourth...


Home Free, Lee Greenwood & The United States Air Force Band collaborate on a special take of "God Bless The U.S.A."


1st Collaborative Release from the U.S. Air Force Band
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Just in time for the 4th of July, all-vocal Country entertainers Home Free have teamed up with GRAMMY-winning icon Lee Greenwood and The United States Air States Air Force Band for a soulful rendition of Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.”

With years of covering the patriotic smash under their belts, Home Free was looking to elevate their traditional arrangement of “God Bless the U.S.A.” to new heights, and they did just that. By joining together across the nation with Greenwood and The United States Air Force Band’s official chorus – The Singing Sergeants, this new rendition of the timeless tune not only showcases over a dozen voices, but also serves as The United States Air Force Band’s very first collaborative release.

“Being able to sing a song that has inspired our nation for years is such an honor,” says Home Free’s Austin Brown. “And then you add in the fact that we were able to do it not only with the original artist, but also The United States Air Force Band – such an incredible experience! I just hope it shines a little light into people's days, like it has in mine.”


WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.” HERE



“How wonderful to sing with Home Free - such artistic singers,” shares Greenwood. “I’ve never before enjoyed such freedom to be able to sing ‘God Bless the U.S.A.’ – like you’ve never heard it. Thank you as well for the fantastic singers from The United States Air Force. They can really sing! Happy Independence Day, America.”

Home Free, Greenwood and The United States Air Force Band hope to have the opportunity to perform their special rendition soon.


KEEP UP WITH HOME FREE

 
 
About Home Free


All-vocal Country entertainers Home Free have made their mark on the music scene, racking up nearly 600,000 album equivalents globally; embarking on major international tours; amassing 372+ MILLION YouTube views; and being declared “Country music fans’ favorite a cappella group” (Taste of Country). Their fifth studio album, DIVE BAR SAINTS (Home Free Records) arrived at #2 on the Billboard Country Album Sales Chart. Home Free's extensive catalog spotlights five additional Top 10 albums, including TIMELESSFULL OF (EVEN MORE) CHEERFULL OF CHEERCOUNTRY EVOLUTION, and their breakout debut CRAZY LIFE (2014), which hit #1 on iTunes Country chart and #4 overall following their victory on NBC’s The Sing-Off. With praise rolling in from the likes of Perez HiltonCountry LivingFOX & FriendsRolling Stone, and AXS.com, the extraordinary showmen have continued to build a loyal fan base with their harmony-laden versions of hits by John Mayer, Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, Maren Morris, The Oak Ridge Boys, and more.

About Lee Greenwood


Throughout his expansive career, international country music icon Lee Greenwood has earned multiple CMA and ACM Awards, a Grammy Award for Top Male Vocal Performance on “I.O.U,” in 1985, and a multitude of other prestigious award nominations. His discography includes twenty-two studio albums, seven compilation albums, seven No. 1 hits and thirty-eight singles including songs like “It Turns Me Inside Out,” “Ring On Her Finger Time on Her Hands,” “She’s Lyin’,” “I Don’t Mind the Thorns if You’re the Rose,” “Dixie Road,” “Somebody’s Gonna Love You,” “Going Going Gone,” “You Got A Good Love Comin’,” among others.

His stand-out hit “God Bless the U.S.A.” has been in the top five on the country singles charts three times (1991, 2001 and 2003), giving it the distinction of being the only song in any genre of music to achieve that feat. It reached the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart shortly after 9/11. Known for his stand-out patriotism and support of the U.S. Military, Greenwood has been honored with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s National Patriot’s Award, and entertained troops on more than 30 USO Tours. Greenwood was appointed to the council of the National Endowment for the Arts in 2008 by President George W. Bush, confirmed by the United States Senate, and continues to serve on the NEA at the pleasure of the President. His latest book release is a children’s book called Proud To Be An American, which is currently available in stores, on Amazon and leegreenwood.com.

About The United States Air Force Band and The Singing Sergeants


The United States Air Force Band, Washington, DC is the Air Force’s premier musical organization. The excellence demonstrated by the Band’s Airmen musicians is a reflection of the excellence carried out 24 hours a day by Airmen stationed around the globe. Each member is proud to represent all Airmen, whose selfless service and sacrifices ensure the freedoms we enjoy as citizens of the United States of America. Since its formation in 1941, this world-class organization has inspired billions of listeners through its exhilarating music, engaging concerts and masterful recordings and continues to positively impact the global community.

The Singing Sergeants is the official chorus of the United States Air Force. Stationed at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., the group is one of six musical ensembles that form The U.S. Air Force Band. Featuring 23 active duty Airmen musicians, the Singing Sergeants presents more than 200 performances annually performing a wide range of musical styles, for military and civilian ceremonial and diplomatic functions, education outreach events, public concerts nationwide, and local performances throughout metropolitan Washington, D.C. area.


 ■⊙■⊙ 


  Sunday, July 5


 ■⊙■⊙


Tragic milestones

It took two months for COVID-19 cases in the U.S. to reach 50,000.

Last week, on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, there were 50,000 new cases diagnosed EACH DAY in the U.S., with more than half the states setting new daily records at least one of those days.

