New York, U.S.A. – In the summer of 2011, celebrating their 20th year together, alt-rock giants Incubus turned a Los Angeles storefront space into a low-key, hi-tech residency that resulted in six nights of free performances and fan encounters now chronicled on “Incubus HQ Live.” The celebration takes place across three separate multi-disc packages released by Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. The three configurations are the “Incubus HQ Live,” “Incubus HQ Live Special Edition,” and “Incubus HQ Live Limited Edition Box Set.”

The August 14th release date for the first two configurations, “Incubus HQ Live” and “Incubus HQ Live Special Edition,” coincides with the opening of the 2012 Honda Civic Tour Featuring Linkin Park and Incubus. The 4-week, 18-city tour of the U.S. and Canada starts at Comcast Center in Boston and concludes at Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre in San Diego on September 10th.

Dedicated to fans and friends, “Incubus HQ Live,” as the gallery-sized storefront space on busy La Brea Avenue in West Hollywood was aptly named last year, was the answer to a question the band had been thinking about for a while. “After twenty years,” writes lead singer Brandon Boyd in his liner notes essay (the same for all three configu­ra­­­­tions), “7 albums, multiple live albums, EPs, DVDs, somewhere in the ball­park of 1,500 live shows, what could we do to introduce our newest album, If Not Now, When?, in a manner that was both unique and memorable?”

Their first studio album in nearly five years at the time called for thinking outside the box. Playful options ranged from going door-to-door with the album to 3:00 a.m. infomercials. Or could they “invite fans into our living room and play the f***ing album live for them?…Wait,” Brandon mused.  “That is actually not a terrible idea, minus the f***ing part.”

Utilizing social media enabled fans to contact Incubus, who then replied with an assigned date and time to show up for the HQ gigs. After building out the space to accommodate fans and crew, seven nights of performances were set. The resulting CDs and DVD catch the action on six nights that were broadcast live on the Internet. It was all a prelude to the July 12th release of If Not Now, When?, which debuted at #2 on the Soundscan chart.

As heard on the “Incubus HQ Live” double-CD configuration, the first two nights were devoted (mainly) to specific albums. Night 1 is represented by six songs from 2001′s Morning View (“Nice To Know You,” “Circles,” “Wish You Were Here,” “Are You In?” c/w the Doors’ “Riders On The Storm,” “Aqueous Transmission”). Night 2 is represented by six songs from 1999′s Make Yourself (“Privilege,” “The Warmth,” “Stellar,” “Make Yourself,” “Drive,” “I Miss You”) and a wild card version of “Crowded Elevator,” an outtake from the Make Yourself sessions.

Night 3 finds Incubus mixing it up a bit, playing songs from Morning View (“Just A Phase”), 2004′s A Crow Left Of the Murder (“Mega­lo­maniac,” “Sick Sad Little World”), the 2004 DVD+CD release Alive At Red Rocks (the non-album rarity “Pantomime”), and 2006′s Light Grenades (“Anna Molly”).

By Night 4, Incubus was ready to start premiering music from If Not Now, When? , the new album now just nine days away (“Promises, Promises,” “In The Company Of Wolves”), plus “Love Hurts” from Light Grenades. Similarly, Night 5 includes “Switchblade” (from If Not Now, When? ) and “Pardon Me” (from Make Yourself ).  Finally, Night 6 is represented entirely by songs from If Not Now, When?, namely the title tune, “If Not Now, When?” “The Original,” and that album’s two closing tracks, “Adolescents,” and “Tomorrow’s Food.”

Along with the hit songs, deep album tracks and fan favorites performed in an intimate setting, “Incubus HQ Live” showcases the personalities of band members Brandon Boyd, Mike Einziger (lead guitar, piano, backing vocals), Chris Kilmore (keyboards, turntables), Ben Kenney (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Jose Pasillas II (drums). The fan interaction, instrument lessons with the band, and overall feel of the space give the DVD warmth and character.

