Nashom Wooden, also known as drag performer Mona Foot, has died at age 50 after a short illness, that was reportedly COVID-19, the New York Times reports. A legendary downtown NYC personality, Mona Foot was a popular drag performer whose Wonder Woman act was iconic, and he was also one third of The Ones, who scored a club/UK hit with 'Flawless', the 2001 song later covered by George Michael.
Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbot, formerly of the Beautiful South, have announced they will play a free show for NHS staff (UK's National Health Service) working on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic. According to the BBC, the duo are giving away 9,000 tickets to "doctors, nurses, support workers, porters and cleaners" for the show in Nottingham in October. "We are just musicians, so there is little we can do but sing for you", Heaton and Abbot said.
Bill Rieflin, a Seattle-based drummer with an impressive list of associations, has died of cancer aged 59, Ultimate Classic Rock reports. His first big gig was with the industrial band Ministry, without ever becoming an official member of the group. After playing with the Revolting Cocks, an industrial project involving Ministry founder Al Jourgensen, he worked also with Swans (he’s listed as an “honorary Swan”), KMFDM, Pigface, Chris Connelly, Lard, and he also played on one song on Nine Inch Nails’ 'The Fragile'. Via his gig drumming for the Minus 5, Rieflin met R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, who invited him to join R.E.M. as a touring member and studio contributor from 2003 until the band’s breakup in 2011. Rieflin also spent many years performing with the legendary prog band King Crimson, doing stints as both a drummer and a keyboardist for the group. It seems he liked super-groups as well - he drummed for Filthy Friends, band led by Peter Buck and Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker, for Krist Novoselic’s post-Nirvana band Sweet 75 and even drummed on a Robbie Williams album.
The National have announced a merch-sale campaign to help out their road crew while everyone’s grounded due to coronavirus. "We will direct all profits from merch sales through our webstore, new Cherry Tree fan club enrollments, and sales from the Cherry Tree members-only store to support our crew members throughout this crisis to the best of our ability" - the National announced. Soccer Mommy did a similarly generous thing - Sophie Allison took to Twitter to announce that she would be selling T-shirts and posters and giving all the proceeds to her band and crew while they aren’t able to work.
"Once it's established that a patio big enough to hold a laptop podium is all that most modern acts need to deliver their unexpurgated festival set to iPhone, a livestreamed Glastonbury is entirely possible" - Mark, My Words predicts the future of online concerts. It looks bright, at least to the NME columnist, who wants major acts to "blow their cancelled tour budget on 360-degree cameras and stage virtual gigs that’ll be almost impossible to distinguish from the real thing – only with much, much better wine".
ISOLATE/CREATE is “a free resource that provides creatives (and fans in general) with access to digital assets to spark creativity and inspire digital collaboration, all while still practicing responsible social distancing and helping to flatten the curve”. The Armed, Converge, Chelsea Wolfe, La Dispute, Pelican, Slow Mass, Dead Cross, Wear Your Wounds, Planet B, and Deaf Club have provided “stems, full multitrack sessions and artwork files”. More is still to come.
Gibson Guitars announced they’ll be paying hourly factory workers $1,000 each to help get them through the time on uncertainty caused by coronavirus pandemic. As of March 22, the iconic guitar manufacturer has been forced to halt production at its Nashville factory, Loudwire reports. Despite no government request, Gibson have also closed their factory in Bozeman, Montana.
Last Friday (March 20), Bandcamp waived its revenue share on music sales for a 24-hour period to help artists impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and music fans reacted generously to generosity. On a typical Friday, as Bandcamp explained, fans buy about 47,000 items, but this past Friday fans bought nearly 800,000, or $4.3 million worth of music and merch, more than 15 times Bandcamp's normal Friday. In the last 30 days, fans have paid $15.3 million to artists via Bandcamp.
