I wanted to let those of you who might be heading to SXSW know about a panel/performance I’m moderating on the great Memphis band Big Star. The program, titled “I Never Travel Far Without a Little Big Star,” will take place on Saturday March 20 at 12:30 p.m. in room 18ABC of the Austin Convention Center.

Big Star founders Jody Stephens and Andy Hummel will be appearing AND performing some acoustic numbers as part of the event. It’ll be the first time the two have played together in over 35 years!

In addition, the panel will feature Posies and Big Star members Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow, Chris Stamey of the dB’s, power-pop fave Tommy Keene and perhaps a surprise guest or two discussing the legacy of the band and the release of the critically acclaimed 2009 Rhino Records box set, Keep An Eye on the Sky.

More info here if you’re interested: http://my.sxsw.com/events/event/7886

Also, Big Star will be performing a full band set on Saturday night at 12:30 a.m. at Antone’s.

Feel free to spread the word. I hope to see you at the panel and the show!

Best,
Bob

And as a side note, Jody Stephens will be making guest appearances with folk pop trio, Star & Micey at the Memphis Music Foundation booth in the Austin Convention Center on Thursday, March 18^th at 1pm, Barbarella (Official Memphis Music Showcase – 615 Red River St) that evening at 9pm, and the MMF booth again on Friday, March 19^th at 1pm. – Joseph Davis

International Orders:
Rhino.co.uk / (UK)
Rhinorecords.ca / (Canada)
Musicload.de / Amazon.de (Germany + C. Europe)
wmg.jp/wmlife/kami / (Japan) Amazon.Fr
Fnac.com (France) Platekompaniet.no / (Nordic)

Diane was working at Ardent back when Radio City was being written and recorded and she used to run around with Alex Chilton and the band.  She claims that “September Gurls” (about her and John Fry’s sister-in-law), “She’s A Mover” (talks about Diane in Catholic school, I believe), “O My Soul” (Diane said Alex didn’t know what a soul was but only knew soul music) and “I’m In Love With Girl” were written about her (or at least that’s what Chilton was telling her).

A little over a year ago, we were getting some things out of Diane’s storage for my brother and we came across 3 or 4 boxes of her vinyl records, which were collecting dust.  She said I could have any of the records I wanted.  I found 8 mint condition, original promo copies of #1 Record (1 was unopened) and 3 copies of Radio City, also in mint condition and original promo copies!  I immediately gave them to most of my co-workers at Ardent because they are the folks that appreciate the band most and I kept a copy of each for myself, of course.  Now I need to get Big Star’s Third on vinyl, but I definitely have all the digital tracks.

Also, Ardent engineer, producer and Big Star guru, Adam Hill, found this picture of my Uncle Buddy (Diane’s brother) with Chris Bell from the 70s.  Buddy was in a local band called Target and I believe this is from one of the mini-tours they did with Big Star back in the 70s.

Like so many others recently discovering Big Star, I wanted to share my appreciation of the band and some of my family history regarding the originators of power pop.  Click HERE to download some free tracks from Big Star and Chris Bell that will give you a little introduction, just in case you didn’t already know about them.  And here are some links to purchase their music if you like what you hear.

Big Star “Keep An Eye On The Sky” Box Set 4-CD Set
Chris Bell “I Am The Cosmos (Deluxe Edition)” 2-CD Set

Big Star “#1 Record” Vinyl
Big Star “Radio City” Vinyl
Big Star “3rd” Vinyl
Chris Bell “I Am The Cosmos” Vinyl
Big Star “#1 Record/Radio City” CD
Big Star “3rd” CD
Big Star “#1 Record/Radio City” MP3 Download
Big Star “3rd” MP3 Download

For anyone that cares, I’ll have another post up soon regarding my Granddaddy, Richard “Johnny” Davis, who was one of the best trumpet players in Memphis.

Joseph Davis
Ardent Music

The audience was one of our best. I think I met, and shook hands with, almost all of them after the show as they passed through the exit. Ardent Music’s Jake Rabinbach (Jump Back Jake) had a smile on his face. No one seemed to mind the inadvertent new arrangement of “September Gurls.” I had just taken off my shoe to locate the source of pain on my toe when Alex started the song. Before I could get my sock and shoe back on he had sung through the first verse so I brought Jon, Ken and myself in with a drum fill for the first chorus. The new arrangement comes off pretty good in the “low fi” YouTube video of it I just watched.

