As the sun was setting in the west, we had a visit from a little birdie who seemed like he was in a great hurry.

“Where are you going?” we asked. He said, “I have to pack my bags and saddle up my horse.”

“Birds have bags?” we questioned.

With eyes wide the bird stared at us stupefied for a few minutes and then said, “Tweet!”

“Just be sure your fan club memberships/addresses are up to date by July 7 at midnight PT.” said the bird as he flew off heading east tweeting “mmmm Cheesesteaks, and soon Vegemite … tweet”
 

It wouldn’t be nearly as fun to do this podcast each week, were it not for all of you tuning in and contacting me with all your great feedback and input. So episode #7 is comprised almost entirely of awesome listener requests! Additionally, I had a number of fans asking about my experience at the Eddie Vedder Atlanta shows last week so I included some commentary on that as well. I also received some sweet fan-created artwork for the podcast for use in iTunes or other media players from listener Jack! Thanks for listening and thanks to everyone for their contributions to the podcast! Keep it coming – contact me via email or Facebook or leave a comment on this post.

 

A double billing of Pearl Jam and Ben Harper will be coming to Australia for concert dates scheduled to be in November. Having 1 of these bands on stage is a huge event. Having both in the 1 concert is fairly exceptional. 

No further details as yet but please let us know what sort of interest levels you feel there might be in your area so we can call to discuss once more information comes to hand. This should be a sizable concert series in all 5 major cities. 

Regards, 

Chris XXXXX I Head Of Business Development

Academy Makes Changes to Best Song Oscar

Last week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences made the unexpected announcement that next year's Oscars will include 10 Best Picture nominees instead of the traditional five. Yesterday, Variety reported that the Academy will make two more changes that deviate considerably from the norm.

The first change involves the Best Song categories. Up until this point, there were always at least three nominations each year, with voters rating possible nominees on a scale of 6 to 10. However, the new rules state that if no song in a given year earns at least an 8.25, there will be no nominees that year. If at least one song achieves this minimum score, then it will be nominated as will the song with the second-highest score. As in previous years, there will be a maximum of five nominees per ceremony.

The Academy's changes come at the recommendation of members the music industry, who wish to see a more accurate and fair representation of movie music in a given year. Variety cited Eddie Vedder and Bruce Springsteen as artists who were unfairly shut out of consideration for nomination (for Into the Wild and The Wrestler, respectively).

The other big change involves several honorary awards, including the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Instead of being included in the main Oscar-night telecast, these awards will now be presented at an invitation-only black-tie event in November. This allows the Academy to select more recipients each year, as it will not have to worry about the time constraints of a live broadcast.

Labels Target Hardcore Fans with High-Priced Super-Deluxe Boxed Sets
By David Browne

The big news for Pixies’ fans is the fall release of Minotaur, a limited-edition package that compiles the band’s five studio albums (on vinyl, CD, DVD, and Blu-ray), along with a concert DVD, two posters and a 54-page book of artwork – all in a lavish clamshell box.  The price? $495.  “You hear a lot of people say, ‘Wow, this much for a box set?’” says Jeff Anderson, whose company, Artist in Residence, designed the package.  “I say, ‘Wait until you see it.  Our stuff isn’t cheap, but when you get it, you’ll understand why.’”

The old-fashioned box set, once considered the height of rock-fan luxury, has been replaced by a new wave of supersize packages designed to pull in hardcore fans – and pump a little extra cash into the ailing music business.  Neil Young’s long-awaited Archives – 10 DVDs priced at $250 – recently arrived in stores, as did a $90 set from Green Day, a $60 Dave Matthews Band package (including 14 lithographs by the singer) and a $75 upgrade of Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood’s Live From Madison Square Garden.

This spring, the Beastie Boys released a fabric-covered edition of 1992’s Check Your Head on vinyl ($100).  “I know this sounds corny, but you’re talking about a record that someone’s had a long-term relationship with,” says Mike D.  “People don’t mind spending a bit more money to get a more in-depth version of that record.”

These products are tiny, however compared with other sets on their way: the Allman Brothers Band’s Beacon Box (out in late June) is a 45-disc $499 behemoth collection every night of their 2009 stand at New York’s Beacon Theatre.  Miles Davis’ complete Columbia recordings will be gathered in a 77-disc box. 

For labels and stores, such packages can be risky endeavors.  Sony has spent between $50 and several hundred dollars to produce each copy of its deluxe editions of Pearl Jam and Davis, among others.  Store owners often hesitate to order multiple copies, fearing they’ll be stuck with unsold units.  “Usually you’ll carry one and cross your fingers,” says Dan Dow, owner of Used Kids Records in Columbus, Ohio.  “I can probably think of two or three people who might buy one of these, regardless of the times.”