So why did an intransigently denialist maskless Maskhole Commander-in-Tweet hold two political rallies this weekend of maskless Branch Covidians tightly packed together?

Even anti-science, conspiracy-default, hoax-excuse, delusional zealots go home to their families, communities, grocery stores, and gas stations.

Please  -- from a distance -- tell them about Typhoid Mary. Then sanely stay the hell away from them.
___

THOUGHTS FOR TODAY  from one born on this date...

"The noblest art is that of making others happy."

"No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else."

"Nobody ever lost a dollar by underestimating the taste of the American public."

"Advertising is to a genuine article what manure is to land -- it largely increases the product."


"There's a sucker born every minute."

"Unless a man enters upon the vocation intended for him by nature, and best suited to his peculiar genius, he cannot succeed."

"The foundation of success in life is good health: that is the substratum fortune; it is also the basis of happiness. A person cannot accumulate a fortune very well when he is sick."


"Science is the pursuit of pure truth, and the systematizing of it. In such an employment as that, one might reasonably hope to find all things done in honesty and sincerity. Not at all, my ardent and inquiring friends, there is a scientific humbug just as large as any other."

"Writing lives forever, while you may not."


~ P. T. Barnum, the one who invented modern "show business"; American businessman, co-founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (1810-1891)

___

Happy birthday today to

Robbie Robertson, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor

Huey Lewis, American singer-songwriter and actor

Marc Cohn, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player

Terry Cashman, American singer-songwriter and record producer

Adam Young, American singer, songwriter and composer. Commonly known as "Owl City"

Dave Haywood, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Jimmy Crespo, American guitarist and songwriter

Michael Monarch, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer

Jason Wade, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Mads Tolling, Danish-American violinist and composer

Steven Sharp Nelson, American cellist

Róisín Murphy, Irish singer-songwriter and producer

Shane Filan, Irish singer-songwriter

Matthias Bamert, Swiss composer and conductor

Kenji Ito, Japanese pianist and composer

Nardwuar the Human Serviette, Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player

İsmail YK, German-Turkish singer-songwriter

Susan Wojcicki, Polish-American technology executive, CEO of YouTube

Margo Grace Weinschenker, American musician

Alexia Salvatierra, producer of music events for charity

___

On this day

Two milestones today in 1954:

•  Elvis Presley records his first single, "That's All Right," at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, today in 1954.

•   Where the whole "we interrupt this program" thing started...
Today in 1954, the BBC broadcast its first television news bulletin.
___

Health care for all...
     The "National Health Service Acts" created the national public health system for all in the United Kingdom today in 1948. They did it amidst the rubble of World War II, and we, who had none of our cities bombed, still can't do it.

Spam, spam, spam, spam...
     Spam, the luncheon meat, is introduced into the market by the Hormel Foods Corporation today in 1937. It's still a favorite food of many Pacific Islanders.

She wore an itsy bitsy, teensie-weensie, yellow polka-dot...
     Micheline Bernardini models the first modern bikini at a swimming pool in Paris today in 1946. The garment was named for -- of all things -- the Pacific atoll then being rendered uninhabitable by US nuclear weapons tests.

On the airwaves...
     Radio was still the only place to get your music heard when George Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today" hit #1, 40 years ago today in 1980.

Gee, she looks just like you...
     Dolly the sheep becomes the first mammal cloned from an adult cell, today in 1996.

Buried treasure...
     Today in 2009, the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered in England, consisting of more than 1,500 items, was found near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield, Staffordshire.

Able to leap tall buildings...
     The Shard in London is inaugurated today in 2012 as the tallest building in Europe, with a height of 310 metres (1,020 ft).

Spaciness...
     The Juno space probe arrived at Jupiter today in 2016 to begin a 20-month survey of "the giant planet with the big red spot."

Labor landmarks...
     Today in 1934 was "Bloody Thursday," when Police opened fire on striking longshoremen in San Francisco.
     Today in 1935 the National Labor Relations Act, which governs labor relations in the United States, was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of the New Deal.

Civil rights...
     Arthur Ashe became the first black man to win the Wimbledon singles title today in 1975. In his home city of Richmond, Virginia, the "Avenue of Heroes" would get a statue of him, at the far end of the street from the line of Confederate statues.
___

Three postscripts to Independence Day:

Let freedom ring... except it was broken...
     The Liberty Bell left Philadelphia by special train on its way to the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, today in 1915. This is the last trip outside Philadelphia that the custodians of the bell intend to permit, ever.

It's still broken...
     Today in 1971, the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 years, was formally certified by President Richard Nixon. And after fighting so hard for it, young people still have the poorest voting participation rate of any age group.

Not just broken, but trashed...
     Today in 1989 in the Iran–Contra affair, ex-Marine Corps Col. Oliver North was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation, $150,000 in fines and 1,200 hours community service in shockingly light penalties for his crimes of supporting an illegal war from the basement of the Reagan White House. His convictions are later overturned on a technicality and he becomes a radio talj show host and mega-hero of the same conservative movement that claims to champion law & order. Go figure.
___

Pugilism is big today

Rocket Man...
     Today in 2006, North Korea tests four short-range missiles, one medium-range missile and a long-range Taepodong-2. The long-range Taepodong-2 reportedly fails in mid-air over the Sea of Japan.