David Fricke, being the nice guy that he is, attended and wrote about the show. His account is much more interesting than what mine would be. So here you are…
http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/11/19/big-star-rock-1-record-radio-city-classics-at-rare-nyc-gig/

Thanks to all who came and lent their wonderful spirits to the show.

- Jody

STAR & MICEY TOUR DATES

November 10 – Nashville, TN – Café Coco – 8:00pm

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=205669084740&index=1

November 11 – Asheville, NC – BoBo Gallery – 8:00pm

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=179061148296&index=1

November 12 – Knoxville, TN – House Show – 8:00pm

November 13 – Lexington, KY – Common Grounds – 9:00pm

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=308410755244&index=1

November 14 – Evansville, IN – Penny Lane – 8:00pm

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=172740632341&index=1

November 15 – St. Louis, MO – MoKaBe’s – 8:00pm

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=199152885983&index=1

November 17 – Springfield, MO – Patton Alley Pub – 8:00pm

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=211614116272&index=1

November 18 – Shreveport, LA – The Noble Savage – 8:00pm

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=169019533214&index=1

November 19 – Hot Springs, AR – Maxine’s – 9:00pm

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=170670509570&index=1

November 20 – Little Rock, AR – Reno’s Argenta Café – 8:00pm

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=171989046495&index=1

November 21 – Jackson, MS – Green Frog – 10:00pm

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=172351526870&index=1

December 11 – Memphis, TN – Swanky’s – 8:00pm

December 12 – Bay St. Louis, MS – Mockingbird Café – 8:00pm

December 13 – New Orleans, LA – Fair Grinds – 7:00pm

December 17 – Memphis, TN – Dixon Art Gallery – 6:00pm

December 18 – Jackson, MS – Ole Tavern – 10:00pm

December 19 – Mobile, AL – The Blind Mule – 10:00pm

December 20 – Fairhope, AL – Windmill Market – 12:00pm

December 21 – Pascagoula, MS – Preservation Grill – TBD

December 22 – Baton Rouge, LA – Indie Lounge at The Roux House – 10:30pm

December 23 – Hammond, LA – Cate St. Pub – 10:30pm

December 26 – Lafayette, LA – Bisbano’s – 8:00pm

December 28 – Jackson, MS – Cups Fondren – 8:00pm

December 30 – University City, MO – Cicero’s – 10:00pm

January 22 – Fairhope, AL – Guy’s Gumbo Shack – 8:00pm

January 23 – Mobile, AL – The Blind Mule – 10:00pm

January 25 – Pascagoula, MS – Celtic Irish Pub – 9:00pm

January 28 – Baton Rouge, LA – North Gate Tavern – TBD

February 1 – New Orleans, LA – Fair Grinds – 8:30pm

February 4 – Lafayette, LA – Artmosphere – TBD

February 5 – Shreveport, LA – Naked Bean Café – 8:00pm

Official Profiles:

Website/Blog – http://starandmicey.com

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/starandmicey

Twitter – http://twitter.com/starandmicey

MySpace – http://myspace.com/starandmiceymusic

Videos – http://www.youtube.com/user/dorothymantooth1

]]> http://ardentmusic.com/2009/11/10/star-micey-tour-dates-and-free-live-downloads/feed/ 0 http://ardentmusic.com/2009/10/20/star-miceys-self-titled-debut-album-out-now/ http://ardentmusic.com/2009/10/20/star-miceys-self-titled-debut-album-out-now/#comments Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:54:23 +0000 Joseph Davis http://ardentmusic.com/?p=358 You can now purchase Star & Micey’s self titled debut CD for $10 at their store page, CDBaby or Amazon. It’s also available digitally at starandmicey.bandcamp.com ($5 – 320k MP3s, FLAC, Apple Lossless), iTunes, Amazonmp3, emusic, rhapsody and all the top digital retailers.

