R.I.P., Godfather

I just found out that James Brown died today. He made so many significant contributions to music, and I will always remember being at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 21, 2002, and seeing him play "Sex Machine" with Dave Matthews Band. When Dave stepped to the microphone and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Godfather of Soul, James Brown," the crowd erupted like nothing I've ever heard before and likely never will again. It was a complete shock, and the performance made that concert the best I've ever seen -- by far. Thank you for that amazing memory, James Brown. Rest in peace.

Newspaper Interviews Dave

The Asheville Citizen-Times has posted an interview with Dave Matthews on its Web site as part of its coverage of Warren Haynes' Christmas Jam. The interview is really bland, with questions like, "Is this your first time in Asheville?" but the site does have some cool video footage of Dave playing "Save Me."

LeRoi on New Nas CD

Dave Matthews Band saxophonist LeRoi Moore plays on "Hold Down the Block," a song on the new Nas album, Hip Hop Is Dead. It appears that LeRoi and Nas hooked up through DMB producer Mark Batson, who produced the song and played drums, bass and keys.

Wrigley Shows Still Not Official

The previously reported Dave Matthews Band concerts at Wrigley Field are awaiting approval by the Chicago City Council, according to this article in today's Chicago Sun-Times. The story says the Cubs are getting into the concert business to raise more money and pay better players, and that the concerts are scheduled for July 8 and 9.

When Jimmy Buffett played the first and only concert at Wrigley in 2005, the Cubs had to make a donation to local schools, abide by a 10:30 p.m. curfew and limit seating to the baseball capacity of 41,000. The Cubs will agree to those same conditions to get the council to approve the DMB show, the Sun-Times says.

DMB Makes Top-Concert List

Ticketmaster has named Dave Matthews Band's 2006 tour the third-most requested concert and the fourth-most requested event of the year. The Broadway show "Wicked" was the top event of any kind, while Jimmy Buffett had the most-requested concert tour. And the three-time Super Bowl Champions, the New England Patriots, were the most-requested sporting event. That has nothing to do with DMB, I just wanted to brag about how awesome they are.

New Band Review: Channel 4

Channel 4 is a funk-rock band from Erie, Pa. that lists Dave Matthews, Red Hot Chili Peppers, 311 and a lot of other artists as influences on its MySpace page. It features one new song and three from an earlier demo.

The newest song, "Same Time, Same Mind," at different times sounds like The Doors, Audioslave and a jam band. And Channel 4 blends them together perfectly, building from one to the other with great suspense. It's by far the best song on the band's site.

When I first listened to "Long Day," I wasn't that impressed. Then I couldn't get the chorus out of my head. It seems a little outdated, like it would have fit perfectly on the radio in 1998, but it's still a solid pop-rock song.

"Dying Tree" features a pounding acoustic guitar riff and a raucous chorus, but the slow, dark verses don't really fit with the rest of the song -- and neither does the cowbell outro. I hate to knock the cowbell, but this is one instance where I do not gotta have more of it. The best parts of this song are great, but it's not consistent.

It takes more than two minutes for the chorus to roll around in "Wasted,"and it sounds pretty much the same as the verses. The song was pretty boring until the end jam swooped in and saved the day at about the four-minute mark.

Although some of the songs are unremarkable, they all give the impression that Channel 4 is more than an average college band (the members all attend the University of Pittsburgh). They get 3.5 STARS (out of five).

If you'd like to suggest an act for the New Band Review, e-mail Blog-Eyed Fish.

Willie Nelson CD to Include Dave Song

Willie Nelson's next studio album will include a Dave Matthews song, AOL Music reports. The article does not say if Dave wrote a song specifically for Willie or if Willie is covering a Dave song. Kenny Chesney will produce the album, which does not yet have a release date.

Dave and Willie are members of the Farm Aid board of directors, along with Neil Young and John Mellencamp. Dave has covered Willie's "Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away" during concerts in the past.

New Documentary Features DMB

"Before the Music Dies," a documentary criticizing the music industry, is out on DVD this week, and it features a performance of "Bartender" by Dave Matthews Band. Dave is also one of many interviewees in the film, along with Les Paul, Elvis Costello, Erykah Badu and others.

Directors Andrew Shapter and Joel Rasmussen made the documentary to "understand why mainstream music seems so packaged and repetitive, and whether corporations really had the power to silence musical innovation," the film's Web site says. In the documentary, according to this review, Dave makes these comments about the industry's focus on profits: "It may be successful for a while, but ... it inevitably fails because it sort of eats itself."