Turns out it wasn't autonomous at all...
     A series of violent riots broke out today in 2009 in Ürümqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China.

It wasn't Waterloo...
     The largest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, the Battle of Wagram, was fought between the French and Austrian Empires today in 1809.

The largest tank battle of all time...
      It began today in 1943, as German forces began a massive offensive against the Soviet Union in "Operation Citadel." History remembers it as the Battle of Kursk, won by the Red Army.

End of democracy...
     A military coup in Pakistan overthrew Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, today in 1977.

They're still murdering innocents...
     Today in 1987 in the Sri Lankan Civil War, the LTTE used suicide attacks on the Sri Lankan Army for the first time. The "Black Tigers" were born and, in the following years, have continued to kill with the tactic, including innocent civilians.

Nice try, but a new administration dropped the ball...
     Today in 1999, U.S. President Bill Clinton imposed trade and economic sanctions against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

This same topic includes today's feature item from history

The day America got its ass kicked...
     Today in 1950, the Korean War got very real when U.S. "Task Force Smith," sent to stop North Korean forces invading South Korea, first clashed in the Battle of Osan. We turn it over to Garrison Keillor, from his daily "Writer's Almanac," to tell you what happened:

"The Battle of Osan took place on this date in 1950. It was the first face-off of American and North Korean troops in the Korean War, which had begun on June 25, 1950, when the Soviet- and Chinese-backed North Korean People's Army crossed the 38th parallel into the pro-Western Republic of South Korea. Three days later, they had captured Seoul. It was the first open military action of the Cold War, and it triggered a police action by the United Nations. In turn, the United States saw it as a chance to defend democracy from the threat of Communism. President Truman, fresh from fighting the Axis Powers in World War II, was eager to prevent a similar situation in Asia.
"So on this date, Task Force Smith was deployed to Osan, just south of Seoul. Their mission was to hold off the North Korean advance until further American reinforcements could arrive. They weren't adequately armed; they didn't have any anti-tank weaponry, and the North Korean tank column rolled right through them. Although they were able to buy a little time by firing at the infantry, the American forces lost the battle and the task force retreated."

 ■⊙■⊙




"Learn an Emma's Revolution Song"
1 pm PDT / 4 pm EDT on Zoom
 and Facebook Live

Use our NEW Zoom registration link or watch on Facebook Live to sing and learn our song, Change.
"We wrote Change before President Obama's first inauguration and now it's an even more crucial time for us all to create real and lasting change," the duo tells us. Download lyrics and chords here.
Join on Zoom, watch via simultaneous livestream on their Facebook page or watch the post-session video on their YouTube channelRegister for the workshop, once, and attend July 12th and all future occurrences of this workshop.

 ■⊙■⊙


The folk music scene has been iconic in NYC's Greenwich Village for decades, and included
Bob Zimmerman before he was Bob Dylan. This festival has been an annual happening
since 1987, and this is its first time as an online event.

Greenwich Village Folk Festival 
is tonight, July 5, at 4 pm PDT


It’s free, a “Gift To The Community"


Rod MacDonald, co-producer with Raymond Micek, sent us the info Sunday morning.

Here’s the impressive full lineup ("more or less appearing in reverse order," says Rod)

Everyone plays a 15 minute set:

Happy Traum

Christine Lavin

Cliff Eberhart

Don White

David Ippolito

Pete & Maura Kennedy

Erik Frandsen

Louise Mosrie

Greg Greenway

Alyssa Dann



WATCH LIVE at: https://www.facebook.com/GVFF2020

WATCH LATER? MAYBE...
     Rod adds, "We anticipate the festival video will be available on youtube’s Greenwich Village Folk Festival channel sometime late Monday."

The Greenwich Village Folk Festival is a 501c3 non-profit organization founded in 1987.

Though this is a free festival, donations are welcomed at:

www.paypal.me/GVFF2020



 ■⊙■⊙



ESPN broadcasts Eagles 
“Live From The Forum MMXVIII”
on Sunday, July 5, 5 pm PDT



Live Album and Concert Film Capture Definitive, 26-Song Performance Recorded at the Fabulous Forum in September 2018 Featuring First Eagles’ Recordings
with Vince Gill and Deacon Frey
Available in Multiple Audio & Video Formats on October 16

LOS ANGELES – ESPN will air the Eagles concert “Live From The Forum MMXVIII” this holiday weekend. The Eagles spent the majority of 2018 on an extensive North American tour with Vince Gill and Deacon Frey joining Don Henley, Joe Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmit. Earning rave reviews from fans and critics alike, the quintet arrived at the Forum in Los Angeles for three sold-out concerts on September 12, 14, and 15. Highlights from all three shows have now been compiled for the new 26-song live album and concert film that will premiere 

on ESPN this Sunday, July 5that 8 pm EDT / 5 pm PDT

introduced by longtime Eagles fan ESPN’s Chris Berman.