Stream the entire album here and click the share tab to share with friends online…

Tour Dates – http://starandmicey.com/shows

September 16 – Little Rock, AR – Vino’s – 8:00pm – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=139711960247&index=1
September 17 – St. Louis – PLAY: STL ’09 Vintage Vinyl – 9:00pm – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=131519683143&index=1
September 18 – Fayetteville, AR – Arsaga’s – 7:00pm – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=145101306648&index=1
September 19 – St. Louis – Pop’s Blue Moon – 10:00pm – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=257720620275&index=1
September 20 – St. Louis – MoKaBe’s – 8:00pm – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=105666598508&index=1
September 21 – Indianapolis, IN – The Monkey’s Tale – 8:00pm – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=103789019043&index=1
September 22 – Lafayette, IN – Skylight – 8:00pm – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=103241532606&index=1
September 24 – Cincinnati, OH – Blue Rock Tavern – 10:30pm – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=138095035777&index=1
September 25 – Chattanooga, TN – Riverhouse Pub – 9:00pm – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=157552126958&index=1
September 26 – Knoxville, TN – Bistro at the Bijou Theater – 8:00pm – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=124564662005&index=1
September 27 – Nashville, TN – The Basement – 7:00pm – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=157244009185&index=1

Help us out and invite your Facebook friends in any of the cities above that might be interested in seeing Star & Micey live.

Star & Micey will celebrate their debut album release with a free show at Neil’s in Midtown Memphis on Saturday, October 17, 2009. Local soul pop artist and session player, Ryan Peel, will back the band on drums with a special guest appearance by Jody Stephens of Big Star. Local singer/songwriters David Cousar and Jeremy Stanfill will open the event starting at 9pm.

3 free tracks from Star & Micey’s debut album are currently available at http://starandmicey.bandcamp.com and the first 50 people in the door for their release show at Neil’s will receive a free download card of the entire album. (Facebook Event Page – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=130811457184&index=1)

For more show dates go to http://starandmicey.com/shows.

Official Profiles:
http://www.facebook.com/starandmicey – the guys will be blogging, uploading pics and videos from the road on their facebook page!
http://twitter.com/starandmicey
http://myspace.com/starandmiceymusic

While playful in nature, Josh Cosby, Geoff Smith, and Nick Redmond have created a collection of songs that reflect a churning emotion in heart. Notable Memphis musicians who make cameo appearances on their debut album include Jody Stephens (Big Star) on “Nelson,” Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars, The Black Crowes) on “So Much Pain,” and Rick Steff (Lucero, Cat Power) on “She’s on Fire.”

John Fry, Steve Rhea, Mark Harber (friend and neighbor) and I boarded a plane to London on June 27. The occasion was a Big Star show in Hyde Park/Serpentine Sessions on July 1. John and I had Monday and Tuesday for a little sight-seeing before the show on Wednesday. On Monday we hopped on a train to Hitchin to visit our friend and former Memphian Heather Hendren. After a stop at the house for a cup of tea and a drive through the quaint village of Hitchin, Heather was kind enough to take us out to the Duxford Air Museum.

Duxford must indeed be Europe’s premiere aviation museum…an amazing collection of vintage aircraft. For a short video with a peppy little sound track click here. No better tour guide than John Fry, an aircraft buff who once upon a time gave flying lessons to Chris Bell, Andy Hummel, Richard Rosebrough and me.

I have to explain to you here that London and this part of England were experiencing a heat wave while we visited. It was hot! (I know, I’m from Memphis, hot capital of the mid-south, but we have AC down pretty good here.) So after a day of sightseeing in the heat what better place to cool off than the Absolute Ice Bar. Mark’s sister and brother-in-law happen to be in London and suggested we meet there. After buying a ticket to enter they wrapped us up in some warm parkas and gloves and sent us into what basically was a big freezer with walls and furnishings, including a bar, fashioned out of ice. The drink menu: Various Absolute Vodka flavors served in a glass made out of ice.

On Tuesday, John, Steve, Mark and I all had the complete pleasure of a tour of Abbey Road Studios. Carl Marsh, string arranger for Big Star’s Third LP, made the proper introduction to the folks at Abbey Road and we were set for 9:30am. Fiona Gillott walked us through this hollowed ground starting with Studio One where they were setting up to record an orchestra. She pointed out several things…here’s the “Lady Madonna” piano and the one next to it is the “Day In The Life” piano. Couldn’t help but yearn to sit down and play them… (I can’t exactly play piano, but you know what I mean.)

After leaving Studio One, I excused myself for a bathroom break and began to wonder which bathroom and what window.

