Michael Jackson, dead at 50

Man, I am getting tired of posting these.

Whatever else can be said about Michael Jackson -- and there's plenty -- he was a music legend, one of the most gifted performers of his generation and, once upon a time, a sweet-voiced kid who amazed the world with his precocious talent. You always wonder when someone falls as far as he did if he might get one more shot at redemption. Now we'll never know.

R.I.P. Michael.

R.I.P. Jay Bennett

The Chicago Sun-Times has the sad news about longtime Wilco member Jay Bennett, dead in his sleep at age 45.

R.I.P. Jay.

Jon Troast: halfway to a hundred

Singer-songwriter Jon Troast hit the halfway mark the other night on his "100 Concerts in 100 Days" trek across the United States. Since launching this latest run of 100-dollar-a-night house concerts in March, Troast has traveled through Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, and is currently in my neck of the woods, California.

Having hosted one of Troast's living room concerts last year, I can testify to what a unique and memorable experience it is. The comfort and ease this approach offers for the audience is unbeatable, and Troast is a blast to hang out with, as evidenced by his road diary, full of wry observations and affectionate asides. He even played a show the other day for a guy named Jon Troast. No, really -- a different guy named Jon Troast. I can relate, having discovered a doppelganger of my own.

In any case, it's a little late for "bon voyage" or "break a leg," so let's just borrow a baseball phrase here and wish Troast a great second half of his road trip...

Talking Heads take over

Once you've ascended to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and been repeatedly declared one of the most influential acts of your era, what's left?

Being named Artist Of The Month on The Daily Vault, of course.

Talking Heads get the nod this month in a retrospective fueled by fans Sean McCarthy, Michael R. Smith, Kenny S. McGuane, Christopher Thelen, Jeff Clutterbuck and Bruce Rusk. As if the band's parade of classic albums (starting with memorable debut Talking Heads: 77) wasn't enough, we'll also be covering a number of discs from side project Tom Tom Club and frontman-gone-solo David Byrne. Trust us, this one's going to burn down the house for sure...

Tales of the new music industry model: Wonderlick

Add to the tales of the new music industry model (coming someday in the future to a wireless card near you), the saga of California indie band Wonderlick's new album.

Wonderlick recently conducted an "extremely successful" fan pre-order campaign on their forthcoming album Topless At The Arco Arena. The band ran a month-long pre-order offer via their Web site which allowed fans to set their own price for the album, with an additional incentive offered to fans who paid median price or higher: a thank-you by name in the album package. The final median price was $29.13. The low price paid was $5, and the high price paid was $500. Several fans paid over $100 for the disc.

Says band member Tim Quirk: “I wasn’t too worried about people paying less than the CDs themselves cost, but I was completely unprepared for just how generous fans were. When the first $30 payment came in, that was pretty cool. Then they just kept getting higher -- $45, $50, $100. I’m writing them all personal thank you notes, like my grandma taught me.”

Topless At The Arco Arena will be released on July 7, 2009 via Missing Piece/Rock Ridge Music. According to Quirk, the record, “examines the intersection of art and commerce from people who have been on every side of it.” In fact, Quirk and bandmate Jay Blumenfield both have successful careers in other endeavors: Tim is VP, Programming of Rhapsody and Jay is a TV producer and video director. Wonderlick has experimented with the donations-for-downloads approach previously while posting songs from their former group Too Much Joy. Based on the response this time around they seem to be onto something -- at least for their own small niche in the great big Wild West that is the music industry today.

Why not Chickenfoot?

As long as we’re talking modern-day supergroups, why not Chickenfoot?

...which seems to be exactly the attitude that pervades the latest major-league musical mash-up, consisting of Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, ex-Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, guitarist extraordinaire Joe Satriani and ol’ shaggy himself, Sammy Hagar. I mean, if you put together a group with that much amperage, wouldn’t you call it… Chickenfoot?

Fine, maybe not. But as you can see for yourself on their recently-unveiled Web site, these guys are pretty determined not to take this (or at least themselves) too seriously. The samples on the site and their MySpace page sound pretty much like you’d expect – jet-fueled old-school hard rock with Satriani and Hagar dueling for space and Anthony’s serially undervalued background vocals helping with the melodic side. (Just for the record, this makes four of the era’s sharpest rock guitarists Hagar has teamed with – Ronnie Montrose, Neal Schon, Eddie Van Halen, and Satriani. Makes you wonder who’s next…)

The album is out June 7 in the US and European tour dates are popping up for the summer. Chickenfoot – making tracks in the sawdust near you soon.

Beck is back (Jeff, that is)

Jeff Beck has had a career anyone would be envious of, from The Yardbirds to his partnership with Rod Stewart in the Jeff Beck Group to years of solo instrumental work with the likes of Jan Hammer. What he's never had before this year, is a live performance DVD. And perhaps you're thinking "Yeah, but the guy's in his mid-60s... do I really want to see a former great on the downside of his career?"

You do. You really do, because no one who watches his new DVD Live At Ronnie Scott's would even think of suggesting that Beck has lost a step. To the contrary, his technical mastery of the electric guitar is apparent in every frame, and he plays perhaps more soulfully and subtlely than ever, supported by a truly stellar backup band featuring legendary jazz drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, 21-year-old bass prodigy Tal Wilkenfield and British jazz pianist of the moment Jason Rebello.

It's one of the best performances you'll see this year, it features guest shots from the likes of Joss Stone, Imogen Heap and Eric Clapton, and you can pick it up for free by signing up for our April 14 drawing here. You won't regret it...