“Sports and music have long been at the top of the list for being able to bring people of all types together. The Eagles have been doing just that for almost half a century,” said Chris Berman. “We at ESPN are thrilled beyond belief to share this premiere with everyone! What a wonderful way to cap off the holiday weekend!”

“Music and sports fans have been shut out from live events for more than three months. The premiere of LIVE FROM THE FORUM MMXVIII, this July 4th weekend on ESPN, is the Eagles’ gift to their fans,” said Eagles’ longtime manager, Irving Azoff. "We are honored to be part of ESPN's Sunday night programming, the home of such acclaimed shows as '30 for 30' and 'The Last Dance.'"

Said Burke Magnus, ESPN’s Executive Vice President, Programming Acquisitions and Scheduling, “This was a unique opportunity to partner with one of the greatest bands of all time to bring audiences some new and exciting entertainment. For many, music and sports are inextricably linked, so we are thrilled to present this momentous event from one of the cathedrals of sports - - The Forum.”

LIVE FROM THE FORUM MMXVIII, a Scheme Engine production directed by Nick Wickham, was filmed on 14 4K cameras. It will be available on October 16, through Rhino in a variety of audio and video formats, including Blu-ray, CD, Vinyl, and Streaming. A super deluxe edition will also be available. The set captures definitive live performances of the band’s most iconic hits, (“Hotel California,” “Take It Easy,” “Life In The Fast Lane,” “Desperado”), and beloved album tracks, (“Ol’ 55, “Those Shoes”), along with some of the individual members’ biggest solo smashes, (Henley’s “Boys Of Summer,” Walsh’s “Rocky Mountain Way,” and Gill’s “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away”). All formats can be pre-ordered now at www.eagles.com and www.rhino.com.

In today’s faddish, fractured, rock landscape, the Eagles retain an appeal that transcends both generation and genre, cementing the band’s role as enduring musical icons. As the best-selling American band of the ’70s, and one of the top-selling acts of all time, the Eagles have sold more than 150 million albums worldwide, scored six #1 albums and topped the singles charts five times. The band’s Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 and Hotel California are the #1 and #3 best-selling albums of all time according to the RIAA, certified Platinum 38x and 26x respectively. They have won six GRAMMY® Awards, were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, in their first year of eligibility, and received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2016.

LATE UPDATE: Repeats Tue, Jul 7, 5-8 pm PDT on ESPN2, and Jul 13, 6-9 pm PDT on ESPN.

Eagles’ “Hotel California” 2021 tour dates:

September 2021

16    Denver, CO            Pepsi Center (Originally Fri, Sep 18, 2020)
18    Denver, CO            Pepsi Center (Originally Fri, Sep 19, 2020)
21    Dallas, TX             American Airlines Center (Originally Wed, Oct 21, 2020)
24    Phoenix, AZ           Talking Stick Resort Arena (Originally Sat, Oct 24, 2020)
25    Phoenix, AZ           Talking Stick Resort Arena (Originally Sun, Oct 25, 2020)

October

1      Saint Paul, MN       Xcel Energy Center (Originally Fri, Oct 16, 2020)
2      Saint Paul, MN       Xcel Energy Center (Originally Sat, Oct 17, 2020)
15    Los Angeles, CA    Forum (Originally Fri, Sep 25, 2020)
16    Los Angeles, CA    Forum (Originally Sat, Sep 26, 2020)
19    Los Angeles, CA    Forum (Originally Tue, Sep 29, 2020)
22    San Francisco, CA Chase Center (Originally Fri, Oct 2, 2020)
23    San Francisco, CA Chase Center (Originally Sat, Oct 3, 2020)



  ■⊙■⊙ 


Here are some pics from their online CANADA DAY show, July 1st.
They played songs by Canadian artists for that entire show.

ANDY & RENEE, leaders of the award-winning band HARD RAIN and performing hosts of the annual "DYLANFEST," play their "Youtube Livestream #28" today.
•  5 pm PDT, 8 pm EDT
•  Watch at: https://youtu.be/1ED1-CDwocs

If you missed their CANADA DAY show, watch it in the archive, here:

https://www.facebook.com/606199471/videos/10157714717819472/



  ■⊙■⊙ 



Sunday folk radio: web simulcast


“Hootenanny Cafe” with Jon Stein on WTBQ

This 90-minute weekly radio show, live from the Hudson River Valley in New York, highlights local and National artists and folk singers, current and well known. Jon is also a talent booker and maestro piano tuner. We just got word from a California-based musician friend whose latest song is in rotation on his show.
VIEW the show's WEBSITE
Jon-Stein on WTBQ

  ■⊙■⊙ 


Parting tune for July 4th weekend


Check-out Nashville Recording artist Chris Nole playing solo piano.  Chris is a gifted piano player who has toured and recorded with John Denver, Don Williams and the Oak Ridge Boys, and many others.



Jim & Anne Curry sent us the link, adding "Chris has been a good friend of ours for many years, and has honored us by doing special concerts with us, and was the producer of our newest album, 'Such a Wild Place.'"

If you're open to a different perspective on what's in the daily news, you'll also enjoy Anne's blog. This time around, it covers "the theme of Independence Day (with reverence) and current events (with a healthy dose of sarcasm)." It's here.



