Green Music Group launched; Dave Matthews Band is founding member

The Green Music Group, an environmental coalition formed by Dave Matthews Band and other musicians, has officially launched.

Besides Dave Matthews Band, other Green Music Group founding members include Linkin Park, Bonnie Raitt, Maroon 5, Willie Nelson, The Roots, Sheryl Crow, Barenaked Ladies and Guster. Several music venues and two record labels, Brushfire Records and Warner Music Group, are also founding members.

The goal of the Green Music Group is to create environmentally friendly concerts and tours and promote the environment globally.

Dave Matthews Band has connections to most other Green Music Group founding members. Willie Nelson, The Roots and Sheryl Crow have opened for DMB. Stefan Lessard is in Yukon Kornelius with Guster's Adam Gardner and Barenaked Ladies' Ed Robertson. And DMB recently donated a live version of "Typical Situation" to Linkin Park's Download to Donate for Haiti album.

Dave Matthews Band news:

Yukon Kornelius Halloween video surfaces

A Yukon Kornelius "Halloween" video has finally shown up online, two months after the band covered the Dave Matthews Band song in Vail, Colo.

The Yukon Kornelius "Halloween" video features Twisted Sister's Dee Snider on lead vocals. The rest of the band is DMB's Stefan Lessard, Barenaked Ladies' Ed Robertson, Guster's Adam Gardner and N.E.R.D.'s Eric Fawcett.

Check out the Yukon Kornelius "Halloween" video from Vail:

Dave Matthews Band news:

Performance Rights Act gets Dave Matthews' support

The Performance Rights Act has a supporter in Dave Matthews.

Dave Matthews has signed a petition to support the Performance Rights Act, which would net radio station royalties for artists (not just songwriters, as is currently the case). He and dozens of other artists signed the petition in the lead-up to the Grammys last week.

"We support the Performance Rights Act because it is fair to radio and fair to artists," the statement reads, according to Billboard. "We encourage the radio industry to work with the music community and Congress to pass The Performance Rights Act."

Radio station operators oppose the Performance Rights Act because playing songs is free promotion for the artists, while the writers of those songs get none of the spotlight, according to The Hill.

The Performance Rights Act is sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) in the Senate and Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) in the House of Representatives.

Besides Dave Matthews, other artists who have signed on in support of the Performance Rights Act include Green Day, Sheryl Crow, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Black Eyed Peas and Mary J. Blige.

Dave Matthews Band news:

Video: Dave Matthews Band Grammy performance of You and Me

This Dave Matthews Band Grammy performance video captures DMB playing "You and Me" at last night's Grammys.

The DMB Grammy performance of "You and Me" featured percussionists, a small orchestra and choir and a horn section made up of high school musicians -- inspired by the "You and Me" video. It was one of the more creative Grammy performances of the night that didn't involve acrobatics and water dripping all over celebrities in fancy outfits.

The DMB Grammy performance was the highlight of the night for the band, which lost the Best Rock Album Grammy to Green Day and lost the Album of the Year Grammy award to Taylor Swift.

Watch the DMB Grammy performance video here:



UPDATE (2/3, 1:11 p.m.): YouTube has pulled the video above, but you can now buy the official Dave Matthews Band Grammy performance video of "You and Me" on iTunes.

Dave Matthews Band news:

Album of the Year Grammy award: Taylor Swift, Fearless

The Album of the Year Grammy award went to Taylor Swift for Fearless at tonight's Grammy awards in Los Angeles.

Taylor Swift's Fearless beat out Dave Matthews Band, which had a disappointing night, for the Album of the Year Grammy award. DMB also lost the Best Rock Album Grammy to Green Day earlier tonight.

Dave Matthews Band released Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King after nearly a decade of subpar albums and a tumultuous period in which the band almost broke up and LeRoi Moore died after an ATV accident. The other Album of the Year Grammy award nominees were Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga.

Dave Matthews Band news:

Best Rock Album Grammy: Green Day, 21st Century Breakdown

The Best Rock Album Grammy went to Green Day for 21st Century Breakdown, which beat out Dave Matthews Band's Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King at tonight's Grammy awards show in Los Angeles.

DMB's loss in the Best Rock Album Grammy category does not bode well for its chances later tonight, when the band is up against Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift for Album of the Year. Many had considered DMB the favorite to win the Best Rock Album Grammy.

With this Best Rock Album Grammy loss, the band has still won just one Grammy in its career, the Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group Grammy in 1997 for "So Much to Say."

The other Best Rock Album Grammy nominees were AC/DC, Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood and U2.

Dave Matthews Band news:

Dave Matthews: John Edwards wedding would have cost a lot of money

John Edwards' Dave Matthews Band wedding scandal has finally drawn a response from Dave Matthews.

As you'll recall, we found out back in September that John Edwards told his former mistress, Rielle Hunter, that he would marry her in a New York rooftop wedding featuring DMB after his cancer-stricken wife died.

