MUSIC NEWS: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2016
CHRIS YOUNG AND CASSADEE POPE RIDE OUT THE STORM
Chris Young waited out the East Coast storm over the weekend in a truck stop. Young writes on Facebook he was travelling in Pennsylvania when the storm hit. He says he and his crew were parked all night in a truck stop. The storm forced Young to push his Pittsburgh and Philadelphia shows to March. The tour bus of Young's touring mate, Cassadee Pope, was stuck on the Pennsylvania Turnpike for 36 hours.
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ARCADE FIRE
Members of Arcade Fire will head to the Stage in Montreal next month as part of a charity concert for Haiti. Founder Win Butler is slated to perform under his D-J Windows 98 moniker for Kanpe Kanaval on February 19th. Fellow band member Richard Reed Parry is also on the schedule. The show, which also features Talking Heads star David Byrne, is hosted by Kanpe, a Haitian relief organization co-founded by Arcarde Fire singer Regine Chassagne.
She will co-host the event alongside ``The Office'' actor Rainn Wilson.
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BAR BOUNCER SUES NICK CARTER
The bouncer of the Key West bar where Nick Carter of The Backstreet Boys got arrested is suing Carter for battery. Skylar Carden says in his lawsuit Carter struck and punched him when Carter and a friend were escorted out of the Hog's Breath Saloon earlier this month for being unruly. Carden's attorney says a jury will decide the amount of damages in the lawsuit. Carter has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanour battery charge.
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BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG ARGUES IN FAVOR OF HIGH SCHOOL'S PLANS TO STAGE ``AMERICAN IDIOT''
Even Billie Joe Armstrong himself could not get school administrators in Enfield, Connecticut, to change their decision about staging the Green Day musical ``American Idiot.'' The Hartford Courant reports Enfield High School's drama club director and the principal nixed plans to put on ``American Idiot'' after some parents raised concerns about the show containing swearing, drug use and sex. Armstrong wrote an open letter on Instagram saying there is a high school version of the production, but ``the bigger issue is censorship.'' Enfield High will put on ``Little Shop of Horrors'' instead.
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MILEY CYRUS ACCEPTS ROLE IN WOODY ALLEN AMAZON SERIES
One of the most respected movie directors ever is teaming up with the queen of twerking. Woody Allen has cast Miley Cyrus in a six-episode series that will run on Amazon. The series does not yet have a title. It will also star Elaine May and it debuts later this year. Cyrus posted a photo on Instagram of a painting of Allen she has next to her bed. She says she was looking into his eyes when she got the call to be a part of the cast.
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JETHRO TULL'S IAN ANDERSON: YOUR DULLEST RELATIVE
Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull will never write an autobiography because he hasn't done anything except make music.
Anderson says he's the ``most boring uncle you never had.'' He says he's severely lacking in debauchery and his only vices are alcohol and cigarettes. He says he never did hard drugs because he's a ``scaredy cat'' and was afraid he'd have an addictive personality.
Anderson also finds it ``incredibly dreary and boring'' when other people get high around him. So, why not write a book about those people? Anderson says it's wrong to make money dishing other people's secrets.
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MICK JAGGER REMEMBERS DAVID BOWIE
Mick Jagger knew when David Bowie was copying him, because Bowie would tell him outright. Jagger tells Rolling Stone Bowie would steal a dance move and tell Jagger it was one of his. Bowie would give him a hug and Jagger could feel Bowie looking down the collar of his shirt to see what label he was wearing.
Jagger's favourite memory of Bowie was doing ``Dancing in the Street'' together. They recorded the song and the video in one day.
Jagger says the video is ``hilarious'' and it's ``stupid'' that the song was the only thing they ever collaborated on.
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GUSTER PLAY IMPROMPTU SHOW IN PITTSBURGH ALLEY
Guster couldn't make it to Philadelphia because of the snow, so their alternate concert site was in front of a Dumpster in an alley in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports Guster tweeted on Saturday they would play a show in an hour in a Pittsburgh alley. They set up in the snow and played for 15 minutes to about a dozen people. The band posted video on their Facebook page, and it's gotten more than 179,000 views.