 ■⊙■⊙ 


Monday, July 6


 ■⊙■⊙


THOUGHT FOR TODAY from one born on this date

"In an earlier stage of our development most human groups held to a tribal ethic. Members of the tribe were protected, but people of other tribes could be robbed or killed as one pleased. Gradually the circle of protection expanded, but as recently as 150 years ago we did not include blacks. So African human beings could be captured, shipped to America, and sold. In Australia white settlers regarded Aborigines as a pest and hunted them down, much as kangaroos are hunted down today. Just as we have progressed beyond the blatantly racist ethic of the era of slavery and colonialism, so we must now progress beyond the speciesist ethic of the era of factory farming, of the use of animals as mere research tools, of whaling, seal hunting, kangaroo slaughter, and the destruction of wilderness. We must take the final step in expanding the circle of ethics."

~ Peter Singer, philosopher and professor of bioethics (born July 6, 1946)

(our thanks to A.Word.A.Day for the quote)

___

Today is the 85th birthday of the 14th Dalai Lama (born in 1935), the spiritual leader of Tibet, in exile.

___


Late breaking news / obituary...


Ennio Morricone, award-winning composer of innovative music for cinema, dies at age 91


Ennio Morricone directed a concert in Rome in January.
Credit: Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse, via Associated Press
by The Guide overnight staff

"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" solidified Italian composer Ennio Morricone's international fame, already developing through his creation of atmospheric scores for preceding spaghetti westerns. His approximately 500 works include film soundtracks by a Who’s Who of Oscar winners and international directors, including "The Mission" and "Cinema Paradiso."

The Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and former trumpet player wrote in a wide range of musical styles. Since 1961, Morricone composed over 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as over 100 classical works.

Often his orchestral compositions featured operatic voices or soaring, yet haunting choirs, always effective on listeners without regard to the language they speak.

His artistry and long career -- he was still conducting orchestras this year -- made him one of the world’s most versatile and influential creators of music for the modern cinema. In 2018, Morricone conducted concerts on his "60 Years of Music World Tour." He died on Monday in Rome, following complications from a fall last week in which he fractured his femur. He was 91.

His score for "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" (1966) -- considered one of the most influential soundtracks in history -- is among his several successful collaborations with director Sergio Leone, including the 1960s "man with no name" series with the young Clint Eastwood.

Morricone's glittering filmography extends through more than 70 award-winning films, including all of Leone’s films, all of Giuseppe Tornatore’s films from the much-loved "Cinema Paradiso" onwards, "The Battle Of Algiers," Dario Argento’s "Animal Trilogy," "Days Of Heaven," "The Thing," "The Mission," "The Untouchables," "Bugsy," and "Ripley’s Game."

In 2016, he won the Oscar for his score for Quentin Tarantino’s film "The Hateful Eight," making him, at the time, the oldest person ever to win a competitive Oscar. He has been nominated for a further six Academy Awards.

Born in 1928, Morricone was, early in life, an enthusiastic soccer player and passionate AS Roma fan. But he quickly turned to music, playing trumpet in jazz bands in the 1940s. Then he became a studio arranger and started ghost writing for film and theater.

Andreas Wiseman writes in the "Deadline":

"From 1966 to 1980, he was a main member of Il Gruppo, one of the first experimental composers collectives and from the 1970s his career took off in Hollywood, composing for directors including Don Siegel, Mike Nichols, Brian De Palma, Barry Levinson, Oliver Stone, Warren Beatty, Quentin Tarantino and John Carpenter.

"His European collaborators also included Bernardo Bertolucci, Roland Joffé, Roman Polanski and Henry Veneuil. The cinema great would also compose music for singers such as Zucchero and Andrea Boccelli."

"By 2016, Morricone had sold more than 70 million records worldwide and a year later he received the Academy’s Honorary Award 'for his magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music.'"

Over the span of his storied career, Ennio Morricone won three Grammys, three Golden Globes, six BAFTAs, ten David di Donatellows and two European Film Awards.

Even coming in the middle of the night, the news of his death began an avalanche of tributes online, including these:

Edgar Wright, English director, screenwriter and producer, said:

“Where to even begin with iconic composer Ennio Morricone? He could make an average movie into a must see, a good movie into art, and a great movie into legend. He hasn’t been off my stereo my entire life. What a legacy of work he leaves behind. RIP.”

C. Robert Cargill, American screenwriter, novelist, podcast host, and former film critic, wrote:

"Ennio Morricone. You always know when it's a Morricone score, even before you see his name. With just a few notes he evokes images of a whole genre. There aren't any others like him. One of the titans is gone."

Don Winslow, NYT bestselling author & Raymond Chandler Award recipient, said:

"Over the next few days, a lot of good people are going to tell you how great Ennio Morricone was and how much he meant to film music. But I would like to invite you to just listen to this for yourself."
~ he included a link to hear Ennio Morricone's theme song for Sergio Leone's film "Once Upon a Time in the west" (1968). 
___

Listen to Morricone's iconic theme  for "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly":

⊙  Conducted by Ennio Morricone "Live at Palais Omnisports (Paris)" with full symphony and huge choir in February 2014.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tWGEveSseDg

⊙  In a fun version with 18 1/2 million views, performed by The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain.