Yet that niche audience – “the ultrafan,” according to Legacy Recordings vice president Adam Block – is precisely what the labels have in mind.  Legacy’s recent “Collector’s Edition Box Set” of Pearl Jam’s Ten – stuffed with fan bait such as photo prints, an unreleased live recording and scribblings from Eddie Vedder’s archives – sold 10,000 copies at $200 each.  “When they’re done right,” says Block, “they can be highly profitable.”  The high cost of these sets, so far, doesn’t seem to be hurting sales.  Anderson has already heard complaints about the value of the Pixies box – which doesn’t include any unreleased material – but claims he isn’t worried.  “If someone’s that unsatisfied with it, send it back, because there’ll be people in line to buy it,” he says.  “I’m positive of that.”

In the surest sign that labels stand to make a profit off such engorged packages, a slew of deluxe editions are on the horizon.  In August, the Stone Roses’ 1989 debut will be expanded with two extra discs of music; Young’s Archives Vol. 2, is due in 2010.

Pearl Jam and the Beastie Boys are already eying megaboxes devoted to other albums in their catalogs.  “It’s the musical equivalent of a coffee-table book,” says Mike D.  “We should get really ambitious and have it be the whole coffee table.”

This is a great time to be Eddie Vedder! Tickets for his two shows at the Hawaii Theater sold out so fast back in April -- blink once and you missed out! -- that all he has to do is find the theater, get paid, and then walk out on stage and do the show.

No need to talk to the press about his experiences on his latest tour without Pearl Jam, or what he plans to do after the tour ends here next Thursday, or, perhaps, a few words on behalf of some of the social issues he supports.

No need to show some love to the local radio stations that play his music by doing one of those celebrity station ID spots -- "Hi, I'm Eddie Vedder, and you're listening to [insert name of station here]!" As Jerry Reed put it so well back in 1971 with his Grammy Award-winning country cross-over hit, "When You're Hot, You're Hot."

Vedder is hot.

All things considered, he's earned the right to play "incommunicado," if that's what he wants to do. He's put in his time, paid his dues, and worked hard -- very hard -- for almost 25 years to get to where he is. Vedder didn't have stardom handed to him the way that Bob Marcucci and Pete DeAngelis made-over handsome 14-year old Fabiano Forte into one-name teen idol Fabian.

Nor did Vedder come into the business with the advantages that can come with having a father who has entertainment industry connections. Ricky Nelson, Gary Lewis, Nancy Sinatra and Dino, Desi & Billy all might have made the national pop charts on their own, but it certainly didn't hurt their chances that Ricky's father, Ozzie Nelson, was a former bandleader and producer of the family television show, that Jerry Lewis and Frank Sinatra were international "A-List" celebrities, and that Dino and Desi were the sons of Dean Martin and Desi Arnaz, respectively.

In contrast, and without delving too deep into what is now ancient history for Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder fans, Vedder got where he is today with no help from either of his fathers.

Vedder didn't learn that Edward Louis Severson Jr., was his biological father, and not merely a friend of his parents, Karen and Peter Mueller, until after his father had died. No help from Dad there. Vedder's mother and stepfather divorced prior to Severson's death, while he was still in high school.

At first, he stayed with his stepfather so that he wouldn't have to change high schools, but by the time he was a senior, he was living on his own, going to high school and supporting himself by working nights.

No help there either.

Vedder eventually dropped out of school, joined his mother and the rest of the family in Chicago and got a job as a waiter; he also earned his GED. Several years later he returned to California and recorded demo tapes while working a variety of odd jobs. He was in and out of several bands in the late '80s -- The Butts, Indian Style and Bad Radio, to name three.

Vedder was working part-time at a gas station when a friend told him that some musicians in Seattle were looking for a singer. Vedder listened to their demo tape, wrote lyrics for three of their songs, recorded the vocals, and sent the tape to Seattle.

He was invited to audition, got the job, and the band became Pearl Jam.

Vedder and Pearl Jam have enjoyed almost non-stop success for two decades despite several abrupt personnel changes, a long-time refusal to make music videos, and a three-year boycott of Ticketmaster in the mid-'90s that received almost no support from their peers in the industry.

Eddie Vedder is known for speaking out on social and political issues between songs at his concerts. Maybe he feels that's the best way to reach the public on behalf of the causes he supports.

Oh well. Maybe next time.

He said having the new album finished is like buying someone a Christmas present a couple months early. You can't wait to give it to them, especially when you know they are going to love it. He said he really just wanted to play the new album for us and the crowd ate that up.