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RONNIE McDOWELL - MEMOIR
Ronnie McDowell says he has funny stories about a lot of country stars and he will name names in his upcoming autobiography. McDowell isn't afraid to tell funny stories about himself in the book ``Bringing It To You Personally,'' like how women were grabbing at his pants during one concert and he wasn't wearing underwear. McDowell dishes the dirt on himself too, like getting shot in the neck when he was nine years old, why his second marriage only lasted two months and meeting the son he didn't know he had. McDowell is selling the book through his own website at RonnieMcDowellBook-dot-com.
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GREGG ALLMAN - LAID BACK FESTIVAL
Gregg Allman is expanding his Laid Back Festival to five cities. He staged the first one last summer outside New York as a celebration of music and food. Allman will stage it again in New York this summer, as well as in Atlanta, Nashville, Chicago and Denver. Allman will headline, with other performers to be announced.
The Laid Back Festival is named after Allman's 1973 debut solo album.
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BURTON CUMMINGS - HALL OF FAME
Burton Cummings will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame as a solo act. Cummings is already part of the hall of fame with The Guess Who. Cummings will get a tribute during the Juno Awards, Canada's answer to the Grammys, on April 3rd in Calgary. Cummings says he's received many acknowledgements over the decades, but none of them outweighs this one.
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DON McLEAN - ARREST
Don McLean and his wife are attempting to patch things up, a week after he was arrested for misdemeanour domestic violence. McLean's attorney, Walter McKee, says the couple plan to dismiss an order of protection requested by McLean's wife, Patrisha McLean. McKee says neither party is seeking a divorce.
Patrisha McLean says in a statement her husband has a big heart and they have had many happy times in their 30 years of marriage. She says what transpired recently is ``unfortunate for all of us'' and she asks fans not to focus on it. Don McLean is still due in court February 22nd for his criminal case.
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CHRIS BROWN - CHARGES
Chris Brown will not have to face charges he got into a fight with a woman at a hotel room in Las Vegas on June 2nd.
Prosecutors say there is not enough evidence to seek charges of misdemeanour battery and theft against Brown. A woman complained Brown hit her and took her cellphone when she tried to take his picture at a private party. Brown's publicist did not return calls for comment, but she has said the woman's story was a fabrication.
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SARA BAREILLES - BROADWAY
Sara Bareilles had figured her ``Waitress'' album would be like her version of the soundtrack of the musical of the same name. Little did she realize how much songs can change before a Broadway debut. Bareilles wrote the music for the stage version, but she put out her record in November. She says she had to put her ego aside and not get too attached to certain songs or lyrics, because they were changed or cut as the show came together. Bareilles says it's kind of exciting that her album will not match the show's songs, because it's like a backstage pass to see the creative process. ``Waitress'' the musical will have preview performances beginning in March.
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SPIKE LEE - MICHAEL JACKSON - FILM
If you want a film about Michael Jackson's legal problems or personal life, Spike Lee's new movie is not it.
The film ``Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to 'Off The Wall''' traces Jackson's life as a young singer up to the point where the ``Off the Wall'' album came out. The film has footage of Jackson writing as a teenager that he plans to be ``magic'' and ``better than every great actor roped in one.'' Jackson's brothers Marlon and Jackie appear in the film. John Branca, executor of Jackson's estate, says all family members were invited to participate. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and it will run on Showtime on February 5th.
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BRIAN WILSON - ``PET SOUNDS'' - ANNIVERSARY TOUR
Brian Wilson plans to perform The Beach Boys' ``Pet Sounds'' album in its entirety and for the final time on tour this summer. Wilson will mark the album's 50th anniversary with a tour that will begin first overseas and then hit the U-S June 14th in Burlington, Vermont. Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin will join Wilson on the tour. Wilson will play other Beach Boys hits and his solo songs as well.
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(The Associated Press)