⊙  A bit rushed, as rendered by the Prague Philharmonic.


  ■⊙■⊙ 




Begins Monday, July 6th, and runs live for two weeks...


2020 MUSIC INDUSTRY EVOLUTION SUMMIT is FREE

It's a FREE, two-week, "Virtual Summit" with an impressive lineup of speakers, put together by David Brownstein. David is founder of the Total Artist program, a Grammy-nominated music video producer and director, and award winning filmmaker.

"As we all know, the world and the music industry are not the same as they were 3 months ago. Touring is on hold. Streaming is alive. Collaboration and creation are ramping back up and adjusting to new ways and operating online. You may find yourself excited by the changes, but I am guessing, it is putting a major damper in your plans," says Debra Russell, Certified Master Business Coach who works privately with arts and entertainment industry professionals, professional athletes and small business owners. She is a presenter at the summit.

SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

The focus of the summit is on how musicians and artists can be more creative and productive in these times, and how they will make more money to replace lost or changed revenue streams.

INFORMATION. SUPPORT. COMMUNITY.

Musicians, creatives and the industry at large need information, support and community to learn how to increase their business and how to increase their output, inspiration and creativity.

Especially in this moment of transition in the world and in our industry, we can all benefit from learning new ways of reaching more people, getting our message out, creating more outlets to be seen, heard and having an impact through music.

Featured Summit Speakers:

● Michael Elsner, Master Music Licensing

● Harriet Schock, Solo Artist, Songwriter, Songwriting teacher

● Judy Stakee, Artist Development Specialist, formerly with Warner Chappell

● Kris Bradley, Produce Like a Boss

● Ronan Chris Murphy, Record Producer and Engineer

● Michelle Lewis, Songwriter and co-founder of SONA

● Mike Warner, Author- "Work Hard, Playlist Hard" - Chartmetric

● Xavier Keyz, Artist & Creator of “W.I.R.E” Blueprint

● Bill O'Hanlon, Songwriter, Author and Publication Coach

● Durell Peart, Double N Management & Marketing Group, LLC

● Tiffany VanBoxtel, Vocal Coach

● Roxie & Lucas Francis, Artist Development Specialists - I Heart My Voice

● Rob Seals, The Songwriting School of Los Angeles

● Brad Schreiber, Literary Writer and Consultant

● David Browning, Crowd Music

● Elliot Tousley, De Novo Agency

● Debra Russell, Certified Business Coach and owner of Artist’s EDGE®️

● Mike Meiers, Songwriter, Producer & Teacher

● Joe Wadsworth, The Online Recording Studio


Click the link to sign up for the FREE summit.

It begins July 6th, and will be live for two weeks.

Monday-Friday, you will receive an email in your inbox with that day’s offerings (2 great interviews per day). You will hear from 20 speakers who are music industry leaders with valuable insights to share. They will share their insider tips and will also be offering a FREE gift from their business to you. You will want to sign up to claim yours.

Decide what you need in your music career right now, and show up to get it. Participate in the FaceBook group to put yourself out there, meet new collaborators and find the information you are looking for.

Together, participants and presenters will share perspectives and steps you can be taking to further your music career. They promise, "You won’t want to miss this if you are feeling unsure of your next steps."
Sign up



  ■⊙■⊙ 


     Further on down the road...

     And NEWS FEATURES you'll want to see!


  ■⊙■⊙ 



July 12 -- Accelerating Change: Music to Life House Concerts




Featuring Texas Accelerator Artists & Friends

featuring Jaimee Harris & Cheryl Cawood
Join us for an entertaining and inspirational series of Zoom-cast concerts, professionally produced by OneFoot Productions and featuring Music to Life's Accelerator artists and friends. Each hour-long show is curated to include live music sets, engaging talk-backs and captivating videos.



  ■⊙■⊙ 



 Red Hen Press Poetry Hour 

 returns online  

 July 16 


A DEEPER LOOK AT GLOBAL, SOCIAL ISSUES

The Broad Stage and esteemed local publisher Red Hen Press return with an enhanced and compelling series, moderated by award-winning actor/writer Sandra Tsing Loh. Watch as performing artists and poets come together to explore social justice themes central to works featured in The Broad Stage's 2020/21 Season. Join us monthly July through December via our online programs portal The Broad Stage at Home.

EPISODE 1: THU, JUL 16 at 6 PM PT
Finding Truths and Creating Art in Exile


Iranian-American poet/writer/playwright Sholeh Wolpé and Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour are joined by other notable guests (t.b.a.) for readings and conversations on bridging the gap between perceptions and reality of cultural norms. The artists will dig deep into the lives they live and the lives that people in the West imagine for them.
LEARN MORE


 ■⊙■⊙










Women's Audio Mission to launch first-ever WAMCON Virtual Recording Arts Conference, July 24-25


Speakers and panelists include award-winning producers and engineers for artists including Beyoncé, Madonna, Janelle Monáe, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Johnny Cash, Van Halen & more

(San Francisco, CA – July 1, 2020) – Women’s Audio Mission (WAM), a nonprofit dedicated to the advancement of women and gender non-confirming (GNC) individuals in music production and the recording arts, will present WAMCon Virtual, the organization’s first online immersive recording arts conference from July 24-25, 2020.

