Move Me Brightly: Celebrating Jerry Garcia's 70th Birthday

Coming soon on August 3, a very special event will happen at Bob Weir‘s TRI Studios when several musician will gather to perform a free webcast in tribute to Jerry Garcia titled, “Move Me Brightly: Celebrating Jerry Garcia’s 70th Birthday.” The live stream will be in high definition and will be presented on the TRI Studios website and on Yahoo! Music on Friday, August 3, beginning at 6:30 p.m. PST.

The artists confirmed to play so far are as follows:

David Crosby has written a tribute specifically for the occasion titled, “‘Cause I’m Missing Him Tonight,” which will be read during the show as well. The webcast should also include rare Grateful Dead concert footage and video tributes given by Jerry Garcia’s peers, including Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Carlos SantanaDavid HidalgoDave SchoolsKeller Williams, the 7 Walkers with Bobby Keys and others. Luke Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Old School, Anchorman) will be emceeing the event, which should be amazing. I hope that you all get to watch it live online, and hope to see you in the social networking box on the right side of TRI’s video feed!

Starting this Friday, July 20 at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, MA Steel Pulse will set out on a small tour. The British Reggae legends David Hinds (Lead Vocals / Rhythm Guitar) and Selwyn Brown (Vocals / Keyboards) will start in Boston, but they will also hit up Costa Mesa, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, and more. They will also be making stops at festivals like Gathering of the Vibes in Bridgeport, CA on July 22 and the Doheny Days Music Festival on September 9. The full list of their tour dates are as follows:

7/20/12 – Paradise Rock Club in Boston, MA
7/21/12 – Ocean View Farm in Amagansett, NY
7/22/12 – Gathering of The Vibes in Bridgeport, CT
7/27/12 – Pacific Amphitheater in Costa Mesa, CA
7/28/12 – The Independent in San Francisco, CA
8/03/12 – Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, CA
8/24/12 – The Depot in Salt Lake City, UT
8/25/12 – Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, CO
9/02/12 – Pozo Saloon in Santa Margarita, CA
9/09/12 – Doheny Days Music Festival in Doheny Days, CA
9/03/12 – The Catalyst in Santa Cruz, CA

You may have already heard that Green Day is planning on releasing three consecutive studio albums soon titled ¡Uno!, ¡Dos! and ¡Tres!. The first disc drops on September 25th, the second on November 13th and the third on January 15th. Supposedly, each of the  three albums has a totally different vibe. According to Billie Joe Armstrong,

“The first one is power pop. The second is more garage-y, Nuggets-type rock. And the third is supposed to be epic. With the first album you’re getting in the mood to party. On the second one, you’re at the party. And the third album you’re cleaning up the mess.”

All three discs are produced by Green Day’s old producer Rob Cavallo who also co-produced their 1994 breakthrough disc, Dookie. According to Cavallo,

“We wanted to get back to the simplicity of Dookie. We also wanted to go pre-Dookie, back to our love of 50’s and 60’s music, close-to-the-bone Rock & Roll. You don’t hear a gazillion parts. The majority of this is drums, bass, two guitars and vocals.”

Bassist Mike Dirnt went on to say the following about the albums:

“We were just thinking about making a killer power-pop record – dirtier, back to basics. We tapped into our version of Exile on Main Street.”

Until the albums come out, enjoy the release of their videos. A hint when watching this one – put on some 3D glasses!

The Trespassers

The Trespassers

It’s time for the first ever Music Sumo CD giveaway featuring music from The Trespassers! Starting on Friday, June 29th, Music Sumo will be giving fans the opportunity to sign up and win a copy of The Trespassers’, The High Lonesome Rambler. The contest will run for approximately two weeks after which a winner will be announced and recieve the CD along with some other cool gifts from Music Sumo. For more information and to sign up for the giveaway please visit the “Giveaways” tab on the Music Sumo Facebook Page, and don’t forget to “like” us while you are there!!

Good luck, and much love from Music Sumo!!

***WINNER!!!***

I would like to thank all 137 of you for participating in Music Sumo’s first CD Giveaway. Unfortunately, there can only be one winner though, and that winner is Michael McLane from Clarks Summit, PA. Congratulations, Michael! The Trespassers’, The High Lonesome Rambler should be on its way to you shortly along with a couple of other Music Sumo goodies! Hope you enjoy the tunes!