“We found in the Incubus fan base,” Brandon writes, “a kind of generosity, openness, and enthusiasm that we never could have predicted and or expected. A unfolded s the days and meandered their way into each night’s performance, our anxieties quelled and we saw this experiment turn into a true success story. Not only at the sight of a room filled with smiles, flashes, laughs, and spontaneous interactions, or even the impassioned singing and emoting at close quarter. But more so, it was the sense that there was no one type of person who attended; online or in store.

“So I guess for those of you who were watching online, for those of you who were in the room, and even you guys that will experience it long after the fact, what this experiment allowed is a small insight into the potential of the creative experience! The quiet knowing that under the right circumstances, we all can be witness to how inter­connected all of us actually are. Be it through the making of art, the witnessing of art, and or the memory of a time in art. It only exists because we are all there existing IT together! And I think this is where I say, ‘Thanks for that’.”

Image Courtesy of  3 song photography / Shutterstock.com

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New York, U.S.A.- Legacy Recordings in conjunction with Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE) announces the launch of “I AM AN ELVIS FAN ,” a new campaign which encourages fans, from die-hards to casuals, to vote for their favorite recordings by Elvis from seven musical genres to be provided by Legacy. The top-scoring songs will determine the tracklist for I AM AN ELVIS FAN , a new 21-song collection that will be available starting July 31st through RCA/Legacy, a division of SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT.

The seven categories are ’50s, ’60s, Country, Movies, Love Songs, Gospel, and In Concert. The categories and tracks (all listed below) will be posted at www.iamanelvisfan.com where fans will be able to select their three top choices per genre. Facebook and Twitter users will be provided with links to share and spread the experience.

Voting begins today and all votes must be received by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on May 12th. The results will be announced on June 15th. For a limited time, and as a bonus, those who pre-order the I AM AN ELVIS FAN album within the voting period (May 1 – May 12) will have their names included in the package, as space permits. Fans can pre-order the album and submit their name for inclusion in the package at www.iamanelvisfan.com.

The comprehensive “I AM AN ELVIS FAN” campaign, which can be experienced at www.Elvis.com/ElvisFan, encourages fans to “Create, Upload and Wear.” In addition to the creation of the album, fans can also upload a photo of themselves to be used in an Elvis photo mosaic by EPE licensee Fan Mosaics.

Those thousands of images in the fan mosaic will also be used on the I AM AN ELVIS FAN album cover. Photos can be uploaded now through June 1st. The cover art and song results will be revealed on June 15th. EPE will also create a limited edition “I AM AN ELVIS FAN” t-shirt which will be available for purchase at www.Elvis.com/ElvisFan beginning today.

“I AM AN ELVIS FAN” – MUSICAL CATEGORIES

’50s – Selections: 1. That’s All Right * 2. Good Rockin’ Tonight * 3. Baby Let’s Play House * 4. I Got A Woman * 5. Hound Dog * 6. Don’t Be Cruel * 7. Mystery Train * 8. Blue Suede Shoes * 9. Money Honey *10. Heartbreak  Hotel * 11. Shake, Rattle & Roll * 12. All Shook Up • 13. Lawdy, Miss Clawdy.

’60s – Selections: 1. In The  Ghetto * 2. Suspicious Minds * 3. Gentle On My  Mind * 4. Don’t Cry Daddy * 5. Surrender * 6. Good Luck Charm * 7. Devil In Disguise * 8. She’s Not You * 9. Suspicion * 10. The Girl Of My Best Friend * 11. His Latest Flame * 12. Love Letters * 13. Memories.

GOSPEL – Selections: 1. Peace in the Valley * 2. Crying in the Chapel * 3. How Great Thou Art * 4. If I Can Dream * 5. Amazing Grace * 6. Swing Down Sweet Chariot * 7. Joshua Fit The Battle * 8. Take My Hand Precious Lord * 9. Lead Me, Guide Me * 10. He Touched Me * 11. Milky White Way * 12. You’ll Never Walk Alone * 13. Where Could I Go But To The Lord.

LOVE SONGS – Selections: 1. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You * 2. Any Way You Want Me * 3. You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me * 4. One Night * 5. Can’t Help Falling In Love * 6. Love Me Tender * 7. Always On My Mind * 8. Are You Lonesome Tonight? * 9. Unchained Melody * 10. Loving You * 11. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling * 12. It’s Now Or Never * 13. The Wonder Of You.

MOVIES – Selections: 1. King Creole * 2. Jailhouse Rock * 3. Trouble * 4. Return To Sender * 5. A Little Less Conversation * 6. Viva Las Vegas * 7. G.I Blues * 8. Follow That Dream * 9. Bossa Nova Baby * 10. Rubberneckin’ * 11. Blue Hawaii * 12. Loving You * 13. Teddy Bear.

COUNTRY – Selections: 1. I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water * 2. Kentucky Rain * 3. For The Good Times * 4. Guitar Man * 5. Blue Moon of Kentucky * 6. Just Because * 7. Long Black Limousine * 8. I’ll Hold You In My Heart (Until I Can Hold You in My Arms) * 9. She Thinks I Still Care * 10. I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry * 11. Welcome to My World * 12. Funny How Time Slips Away * 13. There Goes My Everything.

IN CONCERT – Selections: 1. Polk Salad Annie * 2. Suspicious Minds * 3. Just Pretend * 4. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling * 5. Bridge Over Troubled Water * 6. See See Rider * 7. Walk A Mile In My Shoes * 8. I Can’t Stop Loving You * 9. You Gave Me A  Mountain * 10. An American Trilogy * 11. Burning Love * 12. My Way * 13. A Big Hunk of Love.

www.facebook.com/elvis

Image Courtesy of  ELVIS PRESLEY

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Columbia/Legacy Recordings celebrates Janis Joplin with the release of two essential new titles in the catalog of the American blues-rock-country-soul singer: Janis Joplin – The Pearl Sessions, a two-disc set premiering newly discovered studio recordings produced byPaul Rothchild (available Tuesday, April 17) and Big Brother and the Holding Company Featuring Janis Joplin – Live at the Carousel Ballroom 1968 , an electrifying full-length concert recorded and produced for release by the legendary soundman Owsley (“Bear”) Stanley (available Tuesday, March 13).

The Pearl Sessions is an historic expansion of Joplin’s final studio album, providing fascinating new insight into Janis’ creative process through a range of rare and previously unreleased material.

Newly available bonus material on The Pearl Sessions includes the original master mono mixes of the album’s singles (“Cry Baby,” “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Half Moon,” “Get It While You Can,” “Move Over,” “A Woman Left Lonely”) and a full-length second disc showcasing Joplin live in the studio performing never-before-heard takes of Pearl classics.

From behind-the-scenes banter to full finished takes, The Pearl Sessions shows the complexity of Joplin’s genius, the tough and vulnerable aspects of her personality, her lightning sense of humor, and her razor-sharp attention to the details of her craft. Offering fresh perspectives on the more familiar “official” versions of the songs, alternate takes of “Get It While You Can,” the Janis Joplin-composed “Move Over,” and others open up unexpected new dimensions in the material and in the sublime nuances of Joplin’s delivery.

The Pearl Sessions offers an unprecedented opportunity to be in the room with Janis, her producer, Paul Rothchild, and the members of the Full Tilt Boogie Band (guitarist John Till, pianist Richard Bell, bassistBrad Campbell, drummer Clark Pierson, organist Ken Pearson) as they create one of the enduring masterpieces of rock ‘n’ roll.

Originally released on January 11, 1971 (three months after her passing on October 4, 1970), Pearl debuted Joplin’s final finished studio recordings. The only album Joplin ever recorded with the Full Tilt Boogie Band, the touring ensemble that had backed her on the Festival Express (a mythic 1970 concert tour by railroad across Canada with the Grateful Dead, the Band and others), Pearl included canonical studio recordings of songs that had been introduced to audiences on tour.

A live version of “Tell Me Mama” (a song not included on the original Pearl ), recorded during the legendary Toronto Festival Express date, is included as a bonus track on The Pearl Sessions . Also included as a bonus is Janis’ scorching live version of “Half Moon,” recorded for her appearance on “The Dick Cavett Show” on August 3, 1970.

Peaking at #1 on the Billboard 200, a position it held for nine weeks, Pearl included some of Janis’s most familiar and best-loved performances including her cover of Kris Kristofferson’s “Me and Bobby McGee” and her off-the-cuff a cappella ”Mercedes Benz.” A never released alternate take and the original “Me andBobby McGee” demo are both included on The Pearl Sessions .

When putting together material for a 40th anniversary edition of Pearl , researchers discovered a treasure-trove of previously uncatalogued audio tapes from the album’s sessions, produced by Paul Rothchild. An industry legend, perhaps best-known for producing the first five Doors albums, Rothchild further solidified his position in music history with his work on Pearl .

The Pearl Sessions brings together the original mono versions of the album’s 45s and the original LP tracks alongside a revelatory cavalcade of newly-discovered alternate versions, outtakes and vocal takes that put you in the studio with Janis Joplin.

A limited edition double 10″ high fidelity vinyl gatefold release, Highlights from The Pearl Sessions will be available exclusively for Record Store Day (April 21, 2012). A companion to the newly curated two CD edition of Joplin’s farewell masterpiece, Pearl, this vinyl release presents previously unreleased and seldom heard takes and early versions of classic songs, culled from the recently discovered tapes used to create The Pearl Sessions .

A limited edition 12″ vinyl edition of Pearl will also be available on Tuesday, April 17. A breakout from the Classic LP Collection box, the album is pressed at RTI on 180-gram audiophile vinyl.

Janis Joplin - The Pearl Sessions

DISC ONE:

The Pearl Album - produced by Paul Rothchild

Move Over

Cry Baby

A Woman Left Lonely

Half Moon

Buried Alive In The Blues

My Baby

Me and Bobby McGee

Mercedes Benz

Trust Me

Get It While You Can

Bonus Tracks – the Mono Single Masters - produced by Paul Rothchild

Me and Bobby McGee

Half Moon

Cry Baby

Get It While You Can

Move Over

A Woman Left Lonely

DISC TWO:

The Pearl Sessions & more…

Overheard in the Studio…

Get It While You Can (take 3) – previously unissued

Overheard in the Studio…

Get It While You Can (take 5) – previously unissued

Overheard in the Studio…

Move Over (take 6) – previously unissued

Move Over (take 13) – previously unissued

Move Over (take 17) – previously unissued

Me and Bobby McGee (demo version)

Me and Bobby McGee (take 5 – alternate) – previously unissued

Cry Baby (alternate version)

A Woman Left Lonely (alternate vocal)

Overheard in the Studio…

My Baby (alternate take) – previously unissued

Overheard in the Studio…

Get It While You Can (take 3) – previously unissued

My Baby (alternate take)

Pearl (instrumental) – Full Tilt Boogie Band

Bonus Tracks

Tell Mama (Live) - June 28, 1970 - Toronto

Half Moon (Live) - August 3, 1970 - from “The Dick Cavett Show”

Janis Joplin – Highlights from The Pearl Sessions

10″ vinyl

SIDE ONE

Get It While You Can (take 3)

Move Over (take 6)

Me And Bobby McGee (demo version) *

SIDE TWO

Cry Baby (alternate version) *

A Woman Left Lonely (alternate vocal)

My Baby (alternate take)

SIDE THREE

Move Over (take 13)

Me And Bobby McGee (take 5 – alternate)

Get It While You Can (take 5)

SIDE FOUR

My Baby (alternate take) *

Get It While You Can (take 3)

Pearl (instrumental) *

All tracks previously unissued except *

Original Recordings Produced by Paul Rothchild

The release of The Pearl Sessions marks a renewed focus on Janis Joplin and the continuing influence of her music. Columbia/Legacy Recording will release Live at the Carousel Ballroom 1968, a previously unavailable live concert recording of Big Brother and the Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin, recordedJune 23, 1968 by legendary soundman Owsley Stanley, a/k/a “Bear,” who supervised the mastering of this release before his fatal car accident in his adopted homeland of Australia on March 12, 2011.

Dedicated to Bear, the album will be released on March 13, 2012, marking the one-year anniversary of his passing. A special collector’s edition of Live at the Carousel Ballroom will be available in a special two 12″ vinyl LP gatefold collector’s edition on Tuesday, March 27.

“This evening was special,” remembers Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart who was in the Carousel Ballroom that night in June ’68. “The Bear loved Janis. Her ability to sing multiple tones simultaneously and then morph them into heart wrenching chords was singular.

Her primal cry, filled with tenderness and hurt, was delivered at 140 decibels as the band pushed here into the slipstream. There could be no one more qualified to bring Big Brother and the Holding Company to life than Owsley. Together they captured the magic. The Bear sure had it right this night.”

BIG BROTHER AND THE HOLDING COMPANY FEATURING JANIS JOPLIN - LIVE AT THE CAROUSEL BALLROOM 1968

Tracklisting:

1. Combination Of The Two

2. I Need A Man To Love

3. Flower In The Sun

4. Light Is Faster Than Sound

5. Summertime

6. Catch Me Daddy

7. It’s A Deal

8. Call On Me

9. I’m Mad (Mad Man Blues)

10. Piece Of My Heart

11. Coo Coo

12. Ball & Chain

13. Down On Me

Bonus Track:

14. Call On Me (Saturday Show—June 22, 1968)

Web Site: http://www.legacyrecordings.com

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Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, has entered into a historic new record deal with American legend and innovator Willie Nelson.  The deal marks a label homecoming for Nelson, who, from 1975-1993, cut a phenomenal string of top-selling singles and albums for Columbia Records, beginning with 1975′s seminal smash Red Headed Stranger.

Forthcoming Willie Nelson titles under the Legacy imprint will include newly recorded songs and performances as well as archival releases, personally curated by the artist, drawn from all phases of his career including his recordings for RCA Records and others.

As curator of his catalog, Willie will work with label archivists to select recordings, including previously released and previously unreleased tracks, for release in newly compiled collections and as bonus material on new editions of existing titles. The newly curated Willie Nelson titles will provide fresh perspective and context to the artist’s profoundly influential and successful career.

Under the new agreement, fans can look forward to five brand-new Willie Nelson albums, with the first slated for release in spring 2012.

“I’m really happy to be back home with Sony Music. We have been partners for many years; all the way back to Pamper Music and Tree Music.  We share a great history, and I’m looking forward to many more years together,” said Willie Nelson.

“We couldn’t be more excited to have the opportunity to work with Willie on this landmark partnership,” said Adam Block, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Legacy Recordings.  “There’s a natural and organic relationship between new recording projects and catalog activity that promises to ensure the lasting importance of Willie and his music.”

With a six-decade career and a catalog of more than 200 albums to his credit, the iconic Texas singer-songwriter Willie Nelson has earned a permanent position in pop music’s pantheon with songs that combine the sophistication of Tin Pan Alley with the rough-and-tumble grit and emotional honesty of country music.

He brought pop and country together on the radio in the early 1960s with unforgettable songs like “Crazy” (Patsy Cline), “Hello Walls” (Faron Young), “Funny How Time Slips Away” (Billy Walker), “Night Life” (Ray Price) and others and, by the mid-1970s, had become a superstar in his own right as a prime mover of a revolutionary and thriving outlaw country music scene.

The Red Headed Stranger, Willie’s first album for Columbia Records in 1975, catapulted the artist to the front ranks of popularity, making his a familiar name in country and city households across America and around-the-world.

A seven-time Grammy Award winner, Willie Nelson has received numerous accolades including American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards, Country Music Association Awards and others.  He is a co-founder of Farm Aid, an annual series of fundraising events which began as an all-star benefit concert in 1985 to raise money for American family farmers.

He continues to lobby against horse slaughter and produces his own blend of biodiesel fuel.  An old-school road-dog troubadour with new school wheels, Willie plays concerts year-round, tirelessly touring on Honeysuckle Rose III (he rode his first two buses into the ground), taking his music and fans to places that are always worth the ride.

Christopher Halloran / Shutterstock.com

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