After John Edwards' Dave Matthews Band wedding story came out, Stefan Lessard immediately responded, calling Edwards a "sleaze ball." In an interview this week with Access Hollywood, Dave had a more humorous take.

“I would make a fair bet that I would have said no to such an offer,” he said. “Or, I would have charged him some incredible amount of money.”

Edwards this month admitted he is the father of Hunter's child, and he and his wife officially separated shortly thereafter. Hunter helped produce videos for Edwards' failed presidential campaign featuring Boyd Tinsley's song "True Reflections."

Dave Matthews Band news:

Dave Matthews Grammy preview interview on MTV

This Dave Matthews Grammy preview video comes from MTV, which got a quick interview with him in preparation for tomorrow night's Grammys.

"You and Me" will be the Dave Matthews Band Grammy performance, and DMB received two Grammy nominations, for Album of the Year and Best Rock Album.

In this Dave Matthews Grammy preview video, Dave talks about the plans for DMB's performance, which will feature a 45-person backing band.

Dave Matthews Band news:

Dave Matthews Band Haiti Relief Project EP released

The Dave Matthews Band Haiti Relief Project EP, which benefits the Bama Works Haiti Relief Fund, is now available for download.

The Haiti Relief Project track listing is as follows:

• "Butterfly" (8/28/07)
• "Cry Freedom" (7/31/04)
• "Out of My Hands" (7/19/09)
• "Lying in the Hands of God" (6/12/09)
• "Dive In" (9/10/09)

The Haiti Relief Project EP costs $5, which will go to the new Bama Works Haiti Relief Fund. DMB has established the fund to provide long-term Haiti earthquake relief.

DMB is doing even more to raise money for the fund. From now through tomorrow at noon Eastern, proceeds from all sales in the Dave Matthews Band and Warehouse stores will benefit the fund. And a portion of the proceeds from all DMB 2010 summer tour tickets purchased through the Warehouse with an American Express card will go to the fund as well.

Dave Matthews and Neil Young also played "Alone and Forsaken" by Hank Williams on last week's Hope for Haiti Now telethon. You can download that performance for 99 cents on iTunes. And a live version of "Typical Situation" is available on the Download to Donate for Haiti album organized by Linkin Park.

Dave Matthews Band news:

DMB Grammy performance to recreate You and Me video

Dave Matthews Band will perform "You and Me" at the Grammys on Sunday with a choir, a small orchestra and eight youth musicians, USA Today reports.

The DMB Grammy performance will try to recreate the "You and Me" video, in which the band plays the song with dozens of everyday people.

"It's cool that everyone up there is playing," Dave Matthews told the newspaper. "There are no dancers, no stand-ins. We wanted everything live. There's such a freedom to that."

Dave also spoke about Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, which received Grammy nominations for Album of the Year and Best Rock Album.

"It's about healing, about living up to our expectations, about the discovery of our love for each other," he said. "There's a sadness to it but also a comfort that we went all out to represent [LeRoi Moore]."

One of the eight youth musicians from the Grammy Jazz Ensembles program is Noah Hocker, a student from Tigard High School in Oregon who got a small write-up in The Oregonian newspaper.

Rob Cavallo, who produced Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, is overseeing the DMB Grammy performance rehearsals this week in Los Angeles.

"We made them sweat," Cavallo told USA Today. "This isn't high school band."

USA Today also reports that Lady Gaga's show-opening performance will be a duet with Elton John, Leon Russell will play with the Zac Brown Band, and Jamie Foxx's performance of "Blame It" will feature a backing band comprised of Sheila E., Doug E. Fresh, T-Pain and Slash.

Dave Matthews Band news:

DMB fans slam general admission concert plan

The decision to have general admission standing on the floor at Dave Matthews Band arena and stadium concerts is not going over well with fans.

The move, made this week before the release of the DMB 2010 summer tour dates, also applies to the pit area at most amphitheaters. Most fans on our Facebook page have not taken too kindly to the change. Here's a sampling of what they had to say:

• Stephanie F.: "i have not been a member of the warehouse for over 10 years, paying my dues, so that some "whoever" can slide in"
• Daria F.: "warehouse sucks! I quit years ago as a senior member. They don't care about the fans just the money."
• Jessica W.: "What's the point of being a member? I have been a member for years and each year we get better seats. I don't want to go if we will have general admission."
• Sara D.: "with my experience at GA floor at other concerts, people get outta hand and kinda ruin the fun for ya"
• Tim M.: "It'll suck for senior members. I don't like that idea."
• Teri C.: "GA gives me anxiety"

But some fans did like the move to general admission DMB concerts:

• Travis L.: "I think this is a great policy to combat scalped ticket prices.....Some people are huge fans(bigger than senior members) and get the shaft on good seats every year and have to pay rediculous prices for floor seats."
• Ealon G.: "HELL YEAH!!!!! I LOVE GA!!!!"
• Anthony S.: "You people need to chill GA rocks and is the vibe wait for the experience, the Dead did GA for years and it was awesome..."

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