Manu Dibango, popular and influential Cameroonian musician celebrated for his blend of jazz, funk and traditional west African styles, has died aged 86 in a Paris hospital after contracting Covid-19, according to BBC. Born in Cameroon, he moved to Paris, then to Brussels, Dibango blended the cosmopolitan styles from Africa and Europe into his own fusion.
Members of classic Britpop, shoegaze and alter-rock bands are hosting interactive online listening parties at 10 p.m. UK time on Twitter, each hosted by a member of the respective bands. It kicked off yesterday (March 23) with The Charlatans’ debut album and Tim Burgess, tonight’s is with Alex Kapranos, discussing Franz Ferdinand‘s self-titled album.
Schedule for the following days:
Last week, all 18 songs from Lil Uzi Vert's 'Eternal Atake' broke onto the Hot 100 chart. This week, all 14 songs from 'Eternal Atake (Deluxe) - LUV Vs. The World 2' (new songs, outtakes from 'Eternal Atake') made it onto the Hot 100 too, making Lil Uzi Vert the first act to have every song from two full projects chart on the Hot 100 in consecutive weeks, All Hip Hop reports.
Actress and musician Rita Wilson is self-quarantined in Australia with her husband Tom Hanks, which is, of course, a great opportunity to read 'Ender’s Game', and - learn all the words to hip-hop classics. The 63-year-old captioned a clip where she flawlessly raps the entire song 'Hip Hop Hooray' by Naughty by Nature.
International music festival Pop Montreal set up its own balcony singing session in hopes of bringing some hope to residents holed up in their homes amid the coronavirus pandemic social distancing measures. Montrealers headed out onto their balconies, porches and rooftops, and belt out the words to Leonard Cohen's 'So Long, Marianne', a song that has the opening lyrics "Come over to the window, my little darling". Montreal folk musician Martha Wainwright lead the singalong through a live stream on social media.
Lil Uzi Vert had an exceptionally good second week his album 'Eternal Atake' - it earned 247,000 equivalent album, down just 14% compared to its debut atop the list a week ago with 288,000 units, Billboard reports. The small second-week decline is owed to the album’s surprise reissue on March 13, when a new deluxe edition arrived with 14 additional songs, expanding upon the original 18-song set. Also, 'Eternal Atake' is the first album to spend its first two weeks at No. 1 since Harry Styles’ 'Fine Line' held at No. 1 for two weeks at the turn of the year.
Rihanna has donated $5 million through her organization, the Clara Lionel Foundation, to help aid countries affected by COVID-19, CNN reports. The donation by the singer, businesswoman, and philanthropist will support local food banks serving at-risk communities in the United States, the acceleration of testing and care in nations such as Haiti and Malawi, and essential equipment for healthcare workers and facilities. It will also assist with healthcare training including virus prevention and containment. Barbados will also be receiving $700,000 worth of ventilators.
Danny Ray Thompson, longtime baritone saxophone player and flutist of space jazz collective Sun Ra Arkestra, died aged 72, according to The New York Times. “Danny Ray Thompson is now traveling the spaceways, joining the many beloved Arkestra members who have previously left the planet and who now soar with the spirit of Sun Ra” the band wrote in their post. Thompson joined Sun Ra Arkestra in 1967. and went on to play on dozens of the group’s recordings throughout the decades.
Norah Jones said she had heard Guns N' Roses' 'Patience', it made her feel good, so she covered it; John Legend in his new song 'Actions' says, more or less, he should practice what he preaches, on a trivia note, it samples 'The Edge' by David McCallum, which is the same track Dr. Dre sampled on his 2000 hit 'The Next Episode'; Eyes Without A Face is made of musicians that used to play metal and pop, together they make - goth synth, check them out on 'Cold Moon'; M.I.A. has released ‘OHMNI 202091’, her first new song in three years, on the 15th anniversary of her debut album ‘Arular’; 'Resiliencia' by El Búho and DJ Raff is South American traditional music plus electronica, a hommage to Chilean activism; 'March 13' by Ellis is a big and gentle piano song; soul band Black Pumas have turned Detroit proto-punk legends Death’s 'Politicians In My Eyes' into a smooth soul song; Danish singer-songwriter Oh Land sings about how she misses normal on her new song 'I Miss One Week Ago', Run The Jewels have released new track ‘The Yankee and The Brave’, an ear-attack.