This year, in response to the current health pandemic, WAM has moved its conference to an online setting for the first time. WAMCon Virtual will deliver WAM’s leading panels, workshops and live demos in a safe environment and accessible format that will kick off on Friday, July 24 with the legendary women recording engineers that shaped the sound of one of the most iconic artists of our time, Prince. “Engineering Prince,” features Lisa Chamblee (Prince, Stevie Wonder), Sylvia Massy (Prince, Tool, Johnny Cash), Peggy McCreary (Prince, Booker T. Jones, Van Halen) and Susan Rogers (Prince, David Byrne). Friday’s keynote will be followed by a full day of workshops with special guests including mix engineer Marcella Araica (M.I.A., Madonna)  and front-of-house engineer Amanda Davis who tours with Janelle Monáe, Chloe x Halle and Tegan and Sara.

“Each year we look forward to connecting to women and GNC individuals across the country through our WAMCon conferences,” said WAM Executive Director Terri Winston. “Given the challenges of the current environment, we worked hard to ensure we were able to deliver the same stellar, immersive training experiences with this year’s online event. We are thrilled to be able to celebrate and learn from the hands-down best music industry professionals in the business to inspire the next generation of music producers and audio professionals.” 

WAM trains more than 2,000 women, girls and GNC individuals a year in music production and the recording arts to address the critical lack of women in the audio industry (less than 5%). WAM’s immersive experiences and transformative online programs have spread internationally, providing women with access to top leaders in the recording industry and an award-winning curriculum. Since 2017, WAM has hosted six sold-out WAMCon conferences in Los Angeles, Nashville, New York and Boston, reaching 800+ emerging women producers, engineers and musicians.

WAMCon Virtual is sponsored by Dolby, Sweetwater, The Recording Academy, sE Electronics, Stage Ten and Shure.

For more information about WAMCon Virtual, including panelists and workshops, head to: WAMCon Virtual. More information on WAMCon Virtual tickets available here.

About Women's Audio Mission: Women's Audio Mission is a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of women/Gender Non-Comforming (GNC) individuals in music production and the recording arts. In a field where women/GNC individuals are critically underrepresented (less than 5%), WAM seeks to "change the face of sound" by providing hands-on training, experience, career counseling and job placement in media technology for music, radio, film, television and the internet. WAM believes that women/GNC's mastery of music technology and inclusion in the production process will expand the vision and voice of media and popular culture. For more information,  visit www.womensaudiomission.org


 ■⊙■⊙


J.D. Shelburne exclusively premieres with CMT 
“Church Pew Bar Stool” -- just out July 1st

J.D. Shelburne: Church Pew Bar Stool
Video Premiered on CMT.com and CMT Music Channel 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Country music singer/songwriter J.D. Shelburne delivers every ounce of country sound needed to light up the airwaves with the release of his latest single “Church Pew Bar Stool.” Coming in hot like a southern summer, Shelburne's single hits close to home while starring as a staple in every country playlist. The “Church Pew Bar Stool” music video exclusively premiered on CMT Music and CMT.com on July 1st to a worldwide audience. The single is now available on all streaming platforms for fans to enjoy.

“I am so thrilled and honored to get a World Premiere on CMT - the most well-recognized video platform in country music,” says Shelburne. “I grew up watching CMT as a kid and all through college, dreaming of one day having my video featured. CMT was one of my top goals as an artist to reach when I moved to town back in 2008. Thank you to the staff at CMT for believing in my music. I am forever grateful for their support.”

To watch the “Church Pew Bar Stool” music video on CMT click HERE.

The clever lyrics of “Church Pew Bar Stool” allow listeners to reminisce conversations with familiar faces on late nights in a whiskey soaked, southern bar lit by flickering beer signs. While drawing a line of symmetry between a church sermon and a honky tonk homily, Shelburne pulls fans into a timeless story-line just in time for careless summer nights where they may find themselves sitting on their own ‘church pew bar stool.’ In addition to this new release, Shelburne was named by Texas Roadhouse as May’s ‘Artist of the Month’ nationwide. His latest single, “Straight From Kentucky” was featured in all locations seeing over 20,000 guests each month. With plans to release his next album, ‘Straight From Kentucky’ this fall, country music fans will not want to miss what this elite entertainer has in store for the coming months!

About J.D. Shelburne


Nashville-based country music artist J.D. Shelburne was raised on a tobacco farm in Taylorsville, Kentucky, just outside of Louisville. When J.D. was 19, he found a guitar after the death of his grandmother. He quickly learned how to play it, and began writing and singing songs on his own. By his sophomore year of college, he had found a few gigs at some local bars in Louisville & Lexington, Kentucky area venues, developing a large base of fans along the way. Fast forward to today, J.D.’s latest album Two Lane Town, is building upon his blossoming career as a modern country singer, songwriter and performer. His debut single and video for “One Less Girl” world premiered on CMT in 2018, and then went on to become a Top 30 Music Row charted song at country radio. CMT again world premiered his second song and video for “She Keeps Me Up Nights” in April of 2019, which peaked at #3 of their 12 Pack countdown series.