2006 Tour Makes Top 10

Dave Matthews Band had the ninth highest-grossing tour this year, Billboard Boxscore reported today. The 53-show trek began May 30 in Maryland Heights, Mo. and ended with a two-night stand Sept. 22-23 in the band's hometown of Charlottesville, Va. -- an average of almost $1.1 million a show. The Rolling Stones topped the list, making an all-time record $437 million on their "A Bigger Bang" tour.

Capshaw Nominated for Pollstar Award

Coran Capshaw, Dave Matthews Band's manager, today received a nomination for Personal Manager of the Year in the Pollstar Concert Industry Awards. He is up against Bob McLynn (Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco), John Silva (Beastie Boys, Beck, Foo Fighters), Jordan Kurland (Death Cab for Cutie), Pat Magnarella (Green Day) and Paul Korzilius (Bon Jovi).

Capshaw also manages O.A.R., Trey Anastasio and other acts, but his nomination is specifically for his work with DMB. He is the CEO of Musictoday, which runs the Warehouse and other fan clubs, and co-founder of ATO Records. The Pollstar awards are Feb. 8 in Los Angeles.

Here's a good, but old, article with more information on Capshaw.

DMB Among Holiday Most Wanted

Dave Matthews Band's "The Best of What's Around Vol. 1" is one of the most wanted albums this season, according to VH1's fourth annual Holiday CD Poll. The 2-CD greatest hits compilation came in at No. 6 in the nationwide poll, including No. 1 among Northeast voters. U2's new greatest hits album, "U218 Singles," topped the nationwide poll, and albums by The Beatles, Johnny Cash, Nickelback and Mary J. Blige rounded out the Top 5.

New Stefan Interview Online

Stefan Lessard has posted his third MySpace Friends interview on his Web site, IZStyle.com. He doesn't shed much light on any big Dave Matthews Band mysteries, and most of the questions -- all of which come from fellow MySpace users -- focus on his family life and hobbies. But it's still a decent read.

... Or Not

The e-mail announcing Dave Matthews Band's new tour dates said the band was playing Wembley Stadium, but the official site says the much smaller Wembley Arena. That makes more sense, because DMB isn't that big in England, and it's probably safe to assume that's where DMB will be playing when the band stops in London in May.

DMB to Play Another Famous Stadium: Wembley

Dave Matthews Band announced today it will play a quick mini-tour of Europe in May, including its biggest across-the-pond headlining show ever at Wembley Stadium in London on May 30. The three other stops are May 23 in Dublin, May 25 in Lisbon and May 27 in Brussels. Dave has also added a solo show to his March tour of Europe, March 14 in Copenhagen. Looks like past efforts to promote DMB in Europe are working, as the band and Dave alone are playing there more frequently and playing in larger venues. Ticketing info for the shows is available at the Warehouse.

DMB to Play Wrigley

After a wildly successful two-night stand at Fenway Park last year, Dave Matthews Band will play another legendary baseball stadium in 2007: Wrigley Field. So says the Chicago Tribune in this article. The two concerts are scheduled for the all-star break, which is July 9-11, but the story does not list the actual dates. DMB recently announced two March shows in Las Vegas and a spring tour of Australia but has not come out with summer tour dates yet.

New Band Review: FOTY

The first act I randomly selected for the New Band Review was FOTY, a Toronto band that lists Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam and Led Zeppelin as its influences. FOTY's MySpace page features four songs from the band's 2006 independent EP, "Afterthought."

The first song, "Mean Disease," is a punchy and catchy with great electric guitar work. It's nice to hear a new band that sounds like it's having fun. "Undone" is a pure Southern rocker with a pounding riff and two wailing guitar solos, but it sounds infinitely better than the butt rock that infests today's rock and pop airwaves.

Unfortunately, the next song, "Twelve Days," fits right into that category. It's a ballad that would fit right into the Three Doors Down or Hinder catalog. And the final song, "Breaking Point," is a depressing, minor-key solo performance from singer Rich Foty and his acoustic guitar -- a bad imitation of Staind doing a bad imitation of Alice in Chains.

When the four guys in FOTY rock out, they're great. When they slow it down, they're boring and unoriginal. Based on the potential of "Mean Disease" and "Undone," they get 3 STARS (out of five).

If you'd like to suggest an act for the New Band Review, e-mail Blog-Eyed Fish.

Looking for New Bands

With Dave Matthews Band in the studio and little news coming out recently, I've decided to start a new feature: The New Band Review. Several times a week, I'll check out an unsigned or independent band that lists DMB as an influence on its MySpace page. Then I'll check out the songs on the band's page and post a review here.

The first review should be up later tonight. And don't worry, I'll still post updates whenever DMB-related news comes up.