Good stream day today (March 22): Julia Jacklin at 6:40 a.m. ET, part of the ISOL-AID! Instagram Live Music Festival.
Charli XCX and Clairo are hosting a “quarantine art class” on Instagram at 3 p.m. ET.
Patti Smith, Jesse Smith, and Rebecca Foon at 4 p.m. ET on Instagram.
Courtney Barnett, Lucius, Sharon Van Etten, Fred Armisen, Sheryl Crow, Bedouine, Nathaniel Rateliff, Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real, Jonathan Wilson, Emily King starting at 7 p.m. ET on Instagram.
Jason Anderson is livestreaming performances every night at 8 p.m. ET on his Instagram.
Erykah Badu is streaming “Apocalypse One : live interactive experiment from badubotron” this weekend on Instagram.
Singer and actress Kate Nash has shared a video of herself covering the Metallica classic 'Enter Sandman' on Twitter, while she self-isolates due to the coronavirus pandemic. She didn't play the whole song, but the minute-and-something that she did is just really funny and cool at the same time.
American country music star Kenny Rogers, known for his classics like 'The Gambler', 'Lucille' and 'Islands in the Stream', died Friday night aged 81, CNN reports. During his six-decade career, the charismatic, husky-voiced singer sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, won three Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, Vox says.
der made a selection of best music documentaries to stream while stuck at home (or staying at home at your own will, right!?!). There's the Rolling Stones classic 'Gimme Shelter'; 'A Life in Waves' about Suzanne Ciani - one of the single most influential cultural figures to emerge in the past century; 'Baltimore, Where You At?' about the city's club scene; 'What Happened, Miss Simone?' about Nina Simone as an artist and an activist; 'Everybody in the Place' about UK rave culture; a purely biographical 'Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.'; 'A Band Called Death' about three Afro-American brothers from Detroit playing punk way sooner than Bad Brains, but who never saw much success because of their name; 'Bad Rap' about representation in hip-hop.
Adult Swim has made every episode of 'Metalocalypse', animated series about a fictional death metal band Dethklok, available to stream for free. All four seasons, plus the 'Klok Opera' movie, can now be viewed ad nauseam on the official Adult Swim website. Creator Brendon Small achieved gigantic success with Dethklok, with all three Dethalbum records outselling the last.
Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy is playing covers and requests at 3 p.mp ET on Instagram. Year of the Knife will livestream a performance at 6 p.m. ET. Ultra Virtual Music Festival is at 5 p.m. ET through Monday 3/23 on Sirius XM channel 52 here. Christine and the Queens is streaming every day at 6 p.m. ET on Instagram. Ben Gibbard is livestreaming solo performances from his home studio every day at 7 p.m. ET. Jason Anderson is livestreaming performances every night at 8 p.m. ET on his Instagram, and tonight’s stream will be a full performance of Jason’s album 'Restless'. 74 Australian artists, including Angie McMahon, Julia Jacklin, Stella Donnelly, Alice Skye, Didirri have created Isol-Aid, a “socially (media) distanced music festival” - the two-day festival will run from midday to midnight on Saturday and Sunday, with artists streaming 20-minute sets from self-isolation live on their Instagram accounts. Erykah Badu will be performing a bedroom concert on Saturday and Sunday on her Instagram. Toronto is getting a livestream concert series at URGNT.ca.
Bandcamp is waiving their cut of all sales through the website for one day (today, March 20), which is a good opportunity to support artists directly and 100% in the time of the shutdown. Brooklyn Vegan recommends 30 albums from 2020 - Bill Fay, Caribou, Denzel Curry & Kenny Beats, Irreversible Entanglements, Katey Gately, Moses Sumney, and 15 metal albums (aren't those albums too?!?) - Envy, Sightless Pit, Yatra.... Stereogum recommends 15 albums - Okay Kaya, JFDR, Dogled, Facs... The Quietus is expectedly more avant-garde in their choice - Lyra Pramuk, The Silver Field, Lingua Ignota, Aya...
Fermentophone is part a musical instrument, part a scientific instrument, constructed by artist and professor Joshua Pablo Rosenstock, and played by the release of bubbles from live microbes (bacteria and yeast) fermenting foods and drinks. Rosenstock wanted to make "something unexpected and cool", as he told in Justine Dees blog interview, and, on a deeper level, to suggest that the microbes "may even control our thoughts and feelings in ways that we don’t totally understand".
With big festivals and tours being mostly cancelled, the bands are looking at live streaming as a way to make money. For now, it was mostly for free, but there's a growing need and an opportunity to find a model of income in music streaming. The Guardian writes about Left Bank, a Brooklyn-based magazine that's hosting a virtual music festival via YouTube, running 12 hours a day until 22 March with artists from around the world broadcasting from their bedrooms (like Vaeda Black, pictured above). There is no charge, listeners are encouraged to tip the musicians they enjoy using Venmo. Electronic musician Hana, best known for her collaborations with Grimes, has spent hundreds of hours on Twitch – a live streaming platform favoured by gamers and owned by Amazon – to create an intimate connection with her fans, who donate cash to show their appreciation. A big difference, also an opportunity, is live streaming's intimacy, every fan, and it could be millions of them, feels like they're in the front row.
NPR did a great job - they selected 100 best acts that were going to play at SXSW, of more than 1,500 acts scheduled to perform. Music varies from delicate folk to punishing metal, from Afropop to Latin rock to country to hip-hop and beyond; it's a 100 songs fest in six-hour playlist.
Surprising or not, Bono made a nice song, 'Let Your Love Be Known', dedicated to the people fighting the coronavirus; Quelle Chris & Chris Keys dropped a jazzy underground rap song 'Living Happy' featuring Joseph Chilliams & Cavalier; psychedelic folk band Lord Buffalo released a dark and dramatic 'Dog Head'. Purity Ring deliver a batch of electro-pop with 'Pink Lightning'; Activity are cold, noisy and distant on 'Nude Prince'; Control Top released a dancey rock song 'One Good Day'; well, this is great in a funny way - a country and western band covered Limp Bizkit's 'Rollin''.
Musicians are calling on Spotify to triple its royalty rates following the coronavirus pandemic causing tours cancellations all over the world, the Guardian reports. An online petition posted by musician Evan Greer asked Spotify to triple its rates permanently - it is widely believed that Spotify pays artists about $0.00318 per stream, meaning that a rights holder would receive $3.18 (£2.74) per 1,000 streams.
Biggest online stream today is Luck Reunion’s Til Further Notice at 7 p.m. ET (New York time), with Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, Edie Brickell, Margo Price & Jeremy Ivey, Lucinda Williams, Nathaniel Rateliff, Jewel, Micah and Lukas Nelson, Devon Gilfillian, Thomas Csorba, Tami Nelson, Sunny War, Ian Ferguson, Tre Burt, David Ramirez, Katie Pruitt, Nikki Lane, Early James, Paul Cauthen, Randy Houser and more - watch it here. Indigo Girls play at 6 p.m. ET - here. Christine and the Queens are up again at 6 p.m. ET on Instagram. Ben Gibbard is live-streaming solo performances from his home studio every day at 7 p.m. ET, he plays Death Car For Cutie and Postal Service songs and some covers. Automatic, Fat Tony, Froth, Monde UFO and Slaughterhouse start at 8:45 p.m. ET on Instagram. Common is up at 5:30 p.m. ET on Instagram. Bruce Springsteen isn't streaming, yet, but he released his 2009 concert film 'London Calling: Live in Hyde Park' onto streaming platforms for the very first time - here. Brooklyn Vegan and NPR keep a good list of online streams.