We entered Studio Two, where The Beatles did much of their recording. Standing in the middle of that studio, I tried to visualize a typical Beatles session going on around me…couldn’t quite remember where Yoko set up the bed, but I think it was just below the control room window. After lingering there for a few minutes we made our way up the stairway to the control room where George Martin and Geoff Emerick spent a bit of time helping to shape that unique Beatles sound. Right about here I felt compelled to explain to Fiona that John Fry, Ardent’s owner and founding father, incorporated Ardent and had produced his first Ardent Records single by the time he was 14 years old. So there.

On to Studio Three and then one of their mastering rooms. A very nicely done tour by Fiona…but wait, there’s more: After a photo session with Fiona, outside Abbey Road’s front door mind you, we completed the visit with photos at the zebra stripe crossing which, as you all know, was the setting for The Beatles’ Abbey Road album cover.

Had a lazy morning on Wednesday and then grabbed a bus over to the Columbia Hotel for an interview with Martin Aston/Mojo Magazine. Rhino’s publicist had set up the interview to focus on the release Keep An Eye On The Sky, the Big Star box set due out on September 15. I arrived late and Jon and Ken were already underway with their part of the interview.  I just had about 40 minutes before racing back to my hotel and then over to Hyde Park and sound check.

Sound check serves as a bit of a rehearsal time as well as getting a balance of monitors and front speakers. That done we had about an hour to kill before our show time. Back to the dressing room area where the folks in Tendersticks (the headliner) were all hanging out outside the dressing room taking advantage of a slight breeze. I spoke with Stuart Staples (the band’s lead singer) briefly. He’s a very nice guy with a smooth, smoky voice… we had met in an elevator in a Los Angeles hotel some years back.

Finally, show time! We took the stage to an audience of about 25 people (including John, Steve with his wife and daughter, David and Mark.) Apparently there was a little confusion about our start time. Once we had launched in to “In The Street” people started filing in and we soon had 1,500 or so folks in the audience. You can check out bits and pieces of the show on YouTube. Ballad Of El Goodo always seems to be one of my favorites live. You can click here for several videos posted by Colin Gibbons. Side note: London being home, Colin and his wife Nikki have traveled out to many of our shows, Malaga, Spain this past April being the farthest I think. Our show in Hyde Park was much more convenient, they could actually walk home. Always a pleasure to play in London. Wonderful audiences there. Sound’s like Tom Holcroft had a good time: http://www.last.fm/event/1041480/reviews.

After the show I expressed my thanks to some of the folks in the audience and got a positive nod from the Memphis contingent. Had a quick bite to eat (vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie) and failing to find a cab, hopped on a bus back to the hotel thinking it’s great to still be doing this.

Jody

P.S. If you would like to catch a glimpse of where all the Big Star albums were recorded check out www.ArdentStudios.com

jumpbackjake.com

Rhino Records has announced the release of the long awaited Big Star boxed set, entitled Keep an Eye on the Sky. From the Rhino Web site:

Big Star inspired a fevered allegiance among fans of power pop, giving rise to a cult of believers who spent decades spreading the gospel. Their enthusiasm turned this obscure Memphis pop band-one that got little airplay, sold few records, and only played a handful of times- into a remarkable rock and roll resurrection story. Big Star’s trek from obscure Memphis band to standard bearers for an entire genre of music has never been fully mapped-until now. Rhino presents the definitive look at the definitive power-pop band with a four-disc boxed set divided between key cuts from Big Star’s three studio albums and unreleased music. KEEP AN EYE ON THE SKY will be available September 15 from Rhino Records at all retail outlets, including www.rhino.com, for a suggested list price of $69.98 (physical), it will also be available as a digital release the same day. A Deluxe Edition release of Chris Bell’s solo album I Am The Cosmos is due September 14 from Rhino Handmade.

KEEP AN EYE ON THE SKY spans 1968 to 1975 and shows the progression of Big Star through selections from such studio precursors as Rock City and Icewater; music from Big Star’s acclaimed recordings (#1 Record, Radio City, and Third/Sister Lovers); and relevant solo work by group principals Alex Chilton and Chris Bell, who formed Big Star in 1971 with bassist Andy Hummel and drummer Jody Stephens. The collection also uncovers a trove of unreleased demos, unused mixes, alternate versions of songs, and a 1973 concert recorded in Memphis.