Joe Cocker and Huey Lewis and the News will be touring the US this Summer with 24 dates starting July 13th in Valley Center, CA. These two great artists have never toured together before, so this is bound to be a treat. Each artist will be performing a full set with hopefully some other surprises and collaborations planned. They will be coming to the Bay Area on August 18th at the Sleep Train Pavilion in Concord, CA. I hope to make it to the show and see some of you there! The announced tour dates are as follows:

7/13/12 – Harrah’s Rincon Pavilion in Valley Center, CA
7/14/12 – Harrah’s Laughlin – Rio Vista in Laughlin, NV
7/15/12 – Anselmo Valencia Amphitheatre in Tucson, AZ
7/17/12 – Sandia Casino in Albuquerque, NM
7/19/12 – Zoo Amphitheatre in Oklahoma City, OK
7/20/12 – Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, TX
7/21/12 – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in Woodlands, TX
7/22/12 – The Backyard in Austin, TX
7/25/12 – Chastain Park Amphitheatre in Atlanta, GA
7/27/12 – Tags Summerstage in Big Flats, NY
7/28/12 – PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ
7/29/12 – Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre in Wantagh, Long Island, NY
8/01/12 – Bank of America Pavilion in Boston, MA
8/03/12 – Tower Theatre in Upper Darby, PA
8/04/12 – Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, CT
8/05/12 – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, NY
8/06/12 – Musikfest in Bethlehem, PA
8/09/12 – DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston, MI
8/10/12 – Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, IL
8/12/12 – Comfort Dental Amphitheatre in Englewood, CO
8/15/12 – Greek Theater in Los Angeles, CA
8/17/12 – Harveys Outdoor Arena in Lake Tahoe, NV
8/18/12 – Sleep Train Pavilion in Concord, CA
8/19/12 – Santa Barbara Bowl in Santa Barbara, CA

Peter BarsottiOn June 24th, 2012 the West Coast music scene lost a great man when Peter Barsotti succumbed to Leukemia at age 64. Peter was sometimes known as the “ideas guy” behind many Bill Graham Presents (BGP) productions including Day on the Green and BGP’s annual New Years Eve bash.

Barsotti was a longtime Bill Graham confidante and he retired after BGP was purchased by SFX Entertainment. He and his late wife, Bettike, also bought the Iron Door Saloon in Groveland, CA in 1985. He is survived by his wife, Debra, and four children; father Mario and four brothers.

This news particularly hits home since it was a member of the Barsotti family who hired me at BGP a decade ago. The Barsotti family has really helped introduce me to the San Francisco Bay Area music scene after graduating from Berklee College of Music. I also frequent the Iron Door Saloon as I head up to Yosemite or to catch some shows by bands in that area like, The Trespassers. I have also had cancer a couple times and am currently in remission.

The Bill Graham Memorial Foundation recently posted the following on their Facebook Page:

“Farewell to our dear brother, Peter Barsotti, who died yesterday after a long battle with cancer. Peter’s creative fingerprints were all over Bill Graham productions for many years – from Day On the Green sets, to backstage environments, to Bill’s New Year’s Eve ‘midnight rides,’ decorations, special effects, logistics, you-name-it. Peter was one of Bill’s primary idea guys; and then Peter ushered those ideas into being. Thank you, Peter. Our hearts go out to your family and extended family.”

A memorial is also in the planning stages.

RIP Peter. You will be missed.

I am sure that some of you have already seen this, but I have to post it because it is too awesome not to. A few months ago, Denis Borisovich put out a video of his cat dancing to Dubstep. Classic. If you love this video as much as I do, he has released other versions of it to check out, including the following one hour version:

Good stuff!!

Oh yeah…. Can’t believe I just came across this video right before bed. This is going to be stuck in my head tomorrow for sure. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Mister Rogers remixed by Symphony of Science‘s John Boswell for PBS Digital Studios.

If you like this video, please support your local PBS station at http://www.pbs.org/donate

Terrapin Crossroads

I’m going to have to get tickets to this. Seems by buddies, Furthur have scheduled three dates at Phil Lesh‘s Terrapin Crossroads in late June. The shows will take place Thursday June 28, Friday June 29 and Saturday June 30. VIP and General tickets are available online now, here. Those of you lucky enough to score VIP tickets will get access to the VIP Living Room which has an audio and video feed of the show. They’ll also receive free appetizers, beer & wine, a signed poster and early entry to the gig. Good times!!

Oakland, CA’s, High On Fire recently issued a statement saying it won’t be a part of this year’s Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival because a member has gone into rehab. It seems frontman/guitarist Matt Pike is entering treatment due to alcohol. Meanwhile, the power trio, which also includes drummer Des Kensel and Bassist Jeff Matz, has put all tour plans on hold.

The band made the following statement:

“High On Fire would like to thank everyone involved with the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival for the opportunity to be a part of this year’s tour. We regretfully will have to bow out as our friend and bandmate begins his recovery, but very much appreciate having been asked to be a part of this summer’s festival run.”

I hope Mike gets well and hope to see them all back out doing shows again soon!