At the close of 2019, Shelburne joined international superstars Lewis Capaldi and Billie Eilish on BandsInTown’s year-end fan favorites list — for playing more shows in 2019 than any other artist on their social networking platform. A global accomplishment for a country boy from rural Kentucky.

To keep up with new music and upcoming show announcements, follow J.D’s socials linked at his website, www.jdshelburne.com.


  ■⊙■⊙


We hesitated with this one...




The eagle isn't wearing a mask, and there has been no shortage of intransigently maskless Maskholes and Branch Covidians invoking "Constitutional rights" to recklessly infect others.

But we see this as an opportunity to remind them of something:

Their rights to drive on public highways require them to wear a seat belt and drive a safe distance from others on the road. So their right to wander around in public spaces during a deadly pandemic can certainly require they wear a mask and keep a safe distance. 

Or they might recall another age-old American principle: your right to swing your fist ends where my nose begins.


God bless America.



  ■⊙■⊙



Closing thought... wearing lots of hats, above your mask...


Remember Marianne Williamson, who was running for President?

Artists readily identify with playing whatever role is needed to pay the bills between gigs, concert tours, or if we're lucky, residencies, or getting parts in something recurring. Of course no one expected such a long stint with Uber or Door Dash or whatever is putting scarey amounts of mileage on the car.

For some, new skill sets have been developed during quasi-quarantine. Like learning to play a new instrument, or mastering new cyber skills that let you produce Brady box performances on Zoom -- or even just participate in such things. Some have mastered podcasts and built followings in a time when overall numbers of podland viewers has declined.

We thought you'd enjoy seeing what someone else is doing. Someone who is a public figure and performer of another kind.

In addition to returning to her role as writer, author, lecturer, and spiritual guru / encourager of those who need it, Marianne Williamson has retained a role in the political arena where she impressed so many. In addition to all the other things she does, Marianne has undertaken a series of interviews with political office holders and seekers -- asking questions and pursuing topics that are not the standard line of partisan contentiousness. Here's the info & link for the latest one:
Marianne says, "Our Candidate Spotlight this week is on Betsy Sweet, running in the Democratic Senatorial primary in Maine on July 14th. Click here to learn more and to watch my interview with Betsy."


 ■⊙■⊙ 


Oh, by the way...

Our challenge still stands to any big media organization with a deep video or photo archive that goes back through 2009.

It's simple:

(1)  Go to your archive and get images from your reporting on Americans' reactions when the overseas SARS and EBOLA outbreaks were reported and quickly contained, all during the previous administration.

(2)  Specifically, get images of all those panic-fomenting protesters holding signs reading "Obama will kill us all!"

(3)  Use your biometric software on those images and on your current images of pro-Trump zealots loudly claiming that their constitutional rights are being violated by masks and social distancing in the middle of a pandemic. It'll be easy to do, since the latter are the only ones not wearing masks.

(4)  Then prove our hypothesis is wrong, when we say those people are the same ones. The ones who were terrified of dying from a disease until a real one was called "A hoax" by their ochre ogre.


 ■⊙■⊙ 


Resources / Navigation / Contacting us / 
Direct to the Guide's current editions 


MOBILE-DEVICE-FRIENDLY

editions load quickly at


Or at

.
<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>
.
CONTACT US -- Post Comments / Send Questions / say Howdy at:

Tiedtothetracks (at) Hotmail (dot) com
.
OR USE THE COMMENTS FUNCTION on the Blogspot site.
.
<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>

Entire contents copyright © 2020, 

Lawrence Wines & Tied to the Tracks.

All rights reserved.

<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>
.
♪ The ACOUSTIC AMERICANA MUSIC GUIDE endeavors to bring you NEWS – and views of interest to artists everywhere – more specifically to musicians and the creative community and music makers -- and fans of acoustic and Folk-Americana music. That includes both traditional and innovative forms. From the deepest roots to today’s acoustic renaissance, that’s our beat. We provide a wealth of resources, including a HUGE catalog of acoustic-friendly venues (now undergoing a major update), and inside info on FESTIVALS and select performances in Southern California in venues from the monumentally large to the intimately small and cozy. We cover workshops, conferences, and other events for artists and folks in the music industry, and all kinds o’ things in the world of acoustic and Americana and accessible classical music. From washtub bass to musical spoons to oboe to viola to banjo to squeezebox, from Djangostyle to new-fangled-old-time string band music, from sweet Cajun fiddle to bluegrass and pre-bluegrass Appalachian mountain music to all the swamp water roots of the blues and the bright lights of where the music is headed now.
.
The Acoustic Americana Music Guide. Thanks for sittin' a spell. The cyber porch'll be here anytime you come back from the road.
<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>-<^>

We'll be back again soon with music news and more "News of the Non-Trumpcentric Universe." (c)
________________________________

Til we catch ya again on the flip side 
in this new world of the improbable unknown...




No comments: